5371/Cooking up Crime

Cooking up Crime
Date of Scene:	14 September 2018
Location:	New York City - Set of a Cooking Show
Synopsis:	Shredder meets with Contessa about the possibility of some joint ventures in consolidating the power in New York City. And...the world?
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Ekaterina Vespucci

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Shredder has posed:
    The invitation to meet was not given by a particular individual, rather it was a hand written letter with a wax seal. Very old style. It had the emblem of the Foot Clan. They had been quiet until earlier this year, following the supposed death of the Shredder. Oroku Karai, the daughter of the prominent Japanese businessman, Oroku Saki, had been leading the group. Recently, though, the Foot have been more active, and it's starting to become inevitable that every crime organization has some dealings with them, either pleasant or not. Apparently now it is Ekaterina's turn.

    The proposed meeting space is in that of a broadcasting studio, oddly enough. It's not a fancy one, but a small time studio in Queens. Naturally, on the outside, there is no indication of life inside, but the door is unlocked.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
And Ekaterina answers the call - the infamous ferocious Contessa - Lady Artifice. Terrorising and defeating other gangs with her elite band of ex-military men. She is not some vampish tall seductress with a killer decolletage and a menacing retinue. She is a short sweet college freshman looking girl. Her large cornflower blue eyes are full of light and happiness and her face is that of an angel. She has no retinue - it is just her and the invitation - no retinue - none of her elite soldiers. She left them at home. Is this a joke? And she is dressed in a customised ensemble that might even mark her as a college student. A few flecks of paint on her as well. This girl is superlatively cute but other than that totally ordinary and not at all menacing. Not even trying to be. Onwards to the activity inside the building. She wont look like she belongs there but she does have the invitation.

Shredder has posed:
    Inside, the marked room has a smell of fine Japanese cuisine on the other side. A man, not famous to the degree of some other businessmen, but well respected nonetheless, stands at the counter on a set of a cooking show, simple can lighting above illuminating the area rather than the normal bright spots of the show.
    The man is Oroku Saki. The sometimes philanthropist, majority stockholder at TCRI, StockGen, and some other companies that have all become part of his empire.

    Cooking materials have been used throughout the kitchen, and currently, he is wearing an apron over a maroon silk dress shirt and gray slacks. His notable scar across his left cheek is the most memorable feature. He is chopping carrots, the ticking sound of the knife striking the cutting board setting a tempo in the room.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
The college age girl stands off to the side - she has a couple of rolls of sketch paper under her arm from the class she was just teaching. Given her miniscule size she cannot effectively carry it al and places it on the ground. Now it is her turn to be surprised. A cooking show - she has always wanted one. Her lovely eyes widen effusively waiting for the man with the cutting board to notice her.

Shredder has posed:
    "Miss Vespucci," Saki says, "I'm pleased that you could make it," he tells her while finishing the current carrot. He place slices into the cold section of the shokado lunch, sets aside the knife, then goes to wash the excess food pieces from his hands. After a reasonable scrub, and dry of his hands, he turns back to Kat and walks to greet her with a refined grace. "Oroku Saki," he introduces himself with a hint of a bow. "I hope it was not too difficult to find the location. I also hope that you enjoy Shokado."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"You recognise me? I am amazed - I have often been subject to dismissal thanks to my age and gender. So indeed..." she says dropping her papers filled with sketches, "Student gradings I am sorry - I teach art history at a local community college. I had to race over here - otherwise I would have changed into something more formal. And it may be an over reach but call me 'Kat' even the lowliest employee in my organisation does and there are to many of them doing it to complain. Might as well have a universal lexicon." SHe hears about the ritual, "I did something similar with Selene - Selene Gallio many years ago I believe. As I understand it you know her?"

Shredder has posed:
    "Indeed," Saki answers with a slight smile. "We are acquainted." He leaves out the detail regarding how acquainted. "Formality is not necessary," he grants. He motions to a table nearby. Not candlelit to imply a romantic setting, there is a spruce of a green plant in the center, and a hot stone with black stone small teapot. A jade tea container sits next to it, as well as two cups. One boasts a fine representation of The Great Wave, a painting by Katsushika Hokusai. The other is a hard steel crafting, elegantly engraved with the word 'Dragon Warrior' in Japanese written upon it.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Ekaterina Vespucci says, "So Selene set me on to you. Why? Is that the case?" Kat does not like the idea. "How much do you know about her?" Kat openly asks.

Shredder has posed:
    "Direct and to the point," Saki answers. He turns and walks back to the kitchen, taking the trays and placing them on the island. He places the garnishes in place, and then removes his apron, folding it and placing it neatly on the counter. He picks the trays back up, and moves back to the table, placing the lunch with it.

    "I won't attempt to assign motive to Selene," he says. "But I know that for my part, you seem to have a knack for keeping some of the underground organizations under control. I must admit, your demeanor is not what I expect, but your reputation precedes my observation." He motions to the chair. "Would you like to sit?" he asks.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"My demeanour just reflects a lifelong observation that honey catches more flies than vinegar. I have rarely had to fight to jockey for position in the underworld. Fighting is wasteful." Kat is inordinately pleasant as Saki suggests. "Be wary of Selene she seems like a lot and yet she is much much more than she seems. I have had lifetimes to familiarise myself with her habits." So Kat might not be exactly human if she has been around as long as she maintains. "Sure I will sit," she says smiling and taking up the designated position.

Shredder has posed:
    "Yet your people seem unintimidated by a fight," Saki answers, seating himself at the other seat. He pours the tea. "In the world of immortals, we must all accept that we must navigate with one another for a long time. The affairs of usual mortal men and women--however obnoxious they may become at times--are temporary, fleeting. I am unknown even to most of our own ilk, for reasons that at this time I shall keep my own. However, the world is differen than it was centuries ago. We have supermen, mutants, and invaders from other dimensions and worlds are far more prevalent than they once were. The world exists on the edge of a knife, and needs leadership from those who will last. People like you, people like me."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Perhaps," Ekaterina says letting Saki take the lead in the tea ritual. So we have another shadowy immortal such as herself? They were multiplying. "Though I am an advocate for term limits in Congress and the Senate truth be told," Kat jokes. "When did the world become this ridiculous lucha libre contest? I want to see a hero who wears ordinary clothes." She continues observing, "There must be a reason why there are so many of them. I have a theory actually about it all that involves the old unpopular convergent evolution."

Shredder has posed:
    Saki smiles mildly. "The self-proclaimed heroes have little that separate themselves from those they villainize," he says. "They wish to control, to govern. Often by physical brute force." He gestures inspecifically. "Compel adherence to their moral standards which others may or may not share." He doesn't seem critical in his tone, just blandly factual.
    "They simply lack the resolve to do so on a large scale," he adds. taking up his chopsticks. Next to her setting there are both chopsticks and a fork, not presuming her proficiency or desire to use a traditional asian implement. "Tell me, what is it that you hope to accomplish. You have your own army. You have an element of power with that army, and you exercise that power, but I have trouble discerning your motivation."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat prefers the chopsticks to the fork and begins to eat with Saki, "If my motives were so easy to discern would I be worthwhile or interesting to treat with?" Ekaterina says. "Actually I am a watchman of sorts. There are many amongst my kin who would smash the board on which we play this grand game of risk. And I seek to counter them. The others of my kind call me Artifice. And it is Artifice that I must exercise to ensure that there is something for us to seek dominance over in the first place. Disappointingly altruistic? Other than this I have hundreds of schemes all of them slow burning. A few that are more than a hundred years in the making. Some world and market shaking. Others are mere pranks."

Shredder has posed:
    Saki casually eats as Ekaterina explains her position, but as host, he does not touch the tea prior to his guest. He doesn't speak, but instead simply listens, remaining silent as if he expects her to say more.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Heroes often lack the flexibility to do what must be done for the greater good they purport to serve. Let them have their illusions. But I am no Hero - Just a little girl who refuses to be a fool." It's jaded as an outlook but not an unmerited one in Kat's mind and in that of the many whom formed her private army.

Shredder has posed:
    "And what do you believe that greater good is?" Saki asks. "What would be best for this world on the large scale? Know that your answer will not mean I find you friend or foe, but it may determine what we might find common ground regarding, and opportunities to work together at this juncture." He takes another bite of his food, chewing patiently.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Just making sure everything and everyone does not wind up a smoking ruin. I have some bad family problems and should they erupt that is where things end. I'm pretty easy when it comes to other things. Though I try to keep out of the grubbier ends of our business. I own a large number of legitimate businesses. They are not a front actually the main reason I am forced to do what I do. I do not like the idea of paying someone for insurance to avoid having my galleries or club burned down."

Shredder has posed:
    Shredder returns the remark with a contemplative frown. "So your primary goal then would be...world peace?" he asks, trying to assess the specifics. "Do you think it would be best for there to be a centralized world government? Or else some sort of democratic world nation?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Not world peace. Nothing so foolish. I seek only to arrest certain specific threats to the worlds physical existence spanning from my own kind. My fear is some among my kind might achieve world peace by leaving barely anyone alive to fight. That's bad for business. As for what form politically the world chooses if it were to make a world government - I can work with whatever emerges. I am flexible that way." She cants her head.

Shredder has posed:
    "I see," Saki answers. "For myself, I have perhaps a more ambitious venture. You know of my own corporate presence, perhaps. I do not think world peace is attainable myself, but there is a certain...predictability that could be brought to this world. Our planet is small, and as a small planet, it can be targeted by these extraterrestrial threats. It is important that we establish ourselves as something more powerful if we are to maintain our existence. I seek to bring at least a maintainable world government to bring Earth into it's next stage of development, lest we find ourselves in shambles from the wake of some unforeseen global threat due to bickering and politics."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"To counter with your own question - what shape would this new world order take? And what of the aliens that are already here? I already have had an encounter with a famous Kryptonian in Metropolis and an Asgardian in a New York City park. Both amiable enough. Are they automatically part of an extraterrestrial threat. Might be hard to dispense with them - and they might be useful against other - worse - aliens."

Shredder has posed:
    "Threats against our planet are the concern. Superman, the Lanterns, they are not the concern, for they side with our world," he says. But the recent events at the United Nations councils are something that should not be ignored. An entire alien race now have become refugees on our world, and it is claimed that they once protected our world against other threats. I believe that it should be handled in a more 'common sense' manner, rather than people using these events to scramble for scraps of power. Those of us with more ancient knowledge, more able to use the experience of centuries, should lead this world, and usher us into our interplanetary phase of history."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"That is a fair call although the list of those who could be said to possess such ancient knowledge and have lived a long enough life to be our equals seems to be growing. A certain celebrtity Amazon who had coffee with the in Times Square last week comes to mind. Wouldn't want to rule Selene out - she'd be offended - but she already has her own club. Who is in and who is out of involvement with these plans of yours?"

Shredder has posed:
    "Those with the intelligence and stomach for it." Shredder says simply. "I have centuries of conquest, including the conquest of the very afterlife itself," he declares. "Others have brought their skills to more indirect methods, still others financial, political. I am more than equipped to assess the capabilities of each power, but in the current climate, one man's understanding is only valued in moderation, particularly in the field of such a large scope." He finishes the last of his food. "To put it simply, I am currently determining the best course of action to determine who is appropriate and who is not."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat considers this 'conquest of the afterlife' concept. The world simply got stranger and stranger. "Well I hope I meet your no doubt high standards," though she did not know enough about this Saki to be sure she wanted to be on his tream yet. She smiles amiably large cornflower blue eyes taking his measure.

Shredder has posed:
    "I hardly know you well enough," Saki admits. "But perhaps we could work on consolidating the power of the underworld in New York City to begin," he suggests. "The city is rampant with warring factions, and if you would like to join me, I have already started an effort to control these factions, limit their activity in order to achieve something greater. Those who do not wish to be a part, do not have to continue to exist."

    He stands, taking the empty place settings. "Something for you to consider at least, if you wish to take part. I am certain that most of the city would appreciate less unpredictable crime in the area."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"I will," Kat says. "It has been a pleasure. Hopefully we will meet when and if things progres in the right direction. I had best be off however. My men tend to worry when I leave them alone too long." With that Kat turns and leaves.