5389/Caught in Traffic

Caught in Traffic
Date of Scene:	17 September 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Thanks to a tip from Kat, Frank is able to stop a human traffic deal and manages to save a few lives in the process.
Cast of Characters:	Punisher, Ekaterina Vespucci

---

Punisher has posed:
About a week or so has passed since Frank ran into the interesting woman known as The Contessa. He had been scoping out a building that was being used to conceal purported illegal activities. That wasn't necessarily wrong, but it wasn't as cut and dry as most of Frank's targets tend to be.

The nature of Ekaterina's operations had a similar modus operandi as his. What has resulted from their chance encounter is a bit of an alliance. Ekaterina informed him of a human trafficking operation she was posing to be involved in so that he could intervene. And that brings us to now.

Frank is posted up behind a pile of crates and barrels adjacent to a shipping warehouse overlooking the river. Everything happens at the damn river. He's crouched behind the crates but has a good view of the docks so he can keep an eye on things and spot Ekaterina when her and her team show up. Until then, he just waits impatiently.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Ekaterina makes her approach she motions for her hirelings to remain behind for a second or two planning on consulting with Frank before the venture. Her mutant eyes scan the docks - this was how she got the drop on Frank before - those great big cornflower blue peepers sure were pretty. But they weren't just for show. She had tremendous visual acuity and range and coulds see perfectly in the dark. When Frank is spotted Kat simply teleports up behind him - the way she did on the roof.

"Frank," she whispers uncomfortably close to the special forces ace. Artifice was her portfolio in the Externals but that often extended into mischief. Some of her larks had still yet to come to fruition. Things she had thought of centuries ago. But there is nothing like living in the moment. And she really wanted to see Frank's expresion after she got the drop on him a second time.

Punisher has posed:
The sudden sensation of a presence very close to him followed by the feeling of warm breath and the sound of Ekaterina whispering unusually close to him startles the soldier. His body lurches forward slightly as his head suddenly shifts to the left to see Ekaterina standing directly beside him, his nose almost colliding with hers.

His eyes close for a moment as he exhales sharply, "Dammit you've gotta stop doing that." Sighing quietly, he glances through the creates again to make sure he didn't alert anyone before shaking his head and looking back to the girl. "Jesus Christ I almost shot you."

After calming down for a moment he regains his composure. "Is everything on schedule?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat smiles beautifically taking a pace or two backwards to avoid tangling herself up with the poor beleaguered ally of hers. "I'll try and approach more loudly next time," she promises. Probably lies. "Everything is set. My hirelings are back there. Not my own men - these are the guys that will likely turn tail and run. Add a bit of anarchy to the mix. You can exploit that right?" Pointing to something that can just be seen on the docks, "The good news is the kids are in that large pretty solid cargo container. They should be safe from stray bullets until they can be retrieved. I however will not be. Any idea where I can take cover over there when the fireworks start?"

Punisher has posed:
The girl's smile is something he can't get used to after being snuck upon for the second time. Her suggestion that she might approach louder next time ellicits him to purse his lips and glance over his shoulder towards the shipping containers.

He's spotted the one that houses the victims and he glances around at the various others loitering around and noting their positions and patrols. He also looks around for safe places for Ekaterina to take cover once the firing begins. Spotting a large spool of cable near the water, Frank motions towards it, "That should give you plenty of cover. Shouldn't take me long to take care of 'em."

He looks back over at Ekaterina, "I'll wait for you to get close to it before I open up. Fair?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Fair," Kat says. She is surprisingly unworried at walking into danger with only one ally. "Time to get this show on the road," she walks away gathers her hirelings and goes in for the meet.

Kat has probably about ten hirelings random ethnic backgrounds. Tonight she is supposed to be picking up payment for this activity on her territory rather than handling the children herself. Her hirelings are random street thugs and twitchy. The traffickers look to be pretty hardcore South American types twenty in number their backgrounds variable and unknown. "You de Contessaa?" asks the strongest largest man - unimpressed by the little girl before him.

"Sono la Contessa Ekaterina Vespucci," Kat's favorite introduction. It fails to impress here. "Erm the exchange fine gentlemen?" The mood begins to shift immediately here for the worse.

"Nós podemos matar a prostituta branca e manter o dinheiro para nós mesmos," suggests one of the tough mans henchmen spitting at Kat's feet.

"Você beija sua mãe com essa boca?" interjects Kat in a similar language - it sounds like Spanish but is different likely Portugese. Kat's facility with languages startles the men. But this is not an arena for diplomacy and it is then that the fireworks start.

One of Kat's men fires first getting twitchy but this is likely the trajectory the exchange was going in. Kat never makes cover and is dragged away angrily by the massive tough leader of the gang and his henchman out of sight screaming. And the firefight lights up the night. Only Kat knows of the presence of a third party. One whose help she really needs now.

Punisher has posed:
Frank remains crouched down behind the stack of crates with his mini arsenal propped up on the crate beside him or slung over his shoulder. Now that the meeting is confirmed, he grabs the rifle propped beside him and hoists it up to peer through the scope to get a better view of Ekaterina as she makes contact.

He can barely hear the words being spoken but can hear it well enough to know that it isn't English. Luckily the body language makes it more than obvious what's going down.

As soon as a shot is taken and the large man grabs Ekaterina, it's show time. Frank rises to his feet and steps out from around the crate, leveling his rifle in the direction of the thugs making the sale.

He immediately takes down a pair of thugs next to the large man dragging Ekaterina away, his rifle silenced. His intention is for his own fire to be concealed by the chaos erupting around the deal so he can slip in, take as many down as possible, and get out. Things now a bit more complicated, Frank quicksteps towards the action, moving his scope towards the man dragging the girl away to take a quick shot at the back of his head.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Some things go the way Ekaterina had wanted. The chaos has certainly muffles Frank's rifle fire. It is very easy for Frank to take out as many of the members of either side during the firefight as he likes. But it is just not Kat's night. There were two men dragging her away and Frank nails the second smaller man. The leader of the group of thugs sees his man fall and drags her out of sight and behind cover. Presumably to be a hostage but he might just want to kill her out of revenge. Hard to tell as she is out of sight and some proximity is probably needed to find out. It might be time to get down there.

Punisher has posed:
Once the smaller man dragging Ekaterina goes down and the larger one drags her around a corner, Frank moves into gear. Still moving at almost a jogging pace, his footsteps are deceptively light given his build and the amount of gear he's toting.

Swiveling his rifle, from one side to the other, he quickly takes down another three guys. Which side of this meeting were they on? Doesn't really concern him. He's trying to catch up with the abductor.

Stepping up to the cover that Ekaterina was dragged behind, he pauses and takes a few quick breaths before stepping around and looking with the barrel of his rifle for Ekaterina and the man dragging her away.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
It's a harrowing sight that awaits Frank around the corner Kat is being used as a human shield a very large and nasty blade held to her throat by the big man. Kay is utterly overpowered - she is small and no match for the big man who holds her suspended by her throat. Her expressive face locked in fear and tears flowing down her cheeks from those large cornflower blue eyes. She can gag but not protest. Fortunately the action is mostly elsewhere on the dock and Castle can deal with this situation exclusively before returning to the fray.

Punisher has posed:
This isn't the first time Frank has found himself in this situation. And it probably isn't the last. A hundred different methods for dealing with the man scroll through Frank's head, but at the end he goes with his gut. His eye narrows through the sight on his rifle and his torso swivels and lifts at his waist, his arms and head staying perfectly still relative to his whole upper body.

He squeezes the trigger to send one bullet into the man's wrist on the hand that is holding the blade. Threat one is eliminated as his hand recoils and drops the knife reflexively. The man's arm swings away from Ekaterina as he recoils in pain, opening him up. Quickly squeezing off a few more rounds, three more bullets impact up the man's arm, first his forearm and two through his bicep. These impacts inflict enough damage to give Ekaterina the chance to pull away and get to safety so Frank can level his sights directly between the man's eyes and squeeze off one last round to drop him.

When the man slumps to the ground, Frank watches him for a moment before looking over to Ekaterina, "You okay?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
The man is dropped in doubletime and quietly expires. As for Ekaterina she nurses her neck wipes away the tears. "Don't wory about me Fraank," she croaks, "Just make sure the kids are okay." If there were any doubt as to whether Kat was a good person there was the proof to the contrary. When she looks up at Frank though there is something of a difference in the way she looks at him. A form of adoration. "You saved me Frank..." She looks to be crushing on her rescuer. Oh.No.

The battleground is emptying out there are no combatants anymore. The lack of leadership has led to alot of the thugs fleeing. Stragglers are left but look around with uncertainty.

Punisher has posed:
When the man drops and Ekaterina suggests that she's okay, Frank nods and takes a few steps back from behind the cover and scans the docks. He can see a few of the thugs Ekaterina hired running away. He levels his rifle in their direction and grimaces from behind the firearm as he quickly ends their retreat with a pair of bullets. When they hits the ground, Frank emerges from the cover fully and takes a look around to see that more or less everyone is down or gone.

Shouldering his rifle, he turns around to nod towards Ekaterina, "Don't mention it." With that, he steps towards the container and looks for the door. Finding it already locked, he takes a step back and swings his rifle up again, "Step away from the door!" He pauses for a moment as he hears shuffling from inside and then fires, his bullets ripping through the metal lock holding the door shut.

Shouldering his firearm one last time, he steps forward and tugs the container open to see who these monsters were attempting to traffic.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
As the shipping container opens the familiar funk of human beings held in a confined space for a long period becomes apparent. There are about a doxen children of all ethnicies ranging in ages from five to twelve. They have been fed and given water but have had no access to any other form of amenity. Distraught and in strung out shape.

"Might be time to call the authorities and make an exit Frank," Kat says hoarsely. She has struggled off the ground and limped over to the scene. "I know some honest dockworkers who are coming to watch the kids - they'll probably get credit for the rescue. Looks like we miss out on some good optics but its a decent trade for serious jail time. Can you give me a lift home? I taxied over."

Punisher has posed:
The sight of the children twists Frank's features into a grimace that sits somewhere between disgust, sadness, and rage all at the same time. At least the children are alive and, for the most part, unharmed. It may take them a while to recover psychologically after such a harrowing situation, but it's better than the alternative.

Already beginning to hear sirens off in the distance, Frank not and turns to offer support to Ekaterina after he witnesses her limp. He leans down slightly and hooks her arm over his shoulder. Due to her small size, he opts to simply snatch her up and carry her. They need to make a quick escape and her limping isn't going to make it easy.

Trudging over to his unremarkable van, Frank opens the passenger door and gently lowers her inside then makes his way over to the driver's side and hops in. Firing up the engine, he glances in the mirrors before turning out onto the street and driving away from the scene, "Where to?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat blushes as she is carried. She should be more traumatised but she heals fast and the limp and the ligature marks on her neck are gone by the time they make the van. Something that might be lost on Frank due to the darkness.

"Just my compound. You were staking it out the other evening." Kat is looking at Frank with stars in her eyes now. Kat had no poker face as usual. "Care to come in for a drink? I could sure as hell use one."

Punisher has posed:
Frank doesn't notice the healing due to being more concerned about getting out of the area before the police arrive. Now that they've arrived at Ekaterina's base of operations (as far as he's aware, anyway), Frank pulls up and puts the van in park and shuts the engine off.

Glancing over at the girl in his passenger seat, he doesn't notice the apparent adoration with which she's looking at him. It's not something he's used to and doesn't recognize. He closes his eyes briefly and rests his head against his seat and breathes slowly now that the operation seems to be over. A bunch of kids were saved and a bunch of worthless thugs were eliminated. Not a bad haul for the night. When Ekaterina invites him in, he shrugs and shoves open his door, "A beer couldn't hurt."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Not very adventurous but I have a selection. I get them here so My men and I can test them for my club," a very convenient rationale. "Come on in." Kat opens the doors with her finger print security panel. The base is dead tonight with minimal security.

They get to the studio apartment part encountering few people. Only a couple pay attention. They knew Kat was dealing with Frank apparently. Kat has a reasonably well stocked bar as part of her live in studio. "Domestic or foreign?" Kat asks as she pours herself a glass of wine. "Personally I find that occasionally I have too much blood in my winestream," she quips. "Oh hey take a seat - I've got a selection of couches here." And they were in the room arranged all over the place so as to give Kat endless options as to where to flop as she worked on various pieces of art.

Punisher has posed:
As they make their way into Kat's compound, Frank takes note of the differences in staff present this time. He half expected the grunts guarding the door the last time he was here to challenge him again. With his blood rushing this time he'd probably oblige them this time. Fortunately for them they aren't so confrontational this time.

Following Kat into the studio, Frank takes another look around. More or less the same as it was the last time he was here. "Surprise me," he says in response to his beer preference. He'd settle for a shitty Budweiser but assumes that a girl with her apparent taste doesn't have something that mundane. Stepping over to one of the couches in the room, he turns and falls onto it heavily, resting his head against the back so his face is peering up towards the ceiling.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Grolsch," Kat says placing her glass down she opens a bottle of beer a half litre one actually and makes her way over to Frank. She playfully leaps onto the couch straddling Frank as he lies down and places the beer bottle in his hand. It seems more playful than seductive. "Wanna wrestle?" Kat asks with similar stars in those large cornflower blue eyes she had before.

Punisher has posed:
Having just closed his eyes for a moment, Frank suddenly opens them once more as the girl leaps on top of him, startling him. Startling him for the third time, really. Sitting up, he pulls his body up to a sitting position with the girl still on his legs as he takes the unusually large bottle of beer. He looks from the girl to the bottle, "Uh, thanks." He lifts the bottle towards her in a salute motion before taking a quick sip.

Does he want to wrestle? He studies the girl carefully for a moment as he manages to pull his legs free from beneath her, "You're an interesting girl, aren't you?" Half an hour ago they were in the middle of a fire fight and now she's playfully wanting to wrestle. And her neck seems to be okay. And her limp is apparently gone. What the hell?

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Oh you don't know the half of it," Kat says beaming down at him. "But what do you mean by interesting? In what way?" For the moment she refuses to give up her perch. It's like being pinned by a mid teenager given her small frame. Her large eyes look down on the griselled veteran. She'd try and pin him further but doesn't want to make him spill his beer. "We did good tonight. Or well you did - I just wound up being rescue bait as usual. I think I owe you..."

Punisher has posed:
Managing to get free, Frank swivels his legs over so he can sit properly on the couch and takes another, longer swig of beer. Swallowing the cold drink with an 'ahh' he glances back over to the girl who is sitting closer to him than might be necessary.

He shakes his head and thumbs over his shoulder in no direction in particular, "You just seem to be pretty happy considering the dozen or so dead bodies back there." Not that he particularly cares. Again, they had it coming and it was their plan all along. It's just... not exactly common to be in such good spirits after that kind of ordeal.

He glances to her once again and shakes his head offhandedly, "You told me about the deal so I could free the kids. I'd say we're even." He manages to offer the girl a sideways grin, although it looks slightly forced and uncomfortable.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Oh I abhor violence - as a general rule but much the same as you when kids are involved any compassion I might have flies straight out the window. I think we all have our limits - surely that is a reasonable one? I wont waste one second of reflection over those men. Back to living. We're both alive and the kids are free. That's something to be happy about." Kat clarifies her thinking. "I think you deserve something extra for saving my life. That's a pretty big deal."

Punisher has posed:
Her explanation makes sense. He isn't exactly going to lose any sleep over all of the people he just killed. He never does. But he's used to being the only one okay with it.

He seems to calm down slightly as he relaxes into the couch and takes another drink of the large beer given to him. After swallowing, he looks down at the bottle and examines the label. Grolsch. He hasn't had it before, but it's pretty good. More flavorful than the cheap shit he usually gets from the corner store.

He looks back over at Kat with a slight grin and holds up the bottle, "I'd say this is bottle is a little something extra." He thought he was going to have a pint and then head home. This damn thing is more than he usually drinks.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Hmm well I can get you a few cases - warehouse prices for me. Hmm Frank I'm wondering did you notice the last three times I made passes at you?" Kat says retrieving her wine. "You must live a very lonely life if you are not reading signals all that well..." Kat's calmed down a bit. The stars in her eyes still there but reality constraining her girlsih fancy. Why not be a bit more direct.

Punisher has posed:
Frank lifts the bottle to his lips and, mid-drink, pauses. Some of the beer trickles down either side of his chin before he notices and lowers the bottle again, swallowing and wiping the liquid from his face with the back of his sleeve. He coughs a few times and clears his throat before returning his gaze towards her. "I uh.."

His throat clears again and he lifts himself from the couch and slowly paces around the studio, his eyes staying firmly on the floor in front of him as he moves. He looks back over to the clearly too-young girl making passes at him and stops for a moment, "You're not old enough to be talking like that, kid."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"I'm legal," Kat says, "How old do you think I am?" She looks at him with those huge cornflower blue eyes. Indeed Kat appears for all purposes to be in the late teen to early twenties range to most people. How old did she seem to Frank? "Don't you think I'm cute?" she asks with a measure of vulnerability. Kat knew how to push peoples buttons when she really wanted to. "You actually look a bit nervous Frank."

Punisher has posed:
Still looking at her, Frank arches an eyebrow as he looks the girl over. He's not going to answer that. Odds are whatever age he chooses is going to be completely wrong one way or another and he'd rather avoid it altogether. At the question of her looks, Frank goes back to pacing although slowly, his head cocked to the side, "There's something you need to know about me." He takes another long swig of the beer and glances over at her before continuing. "I lost someone, okay?" The pacing continues and he holds an arm up with the palm facing forward, "I appreciate the attention an' all, but I'm not the right guy to be lookin' at, you know?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"I did too Frank - my whole family though it was less instant and more agonising. I know your story - I feel for you. Just know that the 'offer' stands." After a sip of wine, "You have to think though Frank many of those dirtbags you put down - even the worst of them are living their lives to the fullest right up to the second you put them down. Seems like over all the time they are having fun you are punishing yourself. Massively unfair. And horribly ironic no?"

Punisher has posed:
The 'offer.' It's been a while since he's received an offer of any sort. Truth be told it's not something he's thought about since his loss, really. It just wasn't an option for him. So focused on his mission that he hadn't given it a thought. Now that it's an option, he doesn't know how to react.

He looks over at her and suddenly his face breaks into a smile and he glances down at the floor and lifts an arm up to rub the back of his shaven head. It's almost to the point of boyish bashfulness. "I appreciate the offer." He walks over to the couch and sits down, taking another long drink and letting out a long sigh. "I think I just need some sleep."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Feel free to use the couch. In the alternative if you have to go I have something for you," Kat pulls a canvas cover off've an easel and verily there is a 4k photo accurate portrait of Frank as he was the other night. "Finished it up recently," most incredibly Kat would have to have been working from memory. No photos were taken of Frank at least from this angle the last time he visited this compound. "Painting's yours in case that was not clear."