5552/Too Good a Deal

Too Good a Deal
Date of Scene:	14 October 2018
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Mercy Thompson, Batman

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Mercy Thompson has posed:
     Gotham's out of her usual range but the price advertised made the trip worth it, along with the parts list...a real syncro transmission and a wasserboxer engine. Hard to come by in any sort of condition. So Mercy drove down to Gotham, and into neighborhoods that turned progressively more grim. By the time she found the adress she was about to turn around and go home. But she's here now, so... The old garage has hulks of cars all around it, and Mercy parks the van out front and goes to the door and knocks. And looks around while she waits.

Batman has posed:
    To call the garage dilapidated might be an insult to perfectly nice, dilapidated garages out there in the world. This place looks like it barely does any business, tucked away as it is down a narrow alley that the van barely fits down. The knock on the door goes unanswered for a moment before a man in his late twenties opens it to peer out through the crack: "You here for the parts?"
    From somewhere within, another voice that sounds decidedly older yells: "Gene, help us move this damn thing!" The man at the door, Gene apparently, doesn't even glance back and instead peers at Mercy expectantly.
    

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    "Yeah," Mercy Thompson calls out. She glances around again, nervous but relaxing since there's some signs of life now. The young guy closes the door, undoes a chain then opens it up and takes a moment to check out Mercy. She takes it patiently. "Yeah, I'm Mercedes and yes I work on VWs," she gets the joke out of hte way herself. "You have a syncro and a wasserboxer, and a bunch of other parts for me? The craigslist add listed a 69 VW bug engine too. I'd be interested in that."

    "Sure sure. Come one in. " The guy opens the door and lets Mercy in, and she walks on in to go look at the parts. Inside the place is a garage but Mercy stops a few steps in...something's wrong. The couple of cars on the racks don't look quite right for something being repaired.

Batman has posed:
    "What the hell, Gene?!"
    A man with sparse, grey hair and a swinging gut clad in oil-stained coveralls steps out from behind one of the cars. It seems clear that he's surprised to see Mercy, and he immediately attempts to put himself between her and the obviously hot cars being chopped for whatever illicit purposes.
    "Lady, we're closed. Booked out for the foreseeable future."
    Further in the back, a sickening THWACK like something heavy hitting meat can be heard - followed by a pained whimper.
    "They're watchin' the big fight. You know how it is. Surround sound. Like you're there." the old man glances back over his shoulder towards the source of the noise that is almost definitely not coming from a television. He then peers sidelong towards a tool-strewn workbench, where a beaten and scratched Rohm revolver sits. His eyes flick nervously back and forth between the gun and Mercy - attempting to make a wordless threat.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy feels no need to raise teh tension level. She just swallows, recognizing what she just walked into and starts to back up. "Yeah, my bad. I'm outa here," she says. She's careful as she moves though, staying balanced and keeping her eyes moving. Then it goes bad.
    Outside, just down the block, a police siren bloops, and the sound of the police radio chatter is easily heard through the cruiser's open window, and the sound of a slamming car door. Gene, the 20 something, whips a cheap semi-auto from behind his back and points it at Mercy. "Stupid b...." he snarls. "Bringing the cops on us!" But then Mercy's moving too and as the gun comes up she steps sideways outside the arc of fire and slams a palm to Gene's throat while her other hand wraps over the gun's slide and she levers it against his hand. The gun goes off, as Gene convulses on teh trigger, the bullet whining into some corner of the garage. Mercy bites back a yelp as the slide tears up the skin of her hand.

Batman has posed:
    What happens next is an explosion of activity. As Gene turns the gun on Mercy, the old man dives for the Rohm revolver on the bench. He levels it at Mercy but hesitates when he can't get a good shot that might not risk hitting Gene. He ducks as the bullet goes whizzing past him, eyes wide, and half-kneels half-falls behind one of the stripped cars. The sound of the gunshot causes the beating in the backroom to stop, and a voice to ask: "Jim? What the fu-HGH!"
    The voice is cut off by a terrified shout that is itself cut short. In the same instant, the body of a short and squat man hurtles out of the back room and falls noisily against the tool bench. He is followed by a tall figure clad in dark colours, who turns a pair of baleful white eyes to the two remaining men.
    The Batman makes the briefest moment of eye contact with Mercy before he lunges towards the old man, grabbing him by the front of his coveralls and lifting him bodily off the ground. There is a terrified yelp from the old man, followed by a muffled gunshot and a pained grunt from the Dark Knight. He drives his head forward in response, cracking his forehead against the bridge of the old man's nose with a sickening crack.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy locks eyes for a split second with the Batman but she has other problems still. Gene is still up, the throat strike having only been hard enough to rock him back and choke for a moment. He's dropped the now jammed pistol and seems intent on smashing at Mercy with a prybar he grabbed off a nearby toolbox. She's moving fast, not trying to block or even hit back, just dodging, distracting him from the real threat looming behind him.

Batman has posed:
    Batman lets the thoroughly unconscious man fall to the ground with a thud and steps over him. The forehead of his cowl smeared wetly with what must be blood. There is what looks to be a wound in his torso, an expanding circle of red seeping into the pale grey of his suit. For a bullet wound, it doesn't seem to even slow him down. He moves quickly, grabbing Gene by the wrist of his gun hand and spinning him around to face him. In the same instance, he drives his other fist across the man's jaw. His head snaps to one side and he collapses into a neat pile, the Bat prying the weapon free as he falls.
    The fight over almost as quickly as it began, he simply stands and looms over Mercy. He looks her up and down, assessing any injuries she may have suffered. His features are an unreadable mask, and he doesn't so much as look at the obvious bullet wound to his abdomen.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
     The looming presence more or less forces Mercy back a step, but she stands straight. Which helps her breathing, now slowing rapidly to normal. Her left hand drips blood where the pistol's slide tore into it. She doesn't quite meet his eyes, acknowledging but not challenging in any way. "Thanks. I have a first aid..." the door to the shop slams open and two cops pile in, guns drawn.
    "FREEZE" the cops are yelling. Then they see the Bat, and they follow their own advice. Mercy freezes, hands just a little out from her side where she was starting to raise them to point out ot her car.
     "This is probably not the best day ever for me," she tells Batman. "They're going to arrest me, aren't they?"

Batman has posed:
    "Yes."
    Batman looks past Mercy to the police, who have their guns drawn on the pair of them. He may work with the GCPD, but the officers on the street are still under nebulous orders to bring him in if they can. He /is/ breaking the law, after all. One, a young firebrand by the look of him, takes a step forward to point his gun at the Dark Knight.
    "Alright, Bat, hands where we can see them."
    "Robbie, don't be an idiot," chides the older cop behind him, his own gun lowered now, "That's the freakin' Batman!"
    The young cop pays no attention, edging closer to pair of them. From behind Mercy, the Batman murmurs in a whisper only audible to her.
    "Cover your eyes."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
     Mercy nods and closes her eyes tight. She doesn't move her hands, hearing the nerves in the young cop's voice. It's the best she can do without risking getting shot.

Batman has posed:
    In the darkness, the Bat reaches out to grab Mercy's arm pulls her roughly behind him. Almost on cue, the young cop's weapon goes off with a deafening crack. Batman lets loose another pained grunt but doesn't stop, dropping something to the floor that explodes with a violently bright burst of light - enough to be seen even through closed eyelids. In the confusion, the Dark Knight once more ceases Mercy by the arm and moves her with him. Somewhere towards the rear of the shop. Out through a door. The evening breeze suggesting they're outside and then:
    "Hold on."
    With no further warning they're rocketing skyward, the Bat's grapnel gun ratcheting them towards the rooftop. He leaves her with a simple choice. Hold on or be left behind.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
     He couldn't pry her off...ok, well probably he could, but she does know when to follow directions and she holds on for all she's worth, eyes still scrnched closed. She doesn't talk, not wanting to distract him. After a second or two Mercy opens her eyes to look around and take stock of what's going on.

Batman has posed:
    By that point, the pair of them are on a rooftop overlooking the old and crumbling district that is the Narrows. The Bat has let go of her now, moving to the edge of the building to peer down into the night. When he turns back, his injuries are apparent. The gunshot wound to the abdomen and what looks like a bullet caught in the center of his chest. Fortunately, it doesn't look to have gotten through the armored plating there - instead, the stylised Bat Symbol now sports a silvery, metallic dent in its right wing.
    "Show me your hand," he asks, in a voice that is more a demand than a suggestion.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
     Mercy shows him her hand, some shallow cuts on the palm where the slide gouged her when Gene jerked the trigger. The bleeding's already mostly stopped...painful but far from dangerous. "I was going to say I have a first aid kit in the car." She doesn't seem troubled by the heights, and she looks over toward the entrance to the garage. "Thanks for stepping in. I had no idea that was a chop shop...I mean they advertised on craigslist. Isn't that practically inviting the cops to come arrest you if you're a thief?"

Batman has posed:
    "If they were intelligent, they wouldn't be thieves," Batman offers flatly, reaching into his utility belt to produce a disinfectant spray which he applies to Mercy's wound. Satisfied, he then produces a plain white bandage to bind the cut with. That done, he lets her hand go.
    "You shouldn't thank me. I assume the van is registered to you and right now there are two police officers examining it. They may call in plates to track you down."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
     THat gets a sigh from Mercy. "It is. I guess i should go back and take my medicine. I can probably talk my way out of getting charged." The words are more optimistic than the tone however. "They won't find anything. i don't have a record of any sort. I'm pretty law abiding...I don't even speed." She looks back at the Bat "So you still get a thank you for keeping me from buying stolen property. That would've been bad."

Batman has posed:
    "You looked as though you'd worked it out yourself before I got there," Batman answers flatly, pulling his cape about himself to conceal the injuries he's sustained, "That officer was too hot on the trigger. He was ready to shoot and he was more likely to hit you than me. I pulled you out of there in case he kept shooting, but you're right - you need to talk to them. And you're lucky that almost buying stolen goods was the worst thing that happened to you - they've been running a people smuggling ring out of that shop for weeks. Could've gone a lot worse for you."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
     "I think you had the new guy pretty spooked," Mercy says. "The older guy seemed pretty steady and a bit of a fan perhaps." Her eyes narrowed at the mention of a human trafficing ring. "Human smuggling huh? I doubt they'd have been interested in me, not near pretty enough." It's a lie as she says it and she knows it, the way she looks away. "Any other advice? Like how to get back down and how to talk to them without freaking the cops back out again?"

Batman has posed:
    "The older officer is Sergeant Rubio," Batman offers, "Talk to him. He's a reasonable man. The younger one is Officer Ackley. He has something to prove and will likely want to bring you in for aiding and abetting. If he does, just go with him. There's no charge there that'll stick, and if they ask you about me you can just be honest."
    He pauses for a moment and then gestures to a rickety-looking fire escape as a prospective way down.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
     Mercy nods. "I'll make lots of noise on the way in, too." She steps over to the fire escape and starts down. Mercy pauses after a couple of steps. "Thanks," she says, simple, sincere, and then keeps going down the escape to the cops down below.