5648/Meeting and Assembling

Meeting and Assembling
Date of Scene:	25 October 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Crossbones, Cheshire

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Crossbones has posed:
This place is a hole in the wall, a hidden door you have to know about in advance, a part of the secret society of the underworld that you only learn through experience and trial and bloody damn work.

In this case, it's the den of Raw Deal, a fixer and agent for killers. He's been around for a while, with a mixed reputation. An ex-assassin himself, he's a big meaty guy gone a bit to fat with a taste for cheap cologne and teenaged hookers.

Cheshire did a job through him a couple of weeks ago. He collects the payment and takes his cut. Usually it's all pretty simple. When she arrives this time, though, she'll find that hidden door knocked down. She'll find a few henchman scattered against the walls, bodies broken, bleeding out. And she'll find Raw Deal himself being faced down by the monstrous brute known as Crossbones. Rumlow's face is hidden behind his split-skull faceplate as he trains a pistol directly on the big man.

"My take was a little short last time. Don't suppose you know anything about it, fat boy?"

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire arrives in costume, without the mask, since this is a professional visit. The assassin doesn't have any problems getting here, since she doesn't exactly take the subway. Padding lightly in her green and gold kimono-esque costume, the woman is heavily armed as well. Her weapons are in pairs: katana, sais, and silenced .45 automatics. At least that's what's visible.

Stepping carefully through the broken door, she sizes up the situation quickly. Raw Deal's henchmen are only a concern at this point if they're actually moving, which seriously limits the opposition. Still across the room from the interrogation, she offers in a low voice.

"Your take? I see. So this is a business discussion, then. I can wait."

Crossbones has posed:
Crossbones cocks his head, "You're a quiet one," he says. He sounds impressed, probably because he knows he's damn hard to sneak up on.

"If you do business with this chump, then you might be interested. See, I did a snatch and grab through this mook last month. Simple job. But I know some of the guys in the mob that hired me, so I got backchanneled how much they paid for it. And, even with Raw's ten percent, I was about fifty grand short. I don't mind paying my vig. Just business. But I don't like bein' robbed, especially by a skell what smiles to my face."

"So, knowin' the situation, what do you think I oughtta do? Should I let him gimme my money, plus a bit of a bonus? Or should I just ventilate his fuckin' dome?"

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire is standing within his peripheral vision as she listens. One moment she has hands on both hips, then the next she's holding a sai by the tip. Ready for throwing.

"I believe the time has come for a more thorough review of his accounts, and not only yours." the woman offers, almost casually. "I strongly suspect there will be a lot of red ink when the truth is revealed. Likely some blood as well. But taking the time to apply education has little value if the lesson is lost when the student expires."

Crossbones has posed:
She can't see him grin behind his mask but he nods, "Why don't you get out your books, chunk? Or do you have what it takes to man up and admit you're just a piece of shit fucking thief and save us some time?"

Raw Deal looks back and forth between the two of you, obviously nervous. He used to be a bad man, but now he's nearing fifty and gone to flab, his tattooed arms resting on the arms of his chair. "Look, maybe...we can work something out. If mistakes were made, mistakes were made, I'll own up to it, I ain't perfect, just...gimme a chance to make it right, huh? Ain't no reason to be all kill crazy about it."

Cheshire has posed:
"You book jobs for paid assassins, Mister Deal. How long did you honestly expect to be able to get away with skimming?" the woman asks, matter-of-factly.

There's a flick of her wrist and a flash of metal, the sai neatly stapling Deal's left forearm to the chair with a wet-sounding squish. There's surprisingly little blood, but then again the weapon isn't pulled out yet.

"Nevermind. We'll find the books ourselves." she declares. "Where are they?" And already she is moving over to start looking over file drawers.

Crossbones has posed:
"Judging by the red around his nose, I'm guessin' the extra money's been going up his nose. Can't trust a fuckin' junkie. My fault for not paying a personal visit sooner," Crossbones said.

The sai in his arm draws a ragged cry from the big man, pain and anger alike coloring his face. When Cheshire moves towards the files, Deal tries to make a move, hand darting beneath his desk and trying to pull out a handgun. Crossbones moves faster, reaching across and just pistol-whipping the man across the face, stunning him and knocking him back. The big man whimpers, "Cheshire...look...I'll double your payout, just...don't let him kill me."

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire starts opening file drawers, one at a time. She scans the tabs, as if trying to make sense out of Deal's filing system. "And miss the opportunity to kill you slowly myself? What a ludicrous idea." she replies. "In any case, if you shoot me you'll never get the antidote."

Of course the sai was poisoned.

The woman turns, flashing that creepy smile to them both. Or WAS it...?

Looking to the big guy who's now holding the pistol, she offers casually. "I don't believe we've met. Are you a pirate?"

Crossbones has posed:
Brock Rumlow snorts, keeping his gun levelled just to make sure Raw Deal stays in place. THe big guy's clearly realized he's in the deep end, blubbering and trying to shake his arm loose, only to wince as the blood runs thicker down his forearm.

"Crossbones," he said. "Pirate's the least of what I am, but I been that, too. Truth is, I'm sick o' in-betweens like this pud takin' too much of the share. I been workin' on puttin' together a crew to take the heavy jobs, the ones that take more'n one person. You seem like you know what you're doin'. Maybe we can have a drink and talk turkey once we've pulled out his giblets."

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire gives Crossbones her full attention now, closing the file drawer. "I care less about the money than the principle." she declares. "But I like the way you're thinking. Bigger jobs are always a bigger risk, but also a greater reward."

Stepping up to Deal, she puts a foot on his chest and grips the hilt of the sai that's buried in his forearm. A little twist brings a loud scream and a little more blood.

"You say he's cheated you out of fifty thousand? Finding the evidence in his files won't even pay our collective hourly rate, from the mess they're in."

The sai twists the other way. Another scream.

"Mister Deal, how much can you get your hands on in the next ten minutes? Your life may depend on it."

Crossbones has posed:
Raw Deal might have thought he had a chance against either one alone - probably not, he was always a second stringer, but he might have taken his chances - but both of them? He was boned and he knew it.

"I've got...safe. A safe in the floor, over in the corner. Door's hidden. I got half a mill in there, mostly gold. Take it, it's yours, just please, for fuck's sake, let me live, I get it, I just...I couldn't...Crossbones is right, I got a problem, I know I got a problem, but I'll get right, I promise, I'll get right and I won't do nothin' like it again, just lemme go, okay, lemme go and you'll never either one o' you see me again, swear it, I'll disappear, just please, please, gimme the cure, I don't wanna die," he blubbers.

"What a fucking pussy," Brock mutters, going over to take a look for that safe.

Cheshire has posed:
With a soft, crunchy-squish sound, Cheshire draws the sai out of the blubbering man's forearm. The wound only oozes, since she missed the major arteries, and she touches the wet tip to his cheek. "That all depends on Crossbones, really." she husks, leaning in close to gaze right into his eyes.

It's not a comforting feeling.

"Let me know when you've opened the safe."

Crossbones has posed:
Deal cradles his wounded arm, clutching it against his chest. Crossbones reaches down in the hole and there's a soft crack as he breaks the frame holding it in place, one muscles arm bulging a bit as he hauls the safe entirely out, "Just making sure it wasn't attached to any bombs or cutey little booby traps," he says, tossing it down with a clank. "Got a combination, fat boy, or should I crack it over your head?"

"I...I...25-35-45."

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire watches, deliberately wiping the bloody sai off on the big man's shirt. She pulls a small vial out of a thigh pouch, holding it up before Deal. "Let me know if your fingers start to lose feeling. That's one of the initial signs." she declares.

Crossbones has posed:
Crossbones spins open the lock and rolls the square over, letting it dump quite a few gold ingots and bundles of cash out. "Don't mind if I count it, huh?" he says. He starts to lay out the things in sequence and it becomes clear that he's deliberately taking his time and stretching it out to torment Deal.

"C'mon, it's all there! Please!"

"Don't rush me, you'll make me lose count."

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire grins, her gaze never once straying from the blubbering man in the chair. Balanced lightly on one foot, she raises the other one high to press the soft-soled boot against Deal's throat. Pressure eases his chair back, not to mention making it more difficult for him to talk.

"Quiet." she hisses. "Tell me more of your proposal, Crossbones. It really doesn't matter if Mr. Deal hears our discussion."

Crossbones has posed:
Brock Rumlow grins, "Ain't too complicated. I just get offers too big for a solo now and again. Benefit of a reputation. I been talkin' to a few other heavy hitters about maybe making an elite crew just for those jobs - split the money even, simple as that. No bosses, although I might make a plan or two here or there if nobody gets pissy about it. The kinda folks without much in the way o' scruples, preferably. You got any scruples, dollface?" he asks, continuing to stack gold coins as Deal starts to twitch a bit.

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire keeps her foot on Deal's throat, muffling a gurgled protest while she casually replaces the sai. "None that would be inconvenient." she replies. "I have been a mercenary for a while now. The only times that I've seen jobs go bad was when I was not involved in the planning."

Okay, so that's a pretty direct statement.

"You bring the offers and I will bring the plans."

Crossbones has posed:
Crossbones makes an even pair of piles, one for him and one for Cheshire. Both of them will make quite a handy profit out of it, more than either expected to pull out.

Rumlow reaches into the pocket of his armor and tosses a business card. It's just a phone number with his Jolly Roger emblem on it.

"Pick a phone you want to use and call that to get the number in my system. I'll be in touch," he says, gathering the loot and dumping it into a spare bag.

Cheshire has posed:
Cheshire catches the business card, then removes her foot from Deal's throat. Scooping her share of the loot into a pile, she gives the big man a nod. "I will call within the hour." she declares.

The woman finds a bag and dumps her share into it. Starting towards the door, she pauses and then puts the vial on the table. The smile returns as she addresses Deal. "A pleasure doing business with you."