6594/Manhunt: Subway Punishment

Manhunt: Subway Punishment
Date of Scene:	21 February 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Winter Soldier dangles himself as bait to lure out the person trying to kill him... and gets a lot more than he bargained for.
Cast of Characters:	Winter Soldier, Punisher

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Winter Soldier has posed:
His friends have vowed to help him deal with this guy, in one way or another. Knowing Steve Rogers, 'deal with' equates to 'disappointed expression and stern talking-to'....but that's okay. Steve is Steve, world without end, amen.

But they can't deal with this guy, by whatever method, until they know more about him. 'Man with a rifle and a scary-ass van' is not a sufficient descriptor, even for Skye the hacker. But how to find him?

By luring him out....or as the old tradecraft term goes, 'coat trailing'. He wants Bucky, so out goes Bucky to be seen. Not to parade down Fifth Avenue beating a big bass drum...no, he's hoping the guy will pop up somewhere there's always CCTV going, more or less. The New York subway system.

Buck's left Lili in the tender care of some soft-hearted SHIELD agent; no chancing that his dog gets hurt. So he's been wandering around the city, dressed in a too-large hoodie stolen from Steve, a black watch cap, old parka, jeans, and a battered backpack. The not-quite-homeless veteran look...and he's on his way to the VA, apparently. Maybe he intends toclaim his seventy-odd years of back pay.

Punisher has posed:
There are times the Punisher is interested in being subtle. Infiltration and assassination are things he did during his Force Recon days. You want to get into a hospital? Dress up as a doctor and you can inject poison into your targets as patients. There's no such thing as 'too cowardly' when it comes to taking out the trash for the Punisher.

Then there are those times when making a statement is just as important as taking out the trash. Those times, a trenchcoat and the skull vest are very, very public for a reason; he wants the underworld to fear him. CCTV in this case just helps with the show.

It's easy to tell this is bait for the Punisher. He's done it himself to hitmen, even. It's also easy to track his movements via those same cameras by Microchip, and plot an interception he can reach with the Battle Van in time.

Eventually, Bucky gets his wish. "Obvious bait if I ever saw it, Frank, but he's leaving the car now. You have a twenty second window to get his attention." Microchip declares over the transceiver as he watches the CCTV cameras for the station.

A man wearing a black trenchcoat steps out of a utility tunnel at the other end of the stop. He's carrying an obvious M4A1 in idle position... and the white skull on his vest is even more obvious. He's been waiting, and now he's in plain sight to Bucky. Punisher shouts down the way to him, "I'm flattered you think you can handle me yourself." He grates to the Winter Soldier. Unlike Bucky, he's not even trying to blend in... and the civilians who recognize him are running to get out of the way.

When the Punisher is going to work, there's hell to pay.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Cue the redtail hawk screaming, the tumbleweed bumbling by. Even if this showdown happens on the grimy pavement of a subway platform.

He's got his boots planted, having let the other passengers precede him out of the car. Poised, though, eyes wary as a wolf's. He reaches up and back, like an archer going for an arrow...but what comes out from the parka isn't a bow, but a little machine pistol, his signature Skorpion.

His voice is flat, dull, as he asks, "What is this for? Money? A bounty? Or did I kill someone you care about?" Stalling for time, letting the civilians scatter like frightened rats.

Punisher has posed:
"You know why you're being targeted. You jumped right to bounty, so you know you're guilty." Punisher states, simply. "The rest is just putting you down. You got lucky glowstick saved you last time."

The rifle is brought up to his shoulder, but not brought up to his eye, yet. Seems he's also waiting for the civilians to scatter. Say what you will about the Punisher; he's not interested in taking innocent lives.

When the area around Bucky clears for a clean shot, he snaps the red dot to his eye and fires off a burst of 5.56, aiming for Bucky's head.

Winter Soldier has posed:
The thing about being a shooter is that you've got to keep distance. Twenty feet or so. A distance the Soldier intends to close, it seems. Dodging through the last of the running civilians with that surprising nimbleness.

There's the almost musical pinging of the rounds ricocheting off the alloy hand. They destroy the glove, leaving the plate exposed and gleaming in the cold fluorescent light....and even as he runs, he's bringing the machine pistol to bear, firing off a burst in turn, aiming for jaw and throat. "Not now," he says, almost impatiently - but his tone is nearly conversational, rather than a frightened shriek. "I've got a lot to do, to unfuck what HYDRA did to me. The Soldier was their puppet, and I'm not him anymore."

Punisher has posed:
"Excuses!" Punisher roars as he runs to one side when the machine pistol is taken out. One hand takes a grenade from the gear web under his trenchcoat and tosses it to the ground, immediately saturing the area in smoke when it becomes clear Bucky intends to close the distance.

By the time Bucky gets to where the Punisher was, he's already out of sight somewhere.

Somewhere near the train tracks maybe? "You're a time bomb waiting to happen. I'm making sure it doesn't go off again. You've done enough damage."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"I'm cured," Now, of all things, there's a note of what might be laughter in his voice, albeit with a definite edge to it. "Steven bought the help of a god to destroy that construct. You're too late. The Soldier's already dead." That doesn't make any sense. Maybe in that cracked brain.

And as for the smoke....two can play at that game. When it clears, Bucky's nowhere to be seen. There're only bedraggled rats poking their noses out from under the platform.

Punisher has posed:
"Likely story, asshole." Punisher states as he peeks over the edge of the rainway tracks... before he makes a dash for one of the booths, eyes sharp, "More likely you're trying to bluff your way out of punishment and thinking I'm Idiot enough to fall for it."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Which is when there's the malevolent chatter of the machine pistol, rounds spraying from a point in the tunnel. As if he were trying to drive Frank back up towards the street exit. "Ask Steven Rogers," he insists, voice calm. "I bet you'd believe him, if you won't believe me."

Punisher has posed:
A few rounds graze his vest and face, and he's already running his rifle so he fires a stream of lead from his M4 in the direction Winter Soldier reveal himself from. Diving to one side, he slides over the booth and down into cover with a pained grunt, "The boy scout will say anything to pretend you're a friend again. I don't need him to lie to me."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"The boy scout wouldn't lie to you. He doesn't lie to anyone," The voice from the tunnel sounds pained that anyone would impugn Steve's honesty. "It's the truth, killer."

A last burst, and then the pistol falls silent again. Nothing more from the darkness of the tunnel. He doesn't seem inclined to show his face in the light.

Punisher has posed:
Unfortunately for Bucky, Punisher is very good with grenades... and the telltale 'clickclink' can be heard as he throws a fragmentation out of cover and bounces it off a pillar into the tunnel. "It's amazing how much bullshit you people listen too."

Winter Soldier has posed:
There's silence. Then the *woomf* of the explosion...followed by its aftermath. An alarm starts to blare, echoing off the tile and concrete. Pity the poor transit workers who have to deal with that wreckage.

Perhaps that put paid to the Soldier, for neither rounds nor speech come echoing out of the tunnel. The station's boards all change to reflect the line closing down - some automated system has been tripped....and now there's the sound of booted feet on the stairs. Transit cops, coming in to investigate.

Punisher has posed:
"Microchip, find him. He's in the tunnels or going topside." Frank grates over the transceiver as he heads back into the utility tunnels and starts to follow the tunnel parallel.

It's gonna be a chase of cat and mouse underground, it seems.

Winter Soldier has posed:
There's the sound of running feet...but from behind. Shouts from the cops to stop and drop his weapons. Frank's the last man standing in that particular station and at the very least, a suspect. Not afraid to venture into that darkness - the bobbing beams of flashlights spear into the gloom, casting bright circles on the wall of the track tunnel's curve.

No sign of the Soldier, though. He must be long gone down into the underground.

Punisher has posed:
This would be where the Punisher screams in rage if he didn't need to evade the police now. "I'm being herded into the tunnel and will be out of contact for a bit, Micro. Find him." Punisher grates in frustration as he slings his rifle and takes out his M9 pistol.

Time to disappear.