6734/Caffeine and Vigilantism

Caffeine and Vigilantism
Date of Scene:	02 March 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Ekaterina Vespucci, Punisher

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Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
The Contessa Ekaterina Vespucci is at her favorite coffee house in Queens lined up at the counter after the Art History class she taught at the local community college. She is dressed up in cheap clothes wintery clothes with her little beanie cap her small frame almost always cold. Despite being close to a billionaire Kat always dresses down. Looking like a normal Manhattenite. She gets bustled to the front her large cornflower eyes wide and eager as she orders her long black and Italian Donut. She's filthy cute Kat but otherwise unremarkable. She moves to try and find a table to put down the large amount of gear weighing down her tiny frame.

Punisher has posed:
Even with the Punisher being as mobile as he is, New York is still ground zero for his war. Down in Gotham briefly to put down some targets of opportunity, events down there have had Frank very concerned. Concerned enough to start talking to contacts about current events. Giant robots that go berserk? That's a recipe for disaster, and the fear has driven people to bring them into the US already.

Clad in a black trenchcoat and beanie, Frank has dressed up pretty well for the cold, and has come to the coffee house Ekaterina seems to enjoy. With a casual gait, Frank waits for her coffee to be served before he comes up from behind her, and sits down. "Been a while." The Punisher offers as he leans back into his chair.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat is as chipper as ever smiling sweetly at Frank. At one stage Frank 'saved her' and since then she had had a soft spot for him. The one complicating factor being it was next to impossible to kill her so saving her was rarely necessary. "Too long. How are you Frank? I've only heard fleeting reports of a few low lives disappearing here and there. You here about this giant robot problem?"

Punisher has posed:
"Well enough. Planning, going to work. My gunfights on the streets are the only thing most see." Frank offers in explanation, before he leans forward onto the table and folds his hands. "Anyone with a brains concerned of the giant homocidal robots. I'm reaching out to some other friends, but you're more tied into the gun game. I figured you'd know something about where these things are coming from."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Highly autonomous and effective as well as huge. They'd have to have govenrment or corporate backing or both to be able to produce these things on Earth unless they are nonterrestrial. There's a wide spectrum of possibilities. If I got ahold of a downed one I might be able to get my tech people to look at it. As it stands I'm just glad I am out of the firing line. I had a very public incident where a biomechanical monstrosity killed me in public in Central Park and I gave some EMTs a heart attack by coming back to life two minutes later. Not fun." Speculation Ekaterina hadn't heard too much. "Want to grab a coffee?"

Punisher has posed:
"I know a tech genius, I'll be fine in that department." Frank notes, "his name is Microchip. I don't know if you've heard of him." Then, he taps a finger on the table, "I'm not so sure anyone is out of the firing line. Those robots went after people without authorization from the owner."

His eyes squint just slightly, "who's to say they won't go further? A little reprogramming, and these things could turn into killers on a massive scale. We already have legions of the things in the military from all those sleepers." He shakes his head, "What I need is a target. Do you know where the ones in Gotham came from?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Microchip. So you've been working with him? He's a ghost I hear." Continuing Kat shrugs "I'm in the dark on this one Frank. Give me a little time and I can spread a bit of money around. Perhap's make some queries. I know a great Private Detective. That might be a little slow for you. Maybe you should try and take one of these things down? It might be possible to see a pattern in these attacks? I haven't been offered one of these thingd on the black market yet."

Punisher has posed:
"I normally don't give out his name, but I trust you well enough." Frank taps his fingers on the table from left to right, "I'll need heavy ordinance to take them down. Even .50 anti-material rounds only made some dents. I'll have to setup a massive artillery ambush for it... and I'll need a target."

He stops the tapping, "At this point, I'll take any intel I can get. They were a bit of a surprise when I first saw them in Gotham, and the Berrett wasn't enough for a quick kill. If you do get one, I could use it for testing. See what it takes to put these things down quickly."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"I appreciate your confidence," Kat says smiling. "You're gonna need a next tier weapon then - topping the Barrett is a tall order top billing since 1991 as the best sniper rifle in the world," Kat knows this as all good Art History Professors do. "How about something with a bit more explosive kick? It may be in an inhabited area but with people fleeing and the robots active it's hardly a collatoral damage situation. Or a more high tech energy weapon. I have dealt in those internationally. Got some stockpiled. Thewy are a little above my paygrade in terms of their mehanics and I am not sure how they fare against advanced armored nonoreganic targets."

Punisher has posed:
"If I can be precise with it, I'm willing to give it a go. Artillery is a crapshoot with the potential collatoral, every time." Frank agrees, before he looks down to the table, visibly thinking. Then, he looks back up to her. "Give me a crash course on maintenance and the do's and don'ts, and if it's man-portable, I'll give it a try."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"That's gonna take a trip to my warehouse and a consult with my head of security," alot of Kat's people were former military and seemed to respect Frank. "Of course I'm going to have to figure out how to explain the loss. Defective product maaybe? Exploded upon firing?"

Punisher has posed:
"It's your business, I'm not going to tell you how to run it. So far, you've been up front about your activities, and I can appreciate that." Frank concedes, before he nods, "Most firearms are intuitive by design, and I make it a point to train for anything new... so we can schedule a meeting when you have something for me."

At this point, Frank stands, "I might have that coffee one day, but right now, I have other matters to attend to. The war goes on, and I need to head off the trash before these robots have a serious presence."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Well you have my number. Lets work around your schedule. Give me a call when it works best for you. My nights are tantilisingly free," Kat says with a wink to Frank. She didn't sleep much. "Keep safe... or if not you know... keep alive," she offers by way of parting.