6993/Negotiating in the shadows.

Negotiating in the shadows.
Date of Scene:	22 March 2019
Location:	A grocery somewhere in NYC
Synopsis:	A hostage situation in a grocery store is efficiently resolved by not one, but two beings who call the shadows home.
Cast of Characters:	Shadow, Dusk

---

Shadow has posed:
    Word of the day is "Sunk Cost Fallacy" -- the dillema when you're way down the hole on a lousy hand, you're almost certain that your opponent has better cards because they've been calling your bluff, but if you fold now you'll be out the $500 you already ante'd, whereas if you raise to $600 you might still win, and so on...

    In much the same kind of incautious escalation, Nick and Eddie have managed to turn a simple botched attempt at armed robbery into a tense hostage situation. So far, no one's died, but Nick sounds frantic enough that the SWAT commander on the scene is confident that he /will/ start shooting if someone makes a move. A hostage negotiator is reportedly underway, and right now his main concern is to keep the area cordoned off, give rote 'no comment on an ongoing situation' answers to the press and keep everyone from doing anything particularly stupid before the negotiator gets here...

Dusk has posed:
It's not all that light out, and the shadows are long. unseen, an invisible presence makes her way over to look in the windows, following the shadows cast by a streetlight. Hmph. Stores are kept pretty well lit from all sorts of different directions. Still, there are a few here and there.

For now, the police seem like they have a plan to deal with this, so the unseen presence isn't in so much of a rush as she might be.

Shadow has posed:
    The good news is that the situation seems... Well, 'stable' is perhaps the wrong word, but at least static. As long as the SWAT team doesn't make any sudden moves, Nick probably won't start shooting hostages. And as long as Nick and Eddie aren't actively shooting hostages, the SWAT team is content to wait it out.

    The bad news is that neither Nick nor Eddie are particularly rational thinkers at the best of times. And right now is not the best of times.

    ... Oh, and one of the shadows by the side of the building just moved despite a lack of anything casting it. No one but Cassie seems to have noticed this last bit, though...

Dusk has posed:
Dusk pays attention to shadows. And that one definitely moved. How interesting. She makes sure to keep an eye on that shadow along with watching Nick. If it was just Nick, she would already be on her way, but the other guy adds some complication to the mix. And ten people might be a bit much for her to carry at once, so she'd rather not try the other way.

Shadow has posed:
    There's a lot you can learn from shadows if you know how to look at them - like Cassie does. For instance, this shadow isn't moving like it's moving on its own, but like it's being cast by something that's moving. Something mostly humanoid in shape, moving at a human pace, heading for the shattered window...

Dusk has posed:
Dusk casually steps in behind the creator of the shadow as it intersects the shadow she is in, following behind. Invisible. Noiseless. Not radiating heat or breath. Once in the store, there's a shadow of a shelf, and she slips into that one. Well, that makes /that/ easier...

Shadow has posed:
    The inside of the store is quiet enough that the muffled sobs of one of the hostages desperately trying to keep quiet is almost as audible as Nick's frantic near-hyperventilating and Eddie swearing under his breath as he tries to look alert while he patrols the aisles.

    "Shit. Shit. Shit. This wasn't supposed to happen, man, this is fucked, we're..."

    "Shut up!" Nick interupts him, ignoring the way everyone cowers at his twitches. "Shut the fuck up! We gotta get out of this. I ain't going to jail!"

    "Would you prefer the morgue, Nicky?" comes a sudden question from... Nowhere. Dark. Malicious. Almost taunting. Echoing among the shelves, causing robbers and hostages alike to look around in confusion. "Because that's the only other way out of here for you, if you pull that trigger..."

    Nick - Nicky? - is no longer aiming at the hostages, but it's unclear whether that's a good thing because now he's pointing the gun anywhere and nowhere as he looks for the source of that voice. "What the fuck? Who's there?"

    "Who do you think it is, Nicky? Who could this be? Who would KNOW?"

    "... Oh fuck..." Eddie whimpers, almost inaudibly, shotgun shaking in his hands.

Dusk has posed:
Ah! This must be the one everyone keeps confusing me with. Well. They can keep an eye on the guy with the shotgun for the moment, can't they?

Cloaklike wings like star-speckled Vantablack encircle Nick and rise up around him in the arms of a hole in the light of the room in the shape of a girl who is suddenly just kind of.. there.

Within the folds of the wings, Nick screams in panic, firing off rounds that sound like they are underwater, muffled. One, two, three, four, five, six, *click* *click*. The bullets go unaccounted for, lost forever in the void.

"Naughty, naughty. You won't be needing that where you're going."

The wings, Dusk, and Nick implode in a rapidly fading ball of stars in perfect darkness.

>shrrrpt!<

    ...and suddenly, they are gone without a trace.

>bleeenk!<
Nick suddenly falls from the air, not from a horribly high distance but high enough to not land on his feet, directly in front of the SWAT team.
>shrrrpt!<

Shadow has posed:
    Interestingly enough, the SWAT team's immediate reaction mirrors that of Nick and Eddie earlier -- a lot of startled shouts -- but unlike the would-be robbers they're professionals, and Nick is tackled before his now-empty gun hits the ground.

    That just leaves Eddie inside with the hostages and whoever that is...

        *CRASH*

    ... Or maybe not, as Eddie comes backward out the door in a shower of safety glass, skidding to a halt about halfway to the cordon.

    The SWAT commander, to his credit, only needs a moment to deal with his surprise, then starts giving orders. "... That's both of them. Go!" Two officers peel off to secure Eddie while the others move into the building. It's not long after that that the 'all clear' is given, and as rescue workers come crowding in to care for the hostages, only Dusk is paying enough attention to notice that there's one more shadow moving out of the building than there are people to account for...

Dusk has posed:
It's a spur of the moment decision to step back into that shadow and tag along. One, Dusk is curious. Two, well. What good is it being an undead mistress of the shadows if you don't get to give your fellow nyctophiles a jump scare now and then? She looks at the lights and follows along as the police recede into the background.

Shadow has posed:
    It's... odd. She can see /exactly/ where the person casting this shadow should be and how they're moving. And she's technically walking close enough that she ought to be bumping into them by accident on occasion. And yet... She doesn't. Even more oddly, neither does anyone else as they walk down the street -- there are some pedestrians either heading toward the commotion or away from it, and she's so far spotted at least two that walked /around/ them without even registering that they were doing so...

    Whoever it is turns another corner and slows to a halt at the edge of the pavement.

Dusk has posed:
Dusk waits patiently. Someone seems to be waiting for a ride. Well, that seems like a quieter place than out in public. And cars are full of shadows. Or trucks, or vans, or whatever it's going to turn out to be. She considers ways to get into the far seat first. Probably some subtle distraction. A touch on the far shoulder, maybe. Or just teleporting into the seat, she supposes, if that fails.

Shadow has posed:
    Traffic on these side streets is a lot lighter, but not uncommon. And if she hadn't been paying such careful attention, the utterly unremarkable taxi that pulls up to the sidewalk would probably not even have registered on her awareness. As it is, it takes her almost a second to realize that she heard passenger door open and shut, and the shadows she's standing in are just a little emptier than they were a moment ago...

Dusk has posed:
"Clever." Dusk considers the only car it could have been. Shrugs a moment. Her teammates have complained that she's a very seat of the pants kind of girl, and how can she possibly not live up to their expectations?
>shrrrpt!<

The unoccupied seat is suddenly filled with a flash of dark swirl, followed by Vantablack girl shape. >bleeenk!<

"So you're the one everybody keeps confusing me with. Hi."

Shadow has posed:
    The cab driver - an elderly man that looks so much like a stereotypical New York cabbie that Dusk can already imagine a Brooklyn accent even though he hasn't spoken a word yet - barely misses a beat, glancing up at the rear view mirror for a moment to look at the second passenger before turning his attention back to the road, taking a left turn at the next intersection.

    Meanwhile, the tall figure in the dark coat is looking at Dusk through narrowed eyes -- the only part of their face visible between the slouch hat and the crimson scarf.

    "Good evening. I take it you were the one responsible for Nick's sudden disappearance?" they ask. "Expertly done."

Dusk has posed:
"Of course. I didn't get back to see what happened to the other one, so that must have been expertly done, too." Dusk offers a pitch black veiled hand. "You can call me Dusk. Or whatever. The company is good now and then. It's hard looming in the shadows if nobody cares to look."

Shadow has posed:
    A leather-gloved hand clasps hers. "Well met. I am known as the Shadow," the other figure replies, brows crinkling into what is probably a smile underneath that scarf. "I take it you're relatively new in town? I don't recall hearing of you before today..."

Dusk has posed:
Dusk tilts her head. "I've been traveling. Trying to solve a mystery. Now, people assume that I'm you." She glances out the window as the cityscape passes by. She considers. "I'm sure it isn't hurting your reputation at all."

Shadow has posed:
    It becomes obvious quickly that the cabbie is driving more or less aimlessly - cordial as the Shadow might be, Dusk isn't getting invited to their secret lair or hidden base or whatever they might have tonight.

    The Shadow lets out a chuckle. "My very existence is still a matter of debate in some circles," they reply. "Some people still think I'm just a scary story criminals have made up to cover for something else."

    That brings a snort from the cabbie. "An' then there's the clowns that think the Boss is either a vampire, secretly Batman, or both..."

Dusk has posed:
Dusk blinks innocently. "You mean you aren't? I wanted to meet the person who's reputation I was accidentally adjusting. And now? I'm all schoolgirl giggly. It's like meeting Andrea Jackson. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again." She grins under her mask, then does a Cheshire Cat impression in front of you.

>bleenk!<

Shadow has posed:
    "... Well," The cabbie eventually states. "That was a thing that happened. Think she's really gone, Boss?"

    "... I believe so," the Shadow replies, reaching up to remove their hat and scarf. "Back to the Sanctum, Benny," Natasha continues. "I have to make a few calls..."

    Benny nods silently and turns the next corner while Natasha leans back in her seat, pondering what she's learned today and how to deal with the revelations.

    After all, Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?