7881/Late night outings

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Late night outings
Date of Scene: 14 June 2019
Location: An otherwise unremarkable warehouse in the Gotham City shipping district
Synopsis: Selene and her Death Dealers go to retrieve a particularly dangerous artifact from the smugglers that have it. They're not the only ones interested.
Cast of Characters: Shadow, Selene (Underworld)




Shadow has posed:
    Despite the Bat-clan's best efforts, Gotham still sports a depressingly high crime rate. In their defense, the amount of [i]violent[/i] crime is actually well below the national average, but Gotham's location makes it a perfect natural funnel point for moving goods into or out of the Tri-state area, and as such the local organized crime scene takes grateful advantage of the Bats' preoccupation with the more colourful villains to maintain several smuggling rings.

    Which is probably why a rogue faction of the Nordic coven thought it would be the perfect mortal patsy to transport the Chalice of Voydn as part of a mundane artifact smuggling shipment through it.

    They weren't nearly as clever about it as they thought, and Selene's Death Dealers caught up with the coven renegades in their safehouse. Unfortunately, by the time they did the Chalice was already gone.

    Fortunately, one of the renegades was captured alivesufficiently intact to answer questions, and Selene now knows both the name of the mortal outfit that the shipment has been entrusted to, and the warehouse where it is being stored until it's moved on tomorrow.

    The night is still young, and the safehouse burns nicely behind her as she ponders directions to the warehouse district...

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene dusts off her hands and has her back to the flames. That safehouse burns incredibly well, she's found out. Knowing the address is one thing. Getting there's a whole other issue as Selene sets her mind to figuring it out. She's taken several of her favored Death Dealers with her, leaving several behind to erase any evidence....and set off through Gotham. Selene's on her bike, and the Death Dealers have brought along their own transport.

     Selene's leading them to the warehouse, she was smart enough to find a map. It takes the better part of a half hour, but she gets to a block from the warehouse and rolls up silently. That's one thing a bike has going....then she refires the bike and laughs softly. The three Death Dealers she's picked to come along with her have been put on protection duty. Which is, simply, keep yourselves alive.

     Selene rides through the gate and produces her pistol in hand, signalling with her left hand. She's planning to make this quick, and find out any and all information along the way. Capture. Not kill. Or at least get every scrap of information that she can. If it leads to a warehouse full of dead mortals.....they were not innocent, they knew what they were doing, and they had it coming. Selene's got a way of justifying what's going to happen.

Shadow has posed:
    Her fellow Death Dealers nod and spread out, keeping to the shadows and encircling the warehouse, covering Selene's approach from several angles.

    The warehouse is much less subtly concealed than the safehouse was, with several obviously armed guards standing around outside looking decidedly nervous. Granted, Selene is not exactly an expert in mortal laws, but even if owning submachineguns is legal, holding them at the ready like these are would be bound to draw attention, which one would think is the last thing a discreet smuggling ring would want. Perhaps they're less concerned about the law than they are about whatever they hope those guns will protect them from...

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene watches for a moment and motions the Death Dealers to deal with the guards, and slides off her bike, her silver and black pistol in her right hand, she draws a bead on the nearest guard and pulls the trigger, three bullets slice through the air as Selene's aim is true. The guard stumbles and goes down, Whirling, Selene has a trick up her sleeve. A shuriken zips across the outside of the warehouse and embeds itself in the neck of another guard. Selene turns and fires again, three more shots at the next guard. Selene moves in a blur. the sub machine gun bullets slam into the spot where Selene was. She's already up on the roof, finding a way into the warehouse. She's amused by the fact nobody thinks of the skylights and windows. Why take the front door when Selene can get in from the roof? The Death Dealers are with her, as Selene's whispering to them, then gestures down into the warehouse.

Shadow has posed:
    "What the fu-" is all one guard gets out, while another's last shouted gasp before one of Selene's death dealers falls on him from behind is a slightly cryptic "That ain't him" -- but the entire 'fight', such as it is, is over within thirty seconds.

    More concerning is the warehouse interior; all of the windows are suddenly brightly lit -- and judging by the slightly bluish tint, at least part of that light is ultraviolet enough to be a potential problem...

    ... At least until a loud gunshot echoes inside the warehouse and the light from one window blazes, them dims, a crescendo of shorting circuitry and shattering glass almost drowned out by sinister laughter. Subsequent shouts are more indistinct, and from the sound of it multiple guns are opening up inside the warehouse...

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Up on the roof, Selene is watching the skylight and staying up on the roof. She has a better idea however as one of her Death Dealers has found the generator. Selene nods to it. Selene watches as the generator ceases to be a thing any more. Selene watches and looks impressed, looking through the skylights as she waits for her moment. Given the generator got mauled by a Death Dealer, and....sort of quit working, Selene's waiting and watching. Just to be sure, the power cable leading to the generator gets slashed as well, as Selene keeps a watch through the skylight.

Shadow has posed:
    The mortals in the room below do not react well to the loss of light. Their guns fall silent on e by one, and they start backing up, clustering almost nervously in the approximate center of the warehouse, glancing around for... something.

    ... "Something" finds them first, however, as the blurry outline of an arm appears to fade into existence right next to one of them just long enough to grab his collar and fling him into two of his comrades. The others turn to the noise and open fire, but the bullets spang against the far wall and the muzzle flashes only briefly illuminate a shadow skittering away well ahead of the shots...

    ...And that same sinister laughter echoes through the room again, from no point of origin Selene can discern, causing the mobsters to jump once more.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Glancing incied the skylight again, Selene hears all this and watches it. She looks amused at the guards getting scared, and finds a way into the warehouse.....she lands, watching the mortals....then zips a shuriken at them, then fires three bullets at the group of guards. Selene's not playing around....and is solely here to get the Chalice and go home.

Shadow has posed:
    That shouldn't be a problem, as the mobsters are well and truly distracted trying to deal with the near-invisible assailant in their midst. Blurry strikes and kicks coming out of nowhere, attempted return strikes either hitting nothing but air or being brushed almost contemptuously aside. Whoever and whatever is doing this seems to have matters well in hand.

    That's the good news. The bad news is that there are a /lot/ of crates here. The renegade did know what specific marker to look for, but it's still a lot of crates to check...

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Crates. Crates....and.....more crates. it's a warehouse. Selene expected crates. Just not /this/ many crates, as she shakes her head and kneels by one and shakes her head and sighs. "Okay. Now where do we begin?" she asks the Death Dealers. "We need to find the Chalice" she says then begins to march up and down the rows of crates, seeing if she can sense where the Chalice is. It's a colder, colder, warmer, warmer type thing and Selene's paying attention to it....then shakes her head, she's hoping the mobsters are kept well in check. She's grateful for the help keeping the mobsters occupied however...as Selene is going up and down the rows of crates.

Shadow has posed:
    ... Nope... Nope... Getting closer... Nope... Nope... There. And yes, that's the symbol the renegade mentioned on the lid. This should be the one.

    Of course, as focused as Selene is on her search she doesn't quite pay attention to the fight going on behind her aside from moving slightly out of the way of a body being flung against the crates she was searching... So the sudden and very close sound of a gun being cocked comes as something of a surprise.

    "And who might you be?" the gun's owner asks.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene doesn't move a muscle. "I'm Selene, and I am not here for a fight. I'm here to recover an artifact and get out of here" she says. While she speaks, the Death Dealers have their own weapons aimed as Selene keeps her head down keeping her attention on the crates. She's still keeping her attention on the crates....and the Chalice, too.

Shadow has posed:
    Shadows and mist twist and coalesce, solidifying into the shape of a tall figure in a black greatcoat holding what appears to be a very heavy pistol aimed at Selene's head while around the pair she can hear the sounds of her people's weapons being cocked and aimed.

    "I am known as the Shadow," comes the response, apparently unruffled by the amount of firepower aimed at them. "Does this artifact belong to you? These gentlemen made something of a living out of transporting items that weren't theirs on behalf of others who didn't wish to be associated with them."

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's quiet for a moment, considering the Shadow's words. "Does the Chalice belong to me? No. It's Eastern European. However, it is a dangerous, powerful artifact and it needs to be taken out of circulation," Selene says with a certain tone to her voice, not wanting to fight. Instead she's reasoning with the Shadow.



     "I was making sure vampires don't get their hands on ancient chalices," Selene says. Truth. Not quite going into the whole 'burned a safehouse' part of it. Or rogue vampires from the Nordic coven. Selene though shakes her head. "Look, if the Nordic vampires get their hands on this chalice... It's bad. It's end of the world bad, it's rogue vampires slaughtering the world, sailing over the ocean, landing on these shores and start killing," she says with anger in her voice. "I don't want to have to fight two things at once, Shadow," Selene says. If she can prevent the Nordic coven from doing that....then.....she's doing the right thing. In her own eyes, though naturally others will disagree.

     "So what" Selene asks. "Do you suggest we do with a dangerous artifact that's been moved by humans?" she adds and smiles, "I'm listening, and I'm wanting to make sure that we" she says, "You, me, our friends" she says, using that term loosely, "In the warehouse, do the right thing right now and protect everyone"

Shadow has posed:
    There's a very tense pause, pregnant with the potential for violence and death, as the Shadow's eyes bore into Selene's, seeming to look beneath the skin and weigh not just her words, but her intentions and very soul...

    And then the gun is lowered. "... Very well. Take it and go -- they may have bribed the cops to look the other way, but this much gunfire will be responded to. I recommend you be gone within the next ten minutes if you do not wish to either explain or shoot your way out through a number of very tense policemen.."

    The Shadow steps back, already fading from view. "A word of advice. These lands are protected - and those who protect them would likely appreciate advance warning of an invasion of vampires from Europe. At the very least, it would likely make your job easier if you don't have to worry about getting shot at by third parties at the same time..."

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
"Then show me where the Chalice is. We need to warn people" she says and listens as sirens are faintly audible on the air. "We need to work together and get the word out. The vampires that were in that safehouse that caught fire earlier were just scouts. They were here to report back. I'm guessing. Point is. We need to even" Selene says making a disgusted face like she's sucking on a lemon with battery acid and nails. "Reach out to our enemies and truce with them. We are....if anything, more powerful with Lycans than without. And it means less to fight" Selene says, hoping that this'll even remotely work.

    "Shadow, I know you can hear me. Will you help us with this problem?" she asks softly, almost pleadingly. She's worried...and that for Selene is not a good thing

Shadow has posed:
    For a while, there is silence, and the only movement is one of Selene's Death Dealers picking up the manifest from one of the bodies and searching through it briefly before pointing at one particular crate. Then a series of digits form out of shadows across the wood of the crate, spelling out a phone number briefly before vanishing as silently as they'd appeared.

    "Gotham belongs to the Bat. He will almost certainly be investigating the deaths here. I recommend you contact him to explain before he finds you." There's an ominous chill in that voice, as well as an utter certainty that Batman will find them once he starts looking. "You'll need him as an ally. And you cannot afford to have him as an enemy."

    The voice echoes off the walls of the warehouse, making it impossible to locate the source even as it seems to be fading...

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene nods and commits the number to memory, listening keenly. "So I need to contact Batman and let him explain things" she says gently, "Got it. Who else...and what are you going to do?" she adds, looking around again. The sirens are getting louder as Selene really thinks getting caught is a bad, bad idea.

Shadow has posed:
    No answer is forthcoming, and one of the Death Dealers carefully removes the Chalice from the crate it was in, then signals that it's time to get out of here if they want to leave without encountering the police.

    By the time the cops arrive, the warehouse is deserted, leaving only the bodies and the wreckage behind.

    Speculation will be rife; some of the victims had known or suspected connections to organized crime, and there are significant discrepancies between the cargo's actual contents and the official manifests, so the main theory will likely involve a smuggling deal gone bad, but what was being smuggled, and to where, and who disagreed?

            Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?