8259/The Light: Bringing the Darkness into the Light

The Light: Bringing the Darkness into the Light
Date of Scene:	11 July 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Jackie Estacado AKA The Darkness is hired into the ranks of The Light. The Irony is not lost on Jackie or L1.
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, Darkness

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Lex Luthor has posed:
It's been a long time coming, really. Lex had hired Jackie before, both for his services... and as a test of ability. Lex /always/ does extensive research on potential hires if he can help it, and Jackie was no different. His archive of dossiers is massive, and Jackie is no exception to it. Mercy had spent the better part of a year tracking down information, leads, sightings. There were bribes aplenty to keep silence, and to gain the information he needed.

In the end, Lex felt the resources were well spent, with a good inventory of what Jackie can do... and the invitation was sent out via email to him.

"Mr. Estacado. We know what you are, and what you can do. Come to Gotham, warehouse 5, pier 7. You'll know the one. Don't, and you will regret it, and not in the way you think."

If Jackie takes the invitation... it's pretty obvious which one it is: It's the one completely filled with light... with floodlights on the rooftop pointing downwards.

Whoever it is, they know Jackie well enough to know the one way to completely counter his powers.

Darkness has posed:
A year. A year of sorting through the wreckage, bodies and broken dreams that are left in the wake of Jackie Estacado. If he knew the extent of it all, he may actually be inclined to feel pity for Mercy. Lord knows that would be the first time Jackie felt anything remotely for mercy. Still, the resources gathered pointed toward something truly extraordinary. Something timeless. Something terrible.

The invitation was sent and recieved. Jackie mulled it over for all of an hour before finally accepting the oh so generous offer.

"-Maybe it's that Puerto Rican girl with the...-"

"-Naaaah, she's mad at the boss.-"

"-Yeah but she had friends! Juicy, loud and fleshy friends.-"

Jackie smirked amusedly at the chattering Darklings. Himself remaining silent on the drive over. Car left two blocks over, Jackie Estacado chirps the alarm. A nice stroll takes the renowned Hitman(young as he is) to... The Warehouse.

Lighting a cigarette, he shakes his head in underwhelming sadness. "Gonna be like that, is it?" Armed. Cocky as the night is dark. Jackie Estacado walks into the warehouse. Black suit and tie. Dark overcoat. Classic look.

Lex Luthor has posed:
The warehouse itself is empty, save for the table in the middle of it... and the dozen state-of-the-art soldiers above, on the catwalks. Fitted in the latest in PMC armor and wielding shotguns, carbines and submachineguns af all sorts... it was obvious that whoever paid for all this was sending a clear message; I'm not fucking around on this.

The table itself has one chair, and a small holo-projector on it. Jackie might recognize it from The Voice from a year ago.

One of the soldiers above speaks, a voice mask keeping him anonymous, "Turn it on."

Darkness has posed:
Hard soled leather shoes clack lightly with his steps. Tall, imposing even when not wreathed in the void, Jackie Estacado walks through the punishingly bright halogen and flourescent glow. One hand in his pocket, the other occupied by his cigarette. Menthol. A brow arches as he surveys the guards and soldiers with a wary side eye.

"Doesn't look like your sister, not sure how." Laconic baritone voice, Jackie puts off the image of terminal boredom and endless calm. It's the only play when -actually- out gunned. Pulling the chair out, Jackie ashes on the table top before... turning on the device.

Lex Luthor has posed:
A blue image of a man slowly builds from the projector... and within moments, a male figure with his hands behind his back in a formal posture can be seen... though his body is completely obscured of detail by the blue and white light of the avatar. No features can be seen. "Hello again, Mr. Estacado." The synthetic voice can be heard, "The mercenaries you see around you are for my protection, as well as yours. As long as there are no hostile movements, think of them as hi-tech decoration."

There's a chuckle, then the figure looks directly at Jackies eyes, "I admit, when I first got the report on your activities from my investigators... I didn't know what to make of you. Someone of your power, just a hitman for underworld interests? I get the impression your ambitions are mainly hedonistic, though. Am I wrong?"

Darkness has posed:
Sunglasses at night is a look most often left for Jack Nicholson and Jack alone. Reaching into his jacket, Jackie Estacado throws that rule aside and slips on a pair of dark shades. A long drag off his cigarette, he watches with lazy interest as the hologram builds.

"I don't like decorations that remember things." He says flatly before looking up to the catwalk. Counting down the bodies. All this light, blinding and pervasive and yet still shadow will remain. He just has to find it. Exhaling plumes of grey from his nostrils in a chuckling snort, shaking a pointed finger and burning Newport at the hologram avatar.

"Ah. It's one of -those- talks." Shifting in his seat, Jackie crosses legs ankle over knee. An eyebrow arched above the frame of blacked out sunglasses. "Close. You forgot my 401K." Tapping ash into the hologram, Jackie smirks wryly. Smug. Yet still curious. Always. "I have hungers just as any man would. But we both know that once you hit a plateau, you gotta start looking for bigger. Better."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"That depends on the person and their ambitions, but I understand your meaning." The Voice says... before he tilts his head just so, "What if I were to offer you a higher ceiling than you could imagine with an organization that pays well. I'd be very interested in retaining you long term."

The figure disappears, with L1 replacing it. "You can call me L1. I represent a group of vast resources, knowledge, and ambitions looking for talented individuals to advance our agendas. You can call us The Light, and we're interested in retaining you."

Darkness has posed:
Jackie has heard talks like these before. Usually much more frantic. No, wait. That's a different talk. This is... similar. Jackie Estacado leans forward to stab out his cigarette onto the tabletop beside that glittering hologram. "What if..?" Settling back in the seat, Jackie turns his gaze upward. Each soldier in turn keeping a long stare all to himself. There. Inside gun barrels. Inside face masks. Back behind parted lips. Darkness. The smile creeping across his lips is anything but warm and sunny.

"I'd say that I am listening." Outside the warehouse, shadows deepen. Dark corners shiver with anticipation, testing the limits of all this blinding illumination. Inside the warehouse, Jackie Estacado greets L1 with a nod of acceptance. "The Light. Wants me. The irony is fucking beautiful." Licking his lips, Jackie pauses for a lingering moment. Leather gloved fingers drumming on the tables edge. Then.... stopped. "I won't cut ties with the Franchetti's. Family is important in a mans life, L1. I'm sure you understand the -importance- of Loyalty. All this, of course, assuming that our goals align. Our wants. And what does The Light want me to do for it?"

Lex Luthor has posed:
"They're welcome to have association with us. We bring knowledge, order, resources to the ignorant. We are the Enlightened among Earth who can and will usher in a golden age for our societies." L1 informs Jackie.

Outside, the two posted sentries in the corners watch as the shadows start to deepen... and they frown under their masks, "Sir, we have shadow powers at work out here... low grade right now, but they're deepening." one of the mercenaries informs Lex via transceiver.

Inside, there's a pause as Lex listens. "Mr. Estacado, are you planning on attacking these highly trained soldiers?"

Darkness has posed:
Lex Luthor is most likely used to certain reactions from people. Expected and accounted for. Even when dealing with gods, monsters and everything in between with their insufferable self assurance... but what Jackie does next, he may not be ready for.

He laughs.

An abrupt, sharp bark of laughter ends with a weary chuckle and a gloved finger wiping a tear from his eye. "I have got to tell you, for an organization that supposedly did their homework on me, that's pretty damned funnny." Shaking his head, chuckling under a breath, he rummages in pockets for lighter and cigarettes already. The man enjoys his vices. "Jackie Estacado. Ushering in a golden age of enlightenment. The fuck is this nonsense? Do I appear to be a man who cares about the enlightenment of humanity?"

The pause and question from L1 brings a light, appologetic chuckle and nod. He lights up, voice strained but a smile remains all thesame before he smokily exhales. "Just seeing how observant you are. These boys here though? They're mine now." Leaning forward, Jackie looms in close to the hologram. "Physically speaking. You see, L1... when you shine a really bright light, all that does is force the dark to be more...creative."

Above him, in one of those soldiers suits of armor, something small slithers. Jackie grins like the devil himself. "I'm not going to kill him. Unless you give me reason. See, all this? I -get- it. You did your homework. But at the end of the day? I just plain don't like being the one in the crosshairs. Hypocritical, I know. So. L1. Tell me more or do we see if I can survive this too?"

Lex Luthor has posed:
"No, you don't. If you did, you'd be a lot more ambitious than you are with that power you possess." L1 calmly explains, "I'm simply being up front with our intentions. You seem like a man who appreciates honesty. Relatively speaking." L1 concludes. Then, there's a mute on the line as Lex gives orders to the soldiers... and they move below the various lights, attempting to brute force more of it. "I have no doubt you could create some very interesting and bloody situations in here if you wished it. If I thought you had hostile intentions for my people, this conversation would be going very differently."

Then, the soldier with the Darkness minion starts to frantically move, trying to get the thing out of his armor. "Kindly stop spooking the help."

Darkness has posed:
Not the first time Jackie has been told he's basically a thug with a magic wand. All this power and he does what? Mob hits. Classy guy. "Why do people keep telling me that?" He muses aloud before a drag off his Newport. "Mmm. Honesty as longbas it's directed toward me, personally, yes."

Jackie chuckles softly and offers only a nonchallant shrug of sorts at first. "I mean, yeah. This could have gone quite a few directions. You unzipped and slapped it on the table, so did I. It's what people like us do. We can't help ourselves. You have a point though. We both don't want to make a mess. Especially -that- guy."

"-You get to keep the wedding tackle for now, Billy.-" A hissing, raspy voice from inside a very spooked guards armor. Jackie clears his throat and normalcy, if you can call anything in this world normal, returns. His efforts fade and it's back to business. "I want something. A show of good intentions. Get me this one thing and I'll be your best paid BFF. Honest."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I'm listening, and make no guarantees." L1 says, a question in his tone, even over the synthetic mask.

Darkness has posed:
"Deadshot." Jackie begins calmly. A pull off his smoke as he watches L1 all too closely. "He took a tone with me I didn't like last time we met. I don't want to kill the man and chopping off his hand with a rusty shovel seems a little drastic." Pointing the orange ember of the cigarette at L1, he narrows ice blue eyes. "Next contract he takes, kill it. Just dust it. Flat out. It's the only place that'll hurt. His wallet." All for a slight. Jackie can be petty when the mood strikes. "I hear about him having his cheerios peed in, I'll know you care."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I'll keep it in mind." L1 drolly informs Jackie, before a small compartment under the table pops open... inside is a USB drive. "All the software and decryption keys you need to access our general comm network. We have a number of potential actions in mind for someone like you... and you can offer the key to your family as well."

Then, his tone takes a much more serious bent, "Be warned, though... we monitor who accesses the network and from where. Anyone who isn't authorized to join us will be hunted and interrogated. There will be nowhere on Earth safe for whoever has it... or for whoever gave it."

Darkness has posed:
"I'm betting on it." Jackie confirms before reaching for the newly presented drive. Taking it in hand, he doesn't even examine the trinket. He pockets it. "I'll give it all a look over. See where it leads us."

Pushing back from the table, Jackie stabs out his last smoke on the table top before standing. Straightening his tie with a haughty lift of the chin. "You just told a mob hitman, raised with a gun in his hand, the consequences of being a rat. Let that sink in for a second, L1. We'll be in touch." That said, Jackie moves to depart. Somewhere pitch black would be nice about now.