11615/A Little Slice of Home

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A Little Slice of Home
Date of Scene: 15 June 2022
Location: Abandoned Bath House
Synopsis: Thea and Cole encounter a gang trafficking homeless kids in the park. It ends badly for the criminals.
Cast of Characters: Selina Kyle, Cole Cash, Thea Queen




Selina Kyle has posed:
    Homeless youth don't attract as much attention in Gotham as they would in Metropolis. Tents pop up in local parks and sidewalks, anywhere they can evade the Gotham police sweeping in. Another "clean up" three days ago evicted several teens and twenty-somethings from a patch of prime real estate in Chelsea.
    The media coverage is scanty except for the 6-o'clock news covering a puffed-up local councilman and a plucky police officer mugging for the camera. Always good for satisfying the NIMBY rich people who act like No Man's Land ever happened. One of the cleaning crew shutting down the encampment has a green skull tattoo on his forearm, hardly impressive. Except.
    Later that day, one of the evicted homeless youth took a photo of masked men shoving other kids like him into a white van tagged by a peculiar sticker: twisty green lines, a bird-like skull. That boy has a mother, repeating her calls to find her son who never came home over social media channels. It's not really taken off, but the green bird skull image has some traction.
    The same green bird skulls tags Miagani Park. A fresh paint job on the reservoir and a few lampposts warn other criminals to screw off. The latest proto-gang in the city carving out a bit of prime real estate has set up an impromptu road block on the west end, closest to the Narrows, blocking anyone from getting too close to their turf. At least two bikes poke out of the réservoir, tossed in. No sign of the cyclists, if they ran or got frisked. A set of guys hold up a woman against the bathhouse, another pair patting down a man pinned to the ground for any valuables.

Cole Cash has posed:
Another of the missing kids happens to be Cole's landlord's niece. He heard it in passing. The guy is usually a greedy ball of spite, but today he was so worried he even forgot to drop by Cole's place for payment. After a few days, Cole got curious.

Since he was a street kid, way back, in Chicago, the issue felt a little personal. He is aware plenty of kids go missing in Gotham, and in many other cities of the East Coast. But Gotham is mean. Meaner than Chicago was in the 80s. Besides, it is not as if he has anything better to do today. He did some research, and got a phone call about the bird skull symbol by Robinson Park. Maybe a coincidence, maybe something else.

And of course, Gotham + Nightime = Muggings. Because Gotham.

Thea Queen has posed:
Thea Queen is no stranger to social media, very often having been the center of it, at least where Starling City is concerned considering who her family is. The Queen name does bear quite the weight after all, and not exactly for the best of reasons sometimes. It also means that she got information on these abductions the moment they started popping up on media. And from there? It was a matter of following the trail..

It all came together when Thea was able to join the pieces together with the help of Overwatch's software and matched the symbols to that park in Miagani. Gang activity, corruption all the way to the councilman. Very typical for Gotham and Starling City. But first things first, those kids had to be helped..

The next night Thea is overlooking the park from a vantage point, dressed in the black and red leathers that mark her as Red Arrow, she squatting while keeping a pair of binoculars to her eyes. She spots the gang members robbing a few passerbys and frowns. "Great night for not having Overwatch on backup..." she mutters, jumping down to the ground and beginning her approach.

Selina Kyle has posed:
    A motorcycle threads a path through Robinson Park. It's a big park. Nothing at the various entrances would imply criminal activities happening deeper in. That would rob the gang of valuables, literal. The headlights strobe a clear path over pitted concrete, the rider in no real rush to break the speed limit posted as a paltry 10 miles an hour. Not by much. Selina leans forward over the handlebars, passing a copse of trees and glancing over at the bushes. No signs of rough sleeping there.
    ---
    "How about those rings? Real diamonds," the boss of the bathhouse road check says. "Get them off her."
    The girl struggling against the bathhouse cringes back from a skinny, freckled guy trying to haul the rings from her right hand. She curls her fingers into a fist, kicking in futility. "No! You can't, they're my grandma's!" Her voice cuts off. A low, pained grunt comes from her boyfriend on the ground as he takes a kick full force to the side. While she still resists giving up her jewelry, the beating continues in wet, thick detail. Muffled thumps and low groans of pain fill the park.
    here's six of them altogether, two definitely armed. The other four look various shades of skinny, underfed, or drug-addled. Recovering, maybe. All have those green skull tattoos. And one gets bloody hands when a knife comes out, used to saw off the offending ring.

Cole Cash has posed:
Cole takes a moment to put on his mask, and switch to night-vision. Gang symbols are there, as expected. But the gangers have that skinny, hungry look of addicts. In his experience that kind of gang never last long, but usually do quite a lot of harm before they self-destroy.

Like killing mugging targets. A really dumb way to get targeted by everyone. And Cole had planned to watch and then follow the gang members, but as mugging becomes closer to murder, he feels compelled to show up. He sneaks forward, and grabs the wrists of the ganger with the knife. "How about no? You already got the wallets, right? Go away or I will break your legs."

Thea Queen has posed:
The approach turns into a run when Thea hears the struggles, and the violence behind the mugging. Desperate faces, both in the ones being robbed and the assailants. She knew the look. She had been one of those, always desperate for the next dose. The difference had been she was from quite the wealthy family. She doesn't shoot right out, perhaps hesitating for a moment there yet once the knife comes out..?

Dropping to a knee she instantly produces an arrow out of her quiver, priming it to her bow ... at least until someone else intervenes and stops the murdering. Still, one against six? Not great odds... So she decides to level the odds.

An arrow flies, striking down on the ground right next to the skinny kid's, on a tree. "You heard him. Back off." Her sillouette barely visible in the darkness.

Selina Kyle has posed:
    The motorcycle gives off plenty of heat, thanks to the purring engine. The woman in the modified riding leathers atop it certainly doesn't. The visor on her helm is down, shielding her face, the plethora of Bat tech in there giving her a good sense of where she goes and targets. None of that matters. Selina swings around a basketball court towards the old bathhouse, the choke point one that she could probably bypass by jumping up onto the curb. The low purr of the engine gives advance notice for one of the gangsters at the barricade turning, and throwing up his hand. A cheap flashlight sweeps over her, not unlike road checkpoints scattered over Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, and other places with unfortunate histories of unrest.
    The tail-lights flash, brakes applied. For a moment, and then all that churning power revs up, the roar to the growl. As subtlety goes, it's not subtle.
    ---
    The guy holding the frightened, bleeding woman swivels to try and throw off Cole. He doesn't know what he's dealing with; masked man, idle threats. Maybe idle? A knife is pretty potent, and if he can't swing his arms around, wrists together, to stab at Cole, then a headbutt will be the second option. He might be lean and skinny but desperation does stupid things to people.
    "Lemme go," he growls over the arrow singing, hitting the ground, The beaten victim on the ground is no longer a point of worry, the two beside the bathhouse fleeing to the other side so they have some kind of cover from two crazies shooting or threatening them. One puts a shoulder to the wedged door.
    "What're you doing? Get your ass back here if you want your junkie sister--" That's the other boss manning the checkpoint, pulling a gun. It's always a gun. It's Gotham. Shots will be fired.

Cole Cash has posed:
Although desperate strength is useful under many circumstances, the skinny thug is up against a super-soldier with decades of fighting experience. He goes as far as 'trying to stab with two hands' before Cole tosses him to the ground with a simple leg sweep, keeping his hold on the wrist just long enough to break it.

His eyes narrow at seeing an arrow. Of all things. Not a crossbow arrow, thankfully. Actually, it seems a warning shot more than anything. Warning shots are uncommon in Gotham.

The gangers are moving for cover, which is the first smart thing they do since Cole got into the park. He grabs the mugged couple to get -them- to cover, too, preferably before the bullets start flying. "Get out of here," he tells them, "and stop going out at night with jewels, where do you think you are? Metropolis?"

Thea Queen has posed:
Something really didn't smell right from the start. But now that the boss with the gun spoke up? Yea, they are using these kids to swell up their gang while keeping their family hostage. It's the kind of thing that leaves Thea's blood boiling? So the next shot?

It isn't just a warning one.

Pulling the string back she unleashes another arrow, this time at the boss with the gun to have it pierce through his gun-wielding hand, "Never bring a gun to a bow fight.." or so they say.. But there's no friendliness on her tone..

Afterwards she runs to cover as well, a glance to the arriving bike. Friend or foe? The tech in display on it speaks of it might being the former.

But who knows with Gotham?

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Being shot with an arrow, a properly aimed one, sucks. The missile hits the big man in charge over the gang, but Thea doesn't get him to immediately drop the gun. His shots at least go wild, wide of Cole and peppering the trees that hide Thea. One or two might get in the right spot to be worried about, slicing uncomfortably close. None hit.
    The skinny ganger Cole put on the ground cries out in pain at his broken wrist, and the knife flies. He hugs his arm to his chest and calls, "They're running around!" in a pained squeal. OK, maybe not the brightest move.
    Behind the bathhouse, a loud 'oof' indicates that the other two low-level criminals got through the door. Something give way with a wooden crack, and they squeeze inside. that gives enough cover for Cole to pull the bloody girl away from the bathhouse, tears running down her face and her left finger severed. Her boyfriend's in worse shape; kicks to the ribs and the stomach mean he isn't going anywhere fast, and he vomits bile and foam flecked by blood when moved. The two of them make a pathetic, devastated pair, the shock for the girl becoming quickly hysterical.
    That leaves one ganger at the checkpoint facing a revving motorcycle, and he smartly runs for the trees. That doesn't stop the motorcyclist from getting her foot down to turn the bike, the back wheel fishtailing under her. Selina guns it, heading across the bumpy ground and leaving a tear in the grass. Does the helmet have cat ears? Okay, not /obviously/ goth-kid cat ears, but the swept design does, in fact. She'll run down the guy faster than he can run, but he at least thinks to use bushes and trees for cover, swerving wildly to escape her. Cat, mouse.

Cole Cash has posed:
Cole ducks when the gun is shooting, pulling his out handgun (one of them) in response. Just one shooter, though. And he is already injured. If feels to him he has stumbled into one of the city vigilantes acts of, well, vigilantism. It has been about a year without it happening, too.

He watches the gang boss warily. If he starts reloading his gun, Cole will shot him. Not to the arm, but to the chest.

The injured couple is not spared a second glance. They were dumb to be here at night, but they survived, and maybe they will learn to be more careful in Gotham. He has little sympathy for them.

Thea Queen has posed:
The shots peppering the tree where Thea is hiding at make her twist her head to avoid getting any debris into her eyes. The next moment she is readying her bow but that's when she spots the shooter falling back with a bullet to the chest. Gotham is harsh...

And with the other being pursued by Selina it means Thea will secure the area. She runs out of cover, jumping over the checkpoint barrier to first check on the pair that's been mugged. Yea, they are battered up. But they will live. Most likely. "Stay put, going to call an ambulance."

Stepping over she approaches the place where the kids ran off to. She taps with the end of her bow on the open door. "I know you kids have been getting abducted. Drop any weapons and come out and maybe we can help you still.."

Compassion in Gotham? She's clearly not a local!

Selina Kyle has posed:
    The gang leader being shot at doesn't have Kevlar or skin of steel. He can fall to a bullet like anyone else. A shocked look on his face turns in Cole's direction. Grifter's skill never made the outcome in doubt. Luck doesn't smile on him as he collapses.
    The injured couple barely react at first to Thea, the man's face swollen and the broken ribs he's nursing making his breathing a mess. Mostly he sags on the ground while his girlfriend clutches her bleeding hand while sobbing. She barely nods at Thea, flinching away until her brain clues in 'ambulance' means friend. Not a person stabbing her.
    The bathhouse is full of graffiti and garbage, signs of many a miserable party in there. The debris up against the wedged-open door requires careful maneuvering to avoid being stuck by a nail or a needle. Thea won't find much movement there, partially because of a grate ripped out of the floor and thrown to the side. It leads down into a dark, leaky pipe large enough for a fairly fit person to squeeze in. Probably used for utilities access and maintenance on the drains, and it's clearly well been used before. Green lines make a disjointed bird skull painted freshly on the moved grate. She might even hear the distant slap of footsteps fading out. Nope, they're not staying around.
    Which is good, considering that the rider on the motorcycle finally meets up with the other thug. He gets close to twisting away from her, but the soft slope into the reservoir proves treacherous to his footing. A shout and a splash make an obvious sign where he landed, and there's no fear of water in that Cat. She can outwait him, and the whip at the ready is perfectly fine for making coming out to shore like a wet rat not a good idea.

Thea Queen has posed:
"Damn it." Thea exclaims when she spots the escape route the kids took to run off. No answers out of those. The other gang member is shot down. That leaves the one Selina was pursuing. Now to hope that she doesn't kill this one.

She steps out of the bathhouse, looking across the treeline where Selina and the remaining thug ran off to. "Hey, don't shoot him! Need some answers out of him!" she calls out in the night. It's not as if they are *that* close. But it's night, it's quiet. Maybe she will!

They would need that guy if they wanted answers.