11900/Midnight at the Genetics Lab

Midnight at the Genetics Lab
Date of Scene:	06 July 2022
Location:	NYU doctoral studies lab
Synopsis:	On another attempt to find out more about his father's whereabouts, Boris encounters a member of the Foot Clan, and might have just been indirectly invited to join them.
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Boris Shostak

---

Shredder has posed:
    Universities are great places for learning. Higher education, discovery, new thoughts and ideas, and research. Here at the NYU doctoral studies, they benefit from the nearby laboratories of some of the greatest minds in the world, donations from high profile superhero scientists and the like mean that the doctoral program draws the brightest and best.

    And that's why it draws the Foot Clan. There are security measures for such places, naturally. However, those security measures are not nearly so fierce as some of the aforementioned superhero labs. And unlike those labs, new minds are coming up with inventive proposals every day. The summer classes of this year in the genetics division have had some very interesting research. Using animal DNA to augment humans for healing and disease resistance. Interestingly enough, they are working with various canine subject DNA at the moment.

    The lampposts light up the sidewalks late this evening, with only a few lights remaining lit through the building, mostly for security. Campus officers patrol the grounds and watch the cameras, nothing too terribly exciting is usually happening here. Not usually.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Tied up in the janitor's closet was, well, the janitor, gagged and in his underwear. In the janitor's uniform was Boris, having been pushing the cart of cleaning supplies through the halls until everyone left, on the pretense of late night cleaning requested by the head researcher.

The access card had surprisingly opened just about any door, as Boris lazily swept the floor room to room, trying to pick up on his father's scent. Not many research facilities focused on canine gene splicing, if any at all, so Boris had began to feel disappointed when he started to realize this could be a dead end.

Until he reached a room on the 5th floor. In it was a door. This time, when he swiped his card, the light turned red. He glanced back at the security camera and let out a frustrated grunt. He had to keep his head down, hidden under the hat. He tried to use his strength to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge.

Shredder has posed:
    A young female in black with a red scarf is on the other side of that door. She wasn't concerned with access permissions. On the fifth floor, nobody puts alarms on the windows. Why would they? Well, they would because of ninjas. But theyd didn't. She leans over the computer, typing and trying to gain access to the system. Something a little trickier than getting into the building.

    The buzz at the door causes her to pull her scarf up to her nose to hide the Japanese girl's identity, and she narrows her eyes. The second attempt has her moving to the door. A closer look at the camera for how much she will be revealed, and then a sudden burst of motion takes her forward. She opens the door from the inside without warning, and reaches out for whoever is on the opposite side to pull them inside. It's not friendly. She's trying to pin the stranger to the floor out of sight of the security, expecting that it may actually be the security of the building.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Boris sighs, he can pick a scent on the other side, but can't see through the opaque glass on the door. Impulsively, he was just about to smash the glass with his fist when the door suddenly opened, a swift hand grabbed the collar on his uniform and pulled him inside. Boris yelped as he hit the ground, a strange woman atop of him. Instinctively, he broke her hold with his arm and rolled back, he ended up in a pose placing one hand and one knee on the ground as he studied her for a moment, a confused expression all over him.

"What... are you wearing?" he found himself asking, louder than he should be. She did not look like a lab researcher.

Boris's eyes searched the room, trying to understand what was happening, until the coin dropped. The window was open, and she wasn't supposed to be there either. Trying to be quick on his feet, completely not suspicious, he quickly stood upright. "I'm just janitor." he said with his thick accent.

Shredder has posed:
    "It's none of your concern. Janitor." There is a quick glance up at the camera by the japanese girl. She isn't very tall, maybe 5'2", but the height difference doesn't seem to intimidate her. She swiftly moves forward, sliding forward with both legs in an attempt to grab him in a scissor hold. She doesn't know him from Adam, so the claim that he's a janitor is all that she has to go on. "I'm afraid you're going to be taking some time off tonight," she declares.

Boris Shostak has posed:
As she slides forward, Boris found himself leaping above her, not quite making the landing letting out a grunt as he thuds back against the door, the janitor's undersized shoes having interfered with his proprioception. Maybe this was the place he was looking for after all. He kept his head down to let his janitor cap hide most of his face, knowing his pretense as a regular janitor would have flown out the window after the stunt.

Shredder has posed:
    As he hops up over her attack, she switches gears, still prone, and throws a kick up toward this 'janitor' and his gut. "You're no janitor," she accuses. A beep occurs on the other side of the door, this time it's someone who does have access. The actual night security. She stops, spinning around to leap behind a desk before the door opens.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Still recovering from his landing, Boris didn't have time to react as she kicked him right in the gut. He let out a mix of a cry and an exhale as he slammed against the door again.

"Who's in there?" the night security could be heard from the other side followed by the beep. Boris could smell there was two of them on the other side.

With the strange girl around gone out of sight, Boris was not sure how to get out of this one. Luckily he can tolerate pain, so even though his body wanted to curl up, he found himself forcing himself against the door to prevent the guard from entering. "Just janitor in here!" he called out, "have to clean floor! don't come in!"

"The janitor? he's not supposed to be in there." hearing that, Boris swore in Russian. "Open the door!" Boris took a few steps back, and raised his hands up. The two guards came in pointing a taser gun at him.

"What are you doing here?" Boris kept his head down. "Cleaning." unfortunately for him, when the ninja girl pulled him into the room he did not have a chance to bring the cleaning supplies inside with him, which the guards promptly pointed out. "Okay, come with us please."

Next thing they knew, Boris launched forward at one of them with a kick, sending them flying out of the room. He tried to ran past them, but the other shot him with the taser gun right in the back. "Ack!" he cried out falling to his knees before turning around to rip the cord off with his hands. Moments later, the alarm was on.

Shredder has posed:
    Karai frowns. This is throwing a wrench in everything she was here to do tonight. The plan was to have no one know she was ever there, not to just simply get away with information. Still, the presence of someone else in this lab illegally meant there may be another player in the mix. She needed to find out.

    She vaults over the desk while their attention is on Boris, and from behind the first one takes a blow to the back of the head, smacking him into edge of the open door to knock him out. The second finds a kunai at his neck.

    "Everything is fine, tell the office the alarm was a mistake," she whispers the threat. "Phone it in or the next thing you say is your last." The tip pushes against the skin of the guard's throat. Her eyes glance past the guard and to Boris, a glare on her face that says she's not done with him yet, even if she isn't addressing him.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Still on the floor, Boris watched as the man who had shot him with the taser gun took a blow to his head. Boris swore again. This was more serious than he had thought. He took off his shoes and he quickly slid to the cart with the cleaning supplies, and from in it he pulled out his mask which he had hidden earlier. He could not let his identity be found out. As the guard complied with her commands and the alarms were suddenly off, Boris assumed she was going to use that kunai, so he threw himself at the young female intending to prevent her from killing the guard.

Shredder has posed:
    As the alarm is turned off, Karai sees the incoming attack from Boris, given she's kept her attention on him. She pulls back the kunai from the man's throat, and uses him as a shield, putting his face where Boris' will soon be.

    The impact is enough to knock the guard out cold, and Karai backpedals with the loss of her shield, drawing a longer ninja-to with her opposite hand. "Now that we're alone," well, so to speak. "Perhaps you want to tell me why you're here and who you're working for," she says, expecting some large organization to have sent him on this mission.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Having slammed into the guard instead, Boris staggered backwards, but this time planted his feet into the ground with ease. He had a slight nose bleed, but he brushed it off with the sleeve on the janitors uniform. He assumed right now he had quite a strange appearance, barefoot, undersized janitor's uniform, a dog mask. And usually, when his mask is on, he's more of a punch first and ask questions later type of guy.

"I don't work for anyone." he said as he grabbed the broom and snapped it in half with his knee, holding the sharp end forward with both hands. "Who do you work for?"

Shredder has posed:
    Karai looks at the sharp end of the stick, and huffs with a mild amusement. "I believe you," she answers, a tone that says it might be an insult somehow. "So I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're looking for something about this genetics research as well," she says. She looks at the room. Nothing particularly interesting to speak of as far as equipment. "Or are you just interested in stealing microscopes?" She notably doesn't answer the question about who she works for.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Boris didn't particularly enjoy the tone she was speaking in. He wanted to throw out an insult of his own but wasn't particularly smart enough to come up with one on the spot. "I'm looking for someone." At the same that that she looked around the room, he did so as well. There really wasn't much for him to pick on, no particular scents, nothing he could really understand even if he tried to. His eyes turned back to her, but his expression changed to be a lot colder, glaring at her with intent. She could know something. She could lead him to his dad. After all, he's got her scent now. "Dog mask." he said with a low growl "Canine genetics. You figure it out."

Shredder has posed:
    "Oh really?" Karai piques, lowering her blade a little. "So it's like that. Her minds wheels are turning clearly as she studies Boris for several seconds. "Okay, well, that's a very unexpected turn. So looking for someone close to you? Maybe was affected by research like this?" she asks. "Maybe we can help each other." She sheathes her ninja-to first, and returns the kunai to her sash, taking the first move to peace. "I'm looking at the research, but I think I may have leads that could help you. If I can trust you," she adds. "You know how to get access to this system?"

Boris Shostak has posed:
Boris continued glaring with both sticks still up for a long moment even after she put her weapons away. He didn't have much of a response to her first question, only tilting his head to the side slightly. But admittedly, he had a much better chance at figuring this out with her help. So with a sigh, he stood upright and dropped both sticks.

"I wouldn't know how to operate these computers even if you tried explaining it to me." He said, almost defeated, except he had a sense he could still help. He dug his hands into the pockets on his uniform, and dropped a few usb keys and among them an RSA token. "I stole those earlier today, while I was pretending to be the janitor." He realized as he spoke, this might raise questions on the whereabouts of the actual janitor, but had a feeling someone like her wouldn't really care.

Shredder has posed:
    Karai's eyes light up. "Perfect, that's it." Without asking permission, she snatches the RSA token, and plugs it into the computer. "Now we are Abigail Richards," she tells him. "Just looking at our own research, no problem at all. What did you think you were going to do in here anyway?" she asks. "Did you think they would have a hard copy of whatever you needed lying about?" she asks. There is that edge of judgmental tone, one that condescends a little. She taps through folders. "Canine genome research," she reads. "This is what you were looking for?"

Boris Shostak has posed:
As she typed away at the computer, Boris went over to stand behind her, leering at the screen. At her question he shrugged. "I don't usually think this kind of stuff through. I look for signs, pick up a few scents, and try to follow whatever trail I can find." He knew it was a stupid plan, but there aren't many options available to him in order explore other directions. "Back home, all I ever needed was this." he said pointing at the dog nose on his mask.

When she found the research, he leaned in, uncomfortably close to her. His eyes searched the screen. He couldn't really understand anything, it used words way out of his vocabulary. What he was looking for, however, were names.

"Does it say where this research originates from? are there any names in this thing?"

Shredder has posed:
    "A dog mask?" she asks, shaking her head. "Well, you are playing with the big dogs now," she says, seeming unaware of the pun she made. "You really should look into getting some better training if you want to be breaking into any facilities in the future." She pulls the file onto another drive she has with her. "It does, but you don't waste time looking into all of that while you're in the middle of the job. You look at that later." She downloads the file, and glances at the security guys on the floor. She opens two more folders of different animals. Vipers and turtles. They are also downloaded, and she pulls the drive back out. "Now, if you want this?" she says, holding the drive up. "We will need to talk. Nothing is free in New York unless you're family. And in this city, everyone needs family."

Boris Shostak has posed:
Boris scuffs. "I'm highly skilled kickboxer." he said throwing his hands up "Though, It's not everyday a ninja comes out of nowhere to attack you" His voice was pointed, and his eyebrows raised. "What I needed was experience, and you've definitely given me some."

He leaned back against the desk at her proposition. He bet himself he could just grab the drive from her now that he knew what to expect. But she was right, they didn't have long before other guards would show up, and they really didn't have time for a fight. Besides, he probably wouldn't even know how to use that drive. "Family, huh? My dad, also family, was taken by people researching this stuff. I'm probably telling you more than I should, but I need the names on that drive." He sighed. "But fine, your drive, your rules. What do you need me to do so I could get it?"

Shredder has posed:
    Karai's expression betrays no emotion to his story, whether positive or negative. Very neutral. "You need family? I got one, and if you care about yours enough that you'd break into a place like this to protect them? You're the kind of person that we like. Loyalty is a big thing to us. We help people who are alone. You want this?" she asks. "Come to the old abandoned nuclear powerplant in North Brooklyn. I'll introduce you to some people."

Boris Shostak has posed:
Boris pressed his eyebrows together. "You know, I was hoping to..." his voice quickly trailed off. He was hoping to get the information he needed now, but figured it wouldn't be that easy. He let out a sigh and gave her a nod. "More ninjas, I presume?" he said half jokingly, though not expecting a laugh in return. "Sure, yeah, okay. And when exactly should I be coming there?"

Shredder has posed:
    "Mmm," Karai quirks a mouth. "Not all," she says enigmatically. "Believe me, you'll be glad you did. "Like I said, you need family here." Tomorrow after 10pm. "You'll find what you're looking for." Karai closes the computer, and pulls the RSA. She doesn't offer it back to him. "And you better hurry," she says as she moves to the window. "They are totally gonna figure out there's something wrong soon anyway." With that, she leaps through the opening, taking hold of the rope that she swung down on, and ascends back toward the roof.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Boris remained leaned against the desk as he watching her leave. He put both his hands to his face and exhaled. He wasn't sure if everything that happened just now was in his favor or not. He did not have many leads, but whatever was on that flash drive could very well lead him to his dad, or at least revealed what happened to him. If he's alive or not. On one hand, she could have just invited him to a trap, an easier spot to get rid of a loose end. On the other hand, she could have genuinely just offered him access to resources he really needs.

Boris got up and began making his way out of the building, not caring for the cameras anymore now that he had his mask. "Oh shit." he said just as he reached the building's entrance. He tapped his head against the door in frustration before he started walking back. He had realized, just now, that he forgot to untie the janitor.