11970/The Tale of Mrs. Shevchik

The Tale of Mrs. Shevchik
Date of Scene:	11 July 2022
Location:	Somewhere in Gotham
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Bobbi Morse, Boris Shostak

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Bobbi Morse has posed:
Some people are just a pure joy to be around. They light up the world around them, spreading kindness and happiness around them. Mrs. Shevchik, the proprietor of Shevchik's Ukrainian Bakery is one of those people. She was widowed fairly young, but has managed to live a long and fulfilled life as a staple in the local community with her authentic Ukrainian baked goods and willingness to adopt everyone as her grandchildren.

And so it was with horror and no little noise that less than 48 hours ago the door to the apartment she owns above the bakery was found kicked in and busted. There were signs of a struggle, a little blood, and Mrs. Shevchik was declared missing. Oh, the police tried their best to investigate, of course. Even GCPD isn't going to let the disappearance of an elderly old woman slip through the cracks. But they are limited by both human senses and legality.

Old Mrs. Shevchik use to slip Boris extra cookies when he came in, and told him it was her duty to help him acclimate to the states... Possibly finding a nice girl (or boy! Mrs. Shevchik loves everyone equally) for him to settle down with and start a good, wholesome American family with. The point being she was someone that Boris cared about enough to use his formidable tracking abilities to find.

Her scent, strong thanks to some sort of bleeding wound, lead him to a section of old, abandoned warehouses in the Bowery, an neighborhood bordering the infamous Crime Alley. In particular, a warehouse that happens to have light shining through the cracks of the boarded up windows and doors. The scent of Mrs. Shevchik is the strongest, but there's other scents too, some the rancid odor of fear and pain suggesting whoever took Mrs. Shevchik has others imprisoned too.

What did Boris stumble upon?!

Boris Shostak has posed:
For the few months that Boris had lived in Gotham, he had barely made any progress on finding out more on his father's whereabouts, following leads that lead to nothing of use. Throughout his futile journey he only learned one thing, that the city was full of crime and grime, much that needed to be ignored if he hoped to focus on what his goal was. Had it been anyone else, Boris would have just left it to the GCPD to deal with -- but not this time. There have not been many people here in Gotham that made Boris feel somewhat at home, not like Mrs. Shevchik has, especially with her authentically made babkas. So now he found himself once again bordering the infamous crime alley, in sweatpants and a hoodie with his hands and feet wrapped in thick bandage cloth, and a dog mask, which was the only thing to help him hide his identity.

Boris crouched by the side of the abandoned warehouse, trying to sniff out Mrs. Shevchik's exact location, only for her scent to be confused with a dozen others. He spent a moment searching around, until he found a section on the side of the warehouse with rusted metals piled up to be disposed of. He leaped ontop of the pile and climbed the side of the building, accidentally pressing one of the metal plates against another which made a loud clanking sound. He swore softly under his breath. As he reached the top of the building, he quickly rolled to his back, waiting to see if anyone had noticed him.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
It's probably a statement on just how strange Gotham is that a man in a hoodie and a dog mask can walk down the streets and not bat an eye... Pun intended.

The building is old and in bad repair... Meaning that there's several opportunities for Boris to create a racket on his way up the side of the building. Fortunately, the panel he clatters is the only real mishap and when he rolled onto his back it was just in time to dodge the beam of a flashlight shone up and at the skylight just to his right. While most of the other entrances and exits appear boarded up, this particular skylight is only covered with a metal grate... And the lock has nearly rusted to dust already.

With his enhanced senses, Boris can smell and hear quite a bit from his position on his back: The rancid smell of fear, the sickly sweet scent of sandalwood incense, and at least a dozen (if not two dozen!) distinct scents. Old Mrs. Shevchik is one of them, but so are a few other people he might recognize from the neighborhood. And as far as sounds go, he can hear chanting in a foreign tongue, as well as muffled sobs and crying... Some of which sound like they're from /children/.

And just as he prepared to do whatever it was he's going to do, a new scent suddenly appears: hint of some sort of metal he can't quite place and leather, and follow the scent the sound of light footsteps on the other side of the roof, just outside his line of sight.

Boris Shostak has posed:
Upon catching the new scent and hearing the light footsteps, Boris quickly turned to place his hands on the roof. He really didn't think there would be anyone guarding the place up here, but what does he know. He gazed at the skylight and considered trying to pull the lock apart, breaking inside where he would be in a better position to fight, because up here, he's barely keeping his balance on the slope of the roof. But that wouldn't be a good idea either, as it would make too much noise to alert everyone else inside. So instead, Boris decided to turn his back against the roof, shuffle toward the footsteps he was hearing, where he would attempt to grab whoever was there into a chocking grip with his arm as soon as they both reached the same corner.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
It's a good plan! Grab whoever turns the corner and attempt to coerce them for more information or entry into the warehouse. Unfortunately, he had the bad luck to try and get the jump on Agent 19, known as the Mockingbird, and one of SHIELD's most experienced, dangerous operatives.

The element of surprise means he gets a grip on the spy when she turns the corner; She isn't a particularly large woman, nor does she seem particularly strong and robust with a lean, athletic frame. And so you'd think that would be the end. Wrong. His hold is secure enough that she can't get the proper leverage to break the hold, but he can feel her body tense and then she twists, jabbing him in the gut with the end of one metal baton while the other comes up and rests against his groin.. With an clicking noise like a taser about to power up.

"I'm guessing you aren't with the guys below." She hisses, voice pitched low enough to hopefully not carry as she twists her neck to glare up at him. She's blonde, hair caught back in a practical pony tail and eyes covered by goggles with a slightly yellow tint. Her scent is utterly without a hint of fear, and her body language is tense but relaxed, a weapon she is prepared to unleash at the drop of a hat. "Now be a good boy, and let me go or else you'll be in a cone of shame for the next week."

Boris Shostak has posed:
While Boris might have let out a feint grunt as she jabbed him in the gut, his grip remains tight thanks to his ability to tolerate pain. However, once he heard the clicking noise he quickly caught the faint smell of ozone as it was charging up - he knew she was about to electrocute him in the groin and that's not the kind of pain he'd want to be dealing with right now. So instead, he lifted her over and turned her to his other side, where he let her go in a spin toward the skylight. He placed both of his fists up in a classic boxing pose while his toes curled into a grip on the tiles of the roof as he tried to keep himself balanced.

"I'm guessing you aren't with the guys below, either." he said with a thick accent. The wheels in his mind could almost be seen turning through his eyes as he tried to guess what she would be doing there. He could still hear people sobbing softly below, and had began to wonder if she was there to help. "Why are you here?" he asked, with his fists still up.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Yes, that is not exactly an easy attack to tank, is it? Probably why she picked it. Butthen she's spun off away from him, and while she is wearing boots and can't grip the sloped roof quite as well as he can with his bare feet, she has the benefit of being significantly lighter with technology to help. And so she lands from the spin in a 'ready' position with two batons twirled once and then put in a 'guard' position against her forearms.

She regards him and his position for a moment, the eyes behind her goggles taking in his 'ready' stance, identifying it as classical boxing. "No, I'm not with them." She straightens up, deceptively casual even as she shifts her balance to stay on the roof. "I'm the Mockingbird, with SHIELD. Investigating reports of a possible human trafficking ring operating out of Bludhaven that may have expanded into Gotham. Who the hell are *you*?"

Boris Shostak has posed:
Hold on... SHIELD?? Boris's shoulders lowered and eyes widened in surprise. He was just here hoping to rescue a sweet Ukrainian baker, what are the chances that he would have intersected a SHIELD mission. His eyes would dart up and down at the SHIELD agent, admiring her expensive looking suit, he would notice a few gadgets on her - at least anything that is currently visible. He felt underdressed to the occasion, almost. He knew he was an amateur at best to this whole vigilante deal, but found himself feeling somewhat jealous of her having the means to hold onto such technology.

"I'm... no one important." he said somewhat apologetically as let go of his stance, and placed his hands on the roof instead. "Someone I care about is inside. I was trying to break in." He was still staring at her suit, almost inappropriately - but not on purpose, he was genuinely just imagining himself in such a suit himself.

"I'm sorry about... you know." he said with a chocking gesture.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
To be fair, Bobbi's suit is even more advanced than average SHIELD tech complete with tech literally out of this world including stuff retrofitted from aliens. The batons are snapped onto her forearms for quick draw, and she crosses her arms on her chest. "Good enough reason." Bobbi replies when he tells her why he was breaking in, and she tilts her head. "If you know someone inside, I could use your help. I don't want to try and break them out only for them to refuse out of fear."

If his oogling bothers her, it doesn't show. Or at least, she's confident enough that it doesn't bother her. When he declares himself unimportant, she rolls her eyes. "Well, I can't exactly say 'good boy in a dog mask' in my report. What can I call you?"