12/Those Mobbed-Up Sweatshop Blues

Those Mobbed-Up Sweatshop Blues
Date of Scene:	17 February 2020
Location:	Warehouse, Brighton Beach, NYC
Synopsis:	Ace Reporter Lois Lane gets the scoop and a ringside seat to the Spidey Show.
Cast of Characters:	Lois Lane, Peter Parker

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Lois Lane has posed:
The backside of the building doesn't look like much, but the information seemed solid enough. Standing near the backdoor of the warehouse, Lois Lane tests the handle warily. It's unlocked. "Alright, the trick is, we go in, find a good spot to hide, take a few photos, maybe record some of what's being said and if he doesn't give us anything good, I'll come out and confront him. If things get a little hairy, just go straight for the door. /Straight/ out, got it? Don't worry about me."

She looks over her shoulder to her not-so-usual companion.

Peter Parker has posed:
Well, he worked cheap.
Peter Parker, freelance photographer, was right there, digital camera in hand. He had chosen the variable-depth lens, ready to go from close-up to telephoto, and he had it in hand. He was wearing a flannel shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and a thin jacket. It was still rather chilly.
Not much to look at, but he was alert, favoring the ace reporter from Metropolis with a silent thumbs-up. A teenager of few words, a relative rarity. He seemed to understand the level of risk involved, too.

Lois Lane has posed:
The young man's silence is enough for Lois to assume he was going to follow instructions. Always a risk with someone new, but she'd seen enough of his photos to know he had an eye for it and being local to New York was a perk. So she took a risk, like she often does, and ended up here. Pulling the door open, she steps inside.

The interior being what you would expect from a warehouse, Lois takes point, cautiously making her way between stacks of crates. There's not a whole lot to hide behind, but there's just enough to at least find a place near where it sounds like some voices are coming from. Lois darts in closer.

Peter Parker has posed:
Parker is quiet, but she can sense him behind her, keeping out of personal-space range, but not falling behind.

Monty "Hauler" Carlson was not having a good day. First, he had a bunion driving him nuts, his 3rd ex-wife was threatening to take him to the cleaners, and these yutzes from Metropolis were jacking up the price for the wetbacks and babushkas AGAIN.
He glared at Mr. Jackson of Jackson Imports out of Metropolis. "You expect me to pay three hundred bucks MORE for these people? You're CRAZY."
Jackson shrugged. "If you don't want to deal with me, fine. I can always go to the Kingpin. He can afford my prices for the livestock."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois keeps a good lookout for a spot, then gestures for a spot where Peter can get a good look at what's going on. A nice camera angle. She herself moves a bit closer, her phone out to get an audio recording from her hiding spot--too risky for video with these close quarters. Their words were a bit damning, but not enough. Certainly a hint at a larger story, though. Maybe listening a bit more.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods to her, then goes around, keeping low to pass some of the workers (he certainly has good instincts) and sets up near an open window, his camera having a fantastic view of the people, their faces in profile.

Carlson nearly bit through his cigar. "I don't need this kind of trouble, Jackson."
"It's yours, anyway. The current shipment will be here any minute."
Carlson's eyes widened. "NOW? I don't have the MANPOWER to handle FIFTY girls!"
"Regrettable but necessary, Hauler. We had to get them out before...HE found them." Lois could actually hear the word spoken in all caps.

Lois Lane has posed:
It a good test for Lois to see how Peter handles under pressure. So far, so good. Unfortunately for him, she's not planning on staying where she's at. Sticking her phone in her jacket pocket, where it should safely remain recording, she moves slightly around the box, waiting for the perfect opportunity to try and jump in to lead the conversation. She'd need just a bit more...

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter feels that unpleasant tingle in the back of his head, and looks to see Miss Lane moving forward. She was...oh, geez, the trio of goons was going right at her, no, no, NO...
Almost without realizing it, he had already begun to unbutton his shirt...

"HEY!" The noise came from her left, and there were three guys with AK-47 rifles, the cheap Ukranian knockoffs. All three barrels rose as one. "HEY, BOSS! INTRUDER!"
Both Jackson and Carlson looked over to them. Carlson looked irritated, but Jackson suddenly went as pale as milk. "GAG HER! NOW!"
The trio of goons advanced quickly on Lois.

Lois Lane has posed:
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa," Lois backs up, pointedly moving /away/ from where Peter was perched. She's making sure to keep him safe (and hopefully having a good path to the door) if anything else. "I'm not here to cause trouble, /friends/..." Her mind recalls something mentioned earlier. "Kingpin sent me, and unless you really want to piss him off..." She still holds her hands up both defensively and to make sure they can see she's very much not armed.

Peter Parker has posed:
Jackson moves forward as Carlson looks puzzled. "Fisk? But he..."
"SHUT. UP!" Jackson snarled, shoving a balled-up leather glove into her mouth. "This is Lois FUCKING Lane! DAILY PLANET? Metropolis? SUPERMAN'S GO-TO GIRL?"
Nearly everyone looked scared at that. Superman's main squeeze, an annoying reporter for an international newspaper, and she was RIGHT HERE.
"Carlson, can you BE any stupider? Every made man and freelancer in Metropolis is required to ID her on SIGHT." He looked around. "We have to do this deal, then dump her in the East River. BEFORE he raises her voice and calls for the red-and-blue Boy Scout..."

"You called?"
ALL eyes go skyward. For a moment, every heartbeat triples.

But it's not Superman who is looking down at them. It's the annoying one in red and blue.

"Hello, Hauler," Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man says. "Expecting someone else?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Well, so much for her bluff. And so much for being inconspicuous. This had /certainly/ not gone as Lois had planned. Her plan had involved a little more banter, maybe convincing them to talk, and certainly not the suggestion of being dumped in a river. She doesn't have time to say anything because...

There's a very different red and blue hero above them. There's a certain amount of relief, but she doesn't just stare dumbly, she proceeds to slowly creep backwards and away.

Peter Parker has posed:
Carlson forgets Lois. Superman is a powerful but ephemeral fear. Spider-Man, however, is RIGHT HERE.
He raises his pistol and fires, but Spider-Man is already moving. He jumps to the side, firing bursts of webbing at the Trio, still not quite with the program...and, judging by the webbing planting them to the floor, they never will.
Jackson bolts for the SUV he and his assistant came in with. His assistant is already starting the vehicle, and if he's smart, he'll wait for his boss before getting out of this chuckyfox.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois ducks down behind some crates, using them for cover in case of potential gunfire, but she's slowly making her way to the far end of the warehouse. They had mentioned the fact that a shipment was nearby... and she's hoping that she can hear them arriving and potentially stop them from fleeing while the Spider's busy fighting the rest of the crime.

Peter Parker has posed:
The panel truck is moving into the courtyard, and they don't seem to hear the occasional gunshot over the sounds of their engine. And no windows to give away muzzle flashes, either.

As Spider-Man immobilizes goons right and left, Carlson back up as he notices Spidey making his way towards him. He grabs the briefcase as Spidey lands on the floor in front of him.
"Please...there's thrree million in the case. Untraceable. Just take it. Lemme go."
Spidey barely hesitates. Carlson is suddenly cocooned and stuck to the floor.
"YOUR MONEY IS WORTHLESS TO ME, SCUMBAG."
He turned as the SUV's tires squealed, the vehicle heading for the entrance they came in from, and apparently not too bothered by the sliding door still closed ahead of them.

Lois Lane has posed:
Peering back over her shoulder, Lois pulls her phone out to snap a quick picture. Probably wouldn't be high quality enough to work for a paper... but it might just be fine for an online edition. Shoving the phone back in her pocket, she moves in the direction of the courtyard, doing her best to be unseen as she waits for the driver to get out--hopefully before he can catch wind of what's going on.

Peter Parker has posed:
The SUV seems to explode through the steel door - it was built like a tank, because bad guys in Metropolis. It was airborne, the sudden drop too extreme for the hurtling object.

Lois saw the SUV sail towards the side of the panel truck...and if she heard right, the fifty people still inside it.
Spider-Man didn't so much see it as FEEL it. His Spider-Sense suddenly squalled like a banshee.

"*NO!!*"
He fired both barrels at the SUV, the weblines hitting the corners where the hold was strongest. He bore down, holding the weblines tightly, and then felt something give in his back as Spider-Man stopped the vehicle in midair, five feet from the side of the truck. It dropped eight feet to the ground, jangling the occupants (who had opted to belt in), but leaving the panel truck pristine...except for the two men in the cab, who were stunned at seeing their truck nearly broad-sided by a three-ton cannonball.

Lois Lane has posed:
Well, that was almost a huge mess. Lois gawks for half a second at the stop of the vehicle, but she's not allowing it to stop her. She races for the back of the truck, reaching up and starting to pull the pin to open it while the drivers are distracted by the near miss. "Come on, come on," she mutters as she struggles to pull the thing open.

Peter Parker has posed:
It's tricky, but the zip-tied latch opens with a little leveraging, and then the door slides up. Inside, Lois can see a group of women, ranging in age from 12 to 29, huddled in the corner and unaware they almost became chunky salsa.
Spider-Man steps out...more accurately, staggers out. He wrenched his back something awful, and he is looking at a very long night before the damage heals itself.
He fires a web at the door to the truck, moving around to get the passenger-side door, too, before he hears the rear panel door open. Jeez, doesn't that woman EVER quit?

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois takes a quick look around to make sure there's no immediate danger, then she waves her arm towards the women to try and get them to come out. While she's not entirely sure the nationality of the women, she figures her tone of voice would help more than anything. "Come on, quick, let's get you to safety." She beckons them along, at the same time glancing around to both make sure they're safe and to figure out where to take them.

Peter Parker has posed:
The women seem to be from Latin America or South America, speaking a mix of Spanish dialects and Portuguese. They look around warily, but leave the truck and collect in the shadow of the warehouse.

Spider-Man sets his phone to call 911 with a spoofed number and a geo-tag to show the police where to go. He groans as he downloads the pictures taken to a memory card.
That done, he slowly makes his way around the truck where Lois Lane can see him. "Hello, there...you look familiar."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois makes sure the women are somewhere safe before she looks towards the red and blue clad hero. "Yeah, not the first time I've heard that today." She looks around, first at the group of women, then at the rest of the idea. "Hey, when you were swinging in here, did you see someone leave? Cute kid with a camera? Need to make sure he's okay."

Peter Parker has posed:
Cute? She called him "Cute?" Lois Lane, famous reporter, calling him...
Jeez Louise, FOCUS, Parker.
He reached under one of the gloves and comes out with a memory card. "Yeah, I did. Told him to head home. No sense sending him into a gunfight. He DID want me to give you this." He handed the Micro-SD card to Lois. "Said all the pictures were there. He said you could Venmo him what you thought the pictures were worth later."
Which probably meant she would send him the same rate JJJ did, and probably penalize him for rabbiting...oh, well.

Lois Lane has posed:
"You had time to have that long of a conversation with him before you swung in here to stop a bunch of guys with guns who wanted to deposit me in the river?" Lois peers at Spiderman with her hand on one hip, the other taking the offered SD card. "So now that you've saved the day... you have anything you want to say in the article? I appreciate the help, by the way. I do enjoy days where I'm not dying."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man shook his head. "Nah. I'm just going to head home...put an ice pack on my back...and try not to strain anything ELSE for the next few days." He chuckled slightly. "Besides...I never sound good in the papers."

Lois Lane has posed:
"Whoa there," Lois puts a hand up to try and slow him down. "Take it easy. And you only sound as good as you are and as good as your reporter made you sound. You /saved/ people here, people that were in real danger, myself included." She gestures towards the huddled women. "They're gonna remember that. That's gonna mean more than anything."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man shrugs. "Maybe...but the cops are gonna be here any second, and they tend to get all hands-behind-your-head-y when they see me. Then they're going to point guns at me, I have to swing off while they shoot at me, it gets loud, it gets awkward...so I'm just going to skip a couple of steps and just leave now."
He points an arm up and fires a webline. "You should be good from here. They're about ten seconds away. See you in the funny papers."

And with that, he launches up into the night, his departure heralded by his battle cry:

"...ow...ow...ow..."

Lois Lane has posed:
Shaking her head a bit, Lois heads back over to the women. "Certainly going to be an interesting article to write. Hope that Parker kid got some good photos." She looks off in the direction he swings off in. "... hope he finds some ice."