12096/Jurisdictional Conflicts

Jurisdictional Conflicts
Date of Scene:	21 July 2022
Location:	Dixon Docks - Chinatown
Synopsis:	Two government agencies and one vigilante interrupt what should have been a lucrative drug deal.
Cast of Characters:	Helena Wayne, Achilles, Jim Gordon

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Helena Wayne has posed:
The middle of the night in Gotham - just the time and place where exactly no one who values their lives should be out and about. It's never really quiet at the docks, even when business is bad. It's just the type of business that changes, and even people who have a "legitimate" reason to be here know to mind their own.

Helena has never really been good at minding her own business.

She'd gone dark for the past few weeks, taking advantage of summer break to pursue a few extracurriculars of her own. What had started out as a nice trip to Europe had all too predictably turned into an investigation into some "family" business, which led to the attempted import of some illicit substances right back home - Gotham. On the up side, the business class air ticket back was a lot quicker than the freight ship that's just arrived in the harbor about an hour ago.

Helena's well-rested as she lurks on a rooftop, hidden in the shadows of a water reservoir there. Below, a rusty and barnacle-laden freighter is home to one clipboard-bearing "official" and several men who look far too serious for anything that ship could legally be carrying - knock-off sneakers and bodega paper plates don't usually warrant that much firepower.

Achilles has posed:
    One might call it an 'unrelated investigation'... if one were trying to be inaccurate. The fact is, investigating underworld activity is usually -always- related to other underworld activities. But Agent Tampambulos has been on this case for a few weeks. The case involves drugs, but not your usual recreational cocktails... these are ingredients that when mixed, could compete with VENOM, that drug Bane uses.

    And yes, it took quite some time... and the shipment may not even be on -this- ship. But the level of security makes him wonder if this is indeed the ship bringing that junk into Gotham.

    So, he continues his own surveillance. Parked in a RHIB out in the water. (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat). A staple of special forces insertion teams. It's black in the night on the water... and he observes through a nightvision camera... waiting for now.

Jim Gordon has posed:
The freighter is about to be met by another sort of greeting, this of an official nature. Along the docks, Commissioner Gordon is briefing the SWAT team. "They'll be transferring the cargo and moving it. We'll be waiting for them to start unloading it before we hit them." He goes to take a puff of a cigarette and inhale.
    Explaining without prompting, "That means they can't just scatter as soon as we make contact and they're out of cover. I want this done right and by the books. We take them in and we roll up their operation. That means their suppliers as well."
    Gordon hasn't noticed the van that's out of the way. Most of the SWAT crew wouldn't register the importance of it. Any cops that would are with the Commissioner in the front. "All right people, spread out." The team goes to start maneuvering through the docks, getting to a position where once the unloading started they could block off the area.

Helena Wayne has posed:
The GCPD may not be on the radar of the thugs by the boat just yet, but they've pinged on Helena's. A dark brow arches behind her mask with rare appreciation. "Huh," she breathes to herself. "Fancy that. Police at work."

The presence of at least one government agency changes the plan...at least a little. Thugs fear vigilantes. The GCPD tends to have more mixed feelings that may not work in her favor. Staying low, Helena slinks along the rooftop to a corner with better cover, loading a grappling bolt into her crossbow.

Meanwhile, on the docks, the man with the clipboard fidgets nervously with his pen as he steps up to a man with an earpiece, a buzz cut, and an air of command. "So, uh," he says, eyes daring around the dock as he pushes a smudged pair of glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Larry didn't mention there'd be so many of ya. You fellas expecting some kind of trouble?"

Achilles has posed:
    The camera is recording to an off-site server. Love wireless transmissions. Angelo peers through the lens as he waits... the motion of the boat in the water taking him back to his childhood. Yeah... that was a long time ago. It helps that his mother was a minor sea goddess... a Nereid to be specific.

    Either way, he reaches to turn on the nearly silent fishing motor attached to the boat... it'll never win any races, but it will get him closer without alerting the hearing of the people on the ship. An overhead overwatch Huntress however might notice the tiny dark object creeping closer.

Jim Gordon has posed:
The police force is spreading out in a skirmish line. Officers are going forwards, sweeping for cover and good blockage positions. A sniper is making his way up to a rooftop, using a set of bolt cutters to get the rusted door leading atop the building open. The team is moving with discipline and professionalism.
    These are cops, new to the force or not, that James Gordon trusts and has taken a hand in training himself.
    The Commissioner has ducked behind an upturned cargo container, kevlar vest on. Pistol held in a two handed grip as he evaluates the men coming off the ship, and those meeting them. Grimacing. More than he had expected and more than the men he had with him.

Helena Wayne has posed:
"Yeah, well. Larry didn't tell the boss a whole lot of things," Buzz-cut growls back to Glasses. "Like who else he was taking money from." He gives the nervous man a sharp once-over, lip curling in judgment. "Doesn't look like you've been on much of a take though. Where do I sign?" He reaches for the clipboard without waiting for an answer, flipping through pages and checking the reported manifest - paper goods, according to anyone who's only looking t the paperwork.

Boxes start to move down the gangplank thanks to men with forklifts, while a crane creaks its way over the top of the ship, ready to unload containers. Meanwhile, a good dozen men with semi-automatic weapons prowl around the perimeter, searching for...

"Ey," one man of a pair says to the other. "Thought I saw something. Watch my back." Raising his weapon, he moves toward a point on the police line toward one flank, alerted perhaps by the glint of a light on a bodycam, or a reflection off of goggles. Up above, Helena frowns as she sees the movement of the boat - another player. Board's getting crowded.

Achilles has posed:
    Three is indeed a crowd. But it could be a party. Angelo has no idea that SWAT is on the case. He's not moving in to fight folks. He just wants information. Recon. Intel. Whatever... he also knows how often plans go according to... plan. Okay, repetitive there.

    Anyway, he is still creeping closer, hunched down to minimize his profile. His ICER pistol is holstered at his hip, and a modular rifle that has two magazines he can switch between... one for ICER rounds, and one for lethal rounds. That is in his hand, as well as the night vision lenses on his helmet. One could be excused for thinking he might look like Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell.

Jim Gordon has posed:
They've been noticed just a little too early. But nothing ever goes the way you want it to in the planning phase. Especially not in Gotham. The Commissioner goes to call out, "Gotham City Police Department! Drop your weapons and come forwards with your hands up." He uses a bullhorn to be heard over everything in the docks. Every cop present has a clear line of sight, there's not much cover with the cargo being offloaded, and the ship is berthed and can't just flee the harbor.
    THe cops here are good. They have their jobs. They hopefully have a better position. Maybe the thugs will decide it's not worth it to die tonight.

Helena Wayne has posed:
"Spinelli, that you?" Buzz-cut barks a laugh at the sound of the bullhorn. It's Gotham, and these men are exceptionally well-armed - it seems they find it more likely that a cop on the take thinks he's funny than that GCPD is actually here to take them down. "What, you decide you wanted a bigger piece of the pie? Gonna be real disappointed with the response to that."

With the thugs and the cops facing each other down, Helena takes advantage of the distraction to make her own move. Raising her crossbow, she fires a grappling line to the crane, swinging swiftly from the warehouse on the docks over to the ship. Either this is about to get ugly, or these guys are about to have a donut party, and she's not interested in them or the mystery player on the boat getting to things first.

"Boss, it ain't Spinelli!" comes a cry from the man who went to investigate as he raises his gun and tightens his grip. "It's a whole damned SWAT team!"

Achilles has posed:
    And that is when Angelo realizes there are police on the scene. So he stops moving forward. He cuts his engine and lifts the rifle. He can get a bead on a few of the thugs from here. Not all, but a few. He's not just opening fire though.

    He breathes slowly and easily, aiming through his scope to find any thugs he can see who are aiming at the police. For now, he waits, but if things get down and dirty... he is going to start dropping some of those guys.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon's face is grim, "Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up." And the name of the cop that's on the take will be the first thing the Commissioner handles when they get back to the precint. A dozen weapons are pointed over at the men on the docks. It's a standoff, but one that should favor the officers.
    His own gun up and aimed, Gordon waits. Then calls out, "You have until the count of five."
    "One.." Gordon starts his countdown. The SWAT team braces around their positions. Maybe the thugs will decide to stand down and surrender. "No one has to get shot tonight." His voice calm, authoritative, and trying to intimidate the drugrunners as best he can.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Buzz-cut isn't inclined to wait for the count of five. "Take 'em down, boys!" he calls out, and the night explodes into gunfire.

From the deck of the freighter, Helena hesitates. Expecting GCPD to be in the right isn't easy for her, but...officers on the take wouldn't be calling for these thugs to put their weapons down - certainly not from a bullhorn. Which means those are good men and women out there. And there are few enough of those in Gotham.

As the thugs open fire and seek whatever cover they can find, Helena takes just an extra moment to slip a tracker into a crate (this is why you do reconnaissance, so you know which crate to toss first) before making a dash for the edge of the deck. Another grappling line gives her an achor as she swan-dives into the fight, releasing it just in time to somersault into a quartet of armed thugs taking cover behind a forklift.

The gunfire pauses from that quadrant, replaced by the sounds of fists and feet on flesh.

Achilles has posed:
    A suppressed cough comes from Angelo's rifle as he sends an ICER round down range. Cover from the police puts targets RIGHT in his sights. And as loud as the gunfight on the docks is, nobody is likely to hear his single low-decibel shots.

    Again, if he can help out the local authorities, he will. But then... he does a double take as he spies a woman in a costume executing a flawless gymnastic maneuver to get in close on some of those thugs.

    He grins . . o o O O (Only in Gotham.) he thinks to himself as he takes another shot at a thug who thinks he has cover.

Jim Gordon has posed:
The shooting is intense as the SWAT team ducks behind cover and returns fire. Gordon picks up his walkie talkie to give orders into it, "Jameson, Bernard, suppressing fire. Chambers, Walther, reposition, you're too exposed. Snipers, take out the most dangerous ones." He doesn't relish this. He doesn't like taking his cops to fights where they're outgunned and putting their lives on the line when he doesn't have to.
    Which is why he's always out there doing it himself. Jim Gordon goes to open fire as well, taking quick shots with his pistol to try and add to the volume of suppressive fire to let the officers that are exposed fall back to better cover.
    The subtle sounds of people dropping in the distance, of quiet takedowns.. Those are noted as well.

Helena Wayne has posed:
The men who are guarding this ship are professionals - a cut above the average mook on the docks. It speaks to military experience, or more funds than the average gangster has for drugs. They know how to take cover, and they're more accurate than your average stormtrooper when they take a shot.

As a man falls to Angelo's shot, there's a call from cover. "They got men on the water!" it warns, and the gunfire splits. Most of it is still aimed at Gordon's men, but at least two men are taking aim out at the faint shape bobbing on the water.

Helena holds down her quadrant, but it's not as easy as it might seem. Any time she's not actively hitting one of them, he's trying to take a shot at the GCPD. Noting the danger, she grabs a length of grappling line from her belt, snapping it taut between her hands. And now it's a dance - every time one of them comes at her, she lashes out, twists, and sidesteps...leaving a limb entangled in the line. It's about to turn into a spider's web back there.

Buzz-cut, meanwhile, climbs aboard a forklift and starts to back it onto the ship again, ducking behind the controls for cover. "Get the water route clear," he growls over his own comms, alerting men still on the ship. The gunfire out toward Angelo on the water picks up.

Achilles has posed:
    Yeah. These guys responded way too quickly. A RHIB is -not- going to stand up to gunfire for more than a few seconds. So Angelo kicks the engine on full blast and begins rocketing across the surface. Hey, he drew fire away from the SWAT teams, so that helps out.

    But for now, he keeps leaned over low and does some evasive patterns as he zooms along. Of course no evasion is perfect, and a few rounds *thud* into him or the boat... and air begins leaking from the RHIB even as it nears shore.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Heavy firepower is being exchanged. Heavier than the officers have. One of the SWAT officers falls, one of the others moving to pull him back behind cover. The lessening of fire gives a chance to do this. Gordon goes to take another quick shot as another officer yells.
    "Take out that shooter!" This is called to the sniper on the rooftop, who goes to take a shot at Buzz-cut. It's difficult given the chaotic nature of the firefight and the debris in the way.
    The remaining officers take a moment to regroup, moving to start to advance forwards quickly, taking hte opportunity presented as the return fire lessens.

Helena Wayne has posed:
With the help of the grappling line to keep the men from breaking off, Helena manages to tangle four of the men in a series of knots, bringing them all crashing to the ground. From there a few swift kicks will do to keep them waiting and it's the work of just another moment to drop the ammo from their weapons into the bay and remove a few key parts. That's one group disarmed.

The sniper's shot is a hard one, but not impossible - a bullet thunks into Buzz-cut's side, but unfortunately it seems to hit a vest. He curses and winces, but the forklift only speeds up, even to the point of rolling over one of his own men taking cover behind it.

From behind enemy lines, Helena tosses a flash-bang into another group of thugs taking cover behind a container, then dashes back toward the ship herself. Between the distraction on the water, the flash-bang, and the men she and the GCPD have already taken out, the odds are much more in the authorities' favor now.

As Angelo speeds away, the gunfire over the water dwindles - the men left of the ship are working to secure Buzz-cut's escape now.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Everyone moving to cover the retreat of Buzz-cut is proof enough of who's the important one here. The police advance forwards, but as all the firepower picks up, they slow and then go to a stop. The sniper can't get another shot off as the thugs are in a position to retreat back to the ship.
    Gordon isn't going to send his officers to their deaths chasing the man withdrawing down the gangplank back to the ship. "Stand down and surrender!" The warning is given once more. Even as the return fire picks up and the remaining officers duck down. There's seeming no real incentive for the thugs to even think about doing this.
    But the stalling is for something else. To hopefully give the Gotham harbor patrol more time to get boats in to place to intercept the freighter if it makes it away from the docks.

Achilles has posed:
    Must be some vest. Angelo is wearing light armor himself. But mostly he just relies on his curse, his ability... his inability to die. But in his many many years, he has learned a few important skills. So when the RHIB skids ashore, bottoming out... he dives over the edge onto the dirt that is all that makes up the 'beach' in Gotham. He comes up, and tightens his grip on the rifle, taking aim and now putting more rounds downrange as he moves to cover himself. His shots are not lethal. But that also means armor stops them entirely. If he can get a bullet to contact skin, the dendrotoxin of the ICER round will put that target down for at least an hour. What? He's trying to get Gordon some prisoners to interrogate.

Helena Wayne has posed:
A few of the men do surrender. It seems GCPD's reputation for corruption might come with a few perks, like criminals being pretty sure they can bribe their way out later. Either that or these man have confidence in some high-powered lawyers backing them up, but that's a problem for the DA more than GCPD. Buzz-cut, on the other hand, has a mission.

In the chaos of the fight, Helena dashes back to the line she abandoned earlier, reeling it in to bring herself back up to the deck. If any of the GCPD are watching for vigilantes, there's a flash of black and purple before she disappears over the rail again. Whatever's happening here...she still needs evidence, and a way to follow these pawns back up the food chain.

Jim Gordon has posed:
The GCPD are on cleanup now. Three officers are injured. The surrendering thugs are being processed and read their rights. Jim Gordon is speaking to another officer present, "Anyone they mentioned I want relieved of duty pending a full investigation by Internal Affairs."
    These men are small fry. There are always plenty more of them. But it's still a large drug bust and one less thing coming in to the city.
    Until the next one.

Helena Wayne has posed:
It's a close-call on the ship as Helena has just enough time to break into a few crates and pocket samples before Buzz-cut makes it back into the main office, a hand over his side. The GCPD's bullet may have hit a vest, but there's still blood there, and he's going to have a hell of a bruise - maybe even some broken ribs. But his employers won't be interested in hearing about it.

Quickly, he gathers a few crates and a handful of paperwork before rushing out. A few moments later, a small boat much like Angelo's races out over the water and into the darkness.

Helena's escape is a bit more measured, swinging her way to another ship, then another, and a row of containers before she's away from the noise and the flashing lights...with a flashing light of her own to track from her phone.