13827/When in France, Diplomatically Speaking..

When in France, Diplomatically Speaking..
Date of Scene:	13 January 2023
Location:	Upper East Side
Synopsis:	A Black Cat prowls the French Consulate while a Mary Jane stands sentry. Verbal sparring is more the name of the game than clashing steel, but one of the ladies ends up ending the night empty handed when all is said and done!
Cast of Characters:	Felicia Hardy, Mary Jane Watson

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Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Some might find such a place to be an odd target. On the long stretch of Fifth Avenue, where a number of museums, high-end apartments, and other structures sit... there's a shorter building nestled in amidst the collection of taller ones. Not even the French Embassy itself, either, but the Consulate General. A smaller, sturdy structure dedicated to service for French citizens abroad. In fact, little would set it apart as something fancy and 'differnt' if not for the black and bronze plaque out front proclaiming it to be the Consulate General and the French flag hanging above the entrance.

    And this is precisely why it's a good target. Hardly four stories, and who would assume such a rather... specialized place would house anything of value? Which is where a certain Black Cat comes in as she perches on the roof of one of the flanking buildings, eyes cast towards Central Park for the time being. She had kept an eye on some shipments, knowing full well that oftentimes, lovely pieces of art as well as some relics of historical value to France and her people do come and go from this location, sometimes while on a tour of the various consulates across the country. A little slice of 'home' for the French citizens vacationing or working abroad!

    And tonight, one such item is absolutely on Black Cat's shopping list. She'll be getting a hefty discount on this item, too, the French just don't know it yet. So she perches, in the cold, in the dark. Her trademark 'cat' suit is zipped up fully to the neck, the fur lining keeping her from shivering even the slightest bit in the winter weather. She's just waiting for the clock to tick down a little more, for certain system clocks in security to reach a new cycle for the night.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
She's here on guard duty. That means being out, late at night in the cold when the embassy staff could do it on thier own. But they're inside where it's hot and they're sleeping, being paid extra while on wine and hot chocolate. And hse's out here, on her own, being paid whatever the salary is of a rookie SHIELD officer. She's wearing plainclothes, which don't do much against hte cold.

The Sonja part of her is going on about how this is practically a jungle compared to the impassibly high peaks of whatever mountain range there is in Hyborea, and Mary Jane is tuning her out for the moment. Mary Jane goe sto let out a sigh as Sonja then goes on about her to pay attention to her surroundings, even as Mary Jane goes to sigh even more. Justa nother ten hours of this shift until breakfast and she can go ahead and head to get some food and maybe a couple hours of sleep.

She goes to blow over on her hands to keep them warm. She's enhanced enough to not to feel the cold, but it still helps. She's not got the decades of suffering from the extreme weather that Sonja does to help make it not feel as bad. So even in this practically jungle sauna, she still feels a chill.

She does, however, mostly look like just a late night person wandering about so probably doesn't immediately send a signal of 'security'.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    New York never really does sleep. Someone lingering outside of the consulate does bear watching, though, and those aquamarine eyes behind the mask watch MJ for a few moments. Depending on how far she wanders though, may or may not send up a red flag for the Black Cat. Still, it gets to 'go or no go' and the timing is key. She locks a grapple into the side of the roof ledge she's leaning on and proceeds to slide down the rope to the roof of the consulate proper.

    There's a conveniently place skylight over the main lobby, as well as the usual array of HVAC vent systems and a roof hatch. She peers through the skylight, hugging the rooftop, checking for cameras and guards on the inside, and also to see if her prize is actually within the sizable vestibule.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
And Mary Jane -sees- it. That minimal, oh so minimal shift of motion. The grapple going over the side and moving to the ledge and the woman zipping across it.. She would swear under her breath while Sonja would lecture her over on tactics and attention.. No way she could run in and alert everyone inside in time. So she takesa few steps back.. And moves to hopefully when Felicia's back is turned head to the wall. Whatever it is, whether concrete, cheap linoleum, or brownstone.. There's little to actually grab onto, she can't jump.. So she has to clamber.
    And the Sonja in her speaks. Hands go out. FEet latch on. Points of attachment are confirmed. And Sonja.. That can clamber up the side of a mountain, a castle, a fortress wall.. Going up the side of a consulate is nothing. And so as Felicia goes to check in through the skylight, Mary Jane is climbing up after her.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia does not have eyes in the back of her head, nor does she have preternatural hearing. In fact, her perceptions are largely the normal variety, it's her body where all of the special lies. And her suit. So she does, in fact, miss Sonja catching sight of her. Well, not the best timing, to be sure. But when Felicia doesn't find her prize through the skylight, she's moving towards the roof entry instead. There's a hatch, and a door to a stairwell. Typical options, though the hatch itself might lead to a maintenance or cleaning storeroom. The locked stairwell door? Child's play.

    For the Black Cat, mechanical locks are nothing. She slips the tools out of a pockt in her suit and has to spend precious little effort in unlocking the door. There's that sweet, telltale 'click' and she very carefully runs a credit-card sized device through the crack to spoof the alarm sensor before pulling the door open. MJ might be climing up the outside front of the building, but Felicia is already poised to slip inside. It's after midnight and her low-light lenses turn on as needed.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane is not that fast. By the time Felicia's gotten through the locks, she's maybe two thirds of the way up. There's very litlte to hold on, and Mary Jane does not have Sonja's callusses. An ancient knowledge is still that. channeled through her, of the girl unsure. Even as Sonja guides her from handholds that shouldn't be up there, she can only scramble up harder. But not faster. Even as fingers compress to dig in, to haul her up, a foot kicks into teh wall to brace, and she makes for another few inches.

FElicia has all the time she needs to to duck inside even as Mary Jane is pullin gherself over.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Click. The door is shut. All signs of Felicia's forced entry are gone. All that's left on the rooftop is the howling wind and the promise of snow, pregnant clouds hanging heavy in the sky above. Of course, with the roof hatch locked from the inside and none of the skylights actually able to be opened without a heavy rock, there's only one way in.

    And that way in is populated by a Black Cat slinking down the stairs, taking full advantage of her night sight to find her way around. The Consulate is a publicly open building, so getting a tour and getting proper intelligence on the layout was never a /hard/ thing. But, this particular acquisition was new enough to either be placed in the front area on full display, or the music hall for reasons of showcasing it in a proper setting.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
And Mary Jane is finally able to get upwards, panting over as she would scramble seeing the rooftop open and grumble to herself. YOu've got to be kidding me.. She goes to quickly move over to try and dart along to drop on down. Okay, the way is open.. Someone's here to grab something. SHe doesn't know what or where she is..
    So she goes to let Sonja come into control. The thief's instincts from many a loot and plunder of an old tomb, a fortress, a king's castle, a caravan.. They all give the perspective of where the good things are. And Mary Jane strides faster.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Of course there's art pieces scattered around the entire building. But the epicenter of the 'valuables' would be, in fact, that music hall. Wonderful seating. A grand piano. A chandelier. And of course, lovely, valuable, shiny things. Shiny things like massive paintings that are measured in feet instead of inches. The imported classical piano itself. The crystal chandelier. And even the chairs! The seating in this sizable hall isn't stackable metal-bodied chairs that you'd find in any old convention hall. No, these are absolutely lovely and one could even say luxurious.

    But what exactly is the Cat here for? She wouldn't be able to lift paintings that sized through the upstairs door, and such things are terribly unwieldly anyway...

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
There's a sense of things over to Sonja. Some things one steals when they're properly looting and pillaging. Other things are taken in small amounts. Coins, jewels, weapons.. THe types of things that one can carry on them quickly and move with. So whatever the thief is after to purrloin, it will be something compact. Mary Jane goes along, trying to get a -feel- for where she is. OF what she's after. And she gets a sense of not sure.
    She goes to reach down to pull out her ICER, and moves to skulk through the darkness, trying to catchup with the girl.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Contrary to certain thoughts, though, it's not something compact that Felicia is after. She is, in fact, in that concert hall. While there's a massive painting here, and the piano there as some of the most utterly and blatantly valuable objects in the consulate, she's working on something else.

    A rug.

    There's a rug from the 19th century carefully hanging on one of the walls. A beautiful tapestry of sorts. And that... is what she's working on removing. On taking. With her strength, it's nothing. So while MJ is hoping the cat becomes the mouse, Felicia is removing the mounting hardware from the rug with clear intent for it to be featured in her penthouse.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Okay. She's off to shag a rug. This makes little sense, and part of Mary Jane is thinking that smoeone stealing things like this isn't really that big of a threat. THe other part of her is noting that she's put here on guard duty and if something is taken it means that she gets transferred over to cleaning the fuel intake valves on the Hellicarrier. So, while Felicia is going to focus up and over on her rug..
    Mary Jane goes to raise up her ICER, going to ready a round and then if she can get a shot lined up move to fire a dart over at the thief's rather curved posterior!

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Maybe it's the reflection in the wall sconce nearby, but Felicia catches some movement as she finishes pulling down the last piton holding the corner up. She lets it whump to the floor and turns around, narrowing her bright eyes at MJ. "Well now I wondered how long it would take someone to notice little old me..." she cocks her hips to one side, resting a hand upon one, the other lifted up in a shrugging motion. "Pity I'm not here to indulge in your power fantasy..." she gives a playful wink.

    All the while, she's focusing completely on MJ and the ICER. Maybe, just maybe, forcing a little bit of that extraordinary Black Cat bad luck to make MJ regret crossing her path.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane is just a little bit on edge. She would qiup over, "You were sloppy. You totally should have checked your perimeter before going in. But you were focused on just what was in front of you." And then as Mary Jane goes to move to take the gun up again to fire another shot, it fizzes! Something in it fuses over as the gun goes to jam. That's not supposed to happen at -all-. It's not a Walther PPK!
    Mary Jane goes to swear over as she goes through the manual process of trying to clear the gun, while standing defensively.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia makes a 'tch' noise. "Oh come now, red. I thought you were just waiting to catch a bus.. usually the guards here are stuffy suits, not gorgeous women wielding SHIELD standard-issue toys..." she makes a dismissive gesture and uses the moment she's got to simply.... work on rolling up the rug. With her strength it isn't hard at all. And it's not like it's a huge wall-to-wall rug! "But I do believe that this is mine... and I do hope you don't block the way out or things might get a little... dicey..." she tsks.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
She can't get the gun to fix itself in time, and if she attacks the girl directly she risks ripping up the old rug. This melee isn't worth risking breaking something so old over. She's not going to level half of a display to stpo someone from stealing an old vase. So she goes to her steady backups. A pair of twinned batons with heavy reinforced tips. They're drawn out solidly. While Felicia's busy tsk-ing and going to yoink the carpet..
    Mary Jane takes that tenty of a second o fan opening to go to strike out quickly, trying to hit Felicia in the knee!

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "Less interested in talking, red?" Felicia doesn't quite have the carpet up, and it's still pretty big! Six feet by six feet square, perhaps! She watches those batons come out and doesn't so much skirt back as just... swing the whole-ass rug at MJ. A half step in retreat to avoid the baton strike and both arms giving that thirty-odd pounds of carpet a good, wide swing. "But I really don't have time for you~ So much prettier if you weren't trying to break my knees~"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
And MJ just goes to hit the ground on her knees while charging, ducking back as if it was a limbo contest, even as the rug would be flung past her head. Sliding along desperately on her knees, back arched enough to let the rug be flung past her! Even as she's moving to strike up and swing with the baton, going to try and hit Felicia in the opposite knee to have her stagger. "Well, guess I'll have to mark myself down on your schedule."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    The rug is heavy and is a hell of a counter-weight. The swing and a miss makes her follow through without wanting to put in the effort to just halt it mid-motion. "My dance card is awfully full, red," she sighs, exasperated, "Would you prefer a coffee on the go instead?" she asks, bringing her free hand down, claws of her fur-lined gloves extending to proect her forearm from the baton and making the sound of metal sound out with a 'CLINK!'

    "So talk or walk, I don't have all night~"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
The claws come out, and Mary Jane smirks, "Guess we're going to need to see if there's more than one way to skin a cat." There's an unspoken agreement here in her maneuvers. Nothing that risks damage to the place, setting off teh alarms, or other. Just a melee. Her batons held up in front of her, even as teh ICER would be back in it's holster. She disengages over from Felicia, the challenge laid. "All right, speaking of things.."
    Mary Jane snarks, "Your shoelace is untied." Following with an attempted snap kick to Felicia's chin!

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    A snowy brow is lifted as MJ disengages. Felicia looks wary, watching for a moment. She sways a little, the motion of her hips almost hypnotic. Then that snap kick comes and Felicia drops the rug. It hits the floor with a WHUMP and she cartwheels backwards just in time to avoid the kick. The agile maneuver isn't followed through completely as she just handsprings backwards towards the wall.

    She gets more than enough height with her catlike prowess and ends up securing herself up near the ceiling. Her palms prace against the ceiling while her boots press into the wall in a wide stance, like an an angled support strut on a bridge. "Really, now? What is this, elementary school? Come now, red, I was hoping I could expect better of you."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "Well, I don't know, Blondie. Where's the fun in things if you're going to not do it the traditional way? Where's the point if you're just going to grab it, make a one liner, and shoot out? You're just going to run away when I'm here to play with?" She wouldn't go on the attack as Felicia would brace on the wall.
    "Or you just going to stand me up like the last boy I dated?" Pouting. Trying to lure Felicia in rather than fleeing.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia laughs, "Is that how it works?" she asks. Her suit is pulled taut against her body in this position, too, and she's not above giving a little flex here and there to show off as she punctuates her words with it: "Please, I'm not your former boy-toy. I might be the black cat but I'm not here to play with you. I told you my dance card was full, and I'm simply not in the mood to dance with you~"

    Then she easily frees a hand and tosses her hair with it, "And I'm not /blonde/," she huffs. "Not a hint of gold in these snowy locks, red," she leaps towards the chandelier, grips the base of it, and artfully swings around to land on the opposite side of MJ.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
And as Felicia goes to jump over to the opposite end of the room, Mary Jane twirls. One of her batons is launched and -thrown- across the room. Right when FElicia is mid-leap, hyper-flexible or not, there's only so much room one can have while fully extended in a jump. THe impact is enough to hit Felicia's upper thigh and cut off what would be an otherwise flawless landing. The baton bounces away - she's not Daredevil who can make it bounce back.
    "Well, I guess it's just not your time to shine then, Blondie."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    THWUMP! The baton hits, but she still aces the landing. Her catsuit absorbs a good bit of the impact and so does her decidedly firm thigh in general. It does make her stagger slightly and she sighs at MJ. "...now you're just being petty. I really, really don't care to stick around and play for you just because you're itching for a fight." She leans over and snatches up the thrown baton before hurling it back at MJ with enough force to embed it in one of the walls. Maybe the kitty is getting a little agitated.

    "If you're bored, you can always go home and play with yourself instead~" she titters and blows a kiss before making a move for the exit she'd come through.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Whoa! Mary Jane didn't think that she was that strong. There's no way that she's going to keep up with the cat in a chase. She goes to blow a kiss over at Felicia, "Well, hate to say it but you're going to be the one with a sore hand when you get back and nothing else to show for it." The embed in the wall hopefully has gotten off some alert. She can't keep up with Felicia as the girl goes to head for the exit even as she goes to run after Felicia.
    Knowing it rationally is one thing. Having to -accept- that is another. However, Felicia is far, far stronger and faster than she is. The pursuit is academic.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "Oh please, I wouldn't worry about my hands, and who says I have nothing to show for it, mm?" She pauses and holds up her hand, a beautiful ruby held between her fingers. The corner tassels of the rug had them, tied and held fast by thread to give a hint of color and accent. Old rugs certainly were /fancy/. She'd pilfered all four of them when the scuffle started. Then there's a wink of a bright aquamarine eye and she darts off into the shadows.

    Her destination? That stairwell back to the roof! She knows the way, and it's not a long trip. She'd rather be in the open than being chased through a consulate, though!

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
There's a sigh over from Mary Jane as she goes to race up and along. "Really, this is small fry. Why can't you go do what everyone else does and try and rob the Gotham City Museum? OR better yet, Fisk Towers?" Charging after Felicia darting into the shadows. Then she goes for a risk. Namely for ar unning jump as Felicia goes towards the stairs. At a full sprint it might give her more speed! But it leaves her vulnerable if she doesn't land it properly or Felicia turns to hit her!

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Maybe Felicia is just fast and more agile. But she isn't about to rest on her laurels or air of superiority entirely. She can hear the sudden lack of feet pounding on the floor, that leap. A hand dives into one of her pockets as she runs and she throws a round object at the floor as hard as she can. Which, with her strength? Is very, very hard.

    It POPS and suddenly there's a cloud of smoke exploding out from the floor. It swirls in her wake as she rushes up the stairs and out into the frigid night

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
WHAM! That would haev caught Mary Jane if she hadn't been far ahead. Even still, she's caught up in the haze of smoke and loses track of the exact position where Felicia is. And her charging through it still displaces quite a bit of it, making her own location much simpler to predict!

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    If Mary Jane is setting herself up to brace for a strike from the smoke, she'll be disappointed. Felicia continues to beat a hasty retreat, preferring to both get out with something to show for it, and not get her hands too dirty, either. In fact, who knows if poor MJ will get a talking to when her baton is stuck in a wall near a fallen rug! That is to say though that no attack follows. In fact, Felicia uses the distraction to get out and take a long, deep breath of the cold bracing night air and maybe, maybe just wait a moment for Mary Jane to catch up.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
And with only one baton now, Mary Jane is going to cough as she runs up and out. Well aware at this point she's in no real position to attack with hte baton.. But, the low hum is that of her ICER having been unjammed, and presuming she can over as FElicia is silhouetted up and over agaisnt the cold, but clear sky.. She moves to try and fire it!

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia was waiting. But not to assault or attack. She likes being watched. She adores the spectacle. She wants those she does battle with and chases her to know she's bested them. It's the thrill of the slip. So she's charitable with this one thing, and this one thing only. There's Mary Jane now. And Felicia is smiling. And though she's focused on MJ and her ICER, she isn't pushing her 'luck'. No, the gun fires and since she's so intently engaged in the moment, she gives a little twist of her hips and lets the bullet sail right past her.

    Right into Central Park. "...careful where you're firing that... I thought you SHIELD types tried to avoid collateral damage?" she teases, taunting MJ a little bit as she takes slow, backwards steps towards the skylight--and beyond that, the edge of the building that does indeed face 5th Street and Central Park.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
And Mary Jane fires and the dart zooms right past her, and Mary Jane muses, "Right you are." She would go over, "Speaking of that.." She goes to even as Felicia moves to casually pirouette past the bullet and Mary Jane goes to watch Felicia take a few steps back..
    "Yoru shoelaces are untied." Whaa?
    Then Mary Jane is charging over at Felicia, trying to smash into her with a full body tackle while she was so carefully balanced!

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Again with the schoolyard tease and taunt. If Felicia can dodge a bullet, what hope does a rampaging MJ, or perhaps Sonja, have? Well she certainly doesn't hold her ground. She doesn't even really move, either. No, she just lifts her arm with the artful grace that she exudes as much as her sexuality and there's a POF! as one of the grapples in her glove fires off. It slams into the wall of the adjacent building, which is several stories higher than the consulate, and just... yanks her away from the rooftop.

    "You really should learn better hero banter, Red... and maybe check the park to make sure a child or a pet doesn't try to eat that dreadful paralytic dart you launched at me..." she says, the wind pulling at that long, white hair as she zips rapidly towards the side of the other building. Her feet hit the concrete side of the building and her legs bend, showing off the muscles in her thighs for a moment as she just hangs there, perpendicular and watching MJ for a moment.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would smirk over at Felicia, "I think this is the point that I say better luck next time." She goes to then take out the ICER - no way she can make the shot, and Felicia's too far out of range as she goes to holster it. She moves to give the girl a salute and then casually goes to leap off the building to land. Well.. So much for her getting an assignment that's not going to be on dishwashing duty or degaussing the retro-thrusters of the Hellicarrier. Them's the breaks when you don't do the job well.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "I could say the same for you, Red~" Felicia once more takes one of those crimson gems out, tosses it up in her hand and catches it before securing it again. She winks and blows a kiss before freeing the grapple, only to kick off with both legs, get a good amount of distance, and latch on to a building further up 5th. One could almost imagine her taking cues from a certain urban spider with the way she's zipping off into the city sprawl of the Upper East Side.