14033/Who is missing now

Who is missing now
Date of Scene:	04 February 2023
Location:	Mercy's Garage
Synopsis:	Conner is doing some research and meets Mercy and Marie-Ange
Cast of Characters:	Conner Kent, Mercy Thompson, Marie-Ange Colbert

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Conner Kent has posed:
It is another too cold day in New York, the weather is still unreasonably chilly. Some blame it to mutants, some blame it to climate change, and some think it is all caused by Spider-Man, the newspaper say so! Conner suspects Dr. Doom, himself.

He is really not too bothered by the weather, and he is just wearing a leather jacket over a flannel shirt. He also has a tablet in his hands and seems to be loitering around Mercy's Garage, occasionally showing a passerby something from his tablet. Most New Yorkers ignore him; it must be too cold for whatever he selling.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy is used to the weather, but she's a fan of hot and dry. This means that on days like this her space heaters for the garage bays are a must. That and wearing lots of layers. Her shop doesn't always open on Saturdays as it is when she can work on projects and the like. That's why the shop says closed, but she's in the bay working on a VW Bug.
    Her sharp ears can hear someone who's hanging around outside and talking to people and her curiosity gets the better of her. She opens the bay door and takes a moment to view the young man there before stepping out and closing the door behind herself to keep the heat in. "Hey there," calling out to him as she walks toward him. "What'cha got there?"

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Cold weather was not one of Marie-Ange Colbert's favorite things, and it's one reason that she's a bit disappointed in her fellow prognosticator, Punxsutawney Phil, for declaring six more weeks of Winter rather than an early Spring.

While she might not care too much for the cold -- though, she'll admit the snow can be fun at least! -- she knows how to dress for it. Black, knee-length coat with thick black leggings underneath, snow boots, gloves, and a white pom-pom hat pulled down over her head to nearly her ears.

At the moment, she's walking around a bit... well. New Yorkers would probably recognize it as the gait of a lost tourist. Not that Marie's actually a tourist, but the city's so big that she still gets lost from time to time!

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner turns to flash a brief smile to Mercy, "hello! I am just... ah, well, asking the neighbourhood about possibly missing people. It is actually not important, just college project..." but he shows mercy the tablet, where a dozen faces can be seen. Most are men, most are middle-aged or older, and most look weathered and tired, shabby clothes, ungroomed faces.

"They lived in the area as six months ago," he mentions. "No one has seen them this year, not even the police and social services," trust the bat computers in this. "Do you remember them, miss?"

Marie-Ange is given a glance, and when she is close enough, a question. "Hello, do you live in the neighbourhood?"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy glances at the tourist and notes that she's not the normal group that wander around here. She's about to say something when Conner mentions missing people. That puls her focus back to him and the faces there. "I haven't heard anything about missing locals. Least not that I recall. I do better with people I met in person then just pictures." She gives the tablet its due consideration. "Do you have names or know what any of them drove?"
    Mercy glances back to the 'tourist' and says, "She's not local. Least not one that's been around for a long time. You alright miss?" Since she seems a bit lost. "If you are looking for the park, it's about four blocks that way or so." As she points south and a little east.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
A stranger's voice can be a scary thing, to some people. Not so much to Marie, who stops and turns to face Conner. His question is met both with a shake of her head, and verbally. "Non, Monsieur. I live, ah, how you say... upstate?" The accent, however, pegs her as being from much father away than that.

Then, her attention turns to Mercy. She's about to say something when her question is answered before she can get it out! "Aha! Merci, Madame. Oui, I am to be meeting someone there in a little while, but my driver did not seem to understand my request." Or, the Uber driver decided to mess with what's clearly a foreigner, regardless of where she lives. It happens sometimes.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner hmms, "some... some nicknames. They had no known residence," mentions they young man. "About a thousand people go missing long-term in New York every year. I mean, longer than a month. Many of them are never heard about again, alive or dead." He explains to both Mercy and Marie-Ange.

He pulls back the tablet. "Sorry. Not something tourists come to learn about the city. Oh... Conner Kent. Hi. Just doing college homework by asking weird questions to innocent New Yorkers."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy frowns at hearing how someone got dropped off in the wrong spot. "I can write down directions for you if you need them. Just tell me where you need to get to." She motions the woman over and does her best to seem non threatening, she's usually pretty good at that. "I'm Mercy by the way," introducing herself to them both as she points at the sign for the business.
    "Sorry I can't be more help Conner. I mean I know people go missing often and for all kinds of reasons. Not always some big plot or something horribly scary. I can try to keep my ears open but you don't have a lot to go on with such cold cases."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie opens her mouth, closes it after deciding otherwise, and opens it again as she walks to join the group properly. "My name is Marie-Ange Colbert. Enchante!" A pause. "College homework? Which of the universities do you go to, Monsieur Kent?" 'Kent'. That surname is familiar to Marie, and her face scrunches a bit as she tries to place it. Moving on, "Do not trouble yourself. Such things do not worry me -- I just wish I could do more to help." She can read the future; however, without the person whose future she's reading around to impart their energy into her cards... it's kind of a no-go.

Mercy gets a bright smile, "That would be most wonderful, if it would not be trouble?" she asks, before digging her phone out of a pocket and thumbing through it to pull up text messages, scrolling... and showing the phone to Mercy. "This is the place, do you know it, Madame Mercy?" She wasn't too far off from her destination, at least!

Conner Kent has posed:
"Oh, I am not trying to find them," after all, what chance has a random college student to find people missing for several months?

Well, you would be surprised. But no, even for him it would be a lot of luck.

"No. What I am trying to know is if anyone in the neighbourhood still -remembers- them. So far no one admits so." And they can't blame Spider-Man for it, can they? "Er... I am a journalism major at the Empire State University. Currently conducting a depressing survey. I think my teacher hates me."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    "Just Mercy is fine, Miss Colbert." She will lean in and look at the phone with the address. "Yeah. I can get you close enough and avoid any further getting lost." Mercy pulls a cloth out of a pocket in her overalls to wipe at her hands vigorously. Then she heads over to the garage to get inside it and to the office where there is some paper she can write down notes and a quick map on for the woman. She's only gone about a minute or so. Then she's jogging back to hand it over. "Here you go. That should help and I put my business number on there so if you get lost you can call again."
    "Kind of hard to remember people from a few pictures like that. Those pictures don't have a lot of life to them. I mean think of the pictures we keep to remember someone by, they're not just mug shots or something." Mercy buttons up her coveralls after she hands over the note. "I mean people you ask about remembering me are going to be the guy who I order stupid amounts of chicken from. Those who's cars I fix as that weird skinny girl. Maybe those who try my baking. Only my closest who really know me are going to get past that surface level stuff." She looks at Conner and says, "Like you clearly are an empathetic man. You are interested in truth and communication. I bet you like to fly or higher up views, just a random hunch, You are healthy and in shape. But that's all pretty surface stuff. I don't know if you are a dog lover or a cat person. If you have a favorite book or all that weird stuff you learn as you know someone better."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Conner's earned a couple of points in Marie's book, "Journalism? My girlfriend is studying that, too!" she exclaims with an excited tone. "Well, if there is anything I can do to help, Monsieur Kent, please let me know." Once she has her phone back, she'll flip over to contacts and display her number on the screen, "Should you have to survey college students, or something." A nod. She's not the ideal audience, here... though if people are going missing with no /memory/ of them? Marie can't help but wonder if it's not something to ask Dr. Grey about.

Directions obtained from Mercy, she regards the woman with another of those bright smiles. "Merci, Ma-- ah... Mercy." Marie replies, taking the paper. "I am in your debt." A look up at the building she came from, "Perhaps I can send you customers, should anyone I know look for a mechanic, oui?" Beam. "It was nice meeting you both, and I hope your studies go well, Monsieur Kent!"

Conner Kent has posed:
"I'm a dog pers..." starts Conner, but Marie has to go, so he smiles at the French girl. "Take care, see you around." Anyway. Cats are evil. Sagenod.

"I can make the pictures larger, see?" Conner taps the tablet, and yes, more than a mugshot, and at least in this case three more pictures of a grey-bearded, slightly overweight fiftysomething man. "Really. I know most people pay little attention in big cities. But I have asked maybe five hundred people in the last week and I got two positives. It is pretty sad, I know by face two dozen homeless that hang around the ESU campus. I have talked to most of them. I know some names."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy will wave to the woman who's off to meet with friends or whatever and looks back to Conner more directly. "You should really try near Pop's. That's among the heart of the community for Harlem. I'm somewhat new to the area and not everyone talks to me as much as they may others." Most see her as just a white-girl even if she's only half that.
    "Then you are a far more caring and observant man then most I know. I know those near my shop rather well. Yet you get more then three blocks from here and my knowledge of the people drops off fast. It doesn't help that I value my own privacy. Even if I can be horribly curious at times." She has a hard time explaining to 'normal people' that she does much better with scent then faces and names on who she meets. "The former owner of the shop likely knew your guy but he's retired and moved on."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Near Pop's? Okay, I'll try," he shakes his head at the comment he is particularly caring or observant. Well, maybe observant, but that is more because he just sees and hears a bit too much all the time. And yet in the observation department he can't compare with some of his friends that have -no- superpowers whatsoever.

"Knowing people within three city blocks seems a good range," he admits. "That is several hundreds. I wonder if I could manage that in a few more years." He smiles again. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Mercy. I guess I should get back to the Village. Tomorrow I will ask around a last time."

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    "It feels small to me. I grew up in some pretty open back country. An isolated town where we all pretty much all knew each other." Mercy leaves the werewolf part out. "So when you considered the farms and woods around that area it was a territory almost as big as Manhattan Island." She nods her head and waves to Conner, "Good luck out there. Pop's is that way. If you want a meal try the chicken from the place a block farther. You won't regret it. Long as you aren't a wimp about spice." She turns toward the garage to walk back slowly. "See you around."