14233/Blood Money in the FiDi

Blood Money in the FiDi
Date of Scene:	23 February 2023
Location:	Financial District
Synopsis:	MJ has a run in with Kaine Parker while he's on a job. She scolds him for his brutal method and threatens an escalation. In the end, she lands one heartfelt request 'Wear a different symbol if he's not going to live up to the legacy'
Cast of Characters:	Kaine Parker, Mary Jane Watson

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Kaine Parker has posed:
The FiDi. The Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Home of the infamous New York Stock Exchange. Where so much money exchanges hand, crime might be uncommon, but justice often seems lacking. Those well beneath the financial giants' notice must still scrimp by for a living, plying whatever trade they might have.

For Kaine Parker, he lives off the inherent conflicts between the various overlords of Manhattan and other ventures within the world. Conflicts that would take too long to resolve in the legal system.

In the shadow of a skyscraper perched on a glass pane just out of immediate view of the diligent workers within, he watches the street. A spider-man in black and red. The costume looks almost angry. It suits Kaine well.

Beneath, a older gentleman with gray on the edges of his temple walks at a crisp space for his next appointment in one of the exchanges. He carries a briefcase with unknown contents.

Another larger man clad in a similar business suit steps in his way. He extends his hand and requests, "Give me the case."

When the request is not honored, a tug of war ensues between the two. Kaine from his nearby perch swears in irritation and begins to descend the building. Someone had beaten him to his mark.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
In the area goes one Mary Jane Watson. Fresh off assignment where she had had to play arm candy for another agent on observation duty on the floor of the stock exchange, playing the pretty one to be the backup for said agent on a stakeout. However it had gone it was over, and she had changed and looked tired from having to play her 'role' for so long. No matter that it was the same as the shell she'd always kept up throughout her life. It was still draining and irritating. Now on her way to take the bus to go to Aunt Anna's to crash..

Right when she would hear the sounds of a scuffle. And that has her going on an interception arc towards the man that had started the tug of war. Not sure what the contents of the briefcase were, but just that if the other man had specifically been targetting it as well as the specific man, it had to be somewhat important.

So with quick strides she goes towards it - careful to use the crowd as a shield, taking the route that had the least amount of people. Presuming the other man won the tug of war, he'd be running in the direction with the least amount of blockage to get away, and it was far too crowded for him to get a cab.

So if he did 'win' she would be right in a place to intercept him.

Kaine Parker has posed:
Mary Jane's assessment of the situation proves true as the men wrenches the suitcase away, front kicks the older man to the ground, and then begins running through a gap in the crowd.

There is the expected outcry from nearby pedestrians. Some are shocked. Some are just jaded New Yorkers. The tropish "Hey! I'm Walking Here!" is proclaimed as the runner bumps into a random bystander.

Another tries to be hero, likely inspired by the various vigilantes and superheroes that had become part of daily life. He gets a fist in the nose and falls to the ground clutching his face.

Soon enough, he's in striking distance of MJ.

Meanwhile above, Kaine connects a webline to his current perch and then leaps into a freefall, accelerating quickly to terminal velocity. Off in the distance, someone has the good fortune of seeing his descent. They call out the classic "Hey, it's Spider-man!" that prompts some other on-lookers to look up.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane knows what Peter's current costume is, even if she's not spending as much time with him as she would have at on epoint in her life. As the man goes to race forwards, Mary Jane goes to stick her foot out in front of him to try and hit his knee. If she can, going ot snap it to the side and twist it around hard. That's not a Sonja move; it's more of a normal self defense one. Her intent is to just try and knock him down and disable his ability to run. Assessing if he has a gun or not, which makes things a litlte more difficult.

But there's someone on-site that can handle it. OF course, that's presuming that Kaine wouldn't go down to beat the man to the point of crippling. Which can be somewhat of a risk. So Mary Jane goes to hopefully intercept the man escaping with the briefcase with her position, sending him hopefully dropping while also being in a position where she can be a subtle intercept point for Kaine. IF he wants at the man he's going to have to -fully- jump over to bypass her.

Which would likely slow him down just a thousandths or so of a second, tops, mind.

Kaine Parker has posed:
MJ's foot connects solidly with the knee. However, instead of the joint bending awkward, there's the resistance of metal. It is evidence of some kind of brace or armor beneath his business suit. However, the kick does disrupt his gait. He stumbles and topples, rolling to the side while clutching the suit case.

He glares daggers up at MJ and yells, "What the hell is your problem?!"

A free-hand starts reaching into his suit likely searching for a weapon. The anticipated gun is produced.

Meanwhile, Kaine begins to decelerate as the webline grows taunt behind him. Folding over, he gives the line a strong tug to slow down his descent even further until he's at a safe velocity for a landing.

While MJ likely does not need the help and may already be taking action to handle the gun. It will prove unnecessary as Kaine lands on the man's chest.

There is a deep gasp, the cracking of concrete, and a flailing of limbs. The man's condition is readily known, but at the vary least, a hospital visit is needed in the near future. It's a very not Spider-man move, and it leaves some in the crowd confused.

Rising from a crouch on the man's chest, he reaches for the suitcase while glancing toward MJ. "Thanks for the kick. Made this a whole lot easier."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would glance over at Kaine, "WEll, for starters, what -are- you after?" She's not sure of his exact codename, she just knwos very well now which one he is. He's the brutal one. The man has brutal damage as quickly as she can assess. Even presuming he's not crippled, he's going to be on the hospital for months, and have major paralysis problems.

Her tone is firm and icy. She has a strong idea of what he is and what he can do, eve nif not the specifics.

"Explanation. Now." Then she goes to sing-song sweetly, "Or I'll tell." Because she did know just who to tattle-tale about him and she had very, very few qualms about doing so. And probably one of the last things that Kaine wanted to do hopefully would be lectured by Peter. Still, she's trying to talk him down or at least intimidate him over into explaining what was going on.

Kaine Parker has posed:
The Spiderman in black and red takes the suitcase by the handle and then steps off of the unconscious man. He tilts his head at the "Or I'll tell." and grunts. It was a good guess on her part, he didn't want the extra heat of coping with his progenitor.

He pats the suitcase, "This. Job was to retrieve it before someone else did. Looks like I was late to the game."

Glancing down toward the assailant now victim, he continues the story. "I'm just going to guess this is one of Kingpin's goons. They've been armoring up lately."

He toes at the man's jacket and reveals body armor over a dress-shirt. "My next guess is... it's a race for blackmail or someone wants insider trading tips."

Looking back to the red hair, he asks in a clipped tone, "That good enough for you?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would glance over at Kaine then, "And who hired you?" Her otne is rather flat. She has a few guesses.. And given the way that superheroes and budgeting handle things, and she knows at least a couple places that -might- hire Kaine that she's fairly sure haven't..

She gives Kaine a very, very solid stare. It's not SHIELD, it's not the Wild Pack, and any large corporationw ould handle that sort of thing in-house.

Which leaves likely another supervillain type. That may or may not be accurate, but Mary Jane can narrow down the list a bit. She doesn't advance on Kaine, but crosses her arms.

"I'll give you the chance to explain yourself, /Mister/."

Kaine Parker has posed:
Kaine listens, his head listing to the side in slight irritation. The original owner of the suitcase runs up on the pair and offers a "Oh my god. Thanks Spider-"

Kaine cuts him off with a raised finger. "I'm not -that- Spider-man, and you aren't getting this back."

His attention focuses back on MJ. "I'm working with a broker. I know just enough to take the job, and if I did know, telling you would be bad for business. I'm not even going to bother with a 'Nice try'."

The original owner panics and looks around frantically. He finally reaches for a pocket and pulls out a cellphone. There's an abrupt thwip of web and a tug. He's disarmed of the cellphone, the device skidding across the ground.

"Can I go now, /Miss/?" He asks of MJ.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would glance over at Kaine, "All right. But if I see something like this happening again I am going to have -words- with a mutual acquaintance of both of us and there is going to be a sit down over it and a talk. And if this keeps up we may have to escalate up the chain."

There could be only really one person in the world that could be considered an escalation over Peter.

Kaine Parker has posed:
The mask's eyes are expressionless, but the handle of the suitcase crunches just a little bit as collateral damage for his growing anger.

He points a finger at MJ, "Let's be clear. That threat is only effective because the outcome is annoying. Think twice before involving him. If you do, you should be nice and foot his hospital bill."

"Stop jerking my chain. I'm tame compared to some of the others working the street, and no one is going to cry over one more goon in the hospital. He'll be on ADA in a few months, and not hurting anyone anymore." Kaine gazes down at the man on the ground then picks up the cellphone he'd thwipped off the other man.

He dials 911, "A man needs immediate medical attention at..." He calls out the street corner before he hangs up the phone.

"That good enough for you... Or are we going to have a problem?" He finally asks.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would fold her hands together and just tsk, "Even you have limits. And I'm not talking about annoying. I'm talking about if this goes on having an intervention and a sit down." By that, she means with someone that's far, far harder to just evade over like Peter.

With the way she talks it can only be May.

"We are not. For now. But I've given you a warning and I'll be checking in on you from time to time in case I need to carry it out."

Kaine Parker has posed:
Unfortunately, Kaine doesn't seem to have the relationship with the matriarchal figure. Maybe that's why he's such a black sheep. He lacks those memories and cannot benefit from them like Ben and Peter.

However, the vagueness leaves Kaine spooked. He assumes some other superhero.

"What? You got the Avengers on a hotline or something?" He shakes his head and then holds his hands up in the air, suitcase dangling from one. "Warning received."

He makes no promises of improved behavior and turns in preparation to cast a web-line. "From the way you are talking, if you've got connections, you could try hiring me instead of busting my balls. Easier way to keep on me on the straight and narrow. Point me at the bad guys."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "I don't have those kind. I only have one kind." SHe would shrug, "And go ahead. Just remember in the end that you stand for something bigger. And that.." SHe would gesture over at the Spider-symbol. "Means a lot to people. So if you're going to keep up with this kind of life.."

Her tone would be soft.. And sad. "Wear another one if you don't want to adhere to those things."

Kaine Parker has posed:
Kaine looks down a the Spider-symbol and is silent for a moment. Her tone strikes a chord. He's left speechless. He gazes once more toward his victim. His jaw moves beneath his mask.

Finally, he grunts. It's the closest she'll get to an acknowledgement. The sounds of an ambulance echo a few streets down. He looks back toward MJ. His mouth opens beneath the mask as if he's about to speak, but his mouth clinches shut.

Shaking his head, he casts his webline and tugs himself into the sky over the streets of Manhattan cursing his luck. He didn't need an existential crisis today.