14258/Private Investigations

Private Investigations
Date of Scene:	26 February 2023
Location:	Alias Investigations
Synopsis:	The Red Hood investigates the offices and owner of Alias Investigations. Words are had and some future plans are formed.
Cast of Characters:	Jason Todd, Rachel Goldman, Jessica Jones

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Jason Todd has posed:
Some weeks after the last encounter between Jessica Jones, or She Who Gave No Name, and the Red Hood in which they blew up a building, Red Hood is poking around Hells Kitchen. His matte black Mach 1 rumbling quietly with blacked out windows is prowling the streets in search of a particular block.

Finding it the car pulls into an alley and shuts off. Red Hood steps out and the car locks itself down, lowering its rails to the ground, rims tucking up into the wheel wells. Try steeling those rims.

And to be fair, he reflects, as he makes his way to the rooftops. That building back in Gotham had it coming. So it its owners and occupants.

Crossing the rooftops, his bulky form eases down onto a fire escape. This was the place. Bypassing any security on the window, he slips inside silently. Good. He got here first.

Slowly, idly poking around, Red Hood waits.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
The Red Hood is probably glad that he got here first initially. After a few hours of waiting, that opinion may change. As the bars start to close down, one would think that Jessica Jones would find her way home. Surely there is nothing interesting going on out there.

Just when he may be getting ready to give up and decide that she is out of town and maybe not coming home at all, there is the sound of keys in the doorknob. They jingle, and then thump. "Shit," is heard from the other side of the door. And then jingle again, and then finally the door opens.

Jessica staggers in, briefly struggling to pull the keys from the door before tossing them at the desk. They slide across the top to land on the floor, and then she slams the door closed, pausing just long enough to slide the dead bolt. Boots are kicked off, her jacket flies in to land on the chair at her desk, and then she comes in through the small hallway, arms over her head as she is removing her white t-shirt.

Clearly, she has not yet noticed that there is someone else in the office/apartment.

Jason Todd has posed:
As the song goes, _Time is on my side._ It doesn't mean he isn't potentially bored. Still, he does what Red Hood does best. Which is poke around in other people's business to learn more about them. Not that the Bat Computer didn't have plenty of interesting data in the profile for one Jessica Jones. It was simple matter of pulling a frame of her face from the video feed in his mask and cross checking the numerous databased. An interesting read indeed.

Sitting there in the sill of that window leading to the fire escape, he's skimming through some notebook or journal he found on her desk. In her desk. Somewhere he probably shouldn't have been poking into on his own. But when has that stopped him.

As Jessica enters, he's still looking at the notes. When he raises his head, the faint red glow from the lenses of his mask are visible. Once she's walking down the hall, he speaks - while she's out of range.

"You've got some interesting cases." She might recall that voice.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
For all that she may be unaware of a presence in her apartment, her reaction is a bit less dramatic than might be expected. "That's what all the boys say," Jessica says, the shirt now in her hands revealing a pretty standard black bra and a hefty smirk. Her eyes are notably dilated, a clear indication that she is intoxicated, if the stumbling to do things was not sign enough. She throws the shirt at the Hood as she keeps walking towards him, fairly non-chalantly. "You know, I figured when you told me not to come back to your city, that meant you weren't likely to show up in mine stalking me."

Jason Todd has posed:
Red Hood smirks, not that it's obvious behind his mask but at least it is in his voice. "Yeah? You have a lot of .. boys.. come look you up? Go through your case files?" Catching the shirt he can't help but add. ".. catch your shirts?"

Standing up, he closes the notebook and sets both it and the shirt - once neatly folded - onto the desk. He at least has a few manners in there somewhere.

"Hello Jessica." Now he offers polite greeting. "Rough night?" he can smell the alcohol. "Or just one of many?" he observes.

"Gotham is Batman's playground. He's very particular who he lets into his sandbox to play. Even those there don't always play by his rules. And it gets us into trouble with him regularly. I was warning you to save you the grief."

Rachel Goldman has posed:
"No, not nearly as many as I'd like," Jessica replies, giving him a smirk. "Although most do have the presence of mind to call, or knock, or not just, lie in wait to ambush me when I get home."

She advances slowly on his position by the desk, shaking off his next question. "Same old. Finished a case today. Got proof the husband was sticking his fingers in places he shouldn't." She reaches out to pick up the bottle of whiskey from the desk, pops the top off, and takes a swallow. "Places related to him that weren't his wife's," she adds. Something like that could make anyone drink.

"I appreciate the warning, really, I do." She sets the bottle back down on her desk. "So are you here to give me more warnings?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd says, "Let the record reflect that I did not lie in wait to ambush you. I say politely on your sill, reading through your case notes because you took far longer to get drunk and finally come home than estimates suggested."

He doesn't move as she comes closer, watching her. "I saw some of that. Sordid situation from the look of it. Asshole will get what he deserves."

Watching her take another drink he says nothing. Her life.

"No. I didn't come here to warn you. I came here to talk to you. Because you seem to be, I don't know, pretty good in a fight. And good at your job. When you're not too sloshed to stay standing."

Rachel Goldman has posed:
"You could have stayed on the fire escape and not gone through my shit." Jessica points out.

She glances down at the files that were out on the desk, and the photos. "If she sends them to the cops, sure," she says. "But he's worth millions, and she wants to be. Ten bucks says that his generous divorce offer includes a gag order that she can't give the photos to anyone." She shrugs. "He'll find someone else to prey on eventually, and she'll drink the guilt away. And their daughter'll be the one who has to pay the price." She picks up the bottle and drains it, before dropping it with a clatter into the trash can next to the desk.

"I'm standing perfectly fucking fine right now, thank you very much, and I could /still/ kick your ass."

Jason Todd has posed:
Red Hood shrugs. "I could have. But you were gone a long time. I got bored. Can't help it that you take such fascnating notes on your cases. The time just... raced by."

"That's the problem. The fuckers who pull the strings. The ones really behind it all always get away. They stay in their high castles and find new strings to pull when we cut off the ones we find."

He nods. "You're right. You probably good." And he doesn't admit that to anyone. "I didn't come here to mock you, question your sobriety or capabilities, Jessica."

Rachel Goldman has posed:
She just kind of nods along with his pedestal preaching. It's the same shit she says, and hears. Nothing ever changes.

"Then what did you come here to do? Point out that you know where I live and what my name is?" She nods towards his head. "And you're still wearing our fucking hood. So what does that say?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd says, "Well you weren't really doing much to actually hide it when you had me drop you off half a block down the first time we met."

"It was a simple thing to pull your face up in the national databases. Being a Bat has its privileges. Access to a lot of databases and information" he notes but he's not actually trying to brag.

"It says that I wanted to be certain you weren't bringing some schmuck home from the bars with me tipping my hand. I came to talk. Not provoke you."

Stepping back he reaches up and unfastens the mask's locks and it comes off like a clamshell. Holding it in his left hand, the dark haired, blue eyed man in his early 20's looks back at her.

"Hello Jessica. I'm Jason Todd. And no. I don't tell just anyone who I am. So congratulations on having yet more baggage to carry around with you."

Rachel Goldman has posed:
"I'm in the fucking yellow pages," retorts Jessica, shaking her head at him. "So no, I'm not impressed. And I didn't track you down not because I couldn't, but because..." She pauses for a moment, and sighs. "Yeah, we can drop the snark. We're both fucking good at it."

She nods to him. "You want a drink? I got a fresh bottle around here." She turns and heads off towards the kitchen. "And yeah, it's nice to meet you, Jason," she calls over her shoulder. Maybe this is as polite as she gets.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd steps away from the windows with his mask off. "Sure. And you didn't give your name. But the yellow pages don't cover the interesting parts." He takes a few steps after her. "But because..?" he wonders what she was going to say.

"Yeah we are pretty good at snark. Guess it just comes naturally with the territory."

He picks up her shirt from the desk and follows. "Sure. I wouldn't turn down a drink." He steps over, offering the shirt. At least he's being polite?

Rachel Goldman has posed:
"What are the 'interesting parts'?" asks Jessica, glancing down at her chest for a moment and then looking back over at Jason with a smirk.

"Yeah. Pain, abuse, trauma, whatever it was that did it to you, I got my own." She watches him approach and takes the shirt, tossing it to rest on her shoulder. Clearly, she seems fine parading around in just the bra. She pops open the bottle with one finger and pours some whiskey into a glass for Jason, and then handing it to him before she pours another for her. "So. What are you really here for?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd half smirks. He's trying to not escalate things again. "Those things help form us but they don't make us who we are. The philosopher who said that got that part right anyway."

He stnads watching her pour the drinks. "I understand, a little, of why you do this to yourself. And I saw in Gotham you're not just a simple girl. Even if you were, you've got a determination beyond where most would have just said fuck it and gave up or disappeared. But you're still trying to make a difference."

Looking at her he says seriously. "I came because I'm looking at putting something together, a small team. Not a formal thing like the League or SHIELD or whatever. They get bound up in laws and restrictions. I'm already a vigilante. I do it my way. You seem to do the same thing. We can fight the flow of drugs, of guns, or illegal human trafficking for example. When they get to the ports of our cities. We can intercept them. But more will come. And we can't stop them all because we're only cutting off the tail of the snake. We need." He looks at her carefully to judge her reaction, "To go for the head. Cut it off. The fewer snakes, the less poison reaching our cities."

Rachel Goldman has posed:
Jessica just sort of nods along with Jason as he talks about philosphy, and what he saw in her. She's waiting for the pitch she knows is coming, watching him and sipping at her whiskey. When he gets there, she listens attentively.

She nods at his conclusion, tilting her head slightly. "And here I really thought you were just coming here to try to fuck me." She knocks back the rest of the whiskey, and then grins back at him.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd laughs at that. "If I were just after that, I'd have a bit more tact. I came to talk shop and see if you'd be interested in something like I described. There are parts to put together to make it happen, but I see the need. A team that will do what has to be done to stop crime. Using the methods crime can understand. The jobs too dirty for others to accept but still need completed."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"I am not sure that you understand that word, tact," Jessica says with a bit of a grin. But she accepts his answer, and takes a sip from her whiskey. "I mean, you already know that I do things the way they have to be done, right? Or did you not watch me blow up a fucking drug warehouse?" She downs the whiskey, and then pours herself some more. She /might/ have a bit of a drinking problem. "So. Who all is part of this team you're putting together?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd looks at her, "Harsh. I understand tact. I just don't see a reason to use it most of the time. Criminals don't deserve good manners" he mutters.

"Oh I saw how you handled that. Everyone in ten miles saw the flames from your handiwork" he notes with a smirk.

"Like I said, there's no 'team' yet. It's an idea I've thought over. Right now? Me and potentially you. There are others I'm going to talk to soon."

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica nods again. "Well, I'll believe it when I see it, pretty boy." She takes a healthy swallow of the whiskey.

"Sure, everyone saw it. How many folks signed up to the next ones torched?" She raises an eyebrow and then starts to walk back towards her desk.

"So you and me as partners?" she asks, glancing over her shoulder. "I thought you made a big deal about already having a plus one."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd smirks. "No more warehouses are getting torched at least in Gotham. That's not how Batman works. But elsewhere?" he shrugs ambvilently.

"Well that changed quickly, didn't it?" he notes dryly. "It's going to be a team. Which requires someone to lead it. I'm considering calling the team formally, or informally, The Outlaws. It seems fitting."

Then he shrugs, scoffing more at himself than her, "Things change. No plus one." Pausing, he follows up, "I'm going to talk with Batwoman soon. I think you two have had some encounters. She knows how to get things done and isn't going to shy away from finishing a job." No matter how ominous that may sound.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Sliding her leg up onto the desk, Jessica half sits and finishes off her whiskey. "Seems reasonable enough of a name," she says, twisting a bit to set the glass down behind her before looking back to Jason. "So you'd be our leader, huh? How much do you know about leading?"

She scrunches up her face, laughing. "I've seen more of Batwoman I think than ... " She laughs a bit. "She's fun. I like her. Yeah, a lot like me." She cracks an eyebrow at him. "You think you could handle leading a team with the two of us on it? Brave man."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd remains standing where he was, holding his mask in hand. "I've worked with a control freak as a team leader for fifteen years, minus some time off for a dirt nap" he adds darkly. "I know enough to realize that demading people to 'row faster' because the King wants to water ski doesn't work on anyone."

He smirks, "I think that we can find mutual respect and find a form of.. benevolent dictatorship that works best for such a team of rule breaking vigilantes. Democracy only works for nations. Sometimes."

He shrugs, "I think I can work with you both and that you're each very good at what you do. Just as I am."

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica's eyebrow raises when he mentions the dirt nap, but she doesn't pry. "Huh. Well, I suppose if you have learned all the best of how NOT to lead, then it should be easier to lead. Is that it?"

She shrugs her shoulders before agreeing. "She and I are very good. You are..." She lifts up a hand and wobbles it a bit. "Eh...."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd smirks, "Fuck you." He moves to put his mask back on. "I'll let you know where there's more to it. Maybe a week or two."

Jessica Jones has posed:
A nod from the private dick. "Fuck you too, asshole." Jessica flashes a grin at him. "Next time, you know you can use the front door, right, not like be a creeper?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Red Hood locks his mask back on, the lenses glowing softly. Turning back toward her the smirk can be perceived even if it isn't seen. "Where's the fun in that, now that I know you peel your shirt off the moment you get in the door?"

Jessica Jones has posed:
She makes a face at him. "If you'd waited just a little bit longer, you'd have gotten the full show." Jessica winks at him, and then gives him a nod. "Call first next time. I'll make sure I'm wearing my nice underthings."