14442/Shadows and Spiders

Shadows and Spiders
Date of Scene:	17 March 2023
Location:	Abandoned Warehouse
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Natasha Cranston, Cindy Moon

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Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Man?

    Night patrols in Harlem can be hit or miss. Some nights you barely have time to catch your breath between muggings and assaults, other nights your chief enemy is rain and boredom.

    This evening has been quiet for one particular Spider; apparently the criminal element prefers to stay indoors in the drizzle... But then she hears the sound of a door slamming open below her, and the scuffling noise of one man shoving another into an alley and against the wall.

    "Reg, you stupid prick, what the hell are you thinking?" one angry voice hisses in the tone of someone trying to balance a great deal of anger against the need not to be overheard.

    "Hey, lay off, Jay, I was just celebrating a bit, it's fine..." comes the plaintive response, but 'Jay' isn't having it.

    "... Celebrate after the job's done. I stuck my neck out for you to get you this shot, you show up drunk on your first job and the Big Guy will feed us both through a wood chipper..."

Cindy Moon has posed:
Cindy definitely doesn't.

Well that's not enitrely true. She knows a little about what lurks in the hearts of men, but not enough to consider herself an expert on the matter. Suffice that her nightly patrols are almost universally dredging through the sewers hoping for pearls. Stop a mugging? Great, that's one less. She's a simple spider, with very simple heroic needs to be satisfied.

Perched on the side of a building, the drizzle has her black hair hanging heavy down across her pale face above the red scarf she wears up to just above the curve of her nose. Back pressed against the bricks, her bent knees to her chest to brace her arms across them, she's keeping herself held against it by her feet turned down to stick to the solid surface.

When she hears the chatter amongst the two down below her! How unfortunate for them...

It's too boring a night for her NOT to do something, even if there is mention of a BIG guy and a WOOD Chipper. She drops down from her perch, stepping off the wall with her arms out wide like a bird taking flight.

When she lands, it's as quiet as a field mouse creeping through the corn. Standing up like a spectre... this is not the normal Spider. "Details or broken bones. Your choice."

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Neither of the two gentlemen appear happy to see her. 'Jay' -- presumably -- lets go of 'Reg' -- also presumably -- and draws a switchblade from a pocket even before he's quite finished turning to face her, while Reg looks just a bit too stunned and confused to react as quickly as he probably should.

    "It's way past your bedtime, little girl. Piss off home and you might actually wake up tomorrow." Jay retorts, waving the knife around in a way that suggests he does actually know how to use it.

Cindy Moon has posed:
"I only need one of you to talk." Cindy is not the quippy spider either. Nor does she pull her punches nearly as much as Peter or the others of the web. When the man with the switch blade comes forward, her hand swings down to connect with the inside of his wrist. Followed shortly after by the foot rising to kick him in the chest hard enough to send him flying backwards towards the concrete with a concussive 'KRRRK'.

A web fires right at his mouth before he hits the ground..

Black hair dangles wet across her face creating a curtain to cover her eyes. Which turn towards the stunned, conscious, of the two. "Details or broken bones. Your choice."

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Jay goes flying and hits the ground with a satisfying - if somewhat squelchy, this alley has seen cleaner days - thud, but he's clearly a veteran of many a brawl -- he's already shaking off the dizziness and raising his head back up just in time for the subsequent webbing to catch him square in the face. He topples back with an indignant if somewhat muffled shout and starts clawing at the obstruction... Which only serves to trap his hands as well.

    Reg has only barely managed to unfreeze in time to wach Jay go flying, and between the inebriation and the shock the fight seems to have gone out of him. "I-I'll talk! I'll talk, just don't hit me..." he stammers, hands raised to ward off the beating.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk's eyes cut towards Jay, but seem satisfied when he's gone and trapped himself more against the webbing by attempting to pull it free from his mouth. So they return to Reg, peering at him from behind a curtain of wet black hair. If she weren't in the costume of a hero, she could very well be the embodiment of some Asian terror come to earth for vengeful purposes.

Beneath her sash, she's smiling. Scaring people is fun.

"Well... talk." She flinches towards him, rocking her shoulders in his direction as if ready to strike only to pull short. Can't scare them too bad or they start peeing themselves and blabbering. "You said something about a big score. Out with it. Where?"

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    "Th-the Bronx! Tonight!" Reg rattles off an address. "Some big shot wants more muscle to cover a shipment going in, this was gonna be our shot to get in with him..."

    Reg continues stammering, heedless of the outraged (if muffled) yelling coming from Jay. Apparently "the big guy", name unknown to Reg, has been having some trouble with interference and decided to hire on some additional muscle to ensure this transaction goes off without a hitch.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk continues to leer, staring from behind her curtain of black at Reg as he spills the beans on the location of the job. "Smart choice." Unfortunately, not having bones broken does not mean they get to go free.. She pushes Reg back and fires a web at his throat. A long strip to fix him to the wall, while another hits Jay on the wrist. "Stay. Cops will be here soon."

She takes a step back, turns, and runs up the wall enough to fire a webline to carry her in the direction of the Bronx. "Gotta hurry or I'll miss the party!"

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The address isn't too far away, as the Spider swings; one warehouse among many in the Bronx, far enough off the main routes that even taxis don't pass through unless they're picking someone up nearby or dropping them off.

     From the outside it looks just like any other -- but then, it's a while yet until the time Reg indicated. The sign on its fence indicates that it's currently unowned, a fact corroborated by the obvious state of disrepair of some of its windows to any casual observer.


... A more careful observer would note that the locks on the main entrance are in significantly better condition, solid enough to deter anyone without a crowbar or Spider level strength -- and also a distinct lack of the kind of detritus that normally accumulates around a place that's truly abandoned...

Cindy Moon has posed:
Locks?! Who needs locks...

Cindy swings right over the top of the fence and takes up a perch, until she's certain the coast is clear. Only then does she scamper down, using the cover of buildings to get close to that door to give it a testing jerk. Rather than give it a crack, she glances up looking for a window through which she can gain entrance. Climbing directly up the side of the wall, she peels open one of the bays and swings her legs in, closing it behind herself.

Then looks for a nice perch to gain a vantage point... This is a little out of her depths, by what the pair had said, but it's about time she got her feet wet handling something bigger than a few muggers!

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    ... Huh. The main door, likewise, is in excellent repair. And locked. Nothing that'd deter a Spider, but still a lot more recent maintenance than would be expected in a supposedly abandoned building.

    Several of the upper level windows are broken, and some are even broken enough to allow a particularly limber person through without cutting costume or skin.

    The warehouse interior is as well maintained as the exterior wasn't -- there's barely even any dust on the railings. Silk doesn't have very long to ponder the contradiction, because not soon after she gains entrance the noise of a truck trying to drive quietly can be heard from outside. Looks like one of the parties to the 'deal' has shown up a bit early...

Cindy Moon has posed:
The timing is not lost on her..

Silk casts a cursory glance around at the relative cleanliness of the opporation, only for the sounds of the truck to draw her attention back towards the window she'd just entered... Up high, she's relatively sure she'll go unseen, but she still pushes herself into a corner where her dark costume will more easily blend with the naturally occuring shadows of such a building. One foot on either side of the corner, hands back by her hips.

Alright, let's see what we're working with...

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The side door unlocks with a click, and the first person through flicks a couple of switches that turn on the interior lights - fortunately, said lights are hanging further from the ceiling than Silk is, so she's effectively concealed by the pool of shadows they create.

    Several more men wearing ill-fitting suits and toting guns file into the building, looking around for signs of intrusion, before one of them nods at the guy by the controls.

    Another switch is flicked, and the loading bay door opens noisily, allowing the truck to slowly pull inside. Once it's in, several of the goons take up guard positions while the remainder starts unloading crates from its back...

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk's heart is racing.

Not out of any fear of being caught.. she's fairly certain she could beat them before they shot her.. but because this is her first 'big' deal.. She watches them file in, carrying their weapons, and moving crates from the back of the truck. Brown eyes roving from behind the ever present curtain of black hair cast down across her face.

The only thing is, she doesn't really know how long she should wait.

Should she drop down and try to do one of those quips Miles and Peter are always throwing? That's not really her gag... she's more of a drop down and throw punches kind of gal. Which means she has to act quickly, since they wont be quite as disarmed by suddenly having insults and humorous barbs thrown at them.

Wait for them to get closer together. Definitely.

You got this Silk.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    It's not much later when the sound of another truck trying to move quietly makes everyone perk up. The guy at the controls -- officer material, if she's any judge -- looks around at the others. "Right. Showtime. Stay on alert in case the capes show up, but don't start anything, we're trying to establish a working relationship here..."

    The other truck halts outside and a pair of somewhat better dressed - and likewise armed - men file out. They look around at the welcoming committee for a moment, then one of then looks back at the truck and nods, and a third - significantly better dressed - man emerges.

    "Gentlemen. I'm glad to see you were prompt. I take it you have the goods?"

    The lead goon nods. "Five crates of milspec weapons. We've got a line on a bigger supplier, but they want to see payment before they commit."

    "Of course, of course. Jeremy?"

    One of the well-dressed goons, presumably Jeremy, moves back to the truck and retrieves a briefcase. He holds it out horizontally and lifts the latch, giving the goons -- and Silk, from her position -- a good look at the bundles of cash neatly stacked inside...

Cindy Moon has posed:
'Uh oh'.

More trucks are coming.. which is obvious, this is a meeting, but really Silk hadn't thought that far ahead. She was just about to jump down, too.. then another vehicle arrives, also tooting guns, and she's glued to the wall with a wide eyed stare.

That is a lot of people down there... Can she reasonably expect fight them all?

Maybe if she makes a distraction.. She feels a little wave of terror rise up in her. What if she has to hurt one of them before they hurt her?!

She feels herself starting to hyperventilate.. 'Calm down, breath.. you can do this'. She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly...

Then leaps off the wall, firing a web to swing from one of the light fixtures. It sends it swinging, an arch of light swaying side to side on the gathered goons beneath her... Then all around her.

Landing in the middle of them, left knee bent, right knee out, left hand down... right hand balled into a fist.. She peers around at them because they definitely see her.

Say something Cindy, "Business suits at a gun deal, huh? Looks kind of like a gangster start pack." She is not as quippy as Peter. But it does settle her nerves, so she's starting to appreciate why he does it.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    There's about a dozen goons, all told, nine of them armed -- and right now, most of those guns are in the process of being pointed at her. Her Silk Sense is helpfully pointing out that this is not a safe position to be in...

    There is some confused yelling from the less quick on the uptake, but the spokesman seems to be a bit more on the ball, taking one look at her outfit and coming to an immediate conclusion. "... Which one of you idiots led one of these Spider-freaks to this meet?" he snarls. The head goon winces and opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off with a hand gesture while Jeremy has already snapped the case shut. "Save it. We'll discuss your incompetence and whether the deal is still on after we waste her..."

    Before anyone can respond or raise a gun, however, cold cruel laughter echoes around the warehouse interior.

    "It wasn't their incompetence that led me here, Vernon. You managed that all by yourself."

    The last word is punctuated by the sound of leather hitting flesh as a blurry fist hits one of the goons in the face with a right cross, sending them sprawling on the ground, with a flicker of shadows and echoes of laughter moving away from the impact...

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk-senses tingling! Time to move.

Cindy leaps up in an aerial cartwheel that lands both feet down on one of the gunmen's shoulders. She uses him as a springboard into a backflip, the force of which, pushes him away to slide across the pavement. While Silk is slowly flipping over to launch off the side of one of the trucks in a looping punch at another goons chest!

She isn't sure who her spooky compatriot is, but right now isn't the time to ask... "We'll just deal with these guys first.." Rolling and kipping into a series of increasingly higher backflips to present a very difficult target to shoot indeed!

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The sound of the second goon hitting the floor after Silk's punch galvanizes the rest into action and some of them start shooting, while the rest realize that a crowded space like this has much too much opportunity for friendly fire and pull out what melee weapons they can get their hands on -- tire irons, a switchblade or two and an actual wrench -- and try to close with the target they can actually see.

    The spokesperson doesn't appear very impressed with the odds and gives Jeremy another minute nod and turns to head back to the truck, clearly intent on getting away from here while the capes are otherwise occupied...

Cindy Moon has posed:
"You get a web." Silk is still flipping, firing webs at guns, melee weapon, or faces.

"And you get a web." Another drawn out backflip.

She rolls over her shoulders and kips up onto the side of the building in a springing backwards leap. Then pushes off with a webline fired right in the center of another goons chest. The volocity and arc yank him down off his feet onto the pavement. "'Scue me!"

She effortlessly dodges a swung wrench and slaps the man swinging it so hard that he actually spits off to the side in the direction he's stumbling. Followed by a swift kick in the kester to send him tumbling forward. Then a kick behind her with the same foot. Right in someones jewels.

"Guys, we can talk about this..."