14507/The Assassin and the Cat - Contemplating

The Assassin and the Cat - Contemplating
Date of Scene:	26 March 2023
Location:	Catwoman Lair
Synopsis:	Selina and Talia plan how to go about rescuing children kidnapped by the Hand.
Cast of Characters:	Talia al Ghul, Selina Kyle

---

Talia al Ghul has posed:
They had a blueprint of the docks, of the warehouse where they had determined the children were being held. They had a few guesses as to how many guards there would be.. But not necessarily the quality of them or what their routes might be. And the Hand's affinity for magic was always a wild card.
    So, cup of wine, Talia would look along the blueprints.

Selina Kyle has posed:
They're in Selina's apartment, at least one of them. It's not one of her usual 'safehouses', so the wine is good and there is plenty of room to stretch out. "So you're quite sure that this is the place?"she asks, holding a glass casually by the stem. "I'm not saying I don't trust you, of course. But even -my- sources make mistakes. And the last thing we need is a surprise." Or a setup, but she doesn't say the latter.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod at Selina, "Of course. And I'm reasonably sure. As of two days ago I tracked them there." OF course, two days could very well be an eternity when it came to a magical ninja clan. "The area has been quiet. Normally in the docks there's at least -some- activity." SOmething clearly had to be up in a bad part of town where there was relative peace.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle nods slowly, pacing while they talk. "Right. That makes sense. If things all of a sudden go quiet, it's because they're either all afraid or there's a protector. Either way, something new has moved in." She turns to look more closely at Talia, then. "We're not doing this with backup, like we discussed. It's just us girls. If we want to do it right, then I want a good look at the building security first. Getting in won't be a problem, but ideally we want to limit the exits."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod over at Selina, "And we have to take out all of the Hand. They'll be relentless in chasing us. Wehave to presume we'll be very slow moving the children depending on their physical and mental state. That's risky without the area secured."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle pauses, turning to look at Talia with an arched brow. "You sure you've got enough guns for this, then?" she asks with a lazy smile. "But you're right. Secure the area first, then we get the kids. The last thing we want to do is fight our way out with children to protect." She looks Talia over more closely, then. "I wasn't kidding when I asked the question. You're not leading a band of assassins. You ready to get your hands dirty?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would glance over at Selina, "Of course." Her eyes narrowed. "Before we go into this, I watn to make sure that you're not going to complain to what I do. If you have a queasy stomach, then I'll go in first and handle things myself. They're butchers, plain and simple. So I'm going to do that -to- them. If you have any qualms.. Then don't watch."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle tilts her head at that, smiling a little. "Just checking, honey. And with people like this, you might be surprised at how few qualms I have. Just because I don't carry a gun doesn't mean I don't know how to shoot one."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "Oh, I'm not asking of that. I'll be tearing off their heads at a minimum. They have a rather nasty habit of coming back from anything short of total dismemberment and I'd rather not take chances."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle lifts a brow. "Oh really? Well that even rests the scale as far as our favorite Bat is concerned." Because potential regeneration does justify the use of lethal force. "But regardless, like you said, we have to make sure the area is clear before we free the kids. Think they've done any security upgrades, or are we looking at steel doors and deadbolt locks?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "Not that I've seen, but I wouldn't put it past them to have. I did it from a distance." By which she meant several buildings away through a sniper scope or set of binnoculars. With magic ninjas, one had to err on the side of caution. "I'd presume they have. I think they put the childrne in a large cargo container."

Selina Kyle has posed:
"Security upgrades actually work in our favor, in this case. I can't control 16 old-fashioned deadbolts. But if you put them on a security grid and link them together, all I need to do is hack into the primary and I control everything." She smiles lazily at that. "So tell me about these 'magic' ninjas? You see, when you mention that word this could all go south pretty fast."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would lean back, "The Hand are one of the old ninja clans. They're empowered by some sort of demon, or something close to it. They're rather fond of enslaving those that work for them by taking them over with magic. They supposedly can resurrect someone they've killed as a puppet slave with no free will. Many members have chi or magic of some sort. As I said, some can raise themselves from the dead from anything short of total dismemberment or chopping off their head. They have no qualms on personal safety and will fight to the death. The only way to stop them is to kill them."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle purses her lips at that, swirling the glass of wine while she listens. After a little while she nods slowly. "Charming. So we'll be using high-caliber rounds. Silver bullets, or anything fancy like that?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would shake her head, "Nothing particularly fancy needed. At least the ones I've run into. Explosives and fire work fine. I'd suggest hollowpoint rounds as another potential. Benefit of the children being in a cargo container is they'll be safe from ricochets."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle tilts her head again, swirling the wine and taking a longer drink. "Right. So I've got a few guns I like to use, but I'm really more of a whip and bola sort of gal. Maybe smoke pellets or something. That's why we need to close off the exits first thing. So before they even know we're there, I need to lock all the doors but the one you'll be covering."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "Good. Do you thinkw e can seal the windows as well or that's somewhat of a risk? The place doesn't have a skylight." Always the easiest way in and out. But also the most obvious as well. "Do you have any gas pellets? SOmething stronger than knockout drugs. They'll likely have some level of resistance to that."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle shrugs at that. "All depends on the system, like I said. Usually they link the windows if it's a high-end job. But if we want something stronger, there's always military-grade tear gas. It's far from subtle, but then again once this gets going the whole concept of stealth is going out the window pretty fast."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod over at Selina, "Downside of htat is it will have an extended timespan and if we expose the children to it on the way out it will make things extremely difficult." And no doubt terrifying. "But a good option."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle purses her lips again. "That's our backup plan." she declares. "I'll get us a couple of launchers and some tear gas grenades. Unless you have some laying around." She considers for a moment. "You're the ninja expert. Smoke and deception, or herd them to a single exit?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would muse, "Smoke and deception. They'll be swarming us and will be aware if we're herding. We have to take them out as quickly as possible. Infrared. Also sonics will be useful."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle nods, game face on now. "My goggles have infrared. I haven't done much with sonics, but I do carry earplugs. Just in case. But either way, we'll have to come at them from opposite sides."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "Likely. I haven't checked the sewer entrances.. Those are likely to be booby trapped and have an alarm. A good backup way for either of us to enter."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle laughs softly at that. "Mmmm. Oh honey, I'm more of a skylight gal than a sewer gal. You know what it costs to get sewer smell out of designer leather?" She shrugs, finishing her glass and stepping over to the bottle. Offering Talia a refill first, she pours. "But since this place doesn't -have- skylights, the sewer's our backup."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would smile, "I'm aware. But I also don't wear designer leathers when I'm out in the field so I fortunately don't have to handle it. THe sewer's going to be heavily alarmed and booby trapped so we'd want to scout it ahead of time. They also may post a guard nearby."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle starts counting on her fingers. "So we need an accurate guard count, an assessment of the security system, and we need to scout the sewer and alternate exits." Her head tilts a little and the smile returns. "Did I forget anything?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "And look for runes or anything else they might have setup magically. I'd ask someone else for that.." But they'd likely have issues wiht the whole 'slaughtering everyone' thing.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle chuckles. "Of course. So I'll leave the runs to you. It's been a little while since I've done so much as a tarot reading." The -look- says she assumes Talia knows what she's doing. But she doesn't ask.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul smirks over at Selina, and shakes her head. "Well, some jobs require more preparationthan others. We can also go for the dynamic entry." Which wasn't nearly as as fun without a skylight. But explosives could be enjoyable.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle matches that smirk. "Recon first. I didn't get to this point in my career without doing my homework first. Being -able- to improvise and being -forced- to improvise are two very different things."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul taps her fingers, laughing. "We'll work well together. You're more skilled than I am, so I'll let you direct our little soiree when we go there."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle lifts a finger, then. "Remember, we don't shoot anyone on recon. We get in, get our intel, then get out. Quiet as ghosts. I'm sure you can do that."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would smile, "Yes. Unless there's those meddling kids and thier dog. Though we're not going to have to worry on being the ghosts in that situation."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle swirls her glass, smoothly sipping the contents. "So much for using my secret, green van." she quips. "Meet here tomorrow and we'll ride over. Unless you've got a faster way than a bike. We'll do the above-ground stuff first, then go spelunking in the sewers."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would shake her head, "No way faster. I'll defer to your judgement. Do you ride your good one or do you have one you don't mind if someone nabs while you're out." Because Gotham would be Gotham. Someone had even tried to steal the wheels off the Batmobile.

Selina Kyle has posed:
"I've got a street bike and a costume bike." Selina replies. "We'll take the former, even though I'll be in costume." She considers for a moment. "Do you -have- a costume? I'll assume you have something appropriately... dark."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
The woman that owned nearly as many black bodysuits as Selina did would give her a look. "Yes, I have some things. They won't be as effective as your's.." They'd just be bodysuits with some nasty things put in them, not an armored ceramic costume.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina Kyle nods, then, finishing her wine. "Alright. Meet here tomorrow night and we'll do our on-site look. If it goes well, we make our hit in two days." she declares.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
A quick sip of her own drink has Talia raising her glass to Selina's. "Two days it is. A pleasure to be working with a fellow professional."