14591/Phoenix Towers: The New Owner

Phoenix Towers: The New Owner
Date of Scene:	02 April 2023
Location:	Phoenix Towers, Hells Kitchen
Synopsis:	Oliver and Emiko show up at Phoenix Towers to complete the sale of the slum residential building. Interest in the proceedings is shown by the neighborhood.
Cast of Characters:	Oliver Queen, Emiko Queen, Matthew Murdock

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Oliver Queen has posed:
Two large, black SUVs pull up to the curb in front of the Phoenix Building. They look like ordinary SUVs, but they belong to Queen Consolidated Protective Services. Their hidden security features make the Presidential limousine look like a toy car. Oliver and Emiko are more than capable of taking care of themselves, but appearances must be maintained.

Bodyguards open the doors for the two Queen siblings. When Oliver steps out, he's wearing casual clothes: blue jeans, black boots, a grey T-shirt, and a sport coat over the T-shirt. He didn't want to come a neighborhood like this in a $5,000 bespoke suit. It would make it more difficult to connect with the locals.

Despite its impoverished foundation, this neighborhood is populated by people who *want* it to be something more. Plants are in potters outside of windows. Flags of various national origin are flown. Underneath it all, though, is a rot. The buildings are falling apart, the electrical is unsafe, asbestos insulation, and lead pipes dominate. This is a Bad Place. And Oliver intends to buy it all so Queen Consolidated can quietly and in the background improve the lives of its inhabitants.

The trouble is going to be convincing the locals of his good intentions. And then there is a local law firm called Nelson and Murdock. They have a tough reputation. Convincing them may not be easy either.

"Well," Oliver says to Emiko once she emerges from the SUV. "See, this place isn't so bad. Look, flowers all over the place." Oliver's tone suggest he's trying to convince himself as much as Emiko.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko is typically a casual dresser, being at that age when fancy suits and add-ons is a stuffy old person thing. They're also a pain in the ass when you need to get into costume quickly, though we're hopeful this won't come to such matters so soon. But since Oliver is wisely dressed down for the occasion she doesn't look out of place when she exits the vehicle and walks around the rear of it to join him at his side.

The flower pots were noticed before they were even pointed out. Emiko was immeadiately casing up the vicinity as soon as her eyes laid upon it, as she had been trained to do. Entrance points, exit points, potential seclusion points for an ambush. Structural strengths and weaknesses. It sucks to be scaling a wall only to have a piece of masonary break free under your toes and little else to grab onto. She knows. She's been there.

When the flowers are pointed out her attention comes to them for the second time, letting Oliver have his moment to convince her (and/or himself). "The people want," she finally murmurs, "but lack the means or the tools to make better. For some it is simply easier to accept and endure."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
People in the neighborhood glance over at the two expensive black SUVs as they pull up. The attention isn't because such cars are necessarily rare, so much as their occupants tend to be people worth noting. A woman carrying a bag of groceries along the sidewalk and then into the building glances over. Two young Asian men in their early twenties leaning outside the Chinese laundry next door glance over at the small entourage that departs the SUV.

Waiting to meet them is Johann Walters. Mr. Walters has an old briefcase in hand and is wearing a suit that is a cut above what the residents of the decaying residential towers would wear, but a cut far below what Oliver might wear to the office.

His hair is thinning a bit and judging by how tousled it is, he's been standing out in the wind waiting for the arrival for awhile. He walks forward with a look of great anticipation on his face.

"Mr. Queen?" he offers, having googled Oliver to be sure he'd be able to recognize him. Up until now, the negotiations for the sale of the building have largely been intermediaries and a phone call or two. "I'm Johann Walters. I have to say, this is an exciting day," he says, offering his hand. He glances back at the building. "Phoenix Towers has been a labor of love ever since my family bought it nearly thirty years ago. It'll be sad to see it go," he says, "Especially at what I'm selling for. Credit to your negotiating team."

Oliver Queen has posed:
Doing business with people who don't deserve his time is old hat for Oliver Queen. So he smiles warmly at the snake standing before him. He even extends his hand to shake Mr. Walters', though he does allow himself the pleasure of gripping the other man's hand perhaps one or two notches too tightly. "Mr. Walters, it's your negotiating team who deserves the praise. We just couldn't keep up with you. But I'm glad we finally arrived at something we can both live with."

Releasing Walters' hand, Oliver turns toward Emiko. "Mr. Walters, may I introduce you to my sister, Emiko Queen. She does a lot of behind-the-scenes work at Queen Consolidated. Who knows, you may even meet her again in the future in your business dealings."

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko gives a polite nod as she's indicated, and will shake hands if one is offered. "Both sides put in fine work to make this a deal we can all appreciate. The Towers will be in good hands, I assure you."

Better hands, with better intentions. But she is being courteous and acting along with the 'business of doing business' aspect of the deal, without giving away a hint of their own ulterior motives.

This was a part of business that she actually had a strong hold of, thanks to her skills in deception and misdirection. Used for a good purpose, of course.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The two towers of the ten story tall apartments contain a lot of people all told. So there is a fairly steady flow of people going in and out. The small meeting between the Queen Consolidated staff and the landlord continues to garner attention. A number of faces express curiosity, though those who recognize Mr. Walters tend to turn to scowls. Not a lot of people recognize him though. As if he doesn't really turn up here in person all that often.

The landlord, or soon to be ex-landlord, shakes Emiko's hand with both of his. "Good, the people here, they have it rough. They deserve a safe, quality place to come home to," he says, as if that is what the Phoenix Towers has been.

"Let's come inside, we can sign the final papers," he says, gesturing towards the building. As they walk across the sidewalk towards the building, one might notice the occasional crack of plastic now and then as someone steps on an empty vial that once held heroin or other illicit substances. Though Mr. Walters had the worst of it swept from the sidewalk the night before, so it's not nearly as bad as normal.

Inside, the normal unpleasant odor is covered up partially with some scented room spray that itself seems a bit out of place. Mr. Walters hurries the group through the lobby and over to one of the rooms meant to be a community room. It's mostly full of old furniture and some storage boxes, but a table has been set up with some chairs. And there's a fruit and cheese tray from a nice deli, along with a number of other beverages, and a bottle of chilled champagne and some glasses to celebrate with.

"I've got all the paperwork, my lawyers looked it over and think we're good to go," he says. The papers are laid out and marked for where all the signatures go. "So I imagine a company like Queen Consolidated gets involved somewhere like this, you probably have some big plans," he says, trying to make it sound idle as he seeks out some information. If Oliver is going to demolish the building for something new, the knowledge might allow Mr. Walters to make a few bucks off other real estate in the area, after all.

Oliver Queen has posed:
With hands clasped loosely behind his back, Oliver follows Mr. Walters into the decaying structure. His sharp eyes catch everything, and his steel-trap mind notes the details for later. Exposed wiring here, cracked foundation there, old heroin bags in the weeds. There are many ways this place needs to be cleaned up. Some of that cleanup is best accomplished by Oliver Queen and Emiko Queen. Some is the purview of Green Arrow and Red Arrow.

Oliver doesn't allow his face to show his displeasure at this contract-signing room. "This is quite a spread here, Mr. Walters. I'm impressed." He glances at Emiko for a moment. "Well we have a number of different options lined up for this neighborhood. Nothing set in stone yet." It's all verbal judo. He's allowing Mr. Walters to feel in control when nothing could be farther from the truth. "You must have some great plans in your future, I bet?"

Emiko Queen has posed:
Curiousity, but wariness. Expected. These people do not know them, other than a name attatched to a large company they have no guaruntee yet is better than the previous owner.

Looks of distrust. Disgust... Though the ones lacking familiarity towards Walters are the most interesting. Faces and emotions read like book pages, telling a story of this man having very little to do with the building beyond squeezing money out of it.

Emiko takes it all in as they proceed to the building proper. By the time they are done she'll know it arguably better than the occupants. The vials though few are noticed... but Emiko steps on one anyways, applying just enough extra pressure without being obvious about it to make the cracking sound that much more noticable. Then lifts her foot as she turns a bit to glance down. "Someone must of dropped something. I hope it wasn't important." Then resumes walking inside.

No need to draw attention by stopping to examine it. The sound should be enough to give her brother an idea what it was.

She resumes her spot at Oliver's side, giving an affirming nod. "There are several possibilities, but a full assessment of the buildings and surrounding districts well need to be assessed before any finalized choices are made. Local regulations, building codes, so forth." She gives Walters that much. His own imagination can do more with it than she ever could spelling it out.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
As the group go inside, one of the young Asian men outside the laundry next door looks at the other, exchanging a few words before taking out a phone and making a call. Meanwhile, a number of residents have paused in whatever there travels were, in or out, to talk to one another. Word spreading about the curious delegation that went inside. One person has a phone out and is pulling up pictures of Oliver Queen, insisting he was one of the people in the group. But the other residents don't seem to be buying it.

Mr. Walters was all too eager to get them into the room, especially after Emiko steps on one of the drug vials that began to show back up even overnight. He'd have had a harsh word with the building super about it. Only this would be Oliver's problem now. That knowledge, and the price he's getting, can't quite stop Mr. Walters smile from reaching his lips.

"Oh I have a few deals going on. If you're looking to get more involved in New York real estate, I might have a few other properties that would interest you. Or could help you make some connections. Getting into a new market and all," he says, not aware of just how much Queen Consolidated already has in New York City.

He picks up a moderately expensive pen, offering it to Oliver, then picks up another for himself and begins signing the papers.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Oliver deadpans, "I certainly predict many changes coming down the line for the properties surrounding Phoenix Towers." A pause. "As a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Walters, I'm sure you know how such things go. Change is contagious." Now that he is very close to the end of these proceedings, Oliver allows a tiny hint of the distaste he is feeling to enter his tone of voice.

"My sister is a fitness buff," Oliver says, gesturing toward Emiko. "I wouldn't be real surprised to see her around this neighborhood from time to time, walking and running and that sort of thing." Oliver flashes a look to his sister with his signature mischievous gleam. "What do you think, Emi?"

While he awaits her response, Oliver picks up a pen and begins signing documents. Of course his attorneys have already gone over all of this in detail, so Oliver knows exactly where to sign and what he's signing.

Emiko Queen has posed:
The drug issue will be dealt with when the time comes. More likely by certain vigilantes... which is something else they will have to look into. New York has its own brand of crime fighters and heroes to get familiar with, though Red Arrow does know of a few from her work with other teams. Later, though. Right now, Emiko just keeps the act of 'we're rich company owners, it's not my problem when we can hire someone to deal with it' going, letting the slightly disinterested look of this just being business conceal her thorough examination of the interior...

To the point when Oliver calls her attention the slight start isn't entirely fake, she had been focused more on her own thoughts. 'Fitness buff' would not be her choice in terms, but it is accurate. Her small half-Japanese frame conceals just how physical she can be. Walters might even think Oliver is pulling his leg a bit.

In the end she shrugs slightly. "We will have to see about the street lights first." She didn't bother to actually look at those closely, but considering the state of affairs it's not a far assumption that some are out. Or rigged to go out as needed.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Mr. Walters seems the type who would probably hit on Emiko about now. Though apparently his love of money is enough that he doesn't take the risk. "I usually stick to the gym," the ex-slumlord lies, as if he worked out at all, "but I can see the appeal of working out in the open air. Especially now that Spring has come," he comments as he goes along, signing and initialing everywhere needed.

When he reaches the end, he sets down his pen and waits for Oliver to finish. "Would you like some champagne to celebrate?" Mr. Walters asks as he goes over to the bottle. While the building itself is cheap, the bottle is actually quite good. Obviously the man has money, he just doesn't invest it into the Phoenix Towers.

Outside, a taxi cab pulls up to the curb a short distance down the street. One of the Asian men waits for a garbage truck to roll past, than jogs over. The back window is rolled down and a brief conversation ensues, but the window rolls back up and the young man jogs back over to join the other outside the Chinese laundry. The taxi stays parked there.

The gathering of residents has diminished as people wander off with nothing to see but the pair of expensive black SUVs. Though a few people are lingering there.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Meanwhile, a few blocks away...

Foggy Nelson gives a soft tap on the door to Matthew Murdock's office and sticks his head in. Matt is quietly conversing in Spanish with an elderly woman.

"Sorry for interrupting," Foggy says to Matt, and then looks over to the older Latina that Matt is talking to. Foggy speaks some halting Spanish to her, begging her pardon for the interruption.

Matt's lips press together to keep from smiling too much when Foggy tells the woman, "I am sorry I am disturbing. I need to speak to my husband briefly." His Spanish isn't quite at the level of Karen's or Matt's.

Matt offers a few brief correcting words, partner instead of husband. He leaves Foggy as being 'disturbing' instead of interrupting though, which draws a slight grin from the elderly abuela and a little wave of her hand to Foggy to proceed.

"Matt," Foggy says, "Where are you on the Phoenix Tower thing?" he asks.

Matt gives a tiny shake of his head. "Still gathering information. Those leases are a work, it's going to make standing to sue difficult. Why do you ask?" he replies in his deep, even voice.

Foggy gives a shrug and says, "Someone from over there called. Guess Mr. Walters showed up at the building with well dressed people in a small motorcade."

Matt leans back in his chair. "Hmm. I'll have to check and see what's up," he says. "Thanks Foggy." His partner steps back out and closes the door, Matt turning his attention back to the elderly Latina. He asks her in Spanish, "So you were telling me about your nephew's green card. Please, go on."