14979/Fake Diamonds in Manhattan

Fake Diamonds in Manhattan
Date of Scene:	22 May 2023
Location:	Manhattan
Synopsis:	John stewart does a favor and tracks dwn the source of some bait-and-switch diamonds -- and finds a desperate theif trying to get out of the game.
Cast of Characters:	River Banks, John Stewart

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River Banks has posed:
    Someone has been setting up jewelry stores with fake diamonds; the mass-produced stuff that get traded to places like Kay or Xpress Gems, easily replicated. They find out after closing up for the night that something's not right when the gems are examined later.

    THe real ones have been showing up in pawn shops in other parts of the city. Faded receipts and the story of an engagement gone wrong. The woman purchasing has been described as late twenties to early thirties, well-to-do, with designer bags, no alarms going off when she asks to see rings.

    The one selling them is younger, often beat up, pawning the real rings.

    And the police haven't been able to track her down, or found the time to do so.

    After all, someone ripping off mega corps is small potatoes compared to the rest of the issues that the NYPD deal with.

    Coming up out of the subway, River was wearing a blue hoodie over torn jeans. She has a big bruise and some cuts on the left side of her face as she sticks her fingers in her pockets, stretching her fingers a little bit as she looks around, her brown eyes sweeping the street in front of her.

    She matched the rough description of the 'duo' who was pawning the rings, and there was a fencer on this block that was known for not asking a lot of questions when accepting possibly stolen merchandise.

John Stewart has posed:
A friend of his had been conned by this earlier in the month, and had asked the very publicly known John Stewart for assistance with the investigation. Of course, as he flitted through the New York traffic, he was just another black man in sunglasses and a trenchcoat guarding against the weather as he keeps an eye out. It isn't that hard to do a stakeout and use his Power Ring to do subtle surveillance from a rooftop or the streets.

It takes about three days of this for him to strike a potential match as he nears the corner where the subway for the street is, and John wastes no time in picking up a tailing pattern as he walks natural.

River Banks has posed:
    And River was just another white trash person wandering in and out of the crowds, pausing to fix her hair a bit in a reflective mirror, frowning, and then turning down an alley way to cut to a smaller street. She hops a fence without much grace or athleticism, coming down on the other side with a grunt.

    "Ugh... my shoes still smell like Metropolis Sewers. Still -- cleaner than Mobile's." she can be heard grumbling, Deep South accent coming through clearly as she rolls her shoulder, and reaches into her beat-up pack for a water bottle covered with Metal band stickers.

John Stewart has posed:
Cutting down an alley way like that doesn't mean much, but it does mean John has to be careful about keeping up lest he get attention. Instead of being casual about it, John follows... at a distance. Using military training for sniper stealth, he flits from potential hiding place to hiding place going down that alley, until he's at the corner and uses a corner mirror to see where she's gone... and waits for her next move, over that fence.

With a small "Hmmm..." to himself, he ducks out of the alleyway and continues his walking.. as if he was on this street all along, as he heads in the general direction of that fence.

Of course, unlike her, John has a Power Ring to assist with a quick hop over the fence to remain quiet, a subtle green manipulation field surrounding him as he does so... and continues his tailing.

River Banks has posed:
    John would find that she crosses out of the alley, hurrying across the street, and into what looks like the worst Pawn Shop to ever grace the cities of Earth. The door is single, unpowered, and has an OPEN sign flipped that has been used so many times that the oils from fingers have eaten away at the bottom of the plastic, leaving crumpled areas yellowed by age and cigarette smoke.

    She takes her hood down as she enters the shop, showing straw-blonde hair and a freckled neck, the door creeking and jingling as she passes through.

John Stewart has posed:
This is about dealing with the actual problem, not about handling one set of stolen goods. Seeing the handoff with his own eyes will just confirm she's the source without relying on an obvious scan. Make sure the investigative chain is clean, and it's a clear cut case.

John sits on the corner just across the street, pretending to read a tablet PC as he waits to see what River does.

River Banks has posed:
    Well. That's about when something unexpected happens. John sits on the corner and settles to watch. There's some shouting inside, indistinct. An impact and the glass of the door into the pawnshop snaps in a spiderweb of shatterproof glass doing its best to cling together, followed by one of the patrons being slung out the door, bodily, along with a handful of mass-produced diamond rings, falling and glittering all over the pavement.

    The girl in the blue hoodie hops him as he rolls to try and get up, stomping on his back and then takes off at a sprint down the street.

    "HEY! HEY! STOP HER! STOP! THEIF!"

John Stewart has posed:
No time to think. The ring is aimed, and a hard light mattress is Willed into existence for the patron so they don't break their neck in a fall. The second the patron seems fine, it winks out of existence, and John gives obvious chase on foot.

Sure, he could go full Green Lantern mode... but that won't stop the problem. He needs to cut this off at the source, which means scaring her out of doing these cons in the first place.

River Banks has posed:
    Worn sneakers against military training and John's fitness aren't going to do much. She's fast, she's smaller, but when a big guy comes running at you, generally people move out of the way -- fast!

    She moves erratically, a car beeps and then roars past as she dashes into traffic trying to escape pursuit, and then, as she comes across someone washing their windows with a nice, soapy bucket of water, the water seems to leap to life, soap, dirt, sponge and a rag attempting to accost John and stop his pursuit of the girl!

John Stewart has posed:
He's not really trying to catch her... just making it look like he's trying. He's a bit slow going through traffic himself, though he himself is using his rings onboard VI to tell him the optimal route so he doesn't cause accidents.

Then, out of nowhere... a soapy bucket literally comes to life? The Power Ring is mentally queried to scan the source of that sudden energy. Still, time to change it up a bit.

Another subtle field of Green surrounds John as he moves out of line of sight somewhere, allowing River a bit of a reprieve from his obvious chasing so he can covertly bring up his ring and fire a small concussive blast around himself to tear the accosting... whatever it is, apart.

River Banks has posed:
    The source of the issue? The girl who's ducked down another alley, thinking that she's given her persuant the slip!

    Once she's out of range, and following the concussive blast, the water falls to soapy, sudsy droplets on the sidewalk around John, no longer risingu p.

    BUt the guy who was washing his shop window?

    "Uh..." he blinks "Wasn't me?" he offers truthfully, not wanting to claim responsibility for his mop bucket suddenly coming to life.

John Stewart has posed:
"Didn't think it was." John gruffly acknowledges, before he ducks out of sight, and a field surrounds him as he flies up and onto the roof so he can go over instead of around.

On the edge of the alleyway, above, John drops the field again as he observes her next move. Is she continuing, or going back?

River Banks has posed:
    She's... hiding.

    She ducks down behind a dumpster. She tucks herself down, makes herself as small as possible. Water droplets are orbiting her, catching the light from above before they still, and then tumble down around her. A couple more fake rings tumble out of her pockets and onto the broken concrete in the alleyway, and she remains tucked in, hiding behind garbage cans and the dumpster.

    "First Metropolis, now Manhattan, I've gotta get outta here.." she mutters miserably to herself, and she takes a deep breath, and then reaches for her backpack. She pulls a different color hoodie out, she turns the backpack inside-out, showing it's reversable and turns into a messenger bag insread, and she stuffs her blue hoodie into the messenger bag, and applies a red Hoodie from University of Alabama, and brings the hood up and over her head.

John Stewart has posed:
You don't get into this line of professionalism without cause. Sometimes you do it because nothing else is available. Sometimes you do it for the thrills. John isn't any stranger to struggle or poverty, so he's not the type to judge a book by it's cover.

Nonetheless, the damage has already been done, and she's made her money. Going on with this operation would be fairly greedy, unless she's going for early retirement or somesuch... Still, someone with her talents? Maybe they can be useful to each other.

When she's looking down into her backpack, John silently Wills himself down, descending down to he's off to one side... she may or may not notice him as he flies down... but when he hits the ground, he says, "You can relax."

River Banks has posed:
    Isn't it funny how in the history of similar phrases -- be not afraid, you can relax, calm down -- none of that has ever resolved someone being afraid, being unrelaxed, or being agitated? The blonde practically jumps out of her skin, but retains most of her cool, bringing her hands up. She does in fact have a big bruise on the side of her face, yellow at the edges but deep purple in the middle. She might of broken part of her orbital. Her left eye is bloodshot. Her fingers curl, and she gives a nervous swallow.

    "So, which one're you? Sorry I'd start spewin' out names but got knocked about in a sewer last night."

John Stewart has posed:
It was worth a try, even if the chances of it are low. He makes no sudden movements as he stands there, hands in pockets. "That looks like it could use attention." John notes, nodding to the left eye, "You can call me John as it is. What's your name?"

River Banks has posed:
    "Well you noticed it. Tha's 'nuff attention." she states gruffly to John, and she still holds her hands up, defensive, and then teeters slightly.

    "/Riptide/." she states. "I'm... I'm dangerous. You better back off!" she warns, but it's about as much threat to John Stewart as a hissing cat might be. Doesn't look like there's too much fight in her.

John Stewart has posed:
"I could help with it, but it sounds like you'd rather deal with it on your own." He casually states, before he pulls out a card and offers it to her from his trenchcoat, "My business card. You seem like you'd be interested in what I have to say, eventually." John gives a small smile, before he starts walking off, turning his back on her, "I realize the fake diamond con can be lucrative to a point, but any good con artist knows when to cut it off."

He's clearly leaving the scene.

River Banks has posed:
    The girl drops her hands a moment, moderately looking incredulous at JOhn before she reaches up and takes his business card in her grubby hands.

    "Yeah, well. Almost victimless crime. That's what they pay insurance for, ain't it?" she asks, and she looks to John's back, and then at the card.

    "... so you're not putting me in super-prison?"

John Stewart has posed:
He stops as she asks the question, before he turns his head to look at her, "what would be the point of that? You'd do time, then be right out on the streets doing the same thing. There's no incentive for reform there." He gives a smirk, "just knowing I have an interest in you will have you looking over your shoulder, and one day you might be interested in earning those dollars in a way that doesn't ruin the livelihood of others. One of many potential things I offer." John replies, waiting there a moment in case she has follow up questions.

River Banks has posed:
    The young woman frowns a moment, looking over the card again, her eyebrows rising up, her lips pursing and she gives a little bit of a nod.

    "Right." she states, and she tilts back on her feet a moment.

    "Well then... I guess we'll see each other around, 'John'--" she states, lifting his card a moment before she tucks it back into her bag, and takes a few steps backwards and away from him, watching him quietly, contemplatively, while the rest of her adrenaline runs out, and she gives a soft puff out as she examines the business card again.