14992/Dogs of the Dixon Docks

Dogs of the Dixon Docks
Date of Scene:	24 May 2023
Location:	Dixon Docks - Chinatown
Synopsis:	While giving swimming lessons to handsy folks and hunting down drug dealers on the docks, Red Hood and Oriole cross paths, share some intimidating time, and Phoebe lets Jason in on the Phillip Cupp situation.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Jason Todd

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Dixon Dock Dogs were one of the oldest continuous gangs in Gotham City. Working class and lower dock workers with a penchant for violence, weapons, and taking a cut of drugs and contraband entering the city and the women who walk the street.

    There had already been violence tonight. Couple of too-handsy Johns had found themselves going swimming in the cold ocean and then strung up like bait from cranes, and left swinging in the cold breeze to be retrieved by the Port Authority, who had little to say except for 'must be the Bats'.

    And so it was.

    Phoebe had her hood down, her head on her knees as she breaked for some food, the ruffle of a paper lunch sack as she looked over the dockside with a tepid expression.

Jason Todd has posed:
Red Hood, for all of his attempts at being a "Team Player" over the last eight or ten months, has been going back to his old ways more and more. No deaths but withdrawn, not working well with others - if he worked with anyone at all. His moods have been darker and his patience much thinner.

Tonight he is also at the docks but he'd come alone and expected to do his work alone. He'd been trying to track down a chemist making their own variant of meth. Only it was killing off more users on the first dose than managed to live long enough to try it a second time. His leads have brought him to the docks in search of a dealer.

The soft purr of a coasting bike motor can be heard in the darkness briefly before it shuts off. Not many use motors tuned like that around the docks.

Red Hood begins to make his way into the dockyards on foot, keeping to the shadows.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    No, not many motorists use such a fine-tuned engine. The paper sack is tucked away, her domino lowered and her hood raised as Oriole comes to the side of the rooftop that she was occupying, her domino highlihgting items of interest. Abandoned pipes. A raccoon making its way across the dockside towards the safety of larger trash cans. That fine-tuned motorcycle belonging to one Red Hood.

    And, of course, possibly Red Hood himself, depending on how close to the warehouse wall he is from where she's peering over the side.

    She raises a hand to her hood, and pings her location. Nothing loud, just a notification that Oriole, AKA Phoebe (both... incidentally birds) are in his area.

Jason Todd has posed:
<<Oriole.>> His voice is quiet over the comms. There isn't a lot of emotion in his voice, though it doesn't mean much. Most of them keep their tones controlled just to cause that uncertainty.

<<Out for a walk?>>

Not stopping, Red Hood makes his way to the roof of one warehouse quickly and stands at the edge, perfectly aligned with the shadow cast by one of the huge container cranes towering overhead.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<Was helping a couple of handsy Johns with swimming lessons.>> Oriole replies back as she hops up from her own stance, walking along the roof of the warehouse quietly, a whisper in the dark.

    <<Enjoying the night air tonight, Hood? Nice night for a ride.>> she suggests as she hops over an alleyway, shoulder-rolling quietly on a courrigated rooftop.

Jason Todd has posed:
<<Hope you brought enough cement shoes for all of them.>>

Standing at the high point of the warehouse roof, Red Hood seems unconcerned about getting spotted. While he is in the shadows, he isn't exactly hidden from ever angle; And he doesn't seem to care.

<<Harbor air always smells like dead fish and mothballs.>>

He may not be intending to wait for her to catch up to him but the result of standing there watching the dockyard results int he same thing if she chooses to do just that.

<<Not here for much of a leisure trip. Looking for a guy. Or his friends.>>

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <</Mothballs/. That's what that smell is.>> The dead fish is easy enough. She's lived in Gotham almost all her life.

    The smaller caped figure of Oriole comes up under Hood's left, crouched down in the dark. <<And you know I never carry enough concrete for shoes.>> she steals a look up to him, her blue lenses giving a slight glow.

    <<Saw a group of ne'er-do-wells about three blocks up as I was doing a round. Better dressed than the Dockyard Dogs. Could be the friends you're looking for?>>

Jason Todd has posed:
<<Not enough cement in the country for all of those woh deserve a pair in Gotham.>>

He does look toward her at least. He isn't avoiding or ignoring her, just focused on his task.

<<Does anyone still use ne'er-do-well anymore?>> he asks absently.

<<Could be someone who knows my guy. Looking for Arturo Salazar. Supposed to be a Longshoreman down here. If I don't find him, I'll track them down next. Maybe even if I do.>>

He looks back to her a long moment. <<Anything or one in particular bring you down here?>>

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<Like I said. Swimming lessons.>> Oriole's tone is a bit sour. <<Just trying to store up the good karma before I go off and do something stupid again.>> she states, and she rolls her shoulder a moment. <<You need a second for Salazar?>>

Jason Todd has posed:
<<Yeah, guess you did say that.>> Someone isn't paying attention.

<<Sure. I just need him to talk. He's just another cog in the machine.>>

Looking to her, he adds, <<Be nice to have an extra set of eyes.>>

With that he looks up to the container crane. Staring really.

<<Got you. He just used his mobile phone. He's up in the crane tonight. Looks like we're going higher.>>

He pulls one pistol and connects a grapple line. Firing it at the crane, it secures to a small platform a third of the way up. At least it won't be walking the whole way.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<These silly guys and using their mobile phones.>> comes Phoebe's voice, and she gives an upnod to Jason, takes out her own grapple and fires it off.

    She leans into the sudden pull, soaring over the dockyard to the crane, and twisting herself around to softly hand on her boots, holding onto the crane itself as she begins to slowly ascend up, hopping from place to place as she goes.

Jason Todd has posed:
Reaching the platform, Red Hood begins to make his way up the narrow series of ladders till he reaches the top. The cab is just ahead and to the left. Pausing to ID the operator is actually Salazar, Red Hood nods.

<<It's him.>>

Crossing the final distance, Salazar has his attention on his phone as he takes a break. At least it means the other workers won't notice as quickly that he isn't doing his job.

Pulling open the cab door, Red Hood reaches in and pulls Salazar from his seat. "Hello Artie. We're going to talk about Grigory the Chemist." A chemist with no last name apparently.

To his credit, Arturo doesn't scream but he certainly seems to be hyperventilating.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    ID Confirmed. Oriole swings herself above the cab to make sure Salazar doesn't make an escape through the other side after Red Hood grabs him. She leans over the front of the windscreen of the crane, blue optics glowing and theorange lines of her armor lighting up and glowing.

    Grigory the Chemist.

    Well if anyone sounds like an Operation in Gotham...

Jason Todd has posed:
Arturo shakes his head emphatically. "I can't. I don't know anything about him. I don't know anyone who does. I just sell down here at the docks!"

Red Hood keeps a tight grip on the man's jacket.

He looks from the terrified man to Oriole.

"He says he doesn't know anything he just sells. I guess the junk just magically appears for hiim to push."

Looking back to the man he asks again with a harder tone. "You're going to have to give me something better than that Artie. Who do you get your supply from? A name."

Arturo has turned almost white. "I. I." Swallowing he can't get an answer out before Red Hood slaps him twice.

"C'mon Artie. I'm getting dizzy with all this high altitude. If you don't talk up here I may have to toss you down to the dock and we'll continue our conversation after you've bounced."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "If it magically appeared I could probably pick up on it. But only thing magic about this guy?" Oriole gives a slight sniff. "No. NO not even his Old Spice. Ew." she swings down, and leans against the outside of the cab.

    "Dunno, it's a /long/ way down. He might 'splat' rather than 'boing'." she considers, leaning over a little bit to examine the way down.

    "Maybe 'splash' if we can get a good breeze."

Jason Todd has posed:
Red Hood wasn't exactly intending to play good cop/bad cop. He was just going full-on bad cop. Still, Oriole's comments affirm what Arturo is thinking already. It's going to be a terminal trip down. And that is enough to loosen his lips.

"Shit! Shit! O-okay. okay. Just.. don't toss me, man!"

Swallowing, he offers, "I get my stuff from a guy in a delivery van. It's painted like one of those big brown corporate fleet vans but it isn't. I... I get my shipments once a week. He leaves the package off at one of those unattended package drop-off points and then I get a text telling me it's there and what drop box it's in. That's all I know!"

Red Hood studies him. "I believe you, Artie. I do. So I'm not going to toss you over the railing." Less that he won't and more that because Oriole is here he isn't going to.

"I suggest you start looking very hard for a new side hustle to make some extra money. This is a dead end. Very dead if you don't stop tonight."

Shoving Arturo halfway into the cab, Red Hood lets go so that the man tumbles backward into the seat, no less scared than he was. Maybe more.

Looking to Oriole, he nods. "I got what I'm after for tonight. You want to go visit those friends you saw?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Dunno, that was super entertaining." Oriole replies as she closes the cab door behind Arturo and she gives a wave to him, and looks to Jason before she swings down.

    "Wasn't after Dockyard Dogs tonight. More just wanted to put the hurt on some guys. Did I tell you about the asshole who stole Tim's coffee in the elevator?" she questions, dropping down and catching one of the supports for the Crane, she swings her way down and stops at that platform about a third of the way up to look over the dockyard.

Jason Todd has posed:
Red Hood follows her down to the lower platform. "Works for me. Pretty sure no one is going to stop breaking the law. They'll be here next time."

Looking back at her he shakes his head, "I don't hear a lot from anyone these days."

Looking out over the dockyard he asks, "What happened?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Oriole crouches.

    "Phillip Cupp tipped his hand finally. Turns out he's one of the assholes who held me captive when I was seventeen, before my team was able to track me down." she states, and she swings her legs out, sitting properly.

    "He triggered a panic attack, grabbed my hair and threatened to tell the world about my powers and how I was only adopted by Bruce Wayne because he's /sick/ and /needs constant healing/." Phoebe's eyeroll is audiable as she breathes out. "... Tim banned him from Wayne Enterprises buildings."

Jason Todd has posed:
Red Hood stands and listens as he watches the dockyards. "Yeah?" He looks to Oriole briefly before gazing out at the harbor. "Banned him? Think that's enough?" He knows what he'd do but this isn't his fight.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "He's been trying to get enough dirt on him to take him down legally, so that he can't run for senate. So that he's not a threat. He's trying for the best approach." Oriole pauses, and she takes out a water bottle from her pack, and she pauses a moment to drink it down.

    "But as he's banned from Wayne Enterprises and isn't allowed to petition for funding for his 'warchest', that is a blow. Other places will follow suit hopefully. But..." she looks out over the harbor, watching some of the ships.

    "Pretty sure the amount of people who want to un-alive him is in the tens at this point."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd says, "Well 'He' won't stand for that" comes the almost sarcastic response.

"But I'm sure Robin will get everything he needs to end this guy's career." He shifts restlessly as he continues to scan the harbor and docks. "I'm going to go dig into this fake delivery van thing. See what I can find out." Moving toward the railing he gives her a final look. "Good hunting."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You too, Hood. Stay safe out there." Oriole gives a small smile, and she drops down from her perch, disappearing into the darkness with the sound of her grappling gun going off and the flutter of a cape.

    She was getting used to it. Balance was still weird.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Can't promise that" he fires back as she starts to leave. Staying safe. Little about what they do is very safe. But he will be careful.