15804/Runin with a Ghost Who Walks

Runin with a Ghost Who Walks
Date of Scene:	06 September 2023
Location:	Abandoned Warehouse
Synopsis:	Legends of the Pulp era.
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, Natasha Cranston, June Connor

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Monet St. Croix has posed:
There was a group that previous encounters by the Shadow (perhpas even from her archives) that had been identified as the Brotherhood of Singh. A band of mystics, slavers, and pirates that had a history going back hundreds of years. Perhaps that with further research, if she had done it, had taken note of an immortal adversary of them that had walked the Earth for centuries. Now, it's an abandoned warehouse that was a transfer point used by slavers trafficking in homeless children. Late at night. Three in the morning.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    A great many cults lay claim to centuries' worth of secret history; it lends a certain gravitas and status regardless of whether it's true -- but if she interprets Grandfather's notes correctly, this Brotherhood might actually have the facts to back it up. Of course, it could still just be a new group appropriating an old name, but somehow it doesn't quite feel that way.

    Notes about an 'immortal adversary' are even more sparse, barely enough to be called rumors. But after all, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Man?

    Old or new, apparently the current incarnation makes its money transporting live cargo -- such a genteel phrase for human trafficking -- and reliable information has a shipment being transferred via this warehouse tonight.

    This was never a good part of town, and recent zoning decisions haven't been kind either; what few streetlights there are are badly in need of maintenance, and so it's even more difficult than it normally would be to track the shadow flickering from one pool of light to the next moving towards the warehouse entrance...

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Evil lasts eternally. Those whom must be vigilant to stop it must be so as well. Some evil was merely a ppropriated, those of terror associated with ilk. Others perhpas did have roots that went so far back. Darkness came in many forms - suffering, anguish, hate, loathing. Whether old or new.
    This is live cargo - there are shipping containers piled with bodies - they are children that have been drugged. Young ones - the type that no one on the streets will miss. Homeless, illegal immigrants, runaways. That vanish underneath the feet of society. Unwanted. Uncared.
    Inside the group bustles with efficiency. Moving about quickly about thier tasks. Alert. Patrollers going back and forth, observers watching over the streets from concealment, disguised as panhandlers. Spread out. Security is tight.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Using panhandlers as a cover is reasonably clever; most 'decent' people will go well out of their way to avoid looking at one, much less remember what they looked like... Which means that most people would miss the fact that underneath their unkempt appearances their furtive glances are covering all approaches very efficiently, or miss the telltale glint of earpieces underneath greasy hair, or the way that the loose, ragged clothes they're huddled inside could conceal various weapons.

    Cloaked in Shadow, Natasha smiles to herself as she checks the time. Assuming miss Connor accepted the invitation, she should be here shortly -- and if she'd interpreted the message correctly, she'd be arriving as stealthily as possible and remain in concealment.

    ... If she hadn't, then this could quickly become quite educational.

June Connor has posed:
    3am. June only noticed because...well, she was still up. When that reminder popped up, she hadn't even realized it was on the calendar on her phone. Elektra would surely have her hide if she just blew it off, and so she got ready. She had her hook swords with her, a handful of smoke pellets. One more poisonous pellet for good measure, her climbing rope and a few kunai for good measure.

    She mumbled curses to herself as she hopped off the night bus a few blocks away. But people don't dare ask questions about things like in the Big Apple. The less you know the better. She made her way to the warehouse complex, fading into the darker recesses of Bronx's missing lights along the street.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The Shadow has met up wtih her.. Associate? Sidekick? Pupil? Meatshield? But, the two are making thier way together towards the warehouse and doing so stealthily, observing over. What Natasha may or may not notice as she investigates is a series of small wards that have ben built into the area. The Brotherhood is an ancient guild of pirates, murderers, thieves, and assassins. They also incorporate small magic. In this case, to one that knows how to look out for it, it's a small alarm spell built towards wehre seh's going. Easy enough to bypass.
    For now, both June and Natasha make thier approach wihtout being observed.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    "Miss Connor, thank you for coming promptly" comes an annoyingly familiar voice from right behind June just as her perception of the rest of her surroundings acquires that slight muting that she may have come to associate with being inside the Shadow's 'stealth field'. "It would appear that the Brotherhood we'd encountered the last time is running a trafficking route through this warehouse; my sources inform me that there's a transfer due tonight."

    There's a brief pause to let the implications sink in, then she Shadow continues. "Our objectives are twofold; primarily we'll want to secure the safe release of the... 'cargo'; secondarily I'd very much like at least some of the traffickers alive to answer questions just in case their documentation is lacking."