15823/Gunshop Gossip

Gunshop Gossip
Date of Scene:	10 September 2023
Location:	Powder Keg Armory and Gunsmith
Synopsis:	Helena shows up at Cole's gun shop. They talk guns and make plans for poboys.
Cast of Characters:	Cole Cash, Frank Castle, Helena Bertinelli

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Cole Cash has posed:
Located in the Bottoms of Gotham, the Powder Keg is known to be run by one Cole Cash. His record had been expunged and he was appearing to be trying to do something legit. The outside of the shop is a two-story affair, with iron bars over the bulletproof glass windows and steel shutters that are pulled closed at end of business.

Inside, the shop is spartan, with a few weapons on display, from a Revolutionary War musket to an AR-15. Right now, a jukebox in the corner is playing 'All Along the Watchtower' by Hendrix while sitting at his work station, Cole is currently working on a long rifle, currently disassembled all over the table as he is scrubbing and oiling the pieces. "Poor baby. Left all alone in the rain for months. Not your fault that your previous owner was a jerk that ended up in jail for not knowing how to use you right."

Frank Castle has posed:
Frank Castle had enough special forces contacts that he knew most of the players, but Cash he'd only heard the name - but in the way you only hear the name of a ghost that people don't wanna piss off. People talked about Frank that way, too. Not to his face, of course.

Finding legit specialists in this particular field that he didn't need to murder on sight was rare enough. You'd think criminals would turn him down, but Frank had plenty of laundered cash to spend and their greed would outweigh their common sense. Then they'd say something to remind Frank they were scum and he'd have to purge them. Irritating, but he had to do what he had to do.

He parks the Battlevan a short distance away, securing it with electronic locks and a few traps before he heads in. He's got a cap on and he isn't wearing the death's head, but he won't be that hard to recognize. He's been on the news often enough. But he ain't here to pretend to be anybody but himself.

He raps lightly on the door. "Lookin' for the Grifter. You occupado, chief?"

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
The Huntress doesn't use guns in her after hours activities. Even when she was willing to kill, she used crossbows. But Helena Bertinelli? Even though she has grown up and distanced herself from her Family's Mafia activities, she does carry a gun for self defense and target shooting.

Entering the shop, Helena looks around curiously. She's wearing a green silk blouse, the front tucked into black jeans, and hiking boots. Her hair is pulled back into a loose pony tail under a black Gotham Knights ballcap worn backwards.

She glances toward Cole before turning her gaze to look at the various weapon displays and items offered on the shelves.

Cole Cash has posed:
Cole himself is dressed in a black muscle shirt and a pair of blue jeans, a bandana holding his bangs off his face. A clear tattoo of a bayonet through a skull with a snake (a Special Forces mark) adorns his left shoulder.

Glancing up when he hears the tap on the door, Cole considers the person asking. For a moment, his hand considers the pistol strapped under the table for personal protection, but when Helena arrives, he changes gears.

"Not out in the field, my man." Cole offers to Frank. "Just call me Cole. What can I do for you?"

And then Helena's arrival draws a quick smile. "You're gonna class up my humble shop, Miss. Next thing you know, I'll have a whole two stars on Yelp."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli finishes her scan of the room; it's really second nature. Check the corners, check the exits, check for security cameras. The things everyone with an alter ego tends to do.

When Cole jokes about her classing up the place, she smirks. "Oh yeah? I'll send you my bill later then" she fires back cheerfully.

Wandering toward the handguns, her dark eyed gaze considers the weapons displayed. "I'd heard there was a new gunshop in the city. Thought I'd come see for myself."

Cole Cash has posed:
"Hopefully you want charge me too much!" Cole says with amusement before he watches her walk around and check out the shop. "See anything you like, feel free to ask."

Then there's the comment about the shop opening and the blue-eyed blonde flashes a smile. "Always was a dream of mine to have my own shop and work with rifles and pistols and such." he admits as he gestures to the rifle on the table. "Considering how many weapons are dropped by criminals in Gotham City when one of the Bats gets a hold of them, I'm trying to make sure those get cleaned up and turned into the GCPD for auction or to be destroyed."

He gives a good-natured shrug. "Anything in patricular you might be looking for? If it's got a trigger, I can fix it up." A pause. "That makes a great slogan, I'll put that in the Yellow Pages ad."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli laughs. "Well it'll depend how successful you become just because I showed up. Costs are variable!"

Nodding, she smiles. "Thanks, I will. Considering a new handgun. Possibly a shotgun. It has been long time since I did any trap shooting. Thought it would be fun to get back into again."

Her gaze turns to the weapon he is cleaning. "That's a good idea, actually. The city sure needs more help with keeping weapons off the streets." Laughing again as he comes up with that slogan, she points, "See? I'm helping already!"

Cole Cash has posed:
"I'm building up a running tab with you!" Cole admits with a chuckle and considers her. He wipes his hands off on a rag and offers one to her. "Cole Cash, nice to meet you." he finally greets.

"Trap shooting? What's the budget you're looking for?" he asks curiously. "And what type do you want? An over-under like a Beretta 686, something customizable like a Browning? Or a multi-round chamber like the Winchester Wingmaster?"

He goes over to one of the cabinets, to point out each one of the weapons as he names them in turn. The Beretta has some beautiful metalsmith markings in the breach, while the Winchester has a plastic over steel configuration.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli flashes a sweet smile. "That's okay. I'll take payments."

"Mr. Cash, nice to meet you. Helena Bertinelli" she offers. Those who have lived in Gotham long, or follow the organized crime scene might recognize the name as one of Gotham's Five Families until they were violently cut down about two decades ago. Or not, of course.

"Mmm. Probably pump or semi auto rather than an over-under? Growing up my family had a bit of a preference for Benelli but I'm not stuck on a brand as much as looking for reliability and performance, you know?"

Cole Cash has posed:
If Cole recognized the name (which he did) it doesn't show on his face. "And you as well, Miss Bertinelli." At least he hopes it's Miss. "Payments, huh? Give me a few, I'll see if I come up with favorable terms."

But his attention is back to the talk of shotguns. "You know your stuff." he says with a chuckle. "Not that I didn't expect you too, I've just had a few people that come in that don't know a Revolver from a Semi-Automatic, they just want..." Fingers make air-quotes, "...a cool gun." A sigh and shake of his head.

"So, then we have the Benelli Nova, if you're married to that idea, I'd have to special order that. I do have a Browning BPS. 12 gauge, four round mag and one in the chamber. It's pretty light at eight pounds and it's walnut finish and blued steel makes it..." chef's kiss. He leads the way over to the counter where one is on display in the shotgun section.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli laughs again. "I'm a starving English Teacher. You'll be helping out the educational system!"

"Well I used to. Admittedly it has been at least ten years since I last did any trap shooting but it's fun. The hand-eye coordination it develops is great."

She smiles. "I know my way around guns. I don't use them regularly - which is a good thing from the self defense perspective. My family was very much into knowing how to safely use firearms in general."

Looking over the displays, she considers, "How comfortable is the Browning to shoot? I've fired some shotguns that kick harder than a mule and others in the same gauge that don't."

Cole Cash has posed:
"The Browning has some of the smoothest recoil among the shotguns. It's made for the comfort of the shooter while maintaining it's firepower." Cole explains. He feels comfortable not dumbing it down for her, which is nice.

"I have a gun range in the back if you want to give it a test fire?" he suggests to her as he goes to his belt to pull up his key rings to prepare to unlock the cabinet if she wants to try. "The targets are static, but it will at least give you a feel for it."

"Starving English teacher, huh?" comes the amused rejoiner. "There's a great little deli nearby that serves New Orleans style poboys if I could treat you to it sometime. But you may know better restraunts than I on that front."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli nods thoughtfully. "sure. Yeah I'd like try it out if that would be okay? Thank you." She watches absently as he goes to get the gun out.

She offers another light laugh, "Static targets are easier to hit. Watch me miss and look like a total newbie!" Grinning she considers the idea of a deli.

"Well I'll admit it's not -that- difficult to be a teacher even in Gotham, as far as compensation. But I'll never be driving a Ferrari on my salary." She has supplimental income to make up for that. Even if it isn't a Ferrari she drives.

"A deli huh?" She smiles, "Sure. I haven't had a poboy in a long time. That sounds really good."

Cole Cash has posed:
Unlocking the cabinet, he takes out the shot gun, before Cole closes it and pumps it once to show it's unloaded. "Mind if I lock up right quick? Don't want someone coming in while you're shooting." Going over, he locks the door to the store before turning back to Helena. "What grade do you teach?" he asks. "High school? Elementary?"

There's a short laugh. "I promise not to laugh too hard if you do botch it up, Helena." An accidental use of her first name. But it seems comfortable enough. Heading towards the back, his grin is genuine when she agrees to a meal.

"Awesome. I'm a huge fan of their roast beef with extra debris. But you have to be quick with that, or you end up with some real soggy bread." Pushing open the door that reads 'shooting range: danger, live fire', there's a series of steps that lead into the firing range. There's a long counter with booths to stand in. Downrange are several targets. Setting the shotgun down on one of the booths, he goes and retrieves ear protection, glasses and the shells as well as a target.

Pressing a button on the side of the booth, the track pulls in, bringing up the hook. Hitching the target to it, he slides it back out into position. "Load and fire when you're ready." He slips on the ear protection and glasses to watch her.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli shakes her head, "No that's fine." It makes complete sense to lock the shop while stepping out of the front room.

"High school. West High in Bristol" she adds with a smile. Waiting to let him lead the way back to the shooting range, she considers. "Oh that sounds really good actually." The sandwich. "Well if you do laugh at me, I'm going to take that second Yelp star back." Evil is real!

Following him into the range, she pauses long enough to slip on the ear protectors and glasses as well. Nodding she picks up the shotgun and three of the shells. Loading them into the gun, she raises it to her shoulder to see how it feels, then switches of the safety.

Taking a moment, she fires the first shot, the gun's report and burst of flame from the muzzle filling the air briefly. Just getting used to it. Then she quickly pumps the weapon to fire the second and third shots rapidly to test how that feels.

Ejecting the last shell, she puts the safety on and sets the gun down on the bench. Reaching up to take off her glasses and ear protection she smiles. "I think I like it."

Cole Cash has posed:
"You've got to be really brave. High schoolers these days..." Cole shakes his head in amusement. "Or maybe I'm just getting old." Then he makes a mock yelp. "No no, my star." comes the playful lament as she starts to work on loading the shotgun.

"I could just call the poboy the start for paying you back for that star." he comments, leaving the door open there as she fires off the first shot. His brows raise for a moment. She's good.

The rapid fire second and third shots earn a nod of approval. "Nice. Very nice." Going over to the gun, he gives it a safety pump to ensure the chamber is cleared. "Alright, so this model runs around 800 dollars. If you want some customization, like a choke or modified iron sights or a personalization in the stock, that'll be extra, but that can be handled all in house."

Then he adds. "If you decided to buy it tonight, I'll need you to fill out an application and copy your ID so that I can send it in for approval through NICS and when approved, you can come back and pick it up. As far as payment, I can break it into three payments, 90 days, same as cash. If you need longer, you'll need to finance it."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli smiles. "The kids are great. But I also don't tolerate much. I have that Italain glare down. They know not to try and get away with anything."

"Hmm. I think for my uses it'll be fine as it is." Thinking a moment she nods, "Yes I'd like to go ahead and purchase it. Though I do want to look at your handguns. I'm not sure I'm ready to buy but I'm thinking about going from a nine millimeter to a .40."

Cole Cash has posed:
Tucking the shotgun under his arm, Cole gestures towards the door. "After you." Up the stairs they go and after setting the shotgun behind the counter, he heads over to unlock the door again.

Once that's done, he grins, "I will try my best not to earn your ire." comes the dry comment as he comes back around the counter. He opens up a drawer to pull out an application and sets it on the counter with a pen. "I'll need your ID. I promise not to look at your birthdate. Though you can't be over 25."

Then the conversation turns. "Are you considering trading in the nine?" comes the question, before adding, "Are we talking Glock, Sig Sauer, Beretta, S&W?" She has a grasp on weapons, she should be able to tell what she wants.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli makes her way back to the front of the shop with a nod. "Thank you."

Moving to stand near the counter she nods "Yes. This is a rule everyone should live by. Never make an Italian woman angry" she teases. Pulling her wallet, she offers over her drivers license, "Here you go."

"I have a Glock now. I like the grip. It fits my hand well. I realize a .40 is going to handle and feel different. Probably Sig or S&W? Maybe HK? I've had a chance to fire a USP .40 before and it does handle nicely. It's a pretty looking gun too, admittedly."

Cole Cash has posed:
As he takes the idea to scan into the system, Cole grins. "I will be sure to keep that in mind -- and look nicer when we go out." he quips as he slides the ID back over.

"Maybe a Glock 22 or 23, then? I'll need to order those both, but they should only take a few days for it to come in."

"If you want, I could call you when they arrive?" A sly way to ask a girl for her phone number, clearly.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli notices the "go out" slid in there and smirks a little as she waits for him to process the application for background check and everything. Somewhere the ATF has alarms going off in their systems (not really), she imagines to herself wryly.

Nodding to him she smiles at his method of getting her number, "Sure. Um.." looking around for a piece of paper and pen then she'll write her number down and that it's for buying a .40 handgun. So helpful!

Cole Cash has posed:
Taking a picture of the paper, he scans it and presses a button on his phone. Helena's phone pings with Cole's contact information in return in the form of a V-card. And they are going out. To eat poboys! No ulterior motives.

"It was nice meeting you." he offers to her sincerely. "You going to be alright getting home? I can at least walk you to your car?" He knows he's in one of the worst of the worst neighborhoods.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli smiles and nods. "And you, Cole. Thanks for the help! I'm glad I decided to stop in." Then she glances outside, "No, I think I'll be okay. As long as you unlock the door so I can get out.." she says with a playful grin.

"No one is going to both me. My winning personality will wow them into non-violence." That grin is back because she knows just how absurd that notion is. Particularly in Gotham. But she's not worried in the least being out by herself.

Cole Cash has posed:
"I thought I did!" Cole admits, heading over to the door and pushes it. It indeeds opens! And now he looks sheepish because Helena got him.

"Nice. Nice. I'll have to find a way to get my revenge." He holds the door open for Helena. "See you soon, Helena. Have a good night."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli laughs. "Sorry I guess I was distracted by all the handsome and beautiful guns in here" she says with a bat of her lashes. "Thank you again!" She walks out and heads for .. well it isn't a Ferrari, she was right. It is however, an dark purple metallic Alfa Romeo 4 door sedan that looks as sporty as most European cars tend to do. Clearly she does favor Italian products! The alarm chirps off and she is soon settled inside and driving away.