18048/Pie and (stolen) plans.

Pie and (stolen) plans.
Date of Scene:	24 May 2024
Location:	Fred's Diner
Synopsis:	X-23 buys some data on anti-mutant weapons and research from Doll. They have pie and chat. It's a perfectly innocent business transaction. Honest!
Cast of Characters:	Laura Kinney, Doll

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Laura Kinney has posed:
You'd think that in a world filled with advanced computers and technology the old ways of gathering information would be long gone. The stuff of old movies and history books. But even today there's still value in the traditional Human, or in this case mutant, intelligence gathering especially when some of those mutants can remote view or see the future. Which is the main reason why one X-23 is nursing a pot of coffee in a corner booth at Fred's Diner.

Who knows how many pots of coffee she's gone through by now as she waits for her contact to drop off 'the package'. Certainly the staff have been tipped generously enough not to ask any questions. As to what that package might contain. Well it's hopefully a lead on The Facility.

Assuming the intel is worth the money anyway.

Despite the diner being generally quite a busy place X-23 has managed to keep her booth entirely to herself. Either just by scowling in way that's more menacing than her petite size has any right to be. Or if that works claiming she's meeting friends who should be here 'any time soon'.

Doll has posed:
The thing about the old-fashioned info gathering? It was harder to hack, harder to intrude on and...well, the food tended to be better! At least, that was what Doll told herself as she moved into the diner. With her hair down and more casual clothing, the young woman in the skirt and hoodie jacket looked like any other teenager-to-college student rather than the strange quintuplets that assaulted that lab (alongside a convenient Juggernaut-shaped distraction). That data she'd yoinked from the servers? Well, it was probably interesting to a sciency type...but moreover, it was sellable.

Deals brokered, a little info shared and Doll was here to meet, happily making her way to the counter to peer at the sweets...and conveniently survey the other patrons as she leaned over to stare at baked goods.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Just like an old spy movie X-23 left cryptic hints with her contact, a third party information broker, so that she'd be easy to pick out. For someone in the know anyway. An umbrella with black and red stripes. Distinctive enough to stand out. But ordinary enough that no-one would care. Especially not at this time of year when sudden showers are a dime a dozen.

Somewhere in New York there's an escrow service holding a sum of money. Quite a large sum of money as such things go (and why else would The Outsiders have untraceable accounts for intel gathering if not to spend them!). Waiting for confirmation of receipt and authentication.

Her eyes flick up when Doll comes in. A little sniff of the air. Seemingly appreciating the coffee, but more practically staying alert for cyborg augmentations, weapons and explosives.

Casually she takes another sip. If this isn't her contact she's just another Diner customer. Nothing to see here.

Doll has posed:
Fair being fair, somewhere across the way there was no less than two other 'Dolls' watching this meeting. Not that she was afraid of dying in some double-cross...well, not the dying part, but because a double-cross might damage her reputation and well...it'd suck anyway. While one version of the brunette idly chewed bubblegum as she peered through a pair of binoculars and another hummed softly to herself as she watched the diner through a rifle sight several buildings away, the 'Doll with the deal' turned to face the umbrella-baring mutant.

Plenty of scents to her, the sweetness of her shampoo, the light artificial notes of chewing gum resting in a packet in her pocket and...well, there was the -very- faint scent of metal somewhere on her form, the fact it could be smelt at all suggesting a recently sharpened object. Assuming even Laura's sense of smell was that good.

"Is the pie any good here?" she questions, lightly dropping into the booth across from the other mutant with a grin on her lips.

Her 'sign'? A little flower hairclip, pinning back some stray bangs from her hair, too obnoxiously pink to be a coincidence. This was the contact.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"The apple pie is a steal," Laura confirms, keeping her voice low. Sign and counter sign. "There aren't many places to sit. You're welcome to join me if you're not getting the pie to go."

Another little sniff. Her nose is shockingly good. She can track a scent through the sewers of Gotham so a freshly sharpened blade? A trifling matter to detect. Not that she enjoys having super senses in the sewers. Gotham's air is notoriously bad and the sewers? Well they're beyond describing. If only the Gotham tourist board could market that somehow. Worlds worst smelling sewers.

She motions for Doll to sit down.

"Do you have the package?" she asks, her face a mask of innocence. Like two old friends catching up for anyone taking too much interest. "I believe you'll see the funds are ready to be transferred."

Doll has posed:
Who needed a wire when you had what was essentially a hive conciousness? Elsewhere, the Doll with the gum and the binos absently pulling her smartphone in its bright pink case and opening the app to confirm. The girl at the table? She grins, nodding lightly and reaching to unzip her hoodie jacket. Of course, this wasn't some indecent intent or even expression of the temperature, instead her fingers dipped into her inner-jacket pocket to retrieve a small thumb-drive. "Some bedtime reading, as promised. Interesting stuff...if you're the technical sort."

A little shift, her own drink was delivered and there was no way Laura would miss the potent scent of her strawberry milkshake even before she sipped at the straw.

"Go ahead and transfer then. I'll wait right here and try the pie..."

Laura Kinney has posed:
There are other things those super senses can pick out. Fear, stress, deception. The sort of things someone coming to a less than legitimate business deal might be feeling if they had any nefarious intentions. Things which Laura is very much on the look out for as she pulls out a small electronic device from her pocket.

A little larger than a smartphone. It has pretty much nothing on it except for a piece of software that can check the data is genuine. Or at the very least a very very convincing fake. No internet connections. Nothing of value to be destroyed by a hidden virus. The thumb drive gets plugged in and she taps in the commands to trigger the check.

"Won't be long. Just making sure the merchandise is as described." She shrugs when Doll mentions trying the pie. Then with a hint of a smile she adds "Splash out on a little icecream to go on the side. I'm sure you'll be able to afford it soon enough."

If and when the check comes back green. Well it's a simple matter of sending a text message from the burner specially purchased just for todays business to the intermediary holding the funds. And once that's arrived. Well one of the Dolls is probably waiting on money transfer to come through. And once one of them knows presumably they'll all know.

Doll has posed:
Fear? Nope. Stress? Nada...deception? Well, there was none of that, even if Doll seemed more like...excited, joyful. Apparently she was having a good time despite the fact she was indulging in what was essentially espionage. Each their own, after all.

"Oooh," Doll offers after the next sip at the suggestion, "I -do- like icecream. Care to join me...or do you have super serious reading and stuff to do? It's really the most boring part of all of it, huh?"

Happy enough with the payment arriving, the other Dolls begin the process of packing up their little overwatch. Everything after this point was pretty much a 'bonus'.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I think I'll save the reading for later," Laura says with a nod towards the bustle of customers. "Somewhere a little more private." Or she'll hand it off to a specialist to investigate. Tim perhaps or one of the X-men if it turns out not to have connections to any ongoing Outsider investigations. Maybe both. Sharing is caring after all!

A little shrug and she motions to the server to make that a double order. Her healing factor means she can eat pie and icecream all day without concern. It's unfair but that's superpowers for you.

"That's the thing with this sort of vocation. It's mostly boring waiting around and reading. Until everyone is trying to kill you that is."

Doll has posed:
It was out of her hands now. Of course, the physical tech she'd stolen was somewhere in a safehouse, likely to be looked into or perhaps sold on to someone suitable once Doll was sure it wouldn't or couldn't be used against her. For now however? Well, she had some spending money to consider and the first order of business was indeed dessert.

Even if she hadn't had an actual meal yet.

A little shift, a tilt of her head, she considers for a moment, gaze sweeping over Laura once more before she lets her lips quirk into a smile. "Y'know, I -am- curious what you'll do with it, but we don't get to ask that question. Still, this is one of the better 'meetups' I've been to."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura chuckles as her order gets delivered. Probably the other customers aren't thrilled how quickly Doll and X-23 get served. But that's one of the many reasons she tips consistently well. Not well enough that it stands out as being /too much/. But enough to get quick service a privacy.

"Curiosity gets a lot of people killed. But you don't have to worry. Nothing that'll weigh on your conscience." Assuming people who break into weapon R&D facilities have consciences. Still given they were making anti-mutant weapons... Well Laura won't be losing any sleep if the staff there got hurt. And if they have any connections to The Facility? Well it saves her doing the job in person.

She takes a spoon full of pie with a little icecream. Leaving most of the icecream for the outer rim of crust.

"No offense but you seem a little young to be in this particular business."

Not that she's one to talk. Between her size, build, and healing factor she could probably pass for a high school student.

Doll has posed:
"I hear satisfaction brought them back...or maybe that was just the kitty-cats," Doll counters, giving a little giggle at her own thought before she takes another mouthful of her quickly served treat. How -would- 'brain freeze' be felt for the other Dolls if it happened anyway?

Still she gives a little nod to Laura's question only to beam and shrug at the comment. "Guess I'm just gifted, got an early start?" Doll grins before lifting a hand to gesture with her spoon. "Besides, takes one to know one. I bet you get asked for ID all the time. Fortunately they don't card you for...this stuff."

Alright so she was babbling a little, but there was a fair bit of manic hyperactive energy practically radiating off the girl!

Laura Kinney has posed:
There's a little shift of her head. Tilting to one side as she takes another bite of pie. Where Doll is manic she's the reverse. Calm and controlled. Each spoonful of pie a careful balance of icecream to pastry.

"No, actually. People never ask me for ID." Because she rarely comes in through the door or goes to the sort of reputable establishments which ask questions. But hey if she did ask Laura would have plenty of fake ID documents to show them.

"Well. Just so long as you stick to stealing from the bad guys we won't have any problems."

Doll has posed:
"Well...I mean, I don't ask them their whole values and moral standing before I pick their locks or blow up their safe..." Doll mused, pie and icecream devouring continuing happily. Maybe her own mutant power had quite the calorie requirement. "But if they're trying to kill me? They're bad guys. Mutant hunters aren't exactly the nicest of people."

Doll herself did have fake ID when she needed it, but she wasn't carrying it to a handoff. She did however, reach over to the small tin sitting nearby containing a collection of crayons for children to draw with and takes one to a napkin, scrawling out a number. Her phone number it seems...or one of them anyway.

"I gotta finish this and run, but who knows. Maybe I'll call you if I find something else fun, maybe you'll call me if you're looking for something....or just bored and looking for me. That too!"

A wink, and the last of the icecream was shovelled down so quickly it's almost concerning, then Doll gives a wave as she's headed out the door still practically radiating that 'sugar rush' energy.