3013/Rooftop Run

Rooftop Run
Date of Scene:	20 August 2020
Location:	Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis:	Frank and Elektra chase down a trio of kidnappers on the roofs of Hell's Kitchen
Cast of Characters:	Frank Castle, Elektra Natchios

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Frank Castle has posed:
Pounding footsteps crush gravel under booted foot as four men rush headlong across a flat rooftop. The three in front wear top of the line combat gear, spec'd and equipped for the deadliest warzones on the planet. Instead, they fight in Hell's Kitchen -- not strictly classified as a warzone, but not far off either. The man in front carries an unusual package: A small boy tucked under his arm, duct tape binding wrists and ankles together to keep him from thrashing. His two escorts carry glocks, and though they're drawn, they seem far more interested in running than fighting.

The fourth man follows, and though he runs alone, the white skull blazoned across the kevlar vest on his chest chills the blood of his prey. He too has a sidearm drawn, an M1911, but out of fear of hitting the boy by mistake, he too hasn't used it since the chase began.

Though night has settled in, true darkness such as it is in the city, hasn't yet fallen. The streets are muted, less populated, but they aren't empty and they aren't silent. They don't concern themselves with the rooftops though, and so they miss it as the group rushes straight to the edge of one building and bounds to the next without missing a beat. They miss the roar of frustration and intimidation the Punisher shouts at his victims as he pours on extra speed to try and close the distance, and they miss when the rearmost escort starts looking ahead to the next rooftop for a firing position.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Hell's Kitchen, like it's name indicates is no sweet place to be at. It's no wonder that heroes such as Daredevil and Luke Cage began operating out of the place, to keep it clean, but there's always those that decide this is a good place to do nefarious business in ...

Elektra is no hero. Certainly not. She would scoff at such a notion but she has been staying about Hell's Kitchen for a while now, partially the fault of a certain man without fear, also the Hand which she has been looking in regarding their operations in New York... And it was that investigation that had brought her to the roofs today, seeking. Looking for those POI that she knew were lurking about. So it was no call of heroism that brought her attention to the kidnapping at hand. No higher purpose. It was more a coincidence. The sharing of the same rooftops...

Yet she was curious. A glimpse is visible coming in from the side, a silhouette in the darkness, black and red, moving between shadows as she was rushing close, still a building away. She jumps to land on that same rooftop where Frank is on pursuit..

Friend or foe though? Who could tell?

Frank Castle has posed:
You don't survive as long as Frank has doing the things Frank has done without being highly alert at all times. Doubly so when you're in hot pursuit of armed kidnappers. When Elektra first shows herself a building away, his eyes snap immediately to the flash of red and black rushing on an intercept path with his little group. The M1911 comes up just as fast, barrel trained on the incoming fifth party, but he hesitates. If he shoots, he might spook his prey into shooting back, turning a foot chase into a firefight the kid can't afford to get caught in the middle of. He growls in renewed irritation as he's forced to drop his aim in order to prepare for the jump ahead of him, taking the leap quite literally in stride to land with a heavy thud on the next rooftop over.

This one serves as a rooftop garden for some green-thumbed resident of the apartment building below. A small greenhouse takes up about twenty square feet in the middle of the roof, with planters and the occasional black iron table and chair set scattered about the rest in an admittedly aesthetically pleasing arrangement. The first escort doesn't take time to appreciate the view, though. Instead, he comes to a scrabbling, sliding halt on the gravel, twisting around to take cover behind an exhaust vent as he opens fire on Frank. The second escort runs a bit further along the roof before he catches sight of Elektra leaping in from the next rooftop over and, mistaking her for a do-gooder, hitches up behind a low dividing wall and echoes his companion in attempting to put lead in the red-and-black clad newcomer. The point man, kidnapped boy still hitched under his arm, ignores both and continues barreling along towards the edge of the rooftop while Frank takes a hit in the shoulder and turns the sudden loss in momentum into a roll for cover before returning fire.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra doesn't really appear to want to take much of a chance to be caught by one of Punisher's bullets, dodging and weaving as she approaches, twisting behind an exhaust vent until she sees the gun being put down.. The glimmer of dark metal that was between her fingertips disappears, a blade of some kind... But considering the dark in her eyes it will soon be put to use.. Hopefully on the bad guys. Yet she is still too far in order to throw with any sort of accuracy... One of the downsides to a good ol' gun.

And then she is over on the other side in one smooth run and jump, landing nearly without a sound, rolling out of the way of that first hail of bullets in her direction, feeling it pepper the ground where she was a second ago. "Cover me." The richly accented voice is heard from under the mask as she starts out on a dash, a throwing blade sent to get one of the men into cover as she runs. The blade gets stuck right on a plant pot, she moving fast in an attempt to get there before the man can get a good aim on her again..

Frank Castle has posed:
For about half a second Frank considers leaving Elektra to her fate, letting her take whatever fire is coming her way and using the distraction of her rush to kill his target and resume the chase. Castle has... issues, and a good portion of them have to do with trust and working with others. Call it ingrained training to watch a fellow soldier's back, or call it the last vestiges of his frayed humanity, but that hesitation lasts right up until the point she actually darts from cover to deal with the far assailant. As she does, the nearest holds his cover long enough for her to rush past, but the second he spots her and swings his glock around to open fire, he flinches hard as sparks kick off the exhaust vent near his eye and a planter ten feet behind him shatters. The goon withdraws his hand in self-preservation, his attack withering to nothing under the Punisher's preemptive shots as he ultimately elects to provide the requested covering fire. For the moment at least, she's clearly not on their side, and if she's willing to help deal with this obstacle, he's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. At least not until the present situation is handled, anyway.

Elektra's target, meanwhile, isn't sitting on his hands. The combat gear isn't just for show, so when she starts her blitz, his reaction is quick. Quick enough, in fact, to get a shot off, but not quick enough to do so before her blade hits the plant pot next to him. Just as with his ally, self-preservation kicks in and he flinches away from the point of impact, his aim going well wide to send the round ricocheting into some brickwork on another rooftop. He snarls, takes a brief moment to assess the distance between himself and Elektra, then abruptly decides to try and rotate on his hip and catch her forward rush on his heel with very well executed side kick. These guys are /definitely/ professionals.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra has long ago become aware that she needs to take some in order to deliver.. And that's right what she does. The dash doesn't stop even as she notes the rotating hip coming in her direction, the kick aimed to her midsection. She spins along with the kick, taking on her belly but having it be supported by her hands who catch that leg and holds it up while the rest of her body slides underneath.. A long leg sticks out, finding the man's and then it gets into a ground fight. Messy? Not really.., for it the man is a professional she is one of those master martial artists..

Fist meets fist, the exchange quick until the man draws out a combat blade. She rolls up to a knee, the man slashing out and drawing a cut down her arm before she lashes forth, quick as a snake, flipping the blade out of his hands and snapping it into a shoulder. Not a killing blow apparently.

But she hasn't taken sight of the other one. When the blade goes in she moves forward and grabs the professional, twisting him so it becomes a barrier between herself and whatever shots that may come her way. No qualms in using human shields!

Frank Castle has posed:
Indeed, professional he may be, but he's no actual match for Elektra. It shows his level of skill that he was even able to force her into accepting a hit to the stomach and then another on her arm. When the knife bites into his own shoulder, he lets out a muted and clipped bark of pain. He reaches a hand up to try and pluck the knife from the wound, but Elektra twists and interposes him between herself and the second shooter. Just in time, too, for when she draws him between herself and the gun pointed at her back, he catches two rounds on either side of his spine with another shout that cuts short as consciousness rapidly fades. He goes limp and heavy in her arms, collapsing to the ground like a sack of potatoes. His compatriot seems startled, but not too shaken up as he raises his pistol to fire again...

Only to get blindsided by the Punisher.

One would think it'd be hard to miss an ex-spec ops soldier bumrushing you from across the roof, but it's not so difficult when you consider the spectacle of violence that drew the poor man's attention. In fact, he doesn't notice the impending danger until Frank's nearly on top of him while letting out a guttural snarl. In a half-baked and rapid attempt to switch targets, he starts to bring the gun around to bear on Frank, but it's too late. Castle nails him in the chest with his shoulder, arms wrapping down and around to hook his legs and lift him off his feet, carrying him several steps before slamming his back /hard/ against the door leading up to the roof itself. The impact dents the solid metal door, bending it in the middle and ripping it partway off its hinges. Either a broken back or pain alone leaves the shooter insensate and unconscious, but Frank's mercy comes in the form of a bullet to the skull fired casually and with no small amount of disgust as the Punisher turns from his victim to eye Elektra and crack his neck in preparation to take her down too, if necessary.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The impact of the bullets hitting the man she was fighting make Elektra's arms jolt with it but then slowly relax as the man starts to slip into unconsciousness and eventual death.. There is no hesitation there either, no attempt to save or otherwise aid the man, watching as the Punisher bumrushes the other man and opens way to the top of the roof.

"That's one way to open a door." She comments, finely trimmed brows arching...

... She watches the preparation, the readiness to throw down with Elektra if it's needed and then she begins to jog up those stairs. "Don't you have someone else to catch up to?" not that it proves whether she is friend or foe. But maybe that's all part of the game. The choice of staying and fighting her or pursuing the objective

Still, even in her jog there is a care to her, ready to move or otherwise jump away if shots start flying in her direction. Considering the man's eyes she wouldn't discard it at all...

And honestly, she wouldn't blame him.., much.

Frank Castle has posed:
Frank /does/ have someone else to catch up to, as a matter of fact. As willing as he is to take on the red-and-black clad ninja, if she's not going to act as a further hinderance to his pursuit, he doesn't much have the motivation or the time to do so. Not a second of hesitation passes through Castle when Elektra turns begins to jog; he immediately sprints in the direction of the next rooftop, holstering his sidearm as he goes. A glance ahead tells him that in that short scuffle, the man with the boy has managed to put two more roofs between them, but that doesn't seem to deter the Punisher in the slightest. With a tireless step, he plants his boot on the lip of the building and shoves, leaping across the gap and continuing to give chase.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Not exactly expected. At least that lack of hesitation on turning her back on her. Clearly not the wisest of moves.. But circumstances are everything, and in this case no betrayal comes from the Hand assassin ...

Instead there is only the sound of an extra pair of feet giving chase not too far behind the Punisher, she often enough appearing just on that edge of peripheral vision if one looks for her, keeping the pace up. If anything she doesn't seem the type to tire easily either.

"He will need to divert paths soon enough.." and with that she turns towards another rooftop not on direct pursuit of the third mercenary, jumping over. Is she betting on the path the man will take? Or considering her 'profession' she may just know these rooftops too well.

Regardless she is now out of vision.

Frank Castle has posed:
Who is this random woman? Frank's expression says what he does not: 'I don't know you and I don't trust you, but for the moment I'm too busy to shoot you.' Though he's no Hand trained ninja, the tireless pursuit of criminals is explicitly what Castle lives for nowadays, so it doesn't take much for him to glance over to Elektra as she appears and comments on the necessary route of the kidnapper. A grunt is all she gets, the tight-lipped killer more than happy to let actions speak as she peels off and starts heading on an intercept path. The Punisher's still not entirely sure why she's taken an interest -- perhaps she's one of those do-gooder vigilantes that have been cropping up all over the city in the past decade or so. It doesn't really matter to him. So long as she's helping, he's happy to make full use of a second pair of legs in this foot chase.

Elektra proves to be correct in her assessment of the kidnappers route. Ultimately, he ends up running out of room to continue when he hits a rooftop overlooking the street from two sides. With a grunt, he turns, kicking up gravel to shift directions and move to the next building over only to watch as the red-and-black clad ninja beats him to it. Another snarl, and he rounds to begin backtracking, but Frank's already barreling along the roof he had just left behind and slowly he realizes that he's been cornered. "No closer!" he shouts to both of them as he draws a hefty desert eagle with a silver slide and places it to the temple of the kid, looking just a little bit panicked in the face of what's coming down upon him. "You step one foot on this roof and I'll put a bullet in his head!"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
As night has finally come on the city so have those rooftops become darker, full of shadows. Places to hide and conceal intentions... But if anything the woman looks all but a do-gooder. "Go ahead." she calls out, voice even and levelled, no emotion was pouring out. "Then I will have my fun..." and it's not as if she has a direct interest in the kid. As for her real motives though.., well.., they are yet to be discerned.

But her silhouette is barely visible now, moving between the shadows of that roof, chest heaving up and down after that run, exerted but not exhausted. Her hand is hidden close to her body, slowly rolling a small blade between fingertips, waiting for that opening.. But she is patient..

Eyes roam the man's posture, searching for that weakness, waiting for the Punisher to get in position. They are clearly no allies but right now they seem to be on the same side. For how long though?

Frank Castle has posed:
"No!"

The bark comes from Frank as Elektra goads the kidnapper to do it, his M1911 back in his hand in an instant, and he takes a shot. It skitters harmlessly off the rooftop in front of her, before he swings the barrel back around towards the kidnapper. "She's not moving and I'm not moving," he calls out in a low, guttural growl that seems to emanate from his chest as he levels the gun on the man, perfectly still, "But I don't need to, to kill you. Drop the kid or I will make the last few minutes of your pathetic life a living hell, do you understand me?" He snarls and settles into a more secure firing stance, calling out immediately after, a tactic designed to give the man no time to think: "Do it now! Ten seconds or I swear to god I will break every motherfucking bone in your body one by one. Ten!"

"Shut the fuck up!" The kidnapper yells, dragging the boy around to face Frank, then immediately back towards Elektra, "Just shut up and walk away! This has nothing to do with you!"

"Nine!"

"I said back off!"

"Eight!"

The man once more rounds on Frank, shouting across the way towards him, his stance aggressive as his focus narrows and he unintentionally lets his guard down for a moment on Elektra's side.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The shot bouncing off the ground near her makes Elektra immediately look towards Frank, eyes murderous for just the split of a second but then they return to their norm. She remains in place, continuing to wait up for her opportunity... Even professionals break with the right incentive, she knows it.., that window which can be found if one is but patient to look and wait for...

She sees it then, the open flank, that hand which is holding the weapon fully bare and at her mercy. And there is no hesitation, no moment to ponder or think if it's the best decision. It's all about instinct, those years of killing that allow her to see when prey shows it's neck.

A flick of her wrist is discernible to the attentive eye and the next moment there is a shuriken stuck through the man's hand. The one holding the gun..

It brings an involuntary scream from the man and he reactively reaches up to the injured hand, the gun for some moments not pointing towards the kid, his whole side and head unprotected.

Frank Castle has posed:
With a sharp crack, Frank takes the shot the second it's exposed, and the kidnapper's head snaps back and sprays blood off the side of the building as he goes limp. In the resulting pile of lifeless, unfeeling limbs, the boy ends up dropped on the roof. It'll probably leave a big bruise up the boy's side, but it's better then either other alternative. He's barely on the ground before Frank's booted feet leap the gap and slide along the gravel, rushing to grab the kid and start checking him for injuries while in his gruff, oddly reassuring voice he repeatedly tells the boy: "You're alright."

For the moment, Elektra is forgotten. All that matters is ensuring the young kid is safe, unharmed, and with a quick flick of a knife, free. The boy, understandingly, is in shock, so he simply sits there mute as Frank checks his pupils for signs of a concussion and feels for broken ribs and limbs before finally checking for blood. Only when he's sure his field check comes up clean does he turn towards the mysterious ninja and frown, his momentary respect recognizable only in the lack of firearms he turns on her.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra doesn't move as fast as Frank to go to the kid's side, taking her time to jump to the roof in question, approaching slowly even if silently, watching the interaction between the boy and the Punisher. No words or judgement there, simply an acknowledgement the job was done..

She leans down near the dead man, the tip of her boot stepping on the man's fingertips as she draws the embedded shuriken from his hand.

"You will owe me." She says. Simple. Favor for a favor. In this life who does anything for the good of their heart?

She wipes the blood away from the shuriken, setting it aside in her belt. "What's the story here?" She questions, eyes finally turning to look at the kid with more attention.

Frank Castle has posed:
Frank Castle threw away his honor the day his family died, so tacit agreement of Elektra's assessment of him owing her a favor comes with many, many unspoken strings. The look he gives her says it all very clearly though: Don't for a second expect anything from the Punisher he's not prepared to give, no matter what the laws of polite underworld society demand. Still, the kid's safe thanks to her intervention. He might have managed to bring him home safely alone, but he also very easily could have lost the trail or accidentally clipped the kid or... Any number of things could have gone wrong.

So when she asks after the story, Frank ensures the boy is as comfortable as he can be on a rooftop away from his family with two murderous strangers and steps away from him, tilting his chin towards the side to gesture Elektra to follow. "Kid's father's a judge," Castle explains in a low-pitched growl when he's outside the boy's range of hearing, "Snatched him twenty minutes ago. Hit hard and fast. I happened to be in the area." A clear euphemism for 'tracking the suspects when shit hit the fan.'

Why? Well...

"Last night, another group tried to take the daughter of a ranking corporate exec with some pretty suspect associations. Week before that it was a Police Captain's wife. Week before a councilwoman's mistress." Frank cuts himself off with a very pointed look. If she didn't get the picture by now, there was no point in going on.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra takes a step to the side, moving along with Frank when the man silently calls for them to step aside from the child. The implications are clearly understood by the woman along with a brief furrow of her brows at the realization. "And these were no slouches. Whoever is pulling the strings is big money."

And with the nerve to do these kind of big moves, taking over the city in such a brutal manner. A quick glance is given over her shoulder to the kid and then back. "Who are your suspects?" she asks. There's always someone..

As for the boy .. "You know he won't be safe until you find out who he's behind it, don't you?" she asks, tucking some hair out of her face and behind one ear.

Frank Castle has posed:
"None," Frank replies with a grimace as he glances off to the side at the dead body, "They're careful and I only took notice when they caught three people in the crossfire a week ago. They were quiet until last night." He might not have anything concrete, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his suspicions, and what's more it doesn't mean he's going to trust Elektra with them just yet. There were still more pieces to this puzzle, and even if she wasn't in on it, that doesn't mean he can trust her with a half-baked theory. There's no telling what she might do for kicks.

As for the kid, he frowns and turns his gaze back to her and then the boy. "I know," he grunts, but that doesn't mean he actually has a plan. Frank's not exactly the babysitter type, and what's more the kid still had a family -- a very powerful family, as it turns out. It's sort of the point. That doesn't clarify much, but there's not a whole lot Castle can do about it.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The light dancing in the woman's gaze seems to be telling. She doesn't believe the BS Frank is giving her about not having a suspect. But fine enough. It's a good move too, because Elektra is the type to go against the grain. "They will know it was your handiwork too." she says, her eyes pointedly turning to the hole on the man's head. And really, that skull is quite revealing on who exactly she is talking to...

There seems to be a moment of consideration, a sigh a split of a second later and she says. "Burrow street, number 3, 1st floor." it is not a place *too* far from here. "A safe place, you can stay the night there with the kid if you want." not that she expects the man to take it, but that's not the point.

"Leave a message there in the morning with a contact." and then she begins to walk to the edge of the roof without a care about falling.

Frank Castle has posed:
You don't get a reputation like Frank's by being worried someone might recognize your handiwork. He just grunts at her when she mentions that he's likely to be recognized as having a hand in their plans going awry. In fact, he almost seems to relish the idea. It's practically half of what he lives for nowadays, so it makes sense.

She's right to assume he's not going to take her up on the offer of a safehouse. They'd probably be here all night if they listed all ones they each have squirreled away throughout the city, and the paranoid Castle isn't going to be his safety or the kid's on a place he doesn't know given to him by a woman he doesn't know.

Still, though he doesn't comment as she walks away, doesn't so much as move from his position while he keeps an eye on her right up until she disappears, in the morning at that address there's a slip of paper with a phone number scrawled on it.