3415/The Word on the Street

The Word on the Street
Date of Scene:	18 September 2020
Location:	Midtown
Synopsis:	Spidey meets a street magician and foils a crime...but are they connected?
Cast of Characters:	Jackson Mathias, Peter Parker

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Jackson Mathias has posed:
Mid down in the midtown, reasonable time to find some rubes, I mean to find people to show off a few fantastic tricks. Jackson is dressed in his leather jacket open, a Bad Brains shirt on display, as his right hand is coming up high into the air, as he snaps his fingers. As he does this a card, one the table next to him bursts into fire, and then the deck itself, the fire burns down quickly, to leave a 7 of hearts sign in the woodwork of the table, as he throws his hand towards a pretty woman standing next to him."WAS THAT YOUR CARD MISS!" The accent is Cajun as he does a backflip as he kicks at the table the ash, rising into the air as he grins at her watching her clap her hands, losing her voice at the shock of the trick, the crowd erupting into cheers. His little helpers for the day walking through the crowd, picking dem pockets, grabbing dem rings, doing that little bit of work, new crew has not done a job before this one; they don't even know who is paying them yet. So, it's all so recent two days into the city, still trying to get his bearings, but that will not stop Jackson; money needs to be made for the need for a big score it has been too long.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is doing the usual stuff. And by "usual" we mean "cruising around the city, looking for crimes to stop." He has made his way from Harlem to Hell's Kitchen, and is moving through Midtown when he spots the small crowd. Looks like some street performer. No shortage of those in the Big Apple.

He lands on a ledge and looks down at the small crowd.

He had seen a lot of videos about street crime, and an expert on pickpockets had been fairly informative. The ones to pick out were, of course, the ones not paying any attention. He pins down about seven possibles, working out who is bored and who are...

Dangit. Freddy "Fingers" Malloy. He REALLY had hoped the kid would have stayed in school.

So...best way to handle it...

Butch Wilkins was moving around the rear of the crowd. He had a pretty good haul, and figured he could make some serious bank...
And then a webline caught him amidships and pulled him into the nearby alley. First you see him, then you don't.
Spider-Man webs him to the wall, then puts a little webbing over the kid's mouth. "SHHH," he says, with a finger held up to his hidden lips.
Then he hops back up to the ledge, seeing how the showman reacts to one of the pickpockets exeunting Stage Gone.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
There is no reaction from the showman, as he watches it, or maybe he did not notice, as his right hand is spinning quickly around to bring out a large hat, oversized. It is a top hat purple, as Jackson is spinning it around his right arm, sliding it up and down as he snaps his fingers, purple smoke starts to pour of it, not thick. Still, in a steady line as he starts to dance now spelling out words in the smoke, the first Have, Second A, Third Great, Last word Day!

As the smoke starts to fade, he is nowhere to be seen, as if he vanished into the smoke. Still, he leaps up on top of the table, quickly as he bows quickly, his eyes scanning the crowd, not yet noticing the superhero."Have a wonderful day; if you enjoyed the show, be sure to tip." With a stomp of Jackson's right foot on the table, his hat drops from under the table, rolling forward, resting in front of it now. The would-be thieves, running now as the show is over minus, the goodies, or wallets, fleeing from spiderman, as he Jackson looks down at a rabbits foot dangling off his belt, that is pure black."Oh, Man."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man lands on the arch of the lightpole and fires weblines as the remaining two thieves make a break for it.

They almost make it. But as the man said, "almost" and "close" only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and dragonfire.
Freddy and Colin find themselves yanked back and up, and are suddenly swinging from the arch of the lightpole on twin weblines, Spider-Man taking the time to web their feet together as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He calls out. "The man has skills, but I figure New York's Own should represent, as well. Everyone check your wallets and jewelry. If you're missing anything, you should find it on these boys."
He drops to the ground, frisking them with nimble fingers, dropping the purloined items on the sidewalk below them. "One at a time, one at a time." He looks around with a warning look. "No one's dumb enough to try stealing something in front of me, RIGHT? Karma, like coffee, can be INSTANT."

Jackson Mathias has posed:
Jackson Mathias starts to clap for Spider-Man, as he leaps back on the table."Give it up for new york's one and only Spider-Man!" His hand starts to clap quicker, and quicker as he leaps up and down, as he kicks off the table doing a back flip, landing on the thin guard rail, as he starts to move forward, kicking his right foot up as he starts to do a dance, as he starts to get the crowd to cheer, as he drops down watching the rabit foot slowly changing back to white, as he grins quickly, the real goal was done, his luck restored and three idiots getting locked up.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man leaned close to one of them, whispering in his ear. He nods, then looks around.

They were hired for a job. This job. But it was Blind Willie they got the directions from, and he's a known go-between, so someone else had talked to Blind Willie. And Willie would always grin and say, "I never saw the guy before in my life." Which was the complete truth.

So...run it down while the citizens are recovering their things. Street performers either set up out of the blue, or they set up a spot and stick to it, like most other street vendors.

Spider-Man looked squarely at Jackson. He has no magical abilities, but Jackson can feel the man's eyes on him.

So...this guy set it up, or someone he knows did and he's the catalyst, rather than the mastermind. Time to find out which...

Jackson Mathias has posed:
Jackson Mathias leaps off the side of the rail, grabbing his hat, as he is booking now towards away, seeing a cop and well not a license to do the street performing. As he starts, to move down an alley quickly, as he reaches down into the hat to take out the cash, good haul. As he slides the cash into his wallet, not noticing if he is followed above, not use to the superhero trouble, not yet.

Peter Parker has posed:
And look at that, look who's taking a sudden powder. Here we go.

Spider-Man is on the move and taking the high road, the spider-drone following.
He's not much of a dancer, but he can fly like Fred Astaire when it comes to rooftops.

Yeah, definitely suspicious. Saving the face from the video feed for later.

Spider-Man waits until the guy turns the corner before saying quickly, "Leaving so soon?" from the fire escape 20 feet above him.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
The sound of th voice makes him jump but his eyes are drifting upwards, as he sighs softly."Hello, Spider-Man, sorry and I was basketing without a permit. I saw a cop, and well....." Jackson kicks at a rock, as he sighs softly, as his teeth bite into his lower lip."I just got into town, and well broke as a joke and well......"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "Yeah, but you did pull in the crowd. Right on time for a trio of kid pickpockets to work the crowd. Kids these days, no guile." He crouches on the fire escape. "A special job. Run by a go-between. Smart for the guy hiring them. What can I say, I'm an armchair detective."

Jackson Mathias has posed:
"Yeah, well people always moving and shaking playing and doing tricks it's the big apple, kingdom of the vagabonds and musicans, and wannabes. I'm the last of the three, ain't got any one or a reason for crime. First thing, is you get licnesed, so the cop aint' picking ya up to." Jackson nods slowly, as he watches Spider-man with a little chuckle."But, sorry for being in the wrong spot, at the right time for you to assume."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods, watching the man's face. He's distracted, but the context fits for being distracted. It's not enough to suspect a person is lying, it's WHY they are lying. And he can't get a solid read on him.

"What do you call yourself? You are pretty good at the whole illusionist thing. Read a book one about how stage magicians aren't real magicians, that the correct term is illusionist. So...you know who I am, but who are you?"

Jackson Mathias has posed:
"Jackson Marty Mathias." As he looks up towards Spider-Man, with a little chuckle."I ain't nobody special, just a drifter with bad luck, and well you know it's a good stuff, to meet a famous hero." His hand is moving upwards offering his hand towards Spiderman, gloved in leather.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man actually looks a little self-conscious at being called a "famous hero." That little mix of embarassment.

He drops to the street, a 20-foot drop with the ease of a 2-foot drop. He straightens, then extends his hand to shake Jackson's, but his body still has that sense of "ready." Ready to move, ready to act. "The Avengers and the Justice League are *real* heroes. I'm just looking out for the little guy. And right now, as long as you haven't done anything wrong, that includes you."

Jackson Mathias has posed:
"No, they fix the big issues. You save the little man, the little man needs to be saved, ain't no-one got them back." Jackson nods slowly, as he sahkes that hand with a little chuckle, as his hand is brushes his dreeds back, quickly."Now, I got to run to the next show, trying to make the world a better place, for me to find a place to sleep." With that he starts to run off, as he is waving towards Spider-Man.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man watches him go. Innocent until proven guilty. See everyone as a criminal, it changes what you do. So why does he feel unsettled?

He shook his head, then fired a webline, resolving to save Mr. Mathias to the database. As a "person of interest."