498/Dirty Deals Done Dirtcheap

Dirty Deals Done Dirtcheap
Date of Scene:	13 March 2020
Location:	Central Business District
Synopsis:	Ben tracks down some gun runners. Mystique gets some revenge. Ben tries to appeal to her humanity.
Cast of Characters:	Ben Reilly, Raven Darkholme

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Ben Reilly has posed:
There are certain places where deals get done. Weapons deals? They get done in run down warehouses or on the docks. And sometimes on rare occasions you get the unicorn of gun deals. You get a weapons deal being done in a warehouse ON the docks. And that is exactly what is going down in Starling City tonight on the docks. Gun runners are meeting up with some of the Friends of Humanity to do a deal. Guns in exchange for money, and some information. Chaos means profit, and both sides win in this exchange. The night is quiet for Starling on the docks. No gun fire (yet), and no sirens nearby. Deeper into the city maybe but not out here. Though that peace is doubtless just yet to be shattered.

The meet is already under way, with several self important looking people from either group meeting in the middle, with crates and suit cases and all of the trappings of a movie gun exchange scene. They're talking, a little tension, something isn't going according to plan. The price isn't right. The Friends of Humanity are not happy with some increase the gun runners are trying to push off on them.

Ben Reilly isn't here for the Friends of Humanity, he's been tracking the gun runners and trying to figure out who they're dealing to. And now he knows. He's lurking up above in the rafters, leaning back into a pool of shadow. His suit is not exactly stealthy. It's just a lucky thing that humans don't really look up a whole lot. Oblivious to the dangers that lurk above them.

"Look. You guys said 100k. Not 120k. I don't have 120k with me. I have 100k. So you can take that and give us the guns as agreed, or we can walk. Take your pick." A tall broad man in his late 30's, buzz cut, screams ex-military. "That's too bad. Guess the Friends of Humanity will have to fight their fight without guns then won't you?" A younger woman, in her late 20's, hair pulled back tight, wearing combat boots and camo pants. Also very possibly ex-military.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    The tall man that has been quiet since the onset of the interaction is standing next to one of the crates, looking like he's rather uncomfortable in his off the rack suit. He's looking good for the meeting as was instructed by the bosses and he isn't exactly comfortable. He moves with a hint of grace despite his large frame and places his hamhand delicately on top of the crate, and using his calloused grip he pops the top of the wood box open to take a peak into the olive painted box.

    Over his shoulder he looks to the head negotiator and then over to the actual gun runners. A moment is given as he quickly counts the total number of people in the room and then further segmenting that number into those on his side and those on the sellers side. He takes a moment to look to the head Friend and gives him a nod before pressing the gun case closed again before he moves to the next one. "The product seems quality enough boss." The man's barritone rings out as he moves towards another crate, "Maybe we could chip in a bit extra for their services and efforts..."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Tensions rise amongst the thugs as speech goes back and forth that indicates all is not going well. Though people start to relax a little at the talk of maybe some extra money changing hands. The lead goon for the Friends (Who is probably actually fairly smart to handle so many guys) looks over at the tall man inspecting the merchandise, then back to the other guy. "Alright. You wanna hassle us. Fine. How about this. How about we take 80k of the guns and equipment. And you guys do what you want with the other 20k? How about that? No one has to know other than those here in the warehouse. And I trust my guys how about you?" The woman heading up the gun runners turns to talk to a couple of the others, speaking in low tones.

As the discussion continues Ben creeps out of his hiding spot, trusting to the deal to distract the guys below from his movements. If they're focused on money and guns they're not likely to look up right? Someone truly observant may notice a little extra dust swirling through the air, though your average joe wouldn't pick up on it. Ben walks along the narrow beams with the ease of someone who knows they not only won't fall, but can't fall. He pauses directly above the negotiators and crouches down again.

The woman turns back from conferring with her comrades to look at the Friends leader, and the guy inspecting the merchandise. "Yeah. We think that might work. Now you're getting an idea of how things work here in Starling. There's always hidden costs to getting shit through. This time we had to pay a city official that got a bit nosy. So word to the wise? You do business in Starling? Always bring a little extra."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    A subtle eyebrow moves slightly on the big guardgoon and he smirks just a little, he was about to make a rather costly move but now he's curious how smart the lead Friend is in this situation.

    At the second case, he pops the lid on this one as well much like the first one and peeks inside, and spies a few things he's quite partial to. A large hand moves into the case slowly as to not set off any alarms and then pulls out holding a rather complex looking weapon that is just an over designed gun but it's actually been around quite a while. "Oh, I've always loved these boss." He says, pulling out the Heckler and Koch weapon and holds it up to take a moment to admire the craft and weight of the weapon. He takes the gun and walks back towards the front where the friends came in as they have set up a small target on the far wall. Of course they want to try them out before really using them. What didn't get noticed by either crew was the extra ring on the goons hand that's holding the gun, a pin to a grenade, left inside the weapons cache.

Ben Reilly has posed:
The gun runners start eyeing the tall guy a little warily as he pops open another case and then takes one of the weapons out. "Hey." The woman in charge calls over. "Quit fondeling the merchandise would yah?" She shakes her head and turns back to the Friends boss and they start to talk price a little further, moving the merchandise and their next meetup. The two guys with suit cases step forwards and lay them out on the table, popping the tops to reveal the money, 50k in each case. The gun runners start to lock down the crates and start picking them up, intending to move them over to the panel van that was brought with just for that purpose.

"You know. I'm really not a big fan of guns. But I'm rather partial to the P90 myself. Cool little gun. Especially in games." The voice comes from above, and it heralds the rapid click of readying weapons. "THe hell?" The Friends leader says, looking upwards. Ben has positioned himself directly over one of the lights, so he's rather hard to spot. But one of the goons lugging a weapons case sees him. "There's someone up there!" A weapon fires, and all the sudden there's a storm of bullets firing up and ricocheting off of the beam and the roof. The red figure darts away off to another beam deeper into the warehouse. "That's rude you know!" Comes the call from up above.

The two leaders are facing eachother, suspicion written across their features. "He better not be one of yours." Growls the man. "Back at you. And there'll be hell to pay if you were tailed." She points an accusing finger at him before looking at her men. "Go get him!" She shouts and they start fanning out through the warehouse. "OOoo Whackamole! I love that game!" Is the call from the rafters.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    The man who stepped back with the G36 in hand is well out of sight when the shooting begins, and he certainly isn't aiming upwards when bullets begin flying. No, he's moved behind their own vehicle when the primed and active frag grenade goes off in the middle of the weapons case, destroying the weapons inside but also becoming a larger grenade in an of itself. The box explodes sending shrapnel in all directions.

    As the box pops, the head goon presses his back to a vehicle and charges his gun by chambering a round and then leveling the gun to squeeze rounds off experty towards the gun runners themselves. He's going to make sure they get everything they can it seems.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Whack!" Is announced from somewhere in the warehouse, towering shelves blockint the view, but the oof and sound of an impact certainly help to indicate that someone has been taken out of the fight. And then another, and a third as gunfire lights up the warehouse, men from both sides shooting at anything that moves in the shadows. Including eachother in a couple of cases. And all that chaos is -before- things start exploding. The crate detonates, sending pieces of the crate itself, as well as the weapons it stored scything through the nearby men. There are screams of pain as men go down. The gun runner leader goes down with a piece of shrapnel in her shoulder, cussing and swearing up a blue streak. The Friends leader falls back with a couple of guys guarding him, the two guys that had brief cases full of money? They're dead, the stacks of hundred dollar bills scattered all over the floor.

"Hey guys I didn't plant that grenade!" You know, to throw an extra dash of suspicion into the big chaotic soup that the warehouse has devolved into. And it works. Goons on boths ides are now starting to shoot at eachother. And amidst all that madness the Scarlet Spider makes his way to a corner of the warehouse to let them shoot it out.

"Hi there. Was that you?" He asks when he spots tall and conspicuous off on his own away from the rest of the group. "I ask because you seem to be the only one not off chasing me." Ben hangs upside down from a nearby beam, a hand waving at Mystique. Not that he knows it's Mystique. Or would even know who Mystique is if he saw her.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    An eye is spared a moment as the man pins his back against the vehicle and reaches up to pull the magazine out of the gun to double check the number of rounds he still has left versus the number of men still in the warehouse. The magazine goes back in and he looks up to the Spider, "Yes, and you're not someone I'm after. Don't make me regret it." He says before standing full and stepping out, gun level and aimed with killer purpose and skill, squeezing off rounds with precision and that grace that he hinted at earlier.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Well I'm not sure you're someone I'm after either. I mean Friends are no angels, but they can't do a lot without equipment, like guns. I was just tracking the gun runners." There's a quick upside down shrug from the crimson suited Spider person before he flicks a wrist and a line of webbing shoots out. He zips off into the warehouse as more thugs go down under the fire from Mystique's gun, as well as the guns of everyone else. Really Ben's job has been done for him. There's just a few gun runners left standing. Most of the Friends of Humanity have pulled back towards the vehicle they came in in. "What the hell happened?" The big brute of a leader turns his head to look over near Mystique's tall persona. "What the hell happened?" He growls out as he turns and fires off a few rounds from his pistol before it clicks empty and he's fumbling for a replacement magazine from a pouch on his belt.

From deeper in the warehouse is the sound of guys going down, and before too much longer it's quiet. There's only a few Friends left standing, those that have huddled near the vehicle. "We should get out of here." The leader looks at the money scattered on the floor, and the surviving weapons crates though, not wanting to leave so much behind. "You and you, go gather the money. You two, get the van started." He barks his orders, and the guys jump to go do as they're told. Two moving for the money, and two moving to get the vehicle going. The only sounds in the warehouse now are people groaning in pain.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    "You didn't see what happened?" The man asks as he looks to the boss while cracking open his magazine once more time, double and triple checking the firepower he has left. "This was a set up boss. This wasn't going to go the way we wanted it." He says, still keeping up his persona even now when it seems like all the cards should have hit the table. "I'll do a double check around the place, make sure everything is squared away boss." He says before turning and moving out of sight to begin 'clean up'.

    The first part was business, but from here on out, this is pleasure for Mystique, not only pleasure but revenge, but she will stay calm and methodical as she can. The excuse given to clean up the bodies would explain the odd gunshot every now and then as long as she's careful and meticulous in her actions, this should be a walk in the park. The first person she goes up to is the leader of the gun runners and without hesitation, she lowers the gun to aim at her chest and squeezes a round with a pop before moving on to take care of the straggling Friends of Humanity.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Yeah, a gun fight is one thing. Bad guys shooting eachother is gonna happen, and that can't always be prevented. But Ben is deeefinitely not going to let the guy stroll around the warehouse executing people. That's more than a smidge too far. That's a full blown sight too far. Ben hasn't left the scene, he's just been webbing people up for when Starling PD decides to show their faces down here. Which should be sooner rather than later. Gun fire is common. Explosions a lot less so. But as of yet there's no whine of sirens heading this way.

When Mystique stops over the gun runner leader who's laying there gasping in pain a shard of the crate in her shoulder there's a soft thwip and a firm pull that yoinks that gun up and away from Mystique's hands. "Now come on. I said I wasn't here for you. But you had to know I wasn't going to let you walk around executing people right?" There's a snap of metal and then the two halves of the gun sail out of the darkness to clatter to the floor at the tall man's feet. "Why don't you turn around and go back with your friends. The cops will clean this up and then I don't have to take you down and wrap you up for them too okay? Alls well that ends well... mostly."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    The gun is ripped out of Mystique's hand and she looks up to Ben with a snarl on her large manly face before she looks over her shoulder as her 'friends' appear and start looking up to the spidery-man and starting to shoot at him.

    The large goon drops forwards into a roll and picks up the nearest weapon and makes sure it too is live with a clink, discharging the already loaded round but better safe than sorry and so he starts to shoot at the guy's shooting Ben. "These men." He says after putting the Friend's of Humanity down, he looks back up towards the spiderman, skin shifting to be fully blue and the hair becoming long and red and the white flowing battle dress showing off her fashion sense, "These men would gladly kill me and aplaud the open war in Genosha, again. I will NOT abide." She shouts running to hide and find more FoHers.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Well isn't that a bit of a pickle for a Spider Xerox? Now he's got to try and save the people that are trying to kill him that Mystique is trying to kill only he doesn't know it's anyone but someone from within their own ranks trying to kill them. "This makes my head hurt." Ben announces as he leaps around above the men, dodging bullets, though mostly just letting them spank off of the beams and bounce around within the warehouse. Ben manages to save a couple, webs and jerking them up into the rafters and sticking them to the ceiling. But the leader goes down with a shocked look on his face, as do the rest. "That was unnecessary. Those men didn't need to die. They could have gone to prison and served their time."

Ben is up in the rafters, looking, waiting, letting his spider sense alert him to any danger as he tries to find... "Wait you're blue? I could have sworn I just saw you turn blue. Where did you go? Maybe you could just explain to me why you've got such a murder on for these guys? OH crap the guys in the van." Thwip. And he sails clear across the warehouse, but not in time, the two men at the van now lying dead on the pavement where Mystique found them. "So much killing. I know these aren't good guys. I know they're horrible. But does killing really solve anything? Because I'm pretty sure it just begets more killing."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    "News flash red. Racists don't go to jail." She says as she stops and grabs a brief case and stuffs as much money as she can into it while looking for weapons as well that she can take with her for her newest war. "Killing solves far more than you imagine it can, but I'm not forcing you to do it, I'm doing it on my own." The shapeshifter shouts into the warehouse as she's not after changing minds, not now. Now is the time for payback and she needs tools to complete her jobs. Tools she's aquiring from people that would just as quickly kill her.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Racists do too go to jail. Murderers and gun runners go to jail too. It's just a matter of having sufficient evidence to put them away. Killing them doesn't do anything but make more to take their place. You kill one, you piss off two of their family or good friends. Kill those two? Piss off even more. It's a cliff. It's not even a slippery slope blue. It is a cliff that sends society plunging over the edge. And I do not want to watch the world burn."

There's a moment of pause as he watches Mystique picking up stacks of hundred dollar bills. Temptation is strong. It would help fund Peter's attempts to create a Spider network. But it's also blood money. It's not like he'd see any of the money. Suit repairs, tech and donating to the network. But he doesn't, instead turning his attention to the blue shapeshifter. "I won't stop you from leaving. But just think about that. Hate only begets more hate. You can be part of the solution, or you can be part of the problem." Scarlet Spider drops from the ceiling to land about a dozen feet away from Mystique, his head tilting to the side. There are a couple of grazes that have split the suit in places, one along his thigh and another along his shoulder, but no direct hits. They reveal skin that is already stitching itself back together. "This is not the way Blue."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    Mystique takes what she can carry and nothing else or more. She doesn't tarry or linger for long and as quickly as she infiltrated the site, and avoided the spidery enemy, she leaves without a word. He's allowed to go on his schpiel only because Ben might not realize he's basically talking to himself for at least half his monologue, she is absolutely not listening to what he has to say. The blue mutant is already wearing another's skin and is sauntering away.