7227/Hell-evator

Hell-evator
Date of Scene:	04 August 2021
Location:	AlcheMax Corporate Building -Manhattan.
Synopsis:	A Hit on Catman and Joan is Foiled! Messily. Gabby Goes Full Kabuki!
Cast of Characters:	Thomas Blake, Joan Wright, Gabby Kinney

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Thomas Blake has posed:
The AlcheMax headquarters building is another effing glass and steel building. Peopl in the upper echelon strut in like they own the place. Corporate doesn't know they're alive and will gladly destroy them to maximize profits. they wouldn't call them Human Resources if you couldn't strip mine them. Other more cognizant or at least beaten down wage slaves trudge in, toting brown bagged lunches.

No one notices a nondescript fellow with muttonchops and mustache, wearing black framed glasses and toting a large briefcase. He shows the rent-a-cop a badge proclaiming Damage Control and is waved on after muttering something about fixing some security cameras.

Joan Wright has posed:
Perhaps the man showing the badge would have been looked over with a bit more scruitiny. But as it happens, no less than five minutes prior, another representative of Damage Control had signed in through security for a scheduled meeting. Dressed in her more office appropriate work attire, Joan is currently waiting for the elevator. The Khakis have been replaced with dress pants. But even with those she went through the long search to obtain some semblance of pockets in the attire. But it is a little less than she'd like, which is where the satchel comes into play. Strap resting diagonally across the chest, that bag is not going anywhere away from her that easily.

She frowns slightly, looking to the displays above the doors. Each of them doing the slow floor by floor ascent. Man, if she had only been here ten minutes prior instead.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake errr Dabney Gillis... it says so on his pass, walks over to the elevator and without looking at Joan presses the button three times like anyone else.

Without a second glance maybe, but a good sniff of the faint scents of the outdoors and cement work, clashing with female hygiene products. He had a nose full of that when he gently kidnapped her. Also, she had dumplings this last evening/morning? From Gotham's Hot Dumpling no less. Heh.

Tho... Dabney turns so she can't see his pass. This will work. No one looks at the person next to them in elevators or urinals.

Joan Wright has posed:
As it is, Joan's better at reading buildings than people which is quite a fortunate thing for Thomas. The only glance towards Thomas's way was focused more on his hand pushing the button repeatedly. Her eyes shift back to watching the floor indicator above the respective elevators. And then, hope! The floor numbers start going down much quicker than they were going up.

Upon the floor reaching 3, she takes a step forward only to get the disappoinment of the elevator stopping just one floor above them. "Oh fo-" Joan mutters, biting back the rest of the comment.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake steps slightly back of her. He pulls a phone out and pretends to text, hiding it with his body and turning more to make it look like he is seeking privacy.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan brings a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. Taking a deep breath, she lowers her hand and looks back to the elevator door, in time to be rewarded with the glimpse of the door opening. A single person steps outside, looking to the group waiting before continuing onwards. Elevator now empty, Joan steps in, shifting over towards the side with the buttons, pressing the one the meeting is supposed to be on.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas gets on. Dabney damn it. He was going to wait for another elevator. The gun in his back convinces him otherwise. Two well dressed men follow him on. One shuts the doors. His eyes widen as he sees Joan.

"Hello Ms. Wright. Did you ever get your dumplings?" Gaston smiles and removes his hat.

The gun barrel jerks up a little. In the language of guns this means 'hands up.' Thomas puts his hands up. He starts to turn around and is quickly dissuaded from that action. "Keep your hands up, Catman. you're the real prize here," Alphonse says.

Fuck. Wannabees. A witness.

Joan Wright has posed:
Positioned near the button pannel, Joan gives the slightest of glances to those coming in. But the tone to her voice is pleasant enough to make up for the lack of eye contact. "What floor would yo-" Her voice pauses as she hears her name.

Head tilting up, she looks over towards Gaston. What bit of smile she had regained from getting ahold of an elevator fades once more as it switches more to a frown. However her fluency in gun is not as good as Thomas's. "What. Are you doing here?" Any pleasantness to her tone is dead.

She may have had dumplings last night.

But one doesn't forget.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake slumps as the elevator moves with a jerk. Well two jerks actually. Alphonse moves the gun up to put it to Thomas' head and the big man moves in a blur, grabbing Alphonse by the wrist. In one swift motion the gun is swung around and fires twice, hitting Gaston in the chest. Annoying. Thomas was trying for the head but he was working under duress. Both men struggle for the gun and slowly it swings around to come under Alphonse's chin.

"N... " Blam. Alphonse's hat flies off his head.

Joan Wright has posed:
Ok Joan may not be fluent in gun speak, but the sudden movement between the three men is sufficient enough to get more of a reaction. The gunfire? Well, that's just even more of an incentive to get as far away from the action as possible.

Too bad she's in a closed box with these guys. Backing up as far as she can, she crouches down, trying to make herself as small a target as possible. Arms bunched up, she holds her balled up fists just under her chin, eyes squinting and mouth in a bit of a grimace.

Oh no.

No no no no.

There's no way she's getting to the meeting on time after this!

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake drops Alphonse's hands and steps away. He turns to Joan and the gun comes up again and he fires.

The camera in the corner explodes and sparks. He goes to her and squats down.

"I don't want you to die. But if you don't listen to me, you almost certainly will. You have to trust me. The people who arranged this... don't give a crap about you or your life or your dumplings. Now you get one chance. Get up and let me boost you up and out of this car or you stay here. Am I clear?"

As he speaks the mask comes out of his jacket and goes on his face. He drops the glasses in his pocket.

Joan Wright has posed:
There was quiet for a few moments. A sign that things were ov- Joan winces at the third shot in close proximity. The balled up hands uncurl to press against the sides of her ears. One hand moves back and forth. Oh gosh her ears are ringing.

But she's not dead.

The movement to her side does cause for her to turn to look to her side, seeing a large man in a face mask. She looks to the lips, trying to make out what he's saying.

At times it is a good thing she has experience communicating on noisy construction sites. That does at time involve looking more to the lips than actually hearing the voices.

She tilts her head, grimacing as she reaches a hand against the elevator wall to pull herself up. Her eyes widen as she does so.

Oh God.

The wall's wet.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake is putting more equipment from that briefcase onto a load bearing rig he wore under the brown jacket. Spring loaded claws, knives, batarangs? No catarangs. A web belt. He looks at Joan again. Then hands her the jacket. "Wipe your hands off. We may have to climb. You may have to hang onto me. I don't want bloody handprints on me if we get away and run into cops. Okay? Can you please speak and disabuse me of the notion you were rendered mute by the gunplay?"

He steps onto the hand rail and begins taking apart the dropped ceiling, dropping panels around Joan.

"Want my advice, take that gun and if the doors open, start shooting. Don't need to kill anyone. Aim for the floor."

Joan Wright has posed:
Still not getting the most out of her hearing, Joan's watching Thomas's lips to glean more understanding from the muffled sounds. The jacket being offered and the words she identifies is sufficient to know she's to wipe her hands. And honestly, she'd probably do that anyways. But better his clothes than hers.

"Ears still ringing." She offers up in an apologetic tone, "Hard to hear." She looks up, watching Thomas remove the portions of paneling that hides the hatch.

With the gesture towards the gun and the door. She crouches down to pick it up, checking the side of it.

Well of COURSE the safety's off. It's been used. But it doesn't hurt to know where it is in case she's in an awkward place. Like. Oh say on top of a moving elevator car?

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake soon covers the floor of the elevator with ceiling panels, necessitating Joan moving a few times. He tears ope the escape hatch. He quickly goes through it and offers her a hand up, waving to catch her eye. He extends a hand to her more emphatically.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan blinks up. Seeing the offered hand, she flips the safety on before shoving it into the satchel that is practically attached to her. One less thing to potentialy drop when climbing through. She reaches her hand up to take the hand being offered.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake yanks Joan through the hatch, opening whatever like she weighs nothing, ripping the sleeve on his shirt. Pfft. The elevator elevator gives a shudder and suddenly drops as he steps into a a crawl way running the length of the shaft with a ladder and platforms t stand on for maintenance workers. People have lost limbs or their heads working on elevators that were substandard. The elevator drops down to the floor below. The platform they stand on is between the third and fourth floors. Thomas waits a moment to consider their options. He usually climbs buildings from the outside.

Joan Wright has posed:
If it wasn't for the shootings earlier and the potential of others setting out to finish whatever Gaston and Alphonse were planning (JERKS), it's kind of interesting to be outside of the elevator cab when she's not part of the group actively building the building it's in. But being that they're on a working platform and the easiest way to get off said platform is dropping down into the cab that is apparently going to get stormed? Joan is looking over to an elevator cab nearby that's going up.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake watches where Joan is looking and spots the other car as there's a bang and a puff of smoke from. the abandoned car. He presses a stud on his briefcase, now hung about his shoulder and drops it on the roof of the cab. Then he grabs Joan, very tightly. tighter than Beetle ever dared in fact and jumps onto the roof of the other, moving cab. Thomas covers his ears and indicates Joan should do likewise.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
The rising elevator cab is a perfect landing spot for the pair, but who was riding it up? Once the pair jump over they'll realize that the escape hatch to this is open already as well. From below a little knock comes. A rythymic knock Catman would likely rcognize: Shave and a haircut, two bits! Then from the open hatch a face peers through. All white, with a frozen cartoonish lipstick smile in place, as Gabby wiggles her fingers up at them. "Going up guys?"

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan clings back tightly as well. There seems to be a mutual understanding between the pair. Falling down elevator shafts or getting crushed are really crappy ways to die. Joan's eyes close briefly during the jump, biting her lip so as not to give off a hint to those storming the elevator below. The greeting is welcome to hear. YAY! She can hear again!

BOOM! RATTLE! SCREEEEE!

And they're ringing again.

Oh, well guess they wouldn't have noticed if she had uttered any sounds during the jump...

Upon feeling Catman stick the landing. Her eyes open up, looking over to the other shaft. There is no crash. Too many safety features built in. But if anyone was in there, they're probably going to be stuck for a bit.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake says loudly, "Mostly thermite to destroy evidence. It will slow them for a while."

He turns to the Kabuki Girl. "I thought I told you to stay home? That was pretty dumb of me. They tried to kill me and this lady is a witness. Want to tell her why she should stay with me?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney just stares up at the pair with a little bit of a shrug when he tells her she should have stayed home. "As if. I owe these fuckers." Her attention shifts toward Joan even as she reaches into a pack slung over her back to withdraw what appears to be a universal elevator key--the sort used by the fire department when they need to use the 'up only, no stop' function. "His girlfriend bakes some awesome cake. Plus these guys tend to like to experiment and torture people, including kids. Best to get out of here." The key is plugged into the control panel and twisted while she keys in the floor just below the top floor.

Joan Wright has posed:
Upon them getting safely inside the non-bloodstained and charred elevator. Joan steps back, giving the two that know each other a bit more room to talk. But being that it's an elevator and the size of one of the occupants, that's what? Three whole feet of space? Fortunately the two ladies don't take up as much space.

Well she's back to reading lips kind of. The raised voice for the explanation does help at least and with the presentation of the familiar looking key, she doesn't have to worry about people on the fifth floor overhearing the yell in passing and being able to do something about it.

She gets bits and pieces of Gabby's explanation, the lack of moving lips problematic. "They what?" She asks, trying to catch the parts she missed.

Damn ringing.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake peeks up through the escape hatch, as the elevator begins to slow. "C'mon. Up top again. We're going to the top floor. No need to let those mooks know. He scrambles up through the hatch. There are grunts and growls and the screeching of protesting machinery as he attacks the doors. "All right it looks clear! The top floor is still being worked on. No one is here." He reaches down to help Joan up.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances back toward Joan when she asks for clarification a bit too loud. "Ooh right, healing," she mumbles to herself. Not everyone had it, and that bang might have done something to ears a bit more lasting than her own. With a shrug she reaches up to grasp the edge of her mask pushing it up her face to reveal--The scarred face of a girl that couldn't be out of her teens yet. "I said they torture and experiment on kids here." Her free hand points to one scarred cheek as evidence of such. "See?" With that she gestures up as Thomas requests such as well. "That's why I chose the floor *below* the top floor," she points out having apparently anticipated this. The mask is tugged back into place. She crouches down a little to offer her back as a step to help Joan get up as well in case she needed an extra boost.

Joan Wright has posed:
Seeing the mask getting lifted slightly, Joan focuses on the lips as Gabby is made to repeat herself. The information conveyed is not all that pleasing, leading to Joan discovering an even grumpier mood than 'Gaston and Alphonse is back'. On a scale of 1 to 10 lost dumplings...

Well. Anything on that scale is bad.

If there was any blessing in the narrative Gabby provided, it provided Joan with the perfect sound backdrop to experience the ringing going away. "That's horrible." Joan replies, giving Gabby a statement of the obvious.

Andy protest Joan may have had to leaving the percieved safety of the elevator cabin interior she JUST got into dies with the information given.

She turns her head to look up to Thomas's extended arm and reaches up to take the offered hand once again. The added boost from Gabby is appreciated as it cuts down on the amount of force having to be exerted on her arm.

"I think the ringing's dying down." She states, voice a bit more normal in volume now.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake pulls Joan up again and hands on her hips (again Beetle never dared but he was a gentleman) he shoves her through the doors he pried open. The floor is almost finished. There's exposed wiring and plumbing and a plywood sheet over a window not yet installed.

In the middle of the room a large cardboard box sits. A marker was used to draw a cat face on it. He hurries to it and begins cutting it open.

"Amazon will really deliver stuff anywhere. Kabuki, take down that plywood." He tosses the girl a pry bar. He proceeds to extract not one but two rappelling kits, and shrugs into one, holding the other to Joan.

""We're dropping down to the garage and grabbing a car. You... Ms. Wright... I need your wallet and ID. You can truthfully claim I stole them and used them to get a female accomplice in with me. That will get AlcheMax off your back."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
The shorter Gabby manages to get up to the hatch with a rather impressive jump, and catching herself at the edge. Flipping upside down by her hand hold she tucks her knees in to her chest, then thrusts her feet out through the hatch so she can swing herself up into a sitting position. It's all done rather quickly and with the skill of someone used to being creative to make up for a lack of height. When they're lead out into the hall she watches the gear removed while glancing over her shoulder now and again to ensure no one followed. She did, at least, close the hatch behind them. There was no need to make it easier than it needed to be for people after all. The crow bar given she heads over to start prying things loose using a foot planted against the wall for leverage.

Joan Wright has posed:
Well, being two people got killed already, this is likely not a really drawn out ploy just to get said information. And even if it WERE...

The guy already killed two people. Is she really going to piss him off?

Giving a nod, Joan opens up the satchel, pulling out the wallet. As an afterthought, Joan opens up a side pocket to pull out a pair of work gloves before closing the bag up again.

...

What ELSE does she take to business meetings?

She reaches over to tug off the ID before surrendering the items over. She keeps the work gloves before setting up the gear Thomas offered over to her. Oddly enough, she doesn't seem to have difficulty with this. It's like she had practice.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake gets the gear on Joan and herself and then attaches the lines. He throws the other ends out the window wondering just what kind of construction Ms. Wright gets into. He removes the ID and Driver's License and hands the wallet back. "Say your pocket got picked. The wallet replaced.I'm not going to use your cards Ms. Wright. I'm not a cheap thief. I'm a top tier thief. All right Kabuki... no showing off for you. You blew up my spot with your elevator hijinks anyway. No topping that. Hop on my back and hold on!"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney clucks her tongue a little but she does as asked. The crowbar is tucked behind her into the pack she has--No sense in losing a cool crowbar. "It'd take me too long to heal from that anyway. I want a milkshake. Let's get out of here." WIth that she does as asked and clambers up onto Catman's back, using her legs to wrap around his chest so her arms don't take ALL the weight of hanging on. Just in case she needs to shoot someone. Or something.

Joan Wright has posed:
Well what an odd turn around.

Instead of going to a meeting to go over the account Alchemax wanted to open up, she instead ran into two- Joan glances to Thomas. Maybe three familiar faces?

So insteadJoan ends up ditching the meeting by climbing down a building with a Honey(Badger) covered Catman beside her.

All before lunchtime.

But something is bothering her more than the departure.

"...Dammit. Now I want a milkshake."