"So that's a busy day. I say let's get a hot dog and go home. I need a nap."
Frank nods, brow furrowed as he tries to process all the information they'd discussed.
Carbonadium exposure would only be dangerous over an extended time frame.
He once again rubs his wrists absentmindedly as haltingly answers;
"Y-yeah. Dog... sounds good... You buyin'?"
Dottie watches him rub his hands again. "Sure," she answers the question about buying, and heads toward the nearest cart. "That fancy outfit of yours, it's made of that material isn't it?"
Frank gives a halting nod as he accepts his dog;
"Coils are. Suit houses the coils that retract into the arms. Tech was built by some Russkie scientist named Vanko or sumthin'..."
He flashes a weak smile between bites;
"Guess I'm worried that health of the wearer was ever a consideration... Been wearin' that suit on an' off for a good while now Dot."
She eats her dog with gusto.
The name is definitely familiar, but she doesn't know much about Vanko. She frowns. "Our former employer didn't always do the best thing, but at its core the spirit was about protecting people, not hurting them." She shrugs. "Naive though that sounds. The suit's insulated against shock, right? So who's to say it isn't also protective in other ways? Maybe if our new friends turn out to be okay, they could take a look at it later."
As they go underground. "There are so many moving parts to this situation. It's bigger than us. If things head south, what do we do?" She had ideas. She wanted to know Frank's.
Frank mulls the situation - both wider and personal between bites...
"Yeah I guess. Never found out who actually designed it... Vanko created the tech, but might be worth lookin' into who made the suit. So the big brains can maybe modify it..."
He dabs ketchup from his mouth, then eyes the city around them;
"If things head south... Dunno. Guess I'd go find my daughter if it was safe. Become someone else... again. But if fightin' is the only option, then I'll go down, coils flailin'..."
Dottie's response is an unhelpful. "Mmm." She switches gears. "Tomorrow I need to go and pick up my driver's license." She says. "We should also check in with the old man." She sighs, moving with the crowd as people surge into the subway station. "Let's be sure our place of work is still standing too. Our boss's former employer keeps being named over and over again."
Dukes is just a train ride and few blocks walk away. It is a relief to see it sitting quaintly where you left it, as if nothing had happened.
Dottie proposes as they walk toward Duke's, "Mmm. Since I need to go into Manhattan tomorrow anyway, I can look up that Jonas's workplace. Wanna come?"
She goes in through the back as they normally would, bids Frank goodnight, and updates her stringboard. The whole category of Aloysius and Rose as well as their daughter Claudia and her work partner gets the simple label "Aloysius." Everything is of course written down half-coded anyway, but she feels protective of that contact until she knows where it will lead. She looks over the board. "Too many threads." She muses.
Then it's bed and a few hours of rest until it's time to get up and make biscuits. Making mayhem would come later.
Morning comes early, and you rise to keep the restaurant running as usual. Things are normal until just before 7:00, when Frank receives a call.
The caller ID says Lou, but when he thumbs the answer button, it is Joe's voice on the other end of the line. "Frankie, long time no see. Your cousin Lou is hosting a family gathering today to talk about those Chinese investment opportunities we were talking about yesterday. Love to see you there. I'll send a car at 11:00."
Frank nods as he takes the call, replying in an equally cryptic manner;
"Always there for family. Rest assured myself and my better half will attend and be ready to contribute however required."
After the call he finds Dottie, and has a quiet word;
"Your old flame Joe just called. Lou's hosting a meeting, war-cabinet most like 'bout a solution to the Chinese and Mr Negatory. Car's comin' at 11:00, so if you got stuff to do I'll cover for you."
Dottie is swapping trays of biscuits in and out of the ovens. The clanging of doors conceals their conversation.
"I didn't exactly have a strict appointment time. I'd rather not stand up my old friend. I'll go with you, and if I have go later--or go tomorrow--I'll be alive to do so." She chirps this cheerily, and adds, "Biscuit? Careful, they're hot."
When it's time to end shift, Dottie will change into the modified version of her costume--no mask, no hourglass on the belt, but lots of make up, hair under scarf. She'll assemble her utility belt adding on a few items from their find.
Another black SUV, or maybe the same one, arrives at the appointed time and place, far enough away from Duke's that you won't draw attention. The car heads north, making a few unnecessary twists and turns to throw off any attention before pulling into an underground garage at a boutique hotel, the Balfour.
You don't recognize your driver, but he has the look of a Maggia heavy.
The elevator requires you to wave a keycard (provided by the driver) to access it. The elevator is small, large enough only to hold 4 people comfortably, and you realized that the parking garage and elevator system are a late add on beneath an early 20th century building. The only option not in the garage is G, so you push that and the doors close and the elevator ascends. When the narrow doors slide open, Joe stands before you, resplendent in a light grey suit, holding a heavy black old fashioned cane. The lobby of the Balfour drips with Art Deco, metal vines twined around everything.
He smiles a weary smile, "Good to see you. We could use a little extra muscle. Let me bring you up to speed. We are having a meeting of three families to discuss the matter of these Shadow Dragons and their abomination of a leader. Lou put this thing together and made the security arrangements, but he hasn't arrived yet. Let's get a move on..."
[ooc]Trying to move things along, but feel free to inject anything you need along the way. I assume that Frank is also fully armed and suited up.
Dottie heads in and nods in greeting with Joe. As they move along, she asks quietly, "Have you heard what happened at the Bathhouse after we left? Did the other groups there agree to join him?"
"They all fell right in line behind that nut job. Including Katie and Ando, that's the Karnellis, going for his offer. I had Lou call together the heads of the rest of New York and Jersey's families to decide what to do about it. Normally such a gathering would take weeks of planning and preparation, agreements, concessions. But Lou being the peacemaker he is, he called on blood ties and got 'em all to show up. Make no mistake, this is a council of war. Everyone is going to have to agree to taking on this Negative."
"And if they don't?"
Entering with Widow, Frank also nods a greeting at Joe;
"Quite the night eh."
At the news of the tides of war, the former enforcer frowns wearily, interjecting from the stance of an old habit at Dottie's question;
"We twist their arms right? Offers, leverage or if needbe threats. Like Joe says - this is a council of war. Being Switzerland ain't an option..."
"If they don't agree, Negative and his new pals will pick us off one by one. But if it comes down to war between the families meetin today, forgetaboutit. We all lose."
"Well, let's go then."
Frank nods in agreement and falls in line for the meet.
We gotta go after Negative...
Joe leads you into a conference room, a ball room, really. The kind of place where realtors might have a meeting. Ironic that it is now the scene of an organized crime council of war. You see an attractive Italian woman who Frank recognizes as Rosalie Carbone. The Carbone family controls most of Manhattan and Queens. And Gordo Nobili along with sons Carmen and Joseph. The Nobilis are not a powerful family, but they control Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania. They once had substantial influence in Miami and Tampa, but have recently lost that to other organizations.
Strangely, there is no sign of Lou.
"Welcome, and thank you for coming. I know the call to gather was on short notice, and that we don't like to get together like this. But I wouldn't have had Lou call you all here if it wasn't of the utmost importance. As you've probably heard, the Karnellis and the Manfredis, that being me and Lou, were called into a meeting yesterday. The meeting was hosted by a freak who calls himself Mr. Negative. Lou and I had a bad feeling about the meeting, so I had Lou call up some...unaffiliated muscle, and they are here today." Joe indicates the two of you.
"They don't know it, but beyond calling them here as protection, I also wanted them here to bear witness. This Negative Man, he channels something called Zero Matter, a sort of Dark Force that makes him very dangerous. They saw what he did, infusing his men's weapons with his strange energy. He has brought some motorcycle thugs, some Triad, and and the Karnellis together. If we don't hit him, and hit him hard, right now, his power and his alliance are going to sweep us away. This isn't about being killed. It is about being wiped from existence."
He looks to see if the two of you have anything to add...
Frank eyes the assembled meet, listening to Joe's words impassively.
"Mr Manfredi has the right of it. In my time as a protagonist I've worked for plenty families an' syndicates. Made my name puttin' the squeeze on folk... More so than ever that's what we need right now. Crush Negative an' knock those who stand with him back down the totem pole..."
The enforcer allows his words to sink in, then leans into Dottie;
"Just me... or is Lou no-showin' a worry?"
Dottie is more of a behind the scenes person than a public speaker. Her earliest work post-graduation was silently looking intimidating while Leviathan "persuaded" recruits to join. But she does her best to back Joe up.
"First, years ago, my first employer put me to work taking down Bratva--the Brotherhood, the tracksuit boys--when I was younger." (Indeed, half the reason most of the Brotherhood established itself here was because Stalin brutally pushed them out of Russia. The Bratva made good target practice for a young Black Widow in training.) "They are brash and lack... your families' finesse... but still, they are fearless to a fault and prize their independence above anything. They caved instantly to Mr. Negative the other day. Rolled out the red carpet for him, even." She figures she doesn't need to elaborate on that and lets it sink in. "Second, this stuff is powerful. I've seen and felt it up close and personal and got lucky that I'm standing here to tell you about it--this could take Captain America out let alone any of us. But it's not impossible to handle. I'm sure we can find a way to take him out at a distance... as long as his army doesn't get so strong we can't get through it."
As you speak, more and more people file into the room. Lieutenants, bodyguards, and a small number of the rank and file of the three families present. Joe sweeps his arm across the room, taking in the 40 some people as they move into positions.
The tension in the room rises. You can feel it, smell it.
Rosalie Carbone stands, "Joe, are you growing paranoid in your old age? I've got enough problems without getting involved in a war out here. This is your territory, or at least it butts up against your territory. Take care of these upjumped Russians and Chinese. Get a grip on this."
Joe takes a moment, his lips pressed together. You just barely catch a glimpse of his true age. In his eyes, in his forehead, in his shoulders.
"Rosalie, I've been at this since your grandfather was in short pants, and I'm telling you, this is the only threat that matters..."
"He will take over the whole city. You think his intimidating four organizations into joining him in one night ends with him being content with holding Brooklyn? He's a superpowered head of an army of gangsters. Didn't ONE superpowered guy by himself just take control of all of Harlem not long ago? You think you can bury your head in the sand and hope that doesn't happen to you? He won't just come for your territory, he'll come for you, your families. Your children. You'll either join him at the cost of your pride and your honor, and end up paying tribute a newcomer from China for the rest of your life, or oppose him alone and be destroyed. This is your only chance, right now, to not lose everything."
She tried to touch on what she thought what mattered to these sorts. Family. A twisted code of honor. Racism. Possessions.
To Frank's whispered question, she gives a slight nod. It was worrying, but she wasn't going to make presumptions yet.
Frank watches the assembled mob as Joe appeals, and Dottie tries to galvanise.
At her nod, he steps forward to add his voice again to underscore Dottie's points;
"Widow has the right of it. Negative will also crush your business. Your power. Your wealth. Everything you've... we've worked for will be taken."
The man once called Constrictor raises his arm allowing the metallic cable to uncoil...
"We need numbers in this fight. Keep Negative's army busy and myself an' Widow will deal with the source."
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[ooc]You both get a Hero Point for good roleplay here, Frank and Dottie both being out of their comfort zones.
The double doors across the room from you swing open and Lou strides into the room. He glances to make sure they close behind him before turning to the assembly. You notice a white fabric, maybe a pillow case? wrapped around his left hand. Blood seeps through the fabric.
"Sorry about that. There was a report of someone in the laundry, but it was just some guy looking for something to eat. He pulled a knife on me when I ran him out, can you believe it? No, no, it's fine, I took care of it.
"Aunt Rosalie, Uncle Gordon, thank you for coming. Joe asked me to you because I'm the only one who blood ties to all three families. I hope that you have listened to what Joe and these two have to say. What got here is...What the?!"
As he speaks, a red fog begins to pour into the room from the old fashioned circular air vents in the ceiling.
Across the table from you, Gordo begins to cough...
As a crimson cloud drifts downward, Frank's coil shoots toward the coughing Gordo;
"Everyone out! I'll grab Gordo! GO!"
:
Dottie moves to take Joe by the arm to usher him toward the nearest door, and as they move, she also reaches for Rosalie as she is close by, and she is closer than one of the mook bodyguards. "Stay behind me," are her only spoken instructions, and then she saves her breath.
If Rosalie needs to be grabbed:
Constrictor's coils lift Gordo easily from his chair as the others rise from their seats in confusion. He and War Widow move toward the nearby set of doors (not the one Lou came through, much closer). War Widow is first to the doors. She turns the handle and finds that while the handle is functional, the door does not open. Something must be blocking it.
Red fog continues to billow into the room. The faces of those around you seem to age rapidly, or perhaps their skin is being dehydrated. Frank and Dottie feel a tingling, but neither of them have an visible reaction.
While various levels of panic move across the faces of everyone else in the room, Joe remains calm. He grabs Dottie's upper arm and leans in to speak to her. "Whatever happens here, [u]whatever, [/u], bring me the contents of the safe under the bar in the safe house where we met." He runs out of breath and takes a breath in, sending his body into spasms of coughing.
In Frank's coils, Gordo writhes in pain.
Lou turns back to the doors from which he just entered, finding that they, too, are blocked.
:
Holding his breath, Frank moves Gordo near to the blocked exit, then turns his attention to the door;
He whips both coils into the blocked portal;
:
Frank's coils smash through the reinforced wood of the doors, clearing an exit.
You can see that metal wedges were driven under the base of the door, keeping it closed.
In the hallway stands a man in a black suit, white shirt, and stylized blue mask. He wields two short curved daggers that crackle with dark force. He takes a defensive stance.
Surviving gas attacks is so 8th grade.
The War Widow gives Joe a firm nod, and as soon as Frank bashes the doors open, she sees the mook. Trusting Joe and Rosalie know to run, she forward flips out of the room and forward flips toward the mook, aiming to knock him over, to give the others time to flee.
He drops to the ground.
Underneath the mask, the man is surprised by this assault. He was told that everyone inside would be incapacitated by the red fog. His legs fly out from under him and he finds himself falling through the air in apparent slow motion. He lands on the plush carpet of the hallway, his body twisted. One of his blades in hand hits the floor hard, and finds its way between his ribs as his body crashes into the floor.
The hallway is clear for the moment.
Round 3.
Frank continues to beckon, and bellow at anyone loitering to escape via the opened doors;
"MOVE! NOW!"
Rosalie Carbone falls behind as War Widow moves to clear the path. As Dottie looks back, she finds Rosalie on the floor, skin shriveling, coughing violently.
Frank throws Nobili into the hall, where he rolls into a padded bench. He clutches his throat with shriveled hands.
Lou has vanished into the red mist. You aren't sure how he is fairing.
Joe is on his feet but bent over, hands on knees, coughing like a COPD commercial.
The others in the room, sons, cousins, nephews, are not faring well. The are sprawled across the table, clutching chairs that have tumbled. Whatever is in the fog is having a much more deleterious effect on them than it is on you.
Dottie looks around at the strange, dessicating effect upon the victims, then around the hall. Her eyes light on the lit restroom sign with an arrow pointing toward them down the hall.
She pulls Rosalie to her feet, carrying her if she has to . "Joe, keep moving."
She moves toward the first bathroom she can get to, aiming to get as much water in and on Rosalie in hopes of stopping this shriveling effect. She doesn't dare shout her position to Frank so as not to inform the other "Demons" she is sure are probably out and about in the area and waiting for them to flee if they survived, and only hopes he manages to clock her position.
Frank grimaces at the state of the others, then an old nagging habit reminds him of whose bankrolling his services...
"Dammit."
He shifts back into the room, moving towards where Lou last was...
"Lou! LOU!?"
Frank moves back into the room. He penetrates deeper and deeper into the fog, not finding Lou. He makes it all the way across the room before finding Lou collapsed on the floor. His eyes strain open, his skin is shriveled as though he has aged 60 years. His chest moves in rapid shallow breaths.
Dottie drags Rosalie toward the restrooms, Joe stumbling behind. He leans on the wall for a moment before lurching toward Dottie.
Round 4
"You've survived HYDRA, superheroes, and tax season, Joe, you've got this."
Dottie keeps carrying Rosalie into the nearest bathroom. When they get to the doors, she puts Rosalie down so if there's any mook lurking by the toilets, she can take care of that before getting water.
Unsure of if he'll get lucky enough to smash a second set of doors, Frank instead opts to coil the collapsed Lou, before lifting him and heading back to the open exit...