ic Wall the Build

[Supercape]

GM

 

The men started to reach for the weapons, as instinct kicked in. But in a moment, they realised that they had the lost the initiative. Justice had the drop on them, and the Justice blaster was pointed their way. 

 

And so was Detective Kidd's shotgun, as he followed Justice. 

 

They dropped their guns and raised their hands. At least, four of them did. The Wall snarled and clenched his fist. 

 

"That pea shooter ain't gonna stop me" he said, boldly, to Justice. "And that boom stick is gonna get shoved upa your...."

 

"Easy big fellow. Nothings gettings shoved in me. Not before I unload on you...." replied Kidd. 

 

One of the Mexicans sniggered at the unwitting innuendo. Kidd lost his cool and swung the shotgun at him, "any more of your tongue and you'll get it right in the face!" he snarled, again missing the innuendo. 

 

It was by immense effort of will that none of the Mexicans collapsed in a fit of hooting laughter. 

 

The Wall kept more sober, although you could see him surpressing laughter. "Is just the two of you? None of your cavalry?" he asked, trying to size up the seriousness of the situation. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by Supercape

[RocketLord]

Really? Kidd had to go and make jokes like that now? Really ruining Robin's dramatic entrance and everything like that. And his threats sounded somewhat desperate to her. Was he just all talk and bravado, after all?

 

"My pea shooter got a bigger boom than you're guessing, big guy." Oh god, now she was doing it too. "There's plenty of backup just waiting for our signal. We'll bring the entire place down if we have to." She eyed the dynamite. The blast cap needed to lit to make them actually explode, so the contents wouldn't easily explode. A kinetic blast from the Justice Buster shouldn't do that, so it was a possibility, if any of them tried anything. 

 

Still, the weapons were dropped, and only the wall seemed threatening at the moment. "Detective Kidd, would you mind cuffing these guys?" The Wall could probably tear through cuffs in a moment. Was he just big or strong, or did he have powers?

[Supercape]

GM

 

The four Mexicans looked at the wall for guidance. Brave, angry fools, but the fact that "the signal" could be sent was enough to make them pause. 

 

Kidd started forward, hand on his shotgun, another reaching for his zip ties. He was cautious...he didn't seem scared of them, just the Wall. 

 

And the Wall interjected, standing between Justice and Detective Kidd, his men behind him. 

 

"What do you mean, bring the place down?" he said,a angrily. "You gonna bomb us? Make big boom?" he asked. His command of the English (or American, depending on your perspective) language was not great. One got the feeling his command of thinking at all was not exactly exemplary. 

 

He smacked one fist into one palm. 

 

"With all these people in it?"

[RocketLord]

Ugh, Robin might have said a bit too much here. The thing that gave the Wall pause was, of all things, that she would bring the place down. And then he mentioned all the people here. 

 

What people? Weren't it only the Wall's gang that were in here? Did they have someone else here that they hadn't seen? Hostages?

 

"What people?" Robin raised the Justice Buster further, aiming it directly at the Wall's chest. One wrong move, she would go for him. "As far as I've seen, there's just you and the rest of your wannabe terrorists, fixing to take out a refugee center with dynamite. What would that help you, anyway?" Maybe he would start talking if prodded a bit. Even if he wasn't the brains here, he did seem to be the leader.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Wall pointyed up. "The refugees..."

 

And he was half right at least. Whilst not completely finished, there had been some immigrants in the floors above. Legal, perhaps. Illegal, perhaps. Quite probably in a grey area in between the two. Squatters, even. 

 

"We ain'ta boom this building with our people in it" he explained. "We just want to bring it down. With Blowfish inside. He makes slaves of us" he said, nastily. He turned his hands as if wringing the neck of Blowfish. It looked like he wouldn't have much difficulty at all. 

 

"You gets what you deserves..." muttered Kidd. But not too loudly. 

 

The Wall picked up the dynamite. "We built this place with our bare hands. We can bring it down twice as easy. Better that than Blowfish gets his hands into us!"

Edited December 18, 2018 by Supercape

[RocketLord]

Right. And then everything went pearshaped again. Of course they were just resisting Blowfish and what he was doing here. And there were already immigrants in here. And Detective Kidd made sure that Robin knew exactly the kind of justice he believed in. But no, she wasn't gonna have it. Her threat might just have been a bluff, but Kidd would probably follow through, if he made his way.

 

So, more conflicting opinions. And she had to sort through all of them.

 

"So..." she looked between Kidd and the Wall. "You don't like Blowfish. And you don't like Blowfish. And I'm pretty sure he's a bad guy. Kidd's a cop, and what you guys are doing is a terrorist act, even if you're doing it to harm Blowfish, so he's right about that, no matter the reasons. So, you" Robin motioned towards the Wall with the Justice Buster, "What's your deal? Why are you even coming here and working for Blowfish if you know this is going to happen?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"We didn't know" said the Wall, surprised that someone was actually listening to him. Even with the ear of Justice, he was not an eloquent man, however. 

 

"We got good deal. Come here, build the centre, get paid. Illegal, cash in hand, but better than nothing. We get a chance in America" he explained, to the punctuation of Kidd's tutting. 

 

"Then we found out Blowfish was boss. He turned the screws. Make us work harder, less money, starts to threaten us with one hand, tempt us with the other. Finds rooms for our families here. Then says we work for him or it all stops" he said. 

 

"Most of us joined him, turned to crime. But not me. Not us" he indicated his fellows. "We gonna show him you don't mess with us...."

 

He pointed to the dynamite. 

 

"Next time Blowfish come in here, he gonna be real acquianted with the building...."

Edited December 18, 2018 by Supercape

[RocketLord]

They had come here looking for a better life. Illegally, sure, but still, they had pretty much been tricked into something like this by Blowfish, and now he was pressuring all his workers into doing just this. But, an idea was starting to form. Robin wasn't sure if it would work at all, but it might. Even if Kidd didn't like these people, they all hated Blowfish, and putting him away for a looong time would be better than having the building blown up or people getting killed. She ignored Kidd's protests for now.

 

"You might take out Blowfish with that, and then what? You'll bring the whole place down, so you'll have nowhere to live. The people protesting on the street are going to, rightly, assume that you're to blame, and they'll rip you and your families apart." The Wall couldn't see the look on Robin's face behind her mask, which was probably a good thing. Full face masks made talking to people easier, for some reason. "And even if you get out of that, then what? They'll look into you, and you'll probably be deported." 

 

Robin paused for a moment. She was well aware that she was still holding the Justice Buster towards the Wall, but she kept silent. "So. I got an idea. You guys hate Blowfish. Detective Kidd over there hates Blowfish. You might not like each other, at all, and that's how it is, but how about we work together to get Blowfish out of the way? Something big and in public, so he can't run away?" It was yet another long shot, but better than no shot at all.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Work with this filthy scum?" said a shocked Detective Kidd

 

"Work with this scum-filth?" said the Wall at exactly the same time. 

 

Still, the idea had been planted and was growing some fragile roots. 

 

The Mexicans mumbled to each other in Spanish, and "Blowfish" was mentioned several times in their ramble. "Boom" did creep in, but less emphatically. 

 

Kidd frowned in thought. "Blowfish is the biggest fish in the sea, Ill grant you that" he said to Justice. "A bigger prize that these illegals. Whats your plan?" he asked Justice. 

 

At the same time, the Wall turned back. 

 

"Whats your plan?" he added in synchronisation with Kidd. 

[RocketLord]

"Look at you guys, already getting along." Robin couldn't help herself. Despite their protests, it was almost adorable the way these two were talking in synchronization. 

 

Looking between Kidd and the Wall, she smiled behind her mask. It might just work, getting these two to talk together. They knew more about what was going on than Robin did, so they would have to come up with the specifics, but just having them agreeing to hear her out was a start, at least. 

 

"Right, first of all, how about we all agree to put away our guns, whether they're the kind that shoots or, y'know, your arms." She motioned towards the Wall. "Like, maybe back up a little bit, just so we're out of reach? Easier to talk nicely to each other if we're not about to shoot each other. Right?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

There was a pregnant pause it the atmosphere. One could almost hear the sweat. One could almost smell the gunpowder. 

 

A few inches grew between Kidd and the Wall. Only a few. It was symbolic rather than functioning. 

 

"Nobody wants to get their head kicked in today" muttered the Kidd, although he was far from happy. He caressed his gun lovingly. It dropped, pointing downwards. But whilst it barrel was dropped, he did not drop the weapon. He held it still. 

 

The Wall cracked his knuckles. But it was better than cracking heads with his knuckles. 

 

"Talk" he said to Justice. It was terse; he clearly enjoyed punching stuff as much as Kidd liked shooting stuff. But they had a common scapegoat that - just - overcame their inclinations. 

 

"What is your plan?"

[RocketLord]

Whew. Peace, for now. Robin could almost feel the tension in the room dropping, just a little bit, as she lowered her gun too. Then came the next part, but that was just tension for her. Actually having people listening to her about her plans were something entirely new to her, and now she was starting to actually doubt if she could even deliver her idea.

 

Honestly, she wasn't sure if she had believed they would actually get to discussing the idea in the first place.

 

"Alright, we, um." She hesitated for a second. Had to stop that. Be confident. Just do it. "Alright, Blowfish is covering all the bases, never getting caught. We can hit him quick, at the rally. What'll he do if the Wall and his guys, everyone already living here, shows up, just in a peaceful protest? Telling everything that he's been doing on open air? I mean, we know there's camera's up there, and Jack Jackson loves a sensational story, doesn't he? And if there's a certain super hero and cowboy cop there, who he already showed interest in? We can work from that, see what he does, at least. Hopefully provoke him into some kind of confrontation. There's a lot of witnesses there, after all." She paused for a moment. "The second idea I got will take longer. Gather evidence of what is going on here. Not like he would actually expect the people working for him to go against him, right? It would take time, but it might lead to actual evidence that someone like you," she pointed at Kidd, "could use to take him down. But if you got any other ideas, I'm all ears."[/c7olor]

[Supercape]

GM

 

Justice's uncertainty did not dim the plan, for everyone, it seemed, was uncertain. 

 

Kidd, for his part, seemed happy enough (or at least, not obstinately unhappy) with either plan. He didn't seem to object to finding evidence, but he didn't feel evidence was necessary. 

 

"As long as we shut this whole filthy place down" he said. "Emerald City don't need to filthy im---criminals". 

 

The Wall looked like he would be quite happy to pulverise Kidd's skull, but like Kidd, he had a bigger fish to fry. 

 

"Blowfish don't just roll over. Even if we did get evidence - he got an army of lawyers. Only people gonna got hurt is the people living here" he said. Whilst Kidd was cynical, he didn't have anything to lose. the Wall, on the other hand, was both cynical and had everything to lose. Or maybe he had lost it all already and just wanted vengeance. 

 

"Blowfish only understands the fist and the gun" explained the Wall. "He ain't scared of the law. And the law wont help us...."

[RocketLord]

They were probably right about Blowfish not just rolling over and giving up. He wasn't just some gangbanger, he had lawyers to keep him safe and out of trouble. They needed some way to get him provoked into revealing things, to indiscriminate himself in front of all the witnesses. 

 

"Yeah, you're probably right about all that." No point in not agreeing with them. She had to speak the truth, if she wanted to win them over. "And that's why we need to set up some situation where we know he'll mess up, on live television, in front of multiple witnesses. We got the perfect opportunity with the protests up top. Maybe we confront him with what he's been doing here, while the Wall brings everyone here to back it up. Throw the way he's pressuring you into crime at him, his threats, everything. You guys know more about him than me, there's gotta be something that can set him off, right?"

 

The law might not help, and she had generally trusted in that, but that didn't mean Robin was going to roll over.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Kidd smiled. "You know why he's called blowfish?. He got a tic. When he gets angry, or scared, his cheecks pucker in and out, like a frog or something" he said. "Nobody dares pick him up on it. In fact, some say he does it on purpose at times to frighten people, like when he's asking them questions and happening to have a blowtorch and claw hammer right next to him"

 

"Thing is, he's been known to lose his cool when people taunt him about it. And normally, he's a cool customer" he explained. "If he's ever going to make a slip, its when he's taunted about his tic..."

 

Kidd grinned nastily. "I mean, I hate to make fun of a spastic..." he said, although he didn't at all look like the kind of guy who would mind at all "...but that's his weak point....psychologically!"

 

The Wall snarled. "We do want we need to..." he said, bluntly and clearly. 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Supercape

[RocketLord]

Robin grinned behind her mask. Alright, it might be a bit mean, but Blowfish was a bona fide bad guy, no question there, and it would be useful.

 

"So, the big question is, who will provoke him most, calling that out? No offense Wall, but I don't think you doing it would do much. So, either me or Detective Kidd." She turned to Kidd. "You guys had some history, right? Who would be best, then?"

 

She thought about it a bit more, while waiting for Kidd's response. "I'm thinking we gotta have everyone there, starting to call him out, then we hit the weak point. Its important that we appear as non-threatening as possible. Make sure that he's clearly the aggressor. And if we can somehow make him admit to any other crimes that you know about, that would only help the case. Get as much out in public as possible."

[Supercape]

GM

 

On this, the Wall seemed to agree. He was a big, intimidating man, and obviously had something about him. But he was a blunt tool. A sledgehammer when you needed a scalpel. 

 

Kidd chewed his lip. "I could do it, but the thing is, Blowfish knows me" he conceded. "Maybe thats a good thing, but maybe not. He will know when I am trying to taunt him. Be on guard" he said. "What I'm saying is, that scum has got my number"

 

It was a hard thing to admit, but he did it. He took his vexation out by carressing his shotgun again. 

 

"Damn it, what I would give to blow that crook's brains out!" he said, vehemently. 

 

On this, the Wall and the Mexicans agreed. 

[RocketLord]

Robin shook her head. "That won't solve anything. You'll get rid of him, and then what? You'll get a gang war, you'll get people hurt. And you'll get in trouble, too." Hopefully the last part would help, at least. At least they had a plan, if Kidd and the Wall could keep their cool. 

 

"Alright, I guess I'm gonna have to call out Blowfish, then." It made sense. She was an unknown to Blowfish, so having her calling him out and provoking might work. "Any other suggestions on what we can hit him with? Anything at all?" So, this was it. Getting into public speaking now, though. Robin was sure she needed every advantage she could.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Wall shrugged. "My fists?"

 

Yes indeed, strong of body, but not of mind, it seemed. 

 

Kidd was no genius, but he was no fool either. He had a streak of cunning and years of experience. "It will have to be out in the open. Maybe we can even use that idiot Jack Jackson" he started. "But we still need something to hit him with. Something that will rattle him"

 

"As far as I can see, we either need someone to squeal or we need some of the under the table deals in writing. Even shady stuff like his needs a paper trail of monies and the like he no doubt has locked up somewhere....that would be the gold mine, but I doubt we will get a warrant for it" he said. 

 

"So that will need some breaking and entering..."

 

A final thought struck him. 

 

"Other than that, I guess we could plow one of his broads for information. He has a few floozies on each arm, to make himself feel manly..."

[RocketLord]

So... the final piece of the puzzle: Actual proof. Just what Robin had mentioned to Kidd when they first met. Everything was coming together here. So, they either had the option of breaking and entering, or getting some from one of the "floozies", as Kidd called them. Either case, it was something illegal. Robin wasn't entirely comfortable with that. 

 

But... what was more important, then? Upholding the law, even if it meant someone like Blowfish got away, or getting the evidence needed? What was the kind of justice that she wanted to stand for? Someone like the Centurion would probably have done it the legal way, but the Raven might not have frowned on the whole breaking and entering part. She wasn't really good at either intimidating or being sneaky in general, she wanted to be the kind of hero that inspired, after all... but... she couldn't just let a bad guy get away, if they knew he had done wrong, could they?

 

"Alright, I'm really not comfortable about plowing anyone, so how about that evidence in writing? Either of you got any clue where they might be? And anyone that might be able to get them?" She gestured at herself. "I'm not exactly dressed for stealth."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"What am I, Blowfish expert?" asked Kidd. 

 

But for once, the Wall piped up. "I think I know a girl. A singer called Amber. Used to hang outo with Blowfish back in Bedlam. Except last year, she came down to Mexico. Drunk. But the Mexican cartels, they got her to talk about Blowfish" he explained. 

 

"If you can find her, she knows plenty. Might be a bit out of date, but she know plenty" he explained. "And she told plenty to the Mexican cartels, too. Guy down there called El Sierpe, big voodoo man" he said, actually shuderring at the thought. "If you fancy asking Mexican crime bosses, he probably knows plenty too..."

 

"....I wouldn't advise it" said Kidd, firmly. "If we can get our hands on his accountant, that might be good. But he's banged up tight, real tight. Some fortress out of town, a few miles south. Plenty of guards and security systems. And, ah, won't be legal...."

[RocketLord]

"More than me, at least." Robin admitted to Kidd with a shrug. She wasn't about to try and suggest that she knew more about Blowfish than either Kidd or the Wall, so she could just as well admit it.

 

So, the Wall suggested a singer called Amber. Kidd suggested Blowfish's accountant. Or El Sierpe, who sounded plenty scary on his own. Going for a Mexican cartel might be a bit out of Robin's wheelhouse, so she'd probably stick to the singer or accountant, and given who Kidd and the Wall were, she was guessing she'd have to be the one to search them out, in either case. 

 

Robin sighed heavily. She would have to do all the work here, wouldn't she? "Alright, so just to be sure: We got a singer, who is probably not exactly heavily protected, and knows a lot about Blowfish, but she's a singer, and who knows if people will even take her seriously. And then we got an accountant, who will be taken very seriously, but, he's in some fortress out of town, and it will take time to get him. And won't be legal. So we won't be able to use whatever he can provide in court. Right?" She wanted to be sure she had all the nuances here, before getting involved in it. "I haven't decided on anything yet, but would this singer even be willing to talk to someone like me? I mean, I'm guessing you guys won't be doing the talking."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Shes a down and out drunk" said the Wall. "Used to be something back in Bedlam, they say. But something broke her heart. Something she never spoke about" he said. "If you give her whiskey and a sympathetic ear, maybe she speak to you" he shrugged. "How much help it would be..."

 

"On her own, not a whole hill of beans" said Kidd, thinking it through. "I mean, she ain't going to be a reliable witness on the stand. But maybe thats not what we are going for, right? She might give us some hints. If she ain't too scared. Sounds like she might be too washed up to really care about living or dying..."

 

"I'm a fighter, not a talker" grunted the Wall. "I can try and protect her" he offered, again in a simian grunt. 

 

"Justice, you got to understand, if it was easy to take down Blowfish, we would have done it ourselves" he said. "We can put a stop to this filth hole. Maybe kick him out of Emerald City. But we need some serious good rolls of the dice to get him in the slammer. I hate to be a downer on this, but the law...its going to be a slow and painful road doing it that way..."

 

But then again, Kidd was obviously a cynical man. Who preferred action and ass-kicking to due process. 

[RocketLord]

"Yeah, I didn't think this was gonna be easy." Robin was at a crossroads, here. She honestly wasn't sure what would be the right thing to do, but both Kidd and the Wall seemed to have chosen her to take the lead on this, so... She had to make some kind of choice. "Right. We got no idea how long Blowfish and Jackson will be around. We gotta come up with something that won't take too long. You're right that due process with be slow and painful, which just means we gotta get something that'll make sure that Blowfish, excuse my pun, blows up in public. Something big enough that everything he got will be looked through with a fine comb."

 

The accountant probably knew more. But that would take too long. "Do you know where the singer is? If time's an issue here, she should be out first attempt, at least. Should be faster than breaking into some heavily armed fortress, which is outside city limits." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Amber? I don't know" said the Wall. "Maybe in a gutter. Maybe in a bar. Maybe singing in a club. Could be cut in lots of pieces and buried in Mexico..."

 

"If she knows dirt on Blowfish, then she is keeping a low profile. If she is sensible" commented Kidd. "Or, maybe Blowfish is paying her to stay low. Might make sense, and he always was soft on her..."

 

"....but we better keep this quiet. If Blowfish does find out she talked, then she might as well be buried in Mexico. Some parts of her, anyway..."

 

Both the Wall and Kidd grunted at this. Blowfish might have been cunning, he might have several stategies and tactics. But it was clear that fear, intimidation and sheer brutality was certainly on his menu.