Rough and Tumble (IC)

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger nodded. He was right. Dirty cops were a problem that could throw the entire operation out the window. She remembered stories about her grandfather, and how he couldn't always trust individual police officers.

 

She waved the cigar off politely, saying. "I don't smoke." She didn't want to mention that she was underage, but she doubted she'd pick up the habit even after she could. Wouldn't do to chase down criminals while wheezing and coughing.

 

She appraised the Mess a bit as they spoke. He was stocky, but strong. She could see why he was the one they sent in under cover. He looked like he'd knocked his fair share of heads in over the years. She couldn't be certain which of the two of them would win if it came to a fight. She was probably better trained overall, but his age and battle scars suggested he was far more experienced.

 

She also suspected that his physique wasn't natural. Probably some sort of powers.

 

She considered her role in the potential operation. She couldn't fight like this guy was. Not that Crimson Tiger was incredibly well known, but it wouldn't take much to find out that she was a hero. She had to stay in costume, unlike the others who either didn't have secret identities, or weren't really 'super heroes' in the traditional sense.

 

"I think you're right. Dirty cops would make a mess out of any attempts we made to stop this. I can't just walk in there like you guys might be able to, but I'm happy to help. I think the best way to use my talents is the same way I did tonight. Sneak in, watch from the shadows, jump in when things need to get rough. If you guys need somebody to do that, I'm happy to help."

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy gave a little smile at Harry comments, she was use to her mannerism at this point.

“We gave you as much time as we could, it wasn’t my fault that the thug weren't as tough as they should be..â€

She’d spent the time of introduction considering all the possible options.

“We still need to find the boy, so I think we should try to infiltrate the second fighting ring. You up for showing us how good you really are Fred?â€

She looked over at Crimson Tiger she knew that some Superheroes were a little touchy about secret identities and she could understand why, so best to keep her around as backup.

 

“Well we’ve probably only got tonight before they find out about my cover, and that might be already broken. So it probably best if I go in separately from Fred and Harry. Maybe we should have some of those little things people have in their ears, to you know stay in touch.â€

Edited July 9, 2013 by TiffanyKorta

[Supercape]

"Oh yeah, like real secret agent guys" said the Hound, frowning. He hated those FBI guys when he was a police officer. He didn't much like them now. Some might say "Paranoid conspiracy theorist". He preferred "keep your voice down, they might be listening..."

 

But still, Lucy was right. 

 

"I can get some of those. All sorts of spook gear being sold around the Fens. Some of it is even legal" he explained. 

 

The Mess cracked his knuckles. 

 

"I ain't liking fightin' for green" he explained "but we got a job to do, I guess. And I'm pretty good at bashing heads in. Like Freddy says, if we gotta do it, let's do it!" he said, explaining the obvious but giving a grin and a thump of one fist into one palm. 

 

"That's my boy, partner!" said the Hound, full of encouragement. 

 

"Now, we got the man to speak to about the next round. Best see him tomorrow...hell, today..." he said, noting the time. "Its Friday already. In the morning, then. I got the address. So I guess we get our beauty sleep in. Lets meet up tomorrow, at our agency. See if we cant find out a little about our man, Benito Diaz..."

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger nodded as she listened. Solid plan. Great plan...except for the fact that she had no idea where she was supposed to go to meet them. She could probably do some research, but even that would probably take a few hours. If she was going to be involved, she might want to know where to go to involve herself. Especially since these people might ask for her help again in the future.

 

"I'm happy to help, but can I get an address or something? I don't know where you guys are meeting."

[Tiffany Korta]

“Those two there run a detective agency, they not too bad either. I’m there legal consultant and occasional trouble solver.â€

She dug out of her purse one of there business card, she then took out a fountain pen and added her signature to the card before handing it to Crimson Tiger.

“There’s a fire escape if you don’t want to be noticed, if you want to come in the front door as an average citizen then just hand me the card and I’ll know it’s you. Either way works I’m not going to try and influence you to use either option.â€

 

She knew that for all their faults, and her own if she was honest, Fred and Harry were as trustworthy as they get. Crimson Tiger had no way of knowing that however.

[Thevshi]

After making sure Crimson Tiger knew where to meet up again, the group set off in their separate ways to get a few hours sleep (those who needed it anyway) before they would get back on the trail of locating the missing young man and the higher echelon of this new underground fight ring.

 

The plan had been to meet at the Bloodhound agency's offices, which were located in couple story building down in the Fens.  Freddy and Harry took advantage of the fact they lived above their offices to make a few calls after they had woken up the next morning to try and come up with other information on Benito while they waited for the ladies to arrive. 

 

Freddy had made a few inquiries, but they had not provided any information on the young man, though at least were consistent with what they had learned the other day in talking with people around his neighborhood in the West End, that there seemed to be little to suggest he might have become involved in a gang.  Harry had also made some calls, confirming that Benito had no criminal record or any other run-ins with the law.  He had also spoken to a few of his seedier contacts, and managed to confirm that, at least as of last week, Benito had been fighting in the underground ring that Hector had been operating.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Thevshi

[Supercape]

Harry slammed the phone down and tucked into some left over take away noodles from the night before. They were cold, but his wandering mind didn't mind. 

 

"So, our friend Benito is over is head, I bet ya" he said to the Mess and himself in equal measure. His partner was pumping iron in the gym and tucking into a steak sandwich. The occasional grunt could be heard as he pounded another ridiculously heavy weight into a curl or press. His dumbbells weighed over a hundred kilograms, but the lump of muscle could still curl them. 

 

"Clean slate, just wanted to grab some cash, I guess. That, or he is full of pride and vanity. Well, looks like we get to save his bacon, huh? Another day, another nearly dollar..."

 

He put down his noodles as the doorbell rang, slid his feet of the desk, and wandered over to let the guests in...

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy had alway’s been a morning person and nothing had changed over the years, except that she never needed to sleep. She’d spent the night doing what she normally did wandering the street’s helping and / or defending people as need be. With the rising of the sun she made her way back towards office’s of Fred and Harry. She stopped at her favorite diner to pick up the boy’s favourite take out and several cups of coffee including the thick gloopy stuff that she could just about taste.

“You know I think about time that you two let me have a key, I’m almost staff you know!â€

 

Lucy gave a broad smile and offered up her impromptu breakfast order.

[Supercape]

"You gots a point, lady!" said Harry, smiling and tossing her a spare set of keys. 

 

"Yer about the only person in the Fens we don't rust to set fire to the place" he half joked. The pair had and had invested in some heavy duty sprinkler systems.

 

Ok so they had gone off once from Harry's Cigars, but he reckoned it was worth it to spare them from a smoking letter bomb. 

 

"Just...well, we ain't got any coffins or the like" he said awkwardly. "I mean, that is...well, you know...." he shrugged and looked away. 

 

"We ain't found much anyways. Just that this pugilist, Benito, is in way over his head. At least if yer ask me" he explained, pouring himself a strong coffee. 

 

"Damn, I didn't get much sleep last night. Nerves frayed to hell. I'm a lover, not a fighter. That's why a keep the lug around..." he explained as the Mess dropped a heavy dumbell and lumbered over. 

 

"Have you got any more leads? or your kung fu friend?" he asked. 

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger dropped down from above behind Lucy, having scaled the buildings to ensure nobody followed or tracked her to the building. She'd also contemplated the situation they'd been dealing with last night, trying to figure out how her skills could best be used.

 

"Actually, it's Muay Thai, but hi." She said as she stepped in. "So is there any new information?" She asked as she stood politely by. She didn't know these people, and didn't want to do anything rude. Still, she couldn't bite her tongue upon hearing her traditional fighting style called by the wrong name, so the words had left her mouth before she even realized it.

[Supercape]

"Sheesh, don't drop in like that!" said a white-faced Harry, dropping his cigar in fright. 

 

"We really got to get that holed and barred up" he muttered, examining the ceiling through wish Mali had dropped. 

 

"Kung Fu, Schmung-Fu, I-ain't-got-no-clue" he said to Mali. "All I know is you look like you could hit somebody really hard. And I don't mean to be the one to bruise your fist with my face" he explained. 

 

"You got it!" replied the Mess from the Gym giving Mali the thumbs up and a wink, before drying up his sweat with a ragged towel and throwing it to one side, lumbering towards the others. 

 

"Yeah, I gots a lead" explained Harry, massaging his chest to restart his heart. 

 

"I gots a name to go to for the next fight. The next level, so to speak. And I reckon its about that time of day to pay him a visit..." he said, picking up the Keys to the battered Chevvy of the Detective Agency. 

 

"Who want's a ride?" he asked. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy couldn’t help but smile at the pair’s comments, they never failed to amuse her with their antics. And a hero dropping from the ceiling part of everyday life for her.

“If you patched up the hole you wouldn’t get such wonderful guests.†she nodded to Crimson Tiger “I’m glad you could make it.â€

With the niceties out of the way she considered the investigators words.

 

“Probably best if we travel separately, at least for part of the way. We don’t know if anyone from last night go word out about what happened. If we split up at least one of us should get through. And besides...†she beamed a smile “I’m quite quick on my feet.â€

[Thevshi]

A short while later, the quartet had travelled through the Fens and just into Greenbank when they gathered near the address Hector had provided to Harry last night.

 

Jake's Gym was in a somewhat run down building, its sign slightly faded.  It certainly reminded Freddy of some of the gyms he had trained in back in his youth, places that had just the most basic of equipment, and coaches that believed in the old ways of doing things.  The open sign in the bared window next to the foot door was lit, though the neon for the "O" flickered on and off at times…

Edited July 26, 2013 by Thevshi

[Supercape]

"This is the place" said Harry, scrawling up the note paper and stuffing it in his mac, which was a rumpled as his shirt, loose tie, and hair. He had half a mind to burn the note, his mind conflicted about whether it would be evidence, and if it would be used for or against him. 

 

"Reminds me of being a kid!" smiled Freddy, admiring the run down old building. "Where I got learned about the no-bel-art-of-pyoo-jel-ism..." he spoke slowly. 

 

"And may you never forget it!" replied Harry, constantly pleased at his partners shield of muscle over his own cowardly heart. 

 

As the quartet entered, he plucked up his courage - bolstered by the three capably fighters he was with. 

 

"Hello, hello?" he called out - loudly, but not too loudly. 

 

"Is Carl here?"

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger stood by, letting the others take the lead. She'd been trained by her father in better looking facilities, but the attitudes were the same. Muay Thai had been taught to her the same way her ancestors had learned it. While she used more modern equipment for strength, agility and endurance training, there was no such substitute for learning to fight.

 

She thought it best to let the older and much more experienced members of their group do the talking. They all seemed quite savvy about things, and she felt that her relative naivety might get her or them in trouble at some point.

 

For her purposes, though, she elected to stay out of the building and waited in the shadows in a building nearby.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Thunder King

[Thevshi]

The inside of the gym was in almost as bad of shape as the outside, the reception area just beyond the main door having paint peeling off the walls, the few chairs lined along the walls looking rather rickety.  The area just behind the counter was empty, and it did not look as if anyone had used the space in a long, long time.

 

Two doorways led from the reception area, one had a closed door, the other, just past the counter, was an open doorway, from which Harry could hear what sounded like punching bags being hit and someone barking pointers to someone about boxing tactics.

 

Making their way through the open doorway, the two private investigators found themselves in the gym proper.  A large, open area, a variety of training equipment (looking rather battered) was spaced out around the area, with a full sized boxing ring set up in the center of the space.  Glass windows along the back wall looked to be an office area.

 

A number of men in sweats were working on speed and heavier bags along one side of the room.  In the center of the ring, two powerfully built men in boxing shorts and gloves were circling each other, throwing jabs and feints as they went.

 

A slightly overweight man who appeared to be in his early sixties was standing alongside the ring, barking at the two men inside in a gruff voice.  When Harry called out, asking about Carl, the man turned to look at the two.  "That's me.  Who wants to know?"

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy wasn’t really very good at the whole hiding in the shadows. So instead she found a convenient spot near the gym where she could watch the comings and goings of the people involved whilst not being too obvious. To look less conspicuous she’d thrown on an over sized sweatshirt and a pair of trainers, they may not get many of those people who ran around but it looked less conspicuous than her normal clothes. She just hoped that she wouldn’t attract any trouble which if she wasn’t careful could ruin the whole plan.

[Supercape]

"I do" said the Hound, loosening his tie and shuffling towards Carl, hands in his pockets. 

 

"I'm Harry" he explained, omitting his second name. Harry was, much to his pleasure, a common enough name. One that couldn't be traced easily, If his parents had lumbered him with something like Xavier or Ace, he would have been in a lot more trouble over the years. 

 

"This is my partner, Freddy", he gestured towards the Mess, who was rolling his neck and loosening his shoulders as an unconscious response to stepping into a boxing gym - just like the one he had spent his teenage years in. 

 

"Keep cool" he said to Carl, although it may as well have been an instruction to himself. "No need to panic. I got your name from a guy called Hector. He said you and I - and more specifically my partner here - could do some serious business!"

[Thevshi]

Carl scowled slightly as he listened to Harry, his gaze shifting from the rumpled private detective to Freddy.  "Hector huh?"  He replied in a less-than-impressed tone.  "More oftent than not that punk wastes my time.  Doesn't have an idea what real talent is."

 

"So, you're the fighter eh?"  He then barked at Freddy, still sizing up the former boxer.  "Certainly built for it, and move like one."

 

Not really waiting for an answer, he looked back to Harry.  "Okay, if you want your boy to move on, he is going to have to show me he deserves it."  The old man gestured to the ring in the center of the room.  "He just needs to get on some gloves and step inside for a round or two."

[Supercape]

The Mess felt that normal split in his desires, one that he had wrestled with over the past day or two. He didn't feel too proud of his youth, it was, to be honest, appropriately messy. 

 

But on the other hand, he liked fighting. He was good at it. He was effective at it. Not just because of his strength or mutant body, but because he had the heart and soul of a fighter, and had put the hours in to learn how to fight. 

 

The Mess grabbed some boxing gloves and put them on as if they had belonged to him all his life.

 

"Ill step inside for a round. With two of your men" he said, confidently, punning on Carl's challenge. At least Carl recognised his strength and skill, and not his diminutive height. 

[Thevshi]

Carl arched an eyebrow slightly at Freddy's response to the challenge.  "Getting a bit cocky there boy?"  The elderly man asked as he glanced over towards the two fighters that were already in the ring.  "Looks like it will be both of you."  He called out, the two rough men both nodding as they waited for Freddy to get on his gloves and make his way into the ring.

 

Once the private investigator was in the ring, his two opponents spaced themselves out in front of him, one to the right, the other to the left.  Carl rang the bell on a table next to him and the match began.

 

Freddy's two opponents immediately got into the guard position, moving forward and studying Freddy as they did so.  It was rather clear that they knew what they were doing, but, at the same time, did not have much in the way of experience in working with another fighter against one opponent.

 

Meanwhile, outside….

 

Lucy and Crimson Tiger were both easily able to find locations from which they could keep an eye on the gym.  There was little in the way of traffic in this part of Greenbank, and far less in terms of people out and about on the sidewalks. 

[Supercape]

The Mess refrained from pumping his blood up to maximum efficiency. He was pretty sure he was as good a fighter as these guys, and far stronger and tougher. 

 

He took the first blow square, a powerful jab which crunched his face and hurt, but allowed him the opportunity to sock the first guy straight to the jaw, sending him reeling. The second guy started to pummel him, as the Mess brought up his guard and countered with a similarly fast flurry of blows. 

 

The guys kept standing, he would give their jaws credit. But even as the first guy shook off the cobwebs and landed a couple of inefective body blows, the Mess circled, light footed, to deny them a flank. He pressed in with some powerful hooks to the second guy, before knocking him out cold, and throwing him into the corner. 

 

By the time he turned his fists to the second fighter, everyone knew it was all over. The Mess was just too strong for them, hitting him was like hitting a brick wall, and he hit back even harder. 

 

"That's my boy!" clapped the Hound, giving a sparkling smile to Carl. 

 

"What to do you say to that?"

[Thevshi]

Carl still had something of a scowl on his face as he had watched the round between Freddy and his two fighters, but it was also clear he was rather impressed.  "That will do."  He commented, ringing the bell to end the round, a slight look of relief coming to the face of the fighter that had been left to face Freddy alone before he went over to help his companion who had been knocked out.

 

Carl focused back on Harry.  "Yeah, your boy has the chops, that is for sure.  He will have his first shot tonight.  Give me your number and I will pass it along.  You will be contacted early this evening with detail on where to go and what to do."

[Supercape]

The Mess undid his boxing gloves and slid them off. He felt his nose bleeding, but a moments concentration and his pudgy nostrils stopped dripping. Blood was his business. 

 

He put his hand through his air, wiping away the thin sweat that had broken out. He had plenty in reserve, but even a few moments boxing got the heart racing, despite his fitness and turbo powered blood. 

 

"I still got the knocks, eh, Harry?" he joked, entertaining his partner with a brief moment of fast shadow boxing. 

 

The Hound gave a broad smile before handing Carl his mobile number and taking the Mess outside, arm over his broad shoulders. 

 

"We are in business!" he said to Crimson Tiger. "We are going to get a call this evening. So I suggest we retire back to the agency, get a nap, some noodles, and maybe make a few phone calls..."

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger merely nodded. She was glad that things were working smoothly, and decided to make her way back to their agency. Noodles...? She thought to herself. She hoped he didn't mean something like instant ramen. No, that wouldn't do, not at all. "Actually, why don't I go pick up lunch for everyone before I go back to the agency?" She knew she wasn't going to eat instant ramen, and she would feel bad buying for herself and not everyone else. She knew a good Thai place not that far from where they were. She suspected that the other three wouldn't be interested in that, but luckily she knew a good sandwich place not far away from that.