ic High Caliber: Whistling Dixie

[EternalPhoenix]

May 15, 2017. Downtown Freedom. Top floor of the HyperMegaCorp Building. Just After Midnight.

 

It was a midnight arms deal. You’d think something like this would go down at the docks (or maybe deep in the Fens) but not this time. This time it was going down in the corporate offices of HyperMegaCorp, the company you trust to make the widgets that make your famous brand name stuff work as advertised. Also known as a lesser Evil, Inc. Tonight, they had a pair of skilled weaponsmiths in to sign contracts to…well, make weapons for them. The weapons would not be sold to finance children’s charities, obviously. HyperMegaCorp had fingers in every regional conflict in the world, after all. Though they had confused an actual child army as a children’s charity once (by accident, they swore and so did their lawyers), so there was that.

 

Which was why Terrifica had been planning this bust for months. Well, more like waiting for the weaponsmiths and the corporate suits to stop dancing and meet, already. The building’s security was purposefully not on high alert, and so it was easy to sneak in. She had her recording devices all set up. AEGIS on speed dial. She was ready to put an end to this thing. And if the weapon blueprints magicially disappeared in the process, well that wasn’t her fault now was it?

[Sandman XI]

It's those moments where you just happen upon a snippet of a conversation that grabs your interest as a hero. Antonio crawled around in the dark places downtown. The place where cops and your normal flying tights dare to tread. It wasn't going to fix itself. When he wasn't doing his heroic duty, he was mainly either working at the job - his 9 to 5 was taking tickets at a local movie theatre - or practicing his boxing skills. Not that he only did that, he was a social person, getting in where he could fit in. It was just that the job paid the bills and the training kept up the physique. So he had to make time for himself sparingly.

 

Antonio overheard a conversation while on his way to the gym. He keeps his ears open while out on the street. He also walks to the gym, it being two city blocks away. Good exercise before exercise! Street punks in an alleyway (that whole 'working in a bad part of down town') talking about getting some weapons. He heard something to the tune of HyperMegaCorp. it didn't surprise him, but how were they bankrolling that? Evil doesn't give things away for free.

 

Later that night he suited up - black spandex body suit with a red skull on the face, and urban camo fatigues - though this time he didn't head into the streets. He had a place to be. HyperMegaCorp. Sneaking into the place was just a matter of stealth.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifca knew who all the players were. Not just the ones who mattered, either. One of the bodyguards over there was named Steve Jones. He had a girlfriend in Hanover and a boyfriend in Riverside who did not know the other existed. But that was neither here nor there. The important part is that the genius rogue weapons designers Dixie Clements and Firecracker were here with the Director of Special Projects, one Genji Iwamura. They were discussing specifics. Imporant note: Dixie had not come alone, as (the generally acknowledged to be insane)Firecracker had. Dixie had tagged along her partner, Reiko HInomoto. Most likely because Iwamura (a native of Japan) and his lackeys (natives of Japan, China, even South Korea) were from the East Asian Division, and Dixie didn’t speak Japanese. Reiko did, being a native. She could also understand Mandarin and Korean fairly well, if it came to that, and she could hold her own in a fight as well as Dixie. Firecracker’s reputation in that area was…better, but only because of the previously mentioned insanity.

 

[Thunder King]

It really wasn't detective work that brought Crimson Tiger to the building. It was more like following a trail. A trail of groaning, unconscious thugs whom she caught with the bad sort of weapons. It was really happenstance that she overheard the right conversation. She wasn't as prepared as Terrifica, though. She really just wanted to see if she could follow the trail somewhere else, figure out what was going on. She couldn't believe her dumb luck when she found out this was a major weapons deal. An illegal, major weapons deal.

 

So, here she was, in the rafters, watching and waiting to see what happened. A frontal assault was probably not the best move on a bunch of armed guys.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Thunder King

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Iwamura straightened his tie (he and his team were all suited up) as an underling placed a open briefcase visibly full of cash on the table. “Firecracker, as requested, non sequential bills.”

 

Firecracker placed a closed briefcase of her own on the table, and tossed her red and white streaked hair back out of her eyes. “There you go, some of my older designs and lab specifications. I keep the ones I use now to myself.” Her accent was slightly Eastern European, perhaps Russian? She wasn’t a young woman, instead being old enough to be either hero’s mother. Aside from the wrong ethnicity problem. She wore a flaming, flappy dress with black fishnets and boots. She was not in any way a subtle woman. This impression was enhanced by the 6 dual barreled pistols she wore in various places. She closed and took the briefcase of cash.

 

Iwamura gestured to one of his underlings, who displayed a tablet with a bank transfer screen on it. He pushed the correct spot, and money (quite a bit of it) transferred. “Your money, Ms. Clements.”

 

Dixie shrugged. Her Texas accent one could cut with a knife. “Thanks for the cash, Genji-san. Pleasure doin’ business with you.” She pulled a USB from the pocket of her jeans. “Everything I’ll need’s on there, with a few of my designs your staff should be able to handle themselves.” The blond (down past the shoulders) weapons designer was dressed as a modern version of the stereotypical cowboy, from the jeans and the boots to the very nice hat and the poncho. No less than seven revolvers hung in holsters around her waist and hips, mostly hidden by the poncho. Reiko was dressed simply, in breakaway workout clothing. The snaps were clearly visible along the seams on the shirt and pants. Her hair was black and cut short for a woman.

 

Iwamura nodded, and one of his underlings secured the USB and the document briefcase. “We’ll be in touch when your labs are ready. The locations are still being finalized.”

 

Firecracker grinned savagely. “Right after your men start breaking arms with my guns? Must be careful and brace properly when firing, you know.”

 

Iwamura just looked at her, cool as a cucumber. “Not our problem. We just sell them.” Firecracker laughed uproariously, and even Dixie, Reiko, and a few of the underlings were amused. When everyone (but Firecracker, who was still chuckling) had calmed down, Iwamura spoke again. “No, we’ll deal fairly with you. Maintaining a good relationship is important, especially with such talented people. As I said, we’ll be in touch.” The parties start to depart, each through separate doors.

Edited May 30, 2017 by EternalPhoenix

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger decided to follow the people who had bought the guns, rather than the sellers. She realized there was little she could do to stop the sellers at this point, she didn't even have any proper evidence. The buyers, though, if she could just get the guns out of the way, maybe she could stop things here. The corporation was in some dirty business, but she wasn't sure she had the know how to stop it. So, she stalked the buyers. Carefully.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica saw a shadow on one of the cameras. Following Iwamura and company. Interesting. A new player. A flash of light, just enough. Oh. She’d met this one before. Crimson Tiger. A hero. She closed up shop, forwarding the relevant audiovisual files to her AEGIS contact. There was only one thing left to do, which was apparently what Crimson Tiger was after. The weapons data. She’d seen what those weapons could do, and she was apprehensive about allowing them in even AEGIS’s hands.

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

The underlings made calls on their phones, but Iwamura himself did nothing but walk to the elevator. Everyone got on, and they went up. They got off on the roof, where a corporate helicopter was warming up. One of the underlings had called ahead. It would take a few minutes for the helo to warm up again, as it had been shut off to avoid any noise complaints. Iwamura got on anyway, and the underlings with the briefcase and the USB handed them to him. He took them and opened a bottle of water. The bodyguards took up positions around the helipad.

[Thunder King]

Mali kept to the shadows until she didn't have to. She popped out of seemingly nowhere and blindsided the first enemy she saw, slamming her elbow into his face and sending him sprawling to the ground. She turned and kicked the next man square in the midsection, but something must have gone wrong, because he didn't drop, or flinch, or care.

 

Oops.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Crimson Tiger struck. Hearing the thud of a man going down, Terrifica eased open the door to the roof and slipped into a shadow. She did not hear any other men hit the roof, which was odd. Ah. She’d kicked him right in the middle of the body armor. These types did wear body armor, thus it was better to hit them in the head or face. That said, A for effort. Terrifica believed the man actually felt that. Which meant Crimson Tiger could hit as hard, if not harder, than any normal bullet. Kind of impressive, actually. Yes, Terrifica has seen her in action before, but this was different. Pure observation was more…difficult in the middle of combat, after all.

[Thunder King]

After the first failed hit, Mali wheeled around with a kick to the side of his head, sending him sprawling. She realized she was too far from the other two to mop them up, and tried to stay mobile as she saw them draw their pistols. This shouldn't be this hard, she mused. Must be having an off night. Back to the gym again.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Thunder King

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

The remaining two bodyguards both drew and fired in one smooth, practiced motion. The underlings fluttered to get out of the way. Iwamura simply looked on from his seat. Nobody had anything to say. It was a silent battle on the rooftop helipad. The men on the ground were stone unconscious, a testament to Crimson Tiger’s skill, if not her strike placement. Mali’s evasions were for naught, as the remaining bodyguards showed uncommon accuracy for ordinary (professionally trained) people.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica did note that Crimson Tiger struck down the second man, but there was too much distance between her and the remaining two. Still, she seemed to have the situation well in hand, right until both men showed uncommon accuracy in hitting a professional superhero. Who was actually good at dodging. One of the two hits even seemed to injured the young woman. Well, that was enough of that. Terrifica took several steps and launched a spinning roundhouse kick her sensei would be absolutely ashamed of. It smashed with terrific (natch) force into one of the two remaining bodyguards’ head. He dropped like a stone, but Terrifica wasn’t done moving yet. She pivoted on the kicking foot as it came down and slammed her other leg into the remaining man’s side with enough force that he should have been slapped against the side of the helicopter. However, he simply grunted and took the blow without comment. Their body armor really was top class, Terrifica mused. It was on the sides in addition to being front and back and concealable.

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger didn't give him a chance to be smug, because she punched him straight in the face. "I want to know who makes their body armor." She said aloud. Getting some better protection was never a bad idea. Had to make sure it wouldn't slow her down, though. Mali needed to stay mobile, and felt vulnerable whenever she couldn't bounce in and out of enemy reach.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

“Feel free to examine one of them, then.” Terrifica opened the helicopter cockpit door, and advised the pilot to shut the engine down. Then, she shut it and opened the passenger door. “Mister Iwamura. I would advise you to hand over the weapons designs.” She held out a hand. “AEGIS should be here shortly to apprehend you.” She tapped her wrist computer link up. “So you did try to send over the net. AEGIS managed to block you, but not pick up the data. Some fine programming on that tablet of yours.”

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Terrifica was right. AEGIS, via a pair of clearly marked flying cars and a flying paddy wagon, was on the scene almost after she finished speaking. The agents came over and arrested literally everyone who wasn’t the two heroes. Agent In Charge Franklin Colt came over to speak with Terrifica and Crimson Tiger. “Good work, but we need those two designers.” He looked directly at Terrifica. “The evidence you sent us ought to put them away for quite a while, if we can get our hands on them.” He looked at both of them again. “Good luck. When you find them, give us a call and we’ll send back up.” He turned to his agents. “Let’s get this people locked down and secure this building. I want to know everything this corp is up to that we can get before the lawyers show up.” He moved to lend a hand with his orders.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica watched him go. “They don’t make agents of that competency every day.” She breathed in and out. “At any rate, I know where both Firecracker and Dixie Clements are going.” She turned to face Crimson Tiger. “Assuming you’re here about the weapons as well, would you like to come with me or would you like to split up and take them separately?” It was a fair question. The two had only met once, but it was likely long enough ago that the younger heroine didn’t remember. Though, that had been a weapons smuggling ring as well. Together with the older hero Arrowhawk, they’d smashed the ring. They had been a significant amount of combat, and Terrifica had not gotten on well with the grumpy archer. If Terrifica was capable of forgetting things, she would have preferred to forget most of that adventure. Unfortunately, she couldn’t forget anything. Ever.

[Thunder King]

"I don't think splitting up is the best idea right now." Crimson Tiger said with a shrug. "I mean, they've got some intense stuff, makes sense to go in together. At least until we get there, might split off to do a pincer attack on site. I prefer to wing it, let things flow. A plan of attack works, but never survives contact with the enemy." She did remember Terrifica. It wasn't the best impression, but very little frustrated or angered Mali. Indeed, she'd met far more abrasive people, and reserved her anger for those who caused undue harm. Like weapon dealers.

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

A motorcycle ride later (as they both had one), and the heroic duo were at that warehouse on the Docks. The one every smuggler uses for their goods. Yes, that very warehouse. Why hasn’t it been demolished yet? Because it was useful. Better to know where your smugglers mostly likely were than be clueless. It was, of course, guarded. Two men on the front door. Two men on the side door. And two men on the roof. None of them could see each other, but they did appear to have radio to communicate with.

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger looked over to Terrifica. "I was thinking, I go high, you go low? Or do we both go in the same way?" She was curious as to what the best course of action was. "What do you think?" She would usually take out one set, let the other notify. Let them try to look for her. Most thugs didn't have the sense for proper security sweeps, and she often took advantage. These guys were a little more organized, though. Terrifica was clearly one of the smart ones, and it helped to listen to clever people.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica merely shrugged. “I’m certain you can handle yourself without me around. As plans go, it is one.” She watched the men speak with each other, focusing on body language and facial expressions, as the two heroes were too far away for speech to be understood. “Though I will admit, violence is never my first plan, leaving them behind us is tactically unwise.” She fished a small commlink out of her longcoat pocket. “Hold on to this. AEGIS was kind enough to lend me a spare.” She took out her staff and shook it open with her other hand. “When you’re in position and ready, either let me know with the commlink, or just hit one of them. As they respond to whoever is first, they will be unprepared to fight on two fronts and should be quickly routed.” She still hadn’t looked at Crimson Tiger, preferring to observe the men. “They are…less professional than they seem. Their gear is quality, and their training is adequate. However their discipline is pitiful. Smoking ruins one’s night vision, for one.” The telltale spark of a cigarette flared on the room, and one of the men on the front had already lit up by the time the heroes had arrived. Terrifica finally took her eyes off the men. “Whenever you’re ready to get started.”

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger ran forward a bit and shot out her grappling hook, swinging across to the roof. She landed quietly behind the men and slowly approached them. She swung at the nearest man, but hit him in the chest, where that remarkably good body armor was. She groaned inward. Now the whole place would be alerted. This was not her night, she mused. Not her night at all.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Watching Crimson Tiger take that first punch, Terrifica spun into the men at the front door with her staff’s Taser. She’d flicked a switch that bumped the amperage a bit, but made the staff equally more inaccurate. It did not, however, matter. The first man twitched, moaned, and dropped like a rock. The second looked to see what was going on, just as the taser’s tines met flesh. He twitched a little hard, but he too dropped like a rock. She glanced up and was surprised to see both men still standing up there. This…probably wasn’t the best night for their combat records. No help for it, though. She opened the door to the warehouse, out of direct sightlines from inside.

[Thunder King]

She failed to hit the first one, so she swung around and slammed her fist into the side of the next man's head, before whipping around to kick the first man in the face. Both of them collapsed, out cold. She looked down and decided, might as well sneak in from above. Try to meet Terrifica in the middle. Guys with guns weren't too useful if they couldn't see the people they were trying to watch out for. Maybe the high value weapons deal should have sprung for professional security

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

The warehouse itself was more or less empty inside. Aside from one corner, where an office/weapons lab had been set up. Firecracker was there, working on one of her absurdly large weapons. A pair of thugs lackadaisically patrolled the catwalk above the floor. They did not look down or up or anywhere, really, as Crimson Tiger and Terrifica made their ways down from the rooftop (via roof stairs) and to the side door (via just feet) respectively.  Firecracker was absorbed in her work and thus paying no attention to anything else.