Summary:A Spider and a Cat decided to ruin the day for some terrorists. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
In there is one huge perk to being a master thief, it is access to the black market. Not only to the items for sale, but to lists of items that will soon be for sale. From there, it's just a little bit of detective work to find out who is selling them, and where they're coming from. And when.
It's nearly midnight at the docks, and the only people around are generally the dockworkers: usually able-bodied men (and a few tough as nails women), hard pressed for cash. And the occasional security officer. But really, who is gonna mess with a bunch of stout dockworkers whose livelihood depends on being able to successfully complete their work?
Tonight, though, security is the gamechanger. Around one particular dock slip, a dozen guards are dressed in black, and carrying assault rifles. From atop another slip's roof, in the shadows, a lone figure is watching them. She is dressed in leather - suit and mask. And she's as hungry as the dockworkers…just hungry for something else.
Peter wasn't even born on 9/11, but he had been a child during 12/12, when the Sentinels attacked. He already had a healthy dislike for terrorists.
So, when the opportunity came to bust up an ISIS cell, Spider-Man had jumped at the chance. And at the terrorists, when he found them. He had disrupted one cell, but found one of their social media communiques revealing the arrival of enough valuable artifacts to sell to keep them in dirty bombs and AK-47 knockoffs for YEARS.
So, that was why a familiar red-and-blue hero had swung in to land on the lightpole across the street from the warehouse. Bunch of bad guys. Okay. Analyze the location, figure out where the weak points were…
…and then do a little PRUNING before the ship arrived.
The Black Cat, from her vantage point, can't help noticing her favourite man in blue and red, as he arrives. She frowns, her brow furrowing beneath that black domino mask.
She sends out a message on her own comm - usually just used for monitoring channels. She has no idea what channel his own might use, but she is certain others are monitored by the Spider. So it goes out on a number of channels in hopes that one might stick. "You just /can't/ stay away from me, can you, Handsome?"
Spider-Man BLINKS. The Spider-Comm system (with ALICE's help) was scanning frequencies to see what these jerks were using and it caught the Cat's transmission without any loss of clarity.
"CAT?" Spidey hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "What are *you* doing here?"
"The same thing you are, I would assume," comes Cat's reply. "Otherwise, this meeting is just TOO much to be coincidence, and I could only conclude that we're meant to be together," she purrs across the comms.
"The real question here is, what are we gonna do about it, hmm?"
Jeez, how does she DO that? He takes a deep breath to quell the butterflies in his belly.
"Cat, these are NOT nice guys. Let me handle the guys with guns. There are…three along the northeast side, five on the southeast, and four along the docks. I'll start picking them off and isolating them. YOU are to avoid getting shot, Cat."
He jumps to the stack of shipping containers, getting a better look at the grounds and where the people are located.
"Oh, Spidey, you're sooo charming. You have this way of making me all nervous and blushy," she replies. "Thinking of my safety, even as I move in on a job you planned, but sadly didn't invite me to." Her voice betrays the pout that pulls at her lips. "I promise not to get shot, if you promise not to web me up. Unless you intend to do something with me besides turn me over to the cops, of course." She giggles softly. "We can help each other. We could be good together." She is slinking closer, too, verifying the positions that he gave her. They all still seem accurate.
Spider-Man sounds almost scandalized. "Turn you over to the…? Cat, I'm a man of my word, and you haven't broken any laws. I…hang on…"The three along the northeast side are moving between the two shipping containers, and Spidey drops a web-grenade in their midst. They are aware of it falling, but look up to see where it came from. Which was the wrong move.
With a sudden SPLUT, the web-grenade goes off and pins two to the left container, the third to the right. Their heads bang against the metal and they slump forward as one.
"…As I was saying, I'm not going to have you getting hurt on my conscience!"
"Ohh, Handsome, you don't have to worry about that, because — oh, would you look at that? We're about to be four more down, if Steve the dock guard will just….just…C'mon, buddy, just one more step. That's right…you TIE that boot…." And then there is a sound. A faint "Zip!" And a trap cinches tightly around the four dock guards. But it seems to have been tripped remotely. There is nothing linking it in any one particular direction. The guys, bound tightly together by steel cable, squirm, but are finding it hard to breathe unless they stand stock still.
"Listen, I'm glad you don't have it out for me. You don't know what that means to a girl like me…"
Spider-Man uses a webline to slingshot himself over the warehouse, landing on the opposide side with barely a thump. He pauses, letting the lamp on the wall below him hide him from the ones below.
"…I know what it's like for people to have their own ideas about me before they even meet me. I would be a hypocrite if I did the same. I can't accept the idea of crime for a living…but I have to follow the rule of law, and right now, you haven't done anything legally wrong. I have to live by that, or else what am I doing all this for?"
"The thrill of the chase?" Cat answers that question almost too quickly. "Besides, I'm not all /that/ bad." There's a pause. "The law notwithstanding," she replies softly in person as she lands quietly beside him and peers down below.
He is all too aware of her presence next to him. Spider-Sense? A BLIND man could sense her.
He can't very well restrain her, or stop her. Current occupation being what it was, she WAS here, she hadn't killed anyone…so, maybe give her a little more rope.
He realized how inaccurate the analogy was. She'd probably claw his face off if he even HINTED at anything referencing a leash.
"Well…if you're going to do this, it wouldn't hurt to aim you at the guy who just called in on his walkie. I'll start at the other end, we can work our way inwards. With a little quick, we can keep these guys quiet."
Felicia is not wholly opposed to leashes, depending, of course, upon how they are employed. But since she isn't a telepath, she simply nods, and lifts her arm to aim her fist out straight, directly toward the guy with the walkie. A quick click and nearly silent zip later, a titanium hook on a zipline has been fired from her wrist and caught on his body armor. A weighted bola continues around him, catching smaller barbs in his jacket. She gives a hard jerk, pulling him off the ground and reeling him back toward her as swiftly as she can pull, gagging and tossing him aside, once he is wrapped in the cable.
The man at the end of Felicia's tether is caught off-guard, but the other four see it immediately and turn in his direction.
When means they miss Spidey landing behind him.
He fires quick weblines, grabbing the nearest guy and yanking him back, spinning him around to wrap him in webbing, then sticking him to the barrier post nearby. The other three follow - snagged, wrapped, and placed someplace for the cops to find. It all happens very fast, the last one being stuck to the side of the cement wall as Felicia finishes with hers.
"Well." Cat drops in beside Spidey, and cocks her head to cast him a sidelong glance. "You're fantastic with those webs. Whatever shall we do now, O Captain, My Captain?" She practically purrs the words as she gives him a wicked grin. "I'm here to make sure you're thoroughly satisfied."
"Uhhhmmm…yeah." He coughs, then says, "We need to secure the docks. A ship is scheduled to show up soon with a load of Afghan relics. We need to take care of the four men inside. Scuttlebutt says there's a dirty bomb in there with enough bang to make Brooklyn a silent graveyard for the next 500 years." He holds up one hand, and a 3-D hologram appears above his hand - an image of a rouns sphere with a terminal set into it. "It is armed with a key."
"So…does that mean someone needs to steal said key?" Black Cat pulls out a small set of night vision binoculars, searching the water for any sign of the ship. "Because I know of someone who can do that…"
"That's be nice. We have about 15 minutes or so. Can you get inside and find this key in that time?" Spider-Man looked at her, appraising her. It would be great to get in without them activating the bomb. Any one of them might have it.
"As you wish," she replies. "I'll find it, no matter who has it. If I can neutralize them as I search, I'll do that. If not, they'll never know I'm there." She flashes a smile to Spider-Man. It's confident. There isn't a hint of doubt in those eyes. "And where will you be? In case you should run afoul of someone and need help? I'm not here /solely/ to rattle you with innuendo, after all."
Spider-Man points to the center of the roof. "I'll come in through there if things get dicey, I'll come in loud, distract them. If I do that…maybe I can startle them into making a mistake."
"Sound plan," Cat replies, turning to face him. "It's almost like you've done this sort of thing before." There's a hint of sparkle in her eyes, turning aqua to a deeper shade of green. "You keep spoiling me this way, and you may never get rid of me. You know what they say about petting strays…"
"Maybe I can convince you to give up theft in lieu of more noble pursuits? I can but hope. Any, get going. When the ones inside find out, who KNOWS what will happens. And I can't call Homeland Security and invite them to ringside seating for a mini-apocalypse." He nods to her, then heads over to the skylight.
Cat nods quietly. She doesn't quite agree to his aspirations. But she doesnt disagree, either. She moves to one side and disappears into the shadows, moments before the ship glides up to the dock. Before it is even tethered, she has fired off a titanium hook, which catches on railing with a soft 'clink,' and she swings over to shimmy up the side of the ship, disappearing onto the deck. With shadows, but too many men in one place, she glides between them, checking pockets for a key.
There are four men who are offloading crates from a chip. One runs a crane, the other three are working to move smaller boxes down into the warehouse.
Then another voice starts barking orders in Farsi. A woman's voice.
Then the woman appears, and she is packing an assault rifle. She has a head-scarf and veil; only her eyes are visible. But the eyes are enough. They are resolute and intent, and she moves with the largest crate as it is lifted out by the crane and placed on the cement platform near the warehouse. The three men begin to work unboxing it.
Watching from a corner of the deck, Cat touches her comm and speaks softly. "You seein' this, Handsome? What d'ya think are the chances we just found our key?"
Spidey looked down through the skylight. "Better than average. But a woman? Don't these ISIS guys think women are beneath them?" He paused. "Or is she running things because she's crazier than the others?"
"It's amazing what men will do to please a powerful woman sometimes, Spideypants." Her smile is evident in her voice. "Especially a powerful woman with an assault rifle and the key to a dirty bomb. But that's only one possibility. I think maybe it's time we find out by taking both of them away from her." Cat slips over the edge of the ship and leaps to the dock, looking for a satisfactory path to the woman.
It's tricky. The woman is staying close to the box, and as they remove the wooden panels, the thing inside is revealed. It looks a lot like the hologram. Too close, anyway.
What is distressing is the woman's face. She looks at it like it's the Ark of the Covenant and she can't WAIT to see what's inside.
There is a path to her. It winds between the boxes, and it can get Felicia close to her.
"They're going to want their money first, but if it looks like it is going sideways, she's going straight for that thing. It's her ticket to Paradise." Spider-Man's voice can't hide a note of disgust.
The woman is looking at that thing like Cat looks at Spidey. She's surprised he hasn't made the connection. And a little relieved. "I can take that bomb, or I can take that chick. If I take her, we stand the slightest chance that these guys might be okay with that - however slight that chance may be. But if I take the item, you can bet your sweet, squeezable ass that SHE will escalate this to a twelve in 1.2 seconds."
Squeezable?
"Uhm…okay. If I handle the three…okay, four guys now…can you handle her?" Spider-Man can't help but feel a little concerned. She is very…VERY capable. But she's not bulletproof OR immortal. He doesn't think. For all he knows, she's the avatar of Bast.
Okay, so he MAY have idolized Indiana Jones growing up.
"I can handle her," Cat assures him. "I'll remove her from the equation. One way or the other." She is already readying herself for the offensive. "On your mark. I'm ready when you are."
Spider-Man nods. He takes a deep breath. "Okay."
Ahmid was checking the crates. The plan was as Samira said. They could sell the crates to the infidels, and as soon as the money was transferred to the account, Samira would open the way for all of them. This pestilent city would only be the first.
He wondered what Samira would receive. Perhaps she would be part of his coterie of virgins. She had a passionate fervor, that's for…
Then he saw a figure in red and blue land on the crate in front of him. He waved. "Hey there. No visit to the Mountain for you."
The blast of webbing planted him on the ground, but Ahmed hat time enough to give out a yell of surprise,, and three sets of eyes looked to him, then to each other,and then the other three men rushed at Spider-Man, raising their rifles, while the woman went towards the bomb, reaching down behind her scarf and into her long-sleeved shirt…and yanked out a key that looked like it was good for a door lock.
Out of nowhere, a small black ball flies through the air and wraps around the woman, the centrifugal force carrying it around her twice. The thin steel cable is wrapped tight enough to cut into the skin of her arms, nearly cutting it. Immediately following the bola is a woman in black leather and white fur. A flash of silvery hair, and the Cat is gone again. And so is the woman in veils. A moment later, both appear on a rafter above, as the veils are being used to gag the woman.
The three men don't fare much better. One of them makes for the bomb, and he puls out a duplicate key. But the webbing that cocoons him cancels that plan. The other two are webbed up and pushed to the ground, where the sticky webbing keeps them there.
"No seventy virgins for any of you today." He looks up at the Cat. Dang…she IS good. "Nice work, Cat. You're pretty good at this. Maybe working for the angels isn't so far-fetched?"
Cat smirks at the compliment, but then arches a brow, as she lowers herself slowly to the floor on a line. "Angels? What angels?"
Spidey chuckled. "Well…helping people. Giving to people. The people after these ISIS yahoos…well, not so much. ALICE, call Agent Christian."
A quiet female voice replies, "Calling to inform him. ETA 15 minutes."
Spidey nods, turning to the Cat. "Well, that should give you plenty of time to vacate."
Cat gives a nod, using a rafter as a pulley to lower the veiled, bound, and gagged woman to the floor where they are standing. "Well…we'll talk about it," she concedes. "But you're right. If I'm here when anyone else arrives, that's bad news. I'll have to just see you around, I guess." And with that, Cat sneaks one more glance at that aforementioned squeezable ass, and slips out into the shadows of the night.
Spider-Man sighs as she disappears, then looks to the bound and gagged Samira. "Okay….while we are waiting for the infidel police to take you, your buddies, and your weapon of mass murder, I just gotta know…what do WOMEN get when they supposedly go to Paradise for murdering innocent people who bear no ill will towards you?"