7758/City Fall: A New Wrinkle

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City Fall: A New Wrinkle
Date of Scene: 06 June 2019
Location: Manhattan - NYC
Synopsis: Frank tries to poke the Foot a little more. Some of them poke back.
Cast of Characters: Punisher, Shredder, Nemean
Tinyplot: City Fall

Punisher has posed:
It's been a few days now. Various families in the New York area have taken losses. Sniper fire out of nowhere popping a few heads on minor and major players in their organizations. It's always 2-4 hits in a row... and the police are called in to handle it. Cue The Punisher leaving the scene... but making sure there's enough evidence left behind to clearly implicate the Punisher himself. A 'forgotten' camera here, a few custom brass casings there. Not to mention the hardware being used is military grade.

It's a departure from his close quarters combat operations lately. He usually prefers those to keep the innocents out of the way, but this time he's doing actual sniping, then Microchip gauges reactions, response times, and aftermath. It's an ongoing operation to gain intelligence on the Foot and the extent of their organization after the warehouse incident.

By the time the week is over. The Punisher's dropped twenty new bodies.

Today marks a change-up in The Punisher's objectives. Instead of going after a family... he's going after the money.

For the last ten minutes, anyone attempting to leave the chop shop at a dockyard on the west side has had the contents of their head evacuated through a new 7.65 hole from a silenced M24 rifle. He's taking care to keep the kills out of public view if he can... but making sure the criminals at the warehouse and attached garages know they're under a very effective siege.

In a tall building giving a clear view of the entire dockyard almost a half mile away, the Punisher keeps a view of the operation from a top floor window, with Microchip acting as spotter, drone specialist, and intelligence. "We got any runners yet, Micro? I'm not seeing anyone else topside to put down."

Shredder has posed:
    Inside the shop, the crooks have been in a state of panic.

    "Call the cops, we got guys shooting us!" One of them says.

    "Stupid, we can't call the cops from here, even with the coin, this is just way too obvious to be ignored by the courts, the Foot will let us take some time for this one to keep the suspicions lower."

    "Then what? You'd rather just sit here and wait for some psycho to blow our heads off?"

    "Nah, I say we call the Foot, their money is right here. They want it, right? Let them earn it a little."

    So the call is made, the three men who are still in the shop don't even have an idea of where the shooter is coming from. So they hang tight.

    It's several minutes before the response, but it comes in a rather unexpected form, at least as far as the Punisher might be concerned. A Nissan Sentra pulls up to the chop shop, as if nothing in the world is wrong, and a middle aged man with a mostly receded red hairline steps out wearing a flannel shirt and jeans. He glances down at two fallen bodies, looking a little disturbed at the sight, then lifts his gaze, and starts scanning the rooftops, looking for a nearby culprit. Of course, Punisher is far too distant for him to see at this junction.

Punisher has posed:
The moment the Sentra looks like it's going into the dockyard, Microchip is on the line, "Frank, you've got incoming, and it isn't the police. There's not one peep about your siege on the police bands. I think we have a Foot target here." Microchip notes with a tone of relief. These daily operations were dragging on both of them, but Microchip isn't nearly as on-the-job as the Punisher is.

"I got him." The M24 had the car in sight, and was following the driver as he left the door open. He isn't shot at. Yet.

A moment later... "Frank, there's nothing on him. His record is clean."

A moment passes, "Sweep the dockyard and my building with the drone. This guy might be a distraction." Microchip comes back, "You got it, Frank."

Meanwhile, Frank was setting up his rifle and mannequin trap. if he's learned anything about the Foot clan in the last few weeks, it's not to underestimate their tacticians.

With the trap set now that he's had a response come in, The Punisher grabs his gear and moves to another window as he waits for Microchip to update him.

Shredder has posed:
    The man frowns, looking a little frustrated, and shakes his head. He turns and walks to the door of the shop, knocking on it. Nobody answers. He says something inside to the people, and then walks back to his car, pulling out...a nightvision sniper scope. It has no gun attached to it, just a scope, and he lifts it to his eye, starting to scan around, trying to get a better view. He's lookin in a general 90 degree scope of where the Punisher is, but from the way he's scanning, it's clear that he has not yet found what he's looking for.

Punisher has posed:
"He's using a night vision sniper scope, no gun." A moment passes... "Seems like he has a good directional sense. He's looking in the direction of your building, Frank. Names Jeremy Turner, 42." Microchip narrates over the transceiver.

"He's probably figured out I don't kill innocents. Our opponent isn't an idiot. Probably not expecting me to disable him, either." Punisher muses over the commlink as he moves through the hallway to his secondary sniper nest. He made sure to use a build he knew would be abandoned at night, and had locked the top floor door with an a silent alarm trigger if it opened, with a direct line to Microchip. "Keep an eye on him. He's not a real threat probably, and I guarantee you he's here to relay information. He's probably being blackmailed."

Meanhile, in the previous room, the 'sniper' is still looking back and forth, though far away from the man as if he was scanning slowly... to give the impression 'he' hadn't seen Jeremy yet.

Shredder has posed:
    The man stops, viewing the sniper bot in the window, and watches for several seconds. He lowers the scope, looking with the naked eye, then looks back at the dead bodies, as if trying to determine if he's looking at what he thinks he is. He glances back again, and sighs, shaking his head. Clearly something doesn't make sense to him. Mainly, why he is not under fire. He reaches back down into the car, pulling a small radio out in his right fist. He looks through the scope again, and starts talking into it.

    "I see someone up there lookin' down here," he says, "Looks like, I dunno, half a mile away from here. It's a long shot, but he's not taken any cracks at me yet, so I dunno, maybe it's not him."

    "Think you can get him to take a shot if it's him?"

    "How would I do that? I mean, I got a pistol in my car, but it's not like that's going to be viewed as a threat from his range. My beretta wouldn't even reach that far, assuming I /was/ that good a shot, which I'm not." His tone is casual, he doesn't sound afraid the way someone blackmailed might.

Punisher has posed:
The 'sniper' continues to pivet, and when the Punisher gets to his more stealthy sniper nest on the other side of the floor, he pulls out his periscope monocular and takes a look at the man himself, his rifle getting switched out for non-lethal rubber rounds with his other hand as he watches.

Microchip, meanwhile, is busily listening in on the radio conversation. "Frank, listen to this." And he replays the conversation over the transceiver.

A few seconds later, and Frank frowns, "that doesn't sound like blackmail..." As the Punisher works through probable scenarios, he's going to take a risk.

Popping out briefly as the radio conversation continues, he aims for the mans head, and pulls the trigger.

A rubber round silently flies through the night right at the mans head, precisely aimed to knock him out immediately, not kill him.... and he immediately pops back down and keys his tablet into the drone feed.

Shredder has posed:
    The bullet flies true, and strikes Jeremy on the forehead. His head snaps back a little from the impact, causing him to take a step back...to steady himself? "Okay, got him," he says. "That wasn't him, different window, third over from the left."
    The man literally shrugged off the round as if it was nothing at all. There is another five seconds of silence on the radio, and suddenly, the stealth drone gives its last image as a pair of giant claws wrap around it, and the signal drops. The stealth drone is blind.

Nemean has posed:
To say things have gone really weird for Cody is to put it mildly. While he disagrees with the Punisher's methods, he can't exactly pretend like he's not part of it now. Especially when Microchip calls him ahead of time to let him know about what Punisher is going to be doing.

He knows there's some kind of Foot influence in the FBI, or at least somewhere above him. Back at the office there is a couple of agents moving out, and Cody joins them after overhearing what they were doing. He's able to work his way into going with them after convincing them he's got the same goal.

The drive over consists of them talking about the intel they're being fed from the guys Punisher is shooting at, and Cody in the back seat, sending texts from the burner phone he was given to Microchip to let him know what's coming so Frank can be prepared.

Punisher has posed:
"A decoy mutant. What I thought." Punisher muses. "This nest is compromised. Moving to the third."

Punisher pulls up and leaves again. Since the dummy is useless now, it is left intact in case someone gets curious. The electrical bomb inside of it will knock them out easily enough.

"Micro, bring out the second drone now. They know we're here, and those were claws on the camera. Something is flying around. I want a visual." Punisher barks out quietly over the transceiver as he continues to move.

"Frank, we have LE response incoming... but no official chatter. Intel pegs most of them as corrupt. Cover protocol applies." Microchip informs Punisher as he goes.

"Looks like we're using the building traps sooner than expected. Inform Lion." Punisher barks back. "Make sure the mutant intel is given too."

On cue, Microchip responds to Lion, "Mutant involvement confirmed. Several leads for investigation to come."

Shredder has posed:
    The intel on the chop shop is that it is a rather small, however productive organization of car thieves. Through the Foot they have gotten the technology necessary to steal newer cars, even ones with all of the security bells and whistles, so they have been very profitable. Meaning they can provide a sizable tribute to the Foot for protection.

    Above, Koya, drops the crushed plane from her talons, looking down at the indicated building from the Foot's more encrypted signal. Her wings tilt back, and the falcon enters a dive, aiming at the window. So far, no one else has approached the building, but there is little that could be misconstrued as subtle about the massive mutant's entrance.

    She bursts through the frame, shaking it free from the impact, sending glass and wood splinters across the room as Frank is reaching the door to exit the room, the birdlike eyes staring him down like a piece of meat, teeth behind a beak giving an unsettling appearance with a wicked smile.

    "Hello, prey."

Nemean has posed:
Bulletproof mutants. Great. First magic bulletproof Triads, now bulletproof mutants. One of the two agents in the front of the car looks back at Cody, "You doin' okay there, Garrett? Heard you got blown yesterday."

Cody laughs and tries to shrug it off, "I'm a bit sore but I'm alive." He's probably worse off than he lets on, but he doesn't have time to worry about it. The car pulls up at the base of the building Koya just burst into, "Suspect is on the top floor. Apparently they've already got someone up there to take care of him, but they want us down here in case he slips away."

Cody considers this for a second, "One of us should go check on the guys he was shooting at, make sure they're good. You two stay here, I'll go check on them." He checks his pistol before he heads towards the shot up chop shop.

Punisher has posed:
"Hello, bullet sponge."

Punisher immediately turns around as he runs, dropping the M24 and grabbing the M4A1 from the doorway, bringing it to bear on Koya in full auto silenced right at her, aiming specifically for her wings with APDS ammo.

And if that doesn't stop her, the massive electrical bomb right next to her that goes off should as he hits the switch with his free hand should help. He prepared a double whammy for any ambush attempts here.

Everyone outside would see the electrical bomb light up the night as it envelops a good portion of the room and the outside.

Down in the Battle Van, Microchip keeps Lion updated, "Franks engaged in close quarters. Close your eyes for a moment." Is the only preparation Lion gets for the massive bomb not hurting his eyes.

Shredder has posed:
    As Punisher turns to let open his fire, Koya ducks low, slinging her body forward in a lunge beneath the bullet spray. She's done her share of dodging automatic fire in her short time with the Foot. She hasn't done her share of electrical bomb dodging. While she was on her way away from the blast, the arc of electricity jumps to her, causing a screech and a muscle spasm that turns her fluid attack into an incoherent catapult, shoulder first as her momentum carries her the rest of the way toward the human.

    Outside, a large shark approaches the base of the building as Bludgeon looks up to see the electrical explosion.
    "Koya!" he growls, and grabs the glass doors on the front of the building, the tempered glass cracking from his strength as it is pulled from its hinges.

Nemean has posed:
Cody was already moving away from the building when the warning came through so he has a good reason to not look at the bomb going off. It's hard to miss the huge shark guy that shows up at the base of the building and rips the front door off the hinges.

He turns and points at the other two agents, who are trying to rub their eyes to clear them from the bright flash of the electrical bomb, "Stay put!"

He was going to go deal with the chop shop, but there's more pressing matters to attend to now. He texts Microchip about the large aquatic enemy combatant that's on his way up to Punisher's location, and then moves to the door that was torn off the hinges. He'll follow Bludgeon inside, slowly. It probably won't be hard to track that guy.

Punisher has posed:
"That's what I thought." Punisher grates out meanly as he continues to fire at her right up until the moment she's nearly at the door... at which point he slams it in her face, and hits the button for the /second/ bomb just inside the doorway.

Once again, Koya is zapped... and this time, it's right in her face. With bullets lodged in her limbs probably.

"Frank, you have a fish man of some kind coming up. Mean and big." There's a grumble on Punisher's end, but nothing else.

Meanwhile, the stealth drone is in the air, and this time keeping a low profile as it keeps an eye on the situation.

Shredder has posed:
    Koya curls into a ball as the electrical current courses through her wings and slams against the door. That hurt, and as Punisher exits, she doesn't seem to be quick to follow. Bludgeon, however, is. He enters the elevator at the floor level, and looks down, his wide mouth in a constant appearance of a frown as he tucks the long tail in, and hits the button for the top floor. No reason to wear himself out running all the way up the stairs. the way ninjas are known to. He doesn't seem to immediately notice Cody, or if he does, he's unconcerned. His movements are quick though, with purpose. He's in a hurry to go help his friend upstairs.

Nemean has posed:
While half tempted to ask Bludgeon to hold the door, Cody decides against it. He does move up to the elevator after the door closes. He's surprised the weight limit sound isn't going off. Welp, guess we're doing this the hard way.

He pulls out his phone and sends another message to Microchip. 'Moving up to help Punisher, is there a route around the bombs and shit? Last thing I want to do is hit a claymore while trying to help."

Punisher has posed:
He didn't expect to have this chance so soon... but nothing for it. This is the best opportunity he'll have in a while to make this work.

He opens the door, aims, and fires a round into each of Koya's shins. Then, he takes a small device, and places it underneath the densest clump of feathers that doesn't have serious movements.

Time to see where the Foot bring their medical emergencies.

That done, The Punisher starts a mad dash to the stairwell, intending to go right for the rooftop.... and the rappel line he has hidden upstairs.

"All the traps in the building are remote activated except the ones on the rooftop. Don't go up there, Frank is going for his main escape route now." Microchip replies to Cody.

Meanwhile, when Bludgeon comes up the elevator to the top floor... a claymore goes off right in his face from the hallway.

Shredder has posed:
    As the claymore goes off, Bludgeon places his arms over his face, the blast knocking him clear back against the elevator wall. He growls, the massive beast bloodied by the attack, and bursts forward into the hall. He blasts open a door with his foot, then moves to the next room, kicking it open, until he finds Koya.

    "Koya," he says. "Are you all right?" He checks her legs. "I will get you help." He puts a finger to his ear, activating the comm. "The killer has fled, and Koya is hurt. We need to get her out of here."

    Outside, Karai sits, watching from a bus stop, listening to the chatter. She frowns, glancing up at the upper floors, and narrows her eyes. "It was a trap," she estimates. "He wanted us to chase him. No sane person would go through this much preparation. We will engage him on terms that are not his own.

    She stands, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black halter top, and puts a ball cap on her head. Just an average college age girl. She crosses the street casually, expecting that the nuisance that is the Punisher will likely be evacuating the scene soon.

Nemean has posed:
The explosion on the upper floors reminds Cody that maybe Punisher has this whole thing in hand. He opts to leave back out of the shattered front door and back to the car with the other agents, "Okay hold position here in case the Punisher comes out of the building." He says to both of them, knowing full well that Frank is going to escape via a zip line on the roof so there's no danger of leaving them here.

"If he doesn't come out before the mutants do, reach out to higher for orders, they should know what to do." He moves away from the two and sends Micro one last message 'Told the two agents here to reach out to higher for next objective. If you can find out who they contact it should help me narrow down who can be trusted in the Agency.'

Punisher has posed:
"Frank, the one on the elevator survived the claymore." Microchip notes over the transceiver. "We'll just have to use C4 next time." Punisher replies.

Meanwhile, up on the rooftop, the switch to turn on the electrical bomb at the top of the stairwell is set as he runs by. Anyone coming up will be hit by the same bomb as before. A moment later, and the rappel harness is being attached.

"The Foot are using some serious encryption, but I'll try to narrow it down on the FBI side." Microchip replies to Cody.

Ten seconds later, and the rappel line is launched from his roof, to the one with his fire escape route, with the Battle Van next to it. Attaching to it with the harness, The Punisher goes from one rooftop to the next, almost immediately detaching the line from the previous rooftop and winching it in.

"Mission accomplished. We can confirm mutants are being hired, and two new combatants." Punisher notes over the transceiver as he heads for the Battle Van.

Shredder has posed:
    As the rappel line appears over the edge of the building, Karai glances up under her baseball cap, and walks along the building. She doesn't engage, remaining the rather unobtrusive observer, apparently ignorant of the goings on of the evening. She's not, though, and she rounds the corner quietly, and starts to present less of a target. She glances up and around, checking for traps and cameras as she goes in the direction of the van. Though she is young, she's broken into some remarkably high tech locations, and given current events, is well prepared to be vigilant to other surprises. She has her own tracking device to place.