Gotham: Year One

[industrious]

Renee Montoya

She sets the table for two, and microwaves two mugs of instant coffee.

"Which is a problem when you're a cop on a budget. Time and money are not exactly luxuries. Eat up. It's going to be a long day."

Walker

"If it'll shut you up."

Walker is then handcuffed, led out of his cell, and directed to a phone bank. The cop tosses him a pair of quarters.

[Terron]

"I guess you're right officer." says Luigi pointing at Montoya with the spoon, before finishing his bowl and emptying his mug. He cleans his mouth and stands. His manners are impeccable, as expected for one of the sons of the D'amato family.

[doliest]

Walker
Walker's eyes dart around as he heads to the phone, trying to get a feeling of what was between him and the door, as well as his general surroundings.

Spoiler

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Notice
(1d20+4)[19]

[Sophistemon]

Lyle Bolton

The following hour finds Lyle back in the cell, this time fully suited in his guise as Lock-Up. He's brought a stool with him so that he can sit beside the cot and have as pleasant a chat with the man chained to it as can be had. True to his word, an I.V. drip is attached to the man's arm via a needle inserted carefully into a vein and then taped in place, though it isn't filled.

"Your perseverance is admirable," he grumbles, opening with a compliment. "Most men would have abandoned an employer rather than go through what you have." He pauses. "You could give me your name, and his name, and then serve out the rest of your sentence in relative comfort. Why go through all this? What purpose does it serve?"

He leans in to stare the other man in the eyes.

"What drives you?"

Lucius Fox

There is a pause, longer than the last.

"I do not appreciate these allegations, Ms. Kyle." She can hear him smiling on the other end of the line. "Believe me when I say that my severance package was more than suitable. I have no reason to attack Wayne Enterprises. And if you're implying that I've outfitted someone to act as a sort of corporate terrorist, I'm insulted. I would never do such a thing. I'm far from the only man with access to those designs. Although they're legally mine, someone else could have produced viable prototypes."

[DeafnotDumb]

The stumble out of bed is a bit less weary and curse-filled this time, mainly because she's remembered to place her stick within reaching distance this time around: it's been quite some time since she ever had to go the usual odd hours, stuck down in the Pawn Shop filling paperwork, but the old habits are coming back to her.

She's just got to deal with the new problems, as her leg reminds her every time she puts it down.

Some weak breakfast and tea took a little of the taste of ash out of her mouth, and then she felt passably human - messy, tired, bitter, angry and in the best possible mood a cop could be when on an investigation.

Katherine gets dressed and outside and tries to hail a cab, stamping in the cold of Gotham, stamping her hands against her sides to keep them warm. Four things to do was much too many, and she'd have to go back to the HQ if only to try and find somebody to split up some of her responsibilities on, and check out that goddamned task force thing. But she had to prioritize, and fast, and that goddamn warehouse of Ra's would be turned over to criminal scum in a day or two. That came first.

Katherine didn't have enough information - not for getting a really good supplier, one that would provide some equipment fine enough to be hidden and actually work - but there was a reason she was waiting outside in the cold for a taxi rather than phoning one in from her house. Gotham had always helped her think, even in her worse moments.

As the woman breathed out in the cold, around her the city moved.

Spoiler

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Spending a Hero Point for inspiration - what to do next for that warehouse of Carmine's/Ra's, and specifically where to get the equipment needed to set it up into a trap.

[industrious]

((Lucius Fox and Catwoman: roll opposed bluff/sense motive checks.))

Detective Walker

Focusing on all four lines of inquiry at once was a horrible prospect. For a moment, Katherine wonders if her time in the wilderness, such as it were, had dulled her instincts.

But even if they had, her raw enthusiasm at being back in the game, at having allies once more, at having a second chance to take down the scum infesting Gotham more than made up for it. It had been so long since she could call in support, since she had needed to, that she had nearly forgotten how. Katherine didn't have enough information or resources to get the equipment. Gordon, on the other hand, with his new position as head of Internal Affairs, did. A call, and she'd be able to get it. Another minute or so, even, and she'd be able to get her own unit, as he had promised.

The Slammer

"My name is Salah al-Din Abdul-Aziz. And I am a servant of my God; to betray him is to be cast into Hell, and I will not endanger my soul."

He breaks off his speech, coughing, his neck rubbed raw from his improvised noose.

"And to obey him in all things is to be granted entrance into paradise. I was ordered to clear the area of all witnesses. And I have failed my God."

Jail

The cop isn't making a pretense at hiding. He waves as Walker's eyes pass over him.

Renee Montoya

"Don't think you're impressing me with your manners."

Hers are not nearly so refined. She eats quickly, brusquely, finishing in only a few minutes.

"Right. You'll need to shower, and I've got a spare toothbrush behind the mirror. Then it's back to the..."

Someone knocks on the door.

"Hold on."

Renee Montoya opens the door, raises an eyebrow, and is blown across the room, as the muffled thump of a silenced pistol echoes through her apartment.

"Well, now," drawls the man holding the weapon. "Looks like our boy was right about ol' Luigi, wasn't he? The boss has a message for you. Wanna guess what it is?"

Spoiler

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Roll initiative
(1d20+3)[6]

[Sophistemon]

Lyle Bolton

Lock-Up eyes the man for a moment, brooding in silence. "Salah," he says, at last. "You're telling me that God spoke to you and ordered my assassination?" He pauses, unerringly still. "Are we discussing the heavenly figure Himself, Salah, or a mortal interpreter of His will? Who was it that told you to kill people?" Religious zealots were the most dangerous. It was no wonder that he had not feared his own death. Perhaps a friendly and understanding tone would help loosen his tongue?

Lucius Fox
Bluff: (1d20+8)[22]

[Terron]

”I’m not trying to impress you officer, I’m merely being myself.” Luigi produced a small smile, a short lived one, as soon someone knocked the door.

THUD!!

“Officer!” shouted Luigi, genuine concern in his voice.
After the man entered the room, pistol in hand, Luigi ducked, and in a fluid movement, the former gangster tried to disappear from sight, to reappear next to the thug, his otherworldly presence debilitating his foe’s will.

“Why do you want to harm me? I know you, we used to work together. Why don’t you give me your weapon? You've already killed the policewoman...”


Actions

Spoiler

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Move: Stealth with Hide in Plain sight (1d20+8)[24] Moving next to the thug to affect it with Drain aura (will), DC 16 or lose 6 pp of Will save.
Standard: Using emotional control to shift him from hostile to helpful. DC will 17

Hope this is OK.

[industrious]

The Slammer

"The one for whom His Will flows through him. The Immortal One, who has been granted a life eternal."


((Terron. Roll Initiative.))

[DeafnotDumb]

Obvious when you thought about it. After all, Gordon was meant to help her, wasn't he? It was his job, right? Guy couldn't refuse!

Katherine decided to grab a taxi and head to the station - guy like Gordon probably would be there at the crack of dawn - and maybe even see if she could divvy up some of her cases among Gordon's little crew. After all, it wasn't like Bullock or Montoya would be doing anything important right now, was it?

[Sophistemon]

Lyle Bolton

A mortal prophet, then, claiming authority over a group of zealots. And he's a self-proclaimed immortal, to boot. Of course, he would be. What better way to ensure your continued rule over a group of religious fanatics than to convince them that their god has granted you eternal life? Typical madness. But this was good - if he could get Salah to talk, he'd be one step closer to cleaning the streets of another dangerous influence. Finding and capturing this Immortal One would be a priority.

He is silent, for a moment, before speaking again.

"Salah," he says. "Does the Immortal One have a name?"

[doliest]

Walker
Walker looks at the phone; he may not know alot about technology, but he could tell whether or not a phone had caller I.D on it.

[Terron]

Luigi's initiative: (1d20+2)[13]

[industrious]

Apartment

"Sure thing."

He extends his hand, gun on its palm...then pulls the trigger at point-blank range.

"I'm sorry," he breaks into a feral smile at the words, sarcasm dripping from his teeth. "I didn't mean to do that."

Spoiler

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Feinting. Bluff check:(1d20+8)[22]. Roll a sense motive to attempt to counter.

If you fail, you lose your dodge bonus to Defense.
Attack Roll:(1d20+6)[12]
Damage: DC 19 toughness save (21 if you lost the feint)

Walker

It was your standard pay phone, a relic from the early Nineties. And the officer is getting impatient.

Department of Internal Affairs

Gordon is at his desk, filling out paperwork. Just as Katherine expect. He blinks at her presence, but recovers quickly.

He still looks terrible; his cane is propped against a nearby wall, and there are bandages on his face and chin. But he still has the fire in him to keep working--that, and the ability to ignore common sense.

"Hello, Detective. Something I can do for you?"

And he was a morning person.

The Slammer

"Naam," he replies, nodding in response to Bolton's question.

"The Immortal One has achieved greatness even to those who do not know of his power. He dwells in this very city. And his name is Ra's Al-Ghul."

He smiles at the name, then stops.

"You have tricked me!"

[Sophistemon]

Lyle Bolton

His blood runs cold. Ra's al-Ghul. CEO of Wayne Enterprises. A very powerful, very dangerous enemy to have set against him in his crusade for justice in Gotham City. Undermining the operations of Carmine Falcone would have been difficult enough on its own - how was he to contend with someone with the depth of resources that al-Ghul had at his disposal? Lucius. He had Lucius Fox on his side, a man who knew the ins and outs of those resources better than anyone. Fortuitous, almost as though it had been preordained. Speaking of which, he'd need to tell his partner about his new discover. But first...

"Yes," he says, softly. "I did. And so your honor is intact. You did not betray your master." He stands up and looks down at the man, so pathetic now in his chains, with the I.V. taped to one of his arms. "But I advise you to cooperate with me, Salah. It can only improve your conditions here."

[Terron]

Sense motive: (1d20+1)[7]
Toughness: [roll]1d20+5[/roll]

[Terron]

Luigi is thrown back by the shot in the stomach, having bought the gangster's gambit.

Apparently I can't add another dice to the same post, so I'll roll the toughness here:

Toughness: (1d20+5)[8]

I'm in trouble.

[doliest]

Walker
Walker turns back, trying to see if he can see the secretary from his position, "Do you have any money I can borrow?"

[DeafnotDumb]

"Gordon." Katherine says without preamble. "Stop being so cheerful - I haven't had my coffee. I need to know where to get some equipment to plant in Carmine's to-be house, and what happened to that task-force paperwork thing we planted into the department, and I want to know if you or Bullock or Montoya have any time to help me with the twenty-quadbillion other things I have to do, including hunt down that smart bastard who tried to kill us." She slows down and wipes the sleep from her eyes. "But what you can do for me now, right now is tell me where to find some bugs and other sneaky equipment to hide in Falcone's next base of operations, and where to get some people to help me place and use it."

"And, really, would it kill you to stay a day or two longer in hospital? I don't like coming to work to be greeted by that traversty you currently call a face, or your annoying in-your-face do good work attitude." Katherine isn't entirely aware that she's said the last part aloud, mostly just leaning on Gordon's desk and trying to neither yawn from tiredness or grunt in pain from a recent outburst from her leg. She compromises on a sort of doglike yipping sound, and focuses on Gordon before remembering he was probably almost technically her commanding officer. She put a bit of surly servility into her voice. "I'm here now. What you got?"

[industrious]

James Gordon

He looks distinctly unfazed by Katherine's statements. Somehow, that made her want to punch her more.

"Bullock and Montoya aren't in at the moment, and they're already working on trying to find the Smiler. You see them, you can use them, at least against the Smiler. They have other things to do as well, you know. Though it is odd that Montoya, at least, isn't in by now..."

He shakes his head, ending that particular train of thought.

"As for everything else..."

He finishes signing a sheet of paper, and closes a manilla folder, tossing it to Walker. It hits her in the face; no caffeine, and surprise working against her.

Opening it, she finds a new set of rank insignia, several sheets of paperwork, and a letter. It begins "To Lieutenant Katherine Walker..."

"You've been promoted. Pick a taskforce of up to five members. The equipment is in your new office. Down the hall, third door on the right."

He's smiling as he says this, standing with some difficulty, and extending his hand towards her.

"Welcome back, Lieutenant Walker."

Walker

You've been given fifty cents for the call.

Salah al-Din Abdul-Aziz

"No. No. No. You will not get any more from me. Let me go! Let me go or kill me! Let me go or kill me!"

He struggles vainly against his chains, thrashing wildly about, sobbing all the while. Bolton doubts he can get any more information from the man.

[doliest]

Walker
Walker slides the coins into the machine and calls Edward, tapping his fingers as he decides the situation needs a little....adjusting.

[Sophistemon]

Lyle Bolton

He glares down at the man as he erupts into a fit, sobbing and pleading for death. It's a pathetic display, childish. "No," he says, his voice low. "You won't die. You won't escape the just rewards for a life of crime. Murder, gilded by religious brainwashing, is still murder. You stay here for as long as I deem you a danger to yourself and others."

With that, he grips the man's head in one massive hand and forces a gag into his mouth, to keep him from chewing into his tongue and either exsanguinating or drowning on the resulting bloody deluge. Salah thus pacified, and rendered mercifully silent, Lock-Up turns away from him and uses his key card to open the door.

"Enjoy your stay," he says, and leaves.

The door locks shut behind him.

[DeafnotDumb]

The cop stares at the hand. she still hand't sunk that low. not yet. "You're still a bastard, Gordon. A too smug, goody-two-shoes bastard. I've gotta keep the respect of all these not-so-honest cops in this station now. I can't be seen shaking your hand anymore. Our working relationship is not going to be a nice one, understand?"

Katherine sneers at the floor and turns away, just to make sure he got the message. As she walked away, though, she stops and turns back her head and tries to speak as nochantly as possible. "Your kid's cute, though. Got your balls as well. So if she comes to me with something to do for you, well, anytime. Just call me up whenever and tell me what she wants and I'll jump at it. I owe you three, Gordon. I owe you lots. Just remember it's me who'll tell you when we're even." The woman realizes she's talking too much a bit too fast, and stops herself. "Thanks for that, anyways."

Trying not to think too hard on how her attempt to save her dignity ended up with her answering to a twelve-year-old child, Katherine quickly carries on and walks away before Gordon can start another conversation and entrap her into another apalling display of sentimentality. She had a job to do, damnit!

...how much did a Lieutenant earn, anyway?

Turning the arriving at the door to her office, Katherine considered what her job would entail. A large part of it would be dealing with the jealous reactions of the police officers under and around her, and if she was in their position she'd probably start by making the first day on the job as unpleasant as possible, even if that was by resorting to stupid little stuff like schoolboy pranks.

Of course, she could be paraniod. On the other hand, this was Gotham. What other city had a place called Murdaland?

Apart from Baltimore.

Sighing, Katherine checked the door of her office for any signs of recent suspisious entry, and then looked through the window into her office to see if anyone had done anything there.

Spoiler

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Just taking 10 on the Notice and Investigation rolls for a 22 and a 25 respectively. Just in case.

[industrious]

Walker

After fifteen long seconds, someone picks up on the other end.

"...Hello?"

It's Edward.

Lock-Up

One down, and so very many to go. Gotham still needed to be cleansed. And now there was a new piece on the gameboard. Ra's Al-Ghul.

He had never thought it would be easy. But it was rapidly getting far more complicated than it had been before.

Katherine

It's a normal office, a bit small compared to the average, but not by very much. But it's yours. Even has a nameplate on the door.

[doliest]

Walker
"Gotham Police Department. Incident. Will need ride. Please." His eyes on the cop behind him, as well as the door.

[DeafnotDumb]

Katherine pokes at the nameplate for a few seconds until she's satisfied that it's not going to blow up in her face, and then considers her next move.

Well, she was going to need to consider who to have on her team. Morgan might be good, if she could control him, and she could talk to Major about any good people he coud send over - after giving him a favor or something in order to make sure he didn't just plonk over the detritus...

But first, she wanted to see what her office looked like.

With one step forward, the cop opened her door.

[industrious]

Walker

"...I'll be there soon. Don't do anything rash."

To late for that, though. Still, Edward was coming. That was a plus, at least.

Katherine Walker

The room is almost completely lacking in personal decoration. Plain walls, a lamp, and a desk. Two of the walls are occupied by shelves and filing cabinets. A box containing her things from Pawn is sitting on the desk.

Aside from the desk chair, there are two others facing the desk. To the left and right of the door were a pair of couches that stretched to the edge of the wall. Obviously, they were for staff meetings; more intimate than a conference table, and taking up far less space. Gordon had the same setup in his admittedly larger office.

Other than that, though, it was empty. It was up to her to fill it up.

[DeafnotDumb]

Norman. Jimmy. Kima. Katherine sat down and tried not to think of her old team and those days gone by. They were dead or scattered by now, and it'd do no good dwelling on them.

She didn't want Gordon's guys on the group, for sure. Wasn't the point of this thing to recruit people who hadn't the chance to give a rat's ass for Gotham, simply because they were too good at their job? Or something like that. Who did she remember?

Morgan would do, as the brains. Cripus was a good investigator, she recalled, good and patient at doing the druging but important work. MacDonald, MacDonald was freaky smart....

Katherine sighed and looked around the office for a phone. She needed to call Major, find out where the lay of the land was. She was fumbling in the dark here.

[doliest]

Walker
Walker stands up, and turns to face the officer, all the while his hand testing the length of the phone cord, "I'll be leaving now."

[industrious]

Katherine

There is, in fact, a phone on the desk.

Walker

It's maybe half a foot long.

"Back to the cell, then."