Log Title: Was it worth his time?
Characters:Gambit, Invisible Woman, Orsini
IC Date: 12/29/2011
Location: Hell's Kitchen, New York City
Brief Log Summary: Gambit saves Orsini from an ambush. As Gambit asks Orsini if the rescue was worth his time, Sue Richards has other questions for the man.
Rating: R
There is no TS in the log: Yes
-==[ Hell's Kitchen - New York ]==--------
Some people call this area the Lower West Side; some people who want to talk it up call it Clinton. A few particularly unwise types call it West Midtown, but they'd better not do that where anyone can hear. Everyone else calls it Hell's Kitchen.
The congested streets are dominated by flat-faced, boxy buildings, three and four stories tall. Between some of them run alleyways - some wide enough to park a car in, some too narrow to give space for anything but ambushing a passerby. The slow transformation of much of the rest of Manhattan into a playground for the wealthy has met its match in the underworld here, which has a vested interest in keeping Hell's Kitchen and its inhabitants poor and desperate as a cover for its own activities, and in the danger of merely entering the neighborhood. After all - though other cities are better known for them lately, Hell's Kitchen is one of the places where street gangs began.
Although not necessarily in the double digits for the hour of the evening just yet, it is not far off. The sun has long since gone, making the street lamps the sole source of light for the bleak and run down Hell's Kitchen. It is a cold night as well. Twenty nine degrees out with a some snow flitting about as they make their fall towards the ground. Cold and miserable. And yet the snow does give the added benefit of dissapating the light from the lamps, seemingly extending the glow of the area making it much more visible than what is considered normal.
What is seen is little in terms of foot traffic. There are the sights of christmas trees still shining in apartment windows, while others simply show apartment light. But outside, with the snow covering the streets and sidewalks there is a solitary car sitting in its usual place, idling. Exhaust a good indication to it being turne on. Whether someone is inside is hard to tell with the tinted glass of the windows. But most locals know not to bother with that car. As for people walking, there is one tall figure, bundled up it the same coat he wore when he last went to a club and now sporting a bit more facial hair than he did before. He has since emerged from the subway entrance and is making his way, seemingly heading towards the Heaven's Arms building.
A brief burst of raucous singing spills out of the door onto the sidewalk along with a warm glow and Gambit follows it out. He pauses just outside the door, leaning his back against the wall and lifting up a hand-rolled cigarette to light with a zippo fished out of his coat pocket. He pauses for a moment to look up at the windows of some of the apartment buildings, wearing dark sunglasses despite the time and season. He watches the figure surface from beneath the streets in the subway, head moving nigh-imperceptibly to follow him.
Either Gambit is not noticed or there's a general understanding in the area that those outside don't really care about what goes on at night. Regardless of how it turns out, the man from the subway makes his way closer to the building only to just stop there, not entering the building but just lingering. Hands resting into his pockets. As he lingers, the back doors to the idling car start to open. Booted feet set down onto the snow covered street as the bundled, so large it's almost comical that they were in the backseat of the car, men straighten up. Clearing their doors, they lightly shut them as the move towards the man. The snow scattered light catches along some of the items in their posession, long and metal. From what glimpses there can be from the even, intentful strides of the two men, they are not on friendly terms with the man they're approaching.
There is something about growing up in the Thieves Guild that gives you an instinctive awareness of when and when not to stick your nose in. For now, Gambit decides to go with the latter. The dark glasses already give off the illusion that he's blind, and he continues to smile at nothing as he smokes his cigarette in order to carry on with the illusion. All the same, black and red eyes are locked firmly on the individuals approaching the man. His left hand slowly fishes a six of clubs out of his pocket.
With the 'blind' man being paid no heed, the two large men approach the other man and without so much as a hello in greeting, one of the men from the car swings out his pipe, smacking the man from the subway in the head with it. Not quite expecting such a sudden greeting, and smirk soon gone, the other is somewhat caught off guard as he fails to even move his hands from his pockets, causing for the fall to be less than a graceful one. "Watch the hands." the one with the pipe mutters to his companion, while keeping an eye on the fallen man. The other nods as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out something small, and also metallic.
With a swift flick of his wrist, Gambit produces his telescoping staff. But rather than hold it offensively, he taps the cane on the ground before him as though he were indeed a blind man. He ambles towards the scuffle, the card hidden deftly in his sleeve, "'Scuse me, gentlemen. But can you show me th' way t' th' subway?"
Crouching down, the one with the smaller metallic object turns the victim over, pressing his face against the ground but what he plans to do with the now visible set of handcuffs is left to general assumption as the blind man approaches and causes a bit of distraction. The pair pause in their movements to look to Gambit curiously, eyeing him cautiously. The two look to each other before the one closest to Gambit steps forward, bringing a hand over to rest on Gambit's shoulder in order to steer him in the direction of the subway, "Yeah, uh. It's over this way."
"Ain't you a pip," Gambit says with a smile, going alone with the one steering him towards the subway before stopping suddenly, "Oh! Ah almost forgot. Hold this a second … " And suddenly, the card that has been resting up his sleeve slides down into his hand all aglow with purple. He doesn't wait, hand moving to jam the card down the front of the man's clothes as he attempts to leap free of retribution. The charge in the card isn't enough to kill or maim, but it'd certainly make a bang.
As the man leads Gambit towards the subway, the other continues with securing the other man's wrists together before starting to drag the, although not unconcious but still stunned man to his feet. It isn't until the sudden movement coming from the blind man does his attention get sapped away from the man he's been put in charge of. "What th-?"
This is a shared sentiment with Gambit's guide as he's not quite sure what got shoved into his coat but dammit all he's not leaving whatever the hell it is in there. He sticks his hand to grab at the card, just in time for him to yelp as the card blows and he ends up falling on his ass due to sudden movement and the added slippery-ness of snow. Good thing Gambit took the time to make sure it wasn't THAT big a charge. Fingers are very good things to have.
Gambit is already moving away from the man as the card explodes in his hand, already charging another one - the Ace of Hearts this time, a personal favorite. As the staff in his hand goes from cane to defensive weapon, he tosses the card at the feet of the other, standing man. The charge is greater, but still not limb-severingly so, "Citizens arrest, hein?"
"What the hell do you think y-" The man with the handcuffed man doesn't finish the statement as he wastes his 'run from the freaking glowing thing on the ground' time ror asking such a question. As a result the blast ends up getting both him and the man he's dragging. Landing on the ground he lets out a groan as explosions HURT. The other man, still bleary from the hit to the head also groans, although his reaction is more likely a combination of all that's occured so far. Despite that, he's slowly pushing himself away from the other man, one slow push of his foot on the ground after another.
Gathering his wits about him, and taking note of Gambit causing hassle to his partner. The former guide pulls out his pipe once more as he sort of runs and skids towards Gambit, arm raised and pipe held ready. "Get the hell out of here!"
"Ah jus' come within a hair a blowin' your fingers clean off," Gambit says, voice ringing with a chuckle, "You think that scare me?" He nods his head towards the pipe, holding his own staff out before him, "It don't. Ah got one too, y'see, an' mine be bigger. Now, why don't YOU get th' hell outta hyah?"
Now, this does lead to some consideration because, well… this guy can blow stuff up it seems. But with a glance over to his friend once more he lingers, holding the pipe threatingly, but not advancing. He does keep an eye on him while waiting for the other to get to his feet. The waiting car's engine hums through the silence.
As for the other, he starts to get to his feet, only to grimace again. "GODDAMMIT!" So much for the silence. The handcuffed man continues pushing himself slowly away, eyes on the other.
"C'mon now," Gambit answers, hand darting into his pocket long enough to come out with three more cards, "Ah got plenty more o' these." The cards go from plain-looking playing cards to cards glowing without an ominous energy, audibly crackling in the cold air.
The shout of his companion's enough to draw the standing man's attention towards him, but Gambit's reminder of there being more cards is just a bit more encouragement to go with it. He starts shifting over to reach his partner. Wide eyes staring at Remy as he makes his way over, just in case. Upon reaching him, he bends down to help him up and move him towards the car, without the handcuffed man.
Watching the duo starting to forget about him, the handcuffed man stops pushing himself away and simply leans back on his handcuffed wrists, looking blankly at the assailents and then to the car.
"Go on now," Gambit calls, throwing the three slightly-charged cards towards the feet of the two assailants as little more than firecrackers to give them a shock, "Get outta hyah." He leans on his staff, the lazy grin still on his face as he offers a nod to the handcuffed man, "Salut."
How cruel can Gambit be? Very cruel. With the presentation of the three cards, the one who is already in pain is yelping a bit more as his partner practically tugs him faster towards the back of the car, making him have to move on the foot more. But soon enough the pair have packed into the back seat of the car and the car peels of- Ok, fine, it drives at a reasonable pace for snow covered streets.
The handcuffed man watches the car leave without him, a slack-jawed expression upon his face before he gives a single guffaw of laughter to the change in situation. At Gambit's greeting, the man looks over towards Gambit and blinks. A bit of a wide smile forming as he gives a nod, "Yes. YES. Salut!"
"Now, l'ami, this gone sting a touch," Gambit, collapses the staff and once again returns it to his belt in a single motion, walking towards the handcuffed man, "Show me those handcuff. An' tell me it was worth savin' you bacon." Should the man let him see the handcuffs, the goal is to imbue them with a small enough charge to break them off.
Susan Richards would normally never consider walking through Hell's Kitchen (she can go OVER the area more than easily enough), but sometimes walking through a snowy evening just can't be beat. Even in ths part of town. She turns a corner in time to hear the three pops of Remy 'encouraging' the thugs to leave more quickly. Startled by the unexpected sound, she disappears from view in a blink, but then floats closer to see what's going on. Only someone sharp-eyed would pick up the occasional brief blue shimmer as a snowflake lands on her forcefield then slides off.
The promise of pain does not seem to phase this man as he eagerly nods, leaning forward to expose the handcuffs that hold his wrists behind his back. "And yes, it's very much worth it. Although I may not mind dying for a good cause, to continue to be useful is much better." He closes his eyes, hands clenching tightly as he waits for the handcuffs to be removed. "They should be pleased."
"They?" Gambit asks, kicking the ruined handcuffs to the side once they've been blown off, "Who is they? An' how're you useful to 'em?" He can't help but be a little apprehensive. It wouldn't be the first time he's accidently found himself on the wrong side of things.
Susan Richards pauses easily within earshot of both men and blinks in surprise as she recognizes the one on the ground. HIM. Momma Bear is no in the house. She's been really wanting to have a few words with this man since finding out about the attack on Mike. The other man could be problematic, though, so she waits for him to step clear. Come on, Columbo, move.
Handcuffs off, the man opens his eyes as he brings his hands around so he may rub at the wrists, he doesn't answer immediately as he takes time to actually think this time around, or perhaps to just allow for the ringing in his ears to subside. He turns his head to look to Gambit, giving a slightly unsettling looking smile, "Don't mind me, I'm just being overly dramatic." He starts to get up, "I'm just your usual guy from the neighborhood watch, that's all… and you can imagine how few volunteers we get for that down here." Upon getting to his feet, he starts to turn to walk away, "Thank you. Trust me. It is WELL worth it."
"Hang on," Gambit says, brow furrowing now, "You bein' awful evasive with the fella who saved you, hein?" He reaches out to grab the guy's wrist, frowning at something, "C'mon now. Dis-moi la verite. Tell me the truth."
Susan Richards was JUST about to slap a force field on the man when Columbo gets in the way AGAIN, reaching to grab the former's wrist. Damn it! She's about ready to snag them both, call the police, and be done with it.
The man pauses, looking towards Remy before he pulls his hand away, Gambit permitting, "My apologies. It's just that it is so cold out. But if you'd like to talk maybe somewhere else? A bit warmer. But not quite so noisy." He pauses, considering, "I wonder if the museum's still open…"
"Ah ain't a fool," Gambit frowns, crossing his arms over his chest and stepping back a touch from the man. Museum sounds like a prime theft opportunity, but he's trying to quit that, "Ah ain't followin' you anywhere. You all rugged up. You tell me here, hein?"
Museum? Sue drifts closer still, ready to keep BOTH men from going where ever they're talking about.
The man blinks, "Rugged up?" He shakes his head, stepping back, "There's not much more to tell you." His head tilts towards to where the car used to be, "You chased off the drug dealers but you probably knew they were that already. Who doesn't know what they do?"
Gambit steps away from the man, holding up his hands as though to surrender. There is something weird about him, but his patience has run thin and he looks about to call it quits, "Fine. Off you go." He shakes his head.
Susan Richards takes that as her cue, clapping a forcefield around the man from shoulders to waist as she appears hovering a few feet almost directly above Columbo. "Why don't you tell him about the subway train, a few weeks ago?"
The man's turns to depart but only makes it a few steps before he finds himself being stopped. Baffled he turns his head looking towards Gambit before Sue's appearance answers things. Ah. That's why. As she asks hims about the subway train, there's the slightest hint of a smile before it fades away. "Ah. A few weeks ago? Do you mean when it was torn apart by tornadoes? Or one of the many pickpocket incidents that occur down there. Or perhaps the strung out people who fall asleep there when the last of their income was wasted on some fix of their drug of choice?" He looks to the blonde giving a quirk of a smile, "Be more specific."
Gambit turns suddenly to spot Sue, taking an immediate and large step backwards to get himself out of the confrontation, "Look, Ah ain't lookin' t' mess wit' no Fantastic Four thing." He frowns, that'll teach him for trying to play hero.
Susan Richards floats sideways to no longer have Remy in any sort of line of fire, then replies to the man with a single word. "Drago."
The man looks over towards Gambit before the mention of the name draws his attention back towards Susan. "Oh yes, that, performer that plays at being a Dragon. Couldn't help but to hear about that one considering that, mix-up." Maybe it's stupidity or perhaps it's extended to his statement earlier about dying but for one who has been hit in the head with a pipe, had blasts go off at his feet and around his wrists, he's seemingly agressive with his gaze, almost challenging, and possibly proud of something he's not talking about. "I don't think many would be all that surprised if it turns out those subway attackers who attacked me also attacked him."
Gambit is still backing away, looking as though he may at any moment slip into the shadows and hightail it.
Susan Richards stops Gambit with a force field similar to the one that has the oddly smug man trapped, though it's more of a suggestion than a restraint. She doesn't know who Columbo is, but she suspects he has something to do with the popping noises she heard earlier (based on his somewhat unusual attire) and would rather he not attract any undue attention. "I'm not 'many'," she tells the man, her expression at best a stern one.
"There's a point in there." The man smiles, "But, many saw them attack me. But unfortunately, according to what's been determined, there was no credible witness testimony regarding the other one." He tsks, "If only I could have seen the attacker, perhaps I could have helped. But no, I was looking elsewhere." He pauses, "That's got to be frustrating."
"Hell wit' dis," Gambit frowns, sighing and rolling up his sleeves as though there is hard work to be done and he is the only one to do it. He approaches the man swiftly, reaching out in an attempt to make skin-to-skin contact with his face (maybe a little forcefully) and work a little unseen magic of his own, "Aks him now. He be a l'il more co'pretive."
Susan Richards blinks at Gumbo-Columbo's sudden decision to rejoin the 'party', but she's not about to complain. She drops the force field around Gambit as she addresses the other man, drifting closer as well, though she really isn't all that intimidating-looking. "Did you attack Mr. Drago?"
As Gambit reaches over towards him, Orsini starts to move back as far as he can, which is to say, with Sue's help, is not that far. The contact is unavoidable as fingertips come in contact with the uncooperative man's jawline. "What are you doing?" He questions, trying to move his head away from the awkward touch but eventually even that mode of action is stopped as he looks over towards Sue. "I did," He pauses, almost making that a sentence in itself before continuing, "what needed to be done."
Susan Richards pulls her hands out of her coat pockets, her cell phone mostly concealed in one hand and connected to her top speed dial number — Reed's phone extension in the science labs. Which means it's probably all going to voice mail at this time of the evening. "And what needed to be done?"
Gambit doesn't move his hand just yet, continuing to alter the potential energy in Orsini's brain as a way to encourage him to go along with whatever might be suggested of him, "You tell her what she want to know."
Orsini gives a slight nod to Gambit's request before continuing, "I don't know all the reasons but St. George called it the opening move."
Susan Richards frowns at that. "Tell me who St. George is."
"You heard th' lady," Gambit says, still keeping a firm grip on the man and playing havoc with that cranial energy, "Answer th' question."
"He leads the order." Orsini answers, starting to frown a little, "That's all I know him as. St. George."
Susan Richards leans closer, though she can't help but wonder what exactly Gumbo-Columbo is doing that has made the man so compliant so abruptly. "What order?"
"Aks you questions quick, cher," Gambit says to Sue, brow furrowing, "Ah ain't held it this long before. His head might blow up or somethin'." That shouldn't happen … or at least he hopes so.
Orsini gives a bit of a slight laugh, "Why, the order of St. George. Of course." His eyes follow Susan's glance, causing for him to glance towards Gambit again, and then towards his fingers. "A council of dragon slayers."
Susan Richards frowns at that, but she can't really argue the man's some what looney rambling. She backs off a tiny bit and looks at Gambit. "Thank you for your help. I should probably take him to the local police station now."
Gambit draws his hand back, and the keenly observant might see a few purple sparks flicker between his fingers as he does so. He nods his head to Sue, stepping away from the whole mess, "Feel free, cher. Ah'm gonna make my exit."
If Orsini has any protest to Sue's choice in venue he does not protest for as Gambit removes his finger, he soon passes out. Eh, he's been through a lot.
Susan Richards sees that Orsini has passed out and sighs briefly as she turns to address Gambit. "Of course. Thank you again…sir. If there's ever anything I can do to help you in return," She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a small zippered wallet to quickly rummage out a business card. "Just give me a call."
Gambit reaches out to take the card, chuckling as he does, "Ah know who you are, cher. But thank you all th' same." He slips the card into his pocket, lifting his sunglasses to give Sue a wink with red pupils on black irises and turns to walk off into the night.
Susan Richards watches Gumbo Columbo (and she is SO going to have a difficult time NOT calling him that from now on) depart, then encases the unconscious man in a more protective force field to get him to the nearest hospital instaed of a police station. And of course she calls the polite while on the way there so they can put a guard on the man to keep him from simply walking away again.
