Rainy Day Robbery

Brief Title:
Rainy Day Robbery

Characters:
Richenda Gray & Krista

Scene Runner/Watcher:

IC Date:
06/03/12

Location:
Harlem

Summary:
Two girls trying to have a coffee when a robber interfers

Social or Plot:

TS:
No

Log:
-----==[ Morningside Heights and Harlem - New York ]==------------------------


It's mid-afternoon in the Big Apple and the summer heat of previous day has relented to a more cool and drizzly day. This does't stop the locals to the area from going about thier business but despite the improvement to the neighborhood the tourist traffic is mininal.

Goming up from the subway with a violin case swinging in her hand is the petite form of Krista. Her dwarf like size occasionally draws a stare but most people ignore her as they pass. She has the hood of her jacket pulled up to protect her from the drizzle.



New York's a funny town in that you can nearly always see someone familiar, if only as a face in the crowd.

The cool is a welcome change from the hot yesterday, but the rain is decidedly un-fun. Fortunately, Chenda Gray came prepared. She's just stepping out of an eatery that serves breakfast, carefully opening an umbrella. She lifts it overhead just in time to catch a glimpse of a face she knows from school... or so she thinks. The height is about right, anyway! The hood protecting the girl's head from the rain does serve as a familiar frame, almost literally. "Huh..." the gypsy girl murmurs, frowning thoughtfully after the violin-carrier.

Well, she was looking for something to do, anyway. Ignoring several exclamations of protest as she darts across the sidewalk, splashing through several puddles that soak the legs of her jeans, she hurries to catch up with the unknown. "Hello?" she says as she comes alongside, having slowed to match her pace. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"



The crosswalk signal flashes stop as the taller girl with the umbrella catches up with Krista. Turning to look up at the question, mismatched eyes blink in confusion for a moment then the petite woman gets a hopeful look on her face, "Do you?" her tone though while hopeful is not optimistic. "It would be really great if you did."



The odd eyes cinch Chenda's feeling of recognition, and she smiles. "Only in passing, but you go to the same school I do," she replies with a bow of her head. "Which makes me very glad, because I didn't just soak myself to the knees for nothing!" She giggles and offers a hand. "Chenda Gray. Who do I have the honor of speaking to?" She's careful to keep the umbrella overhead. She can't do anything about the puddles, but the stuff coming down from above is another matter!


An eyebrow goes up after a fleeting look of disappointment "I'm sorry, you must be mistaking me for someone else." she shakes her head "I don't go to school, haven't for a few years now...as far as I can recall." she takes the hand all the same and gives a polite hand shake in greeting. "Krista." she glances askance as several pedestrians move around them "Nice to meet you anyway though.




"Oh... my apologies. But if you're glad to meet me, I'm glad to meet you," Chenda says. She has a strong grip, but doesn't put the squeeze on Krista's hand, and her hand bears an interesting array of calluses. "I shouldn't hold you up... where are you going? I could at least walk you there," she offers.


"I was just going to grab a coffee." Krista gestures in the direction she was going "I was hoping the rain would have stopped by now." she glances upward, as if she could see the sky through the umbrella "But no such luck." she gestures with a head motion to indicate that she is going to starting walking, and then she proceeds across the street "So where is it that you go to school?



"Oh. That I can understand. Anything warm would be good in this weather," Chenda replies in her chatty way, staying with Krista. "I'm attending a boarding school upstate. It's an okay place, but it makes me miss the city."

She gestures to the violin case. "So what's with the fiddle? Taking lessons? Maybe going to a recital?"




Krista bumps the case with her knee and gives an amused noise at it being called a fiddle "No, I was going to play in the park, but with the rain that is impossible." she makes a direct line to the cafe "Not only is the weather hard on the instrument, but it keeps foot traffic to a minimum. She pulls open the door to the cafe as they approach and holds it open so Chenda can proceed her.



"Busking?" Chenda asks, stepping past as she pauses just through the door to shut her umbrella, giving the canopy a quick shake that spots her own and Krista's jeans with water. "Oh! Sorry," she murmurs, making way for the smaller girl. "I can see why you're not playing, then." She glances up at the counter. "Good thing we're past the commuter rush. I'm going to head for the restroom first. I need to dry my jeans... yours, hmm, not quite so bad. I won't keep you waiting if you need your coffee, but I know a fast way to dry out."





Brushing the droplets from her jeans Krista gives an unconcerned shrug "A hazard of going on in the rain. They aren't to bad, I'll live." she moves further into the cafe as she talks "What would you like? I'll order and grab a table for us while you go dry off.





"Mine are pretty drenched. Um, make mine a mocha espresso. I'll be as quick as I can," Chenda promises, and hurries for the restrooms. The push-open door thumps shut behind her.



"Okay." Krista calls after the girl as she disappears into the bathroom. Krista walks up to the counter and places the drink order she orders a sandwich as well. As she pays the clerk. a unkempt man, wrinkly clothes and smelling of alcohol and smoke, staggers through the door.

Walking up to the counter the unkemopt man shoves the petite Krista aside as he pulls a small hand-gun and waves it at the clerk "Give me all the cash, now!" he demands. The clerk takes a few steps back, obviously afraid and unsure what to do and the female customer that followed him in lets out a shriek and races for the door.



As for Chenda, she goes about drying her jeans. This involves slipping them off and holding each leg over the nozzle of the dryer while it's turned on, letting the warm air get the moisture out. This will probably take a while.

She doesn't get one. The screams reach all the way into the restroom, making Chenda blink in surprise. Coffee shops are usually quiet places, unless a family comes in and gets to talking for very long. The gypsy girl, getting bad feeling about this, pulls her pants free of the dryer and slips over to the door, easing it open just enough to peek out and see what's what.



The gunman stands at the counter, holding his gun toward the clerk, "Hurry up with that money." he yells at her as the manager rushes over "Fine, fine." the manager starts fumbling with the cash register, his fear at being shot making it hard for his fingers to work effectively.

Krista picks herself up off the floor and her movement causes the robber to swing his gun around to her "Stay where you are shorty." he then swings the gun around to the few other customers who have ducked under tables "I don't want to have to hurt anyone.

Krista takes a step back from the gunman, despite his warning. Her silver left eye moves up to look at his face while her green right eye focuses on the gun, though after a moment her eyes flash to the bathroom door. The gunman by then has turned back to the manager who has managed to get the cash register open and is shoving the contents into a brown paper bag.



Well, it's not hard to tell what the guy with the gun is here for! Chenda curses softly under her breath. Time is of the essence... crap. She drops her jeans to the floor and pushes the door silently open.

Krista's quick glance at the bathroom door catches that it's opening, and that Chenda's stepping out, wearing a worried/determined expression and /not/ wearing pants. She lifts her hands over her head. "Hey, hobo-boy! You forgot something!" she shouts, pulling back one hand like a pitcher and throwing a glowing yellow object straight at him.



With the gunman's attention back on the manager, Krista give a slight gesture to Chenda though its not clear what the gesture could mean. Though she does move so that instead of being to the right of the gunman she stands behind him, between him and the exit.

The manager, shoving the last of the cash in the bag, starts to hand it over when Chenda comes out of the bathroom, pantless, yelling and throwing glowing things. The manager drops the bag as the gunman quickly spins in surprise at the sudden appearance of the girl. As he turns the gun inadvertenly ends up being pointed at Krista. As the concussive blast hits the gunman the weapon in his hand goes off, the bullet hitting the petite girl and ricochetting off her and back at the gunmen. The gunman is thrown back, being narrowly missed by the flying bullet, by the concussive force and the richoted bullet hits the glass pastry case, leaving a hole and a spiderweb of cracks coming from it.



Chenda cringes at the sound of that gunshot... oops! At least no one was hurt, or so she sees once she opens her eyes. That pastry case will probably never play the piano again, though. "Drop that gun, pally! I can smack you around all day if I have to!" she calls, holding a hand overhead and summoning another power seed. Brave words, dramatic pose... the effect is slightly lessened by the socks, bare legs, and pink panties showing below her hoodie.

She does dart a glance over at the surprisingly unharmed Krista. How that came about can be discussed later, when there isn't trouble going on, but she can't help a quick glance.



Krista staggers back at the gunshot, but the only thing that indicates that the has been shot is the hole in her shirt. The look she gives Chenda mirrors the one she has been given, a bit of surprise, a bit of question, but, yes, that will have to be dealt with later. The manager, has passed out in the meantime and the cashier is hovering over him trying to get him awake.

The gunman is on the floor, stunned for the moment but the blast, but is still conscious.

Krista cross over to him quickly and kicks the gun out of his hand and it skitters across the floor. Grabbing him by his shirt she lifts him up, so they are face to face. It would be more impressive if she were taller, but in his stunned state he just hangs from her hands, his knees brushing the floor instead of his feet.



Chenda, seeing Krista pick up the lowlife, blinks again in surprise. It's been a day full of surprises, and no mistake! But she hurries over to back up the smaller girl, cradling her power seed in both hands. "Are you okay?" she asks Krista, who seems to be in control of the situation.




Giving a nod to the taller girl "I'd be better if I had my coffee." she drops the lowlife and quickly goes to grab two chairs. Handing one to Chenda the points to his legs and she places the other so that the chair legs will effectively trap his arms and torso. The guy is scrawny and looks like he could be a junky so it isn't hard "Have a seat." she sits on the chair, which creaks under her weight. She then takes her cell phone out and dials 911.



"Ooh, good idea!" Chenda nods and accepts the chair, setting it so that the chair legs fence in his knees and cram them together in uncomfortable immobility. She then makes a great show of lifting the tail of her hoodie skirt-fashion so as not to sit on it, high enough that Krista could read the signature waistband of her underpants if she weren't busy dialing, and settles delicately into the chair. "I hope that manager's okay, but it's too bad he passed out like that. Maybe we could've gotten coffee while we held this guy down."





Krista quickly explains to the dispatcher what is going on before hanging up the phone. At second mention of coffee one of the staff hurries over and hand the women what the ordered "Thanks for stopping him." she barrista glances down at the trapped man "I was really worried someone would get hurt." the employee then hurries off the clean up the messes made by the customers during the altercation, spilled drinks, etc.

The Perpatrator starts to come to his senses and stuggle under the chair, her tries to arch his back and move his arms and legs but the chair Krista is in hardly budges "What are you made of stone?" he growls. Krista ignores him as she sips her coffee with a smile and offers a thanks to the barrista as she hurries away. She swings her legs to and fro, since she is small enough that her feet don't reach the floor.



Chenda smiles gratefully at the barista. "You're welcome, and thank /you/," she says, accepting the cup. "I'll have to get you a tip later, though." She crosses her long legs and makes herself quite at home, taking a grateful sip of mocha espresso. "I'm a little curious about that, too. I heard a ricochet, and you've got a hole in your shirt, but you're not hurt in the least."





"And you throw glowing things that pack a punch." Krista states bluntly as she glances down at the hole in her t-shirt that says something pithy and is a bit geeky "And this was a new shirt too." she sticks a finger in the bullet hole "I'm short and bullet proof and you are..." she pauses and looks at Chenda's bare legs as if noticing them for the first time, "pantsless.



"Oh... sorry. Actually, we're all lucky that hit you and nobody else," Chenda says, blushing a little. "I thought he put the gun down to load up the bag, so I seized what I thought was the opportune moment. If it helps, I could try and find you another one."

She glances down at the junky, then back up to Krista, whose next words make her blush more deeply. But she smiles bravely. "New panties. Aren't they just too pretty to cover up?" she replies, pinching the hem of her hoodie out of the way so Krista can see them better.



As the trapped man continues to protest and growl Krista buts a foot in his face and pushes his head down to the floor, not hard but it certainly shuts him up. "I have no interest in looking at your undies." her gaze stays locked on Chenda's face, though if one were paying attention they might note that the green eye moves indepently of the silver one to take a peek.

The wail of a siren can be heard approaching the cafe.



Chenda is the watchful kind, so she catches that wandering green eye, giving Krista a knowing look and stifling a chuckle. She glances down at the junky again as she hears him grunt in pain. "You know, this'd be a lot easier on you if you'd just be quiet," she informs him patiently, then takes another sip of coffee.

She looks to the front as the sirens get closer. "Um, should we stay here? They're gonna want to know how we stopped him," she says softly.





Shrugging as she takes a sip of her coffee, though after a moments thought she shows a bit of concern "And you may be hauled in for indecent exposure." Krista waves a hand at the bathroom "I'll deal with the cops and make sure no one talks about your part in this if you like. I've already been in the paper for stopping something similar, another time won't make a difference. Maybe you should go put on your pants." the sirens are getting closer and it will be a matter of minutes before police arrive.

The man makes mphing noises, but can't be understood with a foot over his mouth.



"Well, if you've got /this/ guy," Chenda says, indicating the crook. "I don't think they'd be too appreciative of my new panties, anyway."

She sets her coffee on a nearby table, stands, and hurries back to the restroom, where she quickly finds her jeans. She dusts them off and steps into them, grimacing at the wetness of the leg. Oh, well...




Krista looks around the cafe as Chenda gets up to the restroom "You were that people, she has in the bathroom the whole time." she lifts her foot from the mans face and slams it down, just hard enough so his hit hits the floor,she doesn't wannt hurt him to much, just show that she means business. He groans and the staff and customers give their various forms of agreement, be it verbal or head nods.

As soon as Chenda disappears into the bathroom the police rush into cafe, stopping when they see the petite Krista sitting in the chair trapping the would be robber.

"He's all yours." she hops off the chair and the police take him into custody. Krista follows the police that leads the handcuffed robber out of the cafe and to the squad car so she can give him the details of what happened, giving Chenda a chance to slip out so she won't be questioned by the cops.



Chenda takes advantage of the time Krista buys her, fastening her jeans and slipping her tennies back on. She glances out, sees the clear field, and slips carefully out to the kitchen... and then remembers the security cameras in the place, which the police will use as evidence. "Fudge... sorry, Krista," she murmurs, and moves to join the petite mutant outside before she can speak the first words about what happened.

Well, it's not like it's the first time someone's reported a dark-skinned girl throwing blasts around and saving lives. Maybe they'll remember those times and go easy on herself and Krista. She can hope!

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