Log:The Stolen Triad Mystery List

A List of Questions 2019/09/16 Night Marshal Mechanica 1

It's a late night, ticking close to midnight. This is one of the reasons Carpenter never has time for relationships outside of work. Crime tends to wait for the night shift.

The Dragon Palace is one of the places still open and reasonably busy. Triads have been moving in and out throughout the night. Some through the front entrance. Some going around back. They keep an eye out for trouble.

Night Marshal is mostly observing at the moment. He needs to try to keep tabs on who the players are...and what they're doing. He's perched atop a nearby building, keeping an eye on the back of hte Dragon Palace.

Nothing seems to get his attention. Night Marshal is able to note who of the lookouts are Triad versus just security staff. Their patrol patterns. Just as he's thinking it's a quite night, the hornet's nest stirs. Suddenly something gets the outer lookouts attention and they start running inside towards the gambling hall.

Night Marshal furrows his brow, and climbs down to try to get a better look from street level, heading to an alleyway with a view of hte rear of the building.

There's a patter sound from the rooftops. Ahead, a figure leaps across from the Dragon Palace to the roof of another building, accompanied by a small drone. There's the telltale sound of silenced gunfire before the figure drops down into the alley around the corner.

Night Marshal heads down the alley to the other end, trying to remain as silent as possible. Not only because of hte mystery person, but because of anyone who might be chasing with an intent to shoot said mystery person.

Night Marshal dives back around the corner, "Holy... ." As he hits the ground, "Seriously, what is WITH this town?" He doesn't have much of an accent. (Not even the old-west-ish one)

This woman looks like the description matching a meta named Mechanica. She hasn't been caught on camera yet, and her motives are...questionable. A bit of a modern Robin Hood type. She tends to target corrupt politicians, corporations, and organized crime. A hacker and thief.

A red laser shoots from the turret, hitting the wall where Night Marshal just was. "I never thought I'd see the Triads hire a cowboy," Mechanica smirks, and it carries in her accented voice. As does the pain of being shot. "Go back to your bosses and tell them you failed or you're going to get hurt."

Night Marshal rolls to his feet and draws his pistol as he gets to the corner. This time, he has more time to think, so she can actuall affect hte accent he likes to use. He remains in cover, but says, "Ma'am, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I don't work for the Triads. I'm a vigilante who goes by 'Night Marshal'." He figures that might enough for a hacker type to make a quick cross-reference.

Mechanica pants and holds a moment, looking over her wounded shoulder as her cybernetic implants do a rapid lookup. Knowing he's a vigilante is an advantage over a hero. "You better move if you don't want to get shot," she warns him as she looks about for an escape route.

Triads can be heard scrambling on the rooftops where she came from.

Night Marshal glances up, noticing the sounds up there. He bolts out of cover, moving down the alleyway and looking for cover from another angle.

Night Marshal skids to a stop behind the dumpster, ducking behind it.

The Triads catch the movement of Night Marshal just as he takes cover, and see Mechanica. There's five men on the roof. Two fire at Night Marshal, and three others shoot at Mechanica.

Two bullets ping off the dumpster, one coming close to Night Marshal's head. Three shots hit the ground behind Mechanica. They're using silencers, but the impacts are audible.

One of the Triads shouts instructions in Chinese at the two that shot at Night Marshal.

The two look at their boss and raise their guns higher towards Mechanica.

Mechanica finds herself at a dead end with a tall chain link fence blocking her way. She tries raising her injured arm towards the roof beyond it, but cringes as her wounded shoulder drops and her arm dangles. Left in the open and her hardware temporarily shorted out to prevent cloaking. Quickly gauging her options, she sighs and sprints right at Night Marshal before ducking behind the dumpster with him, staying close to the wall and giving Night Marshal full access to the top and side to return fire. She pants. "Pues. Guess I'll be enjoying your company for a moment."

Night Marshal nods to Mechanica, "This will be temporary cover. If they're smart, they'll flank along the building. Then we won't have cover.

"Oh, I think they'll be coming from the street before then," Mechanica estimates.

Mechanica applies pressure to her shoulder. Some of the circuitry within her coat lining is visible through the hole. "Well, Vaquero? Shoot someone!"

Night Marshal assesses the routes of exit, and finds...there's only really one at hte moment. At least until that fence can be reached. He pokes out of cover and takes a shot at one of the Triad members, using his IR vision to negate the effects of the darkness of the evening.

Bullseye! One Triad drops on the rooftop where he stood. This makes the other Triads duck, starting to reconsider things. "Nice shot," Mechanica purrs.

Night Marshal shakes his head, "Only because it seems like he ain't in armor. I winged him."

"Those ones stay close to their boss most times," Mechanica says as she tries to adjust her systems. Her left hand taps out on an interface on her hanging arm's bracer.//Holding

Night Marshal takes another shot while he has the opportunity. At the very least, he's trying to force the goons into cover to allow for booking it in a lull of gunfire.

Another Triad collapses backwards. The three left open fire towards the dumpster. Pfft pfft pfft

The head guy yells something and motions the other two to back up.

"Never thought I'd get saved by a cowboy," Mechanica mutters to herself as she taps another button on her bracer. A small tool pops out and she starts working on fixing the wiring on her coat. She makes uncomfortable, pained noises before a hiss of victory. "Fixed!"

Night Marshal glances down the alleyway. "That direction and over the fence. Can you make it?"

Mechanica stays relatively calm as bullets thunk through the metal dumpster. One metakiller punches through in a spot between the two, but wasn't close enough to hit. Still, it's a fair warning. She looks towards the fence. "With one good arm? Maybe."

Night Marshal nods. "Alright. You start. I'll cover you and make sure they keep their heads down."

Mechanica looks at him incredulously. Even a bit suspiciously. "You expect me to trust you?"

Night Marshal raises a brow, "Considering I got involved in a firefight when they stopped shooting at me and I could have left? I'll leave that for you to think about, while you're running, a'ight?"

Mechanica raises her good arm towards the fence. A blaster pops up from her gauntlet and a red laser fires off, shooting a hole through the chainlink fence. The edges fo the hole are left glowing bright orange.

Night Marshal fires again at a third target. At the very least, they might take the hint sooner or later.

Another Triad gets struck in the chest and crumples from the pain. His two compatriats look nervous.

Night Marshal keeps firing, not letting up. They'll get into cover sooner or later. Probably later, at this point.

And a fourth one topples, leaving just one guy...

...who takes his chance and runs back and away from the edge and out of sight, yelling in Chinese. For now, the coast is clear thanks to some sharp shooting by Night Marshal.

Mechanica kicks it up into high gear to high tail it. She dashes towards the fence and ducks cautiously as she gets through and onto the other side. She soon disappears as she makes a left turn at another t-junction.

Night Marshal breaks from cover and starts to run down the alleyway. He makes a point of sticking to the far wall...the building that the goons are on, to make the angle for any gunfire that much harder.

Night Marshal holsters his weapon as he gets to the fence and climbs it quickly, vaulting over and ending up in the next section of alley. He rounds the corner and glances back, just to see if anyone is following.

There's sounds of activity from the Dragon Palace, but it's muffed and from beyond the rooftop. It'll take some time for them to pursue the vigilantes. Mechanica is leaning up against the wall, catching her breath as she waits for Night Marshal to catch up.

Night Marshal looks at Mechanica, walking over closer to her. "What did you take from them?"

Mechanica offers a tired smirk. "Something they wanted. Just a little sensitive data and cryptocurrency. They really shouldn't have left it lying about." Behind locked key and guard.

Night Marshal nods slowly. "Something that ties into their criminal activities here?"

"Of course," Mechanica smiles and pushes off the wall. Her eyes study him, falling to the marshal's star on his leather vest. She reaches up with her left hand, the gauntlet having fine, cat-like claws at the end. "I'll let you have a free peek for helping me," she offers as her hand gets close to his left pectoral. If he allows her, she'll flick his marsal's star, causing a metal-on-metal >TINK!< sound.

Night Marshal chuckles quietly. "Fair 'nough. Sounds like a deal." He smiles, though it's barely visible under his mask, given that his face is covered.

Mechanica smiles back like they've struck a deal. "Let's vamoos a little farther from here before they get their big guns," she suggests slyly at the terrible cowboy slang before she starts walking away, expecting him to follow to someplace more distant and clear from the present danger.

Night Marshal does follow along with Mechanica, but he also makes a point of reloading his pistol as he walks. He announces he's going to do so, as well...to make sure she's not jumpy about him drawing his weapon again.

"I like a man who's careful," Mechanica comments at noticing his precautions.

Night Marshal reholsters his pistol once it's loaded again. "Best to be safe. I wouldn't want to be caught in another firefight without being prepared. I didn't kill any of their men, but I'm sure the Triad would be happy to see me take a fall 'spite that."

"Mmmm, that wasn't what I was talking about," Mechanica says with a smile as she leads them down some twisting areas to keep out of public view. She's checking all the back doors she sees as they go, passing behind closed businesses. "I meant not leaving any physical evidence behind."

Night Marshal chuckles. "Ah." He pats the pocket he puts the shells in. "Well, can't be too careful with that, either. All it takes is a good detective workin' for 'em, and I'd have 'em on my doorstep or some such."

"Can't be having that, can we?" Mechanica smiles as she spots a back door with an electronic keypad. She steps up to it and makes a swiping motion with her left hand, and the door automatically unlocks and pops open. "Just distracts them from the evidence they need for the real criminals," she says, flashing a smile over her shoulder before stepping inside.

Night Marshal is a little wary, given that he's following her into what could be a trap. But he follows anyway. The thought of getting some dirt on the Triads is tempting, even if it wouldn't be admissable in court.

Mechanica grins. "Don't worry. I won't bite. Hard." Mechanica closes the door once he's through. His IR eyepieace lets him see there's no other heat signatures of people besides them. It's the back end of the pharmacy, behind the staff counter. There's shelves and shelves of medication here.

The lock re-engages once she closes the door.

Night Marshal raises a brow, "There's going to be a camera that can see us, you know. Or did you already disable that?"

"I've got it handled," Mechanica says as she steps up to a security panel and touches it. The circuitry within her gauntlet glows briefly as the alarm is bypassed and cameras taken off line. "I'll wipe whatever data it did receive," she says, finally sounding tired from the theft and getting shot. She reaches into the inside of her jacket with her left hand as she walks towards Night Marshal.

Mechanica's saunter and injury along with her body language shows she doesn't appear to be preparing for an aggressive action. It's more flirtatious than that, anyway. she steps up close to Night Marshal. Being fairly shorter than him, she has to look up to look him in the eye. Her hand pulls out a micro-thumb drive and sets it on the counter next to him. "That's what I took," she says, slowly dragging her hand off of it and stepping around him and past the counter towards the first aid aisle in this small pharmacy.

Night Marshal is pretty calm as she sets down the drive. He reaches out and picks it ukp, but his attention is drawn to her as she walks away from him. "I can probably help with that wound, ma'am."

Mechanica slows to a stop and half turns to look at him. "Would you kindly?" she smiles with a curl of her lips. Despite her flirtations, he can tell she's trying to cover up the pain and put on a strong front.

Night Marshal puts the drive in a pocket for the time being. "Did you already get a copy of this information? Can I keep this one? Or do I need to make a copy?" He walks over...and starts to take a look at the medical supplies available. He motions to one of the chairs by hte pharmacy...and after gathering a few things he walks back over to take a look at her wound.

"I've already downloaded it," Mechanica replies, "So keep that one. I'll explain it to you while you patch me up." She heads over to the chair and sits down, careful not to get her blood on anything. The jacket's absorbed most of it. The pharmacy's fully stocked on first aid gauze, disinfects, tape, etc. Everything a vigilante needs to get back out on the streets.

Night Marshal helps with the jacket, to get a good look at the wound. He then goes about treating it with the tools at hand. "Looks like it went clean through. That's for the best, I think."

The jacket and suit underneath are armored, but this MK rounds went clean through. She winces and bites her lower lip as he peels the jacket away from the wound. "One thing going right for me tonight," she tries to joke as her voice wavers.

Night Marshal nods. "It means I can likely treat it without you going to the hospital. So...that's good. He prepares to clean the wound, "This is going to sting. I suggest gripping that chair tightly." He only gives about a two second warning though before he starts to clean it with a mild saline solution. "I don't want to use a strong disinfectant. It'll cause more damage than it's worth. Those are good for cleaning like...countertops."

Mechanica grits her teeth and grips into the chair with her good hand. She has to turn her head away as she hisses from the first sting. "Ahhhggh. At least you're not pouring bleach on it, so you...mmfff..must know what you're doing..."

Night Marshal chuckles. "My next choice would have been hydrogen peroxide or iodine. That might also be necessary, but I don't think so, looking at it." He finishes up and places a bandages in place, applying some pressure. "You have a choice. If the bleeding stops while I keep the pressure on, great. Otherwise, you're going to need that stitched. Which I can do. It's not a slice, though. So pressure might be all you need. One benefit of an armor piercing round, I suppose."

Mechanica's claws lightly dig against the arm rest. "Let's...huff..try with just pressure," she cringes. There's a light sheen of sweat on her brow. "I just need to not bleed out."

Night Marshal keeps the pressure on the wound for a good five minutes, remaining patient. He takes a look at it again after that, "It looks like the bleeding is slowing. I'll dress it again, and I think you'll be okay. Just...no more fighting today. You're to go home and pore over data or watch television, on my orders." He goes about redressing the wound, with clean bandages. "You're going to need to clean the wound daily and rewrap it with new bandages each time. For several days. And watch for signs of infection. If you get one, you need to go to a hospital. Or find a friend neighborhood healing metahuman, I guess?"

Night Marshal thinks about it as he's finishing putting the bandages on. "If you end up needing a healing meta...I'd suggest either...Lightray, or that vampire woman. Lady Winters."

Mechanica smiles thinly. "But I was...just getting started tonight," she jokes lightly, but she sounds and looks done. She lifts her head and smiles tiredly. "Okay, okay. Cowboy's orders," she jests. "I'll grab some anitbiotics before I leave, and leave cash behind. I know some metas who can help heal me up without a hospital. And now I can get to them, thanks to you. I suppose I owe you." Her hand finally eases up on the chair and turns palm up. A holo-vid screen in magenta pops up. It displays a table with dollar amounts and names next to them. The list starts auto-scrolling. "This is what I took from them. Cryptocurrency, and a database of names and numbers. Possibly records or distributions? The Triads wouldn't put out a hit list this big. Maybe these are people on the take?" Some of the names, Night Marshal recognizes. Local city officials at the permits office. A few people on the force. One he's had suspicions of being dirty without proof. Tamara Garcia...

Night Marshal scans the list of names. "Interesting. Maybe. Though it's hard to tell what the connection is, and how these peopel are connected. Perhaps they're people that the Triad feels might be able to be manipulated? Targets? Hard to say."

"If not on the payroll, maybe potential people to add?" Mechanica suggests, not yet certain. More names scroll. Some of these are drug dealers that the CBPD has been after.

Night Marshal nods. "I'll look into it. I know a few people who might be able to help. And a couple names on here give me some concern. But that's a matter for later."

Even further down the list, there's one Jack Carpenter listed. "Good. You have your copy. I have mine. There are a few important officials here I want to have a talk to. Oh, and the cryptocurrency's already been diverted away. They won't be able to use it. They'll be very upset when they find that out."

Night Marshal is pretty sure he doesn't have any cryptocurrency, and never did. That makes the list odder. But it also means that Tamara probably doesn't have anything to do with it. He nods, and finishes cleaning up the medical supplies. "At least one person on the list, I'm pretty sure is clean. That begs the question...why are they on hte list?"

"That -is- the question, isn't it? They left that information analog, or in someone's head, I suspect. Just in case." Mechanica smiles. "Hmm, how sure are you? If you'd bet your life on it...maybe they're people they intend to approach. Offer untraceable money, maybe using blackmail against?"

Night Marshal thinks about it. "One on there, I'd absolutely bet my life on being clean. So, they might be potential blackmail targets."

Mechanica nods, liking his confidence. "Must be someone you know. Someone close," she smiles like a cheshire cat. But then she becomes more serious. "And what happens if they don't take the money?" She sounds like she enjoys theorizing conspiracies.

Night Marshal shrugs, "That...I don't know. The Triads are probably more likely to send a regular assassin or a meta, rather than a car bomb. If it was Cangelosi or Capelli, a car bomb would be as likely as a bullet."

Mechanica nods thoughtfully. "So the possibility is these people are in danger if they're honest folk." She frowns, not seeming so smug now. "It's going to take time, going through the list, figuring out who's naughty or nice. And I'm out of commission. At least, for a few days."

Night Marshal nods. "Well, if you give me a way to contact you, we can cross-reference a bit. Split up the list."

"Asking for my number already?" Mechanica asks with a raised brow and a smile. "You got a radio on you, or do you just use a phone still?"

Night Marshal nods. "I have a radio built into my armor. It's just not super obvious."

Mechanica nods as she checks him over again. "I'll give you my frequency until I can get you something more encrypted," she smiles, then gives him the details to radio contact her.

Night Marshal checks the radio conneciton, and makes a note of the frequency. "Thanks. That'll work nicely."

"Well," Mechanica stands up slowly, careful not to move her arm too much. "Doctor's orders. I believe I have some resting and binge watching to do, si?" she says with some playfulness. As much as her injury allows.

Night Marshal chuckles. "That you do. Remember...change the bandage once a day."

"I will, until I can track down this Lightray or Lady Winters," Mechanica promises, stopping by a shelf to pick up some antibiotics for the wound. True to her word, she leaves cash behind on the counter, then wipes out the recordings from the exterior and interior cameras that she deactivated earlier. "I suppose I owe you, Vaquero."

Night Marshal shakes his head, "Well, not really. You gave me the data. That means we're square." He chuckles and heads to the back door where the crash bar will make it easy enough to get out to the alley again.

Mechanica pops an antibiotic as she heads out after him, slipping the bottle into her pocket. Perhaps surprisingly, she doesn't take any pain killers from the shelves. "Okay. Even. I like even," she laughs softly.

Night Marshal heads out to the alley, and holds the door for Mechanica. He keeps an eye out in both directions, just in case.

If the Triads were here, they've been and gone. It's quiet, and Mechanica parts ways with Night Marshal to head home.