Log:Enemy of My Enemy..., Scene 2

Enemy of My Enemy... 2008/05/24 Akeno Jennifer Kibin Lorelei Smiling Johnny 2

Johnny Tseng can be found in a private dining room in the back of the Dragon Palace. He's got a couple of his goons with him, all of them still sitting at the table when the heroes arrive. "Come on in," he says. "Have a seat."

Kibin takes a seat at the table the best he can.

Lorelei takes a seat and introduces everyone: after all her notional purpose here is as a contact to the heroes.

Jennifer pulls out a chair and reverses it. Sitting backwards in the chait she rests her arms on the chairback and her chin on her arms. "Hi, Johnny."

Akeno stays standing, looking at the hired muscle. While Jenn and Lorelei played dress up, Akeno went back to his truck and changed clothes. No police badge, but he is looking at Johnny occasionally. o O (Why am I here meeting with a triad bunch of goons again? Oh yeah, need information.) He has snuck a recording device into his back pocket, though. Maybe he can get some evidence against Johnny for later.

Johnny takes a look at Akeno. "Detective Akeno... I've heard a bit about you. It's good to finally meet in person. I trust that you'll understand: this meeting is off the record. Let me know now, if that will be a problem."

Akeno frowns a bit as he looks at Johnny. He seems to consider, then sighs and reaches to his back pocket and pulls out the recorder, hitting the power switch to turn it off where Johnny can see it before he places it back where he got it. "Fine. I take it from your being here, that restaurant was one of yours?"

Johnny nods to Jennifer. "Hello, Jennifer. Or is it Jessica? It's good to see you. Will your sister be joining us?"

Jennifer grins. "Not today."

Jennifer adds, "Call me Jennifer. Sometimes we don't know which is which." and grins again.

Johnny smiles to Akeno. "I'm speaking on behalf of a number of businessmen who have interests in the neighborhood, including the restaurant. The simple fact of it is this. We... You and I together... We have a problem."

Kibin listens silently, not having much to add.

Akeno glares at Johnny, "How do you figure? Whoever owns the restaurant is eventually going to be taken down due to having weaponry within it. Illegal weaponry."

[To Akeno] Lorelei says, "I think he is speaking of a wider problem."

Jennifer speaks, "And boom stuff. Johnny, this is from me. No boom stuff in Chinatown, okay. Store it someplace outside the city."

"I think that we'll both agree," Johnny says, "That the police has little interest in what happens in Chinatown, so long as certain boundaries are respected. No one wants to see tourists hurt by an explosion at a popular restaurant."

Akeno says, "That's most police, Johnny. I'm not most police."

Johnny says to Jennifer, "That may have been an oversight, Jennifer, an oversight that was compounded by another factor that I'll talk about in a moment. But now, I want to point out that I am a reasonable man, as I've proved in the past. The traditional organizations here in Chinatown are reasonable - we understand that most cops.." he looks to Akeno... "Don't want an undue level of violence in the area."

"However, there is a new element in town that doesn't want to player by the rules."

Akeno frowns a bit. "... so you're asking for an alliance or for us to handle it so things can go back roughly to normal?"

Johnny says, "Believe me. If it were a matter of punks with guns... well, there are people who can handle problems like that. But metas...?"

Lorelei says, "There are metas involved?"

Akeno's eyes narrow. "Alright, you got my attention. Start explaining."

Kibin was going to say something... but Lorelei expressed his concerns quite nicely. So he continues listening.

Angstrom nods. "Her name is Radium. Do you recall that prison break from the Chinese Stronghold last year. She was one of the criminals who escaped. It seems that she's come to Colonial Bay, and that she's started to make a living by preying on some of the... traditional neighborhood businesses."

Johnny nods. "Her name is Radium. Do you recall that prison break from the Chinese Stronghold last year. She was one of the criminals who escaped. It seems that she's come to Colonial Bay, and that she's started to make a living by preying on some of the... traditional neighborhood businesses."

Lorelei frowns. "What do you know about her?"

Akeno shakes his head, "Doesn't ring a bell here, but the Chinese are secretive. What's she look like? I can put an APB on her."

Johnny says, "I have some connections and I've managed to gather some information on her. She was once an astronaut in the Chinese space program who received a doseage of radiation during an accident that should have killed her several times over. Instead, she gets super-powers."

Lorelei says, "Hard radiation based powers, presumably? What was she in the Chinese superprison for?"

Akeno hmms. "What type of radiation? That might be trackable."

Johnny nods. "I have it from a good source," Johnny says, "The fire today was caused by the collateral damage from one over her blasts, which she used to open a vault that someone had constructed in the basement of the restaurant."

Akeno says, "That would explain the melted hole."

Johnny says to Akeno, "I'm not certain about the specific type of radiation. Exact details have been hard to come by." He looks to Lorelei. "From what I understand, Radium got a taste of capitalism and decided that she liked it."

Kibin asks, "Couldn't we just detect what kind of radiation from the debris?"

Jennifer nods. "Collateral damage is still damage. She should keep it strictly between friends." She smiles at Johnny.

Johnny says, smiling back to Jennifer. "If I had a meta or two of my own, it wouldn't be an issue. But that's not the case... Instead, I'm presenting you all with an opportunity to apprehend a dangerous criminal. I've been tipped off about a shipment of product that will surely draw Radium's attention."

Lorelei says, "What product might this be?"

Jennifer chuckles, "Something expendable."

Lorelei says, "And yet it needs to be enticing."

Johnny says, "If I were to guess, I would probably say 'H'. Radium's seems to have developed a knack for intercepted such shipments and hijacking the contents."

Akeno hmms. "Where and when?"

Jennifer nods. "If I could help to clean out Chinatown I'd do it in a heartbeat. Since that's impractical I guess I'd rather have someone reasonable to deal with. I'm in."

"So, you see," Johnny says, "It's a win-win for the heroes. You get to stop a shipment of drugs from coming into the city, and stop a dangerous criminal in one blow. I'm not even going to ask for anything in return."

Akeno's eyes narrow a bit. "And?" He's perceptive. Something doesn't feel right for him probably.

Lorelei nods. And wonders if the drug shipment is itself that of a rival.

"And nothing." Johnny says. "This datachip has the ships information on it."

Jennifer smiles, "How touching, Johnny. All done out of the goodness of your heart. And the thought that you get rid of a dangerous rival never entered your head."

"Me?" Johnny says. "It's just my civic duty."

Kibin adds, "A dangerous rival who set a building on fire, albeit accidentally. And will possibly do it again."

Akeno nods, holding out his hand for the chip. "If metas weren't tons more dangerous than you, I wouldn't be going after her."

Lorelei says, "Incidentally - do you know if she's working for someone else, or is in business for herself?"

"She has a small gang of gunmen, all of the fresh off the boat," Johnny say. "She may have some contacts in China, but over here, she looks like an independant."

Lorelei nods.

Kibin says, "Several gunmen and a meta. Is that it?"

Johnny says, "Yes. That should be it."

Jennifer straightens up and looks at Johnny cold and sober. "I don't like being used. Even when I see the logic behind it. I try real hard to be a good little girl. It's a struggle sometimes. You don't want to make a habit of this. Don't encourage me to change to being a bad girl. You really wouldn't like it. Do you hear what I'm saying, Johnny?"

"Yes. I understand, Jennifer." Johnny says. "I like these little chats of ours, and I'd hate to see them come to and end."

Jennifer grins again. "If you ever decide to try better get it right the first time."

Lorelei thinks. o O (What am I even doing here? With this sort of people, Jenn knows what's she's doing a lot more than I do.)

Jennifer looks over to Lorelei and smiles, "I love having enemies. It makes me feel I've achieved something useful at least."

Lorelei grins. "It's good to be good at something."

Johnny says, "I'm glad to have brightened someone's day. Now if there's nothing else, I'm off to make someone else feel special."

Jennifer says, "You won't forget to move the boom stuff out? Johnny, I'm an expert on explosives. Seriously, you need better conditions to store stuff like that. If it starts to sweat you'll be losing some of your business properties. Second factor. You have people who would like to step into your shoes and don't care to wait. I can rig explosives to self-detonate. If your un-friend has any one with a fraction of my knowledge they can do the same."

Lorelei says, "Jennifer's right. Explosives and population centres are a bad mixture."

Johnny says, "I'll pass the message on."