Partners in (fighting) Crime -- CRIME PLOT CATCH ALL PART 2

[zauneyete]

WHO: Anyone interested in cleaning up the MEAN STREETS of NEO TOKYO
WHAT: Catch-all log for cleaning up (or making more of a mess of) Neo Tokyo's crime scene! Refer to the OOC post here for details. Neo Tokyo's current social and political climate can be found under the World / Setting section here.
WHERE: Neo Tokyo
WHEN: Throughout the Month of June
WARNINGS: Kaiju Violence (akin to pit fighting); death; criminal activity; drugs etc, please let me know if you need me to update the tags!


As the base in Tokyo has gotten back to rights, someone has made sure to put recruitment posters back up for a specialised subsection of an anonymous Neo Tokyo security agency! Feel free to assume that's where most of the directives come from. Characters can also visit the Security Agency HQ (A small office) where they can get more information from Silco about the plot or learn about the side quests available!

People are free to use this log or their own for open and closed starters. Please feel free to treat this like an open log! However, if you'd like to contribute to the quest chain or setting changes, please remember to eventually submit your links and a summary in the First Header so I can send them to the mods to progress the crime plot!

For June, the following quests are available; In addition to Street Fighter III and Be Prepared, the following additional quests are available to progress the crime plot:

Best Bang for your Buck
One of the more well-off CEOs in Neo-Tokyo has a reputation of working closely with one of the most infamous (and untouchable) politicians in the city. The politicain himself is difficult to corner or get close to, however, the CEO is marginally more available. Or at least, his business is aways hiring, and they contract several services such as cleaning out to small businesses. He also has several close associates known for frequenting many of the clubs in Neo-Tokyo as well, and they are easy to speak with, especially when indulging in drink or drugs.

Outsiders will need to get information about him from either his associates or fellow workers, where they can find him. He’s a bit notoriously difficult to find, but after investigating, Outsiders will be able to find out that he frequents the Underground, or rather – a string of clubs and fighting rings run not by legitimate businesses, but Crime Syndicates. It seems our CEO isn’t as squeaky clean as one would think. Outsiders will need to stalk this CEO to find out more about where he goes, as well as his dealings within the underground.

LILITH would be appreciative to know who he is meeting and what it is about, but it is up to Outsiders whether they share this information with LILITH, or if they report it to the “agency”, or both.

Hissy Pit
LILITH has obtained information from previous investigations that there are money-laundering schemes that seem more far-reaching than just in Neo Tokyo, and include both local businesses paying protection fees as well as outside entities that are investing in Neo-Tokyo’s criminal enterprises. They aren’t certain of how far it goes, but rumors suggest it may be spreading to other crime-friendly locations, like Las Vegas. Getting information is trickier, as Outsiders will need to obtain information while infiltrating an Underground Fight club to do so. Information suggests that they use kaiju they’ve stolen to fight not only other kaiju, but other promising human fighters, and earlier in the nights, the unfortunate. Either those that owe a debt, a captured rival, or snitches. (You are free to use common and small Kaiju from the TDM as fighting Kaiju in your threads! Maybe a few rift-corrupted beetles?)

Outsiders are asked to infiltrate this dangerous den and obtain information by any means necessary. Saving civilians in the meantime is desired, but may not be possible. Outsiders are encouraged to attempt to keep a low profile during this operation if at all possible. Outsiders are also strongly discouraged (but not prohibited) from using their powers if they end up in the ring. Tipping the organizations off can lead to the underground to either move, or disappear entirely and a new scheme could crop up in the meantime.

LILITH would appreciate any information turned over to them in regards to these connections, as well, but it’s entirely up to the Outsiders if they want to provide that information to LILITH, the “agency”, or both!

Comments

[gorb]

Sometimes.

( A shrug. )

If I wanted them to.

( Depending entirely on whether or not Geto was feeling more or less unhinged that day. Oh, he'd done a very good job at pretending otherwise, but the violence in him swung wildly. His family did not question it, because his family loved him, and because they did not know the Geto of old. But he'd been aware of it, the ache in his teeth, the need for bloodshed. Violence for violence.

He's different now, maybe. Still he eyes Silco up speculatively, a smile at the edges of his lips. )

It's certainly something. Hard to convince Outsiders they're worthy of saving when you see all this filth. ( Toothy. ) So, what's the plan?

[zauneyete]

Oh yes, this filth.

[ A laugh.

Honestly? Silco looks right at home here. Compared to other Outsiders, he doesn't see shame in this, in the fact that people were using Kaiju like this, turning profits. The offense was the fact that they weren't doing it for him.

So he's going to change that. ]

The plan is to distract them long enough to go through the books. I suspect we'll get some of the high-rollers and then we can track them down to where their funds come from. I'd also like to see where the house's cut goes.

But, to do that, we need to distract them.

Can they see your curses?

[gorb]

No, I think it's the ocular that makes you able to.

( He's never really worked it out. ) But, that's not to say they can't be useful. If you need me to cause a fuss, Silco-san, I can do that. What do you want? The kaiju, or the people?

( Which does he have to target to make enough noise? )

[zauneyete]

Hm. How interesting. I thought it was universal.

[ Honestly? He doesn't get it, but he's not used to seeing the unseen. He doesn't have the aptitude nor the true curiosity to invest in it. He's had to keep his focus tight, on the things that mattered.

He tipped his head, his eyes scanning the crowd. ]

A little of both, perhaps?

What if the curses were to give the Kaiju some extra... power. Particularly when they ram the cages.

[ Let them run free. Let people panic. ]

[gorb]

( His smile widens. It's not a particularly nice smile. But this is not a particularly nice place, and Geto certainly does not think that this constitutes as breaking those fragile constraints he's under. He's aiding a fellow Outsider. He's dealing with violent people. He's innocent.

From behind two of his curses form. They rest on their hands, and Geto merely tips his chin towards the cage, relaxed. Off they lumber through the crowd, and while nobody notices them there's definitely a shift in tension as they pass. Someone turns to their friend with an irritated shout, a did you just push me?. )

I mostly use these as decoys. But they have hands. And our friends over there seem to be intent on keeping the cage keys well within reach.

[zauneyete]

[ Silco doesn't understand them, the curses, but the sight of them is about as disconcerting as always. Inhuman in a particular way. He watches them move, watches the way people don't see them, but the world still shifts to accommodate them anyway. His eyes move back to Geto, a curl of his lips.

After all, this served a purpose, and there was no such thing as innocence here, was there? ]

How useful, to have hands. And there they are, ignorant to it all.

I can see how you would be very dangerous, before.

[ What's that in his voice? Why yes, it's respect. ]

[gorb]

Oh, I still am. People just forget that.

( It's delivered friendly enough, Geto's mild mannered charm easy-going. He's limited here. He has only a handful of his curses at his disposal, and no way to amass any more. But his power was only tangibly in what he could gather. He's always been strong himself. If he wanted to he could surely cause a significant amount of damage to this place before he was taken back out.

Some small part of him still craves that.

Over where the cages are his curses muscle closer. One has to climb it's brethren to reach, the meaty, muscled guard beside it clearly unseeing as to what's about to happen. The key turns, clumsy but quick. The kaiju growls low, loud, its eyes fixed on the curse beyond, hackles rising. Someone else grumbles, a call to shut it up yelled out. )

Do you want it goaded? Or a natural unfolding?

[zauneyete]

[ He laughs, a low chuckle. They do forget that. Silco only rarely sees what he can do — only when they are around Kaiju — and this is a little reminder of that power.

He respects it, because he always does. They are hampered by LILITH, or maybe it is his connections to others. Geto, like Silco, is leashed here. Not just by nanites, but by relationships too. Silco is hardly reformed, hardly behaving, but given how he is now, compared to where he was a year ago...

It's a far cry of difference. Neither of them are the feral, snapping things they once were. ]

Goad it.

I don't want to leave anything to chance.

[gorb]

( The two curses immediately press up against the cage bars, making a low chittering noise that only Geto and Silco seem to hear. For the most part, the curse user seems unbothered, lifting his drink and watching the crowd with a mild attention. Some seem perturbed, as though a sense is picking up on the could-be danger. Others are too bold or too drunk to care.

He hums, watches as the kaiju rears back and then lunges forward, teeth snapping. One curse extends a hand through the bars, just out of reach, then pulls itself back. The door rattles. )

Brace yourself, Silco-san.

( Just in case. )

[zauneyete]

[ Silco sips at his drink too, apparently unmoved.

He doesn't want to give anyone any indication, after all, of what is happening. ]

Oh, I'm sure you'll keep me from being a target, won't you Geto?

Let's be prepared to move when the chaos takes root.

[ He doesn't move yet. But there's a movement to his eyes, he indicates a door in the back. ]

[gorb]

Ha.

( He would, that goes without saying. But what's a little threat between terrible best friends? Geto finishes his drink, watches as someone else gets too close to the cage door, kicking the metal in irritation at the growling kaiju. The curses skitter sideways, still taunting. One jumps off its brethren's shoulders to advance to the next target, leaving the first to continue it's campaign. The monster inside the cage slams itself against the bars, angry, once, twice, and then a third time.

Of course, that's just when the drunk patron moves to kick it through the bars, so the swinging door surprises him. So too, do the teeth sinking immediately into a thigh. In the resulting surprised hush, the second cage swings open more boldly. And then someone screams. )

I've missed that.

( Has he? Hard to say. But the chaos is quick to ignite. )

[zauneyete]

Hah.

[ He understands. He was always the type of person who was frustrated when confronted with chaos, but Controlled chaos? Like this?

Where people are screaming because of something that they did? Becuase something was triggered on their command? That's the sort of chaos that Silco enjoys. He watches, for a long moment, before he indicated with his head. ]

I'm sure they will have a control method in place. Let's go, before they notice us.

[ He's heading for the back, expecting Geto to follow. ]

[gorb]

( Easily falling into step behind Silco, his imposing air keeping most of the carnage away from their little bubble. It helps that most footfall immediately starts towards the crowded exits, though he is deeply worried about the lack of awareness the people exhibit, since that's distinctly in the path of the now freed kaiju. Oh well, his curses disappear into the frenzy, and if they hinder as many peoples' escape as possible then that's hardly his fault.

He's not sure this building is up to code. )

What's next on the agenda? I know you like a bit of mindless violence as much as the next soul, but I'm assuming we have a purpose tonight. Has someone been encroaching?

[zauneyete]

[ Silco laughed. ]

Something like that.

[ He indicated a door near the back. It's probably locked, but he's already fishing a few picks out of his pocket. ]

It's more like this place is yet another step on the way to figuring out how deep the connections of certain entities go.

[ They arrive at the door, and he starts working the lock. ]

Stop anyone who comes by, hm? They think these old types of locks are more secure, because nobody knows how to work them.

[gorb]

( He would have just broken the entire thing, but that's fine. He can half watch Silco and half pay attention to the seething mass of bodies, resting a shoulder against the wall. In the corner of his eye he watches as one of his curses reaches out, catching someone around the ankle and sending them collapsing onto the ground, which starts a semi-domino effect.

Not a cool head in this place. )

I don't think anyone's going to be noticing anything any time soon, Silco-san. There must not be an entrance out this way.

( Should he pick up lockpicking? No, boring. He has brute strength and tricky curses. )

Has anyone noticed what you've been doing yet?

[zauneyete]

[ Silco would have laughed at the tripping, if he could see, but he is concentrating. ]

Likely not, but I don't want to take chances. That's how foolish mistakes are made.

[ He is working the pins, bit by bit. Each one into place, his fingers are thin, and they work without hesitation. It is not an expert, but it is an old practice. ]

No, they haven't. I don't think they recognize that there is someone on their side putting this together.

Oh, they know something is happening. There are enough now that are starting to crumble, they are consolidating.

[ A twitch of his lips. ]

They're scared. I wonder if they will notice when they start losing funds.

[gorb]

Money's often the catalyst. I've seen enough cocky men start whimpering at the sight of an empty bank account to know that. It's always been a little funny to me.

( He understands wealth, he'd amassed enough of it for the organisation, for his family. But to Geto money isn't the be all and end all of things. Not when there are monsters lurking at every corner. Not when those monsters exist because of the very thing that humans covet. How many curses exist because of human greed? Too many. He's tasted each one. )

Are you trying to bring them to your side?

( Across from them, someone turns, almost catches sight of the two men. A curse careens into him, unseen, and the figure shrieks and knocks into a table, scrambling towards the exit once more. He can smell blood. He wonders if anyone has died, considers whether or not that would be a tally in his books or the kanjis. Oh well, his record hasn't exactly been squeaky clean. He's sure it's fine. )

[zauneyete]

[ Silco's fingers continue to move. ]

Money is a means to an end. It is a tool. I've been at the end of that greed long enough, I have seen what men will do to keep it.

They will not come to my side.

Perhaps the small ones, the lackeys.

[ He jimmies the lock, it gives. He opens the door. ]

I'm looking to destroy them. Take the refuse, and make something of it.

[gorb]

( Geto's cheerful round of applause is lost in the din of someone screaming, but he has the bright air of someone desperately enjoying themselves, and so that's fine. )

If anyone can I'm sure it's bound to be you.

( Look how far he's come, complimenting a human. But actually, does Silco even really count? )

Cleaning up the streets, mm? Our critics would be proud.

[zauneyete]

[ Silco's barely a human. Were he to be in another world, where there were powers to be had, where he wasn't just a street kid who'd gotten too high on his airs, he would be a force to be reckoned with. ]

Oh yes, I'm sure they would be so happy.

The streets washed clean from this stain. Control spreading through Neo-Tokyo...

[ A twitch of his lips. ]

Could you imagine it? All of it focused on a purpose?

[gorb]

As long as the purpose aligns reasonably well with ours, Silco-san.

( Ours, because Geto really doesn't care much about the criminal underworld so long as it doesn't get in his way. He tends to orbit Silco's schemes out of some amalgamation of friendship and boredom, but it doesn't necessarily motivate him beyond that. Maybe later, when things start careening downhill, for now he simply enjoys the chaos for what it is, a break-up of the mundane. )

What next? There'll be an office around here somewhere, no? Possibly whoever is lurking must have heard the noise by now.

( Or maybe there are cameras. Either they're holed up in safety or they've escaped some other way. He doesn't mind beating a few skulls in though, so he'll stick by the older man's side for now. )

[zauneyete]

Do you think I would allow it to not?

[ He asked, with a little twist to his lips. As if he was saying: Please, what do you take me for? ]

Thankfully, it's fairly empty. The cameras... well. Silco's eyes scan for them, but he's more interested in the findings elsewhere. ]

I suspect they will be. Come, end of the hall. Furthest from the noise.

[ They don't use paper, but Silco has a little device to transmit whatever might be stored on something to his own archives. He can sort through it later. ]

And if the owner is here, well.

[ He smiled. ]

That's why you're here, isn't it? Nobody can fault you.

[gorb]

Keeping a fellow Outsider safe from harm? ( His eyes go very wide, and very boyish, innocent to a fault. ) It's what we're supposed to do, no?

( He won't exactly broadcast his wicked intentions to the group of boys who believe so staunchly in him. Mostly because he doesn't think this counts. If anyone's dead it's by the kaiju's claws, and surely that's their own fault in the first place. They shouldn't be involving themselves in all of this.

And really, he won't act unless he has to, so his hands are squeaky clean. (✿◕‿◕✿) )

I had an office. It was nicer than this. ( Ambling, voice low. ) Lots of light.

[zauneyete]

[ It would be very funny to Silco, how Geto holds so closely to his forced morals. Silco, meanwhile, continues as he always has. Perhaps less violently towards other Outsiders, perhaps with less feral snapping — somehow, despite his experience in Kenos, finding out that his daughter was alive had pulled him back from that precipice — but he hardly stayed his hand.

Hey, at least he'll be the first to try to shoot a man, if needed. ]

Hm. I did as well. Mine was over my bar. A large window, high rafters... [ All the better for Jinx to eavesdrop. ]

This all seems so sterile, doesn't it?

[ They turn a corner. Nothing. More doors. One at the end seems to be finer than the rest. There's even a window, with the blinds down.

A window indoors. How foolish.

[gorb]

It's definitely lacking character. I feel like that's important in a nefarious villain. They don't have the heart for it.

( He can understand the need for a window in the door, but then he thinks looking through it would certainly give whoever usually resides in their a cowardly edge. It's not something he'd consider for himself. His office was nice, it was tidy. If he had to clean blood from the panels every so often, that was fine. Manami helped him keep on track of things. )

One day you should show me. ( Hands in his pockets, but the tell-tale rift of black brings forth another curse, this one skittering up the wall where they've just come from, watching the doorway. Geto pays it no mind. He could send another to their destination, but this is Silco's mission. He's just here to be a nuisance. ) What are the simulation rooms for if not for showing off?