Players:
Summary: Dingo & Kalindi discuss the fate of someone they both have business with.
Log Title: A Villainous Quandary
Rating: PG 13
/NYC - Hell's Kitchen//
The rough neighborhood in Midtown West New York known as Hell's Kitchen almost has a darker tone to it. Once you step into this neighborhood the city takes on a different feel, the buildings are shorter but everything feels darker. There is real grit to this part of town where many of the New York City criminals see to make their home.
Scene
Too cold. It's just too damn cold out. Dingo sighs, breathing out a puff of steam and shivering as he looks down at the street below him. With the shootings having ended in Mutant Town he's felt it safe to finally leave the confines of Mutant Town without fear of something happening with him away. And finally he is able to start going after the people on that ever-growing list of people who have been acting in less than mutant friendly ways. Tonight? The manager of "April Moon", a swanky little bar in Hell's Kitchen that was stupid enough to put a "No Mutants" sign right on the front door. Idiots. Dingo shivers one last time and dissipates into sand, blowing down from the rooftop and reforming in the street. He walks forward toward the club in his Dingo costume.
Even during this temperature, Kalindi wears gold jewellery that must be chilled from frost and ice. She is carrying her staff of gold as she approaches the bar from around the corner, spinning it in between her fingers as she sometimes does. She pauses at the door and looks at the sign, raising her eyebrow slightly. How delightfully backwards. That does not keep her from moving on into the building, though, and she presses the door open with the tip of her expensive walking stick before entering.
Dingo walks toward the entrance and crosses his arms as he looks at the bouncer. "Hey there, mate. Know who I am?" He smirks as the man seems to recognise him. "Yup, Dingo. Want to explain this here sign or shall I just go in after your boss man?" The bouncer pulls out a gun and points it at Dingo, which gets a laugh out of the man. Dingo's hands turn into sand, the transformation traveling up his arms and across his body until only his head is flesh. He walks up to the bouncer and punches him in the stomach, the bullets fired at him having had apparently no effect. He reaches out and pushes the door open, walking into the foyer.
"I am looking for your employer," says Kalindi to the barkeep, who eyes the unusually well adorned girl with no small amount of suspicion. "You should have been told of my arrival earlier. We have business to discuss." She turns around and leans against her staff when she hears the gunshots. Oh, how hasslesome. The girl gestures at the barkeep and says, "Do not get him yet, I will investigate."
Kalindi has no need to go out and investigate what is going on just now. Dingo saves her the trouble by entering the main bar area after hurling another bouncer into the room and knocking down a table. A few of the patrons call out in alarm when Dingo enters the room. "Alrighty! Everybody out! I need to have a discussion with the boss man here." He raises an arm and brings it down onto the Juke-Box, smashing it and cutting out the music. Many of the people rush past Dingo as they evacuate the bar, a few more approach him in a menacing manner. Dingo notices the woman near the bar and raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Same idea as me, eh miss?"
"I have business to conduct in this place," replies Kalindi, eyebrows furrowing slightly, "I think it will be not good for both of us if you choose to interrupt it. Maybe another time you can come back, yes?" She taps the staff a couple of times on the floor and adjusts the backpack on her shoulders, not yielding to anyone who is currently on the run. "I am guessing the sign on the door is your interest, yes?"
Dingo moves toward the woman, knocking a man over as he approaches her. "Oh? What kind of business? Like that time in the alley?" He ducks as a large man tries to punch him, turning his fist into sand again and punching back. The man is left bleeding and looks as though someone struck him with a brick. "Yes well, that sign is a problem for my people, so it's a problem for me. If the owner is a customer of yours well…You might want to find a new customer."
"That you want to do him harm could make my negotiations all the stronger," says Kalindi, contemplating this. She looks at the men who are trying to engage Dingo and shakes her head, "Do not attack him, you imbeciles, and leave like he says. We are /talking/." She drops her backpack, which makes a very loud -THUD- as it hits the ground, tapping her staff at the same time. It seems she just hates being interrupted in general. "This being said… and this is only business, you understand, not a personal thing… I must speak to him. I have a contract for him to sign. When that is done… his side completed…" She shrugs.
The other men there seem a little confused. They yell something about a "Mutie Freak" and pull out guns, pointing them at Dingo. The Australian, holds up a hand to Kalindi, "Just a sec, love." And he's gone. A swirling mass of sand moves toward the remaining men and speeds up considerably once it reaches them. The men start to scream and run out of the room, bleeding heavily. Dingo returns to normal and looks around at the empty room. He turns back to Kalindi and smiles at the bartender behind her. "Get the lady a drink, eh? And you…What exactly is going on here? He signs your contract and I can do whatever I want to him? What's in it for you if he's dead or crippled?"
"This is not a pact of servitude, like I did for the man in Mutant Town. Such things are almost like, eh, mercies. Equal exchanges. I get someone who will help me, they get out of some problem," says Kalindi, after Dingo returns to a humanoid form. "It is nice, but not conducive to my overall goals. Just good for immediate things." To the barkeep, pleasantly, "Something virgin, yes? For now, anyhow." Indifferent to the fear that the barkeep is probably feeling, Kali continues, "This is a bigger one. The deed for a small building I think will be of great use to me in the future. And if he does not sign it off, then his soul is forfeit to me. In exchange, I have a way for him to achieve some small power, see? But this power is social in nature. Should he take it, I can manipulate him, make further dealings. But if he is killed… eh, that is /annoying/. Personally, I do not dislike you at all, but professionally, I am in a bind should you choose to harm him before these negotiations. And I am a professional.”
Dingo raises an eyebrow as the woman speaks. "A pact for his soul, eh? Well if he dies don't you get that? Whatever that is…How does that work anyway?" He waves a hand dismissively, "Eh don't worry about it. I'm sure it's all complicated and shit." He glances idly at the bartender and runs a hand over his mouth as he ponders. "So you'd like to keep him alive. And you seem like a reasonable woman I guess, never REALLY gave me any problems. But at the same time you see how I can't have him keeping a place like this open. Gives the wrong impression to the community. Lets the businesses think they can just put up signs like that and nothing'll happen."
"Yes, it is terribly complicated and shit," says Kalindi to the first statement, in a way so serious almost as if to be comedic, "And yes, I get it if he does not hold any part of his bargain. Which is fine, but I do not /really/ need it, not as much as the property, see?" She twiddles her thumbs lightly and then nods, "And yes, I see your perspective. Your business is as a man fighting for mutant justice. As much business as my business. And while our goals are neither contradictory nor even terribly different, our business arrives at a crossroad here." She crosses her leg over the other, "And since I do not wish your enmity nor you, I will guess, wish mine… Let us resolve this thing in a contest. Or, if you think this is stupid, you make your counter suggestion."
Dingo chuckles a bit as the woman speaks. "I like the way you talk. So official." He glances around the club again. "Alrighty. A contest you say?" He scratches the back of his head. "Well I'd rather not lose…And I'd not like you to lose either…But I can't pass up something like that." Dingo's rather fond of competition, and he's also a bit overconfident with his abilities. "Ok. But if I lose I still get to smash up the joint. If you lose I'll reimburse you a bit money-wise. How's that sound? Maybe…Ten Thousand?" He still has a bit left over from that bank robbery.
"Well, please smash the place up a little later, yes? After I leave. He has an office that is convenient to talk in. There are comfortable chairs, mints on the desk," explains Kalindi, before she shrugs, "With this amendment to the agreement, I will agree to it. I thank you for being so reasonable. And then, the only thing to decide… is the contest's nature. I would say a duel, without weapons or powers, hand-to-hand would be good for me." Of course, given that it's her first suggestion, she may be pretty confident with that…
Dingo glances around and nods, "Yeah I can smash things up a bit anyway I suppose. And a fight?" He frowns. "I don't know how I feel about fighting a woman…And I'm ex-millitary, so I'm not too bad in a fight." He shakes his head, "Also there's the matter of my powers. They tend to activate on their own if I get hurt." Is that the truth? He seems not to be lying. "Magneto tried to cut me up first time he met me. Didn't work so well for him."
"I was trained most recently by one of the greatest martial arts masters in this world," admits Kalindi, not wanting to limit information, "And yes, when I concentrate, my eyes will get funny looking, but it is not because I am using any powers. It is just what my body does when I concentrate enough on a thing." She crosses her arms and notes, "But if you do not want to fight a woman, then make your counter-suggestion."
Dingo shakes his head, "No no. It's not that I don't want to fight…Well, I'd rather not fight someone who could be an ally…It's just that…" He glances around the room and shakes his head. "Oh wait, I'm full of bullets." He chuckles and points to his chest as a bunch of bullets push themselves out of his body and clink against the ground. "It would be unfair to you if you fought me. My body turns to sand when people attack me. I'm pretty unable to be harmed by physical attacks." He thinks for a minute and nods, "Well actually I don't need to KILL him. I guess if I just roughed him up a little and trashed the joint it would work well enough to serve my purpose. If he continues to give me trouble I'll find you before I do anything life ending to him."
"It must be convenient to do that. If I am full of bullets, I just bleed and bleed and bleed!" says Kalindi, rolling her eyes, speaking as though from experience. "And yes, I suppose that it would be unfair. Even with grappling, I think you would be more flexible with sandy joints." She tilts her head back and forth slightly and shrugs, "And are you putting forward a new solution? Because this is fine by me. Even though it is such a long time since I have had a good contest!"
Dingo shrugs and looks a little uneasy. "Well the thing about contests is that I'd be likely to beat you just because of my powers. I don't want to hurt you…And grappling with a sand person is like fighting with a cement statue. One that can instantly repair itself when damaged." He shrugs again, "And I'm fine just waiting here until you do your business. I'll go terrorize him a bit when I'm done…Or even you may be able to do it for me. I could be helpful to you in that manner perhaps? Dingo was pissed off at his sign but you convinced me to leave you alone…But you could suggest to him that he be friendlier to mutants."
"Well, I do not mean a fighting contest only. There are other things. Games of skill, eh, what have you. Hand to hand is usually my strong suit, though, but with automatic powers… well, it is a hassle!" explains Kalindi, getting up from her seat. "And yes, I suppose a queue would be fine. I could talk to him for you. It would hurt negotiations to rough him up, but I can let him know on no uncertain terms that you will return if he does not clean up his act. If that is not enough, then yes, we will queue up." She pauses for a moment and brightens slightly, "Actually, if you terrorize him first, he will be more vulnerable to suggestion. And then I can reinforce the message, he will be scared and vulnerable and realize that he wants what I am selling… Maybe I will come back in, ah, fifteen minutes? Get a coffee, read part of a magazine?"
Dingo ponders for a moment. "Yeah most of my skills aren't something that a quick contest can take care of. Most of my knowlege has to do with fixing cars and stuff." He chuckles. "Fifteen minutes? Works for me. I'll leave him conscious and still able to sign. And I'll leave out his window, just keep an eye for the sandstorm, eh?" He glances at the bartender behind the bar, "Oh you can go now. Probably don't want to be around when I trash the joint."
"Oh, but first, please take a drink out of my Shirley Temple," says Kalindi to the bartender, gesturing to the drink that was served to her, just to make sure it hasn't been poisoned or spiked. When the bartender does so, she nods and says, "You are right. I do not know anything about cars. They may as well run on magic." She takes the drink and hops up to head out the door, "I will talk to you later. Enjoy your chat."
Dingo nods and waves to the woman as she heads out. "Yeah well, they're more complicated now." He looks around the room and cracks his knuckles. "I won't be too long. Have a nice night. Stop by the bar sometime, we'll catch up." He'll do a fair bit of destruction in a short amount of time once she leaves. Then he'll run upstairs and rough up the owner before she can come back. True to form, he'll leave the man alive and conscious, though one of his legs will appear broken and he'll be bleeding a bit.
~ Fin ~
