2014.05.26 - The kidnapping of Ava Ayala, Part 1

Gotham is a terrible pace. It's dark and grungy and smells. No really, it smells. Why anyone would ever visit there is beyond Malcolm.Every moment he's there is a moment too long. But what did Momma Bader tell her kids after they finished high school? You go to where the work is. And what's the best place to go if your main talents rest in mostly illegal areas?

Gotham.

So tonight again Malcolm finds himself walking down the street, a big brown trenchcoat over his suit as he walks with shoulders hunched and hands deep in his pockets. Then what's worse than being out and about in Gotham at night? Being in Gotham when it's raining.

Leaving the bar behind him, having gained at least one lead on a job, Mal is heading on his way.

The news came first from her aunt, Hector's widow. Someone had taken her cousin Ava Ayala. Since there is no ransom, well none her mother knew about anyway, she called her relatives. Angela and her brother are both police, and both bound by policy not to interfere.

Angela del Toro can not interfere, but the White Tiger clearly can. First she gathers information, descriptions of the kidnappers, references on where and when Ava was taken, even a picture of Ava.

Angela puts on her new costume. This UMF fits like a second skin, but is much tougher than her original costume and has both built in retractable claws and a number of pouches for storage. She puts a few useful tools in the pouches before heading out.

The rush when she puts on the amulet is indescribable, the way she figure it, each of the three parts doubles her abilities, between the three she is suddenly eight times the woman she was.

She heads to the rooftops, she knows that most people do not look up, climbing and using stealth and agility she can cross town unseen.

Now she has reached the area and is looking for someone who can help. She sits unmoving on a ledge, and realizes that when she sits still she literally fades into the background. Well that is different, she thinks.

She takes up her perch and is able to survey the scene from on high. Yeah that's the guy down there, he's leaving at exactly the right moment and matching the description. Malcolm Bader, freelance operative for various factions across the tri-cities. He's an inch over six foot, strong of feature, and definitely not enjoying the weather. His gait is even and steady as he walks down the street.

To his credit, Mal knows the first rule of villainy in Gotham, and that's to sometimes look up. When he feels that subtle shift in the air he glances up, then abruptly he stops as The White Tiger leaps to the ground in front of him. He steps back abruptly, just one step. His hands slide out of his pockets and he shifts his balance to the balls of his feet. Finally he answers, "Never heard of him." Though of course he doesn't react to her appearance as an honest man would.

She could try intimidation, but they say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

The White Tiger says, "Too bad, the right information could have been worth something to him, but if you are not him, I guess you do not want the reward."

OK, so she used up a lot of her spare cash buying this costume, unstable molecule fabric is not cheap, but she still has enough savings to pay for information, and is willing to spend it.

That...causes him to be taken aback. He cocks an eyebrow as he considers her. Slowly he straightens up, his eyes meeting hers as he tries to gauge who this is and what they want. A few moments pass as he gives her the once over, gauging her weight, her reach, her stance... She's does have that vigilante 'look' in the eyes, and alright she was a beautiful woman. All of that went in to form his snap judgement as he responds, "Don't you and your kind usually go straight to the punchin? S'first time I've heard of you people offerin' up money."

Malcolm notes her eyes are glowing green in the dim lighting, like a cat's eyes.

The White Tiger purrs softly, "We can always do that after, if you try to lie to me, but people like you are self interested, and much more cooperative when they have a clear profit motive."

She pulls a roll of bills out of a pouch to show she does actually have them, then replaces them.

There's a furrow to his brow as he looks first to the picture of Ava, then towards Angela. His eyes narrow and he accepts the other sketches. He absorbs the information as he reads, then he flips through some of the sketches. Finally he ends by considering the location she was taken from.

Finally he says, "A hundred bucks. Nice." His tone seems to clarify that it's definitely not nice. He gives her back the intel and then tells her simply. "Keep your money. Some of them look like some soldiers from the Costas." He adjusts his coat. "I know some places they hang out. We'll go there and I'll find out what's what."s softly, "We can always do that after, if you try to lie to me, but people like you are self interested, and much more cooperative when they have a clear profit motive."

Alright, so Mal does know the ins and outs of certain particular business people who might not be entirely on the up and up. And sure maybe they're often called gangs as opposed to Gentleman's Socials. But still, some things don't often sit entirely right with him. He holds up a hand towards her as he looks back towards the illuminated doorway of that bar some distance behind him. He looks back to her and lowers his hand.

"First off," He starts talking as he starts walking, probably to put some distance between them and the bar. He steps to the side and down one of the small side streets there that in ages past were meant more for horses and carriages as opposed to cars. Once they're out of sight, some ways down the street, he turns to face her and says. "I'm not a snitch, I'm not an informant, or anything like that. I'm just this guy." He gestures to the side as if to brush his words out of the way, "Second, alright I do sometimes have a feel for the vibe of some things. So given that..." He grimaces and seems to take a breath, frowning as he does so. "Third. Tell me what's going on."

The Tiger gestures him to under an Awning, then when out of he rain she pulls out some pictures. First a picture of Ava, "This girl was kidnapped tonight, her family is the ones offering the reward." True enough, Angela IS part of her family.

When then shows sketches of the ones described as her kidnappers and says, "This is what the ones who took her looked like, as best I can tell." she then pulls out a map with an area circled in red, "This is about where she was taken from."

Angela takes out the roll of bills and counts off five twenties, "Here is how it works, you give me information, I go get the girl, if I find her and she is all right, you get the rest of this. You lie to me and I come back and take back the down payment and take any you spent out of your hide. Sound fair?"

Angela is familiar with the Costas, one of the minor Maggia families. Large numbers of their soldiers have been in the path of the Punisher in recent years. She is not clear on why Malcolm is refusing the money, but replaces it.

"Lead on," she says.

She will be unseen and keeping an eye on things, that is fairly certain.