2013.07.30 - The Silver Ghost

The sun had set, it was dark, but then, wasn't it usually in Gotham? This was the mob district, if one were looking to get in a fight with the mafia, this might be the place to go. But, if one were looking to make some quiet purchases of some expensive hardware, this might also be where one would go to request a ticket to that kind of shopping center. The Silver Ghost was here, though for which of those two reasons is entirely unclear, as the man, in "ghost form" slips from shadow to shadow, watching, and listening, hoping that mugger he caught, and questioned wasn't selling him a bill of goods. He might not be the best with figuring out the cell phones, and computers of the world, but dealing with dirtbags on the street....that hadn't changed since 1949 it seemed. Finally seeing the man he was sent to talk to, he follows the man, down an alleyway, falling into step behind him. "Are you Jimmy the Fish?" he asks, staying in the shadows as best he can. "Marty Gianconi across the river said you might be able to give a fella directions...."

Oracle has other reasons for wanting to check into the mob, at the moment. Sending the Huntress in is a calculated risk, given her history with the mob. But, the Campitelli family is a relatively new arrival to Gotham's shores, and the woman's links back to the Old Country might come in handy, in this instance.

"Word is Antonio Campitelli has sent his son, Vincent, to negotiate with the Rosso family for a docking berth downshore. But, Cesare Rosso disappeared three days ago, and so the Rossos have closed ranks, which means Campitelli needs to find another way in. And my sources suggest he may be meeting a contact at the Biltmore Garage near Maroni's."

She's not actually familiar -- yet -- with The Silver Ghost or what that timetossed fellow may be in need of. But, that may change before the night is up. You never know.

"Gotcha. I'm on my way there no...wait." Huntress has been on her way to the Biltmore Garage per Oracle's instructions, but her attention is drawn to the suspicious movements of a man following another down an alleyway. Prime mugging posture. "Something might be about to happen. Gonna stop it."

Without waiting for a reply from Oracle, she uses a zipline to drop down to street level behind the follower and brings her crossbow up to aim at The Silver Ghost.

Jimmy The Fish of course doesn't much care for being snuck up upon, and his hand immediately goes for his weapon inside his jacket. "Oh yeah?" he says "And what exactly did Marty Ginconi, from across the river think I might know from directions?" he says now turning, with the swagger of a guy who isn't worried about what he might find. "Take a walk ya mook...." he says.

At this, The Ghost steps out of the shadows, his mask not the most frightening there is, nor his dress. "Listen, Jimmy....." he says "All I want is an invitation to the market. I'm not looking to shake anyone down...Marty said you might know where this market's being held tonight. I got money, market's got gear, or can get it." he says lifting his hands to show he's not armed. At least not currently." Jimmy the Fish considers it for a moment, and then snorts. "Damn freaks in masks comin' ta me now...." he says "I don't know you, jagoff...so turn around and leave the way you came, and you won't hafta get hurt, know what I'm sayin'?" The Ghost tilts his head a bit, and speaks "Sure, Jimmy, I know what you're sayin'....you're saying I'm bein' too polite...." he says, and reaches into his trench coat. Jimmy The Fish doesn't wait to see what it is he might be pulling out, and starts shooting. "BLAM..BLAM BLAM BLAM"....of course, The Ghost just stands there as the bullets ping off the wall behind him, as if they'd traveled right through him. He looks down at himself, as he finishes drawing his gun, and then back at Jimmy and grunts "Looks like you missed...." at that he lifts his gun just enough, and pulls his own trigger, blowing a hole in Jimmy's knee-cap. Jimmy has the good grace to go down screaming.

Detour?

Oracle trusts Huntress. But, the meeting at the Biltmore? Timing on that could be close. On the other hand, she's not going to suggest her Italian operative fail to rescue some guy in need... Particularly not when she can hear gunshots through the com-feed.

"What did you stumble into, H?" she asks, her fingers flying over her keys as she taps into the city's gunshot alert system. Sure, Gotham hears a lot of gunshots in any given evening, but not all of them coincide with the location of her operatives... certainly, not before her operatives have actually done anything.

So, she calls up the accessible cams within a mile of the Huntress' vicinity and throws their feeds through a digital aggregator that allows her to create a 3-D real-time holographic representation of the action.

(It's a new system she's experimenting with.)

She blinks at the replay. "Did those bullets just go through the guy in the hat?"

"ENOUGH, jackass." Yes, Huntress is addressing The Silver Ghost. After all, he's the one that just shot Joey the Fish. She doesn't reply aloud to Oracle, because that'd give away an ace she's got up her sleeve. "You /must/ be new to town, so I'll give you a warning." She steps sideways slightly. "DON'T. Fuck. With this town or anyone in it." The mafiosos in particular are HERS to punish.

The Ghost was about to crouch over Joey, when Huntress makes herself known. His head turns, glancing over his shoulder, before he responds "New? Dollface, "new" don't exactly describe me." he says and then looks back to Joey The Fish "sit tight, Jimmy." he says "I'll still be looking for that invitation...." he says and then shrugs "Dames...am I right?" he says, and then turns to face Huntress, sizing her up perhaps, or maybe simply admiring her form. "Apparently, dollface, you missed the memo." he says gesturing to the fallen gangster, whose gun he had the intelligence to stand on when he turned around. "Cuz it looks rather like I DO. Fuck. With people in this town." he says "See...Jimmy here's been fucked with. And in case you missed it, it was by me. Now...if you're his moll, and wanna make something of it, well, sister, then I'd say you and I got a dance to do." he responds.

Oracle pinches the bridge of her nose as Huntress swears at the mook in the grey hat. But, she can't really disagree with her. Screwing with Gothamites when one of the city's many freelance protectors are out and about? Bad idea.

Then, however, she hears the Grey Man's response. "Whoa," she says. "What Runyon story did he step out of?" she asks. Because, wow. Yeah. Okay. Sure, Runyon was famous for his stories of New York City -- particularly around Broadway -- not Gotham. But, still. Though Grey Man's language isn't quite so stylized, it's still seriously throwback. Like Zinda throwback.

And, wait... Did he just call Helena Bertinelli (okay, okay... the Huntress) a moll?

"DON'T kill him, H!"

Dollface? DAME? She has no idea what a 'moll' is, but the other two are quite enough to make her all but hiss in anger. "All right then, DICK, let's dance." And she fires a wooden bolt off at the man before charging immediately after it, having every intention of kicking this moron's ass into next week.

The Bolt passes right through the guy, as does any followup attack at him. He doesn't so much as move, nor, in fact does he raise his weapon, which is still held down at his side. If she overtextends by attempting to kick, or punch him, he will simply sidestep her, and his free hand will woosh down as if to slap her ass. Which of course, it will do if it manages to connect at all. "Dick...you're real astute, sweetheart. Are you all gams, and attitude, or do you make a mean potroast too?" he asks "I don't want to have to crack you in such a pretty kisser, doll, but don't try my patience. Jimmy and I have some business to discuss, and I'm pretty sure you're scaring him." he says tauntingly.

Oracle covers the lower half of her face with a hand, watching the scene unfold via amalgamated camera feed. "H, you need to back off," she says. "He's insubstantial; unless you get really lucky, you're not going to connect with him. You're going to need another approach."

She starts running facial rec on Jimmy, at least, and comes up with his identity. "The guy on the ground is Jimmy 'the Fish' Fontana. He's a two-bit snitch, usually on the Gianconi payroll." Usually. "But he's also the go-to guy in Lyntown for finding out where the Floating Market is happening. Grey Man, there, isn't likely mugging him. He's more likely shaking him down." But, even then, Babs can't be sure.

She runs his mask, and what facial shaping it reveals, through facial rec, too... but there's not much to go on. Still, maybe she can cross-reference his look with his language. The language is notable enough that if he's crossed paths with any of the major orgs she has db access to, she may be able to find something on him, at least.

Huntress does indeed go right through the gumshoe-talking bastard, but is quick enough on her feet to recover from the potential stumble. The jackass DOES manage to swat her on the behind, and if looks could kill her glare would be turning him to ash now. However, Oracle's words get through to her and she refrains from launching herself at the guy again. Instead, her crossbow gets aimed at Jimmy the Fish, who's now at her feet between them. "Touch me again, you douche, and I put a bolt through his eyeball. And he's black market scum, so I won't feel bad about it for too long."

The Ghost looks to Jimmy, then to Huntress, then without hesitation, points his gun at the fallen man, and pulls the trigger "BLAM". "Sorry, Jimmy...." he says to the man's now dead (or dying) body. "Guess your girlfriend here doesn't want you anymore either." he says, and then to Huntress he shrugs. "So I wait another day...I got time. As for you...." he says "You need to learn to play your cards better, sweetheart. You might be a hot tomato, but don't play the game unless you're betting on losing." he says. "Now...if you don't mind my asking, who the hell are you, and why are you throwing a wrench in my works?" he says "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I swear I can't pinch off a loaf these days without someone taking a swing at me...."

"Huntress!" The threat is what makes Oracle's voice sharp. When the Grey Man puts a second bullet into the hapless mook, however, she swears. A hand curls into a fist and her eyes flash. "Murdering sonuva..." Because, really, is there anything Barbara Gordon detests more than death-by-gunshot?

It's not high on Batman's list of acceptable behavior, either.

She glances to her monitors. The only potential matches she's getting for this guy are 70 years out of date... though they fit with his speech patterns. "I don't know who the hell this guy is," Oracle says darkly to Huntress, "but he needs to be hauled into the nearest precinct, pronto." Of course, the fact she doesn't know who he is... well, that's definitely something that might give anyone who knows her pause.

"The only hits I'm getting on his getup are of a vigilante circa Lady Blackhawke's heyday. So, either he's a cheap knock-off or she and Captain America aren't the only ones to survive World War 2 with their youth and vigor intact."

It's a gamble, but she wants this son of a bitch. Murder is murder, even if the victim was a scumbag.

"See if the name John G. Carmichal gets a rise from him. That or..." she checks the news articles. "The Silver Ghost. Maybe, if he's surprised enough, you'll be able to lay a hand on him long enough to knock him out."

Note to self, Oracle: Send Helena some knockout gas or stun quarrels.

Huntress would never have REALLY shot the man, but she had not expected him to call her on it and shoot the weasel himself. "SHIT." She's pulling a smallish gauze pack from her belt -- something a bit like what modern soldiers carry -- and presses it to Jimmy's newest bullet wound. She's been listening to Oracle over the comm, and when the woman gives her a name she looks up at the jerk. "Carmichal, you ASSHOLE." Hopefully Oracle's right and it'll startle him enough for her to get a drop on him.

The Ghost doesn't visibly react to the name dropped, merely stands there, as Huntress rushes to Jimmy's aid. What she finds when she kneels down to treat the newest wound is that it's barely a flesh wound, but was enough to make him drop the derringer he'd pulled from somewhere, and was probably pointing at her when the Ghost shot him. "You're welcome." he says merely "And Carmichal's dead." he says "You still didn't answer my question. You know my name....so what's yours dollface?" he asks, remaining where he was, and obviously making no more threatning moves.

It's the movement on the cameras -- and thus in her holo representation of the scene -- that makes Oracle take a second look at The Fish. "Is the Fish still alive?" she asks, particularly as H starts pulling out bandages.

That Carmichal effectively identifies himself, however, catches her attention. Okay. That's interesting. Grandson, maybe? Or the same guy.

"Better read Grey Man the riot act, H. He needs to know the new rules in this era." Otherwise, Oracle will have to contact him herself.

Not, mind, that she won't anyway.