2015.03.02 - Blüdbath: Business Transaction

Place: Blüdhaven, Downtown

Time: Shift Change, after nightfall.

In the modern world, there aren't many opportunities to see examples of a city under seige. But if there is a modern equivalent, it looks very much like Blüdhaven at the present. Armed mercenary patrols from Vigilance Security Group roam the streets on foot and in armored vehicles, detaining anyone caught perpetrating a crime and shooting anything that's wearing a 'costume.'

Knowing full well the orders the VSG is operating under, it's probably more than a bit foolhardy for Deathstroke to be sneaking through the city in his battle armor. He's certainly doing his best to keep up his reputation as the 'Big Bad of Blüdhaven.' But even a group of hardened mercenaries has to work in shifts, and fortunately Deathstroke happens to know exactly when their shift changes are scheduled.

He pulls himself up, climbing over the top of a building just before a searchlight can hit his feet. Almost caught, but almost doesn't count. He maintains complete silence as he slowly crouch-walks across the rooftop, communicating with his partner-in-stealth only by a series of hand signals.

On the other side of the roof, he pulls out his monocular and surveys the building across the street. With his free hand, he makes a fist in the air, signalling his partner to remain still.

Cass has been following obediently, Slade's constant shadow who offers nothing in the way of questions when it comes to his desires, the girl nothing more than another weapon in his already-impressive arsenal.

Still dressed in the same jeans, tee and hoodie as before, the tiny figure who comes up beside him doesn't seem to be hindered by the lack of costume, proving that it was merely noting more than bat-like trappings and did nothing to enhance her ability to climb or anything else. About the only thing she is missing is the armor plating that had been sewn into it but that is not even something she worries too much anymore.

When signaled to go still she does, stopping just at Slade's left, her foot fall almost completely silent when she comes up to her ally. He's given a questioning look, wondering what it is he might see.

"There you are, you son of a bitch..." Deathstroke finally breaks his silence, though he doesn't appear to be talking to the pint-sized assassin. Instead, his attention seems to be focused pretty squarely on the events unfolding across the street. "Looks like I caught you right in the middle of a business transaction. How interesting."

He takes a couple of steps back and unhooks a grapple gun from his belt. Looking at the supervillain formerly known as Batgirl he holds the gun up. "I assume you've used one of these a time or two?" He tosses it to her, and takes a second one off of his belt. "I'll go first. Once I'm in, you'll follow to protect my rear."

As he fires his grapple gun at the adjacent rooftop, he looks back at her with his cold blue eye. "I mean that literally and figuratively."

The shot is fired, the cable is away, and Deathstroke swings across the street, smashing through a window several stories below roof level.

A shoulder is lifted in a semi-shrug in response to Deathstroke. Yes, she was in the middle of something but it hardly matters as when he calls she drops everything. She can always return to whatever it was she was doing later.

The grappling gun is caught and looked at, it causing her to frown. It serves as a reminder of a past best left dead, a past she wishes she could forget but nothing short of amnesia would cure her of those memories. A slow nod is given as she looks back to Slade, listening as he instructs her about what her role in this is. He wants protection? She can do that.

When he fires and then swings once the grappling hook is grasped tightly to whatever surface it has found purchase upon, Cass sighs and smiles, eagerly anticipating enjoying this greatly. The sound of glass breaking is her cue and she follows behind, she too swinging down to the window.

He only landed a few seconds before she did, but Deathstroke has already turned the room into a multiple homicide crime scene. He buries his knife repeatedly in the last remaining bodyguard's chest, covering his mouth to suppress his death gurgles.

Behind him, one of the bodyguards is lying down in his death throes, while another is slowly sliding down the wall with arterial spray coming out of his neck. On the bed, an obese man with a toupee and a girl who looks like she should probably be in high school are in a state of undress. Both of them look too shocked to make a sound, which is probably why they're both still alive.

"Ah... Councilman Hester... sorry to interrupt your 'business meeting.' Normally, I'd wait outside until you were done, but you and I had a prior engagement, if you recall?"

While Cass is not overly-emotional normally she finds herself angered by the sight of the teenager in bed with the sleezy man. The exploitation of children... okay, maybe the girl is there consentually but that's not the point. Willing or not, she is being taken advantage of. Pulling one of her katana from its sheath, she uses it to point to her and then her clothing, telling her to get dressed and get the hell out. Will Slade mind or will he be upset with her for doing so? Hard to tell but it is probably easy to assume she doesn't care. Cass will take her lickings if he takes exception to her sparing her.

Regardless of if Lolita does as she is told to or not, the tip of that sword gets points to Hester, it aimed for his throat unlike his partner who merely got it waved at her in a generally menacing manner. If he so much as moves wrong she'll remove him of his throat. It's only now that she remembers what she is supposed to do and she stands back, instead watching for guards or anyone else who might have the misfortune of happening in them now.

"My taciturn partner is offering you an easy out." Deathstroke seems to approve of letting the girl go, though it's hard to tell whether he would have given it much thought if Cass hadn't been present. "There are other ways to make a living kid. I hear the VSG is hiring. Tell 'em you were referred by 'The Boss' and I'm sure they'll find something a bit less degrading for you to do."

As the girl hurriedly grabs her things, Deathstroke makes his way over to the bed. The councilman gasps and sputters, and tries to make himself more presentable. This mostly involves sitting up and adjusting his toupee.

"Hurry along now, kid. It's about to get Rated R in here for adult language and violent content."

He places a knee on the councilman's chest, knife in hand, and waits until the girl runs out of the door.

The girl deciding to go is a relief to Cass who really is not too much older than she is. Would have been a shame to have to kill her, wouldn't it? The would-be child prostitute is ignored, now, though, her mind returning to her job.

When the target is threatened she slips closer, the thin blade of her weapon moving down his body. Down his chest, down his nasty belly, past his waist until it is his manhood that gets it pointed at. Hmmhmmm. Shaking her head, she smirks coolly, almost daring him to do something stupid.

"We'll have to make this quick. I don't think we'll be alone with the Councilman for long, especially now that we've sent a crying, half-naked girl running out of his room to alert the guards. But make no mistake, Mr. Hester... they won't be able to save you from me."

He looks behind him, and can't help but chuckle. "Maybe I'm not the one you should worry about though. It seems my partner here wouldn't mind slicing your scrotum open and pulling out your balls." The councilman nearly faints at this announcement, and begins sputtering in an even more panicked manner.

"L-l-look, Deathstroke, I didn't... whatever you heard... that's not how it went down. I've been loyal... done everything you asked... please, just let me up and we can talk about this!"

Deathstroke holds his hand up in front of his face as if he were yawning. Whether or not he's actually yawning is impossible to tell, but he makes the accompanying noise pretty convincingly. "Sorry. You suck at pleading. Go ahead, kid. The left one."

Is that a smile? Oh yes. Yes it is a smile. Cass' eyes brighten a bit as well, sadistic little thing she is. This is going to be fun, unfortunately for Hester. If he was lucky he would have had mercs with consciences paying a call. But nope. No such luck there. Tsking, Her free hand pulls whatever covers might be concealing him from her view and everything. Once it is all able to hang out in the open she makes with the very messy job of removing him from his left testicle, a job that results in a lot of blood lost in a very short amount of time.

The small orb of tissue is speared with her sword and held up for Slade's inspection, almost like the way a cat presents its beloved human with a dead bird or rodent. She then presents it to the man it had been sliced from. "You have one left." A warning.

Predictably, the councilman begins screaming and thrashing. It's a testament to Batgirl's skill that she's able to perform the 'surgery' without nicking something important and making him bleed to death. When it's finally held up, the councilman passes out almost immediately, his eyes crossing as he slumps back on the bed. This does not sit well with Deathstroke.

A couple of rough slaps ensue, bringing the councilman back around for more pain. But outside, the sound of heavy, sprinting footsteps can be heard. "I'll take care of the goons. Be a sweetheart and finish mangling our friend here, I want whoever finds him to vomit uncontrollably."

Deathstroke removes his knee from the councilman's chest, and strides casually toward the door. As the footsteps get near, Deathstroke begins firing with his trusty old MP5, putting multiple holes in the door and nearby walls. Of course, they start firing back as well, though most of their rounds either miss or reflect off of his armor.

It's like offering a young child anything they want from a toy shop or an endless amount of their favorite candy. The thought of being allowed to put an end to this scumbag. With a laugh that borders on manical, she takes to filleting the man, splitting him open from throat to crotch, and then his innards are strewn all over the bed. And if that isn't enough, Cass actually goes as far as to scalp him and remove his hands and feet of their digits. Sadly, the screaming ends before she is finished, leaving for a minute bit of disatisfaction.

When she joins Deathstroke she is a mess, her tee, hoodie, jeans and even her shoes positively soaked in the gore and some of the blood and bits cling to her hair and face. "Ready?"

You can only afford so many guards on a city councilman's salary, so it doesn't take Deathstroke long to polish off the minimal resistance. That makes a grand total of six dead guards, and one dead (and severely mutilated) public official. As he reloads his MP5, he admires both the girl and her handiwork.

"I think he got the message. Nicely done." The weapon is placed back in its holster, and Deathstroke heads for the door.

Already full of holes, the door falls on its own before Deathstroke can even touch the handle. Scoring marks on his armor indicate places where the bodyguard's got lucky, but a quick glance in the hallway gives a pretty accurate picture of who won this particular firefight. "We need to get to the ground level before the patrols get here. I estimate we've got about thirty seconds to be out of the building. We'll hide in the sewers for the next twenty four hours." He draws the broadsword from its sheath on his back, and begins running down the hallway toward the fire escape.

The bodily destruction Slade has made with has Cass shaking her head before she too breaks into a run. The injuries Slade obtained has not gone without notice but now is not the time to point them out, nor is it the time for her to offer her aid to him. No, any first aid he may need will have to wait until after they reach the relative safety of the sewers even if it might not be the most sterile environment for bandaging wounds.

Once the fire escape is scaled and they reach the ground, Cassandra looks around quickly before pointing towards an alley way. About forty feet from where they are there is a man hole cover, the perfect place for them to get out of the line of sight. He might not agree with her assessment but he will have no choice but to follow her if he wants to get down below Bludhaven's street level quickly.