NeutralNexus — Roleplayer Guild

The brow of the Cowl narrowed as he stepped out of the sleek black car he used for travel, passing a subordinate holding open the door for him as his eyes caught sight of smoke coming from the Ironworks, his Ironworks.  The same ones that not more than half an hour ago he was notified to meet Odette with hopefully his cash cow of a captive, the woman known as Racheli.

She of course did not mention that a new complication had arisen in the form of a scuffle in his building.  There were already immediate signs of a scuffle that went into factory right from the start with the crumbling concrete from opening blows along with withering plants that had been more than likely used as failed restraints for the viral horror.  A brief sigh left the mask, a slow stroll over to the building allowed him to brush his hand along the cracked stone on the surface, seeing the destruction continued further inside.  He did not appreciate his building being destroyed, but he should have suspected that the girl would have made another escape attempt upon her kidnapping.

Which is why he made the educated choice to bring backup.  Not too long after he left his car, five SUVs pulled up near the building, unloading troops of armed men from the unmarked black doors, a mixture of tactical gear and gang colors indicated their amalgamated histories, a strange mixture of corporate control and underworld influences.  This was of course followed by a large unmarked white truck, about the size of a U-Haul vehicle tended due by a few anonymous workmen.  As the back door was pulled up, the contents of the vehicle revealed itself to be an array of strange equipment.  Unmarked crates and unnamed devices littering the truck, possible traps and sensors to protect the building. However, the most interesting piece of equipment stood in the very center.  A single large box, clear windows of unmarked material highlighted by hard ceramic plates securing the sides, though devices and electrical equipment was attached to the box as well, humming and beeping as it took readings and diagnostics of the empty internals. a prison for a metas that The Cowl had commissioned to be built from the cybernetics equipment he received from Steel Lotus, a high-tech Yakuza gang.

“Five of you are with me, along with Specter and the two gentlemen who brought our device.” The Cowl ordered, turning his attention to the men once they all formed up.  “The others are to fan out and take positions along the factory, out of sight but still within distance from the windows.  We keep this building surveyed at all times, after the young lady leaves, there is nobody coming in or out of this building until our benefactors come to claim their prize.” 

The subordinates carried out the word of the Cowl with military precision, the groups splitting into groups of five and splitting off, dipping into the building through its numerous exists to cover the unassuming building with enough firepower to take down squads of any indicated interlopers.  Of course, if everything went to plan, they would have no resistance at all. 

However, at this point while the Cowl waltzed into the building with his accompanying soldiers, he was not so sure.  When he had given Lekh and Odette the drop-off point he had not sent them off unsupervised.  His shadow, Specter, had been at the location as well, armed with nothing but a camera and a disguise as a unnamed homeless fool.  From an alleyway no more than a street down, the mysterious meta had eluded detection long enough to capture the scene as it had unfolded, giving Cowl extra insight long before he was contacted to meet his captive.  Aside from what he had learned from Jacqueline, he had learned two more important and ever discerning issues.

The first was Racheli was not the loner he had hoped for, there were friends and allies searching for her, metahumans and mechanical genius’ hoping to recover their friend and hopefully save her from her ever-increasing viral condition.  If Cowl could expect anything at this point, they would not give up in their search even when he could hand her over to Gene Co, and more than likely they would find some way to discern her location.  While he told no one about this job save for the men in the building already as well as Specter, he knew better than to think there would be no interference, and as such he would have to be prepared.  Sending the video Specter had given him to a few select men around the city, he ordered them to gain as much information about the interlopers that had attacked Lekh and Odette on the truck job.

Of course, that video also brought the surprising information that Racheli did have more than just genetic changes from the viral agent in her system, in fact giving her powers that surpassed expectations.  The young girl at this point could manipulate and bend metal, which would be a problem for an Ironworks building, though from what he knew from the limited tests his sawbones had given him about the virus, hopefully the heat generated from the mighty furnaces in the building would keep her in check like it did in smaller tests.

His train of thought ended when he finally did get a visual of Odette, standing in the refinery with a hole upward from the offices above, her captive encased in what looked like a chunk of concrete.

“Ah, Mademoiselle, it's good to see you again.  No worse for the wear I'd hope?”  Quipped the Cowl as he stepped into the refinery, getting a good look at Odette's flustered appearance from the very clear struggle that had just ensued.  Of course, as he entered Odette would see Specter at his back along with the goons spreading into the room, well armed and already scouting the room for any surprises. “I’d ask if you had much trouble with her, but from what I can see of my building that question would be nothing more than bitter sarcasm at this point.”  He took another glance of Racheli, her crumpled body and black blood spilling out onto the floor. “Ugh...the boys are going to hate cleaning up this mess...she is alive, isn’t she?  I wouldn’t want to have to deal with explaining to my affiliates why I’m sending them a corpse.”

As he spoke, he reached into his jacket to pull the small red chest from his suit pocket, holding it out for her to see. “I have done what you asked, but I must remind you that this is for your eyes only, this is not to be given to anyone, nor to be used against me in any context.  The agreement of our concordance was entirely laid upon those grounds and I ask you to hold up that end of the bargain out of respect.  Of course, the added bonus will be transferred to Odette’s account once I get another verbal confirmation, both from you and your...unseeable cohort.”

He held the box out to her calmly, the men behind him being a bit more apprehensive with the two metas in the room as their fingers rested on triggers, not aiming at Odette but seemingly alert as they shifted their weight anxiously at her mere presence. “Do we still have a deal in that aspect?”
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