Bananas And Blow

Participants:

alys_icon.gif chess_icon.gif eve2_icon.gif lance_icon.gif

Scene Title Bananas and Blow
Synopsis A deal goes explosive when it runs shore on the wrong beach.
Date May 19, 2018

Staten Island


Staten Island has never been a very safe place to be, not in recent memory. That hasn't changed in the aftermath of a civil war. In fact, some might argue that the crime rate has really spiked in recent years.

Dusk falls across New York, leaving the ruins around the island in long shadows and dim light. Out on the water, orange reflections shimmer across the water, rocked by gentle waves. It's almost peaceful, but for the sound of a trio of boats cutting through the river. The center boat— large and heavily manned— is flanked by two smaller. Less people on them, but with a singular purpose given away by the rifles in hand. The guards look tense as they near the shore. The drivers also look tense.

Chess is disembarking one of the various less-than-legal 'ferries' — the term is used a bit loosely, since not all of the boats that ferry people over were ever commercial vessels. This one was probably a fishing boat at some point, but has definitely seen better days. The name 'The Codfather' in faded paint, once red, now pink, is barely visible and the cartoon cod below it has a few un-ironic bullet holes in it.

The woman steps carefully out onto the dock, taking into her surroundings through narrowed eyes, tipping her head at the nervous-looking guards on the boat nearing the docks. She may have shit for timing, she thinks, as her hand pulls out the ever-present baseball from her bag to roll around in her hand.

"One, two, buckle my shoe."

A voice can be heard faintly in the shadows, the rasp thinning out at the end of the phrase. A dark shape makes it way across the terrain of the shore with a strange pace and footing, there is a glint of a metal staff of some kind being used to help that figure across the ruins. A long, dark coat covers the shape with a cowl covers a face. Pale hands can be seen gripping the staff and then there's a whistle. A piercing sound that echoes up to the shore.

Eve Mas has been restless. On her back laid up.. The chance to explore again, having her sight back.

There was a toking of a spliff and then a journey through the ruins. Her bum leg barely getting any weight on it. She hisses softly with a look down, a reminder of her current state still. Regardless of her sight being back, her ability was still gone. Her leg still on the mend but she had convinced Gillian and the rest that she could get around herself. There was significant improvement but still.. Fuck. "Three, four better lock your door." she snorts to herself. She hasn't spotted Chess yet, but her half lidded gaze begins to look towards the dock.

There was more than one person on 'The Codfather' it seems, although not all of them chose to pay the ferryman. Not long after the passenger has disembarked and the captain's stepped away from the gangplank, a shadowy form drops down behind them both and steps swiftly out onto the dock without making a sound - literally without making a sound, as silent as the dead. The edge of a grey hoodie pulled up over his face to hide his identity, Lance Gerken slips past Chess and keeps walking towards shore - perhaps to her surprise - hands tucked away in the pockets of the garment, boots falling soundless to the wood of the dock as he passes.

Alys isn't much of one for water and shorelines. They remind her too much of being back home, even still. But she'd had a buyer for some goods who had wanted to meet out here. She sits on a crate of mostly stole goods, an assortment of things - some non-perishable foods, guns, and other assorted sources of a good time.

However, she's beginning to feel like she's been stood up, the crate stashed back away and Alys meandering alongside the shoreline in search of something more intersting. Boats, arrivals- that's certainly something more interesting, watching from a bit off to the side with curiosity aand a critical eye. Clearly she wandered further than she though, eyeing the dock, but hey. Nothing ventured - or adventured - nothing gained.

The ferry is noted by the boats further out. They hang back until it's made its drop and turned away again. The two guard boats reach the dock first, the larger boat stays further back. Anchored, but not easily accessible. One could imagine the guard boats as particularly large lilypads to hop their way there, but for the armed men and women already occupying them.

Two of which make their way up the dock. Alys might not be the only one stood up tonight, as they don't seem happy as they scan the people gathered here. The woman seems more relaxed, hands on her rifle, but the weapon is pointed down and away from where it might do actual damage. The man, though, he's already pointing at these people who are not supposed to be here.

"You're not supposed to be here," he states, firmly.

The voice — a familiar one — has Chess looking to where Eve's making her way with difficulty and she rolls her eyes with the exhausted air of a daughter dealing with a difficult parent. "Jesus Christ, Eve, you're barely-"

Chess swivels around as Lance is suddenly in front of her, and she had never heard a sound. Her heard pounding, she looks back to the Codfather, and then the people from the boats with their guns. She raises a brow, turning that baseball in her hand again.

"There's no harbor patrol these days, sorry to tell you," Chess says lightly, feigning nonchalance.

At the insistance that they're not supposed to be there, Lance turns a bit - still continuing down towards the shore backwards, both hands lifted up palms open as if to show he's unarmed. "…and I won't be, if you give me a minute," he calls back, turning back again with a deft twist on his heel. His voice may or may not be familiar to Chess as he continues past, his foot-falls making sound for just the length of time he needs to speak before they're shrouded in silence again. Head turns away from the armed, escorted boat, the sound of the seer's voice drawing his attention. A grin curves in the shadow of his hoodie, and as boots hit sand he's briskly heading in the direction of the cowled figure.

"Boomer! You're here! I was just going for a stroll," in the ruins of course. The older woman looks down at her leg. "I'm fine!" Is said right as she falls on her good leg to lean against a large rock on the shore. Pale gray eyes light up as the rude man speaks to Chess, "You should be nice to Boomer!" There's a laugh and that's all the warning she's giving the man before she spots..

"As I live and breath, Lance! Come come!" Eve beckons for the silent young man. "I forgot my cookies at the house, Eimi will love them but I wish I had some for you." She looks disappointed before leaning in with that wild grin, "Are you behaving?" Not that she cares if he isn't.. Aunt Eve is all about misbehaving. "This is a dangerous place, your sister wanders out in the ruins. I don't want you hurt." She doesn't say too, Lance is aware. Eve leans on the staff, her gaze flicking over to where Alys and Chess are.

"Well, if it ain't Chessie," Alys says as she approaches where their gathered. She very clearly has a gun worn on her hip as she moves closer. She, of course, doesn't know Chess, but she remembers her from the other day at the… "garden". "Now, what'a ya got 'gainst a few folks just lookin' t' get into this god forsaken rock, fella?" she offers to the unhappy man, rolling her eyes at him. She is as much scanning the crowd - seeing if she can find her buyer - as she is actually engaging with anyone here.

Lance making as if to leave seems to be okay with the pair, as he isn't hassled on his way. It's hard to say if they even notice how his steps quiet as he goes.

Instead, the man watches the people who all seem to be interested in talking to one another. And continue to be unbothered by the weapons. By the time Alys addresses him, he's gone through annoyance and moved on to anger. So her question is answered with a rapid burst of gunfire. Aimed at the sand, for now, but loud.

"Everybody back up," he shouts.

The woman next to him laughs. Manically. But her gun doesn't follow suit. In fact, she sits on the railing on the edge of the doc with a heavy exhale, like she cannot go another step.

"Chess, unless you're dead or trying to kill me," says Chess in a flat tone to Alys, glancing at Lance and Eve when it's clear the two know one another. Any questions she has about that, though are stayed when the man with the gun gets nervous at Alys' question and lets that volley of bullets perforate the sand at their feet.

For now, she complies, moving backward, one hand on her bag and the other holding that baseball, fingers curled now around it like she's a major league pitcher. Her dark eyes flicker over to the woman who laughs and she tips her head to the man shouting the directions. "This his first rodeo? No one's here for your shipment or you'd know it already," she says with a shake of her head.

"I can handle myself, Eve," Lance's eyes roll within the shadow of his hood as he approaches, hands spreading a little, "I'm just checking on a— "

Whatever he was checking on will have to be inquired about later, because the sudden hail of gunfire into the sand has him stumbling a few quick steps forward, whirling to look back at the boat. "Whoa! Whoa, hey, we're clearing the shoreline, man, chill the fuck out! Jesus— " Back to Eve, he quickens his step, "C'mon, I don't think that asshole's playing around."

"I know you're very much able to rip the skins from your oppressors but I do worry ya kn-." Both of them are cut off by the rapport of gunfire in the air. Not uncommon for Staten Island but there's a friend there, Boomer. And Eve doesn't like that gun. "Excuse me, dear. Come come with me." Eve leans on her staff and sinks to a knee with a grimace, rummaging through her messenger bag at her shoulder. Whipping out a Desert Eagle, she cracks a wide grin before turning to fire her own shots into the air. "Hear ye hear ye! We come today to not be rude!"

There's a snicker before she's pulling a rubber duckie from her messenger bag. "You know," A lighter is produced and Eve lights.. A string coming out of the rubber duckie before tossing over towards the man. "Boomer and you lady," she grins over to her friend before looking to Lance, "Come this way!" A wild laugh escapes her and she watches the fizzling fuse as it gets closer to the rubber duck. "CANNONBALL!!!!"

Crawling on her belly to that rock she plugs her ears with eyes squeezed tight.

Alys rolls her eyes at Chess. "It's all the same y'kno-" Gunfire. She knew walking down the shoreline was a mistake, it always is. She takes a step back, hands up in the air. "'Ey now, I'm not lookin' fer trouble, y'all got that? I'm just here fer an appointment, waitin' for someone and-" Is that a rubber duckie?

Alys is instantly regretting this entire night. "What the actual fuck?" is all that escapes her mouth as she watches it sail through the air, and-

Oh God, it has a fuse.

Alys trusn and scrambles, not worrying about Chess, Lance, or anyone else as she hustles away form the rubber duckie and whatever the helk ekse is about to follow.

Whether or not this rodeo is the man's first, he certaintly seems tense enough for it to be. Or for him to be otherwise extremely paranoid. There are many reasons for that in the world they now live in.

Like bombings, for example.

Seeing the rubber duck come their way, the woman laughs a little more. But then stops. When she sees the fuse. That little duck is all it takes for her to snap from lethargic to the opposite. She runs at the man, taking him and herself off the edge of the dock and into the water.

The bomb hits the dock and blows. Wood shards are sent flying in every direction, the sea lights up for a moment. Enough time for them to see more guards climbing out of the boats and coming their way. The large boat— the main boat— starts its engine again, movement in the distance telling of people about to make a break for it while their guys buy time.

"Jesus," breathes out Chess, and she begins to run, diving into the sand and covering her head when the duck hits and things blow. She glances over her shoulder to see the guards. "God damn it," she swears under her breath, scrambling back up to her feet and throwing the baseball she's managed to keep a hold of in the direction of the guards giving chase.

"Mad-Eye, I swear to God, if I get tagged for this…" she mutters as she makes her way to Lance and Eve.

As that Desert Eagle makes it's appearance, Lance has already decided that going over towards Eve is perhaps not the best plan. He's seen the sort of chaos that she wreaks before when she gets in a mood like this, and he wants nothing to do with it - not with the sort of firepower that seems to be coming in to the shoreline, and working for god-knows-what criminal enterprise.

"Jesus //Chri— //," he swears, only half-way through the oath he drops into dead silence, lunging away from both Eve and the boat in question, diving behind a pile of debris that was probably part of a boat once, sand soundlessly kicked up as he flattens himself for the inevitable retaliation.

"Take these!" Shouting at Chess she throws a few things at her head. A wet stuffed animal, a three pack of golf bags and the end of a antler broken off. "Presents!" Looking for Lance wildly, "Lance! Presents for you too!" Presents for everyone! But Eve is not able to see Lance currently and so she shrugs and takes out another rubber duck. Eyes wide, she looks over to Chess, she remembers that other woman. "Where's the other small woman?" Her eyebrows are raised but Eve quickly lights another duck and throws it towards the shoreline and the approaching men.

"Alright! We need a plan, I think we need to take that boat!"

…fuck

Her own pistol drawn from her side, Alys curses outloud as she huddles down from the explosion. "You've got to be fuckin' kidding me!" she yells out, looking back up at the dock as her ears ring. She crawls back up to her feet, gun aimed at- Eve. Not the people seemingly so ready to gun them down a few moments ago. No, they hadn't produced explosives in the form of bathtime funtime toys, and that makes Eve infinitely more dangerous and counter intituive to her goal of not fucking dying. "I swear t' god I see you hand goin for anythin' else I'm going to shoot it off," she growls out. A side long look over to Chess, and then to the boy. "You know these lunatics, Chessie?"

As soon as the other guards find their way past the hole in the dock, gunfire starts picking at the beach. The attack came from one, but all of them seem to be in the running for a bullet hole. Lance's cover suffers the worst, old boats are easy to punch holes in. It makes it hard for any of them to do anything sensible like run.

The first two guards are making their way to the shore. It's clear the water only helped so much. In fact, the woman has a long, sharp piece of wood in her side. Once they hit ground, she falters.

Items flung her way are growled at from where Chess crouches, finding a bit of cover herself. "Shooting her won't solve the problem of them shooting at us," Chess hisses to Alys, letting the name go — for the time being.

She grabs one of the bags of tennis balls, charging the entire bag rather than taking the time to break it open, and flings it at the nearest of the guards, before grabbing the other to do the same. They're not heavy enough to do a huge amount of damage, but they'll definitely hurt when they hit with their incisive, explosive power. Once those are done, she ignores the rest of the items Eve throws at her, reaching inside her bag for the heavier, more damaging items she stores in there.

"I'm not here to clean up the crime on Staten, Eve," she tosses over her shoulder.

A few of those bullets carve right through the old hull of the boat, kicking up sand where they strike - fortunately, none find flesh, although one of them comes far closer than Lance finds any comfort in.

Fucking hell, Aunt Eve's lost it, he thinks as he pulls his own gun, a simple revolver, bringing it up in a smooth motion as he leans around the dubious cover of the boat's rickety remains and fires off a few shots of return fire. At least he's pulling the trigger, and there's a muzzle flash, but there's absolutely no sound to the gunfire from the teenager.

The real question is whether Aunt Eve ever had it.

Clearly not because as Alys points the gun at her she barks out a laugh. "Other way lady! Boomer, who is this sassy warrior? Her eyes are full, she means business." Her eyes track Chess' movements and she frowns, "The golfballs are cute."

Another volley of gunfire is fired their way and Eve is backing up even more behind the rock. "Ladies ladies, they shot first. We aren't the saviors of the world no." There's a sly grin because she might have helped save the world once or not even once depending on your view of things but she has done things okay. Her cowl has fallen back to reveal her pale heart shaped face, a streak of sand running down her cheek. "But what about the treasure on board." Her expression to Chess is like a loud, COME ON. "We can take em, I've got one good leg and a bag of tricks. Perky over here," jerking her head in Alys direction, "She can offer backup, look at her tough as nails. A survivor. We need more friends I feel like, care to be one!"

That grin on the loon is one that doesn't say she's in the middle of a firefight. "Lanceeeeee!" Dramatically calling over to the young charge. "Fire for their knees! Tuck you- there you go! THAT'S MY BOY!" She cackles.

There's a lot of comments and questions being offered Alys' way, and her general response to them is the one that seems smartest at the moment - she answers Eve's question with a shot in her direction, not even flinching at the muzzle flash. It's whizes past the exceptionally mouthy woman rather than striking her. Alys offers a look to Chess, eyes narrowed. "One problem atta time, hon'!" And Eve is the more potentially dangerous one. She backing away from the frakas, she keeps her her pistol trained on Eve, the occasional wary eye offered forwards the angry folk who had helped start this insanity. "An' unless one a' you's my buyer, I ain't playin' this game!"

She immediately regrets saying that out loud, but it's too late to take it back now. At this point, she just wants to get away from this and stay alive.

Shots from the teen strike against sand, mostly. But also, he goes largely unnoticed. Especially once more explosions happen. The first bag hits one of the gunmen, blowing his gun out of his hand. He hits his knees, grasping his bleeding arm. As Chess throws the second bag, one takes aim for her, firing and hitting her arm. Luckily, not the one in the process of tossing bombs. Still, the shot knocks her balance enough to make the second bag hit off the mark, sending a spray of sand over the guards.

When Alys shouts, the fire turns in her direction, a stray shot grazing across her cheek. When the sand settles, three of the men start forward. Toward the sound of Eve's voice, Alys', and the woman causing the most damage.

As a bullet rips through her upper arm, Chess gasps with pain, falling back against the rock she was using for cover. She glances down at her arm, raking her lower lip through her teeth as she catches her breath.

"If you help us, I'll be your fucking buyer," Chess growls at Alys, reaching into her courier bag strapped across her chest and pulling out the big guns.

Which is to say, hub caps.

There are two — heavy and metal, with the spin from her own throwing capability accelerated threefold by her power, they'd do some damage even if they weren't charged to blow on contact. One and then the other is flung at the men — she aims for the middle, so if her aim's a little left or right of the center, hopefully someone will still take the damage.

Shit, shit, shit. The 'praise' being shouted by the crazy seeress is not, it seems, encouraging Lance any. At this point they're more or less locked into this combat, though, because if he turns his back and runs it's probably going to get a bullet in it. The acoustic field surrounding him shifts in a way that can't be seen, briefly cutting off all incoming sound as well so he can focus without the roar of explosions and gunfire in his ears, the revolver brought back up to take a careful bead on one of the smugglers (?) and the trigger pulled.

"My dear my dear!"

Eve continues to shout.

Waving at Lance before shooting a few bullets at the men and scurrying behind more of the rock, scurrying is hard but she drags her bum leg along with her staff having to holster her Desert Eagle after firing. "Try to confuse the bastards! Give em the ol' YOU CAN'T HEAR SHIT!" If that makes any sense to Lance, he might remember a few of the times that Aunt Eve babysat and all the debacles that followed after.

Wincing with the effort she collapses her staff into one smaller rod of metal and drops it in her bag before digging around for..

"Oh oh oh guys, look!" Theres a flashbang in her hand, and the pin is pulled, already. "Catch this buggos!" As she tosses it in the direction of the approaching men before pulling out a pair of large dark googles.. has she done this before?

There's a cry out as the bullet grazes across her cheek, Alys stumbling back towards the edge of the bar. Hand to face and blood beginning to slick her palm, Chess gets a similar growl in return. "Fucking- Argh!" she yells, staggering back. There's a man advancing on her, someone advancing on the otehrs and- what definitely looks like another explosive sailing through the air.

"Fuck this," Alys breathes out, turning to do something she probably should've done when this whole thing suddenly went south - she makes a move to get the fuck out of there, no longer worried about a buyer, or any of these people on the dock. Self preservation above all else is what's kept her alive this long, and she's not about to let that change.

The hubcaps come at a surprising speed, too fast for them to dive out of the way. One hits, knocking the center guard down with its explosion. The second hits another as he moves to check on his comrade. Without the roar of gunfire and the bombs, Lance has the time and unbroken consentration to line up a shot, taking out the third guard as soon as the smoke clears.

This leaves Eve's flashbang blinding no one but the sandcrabs. And it gives Alys a moment to make her escape without getting a bullet in the back. By the way the other guards seem to be drawing back to the boats, they all just might get their chance to escape.

Chess isn't interested in stopping whatever underground deal this is and now she's bleeding. "Same," she says, the millennial wry tone coloring the word; once her projectiles do their work, she's up out of her crouch to follow Alys and get the hell out of dodge.

Except there's Eve to worry about, and she pauses. "You coming, Mad-Eye?" she says; her brows are drawn together in a deep scowl of disapproval mixed with pain, but she won't leave her friend — or the teenager she's already saved once — to the thugs of Staten. "You okay kid?" she calls to Lance, not knowing he can't hear her at the moment.

As one of those boat guards falls, Lance lowers his revolver slowly… watching him laying there for a moment in the silence of his power, taking a slow breath. "Keep it together, Lance," he mutters to himself, slowly pulling back from his cover, letting his ability deactivate. He might not have heard Chess's query, but he's not waiting for Eve, either — noting that the 'enemy' is withdrawing he's turning to book it as well, keeping low and moving in an uneven zig-zag as he goes.

"Look at him go! So proud, it feels like only yesterday my little squirrel was farting here and there," she wipes a tear out from her eye after lifting the googles on her face, resting the strap on the top of her head. Eve looks surprised as everyone is fleeing. "Wait wait are we done already? What about the cocaine!?" Swearing to herself Eve gets to her feet using that rock as leverage before she yanks her staff out and fully extends it out to lean on as she follows Chess.

When they get to a far enough distance Eve hides behind a tree no matter the yelling she gets from her injured friend to type a message out on her phone.

«Ugh sorry I had an early birthday gift surprise for you mon ami but I lost the package! Guess it's just strippers for you then! WOOHOO! xoxo» Sent to Rex.

Alys doesn't even look as she takes off. Not a shot fired back, not a glance back after the flashbang goes off. She's out. Chessie and the others will just have to fend for herself - she didn't get here now by helping people, after all.


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