some people just deserve to die.

[goodsoldier]

Who: STEPHANIE, KATE, HELENA, and JASON
What: vigilante anti-Militia party
Where: Deadman's Walk 12, Dog Fenn; assorted other locations possibly
When: backdated to the night of Jan. 31 and into the wee hours of Feb. 1
Notes: there are some different sections, one for Kate and Steph to meet up/coordinate, one for Helena and Jason to do the same, and one where y'all tag anyone you want GO WILD, because coordinating 4 people in different time zones is just not gonna work
Warnings: torture and general violence!

Helena had told him she'd meet him there, as finding a baby-sitter with little warning isn't always easy. He uses the travel time to take notes on the four different transmissions he'd received, sorting the information and prioritizing it. Of the four, the Howl Barrow raid kept his attention the most. There is a face, a name, and an address. That seems promising, and he figures, it would be best to move fast.

People talk about the transmissions in brief, hushed intervals, but he sits there like he really is studious chemistry major Nate, head down, notepad filling up. There is, however, a long black bag at his feet, heavy with useful things that would be difficult to explain were anyone to open it right here, right now.

No one does, of course. Even busy, Jason tends to exude a certain sense of fuck off please, an attitude generally respected by Baedal citizens of all stripes.

Helena is his only real ally right now; it would take an emergency for him to think of calling on Tim, Barbara, Superboy, or Stephanie. And this isn't an emergency yet. He's sure they can handle this, as long as they're quick. He does imagine that other people are taking similar actions across town, and he spares enough time to think that sooner or later, they're going to have to coordinate, somehow. He doesn't know how soon that will be true.

Comments

[controlledvariable]

She left her CiD in her apartment, just in case they got caught. It's a horrible thought, but being a Bat means being prepared for every opportunity.

"I'm ready. Let's go," she's got the way to the address memorized and starts in that direction, keepig to the rooftops and moving as silently and quickly as posible.

She wonders if she should be scared, but the same anger that had filled her after seeing the transmission with the kids had come back as soon as Kate had shown her this woman being assaulted. Maybe fear would be more sensible, but there's no room for it next to the anger.

[joiedeviolet]

It would have been a good idea if Kate did the same, but she's working with Steph tonight and not the rest of the regular crew. If something goes down badly, she might need to call for backup and while she's a good screamer, there's only but so far her voice will travel.

With a nod, Kate runs toward the edge of the roof, sliding down a drain pipe and down to the pavement below. Fear has taken a vacation tonight. There were enough scared people in that video; Kate needs to help them, not add to them.

[controlledvariable]

When she's close to the address, Steph joins Kate on street level. She brings a hand up to check her braid is still done tight, then pulls out her bo staff so it's ready to extend as soon as they get inside.

"You're in charge," she looks at Kate with a faint smile, Steph doesn't like deferring to others, but Kate normally leads her own team and there's no point them butting heads over who gives orders. "How do you wanna go in?"

[joiedeviolet]

As a leader, Kate is strict and firm, but she also knows when to give in and listen to her teammates. This isn't a solo show and egos are not allowed here. Kate's willing to take the head on this one, but if Steph sees an advantage somewhere, she's free to say so.

"Slow." They could bust down the door like a couple of purple hooligans, but the intel on who lives in the house other than the Militia member is limited. It could only be Henry; it could be Henry having a family reunion. Kicking down the door could be a nice surprise for him but it could backfire on them and end up messy. Better to play it safe and case the joint before they make any moves to get in.

Kate strings a bow, a EMF one to shut down any potential calls for help. It's good to be prepared. "Keep an eye out for his friends."

[controlledvariable]

Steph flicks down the lenses on her cowl and switches to infrared, peering at the house, "I'm... not seeing anyone inside."

That could mean a whole bunch of things, "Some of the walls might be too thick for me to pick up body heat, but..." She gives Kate a shrug, an unspoken what now?. She'd still like to go in, if only to make sure there really is no one there. And at the very least they can check out the place for any info.

[joiedeviolet]

Kate furrows her brow at that. No one inside? Did they miss him? Should they camp out and wait for him? "Damn. What's the likelihood of your thing being on the fritz?"

Not much, Kate suspects. She trust Steph enough to keep her equipment in tip top shape and anything can make up the walls of this house. Kate sighs in frustration, glancing back at the house, concentrating on the windows in case of any movement. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

"Well, we've come this far..." Kate grins at Steph in that way that says that there was no option of ever turning back.

[controlledvariable]

"Zero percent, I'd know if it was an equipment malfunction," the rest of the image is clear, there's just no obvious heat from a human body. Steph flicks the display to simple night vision.

"My thoughts exactly," she grins back, loosening up a little and starting towards the house. Steph heads for the back, because it's easier to slip into the shadows there and they'll draw less attention picking the lock on the back door. This is probably the part where she should be letting Kate take point, but she's not great at this following-other-people thing, although she will stop if Kate tells her to.

[joiedeviolet]

"I need to get me one of those." It'll definitely come in handier than Kate's normal sunglasses.

While Steph slips in on one side, Kate takes the other, covering both ends in the black night. It's deathly silent, both in and out of the house. If they're lucky, the guy will be in bed. In just a few seconds, they reach the rear where Kate gives Steph a nod to get the door. Lock picking isn't her strong suit, but she suspects it might be Steph's.

[controlledvariable]

Steph makes a note to talk to Oracle about getting night vision goggles for Kate, maybe they can work something into the sunglasses Kate already wears.

At the back door, she crouches down and pulls out her lockpicking tools, carefully sliding the first into the lock and frowning at how easy it is. She pulls the tool out and tries to doorknob, which turns without protest and Steph pushes the door open a crack.

"Either he left the door open, or someone else has been here."

[joiedeviolet]

That gets narrowed eyes. Something that's too easy like that is a big red flag waving during a hurricane. Neither option is a good thing; either he was expecting them or somebody got to him first. Damn.

Kate drops to a squat and whispers to Steph, bow at the ready, "Okay, we go in carefully. Stay armed and attentive. We have no idea who came in, if they did, and if they're still there."

[controlledvariable]

Steph nods as she extends her bo staff, using the tip to slowly push the door open while staying out of the way of Kate's bow. She figures it's the best way to do it; if anyone is hiding in the room, Kate will see them first and get a chance to shoot.

When there's no one inside, Steph whispers to Kate, "You wanna take point?"

[joiedeviolet]

Kate stays in position, ready to hit the knees of anybody behind the door, but the room is as empty as she guessed it would be. She's a little disappointed at being denied action, but it quickly passes as she rises and nods at Steph.

Sliding along the length of the doorway, Kate carefully and lightly steps through the kitchen, zeroing in for any clues. Nothing looks especially interesting. The house is dark and a little cluttered, but otherwise normal. Ha. Normal. For a cruel, baseless Militia member, it shouldn't be possible.

Once at the section where the kitchen breaks open into the dining room, Kate freezes to check out the area, that's just as empty as the kitchen. More confusion on her face and she nods to Steph to go ahead of her.

[controlledvariable]

She closes the door behind them, but doesn't lock it, then follows a few feet behind Kate, her bo staff ready to strike out at anyone potentially hiding in the room. She looks for clues as well, checking for any signs of a fight or a break in. There are boot prints on the floor, but she doesn't have time to check them for specifics.

At the nod, Steph slips past Kate into the dining room, looking around for anything that might tell what happened. When she gets near the bathroom door, she frowns slightly, there's a faint smell of blood in the air.

She walks into the bathroom carefully, checking in the shower and behind the door first before observing the room properly. It's in a state of disarray, with blood on the floor, and a few cracked tiles along with the remains of Henry's hair in the sink.

"Hawkeye." It's said softly, enough to get Kate's attention to have her come look, "Someone's taken him."

[joiedeviolet]

The hallway is Kate's area to check out and like the other two rooms, there isn't much except it looks like Henry was planning on a trip somewhere, maybe to lie low for a while. Definitely not for relaxation purposes.

"That explains the boot prints," Kate says, jerking a thumb over her shoulder as she follows Steph's voice. "Looks like somebody beat us to the job." But who? Could be anyone, really. She knows that they aren't the only vigilantes in town and probably not the only ones who received a video, but curiosity is getting to her. With an arrow tip, Kate pokes through the clippings in the sink that confirm to her that he was probably planning on making a break for it.

"Looks like the guy wanted a new look and somebody didn't like that."

[controlledvariable]

"Looks like." The bo staff gets collapsed and slipped into it's holster, freeing up Steph's hands to look around. She trusts Kate to have her back in case anyone shows up.

She crouches down and touches her gloved fingers to the blood, rubbing it between her finger and thumb to test how dry it is, "This didn't happen too long ago, they might still be nearby."

Henry and whoever took him, especially if the abducter was lugging an injured person around.

[joiedeviolet]

"Any idea of who else wants to get to him?" Kate hasn't told anybody but Steph about this for a variety of reasons, so her line of thinking stops short and quickly. He's probably still alive, or at least when he was taken out of the house, by the small amount of blood, but if they wanted him dead, they would have done it right here.

She's standing next to Steph, legitimately waiting on an answer, only because Kate wants to shake them for not including the both of them.

[controlledvariable]

"Could be any number of people, we're not the only vigilantes in Baedal. Though, it doesn't look like Red Robin's work." Tim would have done this different; there'd be no blood because he'd have used a tranq or something, "I'm thinking they took him away for investigation or torture."

She can't help the shudder that runs down her spine at that, sometimes those two are the same thing. She's distracted from that thought by the sound of footfalls coming up the front steps, "Out. Now." She's already standing and running to the bathroom window to push it open, by the time the front door is kicked open. She climbs out as quickly as she can and turns to wait for Kate.

[joiedeviolet]

Those are the same thing far too many times for Kate's comfort as well, but she can go over that thought later as the stomping up the stairs coming behind her lights a fire under her ass and she slips out the window right after Steph. Grabbing Steph by the arm, she drags her behind the house and into an alley far enough to not be seen, but close enough to see what the hell is going on in there.

By the sound of it, there's more than one pair of feet busting into the house. By the looks of the shadows moving around in the lit bathroom window, it's at least five. Kate's wondering if it's friend or foe, but that question is quickly answers by one guy who busts through the back door dressed in full Militia garb.

"We got lucky." If she was a cursing kind of girl, there would have been a few F-bombs in there.

[controlledvariable]

Steph doesn't hesitate to let Kate drag her along, she wants to get the hell out of there as well.

"Shit," because Steph is a cursing kind of girl, and it's really the only appropriate reaction to the situation, "I should've left a bug to record what they're saying." She's only got a few of those with her, but if she could've hidden it somewhere discreet they might've been able to get more information on the militia.

"Do we wait?"

[joiedeviolet]

"No, we follow."

That's a pretty quick decision on account of where there's smoke, there's fire, or in this case, where there's Militia, there's a hideout. They can kill two birds with one stone here: find out where the Militia keeps a home and quite possibly find where Henry's gone.

With another nod, Kate quickly climbs on top of garbage cans to get to the fire escape of the building they're crouched down by, getting to the roof top in record time. She can see better from up here.

[controlledvariable]

"Right," Steph doesn't bother climbing up, she pulls out her grapple gun and uses that to pull herself up to the roof, climbing over the edge about the same time Kate does. Then she finds a spot that gives her a good view of the building.

She zooms in with her lenses, "They're still rifling through the house, but it looks like they aren't finding anything."

[joiedeviolet]

Any other night and Kate would have teased Steph about being a cheater again, but there is no time for jokes and playful banter tonight. "Probably looking for where he went. I doubt the Militia likes when their dirty deeds get broadcasted," she says, pulling out her own small pair of binoculars. "Or when somebody up and decides that they're done with them."

Suddenly, the group leaves the house with the same force they came in, knocking over Henry's belongings and leaving the door wide open for whoever and whatever to come in. Kate's up on her feet in seconds, sliding down another piece for the second time tonight. "Time to go, Steph. No sleeping on the job."

[controlledvariable]

"I wonder if they have a way to track employees," it sounds weird calling militia agents employees, but it's the first word that comes to mind and fits well enough.

It takes her a second to zoom out, but then she's up and heading after Kate, throwing herself off the side of the roof and catching onto the fire escape at regular intervals to slow her descent before she lands on the ground with a soft sound of her feet hitting the ground. Her boots are good at absorbing impact without making to much noise, and she's grateful for it now. When they're both down, Steph heads to the end of the alley - careful to keep to the shadows - to check which way the militia are heading.

[joiedeviolet]

"I wouldn't doubt it." If they can track the residents, why not the employees? Seems only natural for power-tripping bastards to do that.

Kate's only a few steps behind Steph, letting her take point for now while she keeps an eye on their backs, just in case.

[controlledvariable]

She wonders if Henry still has his CiD on him, because those seem like the main tracking methods that the militia use, but like Kate, she wouldn't be surprised if they had other options. It doesn't really matter how though, the important thing is if they can.

"It looks like they're heading away from the houses. There are shops and restaurants a few blocks away." She tells Kate, looking back at her for a moment before starting to move in the direction the militia agents went, keeping a good distance between their last man and herself.