Description: Crime is running rampant in Sunshine City. Thank goodness for people like Daniel Jack who can perhaps help put a stop to it all. Afterall he has met a helpful man in Johann Gallo who looks to point the misguided detective onto the right path and bring those criminals to justice.
A return to Sunshine City for Daniel might not be what he expected. Of course his travels through the Industrial District looking for watch thieves was not a pleasant place to be. The rest of the town was rather quaint and not too bad off. This time around he came at a very bad time. While he was questioning Alice and looking for Elias chaos was erupting all over the outer parts of town. Even some places in the inner city had been hit by the wave of crime that seemed to have happened almost overnight.
Stores are boarded up. People are nowhere to be seen on the street. At times like this people like Elias are badly needed. Hopefully the priest hasn't met some sort of grisley fate and that is why he hasn't been seen for some time. The jewelry shop that Daniel had wished to visit? It seems like it wasn't spared at all either. The windows are busted out and a car flipped over in the parking lot is still smoking from where it had been on fire through the night.
The strangest thing of it all? The door is actually open and there are voices that can be heard from outside. Two of them at that as one sounds rather irate. Probably the owner that has to deal with his shop being trashed and robbed. The other voice sounds more calm and speaks less. Perhaps a cop or the like taking notes for any information the store owner may have.
It's Metro City again.
That was the only thought of the Orange-suited man strutting down the street gingerly. Hot off his interview with the strange Alice, Daniel Jack had learned a few details. Black Dragon was a gang, and that his next lead would be found at the jeweler district. His footwork was getting far more than he could chew, however: The place was either looted, or locked down. Just like Metro City.
Just like the Southtown Siege.
Picking his way through the broken glass, the detective eyes the flipped car warily. This was some serious throw-down here. Listening carefully, his ears detect the conversation in the jewelry shop. The angry man, and the calm one. Sounds like the victim and someone to complain to. Might be a cop. Might be a local gangster. In some parts of town, it is better to put your faith in a good crook than a bad cop. Daniel Jack approaches the door, knocking loudly, as he calls out.
"Hey! Is everything alright in there? I need to speak with the owner."
The inside of the shop looks about as good as the outside. Cases are smashed and what hasn't been looted is gathered in a small pile near where two men stand. One seems worn out and worried. He looks pale perhaps because of the prospect he might never be able to recover. The second individual is is a rather tall man with red hair and dressed in a rather expensive looking gray suit. Both look over when they hear the knock as the former seems more jittery about everything. Looks like he almost expected a gangster to be barging in.
"We're clo-" the shorter of the two starts to say, but a hand is raised to silence him. The taller of the man smiles and nods. "Yes, how may I help you?" he asks as he turns about to face Daniel. If this is the owner it must have been hit when he was not around. The suite does nothing to hide that he looks like he could probably hold his own in a fight. It looks like the other was probably the poor guy caught in the store when the raid occurred.
The smaller man just sighs and he goes back to his broom and dustpan as he tries to clean up the glass off the ground as the larger of the two moves over to meet Daniel and offer a hand. "I apologize for the mess. We have not had the best of days as you can see." That is a nice way of putting it given how the streets look.
Looks like Daniel got here too late.
Of course, the man might have good reason to jump at Daniel's appearance. This was a rough neighborhood, and the detective didn't exactly LOOK like a detective. He inspects the pale man with some interest, but more of the focus turns to the tall, red haired man. Perhaps the owner of the store, while the other man was the clerk. Daniel Jack's eyes sweep the store as he steps in further. Pillaged. Only one group would be so precise and brutal.
Black Dragon.
"Yeah, hey scuzzies. I'm Daniel Jack, Ace Detective." Reaching his in coat, the detective pulls out a wallet, showing a license proving that he was in fact Daniel, and he was in fact a detective (in Southtown and Metro City). I'm on the trail of some watch thieves, possible pseudonym of 'Black Dragons.'" The detective tucks away the wallet, and digs his hands in his pockets, looking at the area. Turning to the taller man, he asks him first. He seemed more confident. More stable than his partner.
"Before I jump to conclusions, care to tell me what happened? "
The other man seems to do what he was told which was to stay silent. He does seem to be listening, but he seems more intent on actually just cleaning than trying to answer any questions. That leaves Daniel more to deal with the younger and taller of the two. The offered hand is pulled away as he tilts his head and takes a look at the license. "Black Dragons? I never heard of them." he admits and reaches up to lightly stroke his goatee. "We do have gang problems here, but we all know who is behind that. Abobo is his name and I have never heard Black Dragons used to describe his men."
He also turns about and motions to the mess in the store. "And as you can see we are missing more than just watches around here. They cleaned us out rather nicely. Rings, necklaces, all of the fine things that this store used to carry are more than likely gone forever." he seems rather saddened by that, though he manages to maintain his smile.
He does seem to mull things over and he hmms. "Unless...." he trails off for a moment as he reaches into his suit and pulls out a phone. "Have you heard of why this is happening? A young woman with a gang apparently came into town and started to rile up all the gangs. They think Abobo has made a friend over in Southtown." he explains and then he turns the phone to show a picture of Aoi Himezaki next to an article that has details on apparently her being behind all this mess. "She wears a mask and all black. Someone mentioned she was talking about serpentine sigils as well if you read into the articles."
"Yeah, I see you have a gang problem."
Daniel Jack turns to eye the other man, judging him carefully. Turning back to the younger man, the detective studies him. Strapping, obviously works out. And judging the muscle frame, not simply to build mass. This was an athlete of some kind.
Nice beard though.
"Slow down." The detective requests, reaching back into his coat. Flipping out a notepad, Daniel clicks a pen, and begins to scribble down the notes. "Never heard of Black Dragons. Abobo. Fleeced the place, huh. New gang showed up, Southtown-based. Aoi Himezaki." The detective turns over a page of the notebook. "Wears a mask, all black, serpentine sigils. What does this Abobo fellow look like Mr..." Daniel Jack pauses for a minute.
"What's your name, please?"
Seems patient about the whole matter and lets the detective scribble down the notes. He turns off the phone and slips it back into his pocket. "Gallo, Johann Gallo." he says in response when actually is asked his name. Funny, when introducing himself he didn't say. Hmm, maybe it is an Italian thing. Given the accent it is pretty easy to tell he doesn't originally hail from the area.
"Ahh, Abobo? He is rather hard to miss. He is over eight feet in height." the businessman says while holding a hand up. Even then he really can't reach to the full height of what that man would stand. "He is rarely seen. He only appears if he needs to take care of matters himself. I think his last sighting was fighting some Greek woman and El Fuerte on television." A rather ballsy move when one thinks about it. It seems like the man has no fear. Then again if he is as big as Johann says is there much for him to fear?
"I work with the police alot so I can hear bits and pieces of what is going around town." Perhaps a rather useful man to know if that is the case. Someone that knows the his way around town and might have information. "It looks like he wants to expand his influence into Southtown and this young lady here is the one helping him."
An Italian in Japan? Maybe he knew Robert Garcia. Since very clearly, ALL Italians knew one another. Scribbling down the notes, the detective inspects the pantomime Johann makes. "Eight feet tall? Hmmm." The detective considers. Maybe a NESTS experiment. Giant mutant men weren't exactly . Still, a man like that couldn't hide in society. That helped the detective a bit; as long as he knew where he WOULDN'T find Abobo, it narrowed down where he would look. For now, Daniel Jack would focus more on this strange gang leader from Southtown. "I must have missed that Saturday Night Fight. I'll check the tapes. Hmm... Fought El Fuerte you say? Hmmmm..." El Fuerte again.
Looks like Daniel had another date with the wrestler.
"You've been mighty helpful, Mr. Gallo. What are the police thinking about this crime uprising. Any information, rumors or otherwise, can be a huge help down the road." The detective says, continuing to scribble. "I'm gonna look into that Aoi Himezaki, that's for sure." The detective looks up, focusing on the other man. "And I suppose you are the clerk?"
"This your shop, right Mr. Gallo?"
Maybe El Fuerte knew more than he let on originally? Maybe he is involved and sent Daniel on a while goose chase? Hmmmm, curiouser and curiouser things get. The fact is that it has been well over a year since the last Abobo sighting goes to show that he may be large, but he knows how to keep himself out of sight as well. The detective might just have his work cut out for him.
The other man looks up from where he is gathering glass into the dustpan and he nods. "I run the day to day operations here for Mr. Gallo." he replies and gets back to work. He doesn't seem like the talkative one that he was earlier before the detective came in. Johann himself just seems to not along to what is said. "I own several businesses around here. All of them hit pretty hard by all the attacks." he says while letting out a bit of a sigh. "I have lost alot of money, but thankfully none of my employees were harmed."
He then takes a few moments to think things over some more. For someone that has taken alot of hits he manages to come off as a very calm and level headed individual. "The officers are spread very thin right now. Theya re doing their best to make sure everything his handled properly. I just try to do what I can to help."
Daniel Jack was suspecting that he has been sent on a wild goose chase, that's for sure.
Daniel Jack nods firmly. Mr. Gallo seemed legit, if a little... waify. He was unnaturally detached. Then again, Todoh was also a bit eccentric. It took all kinds. Watching the other man, he shakes his head, confirming his thoughts. Scribbling down more in the notepad, he returns his gaze to Johann. "Darn good no one got hurt, but still is a shame. I might be able to help you out though." Daniel Jack finally closes the notepad, putting it and the pen away in his coat.
"Like I said, I've been on their trail for a while now."
Rummaging in his coat, the detective continues to explain. "I'll see what I can find out. You have an inventory list of everything that was stolen? I'm tracking down a stolen watch, but if my intuition is right, her watch may very well be in the same pool as your stolen jewelry." Frisking in his pockets, he seems to have finally snagged what he was looking for. Daniel Jack draws out a small business card, holding it out to the red-haired man.
"Could I have your card as well in case I need to contact you again?"
Johann does come off eccentric in his own way. Pretty much a polar opposite of how Todoh is really. Then again maybe this is how he gets by in a city where he has to worry about all his businesses being hit. If he tried to worry about every time it happened he probably wouldn't have red hair, but gray at this point. He smiles as he reaches out to take the card. "I will have it eventually. We were hit just a few hours ago so we have to take inventory of what wasn't stolen then we should be able to have a list."
The card itself is pocketed and he smiles again as he shakes his head. "And I apologize. I don't carry around a card these days. I have so many things to keep track of I doubt all my businesses would fit on one card." he says with a mirthful grin and he gives a small bow while resting a hand on his chest. "But trust me. I am sure if you ever need me I shouldn't be too hard to find. I am all over town." Yep, he certainly is eccentric. Aren't most rich people, though?
Johann straightens back up and he motions. "Feel free to look around if you want. Martine here will help you if you need anything. I have other places to visit and check out the damage." He gives another nod to the detective and starts to exit as a limo pulls up and the door is opened by someone from inside. Hard to tell, but it looks to belong to a rather leggy female as Johann steps in and closes the door. Curse those tinted windows.
The detective suppresses a wince. It was a bad sign when he couldn't get someone's card who clearly WOULD have a card. Perhaps Johann had been screwed over before. Or perhaps he rarely dealt directly with people. "Fair enough, Mr. Gallo." Danny states, sticking a tongue in his cheeks. "Take care then, Mr. Gallo. I'll check the place out, to see if there are any clues. I have a few leads already, and-" Daniel Jack takes a glance back, briefly catching a glimpse of Johann entering the limo.
Those -legs-.
Daniel Jack narrows his eyes at the woman. There was something damn familiar about those legs. Unfortunately, Daniel probably saw her BEFORE he had Analysis, so he plumb couldn't remember where exactly she saw that frame. It was nagging at the back of his brain. Shrugging it off for now, the detective prepares the gloves, as he readies to dust down the place, looking for clues. Already he had some new leads, and had to revisit old ones. El Fuerte. Abobo. And the mysterious Aoi Himezaki. He would get to the bottom of this watch thief ring, one way or another. BUt one thing was sure.
He would make sure to help out Mr. Gallo in the process.
Log created on 13:39:26 04/20/2012 by Johann, and last modified on 15:51:05 04/20/2012.