Description: The rebuilding process for an organization like Shadaloo is a long and trecherous one, but one Diesel is willing to forge. But is she desperate enough to dredge up the man known as Vyle to help re-bolster the ranks?.....yes, yes she is. And he's desperate enough to hear her out.
The Master won't be pleased.
The Master won't be pleased at all.
These are the thoughts that just /scream/ on a certain Killer Doll's mind after her continued attempts to restore Shadaloo end with failure or just down right disaster. First it was her inability to do anything useful in the war, an overpowering sense of uselessness already felt strongly within her because of that. Then it was her attempt to at least bring down the little girl that had assisted Sagat, yet another failure as she escaped despite the grievous wounds she had given her. And lastly comes her embarrassing defeat against a barely functioning traitorous Killer Doll. A pathetic joke of an assassin, a half baked experiment, barely able of coherent thought, and yet she was able to drive the mighty Kalaripayattu expert back.
The Master won't be pleased.
The Master won't be pleased at all!!
The words echo in her mind, driving almost to insanity. Yet, after hitting her forehead several times against light posts and walls that probably didn't deserve it, the Amazon warrior has an idea. She'll try to recruit past Shadaloo members that were scattered across the world and somehow didn't participate in the war. Surely the organization would have plenty of independent contractors here and there, and /surely/ some of them ought to be worthy enough for the Killer Doll to track down.
"VERNON CROSS!" The doors of the Shanghai Sports Bar all but nearly explode open as truly horrifying sight, or majestic depends on who you ask, enters. A seven feet tall, muscled, dark skinned woman with long curly black hair enters, shouting a name as her predatory hazel eyes scan the room. No doubt the patrons scoot away from her, fearing for what appears to be a very ticked off girlfriend.
Vyle had a bad streak of luck lately. Sure, he had been lying low a bit since things started going south for Shadaloo. After all, it's not like he was really a dedicated foot soldier for them. He was in it for the goods and the resources they allowed. They paid good money and gave him cover for his deeds outside of the fighting arena, as long as he helped provide muscle and spread the good word so to speak. But now? Well...he was mostly concerned with getting back on the horse, and his run-ins with that Neo Development Project that he thought might be easy pickings....didn't go so well.
Bandaged up and nursing his wounds with his 4th shot of...whatever the bartender was pouring out for him, he really didn't care, the rudo grumbled and groused to himself. He needed a big score. And maybe something he could appropriate to get himself worked up so he didn't burn every time some smart ass psychic was put in his way for a fight. "Goddammit..." he grumbles, scratching through the purple fuzz where normal people would have hair.
And then he hears someone screaming his name. Not the name he uses on the circuit, but a name that only his family got away with calling him...when they were alive, anyhow. Most of them were already dead or disowned him years ago. Hell, only people that knew his real name were promoters (who don't want anything to do with him anymore usually) and....wait.
Staring at the tall woman who busted in through the bar, the rudo frowned. He knew she was looking for him, but damned if he knew who she was, and how she knew his name. Popping up the hood of the jacket he had with him, he tried to cover up...at least long enough that he might be able to sneak the hell out of here.
The only explanation as to why someone like Diesel may know about Vyle's true name is that she has read Shadaloo's records. Normally, agents of the shadowy organization are a bit more careful when it comes to flinging out personal information about their members, but in the case of Diesel, she was not properly shown the protocol after her brain washing and now with the organization in ruins she's pretty much winging it.
Naturally, winging an undercover operation for an apparent Amazon Warrior means kicking doors open and start frisking the locals for information when her target doesn't appear. And she goes to demonstrate just this when she doesn't spot the man she's looking immediately by grabbing a random bar patron by the neck, lifting the muscled jock with one hand with monstrous strength.
"I seek Vernon Cross. You will tell me where he is!!"
"NGH! I dunno who the hell is he!!"
"How does he look like!?" One of the man's friends tries to reason with the crazed woman by asking the right questions.
"Tall, slightly on the lanky side. Has a green mohawk..probably smells funny."
The sound of a whip cracking is heard as almost everyone in the bar suddenly /POINTS/ at the inauspicious Vyle trying to make himself scarce.
The woman locks on her golden gaze at the hooded man and drops her hostage before making her way to the bar. "Vernon Cross!" She repeats the luchador's name just in case he didn't hear her the first time.
....fuck.
No honor amongst thieves, is there? Suppose that was just waiting out there in the open, wasn't it. He's tempted to go off on the surrounding patrons for their lack of testicular fortitude. But he tends to do that anyway, so it really wouldn't have much of an impact. He could smoothly turn around and cop to who he is, and ask just who the hell the Amazonian woman was asking for him. But that tends to not be his style. Hell, he could make a run for it and see if he could use his speed to just try and escape.
But to be honest, he just isn't really in the mood for any of that. So...he just tries to ignore her, waving his now empty shotglass toward the bartender. "Refill." Then again, he did always seem to have a knack for choosing the most infuriating ways to respond ever.
A smart man wouldn't ignore an enraged Amazon warrior. But then again, a smart man probably wouldn't have dealt with Shadaloo in the first place, so it may not be all that surprising that Vyle opts for option C and roll to disbelief the giant woman in Shadaloo uniform seeking him out. If anything, it should be pretty obvious what her business with him is since she has the Shadaloo insignia quite shamelessly displayed on her shoulder.
Fortunately, this Amazon proves to be relatively reasonable as she doesn't try to haul Vyle off by his mohawk when he ignores him and goes to sit right on the stool next to him, her towering height dwarfing every one there, even the men. "Don't try to escape." She warns without looking at him. "You won't get far." Now that she's close by Vyle might notice that there's a rather strong smell of motor oil about her, so they already have something in common.
Her eyes suddenly flare out when Vyle is given a drink first and she quite visibly snarls, acting as if she were in the Middle Ages or something. "Hey! Who's legs do I have to break to get some bloody service around here!?" Oh, so now she's apparently a paying customer.
After slugging back his 5th shot, Vyle finally bothered to pull back his hood, showing off the green mohawk that had been so iconic with him. He scowled, tapping his empty shot glass on the bar for a few moments, until he finally turns around to face Diesel on his stool. As he does, the bandaging around his chest should be pretty evident, even from under his shirt (his jacket left unzipped for the time being). Aside from that...he didn't exactly look too well taken care of.
"What do you want, huh? Don't you have some....other business to attend to? Aside from harassing an 'independent contractor' like me, huh? Shouldn't you be breaking someone else's knees on the other side of town, Andrea the Giant?"
The bartender knows better than to send the Amazon woman some girly drink like a martini and slides her thick Flat Tire Ale, the kind that makes most men reel from the bitterness. The Killer Doll apparently approves and chugs about half of it on one go, pointedly ignoring Vyle's winning and return his first rude gesture of not acknowledging her when she first called out to him.
Only after holding her silence for a good while, does the giant of a woman turn, slowly even, a deliberate motion to make it that more dramatic and stare at the Vyle man. She gives a look over, glancing down at his bandages before giving him an amused look. "Your old employers seek your services once again and are willing to pay you handsomely." She's careful to not say the name of Shadaloo out loud, since it's bad enough she's wearing the uniform in the open like that. "I'd recommend accepting their offer, unless you prefer getting the stuffing beaten out of you by psychic boxers to make a living." That's clearly a stab at his recent fight with Zach. Vyle isn't the only one that is really good at being irritable.
Vyle raises his eyebrow skeptically at Diesel, peering at the insignia, then back up to her. "...They in that much trouble that you can walk around..." He gesture to her in general, but is at least smart enough to not point out the insignia itself, not wanting to bring too much extra attention to it. "...like that? AND asking for me in specifc? I did my deeds with them and...." He scowls a bit more as she brings up his latest loss.
"Bring that up? Fine. Back somewhere private, huh?"
Diesel chugs the other half of her lugger and brushes her lips with her forearm before paying her tab. She gives Vyle an incredulous look when he asks if they are in trouble and shakes her head in disbelief. "Where have you in the last months? Living under a rock?" The things that Shadaloo had been involved recently are...kind of a big deal.
At least she got his attention now, even if he had to strike at his ego to do it. Rising from her seat the Amazon motions for the luchador to follow her towards the back door where they won't draw too much attention, as it's rather hard to minimize the looks a giant Amazon and a man with a green mohawk draw when leaving a bar. "Come, there is much we need to discuss."
Vyle groans as he follows Diesel toward the back door. It's obvious he's not exactly his spring-loaded self, not after his fight with Zach. It might not be quite a hobble, but he certainly drags his feet after the tall woman as they slip out of the back into the alley behind the bar. Slipping his hood up again, this time to avoid suspicion from everyone else but Diesel, he turns back to the woman who has hefted Shadaloo's future on her own shoulders.
"So yeah, I heard about the Big Chin's big dealings. And you know what, fine, he's boss, he does what he does, even if it ended up a monumental cock-up," he mutters, thrusting his hands into his jacket pockets. "So what, trying to find the people who saw the writing on the wall and kept their heads low? The Syndicate is one thing, and damned if I enjoyed kicking their teeth in. But the whole goddamn world? Right, I saw the time to cash out and I did. You want my help? You better be telling me you're not trying to start World War 5 or something."
Diesel stays quiet as they exit the bar, her predatory hazel eyes darting left to right watching the locals with suspicion. Her broad shoulders betray the tension she has of being in a public area, even if she is confident on her abilities to defend herself as it's show clearly by the way she comes and goes shamelessly displaying the Shadaloo insignia, she never really knows when an overly powerful do-gooder might swoop in to make her meet her end. Though she's the kick the door down type, she has laid low in the grand scheme of things and is not planning to blow her cover just yet, not until she's ready to assume her new role in Shadaloo.
It's not until they exit the bar and Diesel is sure no one is listening on the alleyway that she speaks again, this time looking directly down at the hoodied Vyle. Pointedly ignoring the man's comments about Lord Vega's failure to conquer the world, the tall dark skinned woman merely narrows her piercing golden eyes, choosing her world carefully to not draw the ire of a potential ally. "Shadaloo is in a deplorable situation right now." Which is to say, it lays in ruins. "We do not have the man power or the resources to take any enterprising projects, my main concern is to rebuild the organization back to it's former glory." She frowns again, suddenly feeling a sense of doubt before shaking it off. "What happens then is entirely up to you, continue serving us or go about your own business, it is your choice as a mercenary. However, as I mentioned before, rest assured that your efforts will not go unpaid as I offer you far more than simple monetary gain if you do assist us."
Her hand extends lightly and points to his bandaged up torso. "You'll be able to defeat he who did that to you, for example."
Vyle winces at the point toward his chest, even if Diesel isn't actually touching him. Then again, he could swear that it was not exactly Chi that kid was flinging about. "So let me get this straight. You want me to help rebuild things from scorched earth up, huh?" He had to admit, as megalomaniacal as the deal went with, the gig paid damn well. Then again, he's not sure if the same kind of cash is on the table here, with things as wrought as they are.
"Hold it right there. You talkin' about one of those remodling programs the big guy ran? Look, I like this..." He points to his temple several times, making it obvious just what he's referring to. "...just the way it is, alright. Do whatever you want to whosever brain you want. If you're opening up my head for anything, forget it."
"Don't be foolish!" Diesel leans back looking a Vyle almost as if she were offended. "The Killer Doll program is not meant for the likes of you." She adds to the side "Even if you could probably benefit from it's discipline." The Amazon snorts and keeps her deadly glare focus on the evil luchador, having slight second thoughts if she really needs to enlist his aid. Unfortunately for everyone involved here, she doesn't really have a lot of options, and as much as it pains her to admit it, she really does need help. All her assignments have ended either in just failure or disaster, with Juri unable to be accounted for Vyle is really her only option.
"No, what I need is far more mundane." The woman pulls her sleeve to see her own muscled, scarred, forearm where she has apparently written some notes. "I have a long list of targets I must capture, Fuji, Hunter, Chiyoko...Cammy, among others. The acquisition or capture of any of these targets is imperative for our success and they have proven far too resilient foes for me to handle on my own." She pulls her sleeve down. "Also, we need funds, and the fastest way to find that is through prize fighting. As you have probably noticed I have joined the NDP for this matter, yet the profits are hardly worth it." She doesn't mention she hasn't even been able to schedule a proper fight because she's been so busy chasing after targets.
"I heard that you once fought in tag-team circuits. How would you feel about taking that up again, Vernon Cross?"
Vyle rolls his eyes at Disel, folding his arms over his chest. He really doesn't need the lecture on discipline or anything at all. He's heard it all before. Instead, he listens to the shop talk more, looking over the notes that Diesel exposes on her arm. "Right, right, yeah, yeah," he mutters, narrowing his eyes at one name. That looks familiar. "If you want targets, NDP's probably full of them as is."
He pulls out a thumbdrive from his pocket. "This is video from one of the NDPs. Fight between a psi fighter and someone that fights same style as Ken Masters, except she's damn young. And closer to the style than that other bint. The other....she's probably one of ours."
!!!!!
If this were a show of some kind Diesel would clearly have a bunch of exclamation marks over her head. The Amazon warrior leans forward to get a good look at the thumbdrive Vyle is showing her, quickly recognizing the face of one of her failed assassination/capture attempts. "That's LK-5S5! One of the missing Killer Doll prototypes, I attempted to capture a few weeks ago." Clearly, she failed at that.
Straightening up again, the woman scratches her chin, eyes upward as if to seek an answer on the stars above. "That is problematic, if I were to capture her while the NDP continues it will arise too much suspicion. We'll have to wait until ends before proceeding as planned."
For now it would appear they're going to have to play by the rules. "If we somehow cripple her in an NDP fight however, it could make it easier for her to be captured...hmm..."
Vyle raises his eyebrow. "....cripple, I can do. Cripple while staying in the NDP rules so we don't blow the whole shebang, that's a different story. Still..." There's always increasing the potency of his poison if he REALLY wanted to put a hurting on someone enough to get them in that bad a state.
"So...if I help you raise this back from the junk heap, I get paid, right? Fine, I'm in."
Sounds simple enough doesn't it? Vyle gets paid, Diesel captures her prey and Shadaloo gets rebuild, everyone is happy. Well, save perhaps for those that get in her way, but they should have known better shouldn't they?
"Very well, welcome aboard once more Vernon Cross." She extends a large hand towards him, which, hilariously, is actually bigger than his. "Since it seems we'll be working together you may call me Diesel. Don't go doing anything to rash just yet however, await further orders from me before proceeding with our ploy."
Vyle should make no mistake, the one calling the shots here was her.
Vyle nods. He's not terribly big on the whole respect thing after all. But he knows what to do and say if he wants to secure his financial agreements. So he reaches out, taking that hand and shaking it it. No worries about the fact that it was bigger than his own. "Fine. I'll call you Diesel...if YOU call me Vyle from now on." His eyes narrow, making it known that he's dead serious about that one. Who knew a name could be a deal breaker?
"As you wish." It's a reasonable request, thinks Diesel, and she does happen to be a team player when the mood strikes her, or when it's convenient for her and Shadaloo anyway. "Vyle." She grasps his hand with a firm grip, staring at him straight in the eye with unblinking yellow eyes, almost cat like in nature.
"Welcome back, to Shadaloo."
Log created on 23:23:40 04/20/2012 by Vyle, and last modified on 00:53:02 04/23/2012.