Description: What Aranha, aka. Keith Mason, thinks he going to do is hang out with his little sister while he happens to be in Metro City. What actually happens is Mad Gear has the bright idea of kidnapping his sister in order to force Aranha to do their bidding. This can only end well.
Aranha had been called into Metro City to do an interview with a local TV show. It made for good promotion and his agent had been bugging him to get back into limelight once more so people wouldn't forget him once more fighting tournaments and bouts and what have you go back into full swing. After finishing that up, he wanted to hang out with his little sister and make sure she was staying out of trouble in Metro City U. And bond. It had been way too long since they last had a chance to hang out.
Aranha's sister, Kelly Mason, was supposed to meet up with him at Metro Square but she was late. Half an hour late. Half an hour late and no call. Aranha had a sinking feeling in his stomach and he tried to soothe his doubts by picking up his cell phone and dialing her up. All the while praying that his fears weren't coming true.
The phone continues to ring, likely with no expectations on Aranha's end. If something came up, her phone must not be immediately handy, or she'd certainly have given warning to Aranha. But then there's a click, and a mild rustle. A deep exhale rasps through the reciever, followed by a deep, mellow voice. "Ja?" It's... definitely not Kelly. Wrong number, maybe?
Wrong Number?
This is Aranha we're talking. Considering he's made sure to keep in contact with his sister over the years. From making sure she has a enough money for college and necessities for living, he'd make sure he have the right number.
However the not being handy part there's plenty of reasons for that. The unexpected voice. THat's more concerning however there's plenty of legit reasons for that. Maybe she lost her phone somewhere. Maybe she left her phone at a friends' place. He's telling himself this to keep himself calm and it's not working but at the very least, it's helping him keep a calm voice. "Hello?" There's a pause. "I was wondering if my friend, Kelly was around." His instinct tells him to at the very least downplay their blood relationship. "I was supposed to meet up with her today."
He already knows he'll be called on this BS since he already knows her phone has his name on the caller ID and he knows that his real name is public knowledge. What he's looking for is how they will call him on his BS to determine whether or not an impending N-word moment is on the horizon.
"Kelly...?" states the voice on the other end of the phone. "Who is..."
The phone can be heard being lowered, making the following muffled but still clearly audible. "The name of that bitch Kelly?!" Someone yells back something to the effect of 'fuck if I know'. "Nobody?" Damnd states with mild exasperation, to another chorus of half-hearted dissent. Sighing heavily, he places the phone back to his ear.
"Sorry. Can't be sure. Shoulda done my homework better, ya know? Umm. She a fine little girl, though? Heh... but the man supposed to be calling is her BROTHER, not her friend... maybe you can pass on a message to him for me?"
A slow, sucking inhale of something follows. It's like a cigarette, but sounds much bigger. After a few moments, a coughing, pleased exhale. But Aranha would notice one thing. It seems Damnd is in a car; the sound of a vehicle rumbling along, stopping now and then assumably at lights or in traffic. He's on the move.
Yep. Aranha's about to have a big ol' moment where ignorance and rage overwhelms the logic of an otherwise rational negro male. Only thing keeping him wrecking stuff right in his current location is that the object of his rage is not in the area. He takes a deep breath as he thinks what horrible unspeakable (possibly rating breakingly violent) things he would love to everyone involved in this. "Ok. This is her brother. What message do you want to pass to me."
"Ohhh? Damn, man! Ya got me! Hahahaha! I had no idea... Hooo!!" There's a few long moments of laughter that continues on afterwards. Before the phone is lowered again for some long moments. When it returns back to Damnd's ear, his voice is once more a smooth, mellow baritone. "Raise your hand, mon." A peculiar request, really. But the engine is idling now; the vehicle might be very close by, possibly even in the Square. "She said dear brother be meeting her around here. Ya?"
That peculiar request actually tells Aranha a couple useful things. One. This chucklehead does /not/ know who he's dealing with. Two. He either is driving around near the area or he has agents around who can relay info to him.
He glances around the area, his eyes quickly gathering info about people and vehicles in the general vicinity. If something isn't right, be it someone not carrying themselves the way their clothing would indicate, a vehicle that doesn't belong here due to it not being of the proper price range for someone belonging to this area, he will more than likely notice it though he's not infallible.
Only when he's done a quick once-over of the area, does he raise his hand. Only thing preventing him from elevating the middle finger above all is that he doesn't know the well being of his sister. "Fine. What else?"
No one acts like this if raising a hand is the only request.
Things look vaguely normal... until Aranha sees a gaudily colored white van, extra-long cargo. It's still on and idling, at the end of the block and parked askew in front of a fire hyrant. The tinted windows are slightly cracked, and a light smoke is billowing out in regular streams. On the side is a rather fanciful colored landscape in a fantasy design, with a skipping rabbit holding a joint. Above it, text reads 'SMOKE THE RAINBOW!'
Mildly suspicious.
"There ya are. Hahaha! Yep. You the boy I want." Damnd offers, before toking once more from his unseen joint. He's quiet, holding it in his chest before managing another exhale. "Just want to be friends with you. You know. Good brothers. Friends do things for friends. Help move boxes. Loan a few dollars. Beat up some gangsters, here and there. Hahaha... Nothing you would object, I promise. Hit some shady areas on a list. Finish list, get your sister. You got no other choice, mon... You've no idea where I am...!!"
A police car has pulled up to the side of the van in the distance. "Sir, you can't park here." is stated firmly. The window rolls down. "We just waitin' for a buddy!" "YOU CAN'T PARK HERE." "OKAY, MON." "WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING--" "WE CHILL! WE CHILL! IT A CLOVE CIGARETTE!!"
Eventually the police car moves along, with a warning that he's giving a ticket if the van's still puttering in that spot in 5 minutes.
Obviously, Aranha's intelligence has been underestimated. Underestimated to the point where he'd be insulted if he wasn't already pissed off about his sister getting kidnapped. He takes a deep breath and it isn't nearly as cleansing as he would've hoped.
Aranha lowers his hand as he stares at the white van. "I'm surprised my sister didn't kindly inform you that I've /retired/ from that line of work. Though if you've gone through all of this, my retirement won't be a good enough answer for you."
He paces around the area though. He knows he's not fast enough to chase a car down and going to the police will only make her dead. "You clearly know that I could pay a ransom for her but clearly you don't want ransom but rather a set of skills I have. A set of skills acquired over a very long career. And these skills that you obviously want me for could make me a nightmare for you. I don't know who you are and I will not even waste my time saying, 'If you let her go, that will be the end of it' because you will not listen to me. So for now, I'll play along but I will say this: putting me in this position was a very, very bad idea. So give me the damn list so I can go back to retirement."
He silently adds, 'But not without making you and yours pay dearly.'
"Yes. You won't fight for money. You won't fight for threats. I'm not a dumb man, Mr... ...Brother. You know the way this game works." He's quiet then as he listens, outside the occasional toke. "Here. Proof that your Kelly sister is fine." A few moments later, there's a beep. Aranha recieves a text with an image of it; a likely tear-stained Kelly tied up at a chair. The massive figure of Damnd is behind her, holding up the Sports section of a newspaper declaring his favorite team's victory. His other hand is giving a thumb's up. It's actually pretty useless at a glance, but Aranha could confirm the tiny print is today's date. "Made 500 on the over under!" he states joyfully. "Ah. Yes." A few moments later, another beep. This one is an attachment, of all the requests Duke has for Aranha. It's probably longer and more annoying than Damnd hinted. "You wanna throw down brother, I'll throw down any time. Put you in your place, ya? But that up to you. I fine to chill. Check the date; we not starting this operation for a bit. But Kelly be safe and sound in my casa. Treat her life faaaaaamily, dig?"
Sure. His fighting ability is useful but that was only a tiny bit of what he believes would make him an absolute nightmare. His ability as a second story man was the main thing that he believed would be what made him a nightmare. His bread butter once upon a time was staying out of sight, getting into places where he was not wanted and taking what was not wanted to be taken. And now they were going to force someone like him to work for them under those circumstances?
He can't go all Mayor Haggar on this guy. He didn't have anyone loyal enough to him help with his rescue attempt. Sure Rylee or Tessa probably would've agreed but he hasn't been able to contact them in years. Wing would probably walk through fire for him but he just did not feel comfortable asking that of her. Especially since she'd probably get the wrong idea from him asking for her help. And as for Kyle Travers. He hasn't seem him do underground fight in a long time.
Aranha would have to go this alone which would require a bit more subtlety. And for that, he needed buy time to find out where this joker's 'casa' was. He glances at the list and frowns. "Any other messages you'd like to pass along?"
Honestly, Damnd never looked at the list. Duke is probably smart enough to make sure that Aranha is asked to do exactly what his unique talents are most useful for. "Just one... Don't underestimate me." There's a predatory nuance to his tone then, and the large toothy grin can almost be felt over the phone. Although he makes it rather easy, doesn't he? But things are interrupted as the police car once more shifts up beside the van. "SIR, WHAT DID I--" "Oh, shit!" Damnd hits the gas and lurches into the street in front of the cop, causing another car to hit his breaks in a shriek and start honking madly. The van begins to putter along once more, heading in the direction of the inner city and slums. "I call you from now on. Be a good boy, and I send you pictures of your sister. Let her talk to you. You be a bad boy... and I can't be bothered. I'll pass her on to someone else to deal with you. And trust me... you don't want that. I a pretty chill guy, you'd find...!!"
Log created on 20:28:00 06/16/2013 by Aranha, and last modified on 21:05:41 06/17/2013.