2016.05.13:TerritoryDefense

Territory Defense
A team is gathered to run off some intruders.
IC Date	May 12th, 2016
IC Time	Late Evening
Players	Aurora, Bella, George, Halle, Jake Miller, Zoe
Location	The back room of the Curry Corner and the neighborhood near and under the highway not too far from the beach.

George had sent the word out for a job he needed a hand with. The only physical opposition expected is human so it can involve direct participation by kinfolk. He waits at his table with his tea, basket of Naan and bowl of Paneer as he waits to see who turns up for a briefing.

Bella had gotten word! Happily, she had come. Gone was the usual summer dress and cowboy boots, in its place were a pair of jeans and cowboy boots. Her hair is pulled back in a messy bun and she looks comfortable with herself as she approaches where George is. Stepping behind a chair, she inclines her head and offers a tentative smile. "It's good to see you again." She doesn't take a seat yet, waiting to be invited to.

Aurora is here! She's got Zoe in tow, taking her time, just like she always does, though at least there's SOME pep to her step. This sounds Important.

Well, since it was George who sent out the word, Jake just had to show to see if he could be of any help to the Elder. But he doesn't bring his bowling ball this time, nope. He brought something even better. Halle! He opens the door, following her inside and offers George a bow of the head. "Good evening, Rhya. I hope no one is in danger." He offers a nod of greeting to all the others present.

Zoe trails along with Aurora. Zoe is wearing one of possibly two pairs of pants she owns. But they're the good ones! Blue jeans, t-shirt, flannel overshirt, hair in braid. Yep.

Halle gives George a smile as she and Jake come in. "Greeting George-rhya. Hope we can be of help," she tells him. Halle's wearing jeans and a normal top, but also has a jacket with her and a baseball cap for looking less conspicuous if needed. She lets the Garou take a seat first, following Jake over to the table.

George nods and gestures around for everyone to take a seat, the Naan and Paneer get pushed out toward the middle of the table in clear invitation. "Good to see you all too. And no one's in danger yet. Thing is there's a warehouse that Connor and Alessio manage that anchors a patch of territory by Surfer's Cove. Every once and a while some bright bunch get it in their heads that because there isn't a whole lot of criminal activity in that neighborhood they can move in around the edges and carve out some turf of their own. Now seeing as I originally asked those two to set that up I feel its only proper to assist in the securing of that territory but its getting so as I have a bit of an obvious reputation in that hood and if I were to go down to....discourage them again it might wind up in lethal, for them, levels of violence faster than I'd like."

Bella does take the seat when it's offered, the food isn't taken, but she gives him a smile for offering it. A smile of greeting is given to the others she knows, and Aurora as well, one she hadn't met. She doesn't say anything else as of yet, just settles in to listen to what he has in mind, what the task at hand was. At the last of it, she gives a bit of a knowing look. "So, discourage them without it escalating too far," she finally says. "I can manage that.. I think."

Jake takes a seat as well, listening intently to George. "So, it sounds like you're looking for...well, more of a peaceful way to get rid of any criminal activity that's going on there rather than something...too aggressive." He looks over at Halle and the others before adding to George. "Are we just talking...regular gang banger types or something more dangerous?"

Halle settles into a seat. She ooos softly and tries the food that George has provided, just getting little nibbles of each to taste. "And does it need to be... running them out? Or something like... a... citizens patrol that starts calling the cops on them until they can't do business in the area?" Halle asks. "Or, however else people manage to stop such things in their neighborhoods?"

George shrugs at Jake's question "The current batch is all mortal as far as I know. You find out different then that changes things." Ponders Halle's question "Well, if this was the sort of neighborhood the mundane police gave a shit about then I wouldn't have probably had to set a thing up in the first place. A neighborhood watch might work as a cover though, I'm more concerned with what gets done than how. Except for keeping the body count as close to non-existant as at all possible." Bella's understanding seems solid so he just nods at her.

As more questions are given and responded to, Bella files away the information mentally. "The warehouse, you say it's in town or out? Since the mundane police don't seem to care, I wonder if it's already in a crime ridden area, since that's usually the places that are ignored by them." She accepts a cheese cube finally, popping it into her mouth. Food was good.

Zoe eats what she deems is appropriate. Then maybe a little more. It's good food and Zoe is hungry this evening. She listens quietly as George speaks and questions are answered. She looks thoughtful. Wheels are turning.

Jake tries the food that Halle has sampled, seeming to really focus on the naan. He eats slowly, not inhaling it like usual while he keeps listening. "It doesn't sound like a very difficult situation. I think it's something we can all handle without too much fuss and bother." He nods to Bella and waits for George to elaborate on her speculation.

George nods and explains "Surfer's cove is where Olive street runs into the water and the warehouse is on Lincon between Olive and first under the highway. So yeah, kind of a rough neighborhood but definately in town. I don't really get bothered about folks selling joints or even boosting a car or two but when these jokers start getting organized we gotta start worrying about human trafficing and harder drugs. The sort of heavy shit that draws even more banes than would be around an urban enviroment normally."

Halle keeps listening, her expression suggesting she's thinking too. "Maybe a few baseball bats or something else non-lethal would be good to have on hand just in case it gets ugly," she comments towards Jake. Halle looks back to George asking, "Do we know exactly who they are and where they can be found already? Or will we need to figure that out first and then go from there?"

"I don't really know the area yet, but I can sure get to know it really fast." Bella offers to George. "I am sure we all, as a group, have varied skills that will come in useful. I am more than willing to help you in this and look forward to working with the others." The question from Halle is given a nod, and she looks to George expectantly for the response.

Zoe smiles a little and she watches Bella curiously before turning her gaze back to George.

"Yeah, those urban banes are really bad news," Jake agrees then looks at Halle. "Baseball bats do come in handy from time to time. Hopefully it won't even come to physical contact. I'm sure this can be handled through diplomacy. Violence shouldn't even be necessary. Count me in as well. Anything to help you out, George-Rhya."

George frowns "I know where they're not set up. Not the Cove itself and not on the same block as the warehouse. Part of the reason I put out the word specifically for kinfolk assistance, you asking around won't get people's backs up quite the same way. It might not come to fighting but its probably going to involve threats and intimidation at least, that's up to all ya'all as the point team though."

Zoe perks up a little, watching George with some interest. She smiles just a little, settles back in her seat. Cheese goes in mouth.

It seemed to Bella that everyone was interested in helping out, so she glances about to the others, nodding about Halle's suggestion of a baseball bat. "Maybe something to patrol with, but not really sure if we should lug a ball bat around the area asking questions. It's an idea though. So does anyone have any ideas on how you want to handle it?"

Jake considers a moment and sits back in his chair. "Well, I tend to get human's backs up so it might be best if I stayed back and observed while the others handled this. I can stay in a vehicle and wait to see if the situation escalates and get involved if things dicey. I bet the kinfolk can handle this all on their own." He smiles at the women.

Halle nods back to Bella. "Having some weapons close by, at the least. And I don't know if there are more concealable ones in the Sept armory we could use?" At the question of how to handle it, Halle says, "Well, I guess we need to identify them first. I'm fine with chitchatting with people to try to get a feel for what is going on, if we want to try that. Is there any way to find out what's been reported to the police to maybe help us zero in on any particular areas?"

Zoe scrunches her nose, raises a hand to get George's attention "Duh we know how menneh people is dere?"

George nods to Zoe "Six to ten from what I've heard, though that's a day old now. I've got knives and I think there's some night sticks or batons you could use." Otherwise he sits back and lets the group plan.

Zoe nods thoughtfully and she glances at the group, arching brows at her fellows. Or the other ladies, as t'were. "Depens' on hwat skills we god." she says. Yes. Zoe. Thank you.

"I can use my fists and a rifle." Adding also, "And a pistol." Bella quirks her lips in a lopsided smile. "All us southern girls learn how to shoot." The number doesn't seem to bother her though, six to ten. "Night sticks would be perfect. Not sure how well I am with knives, but I can clean a fish."

Halle asks George, "You said a whole lot of criminal activity? Any specifics that we know of? Drug dealing, breaking into homes, mugging...?" Halle asks, trailing off to indicate other unspoken possibilities. Halle looks over to Jake, ready to defer to the Garou but finding he's just listening for now. "Alright, I'll propose Jake contact Trekome or one of his deputies, and get all the police reports in the area. Even if the police do not respond much, they still might have gotten calls. And the rest of us that feel comfortable with it can go befriend the residents, find out what we can. Maybe thinking about moving to the area and wanting to know what it's like. Or maybe your mother is thinking about moving there and you're worried for her. Or just complain about some crime that's interfered with your life and see what others bring up. Just as long as each person keeps their story consistent. Could be we might even want to enlist these people's aid down the road in some fashion."

George nods and shrugs "And Jake doesn't have the reputation I have in the neighborhood so when it comes to some of those we don't mind them being a little frightened that'll be good to."

Zoe nods and she sucks her teeth. "Duh we know who is leaduh?"

Bella falls silent then, looking between those with the questions and those with the answers. "So we have someone in the police force, good." Just thinking of that comment before she reaches for another cube of cheese as the others discuss.

George shakes his head at Zoe "Nope, this group has been around less than two weeks. Not enough time to have made much of a splash yet."

Jake nods to Halle and immediately gets on his phone to Trekome's group to have them start gathering the information she suggested. He talks low as to not interrupt the others.

Halle nods to Bella. "Yes, we have a number of Kin as well as one Elder. And if they've only been around 2 weeks it'll be easier for us to narrow it down to them from any police reports. We should probably make sure Trekome-rhya or one of his team is available to handle any police calls as well in case things go sideways and it gets called in. Speaking of which, getting them arrested could be a way of dealing with them." Halle adds, "I'll take some kind of baton or sap or something, something small. And a bat in the car with Jake."

George adds "For this particular group there's a rumor about a possible Sinaloa connectiong but not a whole lot of detail yet. If you want to do some fact finding first before you roll up on them that works too."

Jake nods slowly, covering the mouthpiece of his phone. "I'll make sure one of the Captain's team is available to step in if any arrests are warranted. It goes without saying that we want to stay within the bounds of the law. Have to set an example, eh?" He grins slightly.

Zoe arches a brow at Jake and she huffs out an amused breath. She isn't toally sure carrying about knives and batons is super street legal. She bites her lower lip and scrunches her nose.

George chuckles and shrugs "I'm all for rendering unto ceaser when its appropriate but we want to avoid official entanglements as much as we can."

Halle hmms quietly in thought. "Well, I probably am not a good person to research this... Sinaloa connection. Any of you feel like you would be good at it?" Halle asks, looking to each person in turn. "I'm probably best at talking to people or looking around. But it sounds like it's worth checking into. We could maybe tag Kevin or Furio to help if no one else feels like it's something they could handle?" Halle says.

Jake looks up at the mention of Kevin and Furio. "They would be a great help. If they're available." He looks over at George to see if he'd be open to them helping.

Bella doesn't know either of the names mentioned, not familiar with them, but she just listens to those who know the people, the city and the territories better, before nodding to George. "Well I can help you out, however you need, just count me in." A smile is given to Halle, "Glad we got some involved in law enforcement. Makes things easier."

Jake chimes in. "I don't know anything about any types of crime families here but I'm sure that if we ask the right questions in that area we'll find out. Sinaloa, you said? Shouldn't be difficult." He looks back at the woman. "I think we all have a little bit of experience in being around law enforcement."

Zoe is just being quiet, since it's one of her better skills.

Halle says, "I'm not really sure how to even broach the subject of this Siniloa. Don't really know anything about them but their name. I'd probably go type their name into that google thing and if that didn't get me anywhere... not sure what to do next." She looks around at everyone. "Ok, so... is there something else we want to do in the way of investigating? Or should we get out and start talking to people?"

George will add "The cartel connection's just a rumor so far."

Jake puts down his phone for a moment. "Okay, I'll call Kurt and have him send over a vehicle with some mace and pocket stunners to bring us over. How about we just get over there and start doing a little investigating first. Talk to people. Scout the area. Maybe someone will even mention Siniloa. Who knows. Just stay close enough to the vehicle so I can keep an eye on you all. If there's any problem I'll be right there to help you out." He looks from face to face. "Sound good?"

Zoe looks at Jake, nods, gives a thumbs up.

Halle will get a sap, or a scoping baton if they have one of those so she can carry it easily concealed. "Alright, ready," she says once she has that on hand.

Zoe could totally dig having a taser.

"Okay, Kurt, we'll be out front in a minute. Thanks." Jake closes his phone and stands up. "Kurt said there would be plenty of weapons for us to choose from in the SUV. Just don't take anything you're not sure how to use."

Jake goes back to talking with one of Trekome's men, keeping it low.

---

Zoe is legit not a cop.

Sitting out on the stoop of one of the buildings Halle makes friends with a little old grandmotherly type sitting there smoking a cigar and waving her cane at any of the young boys who're running around getting themselves into trouble. Which she will tell the pretty young lady all about <<Most of them are good boys, but you must never tell them that. It would shame them in front of their friends. The strangers that moved in though a while back....no one knows them and no one really likes them. They come to this town but they don't have family in this neighborhood and they only hang out with eachother. Up to no good I tell you.>>

Halle is quite expressive, giving suitably rueful looks as she hears about the problem in the neighborhood. While Halle isn't good at speaking Spanish on her own, she understands it when heard, and can parrot back a few of the words she heard that were particularly important. "Los ninos..." Halle says of the boys, "normally buenos," she finishes, a mix of English and Spanish. Halle smiles as she watches the boys at play for a bit before looking back to the woman. "Los extranos," Halle asks, bringing up the strangers. "Mudarse... where?" Halle says, asking in Spanish about moving then, then the English word. She accompanies the English with an exaggerated questioning glance around that should make her question obvious enough.

Aurora just sort of keeps her distance. Rage is a thing and she knows it.

Zoe watches and does her best to just look like a sweet, innocent young lady. She's pretty good at it, since it's not far from the truth.

Jake is spending most of the time standing near the SUV, keeping an eye on the women and when Halle seems to be spending a long while with the elderly lady on the stoop he meanders over, slowly, catching a little of what the woman said...and not understanding a word of it. That's okay though. He realizes that Halle knows what she's saying. Once the woman stops talking and it seems Halle has gotten all the information she's going to get Jake leans forward slightly, but not getting /too/ close to her and says. "Sinoloa?" He waits to see if there is any reaction to the word.

And oh there is. The old lady shifts her cigar to the other side of her mouth and spits to the side Halle isn't on and goes off on a bit of a tear about leaving Mexico to get away from that shit and if these strangers bring the cartels with them she'll beat them with her cane see if she won't. That's all in spansih but the tone and the gesturing make it rather clear. For those that understand it her capacity for profanity is.....impressive. Eventually she calms down and turns back to Halle <<You and your friends, couple of them look a little like they're dangerous. From an american gang? Come to send these strangers packing?>>

Aurora looks SO dangerous. Grrr.

Bella doesn't have a whole lot of trouble in making friends, she just usually does her thing, talks, asks non-invasive questions, friendly all around. She doesn't know Spanish though, but she gets some chatter from a few who don't even look suspicious that she's a cop or anything. Which she isn't. There's an occasional look back to Jake as he watches over them, but she doesn't address him since the person she's talking to doesn't seem to want to open up much. She does listen to what she can understand about the other conversations though.

Halle finds herself liking the elderly woman more and more as she so obviously has stood up to a lot in her life. Halle looks to her companions. <<American gang... no,>> Halle replies, repeating the Spanish words. <<Send these strangers packing...>> "Yes," Halle repeats, her tone making that a different matter. Halle gives a nod of her head. <<Neighborhood... family,>> Halle says, and giving the old woman a smile that shows how much those concepts mean to her, as well as folding her hands over her heart a bit. <<THe strangers hang with each other?>> Halle asks, glancing around again as if trying to discern where.

Halle also pauses to translate for everyone so they are keeping up.

Zoe is listening and quietly taking notes in a small pad. She tends to keep a lot of writing and art stuff on her in her satchel.

The little old lady snorts in amusement <<That's what a good gang is. They moved into an boarded up Bodega and the apartments above it. Down the street that way under the highway.>>

Jake listens to Halle and the woman quietly and steps back a little, turning and scanning the area for a moment. Zoe, check. Aurora, check. Bella, check. Seems everyone is accounted for and doing just fine for now. Any gang youth around? Doesn't seem to be any. No one seems to be paying them much attention either.

Aurora is listening to the words, taking them in, silently, from a distance

Halle translates the news about the bodega and the apartment. Halle doesn't turn to look yet, saying in English, "Let's make sure we don't all turn and look at the same time." She'll wait a bit until no one else is looking that way and then glance down to get a good look at the place. Halle looks back to the elderly woman and gives her a grateful smile. <<These strangers...?>> Halle asks in Spanish, leaving the words hanging in the tone of a question. Halle holds up 1 finger with a questioning look, then a second, a third. "One? Two? Three?" Halle says, hesitating and hoping the woman will indicate how many there are.

Snapping her fingers she answers <<That I know for sure. Six, because one of them walked by complaining about only getting two doughnuts out of the dozen.>>

Bella mostly just listens, she doesn't input much, but as she listens, she takes a look around, curious about the neighborhood, the people. There's a look to Halle, and she sort of mosies in that direction, checking out the person she is talking to, but she's wearing a friendly smile, not wanting to alarm anyone.

Halle shares the information about there being six of the gang members. Then Hallereaches into her pocket and pulls out a few crumpled bills. Those who know her well know she rarely had money, so it might come as a surprise. Halle smooths them and folds them in half and passes them over to the elderly woman. <<For the good boys,>> Halle says simply, not making a very big deal of it. She looks briefly towards the bodega then back to the woman and gives the elderly woman a quick smile, a visual recognition of her having been helpful. Halle turns back to her friends then. "Shall we wander off somewhere away from her and her grandchildren and figure out our next step?" she asks.

Being farther away from the old woman, Jake gets a completely wrong impression of what's being said and the implications behind her words. Seeing that Halle totally has this under control he ambles back towards the SUV, simply making sure there isn't any tomfoolery going on in that direction.

Fierce Concentration ensues as Zoe inexplicably starts to practice ancient paper folding arts, right there on the street. Nimble fingers fold and re-fold some pretty white and pink paper until it resembles a lotus. The girl inspects it, nostrils flare, and she nods. Once satisfied she offers it with polite gravity to the helpful old Abuela.

The old lady took Halle's money and Zoe's flower with quiet dignity, if these rich americans want to pay her for gossip she'll sure let them. She offers the group a wave goodbye as they move off.

And she feels pretty good about it too, could be just finally doing something about the bad strangers but who knows.

"Six," Bella murmurs to herself mostly. "Better than ten." She watches the exchange with Halle and the woman, trying to get a read on things, but the woman seemed pretty good. "Probably a good idea," she tells Halle, "Better to leave her out of as much as possible. I'd hate for them to take her for an informant or something." She stops a moment, watching Zoe with a bemused expression, waving goodbye to the elder lady.

Zoe smiles to herself and she closes up her satchel, at least for the moment. She looks Halle over thoughtfully.

Halle paused when she saw Zoe was doing something. She waits and sees Zoe hand the flower over. Zoe gets a smile from Halle for doing something so thoughtful. Even if Halle doesn't understand JUST how thoughtful. "Yes, don't want to risk anything coming down on them. So six, taken over the bodega and the apartments above it," Halle says, keeping her voice soft as the group moves to rejoin Jake at his vehicle. "And we don't quite know yet if they are connected to this cartel. Though the nice woman seems to have a beef with them. Any thoughts on how to proceed?"

Zoe waits for people to get back in the vehicle, and she scoots herself in close to Halle if possible. She offers the lovely woman a note shyly.

Halle takes the note from Zoe and reads it. Halle smiles to Zoe and says, "Of course, that's sweet of you," to the other woman.

Since Jake was near the SUV at the time he wasn't aware of what Zoe was up to and as the group returns he's on the radio relaying their location to Trekome's men. He then puts the mic down and helps the women inside. "Looks like you got some info, Halle. Good going." Once everyone is inside he takes a deep breath and replies, "I'm not entirely sure. Bella? Aurora? Zoe? Did you get any other info from anyone?"

Zoe shakes her head at Jake even as she starts to fish around in her satchel again. Busy busy. Arts and crafts!

"Nothing anyone else doesn't already have. Six, like Halle said. I don't know anything else. Halle have any ideas?" Bella hasn't been really productive, but she sure is open to any ideas anyone has.

Halle hrms quietly. She repeats the information for Jake to make sure he knows it. Six of them in a boarded up bodega and some apartments above. Halle glances at Zoe as she's drawing with the marker, appearing rather curious, but continuing on with the discussion as she does. "Well, it would be good if we can get the layout of the place. How many doors and windows on the ground floor. Any stairs up to the upstairs or fire escapes or ladders or anything. Bella, you and Aurora feel like going for a walk and make note of everything you can about the building?" Halle suggests.

Aurora nods to Halle, giving Zoe a quick look. Just to make sure she's okay. But then she turns her attention to Bella and she nods. "Yeah. Come on, Bella. Let's go for a walk."

Jake gets back on the mic to talk with Trekome's contact again and gathering as much info on police reports in this area as possible. He then relays what Halle told him to the man to pass on to Trek. Just in case they're never heard from again!

Zoe doodles with bizarre intensity on Halle. She's... yeah. Okay. Zoe is weird. But content.

END PART 1

The bodega in question is on a corner and there's an alley on one side, the ground floor windows are boarded over and the wood is doodled in grafiti. The door is locked and boarded up as well. There are windows for apartments going up above, one light on the second floor shines through the curtians. The third and fourth floors are all dark.

Halle finds a nice corner in the distance that she can lean against and casually keep an eye on the other women who are going and doing the scouting. Her hair pulled up under her ballcap, and light jacket on.

Zoe signs to Bella, pointing up at the lit window. She gives the other woman a quizzical look.

The lit apartment is on the corner of the building that's on the street corner so it has windows on both roads.

Bella catches sight of the motion and nods, looking towards it, then around covertly. Biting her lip in indecision, she whispers, "Do you think we should go check it out? Check out the building? Tell the others?"

Zoe nods at Bella. Yes. Yep. Question is, how to get up there? Her spooky powers don't go as far as making her into a Spider-Zoe.

There is a spooky alley that might be worth checking out

Definitely. "The fire escape, if there is one?" She motions to the spooky alley, checking she had her knife on her possession. Still, there was trepidation on her features. She sort of hesitates, it's obvious. Then she speaks into the com. (If they still have them?) << Going to the alley to see if we can get to the floor of this building that is lit >> she rattles off the address, speaking very quietly. "Ok," she whispers, "Let's go."

Zoe nods and she smiles a little. She moves quietly into the darkness, moving ever so carefully.

Halle stays on the corner, just casually slouched and watching from the shadows of her ball cap, head not quite facing that way so it doesn't look like she's paying any attention over there.

The Alley is dark and cluttered. There's a Dumpster with some deep shadows and both Zoe and Bella can hear if not see something small moving around in the trash. Zoe manages to notice the shine off the eyes of a rat peeking out of the dumpster, its gone very very still, except for its nose which is twitching in....fear?

Up above is a fire escape but to reach the bit of the ladder that hangs down a jump with at least an eight foot vertical would be needed or climbing on the lid of the dumpster and disturbing whatever else might lay within,

Zoe blinks at Bella, motioning towards the dumpster. She makes a face, wriggles her nose. Not a bad rat impression. She points at the ladder, then at Bella's phone. Maybe she should call in one of the tall people?

Halle is standing on a street corner, wearing a jacket and a baseball cap pulled low with her hair stuffed up inside. Watching towards the bodega and the alley beside it where Zoe and Bella have gone. Jake and Aurora waiting by the SUV last we heard. Phones dialed into the same call and left open so if they call for help we'll know.

Yup, Jake is simply waiting by the SUV, cellphone in hand and watching from a distance. He seems confident that the others have the situation under control.

---

Aurora swapped for Bella----

By the expedient of Zoe giving Aurora a boost, the ladder is pulled down and climbed mostly quietly. The first landing is at the window of the apartment next to the one that's lit up. The window is closed and dark, the rat scurried back down into the dumpster.

Zoe hops up the lowered ladder, moving as stealthily as she doesn't know how.

There's some movement behind the curtians of the lit apartment and none from the dark one the fire escape is by. Aurora notices the window is not locked and the wooden frame has been poorly kept up. It should be possible for the window to be shimmied up a little so fingers can wiggle under it for lifting if the two scouts work together.

Zoe nods and she reaches into a pocket. She pulls out a fairly sturdy multi-tool gadget, starts to work at the window to get it open.

The window is worked at a little and Zoe is able to get it slid up enough for Aurora to be able to lift it gently the rest of the way open so the dark apartment can be entered quietly. The room just inside is empty except for a few random empty beer cans, the ends of a few joints and a couple of dried up condoms in one corner. It might have once been a bedroom. It does seem that it is a secure enough point that the rest of the group could be called forward.

Noticing what Aurora and Zoe are doing, Jake steps a little closer to the house so he can get a better view of them disappearing through the window. He glances around to make sure the two woman aren't being spotted and that no one is approaching the dwelling. Zoe looks to Aurora. She's the talker for the two of them. Zoe does her best to make no noise and she keeps to the shadows in the room.

Zoe sends a text! She gives an update, letting Jake, Bella and Halle know what they're about.

Halle sends back a group text. "Are you ok there? Want us to come?"

Aurora nods. Aurora doesn't text. She does know how to read though. Zoe probably texts a lot faster too. Aurora reads the message and nods, murmuring, "Have them come up, yes. Carefully. One at a time."

Zoe nods at Rora, sends along the instructions. "Yes. Come up. Quiet, one at a time. Please.

Jake checked his phone and texts back, "b carful need back pup?./.

Jake keeps looking at his phone and texts, "hallie go 4it will keep lookout a min

Halle checks her phone and sees the texts back. She turns her volume off and then stuffs her phone in a pocket. She cross the street then walks down the sidewalk towards the entrance to the alley. If she doesn't see anyone about she steps into the alley, heading for the ladder assuming it is still down. Barring anything worrisome she'll climb up as quietly as she can.

NINJA!

Halle makes it to the top of the ladder. Quietly, it seems.

No one notices Halle climb up. She is infact, so quiet, that they decide they were imagining things earlier and go back to watching the tellanovella they had on.

Jake keeps a very close eye on Halle, slowly moving to keep her in sight while continuing to scan the area outside for signs of prying eyes or interlopers. He -slowly- heads for the building, taking note of the first floor door that is boarded up. Looks like simple plywood to him. Not too tough. Gaze back to the ladder...then the boarded up front door. He checks for any new texts...

Zoe waits for Halle and Jake, doing her very best to keep silent while she does so. Rora has the better senses, so she's a better scout in this situation.

There can be faintly heard from the next apartment the sounds of overly dramatic spanish soap-opera dialouge. Someone watches his stories at night when no one can see.

Once she is inside, Halle texts Jake. "Am in, go ahead." She looks around the room, seeing if she can note anything of interest here. Anything with names on it. Or any signs of superstition or religion. She makes just the quick inspection while waiting for Jake to come up.

Seeing that Halle made the climb successfully and DAMN fast, Jake heads towards the ladder himself. Again, he glances around the property and seeing that the coast is clear he makes his move. UP the ladder he goes...

There isn't a whole lot for Halle to find, the room is kind of gross and it doesn't look like anyone's been in here for at least a couple days. The closest thing she finds to signs of religon is a cross scratched into the stained wallpaper in the corner where the dried up condoms are. Hard to tell when its from though.

While not as crazy invisible as Halle was Jake does make it up with no problem.

Halle hrms as she looks at the cross, noting it and looking over at the others, tapping it lightly so they see it, though then turning back to look around the room a bit more.

Once inside, Jake checks out the room as well and nods to Halle and the others, not speaking yet. He sticks close to the window for now, touches his forehead and takes a deep breath.

As far as Aurora can hear the hallway is clear, though other than the lit apartment its hard to say what the rest of the building holds.

Halle taps into her phone a text message. "Ideas other than beating them. Buy building if we can. Kick them out. Or... find priest or something to talk to them."

Zoe reads her phone and gives Halle a puzzled look. She keeps clear of gross old condoms and looks over towards Jake curiously.

Jake reads the text on his phone and starts to type something back. "better jus get ehtm 2 go." He looks up at the others and sighs. Seems like he's been in a situation like this before. He holds up a hand for everyone to stay still.

Jake motions for the others to stay back and quiet while he simply strides for the closed door and *KICKS* it open. In a flash he sounds and looks fierce as hell. THIS is the Ahroun that gets things done, which may be a bit of a shock for those that know him. "Okay, mother FUCKERS! THIS IS A RAID! Put your hand UP and we won't shoot. The place is surrounded. DON'T FUCKING MOVE!"

Zoe watches Jake as he goes all macho-scarylike. She keeps well out of the way of the door, just in case somebody decides to start shooting.

The guy watching soaps freakes the fuck out and starts yelling and babbling in spanish but the door to that apartment remains closed. Some noise from upstairs starts to be heard as well.

Zoe decides now is a good time to get out her taser.

The stairwell is to the left and the apartment the 'lookout' is in is to the right. The hallways turn ninety degrees at the corners and there are other doors along the hall the group is in.

Jake simply reaches out and touches the screaming guy and he drops like a sack of potatoes. *THUMP!* He's out, quiet and unable to move for a while now. Unfortunately he also loses control of his bladder, a wet stain spreading in his crotch.

The 'lookout' goes sprawling prone as he meets Jake in the doorway to that apartment, he has a heavy chair leg in his hand. The stairwell that Halle is watching has a couple of thugs coming down it, one holding a knife and the other with a broom handle.

Halle lashes out with the metal baton. At first it looks like it might end up a brutal hit, but the man with the knife halts his rush at Halle and tries to get out of the way of the swing. He manages to at least lessen the blow, coming away with likely no more than a bruise.

Zoe is sooo super sneaky! She isn't the world's best shot, but she's good enough and the tazer goes off, dropping the gent she aimed at. He falls over twitching. Awesome.

who was the guy with the knife

Jake drops down on one knee and punches the guy on the ground unmercifully. *POUND* *POUND* *POUND* The guy getting punched continues to blabber in fear, trying to get around from the Ahroun. Unfortunately he's not unconscious yet. "SHUT UP!" Jake yells at him. "I TOLD YOU TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

The guy moving to club Halle with a broom handle gets tangled up and his strike attempt goes wide.

Halle must really be fueled up on adrenaline as no sooner has she swung at the knife-wielder than she lashes out at the guy whose broomstick just went wide of her. Her metal baton cracks down on the broom handle so hard it knocks the weapon out of the man's hands, leaving him unarmed for now.

One knife wielding hooligan twitching on the ground because he got tazed bro. One guy blubbering and babbling at Jake in spanish as he smells of stale cigarettes and fresh urine <<llevarme a la cárcel>> over and over. And the last guy blinking at Halle as his broom staff gets knocked from his hand he he starts backing up to make a dash for the stairs.

Zoe is suuuper badass. She doesn't want him running off to tell on them, so she zaps him. In the ass as it turns out. And ouch. Down he goes in the stairwell.

Once Halle tells Jake what the guy is jabbering about he stops pummeling the guy, grabs him by the shirt and pulls him close. Very close. Close enough so that Jake's Rage envelops him like a shroud. Jake then growls at the guy, his voice quite threatening. "Oh, we will take you to jail. The cops are already on their way. You're getting off easy though. We are letting you and your pals live. Spread the word though. This is OUR turf. If you ever come back or any of your friends show up around here we will rip off your balls and FEED them to you."

The terrified man can only nod in fear, sounding absolutely terrified. "No vamos a volver! No vamos a volver. Oh , Santa Madre de Dios , por favor, no me mates ! ¡Lo juro! ¡Lo juro!" Halle sees Jake has the final man under control then, so Halle goes down to peek up the stairs for signs of anyone else. Barring any threat, she'll pat down the unconscious men for weapons (or anything else of interest), pocketing the knife if it closes or has a sheath, and ties their wrists behind their back. If there's something handy for the tying like rope, old electric cords, whatever, then great. If not... well they have shirts, right? A few rips and that should make do. Also supplying blind folds for each man. Then Jake's prisoner also gets a pat down and is similarly tied up.

---

The building is now quiet except for the movements of the gaian team and the occasional flinch and whimper from the one guy that's still concious. The search of the gang bangers reveals a couple of recipts for a local doughnut shop (1 dozen bavarian cream filled each time), about seventy five bucks in us currency between them and another nine thousand in pesos all together. Very little else of interest.

Zoe checks on her taser. Not that she knows a lot about it, exactly. But she now kinda super loves the damn thing.

"Should I wake him..." Aurora asks quietly, looking over at the unconscious guy. NOT healing someone, especially a human, is hard for her. Makes her palms itch

Jake grins at Zoe and gives her a nod of approval. "Good job with that thing. Just be careful you don't shock yourself. Hey, I've seen it happen." He looks at Aurora. "We'll need wake him eventually so he can get out of here with his pals. I think they've gotten the message. I doubt they'll be coming back on George's turf for a while. Hopefully they will spread the word as well."

Zoe looks over at Jake and she tucks the taser back in the halter on her hip. She just smiles at him. No zappin' the Zoe. At least not right now. She looks over at Aurora, watching the woman curiously.

Aurora nods just a little bit. "Tie him. Put the thing over his eyes, then I'll heal him. Those two are fine. No concussions on my watch, though," she murmurs, watching the three there on the ground

Halle checks that everyone is secure and then goes room to room, giving each a quick scan for anything that us noteworthy. Weapons. Drugs. Autographed pictures of David Hasselhoff. Pre-Baywatch in particular. She keeps her baton extended and in hand as she searches, starting on this floor and then moving upwards.

Jake also does a quick search, making sure he's not too far from the others in case there's any surprises coming their way. So far it seems they're pretty lucky so far.

There aren't any Autographed pictures of Hoff but there is one of of an attractive brunette from one of the Telenovela's the 'sentry' was watching. It was hidden in a backpack of clothes and personal possessions in the room he was keeping watch in. No guns but there is a couple of boxes of 9mm ammo and an fairly mundane assortment of improvised street weapons. As far as drugs go there's some marijuana packaged for sale in small baggies (each of which has a couple rolling papers stuck in it with the weed) and a larger baggie with a number of small sticky looking black balls the size of a rasin wrapped in saran wrap.

Jake nods to Halle and checks out the stash she's holding and shakes his head. "I haven't seen drugs like that before. I mean...not in that form." He looks at the others if anyone else can identify it."

Zoe moves over to peer at the drugs. Her mouth tightens and she sends round a group text. "Black Tar Heroin."

Halle looks over at Zoe. "Heroin I've heard of, not sure what the black tar means," she says. But she doesn't wait, letting the others look over the drugs then as Halle goes back to check on the three. If they are still secure she will make a quick trip down the stairs to look at the bodega on the ground floor.

Zoe taps away at her phone. "That's a fuck of a lot of it. I don't know the street value, but I'm guessing this is worth a fair bit."

Aurora looks things over, sniffing that, examining this, she even... tastes.... and then spits it out with a big ole loogie. Gross. "Poppy juice. Cooked up into death. So very strong." She shakes her head and takes a breath, stepping back. Gather it. All of it. We'll put it on the other side, and then you will take guard while I cleanse the place of the filth."

Jake makes a face. "Black /tar/ herion? Christ, people actually take that stuff?" He shakes his head and looks over at Aurora, nodding. "Okay, well I guess this place is secure then."

Zoe glances at Jake. She arches brows at him. Sweet summer child. That's adorable, if naive. She lets the adults decide what to do about the drugs.

There was one cellphone, no numbers programmed in though

Halle looks at the cell phone, not even getting as far as looking for programmed numbers. She walks over to Zoe and holds it out, saying, "there isn't a Joey easy button. This is beyond me."

Zoe blinks at Halle and she accepts the phone. She inspects it curiously, frowning and fiddling.

Jake looks at the phone like it's a hooded serpent. Nope, he doesn't want anything to do with the device-from-Hell.

Zoe shrugs at Halle. No. Zoe can't find anything useful on the phone. She shrugs and texts. "No idea. There's no useful data on it. Maybe we can show it to one of the walkers?"

Halle checks her phone to see Zoe's text. "Yes, that's a good idea," Halle agrees. She looks around the place then back over to where the men are tied up. She'll move out of earshot of the men before asking, "So, what are we going to do with them now?" she asks.

Aurora listens, watching carefully, brow knit just a touch. "We need everything together. I will take it across and leave it. Make sure all of the drugs are together. Any weapons, so on so forth. Nothing leaves here. The phone.. take the battery out." How the FUCK does a Gurahl know to do that?

Zoe glances over at Aurora and she nods. She flips open the phone case and pops the battery out. That done she tucks both in her shoulder bag.

Jake nods to Zoe then looks at Halle. "We could just call the Chief's men to come and pick them up. If that happens then they can't spread the word about staying away from this area. What do you think?" He nods to Aurora.

Halle brings the street weapons over in whatever box she found to put them in. She passes them to Aurora. "Are they going to spread the word about staying away? Or go get reinforcements? Do we need to do more to discourage them?" she asks. "Will his men put them in jail? I don't know much of how that works," Halle says.

Aurora shakes her head. "No. This isn't a matter for the Garou. THis is a matter for the mortal authorities." She shakes her head to Halle. "There is no need. The police will be called. There will be stories about how strangers came and beat them up, took their weapons and their drugs and then just disappeared without a trace." She shakes her head again. "If we need to, we will come back. Once, twice more and they will get the hint."

Zoe watches, waits to see if she can be useful.

Halle hrms and glances towards where the men are being kept. "So do they think we are police still? I'm guessing not, given how we were dressed? Should I go and threaten them a little bit?" she asks, looking between Jake and Aurora for a decision.

Aurora gathers everything together into a pile. She finds.. something.. a sheet would be nice. Or something that she can put everything in. She gathers everything into a bundle. It doesn't much matter whether or not she can lift the bundle in her homid form. She looks up at the ceiling, tamps on the floor a few times with a foot, taking her time, getting a feel for things. She rolls her head around her neck a few times and then takes a deep breath. "Few," she says in her usual, soft way, "get to see a Gurahl in forms other than their human or bear forms, unless there is a combat. I ask, please, that each of you keep silent. It is not a big secret, there is nothing special about it, but to me, it is important." And, without waiting for another to ACTUALLY respond, she takes a few moments to shift, popping and snapping bones and things as she grows into a cave-woman with shaggy hair and eyes so deeply blue as to be almost haunting. A breath later, long fingers reach out and RIP a hole in the gauntlet. Hefting the package, she steps through and the wound seals right behind her.

Zoe watches with interest as Aurora shifts. Not something one sees every day after all. She chews her lower lip as reality is just... y'know, ripped apart. Neat.

Jake also looks a bit surprised at the form Aurora shifts into. From the expression on his face he's -never- seen anything like that before. The form or the ripping. "Now, that's pretty cool." He looks back at the others. "Kids don't try that at home."

The umbra of the apartments above the bodega is interesting in the fact that this building is old enough to appear on both sides. Before the shop had to be closed it was a vibrant center of the community, the owner himself was in the country legally but he had no gripe with those who weren't. Since then however, its gotten dingy and darker and worse. The umbral representation of the building is still here but the taint of despair and malice have crept in. Eyes of those banes watching from the corners and the shadows but none of them big enough or brave enough to more than snarl at Aurora from hiding.

Halle looks around slowly, eyes squinting a little bit. She must be looking for anything interesting she missed? She must not find it as she gives a frustrated sigh and then turns back to the bound men, moving over near them and looking thoughtful.

Over on that side, Aurora drops the bag with a grunt. She looks around slowly and ROARS back at the banes. She reaches back out and TEARS at the gauntlet again. "Gaia be with you," she says to the banes in the shadows and steps back through, sealing the tear behind her

Zoe watches with interest as Aurora reappears. She scrunches up her nose and smiles a little.

Jake watches Aurora step back with a curious look and smiles at the...ummm...woman. "Impressive. Guess those things won't be going anywhere for a while. Now...just -how- are we going to scare these dudes into not returning? I can think of a few ways but...George-Rhya said to keep the violence at a minimum. That's not exactly my strong suit. Any ideas?"

Halle goes over to the men and crouches down by the one that is conscious. She runs her fingers over the blindfolded man's head. Then down along one of his ears, tracing the edge of his ear lobe from start to finish. "I think my friends may want to let some of you go. Go warn your friends what happens when you come on our turf," Halle says to him in a low voice, like she's trying to keep anyone but him from hearing. She tugs on his ear and then rubs it between her fingers like someone might test a swath of fabric. "But I think I can talk them into letting me have you. The others can tell your friends what I did to you." Halle pulls out the knife she picked up after the fight, and runs the blade over the man's face, letting him feel what it is, but not quite cutting him. "I'll let them take one of your ears back as proof maybe. But I want the other," she says, and gives the sweetest sounding little giggle. She pricks at his lower ear lobe with the tip of the knife, pricking his skin to make him bleed a few drops.

Zoe texts cheerfully. "I can taze him right in the balls if you want me to, Halle." she offers.

Jake smiles quietly as he watches Halle in action. In a strange way he looks proud of her. He simply stays back and lets the gals handle this. He's really just here as an insurance policy in case things get dicey.

That's really pretty cute. Aurora is TERRIBLY scared. Really.

The poor guy has already peed himself once tonight and he doesn't have anything left. He seems convinvced and turns his head away from Halle imploringly and says something in spanish that sounds like begging and mentions Tijuana.

Aurora is silent, shaking her head. Hopefully, Halle doesn't TRULY intend to harm him.

Zoe pulls out the knife she was given and she starts to idly pick at the embedded dirt and pigment under her nails. The noise is... disturbing.

Aurora nods just a little. "Is he asking to go home?" She motions toward the outside. "Let him go. He understands what he needs to do."

Jake keeps watching Halle. Looks like she's doing a bang up job. He whispers, "Don't cut too deep, Halle. Only the first few layers." He nods to Aurora. "Yes, he's not going to come back. And word should spread."

Halle runs the knife slowly down one cheek while she nuzzles a kiss to the man's temple on the other side of his head. "I don't think I trust you to not come back. I might have to give you a little reminder," Halle says. She grabs ahold of the man's lip and pulls it out away from his face a painful distance and puts the blade to it. "Just split both of your lips as a reminder to stick to your promise," Halle says, giggling that eerily sweet giggle again.

Then she makes it seem like someone intervened for the bound men. Halle suddenly gives a loud, "Hey!" at the same time she lets his lips go and pulls the knife away. "Fuck that hurt, you don't have to grab my arm so hard!" Halle says, sounding angry as she winks at Aurora. "Fine. We let them go. But I get them if they come back," Halle says in a fuming tone.

Poor guy is just crying now. He's out of his gourd with fear.

Jake steps forward, his voice going all gruff. "Oh, you can have the fuckers, Brenda. But if you're gonna kill 'em, at least rip their tongues out first so they can't scream so much. Gives me a fuckin' headache when they scream for hours."

Zoe lets out a hoarse, cackly little laugh. Zoe's voice is rather disturbing. Bonus fun from the formerly deaf. They sound spooky.

Aurora is just standing there. Bored now.

Halle motions towards the bound men and then makes a thumb gesture and a nod of her head towards the exit in a way that would likely be taken to mean, let's get them out of here. Halle reaches down and pulls the pee-stained man to his feet. "They aren't worth throwing down over," Halle says grudgingly. "Let's run them out of town like the boss said." She pushes the first guy towards the door to get him moving, guiding him with a hand wrapped around his arm.

Zoe puts away her knife and rummages in her bag. She finds a stick of gum. Mmm. Minty.