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Post by KittsMitts on Oct 31, 2024 2:53:49 GMT
Andi took a second to look around herself, noting the people leaving whether they saw her or not. She didn't think she caught all of them, but she definitely recognized Weld. Her lips drew a thin line for a moment, unsure how he would react to her. When it's generally positive, she shrugs in a universal symbol of 'eh, no big deal,' smoothing her expression to a smirk. More muscle. Sweet. She could do that - but she wasn't sure she'd get used to seeing that guy not on a television screen. That pose and expression had looked straight out of a 2000s teen magazine. It was uncanny.
Still, she gives him a mock two-finger salute as he jumps down, then turns back to Professor Sunshine Sniper Rifle. She stands there, taking him in in the moments he gives. The look on her face sours when he starts in on the coffee. She looks almost ready to hold her ground when the comment on the cost of the place sways that stubborn resolve in the name of self-preservation. She visibly goes from standoffish to reluctantly relenting. "Ah, shit. The Robot didn't tell me that part..." she says with a bit of a grimace. She turns to the door, crouches so her head is outside of the room and downs a good ⅔ of the remaining coffee before setting it down right outside. When she stands and turns, she notes that he looked for a clear coast before offering her a choice.
One eyebrow raises. Something about his side of the coin reminds her of Coach (and feels like a secret), so the choice feels easy. "Yeahhh, I'm not gonna pass that up. I don't need intel so. Consider me sidekicked." She looks him up and down, arms crossed and leaning into one hip. "Ready when you are."
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Post by DornKoon on Oct 31, 2024 10:30:53 GMT
Weld took the situation very seriously as he listened to the negotiator. A million dollars for a car with no more than 10k miles? That sure were some demands, if a bit uninspiring. "That does not sound like a lot," Weld commented with a slight frown, glancing at Kyle to see if his companion agreed. "Well, we're here to keep him talking. Let's find out what this guy is like and what he wants." Weld examined the megaphone briefly before nodding and focusing on the building. This needed to be done in such a way that Sanchez did not suspect there were more of them sneaking inside, but also not antagonise him, or he might hurt the hostage.
However, before he could speak, he was approached by Livevire and curiously listened as she talked. "Great job, Sparky. That makes things a little easier," Weld said with a thumbs up. " And what about the kid? Did you find out where he is being held in the building?" It would make sense if he was with one of those two groups, but maybe not since she did not mention him.
He paused, "Okay, let's get on with this distraction, find out what we can simultaneously." He raised the megaphone.
"Sanchez!" He called into the megaphone; it was essential to remain calm. "I'm Weld; talk to me, man; what're you guys doing? Kidnapping kids doesn't seem to be your regular thing; don't you usually trade in weapons? Why not make this easy and let Kit go? Kid's done you nothing to deserve this." It was worth a shot, not that he had any hopes it would work, but he did want to get Sanchez talking, and from what Roy said, it was weird from the start why Sanchez would suddenly nap a kid when he was supposed to be a known arms dealer. He turned away from the megaphone and looked at Kyle and Leslie. "I thought it odd from the start; why would a known arms dealer suddenly go for kidnapping? Even I know weapon trade is where the real money lies and a million is so low."
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Post by Bixir on Nov 2, 2024 0:17:11 GMT
There was no time to spare. Batgirl's landing turned into a roll towards the table. As soon as she was over there, she reached for something on her belt, then affixed it to the table's underside. A purple, bug-shaped bug sticker, courtesy of a friend. Integrated with Batgirl's suit, it would relay any communication (or noises) that guards in this room (and maybe in the main area, if it was loud enough) directly to her eardrums. She kept moving, crawling commando under that same table and towards the vent entrance. Someone could come into this room at any moment.
Batgirl balanced on her heels like a spring, then leaped up to that vent system. She scrambled inside, focusing on getting out of sight before she looked ahead to where she was going. She took a couple deep breaths. Her thoughts went to a time that her brothers regaled her of this exact nuisance of navigating a building's vent systems. Especially her younger brother. This was familiar. For her, at least.
She tapped her wrist twice to dial into their comm line. "In vents."
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Post by Nomz on Nov 2, 2024 4:17:15 GMT
Casper
The simulated dust and grim stick to her simulated uniform, sticking even if she tries to wipe it off. There’s no logical reason why. Of course, Roy had looked particularly happy when Gwen had asked about roof access. The grate gives in easily to the persuasion of her Spider strength and without any groans of protest.
The room itself is rather empty, plastic sheets covering long forgotten desks with low lighting coming in from outside and a single lamp near the door. No Kit. No Sanchez. The room is empty of life until the door handle starts to turn and voices flood in from the hallway.
“Yeah I heard ya-”
“Robert-”
“I said I heard ya, Mikey. I ain’t gonna get got. We’re on the second story and the cops are down in the street. We’re fine. It’s been hours. I’ma just close my eyes for a moment. 20 seconds. Promise.”
There is the sound of another protest starting before Robert closes the door and leans against it with a heavy sigh. “I don’t even know why I let them talk me into this. I was going legit. I was gonna just take my ma down to Florida, but no.” Robert shakes his head, dumping his phone on the nearest desk, dropping into a chair, and closing his eyes. “Well, fuck em. Maybe if they get busted, the cops won’t see me.” He snorts. “Or take pity on me and ask me to make a plea bargain.” Agent Weld, Agent Kyle, and Sparky“If yous think you can do betta, by all means,” Vachelli says, taking a half step back from the building and watching Weld with careful, bloodshot eyes. The man clearly needed a nap 10 years ago.
The cops shift, moving out of her way as she moves to join Weld and Kyle. No one gives her a hard time or a second glance. Word of the Champion’s involvement has spread like wildfire among the PD. Vachelli looks up at her as she addresses her fellow heroes, looking over her light show.
He doesn’t comment, curious as to what their plan is when Weld calls into the megaphone. A grimace covers his face and he puts his fingers in his ears.
There is a long pause, long enough for Weld to talk to his team again, and then a voice shouting out from the empty window.
“You got it all wrong. I learned the hard way that you don’t fuck with no kids, man. We didn’t kidnap no kid, but I do have Kit. Did yall even do your homework? What can you expect from New York’s finest anyways?” Another pause and a frustrated sigh. “Just give me the damn money and the car and you can have her. I don’t even want to do this anymore.” Little Bat
Her haste is quickly proven to have been the correct choice. No sooner than she is hidden in the vent and dialing into her team than one of the doors to the break room opens up. A sigh comes over the listening device followed by two voices. The first one is deeper than the next.
“Boss isn’t going to let this go.”
“No. He’s been bending under the pressure lately ever since that girl left him for-”
“Aye, Joey. Easy man. If he catches yous talkin bout all that, we’re gonna be eatin lead for breakfast.”
Joey sighs and a piece of furniture creaks. “I know. I just don’t think we shoulda kidnapped that lady. She’s...really nice and she sounds like the good kind.”
“I know man, I know. Come on, have your cigarette and I’m gonna take a piss.”
If Little Bat pushes further into the vent system, she will find that the area ahead of her is a wide-open room and matches the floor plans exactly. If she doubles back, she would see that Joey is alone in the room.
Over all, yes, vent work sucks and Damian was so very correct in his assessment that it is both incredibly useful and utterly filthy. Soot, dust, and grime sticks to every part of her suit that touches the vent. StarbucksWhile her back is turned, Arsenal decides that maybe she isn’t the worst and at least can be reasoned with. He knows too well that mentioning how expensive something was only works for the kids living on scraps. He would know best. Roy snorts at the phrasing, knowing damn well that he would rather eat the Speedy hat than gain a sidekick. He watches Andi for a moment longer before gesturing for her to sit next to him. When she does, he offers her a pair of orange sunglasses like his own. “ Put these on and you’ll see what I see.” If she asks more questions first, he will listen to them all before answering. If she puts them on Andi will see the framework of the mission around them. Given, her information is not complete like she knows his must be. She can see what the other Champions have already discovered and their map and battle plan are in a corner of HUD at all times.
Roy gives her a moment to adjust before saying, “We’re not going to interrupt them, but I want to know what you think of their information so far. What do you think is happening here?”
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Post by DornKoon on Nov 5, 2024 8:25:57 GMT
Weld frowned. This was new information, telling them that Kit was not a little kid but a woman. He glanced at his friend and shrugged slightly before returning to look at the building. He was not going to let this shake him. They still needed to act as a distraction for the team on the inside, yet... what was this guy's deal here? There had to be a motive why he did this from the start, and he was getting cold feet.
"Well, if you don't want to do this anymore, why did you do it in the first place?" He asked, keeping calm. "This doesn't seem like you; just talk to us, man." Besides, even if he escaped with the car and money, chances were an adult superhero would swoop in and take them all out before they could get far.
He turned off the megaphone to talk to the others, "What do you guys think? Even if we give him the money and car, he will not get far if we decide to chase and catch them all without Kit being harmed." He paused, clearing his throat. "Not saying we should do that, but it was an idea that struck me just now." He did not know how things were going for the team inside, but since there had been no commotion, it was safe to assume things looked ok so far. Trust the team, yes, that was what he needed to do, and he had complete faith in the abilities of Bats, and Spidey in there.
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Post by swapgo on Nov 6, 2024 1:08:20 GMT
Kyle took mental notes of Weld's disarming approach, his head only tilted every so slightly aside to catch that the Bad Guy was actually speaking out from the window, he wasn't expecting that, bad guys have, like, less (more?) bad guys that do it for them, maybe that's them though, notes, notes.
Livewire rejoined them, and he remained vigilant of the window, his throat puffed as his knuckles cracked, both in anticipation and in showmanship, he was on TV right? On, like, several layers of fake TV, perhaps that's why this didn't feel that exciting, but he still had to make sure the cameras didn't home in on his friends, maybe that helped, there were too many maybes. More maybes came along as Livewire contradicted his notes, and so did Sanchez after all. Kyle let a thrumming whistle of sorts, as if he was trying to push a snort out through his throat to relay it through his head piece, he sounded kind of frustrated specifically at Roy. Did Kyle write something down incorrectly, or was working with incorrect information part of the test?
This was about the time Weld earned a very concerned look from Kyle. Like, he didn't know what perfidy was, but Weld's plan still sounded...incorrect, like, that's something Captain Hook would do, but also apparently pirates are cool, either way it didn't really sit well in his stomach. Kyle hummed as he stepped away to align himself with the door, limbering up his long legs with hops and stretches to prepare to barge in, maybe he wouldn't have to do that, but it kept people on edge, maybe, hopefully he's as scary to this simulation as he was to the cops that one time.
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Post by Beriadan on Nov 7, 2024 6:39:06 GMT
Gwen made a mental note for revenge against Roy as she dropped into the room, the grate held easily in one hand. She stayed still for a second, then heard the door. Crud! Ghost-Spider darted into the nearest shadowy corner, holding her breath as the two bad guys had a little lover's spat. One of them left, and the other decided it was time to close his eyes for a nap. Ghost-Spider rolled her eyes.
On the word "bargain", a web hit the man's mouth, snapping it shut. Another strapped his arms and legs to the chair, and Ghost-Spider stepped into the dim light, a finger to her lips.
"Make it worth my while, and you'll get a plea bargain. One, where's the hostage? Two, how many are guarding her? Three, were you serious about taking your mam down to Florida? Because that's adorable. I'm gonna remove the webbing so you can answer, but if you call out then you're getting a knuckle sandwich, mister!"
Gwen pulled away the web around the man's mouth, her other hand curled into an obvious fist so he could see she wasn't messing around.
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Post by KittsMitts on Nov 10, 2024 2:09:26 GMT
Andi's face briefly splits into a grin, pleased with herself at his reaction to the sidekick comment. She recovers quickly back into a baseline smug, and goes to sit next to him with an inelegant plop. She looks at the sunglasses for a pointed moment when they're offered, curiosity instantly piqued. Easily though, she takes them, and examines them a moment longer before putting them on and gazing out front. She slouches over with her arms in her lap, legs dangling over the side as she leans in.
She looks over the information, listening to Roy's request. Not quite muscle, but not a skill she advertised either. She'd figured out things that'd stumped Flash's meathead for months just by not being too close to the picture. So she does that again - she looks at all the pieces, laying them out in front of her in the HUD and scanning. After she has a moment to think, she starts thinking out her process.
"Okay... So, this guy got dumped, right?"
She continues, "It appears to be a hostage situation and kidnapping, but things are fishy. Not his usual MO or interest, and the payroll they'd get from it seems kinda chump change for what this implies he gets up to. Kit isn't a kid, they're just a good hostage on paper. Is she his ex? He could just be sour about the break up. She could be in on it - none of his people are happy about what's going on, him included, and she just got picked up on the way home... They've been here hours, from how they're talking this was impulsive, and whatever their plan was it's not going well."
Her brow furrows. "Wait... They knew there were 8 goons going in - and patrol patterns. But only detected 4 batteries? That doesn't mean only 4 guys, it means at least. There are already too many for that to be true, right?"
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Post by Bixir on Nov 10, 2024 3:29:14 GMT
Batgirl continued onward, minding the guard dialogue that started to loop into her suit's feed. She was... not sure what to make of it, really. She made sure to share the information with the rest of the team comm line, however. It was key to share information. It did not mean anything to her, but that did not mean it did not mean anything to other members of the team. Her older brother had impressed that upon her many times.
Conversely, her younger brother had made her keenly aware of what was involved in vent work. She did not mind the many spots, stains, and who knows what else that started to find themselves on her suit. It was the mission. She kept her senses ahead, alert for any guards and points of interest that she recalled from the floor plans that they had studied prior to beginning the mission.
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Post by Nomz on Nov 11, 2024 17:16:15 GMT
For The Team:
Thanks to Little Bat, there is a live feed of audio from the break room at the back of the office building heading over the team's coms. The below is a spoiler of that audio from the last post round and from this current post round. Last Round: A sigh comes over the listening device followed by two voices. The first one is deeper than the next.
“Boss isn’t going to let this go.”
“No. He’s been bending under the pressure lately ever since that girl left him for-”
“Aye, Joey. Easy man. If he catches yous talkin bout all that, we’re gonna be eatin lead for breakfast.”
Joey sighs and a piece of furniture creaks. “I know. I just don’t think we shoulda kidnapped that lady. She’s...really nice and she sounds like the good kind.”
“I know man, I know. Come on, have your cigarette and I’m gonna take a piss.” This Round: Joey's voice comes in first, "Frankie, we gotta go. Sounds like someone is getting ready to come through the front door."
The second voice is muffled through a door, "Fuck. Gimme a minute." Agent Weld, Agent Kyle, and SparkyVachelli shakes his head, watching the window even as Weld speaks to the team at large. It is clear from his expression that the gears in his head are turning, trying to piece this all together. He pulls a walkie from his belt, "Bring me the file in Kit, Edwards." As the silence drags, waiting for Sanchez to reply to the team, a harried officer jogs up to Vachelli and passes off a vanilla folder. He lingers as shouts erupt from the front door of the office building. "Hey! Get him away from here," a woman's voice shouts sternly from inside and it is clear that her attention is on Kyle as he aligns himself with the door, stretching. A man's voice joins hers with shouts of ' get outta 'ere'. Sanchez speaks up from the window above, voice projecting out over the scene to be heard. He sounds...tired. "Listen, kid. Ya evea lose someone important to'a? I just...wanted her back. I wanted her to pay attention-" He cuts himself off with a sigh. "Where's my car? Don’t make me do anotha thing I’ll regret." If asked for it, Vachelli offers the folder on Kit: Name: Kit Harding
Age: 26
Information: A school teacher at a local private school. No criminal background. Mother and father are wealthy influencers in the city. Older sister, Martina Harding, has a criminal record and was recently freed from jail on bail. Known associate of Sanchez. Robert's eyes snap open as a web shuts his mouth and he jerks to get up. His reactions are too slow as his limbs are secured and he looks up at the Spider with utter fear as she steps into the dim light like the reaper. He's heard one too many stories about other Spiders and his body instantly loosenes in defeat.
"Yes- I wanna take my mam down to Florida. She likes them little Florida scrub jays. Says they got a personality like her pa." He gulps, eyes dancing between her raised fist and her mask. "Kit is in the room across the hall and there's two guys with her. If- I know I ain't in the position but, don't hurt Mikey? He's in the hall. Got kids to look out for."
The man is trembling, clearly more afraid of her than he would have been if a mere cop had picked him up off the street. He hesitates and throws on a piece of information she didn't ask for, "Boss is in the front room. Take a left at the door."
There is a shout from outside, “Mikey, you stay up here with Robert and the Boss, Troy and I are gonna check on the commotion downstairs, got it?”
The voice that now clearly belongs to Mikey says, “Right- Of course. We got this.” Two sets of feet jog down the hall and toward where Gwen knows the staircase is located. The door handle to the room Robert and Gwen occupy turns, “Robbie, we gotta get goin.” Little BatThe vents are straightforward and it is clear that they have not been changed from the schematics they were given at the start of the mission. She would know that the area ahead of her on the first floor is the main office and reception space. Shouts would rent the air as two guards started yelling. "Hey! Get him away from here," a woman's voice shouts sternly and it is clear that her attention is on someone outside. A man's voice joins hers with shouts of 'get outta 'ere'. There is the sound of clothes shuffling as the woman talks to her partner in normal tones, "If they break in here, I'm tossing down my weapon. He did not pay me enough to duke it out with a giant fuckin lizard." "Honestly? You and me both. You think he's like that King Shark guy?" "I fuckin hope not." Little Bat's com sparks to life: Joey's voice comes in first, "Frankie, we gotta go. Sounds like someone is getting ready to come through the front door."
The second voice is muffled through a door, "Fuck. Gimme a minute." Around the same time, she also hears the pounding of boots on the staircase located to her right. The vents don’t go to the staircase themselves, but they do drop off both at the bottom and the top of the stairs. Roy rolls his eyes, turning his attention to the building ahead of them and waiting for her to take the damned glasses before he changes his mind. He smirks to himself when he spots that both Little Bat and Casper are in their respective vents, knowing damn well that he programmed the grime there to stick to them like a second skin. He rolls his shoulders once, listening for the cracking as his bones shift oddly over each other before turning his attention to Starbucks.
His grin is instant as she speaks, the corners of his eyes crinkling just a little with the expression. ‘Brains’ is added to his growing list of her abilities, willing to bet on her being smart rather than lucky. His chuckle is all the answer she really needs, but he speaks anyway.
"When you're on a mission like this, the first and most important step is adequate information gathering. I gave everyone the chance to grab every little detail they wanted or thought was important. Sometimes, that is a good thing. Other times, important questions and pieces of information get lost in the information overload."
A gloved hand comes up to point in the direction he knows the hostage is located.
"They never asked to find out if the hostage had any ties to the suspect, their age, or appearance. Knowing your enemy is as important as knowing who you're rescuing. The consequences aren't earth-shattering since this is the easy one. In real life? There are many ways this could have gone wrong." The man turns to face Starbucks, "I expect you to remind them about that if this situation comes up again, Starbucks."
Roy tips his head down to where Vachelli and the group of Champions stand. "That folder he has contains that information if Weld, Kyle, or Sparky think to ask for it."
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Post by DornKoon on Nov 12, 2024 12:10:25 GMT
Weld listened, and his eyes turned to look at Kyle. "Be careful, Kyle," he said calmly. " Or they might do something stupid if they feel threatened; we do want Kit out unharmed. Good that you're ready, but we've heard nothing yet, so it's best to stick with the plan."
Well- this sure was a mess. Want her back? What was that about? Weld glanced at the folder on Kit, his silver eyes scanning the page. "Is this because he wants to get Martina back? By kidnapping her sister?" He was unsure he could grasp the stupidity of doing that... because it sounded stupid in his ears. Weld looked at Kyle and Leslie. "He doesn't seem in his right mind, or at least very inappropriate in handling rejection." He looked to the police.
Weld turned his attention to the building, hoping the others were making progress inside, looking for any sign to let loose the Kyle of War on the building. He sighed, raising the megaphone. "I would not know," he replied, "I've got no memories of my life before I woke up in junkyard, not even my name. But-- I know this is an awful way of getting someone's attention; how will harming Kit do anything other than harm your chances? Seriously, Man, the only one that can stop you from doing something you'll regret is you." There was a pause, and Weld took a deep breath. "Let her go..."
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Post by Beriadan on Nov 12, 2024 12:21:39 GMT
Gwen had seen enough bad guys to know here was one that didn't want to be here. The guy was petrified of her, and just wanted to do good by his momma. Gwen knew she shouldn't feel sorry for the enemy, but she did regardless. She nodded with what she hoped was a friendly expression (that also showed through her mask).
"You'll get your chance. I'll tell them you helped me out, and, like, didn't struggle or anything. Just don't-"
Voices in the corridor. Gwen chastised herself silently. Too much time talking! She shot Robbie's mouth closed with webbing again (you couldn't be too sure when criminals started talking about their ma) and quickly leapt upwards, clinging to the ceiling above the door.
Don't hurt Mikey. Right. Ghost-Spider saw the door open, light spilling in from the corridor, and waited a breath for the man to step inside. When he did... she would drop him and restrain him before he got a chance to cry out. Hopefully, anyway. If the boss was only a few doors down, then Gwen had a chance to end this all quickly, or screw things up even faster. 50/50, she reckoned, so better make it look as cool as possible so at least she could fail in style.
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Post by jessiebear on Nov 14, 2024 15:04:17 GMT
Leslie rolled eyes before putting her hands behind her head. "All this is because his lady told him to beat it? Ugh... men." She scoffed, moving her hands to her hips before walking out of sight from the building. She then snuck her way back towards the electrical box as Weld was still drawing the boss's attention. With a slight light show, Leslie re-infiltrated the building, working through the wiring to get a better read on what was going on inside.
The signature she attributed to Ghost Spider was in close proximity to two of the ones she had felt were baddies. It was kind of harder to feel what was what in here since everything was energy, but the simulation was very detailed when it came to material generation. Throwing caution to the wind a bit, Leslie popped into the same room as Gwen. Ready to "help".
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Post by Bixir on Nov 16, 2024 20:22:13 GMT
Batgirl continued through the vents, ever mindful of the (temporary) effect that its grime was having on her costume. Out of all of them, she seemed to mind it the least, if not revel in it. Upon hearing more from her surroundings, she stopped for a moment to consider her actions. This new information changed things... or, it could.
She spoke into her wrist. "Many inside are wary of Kyle. Seem likely to flee or surrender. But... maybe not. Be mindful. Demure." The Spoiler had been teaching her phrases that her contemporaries used. She hoped she got that right.
Then, Batgirl set to the warnings in front of her. She opted for the vent path that led to the top of the stairs. Though there was no time to discern which way those footsteps were moving, it was more advantageous to engage a worst-case scenario from above rather than below. The enemy always seemed to react worst when she attacked from the air. She smirked at the thought. Such was the nature of bats.
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Post by swapgo on Nov 18, 2024 1:31:11 GMT
Kyle didn't stop his calisthenics, it was kind of weird to do so abruptly, but he did pay attention to the slight uproar he caused. He expected the oposite reaction from the hostage, though...was she the hostage? They had established it's not some kid, apparently, he wasn't exactly sure what he got wrong.
Weld seemed to be approached with a dossier of sorts, prompting Kyle to tilt himself aside for a second to compare what he had in his notes, or rather, in the complete absence of his notes. They were so preocupied with stopping the bad guys that, despite saving Kit being the number one priority, they, uh, forgot to ask who Kit was? Roy did this on purpose, right? Well, at the very least, whatever he was doing was working, as Batgirl piped in that the goons inside the building weren't too keen on dealing with him. If the piece of paper Weld had describing the hostage wasn't so important, he would probably swallow it to commit to this sort of outlaw ruthlessness that he sees in westerns, and who knows, maybe the simulated paper doesn't even taste bad.
Kyle lowered his routine and squatted next to Weld, placing one hand on the floor to firmly position himself as the negotiator's leverage.
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