Kevin Sydney (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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xp_logs2022-08-10 09:06 am
xp_changeling) wrote in xp_logs2022-08-10 09:06 am
Operation: Black Hand - Log 6
X-Force discusses the aftereffects of their mission and the state of play.
"Lewis. The DA's office confirmed our little package yet?" Kevin said as the rest of the team filed into the conference room around him and Darcy on the phone. The information regarding Rushman's brother was simple enough - her aunt had simply swapped in physical evidence of him for the real perpetrators. However, their own books showed clearly enough that the incident had been a Karnelli shakedown from the start, up to proper accounting for the cash they received after the crime. Once again, bookkeeping took down a piece of organized crime. Unfortunately, if you are a secret and highly illegal intelligence group operating out of New York City, you can't simply hand over evidence to the DA's office unless you want to be a lot less secret very quickly. Instead, it was filtered through an underground contact to a former classmate of Darcy's with the DA.
Darcy held up her hand briefly in a "hold on" motion as she listened intently to the other end of the line, body angled away from the rest of the table. "In the office and signed for, then?" she asked the person on the other end, shoulders losing tension as she got an affirmative. "I do, in fact, recognize your genius in this area. Mhm. Yep. Pub next fortnight? Great." She hit the power on her headpiece and pulled it from behind her ear as she turned back to face everyone. "Signed, delivered, and opened. My contact practically swooned when the info was handed over. No bribes, just a request to be smart and nail them to the wall." Her grin was sharp as she relaxed into her seat, fingers resting lightly on the top of her phone. "Rushman, how's the fam doing now that they're back in hiding?"
Sarah sighed. "Dad isn't used to being told no, so this forced 'vacation' at a cabin upstate is making him crawl out of his skin. He wants to be here. He has responsibilities." She stopped, running a hand through her hair. He might be frustrating, but they were lucky he was alive. "If they're shooting at us now, I will be damned if I'm letting him come anywhere near this city. And I'm just mean enough that folks who are loyal to him will still think twice about assuming I'm making idle threats. I hear Sebastian is turning over a new leaf post-lockup, and is taking up basketweaving. Or something."
Gabriel snorted — it sort of escaped him involuntarily, really — and tried to make it seem like a cough. If Sarah wanted to believe her brother would change, who was he to disabuse her of that notion? And maybe she was right; some people changed when they hit rock bottom. "Right," he said. "We've all got busy calendars, so... the goods?"
“Mixed bag, as usual,” replied Amanda. The good news is we got what was needed to exonerate Sarah’s brother, but you all knew that. The bad news… it looks like Auntie Margaret is working with this Madame Masque character. Which means she’s after more than just settling a personal issue with Sarah’s dad.”
"Whitney, Masque, is the Nefaria leading lady, despite, maybe because of, her rebranding. It's both an advantage and disadvantage that she can't really go out in general public, and apparently she is planning on using Margaret to widen her influence in other ways," Felicia said from where she had settled into one of the conference chairs, ankles neatly crossed under her. "In turn, I'm sure Margaret thinks she will be able to force her way into a higher station, between the newly made void and having a Nefaria at her back."
Artie raised a hand to draw attention before projecting an image of Margaret with text beside it. "She's working for Masque." He switched to images, Papa Karnelli stepping out to shoot her. "I'm sure your father would be happy to either help directly or..." For a moment, Artie wore a face that looked like Papa Karnelli's
"That will have to be an 'indirectly' for my Father. Frank Rushman is off learning the magic of fly fishing and Dragnet reruns." Sarah shrugged, and looked around the table. "You're stuck with me. It's probably for the best though. He's more charming, but I have younger knees."
"For now, we've done our job. Sabastian is out and Rushman's family is safe. But this Masque play worries me." Kevin said, tapping his index fingers together. "Jokes aside, crime syndicates like the Maggia love stability. Makes their chaos easier and more effective to scare people into giving them money. Karnelli's backing Rushman and her having a back channel deal with the head of the Neferia family... isn't about stability. There's a power play developing that it worth keeping an eye on. Sarah, Felicia, I want you to stay head's up on the ground about new developments for the next month or two. We'll shift other duties around. OK, so, what's next?"
"Lewis. The DA's office confirmed our little package yet?" Kevin said as the rest of the team filed into the conference room around him and Darcy on the phone. The information regarding Rushman's brother was simple enough - her aunt had simply swapped in physical evidence of him for the real perpetrators. However, their own books showed clearly enough that the incident had been a Karnelli shakedown from the start, up to proper accounting for the cash they received after the crime. Once again, bookkeeping took down a piece of organized crime. Unfortunately, if you are a secret and highly illegal intelligence group operating out of New York City, you can't simply hand over evidence to the DA's office unless you want to be a lot less secret very quickly. Instead, it was filtered through an underground contact to a former classmate of Darcy's with the DA.
Darcy held up her hand briefly in a "hold on" motion as she listened intently to the other end of the line, body angled away from the rest of the table. "In the office and signed for, then?" she asked the person on the other end, shoulders losing tension as she got an affirmative. "I do, in fact, recognize your genius in this area. Mhm. Yep. Pub next fortnight? Great." She hit the power on her headpiece and pulled it from behind her ear as she turned back to face everyone. "Signed, delivered, and opened. My contact practically swooned when the info was handed over. No bribes, just a request to be smart and nail them to the wall." Her grin was sharp as she relaxed into her seat, fingers resting lightly on the top of her phone. "Rushman, how's the fam doing now that they're back in hiding?"
Sarah sighed. "Dad isn't used to being told no, so this forced 'vacation' at a cabin upstate is making him crawl out of his skin. He wants to be here. He has responsibilities." She stopped, running a hand through her hair. He might be frustrating, but they were lucky he was alive. "If they're shooting at us now, I will be damned if I'm letting him come anywhere near this city. And I'm just mean enough that folks who are loyal to him will still think twice about assuming I'm making idle threats. I hear Sebastian is turning over a new leaf post-lockup, and is taking up basketweaving. Or something."
Gabriel snorted — it sort of escaped him involuntarily, really — and tried to make it seem like a cough. If Sarah wanted to believe her brother would change, who was he to disabuse her of that notion? And maybe she was right; some people changed when they hit rock bottom. "Right," he said. "We've all got busy calendars, so... the goods?"
“Mixed bag, as usual,” replied Amanda. The good news is we got what was needed to exonerate Sarah’s brother, but you all knew that. The bad news… it looks like Auntie Margaret is working with this Madame Masque character. Which means she’s after more than just settling a personal issue with Sarah’s dad.”
"Whitney, Masque, is the Nefaria leading lady, despite, maybe because of, her rebranding. It's both an advantage and disadvantage that she can't really go out in general public, and apparently she is planning on using Margaret to widen her influence in other ways," Felicia said from where she had settled into one of the conference chairs, ankles neatly crossed under her. "In turn, I'm sure Margaret thinks she will be able to force her way into a higher station, between the newly made void and having a Nefaria at her back."
Artie raised a hand to draw attention before projecting an image of Margaret with text beside it. "She's working for Masque." He switched to images, Papa Karnelli stepping out to shoot her. "I'm sure your father would be happy to either help directly or..." For a moment, Artie wore a face that looked like Papa Karnelli's
"That will have to be an 'indirectly' for my Father. Frank Rushman is off learning the magic of fly fishing and Dragnet reruns." Sarah shrugged, and looked around the table. "You're stuck with me. It's probably for the best though. He's more charming, but I have younger knees."
"For now, we've done our job. Sabastian is out and Rushman's family is safe. But this Masque play worries me." Kevin said, tapping his index fingers together. "Jokes aside, crime syndicates like the Maggia love stability. Makes their chaos easier and more effective to scare people into giving them money. Karnelli's backing Rushman and her having a back channel deal with the head of the Neferia family... isn't about stability. There's a power play developing that it worth keeping an eye on. Sarah, Felicia, I want you to stay head's up on the ground about new developments for the next month or two. We'll shift other duties around. OK, so, what's next?"