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Post by Artie Cade on Jun 15, 2017 3:44:57 GMT -5
Artie had left one of the windows on his side only slightly cracked, couldn't really notice it unless you looked close enough. Thankfully, Hatch's thick spectacles didn't look like they'd really help him to notice much. And the sliver of window meeting sky was only enough that any sound might still be only mildly muffled enough to not sound directly open.
The old man looked Artie up and down for a moment.
"Mr. Cade..." he wheezed in a hushed voice, rendering Artie's cracked window rather ineffective, "It seems I'm at a crossroad. I really should have come to you first, given your...firearm expertise. Mr. Wilson Fisk is hardly as highly regarded from all I've gathered, not in our business anyway. He'd much rather deal in...what is it they're all bringing in now, the poppy product..."
Artie nodded in agreement.
"Fisk is a uhhhh..." he chose his words carefully, "Well he's a businessman. But he ain't in our business."
A sly smirk was matched by Hatch's own as the old man nodded.
"No indeed," he agreed, "And may I say that his offer of cooperation did come with certain restrictions."
Leaning back in his seat, Artie lit a cigarette and chuckled.
"Ohhhh that's his style," he purred, "Always wants ya to work around his rules. You'll find I'm more easygoing, Mr. Hatch."
"Well, young man," Hatch continued, "I do have a pressing schedule, I'd hate to waste your time with idle chat."
Artie shook his head, interrupted when the old man started to hack up a lung with coughing. Quickly, reaching into the side bar, Artie pulled out a glass and filled it with water from one of the decanters, turning back to....well. Not just Hatch, but Hatch with a gun pointed at Artie.
"Restrictions from Mr. Fisk..." Hatch said as he cleared his throat, "Did also come with a better take if I shuffled you off. He said it'd be easier for a...heh...sick old man to pull it off. Maybe he's right."
Artie hadn't considered this. But he'd given meetings like this little signals, and had taught them to Jessie when he'd taken her in as his right hand muscle. He shrugged idly and pressed his cigarette to the window, leaving a black circle of ash on the glass. That was his signal for immediate trouble.
"Mr. Hatch..." Artie said apologetically, which only caused the old man to cock the pistol he held, "...if ya think ol' Willy Fisk is gonna give you anything but scraps, you're too easy for him."
"Well part of it is also that I just..." Hatch quickly replied, "...don't like the look of you. At least Mr. Fisk doesn't tote around some little girl as his bodyguard."
Artie grinned.
"Oh....she may surprise ya." he chuckled as he took another drag on his cigarette.
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Jessica Jones
Heroes 
God didn't do this. The Devil did. And I'm going to find him.
Posts: 51 
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Post by Jessica Jones on Jun 20, 2017 12:09:02 GMT -5
Her hearing may not have been as fine tuned as other gifted people, but Hatch hadn't even bothered to disguise the sound of a gun cocking. She might not have heard it if only he had coughed to cover it, but he hadn't. Sloppy. She glanced and saw the black circle of ash on the window, and panic raced through her mind. So much so that she had to physically remind herself to stay calm. She was supposed to be a professional. A professional whose body to guard was in immediate danger.
She looked at Hatch's men with a sneer. They were smirking. They knew what was about to happen. They'd known all along. She casually walked around the car to where Hatch was sitting.
Without warning, she punched through the glass, inches from Hatch's ear, and pulled him backwards out of the car. He was kicking and making a fuss, which set his guards on edge, but Jessica grabbed his gun hand and squeezed, shattering the bones in it. It wasn't too difficult. He was already old and his bones were a little more brittle. She held him, back to her chest, hand around his throat, and holding onto his gun hand.
"I've already broken your hand," she said calmly. "If you don't calm down and order your men down, I'll break the rest of you."
She leaned down and looked into the car through the broken window. "Everything okay now?"
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Post by Artie Cade on Jun 21, 2017 14:33:01 GMT -5
"S-stand down, lads...!" Hatch wheezed, shaking in the girl's grip.
He was petrified. Possibly moreso than he'd ever been. He'd been told about what happened if you didn't get the immediate better of Artie Cade, but Fisk hadn't mentioned...this.
There was no reply at first from inside the limousine, but soon it was followed by an exhalation of smoke from within, blown passed Jessica's head as Artie lit another cigarette.
"Oh all very fine now, thanks to you." he purred as he slowly opened the door and slipped out once Jessica's head cleared the broken window area. He patted her shoulder as he moved.
He looked the clearly frightened thugs Hatch had brought with him up and down as he strolled toward Hatch's side, the man breathing heavily and squirming slightly in the woman's grip. Clear as day, and at a slow tempo, Artie began to idly whistle 'Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf' as he moved, drawing out one of his pistols from his shoulder holster.
Hatch's men went rigid as Artie ran the muzzle of the pistol down Hatch's face and leaned closer to the man.
"I'd hate for you to think so badly of me, Mr. Hatch..." Artie chuckled, "But this...little girl I tote around with me, as you put it, well...I don't think she likes you much."
He looked up at Jessica and grinned wide.
"Isn't that right, Jessie?" he giggled, before turning his attention to Hatch again.
"Now...here's what we're gonna do," he went on as he took the cigarette from his lips and blew smoke into the man's face, causing him to cough, "We're gonna play a quick little game since you and Fisk are such snuggle buddies. Okay? It'll be fun."
Artie patted Hatch's face derisively as he holstered his own pistol and wrenched the revolver non-too-gently from Hatch's broken hand. He opened the pistol and emptied its contents, save for one single bullet. Pulling it out of the chamber, he examined it and frowned.
"Oh that's no fun, dinky caliber like that..." he mockingly whined as he drew out one of his own customized bullets and placed it into the chamber, spinning it til he pulled the hammer back, "Not exactly Russian Roulette since I'm not playing....but your boys will."
He aimed the pistol at one of the goons and looked back at Hatch.
"So....did Fisk really expect you to take me out?"
Hatch didn't move. Not for quite a good few seconds.
Artie shrugged and pulled the trigger. Click.
He pointed the pistol at another of Hatch's men.
"Did he expect to slither in on some deal you made with me? Go halves, or...?"
No reply from Hatch.
"....oh you're just not playing." Artie frowned as he opened the chamber to set the pistol, all in one slick move in the blink of an eye, then shot the center thug in the head, the specialized bullet causing a scattering of horizontal shrapnel which left the others surrounding him in heaps on the ground as well.
Artie emitted a laugh and pistol whipped Hatch, causing the old man to spit out a tooth.
"We're done here, then." he hissed before looking up at the girl, "Jessie if you wouldn't mind securing Mr. Hatch to something heavy and leaving him in the bay...?"
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Jessica Jones
Heroes
God didn't do this. The Devil did. And I'm going to find him.
Posts: 51
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Post by Jessica Jones on Jun 24, 2017 1:43:13 GMT -5
It wasn't hard to restrain an old man from squirming out of her grasp. She could restrain men three times her size without breaking a sweat. This Hatch guy was hardly anything at all. But he did squirm, as most people would when they were afraid for their lives.
He had attempted to take Artie's life, and it failed. Now he had to deal with the consequences. The way Artie was whistling, Jessica could tell it was going to be something rough, but she wasn't fully prepared for his order.
Dump him in the water? To drown? She hesitated, but only for a moment. After all, Artie was protecting her, and it was only right that she do as she was told without question. And this wasn't the time to give the impression of weakness. If she didn't take this order, it would reflect badly on him, and she couldn't have that.
She held Hatch in a headlock and walked over to the edge of the water. She glanced around for something significantly heavy, and found it. Hatch's car. She could lock him inside, but that wouldn't send the message. She went back to Artie's car and got a length of rope from the trunk and set to work tying Hatch to the roof of his own car. He struggled against her, but she broke his legs, stoically sending the message that he wasn't going to get away from this, and he wasn't going to survive.
Once he was tied down, she picked the entire car up and carried it over to the water, throwing it a good distance into the harbor.
She looked around at Hatch's men, and they backed away from her. She was a freak, and they weren't paid enough to deal with a freak. She quietly walked back over to Artie and leaned against the car.
"Sorry about the window," she said at last. "I wanted to catch him by surprise. He wasn't sitting by the door." She sighed and looked out at the water, where she was sure either the impact had killed Hatch, or the weight of the water had. It had only been a couple of months since she had started to work for Artie, but this wasn't the first person she had killed. It was just the first old man. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, and she didn't think she would know for a long time. It wasn't something she could get used to.
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Post by Artie Cade on Jul 2, 2017 2:16:48 GMT -5
Artie watched in pure cool, half lidded eyes as Jones went about carrying his orders through.
It wasn't until she dragged the old man to the empty car that had been waiting for him.
She broke his legs.
She grabbed a length of rope from Artie's car.
She bound the old codger to the roof...!
His expression brightened to sheer wonder as she went about her work. His smile exploded when she threw the car, Hatch and all, into the water.
His cackle was sheer joy as Artie clapped.
"Ohhhhh!" he laughed, "You're perfect! SO incredibly perfect...!"
And it was true. That's what he thought, in that moment and plenty of others in her past with him. She was so strong. The perfect definition of muscle at his back. But more than that, he'd begun to genuinely care for her. And it made what passed for his heart melt to know that she looked so much, to his mind, like Artie's daughter might look....if Locke were still alive.
Artie chuckled and hugged Jessica tightly when she approached again shaking his head at her apology.
"Nahhh screw the window," he said, waving it off, "Easily replaced."
He began to pet her hair for a moment before he did indeed turn to examine the smashed window of his car. Eventually he shrugged.
"No harm done, Jessie!" he grinned, "And God damn it you've earned something for such an efficient job today. Let me pay you SOMEthing finally, come on...pleeeeeeease?"
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Jessica Jones
Heroes
God didn't do this. The Devil did. And I'm going to find him.
Posts: 51
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Post by Jessica Jones on Jul 31, 2017 14:55:43 GMT -5
Jessica stared out at the water and watched as it stopped rippling, slowly growing more still until the natural waves were the only disturbances. She felt horrified with herself. Not because this was her first time killing. It wasn't. No, because killing was getting easier to do. She was starting to think of it as just another chore. She tried to brush it off, but it was hard to do.
She used to be a hero. She used to save people's lives. Now she profited in taking them away. And for what? Because she was in hiding? Because she was afraid of a shadow?
She was jolted from her thoughts when Artie threw his arms around her and hugged her, chuckling.
"You realize if you pay me, I'm just gonna turn around and spend it to buy parts to fix up your car," she said. "Honestly. What am I supposed to do with money? I get free drinks, free housing, and I hate shopping."
She sighed, though, knowing that this conversation would just keep coming up until she agreed to let him pay her. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized she could maybe even start a hobby. She joked about fixing up Artie's car, but she knew she could do it. Or, at least, she knew she could figure out how to do it.
Maybe she would take up photography, or guitar lessons. Not having to worry about Kilgrave took a load off her mind, and she could use those parts of her mind to learn new things. Maybe it would be a less destructive way of healing from her trauma. That's what a therapist would say, right?
She shook her head and chuckled. "Alright, fine. I'll let you pay me. But nothing extravagant. I don't need a lot of money."
Finally, she managed a smile in his direction and nudged him.
"Maybe enough to get a project car and a camera. To start me out on my new hobbyist path."
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Post by Artie Cade on Aug 19, 2017 21:22:47 GMT -5
Artie stumbled from the nudge, chuckling good naturedly as he nudged the girl back.
"All right, all right," he nodded, "A project care and a camera it is. But you've gotta come with me to get it, because damned if I know which camera is the best on the market. But hell if it doesn't end up good enough lemme tinker with it, I'll mock up some better lenses for ya."
He knocked on the car window on the driver's side and Mr. Chambers rolled down the window.
"Yes, Mr. Cade?" the old man asked in a monotone.
"Didja hear any of that, Mr. Chambers?"
"No, sir. The partition was kept closed from my side as instructed."
A chuckle escaped Artie's mouth and he nodded.
"Good," he said as he handed some cash from his pocket to the man, "For a newer hire you're all right, Mr. Chambers."
"Thank you, sir."
Looking up at Jessica for a moment then out at the water, Artie surveyed the day. It was fairly gorgeous, even for the time. The air was chilly but not cold. Hell, the sun was out in all its splendor.
"Ya know what, uh..." Artie mused, "Mr. Chambers, you take the car back to the Suit. Jessie and I might hoof it back home, take our time with it. How's that sound, Jessie?"
He stretched and cracked his back. It wasn't often he went out for walks, but this seemed as good a reason as any. Just to spend time with the kid. Everybody in this town knew who he was, and certainly who Jessica was. He didn't anticipate any trouble.
Mr. Chambers looked at Jones as well. His eyes were unreadable, but Artie found that to be an excellent quality in a driver. Mr. Chambers was as cold as they came, didn't say much, and did his job well. Since the decision rested on Jones, he awaited her reply to his employer.
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Jessica Jones
Heroes
God didn't do this. The Devil did. And I'm going to find him.
Posts: 51
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Post by Jessica Jones on Aug 27, 2017 0:14:15 GMT -5
Jessica smirked and watched the exchange with Mr. Chambers. She hadn't really met him, but what she had seen so far was ... well, that he was a good chauffeur. He didn't ask questions, he didn't interfere, and he didn't need to know anything that wasn't crucial to his job. The perfect driver.
She might have assumed he was a Ticktockman Artie had cooked up, but there were no Ticktockmen that looked that human.
"Really? We're walking home?" She was honestly surprised. She didn't see Artie as the kind of guy to casually stroll down the street without ... well, she supposed she was his protection. That was still taking some getting used to. Being the muscle for someone. People were starting to recognize her, and people were even starting to fear her. She wasn't very fond of that notion, but if it meant keeping Artie safe, it meant keeping her job.
She shrugged and nodded.
"Alright. I guess we're walking."
She looked at Mr. Chambers and half smiled at him, waving. "We'll see you back at the Suit."
And with that, she started to walk toward the sidewalk, looking all directions to get her bearings. She knew which direction the Suit was in, but if they were going to walk home, why not take a more scenic route? She glanced around and thought for a moment. There had to be a car lot around here somewhere. It was the sleazy end of town in New York. There were used car lots everywhere. At least one of them had to have a car she could pull apart and put back together. The question was, which direction was it in?
And was there any chance there was a camera store nearby it? That was the tricky question. She didn't even know where to start looking for cameras.
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