Lay of the Land

Posted on Mon Jun 8th, 2020 @ 2:13am by Skyplex Administration Scarlett Wilson & Security Johannah "Mack" Shepard

Mission: Bright and Shiny things
Location: Administrator's Office

OOC: I'm thinking we set this after Mack and Alice's meeting, that way, we don't have to worry about not letting slip that Alice is the new Acting Marshal because Mack already knows. Maybe the day after the cat inccident?

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Mack, her left arm still in a sling, forearm in a brace, knocked on the door of Scarlett's office. She was there to give a status report on the sweeps of the warehouse decks. Things were going well, which meant Mack had an opportunity to get the lay of the land, or as much as Scarlett knew about what was going on. Mack fidgeted. She'd be done with the sling in a day or two, the brace would be around a few days after that. The brace she could deal with, but the tā mā de sling was Gorram annoying.

Scarlett opened her door a crack and looked outside. Moira stood over at the reception desk and shrugged. Seeing Mack, Scarlett relaxed and let go of the 9mm she had stuffed in the back of her jeans. "Good evening Constable." she started looking over the sling on Mack's arm. "I got the initial message about the predator. How are you doing?" she asked with genuine concern for her officer.

"I'm fine," Mack said. The pause at the door wasn't missed by the former Browncoat. "That kid who watched me murder that cat, blood flying everywhere, and that's after he saw that girl and all those others... I don't think he's going to be alright for a very long time. Mind if I come in?"

Scarlett opened the door for her Chief of Security allowing the woman to enter. The office decor was functional but disjointed. The walls were mostly bare aside from a large kenetic painting filling one side wall. The piece was a swirl of colors in constant changing motion. In the center of the room was an large aged heavy oaken desk, that was easily twice the age of the woman who sat herself down behind it. Scarlett gestured to Mack to have a seat. "I heard Zane was in pretty rough shape. Will likely lose the leg. Poor kid. So, what have your investigations found?"

"Well," Mack said, taking the offered seat. "There hasn't been much for us to investigate. I turned the carcass over to the Feds so they send it out to a forensic... well, I guess a forensic zoologist. When Alice gets the report back from them, he'll share it with me and we'll get further into it. The immediate concern is the safety of the warehouse workers. Since the criminal elements on the plex have blinded me down there, I'm coordinating with Alice to add his deputies to the search pattern. This arrangement will be in place until he and I are convinced there's no more predators roaming around."

Which would be easier if the ta ma de criminals and juvenile delinquents on the plex would stay the Hell away from my surveillance equipment, Mack thought to herself.

"I would ask about missing persons, but with so many ships in port right now, I'm not sure there is any way to keep track of everyone." Scarlett folded her hands in front of her looking intently at her Chief of Security. "I am just fearful that the outbreak of sudden violence, between the kidnap attempt, the riot and now this bizarre cat problem is somehow connected." she pulled her hair back into a pony tail and tied it off with an elastic band. "The man who's blood I was unfortunately bathed in at the restaurant earlier, seemed a great deal like the description of a man I understand paid to have my IDent card stolen yesterday. Lots of people could have scars on their faces, but that and the other events seem connected. I'm probably paranoid. This job can make you that way."

She pulled out a decanter and a pair of glasses from her desk. "It's been one helluva first day for you. Care for a drink?"

"One wouldn't hurt," Mack said. "Then you can tell me what you know about that shootout in the restaurant. After that, maybe you can give me a who's who of the criminal organizations here on the plex?"

Scarlett shrugged. "I was randomly taking a visiting VIP to lunch, one of the busboys started acting sketchy, and that got my attention up to what was going on in the restaurant. The men burst in with the guns, I flipped the table to protect Ms. Hart and started to try and negotiate. They seemed intent on capturing Ms. Hart and had little interest in me. I got a good rap across the face. Shortly afterwards you came through the door and the one connection I had to the previous incident with my ID ate a grizwald.

The girl, a young plexie, made a deal with who I think was that guy for a pretty solid sum of cash to swipe my ID while I was in the donut shop yesterday morning. Even rigged up a pull line in one of the service tunnels to help her escape. Kids can't keep money in their pocket or their mouth's shut, so I found her in the Starcade later. Good girl, just making points with her street credit."

Taking a long gulp of her drink, Scarlett continued. "As for criminal organizations, we've got plenty. The Petrovich family has always been at the top of the Bratva elements. Good family, they gave me my first job as a teenager, same with a lot of folks working on the plex. Most everyone owes Papa Petrovich a favor or several. He controls the merchant's guild and most of the labor unions. Lately a new guy has been playing the Plex. Nikolai Udinov. He is Bratva or some level too, but works the seedier side of trades. He runs the Lucky .38 Casino down on 5. He's not as well connected, but he seems dangerous to tangle with.

The Axe Tong keeps trying to make inroads. Curiously, the shootout today was in one of their places. They will not be happy and likely are looking for who set that whole affair up too. They run a lot of Cortex gaming and hacking scams. Hard to nail them down.

The Neo-Indies have also been very active on the station. Mainly anti Alliance vandalism but rumor is they are building up cash and arms. They get a lot of support from the Plexies, anti-authoritarian and all that stuff. One of their main centers is the Clay Pigeon's restaurant. They are loaded with War memorabilia, holos of old Independent units. Come to think of it, Zane Ryan, the boy you saved form the Cat, his mother works there as a waitress.

Dyton syndicate runs a lot of the small time crime on the decks. Pickpockets, muggings, and low risk scams. They set up a lot of jobs for freighters in and out of port. I hear they are running a fight club periodically in the warehouses. Not sure if they can keep that up with your folks securing the levels.

I wish I could say we are all one big law abiding community up here, but folk just don't like to behave. That's most of the big players though."

"I cautioned Alice to have his patrols us a light touch," Mack said. "I don't want to start a war with gangsters in a confined space. But with our surveillance equipment hobbled, we need the eyes and ears down there. Our main goal is to get the warehouse decks operating at full capacity. We'll be running round the clock, multiple decks at a time. We're set up to work round the clock. Shouldn't take long at all." Mack looked thoughtful for a moment. "Can you arrange for me to have an audience with at least Old Man Petrovich? I'll deal with Udinov. Would be good if I could meet some of the other leaders, too. Open the lines of communication so there is a precedent for dealing with any... misunderstandings that might arise."

Scarlett nodded her head. "That is a wise consideration. You will find your interpersonal skills are more valuable than surveillance technology here on the skyplex. As for Papa Petrovich, I would recommend you meet his daughters, they each have a unique perspective of the goings on of the skyplex and are the easiest means of meeting with their father. I can set you up with Oksanna. She works customs at the dock. Don't get any ideas, she is the most honest and gentle person on this skyplex.

I will put the word out to the other organizations that they should meet with you. I suggest you come to them, they get a bit touchy walking into the security offices."

She pause for a moment her mind weighing options. "I would keep your patrols off Decks 15 & 16. They have just become exclusive space for Blue Sun Corporations. They take care of their own security unless they request assistance. Just a heads up."

"Yes, Ma'am," Mack said. "Anything else?"

"No. Thank you Mack. I am grateful for all you have done so far." Scarlett said, finishing off her drink. "Let me know how I can help."

"Of course," Mack replied. "I'll update you as things develop." She rose and showed herself out.