1965-01-25 - Rats in the Kitchen V (Part 1)
Summary: In which our heroes attempt to do away with the King Rat once and for all.
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
danny kai tchalla reno 


SETTING: The King Rat's lair is a four story building just outside of Harlem. From the outside it looks like a cementish block with narrow windows surrounded by a cement wall. There is a single driveway that leads toward the building and then down into an underground parking structure. There is also a sidewalk that leads up to the front entrance. At the head of the drive is a small shack where security screens those who come and go, only allowing authorized vehicles through. It is dark, and a couple of flood lamps illuminate the area.


Word had gotten out that it was time for the Defenders to get together and take out the King Rat and his leadership for good. Kai and Reno had done some recon on the place and using what they found with the blueprints that Danny had obtained, they were able to piece together some information. A block down the street from the building, everyone has assembled and Kai and Reno tells the group what they found.


Kai has provided sketches that give a pretty good idea what the layout of the place is as well as the keycode for getting into most of the building. Level three is the one that's locked down, though. He couldn't get the keycode for that one. He lays out what he's got, and he says, "The way I figure, the third level still needs air, and it'll come from ducts. Or we can go in guns blazing and take out the door."


Reno pulled out a mall wrench set in a zipper case looking to Kai< "Oh, I got tools for that ventilation duct thing on the roof in case we need to use it. oohoohooh!" He dug through the paper bag and helsd up a pack of franks and buns. "They got a grill so if it like… goes real well and more bad guys or the cops isn't comin? Ya know I thought we'd use the grill. COuldn't hurt. If not, like go back so someone's place. We're gon' be hungry."


When dealing with a rat, you bring a cat. Cats might have their equals in a particularly large rat, but the King of Wakanda is a natural leader over actual people. His claws are sharp, his bearing quiet, and his manner entirely regal. The dark-clad young man carries himself with a particular confidence even if this building is far and away from his usual digs. Not like anyone is going to track him back to the embassy. in the meantime, he slips after Reno and assesses the building curiously. Measuring the ins and outs, even at a distance. "You own anything that he has?"


Danny listens as Kai and Reno go over what they've found and nods thoughtfully. He then glances over toward TChalla for a moment, "Alright, so, what do you think is the best way to get in there and to the third floor. I'm guessing that's where we're going to find our rat if it's the most fortified place in the building. Did you notice anything else in particular about that floor while you were up there?"


"Lots of people," Kai says. "Coming in through an air duct and opening the door to the stairwell for you guys would be kind of tough, dig me? There's a desk here." He points to the rectangle on his sketched map. "Manned. Security. You'll be fighting more than a few people to get at him unless they run away." He looks up at Danny and smiles crookedly. "Can you punch through a floor? We could death-from-above them."


Reno shrugged and offered, "I can try to do a dive-by on the guard tower nad get somethin of his? I mean that guy's not what I'd call like… awake on teh job. He just watch this lil tiny tv all day til someone drives up. But if we need t'go through ventilation I can try and see what I can do. Also a door up on the roof buuuuut I dunno. That ain't like… convenient. It's there if we gotta get down though I guess."


"Ventilation is convenient." T'Challa nods to them, his fingers flexing in anticipation. "Simply walking in the front door is not a smart idea. Getting someone to cause a distraction is not a bad idea. They may be holing up for it."


Kai nods to T'Challa. "We could try going in through the roof. If I were robbing the place, that's what I'd do. Never snuck in to an actual fight before, but I can wing it. Speaking of winging it…" He looks to Reno. "You going to be all right? They might have guns." He chews his lower lip. "If it's all the same, I'd rather His Majesty take point. I'm not exactly a leader of men."


Reno looked nervous but shared with them an uncertain nod. "Yeah. Yeah I think so I mean, as a bird? Yeha I meanI'm pretty bulletproof. Fireproof too which is good cuase ya know, the RIder? I'd be a turkey dinner if I wasn't man." He paused and said "Kai found some doors and some codes too. He's real good at this stuff but, ya now, aside from talkin t'dead dudes? Yeah I'll be a bird. Is safer man."


"Activity on the third floor requires a light touch." T'Challa tips his head a little to the side. "There would be cover no matter how we enter. Safety is of the essence over time. If there are guns, I am unconcerned." Because a man like him is rarely bothered by such factors, least of all because he has managed to acquire the means to ignore them. Thank you, star from the sky.


Making use of wings and claws and stealthy sneakiness, all three of our heroes manage to make their way up onto the roof. There, it is exactly as Reno had left it, with the door with its single key, the grate over the ventillation system, and the bbq and table. Once atop the building, Reno easily gets the grate off of the ventillation system which is then open to them to attempt to get into. It's a bit of a squeeze, but wriggling in allows them to descend into the four floor ductwork and search out where it further descends to the third floor. Obviously, no one really planned for people to be shimmying in through the roof, and so it is possible to get into the third floor ductwork as well. Our heroes shimmy their way past the elevator shafts and find themselves getting very close to that manned security desc.


|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d20 for: 14


|ROLL| TChalla +rolls 1d20 for: 3


|ROLL| Reno +rolls 1d20 for: 3


Kai creeps through the air ducts like he's done it before. Lots. A little B&E, a little spy work. "It's a pretty tight fit," he whispers as he wriggles through, "but I think we can make it, mates." Peppy elf has a good feeling about this. It's going to go great!


Reno slipped and tried not to claw up the inside of the ventilation chaft nad went tumbling head over tailfeathers like a pile of laundry in teh chute until he remembered how ti 'bird'. Really he truly was the fail bird. He flapped to break his fall and eventually landed on Kai's head shivering a but; ruffled but not broken!


Before he goes up to the roof, T'Challa ensures his helmet is firmly in place. Nothing identifies him as a proper staff member in the building, his identity disappearing beneath the mesh of black and the insets of faintest violet and gold. It helps to look sharp when the karmic wheel spins and the gods of this poisoned land decide he needs to be brought to earth.

Now had he planned on some loose metal or cheaply applied screws by a cut-rate technician, he might have approached things mildly differently. Alas, one of those segments jarred loose under T'Challa's weight ends up sending him dropping. There goes the kitty. He meant to do that. Twisting around sharply, he manages to get his feet under him before colliding with the floor, albeit the vibranium in his suit makes this utterly soundless. Butterflies and bees, baby. No time to waste; as soon as he gets out of the crouch, his focus is on pulling the phone out until the cord snaps and no longer any use. As his role is taking point, he lashes out with an elbow strike at the guard on the left.


While Kai remains up in the ductwork (though now missing a panel, and a ceiling tile), T'Challa comes crashing down in the middle of the receptionist area. The receptionist shrieks and promptly goes under the desk as T'Challa works on snapping the phone and reaching out toward the guard. Since the guard wasn't expecting it, he just goes down, like a sack of potatoes, but the second guard pulls out his gun. Reno manages to find purchase in the golden nest of curls that is Kai's hair.


Kai looks down through the missing panel, a crow on his head, and his eyes widen. "Shit, we're doing it! It's happening! Go, Reno, go! I'll get the receptionist, you take care of distracting the others." He at least waits for Reno to make his move before he punches out the panel over the receptionist's desk and down he goes. As far as he knows, T'Challa totally did that on purpose.


What was more natural in a disturbance than birds getting caught in ventilation pipes? Let's not discuss what generally happens to them. Still he flapped making like any wild creature that gets into domestic soaces. He zoomed the room and bumped into the window. If that didn't get everyone's attention flapping around pectacularly he may have to tapdance as a bird and sing some Tito Puente.


The receptionist hopefully won't be any trouble for him. T'Challa turns on his heel. He has an entirely compact, efficient way of fighting that blends styles; mixing speed and strength is a forte. Finding someone completely devoid of expression must be entirely discomfitting. He moves to subdue the next guard, given that one might be harder to manage. A good series of kicks or a punch to a vulnerable spot might hopefully put him down like his companion. The Black Panther can do considerable damage, but he isn't deploying the vibranium claws or seeking to inflict more than knocking someone out.


Kai comes crashing down over the receptionist and lands squarely on her desk, finding her underneath. There's a momentary pause as she stares at the elf, blinking wide eyes and then she fairly squeaks, "Please don't kill me."

Reno seems to get the attention of literally everyone with his bouncing and zooming. People start to come from either side of the third floor doorways that the guards had been standing watch over. They come to look at the bird, but then they start to shout and scatter when they see T'Challa easily dispatching the two guards and rendering them unconscious.

The third floor of the building is chaos with people going in every different direction. So far as our heroes are aware, however, they are blocking the only way out.


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