Work Related || Renee & Lynx
“I take it someone has spilled on poor Jin already. You are here and all.”
Lynx said, her snort stifled by the thickness of her mask but still loud enough. Amusement. What about this situation filled /anyone/ with amusement? The Question narrowed her eyes, her voice a low warning. “I’m not a cop.” It didn’t matter, not to these people. Some of them feared the vigilantes more than they feared the police. It was hard to find the motivation of someone in a mask. Cops were underpaid, overworked and undervalued. Many of them could be bribed or threatened. Vigilantes took on an inhuman element, masks and cowls and reasons that were completely their own. They didn’t have to know who Renee Montoya was behind her mask, didn’t have to know her history with the police, what had happened to Cris because of crooked law enforcement to know she couldn’t be bribed or threatened. Lynx said something to her betrayer in Chinese. Renee recognized none of the words. She knew a little Tibetan from her time in Nanda Parbat. She’d been raised fluent in Spanish. That was as far as her worldliness and language skills went. Spanish and English would get you by in a ton of countries. She and Charlie had managed well-enough on their jetsetting crime bible adventure, but in this company, Renee was silenced. The thought annoyed her more than it should have, even when Lynx turned back to her to speak in English. "Jin Tsui has made a mockery of me. Sending him to the police would do nothing, nothing for me and nothing for him." It was all about power. Renee saw that even through masked eyes. Power to say that you were the biggest dog (or cat) in the yard, that you had the hardest bite, that your way was the law. Renee’s finger stiffened around the trigger of her gun, but she wasn’t any closer to pulling it. If Lynx was about to attack her, she was hiding it pretty well. She was positiviely calm, in comparison with the bumbling mess of a man she sought to apprehent. “I will go to prison,” the man said, holding up his hands. “I will confess! Do not kill me,” he used a word that Renee assumed meant something like ‘boss’ or ‘friend’, his eyes turning in Lynx’s direction before he added a strained “please”. How this man had got anyone to follow him, Renee had no idea. They must have been bottom of the barrel, people who were overlooked in their own triads, who wanted money in their pockets or had an axe to grind. Renee was wielding a pretty big axe of her own. "He is a little man, too big of a head. Being Dragon Head is not easy, you know. Cannot be sloppy or fragile. Cannot be pushed around.” Lynx cocked her head. /Now/ she was ready to fight. Renee held the gun, two of them, in fact. She could’ve pulled the trigger. She didn’t /want/ to take Lynx out, though. Under her command, the trafficking had stopped, the triad had kept its interests in smuggling things that didn’t breathe or have heartbeats. She wasn’t about to advocate drug dealing. Drugs were one of the vices she’d never engaged in, even at her worst, but she’d rather there were bags of cocaine in the crate than human girls. If she took Lynx down, even just to wound her and take her man, she’d usurp her authority, make her seem weak. “It seems we’re at a stalemate.” Renee lowered both her guns. She was taking a pretty big fucking leap of faith here, but the show of trust might make a difference. On the inside, she was secure in the knowledge she could use her hands and fists just as easily as she could pull a trigger. She was /never/ defenseless. “There must be a way we can both get what we want; you can look strong and I don’t have to let you walk out of here with murder on your hands.”
"I'm not a cop."
Lynx rolled her eyes, of course she wasn't a cop. Vigilantes could be so obtuse. The very little dealings she had had with vigilantes taught her some things. They always thought they knew everything, they always thought they were right, and they always forced their ridiculous morals and standards on everyone else. Having been tossed into a new country with a different language and a different culture taught Lynx a lot. She hadn't been too shocked, considering her occupation and training, but it was still eye opening. Not everything is a straight shot, not everything can be brought down to a simple code. It was a twisty road with tough decisions and soul crushing moments.
However, Lynx was rather new to the whole knowing your local vigilantes thing. In Hong Kong she never knew any of the vigilantes names or appearance. Hell, she couldn't even think of one off the top of her head. In Gotham though, it was different. Lynx knew the ones that hung out in the areas around Chinatown, more to know what she might inevitably go against, but it also left her in the dark sometimes. Their motives were unknown to her, and she wasn't about to go asking the triad members. Everything she knew came from the whispers she heard and television she watched, probably not the best, but at least it was something.
"I will go to prison. I will confess! Do not kill me, boss. Please.”
Jin's pleading was starting to annoy Lynx. What had he expected when he broke the oaths? What had he expected when he went against her? Triad men were so despicable. They all got their heads high and they all thought they were untouchable. Jin was a new level of despicable, though. Most men had simply followed her word, even if later they would gossip and wonder about how they could topple her. This man had tried to operate right under her!
--Also the way he addressed her as boss had been crude. 'Big Brother' was what he had practically said, it was slang and used for triad bosses, yes. But she was bristled by it. It was easier to just get called Dragon Head, it was more formal.
"It seems we’re at a stalemate. There must be a way we can both get what we want; you can look strong and I don’t have to let you walk out of here with murder on your hands.”
This was the kind of maneuvering Lynx could do. Something inside of her jumped at the suggestion of not having to deal with another murder being at her order. The huff of air she exhaled was a sign of weakness she had not intended to show. Now was Lynx's time to look ahead. She could fight, and possibly lose to Question, or she could work out a deal. It would not be the first time she had worked out a deal to send someone off while saying she killed them.
If she fought, she would have to be careful to make sure she won. Running away from a fight did not look good, and she would be taking a chance.
If she took up a compromise, how would Question see her? Would it be spread that Lynx was looking to minimize bloodshed? Would it open the door for more vigilantes to poke around, knowing that Lynx was OK with making deals?
It would be easy to simply kill Jin and get it over with, but again she was stuck in a fight with Question. This was quickly looking bad for Lynx. It was not in her interest to be shown as weak in a fight and she didn't want to chance a gunshot. Gangbangers were not good with guns, she hardly worried, but vigilantes? They knew their weapons well, she would have to be at her best to keep the damage to herself down.
Finally, after a long silence, Lynx tapped her thigh, and nodded. "If we are going to have this talk, I would rather not have an audience." She shifted a little, and held her hands up to try and convey that she wasn't going to kill Jin or attack the other woman with the next move. Then, she turned quickly and clocked Jin in just the right spot. That hit probably would put him out for some time, and make Lynx's flex room bigger.
"I can do deals, if you do not spread anything about it. My job is a very shaky one." Lynx had framed King Snake, which was a little different than this, but it was basically the same. Question would have to understand that Jin couldn't be allowed to have any contact with any triad members or associates, and that he would have to be seen as dead. King Snake was deep in the system, and in another state, and even then she was still very paranoid about word trickling down about his whereabouts.
