Leave the Man Alone [Hawkgirl.]

[croc]

Grouchy. Two-Face was grouchy tonight. The arrival of the FBI had nearly stopped business to a grinding halt. To many secret service agents around. To many Men in Black.

Recently, Two-Face had secluded himself to the Eastern zone of Gotham City. During his years as the District Attorney of Gotham, Harvey Dent had always had a soft spot for the denzins and poor of the city. One of his visions as a political figure was to teach the 'men to fish' in Gotham City East and pass vouchers and programs to instill the children of the district with the best education possible.

Education was the key. Education is the key to life.

This particular evening, Harvey Dent found himself in the Stacked Deck. The criminal population of Gotham had secluded themselves to certain portions of the town while the FBI hunted the rogues and vigilantes. While the FBI hunted the 'freaks'.

Two-Face was certainly considered to be apart of that branch. Part of you can say that along with the Riddler, Joker, Pengin, Freeze, Black Mask, Catwoman, and a to an extent Batman, Two-Face was one of the main reasons why the FBI had come to town.

The criminals of the city were split 50/50. Most of them were somewhat glad to have the FBI in the city, trying to hunt those freaks down. Yet, the other half were scared to death of the Rogues of Gotham that they would not dare move against them even with the FBI around, much less on their own accord.

They were unpredictable. Those Rogues. To hard to calculate, catch by surprise, decipher patterns.

The Stacked Deck was loyal to Two-Face. He had been generous to the patrons of the bar and had brought good business. But most importantly, Two-Face had kept the peace in the area. He made sure that everything stayed somewhat of a status quo around here. Anyone whomever drew a knife, or pointed a gun toward an innocent for any reason, they would have to answer to Two-Face.

The Former District Attorney sat at a cocktail table toward the rear of the bar. The entire room was filled with cigar smoke and pointless chatter.

It was only a matter of time before someone paid him a visit. Regardless if it was Batman, the Penguin again, or the FBI.

"Boss! Boss!" One of the Connelly brothers came running into the building. Out of breath, he collaposed on the table in front of Two-Face.

Out of annoyance, the former DA shoved the man off the table.

"Calm down. Take a deep breath then tell me what's going on."

[Deleted]

Just outside of the Stacked Deck, Hawkgirl waits. Almost anyone else in this situation would be nervous. She is too, she supposes, but she deals with it in a different way than most: it makes her sharp and careful. And she likes it. She fingers the mace in her hand, prepared for anything. That she has her mace out at all when as far as she can tell there's only humans about means only one thing; she suspects that she might be shot at. Gunfire isn't as big of a risk to her as it would be to most, but it's something to be wary of. Especially given the amount of firepower one might face at this particular location if things go south. Normally she'd wait and try to catch someone like Two-Face in a safer situation for her, but she's on a time limit.

Keeping her mind as calm as possible, she counts down the seconds. She'd done her homework on Two-Face before she tried tracking him down, and was rewarded when she recognized one of his men outside the bar a moment ago. When she'd grabbed him he'd freaked out, but she's sure that he'd do an adequate job of passing along her message anyway. "Tell your boss I'm here to talk to him," she'd said, "Talk, that's it. I'd prefer it if we could do it out here in the fresh air, but if he doesn't come out in a few minutes I'll go in after him. And I will not be happy about it." She's not about to go waltzing into the bar as her first option - for a number of reasons. The number of guns, for one thing. Claustrophobia, for another. Not that she isn't willing to deal with both if she has to in order to get the information that she needs.

It hadn't really been her fault that she'd scared the man half-senseless in the process. She can't be blamed for the fact that her grip is superhuman. Or that pretty much any crook in Gotham assumes that anyone fighting for justice is a vigilante who is willing to go further than she is. Or that her mask happens to make her look very angry. Then again, maybe it was her fault for using her serious voice, but she's certainly not playing games right now.

[croc]

Todd Connelly described the Hawkgirl to Two-Face. He had some knowledge the so called Justice League that operated outside of Gotham City, but little first hand experience dealing with one of their members. There had been rumors that a meta-human fitting the description of the woman outside roaming around the city.

Two-Face pushed himself away from the table, and then got up from his seat.

“What are you going to do boss?” Connelly asked him.

Two-Face ignored the mook and continued toward the front door of the club. This was his problem, if you could call it that. This was his meeting.

Stepping outside, there was a slight breeze that interrupted the warmth of the summer night. It was quiet refreshing, perhaps it was an after effect of Hawkgirl’s landing from the sky. Hawkgirl was waiting in one of the parking lots directly adjacent to the club. Her bright armor contrasted with the ebony glow of the night, making her stand out like a candle in a dark room.

Adorned in a Versache black and white designer suit, Two-Face always represented the epitome of fashion and style, with personal touches of course. He made his way over to the parking lot, unarmed, and with one hand tucked into his pants pocket.

The other hand was free and dangled at his side. The hand was covered by a black glove, so anyone paying attention to it would not be able to tell if it was deformed or pristine.

One half of his face curled up into a crooked grin---the Two-Face side.

The other half, representing Harvey Dent remained stoic.

Upon meeting an individual, Two-Face was a man of a few words. He usually liked for the other individual to declare the business or make their initial small talk or pleasantries known right away. He waited for Hawkgirl to speak first. He would listen to what she had to say before reacting.

[Deleted]

The moment the man she's looking for appears, Hawkgirl's sharp eyes lock right onto him. It isn't hard to tell where she gets her name from: that look is positively predatory and she's on the hunt. Then again, Two-Face isn't really who she's looking for; he's just a possible step along the way. Which is why her serious expression is broken by a very small smile - not exactly friendly, but a confirmation of sorts that she's not here to fight.

And as she takes in the fact that he doesn't appear to be armed, she relaxes just a little and shifts her mace into one hand to make it less threatening. By all accounts dealing with Two-Face can be tricky, however, so she's not about to let her guard down. Though her eyes remain fixed on him, she allows her very-sensitive hearing to monitor their surroundings.

"Thank you for coming out," she says sincerely, but then she goes right into business, "I'm in a hurry, so I'll make this short: I'm hunting for the masked man calling himself Nightwing who broke into the museum, killed several people, and kidnapped Pamela Isley a few days ago. Someone told me you might know something about it." No need to give him any more details about the situation than can be read in the paper than she has to. It would be interesting to find out if he knows that the Nightwing she's looking for is a fake; most don't given how new the vigilante is on the scene, and that's exactly why this false one is so damaging.

[croc]

Harvey Dent nodded in return to the Hawkgirl's good sense of diplomacy.

It was quiet a refreshing feeling. It seemed everyone in this city had something to prove, had to puff their chest out in order to find some sort of credibility. Whomever, this 'hero' was behind the mask, she gained some respect from Two-Face with her demeanor.

Two-Face took a moment to listen.

A masked man by the name of Nightwing broke into a museum, stole, and then killed. He had not heard of a new vigilante, or costumed individual by the name of Nightwing.

There were some reports in the newspapers and internet feeds about someone new arriving on the scene, and there had been murmers and conversations about the museum event through the club.

Despite his record, Two-Face or more Harvey Dent abhorred killing without a reason or purpose. And that specifically involved killing innocent people.

"Never heard of 'im, but some of my men might have. I'll keep my ears and eyes out for this new player, I'll let you know."

Then came the subject of Pamela Isley. A name that managed to break the calm exterior of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Just like his personality, persona, and being now, there was something mercurial about hearing that particular name.

Regardless of his reasonings of negativity or positivity toward Isley, he wanted her found and away from this creep.

Dent's voice was placid and calm. It was the melodic, charasmatic Harvey Dent speaking. The golden voice that was able to project and capture the attention of any courtroom in America.

"In the meantime. I want to help. Isley is an old friend that needs to be thrown off the Gotham Bridge, and I'll be damned if some crazed lunatic is going to take that opportunity away from me."

[Deleted]

Diplomacy is not normally Hawkgirl's 'thing', but when she's looking for someone she gets rather focused and, especially given the time limit for finding Isley, she has to use the most efficient method. And if a criminal is willing to give her a quick, honest answer if she plays nice then she'll take that right now. Doesn't mean that she won't just as easily go after him once this particular problem is resolved.

She watches Two-Face very, very carefully as he answers, taking in his expressions as well as his words. At first she's a bit disappointed; this had been her strongest lead toward the fake Nightwing thus far, but if Two-Face knows nothing then she's coming up empty again. Nightwing can't afford her going on too many wild goose chases.

Then again, his reaction to the mention of Ms. Isley is interesting. A raised eyebrow is hidden behind her helmet. "Oh? What's this Isley to you?" she asks. Nightwing had been reluctant to say much about the woman's activities aside from his immediate problem. And though she at least somewhat trusts the young man to not have held back any information that he thought might help, Hawkgirl doesn't necessarily trust his judgment or even that the young vigilante would have a full picture on the woman. Anything could be helpful.

[croc]

How would you describe Pamela Isley?

"She could either be a angel from hell or a demon who has fallen from heaven."

Two-Face paused, not for dramatic effect, rather to find the poetic words to finish the sentance.

"A femme fatale. A dangerous beauty most people could not ignore, even if they tried."

He also wanted to say conniving, manipulative, and beautiful. A true Florence Nightengale if she wanted to be, and then alter herself into the Eva Lord of Gotham City. Two-Face began to knuckle his silver dollar across his hand.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEE-6kcAT0w

Two-Face emits a low growl..

"But to me, she's a cold hearted bitch who has yet to fullfill her true destiny or calling in life. Isley's got a lot to give, and a lot going for her. It would be a shame to see someone with her charisma, talent, intelligence, grace, and flair for the dramatic---to bite the dust at the hands of some snot-nosed punk."

[Deleted]

Hawkgirl can hardly help the amused smirk that momentarily crosses her face at that description. "I'm sensing some past history..." she comments, but she's tactfully quick to move on. "Sounds similar to what I've already heard about the woman," she comments. Given Nightwing's story, Two-Face is actually understating a few key points. But she's not about to explain the vigilante's problem with Isley to a criminal.

On the other hand... "Since you seem so keen on helping, there's a few things you need to know. First, I need Isley alive. Second, I have three days to find her. And third, the Nightwing I'm looking for isn't the real one," she states, then explains, "The real Nightwing is a vigilante - the one I'm looking for is a fake. And I don't know much about him; he's young, seems to have enhanced strength, and has a lot of resources - men, guns, enough money to pull off this act - but I've been poking around and nobody else seems to know him either. Either he's new to the picture but has access to all this stuff, or someone already established is giving it to him. But either way, he can't have completely hidden his trail. Someone has to know where he's hiding." And, even with her mask obscuring her face, it's easy enough to tell by the angry tilt to Hawkgirl's jaw that she really, really wants to find this guy. Finding Isley is actually secondary to that for her in several ways - because, yes, she wants to save Nightwing's life, but the fake Nightwing's crimes are what really make her blood boil.

[croc]

Harvey Dent listened with interest as Hawkgirl disclosed information to him. Upon her finishing, Two-Face felt disgusted.

There was something about 'framing another man by pretending to be them.' If you wanted to face and individual or confront them, do it being yourself. Look them in the eye face to face. Character and reputation in Gotham City meant a lot. Most of the Rogues lived and survived off toughness and fear to compensate for a lack of powers. Framing a man's character was a interesting tatic, but impersenating someone just did not sit right with Two-Face.

"What a coward..." Two-Face growled"Hiding behind the identitiy of someone else is disgusting. The more you talk about this punk, the more I want to find him.."

Two-Face continued..

"Three days is not a lot of time, someone must be funding this imposter, that or he is either rich."

Two-Face began to think about possible figures who would have the power, money, influence, and the ability to benefit the most through sponsering this criminal.

Three names came to mind...

"There are three possible people that I know of who's MO would be to sponser our friend. The Penguin. The Black Mask Ras Al Ghul...."

[Deleted]

Hawkgirl refrains from saying anything further about why she's on such a short time frame, hoping that Two-Face will simply assume that she has her reasons for it and not ask. That she hasn't found this impostor yet is very troubling to her, that she's still so far from finding him makes it even worse, and the sooner she can catch up with him the more hope the real Nightwing has. Then again, with right the piece of information the tables could turn almost instantly.

She quickly considers the three names that Two-Face mentions and mulls them over, idly fingering the handle of her mace as she does so. More used to working on a global scale, she doesn't know as much about any of them as the local vigilantes, but it's not like she's never heard of them before either. And analyzing the tactics and strategies of others is one of her specialties. "I don't think it would be Ra's," she says first, "I know it's his MO to use others, but the rest of this scheme doesn't fit - especially the part I haven't told you." And the fact that she doesn't say what that is hints that she's not going to say. "Mask can also probably be ruled out - I looked into him already, and he has bigger problems to deal with," she adds with a small smirk. While she's troubled with the feds going after the vigilantes, it isn't hard for her to pick a side when they're going after Black Mask.

"That leaves Penguin, or his own money," she comments more seriously. Well, at least if Two-Face's judgment of his peers is sound - though she's guessing that it is. "The trouble I have with him is that I'm one bird he doesn't like and if I went poking around, he'd tell me he doesn't have the slightest idea what I'm talking about, whether that's true or not," she notes. Going and talking to the man would be a definite waste of her time, and so would prying into his business by other means if it turns out that Penguin isn't involved. And time is definitely very precious at the moment.

"Do you think you can do better?" she asks as the idea suddenly comes to her. Penguin wouldn't like anyone poking their nose into what he's up to, but he'd definitely be more on his guard about saying anything to Hawkgirl. And she smirks as she suggests, "Perhaps if you warned him that I'm looking around - see what he says..." Might work, and she obviously doesn't mind the idea of giving him advanced warning that she's after him if it turns out that he's behind this. That would just make things more interesting, in her opinion. But she also shrugs to show that's just a passing thought - if Two-Face is willing to talk to Penguin she's sure that he knows the man better than she does.

[croc]

"Hmmmm.." Two-Face rubbed underneath his chin. One half of his chin felt rough and jagged, the other smooth like a babies bottom.

"I don't like dealing with Cobblepot much. Frankly, he is one of my least favorite people. I can dig around though, see what I can come up with, till then you know how to reach me."

Two-Face tossed his coin once more into the air, and slowly began to walk back inside the nightclub.

(Hi, sorry for the shortie..wanted to complete this thread before moving on with the character.)

[Deleted]

Smirking at that, Hawkgirl simply says, "I do." Even if he didn't want to be found, it would be a lot easier for her to find Two-Face again than it would be to find the guy she's looking for - he's too high-profile to hide that easily.

"See you later," she adds, before suddenly jumping into the air and taking off into the night sky with one powerful thrust of her wings. She disappears into the darkness, quickly and easily. She may not quite have Batman's reputation for being able to sneak around in the darkness, but she's just as scary as he is in her own way; better 'people skills' or not, you're better off going against Batman than Hawkgirl with they're angry, all else being equal. And Hawkgirl's anger is focused squarely in the direction of this fake Nightwing.

(OOC: No problem. Oh, and Ivy is probably going to reappear soon - I'm working that out with Nightwing. Stay tuned. )