Showing Them Who's Boss [Black Mask]

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Oswald had made the most of the FBI fiasco. So many had gone to the shadows, hiding from the authorities. Oswald had just gotten caught. The FBI didn't spend time looking for those already sat in their cells and The Penguin had great strength in his followers. He'd left plans, he'd left his assistant to hide, his work had continued with very minimal assistance from himself. Quiet deals had been made while the usual bosses of a few groups were off in hiding, allegiances had changed. Oswald always did know how to make the best of a bad situation.

Now that he was out and free he just had to ensure that the links that were put in place with the gangs would remain in place, the area he controlled within the city had increased and he intended to keep it that way, even if some of the mob bosses were already objecting. Objections that were quickly silenced of course. Oswald had been controlling gangs within the city for longer than most of them, he had ways of dealing with these things.

Today was one such meeting. A sizeable gang that used to operate under Black Mask had been working with Oswald's smugglers during the lock-down and there was some question of where their loyalty would go now the city was free. Oswald intended to secure them before Roman returned and tried to claim them back, he'd come in person for that reason. There was really no other reason Oswald would even be caught dead in a run down warehouse on the east side, which, from the look of the half broken signs outside, must have once made dog food or something.

It was a dump. He felt he was getting dirty the moment he got out of the van he'd opted to take to the meeting, partially as he didn't want to take one of the nice cars that were easily traced to him but also because he'd bought six of his guys with him just to make sure things went smoothly. He lit a cigarette just to get the smell of the place out of his nose and grabbed a briefcase from the van before leading the group into the building.

It didn't smell any better inside but at least the gang were already there, Oswald would have had to wait around for them. Just a cursory glance showed about twenty of them, his information said there should be thirty two and they were mostly ill equipped thanks to the short supply of weapons in the lock-down, Oswald and his men were practically armed to the teeth in comparison just as they had guns. Well, and an umbrella. As Oswald was carrying an actual gun hidden in his jacket it was a safe bet he'd chosen one of his more unusual umbrellas for the occasion.

He hooked the umbrella onto his arm so he could tip his hat to the man who matched the profile of the gang leader "Hacksaw Tony I presume?" ridiculous name, Oswald didn't even believe the man looked smart enough to know what a hacksaw was but he supposed that sort of information wasn't really required to allegedly dismember someone with one. Cobblepot hated meeting these sorts of people and he certainly hated being polite to them, it was below him.

Business is business though. Hacksaw's grunt appeared to be a yes so Oswald waved forth one of his men who was carrying another case and opened it up to show it off to the few closer members of the gang. Inside were eight neatly packed canisters and a couple of guns just for good measure. Oswald selected one of the canisters "A few little toys I think you boys may enjoy, naturally I couldn't just leave anyone who works for me so woefully equipped" Oswald doesn't just offer money to his gangs, he also provides fun things to kill people with.

[blackmask]

What Penguin and Hacksaw didn't know is that Black Mask had already arrived. He and four of his most loyal men were hiding in the shadows towards the back of the building up in the catwalk area. Black Mask put a finger to his lips telling his men to stay quiet. He was armed with his two .45 semi-automatic handguns. His four men were armed with varying weapons. Two had an AK-47, one had a Springfield hunting rifle, and one had a Thompson. Granted only two of these guns were modern. But with the ability to buy guns in Gotham just coming back it was the best he could do.

Black Mask wanted to see what it was and told his sniper to get a look at the case through his scope. He waited for his sniper to reply and looked back at them when he saw his sniper mouth. "Weapons" Black Mask nodded and motioned with his hand for them to get into position.

He then got up and made himself visible and put his handguns into their holsters. "So Hacksaw!" He said loudly as he walked down the stairs onto the ground floor. "How have you been managing?" He asked. Then he made a move as though he was surprised. "Oswald? Is that you? Its been so long." He said acting as though he was greeting an old friend. "I see you've been keeping my gang in order while I was gone." He said. "For that I thank you. But I'll be taking control back now." He said "Isn't that right Hacksaw?"

He intentionally used a tone that would annoy Penguin. But he was also trying to show himself as the strongest man in the room. That's after all how you control men like Hacksaw. He waited for the response. He expected a fight and that's why he had his men spread out. They were still well hidden and they had orders to fire on anyone that didn't side with Black Mask. And if Penguin was killed in the process then that was a plus.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

The thug's case was instantly snapped shut and pulled away as Oswald's men quickly drew weapons, two pointed at Black Mask, the other four looking out for trouble among the gang and for whoever in the building might be with Black Mask.

Oswald himself drew no weapons, he was still carrying his own briefcase, his umbrella remained hooked on his arm but he was still holding that mystery canister. He calmed his mind quickly, this would be merely an inconvenience.

He smiled and while he gave his men no order to shoot or stop pointing guns he appeared friendly "Roman! My good man. A very long time indeed, I had started to think you would never venture forth from whatever hole you'd taken to hiding in" Hiding from the feds, hardly very strong.

A small chuckle and Oswald's smile just suggested it wouldn't be that easy as he started to stroll left, between his men "I was under the impression you'd all but abandoned this place and well, times change. You've been away too long my friend. Myself and Hacksaw still have business to do" he knew somewhere Roman would have men hidden, he wasn't stupid enough to come alone but Oswald was hoping that with guns pointing at him Roman wouldn't be foolish enough to give the order to shoot. If he was then at least Oswald's wandering was bringing him closer to the cover of some of the old machinery still in the building. His men were on their own though.

Hacksaw looked uncertain "Er..." he wasn't sure which one to be most worried about. Black Mask used to be the boss and was dangerous, the Penguin had an equally dangerous reputation for all his fancy talk but he also had six guys obviously ready to start shooting and the canister, which for now Hacksaw was assuming would explode since that's all he can think of. He's not mentally equipped for this sort of choice really and the gang members were looking equally uncomfortable, slowly picking up weapons and getting ready for a fight.

[blackmask]

Black Mask was starting to worry slightly as he saw the thugs with Hacksaw pick up weapons. He didn't count on it being a three way fight. Bow granted there wasn't a given that it was going to be a three way fight. But one never knew.

"Well while I was in my 'hole' I was planning things." He said. "After all I don't like having all kinds of chaos around me when I come up with ideas." He said. "You know how bothersome that is. Don't you Ozzy?" He added. He noticed that Cobblepot was moving towards cover. So he figured he might as well do the same. He slowly started moving towards a crate. Moving at the same pace as Cobblepot.

"But Hacksaw. You always knew I'd be back didn't you?" He asked. "After all you could act as a go between for Ozzy and I." He added. Black Mask came in here planning to take Hacksaw back under his wing and take out Cobblepot. But when Ozzy said that he had be hiding in a hole he realized that he would need someone to fill him in. And face it Hacksaw was an idiot. So he figured that a team up with Ozzy could serve him in the end. But then again if he could kill him here or set him back that would be even better.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

The thugs were responding to the increase in tension and weapons already being pointed around them, naturally aggressive their first thought was to arm themselves rather than get out the way. Whether they fought on anyone's side, decided to quit and run or it just became one big free for all was still anyone's guess.

Oswald offered a small nodded gesture to one of his men as he passed by. An order to follow and one the thug was glad for. Once on started moving the others soon got the idea and while Oswald had got the headstand to ensure he got to cover his men were going to join him, if simply because he required them should fighting break out. They moved slowly so they wouldn't have to break their gaze with Black Mask or the gang, guns still pointed at both. As soon as the respective bosses were safe from the shooting all hell was probably going to break loose.

Ozzy kept up the chit chat as he moved though, sounding light and unconcerned despite his movement "Bothersome indeed but come now, what ideas are these? Maybe I can help" or maybe he can shoot Roman. He was weighing up the options on that. Certainly he could give the order and expect Roman to be dead soon, the wider picture of what would happen in the resulting power struggle over Black Mask's gangs was something he was certain he could benefit from, really the only thing to currently stop him was Roman's hidden men. They wouldn't be an issue once he was out the way though.

Hacksaw remains uncomfortable and uncertain, everyone seemed to be moving away and he was left stood in the middle, watching them. He looked confused at Black Mask. Had that been a plan he'd forgotten about? Well he definitely didn't want the old boss mad with him for forgetting "Er...yes?...I can..." he looked back to the Penguin but all he saw was the small man just quickly disappearing for cover behind the big bit of equipment that used to seal the tins of dog food.

[blackmask]

Black Mask kept moving slowly, not wanting to tip good old Ozzy off that he knew something was up. He noticed that the rest of Cobblepot's thugs had started to follow him Black Mask would've told his men to do the same. If it weren't hidden. But because they were he didn't even acknowledge them. Though they knew who to aim at.

"Well you see Ozzy. With the FBI gone I can now take back what is mine." He said smugly. "I know that I can do so with my own gang. But I would gladly accept help." He said. Like hell he would take Ozzy's help. He would take his help just so he could use someone else's money, gear, and men before his own.

Black Mask looked at Hacksaw and said. "Be careful what you do next. It might just be the last thing you do." He said just before he dropped down behind the crate he was standing behind.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

The moment Oswald was out of sight and under cover he moved a lot more quickly. A sharp look up and around his surroundings he checked for Black Mask's men before setting to work.

His voice remained clear, calm and polite as he called back to Roman, giving nothing away but wasting time for his men and for himself to get ready "Your confidence might well be merited were not the actuality of Mr. Hacksaw's adherence to yourself somewhat undetermined" Oswald was being purposely confusing with his words, the majority of the gang was easily lost, Hacksaw shooting a 'What?' look towards the Penguin's hiding place.

As he was losing every half minded thug in the room, including a few of his own, Oswald was quickly working with what he's got. He set down his briefcase, took his gun from his jacket and left it on top as, after entering a quick code, he reset the timer on the canister for only a few seconds and then set it down too. One of the clasps on his briefcase is then quickly twisted an pulled out, a long tube following behind it which after removing the handle to his umbrella he attached to the weapon. The briefcase wasn't a briefcase, it was a backup tank to make up for the sadly small one concealed in the umbrella. He continued talking throughout and finally allowed a quick glance between the machinery to check his men had found cover "Perhaps confirmation of where the devotion of a ferocious flock lies in actuality would aid a decision"

All looked set. He cleared his throat quickly before anyone could ask what he was talking about, making sure he had the attention of everyone as he raised his voice "Fifty thousand dollars to the man who brings me Black Mask" Oswald had implied, albeit in a rather confusing way, testing their loyalty and this way it. He was promising money. The one thing he believed gangs were actually loyal to. At best he hoped some of the men Roman brought with him might be tempted, at worst the room would soon be absolute chaos and while Oswald was safely hidden away they could kill each other as much as they liked.

A ripple went through the gang, a little hesitation. There was no question that the Penguin had that sort of money and they certainly outnumbered Black Mask, the only question was did they dare and who would try first? Hacksaw stood there, he tried to think but all that ran through his mind was $50,000. Black Mask's warning was soon forgotten and it took only a few seconds before the temptation was too much. He threw out an arm to point at Roman's hiding place "Get 'im!" and the gang moved.

[blackmask]

Black Mask knew where this was going. He found himself a good spot that he could easily defend himself in and then he gave his men the signal to fire on anyone who made a move against him. Unless he gave them a different order. He looked out from the edge of the crate he was behind and then settled back where he was. He then drew out his two handguns and got ready to open fire when he had to.

When he heard Penguin offer the money he knew he had lost them. After all Hacksaw wasn't all that bright. He heard Hacksaw shout for the others to get him. So he looked in the direction of his men and gave them the thumbs up. The warehouse came alive with the sounds of gunfire as his men killed off those unlucky enough to be out in the open. Black Mask knew that his men wouldn't turn on him. He hand picked the four men because they were always at his side........ Plus they knew he could have them killed even if he died. After all what was a mastermind without a few backup plans?

After a few seconds Black Mask poked his head around the corner of his crate ever so slightly. He didn't see anyone aiming directly at him and so he moved quickly to another crate. He didn't think anyone noticed his sudden change in position. He then waited until he got an opening and then stood up. "Wrong choice Hacksaw!" He shouted and then fired two rounds. Both hitting Hacksaw in the head killing him instantly. Black Mask was back behind the crate before the man hit the ground. Then he quickly and stealthily moved to another crate and waited for another opening as his men continued to fire on anyone they could aim at. Anyone but Black Mask and Penguin. After all Black Mask wanted to kill Penguin himself if it came to that.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Oswald is a smart man. Does he trust the gang to bring down Black Mask easily? Of course not. They're merely pawns. If one of them proves smart enough to take the man down Oswald will see that they get their money and offer them a job but right now they're serving a far simpler purpose. They're getting shot at.

Carefully peering from their cover Oswald and his men as using that to work out where Black Mask's men are hiding. Every dead gang member makes it easier. The first one is spotted after only getting out a few shots as one of Oswald's men sees him and pops out of hiding to fire off a few shots at them before ducking back into cover. Pinning them down is good, killing them is better.

A second man was spotted moments later and Oswald's men began the process of picking off the hidden gun men, though two still kept tracking Roman's movements and trying to shoot him too. Oswald didn't specify that his offer only extended to the gang members after all.

Oswald was almost content to stay hidden away, keeping an eye on things by peering between small gaps in the machinery. Things did seem to be going his way after all. Every moment Roman was there and refusing to quit was one more moment he could change the tides, Ozzy certainly didn't want to give him much time to think. He grabbed the canister and a moment later it came flying out of his hiding place, bounced with a clatter and rolled towards the crates Black Mask had been using for cover as smoke already started to rush out of each end of the thing.

It was a smaller demonstration sample of what Oswald's men had nicknamed a clean bomb because it was mostly used when time was very limited to quickly clean evidence from crime scenes without just blowing up the building in the process. The gas was mildly toxic and corrosive, just enough to ruin fingerprints and burn skin and eyes slightly while stage two took care of fibres, traces of DNA and any paperwork in need of a quick destruction. The proper ones varied in size depending on the size of the area which needed to be taken care of and for a sizeable added fee could include additions to take care of electronic data as well.

Stage two was announced to by two beeps. The gas was also flammable. It would quickly burn out the inside of the room, usually blow the windows but baring any explosive material would just as quickly burn itself out again, leaving the building intact if often a tiny bit on fire. A sample one however would never fill the warehouse and Oswald hadn't intended it to. A spark from within and what was usually a more controlled quick burn out this time created an explosion, fragments of the bomb flying everywhere and flames quickly engulfing everywhere the gas touched as Oswald hadn't given it enough time to let all the gas out of the canister. Resetting the timer turned them into a rather unusual grenade. Oswald loved a toy that could adapt to the situation like that.

[blackmask]

Black Mask growled as he saw his men getting killed 'Damn! They need to be careful!' He thought. He couldn't bother with his men getting killed. Not now. He moved to a new location and then popped up and downed two more of the men in the room. Then he dropped back behind cover and reloaded his guns.

He then heard a clattering sound. He looked to see what the cause of the sound was. It was a canister. Instantly Black Mask moved away from where he was. He didn't know what the canister was. But in a fire fight like this he figured there was only one thing it could be. He ran in a crouched manner and dove behind a new set of crates just as it exploded. Then he stopped fighting. He had an idea. He kept his guns out and started to move stealthily around the outer wall of the warehouse.

As he was doing this his remaining men were fighting back. Three of them had died. One fell from the catwalks much like in a western. The other two simply dropped where they were. The last two kept fighting. One had an AK-47, the other had the Springfield. The sniper fired at the men pulling back the bolt of the rifle in a machine like manner. The other would pop up and blast off a quick burst of rounds and then drop back down. They hit a few of the enemies. But it was hard to tell who they were with at this point.

Black Mask had made his way around the outer wall and made it to the point he was trying to get to. He was behind Penguin. He moved silently towards the little midget and when he got close he aimed both his guns at the man's back and pulled the hammers on both of them back. "I'd give up now if I were you." He said in a low menacing growl. "I'm sure we can work out a deal." He said in the same voice. He was kneeling down ready to spring off to the side at any moment. But he had his guns ready as well. He wanted to get this over with. After all. He was a busy man.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Without Black Mask easily visible to focus their attentions on many more of the gang members turned on Black Mask's men, which was just fine for Oswald's group. There might not be much of a gang left by the time the fighting finished but that was better than Black Mask keeping the area and those lost would soon be replaced. Distracting gun fire was a task they were well suited for, the smarter ones who might prove useful were after all the ones who weren't getting shot at.

Still Oswald lost a couple of men, one killed, two injured. An acceptable loss when there were still three healthy men to do his bidding and one of the injured was still shooting. If Oswald lived and got his way anything would be an acceptable loss.

Oswald remained hidden and waiting, he'd lost sight of Black Mask in the confusion and kept looking for signs of movement. With all the commotion in the warehouse it wasn't until he heard Roman's voice behind him that he refound the man.

Squawking loudly in alarm the Penguin half turned but froze when he found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. Hundreds of options swam through his head and he showed a little fear "A deal you say?" he asked, his voice a little shaky.

The squawk alerted his men. Something was clearly wrong with the boss. A tall, spindly and grim looking thug quickly took charge and after a duck down to look beneath the machinery it wasn't hard to assess the problem. Though barely visible through the small gap beneath and all the grime down there Oswald's stylish and very expensive shoes were easily identified and the kneeling man with him was assumed to be Black Mask. Orders were quickly whispered leaving one of the men to watch the feet while the other two kept up the fire on Roman's men. The grim thug grabbed the case of clean bombs and guns they'd brought to the gang, waited until a long barrage of fire from Oswald's other thugs ensured Roman's men would be forced into hiding and then disappeared into the crates, careful to stay out of sight as he looped around.

[blackmask]

Black Mask grinned his feral grin. "Yeah a deal." He said keeping both of his guns aimed at the little man. "You give up now and leave my turf." He said. "And I get my stuff back."

He knew his men weren't doing well. And he knew that since his men didn't have the greatest guns there were he had come prepared. The one with the AK-47 had ducked behind a crate that he was able to use for cover. And got ready to use his surprise.

The man jumped up quickly and threw two lit Molotov Cocktails at the floor below. Being sure not to put Black Mask in danger. He then ducked back down in anticipation of more gunfire coming in.

"We really don't need to drag this out do we?" Black Mask asked Penguin who was still on the receiving end of his guns. "Of course I could just shoot you now and be done with it." He added.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

The cocktails and resulting explosion of flames forces Oswald's men to back off, sprinting from the flames with a few wild shots sent back. One of the injured thugs, unable to move fast dies and others have to beat flames from their jackets but live to find another hiding place. The gang members are thankfully pretty spread out by this point, half of them are closer to Black Mask's men than Oswald's, they mostly avoid the blast and continue with their aim to get to and beat up Roman's remaining men, though enough have been shot to make them more cautious about coming out of hiding.

"I wouldn't suggest that, sir" a voice from behind Roman politely cuts through the commotion in the main part of the warehouse. The grim thug, quite fittingly known as Mort, stands there with his gun pointed at Black Mask's back. Tall, spindly, balding, at least as old as Oswald but with a gaunt thin face that doesn't look like it's smiled a day in it's life. The only thing that really shows emotion is Mort's eyes, which look angry.

Oswald splits a little grin, both him and the thug completely ignoring the screams and fire on the other side of the machines where all chaos was still breaking loose "Perhaps a different deal? One that would benefit us both?" he'd still prefer to shoot Roman but that's a little difficult with a gun pointed at his head. Perhaps he could settle for simply making money off of him and living "You have only just returned from hiding, you're clearly under equipped" he chuckles lightly despite the gun pointed at him "Your weapons are practically antiques. Perhaps we can do business?"

[blackmask]

Black Mask felt of sudden rush of disbelief. 'How the hell did he get behind me?' He thought. 'How long was he back there?' he simply couldn't believe that he was now having a gun held at his back. How? How? HOW?

He looked at Ozzy and hung his head. Then he holstered his two hand guns. "Fine." He said "Name your price." He said in a gruff angry tone. He may have wanted to kill the Penguin. But he was more interested in staying alive. Besides he could loose of of his men.

He gave a sharp whistle and shouted. "Hold your fire!" He shouted. "But don't lower your weapons. Be ready for anything!"

He then looked back at Oswald with an feral look in his eyes. "You win this one you bastard." He hissed.

[Oswald Cobblepot - The Penguin]

Oswald enjoys the pay back for Black Mask sneaking up on him but he /really/ enjoys the turn of the tables that happens when Roman foolishly puts away his guns. Ozzy shallows his joy and looks only a little smug as he properly turns towards Roman and waits until Black Mask has yelled at his men before Ozzy grabs his own gun to point at Roman as he backs up a pace, secure in the knowledge that he never told Mort to lower his gun before Roman put his away "You now have two guns pointed at you, don't say another word to your men" his voice becomes the harsh, mean tone he usually uses with his men. He doesn't have to be the gentleman now, Roman removed his last bargaining chip, the gun to Ozzy's head.

He keeps his voice down as he talks, letting the rest of the warehouse fall into a stiff calm but without any order for his men to stand down they'll still shoot Black Mask's men if they so much as poke out of their hiding places.

Oswald smirks victoriously at Roman "You need to learn better than to even consider yourself equal to me" he remarks before going to shoot Roman in the knee "Perhaps I should educate" he wants to kill, he sees no reason he shouldn't unless Roman makes some sort of offer and he's not going to extend that option. A proper death should hurt though, Black Mask deserves more than quick and painless.