Spy Games (Open)

Participants:Natasha Romanoff / Open
Open/Closed: Open
Location(s): West Village, New York
Time of Day: Nearing midnight
Weather: Warm
Summary: Natasha is on the hunt for an arms dealer hiding behind political figures and vast wealth. Feel free to help her or throw a spanner in the works!

Then.
Natasha Romanoff was a ghost. As far as the world was aware, she had died, killed at the hands of an ally, a loyal captain twisted by Hydra’s strange science. Already an expert in stealth and espionage, her apparent passing had only served to benefit her prodigious skill, offering a chance at true anonymity, able to operate without restriction and with total impunity. Very few sought the dead, and even fewer sought to question them. Not even the Avengers, some of whom she counted among her closest confidants, knew that she was operating alone rather than resting peacefully.

In an abandoned shipping container, kitted out to act as a sparse, temporary residence, the Black Widow sat in front of three laptops, green eyes darting between their screens. Dozens of small windows sat open, displaying maps, documents and images, too much for most minds to process. Recalling and analysing information, however, was one Natasha’s specialities.

Most digital documents were focused on a handsome building located in New York’s West Village. Others noted important information regarding Ulysses Klaw, a number of his associates, and Kyle Pierce, an arms dealer hailing from a wealthy Boston-based family. Pierce had long been selling wares to terrorists and insurgents about the globe, utilising Klaw as a middle man. Over the years, the nature of the weapons had become increasingly experimental, making them ever more dangerous. Under the guise of a philanthropist with an interest in innovative technology, Pierce had managed bribe and win backers of political importance to aid in distancing himself from his actions – something he had done with great success.

Until the Black Widow had found him.

Tapping at her one of the laptops’ keyboards, the windows began to close one after the other, until finally they appeared in one zipped folder, which, with a few keystrokes, she’d sent to a number of investigative reporters and federal agents. Should they trace the information back to its source, they would find nothing – nothing but an empty shipping crate. Her research done, Natasha no longer needed it – she was heading to New York.

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Now.
Hundreds of socialites were sprawled throughout the vast living room in Kyle Pierce’s West Village residence. Dressed in all manner of finery, they had been invited by the generous host to an after party following a fundraising gala held in the city’s heart. Laughing, joking and making pleasant conversation, none of the well-dressed crowd had noted someone unfamiliar in their midst – a face not present at any prior events. Indeed, dressed in a black, figure hugging gown, what looked to be diamond encrusted bracelets and a ruby spider broach, Natasha Romanoff looked like she belonged among them.

But while they were there to share in Pierce’s riches, the Black Widow had come to ensure they were taken from him.