I don't know art....

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"I don't care who put it there!" snaps Alfredo Hall, jabbing an angry finger at the tall twisted sculpture near the Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain. "It's all wrong. It's positively banal. It's ruining this show! I want it out of here!"

The construction worker is losing his patience. "Look, mac, I don't give a rat's naked tuchus what you want. I got a work order right here--" He waves the pink copy in Hall's face. "--telling me an' my boys to put that thing up, and nobody's gonna take it down without another work order!"

"Fine! I'll do it myself!"

"You try that and I'll have the union on your--" He catches sight of the zombies moving in. "Hooooly shit. What kinda crazy show you putting on here? Didn't you know Halloween was last week?"

Alfredo Hall turns and looks. "No! Oh, god, what else could go wrong today? I swear this show is cursed!"

Comments

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

"Roger that." The chopper swings away. Then another bout of cursing. "Would it come outta my stipend if I nailed a couple idiot pilots who can't follow a flight path with a map and GPS into the bargain?"

[oracle-watching.livejournal.com]

"Yes."

The computer begins to run its comparisons.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

"Party pooper," she grumbles, then leans forward once more. The black helicopter twitches as if in irritation. "HEY! Do I gotta come over there and demonstrate my version of airspace on your three-week school licensed ass?"

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Before they reach 40th Street, a pinging noise comes from the console. Match ... detected.... intones the mechanical voice. Match ... detected....

A man's face is displayed on the screen. He is prematurely balding, and what hair remains is dark. He wears wire-framed glasses. His name pops up as RAOUL SAYWER.

His employment history scrolls beneath the photo: Junior designer for House of Hall. Employment terminated October 6, 2007.

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

Huntress sighs. "Someone didn't waste any time getting payback."

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

The chopper swings around. "Hold onto your underwear, sug. We're goin' in for a drop."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

As the Huntress descends half a block away, the crowd around Raoul Sawyer is still in motion, people jostling for a better view of what's happening on the other side of Sixth Street. "It's the Green Lantern!" shouts one of the taller bystanders.

"Which one?" others demand. A brief debate ensues over whether it's "the one who went crazy but got better" or "one of the other ones," with Blackberries pressed into service, hitting the GL fan sites to scroll through the available galleries. Jade is more easily identified, and another debate begins on her versus Arisia on the hotness scale.

Raoul Sawyer takes no part in the debates, his hands clenching around his small cheap set of binoculars. Damn him ... says he fights for justice. Where's the justice in what Hall did to me?

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

"Keep an eye on him for me, Zinda," she says into her comms, before releasing the rope ladder and heading for the office block's stairs. She might run into an employee sneaking a smoke as she does so, but that's not at the top of her list of concerns right now. She might get an odd look as she passes through the foyer, though.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

The receptionist behind the ultramodern ultrapolished ultraexpensive desk looks up. "Um, do you have an appointment?"

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

"Just passing through," she assures her, not stopping as she strides past. Once out on the street, she takes a sharp left, aiming to get through the crowd of morbidly interested tourists and officeworkers gawking on their lunch break.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"It's got to be him!" declares a bicycle messenger, punctuating his assertion with a swig from his sports bottle. "He's got the best ass of any Green Lantern."

The woman in the pink tailored suit shakes her head. "I've seen it. It's not that great. I think he's got a padded uniform."

Raoul Sawyer is starting to move to the back of the crowd, apparently aiming to slip away through one of the nearby office buildings.

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

Huntress rolls her eyes as she cuts between them - deliberately. "He's not the only padded ass around here," she mutters. If that bra's not stuffed, she'll be surprised.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Raoul Sawyer continues to move through the crowd, slipping around a clot of German tourists who are engaged in their own heated debate.

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

She doesn't let him out of her sight -- and that's no small feat considering the mass of people out here. Her expression is usually enough to force people to move. "In visual range," she says into her comms. "He's on the move."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

He's reached the outer fringes of the crowd, where people aren't so tightly packed, and he's moving faster--

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

She needs a clear shot for this to work. Last thing she needs is some pansy getting their panties in a wad because she tripped them up. She growls at a another stubborn tourist to move, then reaches for her grapple line. Pushing free of the crowd, she fires it, aiming to wrap the line around his knees and bring him down quickly.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Awp!"

Her aim is true and her timing exquisite. Down goes Raoul, clumsily breaking his fall with his hands. His binoculars shatter against the concrete.

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

She yanks him backwards sharply as she steps forward, intending to keep him off-balance and thwart any attempt to reach for a weapon. "Going somewhere?"

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

He tries to get to his feet, glaring at her. "Yeah, away from here. That against the law? You got a problem with that?"

But there is fear lurking in his eyes behind his bluster and New Yorker bravado.

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

Another yank on the line will stop him from getting anywhere. She steps closer, looking down at him with undisguised irritation. "Yes. Actually, I do. Tell me, how many chickens did you have to sacrifice to bring this latest waste of my time to life?"

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Chickens?" He tries to pull himself free and winces when he realizes that maneuver will only tighten the line. "You think this was only worth chickens? Uh ... I mean ... what?"

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

"Please. I know people who think venturing into Hell is a semi-regular hobby." She stands over him, placing a stilling boot on his chest. "Now you either tell me where your setup for this little mess is, or I spend another twenty minutes finding new and unpleasant ways to make your life very, very difficult."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

He stares up at her, visibly sweating, then looks away and mutters, "My apartment." Craning his head to look at Bryant Park, he adds, "But that Booster Gold guy's already ruined the focal talisman."

[sexy-huntress.livejournal.com]

"I don't know art, but I know that thing was about as subtle as a brick." She steps back, then hauls him roughly to his feet before touching her earpiece. "One in custody, O." Beat, as she grips his collar firmly. "You're going to take me there. Right now."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

As he leads her off to his apartment, the air is split by the sounds of sirens. New York's Finest have fought their way through to render aid and assistance.

Across the street in Bryant Park, a makeshift field hospital is being set up to treat the injured.