12046/Home Sweet SHIELD

Home Sweet SHIELD
Date of Scene:	21 August 2020
Location:	Ready Room, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Steve comes back from a mission with a somewhat damaged Quinjet and more questions than answers about the Molotov. Bucky and Peggy get their own, personal debrief before sending Cap to talk to the higher ups.
Cast of Characters:	Captain America, Peggy Carter, Winter Soldier

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Captain America has posed:
    Quinjets come and go often from the Triskelion. There is steady traffic of vehicles rising from the subterranean hanger, their engines flaring and whining, then taking off. And when they come in they sometimes use the landing pads. Just a steady traffic, accompanied by the occasional rush of personnel to get the equipment ready, to tend to the operatives and passengers.
    Controlled chaos. But to a practiced eye there's a sense of order to it that only the knowledgeable and militarily inclined can really appreciate.
    Which is why when that routine is broken for most people they can just sense the slight ratcheting of tensions around them. The way people move more briskly and with more purpose. Then as things heighten it becomes more apparent to everyone. For incoming Quinjet-WT-011 called in earlier a declaration of taking fire. Some damage. Nothing beyond the norm. Few had given it little thought.
    But when the flight was declared it was going to use the landing strip instead of the VTOL pad, tensions rose. Then when the Quinjet came into view it was trailing smoke. Tensions rose even more. There was a flurry of activity, some emergency vehicles rolling into place.
    "Whiskey Tango, you are cleared for landing." Came the call once everything was in place and then down came the jet with a roar of its engines shifting into a reverse thrust to steal the energy from the vehicle. It rolled to a stop, still smoking. The side of the jet clearly having taken some form of small arms fire seemingly except that it had penetrated some of the jet's armor which is out of the ordinary.
    The ramp came down, hitting the tarmac with a clang, and out of it comes the team. Along with Captain Rogers.

Peggy Carter has posed:
This was a strangely familiar dance. Even if she hadn't done it for thirty some years in her head, and the battlefields looked a lot different, the feelings were the same. Sometimes it was Steve who went out, her and Bucky waiting worriedly back at the convoys when in the field on missions. Sometimes it was Bucky, Steve held back with some diplomatic phone call or planning session. Sometimes it was both of them. But for every mission Peggy was allowed out on with the Howling Commandos, there was another where the field just wasn't deemed safe for a woman. So she watched and she waited.

This time it was just Steve, but when the news came in that his quinjet had been damaged, she immediately commed where every Bucky was on base, "I'm going down to meet that jet. I'm sure he's fine... I... I'm still going." It was simply polite. So, in her neat pumps and wide legged, gray suit, she dashes down the SHIELD corridors towards the landing bay. No one actually lets her inside while the thing is landing, but the moment the deck is clear, smelling like the trailing smoke from those engines, she pushes through out into the tarmac, worried dark eyes watching the team as they come from the landing ramp. Steve includes.

"...well... At least it wasn't an iceberg this time. And you brought her back in one piece, mostly." She states flatly, sardonic humor covering the concern in her voice.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    It is, all thing considered, a beautiful day. Sufficient sunshine, ample blue skies, a statistically slightly above average temperature. It could, on reflection and with considerable certainty, be called a nice day. It would have been even nicer if Bucky hadn't known his best friend was out in the field without him, although he's self aware enough to understand that it's probably just desserts for all the time he'd done that himself. Not to mention the before time... so we shall not mention it. Of course he was half expecting a call to come in about Steve's jet coming in damaged. Of course. Had it ever been otherwise?

    So it's probably no surprise to his two old friends that James Buchanan Barnes, always the pragmatist, comes rolling down the tarmac in a SHIELD issue car, following close on the heels of the scrambled rescue vehicles. He rolls insouciantly to a stop just next to the ramp and gets out, leaving the engine running.

    "You always did know how to make an entrance. Hop in you two, why walk when you can drive?"

Captain America has posed:
    The crew are unloading the jet, and the team is filing out behind Cap who had turned and been giving them companionable smiles, thumping a man or two on the chest. Medical crew rushes in and starts questioning the operatives only for Cap to lift a hand and tell them, "No casualties, though Agent Winger had a graze and is lying about it."
    Which is when one of the SHIELD agents lifts his voice as he walks past, "Got my jacket more than me, Cap. Just sayin'."
    But that at least gives the medicos someone to fuss over even as Steve turns back and meets Peggy's arrival with a smile. "One-piece, but apparently wasn't from lack of trying." He greets Peggy with a salute, but an easily given one offered between people who have that gift of informality between them. Pushing his helmet and mask back off of his head, he catches sight of the vehicle as it rolls up, looking very low-key in comparison to the emergency vehicles. But it's the driver that gets the man's attention.
    "Buck!" Which is how he'll ever be known to the man. He gestures to Peggy with a nod, suggesting they should make use of the vehicle. So he walks up to it to greet the man with a hearty handshake. "Nice wheels."

Peggy Carter has posed:
As he's not visibly injured in any way, the first real thing that gets Peggy's attention is the update to his uniform. Still with some of the classic colors and lines, but definitely a more modern piece, helmet included. She smiles a bit more to him, "...They got you something sleeker nowadays, didn't they? Better than the over armored dance belt." She returns the salute warmly before tipping her head in approval to the navy suit.

Then that car is drawing her attention, just a moment of paranoid tension, hand instinctively moving for beneath her shoulder. Had someone tracked them in landing? Her fingertips don't even make it to her gun before she realizes who is driving. The happiness in Steve's tone as he dashes over to greet Bucky... Well, it's been a long while since Peggy smiles as wide as she does in this moment.

She trails a bit behind, letting the two old friends greet before she slides up to the back seat, letting the two friends take the front. She gives Bucky a low, appreciative whistle at the car. "...Now this is a beauty. Seems you got taste in your old age, Buchanan."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Still can't bring them back in one piece, can you?" Bucky half grins as he clasps Steve's hand, slapping him on the shoulder with his left. It's a healthy thump, what with the vibranium augmented metal arm hidden under his jacket, but no worse than the way they usual greet. For a second he raises an eyebrow at his friend and he tilts his head over towards Peggy, suggesting that perhaps he should do the chivalrous thing and keep the door open, as he himself heads back to the driver's door and gets back in, eyes scanning the surroundings for any potential threats. It's not paranoia when they're really out to get you.

    "Don't get too attached, it's from the motor pool." he admits to his friends as the car starts rolling down the tarmac, back towards the Triskelion proper. It's a deceptively long walk, but a relatively short drive first along the taxi way and then into the lanes reserved for VIP traffic. "You know, Steve, one day they'll start charging you for all those broken birds."

Captain America has posed:
    "You like it? I don't know. It's growing on me." The star-spangled Avenger smiles to Peggy, crinkling his nose slightly at the uniform as he sweeps a hand over it. Then his long-time partner comments about him and the flights he inevitably comes back on.
    "Never could," Steve says to Bucky with a wry grin.
    As for seating though? There hadn't even been any thought to it, even as Peggy makes her way toward the back seat she gets a sort of look from Cap. That is redoubled with a tilt of his head as he smiles and saunters up to the passenger side door. And opens it for her so she can get in the front. Backseat for him.
    Once they're settled in their proper seats, Cap undoes the clasp of the helmet, tucking it up against his hip and then starting to undo the straps of his gauntlets. Something so normal about him as he undoes the armor and becomes more Steve and less Cap-like in some ways. Then Bucky makes the crack about him getting charged for the Quinjets as he laughs and shoots a glance at Peggy.
    "I don't know, Buck. I think I got enough backpay I could cover it. For a week or two at least."

Peggy Carter has posed:
An amused smirk pulls at Peggy's ever-red lips as she and Steve do a little dance as grabs the front door for her. "...How could I forget I'm with the utmost gentlemen? Well thank you, Captain." She tilts her head and swings down into the front bench seat instead. She stretches out, luxuriating in the old, roomy interior as her fingertips run across the dash. "...Howard had one of these. Hell, it *might* have been his... Maybe you can keep it on permanent loan, James. Half the agents nowadays wouldn't even know how to drive it properly." She tosses him a warm, thankful smile, something a bit quieter as she recognizes the few moments of comfort he's stolen all of them by picking Steve up like this.

"...I'm sure you have a few war bonds still collecting dust, Steve. We paid you in enough of them since we certainly didn't have the cash. They'd be worth a terrifying amount nowadays. Toss them over to Fury and you'll be *fine*..." She's not really teasing there.

She watches him vaguely in the rear view mirror, the near ritualistic act of taking off the Captain and becoming Steve. "So, are you going to share with the class what nearly took a *quinjet* down?" She inquires more somberly, dark eyes ensuring he's not hiding any injury behind that uniform.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "They're not like the old tin cans we used to rattle around in, are they? Take some beating before they start looking like that." There is, possibly, a hint of a shade of a smidgen of reproof in that statement while Bucky drives the car to the security airlock that will take them from air-side to ground-side, and from there on the very short trip back to the Triskelion car park. The implication that if it takes something serious to damage a Quinjet, it's something that Steve would have or should have known about when going on the mission. And from there, it's a very short hop to understanding that, if such a thing were imagined, that at the very least Bucky would have liked to have had the opportunity to volunteer for the assignment. All of that in an economy of words, because verbosity is not his forte.

    "I think it was Howard's, actually. They keep it at the back of the pool, nobody really drives it these days. Fitting though, wasn't it?"

Captain America has posed:
    At Peggy's query, Steve's eyebrows rise as he takes a deep breath. They know that expression, the one that declares openly with just his look that there's a story there, and a story that takes a good amount of effort telling. "Following up on Barton's recovery."
    The Brooklyn Brawler looks between the two of them as he bite his lower lip for an instant when he adds, "He was tailing a man named Molotov whom he and the Widow had dealings with some time ago. Records we have show some illicit arms' deals, but talking to Nat and Clint I get the feeling there's more to the man than that."
    He lifts a now bare hand and gestures over his shoulder in the direction of the Quinjet they're driving away from, "That firepower was thanks to one of his customers. Now in custody, but turned out to be a dead end. Or at least there was no actionable intel that we acquired so far. Might be more when the clean up crews finish going through the place with a fine toothed comb."
    But then Bucky talks about the quality of their transport and he smiles a little roughly, "I don't know, Buck. You remember that Mitchell bomber we used for night time insertions?" He tucks his gloves into his belt and then seems reasonably at ease with his current state of comfort. "Sure it rattled and pinged, and sure sometimes the bullets would fly straight through the cargo hold without even stopping to say hello. But it got us back over and over."
    There's a small smile as he straightens up in his seat, running a hand over the surface of the one beside him then adding, "Though, I have to admit, our ground transport's improved some."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Peggy goes a little more quiet as Bucky confirms this was probably Howard's car. Her fingertips run along the leather of the bench seat, giving the old cushions a bit of a squeeze. She then pops open the glove compartment, exposing the phone, lighter, and a few other... Interesting additions. "Oh yes. This was Howard's." She mutters softly, her smile a touch bitter sweet.

But she goes quiet and serious as Steve begins to talk, game face on, making mental notes the whole time as her body shifts to look easily at both of the men instead of watching Steve in the rearview mirror. "If he's got that dangerous an enemy, then I'd hate to see his friends." She adds quietly, but doesn't intrude on the explanation further. She wants to hear Bucky's reactions, the two jiving off of each other when working often got to the bottom of some of the most sticky situations. She's content to listen and watch them work with that quiet, enigmatic line to her lips.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "That thing would take you anywhere you wanted to go, as long as you remembered to pack some gum to patch the holes afterwards." Bucky remembers, a smile on his otherwise quite impassive face, glancing over to Peggy's exploration of the car's more hidden features for a moment and deciding not to add his own comments on it. It's a private moment, he can tell. Leather creaks on leather as his gloves tighten on the steering wheel fractionally to make the last turn into the building.

    "Molotov? That's a name with some history. Bit of determinism at play that they turned out to be an arms dealer? Is that why Barton ended up getting stuck between the goats?" Rhetorical question, it seems, although he's not going to miss the opportunity to add some goat in the conversation. He's been ribbing Clint for days now.

    "Look, if Clint's concerned, I'm sympathetic. If Nat's concerned, I'm worried. If you're concerned, I'm in. Don't try to talk me out of it."

Captain America has posed:
    "I think." Cap says, and then pauses. They know that mannerism, the words spoken and not so much a preface for him voicing his thoughts, and more for conjuring them as his mind winds through the synaptic paths to reach the decision. Usually pretty quickly.
    The pause comes and goes then he adds, "That there is a lot of the story we don't know. That Clint and Natasha might know more. They also seem to have some ownership feelings about this guy." He looks up at them, meeting Bucky's eyes in the rear-view mirror. "So I think both of you can help. Though there's going to be a moment when they're going to decide either to involve us fully, or go it alone."
    He takes a breath and frowns a little, "We need to be there to let them know they don't have to go it alone." Which might be a diplomatic way of saying things, but it's enough to make the other two aware. Keep an eye out.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Bucky's statement about his feelings on the case get a quiet, affirmative tilt of Peggy's head. She seems to share the sentiments of the old soldier. He voiced them better than she could anyway. She waits until the car fully stops, not getting out, but turning more fully to both of them since they aren't in motion and James can split a bit of his attention.

Steve's words of advice leave her quiet, just a heartbeat or so, before she nods in agreement, "...You're not wrong. You two are also the kings of dashing off alone when perhaps a *little* more help would be useful. You might be the best to talk to them about how to take help, even if it feels like it's their back yard. I don't know Natasha... well. But I know the place she came up in. I know... it wasn't much for team work. Some old habits die hard." Something changes behind Peggy's eyes, some determination about Natasha, perhaps a new avenue to take with her.

"...But they're going to want your full report about what just happened first." She looks between the door and Bucky, no real excuse to delay him from going inside and giving the report to SHIELD's current command. The fact they had this car ride was a luxury.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "And keep a spare bird on standby in case they do try to go it alone." The engine is switched off the moment the car is back where it needs to be, and Bucky does indeed give the two passengers his undivided attention now. "Can't hurt to make sure the cavalry is ready in case they need it."

    The mention of the place where Natasha came up makes his hand flex involuntarily around the steering wheel. He knows the place, knows it well. "I can talk to her, if you want. I bet we'll be saying the same things, but I can say them louder and if necessary in Russian. Wouldn't go over as well with Clint, but I think you know him better anyway, Steve."

    It seems after that there's little more to say, and he gets out of the car, pocketing the keys somewhat with an air of finality. Maybe the car really has grown on him. "Go do your paperwork, Captain. Job's not done 'till it's all written down, these days."

Captain America has posed:
    Out of the car now and stepping around to get the door for Peggy if the timing is right. But then he gives a nod to each of them as he murmurs and points at Bucky, "You know Barnes, I knew there was a reason I kept you around." Perhaps stealing a casual jibe they'd toss back and forth now and again in the past.
    He does not at the mention of paperwork as he steps back. "You're right though, I should hunker down and get that done." Cap is already backing up walking towards the Triskelion proper as he offers another of those somewhat informal salutes shared between them. "We'll catch up later."
    That said he turns and starts to stride on in.