2830/Those Hacktivists Again

Those Hacktivists Again
Date of Scene:	13 October 2017
Location:	A Diner in the Middle of Nowhere
Synopsis:	Skye comes looking for someone who was peeking into SHIELD's stuff.
Cast of Characters:	Quake, Shadowcat

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Quake has posed:
    It had come during the course of her helping clean SHIELD's systems after the attack. A blip. Something that shouldn't be there.. but it wasn't connected to the attack. Just a random happenstance that Skye was doing what she was doing and noticed it. Other than nobody should be there at all, the intrusion was relatively innocuous, and following it back led her to a newcomer on the scene. Up and coming to be certain, but not so established as Skye recognized the signature on sight.
    Skye did the unexpected: she sent out feelers. As herself. But under layers of making it seem she'd stumbled upon the other hacker the same way they'd gotten in: illegally. The blip she'd sent was minimal. Just a time, date and co-ordinates. Co-ordinates that fell smack upon Alice's - a 24 hour dive of a diner that looked like it could use a deep cleaning, or perhaps a good fire. Still, it proclaimed it had good foor.
    Skye got there early, staking a claim on a booth in the back corner where she could see the door, nursing a cola and a plate of surprisingly good fries. Waiting.

Shadowcat has posed:
As Kitty did her snooping, she was surprised at the ping she found. A meet-up? It's not like it's unheard of -- it's how she's met several people now. But she's interested. After seeking out the identity on the darker reaches of the Web and getting a good feel for what that identity tells her, Kitty decides to make the meeting.
    When she arrives at the diner, she's a bit early. With a backpack over her shoulder, the brunette looks just as casual as any other 20-something these days. Her dark eyes were watchful but not as if she's expecting threats. She's merely looking for the person who seems to be waiting for a blind date. Once those eyes skim across everyone in the diner once, she takes a second pass and decides on the young woman in the corner as her most likely target. Approaching the table, she tilts her head and asks, "DarkSkye?"

Quake has posed:
    Skye had gotten there in plenty of time to compensate for what she expected: gh0st showing up early. She'd been gh0st. She knew how it was and went down. When the other woman stops and looks around, she's already got a suspicion who she's waiting for. When she approaches the table, Skye knows for certain.
    "Skye's good," she tells her. "And you're gh0st?"
    The place is fairly empty, even for mid-afternoon. Skye's fries are pushed to the middle of the table with an offer to share. "They're good, even if the place looks like a dive."

Shadowcat has posed:
"Kitty," the brunette replies with a smile. She holds out her hand to shake hands, and says, "It's nice to meet you." Then she slips into the seat on the bench across from Skye, sets her backpack on the seat, and helps herself to the fries. "Dives and holes in the wall are the best place to find the good food," she tells the other young woman. "So... mind if I ask what you were looking for?"

Quake has posed:
    Skye grins as Kitty sits down. "You're not what I expected. Get used to hearing that. I have." She grabs a fry and gnaws on it, making it halfway through before answering Kitty's question. "To be honest? Was seeing if I could. They've got some decent defenses there. Always looking to up my skills. You?" As though she hadn't seen what files Kitty had been trouncing through.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty considers her answer and the reputation of the young woman in front of her. "I like to keep track of what's happening behind the scenes when it comes to places like SHIELD. I have friends who might be impacted if they decide powered folks are a threat," she says finally. "I want to be able to protect them."

Quake has posed:
    There's an easy shrug from the woman. "Yeah, they can be sticks in the mud like that." Even as they aren't. Skye has run into enough 'powered' folk under SHIELD's roof to know that by now. "Protect them, how?" The question is casual, almost off-hand, even. "I really should have ordered gravy for these." Wrinkling her nose as she takes another fry and waits for an answer.

Shadowcat has posed:
"I was thinking that I wish I had malt vinegar myself," Kitty laughs. "I just got back from a stint in England. And... protecting them means letting them know if the government's about to come after them for no reason, I guess?" She keeps it simple. "I don't *think* it will happen. I don't *want* to think it will happen. But... too many invasions and destruction because to fight it off powers got used in public places? It could, in theory, be all it takes to turn that tide."

Quake has posed:
    Skye nods, looking thoughtful. "Yeah, I can see why you'd be worried." She looks about their table, and finding no condiments whatsoever, looks at the one behind. "Some iffy looking ketchup. Salt. And.. regular vinegar. Any of that grab your fancy?"
    Her attention returns to the table while she waits for Kitty's answer. "I'm more of a lone wolf type myself. I get it, though. I mean, if you stick around long enough in the game, you're going to find we've got codes of ethics ourselves. We don't give one another up. At least not easily." She had to ammend that. Not that she put what had happened at SHIELD into even remotely the same category as what she herself did. And what she hoped Kitty was doing based on what she'd dug up on the other. "Been at this long?"

Shadowcat has posed:
"Meh... I'll stick to plain with a little salt. *That* vinegar is ... " Kitty gives it a skeptical look. "It might be trying too hard."
    Pulling in a slow breath, she studies Skye. "Depends on which 'this' we're talking about," she admits quietly. "Computers? Just since I went to college, really. I didn't have a lot of time before that. Watching my friends' backs? Been doing that since I was a kid. Some of them don't exactly look like the rest of us, so... " She shrugs a little and finally asks curiously, "Why did you want to meet, Skye? What is it you wanted from me?"

Quake has posed:
    "Curiousity," Skye answers easily. It's even the truth. Just not all of the truth. "Good call on the plain with salt. At least there's not much you can do to salt to make it iffy." The vinegar comment makes her laugh.
    "Ah. One of those, huh? Bleeding heart, I mean. Don't take it the wrong way. I'm one too. Just, I had to go at it from the other side. Spent my time exposing corporations taking advatange of the little guy. You might say I have a knack with computers." A slight understement there. Well, maybe more than slight.

Shadowcat has posed:
"If your reputation is anything to go by, I'd say more than a knack. What do you do when you're not taking corporations down?" Kitty asks, nibbling on a fry. When the waitress comes by, she requests a soda. And her dark eyes have a tendency to skim the room as if taking mental inventory... or perhaps making a threat assessment. But other than that, she seems pretty casual.

Quake has posed:
    Kitty's scan of the room doesn't do unnoticed - she'd had a year of training made certain things like that didn't get by her. Or at least they weren't supposed to. "Me? Oh, I freelance. Pick up odd jobs here and there. Enough to pay the bills." The assessment of her skill gets a small, twisted grin. "More than a knack. But there's always room to improve. Kind of why I wanted to talk to you, really. You have potential."

Shadowcat has posed:
Tilting her head, taking her drink from the waitress with a smile, Kitty asks, "Potential for....?" She sips the soda -- it's the second time in two weeks she's been sussed out for some kind of recruiting. She's uncertain which kind this might be.

Quake has posed:
    "Hacking. It's how I found you. You leave a lousy trail, by the way. We need to work on that." Skye grabs another fry, and nibbles, waiting.

Shadowcat has posed:
Her brows shoot upward. "Oh really?" Kitty happens to know she doesn't leave much of a trail at all. She's already been informed of such by people who're pretty good at this game. And her digital footprint is VERY small. "How so?" Because if she *did* leave a trail, she sure as heck wants to know about it.

Quake has posed:
    Skye grins. "Okay, not so big a trail. But you can be better. I can help you with that. If you want." After all, there were ways and means to identify folks based on how they weren't being seen as much as what they'd left behind. And even the best ccould get caught. She knew that one from personal experience.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty nods slightly. "I'd certainly be interested in making sure that no one ELSE can backtrack me like you did." It could put too many people in danger if they did. She needs to mention cybersecurity to J'onn, she thinks... because that's not good for the school. "Do you keep tabs on SHIELD often?"

Quake has posed:
    There's a snort from Skye. "Do I? You could almost say it's my job to keep eyes on them." She shrugs. "I try to anyway. Pays to keep tabs on places like that. We might be able to do things for one another, you and I." Though as she says it, she's not entirely certain she can make that promise if SHIELD is involved.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty seems to simply be listening to the offer, but she is also filing away Skye's word choices and expressions. "Yeah... I think it's in all of our interests to keep tabs on a lot of places," she admits. Some of the hacktivists out there might use this opportunity to set her up. Some might use it to see if she's open to attacking places like SHIELD or the US government sites. For all she knows, SHIELD employs hackers like Skye to make sure people like Kitty go to jail. And now she's quite wary. "What kinds of things are you thinking I can do for you?"

Quake has posed:
    "Really? I'm not sure yet. But sometimes I need information that it's not always best I get myself. Remember the whole bit about identifying people by bits of code they use? Particular styles?" Another fry disappears. "Having someone else do some of the work for me takes the pressure off. Might build your rep some." It's one of those things. No matter how you look at it, there are things hackers do that aren't precisely legal. And while she's good - very good - there are some few out there at her level, and Skye doesn't want them knowing everything she does. Especially the bit about working for SHIELD. That? That little secret she wants to keep as long as she can. Even if it might be a lost cause now, given what she's been up against since the invasion.

Shadowcat has posed:
Pursing her lips thoughtfully, Kitty helps herself to come more fries. "I might be able to do that. Around the day job, of course." She grins a little. //And the night job,// she thinks to herself. Her plate is getting full, that's for sure. "Now that you have the handle, you'll know where to find me if I can help. If you need me New York proper in person, give me a little time to get here, though. I'm out in Westchester."

Quake has posed:
    Skye rolls her eyes. "Day job. Yeah. Gotta get me one of those some day." She digs around for another fry. "Say, isn't that where that school is?" She stops herself from saying she knows someone who goes there by sticking another fry into her mouth.

Shadowcat has posed:
Quirking a brow, Kitty comments, "There are several. But I assume when people say 'that school' and Westchester in the same sentence, they're talking about the private school up there -- Xavier's. It's up there, yes." She pauses and tests the waters a little. "It's where I graduated high school."

Quake has posed:
    That Skye files away for future reference. "So, I suppose that makes you a non-normal?" Then she makes a face. "Who made up these terms anyway. And no, I'm not going to run off screaming." Not only was it bad form, and impolite, it won you no friends, and if there was something she'd learned was it was good to have friends in all the places. "And yeah. That's the school I meant. I was there once. Something of an impromptu meeting. I'm not sure it went well."

Shadowcat has posed:
The school is not publicly known as a mutant school, though rumors have always abounded because of Xavier's political views being well-known. The fact that Skye has been up there brings Kitty's alertness level to a much higher threshold, though. "A meeting?" she asks mildly. "And I'm just a normal Jewish princess... with some talents."

Quake has posed:
    Skye's nose crinkles. "Yeah. Some job someone wanted done. Turns out I wasn't a good fit for it." More like everything had gone to hell in a handbasket. She'd even gotten her own personal scolding of 'language!' from Captain America, but the less she spoke about the matter, likely the better. She was still working on that particular job. "It wasn't one of those open house days. More an unexpected offer." She shrugs, and digs around the remains of the fry basket. "Huh. Those didn't last long."

Shadowcat has posed:
There's a moment where Kitty thinks about what's said. And what's not. And then merely smiles. Open house days indeed. "Listen... I'll definitely be around, online and off. If you want something, just ask. If I can help, I will." Assuming it's not completely illegal or against Kitty's personal ethics. Which probably, based on Skye's internet reputation, it won't be. "If things work out, maybe we'll meet up for sodas again?" she offers. "It's not too many of us who are 'wow, you're not what I was expecting'."

Quake has posed:
    Skye's grin is a bright and easy thing. "You should see the number of times I'm mistaken for a man on the net. And sure thing. I wasn't kidding about teaching you a few tricks, either. I know a thing or two you probably might want to know if you plan on staying in the business and helping out your friends. Cool handle, by the way. And don't worry about the meal. Already paid for. Makes packing up and leaving easier."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty chuckles. "It actually made me laugh -- I was pretty sure you were not a male," she admits. "Skye with an E isn't usually where a guy would go with that." She shrugs. "Playing on our names -- something in common."

Quake has posed:
    Skye's lips purse, and it's clear she's highly amused. "Yeah. But guys don't want to believe a girl can do what we do. Clever, though. Usually they focus on the Dark and I'm good." There's an easy shrug from the girl as she collects her things. "Playing with things is kind of an occupational hazard."

Shadowcat has posed:
"Isn't it just?" Kitty replies. She finishes off her drink and moves to vacate the booth as well. "I'll look forward to chatting with you, Skye."