12557/Digging Up The Past: Say Cheese II

Digging Up The Past: Say Cheese II
Date of Scene:	15 December 2020
Location:	5A 51st Floor, Four Freedoms Plaza
Synopsis:	Bucky fills in Nick and Steve on what he found looking into Colby Schmirler
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Winter Soldier, Captain America
Tinyplot:	Digging Up The Past

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Mid afternoon on a weekend does not see much traffic in a residential building. With most people at work, those that tend to be home are either sick, retired, or work really strange hours. Nick is in the entertainment industry. There you go.

But the odd hours do have the added benefit that the apartments to either side are rather quiet when trying to get sleep. However, the rockstar/actor hybrid is not using this time of peace for slumber and instead is seated on a folding chair at a small table in the kitchen waiting for visitors. Another folding chair has been set at the table with a third chair seemily liberated from the desk area to provide a third seat.

Over to the stovetop, a kettle is on a burner, just the faint hiss starting to make its presence known to the quiet man. Before Nick, an open folder and several papers, along with some pens. The deathly silence allows for the sound of paper sliding across paper has he flips to the next print out.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    There used to be a time when Bucky told Steve everything. Well, most things. Enough things to make it seem as if they were everything. Lately that had gone by the wayside slightly. But this time... well, as in the old days, when in doubt or when utterly confused, confide in the people you trust. When the world doesn't make sense, find the people who make sense and bend the world the right way around again. So, he had decided to tell Steve he'd been moonlighting, and needed his help on something he couldn't talk about. But all was to be revealed. Soon.

    James stops his bike outside of the building and kicks the stand down, shutting off the engine as he stands up and swings his left leg over the fuel tank and handlebars. For someone over a century old, he's still pretty limber. He looks up at the building, shakes his head for a moment, and then heads inside, looking over to Steve.

    "Not long now. When you hear it, you'll understand, I promise."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers is wearing a bomber jacket, jeans and an Army sweatshirt as he nods to Bucky.

"I have no problem being patient. Am I curious? Absolutely. Still, an excuse to hang out with an old friend isn't even needed. You've got something up your sleeve, though, that's for sure. I can always tell."

He follows behind easily enough, his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
There is a scream.

The kettle just can't take the heat anymore and the steam is high in its song. Leaving the papers be, Nick gets up, moving over to the stove to turn off the burner. Task completed he focuses now on pouring the hot water into the mug where a tea bag already rests inside.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    With half a smile, Bucky shakes his left hand, the mechanical one, proving that he does, indeed, have something up that sleeve. It's an old joke, but the old jokes are the best right now. As evidenced by the eternally hilarious "You can? And I thought my innocent boyish face was fooling you. That explains why you keep playing poker with me."

    Up the stairwell (Bucky in a lift? Not unless he has to), down the hall, and then there is a knocking without. Well, a knocking /with/ really, it's Bucky doing the knocking after all.

    "He knows we're coming, but there's a chance he doesn't know that you're... well, you. There might be a fan moment. I apologise in advance."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers snorts, "Boyish, I will reluctantly allow. Innocent? Not since you actually were a boy. And even then, there wasn't much of it," he grins.

The stairway, of course, is no obstacle, but Steve doesn't press too hard. Outracing Bucky might be mildly amusing, but Buck was the one who knew where they were going.

Neither of them are even breathing hard when they reach the 51st floor. "I'll try not to make him faint."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Tea having plenty of time to seep as the super soldiers use the stairs to get to the 51st floor. Nick has already relocated himself back to the table and is a few pages further into the packet.

Pale blue eyes glance up, looking to the door as the muffled sounds of talking are present. One of the perks of a dead quiet floor. Nick gives a final sip before setting the mug down and swiping the papers into the envelope. Clicking the pen closed before the knocking comes into play.

Getting up, the rockstar walks over, sliding the cover off the peep hole to glimpse outside before starting to unlock the door.

Click.

THUNK!

....Click.

The heavy door swings open, allowing for the newest resident of four freedoms to tilt his head up to look to the two men standing outside. Bucky is given a slight smile in greeting before he directs the expression towards the pre-announced plus one. Expression faltering as he looks to him. He blinks for a few moments, before looking back to Bucky curiously. What?

Nick shakes his head stepping back to allow the others in. "Sorry. Thrown off for a second. Come in."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    For a moment, Bucky gives Steve a look with both eyebrows raised, the quintessential 'Told you' look. And then he's back to remembering his manners, nodding as he steps inside. "Thank you."

    Through the door, he takes in the place with a few glances, establishing sight lines, places of cover and concealment and a myriad other details that come as second nature to a mind that's been at war for near enough a full century. He also detects the presence of tea, which is a pleasant surprise. "Mister Drago, this is my friend I told you about, Captain Rogers. I invited him to provide a second opinion and unique insight. Steve, Nick Drago. Nick, Steve Rogers." He motions from one to the other and then paces a bit further into the room, reaching into a jacket pocket for a note book. A notebook with a black moleskin cover, Nick might note.

    "You might want to sit down for this one."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers can tell he wasn't expected, "Pleasure to meet you," he says simply, offering his hand in a straightforward manner as the two men enter the room and let Nick close the door behind them.

He'll sit if there's an available chair, but isn't going to crowd Nick out of his own house if sitting is sparse. "I'm always braced for anything, Buck, you know that."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I think you may have skipped over the name part when you spoke of him." Nick replies back to Bucky during the introductions, giving a bit of a chuckle.

He looks over to the Avenger, taking the offered hand to give Steve's a shake. Its probably not the firmest but the roughness of the hands along the upper part of the palm is a different feel from normal. Whatever he does, he likely works with his hands more than any senator types Rogers may have run into in his life.

He waves over to the extra two seats at the kitchen table, the third seemingly reserved by an already poured cup of tea and a closed but full looking envelope. "Nice to meet you too. Just made some tea. Would you guys like any?"

He already stepping towards the cabinet before Bucky's warning registers. "...That bad?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Fraid so."

    Rather than sitting down, Bucky lounges against a wall near the table, he thinks better on his feet. Flipping the note book open, he finds the right details, reads them for a second to refresh his own memory, and then launches into it. "Quick recap for you Steve. A while ago, Nick started looking into something relating to his family. Entirely unrelated, Frank Castle started looking into something adjacent, and the two met. Now, normally that either goes very well or very bad, but in this case the Department of Homeland Security made a surprise visit, supposedly to arrest Frank. They brought enough firepower and explosives to essentially turn two adjacent condos into a single duplex, and incidentally one of the agents saw fit to shoot at Nick through a closed door, supposedly because he panicked. Angle of the shots was all wrong by my reckoning, so I suspected foul play."

    He nods over to Nick. "Nick here asked me to look into it... after I offered. You know I can't let things like this lie. So, I started with the official report."

    Bucky scratches the back of his head, and then looks over to Steve. "Everything up to the shooting is as you'd expect. Individual narratives, multiple points of view, all standard. And when the shooting starts, all the reports converge." A meaningful glance to his long time friend. "Word. Perfect."

    A glance then at Nick again, who might not understand the implication. "The chance of two people seeing the same exact thing when lead starts flying is exactly zero. For a whole team to report the exact same thing means they've collaborated on their reports. Normally I'd say that's pretty standard. Officially not condoned..." meaningful pause, in which he's sure Steve can recall at least several dozens of times they did just that "... but it happens when a team knows each other well. Also means they're covering for someone. In this case..." a glance over to his notes "... Agents Givans and Agents Evernham were covering for the fuck up of Agent Colby Schmirler, currently suspended from active duty, who claimed afterwards that he panicked."

    Another meaningful pause.

    "Former soldier. Panicked. In a firefight. Turns out Givans and Evernham went through the academy with Schmirler. Significantly, they live at the same address in New Jersey, so... I went to have a chat with Agent Schmirler."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers listens intently, steepling his fingers as his old friend talks and leaning back into his chair. "I'm just a man like anybody else," he says regarding his name.

"Does this Schmirler have any higher up connections? Judge for a father, nephew of a Senator, that sort of thing? Cover-up could be nothing more than them trying to protect an incompetent relative or friend, although that's hardly nothing and should certainly be investigated. I don't like attributing conspiracy where incompetence and old-fashioned nepotism can cover. But I'm still listening, don't let me interrupt. I'm do hope your 'chat' didn't contravene any of the Geneva conventions, at least?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well, one adjustment to that synopsis. I wasn't looking at all," Nick volunteers, "I have enough experience with the police to know most of them aren't going to lift a finger to help me with anything." Not really getting a yes or no to the tea question he just makes a couple extra mugs and brings them over. Handing one off to Bucky and seting one in front of Cap.

As te topic starts to drift further to newer information, the performer takes the soldier's advice and sits down. Hand using the closed envelope as a place to rest upon.

That the agents collaborated on their stories after the fact is not much of a surprise to Nick. He was there and based from the language being used by the Punisher within earshot well- Idiocy appeared to be a factor.

As Steve speaks, Nick looks over to him curiously before looking back to Bucky.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Geneva convention only applies to prisoners of war..." Bucky says in a monotone, which should explain exactly everything Steve might want to know about this 'chat'.

    "I had the same idea. Influential kid, more money and connections than brains, playing soldier, playing it safe, in his first actual firefight, fucks up, gets the team to cover for him while daddy or uncle buys the department a new wing somewhere in Baltimore or DC. Turns out though, our friend Schmirler is from more humble stock. Corporal Colby Schmirler, 3827103281, September 11, 2001." A raised eyebrow towards Steve at that one, the stock answer prisoners of war tend to give when interrogated. No more will be said about this for now, it's clear.

    "Duty jacket is clean, service record exemplary, several commendations, good fitness report, model soldier. I know a few Generals who would have been happy to have Corporal Schmirler. And I know you're going to ask, but no... totally clean, lives for his country. That's the tragic bit, really."

    When Bucky says it's tragic, you know it's bad. He flips the page.

    "Came to the end of his tour, all he had to do was sign up again and he'd have made Sergeant in the next promotion round. Guaranteed. But instead he was visited by an old friend of the family, one Alonso Stuck... and was persuaded to muster out and join DHS instead. Not the only one, I've found hundreds of cases just like him, but in those cases the deputy director of Operations isn't a family friend. And our friend Shmirler was assigned to Operation Groundbreaker."

    That's when he looks over to Nick again. Uh oh. "2025 to 2027."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers nods, "I'm fully aware of the legal niceties, just as I know you are. I think a guideline for decency is probably a good thing and should be followed even if it isn't required. I've never been of the Torquemada school of interrogation," he says firmly.

He listens carefully to Bucky's information, while keeping track of Nick's reactions as well, his expression placid and stoic. "So, DHS is doing some heavy recruiting from the military ranks. The kind of thing you when you'd be expecting to have to get in a lot more of these firefights," he purses his lips. "I suppose it's not quite mercenary, when it's a department of the government, but it has the feeling of when a lot of our men and women were being pulled in by private security contractors. Usually to no good end."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick looks blankly at Bucky at the mention of the Operation name. Head tilting reminiscent of his other form as he considers the look Bucky's giving. "Operation Groundbreaker?" He's assuming if it is meriting a mention there's probably more behind it. "...Is that what got them so pissed off?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Agent Schmirler wasn't harmed." Bucky reassures his friend. "But given his background, I did have to resort to persuasive methods. But he'd been expecting me, or someone like me, and had an ambush ready. No shots were fired, no blows were exchanged." Slow blink towards Steve, but Bucky seems sincere enough. "I wanted to help the kid."

    Another flip of the page. "And I'm with you, Steve. Soldiers in the army is a fine thing. But too many of them in any other organisation, especially loyal to just one man? That's trouble waiting to happen. In this case, Agent Schmirler was ordered, specifically, to eliminate Nick and make it look like an accident. By deputy director of Operations Alonso Stuck." He lets that sink in for a moment. "Official reason he was given was that he'd be eliminating one of the Punisher's sidekicks. I fully believe that he believed that, but I'm also certain that Stuck didn't."

    Finally, now, Bucky does sit and flips to the final page of his notes, looking directly at Nick. "Operation Groundbreaker was originally a DEA program. After the attack on the towers, it was co-opted by DHS. It... should have finished decades ago, but DHS has always found a reason to extend it. That left agents on the program stuck on it for much longer than first intended."

    Deep breath.

    "One of those agents was Savio Carmine Drago."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers gives a slight frown, "I agree, the boy was being duped. Although he should have had a few moral questions to ask about being asked to murder anyone, regardless of whether or not they're engaged in vigilante activity. That's not the way the system is supposed to work - even if I do sometimes understand the frustration with Frank Castle and his stupendously ill-conceived 'war on crime'."

He follows the gaze to Nick, "Relative of yours or is Nick just a...nickname?" he says, wincing a little at the pun.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick's brows rise at the mention of the orders. Even if the possibility had crossed his mind that the shots in the door may not have been accidental, it's much different to hear someone else's voice to not just confirm it but that it was planned in advance. He tilts his head down, bringing a hand up to his head to rub at his temples. "Nicholas is my middle name" He answers Steve, "...Savio would be my father."

He glances up, looking between the two, "So DHS was also-" He pauses, frowning, "Punisher said that he was too deep and too useful to be given an exit strategy. So he got him out."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    The tea has gone a bit cold by now, but that doesn't stop Bucky from drinking it. The note book is flipped shut and returns to his pocket while he leans back, cup of tea firmly held in his remaining flesh and blood hand. "There is literally nobody at DHS or DEA that's willing to tell me what Operation Groundbreaker is about. All I know for certain right now is that Agent Schmirler was removed from the program a year ago, after being shot in the shoulder."

    The information about Frank Castle just gets him to sigh, putting the cup back down. "So once again the Punisher infinitely complicates something with violent consequences. Entering the realm of pure speculation, I suspect they wanted to send a message to your father by killing you, Nick. Get him to come out from wherever he's hiding, so they can... deal with him. He has something they want, that much is for sure. Either that, or he's a dangerous loose end to someone."

    Reaching in the pocket again, he takes out the picture he took of Alonso Stuck in Schmirler's room, next to the still unidentified other man, holding it out to Nick. "Does anyone in this picture look familiar to you?"

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers shakes his head, "I hate this. I hate the complications and complexities of this kind of...hijacking of our national resources. It's always in the service to greed and ego and violence," he says. He pushes up, frustrated, running a hand back through his golden hair as he paces a bit.

"Sounds like we need to get your father under protection if possible, Nick, at least long enough for us to cut off the head of this snake. Speaking of which, some of this has a Hydra-style stink on it. Think any of the people involved in Groundbreaker might be moles?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the photo Bucky retrieved from Colby is shown to him, Nick looks to the men in the picture. Colby's not given a second look but as his glance goes to the older men, the frown he's been nursing deepens. "They do." He reaches a hand out, tapping the middle person, "I mean, make him younger and he'd look like this guy who was in the kitchen around the same time I was."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    When Steve mentions Hydra, Bucky gives him a long look. "Why..." he begins, slowly. "... why do you think I offered to investigate this in the first place? This had the stink of Hydra all over it. And I'm still trying to work out the angle." Which might be, quite frankly, frightening. If the Winter Soldier is still trying to work out the Hydra angle, it must go pretty deep indeed. Or high up, depending on how you look at it. "Worst case scenario, DHS is compromised from the Deputy Director on down. Don't have to tell you how that's going to work out if I'm right."

    Suddenly Nick has Bucky's full attention when he identifies one of the people in the picture. "Interesting. Possibly the father of the person you saw then? When was that again?" He's got a horrible suspicion, but he has to know.

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers gives Bucky a non-plussed look, "Believe it or not, Buck, I still think you have enough good in your heart that you might've just been interested in scoring one for the good guys. Which fighting Hydra is, too, of course. But you don't need an angle or an old score to settle in order to care."

Steve walks over and peeks at the picture himself, not commenting on it per se but committing the face to memory just in case. "How it will work out is that we will get the evidence to prove their culpability, bring them to justice and have them replaced by honorable people of equal or better qualification. Unless we lose. Which we won't."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick frowns, approximating the years by events. "That'd be from when mom died to when I joined Silver Round so... 2010 to 2018." He looks back to the photo for confirmation, "...yeah about 10 years ago would have been when I saw him last. When was this picture taken?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Ah crap. Yup... just as he feared. "This picture was taken not too long ago. Year or two ago, at most. So, we're talking about the same guy."

    Bucky flips the picture over to show Steve more clearly and sighs. "Alonso Stuck. Deputy Director of Operation, Department of Homeland Security. The man who put the hit on Nick."