13358/Digging Up The Past: Salutations, Savio!

Digging Up The Past: Salutations, Savio!
Date of Scene:	23 May 2021
Location:	Cape Coral, Florida - Jax's Diner
Synopsis:	Bucky temps for Door Dash. Really That's it. ^________^ He also visits Nick's father.
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Winter Soldier
Tinyplot:	Digging Up The Past

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Cape Coral, Florida

Designated as one of the most affordable places to live in Florida, it is no wonder that the recently burned New York based agent got sent to live here. Several hours away from the Miami office, he's got plenty of time to determine if he's being followed from there on the days he gets called in for a consult.

As for routine, Savio does what he can NOT to be agonizingly predictable. But, there's only so many places one can go to that don't premptively scream, 'might run into someone you once knew'. And that's perhaps how he ended up at the Jax diner.

While not fully, there are some retro elements to the diner. Black and white square tile on the floor. Green Metal and vinyl chairs gathered around metal banded green tables. The wood banded lightshades on the overhead lights, the lack of a jukebox, and the lack of counter seating provides sufficient contrast to avoid fully achieving the title of 'Retro' Diner. It's more of a time capsule that got opened up every so often to put more shit in.

No longer having to maintain character and having sufficient reason to distance himself from it, Savio's appearance is different from his time in New York. No longer slicked back, the hair, while still orderly, has a bit more movement to it. Being indoors, the sunglasses rest upon the head. To add to it, there is no fancy high end suit. Reflecting the general income his new home dictates, he's in khakis and an untucked, loose fitting polo. Before him is a simple breakfast. Eggs, bacon, toast. Plus a cup of black coffee.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Bucky walks into the diner with his hair pulled through the back of a red DC flat bill cap and tied into a bun. He's wearing sunglasses and a Hodges Hawks hoodie along with jeans and a pair of red and black riding gloves. He's clean shaven and damned if he doesn't look the part of a Hodges University grad student. It's not as if he's aged much in the past seventy or so years. He can still be as fresh faced as the day he enlisted if he tries. He's also carrying a DoorDash bag.
    "Pick up for Rodgers," he announces when he reaches the counter.
    "Yessir, sorry that'll be a few. We ran out of sauerkraut for the Reuben last night, manager had to go get some. Kinda early for Reubens."
    ...how much did he slip the cashier to go with that cover?
    Bucky offers a 'no worries' salute and takes a moment to look around the diner. "I'll just... sit over there," he offers in an uncharacteristically 'ungruff' voice.
    ... over there just happens to be at the table next to Savio. "Hey man, you got the time?" he asks the former New Yorker. He feigns dropping his keys (keys to an old model Camry, by the way) on the floor and when he bends to pick them up, he takes the opportunity to use Savio's table to push himself back up. A small piece of paper is left behind when his hand leaves the table. If unfolded, it reads, "I'm a friend, can you speak freely here?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Savio's glance shifts over to the door as a new figure goes through it, assessing the attire of proclaimed dasher. The order being described does get a bit of a brow raise. But... The stomach wants what the stomach wants. A glance is given to the man has he approaches. Looking to him as he drops his keys. Eyes glance to his discount store watch. "11 am." He replies. His head lingers in that position as the sheet is set before him. Cold eyes drift up, studying Bucky. "Here is all you get."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Didn't I have you for intro to Native American Studies a few years ago?" Bucky asks before taking a seat at Savio's table. "Professor Snodgrass, right?" He's obviously WRONG, but the case of mistaken identity is a good enough reason for him to take a seat at the man's table. "I loved your class, man," he offers before lowering his voice to a level that would be difficult to overhear via any sort of listening devices over the din of the diner. "I'm a friend of Nick's," he lowers his sunglasses just enough so that he might be recognizable in the moment and pushes them back up again. "Do you know who I am?" It's 50/50 really. He presses on before an answer is given.
    "What can you tell me about Groundbreaker? I'm not looking for crap that can be found in any official capacity." A beat and he's STILL pressing on. "If you don't have answers, maybe you know who to point me at? They don't gotta be friendlies." Straight to the point isn't he? "... I need someone that can tell me all about Stuck and why he stinks in regards to it."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Eyes stay trained on Bucky as he sits himself down next to the older? younger? Ok. Older LOOKING agent. The portions about the college class are dismissed but upon the mentioning of the nickname, the jaw clenches.

"No I do not." Savio answers Bucky regarding the other man's identity, voice dripping down to a low growl, "Not much. Try someone in his group." He leans closer. "We don't exactly get along with them. Bare minimum is all you'd get coming to me."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "He may never admit it, but your son... he wants to get to know his father," Bucky comments quietly, but casually as if he's talking about the weather. "I believe it was Stuck that put a price on your kid's head, man. So if there's anything, anything at all that you could be telling me that you aren't? Well, I'm gonna be pissed. I don't like to get pissed." His tone isn't threatening, his demeanor isn't threatening. Quite the contrary, he's about as open and friendly as James Barnes ever gets. "I like the kid and I wanna keep him safe." A beat, one two, three... "...and I'd like him to be safe enough to actually meet his dad one day." One beat, two beats, three again. "...a name, just one good, solid name so I'm not forced to go busting heads down the ranks of Stuck's people." One beat, two beats, three again. Seems his go to for letting shit sink in before he's talking again, too quickly for his conversational partner to get a thought together. "...or a lead, a place, an incident, anything... any little tiny thing that I can grow into something bigger on Groundbreaker."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"...He did- what?"

The growl is gone, betraying the faintest hint of surprise to his tone. Savio leans back in his chair, bringing a hand up, he absentmindedly wipes at his mouth with the watch clad arm. He studies Bucky a bit more.

Giving a sigh Savio leans back closer. "I'm going to be repeating myself but overall that group is nothing but bullshit. They cut corners. If there's a shortcut they'll find it." He gives a general gesture to himself for emphasis, "The less work they have to do, the better. I imagine my departure was not...convenient. But. Doing that would not do a damn thing for them. And I know for certain Nils is doing everything he can to get his trigger happy golden boy removed. It's a mess for him how things turned out so doing that on purpose is unimaginable. Why would he?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Usually if there's corners being cut, someone is profiting from the money saved," Bucky says, almost more to himself than to Savio. "Money's always a good motive for attempted murder," still more to himself. If they were being watched or listened to anything of the sort, he's pretty sure someone would have shut their talk down by now, so he risks taking off his sunglasses. "Colby though, he bleeds red white and blue from what I could find out. Like Captain America squeaky clean...." He taps his fingers on the table, one..two..three..four, over and over again rhythmically, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky. "He said your kid was damage control, a loose end and said he was working with the Punisher. I feel like someone fed him a bullshit mission."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
At the reuse of his own terminology there's small rush of air from Savio's nostrils he shakes his head. "Michael wouldn't. He's too much like his mother." A finger taps on the table in thought. "A survivor, yes. Protective, maybe. A hunter, no. Do you have Gol-" He pauses. "-Colby on record saying that and who gave it to him? "

He considers what was said before. "It's been months since the incident and nothing else has cropped up for Michael so if you're right, they haven't tried again. Stuck... he's one of the old ones. High up now. If he is doing what you're hinting-. Well, you better have everything in order before you move. Kneejerk reactions are their specialty. Spook them too early and they're liable to go stomping on everything they can."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Bucky stares off at some picture on the wall for a moment. See the gears in his head turning? Is that smoke coming out of his ears. It's not BuckyStare levels of intense, that expression, but it still has an intensity all its own. "Yeah, but... I can't say it wasn't under duress. He named Stuck," his voice is distant like he's afraid of losing the train of thought he's trying to catch. "...it coulda come from higher up than Stuck though." He pauses and spends a few moments chewing on the inside of his cheek. He's still tapping his fingers too. "Did you know Stuck was hanging in Hell's Kitchen right around the time your son went to live with his aunt?" Your son, not Nick, your kid, your son... he's keeping the relationship and the potential loss if things go bad again right out in the front of it all, isn't he?

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Savio frowns, "...So not usable at all." He sighs, "Fine...dot the 'i's, cross the 't's and damn well make sure he doesn't tip off Stuck that he talked to you until he's good to actually go on record and you're certain you have everyone accounted for."

The mention of Stuck being in the kitchen does get another blink. "No... He was placed in -" Savio pauses, shaking his head "There was a large bust back then.. He must've cycled out and got reassigned to handler after that. New role. Different state. Only one I interact with is my own. He could have been there for the Bel-"

The older looking man's expression darkens. "...do you know the year he showed up?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Now Savio gets the full weight of BuckyStare. For a long, long few moments he doesn't speak. He just sits and stares, his brow all furrowed. He's even stopped that finger tapping. He leans forward suddenly and rests his elbows on the table. There's a little 'clank tink' caused by the left elbow hitting against the tabletop. "Yeah, right around the time your wife died, according to your son," he murmurs, expression softening just a little bit before he frowns.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"June 3rd, 2010." Savio murmurs, "Should have been a happy day." His eyes drift over to the arm making the clinking noise. "He'd have gone over after that. "

He shakes his head, "Timing's off." Savio shakes his head, "Atlanta bust was '09. If he was reassigned to follow up on that Goddamn directive then he'd been there in '09. But, I don't remember placing anyone new from that area for them around then."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Yeah, it was 2009," Bucky admits. "I was focused more on what your son said rather than the reports. But he was definitely still there in 2010." He leans back again, but keeps his left hand on the table. It was his right before, taptapataping fingers, now it's his left with the little metallic sound with each tap. "What Goddamned directive?" he asks. "Walk me through it like I'm stupid."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I'm probably the last person to ask how long an assignment ends on the average. But even I know it's more than a year." Savio replies, considering the hand. "About '05 there was a trafficker going by the name of Belmonte. Gaining traction but heavily tainted product. Amount of deaths caused by him got him bumped to a priority task. Shut down the business. So. We did over time. Lost a lot of ground. Didn't take kindly to that."

A lip twitches, "Eileen and Michael were moved out of the city when the directive started. But he'd put out a hit and -Well. Shooter cut a deal. Stopped a plot targeting a school. Uncovered a cell. Next five years was cleaning the rest of that group.

He glances to his coffee mug, which is likely cooling down quicker than he'd like "May the both of them rot in hell."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Tainted with what, how? Cut with drano? Laced with fentanyl? Did anyone ever say?" Bucky's back to chewing at the inside of his cheek. He doesn't stop until he actually begins to taste his own blood a little. There's something there, something niggling at him this... "...and you're sure Belmonte was only trafficking drugs?" ...seems like more than just cartels and drug busts. The list of people he'd like to talk to is growing, but talking with some of them might draw unwanted attention.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Unimportant detail." Savio replies back, "It was killing people at a quicker rate. But people just can't help themselves with discount prices." There's a bit of a bitter sarcasm tainted in the observation as he looks to Bucky. "Terrorist cell." He clarifies lowly, "He was helping them. Bombing plot."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Is there a reason you can't see your son?" Bucky asks bluntly, turning the conversation around a complete 360. "...or do you just not want to?" COLD. He leans forward again, elbows on the table and those intense blue eyes focused on Savio. He doesn't even give the man a chance to answer before, "There's more going on here than what you know, there has to be. Like you said, why would Stuck create this fucking mess for himself for... misappropriated funds? Maybe?" He shakes his head. "Nah, that doesn't make any sense. It also doesn't make sense that Colby would lie about who gave the order. So, either someone's pulling Stuck's strings or he's in deep and you or your kid have something, know something... that can hurt him, even if you don't know you know. I'm gonna talk to Nils, see if he can give me that name. One name, someone close to Stuck that's coward enough to talk if their balls are squeezed tightly enough."
    He bangs his left fist against the tabletop before stretching out the gloved fingers. "I used to be called the Winter Soldier," Bucky all but whispers to Savio. "....there's only one thing me and him really have in common. Neither of us ever abandon a mission before it's over." So... he's seeing whatever this is through to the end.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Brows raise at the question before they lower, setting into an icy glare to match with the cold one being shot his way.

"Of course I want to see him." Savio seethes, "But I can't go near a lot of places without running the risk of getting recognized. I've made that mistake once. I don't intend to do it again." He brings an arm back, rubing the back of his head, "Was actually thinking of getting a ticket to one of the smaller concerts if the Florida dates ever get announced and venue seemed alright." He admits.

He shakes his head, lowering his arm. "Stuck's handler is probably higher up than him now. Maybe too high. Got a name for whoever Stuck was handling then?" Looking to Bucky curiously, "...Colby wasn't until much later."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Don't just think about it..." But Bucky leaves that alone. "I'll find the name." He seems pretty confident. "Stuck wasn't Colby's handler," he corrects. "Not from what I've read." He settles back again and asks, "If Stuck's hands are dirty, you think there's any chance Clayton's aren't and he doesn't know about it?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Depends on how ambitious Stuck is." Savio admits, "I don't know. Nils had more interaction with the handlers. But if Clayton's involved that's even worse. Director of Operations."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Bucky rattles off a phone number and then rattles it off again, one more time. "Remember it, I'll say it again..." one more time. "It's a burner. If you remember anything, if anything happens call it. I have places you can go." Places, vague that. "They're not on any government radar." He pushes himself to his feet. "I'm going to talk to Nils, see what I can dig up off the record about Stuck and Clayton. Find out who Stuck was handling. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this fucking mess, you can jot that down as a promise." He calls over his shoulder, "I'll take that order for Rodgers to go now," before looking back to Savio. "Anything you want me to tell your son when I get home?"
    The cashier and two of the kitchen help actually leave the building... Odd. They're all replaced by faces that might look more familiar to Jax regulars. Did Bucky have his own 'people' in here? Seems maybe, it's not like he doesn't have a lot of 'off the record' connections willing to do him a solid or two, for a price, even if he doesn't have more friends than he can count on one hand.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Savio considers the offer to relay a message back and gives a nod. "Tell him... I'm sorry. And I'm proud of him." He gives a slight smile, giving a slight chuckle, "And Be you."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Take it from someone that hasn't had family in ... a really long time, it's never too late to find them again." Bucky certainly wishes, every single day, that it was possible for him to find his again. Every. Single. Day. On that, he turns and makes his leave. By the time he exits the building, he's wearing his sunglasses again and looks like nothing more than a grad student earning a buck running DoorDash orders in his old model Camry.