1380/84 Olympics, Part Deux!

84 Olympics, Part Deux!
Date of Scene:	09 July 2017
Location:	Los Angeles, California
Synopsis:	A terrorist plot at the '84 Olympics is foiled by an unlikely group of heroes -- Ares, Black Widow and the Winter Soldier
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Ares, Winter Soldier

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Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Los Angeles. 1984 Olympics.

    There is only so much planning to be done. The unlikely trio of heroes have gathered. There are a handful of other agents, varying skill levels, also spread through the grounds. It's a gigantic area, even though they know the attack is planned for the opening ceremonies. Those stands can hold thousands upon thousands of people. Even with the blueprints there were literally hundreds of locations where the bombs could be. If there were multiples.
    Too many variables. Too many possibilities. They are looking for a needle in a haystack. Although they are checking the areas that would cause the most damage first. They hae communications units so they can keep in touch.
    Natasha is dressed casually, an Olympics official t-shirt, jeans, her lightwaight leather jacket in black. Her gauntlets are hidden underneath the long sleeves as are other weapons.

Ares has posed:
    One of the other operatives, the Mr. John Aaron of no known address, is moving through the underground levels, his receiver at times crackling with interference when he checks in, but for the most part things are clear. Stark white walls with the occasional security guard are the only things he gets a gander at, save for the rare water fountain that he walks by.
    Today the incognito Olympian is wearing a red and white track suit with a large white ADIDAS logo and matching sneakers. Beyond that naught else, though he does at times touches a hand to the receiver in his ear and keys the sub-vocal mike, "Section 3L is clear."

Winter Soldier has posed:
This mission embodies the original purpose for which the Winter Soldier Project was initiated: an operative, stolen from the cradle of the West, raised to be able to seamlessly infiltrate his own mother country. The Winter Soldier doesn't know about the last bit, but he does know he's meant to blend in in America, and was trained specifically for that purpose.

Across the stands from Natasha, an average-looking young American man moves through the crowds, occasionally excusing himself through the crush of people with murmured apologies spoken in accentless English. He's embedded more deeply in the population-dense areas of the area due to his specialities, and he searches the faces around him for anyone who seems out of place.

He's armed with what can be hidden under light clothing. The rest of his arsenal is stashed strategically around the grounds, available near key locations where their usefulness would be maximized.

"Clear so far," he murmurs, seeing no one dodgy-looking for the time being, moving on to the next section.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    The wandering is slow and methodical but to anyone not trained, Natasha just seems to be a young woman enjoying the festivities. She even stops and buys a cap from one of the vendors hawking them, the front of the blue baseball cap decorated with a US flag. She tugs it down over her hair and continues on her way.
    Still nothing.
    own below, in the tunnels, there is a faint sound. Metal on metal. It's down the tunnel John is in but from an offshoot to the right. There is the muffled sound of voices following that sound but it is impossible to tell what is being said at this distance.
    Around the Winter Soldier, the crowds are boisterous and happy. The opening ceremonies will be starting in about thirty minutes and the crowd is growing more excited with every passing moment. As he moves, his trained eye might catch a small handful of men on the front row of seats in that section. They don't seem to be enjoying the party. All three are sitting quietly, not talking, eyes locked on the stands on the other side of the grounds.

Ares has posed:
    To the receiver the other operatives will hear John's voice, "Possibly something. Section 3M." But to them all they might hear is some static-filled piece of those words along with the rough crackle of feedback hissing on the airwaves. But that isn't his concern as he reaches the corner just before turning onto that hallway. His footsteps slow a touch and then he rests a hand upon the white tile that lines the way.
    A glance is stolen, and then he steps around the corner, starting to walk a little staggeringly, his stride stop-gap and slovenly as he grimaces and starts to make his way down the hallway looking like nothing more than a man who has had entirely too much vodka.
    "Soiuz nerushimyj respublik svobodnykh." He half murmurs and half sings even as he staggers along the way, swaying, bobbing, holding a hand to his brow as if trying to get his focus back.
    Louder, "Splotila naveki Velikaia Rus!"

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Got a couple people up here," the Winter Soldier reports, as he takes note of the three men. His blue eyes narrow slightly as he cuts efficiently through the crowds, circling in on them from behind. "Engaging."

But first-- he pauses long enough to line himself up with them and cast his gaze in the same direction as them. They're obviously staring at something in particular in those stands on the opposite side of the grounds, and he's going to try to see if he can see the same thing. Sharp eyes pick out the section number, at the least. "Natalia," he murmurs. "Section 12N. They can't take their eyes off it. You close?"

Once he's looked long enough, he saunters down the steps, and slides into a seat right behind the three men. "Disappointed it's not in Tehran?" he asks cheerfully in English, with the kind of overfriendly obnoxiousness only an American can muster up. "Don't be, it's hot as hell in Tehran this time of year."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "Closer than you are," comes the answer. Natasha changes directions, heading toward the one named by Yasha. Her gaze flicks over the crowd but there doesn't seem to be anything strange going on. Everyone is happy and normal. Which has her shifting her direction, heading for the stairs up and planning to come in on the underside to double check for anything suspicious there.
    In the tunnels with John Aaron, the voices raise a moment then go quiet as they hear his approach. When he comes upon them, they don't jump out as anything strange. Vendors. Six of them. Each of them carrying different items. One is carrying a metallic case used for holding hot dogs and all the fixin's for the hungry people in the stands. "You lost, mister?" one of them asks in a polite tone, the guy with the foam #1 fingers asks. Nothing really seems amiss except that there is no reason for them to be in this particular tunnel. It isn't anywhere near where the concessions are cycled out of.
    Near the Winter Soldier, the men go even more tense as they hear someone speaking to them. They turn quickly, glaring at him. "Go away." Not nearly so friendly as the ones John gets to deal with. Only his don't wait for a response, opting to vacate the area themselves instead. They rise, almost in unison, and move along the aisle away from him then start up the stairs on the opposite end of the row.

Ares has posed:
    Staggering, stumbling, the tall man with the broad shoulders seems to straighten up as he closes the distance with the others. He mumbles something roughly in Russian, low under his breath that might be a series of invectives. But then he gets a few feet from the nearest one and goes to put his hand on the fellow's shoulder even as he lifts his voice to hollar, "Da zdravstvuet sozdannyj volej narodov!"
    Then he follows that with a loud staggering laugh even as he starts to /cough/ heavily and then rather pointedly falls right over onto the metallic case and any of the other possible accoutrement that might be there.
    It ends with him reeling, reaching out to try and steady himself from the ground even as he grimaces and looks around wide-eyed as if wondering where he was, then even giving voice to that question in a thick Russian accent.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Closer than you are. Natasha's quip gentles the sober line of Yasha's mouth. "Get going, Natochka," he replies, almost indulgent, even offering a brief word of luck: "Udachi."

He turns away to his own targets. Keeping half an ear on whatever might be happening with Mister Aaron down in the lower levels, he sits himself down for a round of very unwanted conversation with the three man. Who promptly tell him, basically, to fuck off. Yasha frowns, taking note of any accents they might have, the expression eloquent with his many layers of disapproval. "No accounting for taste," he mumbles.

He gives the place where they were sitting a once-over, searching for anything left behind, before he turns to tail the men at a distance towards wherever they might be moving next.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Natasha disappears from the stands, working her way down to ground level then easily slipping underneath the stands themselves. She begins to walk, glancing at the supports as she passes. Then she spots a large mettalic box attached to one of the pillars near the top. "I've got a suspicious box here. Going up for a closer look." She fires her line into the support above the box, retracting it to pull her upwards so she can examine it.
    As John falls, the men step backwards. Most people would step forward, offering a hand up, joking around. These men do nothing of the sort. The one with the metal box tries to yank it out of range and in doing so, the lid pops open. Within there are no hotdogs. Instead, a series of wires and what looks like a plastic explosive. The lid is slammed closed as one of the men reaches into his jacket, cursing that they've been found out.
    Bucky is very good at tracking without being seen. The trio of suspicious men head down the stairs then into the mens room. A few moments later and a handful of men come out, making disgruntled noises or openly cursing the men who just ran them out of the bathroom. Should Bucky enter, he will find those three waiting for him. Three more are with them.
    Six on one. Not the greatest odds for the six. Neither those in the underground nor the restroom.

Ares has posed:
    Just long enough to speak into the sub dermal microphone, John's voice comes across it saying simply, "13M, positive identification." Even as he rises up to a knee as one of those men makes the reach for whatever is about to be pulled from his jacket. It's just long enough for the tall man to affect a bleary-eyed look as he reaches out.
    "What?" He asks as if trying to figure out what possible reason those men might have to hurt him.
    Of course that's the moment that he closes the distance to grab the man by the chest, fingers digging in for whatever the man had been reaching for and getting a grab to roughly spin the man to the side bodily and /throw/ him into two of the other strangers. There's a heavy series of oofs and grunts as they all collide together. It's enough to draw the eyes of the men to the side at the sudden madness of the world where one person can manhandle another so easily.
    Enough of a distraction that John is able to bring up the pistol he liquidated from the other man's grasp, braces it and then cracks off three head shots in a row as he holds the pistol only partially extended. Then he steps forwards, bringing the weapon around and down to send two rounds into each of the fallen, save one.
    That man gets the glare from the God of War as he growls, "You have two seconds to convince me not to kill you."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Acknowledged," Yasha replies Natasha as she goes in to inspect the odd box. He's got his own hands full shadowing the three men as they head down the stairs and towards the men's room.

A moment later, a gaggle of other men emerge, disgruntled. The Winter Soldier sighs, because he knows where this is going, and more to the point, where HE is going. Why is it always a bathroom?

He leaves his guns holstered-- too noisy-- and heads in. The door swings shut behind him. There is the muffled sound of bones breaking, metal impacting on flesh, a strangled choking, and then the sound of water running, the incessant pour of it drowning out a man's last gasping attempts for air. The Winter Soldier is efficient enough to work without significant damage to the stalls, the tile walls, the sinks. Not even the one he used to drown the last of the men.

Positive identification, Aaron says over the mic, into the silence, midway through Yasha's methodical search of the men and the bathroom for anything amiss.

"Solid copy," is the reply, and if there is nothing to find, he will turn instantly towards Aaron's location.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Natasha looks over the box very carefully, not touching it yet. She hooks the line around her to support her weight, sitting in the loop. The box is looked over slowly until she is sure there are no triggers on the outside. Then she carefully runs her fingers over the top and sides, looking for a seam that might show how to open it.
    The men go down hard and fast. There is really no chance for them to fight back after that initial attack by John Aaron. The last man stares into the muzzle of the gun, not seemingly afraid. He smiles. He flicks his gaze to John and he begins speaking in Russian. "I was already a dead man when I took this job. You're all dead." But there is something odd about his accent. Russian is not his first language, despite him trying to act like it is. There is a distinct oddity to it, making it sound more American. Which was the plan they had uncovered, Americans pretending to be Russians.
    Winter Soldier probably didn't even work up a sweat in there. Hopefully no one needs to use that bathroom anytime soon. No one moves to block his path as he heads for their ally in the tunnels.

Ares has posed:
    The tall man's eyes narrow as he takes the fallen man's measure. He buys his life with that accent at least, but it's clear he's not going to get cooperation quick enough to suit the situation. So the man earns himself a pistol whip across the side of his jaw that rudely and abruptly robs the man of his consciousness with a /crack/.
    He then rises, sliding the pistol into his track suit and then turning to that box of explosives as well as the other accoutrements that are left behind after the quick skirmish. Frowning he steps to stand there by them and then lifts a hand to the receiver in his ear, "Device present. Beyond my ken." As he considers the electronics and the wiring, not exactly his bailiwick to _stop_ bombs from going off.

Winter Soldier has posed:
The Winter Soldier shakes the blood off his metal hand as he goes. The glove goes back on, no one the wiser.

He passes through the crowds effortlessly, a Soviet ghost masquerading at normalcy, becoming in appearance and demeanor just another American man hurrying to his seat for the opening ceremonies. Except when he comes to a crossroads, he makes a right when he should make a left, trailing John Aaron's path down into the underground passages honeycombed beneath the grounds.

His pace increases when Aaron reports the device is beyond his knowledge.

"I'll have a look," he answers shortly, as he approaches Aaron's position. "If they're who I think they are, they're probably still buying from that Lithuanian bastard Andris." Even if not, he's set up and disarmed enough bombs in his time. "Natalia? See anything. There may be more."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Finding the catch, Natasha manages to open the box. Then she stares at the contents. It's not like any bomb she has seen. There is a container of fluids with a plastic partition down the center of the container. It keeps the two fluids from touching each other. There is a timer counting down. Ten minutes. 'Positive. I have a device. I just have no idea what it is." She checks the back, finding she can detach it from the pillar. "Ten minutes and counting. I'm going to try to get it off the grounds." But she is going to have to be careful not to jostle it too much.
    The plastic explosives in the metal box are also wired with a timer. At the time Natasha mentions, it matches that one. With that much C4, they could blow up half the stands. Add in whatever is in the other bomb, that would be the other half. They just hadn't gotten to place the C4 before they were intercepted. The trigger device on it is not very complicated and Yasha should be able to disarm it.

Ares has posed:
    On the comm frequency they'll hear John's voice. "There is no time to delay on this one," He touches a hand to his receiver even as he takes up the metal box. "Disarm the other, I will do what I must with this other." At that he pulls the receiver from his ear and takes up the metal box in both hands. He grimaces and makes a mental note to take up his study of such things in the future. But for now there is naught to it. He breaks into a run down the hallway, heading directly towards the far wall down the hall.
    Perhaps there's a moment where the Winter Soldier will see the man rush past in his track suit, hurtling across the way as he barrels along. There's a moment when he lowers his shoulder and /crashes/ through the wall that blocks this part of the stands and the stadium from the parking lot itself.
    There is the crackle of shattered rock and cement as he breaks through that wall, darting out into the open for now as he rushes.
    There's a moment he skids to a halt, searching their surroundings as he looks for something to help mitigate the blast. A curved set of jersey barriers near the parking lot will have to do. He makes a /leap/ through the air and then lands, even as the device begins to beep faintly. He sets it down, covers it with his body against those barriers...

Winter Soldier has posed:
Ten minutes. Yasha lets out a string of curses in Russian. That's not nearly enough time, especially if it is a device of a make Natasha does not recognize. He starts to say something...

And Aaron decides on what to do.

The Winter Soldier arrives just in time to watch as John Aaron blitzes past and THROUGH a cement wall, taking the entire thing out. It's an extraordinary enough sight that he actually stops and turns, mission briefly forgotten, as the god in disguise fairly leaps away and settles against a line of barriers, covering the bomb with his own body.

It detonates. But definitely not with the kind of blast wave that it should.

Yasha lingers only a moment longer, confused enough to try to see exactly what happened, before-- regardless of the sight that greets him-- he is forced to turn to try to reach Natasha with the other bomb. Needs of the many over the few. "Keep trying to get it off the grounds," he says over the mic. "I'll intercept you." And with luck they can figure out how to keep the thing from going off.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "I'll be coming out the east side, near section 14C," Natasha says. She has the box closed again but there really is no way to conceal it. She just has to carry it. She doesn't dare move too fast, afraid the liquids will slosh and she knows the two meeting will set it off. So she is walking, at a rapid pace, working her way through the crowd and trying not to get jostled too much.
    It seems to take forever but three minutes pass before she comes out into the parking lot on that side. She keeps walking, knowing Yasha will intercept. She has no idea of what has happened with John.
    In the parking lot, at least the crowds are thinner, everyone rushing to be inside for the ceremonies. Soon, they will likely be the only ones out here.

Ares has posed:
    And after the explosion the smoke clears, chunks of concrete are still crackling and pieces falling from the sky. That median with the jersey barriers is demolished, the shape of the structure causing the explosion to blast back and forth upon itself. The damage overall is not too terrible, though the report and the smoke is assuredly enough to bring emergency vehicles in that direction.
    But there is no gore. No blood nor intestinal detritus. The body is there, John Aaron's tall form laid out as if he had been struck by a car and it had driven off, but his chest is dark and blackened, the flesh crackled with a wisp of smoke wending upwards from his prone form.
    For now he lies unmoving.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Yasha meets Natasha at a run out in the parking lot. Though he would prefer to be sprinting at the full speed he can achieve, it'd draw far too much attention, so he's confined to something reasonable for a man of his apparent build. "Here," he says, urgently guiding the box down to the ground for some stability. "Let's see what this is about..." With deft hands, he starts in-- the two of them together should not have difficulty working it out.

He cannot afford to think of John Aaron at the moment, but he knows from the last glimpse he saw of the man that it's very likely the only thing the Winter Soldier and Black Widow will have to worry about is extracting the man(?) before emergency vehicles, police, and security descend upon that location.

Normal men do not absorb a bomb blast directly to the chest and remain intact on the ground. Assuredly he is something extraordinary.