Difference between revisions of "13828/Digging Up The Past : Friend or Foe"

From United Heroes MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Bucky comes by to get an idea to what Wade is like and a get second opinion on Nick)
 
 
Line 5: Line 5:
|Cast of Characters=9039,229
|Cast of Characters=9039,229
|pretty=yes
|pretty=yes
|Tinyplot=Digging Up The Past
}}
}}
{{Poses
{{Poses

Latest revision as of 04:36, 23 October 2021

Digging Up The Past : Friend or Foe
Date of Scene: 03 September 2021
Location: Wade Shaw's Condo, Claridge's, Midtown Manhattan
Synopsis: Bucky comes by to get an idea to what Wade is like and a get second opinion on Nick
Cast of Characters: Phantasm (Drago), Winter Soldier
Tinyplot: Digging Up The Past


Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Wade Shaw's condo is rather quiet tonight. It's not for the lack of someone inside. Wade is in but he is at his desk. The laptop is on and he is staring blankly to the screen displaying the initial draft to an email.

The blonde man sighs, leaning back in his chair. It's quiet. Too quiet. Again.

Shaking his head he gets up from his chair, giving an aside glance to a loft bed that sits in what is now the living area.

It's been almost a year since that botched raid happened. The condo itself is different looking than before. With the added space of the neighboring condo, there has been the addition of a bedroom area. Instead of his loft bed, it has been traded for an actual bed and is shut away in there.

After the chaos, Nick moved out but left a bunch of his stuff. And it remains, snug up against a privacy wall that blocks it from view of the doorway and the kitchen. Still within view of the general living area but, not much different than before.

But the KEY thing that makes the condo different is that of the two doors that could lead into the hallway, Wade kept the one furthest from the lobby entrance and closer to the emergency exit. Bullets DO tell a story...

Padding over to the kitchen area, which now resides to the right of the doorway, Wade heads over to the fridge.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    The hallway briefly echoes to the sound of boots, a heavy tread that is as precise as a metronome. It's not quite an ominous sound, but it has the odd harmonic that it very well could be, if only whoever was hearing it had reason to fear it. The tread of a mercenary... the precise step of the soldier.

    It's been nearly a year since Bucky had been in the building last, but that had lead to such a complex operation that it almost seems as if the very building is a spawning ground for unpleasant revelations. He even has to stop for a moment and backtrack, because the door he was looking for is no longer there.

    Soon, there is a knocking without...

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The sounds of the footsteps do nothing to the owner of the condo. People walk up and down the hallways. And, while the steps nearing the door was odd being his was the last door in the hallway, there was always the possibility someone wanted to try the stairs instead of the elevator. Not much thought is paid to it until the knock occurs.

Standing up, Wade closes the fridge door without grabbing his drink and walks over to the door. Taking a moment to move the cover from the peephole, he looks out. He frowns, not recognizing the guy. "Who is it?!"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    This is, almost, a social visit. Nearly. Practically. So Bucky is actually in relatively decent civilian clothes, with not a hint of martial purpose about him. Of course he has a concealed carry on him, but the jacket is covering that up nicely. All in all he looks like a relatively clean cut and decent man... who just happens to smile directly at the peep hole as if he knows he's being watched.

    "I'm a friend of Nick's. Would like to have a quick talk, if you don't mind?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Wade considers the man on the other side of the door. He doesn't know the guy but... he did mention Nick. And, considering some of Nick's other friends, this one seems somewhat normal. There's the sound of locks undoing, one less than what is typical for the Shaw residence. The reason for that becomes apparent as the door opens partially, the chain acting as Wade's primary defense of the man of similar height. The foot pressed against the door, another defense.

The blonde's eyes look straight over to Bucky's, seemigly making another judgement, "How do you know Nick?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "I was looking into a matter for him." Bucky replies, cryptically, a quick glance determining that if he really wanted to be inside, he'd have little trouble. But also that Wade is cautious, and that's a good sign. "It relates to the incident at your studio a short while ago."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
A brow lifts at the mention of the studio incident being possibly linked to his rather absentee friend. So he does what any sensible friend does in his situation would do.

The door slams shut in Bucky's face.

...

Wade mutters a curse before undoing the chain to grant the soldier access. "...Come in." The condo owner responds, gesturing to where the new kitchen is. "Drinks in fridge, Freezer's off limits."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Hmm. There is a moment where Bucky considers knocking again, before he hears the rattling of the chain, and then all he can do is sigh softly and shake his head.

    Nearly passed that test there, Wade.

    But, being the good guest, Bucky enters when invited (a good thing he's not a vampire) and does indeed amble to the fridge. He's mentally overlaying the spread of the bullet impacts he'd seen a year ago over the remodeled condo, even calculating where that grouping through the door was as he's opening the fridge to help himself to a bottle of water. "He's doing fine. Going a bit stir crazy, but fine. Went to see his father a little while ago, think there's an opportunity for a reconciliation there. But they're both about as stubborn as each other, so who know?"

    With a grin, Bucky screws the cap off the sealed bottle and faces Wade. "Your condo was bugged, by the way, six ways from Sunday. Our techs discovered and removed the last camera this afternoon."

    ... okay... who the hell is this man?

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
With the movement of the door to where the new addition's door is, there's no direct VISIBLE path from the doorway of the Lobby in to the condo. The bathroom Nick hid in is no more. Pretty much anything that got hit with bullets or an explosion is no longer in the condo. But the side of the bathroom that made for that blind corner in the old condo remains, serving as the privacy wall that hides away Nick's loft bed. The belongings, carefully placed underneath. It's no longer in a corner as there's an entrance way to either side of the bed but at least it's not within direct eyesight of the entranceway. The door to the bedroom is not too far from where the loftbed rests either, although it looks that the bedroom only takes up a third of the windows, giving the living area the lions share of the potential sunlight. The old kitchen is home to the dining area, and the old kitchen layout is flipped to be in the far corner. Without a bathroom in the way, there's an opening in the wall to allow for light to filter into the prep area and to provide more eating space with bar extension. Although judging from the fridge contents, there is nothing to actually stock a bar in here.

A bolt on the door slides into place, locking the pair inside the condo. Wade lingers near the door, looking to Bucky curiously. Despite his allowance of Bucky inside the property, his posture is a bit tense. That is until he mentions Nick being ok. The shoulders relax a bit, listening to the detail being given. Talk of the father and then.. talk of bugs. And all this is related to the studio attack?

There is a flood of questions coming to mind and it's getting very hard to find a voice for them all. So, best start with the key things. "You know where Nick is?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "I do. He's been a guest at one of my places for a while. Safest place to be." Leaning against the counter, Bucky strives for 'reassuring but cryptic'. He might not suspect Wade of being a HYDRA plant, but operational security is sacred, and he's not going to tell anyone where Nick is. Mostly because doing that would involved telling people where his safehouse is, and burning down the whole building would take some time. "Cut him some slack for not reaching out, I specifically told him not to use his phone. He's been the target of an organisation that recruits people with ... unique abilities, Mister Shaw. And the person who tried to murder you in your studio was doing so on their orders. They slipped through our net. Sorry about that."

    "Would you prefer to sit, Mister Shaw?" the Winter Soldier asks while motioning towards the sofa, taking charge of the interview.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Considering the nature this conversation is taking and everything I'm having to sort through, I'd rather stand." Wade replies, matter of factly to the suggestion, "But if you'd like to sit, by all means." An arm gestures towards the gap between the wall and the kitchen counter, leading into the living area that contains the sofa.

He waits for Bucky to make his way over before strolling in himself, watching the man.

He's quiet for a few moments, frown set in place before he glances down briefly, muttering another curse, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is a lot of stuff to process."

Taking a deep breath, he glances back up, looking back to Bucky. "Ok. Three questions off the bat. Is he able to leave when he wants? Is he staying there by himself? And who the fuck are you?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "In reverse order, Agent James Barnes, yes, and no." Brief pause. "Except for grocery shopping, I'm not a monster." Bucky, despite the invitation, does not sit. Sitting is the great leveler. Sitting is also the great 'getting your head bashed in' precursor, and so his preferred position is to lean on the furniture rather than sit on it. "Call me James, if you want, I'm not a stickler for protocol."

    Another sip of the bottle of water. "Because you're going to wonder and I don't see why telling you is a problem, the person who came at you with a knife used to belong to a group led by Dennis Moretti. He was the son of the man who murdered Nick's mother. All his other associates have been rounded up, including several who were sent to ransack the office of Nick's psychiatrist and then kill him. More attempts were made on the lives of others, but none of them went anywhere mostly because of our intervention. All of them occurred because they were tied to Nick in some way. We had no intelligence that anyone would be coming for you, or that man wouldn't have made it through the door."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Wade gives a bit of a grimace to the second and third answers, shaking his head. But the mention of the shopping does cause for him to stop. "I can see why he'd be going stir crazy."

As Bucky leans against the sofa, Wade compromises by leaning against the wall. The mention of Dennis's name gets James a blink in response as his eyes start to focus intently on Bucky's lips. He gives a slow nod, "So, Is there a specific reason for the targeting beyond knowing Nick or just, anyone who gives a shit about him in general? Because, he's a known name. People are probably going to notice if something happens to him."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "I have reason to believe you already know why people might be targeting him, aside from fame, Mister Shaw." Time for a shot across the bow. And to actually broach the topic he's hoping to discuss. But Bucky's taking this slow, like lining up the perfect shot a mile and a half out. And like that perfect headshot, he's pretty sure he's only going to get one chance at this.

    "In the time you've known him, have you noticed anything odd about Mister Drago?" Pause. "And before you answer that, let me tell you that I've personally seen him hunt vampires."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Wade pauses, eyes widening to the comment. His mouth parts for a moment before he closes it. The question and statement afterwards ends up opening the mouth again, mouthing a bit of disbelief. "HE WHAT?!"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Hmmm. Nobody is /that/ good of an actor, surely? But what does Bucky really know about Wade Shaw? Only what Nick had told him, and what he could find in public records, so there was still the off chance that this man was not all he seemed. But still...

    That's some top class acting. That's Romanoff level of acting.

    Different tack.

    "I take it this is news to you, Mister Shaw?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"That fucking idiot." Wade mutters, shaking his head, "Just because you played one in a-" He pauses, looking back over to Bucky with a bit more of a critical eye. "Agent...Barnes, you said?" He queries, "...Just what group are you from?"

Ok he's a bit late but he's at least asking now...

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "He's surprisingly good at it. Mean man with a drum stick." Yeah, he has to mention that. Because he had to explain the presence of drum sticks in an engine in the after action report, and some things require at least some payback.

    After looking Wade over one last time, Bucky sits, finally, roughly near where he was invited to. And having done that, he retrieves a small camera from his pocket, wrapped in a translucent evidence bag, placing it on the coffee table. "I work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Engineering and Logistical Division." Pause. "I've heard all the jokes."

    A casual motion to the camera. "The electricians that were all over the building earlier today were ours. We had reason to suspect the building still had bugs from the time the Department of Homeland Security made an unannounced visit, and agents of a foreign power might have used the reconstruction of your condo as an opportunity to add more. We found this one just by your desk, Mister Shaw."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The long name gets a long pause as Wade digests it. "SHIE-ALD?" He gives a bit of a grimace. What a poorly designed name. Wade blinks, eyes following the bag that Bucky pulls out, tossing it onto the coffee table. The coffee table that's on the other side of the friggen room. He approaches, moving to the side of the sofa furthest from Bucky as he glances to the bag on the table.

He glances over to the desk that Bucky mentions, looking to the laptop that is situated near it. Shoulders slumping "F-"

Ignoring Bucky for a moment he heads over to the laptop, waking up the screen.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Bucky gives it a few seconds. Honestly, it must come as a shock to finally find out someone has been watching you for weeks or months without your knowledge. Of course, he always assumes he's being watched at all times, but he's dealing with a civilian. Never really got the hang of that. "Just SHIELD, the A sits in head office."

    He does have a sense of humor when he's fairly certain Fury isn't around to hear it.

    "There is an organisation that spies on and recruits people with certain skills. To the best of my knowledge, they've been spying on Nick for a long time, certainly since the moment his mother was murdered. I have no solid evidence to prove they are behind that murder themselves, but all signs point in that direction. I recently managed to interrogate one of their agents working on converting Nick to their side, and that agent made a comment that has me extremely concerned."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The programs that are currently open clear from view, instead being replaced by a folder window. A few drop down menus later and the icons jump around before switching to a detail view. It appears that Wade is cursing again but it is a silent one as the lips bite out the general form but the air that helps produce the sound is lacking.

But the bad news is getting worse isn't it? Window minimizing, Wade warily turns his head to look to Bucky as even more information is poured out, painting some serious Spy games type of stuff. He shakes his head holding up a finger. "Ok. This is too ridiculous to be true. The only abilities Nick has is a goddamn gift for the arts, money management, business skills, the ability to hold his own in a bar fight, and attracting a LOT of weird people to him."

Don't ask.

"None of that really applied before he got the fuck out of the Kitchen so WHAT skills are you talking about?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "It's probably best if he tells you that himself. It's my fault for assuming he already had, after the incident which drew your attention to the BPRD." There. It's a card Bucky didn't want to play unless necessary, but it seems this interview is not going well. And he's not even glancing at the computer screen, there's nothing on there that could possibly interest him. Probably. And if there is, it's a good chance he doesn't need to be as crude as to look over the man's shoulder, not when he knows the world's greatest hacker and the world's greatest spy and infiltrator.

    "To summarise a very long story, Mister Shaw, Nick's father was valuable to them, although he didn't know it, and believed to be working for a legitimate cause. Their intention was to use Nick as leverage over his father, and I suspect they controlled his environment with an eye to eventual recruitment. These people are not above recruiting teenagers, Mister Shaw, or far, far worse..." Bucky's face takes on a dark expression for a moment, until he manages to shake himself back to the present and plaster that friendly smile back on his face.

    "Mister Drago ... is a man of surprising talents. Again, I think he best tell you of them himself. But my concern is not his skills, or his talents, but his mentality. You know him best, it's fair to say he owes a great deal of the man he is today to your influence."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Bucky steps around answering his question, Wade's eyes narrow, body turning fully so he's facing James directly. The brows lift at the mention of the BPRD. A glance shifting down to a side drawer of the desk. "...How'd yo-"

He pauses, shaking his head as he takes a deep breath. Leaning back against the desk. Arms folding across his chest as he quietly listens.

"That's probably more praise than I'm desrving." He says, finally breaking his silence. Eyes looking towards the sofa, The studio owner steps forward, moving sitting down on the far end of the sofa, "Rod was his best friend. Jack was mine."

He sits down on the sofa, giving a sigh. "Hmm. Metality. Well. To start. Nick HATES being told to stay in one place for long periods of time. And Oh God. The amount of times he ditched that BPRD agent assigned to watch him until he finally got the guy to wear street clothes. That was aggravating."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Reminds me of some people I know." Bucky allows with a smile, striving hard not to appear too stern or too intimidating. "Believe it or not, we met each other in an arts supply store. I sketch a bit, he helped me pick out the right sketch pad." Appear human, don't aggravate, be friendly, seek mutual ground. There was an art to this, an art James has had to learn.

    "Rod and Jack... Silver Round, correct? As for ditching his agent, I actually provided a bit of backstage security for Nick during his New Year gig. I'm a man of few friends, Mister Shaw, my work doesn't permit me many, but I count Nick in that very select group."

    Fractional pause. Serious glance.

    "So when I ask you this, I want you to know that I'm asking this out of concern, and an abundance of caution. Do you think Nick Drago has the mentality to become a murderer?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Well, he does go through a lot of sketchpads, so it's not that hard to believe." Wade admits, giving a small smile, welcoming the detour from the unpleasantness for a little bit. And little it is indeed. The band name ends up killing the smile as he gives a nod. "Yeah. Rod was a percusionist as well... worked with Nick a lot."

The next question catches him off guard however, "-I'm sorry... what?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "It is the only concern I have left, Mister Shaw. I've seen Nick prevail through great odds, I've seen him consistently make the right decision in difficult circumstances, and I've seen him take the righteous path when the low road was offered. He's helped me more than once, with things I was fairly sure nobody could help me with." And that's as far as Bucky seems to be willing to be drawn on that subject.

    "Over the time I've known him, I've made sure his name has been kept out of reports, and I consider him a friend so my own determination is biased. What I do next, how I handle this situation next, is determined only by one factor... is Nick Drago capable of being a murderer? Because I can't keep his name out of reports anymore, and solving this problem he's involved in will require my agency to take fairly drastic steps, so SHIELD will become aware of Nick. They will ask me questions I can already answer, except for that one."

    "I need your honest opinion."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Wade blinks as the question starts the register. Eyes narrow, "No- I mean he'll beat the everloving shit out of someone if he's backed into a corner or someone's going after a bandmate. But, unless there's good reason, he tries to stay out of things physically. He pauses, glancing to the table, "I can't speak for what he was like before meeting us. I know he started with therapy back then. I know about the nightmares. The cycle of medicine. The teas. But never once did that thought come to mind."

He pauses, "He's more a stubborn asshole."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "If we locked people up for being stubborn assholes, there'd be no space left in prison." And there's that smile again. The Barnes smile, dredged up from nigh on a century ago, as Bucky has the answer he needs. After the cabin incident, he had to know.

    "I'm sorry you had to find out about a few things from me, Mister Shaw, rather than Nick. But this couldn't wait." A further smile and a glance around the condo. "I don't usually make house calls."

    At least, none that could be mentioned in polite company. And usually for very different reasons.

    "I should warn you, Mister Shaw, that the organisation I spoke of tends to be tenacious. But you can rest assured that we found every bug, and we'll keep an eye on the building for a while to make sure nobody gets the bright idea of installing new ones. And that organisation might be tenacious, they tend to shy away when I'm onto them. We have... history. It's fairly good odds that they'll never show up around here again. If you have any concerns..."

    And at that, Bucky hands over a blank business card, with two phone numbers; one on the front, and one on the back. "... feel free to call that number, ask for James Barnes. The other number is Nick's current phone number. I'm guessing you'd like to talk to him at some point soon."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Seeing the card being held out, Wade leans forward to take the offered card, upon the mention of the second number, he immediately flips it over to look to it. "Thank you." He frowns, "He's probably not going to like the shows being cancelled but-" He sighs, looking over to the laptop. What can be done? Tenacious murdery organization and what not.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    With a smile, Bucky stands up, holding out his hand. "Thank you for your time, Mister Shaw. And hopefully, in a few days, things can return to normal. We just have to mop up what's left of this group of people, and then you and Nick can breathe easy again."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Seeing Bucky get up, Wade moves to his feet as well, sliding the card into his pocket before reaching over to shake the hand. "Thank you for letting me know what's going on." He looks over to the desk again, "If you can get turnaround time that quickly, that'd be very much appreciated. Nick's probably climbing the walls about now." He shakes his head, "He'd probably rather be on the bus with Five Times Novel."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Like a good house guest, Bucky moves to the door without prompting but doesn't open it, leaving that to his host, as sudden and strange as his visit probably was. "It'll go very quickly from this point on. Things will be back to normal in no time... even if, possibly, you may end up with a, shall we say, suspiciously multi skilled bus driver."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Like a good host, Wade follows Bucky to see him out. And to set all the locks back in place once that butt has crossed the threshold. Desite all the times Wade has had Bucky repeat himself in the coversations, the last comment gets a half smile. Subtle hint it is not. "Well, make sure the suspiciously multi skilled bus driver has the proper license to drive said bus and we'll talk."

He undoes the one lock and sets his hand on the handle, pausing for a moment. "When I call the second number- Is there a limit to how long the phone calls have to be?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Mister Shaw... if anyone is listening in on that phone, I'll eat my hat." Bucky is, of course, not wearing one. "Talk as long as you want. Make any arrangement you'd like. In a few days, Nick can go wherever he wants. I promise you that." And, of course, a wink.

    "And I can promise that the driver won't insist on wearing a suit."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
To the assurance, Wade gives a small smile. "Thanks...James."

The suit comment gets rewarded with a bit of a chuckle as he opens the door, allowing for the Agent to make his way out. And upon Bucky's departure...

Click!

Rattle!

Thunk!

Thunk!

...

Klunk.