1428/Just In Case

Just In Case
Date of Scene:	12 July 2017
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	Natasha meets with Ares to share some information
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Ares

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Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Natasha sent out word to John Aaron to meet her. It's a familiar location, a bar they spent time in together recently. The Irish Pub theme is rampant but despite that, it's comfortable and there are booths toward the back allowing for privacy. A few additional scans were made before she took the seat. The please is clean. No monitoring devices. There hadn't been the last time either but she wasn't a trusting person. There was also a small box in her pocket, sending out a pulse wave that jammed listening devices or even telepathy. SHIELD really had some great toys.
    She arrived an hour before the appointed time. The first half hour was a sweep of the area. No hostiles were found. The last half hour she's been sitting. The two glasses with nothing but melting ice in them mark the ten-minute intervals. She is sipping clear liquid from the third, ice tinkling slightly from the movement before she puts it back on the scarred tabletop.
    Her mind is on the past. A place she shouldn't linger. Yet that history keeps coming into the present, rearing its head like the beast for which the group is named. It's personal which makes it more dangerous.

Ares has posed:
    The very image of the past, a memory that has spanned decades, steps through the door to that pub. At this time of the day the number of patrons are few, just a handful scattered about of people more interested in their company or their privacy, with little room in between. There's a television up on the wall that's offering the news of the evening, a talking head speaking silently with his words captioned beneath him. On the other side of the wall is a KENO monitor displaying the latest winning numbers. All told there's little of remark about the place, though in this moment of time it has just the two people inside it worthy of regard.
    That tall man steps past the bar, giving a nod and lifting his hand slightly in greeting to the tender, is steady stride enough of a signal to his intent to walk on past and to the booths in the back. His step is calm and even, and his pace without too much hurry. But then he espies the redheaded woman and shifts his approach towards he.
    Sliding into the seat opposite her, he gauges her body language, tilts his head slightly. Something ill passes, that is assured. But he only offers a word of greeting. "Natalia."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "John," she replies in a friendly tone. "Thank you for coming." Her body language is slightly tense, not something most would pick up on other than those who know her well. The fact she has three glasses in front of her, another indication since she generally doesn't allow herself to imbibe so much unless the location is completely secure. Here, there are too many variables for her to get lost in her cups. In her defense, it takes a lot more than three to get her truly impaired but it is still a dangerous choice.
    She's making a lot of those lately.
    "I hope Alexander is doing well. Is he back from camp yet?" Small talk. From Natasha. Something is definitely wrong. She waves over the server, a woman with too much makeup and a too short skirt. She will get John's order, as well as an order for another vodka for the redhead. Then she'll head off to the bar, taking a few moments.

Ares has posed:
    A rough and calloused hand reaches across the table to lightly slide one of the glasses towards himself. He quirks an eyebrow as he considers the melting ice therein, then looks back towards her. "Of course," He offers in response, as if he had no option in the matter. He leans forwards on the table, resting his weight partially on his elbows as he looks to her.
    For a time he watches her, then he shakes his head at her question. "He'll be back in August, though there is a play soon he's going to be in. I believe he's going to be Cyrano." Which causes him to knit his brow slightly in mild confusion.
    But then he brushes past the niceties as his gaze meets her. "What has passed, Natalia?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    This is why she brought him here so why is she hesitant to tell him. She'd told him of her last meeting with Yasha. Her suspicions and concerns. This is a whole different matter. This time, the odds are even worse and there is a chance she won't be coming back from it.
    "You remember Yasha." A statement. She pauses, looking toward the bar as the server comes back with the two drinks. They are placed before each of them then the server wanders off to continue her duties. Natasha picks up her half empty glass and quickly finishes it off, setting the empty with the other two. Then she pulls the full one over to a spot directly in front of her.
    "He seemed to be breaking his programming. I went to speak to one of his allies only to learn he has been reacquired by Hydra." She pauses, green gaze flicking to her glass then back up to him. "If he was reprogrammed, he's back to being the Winter Soldier again. Back to doing what they order him to do. I...I'm not working with SHIELD on this because I know what they would do to him. He's been caged and used enough. We're going to save him."

Ares has posed:
    A hand comes up as if to stay her, his eyes holding hers as he weathers her words, but once she's done speaking he looks to her and asks one simple question, "Do you require my aid?" And he looks at her steadily as if awaiting her words but then perhaps brushes past them as he tells her with that simple no nonsense tone, "Then that is all you need to say."
    Fishing one of the ice cubes from the drink he tosses it into his mouth to crunch for a time, then setting the glass down with a short clink.
    He lifts his chin almost regally as he turns his head slightly to consider Natasha, "Yet are matters so dire that you feel something is beyond the pale of this task set before you?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    It couldn't hurt to have the assistance of a god.
    He has a son, a life. He is trying to avoid the onus of what he was in the past. She cannot, in good conscience, ask him to put that all aside. The group they are fighting have technologies and powers on their side that are unknown. They might even be enough to take out the God of War. She doesn't know. She won't risk his life or that of his son.
    "I don't want your assistance but thank you," she says carefully, lifting her gaze up, green eyes locking with his. "The plan is to bring him back alive, to try and break the programming. The group involved are not to the level of Yasha. They can take on the grunts that Hydra will have around, but Yasha will be mine. To draw them out, we are setting a trap. Hydra had sent the Winter Soldier to try and convince me to join their cause a while back. I declined." She twirls her glass absently a moment, the liquid swirling the ice cubes around in a circular motion. "I am going to send word to Hydra I'm willing to go to their side. I know they will send the Winter Soldier to bring me in."
    She doesn't have to say more. He will understand the danger. He has seen their target in action. Hopefully, he will understand that this is her way of telling someone what happened if she doesn't come back. Or if she is captured by the enemy, potentially to be reprogrammed herself if they have a way to do so. The technology exists or they wouldn't have kept Yasha for so long.

Ares has posed:
    At her negative answer he lifts his head slightly, taken aback. But then he listens to her further words. An agent going into deep cover, putting themselves into the enemy's hands to such a degree, it requires many protections taken before hand, and he asks the pointed question of, "How many individuals know you are embarking on this plan? SHIELD? Any of the Avengers?"
    He shifts his weight to the other side of the booth, frowning markedly as the wooden seat complains creakily from his weight. He pushes back from the table slightly. "It sounds as if you are not reasonably confident of your chances. Why pursue this so, Natalia?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Why? That is the question. Natasha leans forward, her elbows on the table. One hand continues to swirl the drink. The other arm she folds in front of her, fingers half curled against the surface of the table. "I am not the least bit confident. We are likely to be outmanned and outgunned. The people I am going in with are skilled but they aren't the same as we are." We including John, Yasha and herself. She frowns a little as she considers the answer to that why.
    "For much of my life, I believed what I'd been told and served Mother Russia with pride until someone showed me another way. Hawkeye, my partner in SHIELD and the Avengers, my best friend in the world. He helped me realize that I had a choice. Free will existed." She sighs, taking a small sip of the vodka. "Yasha has not had that chance. He has not been allowed to choose. If he served by choice, I wouldn't care. But he hasn't been allowed to make that decision himself. I feel I owe him that much. I've been free for years. It's his turn."
    She focuses on his face again and he can see the honesty there, the need to do this. But there is something more. "I haven't brought in any of SHIELD or the Avengers. No one knows other Deadpool and yourself. I had hoped to speak to Captain America but he has been unavailable. Turns out that Yasha had another name at one time. James Bucky Barnes, of the Invaders, friend of Cap."

Ares has posed:
    Still John watches her, his brow furrowed with a mild mix of consternation and concern. And as she speaks he holds his words for now, merely listening as she explains her sentiment and the reasons for taking this course of action. There is little approval in him, for despite what he pretends to be he is ever the God of War, and he can perceive when a plan is perhaps ill-fated or a fool's errand. Not that that would stop him or have him looking down on such... but this flawed plan doesn't even have the likelihood of a glorious heroic end upon a mountain of corpses.
    Without the mountain of corpses then it's just a big no.
    But he looks away from her then, shaking his head slightly as his consideration falls on the bartender, even as he tries to make the pieces of this situation work. He taps a finger on the tabletop then looks back. "I know your way is not my way, Natalia. But if I was in a similar situation, and these individuals had an ally of mine who had their will subverted... I would not seek to immediately free them and break the conditioning at first. For truly that is a path fraught with danger."
    Turning back to her, "I would place them in a situation where they would wish to return my ally to me with their damage undone. Make it a decision for them to make."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    I don't see a way to do that," Natashe says with a shrug. "They have had him for longer than I've been alive basically. I don't see them being willing to turn him over to us for anything." She frowns as she considers his words. How could they convince Hydra to turn over one of their greatest assets. "Hydra never stops. Every time we think they are eradicated, they come back. Cut off one head, two more grow back in its place." She takes another sip of her vodka, watching him over the rim.
    "How would you suggest making that type of group turn him over?"

Ares has posed:
    "Mmm, if they value him so highly then..." A nod is given as she explains her position on the matter. But then he lowers his head slightly as he gives the matter some thought. "It would also depend on how highly I valued the captive." He leans back in his seat taking a deep breath and frowning. "If they had my son... and I knew not where he was?"
    The tall man's expression changes as he looks towards the door. One hand lifts to push over the short stubbly hair of the man, then he looks back to her. "An organization such is that would also have numberless enemies. Many. I would seek intel from them, all those who had been wronged by Hydra. I would take their information to gather a list of targets, and once done I would destroy every target utterly. I would make sure not one soul was left alive, not one rock left standing atop another. I would move down this list, of places, names, assets, and make it so that they would view having dared to take such an action against me as the worst mistake that they have ever made in this world or the next."
    For a moment he stops speaking, looking at her steadily, and it's rather clear... he would do it.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Natasha can't stop herself from laughing softly. "At one time, I would've followed that advice without hesitation. It is what I was trained to do. But now," she shakes her head a little, setting the glass down on the table surface. "I'm an Avenger. An agent of SHIELD. I cannot just go out on a killing spree anymore." He can almost hear a hint of regret in her tone that she can't. That she is now on the side of the heroes thus mass homicide is out. Even if they are the villains.
    Her recent battle with the Winter Soldier, the thrill of the battle, the ease of the kill. It's there under the surface, so very close. That tightrope strung over the pit that is waiting to devour her. If the winds blow too hard in any direction, she will fall. It's terrifying...and thrilling.
    She takes a large swallow of her vodka.

Ares has posed:
    "Well, if you're going to tie my hands like that," John looks back across the table at her, "Then perhaps your best option is this deep cover operation. But still, Natalia." He leans back in his chair, folding his arms over his broad chest. "But I would be more comfortable with this operation if you created more of a safety net for yourself. Told others of your comrades."
    He grimaces and shakes his head, "I believe you should tell your Avengers friends, for it is doubtful any of them would leak to another agency deliberately and have less of a chance even accidentally." But then he takes a long deep breath, reaching for one of her abandoned glasses again and fishing out an ice cube. "But be careful you do not lose of yourself in this pursuit." He crinkles his nose and then murmurs, "If you do, however, make them regret they had ever heard of you, Natalia."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    She considers his words for a moment then nods. "I will consider it. But I'm not telling them unless I talk to Cap first. He deserves to hear it before the rest of the team. Bucky was his friend once. He may want to be involved but I will not let Bucky be put back in a cage. Although, he won't be Bucky unless the programming can be broken again. There are more holes in this plan than a sieve," she mutters, eying her glass and the level of liquid inside. To order another one or not. Four is more than enough yet she is finding the smooth heat of it going down her throat comforting, like a fireplace on a cold night.
    Her gaze flicks up and that which he has sensed in her, that which he had believed would have made her a wonderful agent of chaos at one time, it's just there beneath the veneer of civility. "If it comes down to it, they will regret having a hand in my creation."

Ares has posed:
    For a time there is nothing further said between them, just their eyes meeting and holding that steady gaze. His breathing is deep, measured, and then slowly he shakes his head slightly. Her course of action is ill-advised, her chances for success are slim. But there are worse ways to die than in the service to one they would consider friend.
    He grunts and places his hands upon the tabletop, pushing himself upwards. "If you survive this, Natalia." He squints and leans forwards, "I am going to kick your ass if only to make you value your life more than you do." That having been said he waves a hand to the side as he starts to move away from the table. He lifts his voice and calls to the bartender, "She drinks on me for tonight."
    The bartender nods.