14444/The Other Side of the Coin

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The Other Side of the Coin
Date of Scene: 17 June 2022
Location: Operations, The Triskelion
Synopsis: Natasha is waiting to hear back on an op. She has a sit down with Steve about her concerns.
Cast of Characters: Captain America, Black Widow (Romanoff)




Captain America has posed:
    Twelve past midnight, the witching minute and hour.
    It's thoughts like this that flit through Steve Rogers' mind when he's left to his own devices for too long. Which was another thought that drifted through his awareness as he grinned to himself and watched the big bank of monitors and the gigantic situation screen for SHIELD. He was blowing a soft breath over the steamy surface of his coffee as he held the mug in both hands, letting his eyes lift to wander over the display and take note as he could.
    There were fourteen operations ongoing, only one was set for tonight, all the rest were in progress and had met their check-in deadline. So right now the agency was focused on waiting and being ready to react. Which, for now, suited Steve Rogers fine.
    "Hey, Jensen. Would you mind scrolling back there?" Cap asked politely as he nodded to the area that the SHIELD tech had moused over, which had the man sliding the display back and then zooming in on a particular tag and data display.
    "What's the status on that?" He asks.
    To which Jensen replies, "Recon in progress, sir. Two operatives there, situation green so far."
    "Alright," Cap nods slowly, "Let me know if that changes?"
    "Yes, sir."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The door to ops opened and in walked Natasha Romanoff. A few heads turned her direction since she didn't tend to show up in Ops at all. And if she did, it wasn't usually at this time of night. But the people within were professionals and quickly went back to focusing on their tasks.

She was dressed in her SHIELD uniform, hair still cut short into almost a boyish style. She moved directly to a console, pushing a few buttons then frowning slightly. A shake of her head and she started to turn back out only to spot Steve there.

An adjustment of her steps changed her direction, moving toward Steve instead. "Surprised to see you here. Couldn't sleep either or you have duty tonight?"

Captain America has posed:
    Still standing near Jensen, Steve smiles a little and gives a nod to the side while gesturing with his mug. Just a small signal for her to walk with him as he takes his mug of coffee and moves over to one of the work areas where teams and coordinators run tactics for their operatives in the field. It's not in use now at the least, and lends only a marginal bit more privacy, but it's good enough.
    Once he's there with the holo table in front of him, he sets the coffee mug down on the side panel then he looks to her. "Had a call from an old friend and talked for a while, couldn't get back to sleep." He smiles a little wanly, then gestures to the map.
    "Quiet night, though. Which, to be fair, are the best kind." Unless there's something lurking in the wings during those quiet nights.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Automatically, Nat falls into step with him to move into the work area. She leans against the side of the table but doesn't sit. "They are. Means nothing is going wrong," she notes unnecessarily. He already knows that. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said it.

Her attention wanders off to the ops main room again and there is that momentary frown once again before she returns to neutral. "I'm waiting to hear back from an op. To be certain it went well. Though technically it's not SHIELD. It's Interpol. We loaned them a contractor." Steve was smart. He'd likely be able to figure out who she meant.

She gave him a tight smile. "I am not used to being on the waiting side."

Captain America has posed:
    At first he gives her a curious look, then it clicks a split second later as his eyes lift and his lips part in a silent 'ah'. Which has him nodding as he looks over the room, then he gestures with a slight nod toward the door asking if she wants to walk even further abroad since there it was still feasible they could be heard.
    Depending on how she responds he'll start in that direction. Still holding his mug but now in one hand, he waits until they are relatively clear before he murmurs, "Never easy for whomever has to go through it." He says with a slight smile but nods. "When did you last hear from them?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
At the unspoken question, Natasha nodded. Then the duo worked their way out of the Ops room and out into one of the empty hallways. They would be able to see if anyone approached from either direction long before they were in earshot. No promises there weren't cameras but it was about as best they could do in these circumstances.

"The good news is that the op went well. I don't have all the details but he called me after. Let me know that much." Then she made a little face, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head. "But they apparently had another op coming up. One he felt he should help with. So he agreed to do so and I am completely in the dark yet again. Technically, he is there as a SHIELD contractor so I presume we would hear if things went poorly. But I have no idea how long this one will take, all the details. I have nothing. And it is driving me a little crazy."

Captain America has posed:
    Some people might take delight in Natasha's discombobulation, to see her concerned for someone when she has so often been the cold killer unable to be moved. Or to see her put through this particular wringer. But Steve knows what it's like to do this to someone, and what it's like to feel how it is when you're waiting to get word on someone who is often facing danger... when you're not.
    "That's good news then, one solid op, a back up likely won't be as demanding." He says this from the times he's helped out other agencies, though in the world of espionage and counter-intel... there are no absolutes.
    "You want me to see what I can find out?" He asks, fully willing to pull what strings he can though he adds, "I don't have a lot of contacts at Interpol. Well. One. But I can see what she has to say."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Yes. No. Yes."

She laughs softly then runs a hand through her hair to brush it back from her forehead a bit. Natasha looks slightly embarassed. "It isn't proper for me to have you using your connections when my issue is completely personal. I know it is selfish. I am going through nothing more than anyone else who has a spouse in this sort of situation."

Then she looked down at the table they are next to, frowning again. Before looking at him as she speaks candidly. "But even though I know it's wrong, I would appreciate having more information. If you could get anything. I don't know what your friend may or may not know but thanks for offering to try."

Captain America has posed:
    "Alright," Steve says, as easy as that, no judgment, no look of disappointment. He understands what she's going through and in some ways... it may be her first time dealing with it. So he just agrees and moves on as he reaches into the pocket of his belt harness and produces his cellphone. He holds up a fingertip to her to stay her saying anything else for the moment. All while he quickly taps out a message and then sends it on its way with the security settings tweaked.
    Once that's done he puts the phone back in his pocket and meets her gaze. "It's not wrong. Just one of those things. And she might tell me nothing." He says that quietly, trying to mitigate her expectations.
    Then he pulls out a chair from one of the cubicles they're walking by and offers it to her should she wish to sit down. If she does he'll pull one out for himself as well and then settle in. "You know what I'm going to say." He tells her, a small smile on his lips.
    "Your boy is a good operative. He's well trained. Better than most. He can handle himself. He can endure almost anything. And if he needs us, we'll be there. Right?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She sits in the offered chair. A bit of a nod. "I know it's wrong. Doesn't change that I don't know how to deal with this. And we know that I'm a spy so a little bit of wrong is okay in our books," she adds with a little chuckle.

When he gives that assurance, she nods as her smile fades. "He is. He's skilled and smart. If things go sideways, SHIELD probably would be called in for recovery of their asset." She makes a little face, thinking about certain people in R&D who might be more worried about their equipment than the agent inside it. "If they didn't...I would go. No hesitation." Even if it got her booted out of SHIELD. She knew Steve would understand though.

Captain America has posed:
    "It's good to think these things through, and know what you would need to do." Steve says as he tries to talk to her reasonably. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves." He smiles a little, "Right now, condition is green. I know it's hard to wait. I hate waiting too."
    That said he leans over and checks one drawer in the desk next to him, then checks the other and chuckles a little as he pulls out from within its depths... a deck of cards, still wrapped in plastic. "Figures." He says then starts to unwrap it.
    "C'mon, a few hands while we wait. Alright?"