1565/Log

Log
Date of Scene:	19 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Black Widow (Romanoff), Ares

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Melinda May has posed:
It's been three days. That's two days longer than Winchester the younger usually takes to check in with WAND. The kid's got a routine, and when he broke it May took notice. She gave him two extra days in case he was doing something that required radio silence. But even then, he usually notifies before going silent. This time he didn't.

Having sent a very subtle request to Natasha to talk (inviting her to dinner at a 50's style American diner is subtle, right?), May waits for the redhead in a booth close to the restaurant's restored Wurlitzer jukebox. The music should very nicely deter anyone trying to overhear their conversation. That, and the small scrambler device she has stashed in one pocket.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    The black Challenger pulls up in the parking lot outside, the growl of the engine cut off once it's in a parking space. Natasha is driving because she's a control freak and she doesn't trust anyone else behind the wheel when she's in a vehicle. She's the same way with the hovercraft. Probably why she and May don't work together very ofter. There might be a fight over who's driving.
    Stepping out, she walks toward the back of the vehicle then waits for her passenger to join before they will head inside. Admittedly, she probably shouldn't have brought him to this meeting but he already knows some of the situation with the Winter Soldier. He may end up helping with that particular problem in the near future. Thus, she isn't alone.

Ares has posed:
    "You are fortunate that Alexander is still beholden to four more further weeks at the Camp of Summer," The tall man stands as he steps out of that car, rising to his full height, and rising. He rests a hand on the roof of it and looks across the way at the redheaded woman as he considers their surroundings, and then pointedly looks unimpressed. He steps forwards to follow after her, falling into stride at her side.
    A pause as he considers the restaurant further and scritches his chin. "My price for participating in this matter has increased by one chocolate shake." He nods solemnly as he moves with her and when they reach the door he'll open it and hold it. Gentleman.

Melinda May has posed:
May watches the pair enter, her only visible reaction to Mr. Aaron's presence being a single, briefly raised eyebrow. She waits until they're seated, activating the jammer device but leaving it in her pocket.

"Nat. Mr. Aaron." She then turns just enough to reach to the Wurlitzer and press a button, triggering it to start playing music that fits perfectly with the diner's decor. With the music covering their voices, she gets straight to business. "Nat, I haven't heard from Sam Winchester in a few days. It's not like him." But she's NOT worried. Honest.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Natasha slips into the booth across from May, automatically shifting all the way over toward the wall to allow John to sit beside her if he would like. She leans back in the seat, then waits for the explanation of the meeting. No beating around the bush. May gets right to the point.
    Natasha tenses slightly at the revelation, a frown appearing on her face. The second ally she knows of to go missing. A third was barely saved form the same fate. "If he is missing, I'm sure I know who is behind it," she says softly, left arm resting on the table, her right hand down by her side. "The Winter Soldier. Under the control of Hydra." She flicks her gaze to Ares, then back to May. "Sam was assisting a group who are trying to reobtain Winter Soldier from Hydra. He is the second one to go missing from the group. A third kidnapping was attempted but that ally managed to escape somehow."

Ares has posed:
    Settling into the booth, the structure creaks a bit at the large man's weight. He rests his hands upon the table, fingers interlaced before him as he cocks an eyebrow sidelong towards the servers, the people. His brow knits and he looks back towards Natasha and Melinda. A small grunt is given as he acknowledges the details of the situation. "Sam Winchester. Kidnapped." Proof he is paying attention.
    He looks towards Natasha as she speaks on the details, then he looks back towards May.

Melinda May has posed:
May would cuss, if that were something she did out loud on a regular basis. Which, it isn't. She also seems completely unsurprised. Though why Hydra would target Winchester she's now trying to figure out. Maybe his unusually extensive knowledge of occult and supernatural matters? That seems unlike modern Hydra.

"Then we need to track down the Winter Solder and find out where he's taken both people. Who was the third that managed to escape?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "Easier said than done," Natasha murmurs unnecessarily. They both know what a ghost the Winter Soldier is, having operated for almost a century without being any closer to being caught. "Her name is Mercy Thompson. She's a mechanic in Harlem." She considers for a second then explains more fully. "The Winter Soldier is a victim in all this. I know, I didn't believe it until I saw with my own eyes. He's a man who is being controlled and brainwashed by Hydra to do their bidding, under the guise of serving Russia. He was breaking free from his programming, with the help of allies. Claire Temple. Mercy Thompson. The Winchesters. When he was taken back and wiped by Hydra, he apparently has given up the names of all his allies to them. I had been working with them. We had a plan to try and trap the Winter Soldier and get him back. Now Sam and Claire are both missing."

Ares has posed:
    "A mechanic in Harlem?" For some reason those catch Ares' attention as he looks sidelong towards Natalia. But he looks across towards May as he murmurs, "Recently I had been given word to beware standing against such an individual. If our efforts would take us into conflict with that person then I would be unable to bring them to battle."
    He sits back in his chair and frowns marginally. "But assuredly that says naught against speaking with them to gain information." He then reaches out and gains the attention of a passing waitress. He clears his throat and says simply, "Chocolate shake, please." Then it's back to the cloak and dagger.

Melinda May has posed:
May address the waitress as well. "I'll take a chocolate malt." Then, yes, back to business.

"All the more reason to track the Soldier down. Get him /and/ both abducted people back." Nat probably knows, though, that May's idea of apprehending someone can be a bit ... damaging physically. Not flat out lethal, though. "So you know this mechanic, Aaron?" That'll make going to talk to her easier. Hopefully. Unless the guy's managed to hack the woman off.

Ares has posed:
    "I do not know her at all." He answers truthfully without an ounce of dissembling, and seems to be content to let that part of the conversation die there. He leans back in his seat, the booth complaining from the displacement of weight as he turns his head to the side. "If the Soldier is being held against his true will, and we must gain these others, then that is what we shall do."
    He looks to Nat, then back to May. "I am not the best suited to gaining information. But when we strike the location, then bring me to the fore."

Melinda May has posed:
May looks at Aaron for a considering moment, then nods. "That can be arranged." She honestly appreciates his offer to be the bruiser when push comes to shove in this whole mess. Because really, she knows her limitations, and she can NOT stand up against the Winter Soldier by herself, not even on her best day, some fifteen or twenty years ago.

"I'll be sure to keep in touch with you then, Aaron. Do you have a phone number or email address?" She remembers how much acclimating Rogers had to do.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "There is something else you should know," Natasha says, knowing she is taking a chance here by sharing this knowledge. "First, this is not a SHIELD op. I want them out of it. They will take him in, lock him up and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't disect him or something equally stupid. Second, I've already brought a couple of others into this situation who will also be there when the time comes, if at all possible. Wolverine and Captain America. They both have a personal interest in the Winter Soldier." And this is where things get complicated. "Because the Winter Soldier is also James "Bucky" Barnes, from the Invaders, who fought with them back in the day."

Ares has posed:
    "Widow handles such things for me." He gestures to her absently as regards to contact information, dismissive of the details of such matters. He instead is busy for the moment looking after where the waitress went and is now observing her making the aforementioned shakes. But then he looks back and splays his hands, "I have only known the Soldier while he was in this supposedly alternate persona, how do we know that at this point with such time having passed it is not his persona for true?"

Melinda May has posed:
James Barnes. That explains SO much to May in that one name. And from what she saw of the Soldier's fighting capabilities in that embassy, they're going to need Cap and Wolverine and Aaron all at the same time to catch the assassin and keep him down.

When Aaron says that Nat handles contact information for him in so dismissive a manner, May can't help but hear it as his implying that she's his secretary or something. While she only outwardly narrows her eyes at the large man, Nat will likely recognize her figuratively bristling like an outraged feline.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "He's technologically challenged," Natasha offers by way of explanation. She knows he didn't mean it the way it sounded, otherwise she'd be the first one to hurt him for it. "I know how to reach him though." Work, home, all the places she might locate him. Maybe that one pub they both like should be on the list too.
    She glances over at John, shaking her head. "I saw him when he was in down mode. He isn't the Yasha I knew. I did not know Bucky Barnes so I can't say if he is still Barnes or just some amalgam of them both. I just know that he was forced to become what he is. That's why I want him to be freed, so he can make a choice for himself as to what he is going to be. Villain, hero, or simply live his life. We all deserve that choice."

Ares has posed:
    "I will trust to your judgement," John says as he looks back towards the two of them, each in turn. But then they're momentarily interrupted by the waitress returning with their chosen shakes. He leans back from the table to give her enough room to place his before him, then the one in front of Melinda as well.
    He gives a nod to her and says, "You enjoy my thanks," That having been said he pulls the wrapper end off the straw and twists it up into a small ball, then sets it down before him. He leans forwards and takes a sip of the shake, nodding his approval.
    "When matters reach the point you have solid intel on the location, I will provide aid in the acquisition."

Melinda May has posed:
So that's why Nat is so adamant about bringing Barnes in from the cold and NOT to SHIELD. Yasha. She mentally files away that name along side the other. "I was going to try to get in touch with Winchester's brother to help us track Sam down, but if you want Barnes brought in at least mostly intact, maybe I shouldn't." Nat will know exactly why she's changing her mind on that.

May also leans back when the waitress brings their beverages and the steel mixing cups they'd been blended in -- that's the extra milkshake that didn't fit in their glasses. She offers her mixer cup to Natasha before taking a sip of her own malt.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Keep Dean out of the loop," Natasha agrees as she takes a sip from the cup. "If he comes in, he'll try to kill Barnes. Then I'll have to kill him before he can." Spoken in the same tone as her next words. "Good malt." But she sets the cup down after only the first sip. "And we need to get out of here."
    Not that she's going anywhere unless the giant mountain sucking up milkshake moves first.

Ares has posed:
    For a moment the tall man looks disappointed, but then it's curious to see him giving in to her urging him to move considering she is so much shorter than he is. Yet it is her will that gets him to rise as he takes his shake and lifts it up, tilting a few good scoops worth of ice cream into his mouth. He sets the glass down with a clink and then nods to her. "Ice cream headache."
    His lips purse as he frowns, then he adds. "It's past." And with that he begins to move towards the door, leading the way and when they get there holding it open.
    "Til next time, May."

Melinda May has posed:
"Then I'll make sure to leave him out of the loop. I'll let you know what I find out from the mechanic," she offers, then nods as Natasha samples the malt then manages to strongarm Aaron into getting up without so much as lifting a finger. That right there is classic Natasha.

She nods her farewell to Aaron, waiting until they're out of the restaurant and gone before she smirks in amusement at his admission of an ice cream headache.