16455/Camp Olympus Pt3: Recon

Camp Olympus Pt3: Recon
Date of Scene:	02 August 2024
Location:	Huntington, Suffolk County
Synopsis:	Recon on the anomalous spot has begun. And there is nothing happening. At all. Which is weird in itself.
Cast of Characters:	Phobos, Black Widow (Romanoff)
Tinyplot:	Camp Olympus

---

Phobos has posed:
    Two clicks along the Western sight line from the coordinates they had been given, Agent Aaron had set up a small reconnaisance post under the cover of a scenic overlook that of late had been neglected by the parks and recreational services. In its hey day it had been a rest stop and small tourist spot with an incline overlooking the curve of a valley. It gave a clear line of sight toward the river's bend and the mouth of it that let out onto that large lake that was where the anomaly had been reported.
    All told it was a good forward base for observation, and the two agents had gotten there seven hours ago. The only thing was... there wasn't much to observe. There was just the unused dirt road, the old parking area, and the twisted remains of a gate and iron fencing that surrounded what could have been a settlement of some kind thirty years ago. Today, though? It was barren.
    But that didn't stop the agents from doing their due diligence. Though by the seventh hour at least one of them had their attention wandering.
    "Have you tried these?" Those four words were the first ones he'd uttered in an hour, motivated by the bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn in his hand that rustled as he held it out to her

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha paused, leaning her head away from the telescope on the tripod that was set up to observe the location below. She looked at the bag in his hand but then had to lean slightly to actually read the label. "No, I didn't even know it existed. Admittedly it sounds good."

And she reached to take a few kernals from the bag, if possible. To give it a try. But before popping any hard won nibbles into her mouth, she continued.

"I haven't even seen anything that seems out of the oridinary," she admitted as she stretched a little. "It's more what I haven't seen. Have you seen any animal activity at all? I haven't seen even a bird in that area."

Phobos has posed:
    As she took a few kernels he was leaning against the raised fence and rail that served as one of the 'walls' of their observation post, out of line of sight should there be other people observing from below them, and there were no higher points in the area so they were relatively safe from counter-surveillance. Unless, of course, they had satellites with fuel to burn keep in a suitable orbit above them.
    But for now...
    At her question, however, his eyebrows rose slightly as he considered then leaned over to take a glance through the sighted in scope, edging it slightly left and right sweeping the designated observational area. His brow knits and he says, "Now that you mention it..."
    He sits up and hrms, then extends the bag again towards Natasha, as if expecting her to want a second handful.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The mix of salty and sweet was always a favorite and the popcorn didn't disappoint. It wasn't as overwhelming as she'd been afraid it would be, more a hint of that chocolate and peanut butter. She chewed thoughtfully as she waited for him to take a good gander. "I kept expecting to see a deer or rabbit go to the water to get something to drink and nothing. That's when I started looking for birds. I don't even see any fish jumping in the lake, which usually you see something.

"Too bad it's not close enough for our parabolic mic at this range but really, it's a great place for privacy. Nice place to setup a cabin and just vacation away from the world." She did take another small palm full of the popcorn, balancing it in her left hand and using her right to pop kernals in her mouth one at a time. She would chew and swallow before a second one, apparently in for the long haul since they'd already been at this seven hours. No need to eat it all too quickly.

Phobos has posed:
    Another slow nod is given as Alexander looks thoughtful, watching the site then sits up a little, resting the side of his head against the wall and sttill looking in that direction, as if he could still see the site with the naked eye. Which, to be fair, he could... just not as well.
    He takes a piece of popcorn and pops it into his mouth, then chews for a time. "Well..."
    He turns his head to look at her, "Figure we give it a full day night cycle, then will make our approach at that point. Think that'll give us at least a baseline of activity to compare. Though I do think the Director will want results sooner than later."
    He looks thoughtful, then murmurs, "I'll go move the SUV out of sight off the road."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Sounds good," Natasha agreed when he outlined the plan. "And the Director will be fine. He knows we are going to go in with caution considering what he gave you in the brief. That we--especially me--wouldn't necessarily trust the recon that others did as much as our own so would want the observation time."

She considered the site down below in the valley with the naked eye as she nodded to his suggestion to move the SUV. "Do you think we should do a little closer recon? Go check around the area more fully but physically instead of through devices?"

Phobos has posed:
    A small nod is given as he gets to his feet, his shoes causing the gravel under foot to rasp as he rises. "Might be a good idea, an hour before we move in maybe." He smiles a little at her, "I am getting no... vibe from this. So I'm willing to trust your instincts more than mine." Since, to be fair... she had oodles more operational experience than he ever would.
    As he stood up he took a brief moment to rest his hand slightly on her shoulder, just a small touch as if to let her know he was there. They operated with no open outward signs of their connection while working, but now and again these small moments were stolen.
     Then he was turning and moving off toward the back of the former scenic overlook, heading toward their vehicle.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The fact he wasn't picking up any vibes had her frowning slightly as she continued to look off into the distant anomaly location rather than at him. Though that touch on her shoulder brought her back. A turn of her head, a small smile and a relaxing of those shoudlers the tiniest bit. Being they were alone it was a more open touch than they might've done otherwise when working. Then it was more a brush of a hand to a hand or even a finger when passing paperwork over. Tiny signs they would know but kept out of the sight of others. Professionalism at its best.

As he moved toward the back to go move the vehicle, she put her eye to the lens once more and scanned again. "What're you hiding?'" she murmured low, as though the place was going to answer her questions.