2763/Siege Aftermath

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Siege Aftermath
Date of Scene: 09 October 2017
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Winter Soldier, Quake, Melinda May, Hazmat




Winter Soldier has posed:
The Triskelion is a mess, to put it lightly.

It's less of a mess than it was even as recently as half an hour ago, though. Not for nothing is it one of the most secure buildings on the planet-- within an hour, some semblance of order has been restored, though there's still cleanup crews wandering around mopping up the blood, spent casings, and other assorted marks of battle. Claire had gone off to see to the wounded; Bucky, being significantly less useful in the aftermath of a battle than in the leadup and execution, let her go, electing instead to wait for her return in one of the break rooms of the building.

He still has the pistol May gave him. Amidst all the hubbub, no one really shot him a second glance, nor required him to disarm himself. The fact he hadn't turned on SHIELD, even in the midst of what amounts to a full-out Hydra raid, was enough to seed the baseline of some semblance of trust.

The break room is on a high enough floor to boast a small outdoor balcony area, and it's here that he can be found. He's seated, turning the pistol over and over in his hands in what appears to be an absent habit, before-- upon some silent determination-- his fingers deftly find the mag release lever and drop the magazine out of the weapon.

Quake has posed:
Agent in training Daisy Johnson. Late, (or not so late; some habits were hard to break) DakrSkye of the darknet. This had been her first full scale being thrown into the fire. Up to now it had been small trust missions. Little recon bits that really didn't need much of her other than she listen to orders and not get in the way. This, though This had been different. And she'd pulled a lot more off than she'd expected. Daisy just wasn't sure if it was going to be seen that way.

She knew, they knew, that she was still at it on some level, but somehow they'd all agreed to pretend she wasn't poking into things she wasn't supposed to, and she, in return, wouldn't poke too hard. Wouldn't stretch past some undefined boundary that would make them intervene. What she'd done with the computer systems here? All past that boundary, but all to their advantage.

She felt.. safe? And insecure all at once.

Needing to escape the cleanup crews, Daisy found herself stepping out onto that exact same balcony, unaware that it was already occupied.

Winter Soldier has posed:
The erstwhile Winter Soldier becomes aware of someone approaching long before Daisy Johnson steps out onto the balcony. Perhaps because of that, he isn't watching her when she does emerge, his gaze instead aimed down at the weapon in his hand. He sets aside the magazine on the armrest of the chair, still not looking up.

He's wearing long sleeves, but the left sleeve got torn up once he started using his arm. Hints of the metal beneath gleam through, the ripped fabric caught here and there in the plates. He doesn't look in the kind of mood to care about de-gumming the prosthetic, which is probably telling as to his mindset overall; that arm is too vital to him to skimp on its maintenance.

"Hell of a day," he finally remarks, still gazing out at some indistinct point far out near the horizon.

Quake has posed:
"Oh." Daisy comes up short as awareness that she's not only not alone, but bumped up against one of the visitors to the Triskelion when the shit hit the fan, one she'd helped process in. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." Her lips twist into a thoughtful moue of consideration. Stay? Go? She's saved making a choice when conversation is initiated.

"Yeah. That was something else." That moue of consideration turns into a grin. "Trying to avoid the clean up crews. I figure it won't be long before the Director will be breathing down my neck."

Unlike him, she's relatively unscathed, but for a damp outfit, and still damp hair. She'd not set foot outside the conference room the entire thing. "Mind if I join?" Gesturing to the leftover space beside him. "You're James Bunky Barnes, aren't you?" Not the only monikor that had come up on her screen while processing him in, but it was a start.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Blue eyes finally flick up to Daisy as she excuses herself. They make a thorough study of her in one glance, the man deeply experienced in sizing things up within a single look. He transparently recalls her face, from when he first arrived at the building. He is silent a moment too long as she deliberates whether to stay or go, but eventually he breaks the ice -- as it were.

"It's no bother," he adds, after a pause. "Wasn't having any particular moment of solitude."

His head cants a little when she makes mention of the Director, but he doesn't ask. Her request if she can join him yields a nod. James Barnes was not exactly recorded in history as being a taciturn man, yet here he is: monosyllabic and dour, speaking in slight angles of the head and lifts of his shoulders. "Suit yourself. If you wanna avoid cleanup crews, here's probably the place to do it," he allows.

She names him, and though he should expect it -- she processed him -- he automatically tenses anyway. There is a pause, a brief struggle coming and going across his features. What should be a very simple question is, for him, apparently no simple question at all. James 'Bucky' Barnes. "Yeah," he eventually decides. Something wry flickers in his eyes. "Trying to be."

He glances down at the gun in his hands. "Agent Johnson, wasn't it?"

Quake has posed:
That amused purse of lips is back as she hunkers down beside the man, taking her comfort there, sliding her back down the wall until she's sitting on the ground, legs out in front of her, ankles crossed. Head leaned back in a resting position against the wall. When he says her name, she echoes him, "Yeah. Trying to be."

A flick of glance is sent his way. "Don't worry. They pay me not to tell anyone what I saw." There's a pause, "Not a bad job out there. You I mean. Everyone, really." She'd had eyes on it all, sending them out to battle like so many pieces on a chess board.

Melinda May has posed:
The door to the balcony opens, voices announcing the arrivals as they step out to also presumably get some fresh air. "...no, Ms. Takeda, I highly doubt that SHIELD is going to bill you for the loss of that quinjet." May gestures to the table and chairs out on the balcony with her free hand, her left hand deftly balancing a tray rather heavily laden with food items -- all of it looking to be the sort of things either pre-packaged or very quickly assembled. She also has a small nylon bag hanging off of her shoulder appears to be weighted down by generally cylindrical objects.

While she might not have been aware of anyone out here before she and her companion stepped onto the balcony, the cigarette smoke is a giveaway that they're not alone. And as much as she'd like to turn and tell whomever off for the nasty smell, she's picking her battles at the moment, and that's not one to bother with.

Oh, and there are still remnants of fire-suppressant foam on her clothes, and a bit in her hair.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Her mirrored-back response yields a brief lift of his brows. He doesn't ask, because he would not want to be asked. Instead he puts the weapon aside, trading it for a battered pack of cigarettes fished out of a coat pocket. He pulls one out, sticking it in the corner of his mouth as he fishes for a lighter.

"I'd ask if you want one," he says, "but these things are truly shit. Unless you like smoking shit. Then sure, knock yourself out."

Don't worry, she says. The kind of remark she makes in following -- of being paid not to tell what she saw -- usually expects some sort of response. He says nothing. The former Winter Soldier just slants her a lupine sort of look instead, considering her, the watchful gaze of a man perhaps not fully come back in from whatever wilds he inhabited for decades.

She remarks on the events of the day as a whole. Not a bad job, she says. Of him -- of others. His noncommittal gaze tilts into amusement at her praise. "I've seen worse," he says. "I make a habit not to do bad work."

He places the cigarette back in his mouth about the same time May shows up with her charge. He glances up, but does not immediately speak.

Hazmat has posed:
Jennifer Takeda also has few bits of foam in areas like the air intake and exhausts on her helmet, but significantly less than May due to the fact that foam just has less to stick to on her containment suit. "That's a relief. Otherwise I was going to be in debt to you for the rest of my life." She snags a few of what look like some kind of Hot-Pocket equivalent, the packaging boasting that it's SELF HEATING! (Stark-Fujikawa Patent Pending), and pulls the tabs. Steam starts to rise out of the vent holes, and in about thirty seconds, the teen is ready to eat. She cracks open her helmet a couple inches, a soft whir indicating the helmet's switch to 'negative pressure mode' to keep any contaminants inside, and she takes a bite. "Mmmmm. Tastes just like Mom used to make."

Quake has posed:
Daisy isn't volunteering more information about her past either. At least not first shot out of the gate. He's not the only one with trust issues by a long shot. She figures it'll come or it won't.

The proferred cigarette is looked at with a lift of brow. "Truly shit, huh?" For a moment she's tempted. It's been a day and a half all rolled into a couple of hours. Except she didn't do those things. And if she were going to let loose and bury the afternoon in sorrows, her preferred poison was alcohol.

She doesn't get to say much more before Agent May, with Jenn in tow, comes out onto the balcony. Causing the agent in training to lower her voice. "My So," she nods with her chin towards May. "And Jennifer. Met her before today. The BioHazard suit isn't just for show."

Bucky gets another look from the young woman, "You're pretty careful with yourself, aren't you?" She'd noticed the security measures in his file. His answers also smacked of someone used to holding things about himself back.

Melinda May has posed:
Setting the tray of food on the table and letting Jenn claim what she likes, May settles the sack of what sounds like a combination of aluminum cans and plastic bottles on the table next to the food. "There will be an official debriefing tomorrow, but sometimes it's best to get the paperwork started right away, when things are still fresh in your memory. At least get some rough notes down." She claims a seat at the table, and then finally turns her head toward the pair sitting on the floor against the building wall.

"I brought enough if either of you are hungry." Well, considering there was no way for her to predict that Skye and Barnes were going to be out here, she likely didn't bring it for them specifically. But, if it doesn't look like it'll be enough, she can always wait to eat until later. It's not like she's never skipped a meal before. She does seem to know one thing about cigarette smokers, though, as she pulls a plastic bottle of cola from the sack and looks ready to toss it for Bucky to catch.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Half a smirk flickers on Bucky's features as he turns the carton enough for the label to become visible. It's written in Cyrillic. "Few things stronger, shittier and shitter for you than a Belomorkanal," he says, before he folds the carton back into his palm and puts it away. "Not unlike most Soviet things, in fact." He is not explaining that one, either.

He inclines his head briefly, a wordless acknowledgement, as May and Jennifer make their appearance. Daisy's sotto-voce explanation draws a nod. "Yeah... I know Agent May." The description of Jennifer, however, draws a wry, curious look. A walking biohazard. "Takes all kinds," he remarks, though then again he used to hang out with men who were literally on fire, so is he really surprised?

Daisy's subsequent question -- you're careful with yourself, aren't you? -- draws a sidelong glance. "People in my profession don't live when they're not careful," he replies. He smiles tiredly after, as if to take the edge off his response.

He considers, before he summarizes, watching as she does to discern how much she really knows: "I been through some shit since '45." As if to reinforce that, when he lifts his left arm to catch the drink May tosses him, it whirs a little and hums a few quiet metal notes.

Hazmat has posed:
     "It's Jen. Or Takeda. Or HazMat. Definitely the last one if it's combat situations and stuff." Nomf. Seriously not bad. She'll have to tell that to Tony if she ends up seeing him soon. "I've got helmetcam footage if it helps. ...And do we have to do all of this by hand? Please tell me it's paperwork in name only." She sticks her hand into the sack and comes out with a can of Sprite, along with a straw, which means she doesn't have to worry about opening her helmet any further. Neurotoxins and corrosive substances tend to offend. Surprisingly, she actually /doesn't/ have any biohazards. They all died.

Quake has posed:
The cigarettes are declined with an amused shake of head. "Hear their women are ugly and their men worse. Can't imagine their cigarettes are much better." She grins to herself, then shares, "I imagine it's this whole being proud of withstanding things that look, smell, and taste like shit and then see how you can make them worse." That bow of a smile returns to her lips, the girl reaching up and tugging her hair out of its ponytail, letting it fall loose and giving it a chance to dry now that things are settling.

"People in my profession live behind walls. I get it." She doesn't explain, either, happy to let him think she means being an agent. She's saved having to say more when Agent May offers food and drink, asking Bucky, "Get you anything?" Not that she's fully decided to get up and get anything herself. There's a vague notion in her head that once she's over there she'll be cornered for some of that paperwork. Even if she has to talk to her SO as soon as they get a slightly private moment.

Melinda May has posed:
Oddly enough, May hasn't so much as hinted at getting Skye's report yet. Maybe it's because the hacker kind of lives here now so it's never difficult to find her. Jennifer, on the other hand, will need to leave to return to her own group / residence. So there's a hard time limit on getting her report down.

"No, it's not actual paper unless you want it to be. Almost all documentation is electronic now, and we have some facility for voice-to-text entry as well if needed." She pulls a bottle of water from the sack for herself. "Though I can't promise those will be available quickly with the mess that needs to be dealt with here."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Bucky actually barks half a laugh at the quip. "I can confirm, as far as the men," he says, amused. "The women, though... some of them are somethin' else."

Taking a deep drag of the cigarette, he lets smoke trail out his nose as he considers the romance of Russian suffering. "When you're a people who spend ten months of twelve freezing your balls off in the dark," he opines, "I guess you get to taking pride in how much punishment you can take. If you got nothing but suffering, you might as well suffer better than anybody else." He might know something about that.

He slants a glance towards her as she betrays a little information, herself. People in her profession live behind walls. His gaze turns thoughtful, but whatever conclusions he might draw, he keeps to himself. For now. It's not the time nor the place.

Instead, he shakes his head as she asks if he wants anything. "Nah," he says. "I oughta get going, before someone tracks me down." He might have heard the word 'paperwork' and gotten spooked. Rising, he leaves behind the weapon -- and a thoughtful glance at Daisy. "Pleasure, Agent Johnson," he says, an old world courtesy to the formality, before he steps back into the Triskelion proper, with a passing nod of parting for May and Takeda alike.

Hazmat has posed:
Jennifer Takeda gives a one shouldered shrug between bites. Girl's pretty hungry. "If those tablets in the conference room still work, I'll use one. And if I'm not here, I'll be at the mansion. It's not like I can just go for a walk. At least it shouldn't be harder than Cap's essays." She gives Bucky a nod as he leaves, never having actually been introduced.

Quake has posed:
There's something of a triumphant look in Daisy's eyes as she earns the bark of laughter. "It's always the boobs." Though she'd never really thought about it before. All these years of contacts in Russia, and not once had she put a face to a name. That was kind of how they all worked. Names were more important than faces. Your cred was in your code. There was some pretty fine code sitting in Russian hands.."Don't get lost on the way out," she offers when he stubs his cigarette and makes short his stay. She can't say she blames him; she's not keen on the prospective paperwork herself. "Another time, Bucky."

She knew that, too.

Though, Agent May's mention of digital, Skye feels obligated to speak up. "You might want to belay that, Agent May. The systems here need to be scoured." She'd done what she could, but not nearly enough. And she wasn't going to go all analyst on the thigns without talking to May and the Director first. Given what she had to impart, there was a good bet she might very well be involved in being part of the cleanup crew on their systems. But now that it's just her against the wall, she gets up and joins the other two.

Melinda May has posed:
Oh. Well then. "Maybe this time on paper only, Ms. Takeda." Rogers makes these kids write essays? Even May isn't that cruel. Not consistently, anyway. She takes a sip of her water and finally, perhaps now that Barnes has departed, she reaches to claim something off of the tray of food. It's one of those silvery foil packages that poptarts usually arrive in. Doesn't really seem like the sort of thing she'd willingly eat, if anyone is even passingly familiar with her.

"You're likely going to be tapped to help get the Triskelion's systems back online and resecured, Skye." Yup. Stating the obvious. "But I'm still your CO. If anyone tries to make you do something you don't agree with, don't hesitate to bring it to me or to Fury himself." She'd likely direct the hacker to Hill instead, but she's already heard that the Deputy Director is in Medical and likely to be there for at least a few days.

Hazmat has posed:
Jennifer Takeda reaches into her belt pouch and pulls out a phone. "This is quadruple Avengers encrypted. Typing's going to suck though. ...Although I could probably talk JARVIS into transcribing it..." May's comment elicits a groan though. "I thought I was done filling out forms... I guess this is the price of going legit..."

Quake has posed:
Skye's lips bow over a smirk. "Figured that might be the case, Agent May. And understood." She really wasn't certain how to take her CO's - her quip to Fury, when he'd asked her her preference, had been sheer moxy, and more than a little bit of a joke. When he'd looked her over and declared her an odd one and agreed to the idea of Agents May and Ward sharing her, Daisy had been surprised. And now that she was working with them, there was still that balance of mentor/mentee to work out. Agent May wasn't known for her patience or willingness to put up with bullshit - not that Daisy handed her CO such, expecting the other to smell roses, but still, Daisy hadn't yet found her equalibrium with the Senior Agent. "Recieved loud and clear. Though I need a minute of your time in private if you can spare a few?"

Not to leave out poor Jennifer, but what Skye had to impart really was a for your eyes only tidbit, and quite possibly the junior agent shouldn't be telling May at all.

Jenn gets a nod of greeting. "So. Sorry about the other day." Cryptic for now.

Melinda May has posed:
May simply nods to Skye's request to speak one on one later and breaks open the crinkly foil packaging. Sure enough, pop tarts. And by the lurid icing, very likely non-standard ones from somebody's personal stash. However, instead of claiming one to eat, May sets the now open pack in front of Skye and plucks something else off of the tray. This looks like a much more May-likely protein bar of the sort usually packed in travelling supplies.

Leaning a bit to glance at the phone while her hands work the wrapper open, May nods to Jennifer. "That should be acceptable, so long as you make sure that Stark doesn't get a word of what you compose." SHIELD does NOT need word of this mess to leak out before Fury is ready for it to be out. And knowing what little she does about Stark's busybody assistant Jarvis, she is very leery of trusting this information to them.

Hazmat has posed:
Jennifer Takeda shrugs. "You were under duress. Just don't underestimate me next time." Nomf. Both turnovers are finished by now, and draining the last of the sprite, she seals her helmet again. "You two go do your secret squirrel stuff, I'll hang out here. ...I don't get outside a ton." She leans back in her chair, just soaking in the view.

Quake has posed:
Skye gives the poptart a disbelieving frown. "Really? You expect me to eat this?" The thing is gently shoved into the middle of the table and ignored. Jenn's comment gets a momentary frown from Skye, a thing that passes quickly. "We should talk sometime. You know, about stuff." There's a flash of a grin from the girl for HazMat. She'd say more, but what Agent May doesn't already know, Daisy isn't about to help her find out.

Melinda May has posed:
May raises an eyebrow at Skye, then swaps out the poptarts for the protein bar, all but shoving the latter into the hacker's hand. And then, yes, she actually starts eating one of the lurid pastries. Cold. Because when things are in crisis mode, calories are calories, and she'll eat greens later when there's time to get a proper meal.

"I'll send an agent to accompany you," she tells Jennifer, though it sounds more like a 'make sure you stay safe' than a 'make sure you don't wander into restricted areas' kind of thing.

Hazmat has posed:
Jennifer Takeda's only response to Skye is a shrug, followed by "If you say so." HazMat is back in snarky teenager mode. She nods again to May, before realization makes her sit up a bit straighter. "Oh, yeah and uh... You might want to have that straw I was using incinerated or something. If you can. Not sure how trash processing here works, but... Anyway..." She taps a few things on her phone, before reaching up and manipulating a control under the front of her helmet. When she talks again, her voice is muffled almost to an unintelligible level, whatever systems that had been relaying her to the outside world muted. Text starts to appear on the phone's screen. Well, if she's going to be here for a while, might as well write up that AAR...

Quake has posed:
Snarky teen. Yay. Skye has hit the age where she thinks herself past that.. So she choses to ignore Jenn's comment. "Sure. Whenever." It's not like she doesn't know where Jenn lives now. She can just drop in. Or not. It's almost all the same to her.

When Agent May swaps out the poptart for a protein bar, thrusting the thing into her hand, the young woman gives it a shrug. Better than that sweet pastry crap any day. She'd lived off of protein bars and Jab cola. Sometimes candy bars. She just didn't lower her standards to the pastry. The things were like cockroaches. They lived through anything.

Melinda May has posed:
May makes quick work of one of the two pastries in the crinkly foil, then washes it down with the water. "We should get going to Ops, Skye." She nods to Jenn and makes a mental note to have the agent sent to accompany the young woman carry a hazmat disposal container with him. Standing and heading back in to the building, she's fully expecting Skye to follow. And, of course, explain what she was wanting to talk about.

Quake has posed:
Skye's still working on her protein bar as she follows Agent May. "Am I supposed to explain on the way?" Though she takes the senior agent's silence and nod to follow along to Ops as answer. "I think I know who it was who hacked in. I recognize the signature. It's someone I've encountered before." She cuts right to the chase on the matter, even though there are numerous other things she could have led with. Then follows it up with: "I got into their system."

Melinda May has posed:
Pausing at an elevator May looks at Skye. "Then you'll be able to track down the one that did this." She says it more as a statement of fact than a question. "I suspect that Fury will want you to follow up on that the moment the building's systems are secured. Pull whatever resources you need for both." Yes, she knows she just gave the kid carte blanche, but she willing to take a chance here, if it gives them a leg up on Hydra and whoever infiltrated their computer systems.

"If you want to pull outside resources, run it by me first."

Quake has posed:
Daisy isn't a fool. She knows what she's been given. Can even suspect Fury won't have an argument about it. It's the last, though, that pulls her attention. She knows what it's about too. her best bet is to not involve ShIELD systems. "I can use secure systems. Something totally trashable if need be. But if you're suggesting Stark?" She lets that hang to see if she's on the right track with that one. Adding, "Pretty sure I can track who it is outside of the other. I still have contact."

There. If May had extended a branch, Skye had just offered one back, the junior agent fully admitting she still maintained her former network. It was a big chance she was taking. A building of bridges.

Melinda May has posed:
"If you think Stark can help, yes. Previously established contacts, with caution." Is May implying that Skye be careful to not let on she's SHIELD now and burn her contacts, or be careful contacting them at all? "Secure systems shouldn't be a problem." After all, R&D routinely keep secure systems isolated from the Triskelion for their more ... esoteric research. "Touch base with Fitz in that regard."

The elevator carries them to Operations.

Quake has posed:
Skye waits for the elevator door to close before speaking again. "They don't know anything of my life here. Though it's getting harder to hide the connection." It wasn't a stated thing, or even a thing she could put her finger on, but being Daisy was a thing that was wearing at being DarkSkye. It was a delicate dance she did. Too much this way or that, and she'd compromise one or the other of her selves - a frightening prospect. She wasn't ready to give up her old life, even as her new one had strated filling the empty spaces of her. "Fitz. Right." Fury had pointed her that direction as well. Two birds. One stone.

The elevator doors slid slowly open.

Melinda May has posed:
May looks at Skye, sticking one hand out to hold the door open. "I hope it won't be the case, but there's a chance that tracking this down is going to require you to step back into you previous life." She knows from personal experience the level of trouble doing that can bring with it. But if that's what needs to happen, she'll make damned sure that Skye has backup when and where she can, even if it means going behind Fury's back or pulling favors from people like Stark.

"Do you think you'll be able to handle that?"

Quake has posed:
Skye's look to May is long. Appraising. And her answer is a long time in coming; the elevator door sending warning beeps that the door had been obstructed too long.

"You tell me, can SHIELD handle me back there?"

It wasn't quite the answer Skye knew May wanted, but it was the best answer she had. Part of her would always be DarkSkye. Would always haunt those paths, even if she'd changed the pace of her trudge along them. Which is where she found herself able to meet May's gaze and give her more. "I like my life in SHIELD. I thought I was more before. I was wrong."

Melinda May has posed:
May waits for Skye's answer, ignoring the warning beeps and possibly even a few stares from passersby. And the answer she gets is ... honestly not the worst she could have received. "If it comes to that, we'll have to." Pragmatic as ever. "But at least you'll know that you have someone watching your back." She's pretty sure that that had never been the case before.

And while she COULD prod the hacker for her last comment, May doesn't. Either she knows that the admission is putting herself out there, or a realization of that she truly does belong here. Either is a win in May's book and not to be mocked.

"Fury's waiting." Apparently, that's the end of that conversation.

Quake has posed:
Skye's happy with letting her admission fall between them and merely be a thing, the way the sky is blue, or the sun sets at night. Nothing that needs comment or commentary. Just.. is.

Theres's a nod from the young woman as she steps out of the elevator, acknowledging she'd expected what's coming next. "Yeah. He's going to be pissed."