3428/The Mountain Goes to Muhammad

The Mountain Goes to Muhammad
Date of Scene:	18 December 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Skye has *The Talk* with Fury about a few things and finds out she wasn't mistaken.
Cast of Characters:	Nick Fury, Quake

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Nick Fury has posed:
    Nick Fury is located in his least favorite spot in the Universe. Behind his desk. With a pile of data pads and a half smoked cigar in the ash tray, Fury reads over the latest information and intelligence from his key "spies" in the field. His eyes scan the data, and his head shakes in a negative way.

    When he hears the sound of someone wanting to enter, Fury says, "Come in!" In a bit of a disgruntled, angry sounding voice. It was not what he meant, but it couldn't be helped now. Another day on the Odyssey, in his office, and under a mountain of pressure with everything going on. Assassinations, mutant plots, Hydra, and God knows what else.

Quake has posed:
Skye had been sitting with what she'd done with Oracle for a day or two before she decided that this was the sort of thing she'd rather have the upper hand in if she were going to have her ass raked over the coals. And, if she weren't going to have her ass handed back to her over the matter, it definitely looked better if she were the one going to Fury and not the other way around.

Typical Skye fashion, she didn't make an appointment, just shows up and asks to see the man.

The gruff bid of entry was all she needed. She didn't expect Fury to be in a pleasant mood. He almost never was.

Once inside his office, Skye closes the door behind her and gives him a calm look. "I need to talk to you. Privately." And when she says privately, she looks about the room making it clear she doesn't mean we're not inviting friends to sit in on this little chat, but more along the lines of 'if you have other security measures in place or to put in place..'

She waits.

Nick Fury has posed:
    "Sit down Agent Johnson." Fury says, as he tosses the data pad in the "read" pile to his right. Getting up, he takes a glass from some nigh-invisible drawer, and pours two drinks of a clear liquid from a tall bottle. Pushing one glass towards Skye, Fury takes the second.

    With a slight smile, Fury tosses back the contents of the glass, puts the bottle back into the invisible drawer, and sighs. "Don't tell Natasha this, but she hides the best vodka." Fury shakes his head, and says, "Now where were we? Ah yes. Private discussion." Fury adds, "This room is NOT bugged by anyone else. Please, feel free to espouse on the latest endeavours of Agent Johnson."

Quake has posed:
Skye takes the second glass and sniffs it before taking a cautious sip. It doesn't kill her, but she's still not downing it in his fashion.

"Mmm, always better safe than sorry. And you might not want all of this conversation on your logs either, sir." Yes, you heathens, she knows the word. "If you mean how are things going with dissecting the Hydra data, I'm still working on it. If you mean what have I been up to, then we have a lot to talk about."

Nick Fury has posed:
    Fury watches Skye, and nods. "I never keep logs. Considering the job I do, it would be...dangerous." Fury picks up the cigar, and finishes it off with a final inhale, and exhale. Sighing, he puts the cigar out in the ash tray, and then turns to pay full attention to Skye.

    "Now, what was it that you just needed to speak to me privatley, Agent Johnson?" Nothing she could do could surprise him. "I am sure it is "a lot to talk about" as you put it. Make it quick however. I have a teleconference with the International Security Council in..." Fury checks the chornometer on his wrist, "...15 minutes. Go."

Quake has posed:
Skye shrugs. "Given what I do know you have, sir, I thought it prudent to make sure." She takes another sip of the drink. "I really need to come visit your office more often." Eyes twinkling with momentary mirth that is gone almost as quickly as it came.

"You know, I've been sitting here trying to figure out just how long you were going to let me go on before I figured it out on my own. This whole business about I'm never going to be a by the books Agent, and the fact that tht's never what you wanted from me. That you could have had anyone if that's what you actually wanted. So, here's the thing, I'm not that agent. I'm never going to be that agent. And if I'm wrong and by the books is what you wanted, then maybe this isn't my place. But if I'm right, and I think I am, then you need to know I'm letting someone in one of the back doors to our systems in exchange for a few things."

She just lets that one sit out there while she downs the rest of the drink he poured her.

Nick Fury has posed:
    Fury nods at Skye's initial comments, not commenting. As she continues, Fury's eyes grow a little more narrowed, and his frown deepens. With a last nod, and a slight sigh, Fury looks at Skye, holds her eyes for a brief moment.

    Fury then says, "I never wanted you to be a "by the book" Agent, Johnson." Fury stands up, and turns to look out the window. The beautiful North American coastline was visible in the distance.

    "I can walk out into that hall for those types. I need you to think big, and think outside the box. Now tell me why you are really here, so we can get down to discussing it in more detail. I want you assessment of the situation. Letting someone in...that is...interesting."

Quake has posed:
Skye shrugs. "It just took me a bit to realize that I wasn't just being a rebel. Doesn't help that you slap us with SO's that hammer the other into us. But since I seem to still have a job, yeah. I figured it out about three seconds before I decided to take the deal on the table."

She cuts to the chase, somewhat. "I had a line on a hacker I couldn't break. So made a meet. Turns out there are a lot of reasons we don't want them anywhere near us and about a dozen more as to why we do. I can't actually keep them out. Not in the strictest sense. But this way I'll know where they are, and there's a mutual destruction clause. They don't want anyone poking at that door any more than we do. It's going to cost us some, though. But nothing we can't use to our advantage in the long run. Mostly some data leaks - which we'd be doing anyway. We've been left with all the deniability we need. And in return we've got access to NSA satellites we didn't have before. Pretty win-win on that front."

She doesn't mention who. Or the alien tech. Or that she, herself, has arranged for some personal training with Oracle.

Nick Fury has posed:
    "Good." Fury says. "Glad to hear it. SOs are there to guide you into becoming the perfect Agent. In these days, we need better than perfect Agent Johnson." Fury nods, and listens to the second part of the conversation.

    "Okay. I'm willing to let this go Agent. I am not 100 percent on board yet, and I may pull the rug out from under this, but we'll see how it goes. I need to know, who, what, when, where, how, and why before anything big goes down, including the identity of this hacker."

    Fury actually smiles. "That is, if I don't know who she is already..."

Quake has posed:
"Didn't say it was a she, sir." Skye returns. "And I don't think you want to pull that rug, if you don't mind my saying. Actually, even if you do. Let's suppose you do know who it is, then you know we can't keep them out. So we want them where we can see them. We work together, we both have a vested interest in making sure nobody else uses that back door, or the data that is monitored. They don't want others peeking into our systems either. We're talking a second set of eyes with a vested interest in shutting down any outside source hacks."

She shrugs. "We don't just get the satellite feeds. But that alone is a boon. A non-SHIELD source of data that we can keep as off the books as we want, and to confirm any other data against. Not to mention value of pure source code for using as blinds in any endeavour we want. We drop the back door friend, and I'm certain a little note will fall on someone's desk suggesting certain codes get changed. Right now, our friend wants us to have that info. And they've their own reasons for keeping things out of the spotlight and a nose to the ground."

Skye had a good idea who Oracle was protecting.

"The deal is already made, sir. This wasn't an I'll check with my boss. This was I made a call. The only wildcard was if I was going to tell you, or if you were going to drag my ass in here."

Nick Fury has posed:
    Fury nods, and puts on an air of omnipotence. "Indeed, you didn't Agent. Huh." Fury returns to his desk, and sits down. "Very good then." Fury taps the desk to emphasize his point. "You are on point for this Agent Johnson. Don't f**k it up. We're counting on you."

    "You are right of course. Better the devil you know..." Fury listens to everything that Skye adds, and he says, "Okay then. It's your call, and your hide. I am sure it will all work out. If it doesn't, you will be the first to have to deal with the consequences."

     Fury pauses. "I am glad you made the decision to tell me versus the other. I hate the other." Fury nods. "Caryy on Agent." With that Fury picks up another report and starts to read it. He looks up, just to say, "Anything else?"

Quake has posed:
Skye's lips purse over a smirk. "Oh, I knew where my ass would be when I made the deal. That's when I knew exactly why you nicked me and didnt' hire some smart ass off the street. You'd have been disappointed in my otherwise."

Again, she shrugs, and pushes her empty glass across the desck. "Stark threw some data at me I haven't had a chance to look at yet. Said it might be of use to us. IcedLotus hasn't been throwing up anything visible on the dark net that I can find. I don't think she's in hiding, so I'm betting she's either mid-deal, or deciding who to sell whatever she stole from Hydra to. Possibly both. Don't think there's much else. You'll have the Hydra data when I'm done."

And if he meant the other little thing Skye had done when she overhauled SHIELD's systems.. well, she wasn't going to admit to that. They both knew she wouldn't. And he wasn't likely to ask her, either. Not unless she'd misread that one.

Nick Fury has posed:
    Fury nods, and says, "Excellent. That is truly what I am after. I have a feeling that Hydra is far from done in their little mission to destroy us and "take over the World"." Fury sighs. "All of this is important Intel Agent. Well done. Just try not to make me regret letting you have free reign, huh?" Fury says with a shake of his head.

    "Now get on with it. Keep me updated. Don't burn the place down." With a wave of his hand, Fury goes back to his reports.

Quake has posed:
And with that, Skye sees herself out without any further fanfare.