3437/I Have Questions, Queries, Posers

I Have Questions, Queries, Posers
Date of Scene:	19 December 2017
Location:	Triskelion, New York City
Synopsis:	Hope intiates the next step in her plan and visits the Triskelion seeking information. Skye obliges--and never even knows it.
Cast of Characters:	White Phoenix, Quake

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White Phoenix has posed:
"Look, miss, I don't have the answers you are looking for," comes the voice of the agent manning the desk in the front lobby. He doesn't sound upset or angry, more resigned to the fact that he has yet another one of those people who like to wander in off the street to the Triskelion and demand information like they are entitled. In most cases, they are people with actual problems that just don't know how to resolve them. A few are loons. Then there are the pains in the posterior which is what he has decided this one is after his brief conversation with her.

The young woman is leaning on the tall counter the agent is behind. She's dressed casually in jeans and a green button up shirt with a brown bomber jacket over the top. Her red hair is cut haphazardly, as though she may have done it herself without bothering to look in a mirror. She wears no make-up. "Then find me someone who does," she says flatly, not taking any guff from the desk jockey.

"Miss, there isn't anyone who can answer that question at this time. A resolution has not been reached. I'm sure it's in a committee somewhere."

"A committee isn't going to help those mutants out there getting attacked for being alive. Get me your supervisor. Now."

Quake has posed:
Skye is usually found in the inner reaches of the Trisk. Usually the break room. Though, lately, with the data she's been combing, she's been in Research and Development, or Security, as often as not. Today, though, she just happens to be wandering into the lobby, a shopping back in one hand, and her usual satchel thrown crosswise over her shoulder.

It's terribly clear she's about to walk on past a potential blow up. And, as luck would have it.. right that very second, she's senior agent in the lobby. Not that she looks it. And, frankly, she's most often regarded as part of the IT staff than an agent by all and sundry.

Skye considers just walking on by under that guise.. and rethinks it again when the girl in the jeans and bomber jacket starts demanding to talk to a supervisor.

Walking over, she asks, "Hey, anything I can do to help?"

White Phoenix has posed:
The redhead turns a moment before Skye speaks, having sensed her approach and reacted to it. Hearing the offer, Hope gives a sharp nod of her head. Her green eyes are intense and, though she is younger than Skye physically, there is something about her gaze that makes her seem much older. Perhaps she has an old soul.

"Yes, I need to find out what is being done about the mutants. There are attacks, riots, all because Magneto," she says the name like it is something vile and disgusting. "Decided he should attack our country outright and kill American citizens." She certainly sounds riled up. "I want to know what is being done. To Magneto. Is he being prosecuted? Exterminated?" Interesting choice of words. "If he is released, the situation will explode into a far worse situation than you ever imagined. There will be a war between humans and mutants. This has to be stopped now, before it starts."

Within her mind, Hope is actually quite calm. This is simply part two of her plan. Thanks to being in the same building the day before with some of the most powerful telepaths on the planet, she currently has their abilities. She's been scanning the mind of the agent on the desk to no avail. He doesn't have the information she needs. She has touched on a few minds that were nearby and gotten nothing. So by seeking a supervisor, hopefully they might have the data she needs. She isn't sure that this woman is a supervisor but she is offering to help so that's something. She reaches out tentatively to try and brush Skye's mind, to see if she has any mental defenses whatsoever.

Quake has posed:
If Skye only knew..

Of course, by the winds of random chance and the cryptic sense of humour in the universe, Skye Johnson is actually someone who knows where Magneto is being held. Perhaps worse, even, for the purposes of this moment, she's recently talked with him. Has a message from him to deliver to someone else, even..

And all those things are an immediately and casual flip through the Junior Agent's mind before they're brushed aside with something rather more formal and what she hopes is soothing, "Uh.. Say, how'd you like to go have a cup of coffee? We have a killer caf here. My treat. And maybe.." She peers at the nametag on the poor person manning the doors, "Maybe Myers here can see if we can find you some of that information you're looking for."

Roughly translated: Skye will do damage control while someone calls security or a person with actual authority to speak to matters.

White Phoenix has posed:
For a moment, Hope looks like she will be continuing her tirade but then she tilts her head. A moment of consideration followed by a nod. "Fine," she says, not exactly mollified but seemingly a bit calmer. This is the one that she needs. The one that has information she can utilize. She just has to be careful, not to press too hard or too fast. Certainly she could rip the data free. To do so would leave the agent with a splitting headache though. It might be a clue that someone tampered with her brain. Can't have that. Things have to play out just so and she knows how to be patient.

"Thank you," she adds, almost sounding civil. "I'm sorry if I'm coming off a bit rude but this is a subject I feel very strongly about."

Quake has posed:
Skye grins as she flashes Myers her badge. "No worried. This place gets my hackles up most of the time as well, and I work here." A bit of Skye humour for you, however true it's tended to be in the past. A little less so these days. For reasons.

"So what's got you so fired up by this mutant thing?" Skye leads her along towards the Cafeteria where coffee can be found, along with other tasty things to eat. "Most people seem to be on the anti-mutant side. Or did I read you wrong on this?"

White Phoenix has posed:
"You didn't read me wrong. I am pro mutant," Hope says as she trails along beside the agent. Carefully she is wending further into the woman's mind. To find out location first and foremost. After that, the security measures in place. Basically anything she can gain that will help her when the next phase is implemented. Although she will be doing her own recon as well, not trusting things that may have changed since Skye visited.

"I happen to be one." Something SHIELD will be learning in the near future, if all the pieces fall into place. "I can blend in, obviously. I'm just tired of those who can't being attacked all for something a megalomaniac with delusions of world domination did." So much for candy coating her opinion of the Genoshan leader. As they enter the cafeteria, she looks around a bit like a deer in headlights.

Quake has posed:
The cafeteria isn't as busy as it might be were this a meal time, but there are still any number of people milling about the place. Skye dutifully leads on for coffee procurement, and throws a couple danishes on the tray for good measure. She's not eaten lunch, it will do. Though even as she thinks that, and thinks about what little she's gleaned about mutants and their often state of being in the world these days, the young woman frowns. "Are you hungry? I haven't had lunch, and I'd really rather not eat alone. Mind grabbing something to eat to keep me company?"

A second tray is grabbed and thrust Hope's way.

"My treat. They just tally it up and take it off my pay. I don't even see the bill. So have at. Think I even get a bonus this month. Holidays and all." Skye grins a grin she's not feeling to her core. It's all the truth. Skye just really hasn't the warm fuzzies about the holidays that most people have. Something to do with a lousy past and being a system kid.

There isn't but a bare blip in Skye's mind on the 'I am one' of Hope. Nothing more than that mild consideration that maybe the girl could use a good meal. And, perhaps in an irony, a pondering that maybe Hope would be a way to learn more about the mutant cause. If puzzlement on why *such* a hatred over Magneto. She's met the man. He didn't seem quite all that the papers had purported of the incident. A smug little bastard. Condescending. Clearly amused with himself. But not everything the attack on the President had suggested she'd have found when she visited him in that bunker.

All the while, completely oblivious to the fact that her mental wanderings are feeding exactly what Hope was looking for. In fact, if Hope had hand picked someone for this particular little venture, there were few others who would have been a better choice for this particular task.

White Phoenix has posed:
Interesting. This one doesn't seem to have a problem with mutants. In fact, only a few minds she touched while in the lobby did. It was a smaller percentage than Hope expected. At the offering of food, she looks a the tray in complete confusion. Then she looks at Skye's. Coffee, danishes. She just picks up stuff and puts it on the tray. The mutant woman looks over to others in the queua and realizes they are doing the same.

So much food. That is something she is still not used to. In her life, she had little to eat. Often it was MREs or whatever they could catch to cook, be it vermin or not. To see piles of it laid out before her is still shocking. Her Father has tried to explain it to her and she understands but some primal part of her feels the need to grab and horde while she can. She resists.

Onto her tray are piled a large serving of meatloaf, some mashed potatoes. She opts for a cup of coffee and a bottle of water. "Thank you," she says again. "This time if year seems to important to other people. It ...isn't as much for me."

She continues to tiptoe in Skye's mind, eavesdropping and picking up more information to tuck away for later.

Quake has posed:
Skye is fairly random in her food choices. She takes food like it either holds little meaning in her life, or too much. They way people who often go without grab at whatever comes first to their eyes and hands rather than surveying what is on offer and making choices based on taste and desire. Mostly she ends up with a tray filled much the same as Hope's.

At the register, Skye runs her ID badge through the reader, and the cashier waves her on through. It really was that simple. Sometime at the end of the month there would be a statement sent, and Skye's bank would autopay the amount. She rarely even looked at it. Which was rather trusting of someone in her line of work.

She finds them a table out of the way, and plunks her tray down, moving a danish over to Hope's once the other has sat down.

"enh. Don't sweat it. It's food. People have to eat. And I don't even really notice the money is gone so one more meal on my card won't make a difference." She shrugs. "Don't particularly like the holidays myself. Any of them, really. I can imagine why you probably don't. Or maybe not. But anyway, back to this whole mutant thing, so what exactly are you looking for? You know, in case there actually is something I can help you with." Knowing full well that shortly someone would arrive to escort the young mutant elsewhere. Whether that elsewhere be out, or to someone else's office. She should have time to finish eating first, though. And if not, Skye knew how to make extra time if it came to that.

White Phoenix has posed:
The danish is eyed critically. Hope isn't quite sure what it is. It's flaky but there seems to be some sort of something inside it. Cautiously, she takes a bite. Her green eyes go wide. "Oh my god, that's good," she mumbles around her mouthful of food. Dad would be so upset with her lack of manners. He really did try, despite the whole giant war against their species he was raising her through. She quickly chews and swallows before taking another bite with gusto. Only after the second bite is swallowed does she answer.

"Magneto had a personal agenda. Yes, the President was apparently dirty if all the accusations are true. But Magneto could've handled it some other way. The fact he did this, and he's in the past caused problems for mutants, it seems obvious to me it was all a ploy. He wants a war between humans and mutants. He doesn't care how many die, he has this belief he will be the one on the top of the heap when it's all over because of his powers." She shakes her head as she sips her coffee carefully, not wanting to burn her tongue. "He does have a lot of power but he forgets there are others that do too. And power doesn't make someone right or in charge. It's just a tool, like a fork or knife. Something to be used in the right way. I just want to know if he is going to be prosecuted or just packed up and shipped back off to his country. Cause if that happens, things will get worse."

Quake has posed:
Skye just wordlessly hands her own danish over to Hope's tray and carries on eating her own food. The meatloaf was surprisingly good.

"See, I don't get that. How can you /be/ a mutant and want to force a war on them that is only going to get more of your kind hurt than it helps? I can't even see an end game in that where the end justifies the means." Which really made her stop and think about her own past more. She'd expected that the information she'd released publically would do good - but how? Nay number of uprisings and upheavals had been caused by the sorts of things she'd discovered, especially when she'd been with Rising Tide. Even if she allowed that they'd gone a lot further than she herself was comfortable with.

And Magneto hadn't seemed.. that. What was it Fury had said to him? Something about "Why don't you tell us what is REALLY going on? And why you let yourself get caught?" - Yeah. That was it. There was something else going on. Skye didn't know what. But she knew she'd been caught in the middle of that one.

White Phoenix has posed:
Hope shrugs. "I don't pretend to understand it either. I just know that's the only outcome. Maybe he thinks that if he starts things, has the jump, he'll be more likely to win. Cause the war will likely happen either way. It seems to be inevitable. We just scare most people and when people are scared, they often strike out." She continues to work on her first danish then immediately picks up the second one Skye put on her plate. That was something she never had before and it was simply amazing. All creamy and flaky. Just delightful.

She doesn't like what she is picking up from Skye's mind. The man didn't come across as a monster. In her mind, he is evil and manipulative. Of course he would convince them that he wasn't a threat. He gave himself up because...well there had to be a reason and it was nefarious. She just knew it.

Quake has posed:
Yeah, it didn't make sense. Nor had Magneto's answer to Fury:

"I chose to give myself up, not my mind." Erik says in response before turning towards young "Agent Johnson, the eager student wanting to rise up in the ranks, so new that you shouldn't be here, but not new enough that Fury doesn't trust you. To some extent. That or you're the most expendable agent I've ever met." Erik says, his gaze slowly turning to level on Skye.

There were mindgames going on in that room that Skye couldn't put a finger on. Which reminded her, she'd meant to go back and visit him again. But she'd not been able to pin down that daughter of his in Genosha...

Skye shrugs. "I think it's an asshole move, if you ask me. But I don't think that's all that's going on here." Something she did know about was distractions. And this reeked of a mighty distraction. Which begged: What was being hidden.

White Phoenix has posed:
"He was the focus. While his associate inside pulled the trigger. There is no doubt he was in on it but the laws aren't going to be able to prove it unless Mystique is found and captured. Even then, she likely will never turn evidence against him." Hope considers a moment as she digs into her meal. She can't ask about the daughter. If she did, the agent would know that her mind was no longer private. But it was intersting that Magneto wanted the young agent specifically to reach out to his daughter. Why? It was all games with him. Chess and everyone were the pieces on the board for him to use.

"He's going to get away with it, isn't he?" she says in a softer voice, setting down her fork as her appetite wanes. With that thought, food just doesn't seem that important now. She shakes her head a little, trying to deny it but she knows the truth in her mind. Which helps to solidfy her resolve. Her plan must be carried out. She can't let anything stop it. Magneto cannot be freed and allowed to return to his mutant country where he was the ultimate power.

Quake has posed:
Skye sighs softly. She didn't even know what it was Magneto was getting away with. As things stood, she wasn't even sure the girl only meant the assassination. Especially as he hadn't pulled the trigger himself, and it seemed likely that actually pinning that plot on him was going to be difficult. One of those, 'we know you did it, but we can't prove it' things.

"If you ask me? Likely. But I'm nobody official. And I'm just going with a gut feeling. It's not like he's not under lock and key right now."

Even if 'for how long' wandered through her mind.

And again she puzzled over that whole business of finding his daughter and letting her know.. no, that wasn't how he put it. Give her some encouragment. Just what the hell was that supposed to mean anyway?

Skye frowned.

White Phoenix has posed:
The food on Hope's plate is forgotten now as she looks to Skye. Encouragement? For what? To help her deal with her father being a killer? Or to start stage two of a plan that was already in motion? The agent could be putting herself into the line of fire if she goes there. Not likely they would use the young agent as a hostage. SHIELD would likely just try to negotiate her release and really do nothing. The government couldn't be trusted to protect its people. Hope had learned that first hand.

"Under lock and key is good but it won't last forever without him being found guilty." Hope glances toward the door suddenly. At that precise moment, the security agents walk in. They look around a moment then spot the pair at the table. They walk in that direction.

"I wondered how long that would take," she admits as she gives Skye an almost playful smile.

Quake has posed:
Skye turns her head, and sees the security agents. "Not as long as I'd hoped," she murmurs.

Which leaves her limited time. "You know, we should do this again. Somewhere that they can't come and show you to the door. I know this nice pizza join in Brooklyn. I buy my beer from there." Skye couldn't believe she was now calling the frou-frou beer her beer to another human being. Admitting fully that she bought it regularly, even. It made her want to wince inside. "Need to hit it up again in a day or two. How about Friday night? Pizza's on me. I know the owner. He'll give us a deal. We can talk more then."

White Phoenix has posed:
There is a slight furrowing of Hope's brow at the invitation. It's foreign. Strange. Why would this woman want to talk to her more? Ah, she wanted to understand more about mutants and the situation they faced. She had picked up that much in Skye's mind. So she wanted to pick Hope's brain. The irony was not lost on the young woman.

She rose to her feet as the two agents came to a stop nearby, giving a tight but polite smile as they motioned to the door. Hope considered, just for a moment, defying them. To do so would endanger the plan. "What's the address?" she asks. And when she has it, she gives a nod to the other woman.

"It was nice meeting you. Looking forward to Friday. Oh...my name is Hope, by the way." And the she turns to let the agents escort her out, the pair falling in step to either side and a little behind her.

Quake has posed:
Skye tells Hope where Gino's pizza is.

As the pair of guards start taking Hope away, she grabs a takeout box and shoves the leftover in, writing a hurried note on a napkin and shoving it into the box on top of the food. She has to run to catch up with the trio, but she manages, and thrusts the bag into Hope's hands. "Your lunch. Sorry you didn't get to finish it. I threw in what was left over. You know, so you can eat it later."

White Phoenix has posed:
That is also confusing to Hope but she looks to Skye and gives a soft smile. "Thank you again. I'll see you Friday." Then she continues to be escorted down the corrider, her head held high and shoulders back as though she was not being forced to leave but doing so of her own free will.

Quake has posed:
Later, should Hope actually open the meal to eat it... :

~I might have information for you.~

Nothing more. Nothing less. If Hope had been considering not showing up on Friday, Skye hoped that would tip her over the edge into showing up. She knows there's always the possibility that Hope won't even look in the container, but will pitch it wholesale. Still, she tried. And if the past had taught her anything, these hunches often paid off. Really, the girl should buy a lottery ticket.