3478/The Calm Before the Storm

The Calm Before the Storm
Date of Scene:	23 December 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Skye brings a bow to a gun fight?
Cast of Characters:	Steve Trevor, Quake

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Steve Trevor has posed:
It was late, very late, but Steve Trevor was still on duty. He had volunteered to take the Christmas Eve shift, in order to spare his colleagues the trouble of sticking around the Triskelion. There were operating on a skeleton crew, it was Christmas After all, but someone had to be there, working away, even if there was very little to do.

He had caught up on all his paperwork; he had watched some television in his office, having just finished the Holiday for the millionth time. He did love that film so much. He had wandered the halls. And now he found himself in the swimming pool, doing a few laps. He wore a waterproof communicator on his wrist. There was a towel and a set of clothes he could hurridly put on next to the pool should the need arise, as well as his firearm. He wasn't shirking his responsibilities, but he was bored. It was so quiet right now.

Danza Kuduro by Don Omar and featuring Lucenzo began to play through the speakers, at a reasonable volume, as he did the backstroke. It was nice in the water, relaxing too, and then he looked at the clock, seeing the time, and though, will this shift never end? He could use some excitement right now. Where's Hydra when you need them?

Quake has posed:
Skye worked the last of her shifts before the holiday - not that she really kept proper SHIELD hours. The girl had taken some last minute target practice on the archery range with Merida (her bow) and called it a night. Or would have if the lights weren't on in the pool wing. Given most (if not all) were off with loved ones celebrating the holiday.. it piqued her curiousity as to *why*. Which is how she found herself poolside.

Steve Trevor has posed:
Steve and Skye were hardly the only agents left in the Triskelion. They were on a skeleton crew, but that still meant that there had to be dozens of agents in the building, if not more. There were people on monitor duty, listening for chatter. There was a tactical team, in case they were called into emergency service. There was security, maintenance, janitorial staff, medical staff, and so on. There were people in this world that would see a low time like Christmas Eve as an opportunity.

But when a woman approached the pool, wearing pants, a tank top, and holding a bow, none of it S.H.I.E.L.D. regulation, Steve suddenly found himself in something of a pickle. There were no klaxons, so if she was an intruder, she had gotten in past security without tripping an alarm. He took a breath and dove under the water, he held his place there for the moment, knowing her bow would be of limited use under there. It would give him time to think.

Quake has posed:
Sure... the place wasn't empty, but at this hour? Most folks didn't shuffle their butts to the pool or gym when it was pushing midnight on a regular day, let alone Christmas Eve. Which was why she'd stopped to take a peek in the first place. Like the archery range, folks just didn't hang around past dinnertime... Okay, the archery range had few who visited it at all. But the firing range had regular customers - just not.. this hour of night.

He had to belong here. You didn't get to hang in the Trisk without setting off some sort of alarm if you didn't belong here. Still, Skye was nosy. Nosy had gotten her into all sorts of trouble... and all sorts of 'run with it, but if it fails, it's on your head' from Director Fury. Really, one might wonder why she hadn't had her wrists slapped yet.

It didn't even occur to her that the bow might come across as a threat of sorts. Hell, everyone carried a gun or an ICER around here, a bow was pretty archaic. Even if she'd gotten decently good with it.

Skye found herself watching the submerged man, wondering just how long he was going to hold his breath under water. Really, if this were a showdown of any sorts, she had the upper hand - she wasn't holding her breath.

Steve Trevor has posed:
Yes, Skye wasn't holding her breath, but she was also a level 2 agent. Steve remembered that there was a panel in the floor, for just such an occasion. Opening it, there was no code for it. It was a panel on the floor. It was well marked, at least for anyone near it, and it was easy to open. There was a red mark around the panel, with an arrow indicating which way to open it. If someone ever needed it, chances are it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent rather than an intruder, and when suffering possible oxygen deprivation, there was no need to make a task any harder than it already was. There was a breather in there, which he took, putting it in his mouth, which enabled him to draw oxygen from the water.

With that on, he now had more time to think. There was a second panel inside, this one having a security code, where he was able to draw a waterproof gun. There was no end to what a runaway military budget could achieve, especially with the big brains they had at their disposal. There was also a flare pistol, which was marked. He had to read it, as even though he had probably been trained on this at some stage, it was staggering to remember these details.

Quake has posed:
Skye Johnson wasn't known for her ability to hold snark in. Fine, she didn't know about the breather, but really, you didn't need a degree in rocket science to realize the man in the pool wasn't holding his breath any longer, or that there was some sort of assistive device there. Clever, she had to give SHIELD that - and really, it shouldn't have been a surprise to the woman - but it was annoying.

Why the hell was the man not just surfacing?!?

"Oh, for fuck's sake. You are not making me get into that pool to ask who the hell you are and why you're hiding." Yeah. Skye was annoyed. And from her perspective, the man was hiding. Which made no sense. If you belonged here, you belonged here... well, okay. she had to admit there were some small few who bypassed security on a regular basis, but still, jump security to swim in the POOL???

It didn't even occur to her that the man might think *she* was the threat.

Steve Trevor has posed:
S.H.I.E.L.D. was good, but they weren't understanding spoken sound while underwater good. Steve had no idea what Skye was saying. But the woman was still there, waiting, and she still had the weapon. It wasn't knocked. He couldn't make out from this vantage point, through the distortion of the water, if she had a quiver, or arrow. Still, a trained archer could go from her position to firing in a fraction of a second.

It was Christmas Eve. He decided to take a chance. Rising, he had the gun, held just below the surface of the water. Firing out from the water would be as problematic as firing into it. So he wanted to be ready in case he needed to. He took the breathing apparatus off, so he could speak once he emerged. And he rose, breaking the surface of the water. He was low in it, presenting a minimal target. He had the gun, which was aimed at her. His blonde hair stuck to his head, as wet as ever. "Drop your weapon." He instructed in a clear voice.

Quake has posed:
Wow.

Just wow. And Skye's face totally telegraphed that sentiment. Whcih woudl have been enough, but NOOOOOO, she had to add verbal signifiers to it.

"What fucking weapon?" Right. She'd forgotten about Merida.. Which only had Skye shaking her head. "Do you /SEE/ any arrows? Is my fucking bow strung? You seriously are wired on.. oh my god, you did not just pull a fucking gun on me. Who the hell are you anyway??"

Yeah. Skye. Potty mouth. Not known for following rules. And generally didn't take well to such things as this.

Hey, at least she didn't draw her own weapon? (Where was her gun anyway?)

Steve Trevor has posed:
Yeah, she was either one hell of an actress, or she was a very junior agent, in civilian clothes, on Christmas Eve, with a bow. Somehow, he didn't expect her to be that good of an actress. So, he took the risk. He lowered his own gun. "Forgive me. It's Christmas Eve. Someone walks into the pool with a bow and arrow, in her civvies, and to me, it seems kind of out of place." He certainly sounded sure of himself.

There was something to his inflection, an air about him. He began moving towards the edge of the pool, still holding the gun and the re-breather, and hoisted himself up and out of the pool. He was soaking wet, but he'd have a towel soon enough. Once he slung the towel around his shoulders, he walked up to her, setting the gun and re-breather into one hand, so he could offer his right hand. "Name's Trevor, Steve Trevor." He purposefully decided not to identify himself as his former military rank of Colonel, or that he was a Senior Agent. It probably wouldn't have helped.

Quake has posed:
Enh. Skye had faced much more confident and sure of themselves. It really didn't phase her. It /should/ have, and lord knows May would probably be having a conniption fit right now.. but that was the beauty of May not being here. And, you know, the small matter of her not being Skye's training officer anymore. Sure, the girl wasn't without someone to report it, it just wasn't quite the same.

Not that Skye acted any different now as then. With her, what you saw was what you got. Irreverant to the core.

"Riiiight," she drawled. "Don't really care. Put the fucking gun away before I call security." She's not made a single aggreesive more.

Steve Trevor has posed:
"Yeah, that's not happening anytime soon. The emergency case needs to be reset. Everything has to be tested again. Probably have to drain the pool to do it. I don't know, that's kind of below my pay grade. So, do you have a name?" He deadpanned. She was being aggressive in word choices and attitude, if not in action. He seemed laid back by comparison. Almost smug with that smile.

Quake has posed:
Skye just shakes her head, smirking. "Wow. Yeah. Well, that's not my job, so good luck with that. Though if you't not who you say you are, my ass is grass if I walk away."

She smirks.

"Of course I have a name. Not really the question you wanted to ask, now, was it? How about we deal with you and some proof you're who you say you are, because fuck me, but I'm not gonna kiss some asshole's ass just because he says he's someone. Pretty sure that's rule 6 or something in the manual."

Steve Trevor has posed:
She may not know it, but Skye just made a friend there. Skye was a troublemaker. And Steve Trevor liked them. He used to be one himself. He was still on himself. At least he liked to pretend he was. Carefully moving away from her, to a nearby computer panel. He set the re-breather and the flare gun away, keeping the gun in his hand. He trusted her, the woman who refused to give her own name, and put his hand up to the scanner, stating aloud, "computer, identify me." The system computed his voice, his fingerprints, and announced, "Colonel Stephen Rockwell Trevor, United States Air Force, retired, Level 8 Senior Agent, third in command." It began mentioning his various decorations, and he said, "computer, halt." Then he looked to her, mimicking Hermione Granger, "and you are?"

Quake has posed:
That was the thing about Skye. She wasn't by the books. She'd never been by the books. And since her little converstaion with Fury not so many days past, the young woman was fairly secure in herself on that little matter. Not that Steve might know it (he might) but she also didn't drop names or contacts with the ease some others might - not even in the face of authority.

Hell, she hadn't given up Oracle to Fury, and she'd flat out admitted she'd given SHIELD access to the woman.

The security scan, though. That she knew was almost impossible to fake. Hell, she'd been part of making certain that little bit of code did what it was supposed to.

With an inclination of head she grudgingly gave him his due. "Fair enough. But if you're expecting some sort of apology, you've got the wrong agent." Her lips twist over a crooked smile of amusement. Others might be cowtowed by the name and rank, but she wasn't one of them. "Skye Johnson. Person resonsible for that little scan there doing its job since the Hydra attack. And before you start, I've heard most of it already."

Steve Trevor has posed:
"Ah, yes, I've heard of you. Should have known." Yeah, her personality, he'd heard of her. "But, shall we continue this after I've had a shower, and put on some clothes?" That was something about being in swimming shorts, a towel, and a gun, while she was in pants, tank top, and had a bow, that somehow made him feel like he was at a disadvantage. And cold. He was wet, and underdressed. So, he collected up the things he had set by the pool, in case of an emergency, a real one, and headed into the men's locker room.

Quake has posed:
Skye snorts, "I'm not joining you if you're asking. And I was just on my way off when I saw the lights on."

Yeah, Skye might have a rep. Some of it might even be good. Given his access, Trevor should know exactly what Skye had worked on and was currently working on. Few in and about the Triskelion did know, and probably without exageration, there wasn't anyone who could touch her for what she did. Even Nat had grudgingly given Skye her due.

Steve Trevor has posed:
Steve Trevor emerged several minutes later, looking freshly showered, and now fully clothed in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. He still smelled of chlorine, but there was now cologne added to it, and the scent of toothpaste, hair product, and the like. He was also carrying a bag, presumably with his laundry, and probably the extra gun, or, it had been dealt with, maybe left in the locker. It was hard to say, but he had his own regular guns attached to his uniform. "All right, you were saying...?""