3524/Some Birds do not Sing

Some Birds do not Sing
Date of Scene:	30 December 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Red Robin

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Melinda May has posed:
It's been literal months since May last contacted the Batman, but that by itself is not at all unusual. More recently, though, she'd heard noises about someone trying to start up a new human trafficking ring with Gotham's oceanfront docks as the ingress points. And she knows that that is something Batman would want to know about.

She'd done the usual: gone to the open access computers of a particularly out of the way public library, used a free email account created for this purpose to send a message to Batman requesting a meet and ... nothing.

She's been on the appointed rooftop on the appointed evening for two HOURS past the appointed time despite how increasingly frigid it's become and still nothing.

She's about to give up and head back to New York.

Red Robin has posed:
    A few hours after watching the Batman have a confab with the most relaxed Martial Arts Master ever, and only mildly making a complete fool of himself, Red Robin has strayed into one of the less patrolled areas, getting his head clear. It is still an area deserving of patrol though. He busted up an attempted rape and mugging just a few blocks from here just a few weeks ago.

    Perched atop a building with his binoculars on his face, Tim Drake visibly starts. It's the SHIELD agent, May, from the Stark party. He frowns at that. SHIELD knows better than to disrupt their operations. His eyes narrow behind his mask as he runs the numbers. They must need something.

     As she finally gives up, there is a quiet, confident voice behind her. She maybe detected movement before she heard the voice, but the young man is far too good to pulling this level of sneakery at his apparent age.

    THe hood is settled over his hair. The mask obscures the face. The cloak is wrapped about the young man who is crouched some 30 feet away. He rises with perhaps a faint whisper of cloth as the cold night wind teases at the cloak's ends. "You are not the sort of woman who gets stood up. What brings you to Gotham?" His voice is barely a baritone, but it carries a youthful resonance and a casual confidence. It is a respectful tone, but he obviously expects some sort of answer. Even as he rises, the right hand is kept inside the cloak.

Melinda May has posed:
May, sure enough, picks up the faint sound of cloth rustling and starts to turn just as the younger than expected voice speaks. She studies the slim man in the hood and cape standing there in Batman's place, any lingering tension in her frame seeming to bleed away. For anyone sufficiently versed in martial arts, that would be an indicator that she's fully prepared to fight if this person chooses to try and attack her.

"I was hoping to speak with someone in particular." She leaves it at that, to see the young man's reaction. Well, whatever reaction she'll be able to pick up. Damned hoods and capes and other concealing garments the Batman and apparently his associates as well seem to prefer.

Red Robin has posed:
$    "Agent. If I wanted to fight I would have been a little sneakier yet." It isn't a threat, it's reassurance. "You came to talk to the big, bad, bat. I'm not big, and I'm not a bat. You're a hard woman. I can tell. So how about we all just talk? " He tilts a confident smile that maybe if she was 20 years or so younger might melt her heart a little.

    "He, obviously, is not here. I wasn't briefed to expect you." His left hand works the clasps off his cloak.

    He removes it, but it never blocks his eyeline. If he had anything in his right hand, it is empty by the time it can be seen.

    "How about you let me show you I'm a decent human being. You can borrow my cloak. It's warm. It's cold up here." He holds the cloak out. He tilts his left brow just a little. He is watching her. he's giving her a huge advantage, and he knows it. Her hands will be hidden.

    "If that doesn't buy your trust, I don't know what else will. Like i said, I'm not the Bat. But I am able to listen for him, and in some cases I can speak for him too, I had no idea you were up here, and I don't know what the situation is. Brief me. We'll handle business?" He opens his right hand, to show her his palm. No weapon hidden in there.

Melinda May has posed:
May is still for a few moments, as if trying to suss out any pitfalls in the young man's offer. She must not find any, as she reaches out to accept the cloak, her own hands empty, but her leather-like jacket following her movements with the slight stiffness that indicates concealed armor plates or weaponry or perhaps both.

settling the cloak over her shoulders, May then starts to explain her reason for being on this rooftop, outlining the intel that had been gathered using the very limited resources available to SHIELD in regards to Gotham. "... I know it's incomplete at best, but this is the entirety of the intel SHIELD has gathered so far."

She offers a USB memory stick in her left hand.

Red Robin has posed:
    "Agent, I appreciate that. But in our world?" He seems to include her in his world. He doesn't reach for it yes. "You would normally expect something of similar value. I have nothing to offer you at the moment. "I don't want to take advantage of that. It sets up inequities. It makes us look bad and unprofessional. I am taking over some of our liaison work. I likely will be your contact, but I cannot be certain my partner wants me do business with you. SHIELD is sometimes..." He doesn't say it, but she knows there her agency has played dirty. "How should a guy get hold of you, agent? and I mean you. Not your secretary. Not your partner. You. You are trading on your integrity. I'll trade on mine. What sort of data are you looking for?" He seems curiously intent on being an honest broker. "If you need bonafides. Ask Tigra of the Avengers if I deliver on promises? Fair enough?"

    His mask gives away nothing of his eyes, but he is definitely watching her. 'I am not trying to bait you. I would rather not take from you and have him tell me that he didn't show up to talk to you for a reason?" His head tilts to the side as he regards her seriously.

Melinda May has posed:
"I'm not looking for any data. I just want to see anyone who dares think they're somehow exempt from normal societal conventions getting their just desserts. And if that means that intel has to leave SHIELD's juristiction to become useful, so be it." May keeps her hand held out with the USB memory stick sitting there on her palm so innocently.

"I keep an email address for this purpose only. And I do not ever access that account from any SHIELD equipment. Will that suffice?"

Red Robin has posed:
    The USB stick gets picked up by deft fingers. Fast hands. Real fast. Red Robin considers her. "I have a weakness for seeing the same thing happen." He agrees succinctly. He hates being on the receiving end of these things. He always thins about all the horrible things he could put on one. They are such a pain to make sure they are clean.

    "It's a start." Red Robin tells her. "You are smart enough not to be followed, but who monitors your digital footprint? Who cleans up after the cookies? Ho do you know you are not observed and a keylogger is not placed on your terminal?" he regards her seriously. "It will work, but if this becomes a long term arrangement, we'll end up having to get in touch with you via our own terms." His smile is small, "And I think it will work out fine. I'll see to it that this gets into the right hands, Agent. Thank you. What else can I do for you?" This isn't a deal with SHIELD, this is a deal with a single agent. More research is going to be needed on this agent. Barbara is so going to tease him about 'May-Decembers'. His grin widens a little.

Melinda May has posed:
May doen't so much as twitch when the young man snatches the USB drive out of her hand. That was kind of the point. "I have no such assurances beyond this." She holds up another small device about the same size as the USB drive and presses a button. An LED lights up on the device, and every last wireless communication signal around them is abruptly blocked. She turns it off again just as fast. "I don't use the same terminal twice in a row, and I choose which terminal to use at random. If that's not sufficient, I am willing to arrange an alternate form of contact." Though she can only think of one truly untraceable way to do that, and send messages via Castiel isn't exactly what she'd call reliable.

Red Robin has posed:
    Given his whole outfit is a special, secure Bluetooth network full of stuff, he gives her a flat look from inside his mask. He all but winces as his com goes nuts due to the temporary disruption of his monitoring. "I'm fine. Technical issue. It's been sorted."

    The young man just gives her a look for a moment. "If this becomes a more common occurrence, we will work out a system that works out a little better for everyone involved." He assures her.

    Doing some mental calculations. "Want to meet back after the new year? Contact us, and one of us, almost certainly me, will get in touch with you and we will discuss the arrangement after we have time to see if this is the sort of thing we can take action on?" His tone remains professional and calm throughout the exchange, even the loss of his personal network and coms doesn't cause him to change his tone.

Melinda May has posed:
May nods. "I can likely arrange that. If I need to send a message and the airwaves aren't secure enough, do you have an alternative?" Burner phones are a one time only thing, so they're out because that'd start becoming noticeable on its own. The email she's used up to now isn't entirely foolproof even if it has worked thus far. She sure has hell can't afford to take the time out to DRIVE here every time, and she's pretty sure a quinjet would be the biggest no ever.

Red Robin has posed:
    "You are good for now, agent." Red Robin assures the woman in a calm tone. "If you are being as careful as you say, it is not an issue in the foreseeable future. Our digital security is only improving. I am certain that this face to face meeting scenario will only be needed a couple of times." His brows lift. "Do you need me to swing you someplace else, ma'am?"

    His tone is not at all sarcastic.

Melinda May has posed:
"No, I can get back on my own." She got here on her own, after all. And there is honestly nothing this city could reasonably throw at her that she isn't prepared to handle. "I'm guessing you can get by on your own as well." It's not a question, it's a statement. After all, if this young man is anything like the Batman that he's acting as proxy for, there's equally nothing on Gotham's streets that can do more than make him hesitate for the briefest fraction of a second.

Red Robin has posed:
    He readies his grapnel gun. "As a rule. Keep the cloak. It's cold out." Red Robin assures her. "I will look into this. Be safe, agent. Expect to speak with us again in the new year.: He lifts the launcher, points, and fores. After it grasps, off he rockets, skywards, giving the agent a little salute with one hand.

Melinda May has posed:
May opens her mouth to protest, but he's gone too quickly. She's left to huff faintly to herself. How the HELL is she supposed to wrangle a cloak on the motorcycle she used to get here? After a moment, she pulls a small folded square of fabric out of her jacket, shaking out to reveal a simple drawstring backpack, and the cloak gets shoved inside. Because, really. That's the only way.