7053/Russian Treasures

Russian Treasures
Date of Scene:	27 March 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Crimson Dynamo, Quake

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Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    The Data Galina had brought over had been sufficient to fill volumes. Intel would be breaking that stuff apart for years to come, but already some of the liner notes had paid off. A Debrief from some years ago in particular, came from an operation to meet with an Russian agent who at the time worked for the D.I.A. Everett Thomson had come promising treasure, but he'd seen way too many spy films. Once in the hands of the FSB he tried to be clever, and they shot him for it.

    Whats interesting about that little nugget, is that Everett Thomson's bank account was still around and had just one place drawing cash from it. Rent on an industrial storage facility in upstate NY. The Russians had probably seen the same thing of course, but even the FSB makes mistakes sometimes. Galina was still around, for instance right? All the same somone needed to go check the place out, and somone familar with Russian booby-traps was deemed a wise ride along. Galina had, incidentally specialized in explosives and demolition when she was still in the VDV.

    This wasn't a promising start however, she was supposed to meet Skye at the facility, but no sign of her. Thankfully she does send notice, if only via a text. "Running late, ran into some rough men. Will be there very shortly. Sorry!"

Quake has posed:
It was something of a surprise to be the one to catch this particular little rendezvous - but then again, Skye was totally part of 'Intel would be breaking this stuff apart for years', even if she had been more firmly placed into field agent category.

Which, if you thought about it, was how it was her here and not another agent.

That her contact was late didn't thrill Skye.

Her text, shot back:

DS >> Doing a perimeter check. No worries. Will be safe.

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    The Crimson Dynamo is an enormous, brilliant red monster. What streaks through the sky, circling around to set down in the parking lot? Well it's sure as hell not the Crimson Dynamo. It's sleek and angular at the same time, painted in a mess of angular greys save for the bright purple cyrillic painted across that chest plate. That's the "Ultra-Dynamo" mind, something she included only the most primative of blueprints of in those documents. Russians and their secrets right?

    Casually she cracks over the coms, "Dynamo on site, moving to the front entrance."Somone should probably have a discussion about keeping a low profile, but then again it's not every day you get to pal around with super secret Russian military hardware right? That three eyed, asymetric gaze sweeping the street for a moment before stepping up to the door and waiting. "Sorry I am late, agent. Less lethal means take longer, it seems."

Quake has posed:
Skye is - well, taken aback is one way to put it. Amused is another. Maybe a bit of concerned thrown in to boot (which might scare some people, Skye being the sensible one in the crowd). Her perimeter check was pretty much done by the time she's joined by their Russian defector.

Returned on comms, "Hey, Welcome to the circus. And yeah, we try not to kill folks if we can Less lethal might take longer, but it's less messy in the long run." They weren't Hydra after all! "You might want to work on that profile of yours. However, another time."

Because really, right now it was rather late to worry about subtle, or quiet, or you know, not being noticed arriving. So much for perimeter checks right? Then again, Skye knows what they're up against here, or the lack of what they're up against as it happens.

On comms, "So, what's the plan here?" Given this is the Dynamo's intel. That, and it wasn't going to hurt the burgeoning relationship with SHIELD to let the other have the larger latitude on this little investigation.

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    "Thompson was chemist, explosives engineer. Is prudent to believe contents are explosive, and also that the FSB has already been here."Theres a shrug there as she gives the doorway a tug, before slipping inside just as casual as can be. Theres a slow pan of that helmet once she's in, before looking down and to the right. An augmented reality feed perhaps?

    "Is clear, I detect no life signs."And a glance over her shoulder towards Skye. "Plan is to make visual inspection of the locker's contents, and then I was thinking of pizza. I spent all morning at shooting range, SHIELD facility is very nice but did not allow food or drink which is very silly."Just as casual as can be, but then again she's been at this sort've thing for a rather long stint.

    "Have you delt with the FSB before, or any of the Russian intelligence services?"One hand waving dismissively as she slips through the storage lockers. "I can presume you have not operated beside armor, or any Russian for that matter?"

Quake has posed:
Skye can confirm the lack of life signs by listening for them. One of the more interesting side effects of her change into a powered being. "Gotcha. Locker. Pizza.. wait. Did we really just agree to pizza.. and yeah. No food or drink on the shooting range." Skye might not be so concerned about her SHIELD issued guns, but she's very protective of her bows and is already imagining that and how it could go badly.

She lists off the regular litany about the FSB, as well as a few other choice tidbits she's picked up off the dark net - mostly as a gesture of goodwill, and to demonstrate that there are some tricks SHIELD has, and she's one of them. "Mmm, actually, I worked with, well, we called him the Benefactor. He's not rightly alive. He's a computer program in a robotic body. A really well made synthetic robotic body. You wouldn't - well, okay, most people wouldn't know it to see him. A few odd mannerisms. But beside someone like you, no. You ever work with someone like me before?"

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    "Sputnik, member of the People's Protectorate and an associated element of the Winter Guard. An AI with a body made of liquid metal, but he was exiting service when I entered the Dynamo program. Came out of the Blue house, along with the first Titanium man armor. As cruel as the Titanium man, and unfortunately still alive I believe."Western intelligence likely had photos, but never a name until now. The old Winter Guard and the Protectorate were ghosts, fuzzy photographs and rumor mostly.

    She pauses in front of a locker, before giving the roll up door a careful study. "Blue Room monsters, and the Dynamo program never got along though. They were KGB back then of course, which is all the reason they've ever needed to hate the Army programs like the Winter Guard and the Dynamos."And after some thought, she slips those dull finger claws into the door and pulls. Bisecting the door at about two feet, and tearing a hole to expose the mountains of wooden crates inside. "I have heard that Razrushennoy took him out, but I was never very close with the Vityaz people. I would like to believe he did, Razrushennoy was good people. He deserved to have taken out some evil things before his assasination."

Quake has posed:
Skye watches the locker 'opening' with mild amusement, even as she's considering there are more circumspect ways to go about this. Making a mental note that someone needs to have a little talk with their new friend about some of the more subtle differences in how SHIELD goes about things. Like not ripping lockers open in a way that's pretty much a calling card. However, in this case she's willing to go with the flow. the likelihood that they're not already a topic of general conversation somewhere is nearly nil.

"You worked with some pretty fucked up people. You know that, huh?" No surprises there, right? "Can't say I've got a squeaky clean past." Not even close, though she'd told herself at the time that real people weren't getting hurt so it was okay.

All the while on continual lookout and listen for unexpected guests, or anything else that might interrupt their investigation.

"Sputnik sounds like a real charmer. We know who the Benefactor is now." There was a whole story there, too. "Hey. Not sure anyone said it to you yet, but uh.. I guess I just wanted to say we're glad you decided to trust us."

As far as that went, anyway.

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    "FSB yes, they make habit of employing monsters. We never wanted them in Winter Guard, but it was deemed necessary by Kremlin so it was. Army men though, heroes all. Dark Star, The Red Guardian, Ursa Major, The Cossack, Razrushennoy, The first through eight Dynamos, all Army. Army sought heroes, told us that a heroes heart outweighed any mortal judgement. All sold their lives dearly for their fellow man, without care over fame or pay."And a pause as she reaches through to fiddle with something before -pop-.

    "MDT-33 artillery arming fuze."And ever so casually she offers the thing to Skye, a pound or so worth of hardened pre-fragmented steel and plastic explosive, wired into a initiator. Now inert, with it's leads plucked free. "Not FSB work, this is US army improvised explosives manual text book. Man was worried about covering his tracks."And a pause as she sticks her helmet through that gap "Looks like three stage explosive, I will need to dismantle booster before I can render this location safe."And finally she leans back to give Skye a..well ok she has a helmet on who knows what look it is.

    "I do not trust you. I believe you will act in best interest of country, as you understand them. It remains to be seen if you are functionaries, or heroes."And with a grab, she lifts that door up and forces it up into the stowed position. Exposing crates and wires and, ok a lot of wires and car batteries. Don't forget the car batteries. "I have served along side many Heroes, most of them have been Russian so far."

Quake has posed:
The inert initiator is held gingerly, while Skye makes a face at it. "Right. Booster. Needs to be dismantled. Let me know if I can help with that."

As she says it, though, she's already mentally preparing for the worst, and the possibility of having to make a containment shield around the thing in case it goes *BOOM*. New trick she's learned with her powers. Handy. Useful in situations like this. One she'd really rather not have to employ.

"Ah. Yeah. Okay, so maybe trust isn't the right word. But something, right? I mean, you came to us over anyone else you could have. And we're not all that bad." At least she has faith that SHIELD isn't that bad, knowing full well the sorts they'd absorbed under their umbrella, and taken on as family. Knowing that they'd offer the Dynamo the same protections - a thing the Russian agent can't understandably wrap her head around right now, not knowing what she's walked into well enough yet.

"Heroes come in all sorts of packages," Skye says carefully, regarding the trove of batteries and wires. "Holy shit that's a lot of explosive in there. Mind if.. Hrm. How about this approach - how long do you think disarming will take? I can shield the workspace so if anthing goes wrong it's contained, but I can't hold it forever." Then there's the added caveat, "But you'd be within the blast zone."

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    "A few minutes, this is not a complicated device."Casually lifting a gauntlet up to unlatch her helmet with a hiss of pressure, before setting it aside. Theres a pause there, as she unlatches her chestplate and lets it drop open on a neat little hinge to reveal a neat little tool kit. Nevermind the cartoon bears she's doodled, or the bright red paint hiding under there mind.

    "Where else was I to go, what other government was likely to allow me to continue my work?"And well she gets right to it, tugging a crate open to study the tangle of wires, blasting caps and god knows what else. "Do you know why the Dynamo is red, or why it looks so much like plate armor of olden days?"A wire is tugged free, followed by another, and another. "I was just telling this to somone else the other day, it would seem the Dynamo is not well understood in the west."

Quake has posed:
Skye put's a protective shield around the area Galina is working in - it's a little larger than she's practiced, so it's a good thing this is only going to take a few minutes, as too much longer and she'd start having to exert herself, and from there on in thigns get dicier. Being one of the newer things she's learned about herself it's still an effort compared to some of her other abilities.

The shield doesn't stop sound, though - at least not as it's currently constructed. She's not actually tried to do anything to stop sound, other than dampening it in her own hearing, because man were things way too noisy until she learned that.

"I guess I'd have to say maybe a nod to traditional Russian colouring? Red Tide and all that, but you lost me on the olden days armour. I'm guessing there's a reason?"

Expecting the other will share.

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    "A Bogatyr is a Heroic knight of old, the finest warriors of "Rus" as the land was known then. Legendary warriors of might and valor, who wore bright red so their enemies would find them. In doing so they would spare their less experienced comrades the attention, and they would of course also inspire. Clad in red armor they vanquished dragons, giants, fought the Witch baba-Yaga, you name it. In the olden times though, Heroes wore red."And another few wires are plucked.

    "So the armor was designed to look like plate mail, and it was painted red. Hell first armor was planned to carry sword and shield, but that never worked out. Anyway in tradition Polianitsa are female Bogatyr, brave and noble women warriors. When I went to Academy at age eight, no girl wanted to be a Princess. We all wanted to be a Polianitsa, fierce protectors of the innocent. The red is so I will never be mistaken, and I will never be missed. So my deeds be they brave or cowardly, will be seen by all."And finally out comes a mess of wires, followed by a brick of C4. "To wear the armor, to fight the good fight and to uphold the old traditions."

    "This is why I never quit, why I never give up when I lose arm and leg, eye and country. I knew I would not survive this duty, but I swore oath. So any place which allows me to continue my duty, is where I will go. SHIELD is this place, you understand now?"Stepping back finally to snag her cigarettes and light one up. "Life is temporary, legend is eternal."

Quake has posed:
"Ahhh, I get it. So in a weird way.. right, so if you checked me out," and lets face it, her face was plastered on world news for months not quite a year ago, so even if you didn't check her out "you know I'm a hacker. We're kinda weird. We hide, but we leave our name out there for everyone to see. Especially if you're one of us. Even our code has telltale signatures in it. Not our names, but strings that are unique to us. Like to the point we don't copy that shit, not even to frame one another."

Not unlike a fingerprint, only moreso given there sacrosanct nature of how they don't touch or imitate one another, even though it wouldn't be a stretch for the best hackers to do so.

"So you're like in plain sight, even as you're hiding. I mean, I'm kinda guessing here. So you're all her - everyone sees you and your deeds add to that?"

She nods, and as the other woman steps back, Skye gratefully lets the shield she was holding drop. She's not fully exhausted, but it had pushed her limits.

"We're like that," she says quietly. "In our own way. We commit to this thing we believe in. It becomes our life, some of us. Most of us. We give up shit you wouldn't - well, okay you might believe - to keep at it so that other people don't have to. So they can get up in the morning and curse us for anything propaganda says, or love us, or whatever. Point is, we do it so that people can make that decision for themselves.. oh wow, yeah. So much kool aid, huh?"

She gives the other woman a lopsided grin. "You'd never know I spent my first year with SHIELD wanting to escape, huh? I think I understand."

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    "Well we all know I am the tenth Dynamo, but if you ask anyone? There is only one Dynamo, and there has always only been one. A shared lie, to protect the desire for a Bogatyr in dark times."Theres a nod there as she lights up a smoke, puffing away as she eases across the short hallway before slumping against the far wall. Content to let Skye do the investigating.

    "This armor will be painted red when it is ready, for now it still has not earned the right to wear red."Theres a shrug there, crossing her armored boots comfortably at the ankle. "You are not a soldier, which is no slight. Is noble in different way, but it is why I am not subtle. I want them to shoot at me, to be focused on me so people like you may do your work. Together, we triumph."And a little shrug there. "It is not vanity, any more than your work is. It is just who and why we are, the breed of creature we grew to be."

Quake has posed:
Skye settles in to check out what they've got here, speaking as she goes along.

"Nope, not a soldier, though it turns out I can do some soldiery things now. Makes it a bit weird. But maybe okay. I mean, I guess if you're going to do this, you should be able to defend what you believe in."

She casts a look over her shoulder, grinning. "No offense. I mean, I'd rather people like you took the heat, but I think I'm now people like me and maybe a bit of both. But you're going to need to learn some subtle too. Kinda like I need to learn that outside the box is fine, but there's a reason there's a box."

She shrugs. She's still learning that one.

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    Javelin missiles, albeit not recent models. These things are about five years old judging from the printed on date, boxes of brass cones and plastic explosives. A bomb maker for hire it would seem indeed. Granted, no more surprises it would seem.

    "If you can not stand for something, you should sit the fuck down."Galina summarizes, neatly. "Still as far as I can see, SHIELD does not train in proper infantry tactics. Feels like shooting course produced by somone who has more theory than practice, too much silliness and not enough reality. Even a twelve year old with a rifle can get lucky, it does not make sense to be so aggressive. It's silly, unless you're in armor."

Quake has posed:
"Gee, this guy is a real treat, isn't he?" So she's got information to take back. "Could make this all go boom under a shield and save us all some trouble," Skye muses. "That or call a team in to deal with it. We might actually want some specs on this mess." Like what the id numbers tell them about where they came from and the like. Even a lack of id numbers doesn't mean there aren't ways to track the things. But that's not Skye's department.

"I don't know. We do things differenlty here. We train so that we don't have to use force. It sounds really backwards, but it works. But I'll let you take your complaints up with the powers that be if you decide to settle in a little more formally. Pretty sure we could use your expertise."

And there she goes again, inviting and slotting people into places where she sees them fitting neatly. It's either a talent, or a curse, but given how she's moved up through the agency, one might suspect there are some see potential in that.

Crimson Dynamo has posed:
    "We will see, I will be on call for time being. If I like you, I will be around more often. If I do not, I will go my own way."A little shrug there, before flicking that cigarette away. As non-committal as the english language allows for sure.

    And so she rises, carefully pulling that helmet back down and giving her shoulders a roll. "I will go take off armor, and we can meet for pizza. Place has good beer menu, apparently. Thankfully, I am not -on duty- all day long yeah?"And with a hiss of pressure, the suit seals itself back up. Those eyes flare to dim life in dim purple, those Venkos thrumming over as the power levels rise.

Quake has posed:
Skye's features blossom into a shit eating grin. "Oh, we are so doing pizza and beer. And if we like you, you can come to my place sometime and we'll introduce you to home cooking, and the ugliest purple couch you've ever seen. I swear to god it's a good thing I love that man, because his taste is horrible."

And once a team is called and dispatched to deal with the bomb materials here, they do just that - go out for pizza and beer.

Turns out Skye isn't always on duty either.