7062/Catching Coulson up on current events.

Catching Coulson up on current events.
Date of Scene:	28 March 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	May has a meeting with Coulson. Skye, Barnes, and others crash and that's okay.
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Phil Coulson, Winter Soldier, Quake, Hawkeye (Barton), Nyx

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Melinda May has posed:
Being Deputy Director honestly kind of stinks. She's slated for back to back meetings when she's not in charge of the Operations floor, and getting a chance to eat is sometimes chancy. In fact today it was nearly a bust, but then she saw who she was scheduled to meet with and quickly sent a message to change the location of the meeting. There are very few agents she'd do that with, but she knows in this case it will be entirely acceptable.

In the cafeteria near the residential section of the Triskelion, May is seated at a corner table -- one usually reserved for 'eat while we meet' situations just like this. It's a large table, too, with more than enough chairs for half a dozen people, so most of the surface is empty. In front of May is a gently steaming cup, and she's got an order already in with the kitchen for something to eat.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Phil Coulson is already getting a decent dinner of spaghetti and a side salad from the food court area when Melinda sits down... and about a minute later, Phil walks in with an amused smile, the two plates in hand as he approaches. "Wow. Not much has changed since last time, has it?" Phil muses out loud as he gets near one of the chairs. Normally, he'd ask for permission... but this is a scheduled meeting, so he sits without prompting, settling his two plates in front of himself.

Times march has given Coulson a new wrinkle around his crows feet, but his personality is as warm as it's ever been. "So. He got you in a desk finally, huh?" Phil teases.

Winter Soldier has posed:
With Frank Castle and his cyber sidekick gunning for him, Buck's gone to ground in the Triskelion. He's taken up residence in one of the set of nondescript guest quarters, and generally been a ghost, save for training....and walking and playing with his service dog. For Steve's got him one - a big German Shepherd with a coat of black and golden-brown. She's heeling by him now, in her vest, her claws clicking softly as she and Bucky come in.

May and Coulson get a mute upnod, as he goes to see what's on offer....but that looks like a professional meeting, and not socialization, so he doesn't interrupt.

Quake has posed:
Pizza and beer had turned into.. well, more pizza and beer. More beer than Skye had had in a long time, as it happens, and today had been spent in more than a slight bit of.. well, we'll call it discomfort and move along. Between filing reports on the intel she'd acted upon, and the goods they'd gathered, and dealing with her AiT Samantha, and the usual gamut of her duties, which only seemed to be compounding, it had taken until this point in the day for Skye to actually have a few free moments to grab a bite and a cup of coffee.

Almost unheard of, right??

Of course she didn't realize it had gotten this late in the day already. And her planned snack turned out to be today's special of lasagna. Luckily, her choice for where to sit was made easy by spying Assistant Director May, who as it happens, Skye needs to speak to anyway.

She saunters over, "Mind if I join?" Sitting before she's told no. Because Skye.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Coming up from the gym Clint hits the caffeteria for the meatloaf and potatoes, then spotting the little gathering, he heads that way stopping when he spots the elusive Bucky out and about.

"Hey man," Clint greets. "You wanna come sit with us? I know we're the cool kids and all but trust me you, man, you qualify," he says with a wink.

He doesn't bother asking he knows that's just pretty much how things work around here. Once you're in the family you're in. No questions asked.

Melinda May has posed:
May looks at Coulson when he sits at her table with food already in hand and nods as she moves to stand. "Let me go get my food and then we can--" She spots Barnes entering, responds to his upnod hello with a single nod and her eyes flicking from the sniper to the food line then to her table. There's no real way to non-verbally add a 'please'.

Of course, it doesn't hurt when Skye just plops herself on down at the table without bothering to ask and Clint inviting Bucky as well.

So, maybe it was for the best that she claimed the big table.

"I'll be right back," she tells Phil, her lack of annoyance at Skye's arrival making it clear she's okay with the younger woman joining them even if that had not been on the meeting agenda list.

Nyx has posed:
Samantha comes trudging into the food-a-tarium. Which wouldn't be all that unusual really if not for the fact when Agent Johnson and her called it an official day well Sam had been quite insistent that she was going out for dinner in the wilds, beyond the Triskelion. Stretching her metaphorical wings.

She has not been gone nearly long enough to get a meal unless it was a dirty water dog and she is also heading to get something from the cafeteria line, loading up some quick serve choices, soup, sandwich, and a soda and then pivoting back around to find a table.

Phil Coulson has posed:
A lot of new faces for Phil, and each one gets a checkmark in his mind as he matches profiles to faces. "Right..." Phil offers in response off-handedly as all the newcomers come in. "Was this planned?" Phil asks, a hint of amusement lacing the question as he wraps his fork around some spaghetti and brings it up. "This feels planned."

Chomp. A few seconds of chewing and a swallow later, "I get the feeling I've missed a lot."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Apparently Bucky speaks May's particular kind of non-verbal communication. There's another little nod, and he's turning back to dish out pasta for himself, as well.

At Clint's more overt invitation, the ghost of a smile appears. "Sure," he says, softly....and once he's served himself, he makes his way quietly over. Dressed only in t-shirt and jeans, making no attempt to hide the arm. He settles down, and the dog sits neatly at his side - offering his human hand across the table. "James Barnes," he says. As if Coulson doesn't know that face from his trading card collection; having a complete set of the Commandos' cards is a rare prize,and only for completists.

Quake has posed:
Skye grins when Bucky sits down. "Hey, had a thing with that girl you like last night."

She doesn't elucidate yet, but stabs a fork into her meal, nodding to the others at the table, and noting a few other familiar faces wandering in the cafeteria crowd.

"Weird, she said she was going out to dinner, and yet she's back here." Skye frowns slightly, then shrugs. She'd already released Samantha for the day, it's not like she has to worry about the younger agent (and yet, she still does).

A nod for Phil, who she's met before, but only briefly and peripherally. "Hey."

Yep. Not much on respect titles, our Skye.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Great," Clint says to Bucky leading the way to the table.

"Heya Keyboard, Coulson," he greets turning a chair next to chair around to straddle it as he sets his tray down. A look is given to May as she wanders off to get her food, with a 'huh'.

"So, what's the word, Coulson, back for real now?" he asks him as he starts in on his food.

Nyx is noticed too and gets an upnod of greeting.

Nyx has posed:
Well she notices everyone true, but she is the rookie trainee on her 4th actual day so she just peers over at the table full of people and then Sam starts angling for a nearby table but not intruding. They may be on some super spy discussion topic or meeting really.

She can always ask the questions of Skye tomorrow she figures, well that and it may make the news by then so yeah why borrow trouble right. She does return Clint's upnod though and a smile.

Melinda May has posed:
"Not planned, but increasingly normal anymore." May would consider joking that Skye uses the security uplinks to track her whereabouts and then follow her around like a lonely cat, but not in front of the children.

She steps away to the counter where short order items are usually sent out from the kitchen, and is promptly handed a plate of non-spaghetti pasta with a slab of still-sizzling grilled chicken plunked on top ( http://tinyurl.com/yyyc9gbv ). She detours to get herself a cup of the same soup Samantha got, utensils and a stack of napkins, and then she's back just as Bucky is introducing himself to Phil. She waits for the others to settle at the table and then continues the introductions that Barnes started.

"Agent Daisy Johnson, Agent in training Samantha Twining, Sargeant Barnes, this is Agent Phil Coulson." She gives Skye a brief but significant look. Mind the manners, at least for the moment.

Quake has posed:
Samantha's reluctance is noted, and all things equal, Skye nods her chin at the younger woman. "Looks like open seating," she calls over. "Feel free to join us if you want."

May's introduction to Coulson, along with that significant look puts a smile upon Skye's lips that reads 'authority figure in the room', but her 'Nice to meet you, Sir," is both polite and sincere. "I've heard good things about you. Mostly through Clint."

Yes, there had been stories. Most of them involving old television shows and movies. Allllll the pop culture.

Phil Coulson has posed:
"That isn't up to me." Phil states in reply to Clint without missing a beat as he gets more spaghetti. Another swallow, and he looks to Bucky, "Interesting. You probably have a story for coming here. I'd love to hear it sometime." Phil notes, before he looks to Nyx, "We've met already. Nice kid." Phil gives a side nod to Nyx, before he looks to Skye... and a smile that reaches his crows feet lights up his face, "I see you're going to be a fun one." A little light teasing.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Winter Soldier makes one of those indefinite little moues at Phil's response. A story, indeed - HYDRA's assassin now apparently tame and sitting down to dinner. He takes a bite or two before something Skye said sinks in,and he asks, blankly, "Girl I like?" The pale eyes are guileless - no hint of embarrassment there. He genuinely doesn't know who she means. Did someone issue him a girl to like and not tell him?

Nyx has posed:
Ah yisss, Samantha gets the nice kid and Skye gets tol she is going to be a fun one. That actually coincides with a smile from the teenager.

Also Skye's invitation because well she doesn't want to intrude but she doesn't want to necessarily eat alone either, so she veers from the table near them to the table with them and settles in a seat. "Thanks again Agent Coulson." yup he was a life saver the other night.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint nods, "Yeah, true enough I guess," he says to Coulson around a bite of his dinner. They went where they were sent... well mostly, when it came to Clint.

He had a rep for refusing the shady ops.

There's a smirk for Bucky's answer about the girl he likes. "He's good, I almost bought that," he says to the others. In truth Bucky sounded totally legit but he wasn't going to admit it.

Melinda May has posed:
"So, now that you're all here invading our meeting, you get to contribute. Coulson, I wanted to bring you up to speed on an operation we have in progress. A vigilante known as the Punisher has been targeting Barnes," she nods to Bucky, "and his attacks have been escalating. Skye has been using her outside contacts to arrange a meet with the man so that he and I can hopefully have a calm conversation." She starts into her pasta and looks across the table at Skye. "Any word from your contacts?"

Quake has posed:
Skye, midway to forking a mouthful of lasagna to her lips, puts her fork down with reluctance. "Actually, yes. I've had a response from my contact. Frank Castle has agreed to a meetup. We've been given an option for location. We might want to scout it out in prep, but what I've already pulled on it, it seems rather nuetral in all the ways we want. Maybe slightly in his favour, but I don't think we're going to avoid that."

She hasn't her laptop, but she's got her tablet, which is pulled out and tabs opened, the device handed over to the Senior Agent. "So that's what we're looking at. Easy access for us all. Lots of rooftops at observation range. Not a whole lot in collateral damage range if things go tits up."

She'll let May and Clint deal with the nitty and the gritty of those details when it comes to it.

"Oh, I do have a report for you on our friend from the other night. Specifically about last night's little confidence mission. You want the debrief now, or to wait for the report?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
Maybe it's the mention of Castle, or maybe he's just run out of sociability points....but there's that sort of shuttering behind Buck's eyes. He's apparently done with dinner - he's eaten a decent amount of it, not merely picked at it - and picks up his tray as he rises. "Later," he says, simply. And with that, he's heading out, pausing only to hand off tray and plate. The dog doesn't get the scraps, apparently - she also gets up and keeps pace with him.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Can likely coax the new cloaking D.W.A.R.F. out of Fitzsimmons for the meet if folks want, might be a good way for Bucky here to keep an eye on things without being in the line of fire," Clint says re-iterating his earlier suggestion. "Other than that, how up and up do we want this meet to be? Are we going to want to tag this guy?"

Clint had ideas there.

"Other than that, yeah, I am ready to provide some cover on site if we need it."

Turning to look after Bucky's departing form, his look sympathetic. "Damn they really put him through the ringer."

He doesn't comment on the meet with Bucky's friend, figuring May'd make the call about the details there.

Nyx has posed:
Oh wow, Deputy Director May actually included her in this conversation and briefing. I mean probably more the others but still she is sitting here too. So Sam keeps quiet and works on her soup eating it slowly.

It isn't until Clint talks about Dwarves that she pauses in her soup eating and quiet listening and looks to Clint. "Uh.. what exactly is a dwarf?" she doesn't say it at all like an acronym.

Phil Coulson has posed:
"Right, I've read about him. Mass Murderer who goes around treating everywhere like it's a war. Got an impressive bodycount." Phil takes the tablet and begins to look it over. Then, he starts to look over his dossier... and a frown forms slightly. "Right..."

After about twenty seconds of silence. He looks to May, "Always a bumpy ride around here." The tablet is relaxed just a bit in his grip, "Mans got a reputation for having few lines he won't cross, with the skillset to actually make his crusade work. About the only thing that he doesn't do is go after people that don't fit his code, but too many variables in that for my liking." He taps the tablet, "sound about right?"

Quake has posed:
There's a solemn nod from Skye. "That's about it. Once we had a name, it was easy to pull him from our files. Turns out we knew a buttwad about him already." She shrugs easily and shovels lasgna into her mouth, watching Bucky's retreating back with a frown furrowing her brow. "Man's had it in for our man Buck there. Not sure why, but this meetup is supposed to put an end to that without turning this into an all out war."

Okay, not war, but you know how these things go. If it degenerates into a fight, there will be collateral damage, and regardless of the Punisher's code, innocents will get hurt, if not killed. Not to mention the possible loss of Agents. None of which any of them here wanted.

"We're not usually the level he plays with. Nobody is really sure why this got started in the first place." And he wasn't. He was certainly on the 'known' list, and he was certainly someone they kept tabs on as necessary, but up until this point their paths had crossed little, if only out of mutual respect of sorts and not wishing to enter into a situation best described as unwinnable by either side.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint looks up from his food shovling to provide Sam with: "Oh seven short guys who hung with Snow White," he says before a realization hits and he makes a face. "Oh god, there's definitely a porn of that isn't there?" he says before getting back on track, continuing: "Seriously, though it stands for Drones Wirelessly Automated to Retrieve Forensics... I think Fitz was stretching there but there it is," he offers a shrug. "Basically palm sized drones full of sensors and cool tech stuff. The new one is pretty much invisible."

"When did body counts become impressive?" Clint asks Coulson. "Dude's a psycho, code or no code. Besides he's gunning for Bucky, a guy who's turning his life around, makes you wonder what all the other guys he's killed could have done with their lives." He frowns, eyes going a touch distant, it wasn't as if his hands were clean either. "Anyhow, Skye's right, this has to get done without collateral damage. So, May, I'm good for whatever you need."

Nyx has posed:
Something sort of clicks in Nyx's thoughts there and Samantha tilts her head a bit and then shrugs and moves her sandwhich front and center now that the soup is done. "That sounds very useful Clint. Fitz is ridic clever about this stuff, though easy to tease.

"Okay so I know I am .. like a trainee not even an agent yet.. but why would the Punisher guy from all those news articles.. meet with effectively the super police... when he just hospitalized one of us right. I mean I don't get why this is anything other than a setup. I know in a movie it would be a setup." and yeah Sam is honestly puzzled.

Melinda May has posed:
"I'll wait for the report," May tells Skye in response to the question about Barnes's friend before nodding to Phil at his assessment of the situation. "I plan to talk to the man myself. That way if we can't reach an intelligent an reasonable agreement, he can /try/ to take me down." And she fully intends to rely on Clint or whomever is on overwatch to help her make sure that the man does NOT win any fight he starts. She herself does not plan to start one.

"That's a good question, Miss Twining, and one of the things I intend to ask him." She digs in to her food, knowing that she's got only so much time to finish this meeting AND eat her mal.

Quake has posed:
"We expect a setup," Skye tells Nyx. "We hope for the best, but we expect the other. He's a bit tricky to pin down, though. Either side starting an engagement is mostly a recipe for mutual destruction. Might be he's curious about us, or maybe it's a face saving move. Meet up. Grunt at us. Everyone agrees we don't want to start something we can finish. We all walk away feeling like we're teh bigger man."

Again, she shrugs.

"Most of this job isn't fighting, it's figuring people out, and working with that. Anyone can pull a trigger. It's avoiding pulling the trigger that's the trickier part. People don't get that about the job." Hell, she'd thought the same when she'd started. It had taken her a long time of watching the folks around SHIELD to figure things out and adjust her attitude accordingly.

Phil Coulson has posed:
"The mans a menace, no question, but that bodycount forces you to respect what he can do." Phil replies to Clint. "Going into any operation like this without respecting your potential oppositions ability is a good way to end up dead." Phil points out, "I've survived this long for a number of reasons, including I know what my limits are." He taps the tablet, "Honestly, I don't know what to make of this. Someone like this should be out of play... but he's not known for being stupid."

He puts the tablet down, "only thing I can figure is he wants something from us if he's willing to do a face to face."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint nods, "I get you," he says to Phil before his SHIELD issued phone rings.

He checks the display. "Damn it, got to take this one," he says with a frown.

"Good to see you folks," he says standing up ready to bus his plate away. "And Skye? Catch you after?" he asks waiting for the answer before taking off to deal with the call.

Quake has posed:
Skye grins at Clint, "Only if I run slowly enough." Teasing him, of course, then adding, "I'll catch you later and we can head back home together. If you have to leave early, flip me a text."

Offering him her lips for a kiss. Because, well, the only person here who might not know they're a thing is Phil.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Chuckling, Clint gives Skye a kiss on the way by. "So bad," he says of her joke but offers a "Sure thing," about texting her if plans change. He was hoping they didn't the whole commuting together thing was as close to normal as they got.

Nyx has posed:
Sam smiles to Clint "Good to see you." then she looks back to the table. "Maybe he just wants Bucky?" a light shrug from the young woman.

Once Clint is on his way nd Skye has her smooch though Sam brings up "So, both times I have left the Triskelion to go get food I have run into the same Speedster out there." she looks to Skye. "He seems to be from the future and has something he called a NanoMesh and an A.I. named Gideon. Calls himself Zippy. Mostly is a red blur that I thought was the Flash until I realized he was a teenager. He is definitely persistent though."

Melinda May has posed:
May nods to Clint as he takes his leave and seems completely nonplussed by the PDA between him and Skye. It's like she already knew or something.

"If Castle wants something from us, I'm willing to consider it to keep Barnes out of the crosshairs." She can't help but think the man has gone through enough hell in his life, and if this is something she can do to keep more from getting to him, she'll do it without hesitation. "Do you want to be in on this?" she asks Coulson, giving him the option to volunteer.

She then looks over at Samantha when she relates something about a person she's met. "Is this Zippy individual someone to be concerned about, Miss Twining?"

Quake has posed:
Skye returns to her meal as though nothing untoward has happened, though she does listen carefully to the conversation around her. Waiting to see and hear Phil's reaction before offering any thoughts of her own. Though she does give her trainee a look, "Is he stalking you, or?"

Phil Coulson has posed:
"Normally, I'd be all over it... but honestly, I have way too much work to do getting up to speed, and your operation will be very soon." Phil shrugs slightly, "If it turns out you need immediate backup, I'll be there... but you sound like you've got it covered with others." A look is given to Clint, Skye, Bucky, then back to May, "I've been under for way too long."

Then the PDA registers as Skye and Clint kiss, and he tilts his head just slightly. If May wasn't bothered by it, he wasn't. Apparently Phil trusts Melinda's judgment, who knew? Then, Nyx gets a look, "How'd it go?"

Nyx has posed:
"It may just be a coincidence, it is only twice so far. I also ran into that talking Gorilla again for a second time." she considers "Maybe Manhattan is weird. Still he seemed to think my deal is a NanoMesh like his with a different A.I." a shrug "I figure I should try to shake useful information out of him.. but wow he has ADHD.. and I say that as a teenager diagnosed with attention problems." okay that last part is a joke from Sam.

"That said he seems to be a hero like Flash... ran around helping people in a major fender bender I saw when some lights fritzed out. I think he may be related to the Flash even."

Melinda May has posed:
May looks at Phil when he recuses himself from the mission. "Understandable. Let me know if you want any smaller scale missions to get back in."

She then nods mostly to herself at Samantha's explanation given to Skye. Is she approving of the kid's debrief? Or Skye's response? Or both? She doesn't offer an answer, she just finishes her meal and sips at her tea.

Quake has posed:
Skye very calmly says, "I expect reports on my.. well, this is awkward. I actually don't know where my desk is. I expect reports." Fixing that little problem easily enough. "It will be good practice for you for future AAR's."

There's a grin for her trainee. Welcome to paperwork. In triplicate. Even if it is all digital now.

"And with that, I'm going to hunt up a certain someone and see if he's done whatever it was taht called him off and call it a day. May, I'll talk to you later about last night's mission." A nod for Phil. "Nice to meet you properly, and welcome back."

Without further ado, the hacker takes her leave.