7091/Parley with the Punisher

Parley with the Punisher
Date of Scene:	30 March 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	The arranged meeting between the Punisher and Agent May goes according to plan. Nothing explodes, no one dies. Castle agrees to stop trying to hunt Barnes down. There are celebratory doritos.
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Punisher, Hawkeye (Barton), Jemma Simmons, Quake, Winter Soldier

---

Melinda May has posed:
Finally. Time to have a chat with former Marine Francis Castiglione. With the meeing place already arranged, May sets aside even more time than usual to arrive, fully expecting that the man will have 'tests' for her along the way. Even so, she's determined to uphold her side of the bargain: she's going in physically alone.

With Barton on sniper overwatch from his preferred perch in the area and no less than two of FitzSimmons' little drones in a pack over one shoulder, she took her time entering the building. Part of the slowness was due to the sheer number of traps she finds, disarms, and in most cases rearms along the way. Once she's gone more than ten feet without encountering another trap, she pauses to release the drones, though holds one in her hand until its camera focuses on her. Then she puts a finger in front of her lips to indicate silence, and releases the drone.

Just a few minutes early, May steps into the meetingplace proper, moves to the middle of the room, and waits.

Punisher has posed:
Most of the traps are very overt... which should be surprising for anyone who's studied the man like SHIELD has. He's not clumsy. He's not stupid. He's one of the more accomplished tacticians on the planet, on par with Batman himself... So why most of these traps are fairly easy to spot is probably accurate; a test, to see how SHIELD handles them.

By the time May is at the meeting place in the apartment, the Punisher is already inside. In one hand is a tablet computer that he's watching a remote camera feed from his drone. The other hand is sitting in a trenchcoat pocket, with the man standing just to the side of one of the windows.

It's his traditional garb. White Skull vest, black trenchcoat, gear web. He's turned towards the door when it opens, and the Punisher greets Melinda with a stoic expression, his eyes taking her in from head to toe immediately.

"Slow and methodical huh." Punisher grates out offhandedly as he moves to a table with two chairs, and sits down casually. "Good timing. You're not stupid, at least." Was that a backhanded compliment? It's hard to tell with his tone. But then, the man isn't known for his charm.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint as it turns out is a pro at this stuff. Surprising, right? Anyhow instead of poking his head out like an idiot he's comfy in a nearby apartment, with a handful of mini cameras doing his overwatch for him, beaming their footage tight beam to an IR reciever set in the window which runs by wire the the laptop set in front of him, the wifi is off.

Playing with 'Reggie' his bow laid across his lap with the full suite of SHIELD mods, he calls over comms to the overwatch teams, "Everyone in position?" he asks.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    As the drone is released, it bobs the camera lens up and down, as if acknowledging the signal, then drifts up and into position. That particular one remains focused on May, though high enough to provide a bird's eye view of the room. The other drone May released takes up a secondary position, so that there is always at least two cameras on the room at all times.

    But, that doesn't mean that those are the only drones in use. The D.W.A.R.F.s that Agent Leo Fitz has created are eight in number...and the other six are in flight already, circling the outside perimenter of the building. And, because this is Fitz, his little babies have a few more bells and whistles than the standard models. Like transmission scanners and the like.

    A female voice cuts in on the comms, decidedly British in tone. "D.W.A.R.F.s in position. Fitz and I are picking up radio signals that are not our own. Fitz says it is similar to the frequency we use for the drones. Meaning that there's eyes in the sky. Be careful out there." Jemma's tone holds a little concern, but remains steadfast. She is only a *little* worried.

    Another voice cuts in the comms, this time with a distinct Scottish accent. Belonging to Agent Fitz. "Oh, just so ya know, we gave ya a couple surprises in yer quiver. Je, err, Agent Simmons gave me her idea on the cryo delivery system...so that's in there. Also...dat tracker you wanted is all set ta go, too."

    The pair of Fitz and Simmons then settle back in their own remote position...the typical portable surveillance vehicle, keeping their eyes on the feeds of the drones in the air.

Quake has posed:
Skye Johnson might not be the pro in the party at this, but she's been taught by some of the best SHIELD and the world have to offer, and you know, Bucky, as it happens, is more than pretty damned fine at the job. She's more than aware she's there as technical backup, and because someone needs to be with the man in case things go tits up. Bucky might be on this mission, but he still wasn't 100% field ready as far as things went.

Since they'd already cleared Clint's old place, she and Bucky had set up shop there, complete with all the remote access they'd need for the D.W.A.R.F. units that had been provided by FitzSimmons, and all they had to do was wait for the ready to be called and their part to come into play.

And should they need it, there was easy roof access. Turns out having an Avenger's old apartment for your spot came with intresting perks like that.

And cup'o'ramen which she found in his cupboards. Really not the world's best food substance, but making them was mostly a sentimental joke, telling Bucky first, "I am sooo going to ride his ass over this," and then the comms ~Ready from the Nest. And thought you didn't eat this crap?~

Sounds of familiar slurping can be heard. As can likely the rustle of a bowl of chips being set down. "Snacks. No worries, these I brought from home. Totally edible."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck's been up on the roof, dope dialled in. Yes, this the digital age, but someone was raised in the era of iron sights and he is just antsily uncomfortable with not checking it all out beforehand. Skye being there means he can sit on scope without having to worry about random ninjas showing up to shank him while he's not watching his own back.

"Did you bring those orange triangle crisp things Steve likes so much?" he wonders, absently, as he settles down to a knee. He's in full bondage gimp assassin gear. Rooftop gravel's hell on the knees, otherwise.

Melinda May has posed:
With the rest of her team situated in their various observation points and idly chatting on comms, May doesn't visibly or audibly react to them. Instead, she keeps her attention on Castle. "I thought it would be good manners, seeing as you put so much effort into the subtle decor on the way up here. I made sure to put everything I touched back exactly how I found it." Well, she might have slipped a few sets of Romanova's shocker disks in strategic places near the more ostentatious booby traps. They're the training disks, though, the ones designed to sting but not actually incapacitate.

May sits primly in the other chair at the table, her eyes studying the man in the manner of a trained martial artist looking for those tiny movements that telegraph an attack about to be thrown. "So. Officer Castiglione, I'm Deputy Director May. I believe we have an interest in common, though for opposite reasons."

Punisher has posed:
Punisher leans back as he listens, "Frank Castle died years ago in a park. I'm The Punisher now." Punisher clarifies for May as he adjusts his seating position on his chair. "I got the impression you and yours were some sort of intelligence operation, from the way Microchip told it. After going through the building, I'm guessing defense as well." Punisher clucks his tongue as he tilts his head back slightly.

If he's worried about how this encounter is going to happen, he's certainly not showing it in his mannerisms. In fact, his demeanor screams 'casual dismissal'.

"I admit, I was surprised to hear anyone beyond the usual suspects was trying to cover for the asshole after all the shit he's done. What's your angle with him?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Damn, should have brought the triangle crisps," Clint jokes over comms. Though really he was sort of regretting the lack of snacks now that he could hear Skye eating.

Though while he might have missed out on snacks he was flush with new toys, he digs the new arrows out of his quivvers, impressed Fitz even tagged them according to Clint's complicated colour/texture theme. "Fitz, I love you man, I promise, next office Christmas party, I will /not/ butcher 'I'm Gonna Be' like last year."

Yeah, he'd gone there, fake Scottish accent and everything.

Melinda May has posed:
At the man's proclamation that Castle is dead, May simply nods. "SHIELD wears many hats. But they can all be summed up as we do what needs to be done to protect as many innocent people as we can." She seems to be seated entirely comfortably, not shifting at all when Frank does.

"And while the Winter Soldier did indeed do a lot of 'shit', it is still my job to defend the American prisoner of war who was tortured and brainwashed over a span of decades into committing unforgivable crimes that he would never have even considered of his own volition."

She pauses for a moment, hoping she's not hit too many of Barnes's triggers. That's one reason why she would very much have preferred he stay well clear of this whole thing. But, he wanted to be close by -- he demanded -- so she has to trust that he'll at worst need Skye to lock him down.

"How well would you have withstood that level of dehumanization? Me, personally? I doubt I would have lasted more than a few years." Well, if she'd been the same age Bucky was when he was first taken by Hydra. Now might be a different story.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He's got eyes on Frank, mostly. But he's listening to the whole exchange. Skye can see, if she's looking at Buck - he doesn't go rigid. Breath control's a thing for snipers, after all. The quality of his silence on the link changes, somehow. There's a ridiculous instant where he's on Frank's side, when it comes to guilt apportioned and punishment earned. They can and have repeated that what HYDRA did isn't his fault, that he was the weapon in others' hands. But some part of him, on that crucial gut level, has bought in to it.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    There might have been a chuckle, albeit short. "You best not be messin' with The Proclaimers." There is a bit of good-natured humour in that comment, as Fitz just adds one more word. "Enjoy."

    Silencing the comms, Leo turns to Jemma in their surveillance vehicle. "Tell me we remembered da crisps, Jemma. All this talk is makin' me hungry."

    Jemma doesn't say a word. Instead, she reaches down and hands over a bag of crisps to Leo, and then returns to monitoring the feeds.

Quake has posed:
Meanwhile, Skye just shakes her head at Bucky. "Doritos? Dude, those things are noisy. And they leave your fingers orange. So not job friendly." Then again, look whose talking - chips and cup'o'ramen? She does set those aside, to check her gack, though.

The drones are doing what they're supposed to, but she's more interested in what Frank's surveillance is picking up. Which leaves her poking away at her laptop, looking for the least obtrusive way into his feed, to take a peek. Oh, and leave a message for her old pal Microchip <<What? You expected less? Head's up, you got a hole here. ~DS>>

She's not doing anything with it, merely monitoring what he's got eyes one, because while she might not be the sharpshooter of the bunch, or the drone expert, or any other number of things, hacking was her bag, and there were few in her class. Fewer, still, who surpassed her.

"Steady, Buck," she intones when she notes him take that care with his breath. She might not be the best sniper, but yeah, she'd learned that, too. First Lara at archery, and later May and Clint when she'd got bumped to field agent. The steady meant as a reminder that Buck wasn't alone.

Punisher has posed:
"I've been through some sick stuff myself. Went through training to handle it, even got captured once early on in the war." Punisher shrugs, "I couldn't tell you if I'd survive it. What I can tell you is he's a ticking time bomb. Even if you managed to deprogram him, he?s still vulnerable to it." Punisher looks Melinda dead in the eyes, "Best you can do? Keep him away from the triggers. He's one of the better assassins out there, so when he's switched on, he'll just get out of whatever cell you put him in."

"So you're trying to make him a deprogramming project?" Punisher raises a brow as he asks the question.

On the feed, the recon drone is monitoring multiple angles. One is lensing on the wall in and around where the meeting is taking place, allowing Punisher to see into the windows at an upwards angle and for potential outside interference, another is watching the rooftops from that same angle.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Over the comms, Barnes's voice comes in a soft rasp, toneless and calm, "I wasn't deprogrammed. A god got in there and destroyed the programming. It can't be reactivated. They'd have to start from scratch. Memory's still fucked, but no one holds my leash now. I tried telling him that, but he didn't hear." .....a god? Three guesses which shit-starting god Steve the Naive traded with to earn his buddy's freedom.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
     There is a gasp as Fitz nearly falls out of his chair upon hearing the god moniker being tossed out there. Fortunately, he has the sense to not comment on the comms, instead turning to his partner to make his statement. "He...just said god, yeah? Like, ya know, immortal all-powerful being."

    There is a nod from Jemma, her vocal tone just a touch exasperated. "Yes, Fitz. He said god." Jemma makes it sound like it is all perfectly natural to walk up and ask favors from a god. Like she does it all the time.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint grins at Fitz's reply an expression that comes through in his voice. "Fine, fine," he says. "I'll do scenes from Trainspotting then," he teases the Scottsman.

"How are you holding up, Jemma?" he asks.

May as well keep things light, because the topic of Bucky's deprogramming is well frightening. Clint would like to believe he'd hold up if he was put through the ringer like that, but he knows better everyone has a breaking point.

"Oh jeeze, someone shut this guy up already," Clint grouses about Frank. "And wait, a god? Which god?" he asks grasping what Bucky just said.

Quake has posed:
"Man, we really have to introduce you to people who aren't Steve. You know he's been hit on the head a few thousand times, right?" Skye doesn't even want to begin to pull apart who the god might be - she's met a couple now, and the angel of another had cured Clint of his deafenss. Much as she might not want to be a believer (and she says that having spent formative years in a Catholic orphanage.. or perhaps because of having spent them there), she'd found that many of them didn't care if she believed or not.

"Eyes on the prize, Bucky. He's stirring the shit pot. Don't let it get to you."

She's got utter faith in May handling the situation and keeping calm and cool. Meanwhile, she dutifully monitors the feeds she has access to, making certain there aren't anomalies on either their, or Frank's, feeds. Either of which could be a sign of trouble.

Melinda May has posed:
May shakes her head, and is inwardly glad that Barnes's words in her comm don't come as a surprise to her. That could have garnered an actual facial expression from her. "He is not a deprogramming project. A, shall we say, outside contact was able to completely obliterate the programming from Barnes' mind. We had one of our specialists test him, and there is no trace left of Hydra or Red Room programming."

She thinks it best not to include Bucky's mention of his memory still being swiss cheese. That's not crucial to this conversation.

"Beyond that, I have already resolved that if by some extremely rare happenstance Barnes does lose control, I will personally deal with him to whatever extent is necessary."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck's silent again, having realized he's said perhaps too much already. Besides, comms chatter is distracting. But he comes up off the scope long enough to nod mutely at Skye. Is that flush on his cheekbones anger, or embarassment? Hard to tell.

He does, however, look reassured at May's statement.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    The comm channel opens and it is Jemma's voice that is heard. "I am quite well, Agent Barton. Thank you for asking." There is a moment of dead air, then Jemma again. "currently just calming Fitz down in regards to owing favors to divinity." Another pause, then just a little more. "Should we be tieing up the comms in such a manner? Agent May is going to lecture us on proper usage after this, don't you think?"

    Leave it to Jemma to be the voice of reason. What a downer she can be.

Punisher has posed:
"Bullshit." Punisher quickly responds, "but it's bullshit you believe, and that's what matters here, right?" Punisher leans forward onto the table. There's a couple thoughtful taps on the table as his arms rest there, and he shrugs, "so you're gonna believe this bullshit, and you're lookin' to keep me from him because you're 'good cops' or some bullshit, right?" He gives a dismissive shrug, before he reaches up a hand to tap the side of his head... then put it back down, "I don't believe that shit for a moment with the human mind, but I'm willin' to let it go for now, if you're open to negotiation."

"You've got resources, I've got resource needs. Give me somethin' worth my time to spend my time in the war on to redirect to, and we can talk." Cards on the table, it seems.

Melinda May has posed:
May mentally thanks Jemma for being the voice of reason on the comms, not that she can do the same aloud at the moment.

"Obviously, I can't just hand you sensitive SHIELD information. But, I can tell you about knowledge that I was planning on sharing with outside sources anyway." She watches Castle for a moment before continuing. "What do you know about an organized crime sydicate called 'The Foot'?" Though really, calling The Foot an organized crime syndicate isn't entirely accurate.

Punisher has posed:
"Not ringin' any bells, no, but if you're telling me, I'm gettin' the impression they're an immediate general threat." Punisher replies, his eyes narrowing slightly. "If you've got a file on them, I'm listenin'."

Quake has posed:
Skye, being Skye, sass-meister and totally irrepressible, is already drawing a set of files together that suit May's offer, all ready to neatly deposit once the deal is made. Totally intending on making better use of that back door she'd found, only she'd ring the bell then.

Mind, she's only gathering the data, not sending it yet, because that deal isn't struck yet.

~I can have a package in less than.. well, your coffee won't get cold~ she informs over the comms.

Melinda May has posed:
"I do."

May slowly and deliberately moves her hands, telegraphing what she's doing as she reaches one hand to an inside pocket of her jacket (that moves like it's heavier than the normal leather it appears to be) and pulls out an entirely innocent looking little USB memory stick.

"I of course fully expect you to test that device every way you can, but to the best of my knowledge it does not have any tracking or malicious software on it." After all, if Skye were to embed something on any electronic device of May's, she's truly have no way of finding out since she'd have to ask Skye to look.

Quake has posed:
Would Skye put something else on a device? *gasp* No! Never.

Okay, maybe she would. Fine. She does it routinely. Sheesh, she's a hacker for gosh sakes, why are we surprised by this. Surprised would be her doing nothing of the sort. However, May's device is clean (other than a few tracking things Skye has put in place so that she can find things if they go walking, and you know a few other backdoor trackers and stoppers.. fine. May's device is not likely clean if Skye's touched it. It is, however, innocuous.)

All to say, The USB Frank is getting has the info. But it also had a couple bits of sleeper code on it that travel with just about anything Skye touches. Utterly inert for the most part, but useful nonetheless. You never know when you might need them. Pretty standard hacker stuff. Eventually findable by those skilled enough. But as much trouble to remove as they are to just watch them and worry about it should the situation arise.

Punisher has posed:
Punisher takes the USB drive, taking a look at it before he pockets it his trenchcoat, "I'll have a look at it." Or Microchip will have a look at it, anyway.

He studies Melinda for a good ten seconds without a word... then, "If this checks out, I'll back off. I still think you're a bunch of fools for trustin' he's not a time bomb, but I'm not the one who will get hurt from it." Punisher notes with a resigned tone, "And you haven't tried to bring me in yourself, so that tells me you're not police enforcers. Lookin' for deniable assets?"
ll, he's direct, at least.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Over the radio comes an annoyed Brooklyn accent. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Who'd've thought that that'd be where Buck's pride gets touched?

Melinda May has posed:
Sitting back again when Punisher takes the USB drive, May seems entirely content to let him sit there and stare at her. Really, she's dealt with FAR more intimidating individuals in her time. Not that she's going to say that to the man's face, of course.

"We take care of our own, whatever form that takes. And now you know officially, Barnes is one of our own." At this point she leans forward ever so slightly. "Please remember that."

After another moment, she sits back again and confirms, "We're not police enforcers. If we find we have a situation in which your unique skills would be helpful, I'll have my people contact yours the same way we did this time. And it will be completely off the books."

Wait, does that mean this meeting ISN'T off the books?

Quake has posed:
Skye nudges a toe into Bucky's side, and gives the man a nod, as much as to say, see? Toldja.

Smirking to herself as May as much as says 'we know where you live'. Not that she'd mind poking at an old 'friend' all that much. She'd kept those contacts for a reason, after all.

Punisher has posed:
He's not trying to go for intimidation, not really. There's an entirely different version of this conversation that he'd go with intimidation for. For this meeting, he was mostly on the up and up. So far, and it shows in his demeanor. "I'm not promising anything. I've got my own shit to deal with, but you haven't tried to screw with me yet, so that gets you the benefit of the doubt." Punisher then stands up, the tablet taken in his right hand once more as the left hand goes to his side. "I've been doin' this for a long while. Thought you people were more of a myth than anythin' else."

He shrugs, a bit dismissively, "looks like I should've been paying attention more to them." He eyes the exit, then looks back to Melinda, "anythin' else you'd like to discuss?"

Melinda May has posed:
May moves to stand as well when Frank does. "I know better than to ask for promises. But if you're willing to let us ask, we're willing to let you say no." Which is basically what most consultants do, just that Castle would be even further off the books than that hedge witch that tries to extract payment in black cats.

"The time when keeping SHIELD entirely in the shadows is as gone as the world without any super powered individuals in it. We're doing out best to change with the times so that we can do what we've always tries do. Protect people. And no, I have nothing else to discuss." With that, she turns to leave.

This time, the traps she dismantles as she goes she leaves undone, though she's sorely tempted to stick a little post-it note to the last one saying she had been looking forward to more of a mental challenge.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Can't believe we're making a deal with this psycho," Clint grumbles over comms.

"Assume we don't want me to tag his van with the tracking scent?" the archer asks shutting down his computer and winding up the cord to the IR sensor.

He'd collect the cameras afterwards. For now he was ready to either withdraw or go fire that new arrow of his.

Melinda May has posed:
"We're not, Barton. Though I might have just made a long-time ally in Gotham very displeased with me." May walks the relatively short distance to the building with Barton's apartment, stopping into the corner bodega on the way to pick up some fresh-made hoagies and a couple of bags of doritos.

Because there is no way she's eating pre-packaged ramen.

"Skye, do you have a contact in the New Jersey area? We might need to send a message."

Quake has posed:
"May, I have contacts everywhere," Skye replies. "But who I reach out to depends on what you're needing them for." Because there were messages, and there were /messages/.

"What are you thinking?"

Like Bucky, she's not dismantled her equipment or shut down feeds yet. Sometimes what happened after everyone 'left' was just as interesting as what when on during. Or, as ofttime, before. AFter all, it wasn't like she didn't know a thing or two about leaving things she might leave in the future behind. It was never just what was on the face of a thing.

Punisher has posed:
The Punisher doesn't leave the apartment. At least, not in the same way Melinda does. Once she's gone, Punisher gives her a solid minute of clearing time to move, before he starts to head out himself, heading for the stairs. "You get all that, Micro?" Punisher asks over the transceiver. Microchip sighs, "I don't trust it at all, but I've got a setup to look into their information. We can talk at the safehouse, Frank." Punisher grunts in reply as he heads downstairs.

"Life just got a bit more interestin'" Punisher muses to himself, "New York is really weird."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint nods despite being on comms as he replies, "'kay," he sounds unconvinced. "Packing up here, going to the ops post."

With that Clint packs up his kit and goes, slipping into the crowd on the street, a bag over his shoulder.

Melinda May has posed:
May lets herself into the apartment building and knocks on the apartment door so Skye will let her in. She's fully expecting the others to be here waiting, or en route and arriving soonish, so she prepared. There's a hoagie for each of them (three for Bucky in case his appetite is anything like she's seen from Rogers), and of course the Doritos. In two different flavors, no less.

Quake has posed:
By the time May arrives at the 'safe' house, Skye has moved her gack indoors, and is working on a single remote feed that's rotating through the various sources. The others wouldn't be a huge issue to bring up into their own windows, but for now it's not necessary. This is just maintenance.

Frank's stuff she'll shut down her access to when May's had a chance to say they're done with that. The feeds have been downloaded in their entirety for future study. Likely Fitzsimmons and whoever else picks up those details.

She flings herself onto one of the chairs hastily gathered into the place - though too few for the entire crew, and sits cross-legged (oh the advantages of being petite) upon it.

"So, what now, boss, and who am I reaching out to?"

She's got her suspicions.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Shortly after May arrives Clint pushes through the door, "Hey," he greets, letting the bag off his shoulder just inside the door he closes behind him.

Gear, stowed, he spots the hogies, "For us?" he asks even as he snags one, before giving Skye a nudge on his way to a seat beside her own.

Melinda May has posed:
Having kept her own hoagie after dropping off the rest in the apartment's kitchen, May fills a glass with water for herself and snags the 'orange triangles' bag before joining the others. "I need you to get word to Gotham, give them the same intel that I just gave to Castle. It was flagged for them in the first place, now it's urgent that they receive it promptly."

She can't help but wonder why Barnes isn't in here yet. But hey, she's got her comm still in place. "Barnes, sitrep please."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"On my way," And indeed, there's he sound of boots in the hallway. Buck's got his rifle cased, gear in a pack over his shoulder, though there's the leather jacket to cover the arm now. Goggles up on his forehead. Bucky Barnes, Black Leather Bondage Assassin, thank you, HYDRA.

Quake has posed:
"I thought he was following after me," Skye frowns. He'd been okay, though.

The rest?

"I have.. some names," she nods, knowing exactly who she'll tell, and exactly where that information is going to end up. "Should be interesting."

Melinda May has posed:
"Sandwiches in the kitchen, Barnes. And triangle chips." There's an unopened blue doritos bag there by the hoagies and May has the red bag, though it's not open yet.

"I'm glad that the man seemed on board with the whole we're not starting a fight aspect, it could have been messy."

Ah, yes. The understatements.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Very," Clint agrees about the mess. "Still, would have been nice to take the guy off the board and lock him up somewhere."

As for Bucky's outfit, Clint fights a grin, "Wow, we need to get you some new gear."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Ooh, thanks," says Buck, with no irony at all. Triangle chips hooray. "Yeah, me too. Man's a recon sniper. I had to get into it with him in earnest, it coulda got Stalingrad up in here," he says, as he sets aside case and pack. Clint gets a look over his shoulder. "It's perfectly good," he says, with the reflexive thrift of a Depression survivor. Anyone taking bets he mends that leather by hand with a needle?

Quake has posed:
"You know what goes really well with a new outfit," Skye says casually, leaning over and snagging a bite off of Clint's hoagie, "A new ICER."

Chewing thoughtfully, she slips from her seat and goes and retrieves herself one of the sandwiches May brought. "Yeah. A new ICER, that's what you need, Bucky."

Melinda May has posed:
May nods when Bucky thanks her for the sandwiches, taking a bite of her own hoagie contemplatively. After a few moments she asks seemingly idly, "Do you know if Fitz has figured out how to make ICER rounds work in longer barrel guns like rifles?" If he hasn't, maybe that's something she needs to put on his list of things to work on. It should be straightforward enough, right?

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Well if he hasn't maybe it should be something he should get on before we get some new agents with fancy shooting skills," Clint says with a smile before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Would look nice with a new uniform," he says. Though Clint understands Bucky's reluctance to give up what he's got. He may have missed the Depression by a few decades but he grew up poor, which was about the same thing.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck gets that look. "What's the current caliber he's got? Might just be easier to get some weird ass Eastern European thing that'll take whatever size round he's making. Pistol caliber carbines are an option, too," he suggests. "I mean, yeah, he'd need something a lot bigger than handgun caliber to get sniper levels of distance out of it but let's face it, most ICER shots are at handgun or carbine distance anyhow. Or he could try a different jacket." He needs to be friends with Frank just to have someone to gun nerd with.

He's got the chips and has begun to munch stolidly through them. "Eh, this is fine. We can sew a patch on it." Someone's cheap.

Quake has posed:
Skye returns with sandwich and takes her seat next to Clint again, bumping shoulders with him by way of saying 'hey' and 'glad you made it without a scratch' kinda thing. "So, a new outfit, and a new spiffy gun. Bet Fitzsommons would love to dig their teeth into that. Sounds almost like a sniper rifle to me."

Okay, it is exactly a sniper rifle, and she's grinning a shit eating grin. Mind, she, too, understands teh poor thing. She lived on the streets, and in her van for years. Until moving into the place in the Village, her quarters looked like nobody lived there and were, in fact, nothing more than the showrooms for the Triskelion residences. It had taken Clint moving in for her to even remotely claim the space as her own - her first major purchase had been a stereo unit, and a Starkbox for Clint to do his Big Billy Bass Fishing on.

Yeah. Skye knew.

Melinda May has posed:
May actually looks like she's seriously considering something when she nods in agreement with Skye's words about a new outfit. "You'll still need dark gear, Barnes, and what you've got now will suffice." Though she can already see some modifications being due. "But, you don't always need to look like you're headed to a Judas Priest concert. In fact, as a full agent you shouldn't. I know just who to ask to help design something a bit less conspicuous."

Yes, she's going to consult with the ultimate fanboy.

Coulson.

Quake has posed:
There's a smug shoulder bump from Skye to Clint, even as she says, "Congrats, Bucky. Welcome to the fold. Or should I say AGent Barnes."