7898/Inter-Agency Cooperation

Inter-Agency Cooperation
Date of Scene:	16 June 2019
Location:	The Fifty/Fifty Club
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Quake, Frank Quaid

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Melinda May has posed:
When they went to retrieve Elektra from the NYPD, May had promised the officer on her case, one Frank Quaid, that she'd be in touch about possibly arranging an inter-agency agreement of some sort or other. She knew immediately a neutral meeting place would be mandatory, and a public one that still afforded them some ability to speak about potentially sensitive matters. She fielded a vast array of suggestions -- some reasonable, some completely ridiculous -- and finally settled on some place that likely no one from either side would normally be seen.

Yes, Skye, this means dressing up. No, it does not mean having to wear a skirt or heels.

Having arrived early, May is watching for Quaid's arrival and letting Skye get her jitters/nervousnes/annoyance/boredom out now. Before it matters.

Quake has posed:
It's a reluctant Skye who puts on the SHIELD dress uniform for the second time (the slacks version this time!) and accompanies Agent May to the designated meet-up.

"And we're bringing me again... why?" Of course she's going to grumble, even if she knows it will do her no good, and if she herself knows that Fury had wanted her to learn these aspects of the job as well. It didn't mean Skye had to like it or go gracefully into that dark night.. or club as it happens.

It's likely good they're early and May accounted for Skye wind-down time, because, yeah, Skye is not terribly comfortable at the dress-up club. And apparently you can't order beer here, which is why she's drinking some fancy drink with some name she's already forgotten. No umbrella - because while she might drink the frou-frou beer, Skye is not a frou-frou kinda girl.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank arrives about five minutes early with Detective Sergeant Elaina Bever.

"I don't know why you insisted on coming. I can't take you in on this one," Frank says as he walks up to Fifty/Fifty, tapping away on his Blackberry. He is dressed in a decently tailored black suit and dress shoes. It meets dress code, but is clearly not expensive enough to meet club patron expectations.

"You're kidding me, right? After last night?" Elaina answers incredulously.

Frank snorts. When they get inside, Frank asks for the reservation under the name he was given and is escorted to meet the SHIELD representatives. "Don't get too drunk," Frank quips to Elaina. She rolls her eyes and heads to the bar.

When he gets to the private room, Frank tucks away his phone. He steps in and smiles. In addition to the suit, he is sporting a white dressing over his nose and he has two black eyes.

"Agent May," he greets and comes over to shake her hand. Then he offers a hand to Skye. "Captain Frank Quaid," he introduces himself.

Melinda May has posed:
Shaking Quaid's hand, May nods. "Captain. This is Agent Johnson." No, it's not a fake name. Her last name really is Johnson. But it SOUND fake, so people automatically dismiss it. Works just fine for her.

She noticed the other detective that arrived with Quaid, but as he's staying over at the bar, she isn't going to complain.

Once they're all seated and the waiter has been chased off again -- May suggested that Skye try an Arnold Palmer for an impressive sounding drink that won't offend her frou-frou sensibilities and requested hot tea for herself -- she gets straight to business.

"From what I gathered, Captain, you are part of the NYPD task force assigned to any cases that involve people with powers." Yes, she uses her choice of term very intentionally, as 'mutant' and 'inhuman' are often said with negative connotations.

Quake has posed:
With May introducing her, Skye doesn't have to, which also suits her fine. So far this feels like an 'Agent Johnson' sort of talk, not a 'Skye' sort of talk. If things shift, she'll correct the man and they'll more forward. For now, though, Skye is employing a lot of shut up and listen. Not only because she's here to learn, but also because her job on this one is to assess.

SHIELD needs a read on the man with regards to certain matters - not the least of which is his actual attitude towards powereds.

All things considered, and beyond Skye's relatively better than decent gut instincts of others, she's also rather somewhat more invested then your average Agent on this matter.

There's grim sort of half smile when May says 'powered' not 'mutant' or 'Inhuman'. Skye might not be alone as far as Inhumans go, but they weren't front page news yet.

Frank Quaid has posed:
"That's right," Frank says. "I'm in charge of Critical Response Command, Counterterrorism Task-Force and Special Crimes Unit. Close to three thousand people." He is clarifying, business-like, not bragging "Anything involving those people is my problem."

"I'm not clear on your roles. Where do you fit in?" he asks curiously.

Melinda May has posed:
"SHIELD's focus is on the activities of people or organizations whose threats span more than just city, state, or country lines. If there's a threat that involves New York and London and Berlin, you'll likely find SHIELD there in some capacity or other. If you remember when the people of Asgard arrived rather unexpectedly and their spacecraft ended up in the Atlantic, SHIELD was one of the first agencies to start getting aid out to the survivors and to protect them from other groups who thought to take advantage of their misfortune." She says this all with the calm level tone she does everything else.

"Incidents much closer to home are primarily your jurisdiction, but there will be occasions when our purposes will align. I would much rather we work cooperatively rather than competitively."

Quake has posed:
Skye is behaving. Most likely due to the drink she has. And the fact that so far nobody has said anything that warrants a true snark. Okay.. 'how do you fit in..' brings a metric shitton of snarky responses, but it's a good guess that May might not appreciate Skye offending their guest before they get past the posturing and introductions.

Skye sips her drink and thinks them, though.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank nods politely while May explains SHIELD's mission.

"Of course," Frank says diplomatically. "SHIELD's role is well known, and NYPD would be happy to cooperate more. But what are /your/ roles in SHIELD is what I'm asking," he says matter of factly.

Melinda May has posed:
Ah. That. Honestly, May was hoping to avoid that question. But, he's asked it now and rather directly at that. So. She'll answer. Honestly.

"Agent Johnson is one of field operatives with a specialization in information systems. I'm the current acting deputy director of SHIELD."

You asked.

Quake has posed:
Skye grins at Quaid. "Yeah, I'm a data specialist." Which was a really, really polite and oblique way of addressing her hacker tendancies. Then again, if he paid enough attention to the news a year ago he might remember she was splashed all over newpapers and the like world-wide as part of the international terrorist attack by Rising Tide on the world's internet and data systems.

Neither of them mention Skye's powered status. That, thankfully, is still off the record books, at least as far as the outside world is concerned.

Frank Quaid has posed:
If Frank recognizes Skye, he does not show it. He simply nods and looks satisfied his time is not being wasted when May explains her role.

"We get a lot of help from the FBI, CIA, even NSA. But almost nothing from your people except rendition certificates, and frankly, headaches at crime scenes. So I'd love to work more closely. For all I know we're both wasting surveilance teams following the same people. What did you have in mind?"

Frank drinks some of his diet Coke.

Melinda May has posed:
"Information exchange and movement notifications so we aren't stepping on each others' toes. Things like activity involving powered people that are there at SHIELD's request, or if we know there's someone in New York that's part of a bigger situation that might be more than your detectives have the budget to handle." She sips at her own hot tea. It's by no means GOOD tea, but it's hot and it vaguely resembles tea. She'll accept it for now.

"The benefits I have in mind honestly will only work if both sides are cooperating, such as sharing actionable intel or updating each other with what we know about powered people that might be drawing undue attention to themselves." At that last, she gestures to Skye briefly and perhaps a bit oddly, holding one hand palm toward herself and waggling her fingers for the briefest moment.

Quake has posed:
The hand gesture is met with a faint shrug from Skye, one shoulder rising ever so slighlty higher than the other, and followed by a nod.

Her drink is sipped, then set down. "So, you've asked us," Skye says, giving Quaid a direct look. "But you haven't really said much about yourself. You deal rather extensively with powereds from what I gather. What I can't figure out is where you stand on the matter."

She doesn't actually qualify that with either 'personal' or 'professional', leaving the interpretation up to him. His answer, in and of itself, may be telling.

Frank Quaid has posed:
"De-confliction and intel-sharing. Works for us. My Deputy Commissioner gave me the green light to work out an MOU with SHIELD if those were on table. We'd also like to look at exchanging secondments. We do it with the FBI it's been really valuable for everyone."

Frank's forehead creases slightly at Skye's question. He glances back at May, as if to ask why the kids are talking at the adult table. He looks back to Skye.

"Then you haven't looked. I've made it clear over and over in the press and at invited talks."

Melinda May has posed:
"Then we'll get the MOU worked out. Shouldn't take very long. Explain your thoughts on secondments."

At his glance from Skye toward her she merely raises an eyebrow. The woman asked you a question, Captain. It would be best if you answered it. Then, she just takes another sip of her tea, not a hint anywhere that she feels Skye's question was in any way out of line or out of turn.

Quake has posed:
The look to May isn't missed by Skye. And neither is his answer.

Her return is a very calm, "Oh, I've read the reports and watched the interviews. But I want to hear it from you. I've sat at enough of those press releases to know exactly how much or how little to take them on face value. So, how do you feel about Powereds, Captain."

Despite noting his look to May, and despite the fact that it's very clear she saw it, Skye doesn't look the least bit worried that she's stepped out of line. If she's intimidated, she's not letting on.

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Good," he says to May. "We'd like to second a senior detective to SHIELD and have an agent seconded to Special Crimes Unit. To build bridges. Or at least get a liaison appointed from SHIELD that can be our touch-point."

Frank looks confused and slightly offended when Skye speaks up again. The way senior executives do when people down the chain step out of line.

"Am I missing something?" he asks May.

Quake has posed:
Skye turns to May, "My read? He puts on good face for the public. If he can't take answering my questions, I'm not sure how well he's going to interact with an ally. Your allowing me to ask, without interjecting wasn't enough for him to realize I was doing my job. I'm not convinced his concern for Powered goes beyond they're less of a problem if he makes nice, but when push comes to shove he's an ass kisser."

Melinda May has posed:
At the mention of agent exchanges, May nods. But then he's reacting to Skye's repeated question and she's just offered her assessment of the man. "Thank you, Skye."

Her attention returns to Quaid, and now most of her polite corporate facade falls away. Here now is Agent May, the woman that can, will, and has gone through hell and back in performance of her duties. "Is there anything else we need to clarify, Captain?"

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank looks faintly amused at the exchange. He finishes off his drink.

"Nope. When you want to have a real discussion, you can ask for a meeting with the Commissioner," Frank says. The subtext isn't pretty. They very bluntly insulted the Commissioner's envoy, without any apparent cause, and hence the NYPD as a whole. It's unlikely they will find any interest whatsoever from the NYPD going forward.

Frank gets up, dusts off his suit jacket and nods to Elaina. He is back on his Blackberry before they leave the room.

"So?" she asks Frank.

"Worse then the Agency. Clowns," Frank says.

Elaina laughs. "Told you!"

Frank just snorts.