8489/Offer on the Table

Offer on the Table
Date of Scene:	24 July 2019
Location:	New York Public Library - Harlem - NYC
Synopsis:	Nadia gets encouragement to join the Foot, and turns it down flat.
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Wasp (Pym)

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Shredder has posed:
    It's warm out today. It's helpful when you are wanting to keep crime down, in a way. People want to be inside, they don't want to be out and about. Of course, not everyone has that luxury. In Harlem, there are still many people milling about, walking in and out of shops, and going about their business.

    Betty Sanders is one of them. She looks like your average college student, a short brunette with a button nose and an all-American girl kind of look. Those who know her well, though, know that behind the journalism career she is pursuing at NYU, she's also an infiltration agent for the Foot. She handles several undercover operations, and today's operation: A teenager whow as witnessed with the ability to shrink and shrink other things around her. She's been tracking the sightings of Nadia on the Foot's radar, trying to learn her patterns and behavior, or at least as best a person can without actual interaction. Today though, it's no more sideline observation, reports from other Foot agents, or hacked video cameras. Today, she is out to make contact.

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
While it might seem like tracking down a teenager would be childs play it turns out there's a lot more work involved when that teenager happens to have espionage training. It also doesn't hurt that she can shrink herself beyond most peoples ability to see, let alone track.

But that doesn't mean it's impossible to find Nadia. Especially when she's a regular visitor to what is arguably one of the biggest and best libraries in the tri-state area. There are after all thousands of books on science here that Nadia hasn't had chance to read.

Of course that's not through lack of trying. As evidenced by the little book fort she's built around herself. And the fact she seems to have four college level textbooks open at the same time. Evidentally reading them all at once.

Shredder has posed:
    Betty enters the library, searching for the girl that is her target, a denim knapsack on her back, and a white polo and blue jeans as a modest but flattering attire. She makes her way through the cooridors of books until she spots the pile. A tilt of her head, and she starts to circle the mountain until she spots Nadia.
    "That's quite a good chunk of reading," she comments. "You have a research paper you are working on?" she asks.

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"Research paper? Oh no, nothing like that," Nadia replies with a hint of a Russian accent, glancing up and smiling. "This is just some light reading. I'm teaching myself coding... Mechanical engineering and a few other things. Languages mostly. Sometimes research papers come out in other languages first and I think I could save myself some waiting if I looked at them in their native languages."

She's dressed for the season with a simple Summer dress and a messenger bag. Although every now and again she fans herself with a couple of sheets of paper.

Shredder has posed:
    A smile comes to Betty's face. "Wow, that's /some/ light reading!" she compliments. She takes the liberty to move to sit on the corner of the desk, looking down at the teenager. "You must be pretty smart to pull that off." She doesn't look like she's planning to leave any moment soon. "I have learned Japanese and French," the brunette confesses. "Japanese was really hard, but useful for work. And French is the next most broadly used language in the world after English." She pauses, "Well, Chinese probably is, but I mean in the Western world."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
Nadia scoots some of her stack of books to one side. Making room for the other library patron. "I grew up speaking Russian but I taught myself English and Mandarin. Well, I had a little help from my friend Ying for the last one... But she's about my age so it's not like I had formal lessons!"

"It certainly helps being intelligent but honestly motivation and hard work are just as important. Plus imagination. You could be the smartest person in the universe but if you can't think of ways to use that intelligence it's really just wasted." She shrugs. "Would it be rude of me to ask what sort of work it is you do?"

Shredder has posed:
    "No, it's not rude at all!" Betty says happily. She tosses her hair a little. "I'm studying to be an investigative reporter at NYU. I currently work with the Washington Square, the Collegiate publication." She sounds very proud. But none of that seems to be things that require Japanese.

    "I've found some pretty good uses of investigative journalism," she adds. "I really feel I'm being able to make a real difference."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"Investigative journalism? Is that like blogging?" Nadia asks curiously, her attention turning away from the books. "I must admit I find it strange that people still produce media in big groups. Given how easy it is for citizen journalists to put out content without any oversight. It seems... backwards. No offense intended!"

She wafts the blank paper to fan herself. "You know I didn't know America would be so warm but... perhaps that was naive of me. Almost everywhere on the planet is warm compared to Siberia in Winter."

Shredder has posed:
    "Oh, I know, it's super hot right now," Betty agrees. "It's easy to put out content," she comments, "But it's not easy to put out quality and verifiable content. Investigative journalism is like...Anderson Cooper, Walter Cronkite, Ida Tarbell, Carl Bernstein! They call us muckrackers. Go and dig in and find the truth when somebody tries to sell the public a bunch of lies, and we out the suckers." She shrugs. "One day at least. But Siberia? You're a long way from home. Your parents move here for work or something?" She knows of no parents this girl has had contact with. Investigative journalism!

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
Nadia Pym blinks a few times. "I'm sorry but I have no idea who any of those people are," she admits apologetically. "Presumably though they all worked as reporters? Like.. April O'Neil was it? The one from Channel Six." She hrmmms. "My parents? My Mom unfortunately died when I was little. And my Dad is... it's very complicated. But I'm basically an emancipated minor so I live by myself." She flashes a smile. "Perks of being exceptionally smart I suppose!"

Shredder has posed:
    "April O'Neil?" Betty giggles a little. "She does that 'truther' blog, but I think she just has an axe to grind about mutant turtles or something," she dismisses the woman. "But, technically, yes.

    She listens as Nadia tells of her parents. "So...Siberia. Now an emancipated minor in the US." She tips her hand a little. "What about those weirdos that have been following you about?" she asks. Clearly, she knows more than she's been pretending, and the statement is intended as something to reveal that she didn't just wander up by happenstance.

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"Mutant turtles would be rather interesting from a scientific point of view," Nadia points out. "I dabble in genetics you see. So it's something I'm professionally curious about."

When Betty brings up the Red Room agents, aka the weirdos, Nadia's eyes flick from side to side. Her table of choice sits in a corner with only limited approaches. Ideal for keeping an eye on the other library patrons just to be safe. "You will have to be more specific. Everyone seems weird to me. And.. there have been several times people have followed me. Young woman alone in rough parts of town, probably out to rob me or something."

Shredder has posed:
    "I don't think they are out to mug you," Betty comments. "I gotta admit, you've been kind of one of my projects," she says. "You're smart and enigmatic. A lot of things I don't know yet, which isn't the case for most people. There's usually more of a paper trail. See, a friend of mine saw you when you got caught in that fight between a few gangs a few weeks ago. He told me he saw you shrink, and saw you also shrink a hummer." She shrugs nonchalantly, as if it's not all that bizarre. "So I know you can fight as well. I'm going to venture a guess that whoever your recurring stalkers are, they're not after your purse. I don't like people like that."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"What is the saying... About the size of the world being.." Nadia mimes a sphere with her hands, then gestures as if to indicate the sphere was shrinking. "There are more than eight million people living in New York city." She shuts one of the books infront of her and shifts it a little to one side. "How do you know I haven't done something bad and those people are with the police?"

"Not that I am suggesting I've done anything wrong! But if I'm enigmatic how would you know otherwise?" She flashes a smile. "I thank you for the concern, but I am confident I can look after myself. Besides, I do not wish to be rude but... You'd only be putting yourself in danger trying to get involved."

Shredder has posed:
    "I guess I don't," Betty admits. "But I can't know that 'til I investigate, right?" she teases a smile. She props on elbow on one of the stacks of books that are piles around the desk. "So, only putting myself in danger, huh?" she asks. "What if I told you my other job was to put an end to evil organizations and to make the world a better place?" she asks. "I've been in a few dangerous situations in the past. And I work with some people who I'm /sure/ can be as dangerous as whoever is after you. My job is to find people who need our help."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"Investigation of that nature is usually best carried out with friends," Nadia ventures, picking up a pencil from amongst the piles of books and paper. Her other hand still resting on the closed hardback book. "Statistically speaking that would make the friend who saw me the ninja." She muses. "So, if you did tell me such a thing it would seem... suspicious. No offense. But I am being followed by 'bad people' and it would be very inadvisable for me to go to any strange places with people I just met. Especially not when you stipulate you work with dangerous people in a mysterious group."

Shredder has posed:
    "That's fair," Betty answers. "But I didn't say he was a ninja. He's actually the guy who got shot that day. He's doing better, so thanks for the help. But I've been in bad situations myself. She reaches out, placing a hand on Nadia's if she's allowed. "I know what it can be like to be alone, to not know whether you're safe at any moment. They helped me. I wouldn't want to make you do anything you're not comfortable with, but we could use someone like you with us, and those bad people? We can help you with them. Look at it as more...symbiotiic. You don't need to decide right now, but whenever you're ready, I'd be happy to introduce you. Hopefully you'll want to pursue it before your tails get lucky one of these days, and catch you."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"And the ninja was... simply a coincidence?" Nadia asks, keeping her arm still as Betty reaches out. Although adjusts her grip on the pencil, turning the point down almost as if it were a weapon. "Your friend needed 'help' you see. And it makes me question what form the help you are offering comes in? Legal aid? Moral support? Or something else entirely." She shrugs and offers an rueful grin. "If that does happen hopefully I will not hurt any of them too badly. I would feel bad for them afterwards."

Shredder has posed:
    "The help takes many forms," Betty says. "Depends on what you need. We can get you legal, employment help, housing." She says the last with emphasis. "And we can take care of the people who are bothering you. My friend Jack, he was on lookout to watch over part of town to stop things like what you saw between those gangs, to help keep citizens safe." She shrugs. "And if you are so good at fighting that you could beat off several grown men, then I'm /sure/ there's a story behind that."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"There are certain restrictions on the stories I can tell people," Nadia offers, noncommittally. "It is, you know, complicated. And probably much less interesting than you are imagining!" She laughs. "As for housing and those other things I can assure you I'm fine. But thank you for your concern!"

Shredder has posed:
    Betty licks her lips, as if trying to think of what she should ask next. "Come on," she coaches, as if they were old friends. "I'm not doing this for a story. You have some remarkable abilities. Are you a mutant?" she asks directly. "It's okay to be a mutant. These people I work for, it's more than a job. They are a family. We look out for each other. We really care about each other. It has to be lonely by yourself. We have mutants that are part of our family that would be rejected nearly everywhere else. I know a boy who looks like a space alien. He was hiding in the sewers before we found him."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"You know I've read about many of these techniques you are employing," Nadia notes dryly, shifting the pile of books with the hand Betty's hand was on. Then tapping on the cover of a psychology textbook. "And it seems to me that if you were part of a group I would wish to put my trust you would not be trying this particular approach. I think perhaps I will check out some of my reading and continue elsewhere."

She makes as if to stand, then if Betty doesn't try get in the way Nadia picks up the library limit of books an individual can check out at once. "I think it would be best if you stopped looking into my life any further."

Shredder has posed:
    Betty doesn't stop her, but looks mildly quizzically at Nadia. "Techniques?" she asks. It seems she doesn't understand. As Nadia gets to her feet, she shrugs her shoulders. "Well, you do that, or whatever. But if you get in trouble, think about it, okay?" she says. It seems like she took a mild personal affront to her proposal being referred to as a technique, though she doesn't come out to say it. "Just..." she pulls her backpack off hurriedly, and pulls a pen and a pad of paper out. "Just think about it. She jots down a phone number. "That's my cell. You think I'm lyin', or trying to trap you, or whatever, just...some people really do care." She tears free the page and puts it on the top of the books in Nadia's hands. "Good luck."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
"I have always found luck to be a poor substitute for talent," Nadia replies solemnly, leaving the paper on her stack of books as she heads towards the main library desk. "Anyway, I hope you have a pleasant day."

And then she's off. Leaving a trail that almost immediately seems to vanish a block from the front door.