10765/What happens in the van stays in the van

What happens in the van stays in the van
Date of Scene:	13 April 2022
Location:	New Jersey
Synopsis:	OH NO! Bad plants!
Cast of Characters:	Natasha Romanoff, Jane Foster, Leopold Fitz, Jessica Drew

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Natasha Romanoff has posed:
It's the middle of a black van. Stakeout. In which case a series of very, very bored SHIELD agents are all on thier break period for what is being a long, long fourty eight hour constants urveillance mission on go time. Some sort of toxic plant which had been an origin of a creature in the past called 'Toxie'.
    Whatever the reason, it meant that a SHIELD team was waiting for something to happen which needed speiclaist agents onhand and specialist science personnel available for whatever catastrophe.
    Until then, it also meant incredible boredom for the team, takin turns scanning, debating whether to order pizza or chinese..

Jane Foster has posed:
The joys of being an astrophysicist: be prepared for /weeks/ of waiting on Matlab results or satellite travel before getting any data. "Hurry up and wait" is a reality experienced by the best of the public turning their eyes to the fancy golden-shielded space telescope hanging out at the L2 point, the six month period to reach absolute zero before focusing lots of hexagonal lenses a shared burden. They know Jane's world!

Not that a few hours sitting around is actually any more fun for someone used to it, only that experience teaches her to fill those hours productively. For one, tapping into any CCTV cameras offering different angles on the target, so that they can at least diversify their review of the buildings. She is overdue on an AAR, might as well file that too. Reviewing dossiers seems like an appropriate task when not on duty, though even those are pretty slim on the ground. Tsk, tsk. A nap might be in the cards. Presently the tablet in her lap, wired into the van charger, gives a survey of blueprints she has been helpfully reviewing for anything interesting like places Jess could climb through or rooftop access points.

Leopold Fitz has posed:
Dr Leo Fitz. One of the youngest scientists to graduate from the SHIELD academy. Multiple PhDs in multiple fields that most of his friends don't even know. Heck, even he's got a few of the diplomas hanging around that he hasn't bothered putting up.

And he's sitting in the back of a black panel van.

Granted, the panel van is one of the most state-of-the-art observation and surveillance vehicles in (probably) the world, more thanks to the personnel manning it than the equipment, but the hardware isn't anything to sneeze at either.

With an earbud settled in one ear, Fitz is filling his time with a magnifying glass and a precision soldering iron on a side table. There is a bright spot light illuminating his area, and currently he's hunched over his exacting work.

"I could go with some pasta," breaks some of the silence, the rough (to some ears) Scottish accent in the fore. Always in the fore. "Just wi' some butter." There's a pause and he looks up from his work, a quick smile comes and goes, "In case anyone's askin'."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Not that agents often have the choice of their companions in boredom on long stake outs. Jessica has been rather content with this lot - not an iota of a chance for boredom. Good conversation breaks much of the tedium between moments of concentration on reports and watching the camera feeds. Besides, she is chuffed at the idea of Jane being on the lookout for spidery ingress and egress for her. How many can lay claim to great minds looking for sneaky paths for them?

Mutations unasked for as a child have the benefit of allowing her to nap anytime and anywhere. She can put Tokyo commuters to shame with her ability to sit upright without slumping or drooling on an unwary fellow traveller and snooze. Nor does she snore. A movement in the van, opens her eyes and tension comes back into her relaxed face.

Not above watching children's films, she asks with Donkey's voice, "Are we there yet?"

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff has had to settle for far longer in far worse circumstances. The others are taking a turn on rotation duty as they're on standby. Natasha has of all things popped out a set of needles and some yarn from /somewhere/ and is working with some knitting. The yarn is being spun together in ways that are the beginning form of a crochet that looks to be rather twisted.. At least as far as the initial bits would be. The Russian woman is taking the occasional look over at the screens..

"Italian is fine if we're doing pasta. I will however not do Chinese or pizza." Apparently the standard 'take out' was something that she had had enough of. She would go to put down the needle and thread over while listening. "So will we be negotiating a compromise tonight on takeout or a challenge?"

Jane Foster has posed:
Does anyone notice drooling under a mask? In the soldering flame's glow, are they all not distorted in appearance? Jane works comfortably where long, long hours in the field tracking stars and spatial distortions hopelessly in a desert taught her to temper her expectations. In lieu of one very excitable Darcy Lewis, she has a Scot, a Russian assassin, and a Spider. Pretty fair trade.

"A proper pesto might be nice. No garlic, either, so we're less likely to be traced." Or offend anyone who dislikes garlic. She chimes in with her two cents before going back to skimming entrances. No one ask her what Natasha is making, other than a web; she would be hopeless at that. "Has anyone thought about throwing the Chief a baby shower?" A pause and then she clears her throat, glancing askance at the redhead. "Maybe suggesting not going into the field quite so often?" Yes, she'll dare that.

In another state from Peggy Carter.

Also because she has the world's greatest "Get Out of Jail Free" card, bar none. She does lower her voice to ask that, soft-spoken, less Antonio Puss-in-Boots Banderas and more uncertain Penelope Cruz for the turn.

Leopold Fitz has posed:
Aaand, Fitz is back to his work, listening at the post while doing a little bit of busy work. At the finality of one of his marks, he sets the iron down, but not before cleaning it on the moist sponge. His hand opens, and there is a little D.W.A.R.F. hovering just above his outstretched hand.

"I'll make an easy challenge. Dr Foster, you can't play. Pi to the 20th decimal. Go." If he noticed the gentle teasing of his brogue, he's not not rising to it. Nope.

Fitz sounds a distracted note, and he continues softly, his attention fully on his little mini-drone that is chock full of 'surprises'. "Now, Jessica, I'll be sendin' out one of my drones. I've put in a visual cue for it, an' I'm uploadin' a quick program to your HUD. If you'd be so kind as to start it up."

To prove that he can multitask, somewhat, Fitz looks back at Natasha and shakes his head, "No pizza. Sits too heavy.." There's actually a beat as his mind shifts gears once more, "When that is done, wherever you look, it'll go on command. An' yes, 'round corners too." If it weren't serious business, perhaps that accent might be a touch more comical?

Maybe?

Jessica Drew has posed:
Soldering smoke at close quarters is likely what woke Jess. That and the quiet questions concerning food. Jess's stomach gives an unabashed rumble. "I wouldn't mind the garlic. I could go for a good shawarma and a side of fries, too. A double capp, as well."

Spider metabolism is demanding and requires regular feeding. "You all decide, I'm too hungry to quibble. Whose turn is it to go?"

Multi-tasking is not beyond her hyper-fast reflexes, she slides her goggles down, tapping the side lightly once to initiate the HUD display. "Ready when you are, Fitz."

After a pause, she adds quietly,"3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 or thereabouts, her British accent coming to the fore as she uses nought in place of zero.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would glance over her shoulder at Jane's comments and consider, "Acceptable. And no garlic." Moreso as while she might not necessarily care, they could be in close quarters for awhile, so no sense pushing things if none of them liked the smell. Not that she really cared. Putting down the needle and thread and glancing at Jane.

"Or you can just see how fast that has you assigned to babysitting the child full time so she can return to field duties promptly knowing they're in good care. I'm sure she'd be so impressed that she might consider the transfer full time."

That could be a Peggy thing, right? Shrugging over at Jane, deferring to her on the 'Pi to twentieth decimal'.

But Jessica apparently wins the duel as she does the rare thing of surprising her. "We have a winner it seems>"

Jane Foster has posed:
Jane arches her eyebrows. "Doctor Fitz, just because we have a common interest in the language of mathematics hardly makes it likely I'm the only one in here who knows that. Key lime or berry?" The appropriate question to ask when among nerdy friends, then, comes easily to her lips. She winks his way and returns to circling a few points of interest on the projected building plans and shunts them across the network to her peers.

"Drones are far more useful. I wish I used them more regularly. Can they feed into our lenses? Jemma developed something more streamlined, though we can probably use refinements for those of us not in that particular vein."

See, take that, it's Jess rescuing them all with the numbers. She doesn't feel the need to add anything except to chuckle, stretching out her legs. "The child isn't born yet and assignment to childcare duties would be irresponsible as nothing in my SHIELD-sanctioned skillset shows me to be suited for early childhood development. On the contrary, I have no siblings or practical experience." Her smile is a toothy thing. "She might. However, the Hayden has equal priority. Not that it's above anyone in the executive side of a government agency to pull strings, is it?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
"I bet you the Chief would like rhubarb and strawberry pie but two pies would do. A Key Lime, too." She lifts her goggles to look at Jane pointedly. "You put on good parties, and I will be glad to help."

With a rueful sigh, "Short of tying her down or being forced, nothing will keep the Chief out of the field if she deems the operation important enough. Apparently, Madame Venom was," Jess won't give the woman the respect of naming her Madame HYDRA.

Her eyes sweep the tiny space, "Bets on whether we don't have a creche and a child care center at the Trisk by next year!"

Leopold Fitz has posed:
Just to make sure Jess isn't cheating, Fitz spins around, and with a couple of keystrokes, logs into her HUD and frowns. "I only asked for 20," he mutters before pulling the window over to the corner. "You'd get that wrong on an exam." Ha.

Brows do rise at Jane's question, and his head quirks; he's nothing if not still a little competitive with Jemma, and his accent strikes a touch broader, "Tha's exactly what it's doin' right now for Jessica." Huff. "An' she didn't work on my drones, I know tha'."

Turning to put his equipment away, he touches on his earbud, eyes moving to that 'middle distance', and brows rise as he turns slowly to the team in his truck. "Did'je catch that?"

The thought of pie at the moment is a touch foreign; it's not the first thing he thinks of when 'pi' is mentioned. Instead, he shakes his head, "Pasty." Just in case.

The girls' chat, however? There is no way he's being dragged into that one. It's a conversation he's more than happy to remain on the periphery of...

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would glance at Jessica, "She's not going to let anyone override her short of the Director." And she rather doubted that the Director would have any particular reason to do that. The woman did good work.

Nodding at Jessica, "Yes. Sarkinson's behind bars. Hopefully long enough to be taken to the Hauge and then go out the other way they're supposed to go from there." Rather morbid. Then in Natasha's mind.. Ophelia definitely deserved it.
    Changing the topic to go along with Jessica, "Probably. Means we can start planning gifts a little earlier." Turning her attention to Fitz. "You make good ones. I just prefer to not get too reliant on them." THe more complicated any given technology was, it tended to just make it likelier to break no matter the circumstances or however many redundancies were in it.

Jane Foster has posed:
"Strawberry rhubarb would be excellent." The amused tone from Jane approves of Jess' input on pie, and a mental note bookmarks that data along with everyone else. She tucks her tablet to the side where the screen goes quiet, no longer in contact with something particularly irksome, being her confusing biological structure. It works happily with everyone else. "Do we /not/ have a creche at the Triskelion? With so many employees and it being government, I figured it must." Someone other than her answer that question, please.

And what about noodles? Mmm. Noodles. "I'll take your word for it," she says to Leopold. "Though how detailed the impressions are, I'm curious to know. Can we work in various levels of data collection through multiple streams? Wilson was working that out with Redwing. It'd be useful for those of us non-superheroes." Like, oh, everyone besides Jess in the van. Sort of.

She nonetheless might be turning thoughts over in her mind, fingers on a pulse of a dangerous brand of thoughts. "Aside from the obvious, what charges would be proposed against Sarkinson? HYDRA committing every number of violations against us notwithstanding, I imagine that she personally might have a rapsheet they're interested in. Though this will end up a jurisdictional fight between lawyers, mark my words. Always does." Privileges of wealth, citizenship, and scaring people through multilayered threats will always do that. The world is a cruel place.

Her gaze flicks again to the scanners and those on duty. If they can get out of the van, fabulous. "Do you want me to see if we're in the black on foot or we still clear?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jess's lips purse in a mischievous smile as Fitz's competitive side comes to the fore. As for his comment on her pies and pi, she makes an airy gesture with her fingers dismissing "pasty" and accuracy to the the 20th decimal, she is deadly accurate in the field where it matters most to her.

At the moment, Jess throws her support behind any tech that will allow her to get to her target quickly. Working on multi-channels being her preference and a gift of mutated genetics. Still her glasses are perched on her head while they work out food and party details.

She frowns at mention of the Hague, "HYDRA will throw everything they have behind her."

Fitz's question puts paid to further playfulness and talk of baby showers, "See what?" The goggles are firmly fixed back into place, chat about food put aside though her tummy rumbles again.

Leopold Fitz has posed:
Should Fitz be insulted that his technology isn't .. reliable? Is that what she's saying right now? His back is up, as it were, and his insult and disappointment both vie for primacy on the baby-face of the genius. "It's never been an issue a'fore.." Turning back around, he finally pulls his little stool up and settles behind one of the full consoles, sulking for the moment.

"It's full-spectrum," He begins softly, the burr fades a touch as he gets a hold of his pique, "an' it holds a couple of good plasma charges. I miniaturized it a few nights ago." From search and rescue drones to packing a punch. "It's still reachable via my handset, but this gives it a little more distance." The little drone hangs in the air even as he speaks, *whirring* softly.

Shaking his head, he points to the side of his head. "Hear. There's movement," and it's not the lightly busy street corner.. and pulling up with his screen again, fingers move quickly over the smaller sized keyboard, "Capturin' some encrypted messages.." is murmured. "Oh, please.." and he looks disgusted before pushing the keyboard back, "How stupid.."

In case anyone is looking at him, Fitz offers an explanation, "This code was used 5 years ago in China, when they were discussing fleet plans. Can't they think of somethin' better than trottin' out some tired code?"

Jane Foster has posed:
Well behaved drones are welcome. It's the nosy drones following multilateral protocols to make her life a nuisance that end up cratered in a building or stepped on, possibly hidden in a corner where they can never hope to leave. The labyrinthine outcome of finding a corner in a circular room shall be their damned fate.

Nothing to fear from the smiling brunette, is there? She crosses her legs, then rubs out her calf in anticipation of getting up and out that door. Sitting around hasn't been the most fun. "I don't envy the prosecutor dealing with HYDRA. Finding out the justices under you might be corrupted or pressured from a fifty-year-old web of influences sounds right about the kind of story we should have an eye open for." Her frown lingers for a moment. Since when are astrophysicists ready to comment on geopolitics? That one is, but that one also found the aliens, so. "That, or the political arena becomes clouded, letting that snake slip into the grass where things become much murkier. I shouldn't sound so jaded, but I fear the track record for these things isn't great. Optics remain a problem, especially when many nations won't agree of the threat she is, even if they could be convinced HYDRA /exists/."

Her eyes narrow slightly and then she asks Fitz, "What are you catching there in the code? You make it sound quite positive in terms of being deciphered. Content-wise, what should we know about our plant people? Time to roll out Jess?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jess is fixed firmly in the now, leaving questions of crimes against humanity to the side. However, one part of her is aware of the actual cost to lives being made in the name of experimentation by Sarkinson and Masterson. She is a living example of their work.

On the alert, she sits stock still awaiting cue for a go or stay. Code is out of her field. She holds up a hand, palm facing Jane. "Not yet."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
As things seem to be coming together, any sort of banter that Natasha might make now is quieted as she's going to a 'ready' position. hand down near her pistol where she could fast draw it or be ready for a quick deploy. Now, from the Widow there is silence as she would go to 'active' mode, the banter from earlier and the back and forth fully gone, as if a switch had been flipped.

Now there is just a killer ready to be let loose and waiting to go in for the next strike.

Leopold Fitz has posed:
This astrophysicist isn't making any geopolitical comments, other than, "I jus' wan' t' see all those sods buried." He doesn't even bother looking to the side to see what sort of effect his own take on the matter has on the others. It's part and parcel of being SHIELD, isn't it? Couldn't possibly be personal. Nope. The very thought of HYDRA actually makes the man sweat just a little, his cheeks flushing a touch. Has it suddenly gotten a little warm in here? Maybe? Maybe it'd been warm and he simply hadn't noticed before.

There's a fidget to his fingers, and he takes a deep breath, in and out, and is able to answer properly. "I could probably use a botanist, right about now." There's that soft burr of accent. "But," and he wheels forward again, bringing up a satellite picture of the Earth, as conditions currently are. He points at a couple of the circulating storms that seem to be focused out to sea, heading east... the shores most famous for their nor'easters. "Did'ja know they're slightly weather dependent?" He shudders, and shakes his head, looking a touch disgusted now. "Pollen will ne'er be the same to me."

The shift of those in the van with him has him looking around, as if realizing that he indeed is on a mission, and those around him are, well.. some of the best of the best, waiting at times on his word.

"Uh.." He begins softly, and pulls back to the small desktop, "Aye, I think it is." 'Think' here means 'definitely'. "They're in a small burst of communication, an' if we time it right?" Why can't those from the UK actually //say// what it is they mean to? "We can get this cell, an' the other one that is.. apparently a few towns over." Give or take.

Jane Foster has posed:
The world is a strange place, full of risks and dangers. Jane might be itchy to get out there, but possibly because that entails her being stuck in a box against a plant. She glances towards the meteorological map, the planet's currents familiar enough and resonating with their Mother wrapped around her wrist. Nothing to see there in the thin golden chain hidden under the t-shirt sleeve going past the delicate bone.

"Plants or something else, Dr. Fitz?" Might as well cover that base while she's at it, her eyes narrowing at the barometric pressure graphics and the bars showing tomorrow's weather today in real time. Arrows and details mean something, at least on a grand scheme of things. Astrogeology and planetary science is a bit different from the cosmological expertise she prefers, but they're cousins in the branching tree of steam.

Jessica Drew has posed:
Hand still in the air, Jess studies the approaching weather systems, making no comment on what they portend. Instead, she has a barrage of questions before going operational, "I'm ready to move if we have both cells triangulated. How have we decided to move on them? Herbicides? Will we be capturing specimens? Do we have bio-containers that will withstand them?"

Leopold Fitz has posed:
"Aye, plants." There's a moment as he's looking at the world from the satellite view, and he shrugs offhandedly, "Good thing I know a biochemist. An' she's not that bad." It's said so offhandedly that some might actually miss the meaning. It's that deadpanned Scot.

"As for what would bring them down? I'd like t'know that as well. Perhaps we should catch at least one, set them in a safe house," pronounced 'hoose', "an' take a few blood samples." How to contain them, however? SHIELD has many safe houses that have a modicum of tech for such possibilities. It isn't all apartment buildings with faulty wiring and bad take out in the neighborhood!

"So.. in a word, let's pull one an' learn a bit more about 'em."

SHIELD agents are good at that. The best, really.