13692/Pitter-Patter

Pitter-Patter
Date of Scene:	30 December 2022
Location:	Main Foyer: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Jess and Jane get to work.
Cast of Characters:	Jane Foster, Jessica Drew

---

Jane Foster has posed:
"Yes, I understand you need---"

Holding a one-sided conversation in the lobby of the Triskelion is fun for no one. Jane isn't a fan of it. She has places to go, places to be, people to see and work. It may be time for most of the American public to holiday, if they can afford such a thing, but spy agencies never sleep. Just ask Nick Fury and his cold eye turned on the greater world at large.

She makes it about a third of the way to the elevator and halts, finally repeating herself three times into the phone. "No. Not now. I said no." No is a complete sentence. The phrase practically stamps itself on her forehead. "Take it up with the Commander, then."

An angry beep silences that phone call only in her head, since pressing the disconnect button is naturally silent.

Jessica Drew has posed:
There are not many people passing the security checkpoint at SHIELD headquarters that would not be considered exceptional by the general public. The agents include mutants, people who inherited their super powers or came by them through accident or design. It's part of the unspoken code among agents not to ask or to gawk. God forbid someone asking for a selfie with someone whose oddness or powers have gone public.

Shoulder to shoulder with other agents waiting for the elevator, Jessica keeps her eyes trained on the door with an effort. She wants to do the forbidden and gawk. Of course, the phone conversation she has overheard adds to the urge to stare. They had been on good terms. No harm in wishing her good morning. Right?

A step brings her closer to Jane, "Good morning. How're you doing?" Secretly, she berates herself for being a dork that means well.

Jane Foster has posed:
Few would be passing at this hour unless they're coming in to relieve the last shift. As a rule of thumb, that includes a lot of analysts, the desks dealing with Asia, but not much in the way of astrophysicist consultants. Then again, Jane studies space, and the best time to see space happens to be at night. She shoves the phone in her coat pocket, the coat heavy enough to withstand the clammy, bitter cold of New York's winters, though not like the city throws anything at her that she can't survive.

Easy when she's all-in on the grave.

The brunette fishes around for her pass, though doing that takes up more time. Swiping it for access on the elevators is a regular event, and so is failing a few times. Hence why she never pushes to the front of the line, and waits until everyone else is on before hitting the security line. SecOps has it down to an art how often it /will/ and /does/ fail with her. One of those funny WAND things.

"Morning?" A blink turns into a laugh. "I suppose it is. Come and leave in the dark, it all looks the same, doesn't it?" She nods to Jessica. "You're well?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jess glances at her watch with a shrug. "Well, yes, in fact. Either way, it's somebody's late and somebody's early. I'm fine though I can't say I love manning the Asian desk all that much even if I can practice my Japanese. I'm on for the week. What has you in?"

The agent leans, pulling the elastic lanyard out to swipe her card. The doors chime and open for them both. "After you," she gestures Jane in and follows her. After punching her floor in, she faces the door and without looking at the Deputy Commander says in a low even voice, "You've been having exciting times recently, I think."

Jane Foster has posed:
The elevators bubble together agents and analysts, launch them at speed, and hopefully leave them wondering. Jane is familiar with the drill. She holds her bag tight to her side, waiting for the doors to disgorge more and more people until it's just a smaller knot of folks. Jess in proximity doesn't bother her in the least, her chestnut hair brushing across her shoulder again.

"Better than being stuck strictly on China. You know how difficult it is to keep an eye on them, always troubling in the Korean-Russian side. I've heard the Indian desk has been uncommonly quiet. We should be so lucky," she adds. Stepping out of the elevator when it pings discreetly ushers them into the shady world of hot desking, jacked-in headphones, and many screens. Very different from some departments, and others. "Exciting? I've been scouring files without success in search of a missing Asgardian and doing a poor job of everything else. I feel like the last month simply hasn't existed. Tell me you had a good fortnight off? Something?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jess's complaint about the Asian night desk just skirted breaking the unspoken agent code of what is acceptable. The question that followed it was clearly over the line, she hides her discomfort with a deep silent breath. On an exhale she gives Jane a crooked smile of thanks for pretending it alluded to the holidays.

A step behind Jane, she answers, "If you call bingeing Amazon Prime fun. I thought of you as I watched "The Night Sky." The Japanese are unhappy about the Korean tests, as you can imagine. So is the State Department."

Jane Foster has posed:
It helps to be a consultant, ranking, and so tired that maybe the unspoken rule can be stamped on a few times. Jane should know better, but she blinks owlishly at a clock displaying the times in Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Delhi, Bangkok, and Jakarta. Manila is blinked in and out regularly enough, and she gets her bearings by standing still for a moment.

"Amazon Prime is a stain on the face of the Earth. It compels us to buy things immediately. I cannot explain why I now own a pair of Finnish boots with built-in microspikes... boots that glitter bright red, but apparently I do. Fortunately they take returns." Her smile turns a touch sheepish. "Is Night Sky good? I haven't had the time." Barely put in the hours.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"I wasn't sure at first. Superlative acting kept me on it. Sissy Spacek and J.K Simmons are wonderful and there are some good writers on the team besides the sci-fi aspect of it. Which," she says pointedly teasing Jane, "I won't divulge."

She scans the clocks to reassure herself that she hasn't arrived late for her first check-in with the Hokkaido station. "You haven't found him yet, have you? He's a great man. I've never met him." Jess deliberately uses a hopeful present tense, as though she will meet him at sometime in the future.

Jane Foster has posed:
"Sissy Spacek's in that? Now you remind me, we need an underground movie club. Something that draws in, say, Poppins. You have to know her tastes woudl be different from Agent Danver's. Better than a book club, we can multitask if we have to," Jane posits, her gaze flickering back to the screens to determine anything that speaks to a marginalized spike. More of this work is Jess' than hers, but it never hurts to learn. "Or Agent Barton. I wonder if he has a soft spot for cozy mysteries, to relax from the work."

She shakes her head to the other woman's question about finding Thor, eyes narrowing and the frown giving away everything. "I haven't. Unfortunately the possibilities are vast enough... it's not a report I enjoy making."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jess takes a step toward her desk and stops. "It would be more than fun to watch a series with you both. I think you would like Night Sky. It's both intelligent and well done. Count me in." With a small wave to Jane she goes to her desk and pulls out her chair.