13888/Discordants: The Operator

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Discordants: The Operator
Date of Scene: 04 February 2023
Location: Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Synopsis: The Good Mr. Tannenberg is brought in to consult with the kind people of SHIELD.
Cast of Characters: Alexander Aaron, Daisy Johnson, Jessica Drew, Lara Croft, Monica Chang, Jane Foster




Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Tracked down by Agent Drew and with the aid of insight from Agent Foster the story of Mr. Hubert Tannenberg is a dull one. 'Born' some thirty five years ago there is little to be said about his past. His records are nice and set. Impeccable really when one considers them. Dual citizenship in the States and the Netherlands. When one digs into his files they go back and are exactly what one expects. A clean school record. No black marks to his education or legal status. His family tree is limited and apparently had been pruned by misfortune in his younger years. No surviving relatives. All very middling to be told.
    Yet in fact it was too middling.
    All of his scores for education had been precisely in the percentile that would be lauded but draw the least scrutiny. Many of his dealings went well between moves and shakers of the time when his career started. He's always performed well, been thought of as a perfect business man.
    That is, until three bodies showed up.
    Three bodies from what seemed like a fouled robbery. Which drew scrutiny from several different agencies. One of which happened to be SHIELD.
    Some observation and digging brought Mr. Hubert Tannenberg forward for further investigation. Especially when some surveillance footage and energy readings suddenly raised more questions about Mr. Tannenberg's background for there were trace elements of dark matter radiation to him that the big brains had seen rarely in the wild, and in use?
    Only by Svartalfar warriors.
    Good Mr. Tannenberg needed to answer some questions. And SHIELD? They were the ones to do the asking. Which is why in the late Friday Evening of February in the year 2023 there stands a team of operatives ready to investigate the man. With, of course, the proper security needed to ensure that things go... peacefully.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
It's go time into finding more about this elusive Mr. Tannenberg and so a SPECIAL team was sent to the location to get some interrogation going. But of course that the first obstacle is the APPROACH. Easily solved by ......

"So, let's draw straws..." Daisy is saying inside the tactical van they have in front of the pawn shop. Monitors are in the wall, showing the position of the man and the cat upstairs on the third floor along with some more state of the art paraphernalia for tech surveillance. Because SHIELD are such voyeurs! " .... and whoever gets the smallest gets to go and distract 'em.." yes, Daisy brought STRAWS for this mission. From all the red bulls she's been drinking most likely. And so she sets them out for the gang and as each draws she looks and ...

"Welp, seems we got a couple of winners..." she nodding at Jane and Jessica. "Get changed ladies and move up. Lara and Monica as backup with them and I will keep monitoring things from down here.. Remember, we don't want to be aggressive unless he starts it. And also, we may be able to offer some help with his problems with the law if he can actually help us out."

And Daisy sits back down on the chair facing all the monitors. The Queen of the Tactical Van.

Jessica Drew has posed:
In the spacious van, filled to the brim with monitoring equipment, Jessica adjusts her skirts over the heavy stockings and slips her feet into a pair of low-heeled shoes. The shoulder-length synthetic wig in dark brown hides her long hair. A wig that could be seen on countless women in the neighborhood, unwilling to dump big bucks on natural hair. She looks the part of a local Orthodox matron: long sleeves, a modest neckline, a skirt past her knees.

The wig hides the ear bead that will keep her in touch with the surveillance team. She grabs her fake badge announcing her as a member of the Jewish Orphans fund, licensed to solicit donations and hangs it around her neck. After a check on the monitors, she gives everyone a thumbs up then climbs out of the back of the van to await her helper.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had picked her straw without looking. She'd just picked it. Waited for the selection to be made, and then put it in her Starbucks cup of hot tea. Her eyes were on her tablet computer, doing all the research she could while everyone got ready. When the group was indeed good to go, Lara made her way out the passenger front door. She's dressed in dark grey slacks, a black sweater with a black leather jacket on over that. She too is hooked up to the team comms, and her dark brown hair covers it.

Why is WAND involved in this? Well, the Dark Matter loosely falls under their 'weird shit' division, of course. "We won't be far..." Lara quietly says to the others likely done up with their own ear pieces by now.

Monica Chang has posed:
Looking at the layout of the apartment, Monica considered. The apartment took up the entire top floor of the building but shared a wall with the neighbor on one side. Leaving only three sides with windows.

She pointed on screen to the corner of a building caddy-corner to the one they would be entering. "I can take a position on this rooftop across the way. It will let me cover the front and side. But someone else would need to watch the back windows to be certain he doesn't exit that way," she suggests. Which means she will be taking a sniper rifle though she will take icer rounds instead of the typical .50 caliber. They didn't want to kill the potential source of information, after all.

And if that was agreeable, she'd head out with a small duffle in hand and a heavy jacket that would cover her SHIELD uniform well. The legs of the uniform were just basically black pants so it worked well.

Jane Foster has posed:
Of course Daisy brought straws. Luck of the draw literally falls with one of the miscreants who escalated Mr. Tannenberg's existence through SHIELD, though in fairness, Jane may have insisted if Lara or Daisy tried to take point. Playing sacrificial lamb to save friends and coworkers if this unassuming gentleman proves not to be a nice businessman and something sneakier comes naturally.

---

Demure beside Jessica, Jane might be somewhat unrecognizable, her sheitel a wavy ash-blonde covered partly by a modest headscarf. She has the look down pat; a slightly younger woman garbed in a shapeless grey coat and a rather lovely, long pleated skirt with sensible shoes fit for running, climbing, and potentially stamping out fun. Her bag contains various printed materials to support Jessica's chosen cause -- those poor orphans in need -- and she carries several of the well-designed leaflets. It helps for someone in Design to owe her a favour for fixing them up with tickets to a show.

"May our venture be blessed today," she speaks, and it's surprisingly rather heavily accented to someone from Bnei Brak. They can hopefully hear her through the comms, but she glances to the other agent. Her show, her advance.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The front door is open and leads first into what was a foyer at one point in time. Though now it leads toward the narrow stairwell and the pawn shop's entrance though for now the shop was closed. The stairs go up two flights to the third floor and lead to a single wooden door that looks like it could use some varnish, spotty and patchy in spots. On the door there's a number and a letter, '3A' though the A has the lower right leg of the letter missing, leaving just the outline of its past as proof of its existence.
    Monica is able to get in a spot observing the 3rd floor apartment. She can cover the front living area of the apartment, and with the right optics she can get visibility to the heat signatures of the lone figure within who seems settled in a seated posture, like a chair of some kind behind him. The smaller heat signature moves slowly around the apartment, merging with the larger heat signature briefly now and again then trotting off at times.
    Lara is able to get the sensors on line for WAND and from this distance she can't get a read on that Dark Matter, yet there was decidedly a stronger background element of it. If baseline was 0, then the level of saturation in this area was 0.001. Yet that was telling in and of itself.
    Comm checks were made and each operative was asked to check in with a mike click. Triskelion Actual gave a click as well as they were monitoring the line.
    And with that the operation begins. The contact team makes their approach. Into the foyer, past the pawn shop door. The room feels musty, old, it's clear that the landlord of the building is perhaps best considered a more... hands off individual. The stairs creak as the ascent is made. Then the two operatives are in front. A feed to the van of various peoples' POVs are given, as well as a view from Monica's scope. A rap at the door causes that thermographic signature of the larger figure to rise from where it was seated. The smaller thermo signature _rushes_ away and hides in the bedroom according to the blueprints overlay.
    The door opens, and the two charitable souls look upon a man in his late thirties, olive-skinned. He has a goatee and a hint of grey in his beard and hair, brown eyes. One of those polite smiles that are thin-lipped but present at the least. He wears a beige suit with a hint of blue at the pocket of his jacket. The main thing of remark was the monocle that hung from that pocket as well.
    He greets them with a few words. "Hello, good people."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Quick. Someone take a picture so we get blackmail material on JD and Jane.." Daisy jests when she sees the way they look right now, some amusement crossing her features. Because missions can't be all seriousness! "And okay, make contact. Lara stay close to them and cover the back, but go in when they begin the questioning, might need your expertise in there talking with him when we show our hand.."

As Monica then leaves to perch out with the sniper she nods. "Be careful.", followed by a, "And now let's see if the biometrics sync work and ..." the monitors light up with small red dots with the names of the agents on top, which means Daisy gets to follow them in real time through the monitors. "I love SHIELD tech ..." she murmurs. Ear piece gets placed in and she then is talking through comms at them.

<< The readings show he might very well be one of their warriors. And never trust a cat that lives with an elf. >>

She pops a red bull open and gets a straw in. Sip.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Zal aundzer gesheft zeyn brukh*," Jessica replies in Yiddish with the fluency of everyday use. All traces of her British accent are gone. They climb the stairs silently.

Jessica takes a deep breath then knocks. The door opens more quickly than expected. After a quick glance at Jane, Jessica faces the man with a hopeful smile, holding up her badge, and saying in breathy, accented English.

"Good evening. I'm Rachel Lebovich and we," she gestures to Jane, "are from the Jewish Orphan's Fund. We would like a moment of your time to ask for help with the poor orphans. God willing." *May our venture be blessed.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara ends up at the back of the building where she can get a look at the area that isn't covered by Monica. She gives a glance around the intersection of the alley that she's occupying, and then drops her eyes to the door.

"I already snapped several." Lara replies to Daisy with regard to the photos for later use against the two costumed Agents.

Her eyes go back down to her tablet computer though as she watches the surveillance video being streamed to it.

"I'm picking up a very small amount of the unusual element. Large enough to suggest we are definitely at the right place.." She says over the comm, her voice calm and soft.

Monica Chang has posed:
Monica was positioned watching from the rooftop, eye pressed to the scope. The sun was actually at her back, allowing for no glint off the lens to alert the occupant to her location. As long as she didn't silhouette herself against the roofline but she had made herself as small as possible, just peeking over that edge with the sight and, at this angle, should be invisible unless she stood up.

"We should've brought some drones. For better visuals." Not just of the man they were approaching. Moreso to have that footage of Jessica and Jane.

Jane Foster has posed:
As Jane crests the stairs, she hangs back slightly from Jessica in a retiring fashion. Her hands clasp the slick, prettily designed brochures, revealing smiling faces of wholesome children and youths. Half the brochure is in Hebrew, the opposing page written in English -- or at least Latin characters. Explanations for how the funds will be distributed and the various academic programmes, summer camps and swimming lessons, and social programmes to help children.

She turns up a hopeful smile as 'Rachel' begins the proceedings in front of the door, glancing briefly to the man in the doorway without making eye contact. "Neta-Lee Hershlag," she pipes up, her accent rounding off English, following the lead. "The children we represent are some of the most vulnerable in the city." The gentle gesture offers one of the brochures to Rachel to pass over before she shyly withdraws her hand, once more resuming that closed-off, respectful posture.

All the better to listen with the strobe of telepathy that defines her as one of WAND's odder entities, but not the most surreal.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Jessica's greeting is accepted as the tall man looks between the two young women in their conservative dress. His smile remains, and his gaze seems unblinking for a time, holding that posture and that look. Then his lips part as a breath is drawn and he says, "Of course." There's no tonal inflection toward the positive nor the negative in those words. Just delivered as if it was a matter-of-fact thing. Of course they are to speak.
    He steps back, gesturing with the wide sweep of his hand for them to enter. "Please, do come in. Though be careful, Ovi likes to sneak out when I have guests."
    He turns and walks with a slight shuffling step, giving them the run of the foyer area which leads directly into a living room that is over-flowing with tchotchkes. There are two sofas in that room, old and a little dusty, also an over-stuffed comfy chair. The man apparently has traveled far, ranging across the globe. There are souvenirs from many nations, and antigues of some remark. Old posters line his walls with images of turn of the prior century circuses, as well as displays of old Ventriloqui acts and magical performances.
    He pauses in the small archway that leads to the kitchen. "Can I get you some tea? Water at the least?"
    On Lara's data display she might get a hint of a spike to the surge of dark matter that raises that overall median value for the area. It's there only for a moment, then fades just as quickly.
    Good Hubert looks past Jessica for a moment toward Jane. Then the thin smile returns. "I am afraid I have few baked goods today to share."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
So far so good. Rachel and Neta-Lee have it well in hand! And infiltration is successful. << First step done. Good. >> Of course that now the HARD part begins.

<< Did you see that, Lara? >> She tells on comms to the WAND operative, her eyes going to that spike she gets on her instruments, << Power usage? >> she wonders. No baked goods though? That's shoot-worthy. But there's no request out of her to Monica!

<< Also, who calls their cat Ovi? >> Because Diretor Furry is such a better name ....

Jessica Drew has posed:
Rachel takes the brochure from Neta-Lee with a small nod and extends it to their mark. The next seconds stretch overlong for the agent. Then, they are in. Careful not to react to the faint click confirming the target acquisition, she follows him to the middle of the room. While Hubert's back is turned she gives the apartment a quick once over, which in turn gives surveillance her POV.

The dust, cat hair and impressive collection of tchotchkes look convincing.

"No, no, please don't trouble yourself. Already, you have a good heart to donate to our fund, Mr. Tanneberg." She pauses to give him a moment to digest the fact that she knows his name. There was no nameplate on the door.

Lara Croft has posed:
"I saw it." Lara is swift to respond. "It... could be something on him. Perhaps he was reacting to seeing you two?" Oh god.

Down in the alley, Lara glances up to the fire escape that lines the side of the structure's wall. She steps toward it then, giving a look toward the northern end of the alley where a large truck trundles past catching her attention for a moment.

When she ends up beside the building, she reaches a hand up to grab the bottom rung of the fire escape ladder to give it a testing pull.. just in case... it doesn't budge. She sees rust all over the damn thing which makes her frown quite widely.

"Maybe try and get reactions out of him, test to see if it has a effect on the status of the unusual substance?" She suggests.

Monica Chang has posed:
"Ovi is apparently a lover and not a fighter," comes the comment from Monica as she reads that heat signature that earlier had been rubbing on the man in the apartment now hiding off in a bedroom somewhere. But she was keeping her attention on the man within, making sure she was keeping a line-of-sight on all those windows. And, at times, it allowed her a good view of the man as well should she need to take that shot. Especially if he were to settle back down in his chair.

Then she frowned as she panned onto something. "Is that a ventriloquist dummy? Oh Hell No. Can I take the shot?"

Jane Foster has posed:
Daisy might realize Jane can acquire catmail material from Director Furry, so she better watch her back. The quiet blonde shuffles with an uncertain tread into the overstuffed apartment and sensitive mics can probably catch the hitch in her pace and the barely voiced "Err" upon spotting a ventriloquist dummy from the corner of her eye. She and Monica are of one mind on the pit of sin and evil they have entered!

She shakes her head to further turn down the offer from Mr. Tannenberg. "It would not be right to impose on you. Or your... ah... friend, Ovi?"

The cat may not be inclined to stay put, but someone has to use their totally matronly wiles on the least harmful figure anywhere. Spspspsp is universally understood as 'Hello kitty' and if Ovi pops their feline head out, she's so saying hello.

"Do you have children?" she adds fecklessly.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Of course I shall donate. That is the only acceptable social course of action." He says in a tone that might sound a little distracted, his head bobbing a little. He takes down a small white ceramic pot and pulls the top off with that faint scrape of sound that one can only get from something hand made and then put in a kiln.
    Within the depths of that pot he digs around and from within he produces several dollar bills crumpled and twisted. He takes three of them, twenty dollars each, sets the pot down and then takes his time in smooooothing them out, making sure they face the right way.
    Then he is walking back into the living room where the two young women are. He smiles and extends the bills first to Jessica, then to Jane, then back again. "Is this enough?"
    From within the bedroom there is nary a sound. Though if one glances that way they might see a tiny black kitty face that is positively _shooting daggers_ at the intruders with such vile condemnation as only can be summoned by a feline that has been displaced from its haunt. There is the feeling that Jessica and Jane may well rue this day. And the cat stares. Waiting for them to start ruing.
    Jane makes her inquiry of Hubert and he smiles. Then a moment later he says, "I do not, I am afraid. I have yet to settle down. Assuredly some day soon."

Jessica Drew has posed:
No reaction to the use of his name leaves Jessica nonplussed. Interesting. She watches him carefully smooth out each bill, prolonging the moment. It reminds her of the adroit stage business of a professional stage actor. No wonder he has survived as long as he has in this alien world.

Smoothing her skirt, the agent straightens imperceptibly and touches her earbud to put everyone on alert.

"Mr. Tannenberg, you are an angel among men. We thank you. Do you mind if we ask you a few more questions?" A beat. "Are you aware that your countrymen are planning something in Midgard?"

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is pacing in the alley now, not rapidly, just a casual back and forth as her eyes dart from the tablet computer to the ambience around here, rich and wonderful as it is. She steps over a overturned trash can and just listens to what is happening up in the 3rd floor apartment.

"No changes, this time. Still though, something is actively happening up there.."

Some voices catch her attention to the south, and Lara shoots a glance that way, but she just sees some youthful types acting silly as they cross the street beyond the alley's mouth.

Jane Foster has posed:
The mental probe from the dusty blonde Neta-Lee encompasses Hubert and his cat, though Ovi may be death-staring the guests who invade the apartment and upset an established routine. Yes, terrible charitable souls that they are. She is locked between sending a glimmer of warning unspoken to Rachel or trusting in the conversation to be relayed through the comms to Daisy, Monica, and Lara.

"How wonderful." She nods to this kind offering, taking the bills from Hubert to store in a zipped pouch if her companion doesn't seek to take them first. "Many children can be helped by your assistance. Thank you for contributing. As it is said, this very gesture to spare others may save you." The careful enunciation lends each English word its proper due. "Assuredly some day soon," she agrees.

To children? To harm? To something else?

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The bills are held there, then they are accepted. And the transaction is complete. But then at Jessica's words...
    There's that slight swell of energy again that flickers on Lara's data display. And it's timed precisely the moment that Mr. Tannenberg's eyes spin around inside their sockets. It's a simple thing, almost missed if one were to blink. But they end with new purple irises observing the two women before him. Then he turns his head to look at Jane pointedly.
    A moment passes, and Ovi hisses from his place near the door to the bedroom, resisting the siren call of the spspspspsp. Then Mr. Tannenberg's voice is heard.
    "And?"
    Those new eyes look on them with shrewd observation, taking their measure. "There are always plans."
    His voice is different. Steel in the tone of voice and the words. Not threatening. But with the firmness one might imagine in a card dealer in a high stakes game of Texas Hold'em playing the turn card.

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jessica takes the bills and passes them to Jane without taking her eyes off the man. The roll of his eyes gives her a moment of vertigo but she holds her ground, treating him like the real danger he presents. The change of timbre in his voice comes as no surprise and answers any doubts she may have had.

Her voice low and neutral, "Undoubtedly, Mr. Tannenberg. They seem to include our planet whether we want it or not. We don't which is why we have approached you to ask for your help. Will you come with us?"

The next moment's will decide whether they will have a pitched battle with the Dark Elf, making him an unwilling asset at best. Jessica tenses, gaze fixed on his face.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara leans against the corner of the building on her right shoulder. Her eyes dart down to the tablet screen as she catches another spike in the dark matter surveillance. "There it is again." Her voice will call out to the two inside, and it comes right after his eyes do the fancy little switch-a-roo thing.

Lara strokes some of her brown hair out of her face with a swipe of her left hand before returning her eyes to the screen showing what SHIELD can see inside. "What is causing it..." She mutters under her breath, as she obviously doesn't have a visual angle on the guy's eyeballs!

Monica Chang has posed:
"Okay, who was expecting that? Cause I sure wasn't," Monica mutters over the comms as she continues to watch the goings-on through that rifle scope.

At this angle, she isn't able to see the change in the man's eyes. However, she can see that slight change in body language. And she can hear the tone of voice which was far different from their arrival. That man had seemed more scattered, a bit awkward. This one knew exactly what he was doing and had no qualms about it.

As Jessica lays down that request, Monica falls silent as she concentrates on her breathing, finger finally curling around the trigger inside the guard in case she needed to take the shot.

Jane Foster has posed:
Lara may not see, but Jane certainly does, monitoring something that the comms links and fancy drones cannot. Even WAND has its limitations at a distance, partly because no one wants Sorcerer Man Stark.

"Thank you for joining us. You committed so much energy to keeping yourself at bay, I worried you might not be reachable. A proper greeting to you, Mr. Tannenberg." Her heavy accent doesn't overly the slight smile touching her lips for a moment. "The plans are already in motion and others enacted. They do not spare you or the freedom you currently enjoy. Almost certainly, you will draw you in or drag you under."

She does not speak of threats. The succinct, stripped tones announce themselves in a different way, soft but genuinely factual. "They will unlikely permit to continue as you have, will they? But the future is malleable. We mean to ensure our continued independence from the long shadows of Svartalfheim, and in turn, we can offer you the opportunity to foil their greatest schemes. And we'll see that your cat is fed."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Ovi makes a displeased mrowl.
    It's enough to take Mr. Tannenberg's attention as he turns his head, lifting his chin slightly. His gaze turns toward the kitchen, and if one were to follow his sight line they'd see his gaze going to the auto-feeder in the kitchen. He seems to note that, then he looks back with a quirked eyebrow at Jane.
    "My time is valuable." He says that as simple and as matter-of-fact as one can imagine from the man with the purple eyes. He blinks again slowly. He lifts a hand pointing first to Jessica, then to Jane. And that gesture lingers at that last. He frowns pointedly. The shift in his features abrupt from one to the other. Like a switch was thrown.
    "This will be discussed." His chin lifts. "I'll go. You have 37 hours of my time before Ovi will become disturbed. I do not care for him to be disturbed."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Predator that he is, likely he can hear her heartbeat quicken while she waits on his answer. Jessica exhales in relief as silently as she can when he does not strike. Her gaze follows his toward the kitchen. She allows herself a glance and a slow nod to Jane.

"We will value it. My colleague and I act on behalf of our agency and will respect your wishes. We believe that no one of your kind will be allowed to remain neutral, Mr. Tanenberg. We have a car waiting downstairs." She sweeps her hand toward the door, "If you will come with us?"

Monica Chang has posed:
With the words of cooperation spoken, Monica eases her finger off the trigger. It had a heavy pull so it wasn't something that would be going off easily. The finger stayed on the trigger though. Just until she was certain everything was being resolved peacefully.

She made sure she was Not on the comms as she muttered to herself. "Half tempting to see what he would do if Ovi was disturbed."

And once she was certain that he was actually cooperating, she took her finger off and began to break down the gun back into it's parts, tucking them back in the duffle. It only took seconds. By they time they got to the van, she would be there waiting.

Jane Foster has posed:
Ovi will understand. It might involve some proper wet cat food balanced for his infernally finicky needs or possibly a meeting of the cat gang, Director Furry and a pegasus wearing cat-ear headphones.

"Agreed," Jane says, nodding solemnly. "Thirty-seven hours and Ovi will not be disturbed." Her consideration for a cat is probably unnecessary, but the cat deserves consideration and Jane's got a known weakness for companions of an animal sort. See also pegasus relative of Odin or a giant, teleporting dog who occasionally pads alongside her. She regards Mr. Tannenberg long enough to assure he gets the message, and then steps aside to let Jessica and the man pass her. Or to give Monica the clear shot they do not need.

"The ambitions of the one behind these schemes know no bounds. We share mutual aims and benefits by cutting him off." Small morsels of information, plied slowly. Oh, the art of a spy.