14020/Hiding in Plain Sight

Hiding in Plain Sight
Date of Scene:	02 February 2023
Location:	Ready Room: Triskelion
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Jessica Drew, Jane Foster

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Jessica Drew has posed:
While Jessica waits for Jane to join her, she focuses on the large monitor at the front of the room, settled back comfortably into one of the large swivel chairs. On the monitor is a live feed of 47th Street, known internationally as the Diamond District or Jeweler's Row.

The agent focuses on a group of men uniformly dressed in black pants and large white shirts under their unfashionable black suit jackets from under which white fringe dangles. The four bearded men all wear black fedoras, a style once popular in the fifties, ringlets of carefully curled hair hugging their cheeks. They stand closer to one another than the average American, a physical closeness common in the Middle East, harking back to contact being synonymous with trust.

Jessica follows the transaction closely as the men shake hands, repeating a single phrase, then break apart into twos, going opposite directions up the street.

Jane Foster has posed:
Days slip by faster than the last, and Jane may still have trouble believing it's 2023, let alone _February_ 2023. How long ago was it that she bled her life out into the Orcadian soil, seeing flashes of acid green radiance and the leering face of the long-dead seeking their revenge?

No time to dwell, nor feel sadness. Not when the dead and the captives subject to another band of near-immortal marauders bleed their lives out, when Thor is lost somewhere in the stars and her fruitless endeavours searching haystacks between Hala to Naboo haven't turned up heads or tails of him. Here, humans hurt. They struggle and she holds the scientific cards in her hands to at least try and do _something_ about it.

Enter Jane, stage left, holding a cup of green tea for Jessica. The little things that count; hopefully? "I'm told you haven't moved in far too long. Remember the 20-20-20 rule none of us ever follow?" Let that register as amusing as she puts the recyclable cup down in arm's reach of the Spider. "You able to read lips and figure what they happen to be saying there?"

The antics on the monitor can be scrutinized a moment later.

Jessica Drew has posed:
The agent's green eyes break away from the screen and warm with a smile for the Lady of Many Secrets as she has privately dubbed Jane.

"It's not hard if you know what to look for," she says, stretching her arms over her head and squeezing her eyes shut. "And who is spying on me?" she asks, reaching for the tea with a knowing smirk. They are all under surveillance at the Trisk, all the time.

"They finish most of the transactions between the Hasidim with Mazel and Broch - good luck and blessings. And they know they are being watched. It's one of the most highly surveilled streets in the country for good reason, most of the diamond sales in the US are done on 47th. Lots of info for WATCHFUL which didn't turn up Shi'ar salvage, by the way, but something a lot more interesting."

Jane Foster has posed:
Jane looks as she ever does, rather respectable in her smart sweater and slacks. Forget wearing the typical SHIELD uniform, or even spygear, such as spies in the analysis and R&D sections choose to outfit themselves. Black suits aren't her taste and being the Director of the Hayden Planetarium gives her an out officially.

"Show me how?" she invites Jessica to impart her knowledge, pulling up a chair and settling in. Always under surveillance. "You know how Ops is. Always concerned that we aren't straining our eyes or our backs. Lift with your knees." As if Jess ever has to worry about that. Her dark brown eyes tick to the screen again, examining faces, clothing, posture, all those hidden elements that speak to a vignette in real time. Who they are and what they mean to one another. "WATCHFUL brought this to our attention? Interesting. The data scraping has been kicked into high gear by a few projects."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Cradling the hot tea in her hands, Jessica sips noisily and politely by Japanese standards. "Nothing to it if they face the cameras. But they know and use their hats to shield their faces. Thanks for the tea, I didn't know how thirsty I was. Broch is easy to catch because of the open O pronunciation. Did you know that if there is a dispute it goes to a special court at the Diamond Club because the Talmud prevents resolving conflicts in non-Jewish court? But, I'm off-subject - I've been watching for hours now, hoping to catch our elusive prey. We have a Dark Elf in New York."

Jane Foster has posed:
"They use their hats to hide? That's clever. I'd expect every angle on that street to be covered, even if it's just privately. See? I'm certain they have cameras mounted near doorbells and the like, ones up in the corners, and plenty we cannot see. If we needed a better view, getting one should not be hard. Agent Johnson's forte, there." Jane gives credit where it is due, their resident hacker the sort who can really make a difference. A smile for Jess when the woman expresses her gratitude for tea, though. "I figured after a while, you might like the break. I did not realize that they have a special court only for the Diamond Club. Now that /is/ fascinating, and a plucky bit of New York lore I'm keeping tucked in my back pocket for when I need it."

Like when a certain king needs proof that human culture is cool.

Right alongside the hammer that practically twitches from somewhere. "That's probably to be expected. I assume we have at least one or two buried in the population, at least transient. But something tells me this is bigger. And not sufficient to round up the Avengers to go and punch it."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jessica's eyebrows furrow as she regards Jane. "Not if he is as belligerent as his compatriot was in Canada. We will see."

Gesturing at the screen with an open hand, "He lives right off the street in Hell's Kitchen. We have that under surveillance." She thumbs a control and a window appears in the upper right of the screen.

"It's peculiar. But then Dark Elves are peculiar in my book. We have him pegged as a courier doing the New York-Amsterdam run. I wonder what kind of spell he has people under for a goy to be running for the Hadisdim. I mean really. Not just any goy but an alien goy at that."

Jane Foster has posed:
"We might need to keep them informed. Another one of those -- or more -- puts to much of the general population at risk," Jane says quietly, though the planted mics and recording material are going to hear it regardless. It's not like the higher echelons of SHIELD don't know what she can do with said borrowed hammer of the gods.

Her breath leaks out in a sigh and she turns her gaze back to the monitor, following Jessica's lead. "He lives in Hell's Kitchen and managed /not/ to run afoul of Daredevil? That's telling us something right there about living quietly. Or at least he's got the means to protect himself from scrutiny. Illusions aren't uncommon among them." WAND expertise pattered in, she goes quiet again because the facts need to stand for themselves.

"They might owe him something for their lives. But I can't see them labouring under that for long. Possible they don't know what he is?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
"He's been excellent flying under the radar. Amsterdam is where he flew into our sights. There was a triple murder that leaked." Jess eyes Jane, "Guess who we think didn't keep a lid on it?"

In another window that she opens with an adroit click, a photo appears, followed by another, both grainy with the low resolution of a telephoto lens. The man looks Middle Eastern - his pronounced aquiline nose framed by deep set eyes and heavy eyebrows, balanced by a strong jawline. He has a fedora that covers his ears.

She brings the pictures to the fore to give Jane a look, "We think someone tried to steal his packet of diamonds. He strongly disagreed. No weapon has been found. They died from some sort of knife wounds."

Jane Foster has posed:
"In the Netherlands? That ought to hit Interpol and front page news," Jane murmurs. At that, she reaches for one of the keyboards to the console and pulls it over. A few buttons clicked turn one of the screens to the general inquiries database, perfect for scrolling through all kinds of news articles and various debris. Of course, the fact they're likely hunting for a suspect in Dutch doesn't seem to bother her in the least, especially when it comes down to kicking in a few various search terms. A woman of many skills, Jane.

Omnilingualism has its benefits, especially in the rare form she possesses.

"You suspect he let it out or am I missing the point entirely? It's been a week." Literally. What's sleep when you don't actually need it? Just a quiet form of death. She watches the screen resolve a string of data, then absorbs that of a man that's not particularly noteworthy except for what he is. "Stealing diamonds from any dealer in Amsterdam or Belgium is trouble. Those not backed up by the legal routes are linked to particularly powerful cartels, and they don't share. An independent operator -- like this? -- is going to have firepower under his belt. Worse. The svartalfjar... they get possessive of their things, in a way that goes bone deep. Laws around possession are brutal, practically medieval by our standards here. You take something, you pay in blood or servitude. This tracks for a particular motive, as a general rule."

She leans forward in her seat, unblinking, the image mirrored in her dark, clear eyes. "Who are you? And more importantly, why are you here, darkling?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jess finishes the tea then settles back into her chair. A picture of black on black in the standard uniform of a SHIELD agent which somehow looks stylish on her. "We want you with us when we pay him a visit, Dr. Foster. And it is going to be soon. Then, we can ask him why." Her sharp smile holds little humor.