1526/The road less travelled.

The road less travelled.
Date of Scene:	05 May 2020
Location:	The Triskelion: Courtyard
Synopsis:	An afternoon jog on the country trail surrounding the Triskelion leads Hastings to meet the lastest recruit, Angelo Tampambulos (who is totally not Achilles).
Cast of Characters:	Daniel Hastings, Achilles

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Daniel Hastings has posed:
The afternoon at the Triskellion means a buzz of activity. It's still daylight and SHIELD is always one to have a finger in the pot. It means that if you want to go for a run and not have yourself disturbed by quinjets launching or be stifled by the rec center on sublevel 12 then your only option is the cross country course cutting through the forest surrounding the facility. That's where Daniel went to think. Several miles of dirt path pounded by countless agents means the trail is easy to follow.. though several branches for shorter routes often confuse the would be jogger. So would finding one such jogger in a clearing sitting lotus.. hovering a few feet off of the ground. He's wearing SHIELD issued pt gear at least so that's something.

Achilles has posed:
    It's not that a floating guy is all that weird. Okay, let's face it, that is -exactly- what it is. But it's not the weirdest things that the immortal Achilles has seen this month. He also does a lot of running as his longevity doesn't mean that he doesn't need to work out to stay in shape. So in gray running shorts and a gray tank top, he is pushing himself on the cross country running track.
    He has passed your floating self twice so far and again, let's face it.. someone out here floating all by their lonesome, probably wants to be left alone. So Achilles is doing just that. He makes a mental note of the guy's presence, but keeps running for now. Every few minutes, he passes your position, each time a bit more worn and sweaty, until he finally stops and steps off the track to grab a drink of water.... coincidentally not far from the floating guy whom he eyes curiously, but doesn't want to interrupt.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "You're a new face." Floaty guy is now standing a few feet in front of Achilles. Did he pass the intervening space? No. At least, Achilles didn't note any movement. "Dan Hastings." He extends a hand out to the fellow. "At the rate that SHIELD recruits people, I'll be a senior agent by next week." There's a flash of a smile from the lean athletic fellow with the oddly British yet not British accent.

Achilles has posed:
    Hey, he could have just missed it. Either way, the blonde guy shrugs and offers his own hand, "My name is a mouthful. Agent Trainee Angelo Tampambulos. Feel free to shorten that. Agent Tam? Angelo? Hey you with the hair?" he offers, his voice laced with just the barest hint of an English accent, like someone who grew up there but hasn't lived there in a long time.
    So, similar to your own, but not identical. "So how long have you been out of the SHIELD short pants?" he asks.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Tampabulos." Daniel repeats as he commits it to memory. He even used the correct inflection. "Don't worry. I'll save the nicknames for the drill instructors." Then Daniel chuckles. "Ahh.. now that's a hard question to answer. Strictly speaking it's been.." There's a tilt to his head and a ticking of fingers. "Seventy seven years. Though much like the rest of the methuselahs around here, it hasn't been continuous service. Hazards of the job I suppose."

Achilles has posed:
    "From what I read in the documentation presented to me, it has only been fifty-five years since SHIELD was founded. So how is it that you have been an agent longer than they have existed?" asks Achilles. I mean of course time might function differently for others. But this is just the old man giving the young pup an opportunity to talk about himself and brag and such.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Yes well. Go ask Captain Rogers when SHIELD was founded and I think he'll give a similar answer." Daniel smiles. "Officially, you're right. SHIELD didn't get the blessing of the United Nations until later. After the United Nations was formed. But if you look to Rogers, Barnes.. myself.. working with Howard Stark.. for myself I mostly worked R&D with Stark. Field work didn't come later until we were pressing HYDRA hard. Even then, I was second tier. I wasn't crazy enough to be Howling Commando." He laughed.

Achilles has posed:
    "So, it wasn't called SHIELD until sixty-five, but you were with it before it was SHIELD. So both of us are correct then. So, how is it you look so vital for a man of what, a hundred?" asks Achilles. He is curious about it now.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"That.. is a question that is singularly simple and yet very complicated to answer." Daniel offers with a wry turn of expression and glance off.. to nowhere in particular. "To coin the vernacular, I defied the laws of physics." There's a smirk, a laugh, then he looks back to Achilles with a shrug. "The whole story is classified, of course." What isn't around SHIELD? "But suffice to say there was a spacetime anomaly, I was caught in it, and shunted forward in time.. oh.. eighty years.. give or take. I still haven't worked out the math precisely. Mostly on account of not knowing the period, size and rotational speed of the planet I was on in the interim."

Achilles has posed:
    "So, -you- have not spent almost eight decades as a SHIELD agent. Your name was on file for that time, but you skipped over most of it. That makes sense." offers Agent Tampambolus. He's taking this quite well, not freaking out or disbelieving. "I would say that with the state of the world, that is only about the seventeenth weirdest tale I have heard this year." he offers with a chuckle.
    "But we all have our secrets, don't we?" he asks as he lifts his bottle of water to take another small sip. He knows better than to just gulp it down after a heavy workout.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Actually, I was presumed dead for most of that." Daniel amends the assumption slightly. "Thanks to Directory Fury, I have been.. resurrected." The notion seems to amuse him. "I imagine he calls wierd... Tuesday." It happens to be Tuesday. Go fig. "I suppose we do at that. Which.. does beg the question as to why you decided to join SHIELD. You look fit enough and you handle strange well.. so it's not a question of recruitment so much as.. motivation. Color me curious. If you're willing to share that is.

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, then I congratulate you on your Lazarus moment." offers Achilles. But he shrugs, "I happened to run a personal security company that hires out bodyguards for high profile clients. I'm a veteran of the military and have seen a lot of things in the world." he says, quite an understatement. "But my company, Myrmidon Personal Security, had a client that was using our people to help them steal SHIELD tech. When we found out, the company cooperated and it turned out that I had a handful of... unique skills and classified abilities that enabled me to assist on the case. So, I was invited to come on board and accepted."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Unique. At SHIELD. Now you do have me curious." Daniel chuckles. "Don't worry, my dear Tampabulos, I do love a mystery. I'm sure it will come to light sooner or later. Enjoy your secret for now. Though it does leave me wondering how you'll find the time to run a company and be an agent at the same time." A beat. "Of course, I have the same problem trying to be a teacher and an Agent. So.. I wish you luck either way."

Achilles has posed:
    "Oh, the company is an easy part. I have regional managers in every city we operate in. I am the president, but I don't micro-manage. So.." Achilles shrugs and adds, "I get the best of both worlds. I fund the company, but don't need to spend all my time running it anymore. It's been running itself for a few years now."
    The odd thing. He can't be older than thirty. But he's speaking of something that sounds like decades of work and experience. Either way, he shrugs, "I do apologize. I prefer to play my cards close to my chest."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Daniel tilts his head as he listens. He's a smart cookie this one. For all that people laud Fitz now.. Daniel was that guy back in the 40s. "I haven't played poker in years." He offers reflectively. "Not that I was terribly good back then.. you just remind me of memories." He offers Achilles a shrug. "It was nice meeting you, Mister Tampabulus. I do hope you pass muster. SHIELD can always use more bodies. Hopefully, ethical ones. It's far too easy to suit up with the badge and the gun and feel that righteousness pour right down into your boot. Don't you think?"

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, seeing as the stolen tech was coming from a rogue agent inside SHIELD, yes... I get that. But I intend to do my bit for the safety of everyone." offers Achilles. He offers a hand once more and smiles, "I am happy to hear that you made a full recovery from your assumed death. And that the old Mark Twain quote applies... rumors of your death were exaggerated."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Oh no. They were spot on." Daniel replies with a laugh and a shake of the hand. He's not ripped by any means but he's fit enough. Good firm, genial handshake, one tug, release. It's almost as if he went to finishing school.. or learned etiquette in the 40s. "I was blasted into a thousand million pieces alright. I.. just got better." To quote the Pythonic phrase? "I won't lie to you, Mister Tampambulos. It's things like that which keep me up at night. You see.. I work on a lot of these projects. Which means that stolen tech? Could well be my work. Now.. in the hands of someone nefarious. So, thank you for plugging that hole at least. I'm sure there are more. It's a big agency."

Achilles has posed:
    "It was technically ... what did they call it.. ICER tech?" asks Achilles as his eyes roll upwards, a classic 'attempting to remember' body language tell. But then he nods and shrugs, "Yes, that's it. Something about handguns that knock a target out, but don't kill them. Handy those." he says. And yeah. As you might guess, this man -is- ripped. But he's been a soldier for three thousand years.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Ahh. Not mine at least. And.. I suppose I can't object to a nonlethal tech going mainstream. There's been enough blood and gore in my life for multiple lifetimes." Daniel did see World War 2. "Honestly, I'd love to see mankind give up on trying to kill each other for a little while but that's just me dreaming again. Even if we did, we'd just run into the Kree or the Skrulls. Neither of whom would bat an eyelash about enslaving us.. or just erasing us from the planet."

Achilles has posed:
    "There is only one true constant with life. Struggle is a part of it. And no two people are going to agree at all times. This means that eventually, conflict will become a part of life. And violence is an unfortunate part of humanity." admits Achilles like a philosopher. "I've seen a lot of this in my life. But I'll be around. You need help on a project, I have a good pair of hands."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"I'll keep that in mind." No doubt Daniel means all of it. "But for now, I think I need to go check up on a few things.. and I've already sodded off for longer than I should. So.. this is me not being close to the vest." He steps sideways and.. disappears.