15577/Verrazzano-Narrow Escape!

Verrazzano-Narrow Escape!
Date of Scene:	08 August 2023
Location:	Brooklyn
Synopsis:	When the Winter Soldier comes across an ex HYDRA experient -- EX-09 -- the experiment is more than happy to pretend HYDRA isn't a thing, and they've always been a man named Victor Carson, just moved here from Colorado and DEFINITELY is not an escaped experiment on the lam from an evil organiza-- ARE THOSE PLUMS?
Cast of Characters:	Victor Carson, James Barnes

---

Victor Carson has posed:
    Eighty degrees, slightly cloudy, mid-summer heat and steam with the possibility of a thunderstorm, mid-day in Brooklyn, New York.

    An old beater truck rattles its way to a stop in a street closed down for something of a farmer's market, letting out a tallish man, wearing a cowboy hat over scrubby blonde hair.

    "Ay, gracias senor! Bueno suerte!" he calls out, giving a wave to the dark-haired driver he'd hitched a ride in with, and looks out over the city.

    "Land alive if you told me three years back there were this many people in the *world* I wouldn't beleive it." he states to himself with a grin, lifting a pack over one shoulder, and striking into the crowd, getting lost in the sea of humanity around him.

    EX-09. Feathertop. From the HYDRA Funded ExSample project, now a free man with no identity beyond that of an embarrassingly innocent farm hand right outta Colorado, who even whistles merrily as he makes his way through the streets.

James Barnes has posed:
    The Avengers probably wouldn't believe that Bucky likes farmer's markets. Come on, the brooding ex-assassin having any kind of personality beyond doom and gloom? No way. But it's true, because it reminds him of simpler times, even if the prices are outrageous.

    Turns out about 80 years of backpay means he really doesn't have to worry about money any more, so long as he lives within his means. And aside for the upkeep for a wardrobe of all black (it's harder than you think), like he's wearing now, he doesn't have any real moneysinks in his life. So if he wants to eat fancy organic plums then by God, he is going to eat fancy organic plums.

    Which is where he can be found right now, at a stall selling pitted fruits and various jars of pitted fruits that have been preserved. The stand gives him perfect line of sight to the street, which is just a precaution Bucky likes to take. Call it self-soothing via overpreparedness.

    Besides, if he wasn't this paranoid, he wouldn't see the HYDRA experiment walking down the street. Plums forgotten (for now... he'll be back) Bucky stalks after the man, silently blending into the crowd as he keeps EX-09 in his field of vision.

Victor Carson has posed:
    Who doesn't like a good pitted fruit or pitted fruit preserve?

    EX-09 gives a smile at a couple of young ladies making their way down the street, and cheerily tips his hat to them, sauntering along casually as he looks at the shops. Weren't a lot of ranches in New York City, but there's always someone looking for help, right?

    Turning to watch someone with a bright pink mohawk skateboard, blasting German EDM from a speaker on their belt, he knocks into a crate of corn cobs, and gives a sound of alarm as they begin to tumble down.

    He's definitely got quicker-thna-normal reflexes, the way he bends down and grabs at the box, before setting it all right again.

    "I'm so sorry 'bout that!" he exclaims embarrassedly. "Can't keep nothin' delicate 'round me!" he gives a soft laugh, and gives a wave before he mozies off, pushing his hat back a moment and standing with his hands on his hips.

    "Now, where would I be if I..."

James Barnes has posed:
    The Winter Soldier wasn't privy to all the details of every project that HYDRA funded. He was just a soldier, as the name implies, a grunt who was responsible for wetworks. But even when he was being thawed and frozen, over and over again, Bucky was watching. Learning. Trying to remember.

    And now those memories are back, for good or ill.

    He knows that face. EX-09 doesn't look exactly like he remembers, because now Bucky's trailing someone who looks and acts human, not a test tube experiment. He bets this guy even has a name he uses, now.

    That thought is enough to still his hand from reaching to the gun tucked in the small of his back, or the one underneath his jacket, or the knife on his---you get the idea.

    But he follows. A silent shadow, merging into the crowd like a ghost. He's hard to spot even if you're looking for him, despite the amount of layers he's wearing making him the odd duck in a crowd of people in casual, light summer wear. If you're not looking for him, though? It's almost impossible to spot him.

Victor Carson has posed:
    But what if you were looking for him? What kinda guy wears so many layers on a hot day to a farmer's market?

    /Mutants/. And this being so close to Bushwick? Maybe he's a mutant. Maybe he's an evil mutant, but this is New York, and most people at the market are shopping for their damn dinners and not paying attention to the goofball who is obviously not reaching for weapon checks but searching for his wallet for that quart of quirky kumquat.

    Say that three times fast in a single breath.

    The blonde man moves off to the side and out of the way of a pedal cart, and begins to busily look over some vine-ripened tomatoes thoughtfully.

James Barnes has posed:
    Someone with a metal arm that they prefer to keep hidden, that's who. Though that's not the only reason why Bucky wears layers, not really. It's another coping mechanism, like always keeping an eye on his exits, and sleeping with his back to a wall.

    As he walks, pace sedate to match EX-09's, Bucky considers the odds of running into a HYDRA experiment like this. It could be a plant, this meeting not happenstance but organized intentionally.

    Lots of questions, and no reasonable way to get answers. There's only one person he can ask, and he's standing only a few meters away. So Bucky joins him at the stand with the tomatoes, silent for some time until he breaks it by asking, "How long have you been out?"

Victor Carson has posed:
    The odds were *astronomical*. It had to be a set up.

    EX-09 turns, and his eyebrows rise up as he gives a smile, and a small laugh, running the tip of his tongue along one of his teeth.

    "Well, you talkin' to me, or to the tomatoes? 'Cause I asked an' he said they've only been open a couple hours." he gives a bright grin as if that was the funniest thing ever. "An' if you're talkin' to me, gonna hafta be a bit more specific. Outta the womb? Outta Colorado?"

    And he adds with an even more amused grin "Outta the closet?" he gives a chuckle, turning a tomato over in his hand.

    "'Cause that last one not sure on yet."

James Barnes has posed:
    Oh it's definitely a set up, in Bucky's mind. But he's at the point in his life where he's no longer willing to run from HYDRA. In fact, he'd very much like to face whatever HYDRA has left. Otherwise it's just a pain to track them down himself.

    His expression remains in flat affect, unmoving, as EX-09 chatters on. For all outside observers it just looks like someone antisocial is being chatted up over some tomatoes. But Bucky's attention is keenly focused on the experiment at his side.

    "We both know that's not what I was asking, Feathertop," he says.

    And then to keep up the charade, he selects a grouping of tomatoes and picks them up by the vine, holding them for the stand's attendant to bag for him. They exchange money, a couple bills from Bucky and change from the attendant, before their business is concluded.

    After which, Bucky turns to look at EX-09. "Are you following me?"

Victor Carson has posed:
    "Feathertop?" he asks with an amused smile, "Like the ol' scarecrow? Think maybe you got me confused for someone else. Name's Carson, Victor Carson friend." he states, and he also picks out some fruit -- in this case though, a basket of blackberries. He exchanges some rumpled ones, and declines a bag.

    "An' from my viewpoint, you're following me." he states, though the smile's there, it doesn't reach his eyes. There's a bit of fear in those blue eyes as they dart back over to Bucky.

    "So I gotta ask why, since it seems to me --" he pops a blackberry into his mouth, and offers the carton to Bucky to sample. "Like there's an awful lotta people to hide a fight if you are."

James Barnes has posed:
    The fear is all Bucky needs to see. He knows he's right, because he never forgets a face, not when it matters. So who knows who this Victor Carson really is, underneath the fake name and platitudes.

    He wonders, though, if the fear is real. It could be manufactured, all in support of some kind of set up, but looked genuine. "I'm not following you," is all he says, declining a blackberry by the simple act of not even acknowledging the offer in the first place.

    "And I'm not looking for a fight. This is my neighborhood. These people are good people and don't need involved in anything like that." He looks across the way to a stand selling a variety of apples, more than Bucky can count with a quick sweep of his eyes. Back in his time there were only a handful available, but now he's spoiled for choice.

    So he turns back to EX-09 and stares at him, eyebrows drawn together.

Victor Carson has posed:
    "You're right. They don't." EX-09 states, and he withdraws his offer agreeably, and eats another blackberry. "An' I'm in complete agreement with you on that. I don't want to fight. I just wanna do what's right. So I reckon you were on the receiving end of a mutual group's 'tender mercies' in order to broach the subject like that." he comments breezily. "I ain't a fighter. I'm just a country boy come to the big city to look for work. Jus'... don't have the paperwork. So it's a bit dicy. But I found this 'lookin' for work' poster --" he states, and withdraws from his bocket one of those 'LOOKING FOR WORK? NOW HIRING - $21-27 PER - GREAT FOR TEENS!' posters.

    It's definitely shadey and may even be a trafficking set up.

James Barnes has posed:
    "You could say something like that," Bucky answers, regarding HYDRA's tender mercies. It's never quite been put that way before, he'll admit. It's almost amusing.

    If it wasn't still so traumatizing. If he were anyone else he probably would've cracked a smile.

    His stare is transfered to the poster that Victor takes from his pocket and unfolds, and Bucky glances up with a flat look. "That's definitely a scam," he points out. "Probably for shitty knives or door-to-door vacuum sales, or something."

Victor Carson has posed:
    The only reason why Victor's smiling through it is because he has nothing else to compare to. He didn't have a life or existence before.

    Oh, to be three.

    "... well I mean, could be worse?" Victor states, looking at the poster, and then at Bucky, and then he gives a soft 'oh'!

    "Didn't catch your name. I'm calling myself Victor Carson now. What about yourself there, brother?"

James Barnes has posed:
    That it could be worse is acknowledged with a soft snort, but he doesn't argue the point otherwise. Instead he scans the area, pinpointing the stand where he'd been browsing the plums, and begins to plot a path back to it.

    But first, he looks over at EX-09. Feathertop. Victor Carson, whatever. "I didn't give it," he says, of his name. And he doesn't seem willing to share it, either, at first. But after a moment has passed, he sighs, gives a roll of his eyes, and looks away. "Barnes. I'll be seeing you around, Carson."

    And with that he strolls away, back to the plums.

Victor Carson has posed:
    "Well, see you around, Barnes. Maybe we can go bowling. Never been." Victor gives Bucky an honest smile. The only good interaction with someone who knows who he is since he escaped, and he rubs the back of his head a minute, adjusts his pack and calls out "Uh -- hey, where's the easiest and cheapest place to get a bed 'round here? There's a distinct lack of horse barns for me to crash in!"

James Barnes has posed:
    Victor unfortunately doesn't get an answer, because Bucky has already disappeared back into the crowd.

    But don't you worry. He's gonna get those plums.