1566/Summoned to the Deputy Directors Office

Summoned to the Deputy Directors Office
Date of Scene:	08 May 2020
Location:	Maria Hill's Office
Synopsis:	Senior Agent Morse reports to Deputy Director Hill. Why is there so much going wrong at once? There is NOT enough coffee for this.
Cast of Characters:	Maria Hill, Bobbi Morse

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Maria Hill has posed:
Deputy Director Maria Hill's office door swings open, and R&D Director Sidney Levine steps out, looking distinctly uncomfortable. He nods to anyone he sees in the hallways as he very hurridly makes his way as far away from Ops as he can manage. No one likes a trip to the Deputy Director's office.

No one.

Hill is working on her computer, her expression flat and annoyed, when the knock comes. She flips her screen to check to see who is at her door. Seeing that it's Senior Agent Morse, as requested, she presses the unlock button and the door clicks, popping slightly open.

"Come in, Morse," Hill barks.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi narrows her eyes thoughtfully as she sees Levine making his way out. The usually jovial man seemingly less happy after his visit to the Deputy Director. She guessed right on who was going to get a talking to about Hastings behavior. She tugs at her uniform, clears her throat, then knocks on the door.

Entering the office, like her own quarters - no real windows. The spy thing is a way of life, not a set of paranoias. She approaches the desk and tucks her hands behind her back. "Agent Morse, reporting as requested." This is the more professional part of her job. She got to brow beat McMannis yesterday - a ploy that worked in her favor, but that's not something she's ever had to do with Hill. Hill doesn't play games, she wins them.

Maria Hill has posed:
"Report." Hill doesn't look up from her screen for the moment, fingers clacking away on the keys. Probably doing at least three other things while talking to Mockingbird. Hill was always multitasking, because there was always more things to do than hours to do them in. "Whatever the egghead was saying, in English, because I don't have time to parse geek-ese."

For now, she's not addressing his misbehavior. Likely she's already done that with Levine. At least, that's the assumption.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
"The shadow creature has shadow pets which it controls with simple dog like commands - sit, fetch, attack. The creature speaks in a language of 'bells'. They want to attempt to confound these shadow dogs with commands of their own. If not gain their obedience, then at least confuse or disturb them. The possibility of communicating with the main shadow creature still exists, for it may not be aware we are sentient. Given what our WAND associates have claimed, that this is a creature from hell, that seems improbable. Imprisonment or Extermination remain the top priority. I have advised the team to prepare for field trials of their equipment tomorrow."

Of the very long list of things she has to report, this is the one that is at the top of the pile. Having people drained of their life force by a shadow monster is bad for morale in a city as clean and as Metropolis. "Hearing protection for Superman has proven effective for now, but we're still unsure of the full capabilities of this creature ma'am."

Maria Hill has posed:
"Extermination should be the top priority," Hill agrees. "Capture if possible without endangering civilians further." She looks up, and gestures, offering Morse a seat. "Hell or no hell, it sounds like whatever it is comes from some other dimension-- superstition or theology aside. Transdimensional creatures always leave a bad taste in my mouth."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi takes a seat. They are designed to not encourage long stays, in that they are slightly not comfortable enough to persist in. "Yes ma'am. It's entirely possible this create is simply here for the food. If we make it too difficult to feed it may move on. I don't like to conjecture, so I will wait to see how the equipment fairs in the field. We at least know Superman is capable of hurting it."

Bobbi brings her hands together in her lap and says, "Do you have time to discuss the other operations I'm currently involved in?" When she's going out on a limb, it really helps to have a contact. During her time infiltrating AIM she had Fury, but Fury has been all manner of too busy lately. It's typical of Bobbi to find a messy situation and work her way deeper in to it. Heck, she still has contacts in HYDRA who think she's either a friend, on their side or actually in HYDRA itself. Tori still thinks they're long distance dating. The spy life fits well with Bobbi, it just didn't fit as well with Lance involved, but they've broken up.. again.. and work is still her top priority.

Maria Hill has posed:
"Well, hopefully it will be resolved quickly. There are a plethora of issues on my desk. If we still did paper, my desk would be piled so high I couldn't see over it," she 'jokes'. It's not a joke. Hill doesn't joke. But this is the closest she gets to it. "Anything else to report?"

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi clears her throat, "Director Peggy Carter.." She takes a breath and squints her eyes shut for a moment. "At the request of Agent Simmons I accessed Project TAHITI to get access to the work she contributed in the use of modified CRISPr to introduce DNA var...." She pauses, "To fix Peggy's broken DNA. The ..special sample.. was not accessed, only the viral machinary. Carter is currently in quarantine while we determine if the treatment has worked and is not contagious."

Bobbi continues, "Captain McMannis of the Sustainable Options group has been moving forgotten assets secretly to an Albuquerque location. One such transit was attacked by four would be criminals. All four were apprehended, but one of these forgotten assets has escaped - an android of considerable threat. It is currently attacking hidden research labs. I am putting together a team to capture or destroy it. Priority 2 will be to find out what is in Albuquerque."

Bobbi isn't done yet, "Agent Harry Franks is in custody for stealing SHIELD technology and using brokers to sell them on the black market in three cities: Gotham, Metropolis and New York City. He is singing like a bird about who his sales went to. I will be following up with strike teams to recover our equipment, but I'd like to request that you allow this task to be divided amongst myself and May, as there was a lot stolen."

Bobbi pauses for a moment and then says, "The Nazi constructs that attacked New York City were constructed. Analysis suggests they were 'printed'. This suggests someone out there may do this again, if they still have the ability to print more nazis."

Bobbi goes quiet for a moment, looking up and to the left as she tries to recall any other actively pertinent information she should relay in person. "I ran in to Toshiro Mori while on mission with Clint to destroy that weapons black market. He was there buying which is curious. I think they might be planning on something. I'd like permission to go to Japan and try and find out what it is he's up to.. but I know I have a lot on my plate right now ma'am."

Maria Hill has posed:
Hill rubs her temples. "Remind me to never take another vacation again, Morse." She pushes her keyboard away. "Ever. Coffee?" She stands, turning towards the coffee maker on the filing cabinet, pouring herself a mug (the mug is plain and nondescript). A couple of identical clean mugs are sitting beside the coffee pot. If Bobbi says yes, she pours a second mug and passes it over.

"One cluster at a time. Director Carter? And you used Project TAHITI?" Hill lets out a long breath. "That's going to cause some... interesting side effects. Who all was involved? I'm assuming this has been locked to Level 10 clearance."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi smiles. Her work ethic has paid off again, Hill has moved on to the coffee stage. "Yes please." She sits up a little taller and says, "Yes the Carter Project is locked to level 10 clearance. The project was initiated by Fury. Simmons, Fitz and Foster attended an old facility to rescue Director Carter from a failing cryo-stasis tube. She was relocated to here. Simmons, Fitz, Foster, Whitman and myself worked on the cure." She knows Hill doesn't want the technical, but sometimes it's pertinent. "We used the TAHITI protocol using newly fabricated equipment in the R&D labs to repair Director Carter's DNA with portions of our own. Hm, while I did relate some of the nature of the TAHITI project, Coulson was not mentioned at all and the particulars were never shared with the group. I only accessed the project to recover the CRISPr technology."

Maria Hill has posed:
There is slight sigh of relief. "Excellent work. Your discretion is commendable." Hill sips the coffee, drumming her fingers on the desk. "Skipping to Mori. What sort of black market weapons were HYDRA looking for? Speculation welcome on their intent." She waves a hand to the side. "You do have too much on your plate right now, so I'll likely send out Barton to head a mission to deal with him." Of course, if Barton taps Bobbi as one of his team for it, so be it.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi's eyebrows raise up high at the mention of sending Clint. "With all due respect, I'd rather Barton didn't touch my extremely valuable HYDRA asset." She actually manages to sit up straighter at the suggestion that Clint deal with Mori. "During the mission I saw Toshiro-san looking toward the tent where the cryogenically frozen subjects were being taken. It's possible he was trying to throw me off the scent of whatever it is he came for, or that he genuinely did come for them. He likely left the island the moment the AIM weapon demonstration took place." It's rare you manage to get an enemy agent so delicately wrapped about your little finger that they actually look forward to seeing you. She's ready to take her corruption of him to the next level.

Maria Hill has posed:
Hill frowns. "I don't want you overstretching yourself." She slides a tablet out of her desk, skimming it really quickly. "My records show you are in the middle of... seventeen operations? Eighteen, if we include the Carter thing." She lets out a breath. Then she frowns down at the pad. "The Sustainable Operations business is on here." Hill takes another swallow of coffee, grimly. "An android?" She skims. "Suspected to be based on LMD tech?"

She puts her mug down. "Damn. I need you in two places at once, it looks like. Or I need six of you." She sighs. "All right. You handle Mori. And retrieve those cryo tubes. If HYDRA is interested, I'd rather us have them than them, all things considered." She taps on the tablet a couple of times, skimming a report. "I'll send Barton and Foster after the Nazis. Maybe see if Rogers might be interested-- punching Nazis seems to be an old interest of his."

"Franks. Fine. Divide it between you and May, but if you need more help, /ask/. Not losing my best agents to burnout or a lack of sleep."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi grins and shakes her head, "Yes ma'am. There's always another surprise around the corner. Never a dull moment in SHIELD. One minute you're .. oh!" She taps a finger tip against the arm chair. "May has put forward a recommendation for promotion of Agent Drew. She was not acting like a level 4 agent when detaining Agent Franks, far more like a level 5. I would also like to recommend the promotion of Agent Johnson. Her work has been beyond exemplary. I could use more level 5 field agents, I have enough specialists."

Maria Hill has posed:
"I'll take it under advisement for the next review period," Hill replies with a nod. "Provided everything else checks out, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to be moved up in rank." She lifts her mug. "No, there is never a dull moment. The world is coming to an end every day, and we're the ones pushing the rock back up the hill like Sisyphus." Hill looks tired.

She snaps her fingers. "The egghead." She frowns. "I already spoke with Levine, but I may need to make it abundantly clear to the R&D division that this isn't some god-damned university playground. We're agents here, and I don't see the first Care Bear offering hugs to fix the world. Stark isn't even that disrespectful to me or anyone on the command staff, and he's a god-damned consultant with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi takes a sip of the coffee and then lifts an eyebrow, "Oh yes and Presidential Candidate Tony Stark was abducted by aliens. I proposed Agent Hastings and Foster work together on that. Also Agent Foster sent me a memo of concern that Doc "oc" as he calls himself stole a bunch of meteorites and thinks he might be up to something. I asked her to investigate and call me in if she needs backup. I am slightly concerned we may lose Agent Hastings. He is old and weary of war, this may not be the right life for him for much longer."

Maria Hill has posed:
"God dammit." Hill rubs her temples. "NOW you tell me Stark has gone missing, too?" She sighs. Deeply. "How long ago, and I'm assuming he's still abducted. Which aliens? The Kree? The Skrulls? The Spartax? The Shi'ar?" She grumbles. "Please tell me its not the Shi'ar, I don't want to have to deal them again."

As for Hastings... "If he can't hack it, then he can't hack it. This isn't a place where people hold hands and sing kumbaya, Morse. We're all weary of war and the rest of the bullshit that goes with it. You either hold yourself together and keep to standards, or you break."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
"You'll be delighted to know that that one //isn't// on my plate. The group identified themselves as Thanagarian warriors, or Thanagar's Black Guard perhaps, left over from 2012. I believe Falcon made contact with them during the fight. I'm afraid that's all I know about the situation." She finishes the coffee and says, "Are you sure that vacation was long enough?" She clears her throat, "There is one more thing.. while talking to Director Carter. Despite almost dying believe it or not it sounds like she wants to get back in the field. If that's the case, would that mean level 8 clearance?"

Maria Hill has posed:
Hill muses. "I'm actually... not sure. That may be something we will have to take up with Director Fury. Technically, Director Carter is above my paygrade. After a fashion, at least." She finishes up her own coffee. "But for now... yes, level eight would be fine, until Fury says otherwise." She gives Bobbi a stern, world-weary look. "...anything else? Skrulls in Congress? Latveria attacking New York? AIM back on their usual bullshit?"

Bobbi Morse has posed:
She rises from her seat. She is fit and able. An excellent fighter and a world class manipulator. Just the kind of spy you want out in the field or breaking in to your own secure records facilities *ahem*. "No ma'am. I believe that's everything since you've been away." She places the mug over next to the coffee machine, then places her hands behind her back and gives Hill a friendly smile. "It's great to have you back."

Maria Hill has posed:
"I would say it's great to be back," Hill replies dryly, "but we'd both know that's a damned lie." She stands too. "We'll grab lunch in the cafeteria sometime when I'm not keeping things held together with duct tape and bubblegum. Report heard, agent. Dismissed."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi salutes, "Yes ma'am. Lunch shall be scheduled." She winks and about faces and heads out of the room. Still much work to be done, much paperwork, much undermining of McMannis and his shady operation.