17376/The Breach

The Breach
Date of Scene:	08 March 2024
Location:	The Grand Edward Ballroom - Hellfire Club
Synopsis:	Zemo and Mary finish their dance, but the part is just getting started.
Cast of Characters:	Mary Jane Watson, Helmut Zemo

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Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It was a formal event at the Hellfire Club. Somewhere MJ had been a few times, but as arm candy. This was another one on the list. Here, she was on passive security for the event. A politician that had given a good deal of indirect support to SHIELD was retiring - the type that had an aura of not-quite corruption that let them have an event at the HFC but that had always been squeaky clean (legitimately, at least as far as anyone could tell). This had put them on reasonably good terms with the city and the less than legitimate types that made up much of the underbelly of life.
    But, a risk was still a risk and a number of personnel were onhand. THe Hellfire Club was generally regarded as neutral ground (no one was dumb enough to cross the richest and most powerful people in the world) but SHIELD was institutionally paranoid for a reason. So here MJ was, wearing a long practiced fake smile, having a drink in hand that she was just swirling around to make it seem like she was sipping, dangling off the arm of someone that was ignoring her, just like she was ignoring them while looking for trouble.

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Parties swirl for the purposes of mixing, conversations diluting the atmosphere until ones realizes ones place in the hierarchy, if any, and anyone with an agenda sticks out.

Helmut wasn't really on her until she'd been given a moment to breath, a rare thing, for a pretty thing. Then he was beside her looking in the same direction. Peaceably holding his wine glass, some dusty bottle of Chateau Lefitte that had been making the rounds. He swirled the old grapes in his glass and offered without much prelude, "Have you ever been to Delphi, Ms. Watson? The old city." he pointed to a mural, "Up in the mountains of Greece?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
She isn't looking over at him as he approaches, so she's caught a bit by surprise, having been paying attention to something else. She would blink, "err, excuse me? That's rather.. Random." The man knowing who she is out of nowhere is a bit concerning, but she has been a rather low end model for awhile so it's possible the man could know her name. She doesn't add an 'are you drunk' to the reply.

"And can't say that I have. My travel budget is limited to Greyhound these days. So New York, pennsylvania, New Jersey if I'm daring."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Lifted his brow slightly, "That is rather courageous." because even he knows how to throw shade at the Garden State. He was an unremarkably shaped and sized man in remarkable clothing. His tuxedo looked vaguely anachronistic, something from the age of crumbling empires and really good spies. He spoke with a low husk and a thick accent. "But I should introduce myself. John Smith of the New Jersey Smiths." he smiled pleasantly, as if he did not anticipate any buy in.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
New Jersey, wretched hive of scum and villainy. Where even the lunatics from Gotham may fear to tread. "Pleasure to meet you, MIster Smith. So what brings about this particular thread of conversation? And do you mind if I call you something else for the eve? I'm thinking if you're all right with it Hugh." Last name Mann.

Helmut Zemo has posed:
"Can't be too choosey." as he relented to Hugh. "There is an old temple out that way, the priestesses, they said, could predict the future. At some point the revisionists surmised that it was volcanic gases seeping through the floors that drove the women to hallucinations." he sipped his drink giving her a moment to absorb. "They called them Oracles."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would try to recall her vague knowledge of Greek history and myth. Not something she'd done much of - she had little contact with the Amazons beyond a few encounters of her trying to help keep Sonja on a leash. "Uh.. Yeah, you clearly know more than I do, Mister Mann."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Baron Helmut Zemo nodded with a vaguely imperious air. "Just so." he husked on breathily. "When I was a little boy I was always delighted when some old story seemed to predict the future, but as a man I learned that people who make the future look to the old stories for inspiration." he smiled at her, as if he knew he was being too obtuse, "Now let me tie it all together for you. There are new Oracles, they do not come from Delphi Ms. Watson. They are made in a lab."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would glance over at Zemo for a few moments, being confused, "So.. People that can.. See the future being made in labs? Or more suseptible to hallucination with volcanic gasses? Can't they just hire people from Los Angeles if they need that?" Playing a bit up to her persona as just arm candy - but listening attentively.

Helmut Zemo has posed:
"How droll, Ms. Watson. You must be excellent company at parties." he mused gently, seeming not particularly moved nor amused but the usual Slavic self suppression that usually accompanied speaking through ones teeth. "Theres more, but if you prefer we can just take just take the next waltz instead. Your companion has been admiring Peter Altimier's ass for the last ten minutes, and I think he just made eye contact."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would glance at Zemo, "Sure. Care to lead on? And you can tell me a bit more." Offering her hand over to him to lead. After her head would cant just a couple of inches not in his direction - an expression of her quietly reporting in via an earpiece to update on her movements. Very by the book as far as her training went.

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Helmut took Mary into the center of the room to restrict the athletic requirements of the mob, the outer edges where for getting your date out of breath and woozy and he didn't have any illusions about his chances. "You can tell them, that we, that is the New Jersey Mann's know about the mutant bomb gene. We have for years, as I am sure you know or will soon become familiar with my deprivations and motivations." he carried her through the first of many turns, "We are not the only ones who know, and I assume the Oracle program was started with the best of intentions, as most roads to hell are thusly paved. In this case, Ms. Watson, to sniff out the bomb gene."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mutant bomb gene? That sounds very, very bad. She would let herself be twirled around, frowning. Now was the time at lesat to outside observers to play up to her role, looking cute and confused.. While making it clear she was listening very, very attentively. By protocol likely having her earpiece set to broadcast to whomever was on monitoring duty so they were hearing all of this. "That sounds.. Horrible."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
"If only it stopped there, Ms. Watson. Well, I would just make my list and take care of it like I always do." he said, dripping with implications about his interactions and actions with and against the super soldier program that she may not know, but will undoubtably become familiar with soon. "There is some new information. A problem with correlation and causation." he met her furrowed gaze with his own. "The new information suggests that oracles do not so much identify the detonations..." he twirled her again, "...but cause them." he patted her gently on the small of the back, "I know I am being terse, and there is more detail, and it will come if the conditions can be met. But I am not -fucking- with you, Mary. You and your people have no idea what is coming, to all my research you are barely aware of the danger to your precious public from the bomb gene, this goes up high, as does the silence. Genosha has far more data on dangerous genetic expression in mutants than it will ever divulge. I could spend my family fortune on icepicks and die of old age before I get half of it."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
"Well, please do tell me exactly who you are? Forgive me, just this sort of thing is above my pay grade." She's not belittling him here - she's honest. This is the sort of information that any intelligence organization will need to know where it's from so they can backtrack on it and tell how reliable the source is. "And is it from Genosha, then?" Letting him lead the two over in the dance. "And Oracles triggering them? What do you mean?"

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Helmut Zemo says, "Just a dashing stranger." he admitted, "The X-men have..." he shook his head in dismay at his own thoughts, "A nineteen year old boy who can quake an entire city block into rubble. We don't bat an eye anymore do we, this the new normal. Give them Xavier, he will teach them control." he shrugged and dimmed his eyes, "The bomb gene expresses similarly, but it has no control component. It has no ramp. These were isolated incidents. Sudden, colossal but forgivable events in one in hundred millions of pituitary expression. Sometimes its disease, sometimes energy, but it is always life threatening." an aggressive twirl this time, narrowly avoiding a dizzy couple on a collision course. "Genosha is a mutant safe haven, and therefor would eventually become a mutant breeding ground. Thats when we lost track of the bomb gene forever." he grimaced slightly, "That is until some people got the idea to activate the Oracle program. Nineteen thirties technology Ms. Watson. Carried on a submarine to Brazil in the 1940's Ms. Watson. Its not a search mechanism, its a fuse.""

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would narrow her eyes, "Do forgive me for all this talk about Genosha, it's suffered far too much hurt and suffering. What the Sentinels did to it was genocide and what the Magistrates did to the people who lived there was slave labor and working them to death." She resists the urge to hold him just a little bit tighter around the throat and keeps herself consistent with maneuvers. "So what was it, then? Nazis?" Operation Paperclip?

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Helmut watched her piece through it, and then remained calm as she chose what to respond to. "Nazis is just label we use to describe a small piece of a larger timeline. These people do not think in decades Ms. Watson. They think in dynasties. If waving a red flag and blitzing Poland factored into the larger plan, then that's what they did. No one raises a Reich to exact their control on Western Europe Mary, they exercise their control over Western Europe when they raise the Reich. The purpose of power is not control, it is power. The end of the story of Power is that it never ends."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
This is turning into a history lesson - one that Mary Jane has a sensation that is rather biased in origin. Part of her is very tempted to argue the point,b ut when she's being passed along information; don't interrupt the person doing so. Everything is subjective. And helps determine the state of mind of the person giving things up the chain. She's being used here for someone else's point after all. "Go on. So the bomb genes and the triggers are just the latest phase?"

Helmut Zemo has posed:
"Perhaps that is something for your people to encumber." he said somewhat dryly. "I'm mostly telling you this so that you'll kindly stay out of my way as I deal with the Oracle program. But that is more optimism than is believable from me. I have accepted the fact that you will meddle, and perhaps I am counting on it." he looked her in the eyes again, "This is a heavy lift, even for me."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "Well, honestly if you're looking for someone else to hear this not knowing who should be stayed the way out of doesn't help much. I'm sure that someone else knows a lot more than I do, and that what you're giving will add to it or confirm it. But I can't speak for how they can act if they don't know who it's sourved from."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
The music concludes the dance, allowing for bows and pleasantries, and conversations to begin echoing loudly all across the vaulted hall. "I'm in some uncharted waters. If you feel I made a mistake coming to you, I can't argue the point." he offered a pleasant enough smile, despite restraint "At least it wasn't a wasted evening." indicating that he may have enjoyed her company for a short while.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shake her head, "No, not at all. I'm just trying to make sure I have what you're saying properly coordinated to try and make sure it's best summarized for those you're wanting to hear it. To make sure I have all the details right."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Helmut seemed genuinely amused. He has some idea she'd be transmitting him word for word, he might even know that SHIELD would have him voice printed, identified, and the information sent back to her in real time. He also knew he might be projecting what he would do in the same situation. "When it comes to the Waltz, you have all the details right."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
She's being a professional, and doing what she was trained to do. And the more he talked, the more information she was able to get and pass along. Even if it was just helping to whomever was at the other end of the communication get a better handle on his mood, training, and mannerisms. All those small things that intelligence gathering relied upon to vet things. "I'm not much of a dancer I'm afraid."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
Helmut Zemo lifted his chin toward her date "Neither is he I presume, your secret is safe with me."