19852/SHIELD II Redux

SHIELD II Redux
Date of Scene:	14 January 2025
Location:	Flight deck: Helicarrier
Synopsis:	Nick is (somewhat) briefed in a 'heads up' for potential confrontations in the Middle East. It'll be FINE.
Cast of Characters:	Natasha Romanoff, Nick Fury

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Natasha Romanoff has posed:
It was a bureaucratic talk. Over at some cheap folding tables and chairs, like one might use over when having guests for a poker game. A dim bulb flickering overhead. The man on the other side could be the metaphorical taskmaster behind the darkness, the shrouded man in the cheap suit, flickering preventing a glimpse of him.
    The man himself? Definitely not that. Just someone from lower middle management - the type who played gopher to those higher up. The type who was fairly mild all things considered in temperament, smelling of mothballs and nicorette patches, that was always trying to quit smokin but never could make the jump.
    "The situation in the middle east is somehow managing to top itself as a clusterf***. Beyond the ancient eyptian gods taking over thier own small bits of territory." A quip about Black Adam.

Nick Fury has posed:
"Ancient Egyptian gods, my ass," comes a scoffed reply. "I am getting so sick and tired of those mother fu-" the Director's finishing response is undoubtedly understood even if interrupted. Looking off to the side, Director Nick Fury lifts a hand to an earpiece to 'click' it in response.

"I don't care how much it'll take. I want the damned thing gone. You have until," and the man lifts an arm to look at the timepiece upon his wrist, "2100 hours." Pause. "Do it."

The two simple words are the moral equivalent of 'over and out'. He's not listening for a response, and perhaps the person on the other end of the com didn't expect it either.

"It's a new level of cluster." The words are simply stated as fact. "And we mean to do something."

'We' of course means 'I'.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
There's a sigh over from the man that's a pass between amused and annoyed, "Oh, he's the least of our problems right now. He, at least, keeps to his own declared kingdom, slaughters anyone who tries to disrupt his borders, and goes to ignore everything on outside of it. He's a virtual sea of tranquliity, an oasis of no f****s given to the rest of the world. He's pretty much the best possible guy to have in our corner right about now." He who causes no trouble and slaughters everyone in his little postage stamp of territory.

"But, amongst the usual swathe of dictators, oligarchs, theocrats, and every other group with major bones to pick wtih everyone else that control about seventy percent of the world's affordable oil, much less the joys of things like the shipping lanes.. They're suddenly not even close to tolerating one another anymore."

Nick Fury has posed:
...And if he steps out of it, he'll be slapped down like the bug he is.

"So, we can give them an enemy everyone can hate that'll pull their heads out of their collective asses, or we make an example of one of them." Nick looks at the wall as if expecting he'll see something. A scowl shifts onto his face, an expression that is never truly far away, and gestures, "Really need a dart board up there." The hint; targets cast by lots.

"Question is, who is that one person that can be dangled." Bait. The Director is talking about BAIT.

"Or we draw this imaginary line in the sand and start freaking them out when their buddies start getting picked off." Does Nick have people who can do that?

Nah.

Never happen.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
The man goes to let out a grumble, "I -wish- it. But they can't even agree on who all to hate. Or what to hate them for. Or to hate someone else for hating for the wrong reasons." He would go to quip over. "It's our little Balkans, only the powder keg of where the world's economic engine gets the fuel to chug along from. And there's not even many sane governments in place. The brutal dictatorships that crack down on every shade of dissent, real or imagined and have citizens vanish into the night are the reasonably sane ones as we know they want to keep up the status quo."

nd in quite possibly many places are the ones supported by all the outside countries for lack of oil.

"But, our great and enlightened superiors want the place locked down. They are not giving extra resources, extra assets, nor do they have the remotest inclination or idea that something is going wrong there." Just the upper echelons of the shadowy government observers that gave SHIELD it's marching orders were paranoid.

For good reason.

Nick Fury has posed:
"It's easy to get 'em to hate someone." Hate is something pretty much everyone understands; there's a common bond there.

Lock down? Nick's brow rises, and the one beneath the scar shifts a little in shared reflex. "Right. Iron curtain." The words hold a weight that only a few can actually remember, and those who do, well..

"I'll see what I can do."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
The man gives out a sigh, "Pretty much. All it takes is one person stumbling a bit, then everyone else jumping on it if they can to settle old scores or that's being repressed. and then it's all dominos. The world's economy's still chugging along despite everything." Giant space monster threatening to consume Earth.

"So we'd much rather not have a total collapse of the system while we're at it." Well the 'bosses of the bosses' would.

Nick Fury has posed:
Nick begins to move, a couple of paces before he finally lights a cigar pulled from a pocket. The action is measured, defined and deliberate. From the *shrrrrk* of a match to the couple of harder draws to get the Cuban's end glowing, the Director takes his time.

"Sometimes a collapse is perfect for shaking up the idiots. Put a little fear of God into 'em." He won't, of course. Not unless the tide turns in that direction and more good can come of it than bad. After all, this man could turn the world if he wanted to.

And he simply doesn't want the aggrevation it'd cause.

"I guess not. But at least leave 'em guessing."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
The man sits back and sighs, "Yeah. Just have to keep a handle ont he area before the next card gets pulled out. And hope that whatever it is we can just put down tot he normal posturing. And anything actually going on.." He would smirk, "You get to read a lot more of the reports than I do. The people in charge just want the area under a microscope and heads knocked together before anyone does something stupider than they normally do. The place falling apart happens -after- the world is saved."

Nick Fury has posed:
"Sometimes they sleep with the right woman to get a clue."

Nick is fairly blunt; intelligence comes in all forms. He wouldn't put it past one of the 'powers that be' to be getting some pillow information, only to try and parlay that into something useable. Who knows?

The cigar is drawn upon again, and the smoke gently drifts into the air. "Hate reports. I make the others read 'em." He's not wrong, truly.

"I'll just make sure there's something the world eater can actually eat, and choke on." Namely, the world will still be turning, and tearing itself apart.

The Director takes the first few steps to the door, and when his hand lands on the knob, he looks back and over his shoulder, "No promises it'll look the same, though."