4358/Poking Around

Poking Around
Date of Scene:	09 December 2020
Location:	New York City, 1948
Synopsis:	May returns to the site of the anomaly with the hope there'll be some sign from her friend in the future. There is. But Young Agent Carter is there, too... which complicates matters entirely.
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Peggy Carter
Tinyplot:	Times That Bind

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Melinda May has posed:
Earlier in the day, Melinda May wrote a letter. She brought it to a small, fledgeling law firm in the city and had it laid aside, to be delivered to a woman living right now on a day some seventy years hence. With no guarantee it will ever arrive.

May is used to a certain level of uncertainty in her life. But that uncertainty gnaws at her. She's discovered, however, that 1940's heartburn cures are anything but. But, she also discovered a small boutique that was able to provide her with *far* more practical clothing than the dresses the women in the first few boutiques she went to tried to foist upon her. She considers that a win.

Thus, dressed in boots, black slacks topped with a leather stomacher into which her blouse is tucked -- just for the sake of at least a cursory attempt at blending in to fashion -- and a slightly drabber woolen coat, she finds herself back at the Roxxon chemical plant. She's kept her distance from where the SSR has cordoned it off. For the moment, she's standing in shadows amidst a complex twist of pipes and wire runs. She has procured some small binoculars and a few other sundries she thinks may help. Frankly, she's mostly just hoping to see some sort of sign of movement on the anomaly. Some clue that Fitz-Simmons is on the case. Or that Peggy is clever enough to toss a rock with a note around it through. Anything, really... to let her know they're working on it.

Because she's pretty sure she's going to have to break back into the SSR and raid their files before she gets any more useful information on her own.

Peggy Carter has posed:
The break out of the woman from SSR holding was a little messy, but the cat burglar they still have in custody -- who is still babbling about future things -- is making things messier. It's been enough that it's keeping Peggy up at night. So, while she has a whole team, no one else seems to be as concerned about this as she is. Most people are writing it off like the man is a drunk. Which means, as usual, she's got to handle things on her own.

Her shoes are mostly quiet, having changed into boots and tucked her high waisted, olive slacks into them. She's in a brown leather bomber jacket, so similiar to the outfit she wore the first night they were on this site, when the implosion happened. She's got one of Howard's scanners with her, something looking for a mix of radiation, vita-rays, and a few other things she can't really name but knows might indicate something is off. She has it slung to her shoulder, the metal wand out as she starts approaching the place.

Melinda May has posed:
May lowers the binoculars as she sees Agent Carter move through the scene, using some sort of scanner. Her lips press together. She wants that scanner. She doesn't want to deal with the fierce young Agent. She doesn't want to burn bridges with her, nor give her the opportunity to drag her back down to the telco. Her little encounter with Darla has suggested to her that would be entirely unproductive.

So... for the moment, she sits and watches.

Of course, the scanner does receive some low level indication of radiation increase. Not a great amount. More like a slow leak that gradually fills up a reservoir. But it will likely take days before it begins to approach the levels it was before. Days, or possibly weeks.

If May knew that, she'd be highly discouraged. As it is, she's clocked the 'Stark' logo on the side of the scanner. It's made her start to think about who else might be able to help... Maybe another 'conversation' with the Triad is in order... so she can go shopping again.

Peggy Carter has posed:
While she's not near so seasoned as her future self, Peggy's still quite sharp. Almost a decade in the business of being a spy, she's got instincts and paranoia to boot. The scanner starts clicking just a bit faster, picking up on that very low level of things, but it's not the mass she expected to see. And she swears she's being watched. Peggy frowns, her head turning away from where the implosion had been, dark eyes narrowing on the shadows all around her. She can't quite see May, but she certainly feels the eyes on her.

"...Where ever you are, I recommend coming out before I flush you out with more dangerous means." Her voice calls across the area in the slightly thicker British clip, her accent fresh and heavy compared to what May has heard all their friendship. Peggy's hand starts moving, to reach for the small gun she keeps beneath her arm, but then the detector starts spiking far faster and louder. Peg blinks, eyes going back to the strange shimmer which abruptly spikes. And then there's a heavy stone that seems almost puked out of it, rolling across the floor...

Melinda May has posed:
Peggy's distraction -- proof the woman has always had great instincts -- elicits a silent sigh from May. She debates whether to present herself or melt away and come back later. Then, however, that detector starts spiking. Even at a distance, May can hear it.

And she knows exactly what it means: Incoming!

Dropping the binoculars down onto a black canvas bag she brought with her, she springs out of the shadows -- not angled at Peggy, but past her. That rock hits the ground and rolls. And damned if the Asian woman isn't going to get to it first. Her legs aren't long, but they're quick and she's at a dead run. She dives for it, an effort to both avoid the other woman and get her prize. She'll worry about the inevitable fight that's coming afterward.

Peggy Carter has posed:
May is fast and she's quite correct about what that rock means but, sadly, Peggy is *right there*. While the rock is overthrown a bit, she's just as sharp and moving for it just as quickly. Her fingertips get to the thing but half a second before May's does, but she turns her body in an abrupt kick to the woman's gut, trying to shove off the threat from getting whatever precious evidence has come out of the slight, strange anomaly at the implosion site.

She's then scramblig back away, the wand for her sensor in one hand and the other cradling that stone against her torso like it was some sort of football caught on a hail mary pass. "It's *you*!" She states with flat shock, dark eyes too wide and quite ready for a fight if May is going to give her one.

Melinda May has posed:
May twists expertly. The kick hits her side, but not her stomach. And it's a glancing blow. She spins out of the way, recovering her feet easily. Her expression is bleak. "I don't want to fight you, Agent," she says. Not Peggy. Not even Carter. She's given up on the idea of friendship with that woman. She just doesn't want to cause any harm.

Her posture is defensive. One hand is outstretched, palm facing outward in a warding, calming gesture. "I just want what came through." Her dark eyes search Peggy's face. "Go ahead," she says. "Look at it. I'm not trying to hide it from you. But I need it. You give it to me, I'll be on my way. You won't ever have to see me again."

And maybe she won't have to break into the telco.

Peggy Carter has posed:
As the possible communist spy with the remarkably good English doesn't continue the fight, Peggy slowly steps back a few feet but also doesn't move to kick or attack again. She has the thing that came through the shimmer and that is enough. She arches a single brow, carefully slipping the wand back into the side of the case whose strap still rests over her shoulder. Hand now free, she momentarily looks down to the paper wrapped rock then back to the other woman.

"Don't move a muscle. If you move, I pull out the gun and this goes far worse for you. Stay exactly right there. We have further words to have after your little stunt the other night." Peggy's voice says with a flat impatience. She watches, making certain the woman is going to follow her suggestions, before she reaches down and carefully begins to unwrap the stone.

The first thing she notices is handwriting that looks horrily familiar to her. Near identical to her own. Then the name at the end of the note. Her brows furrow tightly, "...is this some sort of sick joke?" She asks flatly.

Melinda May has posed:
"I could have hurt him a lot worse than I did," May says quietly. "You're smart enough to know that." She gestures to the letter in her hand. "I don't know what it says," she notes. "But given your reaction, I imagine it has your name at the bottom." Her palm turns from facing outward to facing upward. "May I see it?" Her posture remains defensive. She eases slowly towards Peggy, keeping her hands where she can easily see them. Trying to be as non-threatening as she can be.

"It's no joke. I already told you who I am and where I've come from. That came from the same place."

Peggy Carter has posed:
It's a little hard to split her attention between actually reading the letter and making certain the Asian woman doesn't continue an attack on her. Peggy frowns, turning her body fully to face Melinda and holding the letter up a bit more, so she can keep woman and letter in her same visual frame as she reads. The expression on her face is growing steadily less comfortable, but more doubtful as well.

"If you know so much, then tell me what you think it says." Peggy asks coldly, skeptcism all through her clipped voice but she's not pulling out her gun or moving to fight again, so that's probably a good sign.

Melinda May has posed:
May lets out a soft breath. "I *hope* it says that they're looking for me. That Fitz-Simmons are working on..." Her hand flips to the heat shimmer that is all that remains of the briefly active portal. "Whatever the hell that is." She debates how much more to say. "If I know my friend Peggy Carter as well as I think I do... it probably also has an apology in it."

She pauses outside of Peggy's reach, her hand still extended. "Take your gun out, if you want. You can hold it on me, just... please, let me see it."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Silence lingers in turn for several more heartbeats, as Peggy stares at the reproduction of her own signature which is just correct enough to give her far too much pause. Sure, her signature's been on documents all around the world. Someone could have made it up. But to put those words together, like that? And the names in front of her, names she's never heard or read before, in her own handwriting? That casts even more doubt over the mess. She exhales slowly and does reach one hand down, withdrawing her gun from beneath her shoulder.

However, once it's trained on the other woman, she does carefully extend her left hand out. She offers the letter in silence. "I need that returned so our forgery analysts can go over the handwriting. Whoever did it seems quite the expert on my style." But May can hear the hesitation behind her tone. She's starting to come around to the possibility of truth. "But they got Howard's name wrong."

The Letter: 'Dear May,

Hopefully this arrives safely to your hands. I think I know what happened and the letter from the firm confirms it. Stay close and check back nightly, Fitz and Simmons are on the case. I'm also involving Tony Stark because more sharp minds can only help. We're working on it. Stay safe. That law firm seems to have survived so, if you need to communicate more, letters there work. And whatever happens I am so incredibly sorry. This should have never happened to you. - Peggy Carter'

Melinda May has posed:
May's eyes flick quickly over the neat words. "She's not talking about Howard," she says, glancing breifly to the agent. "This was written in 2020." Do the math, Peg. She doesn't say it, but... maybe if the other agent thinks about the number of years that represents, understanding might dawn.

Her hand tightens a little on that letter. She knows Agent Carter wants to have it analysed. But she wants to keep it. It's... a touchstone. She is normally careful about letting her emotions show. But the tighteness around her eyes is telling, nonetheless.

However, Melinda May hasn't been much of a sentimentalist in years, now. And maybe -- just maybe -- this will help convince the agent standing before her. So, she straightens, reads the letter one more time to memorize it. Then, her lips press together and her shoulders square. She extends the letter back to Agent Carter, meeting her eyes as she does so.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"...2020. As much as I would like to think that I am somehow immortal, I have sincere doubts that I could still be alive 70 years in the future. Though... that Howard has a son or grand son running about is... Probably likely, knowing him." Peggy smirks, her tone when she talks about Howard is both horribly fond and annoyed at the same time. She studies the woman's face, especially the slight pain there, as Melinda hands back the letter.

Slowly, she takes it, letting her gun drop to her side. It's her first show of trust this whole time, but it is a step in the right direction. She doesn't turn to immediately leave, or start attacking again. She simply watches, weighing her options. "...Putting down that agent isn't helping your case. If the SSR in the future was trying to help... if *SHIELD* is trying to help... staying at our facilities would have been the best way to ensure they can find you."

Melinda May has posed:
"Let's just say the next thirty years or so are going to see amazing advances in medical technology,"May says dryly. "You benefited from it in ways Mr. Stark couldn't."

She watches that gun lower and her own hands fall. Her stance becomes more neutral, less defensive. "I could have hurt him a lot worse. You know that. The probie woke up with a headache and a bit of embarrassment, but he woke up. Without your protection, which you really weren't offering, I am not safe at any of your facilities. Even now, you still think I'm a communist spy. No matter what I hoped before I approached you at the Automat, we both know you weren't going to listen to me that night. We would have talked, sure. But my story wouldn't have changed and you'd just have gotten frustrated with me and decided I was better than you first gave me credit for. "A beat. "I am, by the way."

She lets out a soft sort. "Doesn't matter. By morning, your chief would have come in, overridden you, and I'd probably have had to hurt a whole lot more people to get out of there. I'm really trying not to do that. That was my best opportunity to escape with minimal damage to everyone involved. So, I took it."

A beat. "It might take 70 years, but I'm pretty sure you'll forgive me eventually."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Not only is the gun dropped, but it's finally holstered, as May lays out the whole situation quite succinctly. Peggy exhales a slow breath, looking from her closed off, cool features back to the letter which is so close to her hand writing she can't find any hint of something wrong. She frowns a bit more, clearly torn for a moment, between believing the unbelievable or trying to figure out what else the woman could be getting out of this.

"...What I don't get is... if you're bullshitting me, and this sounds like a ridiculous amount of bullshit... Why? What's the angle here? You were already behind SSR doors, you could have stolen any number of files and gotten out that night if you wanted, but you just left. This is the most... ridiculously elaborate con that I've ever encountered in my life." But if she's honest, then they have a far more dangerous situation on their hands. Andsomehow, Peggy lives to be 100 years old.

Melinda May has posed:
"What makes more sense?" May challenges her. "That this is a rediculously elaborate con, or that I'm telling the truth?" She gives a mild shrug, now. "Analyze the readings your sensor here just took. Get Howard to look at them. See what he says. My guess? Tachyons, dark energy, vita-rays, gamma rays, and bunch of other stuff mixed in for fun. That's what we saw when we took readings."

She pins Peggy with a direct look. "Either you're willing to trust me, or you're not. I'd sooner you trust me, but I get it if you don't. I don't know that I'd be so willing, if I were in your shoes."

She pulls her collar up around her ears. "Though, if you could decide sooner rather than later, I'd appreciate it. It's colder here, than at home."

Peggy Carter has posed:
A reserved sigh escapes her nose as she looks down to the detector slung across her shoulder. "I'll take these back to Howard. If they are what you say... then... I will assent that yes, you are most likely telling the truth. And we are in a highly dangerous situation. The fact that I know Howard has an heir alone... Or that I might somehow survive to be 100..." Peggy frowns deeper, her mind spinning with all the damage they could be doing to the timeline already.

"Time Travel is the *one thing* I don't even dare let Howard touch. The risk to the entire world... *Your* entire world. Our future..." Peggy shakes her head quietly, concern deeply clear behind her eyes. Which means, she's starting to believe the woman's words. "...Do you plan on returning here each night? As the note said?"

Melinda May has posed:
May nods. "I do," she admits. "Unless you make that impossible for me." In which case, she'll just have to send another letter forward in time. "But, no. I don't really suggest letting *any* Stark near time travel. Frankly, *I* don't want to be near it." And yet, here she is right in the middle of it.

She inhales deeply. Her lips press together again. "Look. In the interest of building trust, I should tell you: I was ambushed by 7 Hydra agents after I left you the other night. Another agent intervened. I don't know who she works for. I do know she knows you. Very well. And she's dangerous." A beat. She cants her head, remembering. "Blonde. Blue-eyed. 5'7". Had a really good mid-western accent, but I'm sure she's foreign. Called herself Darla Sykes. I doubt it's her real name." Another beat. "She killed four of the Hydra agents. I disabled the three." Note, May didn't say she killed them. "She was watching the telco building that night; I'm sure of it. That's the only way she'd have known about me."

Peggy Carter has posed:
That news makes Peggy blink quietly and a low groan escapes her lips. She looks like her headache just got twice as worse. "...I... strongly suspect she is a woman who previously went by the name of Dottie Underwood. And she is most certainly not one of *my* agents. She got a lot of people killed a few years back and tried to kill even more. She's highly dangerous and, even more than dangerous, manipulative. Steer clear of her or, if you can, get her in a box until I can come pick her up. She's a wanted criminal." The dislike behind Peggy's voice isn't at all well hidden. She's doing her best to drive it home just how dangerous this other woman is.

"As for this mess... I'm going to take these readings straight back to the SSR. If you will be here tomorrow night, I shall as well, and we can discuss what has been found. If... it turns out what you are saying is confirmed, then I will have to operate on the highly uncomfortable assumption you are being honest. And, more than that... we will have to do all we can to get you out of this timeline before more damage is done to the future."

Melinda May has posed:
May nods to that. Indeed, it's nothing she can argue. She purses her lips faintly. "I will be here," she promises. "If I'm not... I'll leave you a message at the counter of Quon's Cafe in Chinatown. If there is no message there..." She grimaces. "Assume the worst." What that worst is, she leaves up to Peggy -- that she's dead, or that she's actually the communist spy everyone seems to think she is... it's all the same to her: Bad news.

She files the information away about Dottie Underwood, however. She knows the woman is dangerous. "If you have a picture of Underwood," she tells Peggy, "bring it tomorrow. I'll tell you if it's the same woman." Eyes narrow, lips thin. "She's one of the best hand-to-hand combatants I've come across. I know someone else who fights like her, but..." She shakes her head. "Completely different woman."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Quon's Cafe. I can remember that. Alright." Peggy gives a stiff nod, still a hint wary of the woman, but having decided to work together, she's all business mode now. There's so many things near to the Peggy that May knows and is fond of, this stiff business mode is one of them, but it's somehow stiffer for her youthful days. A woman who is used to having to lay down the law of work and defend her position constantly. So, when she sets her mind to a job, it is to the exclusion of almost all other emotions. Age has definitely rounded off the edges of Peggy Carter.

She still doesn't trust turning her back to the woman, but carefully begins circling around her to head towards the exit of the old Roxxon site. "And I'll consider bringing a picture. They're classified files and...if anyone would cook up a scheme like this, I'd leave it to the Red Room to be behind it." That's another strong possibiity, her mind jumping tracks again, suddenly trying to evaluate if this woman might be one of those highly trained agents.

Melinda May has posed:
May's reaction to 'Red Room' is clear. Her brows rise in clear recognition of the reference. "The Russians, then. I thought she might be Russian. It was either that or a Hydra plant. They're not above killing their own operative to cement a lie." She turns watching Peggy circle. But she keeps her hands at her side and makes no move to come after her. All in all, she's been far more successful tonight than she expected to be.

There's almost a glmmer of hope. Almost. She won't count on anything just yet.

"Good night, Agent Carter," she says as Peggy moves farther away. "Thank you."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The fact that May seems to recognize the Red Room is either highly concerning, or a bit reassuring. Peggy grunts out a quiet note of affirmation as she comments on the Russians, but doesn't give away any further information. That was probably more than she should have given, but too little, too late. She tilts her head quietly to the older woman. "Good night... Agent May, is it? Stay safe out there. If you're story is true... try to remain out of sight and out of mind as much as possible. Who knows what you could affect in this timeline, and how impossible it might be to fix."

With that warning, Peggy continues her way out of the site, still not giving her back to May, but almost sliding out the front gate. The sound of her high heels on cement can be heard echoing down the street and a car starting a moment later.

Melinda May has posed:
May stands and breathes for a few moments. On a whim, she picks up the rock Peggy's note was wrapped around and tosses it at the portal. There's a flash of light and a zap of energy. If there's anyone still on the other side, maybe they'll see it, recognize it, and see the letter's gone.

Message received.

With that, she turns and walks back into the shadows to collect her bag and walk back to where she's stashed a car of her own. It's too far a hike back to Chinatown on foot. But... she might actually sleep tonight.

Won't that be nice.