7294/Planning the Honeytrap

Planning the Honeytrap
Date of Scene:	09 August 2021
Location:	Director's Office - Playground
Synopsis:	After an invitation to a Washington DC Gala is obtained, Peggy, Dottie and Melinda plot the best way to seduce one of the most powerful men on the planet. Of course, Dottie will be doing the seducing.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Melinda May, Dottie Underwood

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Peggy Carter has posed:
Evening on a Monday, Peggy's in her office almost the whole day with various reports and paperwork. But, then, something else caught her attention and she's sent a comms message specifically to Dottie and May with just 'Got something on Mallick, my office, 7 pm?' It's not an order, not where Dottie is ocncerned. Peggy is still trying to play nice but also she knows various ways to pique the assassin's interest.

When the alotted time comes around, Peggy's already got a pot of the gunpowder tea she prefers brewed and a set of files out on her desk. But, possibly most interestingly, there is a gold glitter envelope on her desk tied up in an elegant cream ribbon.

Melinda May has posed:
May arrives a few minutes before seven. If she's not early, she considers herself late. Her own curiosity has been piqued, however, nevermind Dottie's. Especially since Peggy didn't specify *which* Mallick she's got something on.

She knocks briefly and steps in without really waiting for permission, since she knows the place is empty of everyone save Peggy. A smile touches her lips as she sees the brewing tea. For half a moment, she wonders how long it will take them to spike it with the whiskey she knows is hidden in the desk. Without the moustache cam available any longer, alcohol left in the office somehow manages to last longer.

The lack of a ready drinking game helps.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Arriving early provides no tactical advantage that Dottie can discern. She arrives several minutes before seven, choosing to walk past the office into the lounge for a coffee. She waits until she sees May enter the room. Peggy must already be inside. It is her office after all.

She gives the two women a few heartbeats alone before following after. She smiles a little too sharply to herself. Time to play cat and mouse with a Mallick again.

"Oh, Peg, how sweet," she says with a nod to the teapot. She takes a sip of her coffee. And wrinkles her nose. American style: left in an urn to reduce to sludge.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A slight wrinkle comes to Peggy's nose as she realizes Dottie's grabbed the coffee from the break room. "I realize they put you through some...vicious conditions in the USSR and certain pains might be a comfort, but I didn't quite know you preferred acid baths as a drink. I don't want to know how long that's been in the pot." It's a dark brush of humor, but she does mean it almost fondly. For as hard as it is to know Dottie Underwood, she DOES know much about the woman.

She then looks back to May, motioning them both into a seat across from her. "For those of us who appreciate our stomach linings, the tea is fresh and, depending on how this go, there are additions under the desk." May was right about that. "So... I have a lovely gift. An invitation to the Defense Council's summer gala, raising funds for refugee families. Our friend, the secretary of defense, is one of the guest speakers..." She slides forward that glimmering envelope towards Dottie. "However, I suspect May and I are a... little too well know to accept the invite."

Melinda May has posed:
May pours herself a cup of the decent tea and then takes one of the two seats opposite Peggy. She glances Dottie's way and gives the Russian woman a brief nod in greeting. It's interesting to her, really, how the woman's emotional baseline slips and slides beneath the moment. It's also an observation she keeps to herself.

A brow arches as the chief explains just what they've got. She lets out a soft snirk at just how well-known both their faces are in certain circles. But she doesn't comment on it beyond that. She really doesn't need to. "When's the gala?" In other words: How much time do they have?

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie's smile flickers defensively, "I was not spoiled in my youth. And I hear Russians drink coffee these days. I can't say I understand it."

She lets the paper cup fall into the wastebasket. By the sound it makes as it lands, both of the other women can tell that it was not empty. She leans against the wall, eyeing the envelope on the desk.

"Are you sure you don't want to render me unconscious and dress me up like your little doll?" Dottie quirks an eyebrow, remembering California all those years ago.

Peggy Carter has posed:
There is very little that ruffles Peggy's feathers, but Dottie mentioning that tidbit from all those years back gets a slight clearing of Peggy's throat and maybe even the faintest heat to her cheeks. She gives the woman a pointed sort of smile, "As fun as that *was*, perhaps you can pick out your own necklace this time, hmm? I will if I must, but being that you haven't run, I figured perhaps you can dress yourself." The blush only lasted a moment, then Peggy's back on her banter game.

May's question is rather more relevant, especially considering the timing. Peggy smirks down to the invitation, "Wednesday. General Talbot only now decided that *maybe* he could trust us with someone on the inside. I don't know if trading mustache camera for his 'friendship' was worth it, but this is a nice foot in the door. For someone who won't immediately gain Mallick's supicion."

Melinda May has posed:
Oh, the sudden spike in emotional undercurrents here. May's brows rise briefly. She glances between the two women, but has the grace to keep her mouth shut. (Or maybe just the habit.) As it is, she snirks at the commentary on Talbot.

"Moustache cam only offered so much, anyway," she comments dryly. Mostly, it offered wicked hangovers. "This, at least, offers us some backchannels we didn't have before." She looks speculatively at Dottie. Most of her recollections of the woman are from ops in the Framework -- things she alone remembers, of the three of them. She can't even say if the Framework construct was at all accurate to the real woman. It skews her perspective. That, it occurs to her, is a problem.

What she does know, though, is that the woman is a highly skilled operative easily on par with Romanova in may ways -- if somewhat less reliable. With the right incentive, however... "It could work," she agrees.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie's eyes sparkle as Peggy colors. And she comes a little closer to the desk.

"A party, such an extravagance," she says leaning over to finger the invitation, "Do we have access to the guest list? Who - will - I - be?" She makes the envelope dance by its corners with each word.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A little *look* is given to May as the woman catches that look and seems to snirk. Peggy's not an empath, but she knows both women across from her. She just smirks herself, moving back to pour herself, May, and Dottie all cups of tea. It's a good busying herself distraction, as she slides both cups across to her guests. "Yes, I'd say we took Moustache Cam as far as we could. And if Talbot ever hears about it he is going to murder one of us." Peggy states flatly.

Then Dottie is moving even closer with that sparkle in her eye. Peggy's smirk returns, but for other reasons. "He'll get your name on the guest list. It depends who we RSVP as, it seems. So... who do you *want* to be? As dangerous a question as that is. And I suggest you have one of us on comms while you're inside. For everyone's safety."

Melinda May has posed:
"If he didn't want to be spied upon," May says mildly, "he shouldn't have stolen tech belonging to *spies*." It's his own fault.

Regardless, she picks up her tea and considers the situation. "It's a gala. Strange faces are going to fall into one of two categories, as far as someone like Mallick will be concerned -- the press, or philanthropists. Maelstrom's been around the scene long enough that a newcomer will raise suspicion, especially given SHIELD's big out-and-proud party on Park St. He'll avoid the press without a handler. That leaves us with philanthropist or someone connected to some sort of philanthropic organization." A beat. "Dealing with refugees, of course." She purses her lips. "All we really need is a background that will stand up to standard scrutiny for a few days."

She regards Dottie for a moment. "Lobbyist, non-profit rep, or dilletant with a pet project." She's leaning to the latter, albeit either from off-shore or a region outside of Maelstrom's immediate personal knowledge.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Her mouth makes a small moue of disappointment as Peggy suggests coms. An over the top expression of wounded innocence flickers flippantly across her face. But she takes her cup of tea and sips.

"Well," she drawls, "it really depends on who else will be there. If you think Giyera might be hovering in the background, or if the father might peer out the a watchful eye from the shadows. They know me as Clara Starling. But if they won't be lurking, it's just as easy to become someone else."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I doubt Giyera... but no promises about the father." Peggy mentions with a bit of a grumble, "I can see if I can get actual intel from Talbot about the guest list. Melinda's got it right, though... the only way to slide in without suspicion would be a philanthropist. Would Clara Starling be able to fit that bill? Does she have enough money and interest to buy a 1,000 dollar ticket to a government gala?" Peggy's not read up on Dottie's most recent cover, it seems. In fact, this might be the first time she's heard the name.

Then she tosses a look towards Melinda, "How hard do you think it'd be to start slipping in some... news articles, a little more internet searchable information about whomever she's plays cheritable deeds?" Peggy still isn't all that good with the internet, but she has hopes.

Melinda May has posed:
"Daisy'd be the one to talk to about that," May tells Peggy. "Or, from what I hear, McLaren." Who knew? She knew both Sarah and Mark were great field agents, STRIKE certified, and often tasked with tricky S&R missions as well as more than one slick infiltration ops. She had no idea Mark was such an accomplished hacker as the stories coming out of the Framework op suggest. Hell, as her own memories of the strange holograms inside the Triskelion and Playground suggest. (Not to mention that TARDIS. Seriously... who knew?) "But we've done it before. We can do it again." She looks at the envelope. "Time's the real factor -- when is this event? That will tell us how long we have to pull this off."

She remembers the op before the Framework, though, when 'Clara' crashed the pirate party. "If Mallick Sr. doesn't show up, Starling might fit the bill," she opines. She glances to Dottie. "But will flirting with Maelstrom destroy your positioning within his father's circle?"

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie shrugs at May's question. "Does it matter?"

She takes another sip of tea. "As long as neither of those boys will be there, I can be anyone. But if they do spot me, they might be expecting Clara..."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Well, let's plan someone not Clara. You clearly already have the clothing and set for her, though I am curious if she'd fit in well to being a philatrophist. I trust you to be agile about a last minute pivot." Was that a ballerina joke? Maybe. Peggy simply smirks across her tea.

"But, if we're making someone totally new, we need her to appeal to the younger Mallick. Intelligent, clearly caring, you've got the beauty down. What's another few good bits of the backgeound? I'll talk to Daisy or McLaren about starting to set up this new identity. At worst, we have another person for you to step into later. At best, we have someone modeled exactly for Mallick junior."

Peggy turns the copied files towards both women. Tea and *tea*, it seems, "I've got his whole file there. But, in short, Nathaniel Mallick is an entitled piece of shit who went to HYDRA Academy for deep undercover placement. He excelled at arrogance and was put in to national security and politics track and via their network manipulated him in to the position of SecDef. He's been living as Denver Maelstrom since he was a teenager. He thinks he's untouchable and the most powerful man in 'the free world'."

Melinda May has posed:
"Up until now," May says darkly, "he has been." She clearly remembers the night at Maelstrom's house. She should have pulled out earlier. But, in retrospect, she knows it wouldn't have mattered. One way or another, Maelstrom would have gotten what he wanted. The fact the trap was sprung on *her*, however, is what really smarts.

That, and trying to dodge the Batman in Bobbi's flightsuit. (Okay, it was actually Nightwing and Batgirl, but she doesn't really know that.)

"The fact HYDRA Academy actually exists tells me we need to take a trip to Colorado," she notes tangentially. "I need to sit down with Bobbi. Together, we should be able to come up with a fairly conclusive list of potential HYDRA operations like that." Names, locations, mandates. Between the two of them, Bobbi and May know *a lot*.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie laughs as Peggy describes Denver Maelstrom aka Nathaniel Malick, "Easy then. That sort of man always is. They never look too closely at their company."

Peggy Carter has posed:
A deeper smirk crosses Peggy's lips at Dotties words, though her mood has gone a bit dark with Melinda's commentary. "We...really should. Even if we take down Mallick, there's little heads like this all over the country. Probably the world. We'll never be free of all of them without cutting them off before they start to grow." Peggy swallows some of her hate back with her tea, not wanting emotions to well up too much, especially around May.

"But, the first operation is in two days. Philatropist from... Sweden, perhaps?" She looks Dottie up and down, trying to figure out the best sell for her features which isn't American. "Finally decided to bring her money over to the 'people who can really make a difference in the world'?"

Melinda May has posed:
May knows where that hatred comes from. She didn't see WW2, but she saw its aftermath. And she learned far more about HYDRA -- and herself -- than she ever wanted to through the Framework. Thus, in many ways, she shares that hatred. Regardless, she knows how to deal with hatred. It's a kin to anger, and she's a pro with that.

"That's workable," she says with regard to the cover. "Harder to verify from this side of the pond. Buys our hackers that much more time." They'll get to stomping out the mini-squids later.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
"So you prefer me blonde, then?" Dottie purrs in that singsong midwestern accent. She grins a little too pleased. "Or are you just concerned that I wear brunette better than you?"

"You want to hear this in your ear all night?" she asks in a passible Swedish accent. It lilts and jangles the words. She wrinkles her nose. If they go on like this, she'll have to seduce a psychopath while sounding like a muppet. Ah well, nothing like a challenge.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Peggy just *stares* at Dottie for a few moments, the woman not succeeding in getting another rise out of her, but she does seem a bit more amused than she is outright annoyed or uncomfortable, "Oh, Dottie, I'll *always* be a better brunette than you." She bandies back with that familiar smirk, before it hides behind her tea once again.

The agreement of Melinda, but then the offering of that accent, does slightly make her wince. "Sweden would be a little harder to track but... maybe not the most... effective for seducing a Mallick. Anyone middle eastern is, sadly, going to draw too many suspicious looks from this administration. Same with Russian. English would be too well known... Irish, perhaps? Or French, but many of their philantropists are also fairly well known on the world scene.."

Melinda May has posed:
May falls silent, now, letting the other two women hash out the best cover. She merely sips her tea and watches them, feeling the push and pull between them, the strange tug of nostalgia against modern sensibilities and politics.

The reality is, she knows, human nature hasn't changed in forever. It won't change now. Dottie's right. An arrogant man -- and May has seen his arrogance first hand -- is an easy man to manipulate.