8593/First name is also Agent

First name is also Agent
Date of Scene:	07 November 2021
Location:	Food Court: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Tony finally meets Cael Becker.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Cael Becker

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Tony Stark has posed:
When Stark is at the Triskelion, there's always an entourage of sorts. It is often his own people - Stark employees and helpers, and security - as well as the agent(s) assigned to escort the consultant Avenger while he's around. This means there's generally a fortress of people that keep Tony out of easy reach.

Tony hasn't been much of a sight at the Avengers mansion, either, and often has that similar bulk of people that makes access difficult without some sort of prior arrangement, whenever he's outside of the high-security lower hero base areas.

All of that has combined to where he hasn't actually met Cael Becker, despite her frequency at the Avenger Mansion: not directly, anyway. But that doesn't mean he's not aware of her. At least, in his way.

"Agent..." Tony begins, with a thoughtful point at Cael as she moves past the booth with her big plate of stir fried noodles. "Agent," Tony decides, in a manner that clearly suggests he has no idea what her name is, but recognizes her. But he thinks he might have it. "Miranda?" he guesses at her.

Tony is at his booth by himself - other than a tablet next to him - and his escorts/babysitters are in an adjacent area. Of course they look at Cael, and curiously at Tony, but don't interfere.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael pauses as she's pointed at, carrying her tray of noodles, with a token addition of crisp broccoli on the side, and a steaming mug of coffee. "Becker, sir," she replies automatically. "Cael Becker." She shifts the weight of her tray to her left hand, starting to offer her right hand - before she pauses, and lowers it a bit awkwardly. Hadn't she read somewhere that he hated shaking hands?
    "Can I help you with something, Mister Stark?" It was clear she, at least, had no doubt about who she was addressing.

Tony Stark has posed:
"/Becker/, sure," Tony agrees with her name, with a nod. "Well, I was close." Is it though?

Tony's quick and easy grin is self aware, and shameless about it - he knows he was way off. He just doesn't mind. Tony's gaze moves to her hand, curiousity there but no displeasure. He moves one hand out to accept the handshake before she can sheath it entirely.

"Oop, careful. Losing that'd be terrible. It's good today," Tony says, suddenly shifting his hand out of the handshake to lift to assist to be sure the tray didn't capsize and lose her noodles all over. He doesn't actually touch it, though: it was more of an automatic safeguarding. If he has an issue with handshakes, it isn't showing....

"Yeah; you've been around the Avengers Mansion, haven't you?" Tony asks, placing her with a snap of fingers. He then pans the fingers into a suggestive curl towards the seat across from him. "About time we'd met, if you're going to be with us more often," Tony says, welcoming in tone, though it's still casual. He meets a lot of people.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Sure," Cael agrees as the man calls himself 'close' - though the quirk to her lips show they are both on complete agreement on how 'close' that actually was.
    "Yes, I have been. You can blame the Cap for that," she remarks casually. "He decided I'd be useful to add to the team." At the gesture of his hand, she slides the tray easily into place on the table, before slipping onto one of the seats herself. She never really seemed at risk of losing control of the tray - thankfully she seemed coordinated enough.
    "I'd claim it was a PR move on his part - to make it seem like the FBI might actually have some oversight on how the Avengers operate - except that that 'PR' isn't really the Cap's style, is it? He's much too... sincere for that." 'Sincere' is her polite way of putting it.
    "But honestly, I'm happy to help out wherever I'm needed."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Blame Rogers? Hmmm. It's like trying to blame a puppy," Tony laments, with a wry little sigh. Blaming Cap is often a hopeless item. "Usually it's easier to aim blame at Dr. Pym. For future reference," Tony says. His tone is similar to that of a relaxed, cheeky boss giving an intern some inside information. Lots of how Tony operates has that odd arrogance to it, though his charisma usually makes it palatable.

"Pym's reaction to having his nose put in his own messes is a lot more entertaining, anyway," Tony adds, flippant. Not that there's a secret of the personality clash of Stark and Pym -- there's an undertone of Tony defending Rogers there, as well.

"The PR machine's often on my plate, yeah. I like having another voice around to agree that we arrived on a scene to help out, not level the street, though, so I'm fine with some extra eyes around the mansion. ...Besides," Tony pauses, and gives a quick half-smile that hooks his mouth and goatee sideways, "Need more humans in there. It's not all about power gimmicks, is it."

Tony has another bite of his meal, to query, "Where can you best help out? What's your dream job with the Avengers? Assuming you want to do more than send reports along about us, anyway."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Alas, Dr. Pym played no role in bringing me to the Mansion. I've yet to even meet the man, so I'm stuck with playing the blame - or the credit - where it's due," Cael remarks with equal casualness, the formality of the 'sir' earlier seeming to have already faded, as she relaxes back into her seat, picking up her coffee for a sip.
    "There's a few of us in the mix, certainly. I mean, there's Sam, Clint, Ms. Romanoff..." Not on a first-name basis with that last one, apparently... "But yeah. I think it's a good thing to show people you don't need to have God-like powers to make a difference in the world, and help others."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony stretches his back some, leaning into the seat. His tablet has made a funny little noise, and despite that he does glance at it and absently move his fingers over a surface HUD, it won't feel like he's stopped listening. Tony's known for his multitasking, split of attention, and it's on display there.

"Have you met Rhodes? One of our best," Tony adds to her list. "Bit of tech in their hands-- or even a bow--" yes, that was a light rib on Clint, but not unaffectionate -- "and there's the most grounded of our Avengers, really."

"So, just to be straightforward, we can open up some of the lower areas to you more, I think, but my security is going to scour your background. Nothing wonky or skeleton-shaped in there that JARVIS is going to stumble over, right?" Tony teases. "If so, we can just keep things as-is." Tony's willing to open doors, but giving her the option to back out and not get the full AI system digging into her privacy.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I haven't had the pleasure to meet Rhodes yet, no," Cael answers. "But I'm sure it'll come up. You don't mind if I..." She gestures to her food - and then given any sign of aggreement, she digs into her noodles with gusto - pausing only to stir in some extra chili garlic sauce. They just weren't spicy enough for her - as usual.
    There's a pause, though, as he asks about her background - a frown appearing briefly on her features. She glances towards the nearby table of Tony's escort, before looking back to the man across from her once more. "Well. To be completely frank, that depends on if the check goes into sealed records or not," she answers. "I had a bit of a fairly, low-level criminal past - as a youth. Cap knows the basics of it already - as does Sam, and Barnes."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony gave a little lift of brows and obvious nod to her digging in. Of course she should eat! His whole manner is casual - if he's paying attention to how much spice she adds to the noodles it's not too apparent. He's observant about certain things, but not others: his personal tech genius filter.

"Best to assume that my AI can get at .... just about anything," Tony answers. It's less of a brag, more of just a truthful statement from Tony's perspective.

"Lots of us have nasty stuff in our past. I mean, I made bombs." Tony tilts his head a little, his smile shifting from the arrogant showmanship public-face into something a little different. A slight window into the Tony that created Iron Man. But the quick smile covers it soon enough. "I protect my people, but the past doesn't always have to cast a long shadow. Just depends; no hard and fast rule, other than to keep the group safe."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I'm no risk to anyone in the Mansion, but I understand completely that you can't take my word for that," Cael remarks. Her fork pushes at her noodles as she frowns at her dish. "Look, if you feel you must to keep your people safe... well. I understand that, and honestly I don't think there'd be anything I could do to stop you. But the more people who know all the details of my past, the more that compromises me. So anything //identifying// that you learn - I just ask you to keep it between us, and Cap, Sam, 'n Barnes, since they know already. But I can tell you the gist of what you'll find. I was a runaway as a kid, I got involved in a street gang - it was a mistake. And it cost me."
    But that's about all she's comfortable saying in their current surroundings. After another uncomfortable stab at her noodles, she takes a large bite of her food, giving Tony a chance to respond.

Tony Stark has posed:
"We get weird Loki-shaped illusionary imposters. Don't take it personally, Agent," Tony says, chatty. He hasn't tensed, though he hasn't suggested her willingness to open her vault just a crack is trivial, either. He can be both relaxed and remain respectful. Tony understands secrets: he just usually isn't read that way. He's read as the guy that proclaimed he was Iron Man publicly in a world of so many secret identities, and whose socialite, playboy life was sprawled all over the media in an open book for many years.

It's those that dig a bit deeper, to see his ability to keep his tech secret and as safe as possible from those who would abuse it, where the true secret-keeping is found.

"Sure, that's a promise. Word of an Avenger. Nothing leaks out that'll damage our members and friends," Tony says, firmly, and flashes a bright smile. The Stark showmanship is there, but that doesn't make it false. There's a reason this man can broker deals and alliances!

"Mr. Stark," comments one of the 'escorts', approaching the booth. "I've been assigned to escort you to Fury's office," says the agent, in a flat way. Tony wrinkles his nose but then smiles to Cael again. "Duty calls. Don't be a stranger at the mansion - if you need tech or somethin', just ask JARVIS. If he can't help, he'll escalate it to me."

Tony moves towards his feet, offering a tip of two fingered sassy wave towards Cael.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I appreciate that," Cael says seriously. "I mean, it's nowhere near the level of trouble that the Avengers get into - but I don't need to be looking over my shoulder for enemies from my past, you know?" Nope. She'd much rather just be looking over her shoulder for, oh, Hydra and the like.
    "I'd say 'enjoy your meeting' but- well. It's a //meeting,//" Cael remarks in a dry tone. "Maybe I'll see you around the Mansion though, yeah?" she offers - giving the man a nod as he rises to his feet.

Tony Stark has posed:
"I make meetings enjoyable," Tony answers with a grin and laugh over his shoulder as he heads away. The arrogance and last-word thing? Often it does bubble to the surface: but at least it comes with a smile.