Owner Pose
Ivana Baiul Wherever Grifter had been crashing, he would have come in to find a note under his pillow. Smudged ink indicative of having been used by a cheap typewriter, a cryptographic cipher dating back to World War 2 that lead to a series of angrams and a quick mathematical puzzle that gave a date, time, and location. Someone had been showing off by sneaking something inside, and then having left a note that had a complicated, convoluted solution purely for the hell of it.
    The location was simply one beaten up bar over in an area filled with them. This one abandoned, broken windows covered over with wood, faded gang symbols across it spraypainted.. And an open door left to screech back and forth in the wind.
Cole Cash Cole doesn't have much security in his rather crappy apartment. Among other things because there is no way he can stop certain people from getting in there, or blowing it up. What he has is a number of tricks to know when someone has intruded in his turf. And someone has intruded his turf.

Which means Cole spent three hours looking for traps, explosives, poisons and other nastiness, before even picking up the note. Old ciphers and puzzles? Only one asshole he knows does this kind of thing. The same asshole that probably has been laughing at the idea of making Cole loose three hours of his time.

Of course Lynch didn't have the grace of drowning when his yacht got blown up. But Cole already knew that. He will never believe Lynch is dead unless he saw the corpse, and even then Cole would suspect clones or something.

So, crappy run down bar somewhere it is. Fine.
Ivana Baiul John Lynch had a bit of a reputation. Of course he had lived through things. Most spies didn't reach retirement age. Fewer still moved up the ladder to administration and managed to keep their edge. You didn't get old in the business.

So over there in the dingy bar the old many would be sitting as if not a care in the world. NO backup. Sitting in the open in the room without a seeming care in the world. Sitting next to him was a tall blonde with short cropped hair that was just chatting with him to the side. Of all things she was working with a fidget spinner.

John Lynch had a drink in front of him, fresh with bubbling ice and a bottle. Another shot glass was on the table. Of -course- the bottle was, if Grifter looked, something that was one of his favorites.
Cole Cash Is Lynch even aging as normal? Cole still looks around thirty despite receiving the mutagenics two decades ago. Pretty much the same happens with Slade and Michael, after all.

"You look old, Lynch," says Cole as greeting. "And clumsy. Why did you allow so many kids fall in Ivana's hands? Why did you get me involved? I don't have children, you know? Because we are not fit to have children. Except maybe Alex, which of course, was the first to die."
Ivana Baiul Lynch would look pained, "Because I messed up and the kids paid the price. And a lot of my friends did that trusted me." That might be perhaps the closest thing to agreement that the old bastard had ever said.

"I got you involved as you're the only decent one left outside of the bunch."
Cole Cash "That is bullshit," blurts out the blonde man. "What about Slayton or Cray, or Dane?" Cole himself would be among Cole's last choices, maybe ahead of Waller only. "I don't have the cash or contacts to deal with Ivana, and you know it. Go ask Nick Fury for help. I bet he invites you to his fucking poker games."

No one with a brain invites Cole to a poker game, of course. But that is not the point.
Ivana Baiul Lynch would grunt, "Slade would call it a favor even if he accepted. The man cares about what he can make money from or that threatens him personally. It comes with a price. Fury would have the kids end up being weapons. I want them to get the closest they can to ordinary lives. Not being shoved into this lifestyle. They deserve the chance to make thier own choices in life without being punished for our mistakes." Not including Cole in that group.

"Don't ever play Fury in poker. The man always wins."
Cole Cash Half an answer, which is typical Lynch. Cole did try to find the others and failed, but in truth he wasn't desperate enough to ask Waller. His attempt to kill Ivana was rather disappointing, though. "Well, I only found Sarah Rainmaker. And Ivana is all cyborged up, did you know that? Harder to kill now."
Ivana Baiul Lynch would grimace, "Unfortunately. I underestimated her badly. I didn't think she would ever be so direct and aggressive. She's awlays been one for altering everyone else, never herself. Fairchild is safe with the Titans. I've managed to relocate the other kids elsewhere and safe that Ivana hasn't gotten to or hadn't gotten away."
Cole Cash "Okay. Good for you," grunts Cole, taking a seat and giving Anna a once over. "So, you used me as distraction, obviously." And he would bet he was not the only lightning rod in the game. "So, is it over now? How many years will I have to watch out for Ivana's assassins coming for me?"
Ivana Baiul There would be a slow smirk on John Lynch's face. "Ivana's gone outside of her normal sources for this. Even CADMUS is being careful after their last few fiascos. She's getting aid from groups like Hydra and Advanced Idea Mechanics. They're expecting a reward at the end of it in the form of her letting them use her new soldiers." A sour look on his face. "So they want a payout at the end. So if we put her in a position where she can't offer up those soldiers.. Then she has to deal with them for her failure."
Cole Cash "Hydra? Of course, I should be surprised she has not formally joined them," then again I.O. wasn't much better, and the government has a better health plan. "So, has she gone rogue to the point Washington would go for her? Or is she still considered 'too useful'? Because her kid soldiers are not the guilty part here."
Ivana Baiul Lynch would grunt, "Washington has it's limits. Particularly with budgeting. She had most of her funds cut off. She's considered usful to a point. But going off the reservation to get money and resources from terrorists will get her a backlash. If the spooks don't get her then the terrorists will. If neither does then she has to go to ground and has nothing."
Ivana Baiul Lynch would continue, "So if we can destroy most of her assets and free the kids, she has no cards left to play."
Cole Cash "Hah! That is just harder than killing her," points out Cole. "I bet I could break her fancy cyborg body with a mine, maybe with a light anti-tank gun." He shrugs. Truth is making plans was never his strong point, it was Lynch. "So, you want my help now to go onwards with your plan? Are you even going to pay me?"
Ivana Baiul Lynch would smirk, "I need to confirm where she keeps most of her assets. Bases, backup research facilities, places she's holding and conditioning her victims.. When I do, we hit as many of them as possible. If we can't take her out in it, then someone else will and she's kept too busy to do anything more. And yes, I'll pay you. You've gone well out of your way beyond any favors you might owe anyone."
Cole Cash Cole didn't do it for Lynch, but he is not going to admit he would do it for free for the children of his ex-team mates. That would open to even more manipulation by Lynch and others.

He is pretty sure Lynch has already manipulated him and that he was not even a little dead, just pulling strings. "Fine," he decides, "you know how to contact me," beat, "use the phone, don't sneak inside my home again."
Ivana Baiul Lynch would laugh, "Fair on that." Given hte bastard was agreeing to go along with that bit without any sort of taunt back meant that he probably had some simple way around it already. Always with the mind games.
    "I'll have the first part of your payment put in your account by the time you get back."