|
      |
Steve has partially disconnected.
*
The note came to Lamont via a messenger. It came from Steve, and it's old. It took the kid a long time to find Lamont. That's sort of the deal, and the Star Spangled Avenger sort of expected it would take some time. The message was simple: "890 5th Ave. Need your help. — Steve." The mansion itself is worse for wear, beat up and broken down. It's night and the actual light fixtures aren't up. Instead, there's a work lamp as Steve is busy working on some tiling in one of the rooms with some equipment from a laborer he fought alongside in the war.
*
He doesn't take long to appear. No drama, no cape, no mental effects. Lamont just shows up in white shirt and jeans, and he steps out of the cab. He….rather like Steve, he looks no older, still an early forties. "Captain Rogers," he says, amiably, once he's worked his way down to where Steve is. "IT's been a while. I haven't forgotten what I owe you, surely it's more than help painting your house. THough i am good with electrical wiring."
*
Steve straightens with a bit of a groan as his body shifts. He gets to his feet, arm outstretched. "Well, good thing. I could use a whole lot of electrical wiring." His smile fades, though, as the reality of the situation comes to the fore. "It's Buck. He's in pretty deep, but there's a lot of evidence that things aren't how they seem. Some of us want to go after the truth. Help make things safer for the rest of the world. Hoping you'd consider helping us out, at least one time around…If not more."
*
He's got a face like a graveyard gate at the best of times. These aren't thebest - Lamont looks like nothing so much as a funeral director gone vastly astray for a moment. "I'd seen it in the news," he allows, softly, as he takes Steve's hand and shakes it firmly. "It seemed….very strange to me. I mean, it has been twenty years, people change. Radically, in some cases. But….I owe you and I owe him. My resources are at your disposal. Not what they once were, I admit, I've been gone a long time, myself." He shrugs, gracefully - there's almost always a faintly stagey air to his movements, like an actor who can't resist that theatrical touch, even off stage. "However….money and fear open many doors, including those locked."
*
"Well," Steve says as he tilts his head and makes a quick face as he looks away, considering, "We might need the money more than the fear." He pauses before he begins again. "The whole thing doesn't make any sense. If it were a hit on me, fine, that makes sense. But why the explosions. And why did they come afterwards?"
*
He's been long out of the spy games, has Lamont. But still an old contact or two. "Sergeant Barnes," For that's clearly how he still thinks of him, "Is the assassin known as the Winter Soldier, isn't he?"
*
"That's sort of a complex question. It's him, in the flesh, but not always in the mind. It's Bucky, but it's not our Bucky. A lot of us believe he can be cured," Steve replies.
*
Monty seems to have no trouble at all buying this. "I know enough of the Soldier's reputation to find the idea that he perpetrated the bombing hard to believe," he allows. "I've run afoul of him myself before." He's still, poised, though he wanders over to pick up one of the tiles, turns it over in his hand. "Now, what is it I can do for you? If you need money, I have plenty," he says, coolly, "Vulgar as it may be to boast of such a thing. But if all you'd wanted was for me to write you a blank check, you'd not've called me down here."
*
Steve nods, "Well, the money is nice, and we will definitely put it to good use. I used what the government owed me to pay for this spot, but there's not a lot left over. But in the meantime, what we really need is someone with your skills for investigation."
*
He looks around at the house, raising a brow. "I know enough of you to know that you'd not buy a house like this for just yourself. So unless there will be wedding bells followed by the pitterpatter of the little feet of Rogers, Junior, sometime soon…." Lamont looks back at Steve, levelly. "You're building a clubhouse, as it were. And my skills, such as they are, are also entirely at your disposal." He bows a little, unselfconsciously. He knows his own worth - no false humility when it comes to his ability to scare the crap out of villains of all stripes.
*
Vesper has arrived.
*
"Well, you're not wrong. There are no plans for Jack and I to get hitched. Not now, anyways, and there are definitely no little ones on the way. With the serum, I don't even know if that's possible. But we're definitely putting together a group. These incidences are really just the first mission. Where we go from there will be up to those who take up the fight," Steve says.
*
And now the Shadow's regarding Steve with something that might be pity….or even humor. He just looks at Cap for a few beats….and then concedes, with the hint of a smile. "All right. I'm in. It's not like I've much to do now that isn't sitting around counting my coins like Scrooge McDuck." Another speculative gaze around at the worn and battered house. "How fast do you want this done, CAptain? Laboring with one's own hands is laudable, but…..this is something one can throw money at. Shall I do so?"
*
"As soon as possible, really. I'm not actually very good at this sort of thing. As a kid, we rented. I never really did much in the way of home improvements other than watch the super come in to fix something that got really bad," Steve admits. "I'm glad you're willing. I've invited some others to meet here tonight. Hopefully, if you're willing to stick around, they might show."
*
Tigra has arrived.
*
Lamont turns his hands, spreads the fingers, the ring gleaming like a stray beam of moonlight. "I'm entirely at leisure, and quite willing to do so," he says. And then casts a critical eye on the tilework done thus far. "…..I rather thought so," he allows, sotto voce. Lamont's dressed down, way down, for him - he's in a white dress shirt and jeans. "Let me know your choices, I'll make it happen."
*
Kai has arrived.
*
"You might want to discuss it with Wasp," Steve says. "Frankly, I don't mind a lot of decisions, but she's the one with the eye towards fashion." Steve checks his wristwatch, curious at the time.
*
So, the Shadow and the Captain are in the Avengers' mansion-to-be, which is clearly in need of architectural TLC. Steve's been doing tilework. Lamont has arrived to offer money and hear Cap's author. He is, notably, not offering to help manually,right now. No getting grout all over the artifact ring. "D'you mind if I smoke?" he asks, raising a brow.
*
Steve shakes his head, "Of course not. It's a free country." Everyone in the service smoked. It was a way to get a break. Almost everyone, that is. Cap didn't.
*
"890 5th Avenue." The card is proof that, sometimes, the mail ought to go astray. The US Postal Service answers to a higher power of order. Its agents reinforce threats against chaos by delivering invitations probably meant for the wrong person. Jarred out of his opulent den, the blond man in a dapper Belstaff coat and black slacks isn't much out of the ordinary walking across the street from Central Park. It doesn't help every eye randomly about tends to follow him. When it comes to subtlety, Lucian isn't so good at that. He never really has been. But he gives a jaunty polite knock on said door, if it's not falling off its hinges.
*
Having received an invitation, Tigra's made her way to the site of the mansion, approaching the door as Lucian knocks on it. Good thing he wasn't trying for subtle, because the catwoman in a bikini certainly wouldn't help if he was. "I bet you're not with the neighborhood welcome wagon either," she remarks.
*
Kai has left his little rat dog with Loki. What the little dog ever did to deserve that is anyone's guess. He shows up in a t-shirt and jeans, quite the different look from his usual beatnik chic. He's also got a backpack with him, slung over one shoulder. His eyes widen as he sees Tigra. "Wow," he says. "You're beautiful."
*
"Lovely," agrees Lamont. And then the doorknob. "I'll get that," he says, in the midst of lighting up one of those Turkish cigarettes he smokes. So Lucian's greeted by Lamont, dressed down in rumpled shirt and jeans, cigarette flicked to the corner of his mouth like some 20s era gangster. His brows go up when it proves to be the Phosphor himself, and he blinks at him for a moment. And then, with that theatrical air he can't ever seem to help, steps aside and ushers him in with a broad sweep of a long-fingered hand. "Enter freely and of your own will, be welcome." Which is when he spots Tigra approaching, and his face goes betrayingly blank. What on earth…..he agrees with Kai, clearly.
*
"Yeah, I've got grout everywhere…" Steve says. It's probably a better choice to let Monty open the door. Steve finds a place for his sponge and a place for his trowel before wiping his hands on a towel and then on his shirt. He follows Lamont a few paces behind once he's cleaned up and gives a wave. "Glad you all could make it."
*
Three people at the door: Phosphor, la Solaire, and the Moon. Get used to the oddness. Let it be an addiction because work isn't meant for anything less than odd. Now would be a good point for a cigarette but Lucian refrains. A cosmetic necessity with the current company. "Boo," he says without a preamble. "Better than what was written over another charming gate." It falls to him to hold his path to let Tigra past, and a bikini on a cat woman has very little to do with it. Good manners, yes, and assessment of threats on the way. He doesn't hesitate to see his way in post-Kai and then gives the most polite of nods to Steve. "Good to see you in restored health. We would have suffered a little if you opted to leave the mortal plane so soon."
*
"And you are a most observant gentleman," Tigra says to Kai, flashing him a quick grin. At Lamont's bit of theater, she makes a show of glancing at the top of the doorframe, and then grinning at Lucian. She knows what gate he meant. "THank you," she says to his display of manners, and steps in, tail giving a brief swish as she crosses the threshold. "I'd like to meet the person who -wouldn't- try to make it when you call," she say to Steve, and after half a beat continues, "On second thought, I don't think I would."
*
"You'd think so," Kai says. Then again, he's not chock full of any mind-altering substances at the moment, and that might help. He offers Lucian and Lamont an amiable smile as he enters into the mansion, one that brightens as he sees Steve. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," he says.
*
"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate," Lamont retorts to Lucian. Entirely a shot in the dark, but perhaps it fits. He's following Tigra with his eyes, a mixture of utter bemusement and the usual expression one expects when such a vision floats past. "No, I imagine not," he says to her. Kai gets a polite nod, and "Evening," before he's shutting the door gently behind the elf. A pause and a deep drag on that cigarette, before he's sauntering after the newly arrived.
*
"Welcome everyone. I'm, Steve. This is Lamont—he's going to be helping us out. Thanks for coming." As he ushers them in, he gives a nod to Lucian. "Feeling much better. Of course I didn't have much chance to opt for any of it." The man in the white shirt leads them into a room with several lamps and a couple of sofas. "There's a cooler with some drinks. Beer, soda. Juice. That sort of thing."
*
"Good to know someone remembers his Aligheri, however mistaken the intentions. Are you my Virgilio or my Beatrice?" Lucian fences the response back almost lazily, though the catch of a smile caught in profile lasts for a moment. Arms cross over the breadth of his chest, long fingers tapping out a slow tattoo. "Evening to you all. For those who have not met me, Lucian will do." Unless, of course, it's already too early for real names and codenames are necessary to sign up. An easy grin warms his face. "The price just might be the world. Does anyone particularly mind smoking?" From his coat pocket, a case of cigarettes can easily be palmed, and with it, the chance to indulge.
*
Crystal has arrived.
*
Tigra's footsteps are, unsurprisingly, essentially silent as she follows Steve towards a sitting area. She crouches by the cooler and opens it up, finding a bottle of Coke. Since Lamont's already smoking, she doesn' tsay anything about Lucian's smoking, but if he does light up, she'll try to stay a little further from him and Lamont, both. "You can call me Tigra. It's as much of a real name as my birth name these days." She pops the top off the bottle with a claw. Handy, that.
*
Kai follows Tigra to the cooler, where he snags himself a beer. "I'm Kai," he says. The code name will come later, once he's more sure of these new people. "I don't mind smoking," he adds for Lucian's benefit. He doesn't mind drinking either, from the look of it. Once he pops open the beer, he finishes half of it in one go.
*
Lamont exhales through his nostrils, and eyes Lucian with one brow raised. "I suppose that depends on you," he says, drily. …..is he literally flirting with the Devil, as opposed to all those times he's done it figuratively? He bows to the newcomers when Steve introduces him. Still watching Tigra with interest. His own drink turns out to be merely a soda, though.
*
Steve gives a shake of his head at the smoking question, similar to his comment to Lamont earlier. "Well, I suppose I should begin. As you sort of already know, I've asked you here to consider joining me in an attempt to make this world a better place. This business with the Russians—there are a lot more questions than answers at this point. The President asked me to help out in some way, said he felt badly about how Kennedy disbanded the Avengers. In any event, he and I made a deal that if we do this again, we do it apart from the government. I got his word." He pauses. "I'm hoping to get each of your help, and the others I've asked, in cracking this business with Russia and the attack. And with Barnes, my friend."
*
Crystal is late arriving but not so late as to have missed the pitch. In a light green dress embroidered with flowers, the mid-calf skirt full, she looks more like a Junior League member who's wandered in without her cupcakes than a hero. And yet, she nods to Steve's words. "Well, with Act-F disbanded, I find myself with a certain amount of free time," she says, a small smile curving. "Apologies for my tardiness. Lockjaw was…otherwise occupied."
*
Foregoing the drink, Lucian pulls out one of the cigarettes. They're a bit strange, thinner than normal and wrapped in a dark paper. A flick of the lighter sets the end burning and it smells unusual. Herbal, but subtle, and rather pleasant. Not much tobacco then. The curling lines of smoke escape but he takes a deep inhalation. "It is terribly bothersome to see all these problems and few solutions. Interesting. First order of business, then?"
*
Tigra's tailtip gives a light flick at the unexpected scent of Lucian's cigarette. She takes a seat on a sofa, on the arm of a sofa to be precise, feet in the seat, tail free to swing over the end. "Away from the government?" she asks. "How much authority would we actually have? And your friend has an…interesting way of expressing himself," she adds dryly.
*
Kai comes over near the couch, though he prefers to sit on the floor, cross-legged. It's rare the elf doesn't have something to say, but for the moment, he drinks beer and glances around at the others, following the conversation like one might a tennis match.
*
Lamont gestures with the hand holding the cigarette, leaving behind an arabesque of smoke. "That's the crux of it," he says, nodding to Tigra, though he's looking to Steve. "IF we don't answer to them….are we going to be a convenient scapegoat *for* them? I've got the resources to fund a good bit, but I don't claim to be able to match a national government." A beat, and he adds, wryly, "I'm not a Rockefeller, after all."
*
"Well, last time I did this sort of thing, we got shot down on a whim by the government. That won't happen this time. I suppose there would be a chance we could be used as a political tool. A scapegoat, maybe. But the chances are a lot bigger if we're under their thumb, which isn't an option." Steve gets a far away look in his eye as he thinks about Tigra's words. "We're awaiting the evidence to come in from the investigation into the attacks," he says finally. "From there we'll be able to begin to figure out what Bucky is innocent of. And what he's guilty of."
*
"I can offer some resources," Crystal says as she moves toward a seat, smoothing a hand over her skirts before folding both hands in her lap. "Money is…somewhat complicated, but technology is another matter. And potentially just as useful in its own way. And I believe that whether or not we are connected to the government, they will be just as able to use us as scapegoats," she points out, rueful.
*
"What makes you sure another politician will not come along and do the same?" Lucian follows up the questions with another of his own. He pulls the stick from his mouth and exhales a stream of pale smoke in serpentine coils airborne. "The President's word may be good. One man, though. Plenty of enemies." He needn't really go forward with that line of thinking, playing the advocate. Because they don't need an advocate for the man speaking up for himself. Crystal gets herself a nod. "I like the way you think."
*
Scapegoat for the government? Not a thought that Tigra finds at all reassuring, or one she'd given a lot of thought to before. Lamont gets a curious look over as she begins to suspect his role. A backer, it seems. "Sounds like noone here particularly minds not being attached to the government. We just need to be careful with how we operate, is all I wanted to make clear."
*
"Whether we are or not," Kai says, "we've a job to do." He's got an English accent, Londonish if anyone's that savvy. "No one else is going to do it, and the stakes are too high to let it go undone." He nods to himself, then adds, "Forget the government, cats. They don't know what what's going on, not the way we do."
*
In repose, Lamont is almost too still. There's something chameleon-like about it, as if he paused long enough he'd change color to match his surroundings. Kai speaks up, and he turns that gray gaze on him. Then he's nodding. They've reassured him, sufficiently. The clothes don't say money….but it's that air of self-assurance. So many problems vanish when you throw money at them…….and even those that don't are often eased by it.
*
"Thanks, Crys," Steve says to his friend regarding the technology. Any little bit helps. Between Lamont's money and Crystal's tech (and Wasp's eye for fashion) this place might be up to snuff right quick. "Nothing, Lucian. Nothing makes me sure. But I can say that it's a lot less likely if that politician isn't signing paychecks. I mean it's…"
Steve stops abruptly when there's a knock on the door. "Come in," the blonde man yells and the door creaks. In rolls a bunch of crates, wheeled in by what looks like an errand boy, dressed in military fatigues.
"There ya go, Cap. All of the copies that Ross promised you," the young man says eagerly. Immediately Steve is standing up and making his way over to the crates. "This is the investigation materials from the military. Looks like our friendship with the government is paying off already."
*
A flicker of amusement crosses Crystal's features at Kai's comment. "Government is a complicated thing. Knowing is different from being able to act on, and being able to act on is different from being able to being able to act on publicly. They may try to use us as scapegoats, but that also means they can feed us information that they are unable to use themselves." Which is just in time for boxes of information to arrive, bringing another faint smile to her features. "I know a thing or two from the other side of the equation," she admits to Lucian as she stands, moving to get a look at the boxes.
*
The knock on the door gets a passing look from Lucian, measuring up whoever wandersthrough. Interesting enough there. He isn't the kind to move much either. Cigarettes alone keep him in motion when he is given to standing still. The burning ember keeps on nibbling into the paper. "Excellent, reading." The only comment he needs to make other than assessing some of those boxes. Then, approaching closer, that is bound to give him a sense of bureaucracy.
*
An eyebrow goes up at Kai's use of the term 'cats,' but Tigra says nothing. Lamont is almost forgotten about for a moment, given how still he is. The knock on the door surprises her. Were there more invited? And then it's seen to be a soldier…making a delivery. "Huh," she says, rising gracefully off the couch. "We going to need a security clearance to see any of this?" she asks, half joking, half serious.
*
Vesper leaves, heading towards Upper West Side [out].
*
Vesper has left.
*
Kai eyes the delivery, and his eagerness diminishes visibly, his bright-eyes narrowing. No one said there would be homework. "So do we each take a portion or do brighter minds do the reading and catch the rest of us up." He offers the most apologetic of smiles as he adds, "I never even finished school, so…" Tigra's question grabs his attention, though, and he sits up a bit. Security clearances? Of course! This involves snooping! "On the other hand, anything to help out."
*
"Goodness, you do still have some friends in the Pentagon, don't you, Captain?" Lamont's amused, indeed….and unable to keep from following Tigra with his eyes, until he wrenches them away. He's got a little pocket ashtray with him, which he sets on a windowsill, between himself and Lucian. "….other than differences in style, what makes you sure the Soldier was not involved in the bombings?" he asks. The Devil himself may be there, but Lamont's content to be his advocate. Then there's the paperwork. That's apparently the answer. "Oh, that," he says, with the air of a man gearing himself up for a very tedious task. Maybe he should volunteer to finish the tilework.
*
Steve takes a key from his set and breaks the tape seal as he opens it up. "Alright, here's what we need to do. Lamont and Crystal, if you wouldn't mind working together to start putting the Mansion together. In between, if we could get Monty to take some people to the scene of the explosion to see if there's anything the investigation missed. Meanwhile, the rest of us will pour through these files and start getting our rooms ready. Anyone who wants to move in has a place to stay." It's clear that the Captain is focused almost entirely on the box, though.