|
   |
Military contracts. There are only so many names in the business, when it comes down to it. Stark Industries. Hammer Tech. Wayne Industries supposedly used to be in the business, but no one can find their R&D department on the books anymore. And when it comes to a certain type of military spending and development, SHIELD is a large party client. Which means they're always accepting bids, even if they have their own R&D to come up with things.
When it comes to SHIELD and the Starks, though, there's something of a history. Which probably explains why, instead of the full high brass treatment, the person who's waiting to meet with Tony Stark is just barely a full agent.
Ava stands in the lobby, her hands clasped lightly behind her back as she waits for the appointment. There's a hint of irritation on her features (this wasn't her first choice of assignment either), but she's waiting. For now.
Even Stark Industries is scaling down on weapons, though there are a few contracts they're willing to keep. Uncle Sam wants boring old rifles. Stale. SHIELD wants the cool stuff. Tony enjoys making the cool stuff. He's fine not standing on ceremony, and hey, greet him with a gorgeous redhead? It's not gonna break his heart.
Tony approaches Ava amiably, with a smile of recognition. He's on time. Just. "Ava, was it? I'm afraid I've forgotten your last name." All the better to get on a first name basis.
"That is because I never gave it to you." Ava smirks, stepping forward to offer a hand as if she's never met him before. "Agent Orlova, Mister Stark. It is nice to meet you. The board had a meeting already scheduled, so they sent me to give you a tour while they finish, before you meet with them. I trust you found us all right?"
Tony's smile upticks a touch. "Agent Orlova. You can call me Tony. Hell, you can call my any time." He looks around the place. So dreary. At Stark Industries, everything is warm polished wood and brass. "Yeah, it was hard to miss. It's something of a presence, isn't it?" The old steel barrel on the river. So pretty. "I love what you've done with the place."
"Do you deliver pizza?" Sassy little Russian. Ava shrugs at the mention of dreary, starting to walk toward the central atrium. Growing up in the Soviet block doesn't exactly expose one to great architecture. Nor do the lower reaches of New York. "It is functional. And more importantly, secure." There's a hint of a smirk over her shoulder at the last, quickly hidden. "We are at the entrance now, of course. Ahead is the atrium, which has a place for memorials. We do most of our work in the shadows, so there should at least be some place to honor those who fall."
"Should I have brought one?" Tony asks. "Next time. Pepperoni okay? I'm here to help." He follows Ava, and the lack of flash in the place, while the antithesis of Tony's style, doesn't cause his interest to wane. That mind of his devours new things given the chance. He lifts a hand to trace the line of memorials, though he doesn't touch. "Do you lose a lot of people?"
"Always bring pizza," Ava deadpans. It's actually hard to tell if she's joking or not. Maybe the radioactive gators in the basement require regular sacrifices. "Mister Stark, every intelligence community in the world is losing people right now," she sniffs. "This cold war between Russia and the United States is not so cold for the operatives who are fighting it. We lose fewer than some, more than others. But then, SHIELD and the United States are…more merciful in training than other programs, so. There is a trade."
Tony's brows lift at that deadpan expression. Oh, he'll bring pizza next time. His amusement fades at the mention of the losses. "For what it's worth, I think this war's going to get a lot hotter for everyone sooner rather than later." He looks at the memorials, reads the names. The lost deserve that much. "I take it you were a recipient of Mother Russia's tender mercies? Or lack thereof?"
"Mmmm." Ava pauses at a security checkpoint, flashing a badge and stepping back to let the guard on duty do a scan and a frisk for Tony. Sorry, Tony, it's a dude. "It is common knowledge that children learn more quickly than adults. That training early results in a greater level of proficiency at a younger age, while still in the physical prime. You graduated from university at a young age yourself, no?"
Alas. It's a tragedy Tony will endure, stoic, and only one comment of, "Shouldn't you buy me dinner first, pal?" When it's done with, he steps over to Ava and says, "Yeah, I graduated MIT when I was seventeen." He tugs his suit jacket back into place after his frisking, making sure it all falls just right on him. "There was an element of choice, though. I was itching to go to school. Real school. A school that could keep up with me."
"Russia offers less choice in general to its people," Ava smiles tightly, resuming the tour as she walks down the hall toward what appear to be various situation rooms. None are in use - no sensitive information scrolls across the screens - but it's clear that the organization has the capability of monitoring many events at once. "My parents were successful. An engineer, a doctor. But their success was turned toward…other goals."
Tony says, "That's why we're the good guys, and why we're going to win." Such conviction. It's like he can't imagine a scenario where the U. S. of A. doesn't come out on top. He takes in everything there is to take in about the situation rooms. He'd be a terrible spy. There's no subtlety to him. There are cool toys and he wants to play with them. He looks with is eyes, though, keeping his hands at his side. "Did your parents get out?" he asks.
"The good guys," Ava echoes, that smirk flickering across her features once more. "No, my parents did not get out. Physically or…They did not make it." Despite the high tech nature of SHIELD, there are still limits to what they can do. As they pass the situation rooms, they walk over a bridge of sorts with windows on all sides, looking down into a massive document storage area. Rows and rows of filing cabinets. "I was nine when a SHIELD operation ended the program. SHIELD brought me back to America. Where I remained in their custody for five years." She looks over her shoulder, arching a brow.
"Third verse, same as the first?" Tony says. "Surely you could leave if you wanted." He doesn't sound all that convinced, but it's a nice thought. "They seem to see you as a trustworthy member of the team, even if you are on babysitting duty." He smiles blandly.
"No. After that, I escaped." That, at least, gets an honest grin out of Ava as she continues the tour. "I lived on my own for a few years, but eventually a run-in with the director ended up with me back here. It seems a waste to have these skills and not to use them. So." She shrugs, leading the way to an elevator that goes down. "But I say it to remind you: SHIELD held a nine-year-old girl for five years on the chance that she might be a danger to them. Who is good and who is bad is…" She lifts a hand, wiggling it from side to side as the elevator doors open on a lower level.
"Compromises get made," Tony says. "Still, if I had to choose." He doesn't start in on what the Ruskies have done. He'd be here all day. He falls into step with Ava, and even the elevator is interesting by virtue of being a SHIELD elevator. What he wouldn't give for a tour of the labs. Still, he plays it cool. Just looking.
In the lower levels, things are a bit quieter. Less bright and shiny. Here is where people who cross the lines get taken. Interrogation rooms, lined with cameras and mirrors, are on either side of the hallway. None appear to be occupied at the moment, but they're there. And so are a few other offices. Ones for people who either don't rate one of the nice ones with a view of sunlight, or people who prefer not to be seen coming and going. "It is part of why I stayed," Ava admits. "Someone should be here to remind people of the compromises that get made."
Falcon walked in, without interruption to the ongoing conversation a bit annoyed that he was stopped by more than one person today asking him if he needed to be helped. The tone was strained but polite when he declined the offer and came to find, Ah! Tony with company. He idled in a comfortable military parade rest out of sheer habit. "Tony. Agent Orlova."
Tony studies the rooms they pass, going over in his mind exactly what he would to do get out of one if he had to. It's not even a worry, just a mental exercise. "Fair enough," he says. "Accountability has to come from somewhere. I take it there's no due process down here? No lawyers or pleading the Fifth?" His attention shifts to Sam, and he smiles. "Sam," he says. "What's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?"
"There are…some rules." The way Ava says it sounds like they're more like guidelines, though. "Ah, you know each other." She smiles faintly as Tony and Sam greet each other, dipping her chin to Sam. "Mister Stark is here for a meeting with the board, but they had their own meeting to see to first. I am giving him a tour of the facilities here. So far, nothing has exploded. I am impressed."
Falcon replied smoothly in that dry humor of his that passed as casual, "Oh I heard the words 'bail bonds' and your name in the same sentance. I thought I'd see how you were in case." Slowly he grinned and replied to Aa, "Well we have flown together and the government has seen fit to work me with a couple of outfits these days." Which brought him back around to his presence here noting to Tony, "Took a hit. Need you to look at the suit before I go back up."
Tony eyes Falcon, though with good humor, and says, "Yeah, yeah." Then he waves a hand and says, "Sure, any time. If you felt like showing me the labs here, I could do it while we wait." He glances sidelong at Ava to see if she might be going for this. "I'd just need a work bench and some tools."
Ava rolls her eyes at Tony, smirking. "There is a pool," she notes. "Not for swimming, as in a betting pool. For how long I could keep you out of the labs." She turns to Sam, squinting a bit. "Did you take the thirty-five minutes square?"
Falcon grinned at Orlova and shook his head, "No, ma'm, I'm just the test pilot. Besides, I take Tony's tools then he totally truncates the time I get for target testing time…. and then I don't get to bug him to drive his car." To Tony he offered earnestly, "I appreciate it though. I know it's short notice. I was going to see if Turbo could look at it but kid's on assignment."
"A whole thirty-five minutes?" Tony says. "I must be getting lax these days." He makes a beckoning gesture to Falcon. "Show me the wing." To Ava, he says, "I hope you don't lose a lot of money, Agent Orlova. If you did, let me make it up to you. A drink, maybe? Now, where are the labs…"
"Oh, I placed no bets," Ava assures, shaking her head. "I know better than to assume I could control the situation for any set amount of time." She smirks over in Sam's direction, then tilts her head, moving toward another bank of elevators to head down a few more levels. "The labs are especially secure," she notes. "You'll need another pat-down, Mister Stark."
Falcon chortled, "We sure this is Tony and not a suit disguised as a man?" To Ava there was a simple nod, "I can sign off on him for you if need be, but you'll owe me a burger after this, Tony. What's dragging you down into our watering hole anyways? I thought the UN would be conscripting most of yoru time these days withthe heat turned up in the PTO."
"You had control for thirty-five minutes," Tony tells Ava. "That's not bad. A bit of a record, actually. I just find you that captivating." He smiles, sterling and sweet. To Falcon, he says, "I'm here for the free pat-downs. Think you could get me a lady agent this time? I'd like the full experience SHIELD has to offer. Anyway, you sure you want a burger? I could get you a steak."
"Oh certainly," Ava grins back at Tony as she makes her way out of the elevator. "I'm sure Gertrude would be happy to oblige." Gertrude, Sam would know, is in her sixties, has bright blue hair from the shampoo she uses, and has utterly forgotten that she's not the blonde bombshell she was during the first world war. Or the least bit shy about copping a feel. There had been enough complaints that she doesn't get the chance to do many pat downs.
The labs are…Well, like the rest of the building, they're utilitarian rather than obviously impressive. Space is tight, designs are locked away when not being actively worked on, and the ventilation system could be better. But here and there glimpses of unusual ideas can be seen.
Falcon gave Tony a complimentary pat on the shoulder and said, "You'll love Gertie. SHe was a USO Showgirl before she came to work for us." He didn't say exactly when. "Wings are on the back bay but, home sweet home when I'm not harassing you man." He looked to Ava curiously with a more sobered approach, "We gettin him on projects? You know htey say each new piece of tech comes with its own theme song."
"Not a fan of the name," Tony says, since 'Gertrude' is the kind of name one associates with… well, Gertrudes. Still, she was a USO show girl? He perks up. This he can work with. He lets Ava lead the way to the labs, playing it cool while excited like a kid at Christmas on the inside. Once they get Tony in there, they'll lose him to the neat toys to play with.
And maybe to Gertrude first. Poor old girl. She only gets so many jollies. Once Tony is absorbed in the lab, Ava relaxes just a bit, leaning against the wall out of the way to watch. "Someone is going to be happy with their pool winnings," she smirks over at Sam, arms crossed loosely over her chest. "And at least he won't interrupt the board's current meeting."
Falcon grinned a bit folding his arms across his chest and said, more than satisfied, "I might be in that pool. And eeeeeverybody wins and then I can go back to tryin to knock Guthrie's ass out of the sky. Worthwhile cause. I caught part of that conversation though? About that 9 year old kid?"
"We are a spy agency. Sometimes we do things out of fear of an overabundance of caution." And just like that, Ava is guarded again. "Which of the Guthries have you been flying with?" Because that's actually a question you have to ask, after all. "It seems unfair to knock Jay out of the sky."
Falcon offered to her quietly stepping back on the other side of the wall letting Tony clank around, "I'm a level 8 agent. I'm aware of what we do, I just didn't hear about the kid. And Agent Guthrie. The kid they callin' Cannonball, or as I call em, the 'other' Sam. Signed on a while back under one of Hill's initiatives."
"It was some time ago," Ava clarifies, looking over with a faint smile. "Ten years or so. I hadn't heard Sam had joined the agency," she muses, head tilting thoughtfully. "Though I knew we were working on recruiting people with powers, of course. I suppose Sam's just seemed a little…showy for the agency." She shrugs it off, watching Tony and the resident lab rats, making sure they don't cross paths too hard.
Falcon chortled, "That's one word for it. If nothing else 'subtle' would not be one I'd put money on either. Still, rookie's workin. Useful against some of the bigger threats toothough," His arms unfolded , his jaw tilted thoughtfully at an angle, "With all the government program to give people abilities that SHIELD's been compliant in you would think we'd have been able to make a bigger dent in the peace keeping effort. All we can do is try though. That we can't give up on- powers or no."
Ava tsks softly, wrinkling her nose. "It is like the nuclear bombs. One side has them, and so does the other side. One side discovers something new, so the other side finds something even newer. Super powers will not be the thing that ends this war. People being reasonable might."
Falcon arched both eyebrows listening, but nodded in a slow agreement listening to the woman speak. "You may not believe me, but I agree in eh utmost. More firepower dominates a situation, it doesn't create a situation where they're not needed, only one that's required. Still, gotta be able to back those words up too in case, but hopefully a last resort. I tell my guys, weapons don't start wars, legislature does. It's a bit systemic like that I suppose.:
"Choices start wars, and choices can end them. If enough people are willing to make them." Ava pushes a hand through her hair, smiling absently when one of the bio lab techs stops by. "Ava, time for another check up already? You didn't have another incident, did you?" She shakes her head to the man, nodding over toward Tony. "No, just leading a tour. Everything's been fine, thank you," she assures the doctor.