nextgen_parent (nextgen_parent) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-08-13 12:00:00

Entry tags:

inactive - tech, npc - valentina fontaine, sammy fury, team - shield

Checking on the home team
Commander Fontaine, Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., made the rounds when the special ops team came back in. After their last disastrous outing, she wanted to make sure they were still in one cohesive piece. The reports had been favorable.

She hadn't met the newest member yet, though she knew the contents of his file. She'd been the one to have it sent to Sammy for consideration. Her little gun nut, and Walker and Dugan, could always use someone with the ability to build a better gun.

Sammy's report had been terse but informative. The others' a little more informative. Landon was next on her list.

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Hours later...

sammyfury
2010-09-07 03:39 am UTC (link)

Sammy sat on the front porch steps of Mrs. Landon's house waiting for Tech to call for a ride or find a way back. Did Bon Temps have cab service?

She'd been inside long enough to free more innocent coffee beans and drink it while she waited, made a preliminary report to S.H.I.E.L.D., and ordered to report for a more thorough debriefing at the directorate when she returned to the New York. The police only received the basic information, but it seemed that mob activity wasn't all that uncommon in this neck of the country and while she might be called back to repeat her story, she clearly had nothing to do with it. Her S.H.I.E.L.D. ID said so.

All the while, she thought about what she'd learned that day.

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Re: Hours later...

thisismyweapon
2010-09-07 04:06 am UTC (link)

Tech wasn't able to get a cab, but several members of the Bon Temps community reached out when it was heard that Evelyn Landon had fallen ill. No less than four people had volunteered to watch over her and Jess once they'd arrived. Gran was lucky to have gotten there so fast and she wasn't in danger, but she hadn't awoken yet.

Millie Gotten said she'd call if there was any change.

Alcee Vernon offered Jason a ride home, though Tech asked him to stop at the store on the way back.

Eventually, Tech arrives and gets out of the truck with a case of beer and a couple of other bags. Alcee tells him not to worry about repayment and to take care of himself. Upon seeing Fury on the porch, Tech looks at her and holds up one of the bags.

"Chinese take-out if you want it. Beer, too." he says, leading the way inside the house.

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	Re: Hours later... sammyfury 2010-09-07 04:15 am UTC (link)
	"How is your grandmother?" Sammy asked first, taking the beer to lighten his load and following him inside. Now that food was mentioned, her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in hours. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... thisismyweapon 2010-09-07 04:18 am UTC (link)
	"She did have a heart attack and it would have been worse of she hadn't gotten there when she did. She's stable, but not awake." Tech says sadly. "People will call if something changes." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... sammyfury 2010-09-07 04:24 am UTC (link)
	"I'm sorry," she said simply. "I can take you back to the hospital to sit with her." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... thisismyweapon 2010-09-07 04:28 am UTC (link)
	"Thank you, but there's no need. Several people are watching her now. I was told to go ahead and a go home." he says, pulling large can of pineapple juice from a bag. In another bag are Coconut rum and whiskey. "How long were you waiting here?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Hours later...

sammyfury
2010-09-07 04:35 am UTC (link)

She was surprised to see this much liquor with a guy who hadn't shown much interest in more than a beer or two so far. Maybe the afternoon had been more than he needed right now.

"Half hour, maybe a little longer. I told my story, gave them a long look at my ID and gun permit, and SHIELD arrived at the station to take over and hassle the locals. I was told not to leave the planet and report back when I get home."

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Re: Hours later...

thisismyweapon
2010-09-07 04:42 am UTC (link)

He grabs a pair of plates and paces them on the table for Fury to take one and start serving herself.

"Sorry to get you in so much trouble." he says, grabbing a shot glass from the cabinet.

"Ah really didn't think two different people were up for tryin' to kill me in less than 24 hours of my arrival. I'll have to rethink coming back in the future." he says, serving himself some food.

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	Re: Hours later... sammyfury 2010-09-07 04:52 am UTC (link)
	Sammy took the extra plate and waited for him to settle down. He seemed...exhausted but ready to explode in some way. "Are you kidding me? Wait till you hear the complaining from the others for getting left out. You'll be lucky if you ever get to come back here alone." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... thisismyweapon 2010-09-07 05:17 am UTC (link)
	"Speaking of, I once again owe you my life, Fury. You really saved my bacon again. " Tech says, eating heartily and having a bit of beer to wash it down. His blood was still up from all the craziness, but he also thought Fury wanted to say something she hadn't yet said. "Something on your mind, Fury?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... sammyfury 2010-09-07 05:22 am UTC (link)
	She served herself from what was left and sat down opposite him at the table. "We're teammates, Tech. I have your back, you have mine. That's how it works." The look of concern was genuine, however. It was her first real chance to see how Tech handled stress and violence together. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... thisismyweapon 2010-09-07 06:09 am UTC (link)
	" I'm glad you came here with me, Fury. You've learned that Jake and I have people we love, but still aren't doing right by." he says. "Jake's imprisonment isn't entirely due to good police work." Tech says, taking a few more sips. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... sammyfury 2010-09-07 12:10 pm UTC (link)
	"Is that the bad situation you didn't want to talk about earlier?" Although, working for the mob didn't seem to be a one bad situation type job. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Hours later...

thisismyweapon
2010-09-07 12:59 pm UTC (link)

"Something like that. Ah asked you earlier if you'd ever done something you thought was right at the time, but realized you were wrong about later. That sums up what happened with Jake." Tech says, taking a deep breath, then another pull from his beer.

"Jake brought me into the mob when I was fourteen years old. He was nineteen. Grandpa had just passed away and Gran was having money trouble. Jake told me it would be a good way to get Gran all the money she needed, and I could do what I wanted, mostly, as long as I went to school and didn't let on to Gran what I was doing." Jason says.

"Jake and Savoy's organization was preferable over having people like the Ruiz Family or the Lopez Cartel running Bon Temps. This place would be a war zone if those people were in charge, so I gave Jake the gear he needed to make things happen. As long as mobsters were killing mobsters, the karmic wheel balanced, right? I know it's wrong, but it was better than having the weapons in the hands of gang-bangers that would use them on the first person that walked by. And so we went on like that. I did the inventing and technical, while Jake handled the wet-work and day-to-day and Savoy handled the business stuff.

Gran got what she needed to survive. I pursued my passion, and my brother did what he felt was his job." Tech says, eating a bit more food, then finishing the beer.

"Two years ago, a guy by the name of Dominic Perelli joins us after the assimilation of the Carmano Family. Perelli is a decent guy, if a bit mouthy, but he knows his stuff. He'd messed a couple of times, but Savoy liked him, and he'd saved Jake's life during a shoot-out so he was golden. I even liked him enough to get to know him. His mother and family still live in upstate New York now." Tech says.

"Shipments start getting raided, lieutenants start getting busted, but Dominic is able to plug the leak, dealing with a couple of guys we knew were talking to the Feds. After a year and a half of seeing this guy every day, Perelli finally asks me an odd question.

'Do you know what your brother /really/ does with your weapons?'

I didn't understand what he was asking, so he took me out to a crime scene. The Carmano Family home down south a few miles." Tech says, steeling himself for the rest of the story. She has to know why he might have ended up on her team, because it was just too tidy for words.

"At the Carmano Home, it was nothing but bedlam. Jake had handled this one personally, and it carried all the signs of one of his jobs. I knew what to look for, after years of watching people just vanish or die in ways that were meant to send a message. Outlines all over, of dead bodies. But this scene...it was different. Some of the outlines...they were smaller bodies. Bodies that should not have been there.

They were kids, Fury. My only rule, when I told Jake I'd help him, was that no innocent people would get hurt. It was fine for mobsters to kill each other, but Gran had to be left out of it, and no kids got killed. Now, here I am, looking at the outlines of children that my brother has killed, and I realized that all the horrible things people said about him were true. He really /is/ an animal. But I knew a different Jake than they did, and I couldn't let my brother continue this way. Savoy helped him get like this, so I had to get him out.

Last year, when Perelli was ready to take Jake in, he needed help. I'd been giving him over the last few months, enough to bury Savoy and get Jake as well, because I wanted him to get /help/, Fury. When he had enough to move, he needed Jake to be somewhere accessible.

I didn't know that Jake would kill Javier Ruiz that night. It was a rushed hit and someone saw Jake leaving it. Sloppy and stupid, he'd called it. He told me to get my stuff and get ready to go.

I met him at his house while Jess was hiding in the bedroom. Jake got in, ditched a few things and picked up his exit gear. In the time it took him to do that, S.H.I.E.L.D. was ready. Perelli handled the bust personally. He never implicated me, and the rest, as they say, is history." Tech says.

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Re: Hours later...

sammyfury
2010-09-07 01:57 pm UTC (link)

She watched him while he told the story and thought perhaps a few times during it he'd had his brother's dead eyes. Then thought it was wrong, Tech was still alive inside. She'd seen it. She'd watched the man be pushed too far and react, but he was still alive and worth the attempt to reach out to him.

"Jake wants me to make sure you never go back to Leavenworth to visit him."

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Re: Hours later...

thisismyweapon
2010-09-07 02:29 pm UTC (link)

Tech laughs bitterly as Fury tells him Jake's request.

"Do you know how often he's asked me to do that? At least twice per visit. He asked me what I'd do if I couldn't get him free. I told him that I didn't think that way. But I don't know what I'd do, Fury.

It feels like giving up, and I was raised to never give up on someone I love. I already got Jake put in prison; leaving him there just seems wrong. Agent Falconeri, or Dominic Perelli as I knew him, said I didn't owe Jake anything anymore.

I'm probably an idiot for letting him get me involved in the first place." Tech says.

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	Re: Hours later... sammyfury 2010-09-07 02:34 pm UTC (link)
	She shook her head. "You didn't put Jake in prison. His choices did. Now it's time to let him deal with the consequences." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... thisismyweapon 2010-09-07 02:45 pm UTC (link)
	"You're right, and I know that. I just...I just don't know how." Tech tells her. "Care for a shot, Fury? The rum is pretty good." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... sammyfury 2010-09-07 02:54 pm UTC (link)
	"I know because I have a brother I helped put behind bars after what he did to drag me into his schemes. The difference I can see here is that you want to help your brother, and I'll put a bullet in mine if he takes a free breath in my lifetime." She peered at him, then got a shot glass for herself. Drinking alone was just sad. "Are you going to get drunk on me?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Hours later... thisismyweapon 2010-09-07 03:08 pm UTC (link)
	"No, I'm trying to get the Agent in this room to relax." Tech smiled. "I still can't figure you out, Fury. I feel like I'm close, but then you switch things around on me." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Hours later...

sammyfury
2010-09-07 03:29 pm UTC (link)

"There's a reason I don't drink much." She poured herself a shot of rum and downed it. Then coughed a little as it hit her throat. "Too much and my ability is compromised. It's hard on me when I don't use it properly."

She poured another shot and pushed the bottle back toward him. "I'll tell you what won't switch. There will be things I can't tell you, but I won't lie to you. You're not going to find me at your back with a gun to your head."

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Re: Hours later...

thisismyweapon
2010-09-07 04:09 pm UTC (link)

"Ah didn't consider that drinkin' might impair your ability, Fury. Ah apologize." Tech says, his Southern drawl finally winning out over the cultured speech he affected in public.

"Ah can live with not knowin' stuff, but knowin' Ah can trust yah is good to know. In return, Ah promise Ah'll have your back. Ah won't tell you Ah can do somethin' Ah can't, nor will Ah tell you I can't do somethin' Ah can. Ah'll tell yah why Ah think it's a bad idea, if it is, but Ah won't lie to yah, either. And Ah'll be loyal to yah, too." Tech says, pouring himself another shot. He takes it down, then loads up another, then sets the bottle between them.

"Yah said Ah ask a lot of questions not long ago. Ah ask because Ah need to know, Fury. It has somethin' to do with mah power. It's a hunger for understandin', the way my grandpa explained it to me." he says, knocking back the shot.

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Re: Hours later...

sammyfury
2010-09-07 04:28 pm UTC (link)

"Figured as much." She downed her second shot and pushed the glass away to return to her plate. "I don't mind questions, or plain speaking. If I can't answer it or I don't want to, I'll say so."

"Alcohol impairs my control and I need that to keep it under control. If I lose it, I'll be used up in no time and useless for a day or two. My parents had to assign agents to me in the beginning because I'd pass out from the sheer exhaustion."

She took a bite. The Chinese food wasn't bad. Someday she'd feed him real Chinese food, in China. "But you realize what all this means, right? S.H.I.E.L.D. gave you to me and made me responsible for you. They maneuvered me into wanting you on my team, and you onto a team of enhanced agents capable of taking you down if necessary. We've been fucked, Tech, and damned if we didn't let it happen."

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Re: Hours later...

thisismyweapon
2010-09-07 05:11 pm UTC (link)

When she put the situation that way, Jason couldn't help but agree. This was almost as bad as some of the situations Savoy and Jake had created and Tech didn't really see a way out that didn't involve them gettig screwed deeper.

"So, how do we handle this, Fury? We know what's been done and where we stand. If either of us say anything, though, we put ourselves under closer scrutiny." he says.

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Re: Hours later...

sammyfury
2010-09-08 12:37 am UTC (link)

She mulled that over with another few bites of chow mien.

"We handle it by leaving it alone. You're right, we'll be under closer scrutiny, so we let them believe that their plans are working. In the meantime, I'd like as comprehensive list of everything in those warehouses, including what each item was capable of doing. I'll get you more workspace. We continue working like we've been doing. The same rule applies: if the colonel, the deputy director, or Commander Dugan ask what you're doing, you tell them or refer them to me. Anybody else, you just send them to me. I'll cover your work, and you continue outfitting our team with the best equipment."