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Long Time No See: Fourth Of July
Rplog-icon Who: Natalia Romanova, Winter Soldier, Tynan Morrigan
Dr. Christopher Marlowe, HYDRA officials, NYC partygoers
Where: HYDRA base and Waterfront, NYC
When: 7-4-2015
Tone: All of the above
What: The Black Widow takes the Winter Soldier on a recon mission on the Fourth of July, hoping it will bring back some memories. Too bad Tynan isn't in on the plan!

The HYDRA official wonders warily, "Recon to where?" a lot of them are delighted to have the Black Widow working for them, and the Skull has pronounced her sound, but even so, she -is- a master spy. Best to know what she's up to.


"The city. There will be some many people around, it'll be easy for us to hide in plain sight." The Black Widow has a blank look on her face as she talks with the official. Many in HYDRA, who had talked with her or seen her talking with others, were convinced that the woman was firmly in their grasp. After all, she was a product of the Red Room, which conditioned obedience.


The official knows this, and considers her worth deploying.. for the right reasons. "What is to be the purpose of your recon?"


"To find out what the Avengers are planning, Surely, they will come to try and reclaim me. I want to be prepared. And, if an opportunity shows itself..." The Black Widow pauses a moment. "All the better."


The official recoils at that. "They will be seeking to reclaim you, Romanova! It would be safer to send someone else to spy on them in their search. Better to send you against those who won't know you're coming--" someone else has been standing just outside the door, and steps in now with an amiable interruption; "But she has a good point." the spectacled doctor that chatted with her before steps into the room. "It seems unlikely they would be expecting her to find them, especially on so unpredictable a day. It is an excellent opportunity... and, though I'm sure we agree the odds of the greatest espionage agent currently known being caught, especially against those she knows intimately is not very likely, I will arrange that she not go alone. Does that reassure you?" the official blusters a bit, but mutters, "If you recommend it, Doctor Marlowe." the man nods smiling in a companionable sort of way that makes Widow's skin crawl faintly. "Indeed, I do."


"Doctor." Black Widow's acknowledgement of the man is as much as anyone here would get as a greeting from the spy. She's well acquainted with people like Marlowe, those that set of a primal warning sense. To the outside viewer, she seems completely indifferent. "I am glad someone trusts me to look after myself. However, perhaps it would be prudent if I brought the Winter Soldier with me. I trust no other at my back."


The official makes an indignant noise! But Marlowe speaks before he can-- "My very recommendation! My dear miss Romanov-- oh, excuse me, Romanova! I see we think alike. Surely with the two of you deployed, nothing can go too far amiss." he smiles, looking to the official, who swallows his words and says instead, "I authorize it."


"My thanks, Doctor." Black Widow inclines her head towards the speckled man, a ghost of approval in her eyes. "I shall prepare myself and my comrade." She, however, does wait for a dismissal before she leaves.


The official waves his hand to dismiss her, and goes about his business. The enigmatic doctor walks along with her whenever she exits, seeming content not to ask any of the questions the official had.


Black Widow doesn;t seem at all bothered by Marlowe's presence, seeming to not even notice him for a good minute. "You seem intent on aiding me. What is you want in return?" Bluntly to the point - just as she is know to be.


Marlowe laughs, and replies, "My dear miss Romanova, it's nothing more than that I approve of your plan. You -are- the most capable of opposing your old compatriots at SHIELD. And who better to bring with you than the Winter Soldier?" he turns her own arguments back on her, as if it was simple common sense. "Especially on a day like today, when their leader is likely to be too emotional to be entirely focused."


"He's a sentimental fool." Black Widow says with derision in her voice. "Such emotional ties are disadvantageous." Of course, it's no secret how close she is with the Winter Soldier - being rather complacent around him, following his orders without argument. More evidence of her programming working, some argued. Winter Solder had been her teacher and senior in the Red Room, after all.


Marlowe mmms, "He is. Yes, he is. But.. that can also be useful sometimes." he doesn't elaborate, and they reach the room where Winter Soldier is sitting. It's empty except for the cot. Why does she expect there to be music as the door opens? There's not..there's nothing. He looks over, and his dead expression seems to show a spark of life when he sees her. "Better?-- he asks shortly, having last seen her in the infirmary. The liveliness dies down almost like a switch when Marlowe follows her in, and he says no more. (--Russian.)


Black Widow says nothing in reply to Marlowe. She blinks once, feeling slightly off balance - but then she snaps back to reality. "Much better, Uchitel. Sorry if I worried you.-- She eyes Marlowe, wondering why the man had followed er in. She leans against a wall, slightly. "We have a mission - recon.-- (--Russian.)


Winter Soldier's eyes flick to Marlowe, but the man is smiling amiably enough. He looks back to Widow and nods. "Now?-- he asks. (--Russian.)


Black Widow nods once. "As soon as you're ready.-- She glances at Marlowe as well, wondering if the man understands Russian. Best not to risk it. "No idea how dangerous it might get. We may find nothing.-- (--Russian.)


Winter Soldier nods, standing up as he answers, "I'm ready.-- (--Russian)

He follows her out, and speaks with someone to get his usual armaments. They're quickly provided now that the mission is approved, and they're free to go. Marlowe peels off as they head for the exit, saying, "Who knows? Perhaps you'll even get to see some of the show while you're out, hmm?" he waves, and walks away.


Black Widow follows Winter Soldier without out a word, falling into step behind him. As they leave, a couple of the younger HYDRA goons snicker about the two spies getting up to 'private hikjinks'. "That old castle, that you ambushed your target in - we should head there. It's in the middle of the city, we'll have a good vantage point.-- (--Russian.)


Winter Soldier glances at her, seeming surprised..though he nods rather than saying anything. But then he's proven to habitually speak as little as possible when they're in the base. She's heard other jokes too about them-- about the blind leading the blind, and how cute it is that she, with her scrambled brain, considers him any sort of capable superior. But then they likely only see him here, where he's docile and nearly silent. Hopefully it means they're underestimating the both of them. In any case..they're out.


Black Widow is fairly silent as they make their way out of the base, into the city proper. Once they're clear, though, her demeanor shifts. "I don't think we'll be in any danger, Uchitel. Between the crowds and the various celebrations going on, no one will pay us heed.-- She smiles, taking hold of on of his hands. It's an almost needed precaution against getting separated, as the crown builds. Someone's playing Yankee Doodle Dandy on a flute, while others sing along. (--Russian.)


"Are they sending us after Rogers?-- he asks, assuming she got the briefing to relay to him. He doesn't know the specifics, but he didn't bring the big guns for a recon mission. Even so he's still got at least a half dozen weapons on him as they weave through the crowd..luckily they're generally concealed, and no one seems to take note of them, though their Russian does get a few curious looks from those they squeeze past. (--Russian.)


"They're hoping we run into him.-- Black Widow replies easily, steering the two of them clear of a group of drunken college students daring each other to silly contests. Although she does grin a bit at their antics. A dancing competition almost gets her to stop, because she would love to join in and show off her skills - but she has a mission. She can;t hide the longing, though. (--Russian.)


Winter Soldier snorts at the college students, though there's an amused look to his eyes. He answers, "If he's here, we'll find him.-- though he can't help following her gaze to the dancers. His hand tightens on hers subtly, as if thinking of tugging her around..but he doesn't. (--Russian.)


"I can;t remember the last time I danced. I know I have though.-- Black Widow sounds downright melancholy as they leave the happy couples. The smells of grilling permeate the air. The sky is darkening, and suddenly there was a *boom*, as someone sets off a ground firework. Widow jumps at the noise, leaning into Winter Soldier. "Ah, sorry.-- (--Russian.)


Winter Soldier starts to say, "I don't..-- but seems unsure how he means to conclude it as he also glances at the dancers.. it leaves him similarly distracted when the first boom goes off, and he's already drawn a gun and whirled around by the time he realizes it's not an attack. He blinks almost dumbly at the fireworks. And perhaps surprisingly, despite the alarm, he didn't push her away. (--Russian.)


"Put that away.-- Black Widow could have sounded angry, but she's not. Luckily for both of them, no one was paying attention to them enough to see what happened. She doesn;t back away from him, her cheeking reddening slightly. "Ah well, that was embarrassing.-- She turns her head, catching sight of more college kids, these ones perfectly sober and throwing lit sparklers into the air. He hand tightens on his. (--Russian.)


Winter Soldier blinks, though he puts the gun away almost absently as he stares at the sky. She ended up with his flesh arm, and she can feel how tense he is next to her through it. "Spooked me too." he answers vaguely.


Black Widow squeezes his hand reassuringly, lacing her fingers with his. It felt... right. "Come on." He switched to English, so he follows suit, as she leads him to an empty patch of land. "The fireworks are about to start, I think. We should wait until their over."


Winter Soldier glances out across the water, still seeming badly disoriented. "Yeah.. maybe you're right." He follows her, though finding any sort of open space on the ground is difficult. The Winter Soldier seems to pull himself back together a bit, and he nods to the roof of a small two story store front nearby. "What d'you say?" he wonders. "Better vantage point from above."


Black Widow smiles, nodding. "Good idea." She bites her lip, stopping herself from calling him Uchitel. She makes a game of trying to get the building quicker than him. As they settle on the roof, music can be heard from below. "This is the army mr jones/no private rooms or telephones/you had your breakfast in bed before/but you won't have it there anymore..."


He's a pretty spry climber, though she has the advantage and makes it up first by a hair. He settles in a crouch, suitable to move quickly if they're spotted by enemies.. but even before the fireworks can start, his brow is furrowing at the music.


Black Widow almost makes a face at Winter Soldier beating her. Almost. She settles next to him, her shoulder bumping his. She notes his look, and listens. "Sounds... like a really old recording." she muses. It did sound familiar to her - it was like the music Steve would listen to on occasion. Maybe...? "You okay?"


Winter Soldier shakes his head, pushing out a breath and settling into a watchful pose he could keep up for hours if need be. "It's nothing to worry about." he says, and starts searching the crowd. The mission..he's got a mission.


As the night settles, more patriotic music plays - along with a crowd rendition of Yankee Doodle that quickly turns raunchy - Widow isn;t sure if she should be appalled or applauding. She does keep an arm near him, even as she mimics his stance. A powerful concussive rocket explodes, signalling that the man show is about to start. "All rise, for our National Anthem..."


Winter Soldier makes a dismissive noise at that, tuning out. He glances to Widow, saying, "Nothing yet. Why'd they figure he was coming here, anyhow?" still assuming she has a more complete briefing.


Black Widow glances sidelong at Winter Soldier. She looks a bit troubled, even as loud brass echoes over the area. "Well, he's a sentimental type. And this is one of the largest Fourth of July celebrations in the country." she reasons, looking a biot relazed. Although she does wince when the singer of the anthem decides to see how high of an octave she can hit on the 'land of the free' line. "Oh dear Lord that should be illegal."


Winter Soldier stares at her blankly. "Fourth of July?" he finally repeats in confusion, only to be drowned out from saying anything more by the ear shattering high note.


Black Widow glares anger daggers in the direction of that singer. "I know we aren;t supposed to target civilians, but I am mighty tempted..." Thing is, Natasha's not even acting at this point. Part of her is feeling a little homicidal. She glances over, again taking his hand in hers. "That was awful."


Winter Soldier still looks confused, almost betrayed, his hands moving to rest on the edge of the roof. "Yeah.." he answers as if he hadn't really been listening.


Black Widow wraps an arm around Winter Soldier, holding him close. His real name is on her lips - she desperately wants to call him James, to see if he'll remember. But she can't. Not yet. "Hey, hey. What's wrong?" She rubs his back.


Winter Soldier gasps a breath that seems far too hard to draw, but shakes himself over, shifting away while he pulls himself back together. About then the first of the big fireworks splits the sky in patriotic color..the same colors as Russia's, ironically. The Winter Soldier stares up at the colorful lights with Black Widow's arm around him and murmurs, "Just.. I just thought.. I thought it was for a birthday."



  • * * * *


Tynan is out hunting tonight. Well, more like out to go cause some trouble. Its not long before she's up on the rooftops, running them. Soon, the fireworks go off, and she blinks a little bit at a nearby roof. Bah? What is going on? She spots a pair of people on the roof, common enough. She runs over, and then her instincts scream at her. She slides down for cover, and lifts her head a little bit. "Zoom...", she says. The woman blinks a few times...Is that...Widow? Hey! No Kissy the kidnapper! Is he trying to kidnap Momma Bear? The woman takes a deep breath as she moves a little away. She lifts up the hood of her own version of the Widow suit. She calls forth a rift, and pulls out her Lynx. Its been set up for person sniping, 7.62 mm round. She sets up, and takes aim at a certain evil man. Her breathing starts to steady into a rhythm....


Black Widow leans her chin on the Winter Soldier's shoulder, her cheek brushing his. "It kind of is, if you think about it. The birthday of the United States." She's holding his close, and anyone watching might assume that it's two sweethearts together on the roof, certainly they don't look like top assassins.


Winter Soldier nods slowly...it's sound logic, but something in him rebels at it as wrong. He sighs, and pulls away from those thoughts. He told Widow before, picking at those things is only asking for trouble. It gets in the way, trips you up. He pulls his gaze down from the technicolor sky, and stubbornly starts searching the crowd again.. too bad he's not able to follow his own advice better. He should be constantly checking the perimeter of such an exposed position, he should notice a sound, a flicker of movement, something. He doesn't. As Tynan lines up her shot, he's focused only on the crowd below.


Black Widow is being more observant than the Winter Soldier, in that regard. After all, she's here for a completely different mission. She pulls back from her comrade, scanning the rooftops. Wait - there was a flicker, there. And now it's gone. Moving smoothly, completely relaxed, the redhead spy shifts, bringing a hand free. She looks in the direction she saw movement, and makes a furtive handsign. 'No Shot'. And in case that isn;t a friendly person out there, she moves to block any shot from that angle.


Tynan holds her shot, and sees the call from Widow. The woman bites her lip. Her hand tightens on the trigger. Dammit! Take Winter Soldier alive? The hell? She's got a prime target. The woman ducks back down under over, putting the rifle away. She doesn't have the ability to go after him alive. The woman shakes her head a bit. "....I so wonder if I get stupidity pay out of this...", she says. The woman takes a deep breath, and starts to circle around, staying under cover, moving about as stealthy as she can manage. She fingers a Widow Smoke disk...


Winter Soldier does notice Widow shifting position, though he can't see the sign she makes on the far side. "What?" he asks, still speaking in English. He realizes his lapse in attention then, and alertly scans the roof. "Are we made?" he asks warily.


Black Widow mentally winces. This could end ugly quick, depending on who she spotted out there. If it was Hawkeye, she knew the archer would have enough sense to back off. Anyone else, she couldn't bet on the outcome. "Maybe. Thought I saw something on the roof over there." She stays crouched for now. "I don't see anything now."


Tynan slowly, carefully makes her way down from a side ladder. She has them on her radar, and watching their movements. Stay put little Soldier! The woman creeps low, staying in the shadows. Tynan takes several deep breathes. Turn around, you damn lug! No looky at me...


"Where?" he asks quietly, looking over the rooftops. Tynan is no longer there, so there's nothing out of the ordinary. He clicks his tongue. "..We oughta move. Nothing to see in this neck of the woods anyhow, it looks like-- come on." he gets up and heads for a side street to climb down. Now the question is, is it the same one Tynan took refuge in?


Black Widow allows herself a quick frown of annoyance. "Right, 'll follow your lead." She pauses on the rooftop as Winter Soldier starts heading down. Whoever was out there, she had lost track of them. Which led her to belive it was definitely a SHIELD agent. A good one, too. She just hoped she didn;t have to kill anyone to maintain her cover.


Tynan blinks. Sh**...Not this way! Not this way! Crap, now or never. Tynan throws the smoke disk, going low with it. In the dark and playing skips back home in Ireland let her get use to throwing something like this just a little above ground. It'd help keep it hidden. Hopefully the smoke bomb goes off /behind/ Winter Soldier, and in front of Widow. Tynan moves quickly, staying low to the ground, and once WS turned to the smoke, she rushes forward with several elbows aimed at his ribs and temple. She's not as fast as she used to be, or as strong, but hopefully the surprise will catch WS off guard and disable him quickly.


Unfortunately he's on alert, now. The burst of smoke does cause him to turn, but even as Tynan launches at him with blows ready he swipes an arm with impressive response. He tidily deflects the blow to his ribs, and fades back enough to mitigate the impact to his head, though it still wasn't a good blow to take. The smoke soon blasts over them all, but before it does, she sees the flash of metal between his glove and sleeve as that other arm grabs for her wrist.


Black Widow mentally swears. Creatively. Well, she really didn't expect to be able to pull an infiltration without having complications, but Fury was going to be furious if she let an agent die on her watch. Plus, she really didn't need more red on her ledger. So, she takes a breath, trying to not choke on the smoke, and waits, circling around. One. Two. Three. She charges forward, aiming to tackle the unknown agent sideways, away from the Winder Soldier and into a wall.


Tynan squeaks as he manages to squirm away form her attacks. The girl dances back a few steps to keep from getting grabbed, and keep the smoke between her and WS. No grabby! The girl sees a shadow in the smoke going low. She waits. At the last second, she jumps up, and leans her shoulder over. With luck, she'll roll right over the person tackling her. And just like Widow, she dances on her landing foot, going low, looking to sweep the leg out fo teh tackler in an elegant dance as she spins out of the smoke. Tynan coughs a little bit, and disoriented as she bounces off of the nearby wall...


The Winter Soldier doesn't stop just from a clip to the side of the head. While the two spies brush past each other, he's pulled out a wicked knife-- but in the smoke the two women in their nearly matching suits make such similar smoky shadows that he holds back on using it..until he's sure. They'll all have to come up for air eventually, but for the moment he holds his breath as well, thinking he sees the lighter tone of bare arms from the one by the wall. He lunges forward, metal forearm threatening to slam into her sternum and shoulders, potentially pinning her against the brick.


Black Widow grumbles as the agent proves to be rather agile. Wait - it couldn't be... She almost falls completely over, tripped up by that low sweep. She shakes her head, blinking her eyes rapidly to try and keep smoke particles from making it too hard to see. She had a good idea of who she was facing now. Dammit. Shadows flicker, illuminated by the occasional firework going off overhead It makes the whole scene surreal. With a mental sigh, she again rushes the other agent, again trying to ram the other away from Winter Soldier. Only this time, she intends to pin her opponent underneath her.


Tynan coughs a few times, and then gets slammed in the chest. There's Squishys there! So hey, he knows its a woman at least! Then the other shadow tackles the stunned agent from the side, slamming her down into the ground rather hard. Thats enough to bang her head on the roof for a second, making the world swirl for a moment. Enough to pin Tynan down. Crap. The girl struggles a bit...


For a moment the Winter Soldier thinks Tynan somehow is wrenching free, and now that he knows she's the enemy agent, he slashes with the knife. Though even if it hits, Widow's flung her too far to catch more than her arm. He steps after, seeming in no hurry as he crouches down by the two, and as Tynan continues to struggle he moves the knife near to her throat. "Stop." he instructs her. And frowns as the smoke is thinner where they fell...he recognizes her. "You?" he doesn't even seem to consider Widow a danger..


Black Widow might have gotten knicked by the knife. She's not really aware of the various bruises she's encured in the fight, and won't rally know how badly Tynan got her until after things have calmed. When she does see that the woman under her is her prized student, her eyes widen ever so slightly. /Dammit all to hell! Stupid girl.../ "Well well, looks like the little girl went wandering." Her voice is cold, detached. Nothing like the friendly tone Tynan was used to. "Careless mistake." She leans down, to whisper something in her ear. "Beware the Red Skull." Of course, her leaning down shifts her weight enough that Tynan could push her into Winter Soldier...


Tynan takes a moment to settle down. Knife to the throat, Widow on top...She blushes horrible for a second...Stupid brain! No thinking like that right now. She hears the whisper, and then uses the weight to sweep Widow into Winter. She twists her body away in a graceful dance, throwing up a kick at Winter's head as she starts to get up. Hopefully both Widow and her kick forces Bucky away as she pulls a flash bomb. She drops it behind her. Of course, she's not as fast as she used to be, and with her arm slashed, she's leaving a blood trail. Tynan knows she has to stop the blood flow. The woman takes out a small combat flash patch, and throws it on in a hurry. Hopefully she can get down to the alley, and get the blood to stop before they can recover...Of course though, the girl is tiring a bit. "...I need a diet..."


Winter Soldier doesn't expect that. It's probably not what he was trained to do, but he swings the knife out wide and away when Widow is shoved into him-- it puts his balance off, and though he keeps Widow and himself from tumbling back, that lasts only until the kick connects with his head. This time rolling with it even a little means toppling back with a pained grunt, likely taking Widow down with him. He's still clearly not out, but it buys Tynan a few seconds, and right now she needs as many of those as she can get.


Black Widow is apparently caught off guard, bracing herself against Winter Soldier as the two of them go to the ground. "You alright?" is breathed out in the moment before the flashbomb goes off. The redhead cries out very softly in pain,flinching from the bright bright light. She tries to pull herself from Winter Soldier and get up to persue the woman, but she seems clearly disorientated.


Tynan runs out of the alley. She blinks a few time at the college students. She pauses a moment. S*** this is bad...this is very bad. She sticks out. The girl blinks a few times, and moves over to one of the college girls, and whispers something into her ear....The pair sneak off out of the crowd. A few moments go by, and Tynan is walking out in the other girl's clothes. She giggles a bit as she tosses some keys in the air, and catches them. She hops in a old beat up college girl's car, and starts the engine. After getting away a little bit, Tynan activates the bug she managed to slip on Widow. "Now on BWMB radio..."


Winter Soldier nods in short reply to Widow, though his face is twisted in a grimace as his head is still clearing from the kick-- Tynan rang his bell pretty good that time. He could have done little to stop Tynan's..creative escape plan even without the flash bomb going off. He helps push Black Widow up, and gets stubbornly to his own feet.. he's still plenty dangerous if anyone came at him, but he's also staggering from the away the alley is spinning. "She rabbited-- what the hell was that?! Dammit! If he's here, he any any other SHIELD mook in the area knows we're here now. We're pulling out."


Black Widow grimaces. "Sorry." she apologizes. "I messed up. I guess I slipped up." The redhead shakes her head to clear her senses. She nods her head, only now starting to feel the numerous bruises and scrapes she got from the brief but fierce conflict. "I'll follow, Uchitel."


Winter Soldier nods, and though he's not exactly at his best either, he mostly doesn't stumble as he heads out the back of the alley, taking a less exposed and roundabout route to one of the safe houses nearby so they can call for extraction. The nickname flips some sort of internal switch, and when he speaks on the way, it's in Russian. "It's done now.-- he says shortly. "Keep alert in case they pursue.-- (--Russian.)


Black Widow Natasha doesn't let the pain she;s in bother her as she follows Winter Soldier. She's had worse. She doesn;t even notice the faint trickle of blood going down her back, from where she collided with a wall. "I will. Luckily, the noise is covering us.-- She too switches to Russian. As soon as she enters the safe house, she bars the door. "Well, that ended badly.-- (--Russian.)


The girl that Tynan knocked out was not left in an alley, but left in a room, thats locked. She'll wake up with a bathrobe on. Tynan would not just leave somebody out like that...


Winter Soldier exhales, falling gracelessly onto the stool by the radio so he can contact the base, thinking over what happened...

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