InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "eat the meat"

Pete has some intel to share with Fury, so he made his way to SHIELD's new offices on floor thirty-five of the Tower. He walked past agents staring at computer screens or setting up lab spaces, making a beeline for Fury's office door, which he knocked upon.

It looked like Fury's assistant wasn't around, maybe on a bakery run, so he figured it was safe to knock and hope for the best.

---

It was safe, for once. Fury was sitting behind his desk, reviewing Nat’s reports from Europe. He felt bad that she’d been overwhelmed with work since SHIELD had gone public again. Being the face of an agency that had been vilified was hard work, and yet she’d done it with her usual grace and tact. There was a reason he considered her his right-hand.

And then there was Wisdom. An ironic last name, Fury had thought. The man was street smart, could get himself out of any situation possible….that he had gotten himself into in the first place. True that while his methods were less than ideal, his results were incredible. Unfortunate. Still. It was good to have the liaison with M16 as well. Fury wasn’t eurocentric - he knew there was an entire world out there that he had to collaborate with.

“Come in,” he called out, setting his papers aside. He cocked a brow when he saw who was at the door. “Strange. I was just thinking about you.” Fury motioned to a seat in front of his desk and after a moment, to the sidebar. “Pour a drink. Sit down. No smoking. When you’re settled, talk to me.”

---

Natasha’s return stateside had only been a few short days ago. She’d kept a low profile in and around the Tower because she needed a break from everything. She’d spent her time in Europe placating foreign and domestic agencies, their covert and overt contact networks, and ensuring that SHIELD being thrust back into the public eye wouldn’t kill anything they had going or were about to launch.

Being back on familiar soil and among friends had brought an easing of tension Natasha hadn’t known she was carrying. Fury would understand but he’d be one of the few. The job never ended for either of them after all. It’s why she was headed toward his office now. Time for some face to face catching up.

Coffee in hand she gave a perfunctory knock before opening Fury’s door. There were few secrets between them when it came to work. Seeing Wisdom there made her pause briefly before she entered fully and shut the door behind her. She gave a nod to both men, arching an eyebrow at Fury, before she settled herself into the other chair in front of his desk. If Fury didn’t want her there, he’d make it known soon enough.

---

Having poured a drink and sat down, Pete nodded over at Natasha as she entered. He knew from familiarizing himself with the Avengers that she was part of the team, and the file dump she had done about SHIELD went all over the world. A ballsy move, but it was the only real way to purge infectious elements and their connections out of their ranks.

"Ello, Romanoff. Fury." He watched them both with a cool blue-eyed gaze, at ease in this sort of setting as he was out in the field. He idly waved a hand at himself. "I'm here to introduce you to your new liaison from MI-13. We're coverinmg mutant affairs and weird happenings. The United Kingdom's long been a hotbed of weird shite. We'd like to combine our knowledge so both of our countries can find a way to handle situations. Of the sort that may arise if one of the mutants or some weird shite decides to go super villain. I'm here to find out if you're open to that partnership. Otherwise I can fuck off back to my room."

He toasted them with a raise of the glass and took a long drink of the amber liquid within.

---

Fury appreciated the bluntness. It wasn’t worth his time to sit and banter and go through all that stupid crap. Instead, Wisdom confirmed what Fury had already thought.

He tapped his fingers on his desk and gave Wisdom a blank look. Through the corner of his eye, he had been noting Nat’s expression and nothing about her body language or subtleties told him that she had a concern with this.

“You come with experience.” It was a statement, one that he left on the table for a moment. This was his way of saying that Fury was well aware of Wisdom’s reputation. Not the quietest guy, but he got the job done. “When you say weird happenings, I’m assuming that’s where we fall into place.” He steepled his fingers in front of his face. “And when you say liaison, I’m assuming that comes with a certain level of privilege.”

He looked at Nat.

“Nat here is my liaison for everything. She’s the face of SHIELD as we ...well, re-brand. She has a say too.”

---

Having more hands on board to deal with the more delicate aspects of their work would be great. Wisdom was a bit more volatile than who Natasha was usually accustomed to working with but in the ever changing universe right now it certainly wouldn’t hurt. She sipped her coffee and wrapped her hands around the cup. “I wouldn’t be opposed, but I do have a few questions. How far does that partnership go? Are you willing to get your hands dirty to help our side in exchange for the same effort on ours? And how far does this information exchange extend? I’m not keen on finding out I only had half the story when an op blows up in my face.”

Natasha was well acquainted with how covert organizations liked to work and wanted to set some ground rules. They were operating in a different kind of situation with the Avengers involved and now mutants but better to forge a new understanding now than operate under old assumptions.

---

Considering his line of work, it was refreshing to work with no nonsense sorts like Fury and Romanoff. There was no fluffy banter, and no run arounds. Fury was already aware of his credentials, and they seemed to be on the same page as far as weird happenings went.

"Too right. And I've already gotten my hands dirty," Pete said, although he took no pleasure in it. Wet ops were part of his job, but that left a mark on everyone who did it. It was a danger if anyone started to enjoy it, but Pete definitely didn't. It boiled down to it being better if it was done by him than some other poor bastard. He already had a guilty enough conscience as it was. Why not pile on some more? "Not afraid to sully myself further for a mutual cause. Lucky us, our countries are already cozied up together. That means you'll get full disclosure of U.K. intelligence, and I’ll relay it to my home office. As long as our stiff upper lips aren't blown off our face in the same manner? It’s a slice of fried gold."

He eyed them both.

"That doesn't look like it will happen," noted Pete, with a smirk. "You're both well known for doing what needs doing."

---

Fury was well aware that his reputation preceeded him, as did Natasha’s. “That’s basically the fucking motto here -- we do what needs to be done. Period. Don’t have time to worry about pissing off the wrong people...or the right ones.” He straightened up and gave a brief smile.

“I’m not going to bother with a bullshit MOU either. If we understand each other, I’ll call your superiors, and we can move forward. You scratch our backs, we scratch yours. We’re kinda loose on official titles here. I used to have co-directors, managers, all that bureaucratic bullshit but not bothering now. My people understand the hierarchy without saying it.” He paused. “There are the Guardians but they’re mostly freelancers.”

Nick cleared his throat.

“And since you’re here, maybe we can start with a quick recap of the Genosha situation. Nat, wanna tell him what we know?”

---