Barbara Gordon (alwaysabat) wrote in newalliance, @ 2014-05-16 00:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | agent coulson, amadeus cho, oracle |
Who: Phil Coulson, Amadeus Cho and Barbara Gordon (as Amy Beddoes)
What: Meeting with SHIELD Rep to clear Cho's record
Where: Lincoln Center, NYC
When: Backdated to May 1st
Status: Closed, In progress
Rating: G/PG?
Phil arrived early and procured a table at Cafe Fiorello for three, and took the time before his guests arrived to survey the space, and even select something from the menu. The entire meal would be comp’d by SHIELD, of course, as was polite when you were making amends. He could understand the boy’s wary nature of the organization. SHIELD was both comforting and threatening at the same time, but leaned towards threatening if you yourself was labeled as a threat. That wariness wouldn’t go away just overnight, it would take more than a few kind words and a free meal.
And he was prepared to offer something to make it go more smoothly.
~~~~~~
Cho had his hands jammed into the pockets of his jacket as he walked next to Babs. He kept scanning the crowd and the people milling about, still half expecting this to turn out just to be another trap. If it was a trap, then he was going to make sure those jerks lost more than just a helicopter this time! “So… this Coulson guy. You sure we can trust him?” he asked, looking over at Babs (who was busy pretending to not be Babs). “And you look weird like that.”
~~~~
It had taken a little bit of discussion to get Amadeus to accept this meeting. She could understand why: why would you willingly put yourself back into a situation with someone who had been chasing you? It made sense. But it was also important, so when he’d agreed, Barbara had picked a very public place. Lincoln Center was about right: lots of tourists, access to escape routes if necessary, but Phil was what Barbara classified as a ‘good cop’, so she didn’t think that it would be necessary.
“I’ve been in contact with him, back and forth since before the green thing took over my life and he’s always been as straightforward with me as he can. I think we can trust him. And… just in case,” she just smiled holding her purse a bit more tightly. “Well I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” Technically in her bag, but… still. “Phil Coulson is the man who got me out of the mothership, if I show up looking like myself, he might start looking into things that I’m not ready to have revealed yet,” she shrugged as she wheeled the chair next to Cho. “Better than the alternative. I wasn’t sending you to this meeting on your own.” She was wearing business wear, a wig that looked real and tinted glasses. Her makeup made her look like someone that wasn’t Barbara. She’d done this before. Amy Beddoes was truly her own person. As they approached the restaurant she could see Phil through the window. “Alright Dexter,” she smirked. “Looks like it’s time.”
~~~~
Phil stood when they approached, pulling away a chair for the young woman. “I’m so glad you could both meet me,” he said, giving a little hint of a smile. “The entire meal is paid for, and yes, if you are so inclined, that does mean that you could order the most expensive thing on the menu and it will be charged to SHIELD. Of course, my budget for coffee will go down to instant for the rest of the month, but we all make sacrifices to make amends.”
He sat again, pulling his silverware free from it’s napkin and settled the napkin itself on his lap. “I’d personally suggest the linguini with shrimp. It has a very light butter sauce that won’t leave you feeling like you’ve eaten too much.” He next looked over at Cho, expression going politely inquiring. “You can feel free to ask questions during this, and I will answer them to the best of my ability. But please understand that there are things that have limited information, and that I am only subject to information I have access to myself. So anything too much on a grand scale, say what the meaning of life is, is quite beyond my knowledge. At the moment.” There was a faintest hint of amusement. “But ask me it again next week, and I might reply that it’s beyond your clearance level.”
~~~~~~~
“No worries. Everyone already knows the meaning of life is 42.” He shrugged and ‘helped’ to wheel ‘Amy’ over to her spot at the table. “And no offense dude? But your guys security system needs an upgrade anyways. The only thing I want to know is why the idiots running your organization won’t get off my back! That thing with Hulk? Not my fault! If those helicopters hadn’t pissed off Banner, then everything would’ve been fine. I mean, seriously? I know those choppers didn’t belong to you guys… but using that as a basis for coming after me?”
Amadeus sat down, picked up the menu, and started looking at prices. Yeah, time to stick it to the man. If they were paying, he was eating.
~~~~~~~
When they approached, Barbara nodded her head in thanks, wheeling up to the table with Cho’s help. She didn’t need the help, but she wasn’t going to say no. She chuckled a bit when Phil mentioned his coffee budget. Mostly because coffee came up in their conversations more often than not. But she was here more for moral support and supervision than anything else. This was really a conversation that needed to happen.
She glanced over at Amadeus and shot him a small look, as if to say ‘don’t eat the man out of house and coffee.’ But she wasn’t sure if it would take. She glanced at her menu, paying attention to the conversation but not adding anything. Not yet… She would wait.
~~~~~
“To be fair, “dude” we had our hands full with an alien invasion and the infiltration of our own organization,” was his dry reply as he sat back in his chair, fully relaxed. “Even we make mistakes. The difference is that no one lets us live them down, but that’s not the point right now. What we’re here to discuss today is the redaction of previous statements made regarding your person, along with a projected idea of what you can expect now. They’re already redacted, by the way, I saved as the time and hassle of that by calling in a few favors. Your anonymous friend was very adamant that it happened quickly.”
Phil hadn’t looked at the brunette woman since she’d been wheeled up to the table. “She was also very adamant about you feeling safe here. Which is why I let you and your friend pick a location. This is SHIELD’s time to make amends, Mr. Cho. Yes, we make mistakes. But unlike HYDRA and AIM, we don’t deny that they ever happened and try to kill anyone involved. We’re the good guys, here.” He waved for a waiter, who brought not only a bread basket, but a black briefcase, and Phil took it with a nod. Opening it, he passed Cho a file. “Your corrected file, and I assure you that the one on our servers is updated as well. And, in case of any further conflict that arises between SHIELD and yourself…” he passed over a business card. “You’ll have me as a contact. I think that makes our giant faceless organization a little less faceless.”
~~~~~~
“So does that mean Commander Gabriel Jones is fired? Because he’s the jackass who’s been insisting that I be brought in.” Cho pulled his Gameboy out of his pocket, plugged in a mini speaker, and pressed a few buttons so they could all hear.
”This is SHIELD Commander Gabriel Jones. Give yourself up, Amadeus. Because you’re a minor, we’ll offer you amnesty in exchange for your registration and rehabilitation. You’re a dangerous fugitive and a complete little sociopath! That helicopter you destroyed endangered the lives of twelve agents! Stand down and our agents will come to collect you.”
Amadeus stopped the recording, shrugged his shoulders, and leaned back in his chair. “See what I mean? I don’t have super powers. I don’t know why someone decided to blow up my house and kill my parents. I’m just wicked smart, okay? If that attack put me on SHIELD's radar, then they should’ve been protecting me! I saw the file that Jones was building. He was convinced that I had powers because.. and I quote, ‘He’s processing data in a way that no one without powers EVER has. And I don’t like secret agencies with helicopters chasing down kids without SHIELD’s say so.’ Which mean it’s okay for HIM to chase down kids because he’s SHIELD? That’s just as bad as the bad guys!”
~~~~~~
Okay other things Cho had to learn: How to handle a situation with this with more grace instead of acting like a battering ram. No he didn’t have much experience with this kind of situation, but it was important! Literally. Phil was here making amends and trying to set things right.
She shot Amadeus a look from over her glasses, showing her eyes for a moment. “What he means is that we’re very appreciative that you and your colleagues are willing to put the record straight. It has been…” she paused there glancing at her charge. “troubling. Having been on the run like that, having to look over his shoulder.” She paused then nodded. “But he is right, what is to happen to this commander?”
~~~~~~
Phil listened as Cho almost exploded with words, his expression thoughtful and sympathetic. That was part of the reason that he was sent out on these kinds of assignments, he did actually sympathize with those that were simply caught up in something beyond their control or beyond their scope of understanding.
He finally spoke after the young woman stopped, nodding his thanks at her. His eyes flicked over her once, lingering before he looked back at Cho. “Even the best organizations have bad apples. And sometimes, regretfully, they get too much power before they go supernova. If it’s any consolation, Mr. Cho, this Commander will be dealt with. And … if I had been handling the situation, which I wish I had been, things would have gone very differently for you, I promise.”
“Corrections are being made, and right now, beyond jumping in a time machine and going back to fix it, this is the best that I can do. However, I can also assure you that our procedure for this kind of thing in the future will be better laid out. No one else will ever have to go through what you did.”
The waiter arrived setting down a plate of linguini and shrimp in front of Phil and then looked inquiringly at the other two seated at the table.
~~~~
Amadeus frowned as he listened, trying really hard to stay angry about this situation. But eventually he just sighed and pocketed Coulson’s business card. He flipped through the new file as he listened, taking note of the changes and nodding in approval. “Fine… guess that means I’ll be having the linguini and shrimp instead of the lobster fest extravaganza. Oh… and sorry I blew up that helicopter with my walkman. Nothing personal.”
~~~~~~
Yeah, it was official. When they got back to the Clocktower she was going to kill him. Or maybe give him to Alfred for a few days so the man could try and rub off on the teen with no mouth filter. But for that she needed to introduce him to Alfred, and that was something that had yet to happen. Which would mean giving him over to basically a stranger for a bit which… actually….
Outwardly, Barbara just rolled her eyes. She glanced over the file the same time that Cho did. Everything looked alright. She’d need to take a closer look of course. “Can we keep this?” She indicated the folder, closing her menu having decided what she would be eating. “It would be good to have a record. In case something happened…” She pursed her lips for a moment, putting a thoughtful look on.
~~~~~~
“Just don’t do it again,” was Phil’s reply as he began to eat, enjoying the butter sauce. Sitwell had been absolutely right about this place. “Those are rather expensive and we’d made you work it off. What are your plans now that this has been taken care of? I’d like to go back to HQ able to report that you have some kind of mission for yourself that doesn’t involve you getting into more trouble. It would also help your reputation with SHIELD, by the way.”
“Of course, you’re welcome to keep it, and if you have any further questions, just call that number and I’ll discuss them with you.” Phil caught the look and gave her an inquiring one of his own. “Something further you’d like to discuss, Miss…?”