Who: Steve Rogers kidfrombrooklyn & John Wick johnwick What: Discussing the Citizen’s Watch; Random Matchup When: Friday, May 8, late afternoon Where: Test City Police Department Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Likely low Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
~*~
The Marker had disappeared in the night, taking with it all the creatures that had ravaged Test City over the past few days. Steve was glad to see them gone, even with how many they’d managed to tear through. There were quite a few residents who were capable of dispatching the creatures, many of them possessed of superior strength and speed. He was grateful for it, and decided it would probably be best to discuss the possibility of a longer term Citizen’s Watch with the Sheriff. With one of the other workers watching over the General Store for an hour, Steve took his lunch break and made his way over to the Police Station.
Test City was a lot of things, but he liked to look at it as a chance to finally take some time for himself and work through the issues he was only skirting at home. Steve had failed his best friend, became depressed after his death, tried to join him in the afterlife, only to wake up seventy years later to a world that was so confusing and nonsensical in so many ways. Add to it that a few years after that, he discovered his best friend was still alive, turned into a living weapon, and jumped after him when he fell from the Insight Carrier.
When it mattered, Bucky had jumped after him. After all the conditioning, all the missions, something inside the Winter Soldier recognized that he couldn’t let Steve die and he jumped. Dragged him to shore.
Living with that guilt was eating away at him, no matter how many times Natasha tried to bring it up. He couldn’t - wouldn’t - listen to it. Steve knew what he was feeling paled in comparison to what Bucky was going through. Even though he tried to give the other man space, it was hard to not linger outside in the mornings and evenings, hoping to run into the man. As he made his way toward the station, Steve had his eyes peeled for Bucky.
Stepping inside the building narrowed his focus down to finding the Sheriff. Discussing the Citizen’s Watch seemed prudent.
“Hi, I’d like to speak with Sheriff Wick please? My name is Steve Rogers. I helped organize the Citizen’s Watch during the attack this past week,” he explained to the officer at the desk.
She told him to take a seat and then picked up her phone, no doubt paging the Sheriff. Steve had no problem waiting, so he took a seat on the wooden benches and let his gaze wander, taking in the details of the station.
~*~
People paging him was on his list of novelties this Test City had tossed his direction. John Wick wasn't really a man who was paged to attention on any matter. There were protocols involved in calling him in. Currency was typically exchanged up front; no one came to a meeting with him without realizing what they were there for, how much it would cost, and the impact of hiring him.
He'd been out of the game for a lifetime with his wife, but he had gone back into it without breaking stride.
Some things a man never forgot how to do.
"Captain Rogers?"
He waited in front of the man -clean-cut, very All-American looking, exactly the type of look he'd have expected from someone with his record- without offering his hand. Shaking hands wasn't typically a Russian custom. John didn't disclose his own nationality often, but people knew who he worked for and with. It was known. There was an entire department of the FBI who did nothing more than catalog his associations on a chart.
At least he was making jobs for honest Americans, hhm?
"Would you like to talk in my office or would you prefer to take a walk outside? I can't say much for the scenery right now, but we have people working clean-up 24/7. Volunteers mostly. Some locals. We'll have this place looking fit to live in soon enough."
~*~
“Yes, sir,” Steve replied automatically, the words spoken before he even finished turning his full attention on the man standing in front of him. He stood, but stopped himself from holding out his hand. The sheriff would’ve held out his hand if he wanted to shake. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Sheriff. If you wouldn’t mind, I would prefer to walk outside while we talk.” It was the warm weather, the feeling of the sun on his back was a feeling he’d never get tired of.
He waited for the sheriff to take the lead, following him out of the station and onto the sidewalk. “I’m glad that the clean-up is going so quickly. We’re very lucky to have so many residents who are willing to help during such an occurrance. I have to say, I haven’t seen anything quite like that before. Those creatures were entirely focused on death and destruction. I’ve seen my fair share of bad guys threatening the world, but this was new.” Steve was happy to follow whichever path the sheriff set for them, walking casually, even though his posture was military perfect. That was something no one would ever be able to break him of, he was sure.
“The Citizen’s Watch, I think, could prove useful if something like that ever happens again. One of my friends, Ms Potts, has been to a place similar to Test City, and I think it’s likely that we’ll have more events that threaten the residents.” Steve wasn’t, in any way, trying to say that the police department weren’t capable of handling the safety of the inhabitants, but it was obvious help would be needed during such out of this world threats. It was for the same reason the Avengers existed.
~*~
People wanted to help when things got bad. It was common knowledge the best way to get a group of people together was to either introduce a common enemy or a common ally. This place was trying all of them in some way or another. John had seen his fair share of evil, too. He knew what the captain was talking about when he said he'd never seen anything solely focused on destruction though since most of the evil he'd seen had been driven by greed.
Walking outside with him, John let his hands hang loose at his sides. It was easier to go for a weapon if his hands were free. He didn't trust anything in this place, not even men who looked like they were the very breath and bone of the American Spirit. He did have a little faith in Pepper Potts however seeing as they'd lived through Composite City together. She had proven to be a valuable friend to have depending on the circumstances.
"I was with her," he allowed, "The place was called Composite City. It was a strange collection of buildings, people from different places. It was arranged similar to Las Vegas. There wasn't anything festive about it. We were constantly under some kind of unknown threat. The one thing I miss having is my house. We had that there. Our homes. This place seems to want us to have as little as possible to see what we're made of."
John Wick was made of more than this place could handle. He was certain of that. His abilities were not in question no matter what this place thought it could throw at him.
"What you're suggesting is we keep a group of civilians ready to rally at the first sign of a threat. Do you really think that's a good idea, Captain? Knowing how people have a tendency to overreact? What criteria would we use to enlist our volunteers? Are we taking anyone? How do we know we can rely on them in a crisis?"
~*~
Sheriff Wick was very difficult to read, which Steve found somewhat disconcerting. He was generally a good judge of character though, and although it was obvious the Sheriff hadn’t been in a traditional law enforcement role wherever he came from, he did care about the people he’d been put in the position to protect. Ms Potts had vouched for him as well, saying he was a consummate professional who was simply trying to find his place in this new city. Steve could understand and respect that, seeing as he’d taken a few years to adjust to the new century he’d found himself in.
“It would be nice to see a familiar place again, though the only place I’ve ever considered home was a second story walk up in Brooklyn during the 1940s. I suppose Test City isn’t much for giving us too many of our personal things. I woke up the other day to my wardrobe from home in my closet and dresser,” he shared, thinking on what it might be like to have his ma’s old apartment. Honestly, for him, it was the people from home that made him feel more at ease. “I’m just grateful that I have the chance to spend more time with my friends and loved ones.” There was no need for him to get into his specific story, particularly if Sheriff Wick wasn’t from a world where superheroes were a normal thing.
Steve understood where the Sheriff was coming from, in terms of how to organize the Citizen’s Watch effectively. “I think a small group of people will be effective, who can handle checking on the other residents whenever a crisis happens. One person per floor of the apartments, who can make sure everyone has the necessary supplies they need. It might also be helpful to take volunteers to take in any residents if necessary, in case someone is caught unaware and isn’t close to their own apartment.” Every situation would be different, but keeping the residents safe would be a priority as well as dealing with the issue at hand. If the Police Department was given help in one of those areas, Steve thought it would be worth it.
“I’ve already offered to organize it, of course, but members would be vetted by either yourself or another member of the police department. Having that liaison relationship might be the simplest way to go.” Steve glanced at the Sheriff, to attempt to gauge his response. “Ultimately, the Citizen’s Watch would be a way to swell the ranks of the Police Department in times of crisis, to give you extra bodies and hands to direct in the way you feel is most effective to the circumstance.”
~*~
Civilians were hard for John to trust. He tried and failed to imagine how it would feel to make an arrangement he was comfortable with to stay in another person's home during a crisis. Any crisis tended to put him at his worst. No one needed to see him at his worst. Violet would be the kind to stay in another person's home, see to it she was doing what she could to make them feel safe, help them before herself.
He was reminded a lot of his wife when he was with the younger woman.
Steve Rogers was an incredibly heartfelt man. He spoke from a good place with the kind of confidence which came from believing the words coming out of his mouth. There was no doubt in John's mind: this man believes what he's saying is the right thing to do. He thought he could set up a Citizen's Watch which would be effective in the future for the events this place would undoubtedly throw their way.
Composite City had flooded them in, inundated them with hordes of the undead, surrounded them with insanity on all sides as it even stole away their voices. What would Test City send their way? What kind of tests were they to be subjected to while here? Would it be better or worse to prepare people?
John thought once again he was the wrong choice for Sheriff as he had no answers to his questions. He wished he had one percent of Steve Rogers's surety of his own decisions. The best he could do was consider all the risks of letting civilians prepare for a fight where none of them knew the enemy. A faceless enemy was always the worst to fight. John Wick had won too many battles to count; only one person had ever dared to take him to war and they had lost.
Badly.
"I want to see every person we're trusting with the civilian population in terms of safe houses. I want to know anyone who has their own weapons. I want to know make, model, munitions, any information pertinent to what could happen if this place makes us turn on each other. I want you to consider before taking in a volunteer: would I trust this person with my life? If the answer is yes, I want you to look at them again and ask: would I trust this person with the life of my closest friend or family member? That's when you know they're worth having in the ranks."
A man could always value his life less than his family or friends.
John Wick would have died a dozen times to save his wife.
"If you think you can handle it? I'll agree to it. We'll work together. We'll do what we can to prepare for the unknown. That's what we have here, too. Unknowns. The place we were before did things I didn't know were possible to us. I have no idea what kind of tests are coming our way in Test City. I do know I want to be prepared. Any help in that preparation? I'll take it as long as it can be trusted. Caution is a heavy lesson to learn."
~*~
All Steve wanted to do was be able to help the inhabitants of Test City in the event of an emergency without having to scrounge together a team. He had people he trusted already in Bucky, in the Avengers, and in the allies he’d made thus far, so it would be easier to simply call out orders than have to check and assess, making decisions on the fly. He hoped there would be a decent window of time to interview additional members of the Watch, but he would deal with whatever the circumstances were presented. He trusted that between the Police Department and the Avengers, they’d be able to handle most of what might come their way.
Although Steve knew already that he would accept the terms presented by the Sheriff, he took the time to carefully consider his requirements. The only stipulations he was slightly concerned about were the cataloguing of everyone’s weapons and their abilities. While he wasn’t worried about the average inhabitant, Steve was fairly certain there would be difficulty in getting anyone to admit what their advantages might be, nevermind their weaknesses. While he could make reports about the Avengers, did he trust Sheriff Wick with them?
Based on the requirements the other man had listed out, Steve weighed his answers. Did he trust the Sheriff with his life? Yes. Based on what he’d seen thus far and Ms Pott’s recommendation, he did. Did he trust the Sheriff with the person most important to him? With Bucky? That took a few minutes worth of thought. When he came to his decision, Steve stopped them both and gave the other man a warm smile.
“I trust you with the most important person in my life, Sheriff.” He almost offered his hand to shake, but thought better of it before his fingers could do more than twitch. “I’ll start gathering the information you need, though if you wouldn’t mind posting another notice on the network, I’d appreciate it. That way it’s an official request. I’ll take it from there.” Steve inclined his head in thanks. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today, sir. I look forward to working with you.”
With that, he turned and headed back to the General Store to continue with the day’s work. There was suddenly a good bit more for him to do.