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Tweak says, "OHHH! What a beauty!"

preston rawlings, psychic accountant (ex_clerk820) wrote in rooms,
@ 2014-04-01 20:14:00

Entry tags:

!hotel, *log, bucky barnes, natasha romanoff, peggy carter, preston rawlings, shae o'malley, steve rogers

[Marvel Spies Meet n' Greet. The Hotel.]
[After his conversation with Steve, Natasha, and Bucky, Preston agreed to meet in the hotel as a sort of unofficial representative of the new arrivals. Most of the new arrivals were not at all interested in being represented, but Preston, being Preston, and a secret optimistic bureaucrat at heart, wanted everyone to avoid outright antagonism if at all possible.

It being Captain America coming to the meet played a big part in the reality of him standing there, looking so much the Boring Official White Guy in a Suit that it hurt, and trying not to imagine all the ways this could go wrong depend on which version of these people were here. But Preston had the advantage of remembering Tony's opinions on Steve, if not really Natasha and Bucky, and despite the complete catastrophe of the threats of file-pulling and dossiers, he was willing to go on faith.

A little faith. The rest of him was all non-faith, and non-faith was experience, cynicism, and maybe a dash of recent trauma thanks to the last attempt on his life, which happened only hours before he ended up in the hotel for good. He thought about Saint as he rounded the corner, grateful that the guy isn't going to be around on this date. The non-faith is taking the form of Gwen in his ear and watching from his lapel, and probably a couple more spies lurking around the lobby just in case things went bad. Preston would have preferred everyone stayed safely anonymous, but he wasn't about to order people around if they wanted to show up.

He glanced around nervously, hoping Reece wasn't waiting around feeling trigger-happy, conflicted about whether he wanted to see Shae, who he didn't really know that well. On the one hand more faces meant less alone. On the other hand more faces could get shot (or, more likely 'brought in for questioning') if this was a bad idea.

Preston sighed, shook out his jacket, and sat on one of the dusty cushions in the hotel lobby.]

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Re: Hotel: meet n' greet

shomalley
2014-04-02 04:41 am UTC (link)

[Shae had been in lobby for a good fifteen minutes before Preston got there. As she had promised, she was wearing a hat with her hair shoved up under it. Why she wanted to come, she had no idea, she didn't know Preston really but part of her couldn't let him face these people alone. Maybe it was her way of making up for what she'd done when she'd compromised Steve. Hell maybe she just wanted to see Captain America. Trying to look as if she belonged there, she opened the book she'd brought with her and started reading, only looking up when the elevator door opened and Preston walked out. Not long after that, the other contingent arrived. Shae nearly dropped her book when she saw that Captain America was indeed dressed like well..Captain America. Seriously? This was going to be interesting. She shifted a bit so she could hear and wondered if Preston had spotted her. She didn't think so but if he had, he hadn't given it away.]

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Re: Hotel: meet n' greet

gunsandlipstick
2014-04-02 06:07 am UTC (link)

[Peggy followed soon behind, and while the hotel lobby does not jar her in the way it should outwardly, Peggy does give a moment of consideration to the surroundings, enough to linger and let Agent Romanoff and Steve make their way to the lobby. Never having a shared mind with someone in the Hotel, she has never actually seen anything like this. She has seen plenty in her lifetime, but a hotel with doors that open to different worlds (including her own) was something new, something that had her take moments to glance around before heading down to the lobby.

She is out of military grades, but there is a crispness to her appearance -- black patent leather heels, a clean white blouse buttoned up to an appropriate place, a deep brown pencil skirt. Her loose curls are pinned back from her face, and her lips are rouge red. She comes upon the scene in that signature commanding officer stiffness, suitcase in hand. A brief glance for the nervous man who brought them here and for Steve in his red, white and blue.] Agent Margaret Carter.

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Re: Hotel: meet n' greet

foundling
2014-04-02 06:58 am UTC (link)

[Steve notices the woman in the hat, because, well, the hotel is usually empty, and a woman with a book, seated nearby, giving no notice to Captain America and Black Widow arriving... was suspicious. It's not an arrogant thought, but a practical one. He looks at her, briefly, then turns his attention back to the circle of worn-out chairs.

If she's part of a contingency plan, that's fine with him.

When Peggy introduces herself, Steve can't help but (okay, somewhat unprofessionally) smile at her. She looks good in her entirely practical and appropriate outfit and her red lipstick. He gestures toward her freely.] Agent Carter has worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. -- almost since its inception, alongside Howard Stark, and she's a damn good with a gun.

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Re: Hotel: meet n' greet

wintercame
2014-04-02 02:50 pm UTC (link)

[Bucky follows the rest of them, taking up the rear, blue eyes quickly doing a sweep of the area. He's paranoid and trained for noticing the things other people didn't, and he assumed a group of spies weren't coming in blind. He'd be disappointed if they did. His arm was extremely conspicuous when it was showing so instead it was covered up like usual with a long jacket and gloves. He didn't wear flashy clothes, choosing instead to look like he could blend into the crowd without any trouble.

But for someone who knew how to read people, there were shadows in his eyes, a coldness that came with trauma and experience and constant suspicion. Still, he had at least a tolerable conversation with the man briefly, so he nodded firmly in his direction.] Bucky Barnes.

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Re: Hotel: meet n' greet

ex_clerk820
2014-04-03 12:26 am UTC (link)

[Preston was aware of Shae, but all that was really important was that nobody there got a really good look at her, and there wasn't any reason for them to do so unless it all went horribly wrong. He took a little bit of comfort from the idea that he had allies around somewhere and he tried not to fuss about their welfare, even in his head. Judging from the first few minutes of conversation, no "horribly wrong" was immediately pending. He hoped. Preston was terrible at fieldwork. He kept treating this like interdepartmental cooperation. It's what it felt like to him.

Preston was very aware of things like style and hemlines (not that there was any evidence in his own assembled but otherwise unremarkable appearance, and he figured Peggy for high-level military intelligence as soon as she walked up. Again it was the stride and the shoulders, except he was extremely impressed by the height of her heels, which said something about her total comfort with her appearance. Preston envied that. He nodded politely at Peggy and indicated more seats. If nobody sat down, he wasn't planning on being offended.

Bucky was a little more worrisome. Preston read the old tolerance for violence in the soldier's eyes, and there was a toughness about him that reminded Preston of foot soldiers just off the planes from the desert. Such men were to be treated with respect and caution, and the faint touch of sympathy to Preston's alert, knowing eyes was fleeting but easily present. A second nod, and he turned back to Steve.]

Good to meet you all. Ash is a good name for me, right now. [And, to trained spies, the use of Preston's birthname on his own lips tended to be confusing. The body tells were a mix of screaming truth and total lie. He hated being called 'ash,' but it was helpful.]

Tell me what you're most worried about in our world. [He used 'our' intentionally. A glance at Peggy.] Nothing classified. Just generally.

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Re: Hotel: meet n' greet

foundling
2014-04-03 03:56 am UTC (link)

Ash. It's a pleasure. [Does he notice the tell? Only partially. He knows he's not getting the entire truth, but he can sense a part of it there. But he can't make heads or tails of it at the moment.

Steve is still seated. He leans forward, elbows on his symbolic blue knees (blue stood for perseverance, justice, and vigilance), to engage more actively in the conversation. If they're done with introductions and all. Captain America's expression is a mixture of concern and earnestness. With the mask gone, he's all the more easier to read too, which is either a strategic move on his part to engender more trust, or he really was just hot. He dips his head forward only briefly to try to straighten the gold of his hair back into place.] That's -- ah, a loaded question. Our general worries are for the safety of the people of our planet. We've been attacked recently, several times over, by forces big enough for SHIELD to call in myself, Tony Stark, Thor, Dr. Banner, and Agents Romanoff and Barton.

[Here he pauses. He straightens his spine and sits up in the chair. The air of the lobby filters in sunlight and dust, and tickles his nose. Steve rubs an eye.] I apologize for any offense I caused in my [...] post.

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Re: Hotel: meet n' greet

ex_clerk820
2014-04-06 06:15 am UTC (link)

[Preston's expression twisted slightly, as if in pain. He fucking hated being called Ash. It's so undeniably him, though. It's the best truth/lie he's got.]

None of us are big forces. We're all just people. I don't know how much we could help. [Preston's right hand came up toward his temple, like he wanted to massage a headache, but then he stopped himself and dropped his hand into his lap.

Preston raised his eyebrows at Steve's apology. Interesting.] That's nice of you. Thank you. [Preston knew how to accept apologies gracefully. He never grinds salt into the wound, but he waited to see if Steve wants to address it further, his expression open to the idea.]

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