angie johnson takes no shit (angelinaj) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-11-05 20:28:00 |
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Coulson liked lunch times, it was the time of day when everyone was out and about for the most part and it meant that he had a good chance of meeting someone new. His bosses wanted him to discover if the rumoured Agency did actually exist here and he was going to do it but he was going to do it his way. His way involved getting the people here to trust him and open up to him. It was better than forcing information out of people and if he did the latter it was unlikely he would be able to come back here either for work or holidays because it was a nice area.
He was currently looking for somewhere to grab some lunch when he spotted a familiar face. Athos and he had worked together a number of years ago when there was a suspected mole trying to infiltrate the CIA. Coulson appreciated the other man’s attitude and found him good to work with. He hadn’t actually realised he was here in town though. “Hello stranger,” he said approaching Athos with a smile upon his face.
Athos was on the lunch run for the office, luckily it was only him, D’Artagnan and Sharon in that day so it shouldn’t be too hard to find something to satisfy them all. Though he was hoping for something a little more interesting than sandwiches, he just wasn’t sure what yet.
Hearing the voice he turned and gave a small smile and nod, “Phil Coulson, I don’t believe it” he said, “How are you? And what on earth are you doing here?” he asked in interest.
Coulson was glad to see his friend again. The two of them had worked closely together years ago and he had always enjoyed the time they spent together. He was therefore glad to see him here, plus it was always good to see a familiar face. “I’m well enough,” he said with a nod and a smile. “I’ve been sent here for work to investigate things. Truthfully I’m just glad to be away from the big guys,” he said with a grin. He loved his work, there was no denying it but there were only a few people who were more senior to him that he liked working for.
“What about you? Last I heard you were still in Washington. Or was it New York? I can’t remember now,” he admitted. It was hard to keep up with what people were doing and it had been at least a decade since he had seen Athos.
It had been a long time but Athos was pleased to see Coulson too. He respected the man quite a lot, they’d worked well together and Athos appreciated his professionalism. It was all too rare a thing to find someone good at their job who wasn’t doing it all to impress and rise through the ranks. Phil Coulson actually cared.
“Well there are definitely worse places you could have been sent” Athos nodded, “Good place to get away from things here” Although other things would no doubt keep him on his toes.
“It was DC” he confirmed, “New York before that. Figured it was time for a bit of a change and the west coast seemed to offer that”
Coulson nodded, “That was it. It’s hard to keep up where everyone is but I do try,” he admitted with a shrug. “How did you like it there?” he asked curiously. “I do understand the need for a change. I do love working in DC but it is lovely out here too. What are you doing here? Still with the same company?” he asked not naming the CIA directly, he knew better than to do that especially in the public.
“Understandable. You have a lot of people to keep track of” Athos replied, Phil had got along with pretty much everybody. “I loved it, training the newbies has always been enjoyable but in DC I had some pretty incredible surroundings” he admitted, “Different company. Private security, they made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Still offer my services as a consultant when the need arises” or when the CIA called.
“True, but still a shame to lose track of you,” he said with a flash of a smile. “I understand that, I don’t get to see the new people all that much unfortunately,” Coulson said with a shake of his head. “Is it any good?” he asked curiously. “I understand that, you can never truly get away from a business like ours though.”
Athos returned the smile with a small one of his own, remembering how easy it had been to enjoy the other mans company. “It’s different” Athos said, “A lot more paperwork than I expected. I miss the field sometimes. But like you say we never really get away, no matter what we do. So how long are you here for? Is it a long term assignment?”
“That’s true and paperwork is always a pain. Well if you want you’re always welcome to help me out?” he offered. “Long term, it really depends. Could be, I hope so it’s rather pleasant here. I was actually sent here to investigate these dreams that have been reported. Most people back home don’t believe them to be real but I do.”
“Sure, let me know when you need me and I’ll do what I can” though of course there would be a slight conflict since Athos’ ‘security job’ was actually for the agency. “It’s not a bad place to live. Stay here long enough and you’ll end up dreaming yourself”
“Of course, I’ll let you know if anything comes up,” he said with a smile. “So far it’s been pretty basic, just observing though. I haven’t told the higher ups half of it though, truthfully. I don’t want to invade people’s privacy too much,” he admitted. “Somehow that wouldn’t surprise me,” he admitted. A part of him wondered if he was already dreaming but he didn’t know for sure at the moment. Could have just been his minds playing tricks on him given everything that he had learned while being here.
Athos nodded, “It’s not really something that’s easily understood until you see and experience for yourself. It sounds a little crazy” he admitted. He’d thought the same to begin with after all. “Just be prepared, they feel a little different. More vivid than normal dreams” he warned.
“That is good to know, no one else mentioned that so I appreciate it. You know me and how curious I get I do need to know everything,” he said with a shrug. “I didn’t believe it really at first but really if you think about it an entire town of people having these dreams and nowhere else? It seems odd and I was inclined to believe it. Not that many people could hallucinate the same thing or pull off a joke this big. I do believe it for real now though.”
“Like I say if I can help I will. Knowing everything about this is going to be difficult though, it seems to be an unknown cause” Athos advised him, “Oh it sounds completely crazy until you have them for yourself. The even crazier part is how quickly you come to accept it all, people you know, things that appear, events that happen. They all become normal. Stick around long enough and you’ll see what I mean” No doubt the county would throw something their way soon enough.
“I expected as much,” Coulson admitted. “I just want to make sense of it all even if I don’t have answers to everything knowing something must be better than nothing?” he questioned Athos with a shrug. That could just be Coulson though, everyone was different after all. “I can understand that. Truthfully, even without having the dreams I’m starting to believe in all of it. The proof I’ve seen and the fact everyone here seems to believe in them makes it hard for me not to.” he admitted.
“You might be a little disappointed with the lack of knowledge” Athos warned, “Making sense of it hasn’t really happened either” But who knows maybe Coulson could see something others hadn’t. “Honestly that’s usually the reaction, you either believe it for the reasons you’ve said or don’t and then change your mind once you’ve experienced them for yourself”
“Perhaps that will be the case but I shall try nonetheless,” he said with a shrug. “Still I do appreciate the warning.” Coulson had come to that conclusion too though he wasn’t all that happy with that. “Makes sense I guess but in many ways I don’t believe it still.”
Coulson, glanced at his watch and then back up. “Unfortunately life is calling me though. It was excellent to see you again though. Perhaps we shall see each other again soon?”
“Well who knows maybe you’ll succeed where others haven’t right?” Athos said, he doubted it but Coulson was tenacious.
“I should head back too before my colleagues start eating each other waiting for their lunch” he nodded, “Absolutely. I want to hear about any progress you make after all” he said, pulling his cell from his pocket and handing it to Coulson, “Drop your number in there and we’ll arrange for a drink or something”
“Perhaps but I doubt it. I will try though and that’s probably a good idea. Hungry colleagues can cause a mess,” he said with a grin. Taking Athos’s phone he added his number and then pranked himself. “There, you go. I look forward to hearing from you again and I will let you know if I do make any progress.” With that he gave Athos a nod of farewell and headed off to do some of the things he had left on his list to accomplish for the day.
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