The Messenger.

A messenger, of sorts.

[caduceusofchaos]

{Unknown 23} Little Bird

[agentoffalcon]

Melanie sighed, “I just asked her if she knew anything about a bank. And maybe some employees. Nothing much. We mostly just talked.”

Evasive enough, she hoped. Not naming names or anything. Just simple things.

[caduceusofchaos]

Caduceus picked apart the information, sighed. If she wanted to know anything about SHIELD- what she assumed the girl was referring to, since the guise was a bank- then she really was an outside party. But none of this was coming off as interesting, so the woman took a step back.

"Fine." Caduceus paused, shook her head. She should go. "Thank you. That's all I wanted to know."

[caduceusofchaos]

[Conversation with {Caduceus}]

"She's asleep, but her interface is still running, ma'am. Chaos is running fine, every sector has successfully opened, and Ouroboros is still allowing us to get in and out of the Network."

"And the servers?"

"Our technicians are still trying to set them up. We can't have her files and everyone else's work jumbled in all of the same place, or else she could potentially die from the overload. Once the server is up, any personnel can start using the emailing interface, as well as anything else the technicians add to put in the Network."

"When should they have that done?"

"By this evening, ma'am. Since we have to have the meeting tomorrow, Tech is staying up until they've got the servers running."

"You told me that there was corruption on the Phase V files. Has Tech been able to assess that?"

"Yes, but they haven't given a diagnosis. She's been in and out of sleep for the last few days, but anytime she is awake, she doesn't want to talk. I haven't been able to debrief her about Chaos. I'm not sure of the affect corruption has on her, but I know she's been running a bit of a fever."

"Keep a close eye on her, Caduceus. She should come to the meeting with us tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am."

[caduceusofchaos]

{☤} {ATROPOS Network: Downloading...}

[Accessing: ATROPOS Network]

[Password? ****************]

[Password: Correct]

[Welcome, Caduceus]

[Downloading…]

[Folder Name: Lǫy̛a̡͢͠l̕ ̴I͏nd̢ivį̸̀d͢͠u͡͏a̶l̡҉s]

[Download Status: 99% Complete]

[Proficient Clearance Level needed to complete download.]

[Would you like to complete download? Hit enter to proceed.]

{Don't do it. Caduceus, listen to us.}

[\enter]

{No--}

[Run\cmd]

[C:\Network\ATROPOS>taskkill /f /im atropos.encrypted.loyalindividuals]

[Error: The folder “atropos.ecrypted.loyalindividuals” could not be terminated.]

{No no no}

[Proceeding...]

[Download completing...]

[caduceusofchaos]

{Unknown 23} Little Bird

[agentoffalcon]

Well fuck. She took the pictures, scrutinizing them. They were definitely her and Olive. “We met at a club. I wanted to get back in touch with her.” She decided to tell the story that she’d given Olive, just in case.

[caduceusofchaos]

Caduceus wanted to sigh. She knew that was a lie, or else Ouroboros would have told her otherwise. There was no other proof of Olive talking to this girl anytime sooner. But she held in her frustration, shaking her head instead.

"I'm not asking for much. I'm only asking what happened that night, why you were asking for help from her."

[caduceusofchaos]

{Unknown 23} Little Bird

[agentoffalcon]

Melanie stayed expressionless while her brain processed. Who had gone to the hospital? Who had she talked to recently? Aside from T…. shit, Olive. Or Constance Green. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

[caduceusofchaos]

Caduceus felt around for the emotions around her. She could read past the expressionless face. Taking out a few folded up photos from her pocket, Caduceus unfolded them and faced them toward Melanie, reaching them out at a distance that Melanie could grab from. Pictures of Melanie and Olive, sitting together in the cafe that night. "I think these say otherwise."

[caduceusofchaos]

{Unknown 23} Little Bird

[agentoffalcon]

The woman was following her, and Melanie knew that. So she walked towards a more abandoned part of town, where no one would notice them, and she spun on her heel, “Who are you? What do you want?”

[caduceusofchaos]

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Caduceus replied, stopping a lengths away from Melanie. "Caduceus. Another agent from another alignment. You've been in contact with someone under our own watch, and she recently took a trip to the hospital. We're trying to understand just why you were in contact with her."

[inboxideas]

For every '☠' I get I will give you a medical fact about my muse.

Injuries, allergies, illnesses, medications they take regularly, ect…

submitted by anonymous

[alwaysthedelight-archive-blog]

-

     ”Fella goes t’the pet shop, y’see, asks how many budgies they’ve gottin stock. 99 he’s told, says t’them t’give ‘im th’whole lot. So they do, ‘e pays fer them, then ‘e leaves. Goes t’a tailor shop, yeh, has himself 99 pockets sewn inta this jacket. So ‘e puts one budgie t’each pocket; bleedin’ dosser jumps off th’bloody post office buildin’. 

     ”When ‘e hits th’ground layin’ there all writh-y n’groanin’ stupid blighter ‘e is, a bloke passin’ stops n’asks ‘im wha’ happened. ‘Don’t know, sir’, ‘e says,’ but tha’s th’last time I try budgie jumpin’.’ “

[caduceusofchaos]

Caduceus listened intently, keeping up with his accent. At the end of it, when the punchline came, it took her a moment before she began to smile. She was shaking her head as well, almost regretting just how she didn't take offense to it.

"That's the worst joke," she started, but her smile said otherwise. "I mean, it's just... wow, okay," Her social skills weren't on par with what Ouroboros had, that could be stated well enough. "You're funny. Kind of."

[alwaysthedelight-archive-blog]

+open

     ”Oi; gotta joke fer ya.”

[caduceusofchaos]

"Hm? Oh- okay." [She would have bothered to say something about telling jokes to strangers, but honestly, her pass down this street hadn't been an unconscious one. So she stopped and turned toward the man she'd only really spoken to once, listening and anticipating what he would say next.]

[caduceusofchaos]

{Unknown 23} Little Bird

[agentoffalcon]

Melanie had decided not to spend the night with T, choosing instead to go home, take a bath, and go to bed. She’d spent all day with him, and she felt gross. At least his fever had broken.

She walked out of the building, feeling like something was amiss, but not knowing exactly what. She noticed a dark haired woman smoking, not unusual for the area, she supposed.

She walked quickly, hoping to come across as a normal teenaged college student leaving her boyfriend’s place. Her hand felt comfort on the knife in her sleeve, though.

[caduceusofchaos]

Caduceus looked up as she heard quick footsteps to the left. She caught a flare of blonde hair, and let the girl walk several paces down the block before she started in the same direction. The girl was a bit too far to feel her emotions, but what empathic footprint was left felt just a little tense. Caduceus wondered if the girl had a weapon concealed on her, and assumed she did- not that she had come with a weapon of her own. It might have seemed a little irrational, but Caduceus rarely met others with a weapon on hand. She didn't want to look like that much of a threat.

Caduceus continued to trail the girl, keeping some distance between them. This little pursuit would come to some ends eventually, she knew, but Caduceus would elongate it to whatever means necessary.

[caduceusofchaos]

{Unknown 23} Little Bird

The GPS coordinates had lead her to a neighborhood block.

This.. wasn't so bad. Everywhere else would have been worse. Emotions weren't such a problem here, when all of the footprints were old and dull. Waiting here wasn't hard, she just needed to look like she was doing something semi-productive. So she lit a smoke, bumming around at the curb.

Unknown 23. Blonde, brown eyes, almost her height. That's the depiction Ouroboros had given her, and the photos she had taken had helped as well. She knew what the girl would look like, though she only half-knew what she could be up against.

All she had to do was wait.

Caduceus looked at the time. Half an hour had passed, and she was beginning to wonder if the girl was staying over at this flat for the remainder of the night. In cigarette-time, she had burned through three by now. Maybe she should slow down.

Maybe she should be patient.

But she needed some answers, and she knew this girl, whoever she was, might have some. Better than what little she could pull from Olivia's mind.

[caduceusofchaos]

[Call From {Echnida}]

"We should send in someone better. Phaedrus Jasper, he’d be good at this. He could alter her perception completely.

"I know it’s a risk, but- but should we take further measures to make this work?

"It is a bit too much of a risk, isn't it… Well...

"I've thought about breaking into her apartment. Ouroboros could get into the computer, extract files that we wouldn't be able to obtain otherwise. It’d be easy."

"I’ll do that tonight. ‘Nurse McOwens’ has this Friday off. It’s perfect.

"Oh, Echnida? Yes, ah, I think the Intel has finally downloaded onto the Network. Yes, that one. Ouroboros told me about it the other day, she was concerned there was corruption.

"Once the files are downloaded completely, she’ll tell me. I’m sure she’ll be surprised. Her parents, they never said anything about it to her, did they?

"It’s a big step to take. I know everyone we have can pull it off, but…

"I’ve been waiting for eight years, I know you've been waiting longer, ma'am. We'll work diligently until we've had our success- we all will.

"I’ll tell you what has come through soon."

[caduceusofchaos]

{The Subject} Whispered Beneath the Waves

"You're asking me to do something very risky, Echnida...

"I understand, but if someone comes in? It's not going to be normal family coming in, it's going to be--

"...Yes, ma'am, of course."

Caduceus finished the call, walking into the hospital building to head up to Olivia's floor. It was late; the night shift was in, and Caduceus was one of the few nurses on hand. She smiled at the nurse at their station as she passed before heading down Olivia's hall. The woman knocked on her's door, peaking inside. No one was with her, not right now; her brother wouldn't be here until after work, and his shifts seemed to end late.

Caduceus walked over to Olivia's bed, sitting in a chair next to her, scooting it closer. She took Olivia's hand carefully in her own, holding it tight as she closed her eyes. It was like a torrent of emotions, all fizzled and twisted by the ongoing coma. It wouldn't be easy to find out just how Olivia ticked, but that wasn't what Caduceus was going for.

No, Caduceus wanted to instill some moral into Olivia, things that would stay deep in Olivia's mind when she woke up again. To take apart and rebuild, really. The taken apart notion was already done for her; Olivia was here, unable to defend herself in her current condition.

All she needed was a memory, and Caduceus searched Olivia's head for something that would work just right for this. Something SHIELD related, a trigger of sorts. Olivia needed to remember one thing, and one thing only--

SHIELD was what she feared. They were the ones that would end her, if she wasn't careful. And all of the mess she made once she recovered, whether it be doubling for FALCON or for ATROPOS, was justified.

You're going to bend for our purposes, Olivia, Caduceus thought as she worked her way around the haze of the coma, trying to find a soft spot in the girl's mind.

[caduceusofchaos]

{Jacob Grant Heugh} Meetings

[cutoffthehead-deactivated201610]

-

     [It’s not a place he frequents often, nor would he want to for the namesake of better places. Honestly he doesn’t like to come here, but yet here he is; here because it’s not the few blocks from his new apartment  {he can’t stand looking at that house anymore} and he doesn’t see the familiarity in those faces {can’t meet the eyes that think they have tomorrow, next month} strewn in the here and there to the four corners of this bar who’s name is beyond him now, and this is good.

     It is away, and this is good, as for right this moment, Heugh is not certain he can withstand nearness. 

     He’s not aware of how long he has sat in this booth to nurse the amber drink sitting idle in his glass. Then, he can’t find it in him to very much care. Time’s lost much of the pertinence it once held and it was reasonable, he feels, to have turned his back to what virtue it propagates. It’s like the death of childhood. Time is illusion.

     Can’t control it. So just ride it out. 

     Stop trying to outrun it. 

     ”Not in trouble am I.”

[caduceusofchaos]

She wasn't sure what she was expecting. The empathy wasn't helping, it only made her dangerously intrigued- It was the curiosity brought when a power line falls, and an invisible pull wills you to touch the wire, unsure of whether it would actually shock when touched. Jacob felt like a corrosion of absence and tension to her, but why?

What was going on in his head?

But that was the invisible pull acting up, making her want to know dangerous things. She tried to smother away the curiosity, clearing her throat. Jacob was dangerous, solely by his position in HYDRA. It didn't matter if she was here to find out what was wrong- she shouldn't push, or further, try to touch him.

She didn't want to know what she would find in that mind of his. Then again, if he beat around the bush, a grab of the hand or wrist to use her empathy against him would presumably give her an answer that HYDRA would see as sufficient.

But she didn't want to know, nor did she want to know the consequences of a forceful (and threatening) move. It was a matter of business that would lead her to that resort.

Clearing her throat once more, Caduceus spoke up, words forced as she tried to concentrate.

"I'm sure you know the position you're in right now."

Sitting down across from him, Caduceus folded her hands on the table, making an invisible line on the dark wood to remember not to get too close. She looked up at Jacob, shaking her head. "Why haven't you been checking in, Jacob?"

[alwaysthedelight-archive-blog]

        "Oh outta th’country then are ya? Welcome then; I’d b’tellin’ ya th’adjustment’s t’be gettin’ easier as’t goes but I’d be lyin’, unfertunately, m’apologies ‘bout tha’."

       ”Naaah no, me; I’m from a wee bit’f everywhere, love, just here til th’next breeze swings by n’grabs me. N’yerself? Where’s t’yer hailin’ from, then?”

[caduceusofchaos]

"Thank you. I'll get by, though, don't worry. I've moved quite a bit before this transition as myself, so I think I can cope."

"I wish I could say the same, it sounds like fun, moving when you want to, rather than out of necessity. I moved down from Canada. There might not be a sea parting us, but America truly is quite different."

[alwaysthedelight-archive-blog]

           ”Always wertha shot, anyway. Ya’d be th’ferst I’d met love, bless ya. A bit new t’the place ain’t y’then; askin’ a question like tha’.”

[caduceusofchaos]

"Of course, it's my pleasure. The truth is, it's my first week in America. I'm trying to get used to this place, but it's a bit difficult."

"Are you from here yourself?"

[alwaysthedelight-archive-blog]

+open

     ”Kiss me y’fool.”

[caduceusofchaos]

"Um, that's not necessary. Just trying to be a good Samaritan, all that."

[She hands him back his wallet, the one she had just pick-pocketed herself for the sake of finding some reason to talk to him. Feigning the act of seeing the wallet and picking it up to hand it back to him wasn't difficult.]

"Do New Yorkers typically not hand back dropped wallets?"