Ava Anatalya Orlova (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
krasnaya_vdova) wrote2017-07-04 12:21 am
krasnaya_vdova) wrote2017-07-04 12:21 am
Open RP Post!
- Leave me a starter, an idea, a picture, whatever you like! Give me as much or as little detail as you like and I'll work something out!
- No brainwashing or related themes without prior discussion, but otherwise have at! I can work her into any canonpoint.
- M/F for shipping, open to anything for friendship.
- Open to anyone, whether or not we've played before, crosscanon, whatever. Give me things!
- Open to smut, but if you're gonna have sexy references in the top level label the subject line pls.
- Hit me up on Plurk (
natalia_vdova) or Dicord (natalia_vdova#0150) or PM if you want to plot something.
For Rumlow
[The mission had gone pear-shaped. Jinx has taken too long so the alarms hadn't been down when Ava surged out the power. She'd managed to get all three of her charges to the extraction point by drawing all the attention to herself, and eventually managed to slip away, but it certainly hadn't been exactly pleasant. She's not really hurt, just singed, blood on the white fabric of her uniform, her hair a mess, and the scorch of fire on her skin. Luckily, there's a safehouse that's not too far away; she doubts she's lucky enough for there to be a shower, but soap and running water, a change of clothes, and some vaguely passable rations are about what she's hoping for right now.
It looks like a normal enough warehouse, but there's a hidden keypad around the side, and Ava types in her code, leaning against the door and then she's stepping inside with a sigh as it clicks locked behind her. She all but immediately strips to the waist, undoing the closures on her bodysuit, leaving the top of it hanging around her waist, rather un-self-conscious. She's got a sports bra on so she's not too concerned, even on the off chance there is someone else around.
She's looking for a spare uniform when she sees him, a familiar face, and that's what makes her self-conscious, in the end. Because she has the look of a mission gone wrong all over her skin, the scent in her hair. Technically, she'd finished the mission- had the data on a USB stick in her back pocket- but it had not been graceful, and everyone at the compound, and probably for a few miles around were on high alert. And she'd wanted to be able to show off how good she was, if she ever saw him again. Competent. And not having half blown herself up to make sure the soldiers with guns stayed on her while she talked the three recruits through the escape plan to the extraction point.]
--Rumlow?
no subject
All he had to do was wait until the cover of darkness. It was too hot to do much more than nap, so he stayed in the SHIELD secret safehouse dozing. And then the explosions had gone off and the racket had been enough to even sit him up as he tried to assess the situation. Everyone, hostile or friendly, went on alert for miles.
A check in with SHIELD to confirm that his mission was still a go informed him that a group of young Academy rookies had blundered in their minor mission. They were not all accounted for, even with the mission being a success, it was also not the skill and tact that SHIELD wanted in a hostile area like this. His mission had just changed designation as moderate to very risky.
Security would be beefed before he could even make an attempt.
His mood soured, but he had told high command he would make a single attempt to reach his target. This mission was too important to not give it a go, so he was back to waiting for the cover of night, staring out the window as the situation devolved gradually. And then as he reviewed maps and recalculated time and angles in his head, the door to the safe house was unlocked and someone came inside. He was supposed to be one of the only agents in the area.
He went still, his sniper rifle at his elbow and ready to be of use, but his hands remained on the map instead. He waited and listened the new person's progress, and he recognized her in the fading light before she even saw him. His little bean-sprout. He would have expected better of her, what with how her uniform and even the manner of her hair made it clear that she was at least part of the reason his mission had just become a lot more difficult.
He watched her, raising an eyebrow.] What did you do, little sprout? That was you, wasn't it?
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She reaches up, brushing her hair back from her face, trying to look a little less of a mess as she stands there, facing him with a sigh.]
They were supposed to have the alarms off before I surged the power. The room with the mainframe is shielded, which meant we were running on a timetable, not radio contact. So I managed to get the data, but given that every alarm on the base went off, I had to cause a lot of noise in order to make sure the recruits made it to the extract.
[Which she'd missed, clearly, is why she's here. The SOP for plan B of a mission gone wrong is to head to the nearest SHIELD safehouse and make contact, wait for an estimation on how to make it back. Or, if you're unlucky, you sit down and map your own way out.
He might note that while she explains how, or rather why things went down the way that they did, she didn't try to dodge the blame. They were her recruits. She doesn't say that she could probably have done it better if she'd been here by herself, because that wasn't the assignment. It was their first significant field experience, acclimating them to field ops in what had been determined to be roughly about their skill level, with Ava there mostly to guide.
So she doesn't pretend that it's not her fault, that she didn't- in some capacity at least- do this. If nothing else, the heightened security? Yeah, that's totally on her. Risks herself to get her team out. She likes them but they feel like- children, sometimes.]
And you can't call me that anymore. I'm not little.
[She tries to sound irritated, but there's clear fondness to the soft words even as she puts her hands on her hips, because he remembered. Remembered her, what he used to call her what feels like an eternity ago.]
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It was almost funny to see her embarrassment, like she knew he would be assessing what she said along with her appearance to make a judgement call of his own on how she had done. He was a veteran agent after all, had participated, ran and even flopped some of his own missions along the way. He understood that not all variables could be controlled and things were bound to go tits up at some point.
He nodded his head, leaning back on the wall and lifting a foot from the floor to set his heel on the edge of his seat.]
And now everyone in the area knows you're here, and now they will go looking for the reason as to why you guys would be in the area. [He sighed heavily, leaning his head back.] You're just a recruit yourself, Sprout. You should have been working as a team to keep things quiet, but nevermind that, the past is the past. You and them will have to deal with the consequences.
[The area would be crawling with people now, and that was not in his favour. He could call it off, but he was senior enough to know what he could and couldn't accomplish. He knew he would try once and then withdraw if it was too dangerous of a situation. SHIELD would be unhappy, but they would rather not cause an international incident either.]
You're little compared to me, so you'll always have to put up with being the little sprout. Still growing after all. [He grinned at her, making it clear he was jesting with her and if she really opposed the name, he would stop. Of course, he might still bring it out here and there just to bug her sometimes.]
So, you've made a mess of things, and I have to run an op alone in the cover of darkness. You're going to help me because you need the experience and we'll consider this part of your penance to your instructors. Might get you less of a wrist slap when you get back State-side.
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She crosses her arms and leans back against the wall with a heavy sigh.] I was team lead, or else there would have been another senior agent as AIC. Coulson just wont let me take my agent qualifiers because he knows I'd pass.
[What, sour about being stuck on the kiddy track? What would give you that idea? She's quiet for a moment, then she drags a hand down her face.]
A couple of them were panicking. It was pretty much their first real mission. First one where people would really shoot back if they messed up, anyway. I wasn't going to take the casualties.
[She knows, that in some cases that's the wrong choice. But while they might be older than her they always felt like kids. That nervousness, that sense that they didn't understand just how bad these things could go. Where people like Hawkeye and Black Widow were all legends and heroes. So she'd gotten them out, pulled what they came for, and gotten out with fire licking at her heels.
She smiles a little when he says she's little by comparison; enough to give away that it probably doesn't bother her as much as she pretends.] I'm not all that little. But sure, I'll go with you. I'm pretty sure we can clean this up, and it'd be nice to have someone to vouch for me. On the upside, I'd be surprised if they get the power back online before morning.
[She looks down at her uniform around her waist and sighs.] What's your timetable? I was hoping to at least get cleaned up and maybe even find some clean clothes.
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Oh Little Sprout, you have so much to learn. [He smirked at her.] He's holding you back because he knows you think you're just going to bowl it over. He's trying to teaching you humility, kid. It's not your skills he's questioning, since you would have aced the skills portion the day you were shipped over from Russia.
[It wasn't a mockery on his part, but now he was actually interested in taking her with him so that he could assess her himself. There was something there within her that Coulson didn't trust yet, and that was intriguing to him. For everything else he disliked about Coulson, the guy was an excellent judge of character and readiness when it came to missions. There were very few that slipped through the cracks with the guy, so he would take the refusal for Ava to take the exam at face value and assess himself.
He gestured with a hand to the seat next to the table, thinking she would be better off settling down and resting up like him. When dark fell in an hour, they were going to need to hustle, and while he knew she could, she had already run an operation of her own. She should take a load off while she could, if she had any hope of keeping up with him. He wouldn't hesitate to send her back to the safe house if she wasn't pulling her weight after all.]
It's a good lesson to learn for them, the pressure of real combat that has real consequences. If they were panicking, they had no right to be on that mission.
[To him, it meant they were trained well enough, that they hadn't seen enough combat training to be able to fall back on their instincts. It meant that they were not cut out for STRIKE in their futures, so maybe some boring old office job. At this stage, they should be competent, and it actually annoyed him that they weren't. Someone could have easily been killed with a panicking idiot in the group, and it took too much attention away from the mission itself.
Sorry, but Ava would always be smaller than him. It allowed him to get away with calling her the name he had come up with a long time ago when she had been ushered off the plane into his care, and she had looked huffy and sullen. All the way up to and until he handed her some jellybeans, took her to a baseball game and let her be a kid for a few hours.]
Well, considering I'm the lead on this, you don't have a choice but to follow my orders. So if I say you're going... well, you're shit out of luck. [He grinned at her to take any bite out of his words, despite them being very true.] It's not the power I'm worried about. It's the high alert security that's moving into the area on a sweep.
[He nodded towards the window.] We leave at dark, so you have an hour.
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I'm plenty humble.
[But there's a twist of her lips, something a little playful to it more than an actual complaint. There was a touch of arrogance about her, but it was mostly a defense mechanism, a way to avoid getting close to people. Losing people.
She takes the seat as he gestures to it, allowing herself the space to catch her breath for a moment. Ava had endurance to spare, most of the time, but after what had been an admittedly stressful operation, it's nice just to sit for a bit, watch Rumlow, even if she's sure that she'll have to get moving to get ready soon enough. The idea was probably to have his op follow on the heels of hers, so she knows they'll be packing up soon.]
You're right. [She says it softly, a thinning of her lips as she shakes her head.] I mean, they're good kids, but they're not good enough. They don't understand.
[What combat was really like. What it meant to not be prepared when you stepped into enemy fire. They still got distracted just by the sight of Natasha, or Captain America, enough for her to put all three of them flat on their backs without trying. Ava wasn't a bad teacher, but she was walking a line, and unsure of which side of it Coulson wanted her on. If she was supposed to break them of those bad habits, force them to understand, or if that was one of the things that Coulson was worried about. That she would.
The irony was that all three were technically older than her, and yet to Ava they all feel so much younger. That idealism, that belief that everything will be okay.
He teases her, and she smiles back, meeting his grin with a wolfish one of her own. She'd always liked him, ever since the first time he'd given her jellybeans. Since he took her to a ballgame and bought her a Yankees cap that she still has. He was good to her when he didn't have to be, and she'd always appreciated that.]
I wasn't arguing. [But she smiles, looks out the window and nods.] More than enough time. They have spare uniforms here? Mine's a bit worse for wear.
[And it'd probably be better if she wasn't wearing white like a target marker. Normally she took the symbolism over the practicality, but she wouldn't when she was working with Rumlow. Having him around... it made her care a little more. A little less reckless, and maybe that was a good thing.]
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[He shook his head, but he would allow her that as well. She was young, and she hadn't learned many lessons herself, hadn't learned through many years of experience being put in the situation of the difficult situations. Those would come with time, but he could see Coulson's motivations clearly. She had been trained in Hell, same as Romanoff and still worse in some regards, and there was something to letting her just be a young woman, to work with kids who hadn't been put through the same do-or-die training. Coulson wanted her to understand what being a kid was like.
Watching her, he chuckled at her assessment. For them, learning had come through the terrible realities of their worlds. They had gained more experience because of where they had come from, hand over fist compared to those who had come from safe spaces.]
They are good enough, Ava. You're just better because you were born in frozen Hell and raised in it. [He grinned at her.] Just as I was born in the wet hell of street life. Those kids didn't grow up like we did, but they understand things that we don't. Normal family probably being on top of that list. [Rumlow, as a rule, never discussed his family life or how he grew up. Not when he took Ava to a game, not when he treated her with sugary gifts, not when he called in on her to try to be the lame parent he knew she needed and he could hardly be. Maybe he shared just the briefest of insights because he respected her more as a soldier than the little girl he had looked in on occasionally.
He gestured towards the drawers and the closet that happened to be in this place. There was plenty of supplies for agents in the area, so she should find what she needed to be presentable on the next mission.] You should wear something dark. We'll be skulking through the streets, but go on and find something that fits you. Last thing I need is to explain why an agent in white is on national television.
[He leaned back again, letting her to get on with getting ready as he returned to watching as street security tightened insidiously around the area. They were going to need a good quiet route. Probably a reason to be out and about too. He gave that some thought.]
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When he says that they are good enough she can't help sighing, a twitch of her lips as she looks at him. Because he knows her story, knows where she comes from and what shaped her, and why she's so sharp, even when she tries not to be. To someone like her, nowhere was really safe, even if the Academy was better than most, she still missed her place in the basement of a forgotten YMCA.]
You're right, I guess. [She admits it quietly, and there's a tilt of her head when he mentions normal family being something both of them were missing. He'd never talked about it before, and it makes her wonder what his was like. He'd been one of the few people she trusted, that was good to her back when she was held in custody, back in 7B.] I hardly know what a family is, really.
[It's a quiet admittance, not one that she often talks about. That even what memories she has of her mother-- it wasn't really of a family. It was her mother's tea as she slaved over papers and glowing screens in the lab, being curled under her desk, the heavy sound of the soldiers' boots on the concrete floor. Dancing, but not for pleasure, so her mother could imprint a code into her muscle memory, something they couldn't take away from her. Even Sana's family-- her struggles with her father, his new wife, were more than that. More than she'd ever had. Ivan had never been a father, no matter how much he threw the terms around of family and legacy.
She goes to the closet, sorting through the clothes she finds, trying to find some things in her size. A pair of pants, a long sleeve shirt, some basics that are easy to move in.] I know it's not the most practical. But I wanted something that was different from her. Everyone-- Most people already just see me like I'm part of her. I wanted something I could be myself in.
[She catches herself, corrects herself, as she tosses the words over he shoulder, because she's never felt that way with Rumlow. Maybe it's because she knew him when she was younger, but she never felt like he was judging her against the shadow of Natasha Romanoff The Black Widow. She was starting to learn that she couldn't be her, starting to get to where she took what she had and tried to figure out who that made her, but she could still see it in peoples' eyes.
When she walks back, she has the pants on, pulling her shirt on over the sports bra she wears under her usual gear, her boots left on the floor for the moment. She walks over to the alcove with the first aid kits, and after a little digging around turns up a few of the SHIELD standard protein bars and a couple bottles of water, which is what she settles down with.
She waves one in his direction, though it's half joking. They're not known for their taste, and the consistency is rather like congealed sawdust. Yummy.]
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[He could lecture her all about it, but what was the point. She would learn that someday, and there was a part of him that thought she would do better trying to be a teenager with moodiness and quiet rebellion rather than striving for adulthood so quickly. She had never been a kid, so why not take a moment to be a teenager? What he wouldn't give to go back to those days where he had so much freedom and fear and uncertainty. It had been terrible and wonderful all at the same time.
He swung his legs off the side of the bed and set his rifle aside so that he could bring himself to his feet and stretch as she moved off to the closet. He knew that there was a connection between her and Romanoff, though the details weren't clear. For better or worst, she would never been Romanoff; she would always be Ava.]
From my experience, the more you try to distance yourself from the shadow you're forced to live under, the more people will make comparisons. And I'm not telling you to wear black to be her; I'm telling you because I need someone to run this operation with me. [He knew the difference between Romanoff and Ava; hell, he had taken her to a ballgame, had watched her slowly melt with the experience of just being normal and being treated as just another young girl. No one had seen her as the Soviet shipment there; cheering for universal, people were happy, families all together and no one had thought anything of another older man and young woman; he was old enough to pass as her father after all.
He lifted his hand to take a protein bar from her, only so he could playfully tap the top of her head with it a moment later.]
Stop worrying like all you'll ever be is Romanoff. You're not, and you never will be. It's this worrying that's holding you back because you do yourself a disservice fretting. You're Ava, she's Romanoff. [And then he resorted to obnoxious kissy lips and a high pitched proud daddy voice.] Always be my little sprout, soon to leave the nest and become a real agent.
no subject
And there are mechanations behind the scenes that she doesn't see, of course. But there are also things that she doesn't quite know how to explain. That she's their leader, their teacher, they're not partners, not really. That when she tried to explain a little bit of who she was, she just felt more alone. They'd wanted some fantastical superhero story and all she had to offer was the darkness of the world they were stepping into. They couldn't see it yet. She could make them, of course, but she didn't want to be that person.
To be to them who Natasha had been for her, hurting her with that self-righteous belief it was for her own good.
The truth is that she doesn't really know how to be a teenager. She never feels like one, and her team, who aren't so much teenagers as young twenty-somethings, just make her feel older. Part of it is Natasha's memories, and learning to live with that, but the other part is just- she's been through so much. She was never the sort of people they were, and that's hard to connect to on a genuine level.]
Oh, I know. But you were bad-mouthing my white uniform. [She smiles, gives him a playful sort of look. This is easier for her. She feels less like a freak talking to Rumlow than she does back at the Academy, where she's the one with powers, the one that knows Natasha, somewhere between monster and idol.
He takes the protein bar and she can't help laughing as he taps her with it, a roll of her eyes. But even if she doesn't quite know how to say it, she appreciates that affirmation.] I know, but it's hard. I'm working on it. [And then she rolls her eyes, with a laugh, mimes throwing one of her protein bars at him as she sighs.]
I'm glad it's you here. [Even if the little sprout thing half frustrates her, it's no worse than how Sana used to call her myshka. Teasing, affectionate, something she allowed him because he mattered. Even years later, he still does, even if the dynamic between them feels different- more someone she understands, less an authority figure, even if he does outrank her.]
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[And yes, he knew for a fact that Ava was a special case, that she would always be a special case even in the Academy. She wasn't there because she needed more training, not really. She was there in order to be hidden in plain sight but to eventually allow her opportunity to get closer to Romanoff when the time was right. SHIELD needed to think they know what she could do, to think they had a leash on her for the time being. Soon enough, she was be let off leash and it would be HYDRA that would be in control of where she pointed those unique set of skills. For now, they all had to play soldier.
Maybe after this, he could bug Coulson in his own way to let him take her out on more 'adult' missions. This was an opportunity where he could justify saying that she needed more advanced field training because she wasn't getting it at the Academy. He figured Coulson wouldn't like that little dig and maybe even give him leave to make an ass of himself, but he never would. Ava was too good.]
It looked more grey than white when you walked in. [He moved to seat himself on the edge of the bed again, taking a little poke at her oddly fun mission with the noobs.] See, look at all this personal betterment that you're doing for yourself already. And you know you can just be you around me.
[He unwrapped his own protein bar and take a bite of it. He was so used to the taste by now that it was just mechanical for him.] I'm glad I'm here too. I am amazing company. And don't forget to take a piss before we go.
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It seems like a simple thing, but there are pieces wound up in it, of who she is versus the sort of person people like Coulson and Natasha want her to be. It's like they want to unwind the things that have been done to her, that she's gone through, while Ava already struggles to find ways to own it. She tries to be good with the team they've given her, but that has its own difficulties.
And so it's easier to not dig into it. At least not right now; not when there's another mission right at the door and more than anything she wants Rumlow to see her as someone other than the child she was before. Wants to be good enough. She doesn't know about HYDRA, not really. She thinks it's all the same, that SHIELD is SHIELD, that however much they dress it up as saving the world there's still a darkness, but it's one that she stepped into almost willingly.
So instead, she laughs a little when he talks about it looking more grey than white and shakes her head.] You're right, didn't really hold up to fire as well as I would have liked.
[There's not a burn on her, or so much as a slight redness to her skin, just the grey smudge of ashes.] I know. But you're one of the few. Everyone else has someone they want me to be, and I'm not.
[She unwraps her own protein bar, and much like Rumlow takes a few bites without complaint or reaction. It wasn't like she'd been raised on fine dining, so she's never had much issue with them. Not between the MREs and the soup kitchen fish sticks. There's a hint of amusement as he declares himself to be amazing company and Ava just shakes her head, giving him a look, quiet with weight.]
Don't worry- I'll be all cleaned up and ready for the mission when it's time to go.
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And her life would always be a struggle until she found her place. That was for her to settle into, and it would come with who knew what kind of factors, but he would be there to watch her. Depending on how this mission played out, he thought he might even request her being put on the team now and again for some real team chemistry and mission experience. He would go through the grape vine so that it would ruffle Coulson's feathers too much.
So it had been fire? Rumlow thought it had been, and it didn't surprise him with how much people in the streets were on the move to either look or add more security. At least she hadn't lost an agent. That was a headache he would have had to take care of immediately since they couldn't have an international incident.]
Then you have to show them who you are. Don't let anyone change who you are. [In this gig, that was a distinct possibility. However, she was special and there was no telling if some of the rougher types of brainwashing could effect the other aspects of her. He didn't think so, but he wasn't about to put that to the test either.] Remember, the only one you have anything to prove something to is yourself.
[He ate his protein bar and smirked at the look that he was given. He nodded his head and rose from his seat to move around the place, assessing the area beyond the safehouse as the dust was settling and the reality was spreading. It was going to be a tough mission, but they'd get it done.]
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But Rumlow seems to. And that makes her breathe a little bit easier. She smiles at him, a little lopsided as he tells her not to let anyone change who she is. It's something she struggles with, fights against. Sometimes it seems like it would be better if she just tried to be Natasha instead of herself. If that's not what the people around her really want. But, she doesn't-- want to be that. She's been fighting for so many years against Natasha's shadow, and she's too stubborn to give in.]
I'm working on it. [She says it with a smile; small, but genuine, warm. Something just for him, for being different from everyone else. For thinking that who she was-- that it was worth it. She doesn't really know how to put that into words, so she just lets that hint of a smile be enough for now.] Thanks. And don't worry, I wasn't planning on showing off. Figure I've done enough of that for one night.
[A little self-deprecating, but it's easier to joke about it than admit that she does want to prove something to him. That sometimes that feels easier than trying to prove things to herself. So, she lets him assess the area, and in the mean time she gets ready after she finishes her bottle of water and her protein bar. Washes her face, brushes her hair and redoes her ponytail, and so on. When she slides up behind him, she actually looks normal again, doesn't stick out like she did when she'd walked in. Just the red hair and those blue eyes that makes her tend to catch peoples' eyes.]
Well, I'm ready when you are.
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The smile was assurance enough that she understood her position. So, he waited and watched beyond their hide out, assessing how the situation was bound to go. He let her have all the time she needed to wash up and straighten herself out for the next mission that they would partake together. He was rising when it seemed she was almost ready and packed up his essentials.
By the time she was ready, so was he. He nodded his head and slung his pack on his back, hid his rifle in among his loose clothing and gestured to the door with his head.]
Mission is an infiltration of a guarded facility and assassination if the target hasn't been moved. We get in and get out as quickly and quietly as possible. If it can't be done because of increased security, we back off and SHIELD will put out feelings to have a second try.
[So he took her out into the streets, which had more people than it probably should this time of night. Some where minding their own business, but others were clearly looking for the source of previous trouble. He kept Ava close to him as if she were a relative, despite her red hair. It looked far less odd for a pair to be walking around and they made good progress down the streets as they weaved their way to the manor they were to infiltrate.
A few stops and starts, a few detours and they managed to arrive.] You think you can blow the electricity in this place? [He was looking up at a power pole as he said it, aware casting everything in darkness would give him a better edge for a shot.]
I can set up if you think you can do it.
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[Her voice is quiet, even, with none of the earlier snark. She could be all teasing and light when it was standing around a safehouse, but when it was mission time she was as businesslike as possible. Fewer chances for mistakes, less invitation for chatter, that something would be missed. She also didn't try to insist that they could definitely take it, no protestations or ego. Just following him quietly as they turned out into the streets.
She could spot the people that were too alert, the security from the place she'd hit earlier, but she was too good to make it obvious. Just silently counting, tracking them in her peripheral. He kept her close, and she leaned in a little toward him, a slight smile because it makes them seem more like a pair of civilians, and less like two agents casing the place.
The path they take isn't straight there, but they curl their ways through the streets. A few back paths, detours and the like as they made their way there. At the question she looks to the pole, hums thoughtfully. It's not an immediate yes, though whether she can or not isn't exactly in question. Still, she lets herself take it in, a flutter of her eyelashes as she gauges the amount of power it'll take, where she wants it to go.]
Yes. But I'll have to overload it, which means the lights are going to surge a bit before they go dark. But I can do it, probably a second or two and the whole place will go dark.
[She gives him the information and lets him make the call. Whether he thinks the cover is worth it, or not. She pauses, considers if there's any other way to do it, and the answer is that anything else would probably be messier. She could use her sidearm to literally shoot an EMP into the room, but it'd be sloppy. The blue glow of her powers made for a tracer to her location. Last thing they needed was more attention.]
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He pretended like he was looking around in the dirt as if he had dropped something while she considered the electricity situation. He kicked at it, but he watched her out of the corner of his eye at the same time. Situational awareness was a skill they all needed in the field.]
We are going to use the fuss your team made seem like a second attack on the electrical system. Do what you have to but don't make it obvious, alright?
[He looked up the wall that they would have to scale in order to enter the facility in question. There was security here, but it wasn't over the top like where they had come from. They would have to be quick about their business, but he waved at her to get the job done while he backed up against the far wall to settle into a shadow. It would allow him to both cover her and to have a straight shot at scaling the eight foot cement wall when the lights went down.]
Once you're done, follow me up and over the wall. Go.
no subject
[Nothing too obvious from her end, at least. For the most part anything flashy would seem exactly like what they wanted it to look like: an attack on the electrical system. She watches him as he settles into a shadow, watching her. She eyes the wall, which shouldn't prove to be a problem. Ava might be short, but she's agile bordering on acrobatic. He waves at her, and she moves, focusing, her eyes mostly closed for a moment to try and hide the way that her eyes spark, but this close Rumlow can probably tell, that blue spark in the dark.
A moment later the lights go out, plunging everything into darkness. And she moves for the wall, following after him, tracking him by his movement, his shadow in the dark. She lands light and soft on her feet, and her eyes are dimmed by the time she's over the wall. By normal light they'd be a much more intense blue, but in the dark they don't glow and that's the main point.
She's on guard, looking around, trying to sensing for something off around them, but mostly she just follows after Rumlow, careful and quiet. Some of her instructors have complained that she's not always the best at following orders, but give her someone that she respects in a situation that's real and she'll sit down and shut up.
She follows Rumlow, the distance and angle intentional to give her the best chance at covering him if something happens.]