[oom] the rest of you, the best of you, honey, belongs to me

[from_the_outside]

It's been a little over a month since Bucky brought her to that training space and told her he was making good on his promise; a little longer since she's met Ayo for an hour a day to spar and train and meditate and learn. In that time, Shuri's updated her suit and Bucky's prototype arm, and Nakia's successfully launched the first of her outreach centers in the place where a young N'Jadaka had once had his whole world shattered.

Ayo prefers to train with her either early in the morning or late in the cool of the evening. Today was the latter, and steam is lifting off Sharon's shoulders as she walks back from the Citadel, her hair a sweat-damp mess in a ponytail, her muscles aching pleasantly. 

She's back on top. Between Bucky and Ayo, she's faster now than she ever has been; more adaptive, more thoughtful about her approach. She still can't beat Bucky one on one, but Ayo had tested her against Aneka, another Dora, recently, and she'd more than held her own. She's flexible and strong and her cardio hasn't been this good in years.

More than that, she's happy, the way Bucky wanted her to be. She has some direction, and that's all she really needed. What she'll do with it is the next step, but she's not quite there yet. For now, she strolls down the path toward the hut by the lake where she's been more or less living with him, the sunset light just now dying from the sky. She's so lost in her thoughts it takes her a second even to realize that there's a buzzing coming from the pocket of her tote bag.

And it's not like she was expecting a call, anyway. Who would it even be from?

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky gives the phone a flat stare as Fury replies, "That depends. Is intel all you're willing to offer?"

He has to admit the other man's clever as hell. He doesn't like it, but he can't deny it.

[from_the_outside]

That's Nick Fury, for you. The man acts like giving a straight answer would send him into anaphylactic shock. "Well, why don't we talk about that?"

She sips at her coffee, focused on the phone but comfortably aware of Bucky's support right next to her. "Tell me something. Was Irma Kruhl totally burned after the auction?"

[marvel_npc]

"Funny thing, that." He keeps any sign of satisfaction out of his voice. This isn't finished yet. "You'd think some people would have been suspicious of a raid like that right after a new player entered the game. Except that it turns out one of the disappointed parties, one Robert Laurent, was a dual agent with INTERPOL, and called them in when he didn't get the winning bid."

Laurent's cover may have blown to hell and back again as a result, but that's not Fury's problem. Besides, they'd given him enough of a warning that he was able to get out before he got burned.

[from_the_outside]

"Really. INTERPOL?"

She casts a dubious glance at Bucky. If Irma's still viable, that would be pretty handy. If not, she has a few other covers she could bring out. "Well, Irma's already known as a player, even if she's a new one. It wouldn't be so far-fetched for her to be involved."

[marvel_npc]

"They owed me one."

He leaves it at that and turns his attention to her observation. "No, it wouldn't, would it? And since Kwan's removal left an opening, it wouldn't be a surprise for someone as enterprising as Kruhl to be moving in on a market that's up for grabs."

[from_the_outside]

She frowns at the phone, but it's not outside the realm of possibility for INTERPOL to owe Nick Fury a favor.

"No, it wouldn't be." Sharon looks over at Bucky. "Say Irma was available to make this meet. Exactly what kind of backup and resources would you be able to offer?"

[nerves_of_ice]

He's frowning as well. That sounds like a large favor to burn to preserve Irma Kruhl, which means Fury thinks there's more to gain than that cost.

"Depends on what you needed. Last time you brought your own date to the party," Fury points out, reasonably. "Intel, certainly; other resources once you identify them. I'm not going to tell you how to run your op."

A beat of silence hangs in the air before he continues, "That is, if it is your op."

[from_the_outside]

"Well, there's a lot to consider," she points out. "First of all, I'm here in Wakanda by King T'Challa's pleasure. If he doesn't want to risk me being out in the wider world, even for a short mission, then all I can do for you is consult."

[marvel_npc]

He doesn't point out that T'Challa had been perfectly willing to risk exactly that for the auction. Vibranium's not directly involved here, probably, and that makes a difference.

Beside, his role is in this little play isn't to be the antagonist. Not overtly, anyway.

"I'm not interested in endangering your position, Thirteen." He considers for a split second, then tosses it out there. "Or Sergeant Barnes, for that matter."

[from_the_outside]

"Well, that's good to know."

She glances over at Bucky. "I think you better tell us everything you know about this potential buyer and the meet. You said Giulietta was close? Will it be in Italy?"

[marvel_npc]

"Monte Carlo. Unless we shift it," Fury tells her.

He waits to see what conclusions she draws from the location, but has every expectation she'll put the pieces together as quickly as he had.

[from_the_outside]

Monte Carlo. It's almost tailor-made for Irma. She presses her lips together and considers her phone. "When did you want to move on this op?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Sooner's better," Fury tells them. Bucky has to fight back his first impulse, but keeps a lid on it, staring thoughtfully at the phone.

As operations go, it's well-situated, relatively low risk, and as suited for Sharon's cover identity as it's possible to be, which reduces the chance of a breach. He glances at Sharon to see what she's thinking.

[from_the_outside]

"Okay."

She breathes out, evenly, and runs through everything she knows. This would be high-risk for Giulietta, but low for her. It's more than possible this potential buyer is also involved in the black-market vibranium trade, which would pique T'Challa's interest.

They might not be able to get Bucky to Monte Carlo, but it's not so far from Wakanda that she's hugely concerned about distance. Low risk, potentially high reward, and Nick would owe her a favor. "I'll run it past T'Challa. Send me anything else you have, and Bucky and I will put together an assessment and plan. Barring T'Challa's refusal, I'd say there's a good chance I'll be able to help you out, here."

[marvel_npc]

Fury keeps the deep well of satisfaction entirely out of his voice. "I'll send it all over. Figure on a briefing tomorrow, maybe the day after; I assume you'll let me know."

He grins at the phone, not that she can see it. "Good hunting, Thirteen."

Welcome back.

[from_the_outside]

"Copy that."

She gives the phone a wry glance that doesn't quite mitigate the thrill of being back to work. "Stay out of trouble, Nick."

Sharon ends the call, then looks over at Bucky. "Well."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Yeah." There's silence between them again, just for a few seconds. "T'Challa probably won't object. As long as you're careful."

His jaw tightens a little. "But Monte Carlo's pretty high visibility. You might not be recognized other than your cover... but I would."

[from_the_outside]

"It might be worth it to T'Challa just to find out if there's anymore chatter about black-market vibranium," she murmurs, and reaches across the table for his hand. "Yeah."

There's really no getting around that. He's a famous face, for more reasons than one, and the hunt for him is still active while she's largely been relegated to 'apprehend if seen' status. "How would you feel about being my handler?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"It might. Additional intel on something that important never hurts."

He threads his fingers with hers and raises her hand so he can press a quick, gentle kiss to her palm.

"If you want me as your handler, you've got me."

[from_the_outside]

That's not quite what she asked, but she won't press him on it. "I want you as involved as it's good for you to be," she murmurs.

"Even if it's just helping with planning. I'll feel a lot better about any mission if I've got you strategizing it with me."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You have me," he repeats. He's not sure if he's entirely ready for this, but he knows he's good at it, and he's better than he was in a lot of ways.

[from_the_outside]

"I know, baby."

She squeezes his hand and gives him a small smile. "Why don't we sketch out the op so I have something to present to T'Challa?"

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky smiles back. "I think we're going to need more coffee for this," he teases, lightly. "I'll put on another batch, and we can go from there."

[from_the_outside]

"I think you're right."

She gives him a grin and a wink and lets go of his hand as her phone chirps, presumably with the info dump from Fury. "Come on, Barnes. Let's shake the rust off."