from_the_outside | [AU] How much - how little

"No," says Sharon, for what feels like the thousandth time. "That's not acceptable."

The rest of the flight had been uneventful, and once they landed she'd been grimly unsurprised to see that Stark had sent Happy Hogan, his erstwhile chauffeur, to guide them to the apartment they've been assigned. Stark himself had apparently gone somewhere to get out of his armor, somewhat mollified by having gotten them here and under his thumb.

Except Sharon won't stop kicking up a fuss.

Hogan stares at her as she inspects each corner of the apartment. "I can't cut these rooms off from the central security protocols," he says, slowly, like he thinks she's just misheard him.

"Well, you can," she tells him. "Or I can force a cascade in a couple load-bearing subroutines that will shut the whole damn thing down. It's your choice."

Current Location: Upstate New York

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

from_the_outside

Sharon bristles, and Steve, watching her, steps in before she can say anything.

"No demands," he says. "They want to get a psych in to talk to Bucky, and for Agent Carter to continue on as liaison with us."

He hesitates just for a second, and then says, lightly: "I was hoping to send Rhodey back with her for a couple of days, to help with the investigation. Your tech in his suit would be pretty handy."

From:

marvel_npc

"Sounds like a demand to me," Tony snarks. His gaze narrows. "Rhodey? Why not me? I'd have figured you'd jump at the chance to try to get me away from your precious Barnes."

From:

from_the_outside

"I didn't think you'd go for it," Steve says, honestly. "You'd be my first choice; you're good at finding the details other people miss. But I didn't want you to feel sidelined."

He shrugs, a little. "If you're interested in going, though, it might save Rhodey from having to make arrangements with the Air Force."

From:

marvel_npc

Tony eyes him and is silent for a few seconds, visibly considering. Finally: "I'll talk with Rhodey, and let you know."

His glance snaps to Sharon. "That okay with you, Agent?"

From:

from_the_outside

"Of course," she says, leaning back in the chair and crossing one leg over the other.

"The Task Force will appreciate any assistance the Avengers can provide."

What she'll do if it winds up being Tony and not Rhodey accompanying her to Berlin is beyond her – she probably can't just kick him out of the Quinjet if he's annoying, right? – but she can make it work.

Especially if it gets him the hell away from Bucky.

From:

marvel_npc

"Uh-huh." He shifts, restlessly, then gets up and goes over to the counter along one wall and pokes at the espresso machine there.

"Psych consult, huh?" He keeps his back turned to them as he asks it. "What for?"

From:

from_the_outside

"S.O.P.," she tells him, watching him fiddle with the espresso machine. The guy just can't sit still, can he?

"We think that's why Zemo wanted Broussard, so he'd have access to Sergeant Barnes during his evaluation."

From:

marvel_npc

Tony turns around to look at her.

"Enlighten me," he suggests. "What do you people do with the results?"

From:

from_the_outside

"Make recommendations for detention or rehabilitation, as the case might be," she tells him.

"Before extradition, usually."

From:

marvel_npc

“Rehabilitation.”

Tony turns to give Steve a long look.

From:

from_the_outside

Steve only looks steadily back at him. "Yes," Sharon says, "rehabilitation. The Task Force isn't in the habit of passing judgment without trial or evaluation; that isn't our role."

And it isn't yours, either, she thinks but doesn't say. It could hardly help.

From:

marvel_npc

“What exactly is - you know what, never mind, I don’t want all the boring details,” he decides, leaving the espresso machine alone in favor of pacing along behind the couch.

“So, liaison, investigation, psych consult. Sounds like a party.” He eyes Steve again. “What happens when they show up to take him to jail? Or wherever?”

From:

from_the_outside

Steve's mouth firms a little. "Let's cross that bridge when we get to it," he says. "There's a lot that has to happen before any decisions like that get made."

Except the thing is Tony knows Steve will never let that happen. Sharon knows it. And Steve knows that they know it.

From:

marvel_npc

“Well, it’s not like he’s going anywhere without m— us knowing about it, anyway,” Tony says he sounds absolutely certain.

“So as long as he doesn’t get a yen to blow the place up or start killing people, that’ll be fine.”

From:

from_the_outside

Steve gives him a disappointed look, but Sharon manages to keep her expression neutral.

"Part of my purview is ensuring no one else can trigger the Winter Soldier programming," she tells him. "So it's not likely."

From:

marvel_npc

He levels a look right back at Steve. It’s not like he doesn’t disappoint basically everyone in his life, why should Steve Rogers be any different? No matter how much it itches down the back of his neck.

“About that,” he asks Carter. “How exactly do you intend to prevent it?”

From:

from_the_outside

Sharon doesn't glance at Steve; she has to act like the JTTF agent she is. Like she's working under her own orders and with her own goals in mind.

"He's triggered by a specific sequence of words," she tells Tony. "They were written in a book kept by his HYDRA handler decades ago; Zemo tracked the man down and took the book. What we don't know is if anyone else had access to the trigger words. I intend to find out."

From:

marvel_npc

He stares at her for a few seconds before turning to Steve with raised eyebrows, silently asking for confirmation.

She’s probably not lying. Probably. But he’d like to be sure.

From:

from_the_outside

Steve nods at him. "It's true," he says. "That's why we went after Karpov. He was Bucky's handler. Zemo killed him for the book."

He takes a deep breath and leans back into the chair. "We didn't find any evidence of another person, but we can't take the risk. We have to assume someone else out there knows the words. The only good solution is to remove the triggers entirely from Bucky's brain, but it's not like any of us have any idea how to do that."

From:

marvel_npc

He opens his mouth, then shuts it and paces back across the room.

“How do you know he’s not lying?”

From:

from_the_outside

"Which one?" Sharon asks, cool.

"The intel originally came from Zemo and was corroborated by Sergeant Barnes. But the best proof is physical; we have the book itself."

She hasn't looked in it. No one has, except for Bucky – but Tony doesn't need to know that.

From:

marvel_npc

Tony spins in place to stare at her. "You have the book? Where is it?"

He doesn't like the way his thoughts are trying to run. It's uncomfortable, and he hates being uncomfortable.

From:

from_the_outside

"Somewhere safe," she tells him.

"From anyone who might try to use it to control Sergeant Barnes."

That anyone, with its light emphasis, is doing a lot of heavy lifting, but even she knows better than to accuse Tony Stark directly.

From:

marvel_npc

"Huh." He looks thoughtful. "Okay."

Tony's sudden grin is quick and easy, lacking the sharp edges of before. "Thanks for the update. Guess I better go call Rhodey. Looks like we've got a few things to figure out. What d'you think, Cap, put our heads together on next steps after we get more information from Berlin and all?"

From:

from_the_outside

Steve nods, relieved, but Sharon only tenses further, giving Tony a sharp and suspicious glance.

"You're suddenly being very helpful," she says. "What changed your mind?"