11/24 Instance: Resourceful Division

[Starfish]

Timeline: Current.

Fury: General Fury was visibly impatient when he snatched up the latest sheet of paper as it left the fax machine on his desk. Old fashioned perhaps, but still reliable and secure. "...we regret to inform you that your appeal has been declined..." he muttered while skimming the message bearing the insignia of the Pentagon.

Fury: Not bothering with the entire load of formal lingo, the general stopped reading and crumbled the paper. It took some kind of skill to use that many words just to tell someone 'no - and don't bother us again'.

Carol: Carol always got stared at when she wandered around SHIELD bases with her Air Force uniform on because it broke the uniformity of the place but she was proud of her military career outside SHIELD. Today, however, she was fitting in because she had enough on her plate without having to dig her ID out of her pocket every five minutes.

Carol: She hadn't made an appointment for the same reason. She didn't want to wait around. Stopping outside Fury's office, she knocked on the door and stared down the guard that hurried over to tell her that Fury had left orders to not be disturbed.

Fury: The general's brow furrowed when he heard the knock on his door. He remembered having been very specific about disturbances this morning. A glance at the monitor showing him the outside of his office changed his mind quickly, however.

Fury: "Come in, Colonel," he said, raising his voice enough to be heard through the door. Turning towards the trash can, the fact that it still took him only one aimed lob with the balled up piece of paper to hit it brightened his day somewhat.

Carol: Carol opened the door and closed it in the other agent's face. "Your switchboard is a nightmare." Standing at attention, she saluted Fury anyway.

Fury: "It's not the only thing giving me a headache," Fury replied, returning the salute as he faced the younger woman. "Have you added prescience to your already impressive lists of abilities, Colonel? Because I don't think you've made an appointment, but I actually wanted to talk to you."

Carol: "Call it female intuition... or my own impatience." She gave a half shrug, moving further into the room and placing a hand on the back of the chair opposite his desk in silent request to take the seat.

Fury: Fury simply nodded in the direction of the chair. "Would you like some coffee, Colonel?" the general asked, stepping to the table at the side of his office to check what remained in the pot. "Don't get too excited, however. It's old."

Carol: "Any coffee is good coffee," Carol replied, taking the seat and crossing her legs. "I had to fly most of the way here - I know I'm supposed to use conventional methods but that's a little hard when you make the mistake of driving angry and wrap your car around a tree. The tree's fine." Well it was mostly fine. It was still standing up. She frowned.

Fury: Pouring another cup of coffee, Fury looked over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows. "Should I warn our quartermaster about an incoming request for a replacement vehicle?" he asked with a barely concealed smirk. "Again."

Carol: "Don't warn him, I like the look of horror I get every time I walk through the door. It's like a present." She gave him a small grin, "So... should I be worried that you wanted to see me? I'm not in trouble for anything, am I? Because, if I am, I really don't remember doing it."

Fury: "Rare as it is, the stack of complaints about you isn't my most pressing concern this morning." Fury chuckled dryly as he sat down across from Danvers. "I've been on the secretary's back all week to get any word on why SHIELD was locked out from the investigations at the Xavier's estate."

Fury: "I'm starting to believe it has to be easier to catch an eel with your bare hands than to nail down one of those politicians on a definite answer." He scoffed. "In the end, all it came down to were different phrasings of the terms 'confidential' and 'affairs of national security'."

Carol: "I thought the whole point of SHIELD was to deal with these kinds of national security matters. What the hell do they pay us for if they won't let us investigate this?" She picked up the coffee poured for her and took a sip. "Which department's investigating it instead?"

Fury: "You know how these territorial pissing contests about jurisdiction go, if you will excuse the expression." Fury reclined in his chair, his expression firm. "Everyone wants to prove they're the only one who can get the job done. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say some of the fat animals up on the food chain got a little scared they might be seen as superfluous with us on the task."

Fury: "Those suits you've had the pleasure of running into apparently work for a sub-division of the NSA. Folks at the Pentagon were quick to change to subject when I asked about them, but some voices I trust mentioned that it's an all new task-force set up with assistance from the FBI and other anti-terrorist forces."

Fury: "Strangely enough, no one I asked seemed to know much about that little project." Fury frowned, his fingers tapping on the desk. "I've heard the name Sentinel Department dropped a few times, however."

Carol: "I hate the sound of that... little too 'big brother' for my liking." She mirrored Fury's frown as she took another sip of coffee. "They give any estimates when they'll be giving Xavier's people their stuff back? Because I know they were removing things from the site that didn't belong to them - we saw it."

Fury: "Apparently they cleared out most of their specialists already, so I filed the request that the property is returned to their legal owners." Tipping his own cup, Fury frowned at the sad remains of cold coffee in it. "It's hard to tell if or when it will be approved, but I'm afraid whatever they've been looking for, they already found it."

Carol: "Have they cleared out of there now?" She intended to look over the place if they had, "If there's anything left, I'd like to run the students and staff over there to salvage what they can at last."

Fury: The general was silent for a moment, and even though the look on his face was rigid as always, the glint in his eye was a sure sign that his mind was working rapidly. "Not officially, anyway," he replied after a moment, a small smile forming. "However, I do know that only a minimal crew of agents is left to monitor the estate."

Fury: "I doubt they'd know about the secret escape tunnels underneath the mansion, or bother to patrol the actual ruins," the general remarked casually.

Carol: "That's very sloppy of them..." Carol commented, just as casually, "Anyone could wander on over there." She had another sip of her coffee and leaned to put the cup on the desk. "I'll see if I can scare up some more information on these suits from Steven, he's useful like that. He makes friends that tell him things."

Fury: Fury nodded. "A potential security risk, for certain," he commented. "If we knew this Sentinel Department were interested in cooperating in this case with us, we could simply warn them about our concerns. But under these circumstances, who knows if your concerns won't be ignored? No, I think it's best if we handled this by ourselves, swiftly and without unneeded bureaucracy."

Fury: "After all, this could be an affair of national security."

Carol: "Speaking of national security... Hydra popped up on your radar since Xavier's?" She shifted in her seat, "There's been nothing in the media but since when do they know what's going on?"

Fury: Taking a breath, Fury pressed his lips together and flipped to another file on his desk. "If we didn't know any better, it would seem as if our many-headed friends laid low after the attack on the school," he replied. "They certainly know how to make a public impression, but they're not stupid."

Fury: "Fortunately, they also seem rather overconfident, as we've run across several hints pointing at continued operations within US borders." The general pushed the file across the desk. "Nothing concrete yet, but some of those leads look promising enough."

Fury: "So far, I've been able to keep our findings mostly to ourselves, but it's getting harder since there were reports of some auxiliary government installations reporting security breaches." The general's expression darkened again. "Fortunately, the media hasn't caught wind yet, but I'm afraid once the brass decides to act, it won't be us again who gets tasked to deal with this."

Carol: Carol pulled the file to her to look over, "Just because they're operating here, doesn't mean they're not operating elsewhere at the same time. All those heads could be pointed in different directions. But I think you know which head they're interested in at the school." She looked up at him again, frowning, "Of course it won't. I can't help but feel like we're being pushed out."

Carol: She turned her attention back to the file, "I don't suppose there's any hope of appealing directly to the President who's supposedly supportive of mutant interests?" At least they had multiple avenues of attack there too.

Fury: Taking another deep breath, General Fury leaned back and exhaled with a sigh. "I don't know," he admitted. "It might be worth a shot." Frowning, he gave Danvers a grim look. "There are still quite vocal anti-mutant voices in congress - not to mention among the security agencies."

Fury: "We're dealing with old power structures here, firmly entrenched in the shadows beyond democratic control, who have a long history of dodging direct political influence." He paused, his jaw clenched. "Perhaps President Stark might change some things, but we shouldn't bank on it as our only hope."

Carol: "Well luckily we're also friends with the Hellfire Club who have enough influence on their own. I think I'm going to have to have a meeting with the staff at the school and lay out everything we know... with your permission."

Fury: "Oh, you have my complete confidence to handle this business in any way you see fit," Fury replied, his dour demeanour brightening when he chuckled. "After all, Colonel, we're merely investigating leads to ensure the public safety - something we're still tasked to do."

Fury: "And should any new developments make it necessary you have to make some quick decisions on your own, I fully trust that this happens only in the interest of national security." He folded his hands. "I know all too well that sometimes we have to act quickly, and that there is not always time to inform any authorities."

Carol: "Exactly. And there's some good resources at that school, may as well use them." She chewed her lip, "How do you feel about using other resources that we just happen to have stopping by on a visit? If our government won't cooperate with us, maybe someone else's will cooperate with them?"

Fury: The general raised his eyebrows and gave the colonel a curious look. "I've heard that you've got some visitors at the new school," he remarked. "Some alumni from Xavier's University, if I'm not mistaken."

Carol nodded, "They've expressed a desire to help out so I think we should at least give them the option to help with information as well as just man-power."

Fury: "The way I see it, we should be grateful for any allies we can find," Fury agreed, returning Danvers' nod. "There's no telling when we might need them the most."

Carol: "That settles it then, I'll call a staff meeting and tell them what we know. I think it'll help with the trust issue if nothing else... a lot of them seem to have it in their heads that I'm keeping things from them or lying to them for whatever reason. I don't need that on top of everything else."

Fury: "We shouldn't hold that against them," Fury commented. "After all, the burnt child dreads the fire." The general rose from his chair to show the colonel out. "We can't make them trust us overnight. All we can do is hope that one day we'll have earned it."

Carol: Carol got to her feet also, "Don't worry, I'm working on it. Once they get used to how I work, I think they might like me. At least one of the kids works the same way I do so that's got to be something, right?"

Fury: General Fury chuckled and accompanied his subordinate to the door. "I call that a good start," he replied, giving Danvers another salute. "Keep up the good work, Colonel."