MHA #6, Wednesday Night
Sarah gave her father and Rusty a few minutes to start picking their way through the cold dark streets before she went into her bedroom, shut the door, sprayed some extra squirrel repellent, and logged into the video conferencing system.
"Agent Walker," General Beckman nodded from her office. "I understand you have some news for us. I got your report that your father was in Fandom?"
Sarah nodded. "He is. He got in yesterday."
"And is he behaving himself?"
"As a matter of fact, no." Sarah's tone was cold: She couldn't let herself be sentimental over her father. "He's stolen a hundred thousand dollars from the local sheriff's girlfriend. I wanted to talk tonight to discuss what and where the best way to return him to federal custody would be."
The general tapped a folder on her desk and gave a smile Sarah had learned to dread. "We had a small task your father could help us with while he's on the island. We did some further analysis on the data from Tony Stark's lab you sent us, and our report indicates he's doing something significant involving titanium, likely a new weapon. I don't need to remind you of the risks something like that could pose to other worlds, but we need to know what quantities he's buying supplies in to get a real sense of how much concern there should be."
"I don't see what my father has to do with that," Sarah said, uneasy. "I could do more reconnaissance, maybe look at bugging his phone lines -"
The general shook her head, good humor that Sarah didn't exactly share dancing on her face. "He's too well-protected. We need a new approach. We're couriering over papers pertaining to a certain mine in a small African nation. It should hold Stark's interest if it's presented right. You know your father has a bit of a gift for getting the wealthy to hand over the keys to their bank accounts, and, well, Stark has a bank account."
Sarah buried her face in her hands. "You want me to get my father to try to con Tony Stark."
"No," Beckman remonstrated. "I want you to get access to Stark's financial dealings. Intelligence work is the art of using what's on hand, remember, Agent?"
And Sarah's father certainly was on hand; was coming back to the apartment, in fact. She could hear him whistling in the hall. "I know," she hissed. "I should go. I'll try this stunt with my dad, but if he screws it up -"
She didn't finish the sentence. "Understood. Goodnight and good luck, Agent Walker." The connection beeped off just as Jack turned the doorknob.
"Angel? Rusty is a fantastic fellow, really brilliant -- if he wasn't with you I'd try to bring him in to work with me. I'm so glad you introduced us."
That was worrying, but it wasn't the major issue here. "Great, Dad," Sarah said, drawing a steadying breath. "So, you were right that I'm working on a project, but we need to give the money back to Charlotte before we start work on it."
"Tell me more." Jack took a seat, listening with a grin on his face. He knew she was on the grift.
"Agent Walker," General Beckman nodded from her office. "I understand you have some news for us. I got your report that your father was in Fandom?"
Sarah nodded. "He is. He got in yesterday."
"And is he behaving himself?"
"As a matter of fact, no." Sarah's tone was cold: She couldn't let herself be sentimental over her father. "He's stolen a hundred thousand dollars from the local sheriff's girlfriend. I wanted to talk tonight to discuss what and where the best way to return him to federal custody would be."
The general tapped a folder on her desk and gave a smile Sarah had learned to dread. "We had a small task your father could help us with while he's on the island. We did some further analysis on the data from Tony Stark's lab you sent us, and our report indicates he's doing something significant involving titanium, likely a new weapon. I don't need to remind you of the risks something like that could pose to other worlds, but we need to know what quantities he's buying supplies in to get a real sense of how much concern there should be."
"I don't see what my father has to do with that," Sarah said, uneasy. "I could do more reconnaissance, maybe look at bugging his phone lines -"
The general shook her head, good humor that Sarah didn't exactly share dancing on her face. "He's too well-protected. We need a new approach. We're couriering over papers pertaining to a certain mine in a small African nation. It should hold Stark's interest if it's presented right. You know your father has a bit of a gift for getting the wealthy to hand over the keys to their bank accounts, and, well, Stark has a bank account."
Sarah buried her face in her hands. "You want me to get my father to try to con Tony Stark."
"No," Beckman remonstrated. "I want you to get access to Stark's financial dealings. Intelligence work is the art of using what's on hand, remember, Agent?"
And Sarah's father certainly was on hand; was coming back to the apartment, in fact. She could hear him whistling in the hall. "I know," she hissed. "I should go. I'll try this stunt with my dad, but if he screws it up -"
She didn't finish the sentence. "Understood. Goodnight and good luck, Agent Walker." The connection beeped off just as Jack turned the doorknob.
"Angel? Rusty is a fantastic fellow, really brilliant -- if he wasn't with you I'd try to bring him in to work with me. I'm so glad you introduced us."
That was worrying, but it wasn't the major issue here. "Great, Dad," Sarah said, drawing a steadying breath. "So, you were right that I'm working on a project, but we need to give the money back to Charlotte before we start work on it."
"Tell me more." Jack took a seat, listening with a grin on his face. He knew she was on the grift.