(no subject)

[nerves_of_ice]

It'd be quieter in his room upstairs, he knows, but Bucky's not sure that's a good thing right now.

(For several reasons, really.)

As a result, he's decided to study the stack of papers that Steve gave him down in the main bar.

He's made a deal with a waitrat to keep the coffee coming, and has set up at a table where he's got his back to the wall and a good view of all approaches. His rifle's slung on the back of his chair, and the file's spread out on the table in front of him as he reads.

It's hard going, not least because there's a lot of stuff in there that he's pretty sure is either from the future or another world entirely.

Still, Bucky's never been one to give up easy, if at all.

Comments

[cutting_edgex23]

"Bucky," X says.

She's paused by his table, head tilting slightly as she looks at the topmost of the stack of papers.

"You are working."

Disguising her approach was not in the cards.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Yeah, I am. Actually--"

He looks up at her, eyes narrowing a little as he considers her.

"-- you're on security here, you said. You might be interested in this."

[cutting_edgex23]

Her own gaze narrows in turn as she tilts her head, studying Bucky now instead of the papers.

"There has been an incident?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"I guess you could call it that."

It occurs to him that he might have broken the rules around here by trying to shoot this thing, but maybe he can talk his way out of it.

First things first, though.

"How much do you know about this faceless guy who's evidently behind all the weird fog, bad dreams, and the rest of the crap that's going on?"

[not_his_pa]

William needs more coffee and ends up following the wait rat going to Bucky.

Later he'll try sleeping but for now, coffee, "Hey, any of that helping?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"The coffee or the papers?"

Remembering what Steve had said about how studying this stuff might attract the thing's attention, he casually sets his cup down in the middle of the page he's reading, blocking the easy view of the text as he gives William a wry grin.

"Coffee always helps."

[not_his_pa]

"Either one? Steve said that someone had found out more about whoever's out there,"

He coughs before taking a drink of his own coffee and trying to get a little look at the papers.

[nerves_of_ice]

[ooc: invoking millitime..]

"Some lady named Claudia," he says. "I don't know her, but she seems to have a good source of intel."

He notes William's look, and curls his fingers around the mug.

"I'm not trying to hide it from you," Bucky says, quietly. "But before you read it, you should know that learning about this guy apparently can be a way of getting his attention."

[claudiometer]

Claudia's mostly been avoiding Milliways since she dropped off her infodump. Not only is she not interested in being haunted by this Slendydipshit, she doesn't have time for it. What with Artie acting like a five-year-old over HG's reinstatement and Myka possibly being too close to HG to see potential problems, someone's got to be on point, and it shouldn't just be Leena.
But a girl needs a break from a 60-something-year-old man's temper tantrums. Hopefully if she doesn't stay long she won't have much trouble.
And, well, it is good to see someone putting her infodump to good use not long after she walks in.
"Oh, good, it's making the rounds."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's--"

He looks up at her - then glances quickly at the description that'd been attached to the papers. When Bucky looks back up, he's smiling.

"Claudia?"

[claudiometer]

"That'd be me." Claudia smiles a little herself (even though it's been Another Of Those Days - has to've been, if 'haunted interdimensional space' beat out 'stroppy boss').
"Figured someone here might see something I didn't. And, well, every little bit to keep it... what passes for normal, anyway."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Bucky Barnes. Nice to meet you."

He nods at the next chair over.

"Want a cup of coffee?"

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve turns a chair so he can straddle it, and crosses his arms over the back.

"So what do you think?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"I think this guy's a creepy bastard that needs to be sent straight to Hell as soon as possible," Bucky says, dryly.

"And that there are a lot of people who're having trouble."

He looks up at Steve.

"How're you doing, this evening?"

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve smiles the smile of a man who's quite excellent, frankly.

"Hangin' in there. I didn't have a coughing fit last night and if I had any bad dreams I don't remember them.

"You?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"That's definitely good," he agrees.

Bucky lifts his cup of coffee, and offers Steve a wry smile.

"I'm okay."

[the_man]

Tonight, Fury is not already lurking in the bar. He comes in the door, still in full uniform, and heads straight for Bucky. He's also carrying a folder.

He does not make noise, but he does announce himself.

"Sergeant Barnes. Got a minute?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Sure do."

Doyle's got the look of a man moving with purpose, and Bucky responds accordingly.

He waves the other man to a seat with one hand, while he closes the book he's been studying with the other and sets it on top of the neat stack of papers he's almost finished going through.

"Want some coffee?"

[the_man]

Fury waves it off. "No, this day has been long enough. No need to extend it with more caffeine."

He offers Bucky the folder.

Inside is a carefully hand-drawn map of a fallen-down castle.

[works_in_space]

Jim notices the rifle first. Sulu would love to have that for his collection. But odds are it's not for sale.

"Hello."

[nerves_of_ice]

He looks up from the slim book he's reading - it's balanced precariously on a stack of papers, next to a folder that he keeps toying with in an absent-minded fashion.

"Hi." His smile's a little tired, and there are shadows under his eyes, but it's real enough, open and friendly.

[works_in_space]

"Nice rifle. That's from the mid-20th century, right? Like your uniform?" Jim knows a good deal about military history, though he's far more fluent with the Civil War than anything besides his own day.

[flip_the_lights]

Olivia, for her part, has taken the information packet and run with it.

Experimentally entering the website addresses in her own browser turned up the same sites; apparently, the Slenderman mythos exists in her world, too. It's just stayed to parts of the Internet she had no reason to visit before now.

(She did have a fleeting moment to wonder if this might be another interpretation of the Observers: same pale skin, same suit, same abrupt appearances. That's where the similarities end, though, and Olivia dismissed the possibility without a further thought.)

Now, she's hunched over her laptop, trying to take notes on a pad of legal paper next to her. It involves far more concentration than she expected; unless she's paying very close attention, the notes start to disintegrate into a series of chicken-scratch X's and phrases she doesn't remember writing. And then there's that damned cough that keeps interrupting her every few minutes.

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky lets out a frustrated oath under his breath and shoves his seat back, glaring down at the paper on top of the stack.

"This is like learning another whole language."

[flip_the_lights]

The curse gets Olivia's attention; she glances up from her laptop, even as her hand keeps moving over the notepad.

"Do you need any help?"