16320/Kicking the hornets' nest

Kicking the hornets' nest
Date of Scene:	29 May 2024
Location:	Suite A6 Skye, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Kicking the hornets' nest
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake

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Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
It's late a night - which is when Hawkeye knows Skye is at her best - and the both of them went to the suite assigned to Skye at the Triskelion.

There are containers of Chinese food on the coffee table and coffee. Soon the Triskelion will run on the night shift - not that it is very noticeably less active by night. Nonetheless, this is the time that Clint selected for "Ops Nest".

"I'd like to see if there's any mention of a time machine project, or something," Clint says as he stretches his legs from the comfy chair he's sitting in, "'Course, I could just ask. But why not just look around, I mean, you know, on the surface." On the surface, meaning, don't get in trouble trying to access Fury's own files.

Quake has posed:
"Ha!" Skye reached over for some egg rolls. "It would serve them right if I broke into their servers."

Which is a joke, seeing that one of her jobs was too see that nobody could break into - unless SHIELD wanted them too. Which happened more than people knew. It was a good way to tell what their enemies were up to, as well as to disseminate choice bits of info that SHIELD wanted out there without actually giving it to them formally.

It was win-win.

Not to mention, Skye had access to Fury's files. Not that anyone knew that. For years she had kept it quiet.

"So, do you have a particular way that you want it done, or just wing it?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Having discussed this Ops Nest beforehand, they both had decided that the goal was to kick the hornets' nest - namely SHIELD - by teasing its database. This way, they could either find what they were looking for, or awaken interest, which in turn could lead to more credible information.

Since he had returned from a two-year trip to the Old West, thanks to some SHIELD experiment, Clint had been rather very curious on learning more about this.

Nothing proved that there was actually such a project - but such a detail rarely kept the archer from nosing around, and now should be even easier with Skye's help. If caught, they could always pretend that they were just looking around without specific purpose. Could it work? Not really, but that is an Hawkeye plan for you.

"Whatabout, you start with the Lab's agenda for the day I went poof?" Clint suggests.

Quake has posed:
Skye listens as she eats. "That might work. Besides, if I do my job correctly, they won/t be any the wiser." Of course, having the passwords makes it easy. Unless they switched them. Which could be. Then her real skill shines.

She really was a damn fine hacker.

As she ate some noodles, she booted up her favourite laptop, and began to work.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The archer leaves the chair, and goes to perch on the sofa's arm, to watch as Skye does her magic with the intricate invisible world of networks.

"Either way," Clint comments, "We find something, or we don't. Someone might get curious about us sniffin' around."

Indeed, and having to answer as to why they were researching classified info within SHIELD's files is not really a deterrent for the archer.

"There must be somethin'," the archer muses, "Might be something Stark is involved in?"

Quake has posed:
"Could be anything, really. You know the things they hide in research and development? Sometimes they have no idea what it was. Think about it? The things that were found with me as a baby? They still didn't have a clue when Kyle used the exact same thing on me to bring out my powers. I swear they are like little children on Christmas with things they find."

Skye broke into the R&D databases and began to narrow it down to the day Clint had gone missing.

It was harder than you might have expected. Someone knew what they were doing.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Up from his perch, looking over Skye's shoulder, the archer follows - or try to - the different pathways used by his girlfriend to navigate around the different databases available. All while suggesting other ideas to look for.

"Could be a shipment they received days before, with extra security detail escorting it? Could be a meeting where you'd see all the R&D's top brass involved?"

There are, indeed, so many possibilities. And as Skye mentioned, if someone was trying to erase the traces, then it could be the lead, or the trap. SHIELD is so sneaky.

Quake has posed:
"Nothing jumps out at me at first glance. Which means one of a few possible things. It could be a fluke. An experiment gone wrong." Or worse, gone right! "They could be hiding it from view for a range of reasons. One thing they weren't careful about.."

Skye takes Clint's suggestion and looks over the records over the month before.

"There is always a point where the research team gets ready for any experiment long before they determine who is going and to where. No matter how innocent the equipment is. And while they can clean up the big parts, as a hacker we look for the cracks."