AN: Hey Everyone! So, my easily distracted brain has had this brewing in the background for a bit. Decided to try and put it down to paper (er, digital paper), thought it might help get it out of my head. We'll see where it goes. Obviously I own nothing except my OCs. Let me know your thoughts, I love reviews, and as always, appreciate your reading!
Danielle hated lawyers. She thought most everyone did, but these, these had been a particular pain. When she had picked up the phone two months ago to find a college friend on the other end raving about this property that she just knew Danielle would be into, she hadn't imagined it would land her here... She was sitting on one side of a large, oval shaped, glass conference table in a room that was more akin to a fishbowl with the number of windows that lined its walls, in the new Avenger's facility in upstate New York. The friend, Gina, had moved up here a couple of years ago and was running a very successful real estate company. That's how she'd gotten the heads up about the property... and, since Gina knew Danielle had been looking for a place, and a particular kind of one, at that, she'd thought of her first. Not that Danielle wasn't grateful. The property was stunning; several hundred acres of fields, paddocks, old barns and buildings, and a hundred plus year old farm house. Danielle was an event planner, had been since school, but after years of corporate trade shows, lavish executive retreats, and board meetings she had dreamed of something simpler... Somewhere she could live and work, something with some charm and history, a place where people could come to have their weddings and reunions, to make memories. It sounded blissful... back to the slower pace of life she'd grown up with and a chance to do what she loved, in the way she loved to do it. She'd jumped at the chance... flown straight up to see the place and absolutely fell in love. There was one problem with the place, one Gina had conveniently left out until she knew Danielle was well and truly hooked...
The property backed up against land owned by the government and used to house the very facility she sat in now. The previous owners of the place had an arrangement that had sold a section of land that would allow the Avenger's to expand into what amounted to 100 acres of the farm. They'd been planning the expansion when the previous owner's wife had passed away and he'd decided to sell and move closer to his kids... now, the burden of this project fell on Danielle. And it *was* going to be a burden. The facility was expanding and adding several buildings in the compound meaning they needed to use that 100 acres to push out their perimeter, including all the fences and security posts and technologies that came with it. Danielle understood, and she thought, it was a small price to pay to have her dream home... her dream life, she hoped... but right now, Misters Edward Locke and John Masser had been attempting to talk her around in circles, seemingly hopeful they could get her to sign off on an additional allocation of land, as if they might be able to throw enough legal jargon in to confuse her. She wasn't confused and she wasn't impressed. Neither were her compatriots... Gina, sitting on her right and her own legal counsel, Donovan O'Shea on the left.
The fact was, she wasn't put out by losing the hundred acres that had already been agreed on, it still left her with another three hundred. She was even fine with all the work that was going to be done, even with the fact that they were going to have to do some logging on the property that would remain hers for the purposes of construction... that they were going to have to set up on her side of the line, use the road in through her property for a lot of the work. It was going to be disruptive, frustrating, and definitely slow down her own plans for the place, but that was all fine. She could roll with that. It wasn't really up to her anyhow... what she couldn't abide was having someone try to swindle her, or condescend to her. Especially when she hadn't had her ass in the chair for more than ten minutes. The attitude from the State Department's legal team was working on her nerves, particularly the younger of the two, Edward Locke. He was greasy... both in look and demeanor. About her age, she'd guessed, and wearing a suit that looked expensive simply to prove that it was. He had started right off on a bad foot, immediately made a patronizing comment about Danielle's accent, calling her a sweet southern belle in a tone that was so dripping with sarcasm it was palpable. It hadn't gone over well and his partner, the older, John Masser had been quick to try and recover. Things had only gone downhill from there. Now, her man O'Shea and Locke were arguing over compensation... because, yes, there was money involved too. She was going to be generously (snort) compensated for the logging, and construction, and use of her property, but as it turned out, their idea of generous and O'Shea's were very different. At this point, she was tempted to say the hell with it and take whatever they offered, if only it meant she could get out of this room and on with her life. To that she gave Gina a stern look that said they were definitely going to have a conversation about this later. The woman looked back at her, knowing, and raised her eyebrows, tipping her head to O'Shea as it seemed they were finally coming to some sort of conclusion. Danielle had done her time in board rooms and meetings where the attendees argued in endless circles, it wasn't how she intended to spend her time here... but all the same, she had to let O'Shea work, she wasn't going to give away everything she'd just gotten either. She'd worked hard to be able to make a move like this, and while this was a pretty large and unexpected blow, it wouldn't deter her. She had been stuck in a rut, spending her days working for soulless corporations, setting up the same events with different people; nothing new, nothing imaginative, nothing personal... So she was going to make this work, whatever it took.
"Miss Reid..." O'Shea was sliding a document over to her and indicating the payment amount and new stipulations that they'd settled on. Danielle read through the details, nodded her agreement, trying not to look as tired as she felt and they began the process of going over everything, Danielle signing off there and across the other paperwork as needed. Ten minutes later, thankfully, and they were standing, contracts signed and sealed, Masser and O'Shea shaking hands as Locke sidled up to her and Gina.
"Well, looks like you made out pretty well Miss Reid..." He grinned and there was nothing pleasant about it. "Oh, that reminds me..." He reached over, hitting Masser with the back of his hand, as if he'd just remembered something. "We are going to have someone on-site every day, not part of the construction crew but a project manager, of sorts... one of the ah..." He glanced at his partner again, a curious look in his eyes. "One of the team members from the facility here... Secretary Ross has just approved this so, I didn't want to forget to tell you." He gave something like a laugh but it was mirthless, the smile on his lips looking less friendly and decidedly more odious.
Danielle gave a little shrug, nodding her head, and ignoring the slimy feeling that Locke gave her. She'd assumed there'd be someone in charge over the operations entirety... it certainly wasn't going to be her. So why make a show of telling them that Secretary of State Ross had approved it? "Wonderful, I'm glad to know there will be someone capable handling this... I suppose I should have their contact information... is this person going to be my liaison as well?" She responded in as professional a manner as possible, finding herself wanting to deliver the exact opposite of whatever rise Locke tried to insight with his words and looks.
Masser shot his younger colleague a pointed look and nodded swiftly. "Ah yes, about that. My assistant will get all of that information over to you and Mister O'Shea. This is really just someone to make sure schedules are maintained and the contract stipulations are held to... I'm sure you'll find that Sergeant Barnes is capable and easy to work with..."
O'Shea had been whispering something to Gina but stopped, canting his head to the side. "Very funny... " He quipped, eyeing the other two men.
"Oh, it isn't a joke." Locke flipped through a file folder and pulled out a piece of paper, passing it over to O'Shea. "Barnes is the project manager... obviously there will be experts overseeing the construction and security installations but... Captain Rogers... Ah, that's Captain America Miss Reid..." He leaned over to her, and she was half surprised he didn't elbow her, his tone indicating this was something to brag about, that he had spoken to Captain America. Bully for him. "He told me personally that they put his buddy Barnes up for this to help him you know... integrate... get back out there. I guess the guy needs something to do..." He was chuckling as if he'd just told a joke. "Guess a guy who's spent the last fifty years murdering people doesn't have a lot of hobbies..."
"That's enough Edward." Masser said it quietly but with enough authority that the other man listened. Everyone seemed to stop for a moment, each of them looking away, letting out a collective breath before Masser spoke again. "Miss Reid, I wouldn't be concerned. I doubt you'll even come into contact with Sergeant Barnes and, he has been fully cleared, medically, and otherwise... pardoned, as you may know from the news... I'll be happy to have someone give you a call, about it, if you like."
Danielle nodded. Today had been a lot and even though this was something of a shock, she felt like Locke wanted it to get to her, to worry her. He was looking for a reaction. He'd gotten it out of O'Shea so...She wasn't interested in giving the irritating man that satisfaction and she also was just a little too tired to think about the implications of this too much. "Thank you Mister Masser... I'm sure that anyone the Secretary of State approves to work on this project is qualified for it..." She responded, the words sounded a little robotic, a little too polite but, she reached a hand out to the man, curling her lips up in a pleasant, if not altogether genuine smile, shaking his hand. "Thank you, again. I think I had better get going." She made a point of glancing down at her watch and then eyeing Gina and Mister O'Shea.
"Very well, it was a pleasure Miss Reid..." Masser called after them, hands in his pockets. When they were almost out of ear shot she heard him say something to the younger man. She couldn't make out the words but the tone told her that he was reading Locke the riot act. Maybe it was wrong of her, but that definitely allowed her to walk out of the building with a smile on her face.
After they'd said their goodbyes to Mister O'Shea and he'd assured her he'd be looking into this newest revelation, Gina and Danielle had headed back to her place. They moved around the living room, surrounded by boxes, half unpacked, labelled on the sides with room names and instructions. "How you were so organized with this, I'll never know... I mean, I remember you were organized at school but..." Gina was knee deep in a box of books, moving them to the built in shelves against one wall of the room.
"I can't believe that someone who lived with me for three years in college thinks I was organized... I think you may be misremembering our time together... too much Everclear..."
Gina paused, one hand on her hip, the other holding a stack of books. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a thin, long sleeved shirt, tapping a barefoot against the hardwood floor - both women had changed upon returning to the house; Danielle was dressed similarly, shorts and an old university t-shirt. The kind of work they were doing called for comfort. Gina pointed at Danielle's shirt, "Are you suggesting I drank away my brain cells? Because I'll tell you what I do remember... ma'am, and that's you drinking me under the table... frequently." She sounded serious but there was a hint of laughter underneath her words.
Danielle held her gaze a moment and then laughed. "Fine... whatever... I think this is about enough for today. I appreciate you helping... and again, finding this place... Even if it did mean I had to spend my morning in that conference room." She paused, glancing around the living room. "It's perfect G... it really is." She broke down one of the empty cardboard boxes next to her and added it to the pile of others. They were making good progress, but it was getting late and she knew Gina had things to do. Gina had already helped quite a lot, and Danielle was thankful. They had been close in college, living together their last three years. After that, they'd both moved for jobs post graduation and had seen each other only occasionally. Nearly ten years later, it was like no time had passed and Danielle was more than a little relieved to have her around. Taking on this property and the challenge of turning it into the space she imagined was not going to be easy... having a friendly face was going to be a lifesaver, she knew that already.
"Why don't I come back this weekend, we can get the rest of this stuff up... that way you can start settling in before the work starts in a couple of weeks... Between what you get done during the week and two weekends worth of work... we can knock it out." Gina was slipping her feet into her shoes and putting her phone and things into her bag.
"Thank you... You don't' have to but... that would be great. I'll have wine and food..." Danielle smiled, following her to the front door.
"I'll bring my charming personality then, and it's a date." They both laughed, squeezing each other into a quick hug and then Gina headed out the screen door. She paused though, standing on the porch, looking back at Danielle. "About the other thing... O'Shea is right, we can probably get them to do something about that I mean... you are out here by yourself they can't expect you to be comfortable with a man like that hanging around... even if there will be other people..."
"Gina... it's fine." Danielle stood in the doorway, holding the screen door open with her foot, she had been avoiding thinking about this too much, and she didn't really want to now. "I don't expect I'll have to see much of anyone working on this, save the trucks coming through... and, I mean, the Secretary of State signed off on it so... obviously the decision wasn't taken lightly... I know that Secretary Ross has a lot to do with...with the Avengers" It was difficult to say that out loud, strange to think she was suddenly so proximal to something so... well, she didn't quite know the word, beyond her, really, was what it was. "Anyway... If they're good with it, I am. There'll be tons of other people here when he is... and if there's anything weird I promise I'll talk to O'Shea or someone... I just don't... or, at least right now, I can't care. I'm just ready for them to get started and get finished so I can ... " She held her hand out, indicating the property around her and let the sentence hang there.
"Alright, I'm just sayin', be careful. Anyway... I'll see you this weekend." Danielle waved as Gina backed her car out and turned it back down the drive, mind swimming with all of the various happenings of the day. She sometimes had a tendency towards letting stress and anxiety take over her more rational self, something that was threatening to happen now. She decided she couldn't cope with that just now and went upstairs to run herself a bath, focused on relaxing and letting any thoughts of construction, project managers, lawyers, or any of the rest of it, melt away with the hot water.
Later, Danielle leaned against the back of the porch swing, the wood creaking beneath her as it swayed back and forth, almost imperceptibly, her legs stretched out across it. Summer would be shortly coming to a close, already a faint chill was beginning to creep its way into the early morning air... And yet, she had a glass of sweet, iced tea clutched in one hand, fresh slices of lemon floating in the amber liquid, a habit from home she never seemed to be able to shake. She was a southern girl, certainly, and she definitely stood out here, in New York... but she didn't mind. People were nice here, in fact, Danielle was pretty sure that people were nice everywhere, if you were nice to them, at least mostly - lawyers not withstanding. She'd been as welcome when she'd moved and taken up residence in the old farmhouse at her back as she'd ever been anywhere else. More so perhaps... the local community seemed to have a great love for the property and were glad to see someone rescuing it from falling into disrepair. The previous owners had let a lot go by the wayside before deciding to sell, and though the renovation she'd lined up prior to her arrival here had been intense, it wasn't all complete, not by half. Like the community, Danielle had a love for old and broken things too. She'd always been fascinated by history, by the way people lived in times past; the relics, like this old farmhouse, that they left behind. Perhaps it was that southern girl in her, she couldn't resist the slow, steady pace of a place like this... The days would be filled with hard work, they already had been, and she'd barely made a dent in the restoration of the property but, here, everything seemed peaceful, seemed to have order... it seemed right. It was strange to think that on the other side of the woods behind the house, her property (that was strange too, to think of all this as hers) butted up to another large swathe of land, this one housing one of the most high tech facilities on the planet. The one caveat to this little slice of perfection... it seemed that slow pace was going to allude her a while longer. Beginning the week after next, and ongoing for, well, she didn't really know how long, several months, at least; a large section of her property was going to be the site of a major construction undertaking... Logging and clearing in the woods that bordered the property line between the farm and the Avenger's compound, building up fencing and constructing security towers, laying lines for power and fiber and whatever else she couldn't imagine... And of course, with all the equipment and man power required for the job, even more of her space would be taken up... And then, there was the news today about Sergeant Barnes... She supposed that's what he was being called, it's what the legal team had called him. She knew the man's name and even his face fairly well. He'd been all over the news for months. The story had bee told and retold, everywhere from TMZ to 60 Minutes. The resolution had been that the man was pardoned, by the United States government, for his crimes as the... what was it? The Winter Soldier and allowed back into the country under the care of the Avengers. If Locke and Masser were telling the truth, he was shortly going to be overseeing the work here... an attempt to get him back out into the world, or so Locke had said. She supposed it made sense. There'd be plenty of people about to keep an eye on him, no doubt the State Department or the Avenger's team would have something in place to monitor the man... When she got down to it, she really didn't know how to feel about it. It was difficult to be too afraid. She'd never met him, or even seen him in person so the idea of him was just that... an idea... and even before this had come up, she'd been firmly in the camp that he couldn't be held responsible for what he'd done while under HYDRA's control. Everyone had an opinion on that, as much as it has been in the media, and she definitely was glad the decision had been made to bring the man home... he was a POW, he deserved help, not hatred... But still, that was all very different from having him, living and breathing, hanging around her home. Maybe Gina was right... maybe she should at least ask some questions... it didn't hurt to be cautious. She decided she would, tomorrow. Take up Masser on his offer and see who she could speak with that knew a little more about this, just to set her mind at ease.
The baying of a dog in the distance roused her from her thoughts and she stood up from the swing, bare feet hitting the worn porch decking with a thud. Setting aside her drink she stepped over to the porch railing, cupping her hands around her mouth as she called out. "TY! COME ON!" Danielle stepped back, arms folding over her chest as she listened. The baying had quieted and after a few minutes she could hear the crunching of brush and leaves as her adventurous, goofy, and completely lovable black lab rounded the corner of the house, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted from his run. "Where have you been?" She questioned, glancing down as he plodded up the steps of the front porch, tags jangling, to lean against her legs. She'd had him since her last year of college, and had named him Tiberius, after her favorite Star Trek captain, Kirk. Usually she just called him Ty, and he'd been her constant companion since. After a moment of ear scratching Ty stretched and flopped down on the rug in front of the door, Danielle heading back to the porch swing, taking a long drink from her glass of tea. Yeah, this place was going to be alright, she could feel it, in her gut - even with the aggravation of this looming project, even with all the questions that today had brought... It was going to take some work, but it was going to be great... she was as sure of that as she had been of anything, in a very long time.