If there was only one thing she learned from her father then it was the power of a single statement. She would never let on just how long she had spent going through the stores of CityCentreDC for something that fit the gig. There wasn't exactly a dress code when it came to espionage; still, Lucie was damn certain that she wouldn't walk into the Triskellion looking anything other than her deadly counterpart. By now her photograph had been circulated the globe countless times. Everyone knew her face. Knew her name, believed her cover to be real. It was time she lived up to it.
Black leather boots bounced and clattered against the pavement as Lucie dragged them behind her like a dog in a delicate process she liked to call 'breaking in'. No shortage of civilians stared at her in concern as she strutted down the street towards her hotel with a pair of $800 shoes in tow. She smiled them away and even waved at a few that dared to make eye contact. New boots simply wouldn't do. State of the art equipment was one thing, a necessity even, straight off the rail clothing was amateur. The last thing she wanted was to strut through the front door of SHIELD HQ looking like she was fresh off the Academy graduation stage. No, she needed to look professional, unshakeable, valuable.
She studied her appearance in the mirror, trying to decide whether or not she had tried too hard, beginning at the top and working her way down. The first thing to go was her hair. Carefully, to avoid ripping any of her hair from the root, she pulled it free of its usual braids and dumped the pins on the bathroom counter. Every detail was critiqued the same way she would a target in the field, the same was the DC agents would critique her if they had been worth their training. It would be foolish to step into the lion's den ignoring that simple fact.
"Jacket? Shirt?" she wondered aloud, shrugging the leather jacket on and then off to see which option she preferred. She looked out the window and remembered where she was and practicality won out. The collared shirt would help with concealing some of her usual weaponry, at least the ones that she could walk
"This is nothing," Natasha's voice scoffed inside her head, her voice sounding so real that she may as well have been in the room. That was always her answer to everything, everything in Russia was harder. No matter how bleak or hopeless things seemed, there was always Russia.
Rather than argue with the assassin's voice in her head, she slipped the jacket over her arm and headed for the door. Best that all three of hers stay out of sight until she was securely inside SHIELD. She took one final look in the mirror, satisfied that she looked presentable and just a shade intimidating; all it would take would be a sharp gaze for her to slip easily into the character that she once played.
There was a line of men in near black identical suits waiting to get through security. All six were relatively young, maybe in their early twenties and all clearly from the SHIELD academy. 'Recruits on a field trip?' she thought to herself. The chanced giddy smiles at each other like cheerleaders giggling at the quarterback, clearly thrilled to be invited. From their builds, it was obvious that they weren't on the road to become field agents, all too skinny with next to no muscle tone. Far more likely that they would be in operations but by the state of their suits it was clear that they had yet to qualify. SHIELD paid its employees exceptionally well and every one of them dressed better than the identical Target ensemble the men in line wore.
Patiently, she waited in line behind the recruits, taking note of the details surrounding her. The Triskellion had been built specifically for SHIELD, all sharp corners and heartless chrome and steel. It wasn't meant to have character, it was meant to be efficient. The only decoration that had been afforded the main lobby was a five-meter high sculpture of the SHIELD logo, a reminder of the roots of the organization reaching back to the days of the SSR; the scientific division that had helped create the super soldier program and Captain America himself. Lucie considered the possibility that she might run into him here, it was after all where he had been stationed alongside Natasha.
The line moved on and eventually it was time for her to pass through, she was about to give her name when she was interrupted by the slightly flustered looking security officer.
"Please remove all weaponry from your person and place it in one of the security trays, Miss Stark."
The name caught her off guard, she expected still to be known as James, just how much had the crew aboard the Andraste heard?
"No thanks," she replied with a warm smile, making no effort to remove a single item.
"I'm sorry but it's policy."
Bless him, he actually looked apologetic as a tiny bead of sweat began to gather on his forehead. The kind of nervousness that men get when they are faced with a formidably beautiful woman. It was a look that Lucie was used to, having exploited the weakness on many occasions.
"I'll have to call upstairs." Another apology.
"Thank you…" she leant to the left slightly to get a better look at his name tag, "Officer Mendez."
She didn't blame the man for trying to do his job but she simply didn't have the time or the patience to disarm herself fully just to them replace every knife she took from her person. A year ago it would have been Coulson who came to collect her she allowed herself to revel in the mock memory for a few seconds while she waited. He would collect her from security, thank the officer and then scold her the entire elevator ride up to the operations centre for neglecting to pick up the pass he left for her in her temporary office. What she wouldn't give to be called into his office one last time. She missed their New York office, it had already been cleared out, everything transferred to the Triskellion after the battle.
Out of the corner of her eye, the elevator doors opened and a stone-faced blonde stalked towards her, heels clicking against the polished white marble. A familiar face at least, not only that, one of the few agents who wouldn't try to stab her in the back.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, looking less than impressed as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Good morning to you too, Sharon," Lucie grinned.
Unimpressed by her flippancy, Sharon pulled her away from the security desk and out of earshot of the recruits and the security officers.
"Lucia, you quit! Left SHIELD," the blonde fumed as if that was the most heinous action she could think of. As if SHIELD was a person in need of care and protection rather than an international intelligence agency.
"I know, hence the personal escort upstairs," she said with an exaggerated smile. "Please."
"You didn't even call."
The floor beneath her feet suddenly seemed fascinating as she traced the grey and black veins of the marble. It was true, she should have called, there were a lot of people who were owed a phone call, all of those who didn't deserve to hear about her resignation through the SHIELD gossip chain.
"I'm sorry, I needed to get off the grid for a while." It was a poor excuse and Lucie knew it, hoping that her old friend would understand.
Sharon sighed and turned on her heel, heading back in the direction that she came from. "Are you coming or what?" she called over her shoulder sounding less than impressed but willing enough to help.
Lucie was happy at least that some things hadn't changed.
They spoke a little in the elevator, a volley back and forth of quick questions and answers as a way to catch up before Sharon left her to fend for herself with Director Fury's secretary without so much as a 'good luck' or a 'good bye'. There had been no need to negotiate an appointment with the severe-looking secretary that occupied the desk by the Director's door, she looked more like a bulldog than a receptionist or maybe a slightly aged high school teacher who had seen everything twice and relied on threats to get her own way. Lucie had had teachers like that, the ones who tried to rule by fear, if anything had set her up for life as an agent then it had been British boarding school.
Fury looked the same as he always did, dressed completely in black with a floor-length leather coat to match.
"Miss Stark, how was Chicago?" Fury greeted with a rare half-smile, indicating the free chair in front of his desk that she politely took.
Lucie chanced a laugh to hide her outrage. Of course, they had tracked her, broken the promise that he had given the Avengers when they went their separate ways. She wondered if she counted as one of that line-up or if her presence had just been a fortunate accident, she knew that her name had never featured on the suggested members for the Avengers Initiative.
"Calming," she lied. If anything she allowed herself to be crushed by her internal chaos and was numb enough to wallow in it. Not that she would admit any of that to Fury, or to anyone else for that matter.
There was an infuriating smug look on the Director's face as if Lucie's return had been inevitable. He did most of the talking, setting out the broad details of the contract that he was almost enthusiastic to offer. She would no longer be an Agent of SHIELD but instead would be a freelance agent with her pick of assignments. Her clearance level would be raised to match that of Clint and Natasha and her day to day operational duties wouldn't change from her previous employment.
"My father gets no sway or influence in the assignments that I am offered."
"I don't need the extra headache."
Lucie hummed a laugh.
"Anything else?" Fury asked.
"No mandatory psych visits," she bid.
Fury looked at her for a few seconds, debating the offer on the table before nodding.
"Captain Rogers-"
"Has been partnered with Agent Romanoff for the time being, he has a personal security detail though of course…"
She raised an eyebrow, knowing just how the captain would react to that kind of intrusion. It was bad enough in New York when she had been his liaison to SHIELD, he wouldn't take kindly to someone being tasked with the assignment of protecting his life with their own. "He has no idea does he?"
"We thought it best not to inform him."
"He won't be pleased when he finds out."
"Welcome back to SHIELD Agent Stark," he grinned, avoiding her statement completely and ending their negotiation.