Bruce had been hyperventilating for the last forty five minutes since they arrived in New York and Rick had spent every second of it trying to reassure him that it would all be ok. Bruce opened up the laptop that Rick had brought with them and directed Rick to drive to NYU since Stern's schedule said he would be in class. He also checked Betty's schedule to see that she wouldn't even be on campus that day which would make avoiding her so much easier. Rick nodded and made his way to the campus hoping that this whole scenario would go without incident since the military would have the ability to be on them in moments.
They pulled into the parking lot and Rick turned his car off and looked at Bruce "What's the plan?"
"You go and get Sterns tell him that you are delivering his package from a mutual friend and meet me outside the science building and we can go to his lab from there" explained Bruce putting on a baseball cap and getting out of the car with Rick following behind him. "Get there and make it quick the longer I'm out and about the more likely someone spots me."
Samuel Sterns collected up his students papers dreading how much grading he had to do over the next few days. He stuffed them into his bag and started making his way out of the building and to get his lunch before his next class that afternoon. He walked out ignoring students who were asking questions he had no patience to really answer. He was then stopped in his tracks by a young man he didn't recognize.
"Hello Dr. Sterns?" the young man asked. Sterns nodded and the man smiled "Wonderful, listen I'm here to deliver a package from a mutual friend" he said prompting Sterns to find himself really confused. The man then turned and pointed off into the distance at a figure standing off by a tree in front of the building. Sterns approached and recognized the man from the newspaper clippings and google searches.
Sterns approached cautiously and offered his hand to the man he recognized as Bruce Banner "It's a pleasure to finally meet you" he said prompting an awkward smile from Bruce who shook Stern's hand. Sterns could not contain his excitement, the key to his research was now standing right in front of him, his mind thought of all the possibilities, he could rid the world of that green monster that had ravaged New York when Banner escaped and could also perfect Bruce's work and use it to do all kinds of things he probably hasn't even thought of yet.
Stern's started peppering Bruce with questions causing Bruce to get nervous and start looking around hoping nobody would notice him until his eyes came to rest on a pair of eyes he hadn't seen in so long.
Betty was losing her mind, she had left her student's tests at her office last night and was supposed to meet Glenn for lunch. She had to call him to have him meet her outside the science building which he was happy to do. She was glad he could pull himself away from work and her father, she was curious as to what he could possibly be doing back in New York and she hoped that Glenn would be willing to fill her in at least some degree. She was wearing a casual shirt and jeans with a light jacket on since her and Glenn weren't going anywhere fancy. She darted into her office just as Stern's class was getting out, she grabbed the tests and started walking out, seeing Sterns make his way out of the building. She dropped her keys allowing Sterns to get just out of sight, she picked up her keys locked up her office and started making her way out to meet Glenn who should be waiting for her by now.
She walked out the building and started looking around for Glenn and could see Sterns shaking hands with someone just off the sidewalk, she thought that he might be an old student or maybe a colleague of his. Instead she recognized him when he looked up nervously and without thinking she started walking towards him. Everything seemed to slow down, all she could hear was her breathing and her heartbeat, he saw her now his eyes getting bigger as she got closer and their eyes locked on to each other. She got within speaking range to him, she could literally reach her hand out and touch him and a part of her wondered if she was dreaming and she would wake up soon.
Talbot was more than annoyed Ross had taken his office and nearly cost him a lunch with Betty, not to mention how scary Blonsky looked after his treatment. He didn't look different per say but you could see that he had changed, he stood taller, he intimidated without even having to move, but his eyes are what bothered Talbot the most, it was like he was looking into your soul, sizing you up almost as a challenge. Talbot got out of his car and started making his way to where he was supposed to meet Betty and walk with her to a nice lunch a few blocks from the school. He wasn't in his uniform preferring to look casual for his lunch, he had brought Banner's file with him, even though a good chunk of it was redacted. He was trying to figure out why Ross would need Blonsky to bring him in and why Ross would need to make Blonsky even more dangerous to ensure success.
He stopped to put the file way in his bag and looked up to see Betty standing on the stairs of the science building and he could see her looking off into the distance at someone. He looked in that direction and could see three men standing, one he recognized from that faculty dinner a few weeks back as Samuel Sterns, another was a younger guy who could be a student but the third man was the interesting one. He looked familiar, Talbot pulled out the Banner file again and looked at the picture. He looked back and forth a few times as Bruce and Betty approached each other, this was what he wanted, his chance to make a move up the chain of command. He stepped back behind a nearby tree and pulled out his cell phone and dialed Ross. "I've found Banner."