Dacia laughed as she made her way into the spaceship, she was walking alongside Cassian as they made their way back into the spaceship they called home. Sighing a contented sigh to herself, as the two of them made their way through the silver coloured corridors, smiling to one another, thinking back on some of the things they had managed to find out. The things they found out didn't look as if they were going to be helpful, at least not in a traditional sense, but they had managed to blow off some steam. They both thought that it was more important to them that they were able to go into the coming days with a clear head.
Humming to themselves, as they hopped and skipped through the corridors together, ready to tell them about all they hadn't managed to learn. Looking over at one another, they sighed before they entered into the central computer nodule, they would have to talk to Jyn and see if she had managed to find out anything they could use to find the woman they were after.
"So, Jyn, did you manage to find anything we can use when we are trying to apprehend the woman we are chasing? We only managed to clear our heads a little, sorry about that, but what did you do while we were out?" Dacia asked the woman gently, laughing a little in embarrassment.
"Okay, we work around this as much as possible. Was there anything else that you were able to find while we were out, I think that there has to be something we can do to further our goals? We might be able to work around what this woman is doing, to the extent so that we can find." Dacia muttered, tracing her eyes over the computer screens in front of her.
"We should be able to find this woman, so I did a little digging around, looking for anything that we could use when we attempted to find the woman. So, I have been looking through some of the general geographies of the country; I think we can agree that the woman is definitely in the country. At the moment I have set up a program that will hopefully be able to trawl through some of the cameras from various ATMs. While I haven't so far been able to find her, I'm hopeful that the woman might forget herself and come up for oxygen when she runs out of cash. It may just be a wing and a prayer, but for now, it's all we have." Jyn sighed, tapping through a few more of the buttons.
"At the moment, that's all we have, but I thought that we should try something new. Namely that we need to be able to go into this situation with a clear head until we see a new angle there might be something that we can find to help us," Cassian started, frowning "can you leave the computer to work through this, while we have an early night?"
"Yeah, I feel like I'm just going around in circles. There's nothing more frustrating than the feeling of going round in circles while we try to find anything to use. Is there anything that you have in mind for us to do now?" Jyn sighed, running through a hand through her hair, rapidly becoming stressed.
"For now, while the computers are running these searches, to meditate and maybe get a good night's rest. Things will seem brighter in the morning; maybe an answer will miraculously occur to us when we have rested our mind minds." Dacia told the two before leaving the room behind him.
WHOOSH
The next morning the three woke up, feeling refreshed and as if some of the answers they sought occurred to them after a full night's sleep.
Walking up with a sigh, Jyn suddenly realised that some of what had been eluding her the night before had started to make sense to her as she slept. At the very least, now she had an idea of the steps she would have to take if she wanted to run down the woman they were still searching for. A calm sense of resolves filled her body, as she made her way to the central computer nodule, ready for another day's work. Sighing to herself when she realised that even if she now had access to some of the things that had previously been eluding her, she still needed to stock up on some caffeine, or at least she thought that she should. She wasn't one to fall into dependence on caffeine, though she did enjoy the taste of tea, to the extent that she enjoyed being able to take a cup in the morning and expect it to last her all day. She wasn't about to push it.
Humming to herself as new ideas occurred to her, new pathways that she could take their search. At this point, Jyn was well aware that she needed to turn over every stone, but thanks to Dacia's actions the night before, was ready to admit that she needed to approach the problem from a new angle. A new angle that occurred to her overnight, though if Dacia asked she wasn't about to make a big deal of it, goodness knows how painful that woman could be when she put her mind to it.
Stepping up to the computer Jyn tapped through the buttons in front of her, beginning to refine her search for the woman. Her fingers quickly became a blur as they ran over the keys in front of her, periodically grumbling under her breath while she tried to narrow down the search. Suddenly pausing only to smirk when she wondered if it was possible that Romanova knew that there was a proverbial noose closing in around her neck as the group got closer and closer to finding the quarry they sought.
Jyn had to wonder if the woman was so filled with her ego that she couldn't see that she may be running into danger unnecessarily, all because she was too proud to stop and ask for help simply. If Romanova did stop and ask for help, then Jyn suspected that she might not find a lot of help, having previously burned all of her sources during the fall of SHIELD. The fact that she may struggle to find help solely due to her hubris was laughable to Jyn; it was interesting to wonder how long it had taken Romanova to realise the amount of trouble she now found herself in and how difficult it was going to be for her to get out of said trouble.
Not even noticing when the other two made their way into the room, she was that focused on finding answers that a fire could have broken out beneath her very nose and she probably wouldn't notice.
"So, what do you have when it comes to this Jyn, I am guessing that you have a good idea, at least based on the sound you are making as you clatter those keys?" Dacia laughed, feeling as if she knew her friend well enough to guess what was going on in her head.
"We should be able to find something that we can work with, but I was wondering if we should consider running traces on the woman's former sources. If we can reach out to them, some of them might want to get even to her, by any means necessary. We would not have to tell them a lot, just enough so that they can keep us in mind if they spot her." Jyn told the two, tapping through the keys in front of her, considering some of the problems that they now faced.
"The underground isn't that big; there is always someone with an axe to grind." Cassian supplied with a shrug.
"That may be true, but for now we can't rely on how things may have worked back home. Jyn, have you been able to find anything else that we may be able to lean on?" Dacia asked, quietly warning the man from making sweeping generalisations.
Cassian peered intently over at Dacia, staring hard enough that it made the woman begin to shift around in discomfort. Tapping his middle finger against his bottom lip, his vision beginning to go a little blurry as he thought. Dacia looked at the man, not completely sure what the man was aiming for, if it was to make her comfortable, then it was working. Dacia felt as if she had never been stared at quite so hard; she tried to keep herself from searching for an exit point, why was her friend staring at her like she had done something terrible?
Shaking her head, as she tried to remind herself that she had not done anything to be worried about, she turned to the side and started to doctor up a large mug of hot chocolate for her friend. Wrinkling her nose, as she idly wondered what was going through her friends head, and why did it fill her with dread that she didn't know? Swallowing down her sigh of frustration when she realised that it didn't matter how much time she spent with the man, there would always be somethings that were destined to remain a mystery.
"Not as such, but I am continuing to dig in and see what pops up, there might very well be a diamond in the shit that we haven't yet been aware off, at least I don't want to think all of what I'm doing here to mean precisely nothing! Permission to keep digging until such a time when I find something?" Jyn jumped into Dacia's relief.
She might love her friend, but she hated being stared at like she was hiding something like she was hiding the answers to every mystery still left for them to confront. She didn't mind being called a coward in this at least, for she could easily admit that she would avoid the man's disappointment. In any other situation she would be brave, but in this, she dreaded having the man's attention fixed solely on her. Nodding her head in thanks to Jyn, she wondered at what point her life had changed so drastically, but for now, she had other things to worry about.
"Yeah, try that, but do you have any ideas on what we could work on today? I don't think that I need to point out exactly why we need to immediately get to work on being able to find the woman!" Cassian reminded the other two, not wanting them to lose sight of the problems that faced them.
"Hold that thought! Something has just popped up; I wasn't expecting that so soon, the woman must have gotten incredibly sloppy if I was able to find her so quickly." Jyn muttered, tapping the keys at a frantic pace.
"What? What is it?" Dacia asked impatiently, hurrying over to the woman.
Cassian looked over at the woman, sensing that some resolve was about to happen to them. He wondered what exactly had happened to make the Jyn jump; he wondered if this was further proof that Romanova was not as good as she thought. They had found her relatively easy; it had been too easy to find her, Cassian wondered if it was possible they were being tricked? Maybe allowed to relax enough, before the rug was pulled out from underneath them?
In any case, Cassian couldn't worry about it as much as he would like, because right now they had other concerns to focus on. Namely finding the woman, they couldn't afford to let their guard down enough where they started to ask themselves questions about their self-worth. They had a job to do; everything else could wait.
"I'm almost positive that it's her, in any case, we should probably think about disembarking and check for the woman. We don't want to miss our chance simply because we are too careful and circumspect in our hunt for our quarry." Jyn remarked, frowning at the screen in front of her.
"Very well, we'll go, but I don't think I need to stress that you guys need to follow my every instruction. We need to enter into this, with the possibility of our getting into trouble should be." Dacia quietly warned the other two.
Cassian and Jyn both nodded seriously at each other, knowing that for now, the stakes were as high as they had ever been. They might not be sure whether or not they would find Romanova, but they both knew how important it was that they should both act like they were on the same page. Separating from one another again, they wanted to make sure that it was indeed possible for them to continue to fly under the radar.
Guiding the two back to the closet for the second time in as many days, Dacia looked over at the other two and nodded briefly, not even feeling a need to elaborate on what she was about to do. Darting into the room quickly, she grabbed for her clothes along with both Cassian's and Jyn's before throwing her outfit on. Leaning partway out of the door, she tossed the clothes over to her friends before passing them to go and perform her ablutions in the bathroom.
WHOOSH
Looking between her friends as they walked from the spaceship, they had discussed the importance of all they were supposed to be doing. They split up, each sure of their part in the upcoming adventure. Dacia separated from the other two and made her way through a tall residential building silently; she was making her way to the roof of the building. Managing to step quietly over the roof, she wasn't sure whether or not it was possible that the woman might hear her and make her escape before they managed to escape them. Pressing a button on the side of her jacket, she made sure to let both Cassian and Jyn know that she was now in position. It was imperative that they all act their parts.
Cassian had meanwhile separated from the two and tip-toed through the large slightly neglected looking apartment building and furtively looking around he made sure that no one was coming. Slipping into the apartment and glancing through the room that he now found himself in, trying not startle himself when he was met with the sight of several people looking back at him. His mind whirled as he tried to work out exactly how he should try to get himself out of this situation.
Trying to work out what exactly he should do with the people staring at him, his mind quickly going through all of the various options open to him. Just as quickly as he was coming to conclusions about what he should do with these people, he realised that he could not run the risk of trying one solution after another. Trying to decide to himself what he should do, Cassian briefly closed his eyes, before snapping them open when a solution appeared behind his closed eyelids. Sliding his hand into his jacket, he reached for the handy little psychic paper that Jyn had whipped up. Retrieving a black faux leather wallet, he flipped it open, uttering a quiet prayer to himself, hoping that these people would believe whatever appeared on the psychic paper. If they didn't, it could make this whole thing go by a little quicker, something that he was hoping didn't have to happen.
Jyn, on the other hand, had prepared for her part, by going into the generic coffee house that stood directly opposite the apartment block that Romanova had chosen to call her own. Smirking a little when she realised that the woman had made a mistaken decision when she had chosen to take living quarters near a UCD campus. Jyn was ready to take advantage of the woman's hubris and use it to her advantage. Thinking, with some derision, that Romanova wasn't the only one who could dress the part and blend in no matter where she was. Walking up to the counter, wearing a shabby overly stressed university student and ordering herself a large cup of tea before making her way back from the counter.
Casting a glance throughout the room, with a calculating eye, she chooses to claim for herself one of the tables near the door. When she was satisfied that anybody walking along outside wouldn't be able to pick out her features, only being able to see the general shape of the woman. Delicately perched on the seat behind her, Jyn pulled out a random engineering textbook, she wanted to take blending in seriously and randomly flipped the book open. Pressing the button on her shirt, to signal to both Dacia and Cassian that she had arrived in the spot when she would be keeping watch from, she prepared herself for a bit of a long wait. She wasn't sure of their quarry's schedule, having only decided to take this location on a bit of a whim.
Even if you had pressed her, Jyn wouldn't be able to explain that she felt like she had a good hunch that for once they were on the right track. It might not be immediately explicable, but something told Jyn that she was in the right spot.
Her decision panned out and struck gold a few hours later when she spied Romanova going into the apartment block, something for which she was glad. Jyn privately didn't fancy telling both Dacia and Cassian that she had made a mistake and they were in the completely wrong location. Standing up from her tea and stretching out her limbs, Jyn left the coffee shop, looking for all the world like she was ready to throw in the towel simply. Leaving the coffee shop behind her Jyn made sure to keep Romanova in her sights. Falling back slightly when the woman went into the apartment block, she waited until the woman's shadow was well into the building, before dashing across the courtyard.
Making her way into the lobby of the apartment block, Jyn made sure that her hair falling across her face hid her face, it wouldn't do for her to be rumbled at this point. Loitering near the post cubby holes until she heard Romanova's near-silent footsteps recede upstairs, she then silently ran up the steps. Bypassing the floor where she knew that Romanova was currently living, she went to the floor above. Jimmying the lock to the apartment door that was directly above the one she was now sure that hid Romanova, she made her way in.
Looking around the small apartment she found herself in, she quickly took off the bookbag, not wanting to have a copy of a heavy textbook banging her hips when she performed her next few acts. Lifting a semi-clean old sheet that had been folded up on the edge of the sofa, she made her way over to the glass door and slid it open. On the balcony, Jyn smirked when she was greeted by the sight of an old looking lawn chair. Not wanting to risk it by putting all her weight through the seat, she moved past it and leaned over the edge of the balcony looking down.
Testing how much weight it looked as if the sheet would hold her weight, she carefully tied it around one of the strange columns. Tossing the sheet down over the balcony, she carefully climbed down, making sure that she wasn't about to put herself through unnecessary harm. When Jyn reached the floor of the balcony, she hopped down, hoping that she would be able to find something that she could use to pinpoint where exactly she could go to find the woman. For all Jyn believed in her hunch, she knew enough to guess that Cassian at least would want definitive proof.
For now, though, she shook her head once and tip-toed over to the adjoining wall – it was of crucial importance that the woman maintained her secrecy. Pressing her ear against the wall, she prepared herself to wait for a long period.
At long last, Jyn smiled to herself when she realised that it was indeed Romanova moving around in apartment beside her, she had finally found the woman that they were searching for, this woman wouldn't be able to evade them for long. Pressing the button on her lapel, when she heard the woman's movements begin to settle down, glancing at her wristwatch and making a note of the time. It was after midnight, had the woman decided to go to sleep? She couldn't be sure, but in any case, it was time for her to walk away.
Tip-toeing over to the sliding glass door, she looked out at the calm night and wrapped part of the sheet around her wrist, not wanting to take the chance of slipping. Before Jyn started to make sure that her upper body strength was reasonably strong, she didn't want to have taken comfort in something that could fail her at any turn. Carefully sliding the glass door closed, Jyn prepared for the climb and breathing in through her nose she started the climb, not allowing herself to make a noise and give away her position. Sighing in relief when she reached the upper landing. Making her way quietly through the door, Jyn crept over to the front door of the apartment, wanting to leave the place. Making sure that she grabbed her shoulder bag, she left the apartment block behind.
Making her way back through the darkened streets of Dublin, Jyn thought to herself that it had been a good move on their part to previously renting out that apartment on Air B&B, now they had a legitimate excuse should anyone question them on why they were in Dublin. Humming to herself as she rounded the corner to the spaceship, she carefully looked around her, and upon seeing that nobody else was around, she approached with some caution.
Making her way into the spaceship, Jyn felt the pangs of hunger make themselves known, she changed direction to the small kitchenette, wanting to make herself a small midnight snack. When she reached the room, Jyn started whistling to herself as she pulled down a packet of noodles, for now, she wanted to try eating healthily, something that wouldn't be particularly easy.
When she had prepared the food and settled down to eat her food, while she thought through some of the things she now felt were drawing to a conclusion. Whether or not they were going to reach a satisfying conclusion, she wasn't sure, but she did feel a need to follow it up. Munching her way through the noodles, Jyn looked down in surprise when she suddenly hit the bottom of the bowl; she must have eaten without noticing what she was doing again.
That would sometimes happen to her; she didn't feel like it was something to be worried about. Just something to keep in mind for her going forward.
Cleaning up after herself, Jyn made her way back to the central computer nodule and started to type the notes she felt were necessary for them to remember. After having taken notes for some time, she was disturbed by Cassian and Dacia making their way into the room. Stretching out her stiff limbs as she tried to think where exactly she should start her explanation.
"So, I am one hundred certain that we have found Romanova, but I am still unclear on her movements. Were you guys able to determine her movements?" Jyn asked with a sigh.
"No, but I was able to work out why she felt like she could live in the location that she chooses. You see the apartment block is used mostly by students at the nearby UCD campus, so she might have chosen the spot in hopes that she might be able to blend in a bit easier there. If there are university students, no one is going to notice another woman, another good thing about university is that you don't HAVE to be in your late teens to start. She could work the whole mature student thing to her advantage. The best thing is that this building doesn't seem to belong to the university outright. It's more likely that university students prefer to rent the place due to it's proximity to the campus and the fact that it's cheap." Dacia told the two having scanned through a bit of information on the computer in front of her.
"Okay, well that sounds good, and all but do we know yet how many apartments are set aside for students? And how many other people rent? If we can get a look at that, we might be able to work out what was going through the woman's head when she decided to short-term rent a place." Cassian asked.
Jyn cocked her head to the side, thinking about what she wanted to do next, and started to tap keys in front of her.
"It doesn't seem as there is any system in place to ensure that the residents of the apartment block are as protected as they should be. The conditions in some of the apartments in that apartment block, should not be legal, so I'm trying to work out how they felt comfortable enough teasing money out from people." Jyn frowned looking at the screen.
Cassian shot a look over at a quiet Dacia, they both knew how dangerous it could be if Jyn started to see parrels in some of the places she had managed to avoid throughout her long life of trying to avoid detection by those who wished her harm. Dacia sighed and started to look around her for a distraction, nodding to her herself she made her way over to a computer and pulled up a maps feature.
"She is probably hiding among the UCD students, we are most near the Blackrock campus aren't we? She must have access to a car; it wouldn't have to be a fancy car. Just one that could get her from A to B. If we knew where that car was, we could place a tracker on the car, if she wanted to get to the airport, she would have three separate routes. Same with if she wanted to go to either Glasnevin Cemetery or Kilmainham Gaol. They are fond of their toll roads here." Dacia remarked lightly.
"That makes sense, if she were hiding somewhere, she wouldn't want to run the risk of being too close to where ever she plans to make her dead drops. Nothing would make her want to have all her eggs in one basket. She might have gotten a bit softer thanks to her being able to rely on the backing of Stark, but muscle memory and instinct would make her second-guess some of her actions. Kilmainham and Glasnevin are famous, aren't they? She could be hoping to hide among tourists and the curious; nobody is going to look to close at a tourist." Cassian reminded the two.
"Okay, before we make any other moves, we should look for the car that she is relying on because she wouldn't want to use a lot of public transport. There are decent links between those locations and the place where she is living right?" Jyn decided, having told the two what she was thinking off.
Cassian and Dacia exchanged a relieved look; it didn't seem as if the woman was about to fall into the trap of reminiscing about her past. It was a good thing because neither wanted to have to face the task of having to pull the woman back from the brink of her memories. Both knew that they had to remain focused on the task at hand, so any chance that they would have to pull the woman's focus back would take them too long. They didn't feel like they had the time to tip-toe around the woman, not when they had so many thoughts going through their head.
It might take them some time to begin to feel comfortable and ready for the coming mission, no matter what happened it would have to be time for them to bring their 'A Game'.
"I can go and check whether or not I can find the car; you guys go over the final plan for tomorrow, we need to find a way for us to nail this woman." Cassian sighed, suddenly backing out of the room, leaving his friends behind.
Jyn and Dacia exchanged an awkward look before turning back to the computer and going through some of the plans for the following day. Dacia pointed at the screen briefly, before turning and looking to her friend, whispering to the woman about something that she could see. Jyn turned to the woman in some alarm before gesturing with some concern at something she had noticed.
WHOOSH
Clint looked at the cells; he could not believe how far he had gotten himself involved in this mess. Thinking on it further, he realised that he had always known that Stark could be a bit of a bully and full of his self-importance but he felt like he had to wonder, if not for the very first time what had possessed him to get himself into this mess. He had always been a damn good sniper, at what point did he think that it was a good idea to get himself emotionally attached to someone who days earlier had tried to kill him?
Who had emotionally messed with his teammate's minds?
Why did he think it was a good idea for him to die on this hill?
There were some things that he couldn't explain to himself, even in his darkest moments, so he started to look around him trying to work out how he could get out of this mess. There were some things that he still wondered if he could entirely say came from his mind.
Even ten years ago, he would have sneered at the thought that anyone could influence his thoughts. He had always felt comfortable enough with the notion that his thoughts were his own, but after Loki had screwed around with his minds, he had started to wonder.
Some of the thoughts that he had had, he wondered where they came from, simply because he didn't recognise belonging to him. Stark had always been a bit more aloof and distant, but he had seemed like the right sort. Someone that he felt he could count on for a good time in bars, even if he felt as it was walking a dangerous line, because wasn't there a good case to be made for Stark being an alcoholic?
He had incredible eyesight, and he had thought that the two were becoming friends, so he hadn't been able to understand why the man would lock up Wanda.
Why had the man opted to walk that path?
At the same time he wondered what made him think that he knew exactly what was going through the man's head, did he even have any right to wonder what was going through the man's head. Stark had his hands in a great many pies, more than even Clint could ever fathom, so why had she had he decided to get himself messed up into a situation that he would easily confess he didn't understand a lot about.
The Accords weren't going to affect him; he had tried to wipe his hands of the Avengers back when he left them after Sokovia.
That was the way that he wanted it to happen, but as per usual he was pulled back in by something he didn't understand. Clint was by means stupid, even Stark and Banner had both admitted that some of the shots that he made were a mathematical genius. But he was easily led, as was evidenced by his current situation.
Normally, he wouldn't have been so quick to jump into something that he didn't completely understand.
He should have realised that Wanda was not his daughter, no matter how much he might feel like she was. Clint had constantly tried not to judge others based on what was in their past; goodness knows he understood that there were always skeletons in a person's past. But he tried to remind himself that the woman had been in a terrorist organisation and was actively trying to kill him.
There were some things that he found difficult to forgive, this would normally be one of those situations, so why had he held onto that guilt?
Why had he decided to rebel against the man that he felt a burgeoning friendship for the man?
He should have gone on holiday with his kids, they were expecting him and why had he decided to walk away from them?
Was it possible that Wanda had been using her stick her fingers in his mind and started to make him think of her as her daughter? He already had a daughter, one that he loved? He had two sons, why had he decided to bring the woman over for dinner, why had he decided to bring a terrorist around his family?
When he got out of this mess, it would maybe be better if he could separate himself from his former team altogether. They had brought nothing but trouble, something that he tried to remind himself he didn't need.
Cocking his head to the side he wondered if he had indeed heard Nat's name, why were they hunting for her?
Hadn't she aligned herself with Stark?
Hadn't she used her brain to make a decision that he still didn't understand for himself?
What was going on?
What exactly had he stumbled in without looking?