((Contains material of an adult nature.))
The National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., wasn't very crowded this time of year, especially since the trees were past peak and there was a chill in the air that precluded winter. It wasn't the most discreet of meeting places, but there would be no bugs or cameras to worry about, and it would be easy to watch for anyone who might try to eavesdrop. Steve hadn't been to Washington in a long time, and a lot had changed since he'd been there, but with Sam Wilson's help, he managed to find his way around, and as far as any casual observer was concerned, he was just a guy taking a lazy stroll on a sunny Friday afternoon. He was dressed for the part, too, in clothes Sam had suggested that would help him blend better - jeans, t-shirt, jacket, and sneakers. If anything, he looked more like Johnny Storm than Steve Rogers. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses to hide his face as best he could in hopes no one would recognize him.
Someone else was visiting the arboretum that day, too. With her shoulder still strapped up to aid its healing, Meg was ostensibly being given a tour of the best places in D.C. on her day off, with AJ as her guide. Unbeknownst to everyone at Langley but them, however, this was not a coincidence. Amanda Drew had gotten word from her brother-in-law in New York - a brother-in-law who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. - that a certain someone would be visiting D.C. for a few days, and wanted to catch up with them to find out what they knew about their internal conspiracy. Meg wasn't sure she believed the whole of the story relayed to them by Drew, but she was prepared to play along for the time being. And besides, it was beautiful here. It wasn't such a bad way to spend the day.
AJ wasn't quite as skeptical as Meg, in part because he trusted Drew, and in part because he knew the CIA sometimes partnered with S.H.I.E.L.D., though the CIA was more concerned about national intelligence, while S.H.I.E.L.D. concerned themselves with the world. It had been a long time since he'd bothered to visit the arboretum, and he'd forgotten how beautiful and peaceful it could be here - at least, when it wasn't too crowded. While tourists flocked to the mall and the monuments, unless the cherry trees were in bloom, the arboretum was always less crowded. And if nothing else, it was a nice day for an outing, and the company wasn't bad either.
"London never looks this pretty in the autumn," Meg was saying as they wandered beneath the trees. For convenience's sake, she wasn't wearing a sling; only someone who was looking for it would notice that her left shoulder seemed a good deal bulkier than her right, thanks to the firm bandages that were holding the joint secure while the tendons knitted once again. "Pyecombe did, though. I can remember jumping in piles of leaves that were bigger than me when I was little."
The two of them were arm in arm, AJ's left arm linked with her right, looking more like a young couple out for a pleasant stroll, than a couple of secret agents awaiting a clandestine meeting with someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. There weren't many people there, and of those who were, none of them seemed to pay them much heed - except for one man.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses. He wasn't following them exactly, but he was standing right where Drew had set up the meeting place. He glanced casually over at the pair as they strolled nearby. "Pardon me, can you tell me where the sugar maples are?" he asked, as polite as could be.
Meg blinked, almost surprised to hear the code words coming out of someone who was remarkably familiar for a person she had never seen before in her life. He looked an awful lot like AJ, even without the beard and behind the hat and sunglasses, but she had to assume that this was their contact. And given AJ's silence, she offered up the code words they had been given in return. "I haven't the faintest idea, but you're standing underneath the Western hemlock."
"Am I?" the man said, glancing upwards at the trees that surrounded them before turning toward the couple. He recognized them from their picture, but did they recognize him'
"We can show you the way, if you like," AJ remarked, though he had no idea where the sugar maples were or even if there were any planted here.
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," the man replied, falling into step beside them.
"Well, he can show you the way," Meg clarified a little mischievously. She had a feeling AJ couldn't tell an oak from an elm, but he was native. "I'm not from around here, as you can probably tell." She glanced up at their new companion, feeling a little dwarfed. She wasn't a short woman, but both men were tall and broad, and she was in the middle.
"I can tell," the man replied with a smile. As a matter of fact, someone very near and dear to him shared that very same accent. "I'm Steve," he introduced himself, offering a hand to whichever of them wanted to take it. He didn't bother to say more than that, just yet, until they returned the favor.
"AJ," the other man replied, gripping Steve's hand, before gesturing to his companion. "This is Meg."
Meg, too, took Steve's hand, noting the understated strength in his grip. "I understand we have a connection through friends," she said carefully, not wanting to give too much away. Just in case this wasn't the agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. Drew had said would meet them here.
"Yeah," Steve replied. "Seems a friend of yours is related to a friend of mine. Small world, huh?" he asked, a friendly but wary smile on his face. "We heard you were having some problems with a common adversary," he added, not wanting to come right out and name that adversary as Hydra.
"Mmm." Meg's response was more disapproving of the adversary than anything. Their investigations over the past week or so had brought to light the name of that adversary, and life was getting distinctly exciting. It was very strange to be a sort of double-agent working for the good guys on both sides. "Fascinating how creatures from Greek mythology never really die, isn't it?"
"Someone once said when you cut off one head, two more take its place," Steve said. He didn't bother to mention that person had been Johann Schmidt, none other than Red Skull himself. He frowned at the thought of that. He'd killed Schmidt, but it seemed he hadn't been able to vanquish Hydra.
"How very encouraging," was Meg's response to that, drawling with sarcasm as she sighed softly. She glanced up at AJ, wondering why he was leaving all the talking to her, and decided to take a chance on a faint suspicion growing in her mind. "Are you, by any chance, the holder of military rank, Steve?"
AJ had been quiet all this time, partly because Meg was doing just fine on her own, but also partly because he was deep in thought. There was something very familiar about their contact, if he could just figure out what that something was.
"In a manner of speaking," Steve replied. He still held the rank of Captain, though he technically was no longer part of a military organization, save that of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Is there someplace we can go to talk privately?" he asked further.
With that suspicion confirmed, Meg nodded to herself, turning her eyes to AJ as she answered the question posed by Steve. "How would you like to join us for lunch, Steve?" she asked politely. "I rented an apartment not far from here, to make sight-seeing easier."
The National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., wasn't very crowded this time of year, especially since the trees were past peak and there was a chill in the air that precluded winter. It wasn't the most discreet of meeting places, but there would be no bugs or cameras to worry about, and it would be easy to watch for anyone who might try to eavesdrop. Steve hadn't been to Washington in a long time, and a lot had changed since he'd been there, but with Sam Wilson's help, he managed to find his way around, and as far as any casual observer was concerned, he was just a guy taking a lazy stroll on a sunny Friday afternoon. He was dressed for the part, too, in clothes Sam had suggested that would help him blend better - jeans, t-shirt, jacket, and sneakers. If anything, he looked more like Johnny Storm than Steve Rogers. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses to hide his face as best he could in hopes no one would recognize him.
Someone else was visiting the arboretum that day, too. With her shoulder still strapped up to aid its healing, Meg was ostensibly being given a tour of the best places in D.C. on her day off, with AJ as her guide. Unbeknownst to everyone at Langley but them, however, this was not a coincidence. Amanda Drew had gotten word from her brother-in-law in New York - a brother-in-law who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. - that a certain someone would be visiting D.C. for a few days, and wanted to catch up with them to find out what they knew about their internal conspiracy. Meg wasn't sure she believed the whole of the story relayed to them by Drew, but she was prepared to play along for the time being. And besides, it was beautiful here. It wasn't such a bad way to spend the day.
AJ wasn't quite as skeptical as Meg, in part because he trusted Drew, and in part because he knew the CIA sometimes partnered with S.H.I.E.L.D., though the CIA was more concerned about national intelligence, while S.H.I.E.L.D. concerned themselves with the world. It had been a long time since he'd bothered to visit the arboretum, and he'd forgotten how beautiful and peaceful it could be here - at least, when it wasn't too crowded. While tourists flocked to the mall and the monuments, unless the cherry trees were in bloom, the arboretum was always less crowded. And if nothing else, it was a nice day for an outing, and the company wasn't bad either.
"London never looks this pretty in the autumn," Meg was saying as they wandered beneath the trees. For convenience's sake, she wasn't wearing a sling; only someone who was looking for it would notice that her left shoulder seemed a good deal bulkier than her right, thanks to the firm bandages that were holding the joint secure while the tendons knitted once again. "Pyecombe did, though. I can remember jumping in piles of leaves that were bigger than me when I was little."
The two of them were arm in arm, AJ's left arm linked with her right, looking more like a young couple out for a pleasant stroll, than a couple of secret agents awaiting a clandestine meeting with someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. There weren't many people there, and of those who were, none of them seemed to pay them much heed - except for one man.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses. He wasn't following them exactly, but he was standing right where Drew had set up the meeting place. He glanced casually over at the pair as they strolled nearby. "Pardon me, can you tell me where the sugar maples are?" he asked, as polite as could be.
Meg blinked, almost surprised to hear the code words coming out of someone who was remarkably familiar for a person she had never seen before in her life. He looked an awful lot like AJ, even without the beard and behind the hat and sunglasses, but she had to assume that this was their contact. And given AJ's silence, she offered up the code words they had been given in return. "I haven't the faintest idea, but you're standing underneath the Western hemlock."
"Am I?" the man said, glancing upwards at the trees that surrounded them before turning toward the couple. He recognized them from their picture, but did they recognize him'
"We can show you the way, if you like," AJ remarked, though he had no idea where the sugar maples were or even if there were any planted here.
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," the man replied, falling into step beside them.
"Well, he can show you the way," Meg clarified a little mischievously. She had a feeling AJ couldn't tell an oak from an elm, but he was native. "I'm not from around here, as you can probably tell." She glanced up at their new companion, feeling a little dwarfed. She wasn't a short woman, but both men were tall and broad, and she was in the middle.
"I can tell," the man replied with a smile. As a matter of fact, someone very near and dear to him shared that very same accent. "I'm Steve," he introduced himself, offering a hand to whichever of them wanted to take it. He didn't bother to say more than that, just yet, until they returned the favor.
"AJ," the other man replied, gripping Steve's hand, before gesturing to his companion. "This is Meg."
Meg, too, took Steve's hand, noting the understated strength in his grip. "I understand we have a connection through friends," she said carefully, not wanting to give too much away. Just in case this wasn't the agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. Drew had said would meet them here.
"Yeah," Steve replied. "Seems a friend of yours is related to a friend of mine. Small world, huh?" he asked, a friendly but wary smile on his face. "We heard you were having some problems with a common adversary," he added, not wanting to come right out and name that adversary as Hydra.
"Mmm." Meg's response was more disapproving of the adversary than anything. Their investigations over the past week or so had brought to light the name of that adversary, and life was getting distinctly exciting. It was very strange to be a sort of double-agent working for the good guys on both sides. "Fascinating how creatures from Greek mythology never really die, isn't it?"
"Someone once said when you cut off one head, two more take its place," Steve said. He didn't bother to mention that person had been Johann Schmidt, none other than Red Skull himself. He frowned at the thought of that. He'd killed Schmidt, but it seemed he hadn't been able to vanquish Hydra.
"How very encouraging," was Meg's response to that, drawling with sarcasm as she sighed softly. She glanced up at AJ, wondering why he was leaving all the talking to her, and decided to take a chance on a faint suspicion growing in her mind. "Are you, by any chance, the holder of military rank, Steve?"
AJ had been quiet all this time, partly because Meg was doing just fine on her own, but also partly because he was deep in thought. There was something very familiar about their contact, if he could just figure out what that something was.
"In a manner of speaking," Steve replied. He still held the rank of Captain, though he technically was no longer part of a military organization, save that of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Is there someplace we can go to talk privately?" he asked further.
With that suspicion confirmed, Meg nodded to herself, turning her eyes to AJ as she answered the question posed by Steve. "How would you like to join us for lunch, Steve?" she asked politely. "I rented an apartment not far from here, to make sight-seeing easier."