Portalocity Office, then Around Town, Wednesday, November 11, 2020

[heroic_jawline]

Steve was back early today because he'd given the Avengers Veterans Day off. Well. Off from training: about half of them had appearanes at parades and wreath-laying ceremonies. He was coming back from a wreath laying ceremony himself, medals gleaming off of his dress blues as he came out of the Portalocity office, when he got tackled by a guy leaping out of a moving rickshaw.

Unfortunately for that guy because Steve had been training against ambushes with the team all week. He instinctively reached behind him, wrapped his hands in shirt, and threw the person over his head and away.

Steve McGarrett bounced off the sidewalk with a grunt. "Five-O...Fandom PD! I have some questions for you!"

"That required you leaping at me from a moving rickshaw?" Steve retorted, shoving his jacket straight.

[OOC: For me, then glowface, but open!]

Comments

[grenadesandohana]

"It was expeditious!" Steve said, giving himself a quick one-over. "What kind of guy can throw someone like that?"

Which was when he saw the absolutely ridiculous number of medals Steve was wearing, including the Medal of Honor.

He jumped to his feet, then remembered he wasn't in uniform and just stood there, looking awkward.

[heroic_jawline]

"At ease," Steve said a little wryly. "You have some questions for me?"

[grenadesandohana]

"Yes, sir," Steve said, going into parade rest. "We've been investigating the loss of a metal mask from the Halloween party and our records indicate you may have been the last to see it."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve frowned. "From the guy with the cape?"

[grenadesandohana]

"Well. Not any more," Steve said, "and Stark needs it back--it's a necessity for his day-to-day life."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve looked a little guilty to hear that. "Well, that night is a little...confused," he said. "I think I might've passed it along to Scooby--at the time a crime-fighting dog that could kind of talk? But he's now a small corgi."

[grenadesandohana]

Steve groaned and rubbed at his eyes. "Right. Of course. Well, do you think the corgi took it back to where he lives?"

[heroic_jawline]

"I'm sure we would've noticed," Steve said. "Maybe he buried it outside someplace?"

[grenadesandohana]

"Well, that leaves us...pretty much the entire island," Steve said. "Again. And the raccoons weren't telling us anything."

[heroic_jawline]

"You interviewed raccoons."

Steve didn't mean to look that judgmental, but. Raccoons.

[grenadesandohana]

"Until they escaped."

That wasn't doing much to impress this guy, was it?

[heroic_jawline]

"You speak raccoon?" Steve asked, blinking.

[grenadesandohana]

"No, which was a second problem," Steve said. "We should go find Stark and let him know where we are on this. Maybe walking around will remind you where Scooby might've hidden something."

[stykera]

There had been a raccoon at Stark's door. Which was unusual in and of itself. And then the raccoon had handed him a piece of what turned out to be aluminum foil that had been crumpled and flattened several times and then written on.

Unfortunately, raccoons have terrible handwriting so it wasn't the most helpful note. Still, it was enough to get Stark walking through town, taking a meandering route towards the trooper station because maybe it meant something or maybe someone there had found something since he spoke with them last.

[grenadesandohana]

"Hello!" Steve said, raising his hand in greeting. "We were just looking for you."

[stykera]

"Hello Steve. There was a raccoon," Stark said, holding up the bit of foil. "I think it brought a note? It brought this. Which might be a note. Hard to read."

He'd given the delivery raccoon a cookie as a tip because you should always tip delivery people even if you can't quite make out what the delivery is.

[grenadesandohana]

"They gave you a note on tin foil," Steve said, taking the thing and trying to read it. "They gave you a ransom note on tinfoil."

[stykera]

Stark blinked a few times at that. "Seems like paper would be easier, for a note. Or...not having a ransom note. What would raccoons even want in exchange? And how did they get it?"

He'd almost certainly pay the little masked bandits but they could have just asked.

[heroic_jawline]

"They want us to go into the tunnels," Steve said. "Well, you."

[stykera]

"Oh. I see."

Walking into unfamiliar tunnels based on a note written on foil did not seem like the best idea Stark had heard. And yet he did need the mask.

"Um. Alone?"

[grenadesandohana]

"We're not negotiating with terrorists," Steve said. "Of course we're coming with you."

There was a small beat. "By tunnels, do they mean the sewers?"

Ew.

[stykera]

"Oh, good. Thank you." Stark was relieved. It wasn't that raccoons were particularly intimidating it was just he knew better than to walk into something like this alone.

"Do they count as terrorists?" he wondered. "And...I hope it's not sewers. "

[heroic_jawline]

"They really don't count as terrorists," Steve said, side-eyeing the other Steve, "because they're raccoons. I think I know how to get into the tunnels they're talking about."

He sighed regretfully down at his freshly dry cleaned dress uniform.

[stykera]

"Do we negotiate with raccoons who aren't terrorists, then?" It was a reasonable question. Sort of.

"I don't think I've been in the tunnels. Never needed to."

[heroic_jawline]

"There's no reason to unless you're looking for gremlins," Steve said, leading the way.