Star Dust (A Paladin Adventure)

Planning my battles

When I checked in, the front desk guard handed me a new Avengers ID on a lanyard. I took it like it was dirty and put it in my pocket. Then I went upstairs to the clinic; I asked one of the nurses if there were any records of my medical file being accessed after I was no longer a patient in the clinic. There had been one when I was on Asgard, but there wasn't a way of determining who had accessed the file or from where; the system only logged that the file had been accessed from some place other than the clinic. I went in to see Bucky; he was getting ready to be discharged which was excellent news. I waited around until he signed his paperwork. His doctor was explaining about how long he would need before we could attach a new arm when the doctor cursed and excused himself. Bucky and I looked at each other. When the doctor came back, jaw clenched and upset, he had the news that the clinic computer system, separate from the rest of the tower, had been hacked and patient data files were being breached and deleted. I really hoped that this was Batman. 

Bucky and I went upstairs. Had to be done, sooner or later. The rest of the Avengers were in a meeting. I reluctantly took the last chair and listened to Jim's summary of restoration efforts, which had switched from recovery of survivors to clean up. Then Steve gave out assignments; I was to help out by City Hall. With only one arm, Bucky was stuck getting more up to date and acting as our press liaison. I was grateful I had two functional arms.  But shoot. Avengers Tower was located on Broadway in Times Square and wasn't that far from Hell's Kitchen, but City Hall was way down in lower Manhattan. I would be getting a lot of mileage today.

As I got up, a bag landed in front of me. "What's this?" I asked Stark, not touching it.

"Your costume. A replica of your last Paladin outfit." I nudged the bag back to Stark with the toe of my boot.

"Nope. Paladin is retired. I'm Poppy now, and Poppy belongs to New York."

Stark looked like he was going to argue, but Natalia said that my Poppy alias would be better PR, and he shut up.

"If you insist on me using the costume department, I demand to retain the right to control my image. Any alterations to my costume must be approved by me. In advance, and before you get any ideas, I'm not living here, either." I sidestepped the bag and Stark and headed for the elevators.

I caught a bus partway down and used the time to check my burner phone. I had a message from Foggy, who proposed a meeting time of 5pm, perfect. I called the office and left a message that I'd be there. I spent the rest of the bus ride talking to the other riders. A lot were working on digging out, but businesses were reopening and life was returning. I got some recommendations for restaurants that were open around City Hall, and got off when it would be faster to walk. The subway wasn't open yet; there had been damage, and inspectors were still going through the tunnels.

I reported to the foreman of the project, and he assigned me to join a team assessing a parking structure. The dogs were a big help, and were able to get into places that we couldn't, despite their size, and it was thanks to them that were were able to rescue what turned out to be the last survivors: two people trapped in a car, dangerously dehydrated. I ordered and picked up lunch for my team, then afterward, then I was elected to meet with the mayor and other officials who wanted to know how things were progressing. I couldn't blame them; I was the amateur on the crew, and besides, nobody else wanted to do it. So I joined representatives from other crews and we took turns updating the mayor in front of city hall and news crews. My report that we'd found survivors was news, and after the meeting, I had to answer questions from the press. Still, I was going to need the media, so it was a good chance to be get them on my side. I answered questions about the rescue; Sigurd and Torburn thought that the questions were ridiculous, but did enjoy the attention they got when their role was highlighted. I made it clear that the rescue had been achieved thanks to my teammates (whom I named) and the professionalism of the first responders. Chandra Newton, one of the reporters for the metro's leading local news station, accompanied me back, chatting on the way, being charmed by the dogs. She took the time to interview the team leader. Her questions were brief, descriptive, and allowed him to showcase the team and his leadership, and everybody seemed happier when we went back. Because our work wasn't a priority, we quit when it started to get dark as lighting was only available for priority projects. The dogs and I hustled up to Hell's Kitchen for our appointment. We waited quietly; the paralegal must not be back to work yet, and the lights in both partner's offices were on. Interesting. I didn't know that Daredevil was back in town.