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AU Prelude
Jun. 4th, 2015 12:11 amJune comes slowly for an impatient Jemma,
The next part of her plan takes longer. Neither of the Simmons is like to allow their young daughter to head off to the United States on a whim, so she has to earn her way there - that's actually fairly easy, if time-consuming. That winter, she's slated to present a paper to the international junior scientists community. She has to admit the trip to Washington DC is quite amazing, and she's glad her parents come along for that part of the trip - there's so many people at all of the airports, it'd be so easy to get lost.
After that, it's really almost too easy. She has already researched the best way to travel from Washington DC to New York City. She has the address of the building her dad walked out of memorized - she figures she'll start there, and then... well. She'll figure something out. She's clever.
It's practically ridiculous, how simple it is to slip away from her parents - it's a large hotel they're staying at, she makes some excuse about wanting to go get a book from her room, and... she's free. Her mum will be furious, she's sure, but it'll be alright once she finds her dad.
By the afternoon she's in New York City, carefully using her small stash of American money to make her determined way through the maze of buildings (and people, so many people). The number of people helps her, to a certain degree - if anyone looks like they're going to be too curious about why she's wandering around the city alone, she can just get a little closer to another group of people, as if she belongs to them.
Once she finds the building, she fishes out her carefully saved picture, and with a gleeful sort of bounce, takes herself inside. It looks like an office, inside - all dark colors and men in suits and a big tall desk she can barely see over. She peers over it anyway at two impassive-looking men in suits who stare back at her, and she tries a smile on them.
It's fairly unsuccessful.
"Is there a Barton here? A Clint Francis Barton? It's just, I'm looking for him, and..." The two men begin talking to each other in low tones she can't quite make out, which is terribly rude, and she just about gears herself up to tell them so when one of them gets up and walks around the desk. She's rather pleased with this development - maybe he knows something! She's pleased right up until the point where he grabs her arm and marches her into a room with no windows, just a table and two chairs, and leaves her there, all without even a word of explanation.
Her secret dad is clearly part of the mafia. She's seen movies, this is definitely the mafia. Soon someone will be in and will break her kneecaps or give her an offer she can't refuse and she doesn't want that, not at all, she wants to go back to her mum and her not-secret dad and forget she ever tried this.
Luckily, Jemma prepared.
When the mafia men return (this one's new, tall, balding, darker-skinned, with a face that could be friendly but she knows isn't) she flings a handful of the hot pepper pellets she made at him (they look like candies, and live in ziplock bag in her pocket, and she knows better than to touch them with bare skin - this is why long sleeves that go over her hands are awesome) and bolts when he rears back, pawing at his eyes. They've taken her backpack, and thus her limited supply of funds, but she figures that's alright, as long as she can get outside and to a policeman that's alright. Somehow there's more hallways than she remembers, and she has to double back more than once when she runs into more people in suits. It's a relief when she finds an open door that doesn't lead to a hallway - the room is huge, and doesn't appear to lead outside, but there's lots of places to hide, and she can't hear any voices. Jemma Annamarie Simmons huddles in a dark corner and tries not to cry, crying will not help right now, and besides she has to be careful not to wipe her eyes with her sleeve because there's still pepper dust on it.
The next part of her plan takes longer. Neither of the Simmons is like to allow their young daughter to head off to the United States on a whim, so she has to earn her way there - that's actually fairly easy, if time-consuming. That winter, she's slated to present a paper to the international junior scientists community. She has to admit the trip to Washington DC is quite amazing, and she's glad her parents come along for that part of the trip - there's so many people at all of the airports, it'd be so easy to get lost.
After that, it's really almost too easy. She has already researched the best way to travel from Washington DC to New York City. She has the address of the building her dad walked out of memorized - she figures she'll start there, and then... well. She'll figure something out. She's clever.
It's practically ridiculous, how simple it is to slip away from her parents - it's a large hotel they're staying at, she makes some excuse about wanting to go get a book from her room, and... she's free. Her mum will be furious, she's sure, but it'll be alright once she finds her dad.
By the afternoon she's in New York City, carefully using her small stash of American money to make her determined way through the maze of buildings (and people, so many people). The number of people helps her, to a certain degree - if anyone looks like they're going to be too curious about why she's wandering around the city alone, she can just get a little closer to another group of people, as if she belongs to them.
Once she finds the building, she fishes out her carefully saved picture, and with a gleeful sort of bounce, takes herself inside. It looks like an office, inside - all dark colors and men in suits and a big tall desk she can barely see over. She peers over it anyway at two impassive-looking men in suits who stare back at her, and she tries a smile on them.
It's fairly unsuccessful.
"Is there a Barton here? A Clint Francis Barton? It's just, I'm looking for him, and..." The two men begin talking to each other in low tones she can't quite make out, which is terribly rude, and she just about gears herself up to tell them so when one of them gets up and walks around the desk. She's rather pleased with this development - maybe he knows something! She's pleased right up until the point where he grabs her arm and marches her into a room with no windows, just a table and two chairs, and leaves her there, all without even a word of explanation.
Her secret dad is clearly part of the mafia. She's seen movies, this is definitely the mafia. Soon someone will be in and will break her kneecaps or give her an offer she can't refuse and she doesn't want that, not at all, she wants to go back to her mum and her not-secret dad and forget she ever tried this.
Luckily, Jemma prepared.
When the mafia men return (this one's new, tall, balding, darker-skinned, with a face that could be friendly but she knows isn't) she flings a handful of the hot pepper pellets she made at him (they look like candies, and live in ziplock bag in her pocket, and she knows better than to touch them with bare skin - this is why long sleeves that go over her hands are awesome) and bolts when he rears back, pawing at his eyes. They've taken her backpack, and thus her limited supply of funds, but she figures that's alright, as long as she can get outside and to a policeman that's alright. Somehow there's more hallways than she remembers, and she has to double back more than once when she runs into more people in suits. It's a relief when she finds an open door that doesn't lead to a hallway - the room is huge, and doesn't appear to lead outside, but there's lots of places to hide, and she can't hear any voices. Jemma Annamarie Simmons huddles in a dark corner and tries not to cry, crying will not help right now, and besides she has to be careful not to wipe her eyes with her sleeve because there's still pepper dust on it.
