Through the silence of the phone, Tony could hear a muffled conversation in the back ground. Someone was counting, then he heard Pepper say 'Ok' followed by some shouting and the sound of someone being hit. He could feel his own rage monster trying to escape at the thought of someone laying a hand Pepper.

Steve and Bruce looked at their friend; his suddenly rigid stance told them something was wrong. The robbers were getting closer to their goal and Fury was getting closer to breaking down the door. Their window of opportunity was quickly shutting.

"They have her," said Tony.

"Are you sure?" asked Banner.

The security camera feed they had been trying to hack into popped up on the computer and confirmed what Stark had said. There in the middle of the bank sat Pepper with an unconscious Barton's head in her lap, a gun pointing directly at them.

The trio watched the different camera viewpoints of the security feed. They took notes on the movement of the gunmen and how long it would take to get from point A to point B. Hanging out with two highly trained assassins for the last few months wasn't completely lost on them; they had picked up a few useful tips for crisis situations.

Simplicity and surprise might prove to be their best course of action. After weighing their options the Avengers decided that Iron Man would use his thrusters to smash through the wall and take out the man guarding Barton and Potts. From there, he would take out the other gunman in the lobby and protect the hostages from anyone that came out of the vault.

Steve would use his strength to bust through the back door. His shield would protect him from the gunfire coming from the vault; the men there would be his responsibility. Should any slip by Captain America then Stark was there to take them out before they made it to the door or made a move on the hostages.

Banner was going to wait outside. The bank was too small to house the Hulk without bringing down the roof. The last thing any of them wanted was for the Hulk to mistake the hostages for unfriendlies. Bruce would wait outside in a slightly less stressed, angry state and relay information to his teammates on the inside. If it came down to it, he would distract Fury from executing his orders to secure the scene through any means necessary. Sure the Director had gone to bat for them when the council sent a nuke towards Manhattan to defeat Loki, but he seemed content to carry out their orders this time.

They had just finished putting the final touches on their plan when Fury strode over to them, his leather coat trailing in the slight breeze blowing through the street. To say he looked unimpressed would be an understatement.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" questioned Nick, who didn't bother with any pleasantries. He was pissed that someone thought they could steal something from SHIELD, he was angry that one of his agents was injured inside, and he was irritated that once again the so called Avengers were ignoring yet another one of his commands. He did, however, have to admire the loyalty forming in the group. He sized up the men before him. Rogers and Banner thought to look at least a little sheepish,. Stark just glared back.

"Obviously you've been caught with your hand in the cookie jar again, Stark. I know I'm not going to like it, but what have you been up to?"

Tony shot back, "Just a little research there, Nicky, seeing as how you never like to give us the whole picture."

Fury wasn't surprised that it was Stark who lead this uprising. Bruce liked to avoid conflict whenever possible, for obvious reasons, and Steve was still a soldier deep down. He may not like Fury's way of handling things, but there was still a chain of command and no matter Rogers' personal feeling there was still a part of him that felt obligated to try and follow orders. The director surmised that if it wasn't their friends in that bank then Captain America would have tried to get the others to leave as instructed and let better equipped people handle the situation. Getting Stark to conform on this matter was going to be a huge challenge, maybe as big as trying to bring the Avengers together in the first place.

"You're told everything you need to know," retorted Fury.

"What's Keres?" Bruce's voice was quiet but grabbed Fury's attention. Everyone paused and waited for an answer.

In a slightly calmer tone, Nick replied, "Something we don't want the enemy to get their hands on. It's a much larger project but there are three vials located in a secret SHIELD vault, the contents of which cannot get out and should not come in contact with anyone."

"That's it?" asked Stark, hoping for something more elaborate and informative.

"That's all I'm prepared to divulge to you at the moment. How sure are you that you can end this without any casualties and without losing the vials?" Fury could see these men were determined. If they could save the world, maybe he should take another leap of faith that maybe, just maybe, they could do this too. They seemed to excel at things when people didn't think they could get it together to succeed.

"I believe we have a very good shot, sir," confirmed Steve.

"You realize what will happen if you fail?" The director didn't need to elaborate. They all knew what their failure would cost and the actions that would be taken by SHIELD to correct the situation. They nodded their understanding. "Well you better get to it!"

Before the Avengers could put their plan into action, a shout from the bank door penetrated the crowd.

"Hold your fire, there are hostages coming out!"

"That's different," muttered Banner as they watched the slow trickle of hostages march single file out of the bank at three minute intervals.