Shang-Chi comes through the door of the Heroes For Hire headquarters. Colleen smiles and Misty gives her a knowing smirk. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he tells them. Cage and Danny approach him and shake his hand. "Shang-Chi, I've heard a lot about you," Danny greets him happily. "I've heard plenty about both of you as well," he tells them, "I've been thinking this through and after Gideon Mace's message last night, I've made up my mind. I want to offer my assistance."
Colleen hugs him, "I'm glad you made it."
He smiles at her and looks her in the eyes, "Me too."
"You've come at the perfect time," Hogarth shakes his hand next, "Jessica here was just about to debrief everyone."
"I'd love to see what you've got, Miss Jones."
Jessica stands at the holographic table and the rest of the group crowds around it, "As Jeryn said, I've been doing some research since you guys have been gone. After Gideon released the journalists, we've gotten a ton of images. From there, we have plenty of information so we now know who we're dealing with." She brings up a picture of Gideon, which is displayed as a hologram hanging over the lit-up table, "We all know Gideon Mace at this point. Like he said in his video last night, he was military. He retired a few years after losing an arm during a tour in Iraq. He was linked to some militia activity in the US, but nothing ever stuck. From all accounts, he's a pretty charismatic guy, more than capable of getting people to follow him, no matter how crazy his ideas are."
She brings up an image of Gideon walking through the decimated streets of Sokovia with Garcia, Lavell, Ricadonna, and Hardcore on either side. It's a blurred image, obviously taken by a journalist from a distance, but it is good enough to make out their faces. The hologram focuses on Garcia first, zooming in and bringing up a separate image of him in a casino in South America. In this photo, he is wearing an expensive suit and stands in front of a blackjack wheel with his arms around two women in bikinis.
"After Gideon left the military, he apparently did some security work for this man. His name is Ramon Garcia, a suspected crimelord from Puerto Rico. He owned a number of casinos throughout Central and South America, not all of which, were legitimate. He is estimated to be a billionaire, but of course, no one is sure just how much he's worth. Apparently, Garcia loves to gamble and he was notorious for his treatment of people who owed him money, which earned him the nickname Señor Muerte."
"Mister Death," Luke says, "That's gangsta."
"Those highschool Spanish lessons pay off?," Danny asks with a smirk.
"I get by."
"With Garcia getting cozy with Gideon Mace," Colleen begins, "He would have plenty of money to fund his army."
Jessica brings the group photo back and zooms in on Ricadonna. Another image comes up of Ricadonna in a fancy dress at a socialite dinner. She is laughing and holding a glass of champagne while talking to unidentified men.
"That brings us to this lovely young lady: Celia Ricadonna from Louisiana. She led several legitimate businesses until the feds realized she was using those businesses as a front for gun running. Once the FBI had evidence of her arms dealing, she managed to escape the country. It's been rumored she is romantically linked with Ramon Garcia, which would mean she's in tight with Gideon's inner-circle."
"That is probably how Gideon got his weapons," Hogarth explains.
Jessica zooms in on Hardcore. She brings up another equally fuzzy picture of Hardcore in an airport with shades and a hat, obviously traveling incognito.
"Then we have this guy. From what little information I gathered, I think he's a hitman from the Caribbean. Authorities have dubbed him 'Hardcore' due to how dangerous the guy is. It's rumored he's trained certain terrorist groups and now he's paling around with Gideon Mace in Sokovia."
"He's muscle," Luke explains, "Sounds like he might be helping to train Gideon's men, too."
"There were rumors some of these people are enhanced," Misty reminds the group, "That's what I'm most curious about."
"That us brings us to our last major player," Jessica zooms in on Lavell. A Cybertek ID badge soon appears, "This is Dr. Edward Lavell, a bio-engineer and cybernetics expert. He has no criminal record, but there was some issue about unethical practices at his first job. He went on to work for a company called Cybertek, which was up to all sorts of illegal superhuman experiments. Lavell managed to leave before the shit hit the fan."
"You think he's been enhancing Gideon and his people?," Misty asks.
"The fact that Gideon now has two arms instead of one, I'd say there's a good chance."
"I think we have things figured out fairly well," Hogarth adds, "Now we just need to figure out how to get into Sokovia."
"I noticed Gideon Mace is a man who enjoys being heard," Shang-Chi states quietly, "He is holding a press conference next week, is he not? A few of us can disguise ourselves as journalists."
"Anton believes the Prime Minister is still in the bunker under the capital building. This would be a good opportunity to sneak in and rescue him," Danny explains, "I have a private jet," he turns to Cage to gloat, "A jet that has secret compartments built in that will allow us to smuggle people in and out."
"I could hide on board the jet," Shang-Chi volunteers, "I've completed similar missions before."
"Looks like the secret compartments came in handy," Danny laughs.
"Fine," Cage rolls his eyes, "We can get Paladin to fly us in, even though I'm still not 100% sure of the guy."
"We need someone to be the journalist," Danny continues.
"Me, obviously," Jessica raises her hand, "I used to work for The Pulse. I can just use an old ID."
"Whoa, you're going on missions now?," Cage becomes worried.
"I won't be in the thick of it," she assures him, "We know Gideon Mace just wants a platform. I'll go in as a journalist, listen to him spout nonsense for a little bit, and then fly back."
"I'll go as her bodyguard in case things go wrong," Colleen volunteers.
"I think I should go," Cage tells her.
"You're too recognizable. People know you. Gideon will know something's up."
"She's right," Danny tells him, "Between Colleen, Shang-Chi, and Paladin, Jessica should be safe."
"Alright, but I got a bad feeling about this."