XXIII
Excerpt from "Dr. Erskine's Legacy: a summary of attempts to recreate the serum and an analysis of the threat presented if acquired by hostile individuals and/or groups" compiled by Agent Henry Morris for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s interdepartmental briefing on Captain America's retrieval, March 9th, 2011
Johann Schmidt was not only obsessed with occult artifacts of purported 'magical' properties. The man was preoccupied with Dr. Abraham Erskine's biological serum. Schmidt was in fact the first subject to receive the serum, although the dose he received was unrefined and unpredictable in its effects. After news of Captain America's remarkable transformation, Schmidt became more determined to synthesize his own version of the serum, presumably for his burgeoning para-military force that was only just breaking away from Hitler's regime and becoming what we now know as Hydra.
His direct subordinate, Dr. Arnim Zola, was heavily involved with Schmidt's efforts. Zola outlined Schmidt's plans and his involvement after arriving in America during the 1950s (see Operation Paperclip's historical archives after EO-497 for specific details). Zola attested that Schmidt had already proceeded to human experimentation by 1943. He claimed that despite the advanced state of his research, Schmidt was unsuccessful in his attempts to recreate the serum, and when Schmidt went down in his Valkyrie along with Captain America, Hydra ceased all projects related to the serum or derivatives thereof.
Though there have been many rumors of supersoldiers over the intervening decades, inflamed by the fear-mongering of the Cold War and almost certainly embellished and entirely false (see file Codename: Winter Soldier), there is no conclusive proof Zola was incorrect in regards to Hydra's possession of a workable serum.
Whether Schmidt succeeded or not is irrelevant – if he did, no samples of the serum survived, or all of the subjects are deceased. Hydra itself deconstructed in the wake of World War Two. Any threat posed by their attempt to recreate the serum can be considered resolved.
It is not only enemies or hostile forces that have attempted to formulate their own serum. Three years ago, a specialist in gamma radiation, Dr. Bruce Banner, conducted his own experiment into the serum's properties…
XXIV
When Captain America ducks into the situation room, Brenna is surprised to note how young he is. It might have something to do with the innocuous blue plaid shirt and khaki pants he's wearing.
He bears the round of slightly breathless greetings with good humor. "It's such, such an honor to meet you," Jemma declares as she shakes his hand. Fitz squeaks something unintelligible when it's his turn. The Captain nods politely back at him like he understood.
The field agents as a rule are more collected, but she feels her heart start to race despite herself when Captain Rogers goes to shake her hand. "Agent Brenna Roberts," she says, and hopes fervently her palms aren't too sweaty. He shoots her a courteous smile. Roberts glances at May and tries to adopt her inscrutable expression.
The Captain looks a bit relieved when the introductions are through and they can get down to business. "I'd like a quick briefing, if you don't mind. You didn't give many details over the phone, Agent Coulson."
Coulson calls up the images on the wallscreen and gives a brief summary of Dr. Flagretti's career at S.H.I.E.L.D., the circumstances of her disappearance, and the prime suspects in her kidnapping. At the Captain's bemused expression, he decides to go back and explain Agent Morris, the compromised operations – and the magic ring, of course.
Roberts still isn't completely convinced the ring is genuine. Listening to Coulson explain, he sounds crazier than the whackjobs who insist the moon landing was faked. Which is funny, because when Eld himself expounded on his theory, it had all seemed eminently reasonable. Even knowing Morris tentatively confirmed their speculation, Roberts finds herself growing more doubtful by the minute. Coulson has a sour look on his face when he finishes that suggests he's fallen into the same boat.
After a beat of silence, Captain Rogers nods. "Ah… I see." Brenna goes to facepalm but aborts the movement when she catches Coulson's narrowed eyes.
Raina certainly believes this ring is the real – or mythological? – deal. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered trying to contract Eld's services. Not that she considers the woman much of a benchmark for rational decision-making.
She pushes down a flare of anger. It's been stewing in her gut all afternoon, leaping to the forefront with every errant thought of the shifty consultant or the upcoming infiltration.
The thing is, Roberts isn't actually the vengeful type. The biggest criticism her supervising officer had during her probationary period was that she's too easygoing. Which, you know – most people would consider a positive quality. Going with the flow, rolling with the punches. All those hippy-dippy clichés her mother likes to spout. Come to think of it, Janine Roberts never did get over her Flower Child phase. Could be heritable.
But then most people aren't hardened field agents with a concentrated glower and a knife scar slashing across their throat. Agent Sadik was about as relaxed as Victorian schoolmarm wearing an iron corset. Honestly, she'd been shocked that Sadik recommended her for Level 1 status as a full agent. She'd thought he hated her. After finally working up the courage to ask him why, Sadik had only looked at her and said, "A team needs balance. They can't all have egos." He'd grunted something else about her skills being marginally adequate and she'd taken it as the extremely rare sign of approval that she hoped it was and gone on to work her way up to a Level Six clearance and status as a probationary agent in Coulson's newly-established team, responsible for investigating claims of alien artifacts and activity.
So the depth of the anger she feels at Eld's over-before-it-started career as a double agent surprises her. The whole situation reflects on her, of course. Maybe that's it. She stuck her neck out for him. The first asset she brings in from the civilian side and he turns out to be – well, Lukas Eld. The man's obviously sly and self-interested, just as much as he's capable and intelligent. He doesn't strike her as harmless, not anymore, now that she can kind of see past the unfailingly polite and gracious façade and the impeccable appearance. She should have known – a man who looks so obnoxiously well-groomed all the time clearly isn't just an eccentric academic.
Eld's practically the textbook definition of "potential security risk." Coulson might never again respect her judgment of character.
Unless… Eld really turns it around. If he gets information from Raina on Dr. Flagretti's whereabouts, Coulson might turn a blind eye to Eld's regrettably imprecise moral compass.
Because Eld isn't Threat Level One – in fact, he's barely squeaking in the top fifty at the moment. Raina and her organization are at the forefront, just above OsCorp and their shady black-market arms deals. A dubious consultant with esoteric knowledge of ancient jewelry is just not as menacing.
Brenna kind of hopes the ring is out there. If not, they're gonna be scrambling for a new theory to fit the facts of this case. And she'll feel like a total sucker. At least she won't be the only one. Either this ring is real, or they've all been drinking the same cracked Kool-Aid.
"How solid is this intel?" Captain Rogers breaks the silence. "How sure are we this Centipede group really has the doctor and this 0-8-4?"
"There's an eyewitness account of the 0-8-4 in action, as well as corresponding physical evidence. And the group's leader has indirectly confirmed they are in possession of an artifact that matches the description of our potential 0-8-4," Coulson replies. "According to our consultant, who's been in contact with her."
The Captain's All-American brow furrows. "The consultant who identified this 0-8-4 in the first place."
"Yes."
"Has been in contact with the leader of a terrorist organization."
"To classify them as terrorist is premature—"
Captain Rogers ignores Coulson's aside. "What are they, pen pals? How does he know this Raina woman?"
"Well… Raina attempted to recruit him," Coulson admits.
The Captain frowns. "And he came to you for help?"
"Not exactly."
Roberts grows weary of beating around the bush. "We traced a call placed from one of the numbers registered to Raina to Eld's phone. He admitted she approached him and claims he was misleading her into believing he was serious about her offer to consult."
"So… did he?" Rogers glances around. "Consult with her, I mean."
"That's another thing we'll find out tonight when he goes to meet her," Coulson says firmly.
"Wait – the guy who's going in is this same consultant?" The Captain's mouth puckers.
Coulson tries to head off any complaints. "He's the one who has an established cover with this group."
"But – he's a civilian."
"He's also the one who lied to us all about being involved with Raina in the first place," Roberts points out tightly. "Now he has the chance to make up for his mistakes."
The Captain shakes his head. "He could get hurt. Or killed."
"Raina's not the type to leave a trail of bodies," Coulson argues. "She had Agent Morris and she released him."
"So now we're trusting Raina to do the right thing? Just like Eld?" Ward huffs an irritated breath. "This is ridiculous."
Coulson silences him with a look. Roberts shifts her weight. It isn't that she's feeling guilty – okay, maybe a little. The usual jitters she gets before an operation are making her second guess herself.
He turns back to the Captain. "The reward is greater than the risks, here. Dr. Flagretti is in more danger, and Eld is in a position to get them both out of this unharmed and with minimal leak of classified info." Coulson's voice is steady, and he continues when Rogers still appears uncertain. "You know how dangerous it could be if Centipede gets its hands on a workable serum."
The Captain's expression hardens. "Yeah. I'd say I'm very familiar with the risks." He sighs and rubs his forehead. "I just don't like getting civilians involved with this – with my mess. Even if – especially if he's had previous contact with this woman."
"He's equipped with a camera and wire," May puts in. "We'll be able to hear everything. If it looks like the operation's going south, we'll go in. If he decides to sell us out..." Her expression is flat. "We'll go in hot. With extreme prejudice." Brenna swallows discreetly.
"But he didn't tell us where he was going," Skye says.
Coulson scoffs. "You think I'd let him leave here without planting a tracker on him?"
"Isn't that, like, illegal use of government –" Skye cuts herself off once she realizes she's on the receiving end of a round of stares. "Right. Not the problem at hand."
"Priority for this operation is information gathering," the Captain says sternly. "This consultant isn't a distraction or diversion, correct?"
"No. Eld is going in with his consultant cover intact. He's to confirm the identity of the 0-8-4 and glean what information he can on Raina's operation, her base, her organization's capabilities and manpower, and Dr. Flagretti, if possible."
Captain Rogers lets out a subdued breath. "Alright. Are you monitoring onsite or in operation staging?"
"Onsite," Coulson replies. "Of course, we're delaying our arrival so Eld is already on premises. If Eld does flip… well, it's better if he doesn't know he's been lojacked."
"I'd like to be with the onsite team in case of emergency."
Her supervisory agent nods quickly. "Of course."
The Captain opens his mouth, then shuts it again. "To be clear – is this 0-8-4 from, uh, around here?"
Coulson's mouth twitches with amusement. "No one really knows. If it is extraterrestrial, it's been around Earth for a hell of a long time. Long enough to enter into the local mythology, at least."
Captain Rogers tilts his head as he squints at Coulson. "Which local mythology?"
"Scandinavian."
Inexplicably, his expression darkens. "Wonderful."
"Captain?" Brenna asks tentatively. She doesn't want to pry, but damned if she isn't curious about him.
He meets her eyes briefly. "I just… don't have a good track record with these kinds of things."
"Oh? Pagan things?" Ward prompts sardonically. Coulson glares, looking more put out by the insinuation than Captain America is.
"No," he says shortly. "The last time an ancient Scandinavian artifact fell into the hands of an organization dedicated to creating a master race, we had a hell of a time stopping them."
Skye frowns. "When was that? Before I joined SHIELD?"
The Captain gives a rueful smile. "World War Two." He stands from his chair to have a private word with Coulson.
Skye is flushed. Roberts pats her shoulder. "I knew that," she protests. "It just – came out wrong."
With a hand signal from Coulson, they move to Staging Room C to prep for departure at Eld's call. The area is small and cluttered, with changing stalls and lockers as well as the ubiquitous wallscreens, this time with a Stark Tech upgrade for holographic capabilities like in the newest class of quinjets.
There's just something anticlimactic, Brenna reflects, about seeing Captain America in full, glorious uniform, if you've just heard the struggle to don the close-fitting fabric for a full five minutes in a cramped S.H.I.E.L.D. changing stall that only gives the illusion of privacy. It takes all the romance out of it. When he emerges, he rubs sheepishly at his elbow.
The wallscreen clicks on silently, and suddenly Fitz's face is looming over them all. Coulson fits in his earpiece and Roberts follows suit.
"Eld just called in. He's on his way to the meet," the scientist informs them.
"Camera is operational?" Coulson asks.
"Yup. Got the feed right here. I'll send it to your tablets so you can monitor from the mobile transport."
"You mean the van, Fitz," Ward drawls. "The creepy white van that makes me feel like I should be hauling around a sack of lollipops and a roll of ducktape instead of a Glock." He pats his holster and Roberts rolls her eyes. "You know, I once had a kid kick me in the shin after I got out of the back of that van and tried to ask him for directions. Then he flicked a rock at my head. Stranger danger has gone too far."
Skye smirks from where she's loading her laptop and a tangle of wires and drives into a messenger bag. As a probationary agent, she's been assigned to ride along but hang back and monitor comms in the event of a direct confrontation. Coulson also wants her to see if she can't get a fix on the building Raina's using as a meeting place.
"I think that might be less about the van and more about the guy coming out of it," she quips.
"Oh, yeah?" Ward shoots back.
"I'm sorry, is that all-black heavy tactical gear supposed to look all warm and cuddly?"
May plants her combat boot on the bench with a solid thunk and glares around at them all. "From now on, there is a moratorium on the witty banter. The comms are for mission-relevant communication only." She jerks her head at Coulson and he grins.
"You heard her. Load up."
They cram into the S.H.I.E.L.D.-issue white van. May graciously lets Captain Rogers claim the front seat, and glares Ward into submission when he tries to enter the middle row, forcing him into the far back next to Jemma and Skye.
Roberts boots up her tablet from her roomy spot as Coulson pulls out of the loading dock of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Eld arrives at the meet while they're on the freeway.
May curses colorfully when Raina pulls out the ring. "Well, I guess we just got some serious confirmation," Skye offers weakly. Brenna holds her breath throughout the entire interrogation. The whole team is glued to their tablets – except for Coulson, who's driving, and getting a verbal rundown from Fitz.
And then it gets even worse, because of course it does. Roberts watches, stricken, as Raina reaches out a hand. Right towards – towards Eld's chest and the –
Oh, Christ. The camera!
The video feed goes dark and Roberts gasps in a breath. "He – Coulson – Raina must know he's wired – "
This hadn't been in any of their contingency plans. Raina using the ring on herself – she'd been careful not to touch it while interrogating Agent Morris; he'd remembered very clearly that she wore gloves. And she'd followed the same pattern with Eld up until he confessed that wasn't his real name – and god, her head's still spinning from everything she heard during his interrogation under the ring's spell.
Every word he'd spoken was the truth. It had to be. But he'd misled Raina so masterfully, Roberts was left gaping at the camera feed. Back when she'd first met Eld, she'd suspected he knew more than he was letting on, that he was more. Her instincts appeared to be right. She wants so badly to dig into his past, find out who he is, where he came from, why he has these unexpected skills – is he a spy? A fugitive? Or just someone running from his past, like he'd claimed to Raina?
But that's not the priority. Raina has him now, and she knows he's a S.H.I.E.L.D. plant. It's time to move on the facility.
"Step on it," Captain America says grimly.
