Infiltration

DarylDixon'sLover: Oh don't worry, I ain't the Russo brothers. I want my Bucky to stay!

Guest: Honestly friends are what will get you through most things! Obviously I love romance and I love Eliza and James' relationship, but I feel like it's important to explore her connections with everyone else too.

BabyiG: Thank you! It's only gonna get crazier from here!

guadalupe1992: Thank you!

SeverusSnape'sLove: First, great username. Second, thank you! I work very hard to make sure my OC's are multidimensional.

My eyes fell to where his hand was, and a pang of hurt ran through my heart. If only James were here for me now to do the same.

Wanda must have sensed my thoughts, because she brushed Vision's hand off casually. "We are all here for you, Eliza, whether you realize it or not," she said. "You have been there for so many of us— now it is time for us to return the favor."

"-but I thought you said it was undetectable."

"It is undetectable for you, Mr. Stark, because you never knew to look for it," Shuri corrected. "Our scanners will be capable of locating even the tiniest speck of Vibranium within an instant."

I rubbed the new scar on my forehead, hoping that the headache that was forming would vanish. This meeting had already been going on for far too long, and most of the science mumbo jumbo went completely over my head.

Agent Ross looked peeved as he leaned forward and asked, "Then how come you never used it to track down Klaue?"

The princess raised her chin. "I said it tracked Vibranium, not Klaue. He kept moving."

"But you could have gotten the Vibranium back before he sold it to arms dealers," Agent Ross insisted.

"They did not know how to truly handle it," Shuri replied tactfully. "They were not a threat."

"But still-"

"Back on subject, please," I cut in with annoyance. The two looked surprised that I'd spoken up after an hour of silence.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Tony smirk before he shrugged. "I don't see what's stopping us, so let's fire this bad boy up."

Shuri nodded firmly in affirmation, but I noticed a hint of hesitation in her eyes. "The only problem would be if he fled to Wakanda," she pointed out.

"It'd be like camouflage," I murmured.

"Exactly," she agreed. "Although I do have my doubts as to how he could get there, he is still incredibly familiar with how to access our country."

Sighing, I forced myself to sit up straighter in my chair and try to regain some sense of alertness. "The Winter Soldier only has very partial access to James' memories," I reminded them. "The neural pathways specific to James are for all intents and purposes shut off to optimize the Winter Soldier's performance. So even if he can remember how to get to Wakanda, the memory would be fuzzy at best. He is more likely to head toward a place he was most recently thinking about due to the recency effect."

Agent Ross tilted his head. "Which would be where?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted, flushing slightly. "The last thing we spoke about was within the nearby vicinity. I'm trying to recall anything else."

Tony patted me on the shoulder reassuringly. "No one's perfect, Lizzie, but keep at it. The rest of us will go work our magic," he said, nodding at Shuri.

The room began to empty, and I got up to leave as well, but I noticed that one person hadn't moved yet. As I walked toward him, I noticed the files spread out on the table in front of him. Agent Jackson Matthews' face stared at me from the top of a packet, and I glared back.

"Found him yet?" I inquired.

Agent Coulson shook his head. "He's dropped off the map," he sighed. "Desk empty. Data wiped. Logs gone. It's like he was never here."

I nodded understandingly and walked away, even though my veins felt like they were on fire with anger.

I tried to calm my nerves as I walked down the corridor. Steve had texted me five minutes ago, and ever since, all the flood of emotions that I'd been forcing down had emerged with unprecedented strength. But suddenly, I was there, standing before the door I'd been avoiding for the past two days, and I felt like I could hardly breathe. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't ignore it this time. It had already scanned my signature and was now sliding open.

When I entered the room, it felt eerily still. The final rays of sunlight were streaming through the windows, a dim orange glow next to the shadows that were creeping in to replace them. Then, there was movement— Benjamin raised his head sleepily from the bed, blinked once, then scrambled up and ran over to me.

There were unshed tears stinging in the corners of my eyes as I leaned down and scratched his ears. "Hey boy, have you missed me?" I greeted gently. "I'm sorry for, well, a lot of things. Has Steve been good?"

At the familiar name, Benjamin's ears perked up, and I managed a laugh. "Remind me to thank him later…" I trailed off. My eyes roamed around the room once more, and a heavy weight settled on my chest. Slowly, I wandered over to the bed and sat down, Benjamin hopping up immediately to lay by my side.

I petted the german shepherd absentmindedly. I could still smell James' cologne in the air, and it was torturous. Weird to think how happy we had been in this room two days ago, chatting and laughing without a care in the world. After a moment, I looked down at Benjamin and gave him a bittersweet smile.

"Mama's gonna find him, okay? I promise we'll bring him back," I swore to him. Benjamin let out a whine, and all I could do was wrap my arms around him and squeeze, hoping that it offered some comfort to the confused companion.

A minute passed before I was able to let him go and stand up. "Alright, well, I guess we need to get that walk in before it gets too dark," I sniffed, wiping at my eyes before the tears fell. I started to walk toward where the leash was. "Come on, boy, let's-"

The lights flickered.

I raised an eyebrow. A loud beep went off. The door to the room slid open. My eyes went wide.

Then the room was plunged into darkness.

My heart was beating out of control. "Benjamin, come here," I called softly. I heard his little metal boot on the floor as he came to stand by me obediently. He nuzzled my hand, and I whispered, "Good boy."

Another minute passed— now I was picking up shouting from the hallways— before my vision had adjusted and I was able to move. I moved as quickly and quietly as possible, rushing over to James' closet and unlocking the safe at the back. I pulled out the first pistol I found, checked that it was loaded, then turned back to the dog who'd been trailing me.

"Let's go, Benjamin," I commanded. Something flashed in his dark eyes, and in that moment, I'd never been more grateful that we adopted a former police dog.

We walked out of my room and down the hallway, clinging to the shadows on the wall for cover. The shouting I'd heard earlier was distant now— it must have moved away from the residential area.

I could hardly hear the gears turning in the walls over the sound of blood rushing in my ears. I held my gun firm as I exited the room, the lengthy corridor stretching out before me. Sparks flew from a control panel on the wall, and all the lights went out. The sounds of fighting were growing louder, but I didn't stop. The carpet padded my footsteps as I approached the living room. I heard one final yelp, and then a thud. My heart rate increased, but I forced myself to turn the corner-

I slapped myself lightly. This was no time to get caught up in the past. That was a long time ago. I was ready this time.

My gun steady in front of me, we kept going step by step toward the old bunker in the south wing. Given all the lights out, doors open, and fuzzy screens, a tech blackout seemed to be the obvious culprit. And if that was the case, the usual protection systems would be worthless. The only safe place would be that bunker.

My mind flickered back to the London safe house.

A man stood in the center of the room, a small army of fallen men at his feet. His back was to me, and his shoulders were tense. I cocked the gun and held it up, but stopped my finger from pulling the trigger. There was a gleam of metal peaking through a slash in his coat.

I gritted my teeth. James wasn't coming to my rescue this time. I had to accept that.

We were almost out of the residential area now. The shouting grew louder. When I turned the final corner, all I saw was chaos.

Agents of all fields were running everywhere, bumping into each other in the dark.

"The barrier's down!"

"Get the backup generators running!"

"Containment units are open, sir!"

"We can't access anything!"

"All systems down!"

My heart rate increased, but I pushed forward through the crowd with Benjamin hot on my heels. Suddenly, I saw Steve across the room, and a sense of relief came over me.

I whipped around to motion to my dog. "Come on, boy, this way-!"

An agent knocked into me, practically throwing me to the floor. I groaned at the pain that ignited in my shoulder. But then I heard growling.

I blinked as I tried to sit up. "Benjamin?"

The German shepherd was no longer by my side, but was crouched low as he approached the man who hit me, growling viciously.

My eyes widened. "Ben-"

He lunged forward, grabbing the agent by the ankle and dragging him down. The man tried to kick, but Benjamin's teeth only sunk in deeper, and he let out a cry. The agent fell down to the ground, cursing as he held the leg that Benjamin had finally let go of.

I stood up shakily. "Benjamin, what are you-"

Benjamin barked, once, twice, then again. He leapt forward and put his front paws on the man's chest, holding down as he started to sniff. Suddenly, his ears perked up, and he began barking again.

At this point, I knew he had to be on to something. I grabbed my pistol off the ground and pointed it at the wounded agent. Benjamin seemed to recognize the signal, and so he began to dig his muzzle into the man's jacket.

"Hey! Hey! Get your dog off me!" the agent shouted. All I did was hold the gun steady.

A moment later, Benjamin pulled out a pile of crinkled papers. He laid them down before me, then barked once more.

The scene must have gathered attention, because all too soon, a familiar presence entered my sphere. Steve analyzed the situation quick enough to know to put a foot on the man's chest to keep him down.

Finally, I lowered the gun and bent over to pick up the papers. If it hadn't been such a difficult two days, maybe I would've been shocked. But all I could do was stare numbly at the wiring schematics and missing file from several weeks ago, all of it covered in a fine yellow dust.

Bruce stumbled into our area, and his eyes grew wide. "E-Eliza, that's uranium."

I dropped the papers immediately, my hands frozen as though they were burned.

Steve pushed his boot a little harder into the man's chest. "Who are you?" he demanded.

That moment, the lights flickered back on. I felt all the air leave my lungs when I saw the man's face.

Agent Jackson Matthews cast Steve a bored look before he grinned up at me. "Hey, boss."