Day: 428 - March 23, 2013, 12:18am
"Where are we, exactly?" Fitz asked with a frown, his hands on his hips as he stared at the terminal along the wall of the storage room. Bryn shrugged, checking the door lock once more before trudging across the room on leadened feet.
"Secure containment storage," Bryn replied with a shrug, hopping up to sit on a corner of the desk as Fitz picked up the keyboard, pecking at it distractedly. "Jarvis says they shouldn't be able to detect us and the door can't be breeched without high yield explosives. It was either this or climb twelve flights of stairs." She ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh. Now that they were safe and the cleaning crew was barricaded in the server room ten floors above them, she could admit to feeling exhausted.
"Do I want to know what you're storing in here?" Fitz questioned skeptically, huffing at whatever he'd found in the computer systems, before pausing a moment to glance down the long, darkened rows of storage shelves.
"I didn't ask and you probably shouldn't either," Bryn admitted, Her attention shifted to Simmons who had prodded Derek onto a dingy looking crate and was carefully cleaning out the cut on the back of his head with the contents of a first aid kit they'd found mounted next to the fire extinguisher inside the door. "How you doing?"
"What's the word doc?" Derek asked, shrugging lazily.
"Hold still," Simmons commanded. "The wound isn't deep but you have a mild concussion. Just give me a moment."
"Take your time Doc," Derek assured. "You need something for your head there Fitz?" He glanced over at the engineer who seemed too distracted by whatever he was working on to either notice or acknowledge the question.
"Hold still," Simmons ordered again, firmly grasping the top of his head and turing it so that he was staring straight at the wall before letting her gaze dart to Bryn. "So what do we do now?"
"Absolutely nothing," Bryn insisted, with all the conviction she could muster. "I mean, unless you have some ideas about how to disable the forcefield around the building."
"The systems are a bloody mess," Fitz hissed angrily, his eyes narrowing at the uncooperative computer. "I can't… no maybe if I…"
"He's very good," Simmons assured, taping down a bandage on Derek's head and gently patting his shoulder. "I'm sure if there's a way to get communications out."
"Jemma, I need a," Fitz interrupted, waving a hand at her impatiently.
"I'll look," She replied, scooting off toward a shelf of bins holding electrical equipment. "Derek, stay where you are, and try not to strain yourself."
"Wife is going to be so pissed," he sighed, shifting on the crate until his shoulders were braced against the wall.
"I could use someone more familiar with these systems," Fitz observed begrudgingly.
"Not really my area," Bryn shook her head.
"What about this Jarvis fellow you keep talking to?" Fitz pressed, continuing to pick at the keyboard. "Who is he anyway, he seems handy."
"Mr. Starks butler-slash-lab assistant," Bryn replied, fiddling with her ear buds. "Jarvis, Fitz is trying to gain access to the systems down here, maybe get the shields down?"
"Just a moment," came Jarvis' terse reply.
"Excellent!" Fitz declared mere seconds later, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips as his fingers danced over the keyboard. "Oh, there's a… can you ask him if he noticed this radiation spike?"
"I had noticed, Dr. Fitz" Jarvis' voice answered from the computer's speakers, giving the engineer a start that he quickly shook off. "I've been unable to determine a reason, however." Fitz made a face, returning his attention to the computer screen.
"I don't suppose you have any good news?" Bryn asked, tugging the earbuds from her ears.
"I've located Agent Barton," Jarvis replied, his tone the slightest bit worried.
"Oh thank god," Bryn sighed, burying her face in her hands and curling up until her elbows were braced on her knees. She stayed that way a long moment before sitting up. "Can we talk to Clint?"
"I'm still encountering communications difficulties throughout most of the tower," Jarvis replied, irritably. "We've managed to restore some of the security cameras but we've been unsuccessful reactivating the majority of systems. Agent Barton has been rendered somewhat trapped on the upper floors but he is otherwise safe. I've apprised him of your situation and he's instructed me to tell you to remain where you are until counter measures can be implemented."
"Good, I didn't want to be involved anyway," Fitz declared mulishly.
"So he has a plan?" Bryn questioned. There was a long silent pause.
"Agent Barton has asked that you exercise discretion and refrain from involving yourself further," Jarvis replied hesitantly.
"He told me to fuck off, didn't he?" Bryn asked, her mouth curling up in a wry smile.
"Accurate if tactless," Jarvis conceded.
"I like this guy," Fitz declared, his face brightening in the first signs of a smile. "Friend of yours?"
"Jarvis is my boss," Bryn replied, biting her lip to hide her grin. "What about the other Avengers, are they okay?"
"Mr. Stark and Thor are incarcerated but unharmed. I have lost track of Doctor Banner," Jarvis replied. "Agent Barton is currently engaged in locating him."
"If we could get a message out to Agent Coulson he could bring backup," Simmons pointed out, appearing beside Fitz and handing him a fist full of cables and circuit boards.
"Well it's not going to help if he can't get in," Fitz complained, handing her back a cable and a pair of wire cutters. "strip those."
"Jarvis, what about Steve?" Bryn asked, her brow crinkling in a worried frown as Simmons fumbled with the wire cutters and Fitz untwisted a ball of soldering wire.
"The Captain is currently in one of the secure labs on Sixty-two," Jarvis answered. Bryn waited but Jarvis offered nothing more, the silence growing uncomfortable.
"Jarvis, what's in the labs on sixty-two?" She asked cautiously. There was no answer and she slid slowly off the corner of the desk. "Jarvis?"
"Neural Engineering," Simmons declared uncomfortably, her brow crinkling in distress before she returned her attention the wires she was stripping. Bryn gave her a repulsed look.
"Are they experimenting on him?" she demanded, her eyes growing wide with horror. Jarvis didn't immediately answer and she balled her hands into fists.
"Jarvis!" she snapped.
"The captain is currently restrained and alone," he replied cautiously as Fitz abandoned the soldering iron and returned to pecking at the keyboard with a dark frown.
"That is not an answer!" Bryn insisted hotly. "What have they been doing to him? Is he in any danger?" Cold silence met her in return and she slowly closed her eyes, covering her mouth with one hand.
"Oh that doesn't look good," Simmons remarked leaning over Fitz's shoulder for a better view of the computer screen. Bryn turned on her heel, watching as vital statistics scrolled up the screen.
"I find that a little alarming," Fitz agreed, nodding.
"Has he lost blood?" Simmons questioned with a serious frown. "He's probably already in shock, even with his metabolism." Bryn drew in three long, slow, deep breaths, rubbing the tears from her eyes on the sleeve of her jacket.
"Right, okay," she declared, squaring her shoulders. "Simmons, I want you to lock the door behind me. It'd probably be better if you not open it again until one of the Avengers comes for you. I could be compromised."
"Bryn, I know what you're thinking," Jarvis warned as she pulled her pistol from her pocket, checking it over again carefully and removing the clip.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Simmons asked worriedly. "You're barely armed and you don't have any backup."
"They're not going to leave him alone forever," Bryn shook her head firmly, pocketing her gun again. "This might be the best chance."
"I replaced the battery in your taser," Fitz declared, holding it out her as he stared at the computer screen. She took it with a grateful nod, not even bothering to ask how he'd managed that.
"Bryn I will not allow you to go out there!" Jarvis insisted angrily.
"Then fire me!" Bryn shouted back at him. Silence settled over the room and she choked on a breath, her tone softening. "Fire me, Jarvis, but he's my friend and I'm not staying in here when he could be dying. You can fire me if you want, but I'm still going out there." Her phone let out a soft ping and she fished it out from under her bra strap, thumbing the button.
"If I fire you, your employee ID will be voided," Jarvis stated. "You will no longer be able to access secured areas."
"I know," she replied, taking a few steps away from Simmons who was watching her with deeply sympathetic eyes.
"You'll have nowhere safe to escape," he added.
"That won't keep me in here," she replied.
"Bryn, please don't leave the containment area," he pleaded finally. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Do you want something to happen to Steve?" she asked, her voice wobbling. "Or Mr. Stark? He's still captured. Is that what you want?" the question was met with silence and she wrapped her arm around her middle.
"These people are dangerous," he insisted after another long pause. "If you give them a reason, they will kill you."
"Jarvis, I'm going to go up to sixty-two and I'm going to break Steve out of the lab," she replied, drawing in a deep breath. "You can either help me or you can try to stop me. The one thing you can't do is make me stay here."
"I have surveillance up in most areas," Jarvis stated resignedly. "I can at least warn you of intruder detection." Bryn drew in a shaky breath.
"Thank you," she stated softly. She stuffed her earbuds back in her ears and tucked the phone under her bra strap before waving Simmons toward the door.
"Be careful," Simmons warned gently. Bryn gave her a firm nod.
"Let Jarvis know if you make any progress and keep an eye on Derek for me," the night guard gave her a bleary salute that she answered with a thumbs up before opening the door bolt and slipping out into the hall. The door closed behind her with a sold thud and she shivered.
"Bryn?" Jarvis asked tentatively.
"Yeah?" she replied in a hoarse whisper, creeping down the darkened hall.
"Did you really fail rent-a-cop certification?" She let out a bark of a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand as her tears finally spilled over.
"Yeah I did," she admitted, drying her eyes. "I tried to get a job as a mall cop my sophomore year of college."
"We're going to have an extremely long conversion about security clearances and appropriate responses on Monday," Jarvis stated drily.
"Good luck with that," she agreed, nodding as she peered around the corner of the T junction. "Because right now I am ninety percent sure I'm calling in too-exhausted-to-move on Monday."