Day: 746 - April 4, 2014
"I'm Beca Miller, I'm here to see Agent Waite," Bryn hoisted her messenger bag on her shoulder, her fingernails digging into the strap as she glanced around the lobby. The young man behind the desk gave a sharp nod, picking up the land line phone as Bryn shuffled back and forth on her feet, biting her lip.
"She'll be right down," he said, hanging up the phone. Bryn gave him a tight nod, stepping away from the desk.
"This is a horrible idea," she whispered once she was safely clear of the agents scurrying through the lobby of SHIELD's New York office.
"I know," Jarvis answered over her com, a hint of frantic desperation in his tone. "But I haven't been able to reach Agent Coulson any other way."
"Maybe Steve and Tasha had to go out on an Emergency," Bryn debated, though she didn't sound as if her heart were in it. "There's, like, a dozen reasons she wouldn't be able to call."
"If it were anyone else, I would agree," Jarvis allowed. "Do you believe Agent Romanov would miss two check-ins unless she were in imminent danger?"
"No," Bryn admitted, letting out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Did you try Steve again?" She regretted the question almost as soon as it was out, Jarvis had been calling both Steve and Natasha almost continuously for the past two days with no response.
"Bryn, you can do this," Jarvis coached, ignoring the obvious grasp at straws.
"I walked into the offices of an alphabet agency with falsified data," Bryn stated softly, her tone surprisingly even and calm. "That's a federal offense. When Mr. Stark finds out we forged his SHIELD credentials to get a meeting, he's going to fire me. That's if I don't get caught."
"He is not going to fire you," Jarvis insisted. "And you won't be caught. There's absolutely no reason Sir has to know at all and he's the only one who can confirm our indiscretion to SHIELD."
"You don't honestly think we can hide this, do you?" Bryn asked.
"I honestly think that at this moment he believes Dr. Banner is an attractive, blond woman," Jarvis replied.
"So he's on the really good drugs then?" She asked, trying not to smile.
"I can't risk waiting any longer," Jarvis insisted. "Mr. Stark's surgery yesterday has left him incapacitated. Agent Barton is still under cover and I haven't been able to raise anyone on Agent Coulson's team through regular channels. Agent Waite is one of his oldest friends, she'll be more than willing to help. All you have to do is give her the data drive."
"You don't find it at all suspicious that you're completely unable to reach most of your team?" she asked.
"I am extremely suspicious or I would not have sent you into SHIELD headquarters with a forged access," Jarvis admitted.
"Awesome," Bryn nodded in resignation.
"If anyone tries to detain you, hit them with your bag," Jarvis instructed.
"I hate you," Bryn stated, her eyes narrowing menacingly as she stared out of the windows into the street.
"You must be Miller," Bryn half jumped, spinning on her heel to face a tall woman with sharp, masculine features.
"Agent Waite?" Bryn asked, taking her offered hand cautiously.
"Stark's assistant said you had some information for us," the woman related with a frown. She had a severe look about her, hard like flint and stern in an unforgiving way. Her broad shoulders were pulled back as she looked down her nose with narrowed eyes as if she were scrutinizing everything and everyone around her.
"Mr. Stark specified I was to speak only to you and only in private," Bryn replied. Agent Waite seemed to consider her a moment before motioning toward the elevator and Bryn followed, clutching at her messenger bag as they walked.
"Stark's PA mentioned something about a potential breach?" Waite prompted as the elevator doors closed, leaving them in relative seclusion. "It has to be a pretty dicey situation for him to send the data physically."
"He said he couldn't trust the regular channels," Bryn replied. "It's vital that this information gets to Agent Coulson."
"Coulson's on an op in Florida," Waite replied with a frown. "Stark knows that. He should be able to reach him."
"Mr. Stark called him this morning," Bryn lied. "Agent Coulson said you could transfer the data to him directly through a secure channel. They wanted to make one hundred percent sure it wasn't intercepted."
"Well we can do that," Waite nodded, motioning Bryn out of the elevator and down the hall. "I have to admit, I'm kind of curious."
"I've learned working for Mr. Stark that inquisitiveness is probably not in my best interest," Bryn admitted.
"That's fair," Agent Waite agreed, opening her office door. "Let's see if we can get Coulson on the line and send him your data." She waved a hand at one of the chairs in front of her desk
before sliding in front of her computer with a frown, her fingers pecking at the keys with sharp precision. Bryn sat, pulling her messenger bag against her chest, her fingers gripping the straps.
"Hmm," Agent Waite made a noise in the back of her throat, her eyes narrowing.
"Is something wrong?" Bryn just managed to keep the worry from her tone. Agent Waite looked up at her with a calculating expression.
"I'm afraid so," the agent admitted with a slight frown. "Your bag."
"My bag?" Bryn drew in a sharp breath, staring down the barrel of a small caliber hand gun.
"Now is a bad time to start asking questions, kid," Agent Waite stated, releasing the safety on the gun and aiming it squarely between Bryn's eyes. "Hand me the bag, now."
"Bryn, what's going on?" Jarvis demanded frantically in her ear. A single gunshot rang out down the hall and Bryn jumped, scooting back in the chair, wide eyed as shouts and screams and the sound of automatic weapons peppered the air.
"Don't piss me off, kid," Waite ordered. "There's no reason anything bad has to happen to you, give me the bag and I'll walk you out of here."
"Okay," Bryn agreed, nodding as she slowly unwound the straps from around her fingers. "Okay, I don't want any trouble." She flinched as a full fledged firefight broke out on the floor just below them and her hands shook as she held out the bag.
"Bryn, what's happening?" Jarvis asked. "Bryn?"
"Lay it on the desk," Waite ordered, waiting for Bryn to comply. "Sit back, don't move. This is a bad day to be a hero." Agent Waite watched her with cat-like scrutiny until Bryn sunk back into the visitor's chair. A smug smile played over Waite's face and she reached out for the messenger bag, flipping the top open and reaching inside.
A sharp blue electrical wave shot up Agent Waite's arm and she went rigid, the gun falling from her grasp as she lurched to her feet. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her hair crackled with static and then she tipped backwards, falling flat on the floor.
"Bryn!" Jarvis' near hysterical voice in her ear was like a siren call to action and Bryn jumped up, scrambling straight over the top of the desk, snagging the handle of the bag as she dove to the floor.
"Jarvis?" Bryn sank down behind the desk, crawling under it and pressing her hand over her ear as automatic weapon's fire went off down the hall. "Oh my god! Jarvis?"
"Bryn, what's wrong? What happened?" he demanded as she gawped at Agent Waite, the woman's unseeing eyes staring at the ceiling.
"She tried to shoot me!" Bryn hissed angrily.
"She what?"
"Agent Waite!" Bryn snapped, flattening herself onto the floor and peering under the desk as three armed specialists quick marched past the open office door. "She tried to shoot me! With a gun, Jarvis! A gun! In the head!"
"Something's wrong," Jarvis stated. "Something's terribly wrong. Do you still have the drive?" Bryn fished in the front pocket of her jacket, pulling out the Thor keychain drive and staring at it.
"I still have it," she nodded slowly. "She went for the bag, like you said."
"Can you plug it into a computer?" Jarvis asked. Bryn nodded, though he couldn't see and she peered under the bottom of the desk to check the hall before clambering to her knees and plugging the drive into Agent Wait's laptop.
"Jarvis, there's a logo on the computer screen," she breathed out, scurrying under the desk once more. "Please tell me I'm remembering wrong." She gripped at her jeans as the silence hung heavy and still between them.
"Jarvis?" she said finally. The sound of gunfire and shouting pierced the air again and she jumped, folding herself up smaller.
"Bryn you need to get out of there now," Jarvis declared, his voice deathly calm. "How?" She demanded. "Waltz out the front door?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "SHIELD isn't safe, no one is safe. You have to get out of the building, you can't trust anyone."
"I'm on, like the fiftieth floor!" she informed desperately, cringing as an explosion went off a few floors away. "There are guns going off and screaming, I can't..." she stuttered on the word, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Bryn, I'm so very sorry," Jarvis' voice was pitched low, a thin thread of terror running through it. "I should never have sent you there." She hadn't even realized she'd been on the verge of hyperventilating, didn't remember when her face had become wet. She drew in a handful of stuttering breaths, scrubbing at her cheeks with trembling hands
"Where's Thor?" she asked in a small voice.
"He and Jane are still on Asgard," Jarvis admitted. "I'll tell Dr. Banner."
"No," she interrupted, a single tear trickled down her cheek. "No, Mr. Stark's surgery... he's still not stable, is he?"
"No he's not," Jarvis admitted.
"You can't tell Bruce," Bryn whispered. "He needs to stay with Mr. Stark. Jarvis, it's... if it really is Hydra they're going to go after the Avengers first. You have to protect them."
"Bryn, I have to protect you too," Jarvis insisted.
"You can't," she replied, her voice cracking slightly. "You're... you're an Avenger and the team comes first, the team always comes first. You have to protect anyone who's left. I'll get out on my own."
"Bryn," Jarvis's voice was soft in her ear and she let her head fall back against the inside of the desk. "I can't abandon you."
"There's nothing you can do," she insisted, struggling to hold back a sniffle. "I'm... Jarvis, I'm not sorry, okay? Getting to know you, the team, it's been the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me and I'm not even a little bit sorry."
"Bryn, I... I've come to care for you very much over these last few years," Jarvis confessed. "I'm not prepared to..."
"It's okay," Bryn murmured back. "Jarvis, it's okay." "This is my fault," he replied. "And I never told you."
"The wet wall," Bryn interrupted, sitting up ramrod straight under the desk and bumping her head.
"Excuse me?"
"Clint," Bryn stated, her breaths coming in short, excited gasps as she rubbed the top of her head. "Clint said the vents and the drop ceilings in SHIELD HQ were completely secure, but the wet walls. No one bothered installing baffles inside the wet walls because they didn't think anyone could climb it."
"Is there a bathroom?" "Yes."
"Lock yourself in," he ordered sharply. Bryn shouldered the bag as she rolled into a crouch, peering around the edge of the desk before gathering her feet under her and springing for the door to the small en suite bathroom. She eased it shut behind her, laying against it as she reached up, turning the lock.
"I do not know a thing about plumbing," she admitted, her chest heaving as if she'd run a mile. "There should be a solid access panel near the sink," Jarvis instructed.
"I've got it," Bryn replied, slithering under the sink. "It's screwed down."
"Do you still have the messenger bag?" he asked.
"Yeah, I... should I still be touching it?" She asked awkwardly.
"There is a shielded pouch in the back, you should find some appropriate tools there," Jarvis replied. Bryn turned the bag over, finding the hidden seam and opening the pouch to reveal at small hand taser and a swiss army knife.
"Snuck into a spy agency with weapons," Bryn observed holding one in each hand. "I am really glad they're probably Hydra or I'd be going to jail forever."
"Abandon the bag," Jarvis instructed as she set to work on the screws. "I can use it to cover your escape if necessary."
"I'm going to be totally blind in here," She reminded, removing the last screw and prying the panel free.
"I've managed to access building surveillance," Jarvis prompted as she took a few deep breaths before shining the flashlight on the taser into the wet wall.
"These poles are kind of bigger than Phil's stripper poles in the gym," Bryn observed nervously. "I'm not sure I can make the climb all the way down."
"Can you make the climb to the roof?" Jarvis asked. Bryn swallowed, craning her head around to look up.
"Probably," she admitted. "Up is harder, but it's not that far. What am I going to do when I get there?"
"I can get you off the roof," Jarvis replied with conviction. "It's empty, and it seems unlikely anyone will think to look there. You have to trust me."
"What you mean is I have to trust you or I'm going to die here," She stated, stowing the knife and the taser in her pockets before untying her sneakers. "I really liked these shoes, Jarvis."
"Vans Lo Pro in Cosmic Galaxy, size eight," he stated.
"You can just get me a pair of the stonewashed denim ones too while you're at it," she snapped, pitching the second shoe over her shoulder with an angry frown and peeling off her socks. "Because almost getting me killed deserves shoes."
"The ones with the stars on them?" he asked.
"Hell yes," Bryn nodded, taking a deep breath before shimmying feet first through the access panel and swinging out to grasp hold of the nearest plumbing pipe.
"This is a terrible idea," she insisted, carefully making her way toward the roof.
"Think of something to distract yourself," Jarvis suggested. "This is exactly like one of Agent Coulson's blindfold exercises. What do you think about while training in the gym?"
"I can't think of anything except the fact that Clint asked for Ben and Jerry's and I forgot to put it on the list," She admitted, her arms straining as she heaved herself upward.
"I overheard," Jarvis sighed in exasperation. Bryn paused a moment, bracing her feet against one plumbing pipe and her back against the other as she shook out her fingers in the pitch darkness before she continued her climb.
"Could you, perhaps, go faster?" Jarvis asked nervously.
"No," Bryn stated, the word coming out in a huff as she pulled herself higher. She was distantly aware of a banging sound and the splintering of wood over the continued ring of gunfire but she blocked it out determinedly, focusing on her grip on the plumbing pipe.
"Bryn, brace yourself!" Jarvis warned frantically.
"Wait, what?" She had only a moment to wrap both arms around the pipe, her foot wedging against the parallel pipe as an explosion went off below her, a small fireball rushing into the wet wall and illuminating the shaft for only a moment.
"What the hell was that?!" she demanded, climbing the plumbing pipe with renewed determination.
"I covered your escape," Jarvis replied simply.
"With a bomb?" she fumed. "What the hell was in that bag you gave me? Oh my god, did it actually kill Agent Waite?"
"Limited contact should not result in death," he replied in his most professional tone. "What about sticking your hand in it?" she asked horrified.
"Ah."
"Oh my god, I snuck into a super secret spy agency with weapons and a killer book bag!" "In my defense I only intended it to be used as a bludgeoning weapon," Jarvis insisted. "And a bomb!" Bryn reminded angrily.
"In light of recent events, my precautions do not appear to be excessive," he argued.
"If you ever give me a killer book bag without telling me again we are totally done as friends, Jarvis,"
"Understood," he allowed in resignation. "Were you properly distracted?"
"You are an asshole and I am so angry with you right now!" she replied. "I'm almost there, is it still clear?"
"Yes, but hurry," he instructed. Bryn braced herself between the plumbing pipes and carefully fished the taser from her pocket, shining it around until she located an access panel.
"Where is this?" she questioned with a frown.
"Based on the schematics and GPS from your com, you should be in a public bathroom on the top floor near the fire stairs." he replied.
"Peachy," she growled, adjusting her grip and swinging out, connecting with the panel with both feet. It bent under the strain with a groan of metal and she checked her grip again before swinging forward. The panel broke free, skittering across the tile floor and she followed it, tumbling through the access panel with a yelp.
"Bryn?" Jarvis sounded in her ear.
"Quarterly review, Jarvis," she stated, staring up at the ceiling, her chest heaving. "That's all I'm saying to you right now. Quarterly Review."
"Perhaps promotion to a different division seems somewhat more appealing now," he remarked meekly.
"I am having a really bad day and you are not funny," she observed, rolling onto her knees, still gasping for breath.
"Did you injure your feet?" he queried worriedly.
"I'm barefoot in a Hydra bathroom," she reminded, drawing the taser and creeping toward the door. "Let's keep our priorities in check here, like the not dying one, I want to put not dying slightly ahead of stubbed toes."
"The hallway is clear," Jarvis reported. "Exit the bathroom, take a right and exit the door immediately to your left. I've disabled the fire alarms."
"You're going to get me off the roof, right?" she asked, her voice trembling as her fingers tightened around the door handle. "because once I'm on the roof..."
"I am going to get you off the roof," Jarvis promised. "Go. Now."
Bryn heaved the door open, her bare feet slapping against the industrial floors. She crashed into the stairwell door and charged up the steps as fast as her legs would carry her, shoving open the door marked 'roof access'.
"Oh my god," she whispered. She could see the floors below reflected in the windows of the building across the street and she crept forward, leaning against the ledge as she looked down. Smoke billowed out of broken windows and down on the street screaming pedestrians ran from the scene.
"Bryn?"
"I made it to the roof," She stated, her eyes scanning the surrounding buildings. She caught a reflection of the floor below, only a flash of movement, and she tensed. "Jarvis! are there cameras in the stairwells?"
"Bryn, run!" he shouted in her ear as the stairwell door banged open on its hinges. Without conscious thought she spun on her heel, running for all she was worth across the
asphalt roofing, bullets whizzing by her ears.
"I'm almost out of roof!" She shouted, the sharp gravel coating biting into her bare feet. "Bryn, trust me and jump," he ordered.
She jumped.
Bryn hung in the air for what seemed like a span of seconds, New York stretching out beneath her in a flurry of traffic and the sharp sting of gun powder that clouded the sidewalks around SHIELD's offices. She sucked in a startled breath, her heart hammering in her chest and a moment later the wind rushed from her lungs as something firm and metallic connected with her back, sending her head spinning.
"Iron Man?" she squeaked out, her fingers grasping hold of the gauntlet wrapped around her waist in a white knuckled grip.
"Are you hurt?" Jarvis voice sounded, strangely metallic through the suit's voice synthesizer. She started as a bullet dinged off his shoulder but he ignored it. "You weren't injured?"
"Jarvis?" Her eyes widened and she let out a squeak as they turned sharply, ducking between buildings, turning her head to look up into his face "Oh my god, what... how?"
"My scans are not indicating prominent injury," he continued with a touch of amusement. "They didn't get me," she nodded, clutching at his arm. "Oh my god we're flying!"
"Sir does say it's the only way to travel," Jarvis admitted, something smug in his declaration. Bryn let out a whoop as they circled Avengers Tower, pulling her knees up as Jarvis eased smoothly onto the launch balcony.
"Are your feet bleeding?" he asked worriedly as he set her down. Bryn grasped hold of a metal arm, pulling up one foot with a frown.
"Just road rash," she insisted, checking the second foot. "I got worse than this on the BMX track, I'll be fine."
"You're sure?"
Bryn looked up into the face of Iron Man, a smile blooming on her own face as her fingers curled gently around the gauntlet and she nodded.
"How did you," the question dissolved on her lips as the suit's faceplate retracted, revealing nothing. The disassembly robotics emerged from the balcony floor, stowing each piece with methodical precision until Bryn was standing alone the wind tugging at her blonde curls.
She stared blankly at the spot where the last boot had folded into the floor, unmoving, her lips parted as she drew in slow, thready breaths.
"I've alerted Dr. Banner to the situation at SHIELD," Jarvis stated though the com in her ear. "And I've made you an appointment with the staff clinic, if you'll come inside I'll show you to the elevator."
"Yeah," Bryn nodded, her voice thin, but she didn't move.
"Are you certain you're all right?" he asked with renewed worry. "You came by yourself... I didn't," Her voice hitched. "You can..."
"Bryn!" She spun in surprise to see Bruce running across the living room and flinging open the door to the balcony. "Oh my god, are you all right?" She could do nothing but nod as he set a gentle hand on her arm, peering into her eyes, carefully assessing her for injuries.
"Jarvis said that SHIELD had been compromised," he declared, shuffling her toward the door. "You're not wearing any shoes."
"I had to leave them," she said, glancing back over her shoulder to where Iron Man had disappeared only moments before.
"Yeah," Bruce shook his head with a sigh. "I know all about that. Come inside, let me have a look at you."
"I'm fine," she stated, her tone hollow. She wasn't sure why she kept looking back over her shoulder but she couldn't seem to stop herself.
"Maybe," Bruce allowed. "But frankly I know not fine well enough to recognize it when I see it."