CHAPTER 17

Ranger, Steve and I divided the men into teams of three. We had a total of thirty men which gave us ten teams to schedule two shifts per building. After a few days of surveillance we should be able to determine the optimal time for monitoring activity. Each shift was eight hours long. It was decided you would work an eight hour shift, take an eight hour break to sleep, then return for another eight hours.

Tank, Lester, Bobby and Ranger used their Army contacts to quietly query activities surrounding and involving the properties. Through these contacts, we received several names for people of interest. Dad and Robert ran the names through the search programs to locate additional suspicious men to watch.

As I suspected, three buildings were used as temporary holding facilities. Bobby and Lester's contacts ran a few ops during the past year to infiltrate these buildings. It was recommended to send two teams per building.

Lester's friend Barney had officially completed his contract with the Rangers. He recently applied to Rangeman NY. After providing us with intel, we ran through several scenarios that could possibly occur as we surveilled the properties. Once we had all contingencies in order, we decided to run our op.

On our third day of surveillance, Ram came down with the flu. Dad readily volunteered to assist Woody and Hal in Ram's absence. None of the buildings were showing any activity. I was slightly frustrated with the lack of progression. We really needed to catch a break in this case.

While watching the Brooklyn building, Dad noticed an unmarked van enter the warehouse. A message was texted to the team, 'Fox in the hole BB.' I watched as Steve texted back, 'Watch out for rabies.'

It seemed like hours before we received a text from Woody. '2P 4G BS ID.' Steve whispered, "Two prisoners, four guards, Brice Shultz has been identified." He texted his reply, 'DNE' and told me, "It means do not engage."

Hal sent me a text, 'Have pictures of the men and women seen with Shultz'.

'Thank you Hal. We'll upload them for JARVIS to search DMV records.'

We completed our shifts and returned to the Avengers tower. A meeting was schedule to review the information gathered from the Brooklyn team.

My father was paramount in providing details of their surveillance. JARVIS was able to provide information on all parties except for one prisoner. "I recognized one of the prisoners. When I was in the Rangers my second in command, Patrick Little and his wife adopted a boy from Russia. The unidentified prisoner is Daniel Little, Patrick's adopted son. Dan joined the Army around 10 years ago and was declared dead during his final mission. His team mates were found dead in their tents. Daniel's blood was found in his tent, but his body was missing. Judging from the amount of blood at the scene, they determined there was no possible way he could have survived that attack."

He had JARVIS show a group of photos on a large screen. The layout of the Brooklyn building was displayed beside the photos. "I saw the van pull up to the west side entrance here," he pointed to the entrance. "We were unable to identify the driver. When he exited the van, he was positioned between the van and the building. A few hours later, 7 men exited the building, 2 were secured in the back of the van. Shultz and 3 guards entered the back of the van with the prisoners. This woman, Jasmine Parker, had the driver sign a form attached to a clipboard. She smiled as the van drove away."

Something about this woman had my spidey sense kick into high gear. I pulled my laptop closer and entered search criteria for Jasmine. Her real name is Dr Penelope Graham. Penelope is a geneticist, specializing in mutated, activated and inactivated genes. She has been studying the effects of the serum used on soldiers in WWII. Her great uncle was Abraham Erksine, the man responsible for giving my husband the serum.

After his death, Abraham Erksine's research and serum documentation were stolen. Nobody knew where to begin looking for his life's work. I suspect a member of Hydra managed to obtain his research.

I dug into Penelope's past as my dad continued debriefing the team. Her mentor was a man named Richard Nelson. I searched through many photographs before stumbling across one of Jasmine Parker and Richard Nelson. "Men, I found something," I interrupted Hal's portion of the debrief. Moving my mouse over the picture, I displayed it on the screen. "Here's a photograph of Jasmine and Richard at a medical convention. If you haven't already noticed, the man is none other than Brice Shultz. I think Penelope, aka Jasmine, will lead us to the puppet master. We'll continue with our surveillance to prove my theory."

A few months later, we found the proof we needed. The Brooklyn building was abandoned a few weeks later. We followed the activity to the upstate New York location. After carefully setting up the various teams. We stormed the building, capturing Penelope's father, Eric Abrams and his team of 20 people. Penelope was found dead in her home the following day.

Steve and I went into the cells to interrogate Eric. Upon entering the room, we found him convulsing on his bed. He was dead before we could conduct our interrogation. Bruce Banner assisted Dr Colton with the autopsy. Eric poisoned himself with a cyanide capsule. He died within a few minutes of puncturing the capsule.

We extracted almost 10 men and women who were given the Super Serum. Unfortunately, none of them survived. Less than half were captured while serving in the Army. We notified the families and gave them funds to bury their loved ones.

"I feel really bad for the families," I said. "Most of them had no idea their family member was missing." We told each family their loved ones died in the line of duty as they served their country. Only a few families were upset their criminal relative was dead, others were glad their criminal family member could no longer inflict pain on other families.

All involved Hydra parties were neutralized, never again to inflict their twisted agenda on unsuspecting victims. Bucky, Thor, Bruce, Tony and Steve destroyed all labs. Their research documentation is stored in a secure vault in the Avengers tower. Steve and Tony were the only people able to access the safe.

The Rangeman guys and my Avenger family celebrated the end of the mission. We worked well together. During the party, Tony approached Ranger and his core team members about merging their companies. They would run their offices as Rangeman, but under the Stark Industries umbrella.

Ranger readily accepted the position of CEO. Each core team member was given the opportunity to run their own office, or join Stark Industries in New York. I wasn't surprised when they all wanted to transfer to the New York office. None of them wanted to be separated from me any longer than necessary. A few job descriptions changed, but everyone was happy with their new responsibilities.

A few more months passed before Thor announced I needed to visit Asgard. "Samara," he said, "It is time to visit our home. Asgard must meet their Princess."

I kissed Steve before taking my place beside Thor. "I'll only be gone for a few days," I assured my husband.

"Thor, guard my wife. She is the most important person in my life," he quietly told my brother. Bucky and I could clearly hear his words.

"She is in no danger," Thor insisted.

When we were ready to leave, Steve escorted us to Central Park where Heimdall opened the bifrost to transport us home. I felt at peace when we arrived.

Thor gave me a tour, leaving Mother's quarters to the end. I walked into Mother's rooms and felt her presence. She spoke to me, "Welcome home my daughter. Everything now belongs to you. Use it well."

"I will Mother." A cabinet containing many spell books opened as I approached it. "Am I permitted to take these with me?" I asked nobody in particular.

"They are yours daughter. Take what you need," I heard my mother say.

I found a satchel hanging in the closet. The many spell books easily fit into the bag.

Lady Sif found me reading a few journals. "What are you reading Mara?" she inquired.

"Mother's journals."

"It's time for the feast. I'll help you dress." She pulled me towards the closet to grab a gorgeous sapphire gown. "You look beautiful Samara. Everyone will love you," she added.

"Thank you for your help Lady Sif."

When I entered the dining room, all noise ceased. A quiet calm drifted throughout the room. Thor address the room, "I present to you Lady Samara. Daughter of Friga and Odin, my sister." The room exploded. Everyone welcomed me home.

The high priest approached me, suggesting several options for a husband. When he became too pushy, I said, "I'm already married to Steve Rogers of Midgard." He seemed surprised, but wisely approached Thor for proof. I too irritated with his antics to offer proof of my nuptials.

After a very stressful dinner, I decided to return to home early the following morning. Heimdall was more than accommodating. I was surprised to find Steve, Ranger and my Dad waiting for me in Central Park. 'I told Steve you were coming home today,' I heard Heimdall say.

"Welcome home Sweetheart," Steve said as he embraced me. I handed him my satchel containing Mother's spell books and journals.

"I brought home some reading material," I answered his silent question.

We walked back to the Avengers tower hand in hand. Steve directed me to a new floor in the tower. "Where are we?" I asked.

"Our new home," he whispered. He lifted me into his arms as he opened the door and crossed over the threshold. "JARVIS, initiate privacy mode and do not allow any overrides," he ordered. We spend the day christening our new home.