Chapter 26
After a nap, Ruby was feeling much better. Maybe she was getting over whatever was causing the headaches. That or getting used to it. Who knew since nobody seemed to know what was causing them?
She was still worried about Bruce out there by himself despite Fury's reassurances that they were keeping an eye on him. It seemed unlikely that Hydra had suddenly dropped their plans to capture him after the lengths they had gone through in Colorado. While brilliant, he seemed somewhat lacking on self-preservation skills when he wasn't big and green. Ruby felt Fury was taking too big a risk leaving him out there alone.
After a light lunch - her appetite seemed to have returned now that the headaches were letting up - she made her way back to the lab. She couldn't see just laying around the dormitory now that she was clear-headed. Maybe she could make some headway on the TOE.
Stopping at the door to the lab, she paused. What were the odds that the campus AI knew his location?
"Computer?"
"What can I do for you, Ms. Beaumont?"
Here goes nothing, she thought.
"Do you have the current location of Dr. Banner?"
"Yes, Ms. Beaumont."
Holy cow! She should have known the computer would have his location. How else would they be keeping a discreet eye on him? Probably using satellites or drones. Or maybe some other super-secret method that the public didn't know they had.
"Where is he?"
The computer spat out a long string of numbers that Ruby recognized as GPS coordinates. Luckily, she had a good memory for numbers.
"Thank you, computer!"
"You're welcome, Ms. Beaumont. Please be aware that these coordinates and all the surrounding area for a diameter of five miles have been flagged as a limited access area."
"Limited access area? Explain."
"Only three individuals are cleared to enter the area."
Well, crud. There went her plans. Defeated, Ruby sighed and started to push the door open, but curiosity got the better of her and she paused to consider the panel for a moment before making up her mind.
"Who are they?"
"Director Fury, Clint Barton, and you, Ms. Beaumont."
Stunned, Ruby gaped at the panel, "me?"
"Yes, Ms. Beaumont."
"Why am I on the list?" she wondered out loud.
"I do not have that information, Ms. Beaumont."
Well, that certainly changes things, Ruby thought, stepping back from the door.
"Tell me some good news, Doctor," Fury said while looking out over the river running past the building.
"Believe me, I wish I could," Dr. Bennet replied, her frustration evident in her tone. "None of the tests we have run have shown up anything out of the ordinary except for some traces of psilocin in one of the trainees tested."
"Psilocin?"
"The compound in psychedelic mushrooms that makes them psychedelic." She tossed a file on his desk, "here is the file on that trainee."
"Was the psilocin found in any others and could it account for the headaches?"
"No and no," she sighed. "At least not in the amounts found in the sample."
Fury turned away from the view and regarded the doctor. The fine lines around her eyes were emphasized by the dark shadows under them and her mouth was compressed into a thin line, making her look a decade older than she was.
"You look like hell."
Her eyebrows shot up, "most people would have asked me if I was getting enough rest, you know."
"I'm not most people."
"Can't argue that."
"Any other ideas? Tests you can run?"
"I've been thinking about that and was going to run an idea past you. A brain scan on a few of the worst off might give us a clue about how their being affected. Then we can start narrowing our testing parameters and eliminating possible sources."
"Why run it past me first?"
She shrugged, "I didn't want to alarm anyone unduly."
"I'd say they're more alarmed by not knowing the cause of the headaches. You can't begin to imagine the wild rumors that are starting to circulate. We need to figure this out quickly before we have widespread panic. Believe me, if I have to stand before a bunch of angry politicians and explain why we are damaging their assets, you will be right there by my side. Do you get my drift?"
Bennet nodded as she stood, "loud and clear. I will just keep you apprised of what tests we are conducting from here forward."
"You damn well better. Results would be even better."
"Let's see what the brain scans turn up and we'll go from there."
As the doctor left the room, Fury turned back to the view, contemplating it for a moment before he turned, focusing on an object on his desk that looked like an ordinary pebble.
Spending the morning away from the campus went a long way towards improving Izzy's mood. She now had the beginnings of a plan to extract herself and Ruby from this mess in one piece. Returning to the dormitory reluctantly, she stopped to let one of the SHIELD agents drive past in a golf cart. Lost in thought, she jumped when the cart stopped in front of her.
"Want a ride?"
Looking up, she saw a young, blonde woman smiling at her.
"Oh, no thank you," she smiled and gave a little wave. "I'm just going over to the dormitory."
"It's no problem," the blonde replied. "In fact, I insist."
Taken aback, Izzy stepped up to the cart slowly and ducked down to look at the other woman, "I don't understand."
"Just shut up and get the hell in the cart, Izzy," the woman's brilliant smile never faltered.
Hesitantly, she got into the cart, clutching the dash as the woman put it into gear and stomped on the peddle.
"Quit frowning and smile like we are chatting."
"It would be easier if you just told me what was going on," Izzy shot back.
"Look, I'm not happy about this either, but we don't have much time, and this was my best chance to talk to you. I'm Laura Watson."
Izzy looked at her curiously, "talk to me about what?"
Laura rolled her eyes as she drove around the field instead of straight across to the dormitory.
"Christ, are you really this stupid? I can't believe they put you in charge of such an important mission."
Realization hit Izzy, "you're hydra?"
"And she gets the prize!" the woman said sarcastically. "Hail fucking Hydra. Is that better?"
"Sorry, they didn't tell me someone else was here. I wasn't expecting this," she said defensively, flushing at the condescending tone.
"Hell, there are more of us here than you and me. Some I know about and others I don't. That's how we work, you know. Nobody in the field ever knows everything."
"So, why approach me?"
"I have a message for you. The operation needs to be moved up. I will arrange for the server room to be unlocked for you at exactly 10am Friday morning. You and Frankie need to be there at exactly that time."
"Hold on," Izzy stopped her before she could continue. They were passing the pool where construction workers were breaking up and removing the damaged concrete in large slabs. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Frankie yet. How the hell am I supposed to pull this off?"
"Well, if you will shut up, I will tell you," Laura snapped. "Thursday morning at 7:15 I will escort her to the cafeteria for breakfast. Make sure you are there, and you can have a few discreet words with her."
"So, you expect me to coordinate an op with just a few discreet words? Are you out of your mind?"
"This isn't some complex op. All you have to do is meet Frankie outside the unlocked server room at 10am, plant the device, and get the hell out of there without being caught."
"Oh, well, when you put it that way, I guess any idiot could do it," Izzy rolled her eyes this time, mocking the other woman. "In fact, you could do it. Why are you even involving me?"
"Because I have to be somewhere else, and this is your assignment," Laura snapped, glaring at Izzy.
Hitting the brakes, she smirked as Izzy almost slid out of her seat.
"Here you go! You have a good day now," she smiled brightly.
Izzy smiled back as she scrambled out of the cart, "go fuck yourself."
As the agent sped off, she straightened her clothes, gathered her composure, and walked sedately towards the entrance to the dormitory.
Goddamn Hydra agents.
"What is going on?"
Ruby turned to face Izzy holding the pair of jeans she was about to shove in the backpack.
"I'm packing for a quick trip," she explained.
Izzy's mouth opened but no sound came out, a phenomenon Ruby had never witnessed in all their years together.
"It's just for a couple days, three max. I'll be back before the weekend," Ruby assured her.
"Okay," Izzy finally said slowly. "I have so many questions, I'm not sure where to start." She sat down on the bed and shook her head as if clearing it. "First, where are you going and does Fury know and approve?"
"That's actually three questions," she smiled quickly before returning to her packing. "I'm going to find Bruce. No, Fury doesn't know yet, but I think he would approve since I'm on the list of people allowed to go."
"Wait. What list? Go where?"
She didn't think it was possible, but Izzy looked even more confused. Almost as confused as she looked when Ruby had tried to explain how nothing can become something, one of the theories of the origins of the universe. However, early on in that conversation, Izzy had lost interest and her mind had wandered on to entirely different matters, such as what color nail polish would best compliment her new teal blouse. This time, Izzy was making a concerted effort to understand what she was hearing.
"Fury knows where Bruce is and has someone or something watching over him," she explained. "I found the location on the computer. He's somewhere in the mountains upstate. I've got the exact coordinates, so I'm going to go find him." She went to the closet and dug around for her tennis shoes while she continued to explain to her friend.
"Apparently there are only three people that are allowed near him right now, and I happen to be one of them. So, I'm assuming Fury plans to send me there at some point in time. I'm just taking matters into my own hands." She sat back on her heals holding one of the pair. "Where in thunder did I put the other one?"
"That's a big assumption," Izzy said skeptically, leaning over and fishing the other shoe out from under the edge of the bed and tossing it at her.
"Thanks," Ruby dodged the shoe and scooped it off the floor where it landed. "I really don't care. I'm going and he's welcome to try to stop me if he doesn't like it." The shoes joined the jeans in the backpack.
"In case you haven't noticed, he has the ability to stop you. Hello? Avengers? SHIELD agents?" Izzy raised her voice as Ruby went into the bathroom to gather her toiletries.
"We'll see, won't we. I just requested a car," she called out.
Izzy got up and went to stand in the doorway so she could see Ruby's face as they spoke.
"What exactly do you think you're going to do when, and if," she stressed the word, "you find him?"
Ruby held up bottles of shampoo and conditioner, "do you think I'll need these? I'm not going to be gone that long?"
"That depends on where he's at. If he's at a hotel or something, they probably have those little bottles you can use in a pinch."
"Yeah, but those are always crappy." Mind made up; Ruby set them aside to pack. "I don't know, really," she continued their conversation as if it hadn't been interrupted, "but it feels like something I need to do. Haven't you ever felt that way about something sketchy?"
She held Izzy's eyes trying to convey her need to do something, anything, but wait around here for Bruce to return. The two friends stood that way for long seconds before Izzy broke the contact, her eyes darting to Ruby's wrist.
"You're not wearing the bracelet?"
"Oh, crud," Ruby flushed, "I completely forgot! I'm sorry, Izzy, it broke this morning and my head was hurting so bad that I just left it in the lab. I promise I'll get it when I get back and I'll have it fixed," he eyes teared up. "I'm sorry."
Izzy stepped close and wrapped her in a tight hug, "it's okay. Don't worry about it. You go do your thing and I'll take care of things here while you're gone."
"Are you sure?" Ruby's voice was muffled.
"Of course, I am," Izzy assured her, pulling back to peer into her face. "That's what friends do, right?"
Ruby grinned at her, "you're the best friend ever."
Izzy stood aside for Ruby to exit the bathroom with her hoard of toiletries. She dropped them into the backpack.
"Hey," Izzy stopped her when she started to zip it up, "you forgot these." She held up the shampoo and conditioner. "You don't want to use that crappy hotel stuff, do you?"
Izzy stood in the room, somewhat dazed as the door shut behind Ruby. On the one hand, this was a boon for her. With Ruby gone, there was no way Hydra could expect her to carry out the termination order. On the other hand, now she was outside the protection of the campus with Banner and Hydra could easily scoop both of them up. Well, she corrected herself with a wry smile, not easily, considering what a goat rope their last attempt turned out to be.
Now, all she needed to worry about was Frankie, Laura, and any other Hydra operatives lurking about. Oh, and the server room mission. The device she had been given was a passive listening device that she just had to snap onto any input/output cable to one of the servers. After that, Hydra would be able to pick up any data sent to or from the servers. It was ingenious, really. Unless someone physically looked for it and knew what they were looking for, it was virtually undetectable.
So, she wondered, how was she going to 'terminate' Frankie? And why did Hydra want one of their agents murdered?