Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I have no idea if the casino, The Bleeding Rose, is real or not. If it is, I'm sorry.
"Bold" letters indicates singing.
On October 5, 2012, Lexi and Charlie stood behind one of the more fancy and upscale casinos, The Bleeding Rose.
After double checking that everything was ready before they began, Lexi nodded in satisfaction. Lexi and Charlie turned towards the camera, before hitting record.
!
"All Avengers, please assemble in Conference Room 5. All Avengers, please assemble in Conference Room 5."
After putting the receiver down, Nick Fury stood at the head of the table awaiting the aforementioned team to arrive and be seated.
Once they were all there, Fury began.
"Late last night the casino, The Bleeding Rose, in Reno Nevada caught on fire. Destroying the building."
"Yeah, we heard. It was on the news." Tony interrupted in true Tony fashion. Just to tick Fury off.
Fury glared at Tony for a moment, before continuing, "What was not in the news, as it was just posted a few minutes ago, is a video. Shields' computers flagged this video on YouTube, of someone taking credit for the fire."
They all watched intently at the holographic screen as Fury played the video.
!
The video started with a black screen. Slowly words appeared, as though someone was typing them across the screen. "The video you are about to see is an actual event that was recorded and posted for educational purposes."
"What's up Freedom Fighters, I'm Patriot and this is Char. And welcome to my unboxing video."
The person on screen who called themselves 'Patriot', was wearing black combat boots, black cargo pants, a black leather jacket, black gloves, and a black motorcycle helmet. They noticed that both the pants and the jacket were padded. Strapped to Patriot's left thigh and right hip, were a bayonet knife, and a sig, respectively. Slung across their back was an Assault Rifle. All military grade. The one called 'Char', was a big black dog that was wearing a K-9 kevlar vest.
Patriot was also using a voice modulator to disguise their voice. The modulator combined with the padding in the clothes, made it impossible to tell whether Patriot was a man or a woman.
They stood before a big stretch of blank concrete wall.
"Now, what we have here is a lovely 20 story box. Now one would think that this box is only as big as the blueprints that the city holds. One would be wrong. Let's take a look shall we?"
The Avengers at first looked at this person as if they were crazy, "An 'Unboxing Video'". Really? But as the video continued, they began to understand. And the more they understood, the angerer they became.
The camera switched to the helmet cam just as Patriot quietly opened the back employee entrance using a lifted employee access card.
Creeping down the hall, Patriot and Char were able to make it to level one, the floor below the basement, without being seen. That is where things got more interesting. For just inside the door leading to level one, was a banner. A banner that sent the Avengers and all freedom lovers, blood boiling.
The banner reached from the ceiling to the floor. It was a human skull with octopus legs underneath. Let's be honest, it looked like an octopus wearing a human skull like it was a helmet. Nothing like the mythological creature. Not that an octopus with a human's skull on its head isn't intimidating, and weird. But I digress.
The skull with tentacles had a red backdrop.
"Hydra."
Many voices said as one, each one more angry than the last. As so many voices overlapped, it was difficult to pick out which one was Patriot. Or even if Patriot had even spoken at all.
"Yep. Hydra is still alive. This particular base is using The Bleeding Rose Hotel and Casino as a front. The money that comes in and out of this place is blood money. Hydra is like an infestation of cockroaches."
There was a wall to the right of the door, which forced Patriot and Char to go left.
When Patriot and Char had a moment to themselves, Patriot said, "Now, I know that with this base being underneath a building, where there are innocent people in, I can't just blow up the base. The charges that I am using will not blow up. They will just start fires."
Patriot made quick work of placing the small charges along the way to the lowest level. While Patriot was doing that, Char noticed that an agent was sneaking up on them on level five. Char waited for the man to get a little closer, before he lunged. Biting down viciously on the cloth covered flesh, Char gave a couple hard tugs. Patriot whipped around and silenced the agent before he could even scream and alert the whole building with a couple silenced bullets.
Everyone who watched at home and at the office, winced. And every man crossed their legs.
"I was raised to have manners, but you're a Nazi, soooo…" Patriot said as they went past them.
!
Once they reached the server room down on level 12, Patriot pulled off their backpack, and pulled out a laptop, along with a couple of cables and two external hard drives.
"What I'm doing here is downloading Hydra files and secrets onto my hard drives. Once I have gathered as much as I can from the various bases I will be visiting, I will be uploading them to the internet. For all to see." Patriot explained.
Once that was finished, Patriot unplugged the laptop from the server, and placed it and the hard drives back into the pack, before slugging it onto their back.
Patriot placed two charges in the server room, before Patriot and Char left and made their way to the stairs.
Once down to level 13, the lowest the base went, Patriot placed the last charge.
"Now, please remember that these charges that I am using here, will not cause a big explosion like others will. After all, the casino above has innocent people inside. My target is the base and the evil people who work here." Patriot patiently explained.
Patriot pressed the button that would start the countdown, then the two of them made for the exit.
Out of every speaker in both the base and the casino, and on every screen in the base the song, God Bless The U.S.A, by Lee Greenwood began to play.
If tomorrow, all the things were gone, I'd work for all my life.
And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife.
Lee Greenwood, who was watching the video with his family, was taken aback for a second. Then, he smiled. Proud that Patriot would think that one of his songs would fit in this situation, and that they would use it in the fight against tyranny.
Patriot and Char made their way up the levels, when their path became blocked by three Hydra agents.
The stand off lasted for two seconds, before they all drew their weapons, and began to attack.
And I'm proud to be an American!
Patriot shot the first agent, as Char went for the second.
Where at least I know I'm free!
Once Char had downed that agent, he lunged at the last one to help his person.
And I won't, forget, the men who died, who gave that right to me!
As Patriot fought with the last agent, Char came up and bit the back of the agent's right knee, causing him to drop to the ground.
And I gladly stand up, next to you, and defend her still today.
Patriot and Char stood up and sprinted up the stairs.
Up in the casino, many of the patrons gave the song playing over the speakers no mind. But there were a few who raised their glasses, toasting the song and its message.
Cause there ain't no doubt, I love this land!
God Bless, The U. S. A.!
The two of them just made it out as the last note was sung, and the charges went off. Setting fire to the base below the casino.
Going back over to where the video started, Patriot stepped back in front of the camera, so that everyone could see them.
"Thank you for watching. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button, and ring that bell so that you get instant notification on our next video, and give this us a big thumbs up. I'll get another vid out to the people soon.
"AMERICA!"
With that last parting word, the video ended.
Fury turned off the screen, "Shield's top agents have confirmed that the video is authentic." Fury waited for a response from the team.
The first one to even move was Steve. He stood up, and without saying a word, left the room.
!
When the meeting with Fury ended, Tony looked up and asked, "Hey J, where's the Cap?"
"He is down in the gym. He seems quite distressed." Jarvis answered.
Concerned over what that meant, the whole team made their way to the gym as well.
When they got there, they found Steve completely destroying the reinforced punching bags that Tony had designed. Looking more angry than anyone has ever seen him. Three bags were already destroyed.
"Friend Steve, are you alright?" Thor cautiously approached Steve.
Steve stopped in his gym equipment destruction, "I thought they were gone. When I woke up, Shield assured me that they were gone." he said without looking away from the swinging bag. He punched the bag again, putting all of his anger into it. A metallic snap was heard, and the chain that kept the bag up, broke. The bag then ripped, this one right in the middle, causing the sand inside, to spill all over the floor.
"We'll get 'em Steve. I promise." Natasha said.
Steve turned around, and looked at her. Seemingly looking for something in her eyes. After a moment, he nodded. Satisfied with what he found.
Looking at his team, he saw that they were all looking at him with the same serious and determined faces.
"Let's get to work." Steve said.
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Back at Lexi's family home, her twin brother Andy approached their parents.
"Mom, Dad, can I talk to you guys for a second?" He asked. "It's about Lexi."
"Sure, what is it?" Marie asked.
Andy looked around, and then signaled for them to follow him. He led them into the panic room that Thomas had built a few years ago, and his parents became increasingly concerned.
Once inside, and the door was sealed shut Thomas asked, "Okay, what is this about?"
There was a beat of silence before Andy said, "I found Lexi and Charlie."
"What?!"
"Where?!"
"Watch." Andy then turned on the computer that was in one corner of the room, and played the video.
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After the video ended, Andy spoke up, "She may be very good at disguising the two of them, but I know my sister. I know her mannerisms. And that is her."
Thomas replayed the video, paying close attention to the way that 'Patriot' talked and moved. At the end of the second play through, Thomas felt conflicted.
It was like there were three sides of him fighting for control. There was the father side of him that worried, and was currently freaking out over the fact that his little girl is fighting what was thought to be an extinct organisation.
Then there was the marine side of him. That felt righteous anger that Hydra was still around.
Then there was the third side, that felt pride in his daughter. That side came along and beat the other two over the heads, and forced them to coincide with each other.
Which caused him to say what he said next.
"That's my girl."
"Thomas?!" Marie said. Horrified and worried for her daughter. Marie collected her thoughts before voicing what they all were wondering.
"So what do we do now?" Marie asked. "Do we go after her?"
"No." Andy said, causing his parents to both look at him.
"We can't." he continued, "If we go after her or if we tell anyone who Patriot is or even that we know who Patriot's identity, then it would put both us and her in danger."
"And we can't call off the search for Lexi, because that would be suspicious. And would put us all in danger anyway." Thomas rationalized.
"Well, what CAN we do?" Marie asked.
"Nothing." Thomas said. "Nothing, but hope and pray."
!
That night as Marie laid in bed next to her husband, she couldn't help but anganize over thinking that her baby is out there and she can't do anything to help her.
The last thought she had before falling asleep was, "Please be safe. Please come home."
Then she fell into a restless sleep. Tossing and turning the whole night.