Sorry for the longer than usual wait but things got really busy at work. Also, I had actually finished the fic yesterday but I was going through it and I realized that the ending may have been getting a little close to treading on thin ice in terms of permitted content. I decided to go back and change the ending as a result but I think the new approach will make for a more satisfying story in the end anyway, though it will also make it longer.
Also, I finally finished the cover art.
-Pandalien
Conspiracy
"There's been a development in the EDITH situation," Fury informed him as they left the kitchen area in the south wing where his friends, including Ned, were currently wondering very loudly what was going on. Fury ignored the pestering and kept walking, bringing Peter along with him.
"One that requires all my friends holing up in the compound?" Peter asked, following the former SHIELD director down the hall to a conference room in the north wing.
"We have new leads on who hired the Russian to steal it," Fury replied. "And what they want to do with it which gives us an indication of how far they're willing to go. I haven't heard the full story myself but I decided it would be best to keep your friends safe so they can't be used as hostages. Stark has your aunt and Mr. Hogan secure in their New York offices.
Peter frowned in concern. "How do we know this information is reliable? Who gave it to you?"
Fury shot Peter a look that he guessed was as close to impressed as Fury was ever bound to get. "You're getting better at this. You're right not to trust it just because some sources said so. But this came from British Intelligence of all people," Fury finished as he opened the door to the conference room. Standing on the opposite end of the room was a tall, very neatly kept man. His crisp grey suit matched the color of his hair. Upon hearing the door open, the man turned to face them. His expression was kindly, but serious and his sharp blue eyes conveyed an urgency that Peter only remembered seeing during the Infinity War.
"Mr. Parker." The man's voice matched his demeanor but Peter thought he sounded a little off, like there was more to this man than he appeared. Given that he wasn't feeling the tingle, Peter supposed it was just because he knew beforehand that this man was essentially a spy.
Then again, so's Fury.
"I'm Patrick Highcastle," the man continued, offering his hand. "Despite what many of my countrymen may think, MPs included, I believe that you're a true hero and it is an honor to meet you in person. I just wish it was under better circumstances."
Peter shook the older man's hand feeling awkward about the praise. When Peter caught Fury's look out of the corner of his eye he decided to get down to business. "Yeah. So Fury said that you know who hired the m— the Russian to steal EDITH?"
Highcastle sighed. "Yes, and unfortunately it doesn't bode well. In fact, my group's findings are the very reason I've come to you rather than try to work things out through more ordinary channels."
That doesn't sound good.
"What happened?" Peter asked.
"The two of you may want to take a seat," Highcastle suggested, seating himself on the opposite side of the table to them as he did so.
Peter and Fury did likewise and waited, Peter with curiosity, Fury with barely concealed suspicion. Of course, suspicious was a near constant state for Fury.
"Perhaps it's best to begin with the blip."
"The blip?" Peter asked. "This all goes back to the blip?"
"More accurately, the five year period between when everyone first vanished and when they all returned," Highcastle clarified. "As you probably know, much of the world fell into chaos immediately after the initial vanishing. In the United Kingdom, almost the entire royal family and much of parliament were wiped out, not to mention much of the rest of the government and even essential services. This included the police and other critical parts of society.
"During this period, the remnants of parliament and the constitutional system proved incapable of managing the chaos. Once it became apparent that the bureaucratic and gridlocked system couldn't cope, Prince Charles Vincent, who's from a lower branch of the royal family and was last in line for the throne, stepped up and, with the assistance of what was left of organizations like mine, helped to bring things back to order. We did the same in the chaos that followed everyone's sudden return as well."
"You mean the Duke of Cumberland?" Fury asked. "Please excuse my ignorance, I fell victim to the snap as well and I haven't had time to catch up with the who's who of British royalty." As innocent as Fury's question sounded, Peter got the sense that he was fishing for something.
Either Highcastle didn't notice, or else he didn't feel like Fury's suspicion was a problem. "The very same," he replied. "The dukedom was His Majesty's reward for his services to the kingdom during the crisis."
While all this talk of monarchies and how the UK dealt with the blip was interesting, it wasn't what they'd come here to discuss. "You were saying," Peter pressed, bringing them back on topic.
"After the blip, parliament reasserted power and the Duke of Cumberland stepped down. The organizations that had helped him, returned to the service of the constitutional system. But not everyone wanted the prince to step down. There were plenty who saw parliament's failures and contrasted them with Charles's successes and since the end of the blip, they haven't been quiet about it."
"If you could get on with it Mr. Highcastle, it would be much appreciated," Fury cut in.
"Long story short, Mr. Fury, much of parliament is concerned that they are becoming irrelevant. Public opinion has turned against the politicians and made them desperate for anything to bring them back into favor so they can retain their power and we all know that a desperate politician is a dangerous thing. Just look at the prime minister's attacks on—"
"Get to the point," Fury interrupted.
Highcastle's expression was much harder now. He'd clearly hoped to be able to continue his story but given Fury's repeated insistence that he speed things up, he seemed to give up on the idea. "Very well then. Your Russian is a former KGB agent by the name of Dmitri Smerdyakov."
"I assume you don't mean my Dmitri Smerdyakov," Fury said.
"Coincidence I'm sure," Highcastle replied. "Anyway, Smerdyakov was an agent in training near the end of the Cold War, he was given technology by HYDRA infiltrators to allow him to replicate the appearance of anyone. When the Soviet Union fell, he used his skills and the technology to disappear. It was difficult to dig up information on him given how well he covered his tracks but we were able to discover that he's become something of a master thief though he never steals for himself. Every job we were able to link him to appears to have been on contract."
"If you know this much about him already, why haven't you taken him in and gotten EDITH back yet?" Peter asked.
"That's why I began with my explanation of the situation with parliament," Highcastle replied, shooting Fury a glare before turning his softened expression on Peter. "I don't know who I can trust at home right now because it was our own government that hired Smerdyakov."
"Why?" Fury asked pointedly.
"Based on what we know, we suspect that the overwhelming majority of both houses of parliament, are planning an attack of some kind to cement their power using EDITH. They want to start by eliminating the monarchy, completely."
"By eliminate you don't mean…" Peter trailed off, realizing that that was exactly what Highcastle meant. Peter gulped.
Well that is bad.
"The coconspirators have been attempting to hack into EDITH but it seems that Stark's security is too much for them. The entire royal family will be attending a ceremony commemorating the end of the crisis tomorrow. That will be the conspiracy's best chance of achieving their goal as quickly as possible. Since they haven't been able to break into EDITH, it's likely that they'll try and come for you in their desperation."
"To get me to give them access," Peter finished. His eyes widened as he realized exactly why they might want to get those closest to him as well. If they could take one of them hostage, it would come down to a decision between protecting the British royal family and everyone else in the UK and protecting those closest to him. The greater good or his own selfish desires.
Would I really be able to decide in favor of the greater good if it came to that?
Thankfully, Fury, who'd only heard part of the story at the time, had thought ahead and decided to secure his friends and family.
"So why come to us?" Fury asked. "Surely there are other people who can help with your problem."
Highcastle shook his head. "Broken and fragmented they may be, but the Avengers are still the mightiest heroes the world has seen. I can only trust a few of my own men, much of the rest of the world is still reeling from the blip, SHIELD doesn't have the resources to deal with such a large scale plan, and for all I know the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce is compromised. In fact I highly suspect it, given how easy it was for Smerdyakov to steal EDITH from them in the first place."
"If they need me to take control of EDITH, then why don't I just stay here, where they can't get me?" Peter suggested. "Problem solved right?"
"For how long?" Highcastle challenged. "And that's assuming they don't have a breakthrough and gain access to EDITH between now and tomorrow. This ceremony may be their best chance, but it isn't their only chance.
"No, Mr. Parker. Our best chance of preventing this takeover is to retrieve EDITH and, failing that, defend against any attacks permitted by EDITH. For that we need the Avengers."
"Unfortunately, Parker is the only Avenger you're going to get before tomorrow," Fury replied though Peter thought his tone wasn't particularly apologetic. Instead it sounded almost like he suspected that Highcastle had known that the rest of the Avengers were out.
Wait, what about Wanda?
"I thought Scarlet Witch was here," Peter said, turning to Fury.
"She's off with Strange, something about fixing the timelines after that time travel stunt Stark and Rogers pulled to get us all back."
"You mean timeline," Highcastle corrected.
Peter shook his head and Fury replied. "No, I don't. Strange specifically said timelines."
Highcastle quirked an eyebrow but made no further comment. Instead he asked, "What about the speedster? Mr. West."
Peter thought about telling Highcastle that he could try and convince Wally into coming but stopped before he opened his mouth. Something about Highcastle didn't sit right with him and, despite the fact his spider-sense wasn't tingling, he didn't trust him. That Fury seemed especially suspicious only helped reinforce Peter's attitude.
God, I'm getting as paranoid as Fury. Thanks Beck.
"I'm not sure Wally'll be willing to help," Peter replied. "He's not actually from this earth and he's been trying to get back home. It'll be difficult to get him away from his work."
"Is he an alien?" Highcastle asked curiously.
"No, he's just not from our earth. Apparently he's from Earth-16 and this is Earth-200,000," Peter replied.
"Of course he is." Highcastle's expression was one of someone who was quite weary of being confronted with the truly unbelievable only to find that he had no option but to believe it. "Well, if the interdimensional speedster won't be coming to help and no one else is available, we'll have to settle for just one Avenger."
"Of course, Mr. Highcastle," Peter replied, doing his best to sound as earnest as possible.
"Parker," Fury interjected. "A word."
Peter followed Fury out of the room, leaving the intelligence officer alone at the table. "That thing I told you, about being gullible—"
"I know Fury," Peter interrupted.
"If this is about your spider-sense—"
"I'm not feeling it—"
"I don't care if it's not going off—"
"But I still don't trust him."
That stopped Fury cold. The spy's expression became thoughtful as he considered Peter silently. Peter took advantage of the silence and continued. "Maybe you're right. Maybe my spider-sense isn't that good, but there's so much that's off about Highcastle. Instead of cutting to the chase, he went into this long story about the Duke of Cumberland and the blip, almost like he was trying to convince us of something before asking for our help."
"But you're still going to go with him?" Fury asked, clearly curious as to what Peter had in mind.
"Yes," Peter replied. "I really messed things up by giving EDITH to Beck and we're still facing the consequences."
"If you ask me, Stark messed things up by even making EDITH," Fury replied.
Peter decided not to point out his role in giving him the glasses. "The point is, this is partly my fault and I need to make things right and get EDITH back safely. So yes, I'm going with Highcastle, but I won't go unprepared."
"I don't think your spider-suit qualifies as prepared," Fury argued.
Peter shook his head. "It's not just that. I'm going to have help."
"From who?" Fury asked.
"My guy in the chair and, hopefully, the fastest man alive."