Chapter 14.
Clint sat with his feet on a glossy black table, arms crossed, watching SHIELD agents buzz around like a colony of bees. He knew most of them over his long years as an agent and was happy to see them alive – but recognition came with the knowledge that many faces were missing. When the place fell apart, some were killed in action, and some were exposed as Hydra sleepers. SHIELD was half traitors, half graves.
It would never be the same.
He was in a room with a false wall, where he could observe the colony without being seen. It was essentially a board room, a sharp contrast from the stone structure of the rest of the base. He was in an office, in a cave, in the side of a mountain. Dramatic, the way SHIELD always was.
"Impressed?" Maria wondered, slowly making her way around the table to sit beside him. She had been pacing since they got here, disobeying medical advice to stay put and rest. She was understandably restless after what they witnessed in the canyon.
He shrugged. "Seen bases before. What I really wanna know is how you got those servers in here. We're on a mountain and we came in through a human-sized door – and that server is the size of an elephant and probably heavier."
She glanced at the machines in question, "Built them there. Hutch and Burge are fantastic."
"Praise from you? Now that's impressive."
She smirked, but the expression faded quickly. "We should have a report within the hour on everything to do with that mineral – and those soldiers."
Clint tried not to think of the horrific way they died. But he was curious. "Last time SHIELD had access to dangerous alien tech, it didn't go so well."
Her face hardened, her tone biting, "You don't have to remind me."
She had been close to Nick Fury. Clint suspected he was still alive, but Nat had said nothing. His statement was a criticism.
"I'm just saying, we should leave space stuff in space."
Agent Gould came in, folding her hands politely over a folder while she waited for Maria to acknowledge her. It was a long thirty seconds. Maria peeled her glare away from Clint, "What do you have, Gould?"
Gould handed Maria the folder. "We found records for the soldiers who were still… recognizable. Both were former marines in severe debt."
Clint felt a stab of guilt. "What about the mineral?"
"Nothing. We were unable to recover viable samples at either site. We only have some charred remains. A search of its properties brings up no earthly possibilities. The only thing we've derived is that in its post-reactive state, the mineral appears harmless."
Maria cursed, flipped the folder open, shut it. "Do we have anything useful?"
"Both of the marines had large deposits made to their bank accounts two days ago, totaling over half a million dollars. We're trying to track it now."
"Deep pockets," Clint commented. "And upfront pay. Bet there was more coming if they made it back with the space sand."
Maria sat back in her chair, wincing from her wounds. "Put everything we have into tracking that money. Clint, you should take the samples they recovered up to New York, make the Avengers aware of what happened here. Dr. Banner might have more luck identifying it."
"Is one of his PhDs in geology?" Clint tipped his chair, smiling at Gould. "I could use some company. Long trip, you know."
Gould gave him a small smile. He had known her since she joined SHIELD, flirted with her mercilessly before everything went to hell. He was glad she survived.
Maria kneaded her forehead. "Not the time, Barton."
"I don't know if you know, but I don't have downtime," Clint said, gathering his things and winking at Gould on his way out. "Offer's on the table. I'll walk really slowly to the elevator, give you time to catch up."
XxXxX
Rhodey yawned over the coms, "Tony, we need to reel it in, get some sleep."
"Okay, head back to the tower, get some shut eye."
Tony had been flying since dawn. He was soaring over Manhattan at the moment, running on fumes – and fury. How could he sleep, when assholes in black vans were gassing and kidnapping people in plain daylight? The worst part was that it was happening in his own backyard.
Rhodey said, "What about you?"
"I'm coming. I'm starving."
Tony made it to the tower last, entering through the retracting window on the side of the Octagon and parking his suit next to War Machine. Rhodey was coming out of the kitchen with a plate of bacon balanced in one hand, and a tall glass of juice in the other. Sam was right behind him, biting off half a piece of toast in one bite.
"Who's the chef?" Tony wondered. He stretched as he walked, shaking off the soreness of an overlong outing in a tin can.
"Cap and Thor," Rhodey said. "Apparently being cooped up inspired them to take on a hobby."
Bruce entered the room, a stack of bacon the size of Rhode Island on his place. "Guys, I think Thor is going overboard with the bacon. He has twelve more packs."
Tony went into the kitchen, where Steve was manning the eggs, and Thor was frying a row of bacon on a Foreman grill. It smelled heavenly.
"Ahh, Stark," Thor said, sliding a plate across the counter. "I have prepared your breakfast."
Tony was still getting used to the way that Steve looked now. "Sure you don't want to eat this, Cap? You look like you need it more than me."
Steve spared him an irritated glance. "Actually, Tony, I've been carb loading. I might be able to gain some weight in the 21st century."
"Good for you. Sounds like you're being proactive." Tony leaned on the counter, munching on bacon, scooping a few bits of egg up with his fingers.
Thor added four more pieces of bacon to the plate, "When there are lemons, you must make lemonade, Stark. Have some more eggs, there are plenty."
"I can see that. Look, besides giving us all high cholesterol, do you two have any plans for today? I could really use someone to wash my suits."
"I know you're joking, but I still must decline," Thor recoiled as grease spat at him. "I have some dignity left, god or not."
"Well, just wanted to put it out there."
Tony picked through his plate, trying to come up with the words. He finally said, "And hang in there, you two. Bloom is getting somewhere with the gas."
Steve loaded his last pancake onto a plate, giving Tony a muted smile. "I hope so."
Tony resisted another quip, instead patting both of them on the shoulder as he left the room. He could tease them all day, unload the mile-long list of jokes that had been building since the moment he saw scrawny-Steve, but he hated seeing them like this. It was strange how over the past two years they had made the shift from teammates to friends.
In the living room, Rhodey was cranking up the volume on the TV.
"Tony…" he said.
Tony stood by the back of the couch. The room filled with the other Avengers. Natasha came out of her room, hair soaked, wearing a robe. Thor and Steve abandoned their cooking.
A news desk was starting up, graphics on the screen, a flashing, red 'breaking news' icon in the corner.
Natasha's phone rang.
Tony's phone rang.
And Jarvis said, "There has been an attack at Grand Central Station."
"Grand Central…" Tony breathed, mystified. "Jarvis, get the quinjet ready. Everybody suit up." Tony turned, finding Thor and Steve standing behind him. "Guys, you're grounded."
"I can help with the chaos," Thor argued.
"No. Without your powers, you're in danger, like it or not. We don't know if those people still want you. So stay here, where Jarvis can watch you."
Tony went for his suit. As it closed around him, Bruce said,
"I want to go with you."
"You're grounded, too," Tony said. "If you go bar hopping again you're getting locked in the hospital room."
Arguments.
Tony tuned them out.
The quinjet appeared at the window panel, the ramp extending to meet the building. Natasha stumbled out of her room, pulling on her jacket, and hopped in. It surged backward. Rhodey and Sam leapt from the window, dropping, and then soaring behind it.
Tony was the last. He stood there for a moment, not even half the leader that Cap was, and said,
"I know it sucks, but you gotta put your big kid pants on and get over it."
And then he was in the wind.
Grand Central Station wasn't far from the tower – nothing was far, when you could fly. Natasha brought the jet down to fifty feet, hovering over the street. People were pouring out of every door.
Jarvis said, "Police scanners indicate that black vehicles departed the scene after abducting an unknown number of people."
His team paused, waiting.
Oh, yeah. Cap was grounded.
"Okay, Rhodey and Sam, get eyes on the mercs, pursue and neutralize any you find. Be gentle, they might have hostages. Romanoff, get in there, see if you can learn anything. Look at the security footage, find out how many people were taken." Tony wheeled around, "Jarvis, traffic data and scanners. Get us some pursuit locations."
"I have uploaded a pursuit pattern to your interface, and another to Colonel Rhodes."
"What about me?" Sam said.
Jarvis said, "Mr. Wilson, a pursuit is occurring just beyond the intersection of east 48th and Madison."
Tony headed for his target, scanning the streets, watching, watching, watching.
He saw it.
A couple of police cars attached to the tail of a black SUV. It bobbed through traffic, hit the sidewalks, sideswiped other vehicles.
Tony surged after it, activating his reserves to increase his speed.
"Heat signatures?" he said.
"Unable to determine, sir."
"Well, we can do it the old-fashioned way."
Tony got in front of the SUV, dodging a street light, and dropped down on the hood. It swerved violently. He dug his fist into the metal to hold on, nearly falling off and taking the hood with him.
"Fastest way to disable an engine," he said to himself, as he plunged his fist through the front of the SUV. "Little elbow grease."
The SUV lost its momentum, gradually slowing until it couldn't make it up a curb. The driver's door opened and a merc spilled out of it, an assault rifle in hand.
Tony leapt toward him, grabbed the muzzle, and pointed the gun straight up, sending the rounds harmlessly into the air. He punched the guy, flattening him.
The SUV was empty.
"I got a decoy," Tony announced over the coms.
Rhodey came back a moment later, "Me, too."
Sam said, "Still in pursuit."
"I'll back you up," Rhodey said. "Get me a location."
Tony dragged his new prisoner upright, searching him, coming up with nothing. These guys traveled heavy in the weapons department, light in everything else.
"Run facial recognition," he said to Jarvis, pointlessly. None of them had appeared in the system so far. "And while you're at it-"
His phone rang.
Pepper's face popped up on his UI.
His heart swelled.
Her voice came high, worried, "Tony?"
"Hey, sweetie. I'm so happy to hear from you, seriously. My heart stopped when I saw your face. But I'm literally in the middle of something."
"I know, I saw you on the news! Are you okay? What's going on?"
"Long story, involved, kind of dramatic. But really, I'm-"
"I'm coming home tonight."
"No, you're not. I want that really, really badly, but you can't. It's not safe."
"What is going on, Tony? Were you involved with what happened at that party last week?"
"I'll tell you all about it later. I'll call you tonight. Can I call you tonight?"
"Yes. Please."
He smiled. "I will. I promise."
She hesitated, and then said, "I love you. Please be careful."
"Always am. Got you to come home to."
The moment he hung up, Sam was on the coms.
"Got the van right outside an airport. Small one. Private."
Rhodey said, "It's full of people."
"How many?" Tony said.
He heard them counting.
"It's hard to tell, they're in a pile. Like a mound."
"Well, count heads. Come on."
Rhodey said, "Twelve."
Tony tapped his ear, "You get that, Romanoff?"
"I'm still going through the footage," she said, sounding a little breathless. "Oh, and I may have… muscled my way in here. We can deal with that later."
"Sounds like a court date," Tony said. "Sam, get the van to the tower and get those people some medical attention. Jarvis, pull some strings and get us some hospital staff. Rhodey, sit on the airport. I'll meet you there. Romanoff, once you're done counting hostages, head to the airport."
"Don't get too comfortable being the leader," Natasha warned.
Tony said, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."
"Pinch dramatic," Rhodey said. "Are we sure Tony should be the substitute leader?"
"That's the way the chain works, Rhodey." Tony hit the air, heading for the airport. "It goes Cap, me, Natasha, and then maybe Bruce, but that's iffy. Depends on his mood."
"Where am I on the list?"
"The bottom, with Sam. You guys are baby Avengers. We can talk about your place on the list once you can ride without your training wheels."
Both had something to say about that.
Tony was smiling for a moment, but a dark cloud rolled into his head.
The timeline was accelerating, and they were hitting bigger locations. They took twelve times as many people. It could get bad fast if they didn't find answers in the airport.