A/N: Italicized text can represent several things (dialogue in another language, inner thoughts, flashbacks, etc.) please be aware of this and the context to better understand what is happening!
"Doctor Swann, this is Agent Barton. He'll be helping you and Doctor Selvig with the Tesseract." Agent Coulson introduced her to a stoic looking man.
"Doctor." Barton stuck out his hand. "It's an honor."
It always was.
She pushed the thoughts out of her head as she accepted his hand and gave it a firm shake. "What do you know?" She asked in relation to The Relic.
"Not much." Barton admitted, taking his hand back and stuffing both hands in his jacket pockets. "Just enough to know what I'm getting into."
"Doctor, if you need any help, I'll be available in my office." Agent Coulson nodded his goodbye.
Odette watched him go briefly, then looked back at Barton, "So, what's an agent like you doing with this kind of work?" They would be measuring The Relic's energy output, experimenting to see its limits and figure out what made it tick. At least, that's what they were doing according to Nick Fury. Not to say Barton didn't look smart, she just didn't peg him as a clean energy kind of guy.
"Just here to keep an eye out on things for Fury." Barton answered, "You always so inquisitive?" He shot back at her.
Odette blinked at him as if he'd grown a second head. She quickly hid her surprise and pressed her lips into a tense smile, "Only when things aren't adding up."
To her surprise, Barton barked out a single laugh. "You're too smart to be working for Fury." He said with a smile.
Odette didn't find that as funny as he did.
It didn't take long, however, for Odette to grow used to Barton's presence. He always seemed to be hovering at the edge of the chamber room, watching everyone, but never interfering. Barton and the lab assistance helped Odette adjust to the technology of the twenty-first century, getting her comfortable and familiar with her setup.
It was sad, but Odette saw a lot of her old teammates in Barton. He had the confidence of Dumdum and Falsworth. He was methodical and put on a show of openness like Morita and Jones, but he also had his genuine moments like Dernier. Spending time with Clint Barton reminded Odette of being on the road with the Howling Commandos, it made her days a little more bearable.
"You gonna keep staring or get to work?" Clint asked over the earpiece.
Odette resisted the urge to roll her eyes and logged into the computer in front of her. "I could just keep my findings to myself." She shot back.
"And be unable to work anything out?" Clint asked, "You wish you could solve this thing on your own."
Odette smiled, getting back to work.
While it was warmer in Las Vegas, it wasn't much warmer. Dressed in civilian clothes to blend-in, Odette wasn't as protected from the cold as when she wore her armored suit.
Odette and Clint were seated at a table in the airport, thankfully. With his eyes and her powers, it was a no brainer. Steve and Natasha were waiting outside in a rental van.
Clint nursed his coffee, yawning behind his hand as his eyes scanned the airport.
"Any updates on his flight?" Odette mumbled into her earpiece, she lifted her coffee to her lips and sipped the blissful drink as she waited for word from Natasha.
"Still on course." Natasha responded, her voice even. "How's the scone?"
Both Clint and Odette looked at the offending pastry with distaste, "Bland." Clint answered, resting one arm on the table.
"Stale, more like it." Odette knocked her second knuckles from her middle and index finger on the top of the rock hard, icing covered scone.
"Well, it sells the red-eyed flight look." Natasha reminded them.
"Coffee isn't enough nowadays, huh?" Odette asked, taking another sip of her coffee. "At least that is bearable." She thought, eyes scanning the airport.
They were in the main atrium, facing the gate Stryker would be coming from soon. The airport, which reminded Odette more of a mall than an airport, was swarming with people. More people than what Odette was comfortable with, especially because she wasn't sure if Stryker was alone.
"Stay focused." Steve reprimanded them. "I know it's been a while, but we only have one shot."
However, Clint and Odette didn't hear that second part, as a trio of people, two women dressed for a night of dancing, and the man dressed like Elvis, walked by the table and stopped.
"Mornin' lovebirds!" The man said in a thick, clearly fake, southern accent.
Odette sat back in her seat, eyes wide as she looked at their wide smiles. Clint blinked incredulously at them and squinted his eyes, as if not believing what he was seeing.
"I beg your pardon?" Odette asked.
"What?" Clint asked at the same time.
"We just wanted to spread some love today, is all," The man said, his smiling never faltering as he turned to one of the women.
She had a huge collection of big, red, heart-shaped balloons in her fist and she pulled one free. She handed one to Clint, "Hope you have fun today!" She cheered with a wink.
"I mean," The man continued, motioning to the other woman. She was holding a bouquet of roses in her hands and she plucked one free from the plastic.
"Happy Valentine's day, sugar." The woman smiled as she pushed the flower in Odette's face. Speechless and dumbstruck, Odette automatically accepted it.
"Tis the season, am I right?" The Elvis impersonator lowered his sunglasses enough to wink at Clint.
"What?" Clint asked again, completely caught off guard by the three tourist-trappers.
"Right." Odette agreed, hoping to get the three away from them. "Have a lovely holiday weekend." She smiled at them.
That seemed to satisfy the three. The Elvis impersonator handed them a card—to an eloping church—and they walked off.
Clint sighed and sat back heavy in his seat. "I hate Vegas."
"I dunno, sounds like a fun time." Natasha teased them over their earpieces.
"Very funny." Odette resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Any more info on Stryker?"
"I'll say this much, it's looking more and more like he was the one that took Brooke. He rented out a moving truck from a place in New York. Picked it up this morning."
"It's still morning." Clint groaned, squeezing his eyes shut for a second to clear his mind. True, even though back home it was well into the afternoon, it was still mid-morning for Nevada.
"Why would he pick up a moving truck, but then fly out here?" Odette asked, turning to Clint as if he might offer some insight. If it was to kidnap Brooke, where was he taking her? Certainly not to the airport, Stryker had boarded the plane alone. But, then, why come here? Nothing was adding up. Odette's stomach twisted and knotted in on itself. "What if we have it all wrong?" They'd be putting Brooke at risk!
Before Clint could answer, Steve asked, "Any sign of Stryker?" Refocusing the group.
Odette let Clint rest his elbows on the table and causally look around. "Terminal's open." He said.
Odette nodded, knowing that the other couldn't see her, but needing to look engaged in conversation with Clint. "Know what he looks like?" She asked, sweeping her newly acquired rose aside to drink from her coffee cup.
"Nope." Clint admitted with a deep breath. "I'm thinking; crazed maniac? Probably has a hunch. Maybe a crooked jaw."
"Greying hair. Widow's peak. Stocky build." Odette listed off.
"Ex-military. Makes sense." Clint nodded, "That him?"
Odette waited until the crowd of people exiting from the terminal across the atrium walked by enough for her to nonchalantly roll her neck and look at them. "Purple and black button-up?" She asked, making sure she and Clint were looking at the same person.
"Yup." Clint confirmed.
"Remember," Steve said as Clint stood up and tied off the balloon he'd been given to the chair he'd been sitting on, "We need him awake and unharmed. The faster we find Brooke, the better."
"Copy." Odette said, waiting until Clint was done to stand up. She picked up their uneaten scone and walked over to the nearest trash can, keeping Stryker in view as he walked to baggage claim. She downed the last of her coffee, now too cold to be enjoyed properly, and discarded it along with the scone. She held the trash can lid back so Clint could throw away his coffee cup and the two began to move casually towards the baggage claim area.
"Stryker knows what you look like." Clint said as they walked elbow to elbow, "I'll stand as a buffer."
"Sounds good." Odette agreed. They made it to where the most recently disembarked passengers were waiting for their luggage, and, just as Clint planned, he stood between Odette and Stryker as they found a good position to watch him.
Odette pulled out her phone and pretended to be busy on it, checking and rechecking her email and social media pages. She glanced up from her phone across the carousel from where Stryker was standing.
He was either completely oblivious to their presence, or he knew and had a trap planned. Odette didn't think Stryker had it in him to attack them in a place like this, but she was still on guard nonetheless. Her body reacted before she even fully registered what was happening, tensing up and swatting away Clint's hands as they brushed over her cheeks.
"What the hell?" She hissed, quickly lowering her voice before anyone could catch her.
Clint pulled her earpiece out of her ear and turned his head, showing he'd pulled his out as well. Odette looked at him curiously, raising her eyebrows incredulously.
"Brooke isn't here." He whispered under his breath.
Odette looked at him for a moment, the wheels in her head struggling to keep up with what he was implying. "What?" She asked sharper than she'd intended to.
"Brooke isn't here." Clint repeated. "She's on her way here." Odette blinked at him. "Why would Stryker pick up a moving truck but fly out here?" He repeated her earlier question. "You remember that file Friday showed us?"
"What part?" Odette asked, she glanced across the carousel at Stryker. He perked up, spotting his luggage. They were going to lose their opportunity soon.
"Stryker somehow survived a car explosion. Then he suddenly goes on a tirade about how heroes are the work of the devil?" It sounded ludicrous when said out loud, and Odette just wasn't putting together the pieces Clint was laying out for her. "Stryker is going to kill Brooke and the baby." He finally hissed between his teeth, turning back to face Stryker, who was walking away.
"What?" Odette felt a chill run down her spine.
"We're not going to know where Brooke's being held, because she's not here yet." Clint said, "We have to follow him more."
"Okay, well, let me tell Cap and Nat," Odette began to say.
"You do that, I'm going after Stryker." Clint said, walking away from her in roughly the same direction Stryker was headed.
Odette watched him go. Steve would argue that they should still get Stryker off the streets, hold him in exchange for Brooke. "Only…we don't trade lives." She thought. Keeping her earpiece out, she did a light jog to catch up with Clint. "Okay. What's the plan?" She asked under her breath, walking in time with Clint.
"Dunno." Clint admitted, keeping his eyes on their surroundings, "Was kind of hoping you had one."
"Why would I have one?" Odette asked.
"You're the one with experience disobeying Cap." Clint teased.
Odette ignored the jab, "Not funny in forty-three. Not funny in twenty-nineteen." She scanned their surroundings. They were walking towards the parking garage. "Okay. Heading towards the parking garage," She told Clint, who nodded. "Likely; means Stryker has a personal car waiting here. We find it. We follow it."
"Steve and Nat?" He asked.
"We'll include them if we need them." Odette answered.
"Were all your schemes this hairbrained?" Clint asked. Odette refused to dignify him with a response. "It's a miracle you're alive, Doc."
Odette responded by pushing Clint against the wall, avoiding Stryker's peripheral as he rounded a corner. "Who was the one assassinating politicians and gangsters a month ago without backup?" She asked. She kept her eye on Stryker, making sure he was around the corner before she let Clint go. "Come on."
They followed in his footsteps, staying light and silent as they moved.
A car door slammed shut and tires squealed and screamed against the pavement, echoing in the empty garage.
In a synchronized moved, practiced from years of missions together, Odette and Clint ran around the corner, ready to call for backup or give chase.
Odette's heart came to a stop as she and Clint skidded and stumbled to a stop like deer in headlights.
"Doc!" Clint yelled as the car charged at them. Odette grabbed Clint and reappeared behind the speeding car. "Shit!" He panted heavily once he realized they were clear.
"Hah." Odette let out a stressed chuckle just before a barrage of bullets hit the ground around their feet. Clint pushed and shoved against her, pushing her head down as they ducked behind a car.
Odette practically fell on all fours as Clint took up a knelt position by the end of the car. He took out his collapsible bow and flicked it open. Odette kept her back firmly pressed to the car they were hiding behind as more tire squeals tore up the pavement behind them.
Odette fumbled with her earpiece, finally tuning back in to the little voices yelling at her through it.
"Where are you?!" She heard Steve yell.
Odette's eyes frantically scanned the walls. "Third floor!" She shouted back.
"They're coming back." Clint said calmly. He had already nocked his bow and was waiting.
Bullets shattered the glass over her head and Odette curled up, interlocking her hands over the back of her head to protect herself.
"What is happening?!" Natasha asked, panic clear in her voice.
As if in slow motion, Odette turned and watched as Styker's car zoomed by. Stryker was seated calmly in the passenger seat. His driver looked manic, and tense, screaming something indiscernible. There were two people in the back seat, one aiming right out her window at them. The other was seated on the far window ledge to aim at them over the roof of the SUV.
Bullets roared and tore through metal and skin.
As the SUV continued to peel out of the parking lot, they saw the back window was down and an additional person was seated, aiming a rifle out the back window.
Time seemed to resume as Odette popped up, drawing the fire off Clint as she squeezed her hand into a fist. Energy pulsed between her knuckles and the rifleman's head exploded in the backseat.
Clint fired off the only arrow he had pulled out and the car was around the corner.
Once they realized the car was gone, Clint let out a groan he'd been holding and fell back against the car they were hiding behind.
"Couldn't have done that earlier?" He asked.
Odette exhaled shakily, "I don't like doing that." She admitted quietly, remembering how terrified she'd been when she'd first done that to someone. She looked down at Clint, "you missed by the...," she trailed off as she watched Clint inspect his arm.
He looked up at her once he realized she wasn't talking anymore. "I'm fine." He tried to reassure her, but Odette was already on her knees, swatting his hands away.
"Barton? Odette?" Steve shouted.
"Over here!" Odette called back.
Steve helped Odette get Clint to his feet, and Natasha ran back to the van, pulling out the first-aid kit.
Odette and Clint sat on the floor of the van, turned out to face Steve as he paced in the empty parking spot next to them. Natasha leaned against the van, watching as Odette cleaned and patched Clint's arm. Luckily, the bullet only grazed him, and the bleeding was minimal.
For a long while, they were silent. The failure of the mission weighing heavily on everyone.
"The two of you deliberately broke the plan. Stryker got away. Barton got shot." Steve scolded the pair of spies as they regrouped in their rental van. "We lost our only chance to find Brooke."
"Or to see if he even has her." Natasha added.
"Exactly." Steve nodded in agreement.
"If he did have her," Odette argued back, again—they'd been going at it for about ten minutes now—, "If we had caught Stryker, do you think he would have told us anything?"
"We won't know now because you two decided to go AWOL." Steve was getting mad.
Odette didn't blame him, but his anger wasn't helping the situation. She stood up, challenging Steve. "We go through this every time I try to do something helpful." She muttered low enough for just him to hear.
"Because going against the plan could get someone killed!" Steve motioned to Clint, who sat in silence and watched his friends argue.
"You know I won't let that happen." Odette seethed between her teeth, "You used to trust me."
"When you followed the plan." Steve cut her off.
"You're not listening! If we had taken Stryker there was no guarantee he would have told us anything. We would be right back at square one. Clint and I made the choice to follow him. How were we supposed to know he'd attack us?" Odette asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"He has tried to attack us before, do you not remember?" Steve asked incredulously.
Odette scoffed, and turned away, trying her best to remain calm despite the energy that seemed to burn just under her skin. "Nat said that Stryker rented a van this morning. But Stryker is here." She pointed to the ground, "If he took her, or planned the kidnapping, why would he tell us their route? Why would he tell us anything?"
"If he doesn't have Brooke, who is to say he doesn't know who does? And putting Barton's life at risk? Putting Brooke's life at risk? " Steve asked again.
Natasha sat beside Clint, both of them watching the super-soldiers as if they were in a soap opera.
"Clint could have backed out at any moment!" Odette bit her tongue to keep herself from saying that the idea was more-or-less Clint's idea. Steve still hadn't gotten over the whole assassin-loose-in-New-York stint their friend had had. She would take the fall here. She knew how to handle this storm. "It's the risks we take in this field." She pointed out, "We had to adapt to a changing field. I'm not sorry for taking that risk, so what do you want from me?" She asked.
"I want you safe! I want to keep this team safe! I want things to go back to the way they were!" Steve shouted.
Silence followed.
All Odette could hear was the ringing in her ears and the skipping of her heart in her chest.
"Back to the way they were?" Odette opened her mouth to ask. However, Clint cut her off.
"If you're done?" Clint asked, not at all bothered by Steve's huffing and puffing. He rolled his neck out, his arm cleaned and bandaged and held stiffly at his side. Clint leaned forward and snatched the laptop from Natasha's seat. "I hit the SUV with a tracking arrow."
"And you're sure they didn't see you?" Natasha asked.
"The only one who could have seen me had his head turned into pudding." Clint said, typing something into the laptop.
Odette could see Steve turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye. She ignored him, "Anything?" She asked Clint, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.
His answer was to turn the laptop around. "Anyone up for The Strip?" He asked. The three other Avengers leaned in closer.
The tracker on Stryker's SUV was traveling down the Las Vegas strip.
Stryker tracker moved beyond The Strip, speeding for more than an hour before Natasha made a concerning noise.
"What?" Steve asked, sounding thoroughly exhausted.
"He's," She shook her head, her eyes narrowing on the dot on her screen, "He's gone way off road and just…stopped."
"Where?" Odette asked, sitting forward to look over Natasha's shoulder. "I can get us there."
Steve took a deep breath, "No." Odette opened her mouth to protest, but then he said, "I want you to go and get a scope of the place. Guards. Weapons. Standard procedure."
It took a few seconds for those words to register. "Intel?" She asked, hoping he was saying what she thought he was saying.
"Yes." Steve said. "Just be safe. And keep your earpiece in." He didn't turn back to look at her before she teleported out of the van.
Odette reappeared about a mile from where Stryker's dot had stopped moving. The mountains seemed to pull together, hiding this location within a crescent moon shape cove. The mountains were tall enough that outsiders wouldn't see the compound from the main road, but too short to protect it from the weather. From her spot, it didn't look like the compound was big, the perimeter could be walked in easily under an hour. In the distance, she could see a tall, chain link fence.
"Must be a military base." Odette thought, teleporting closer. There was nowhere for her to really hide, so walking up would just be giving them more time to prepare for her.
The fence, to her surprise, wasn't electrified or barbed at the top. It was just a tall fence. And it wasn't a military base. Or, if it was, it certainly didn't look like one she was expecting. Instead of uniformed, indiscernible buildings, she saw buildings that had been transformed from their original purpose into houses. With little fences, and rocky, sandy yards. She couldn't see Stryker's SUV from where she was, so she teleported inside the fence.
Odette crept up to the nearest building and peeked inside the open window. What had at one point been a convenience store was now someone's house.
"What the hell is this place, Stryker?" Odette wondered as she crouched down and pressed a finger to her earpiece.
"Steve? Do you copy?" She whispered, keeping her head on a swivel in case anyone happened to come to this empty side of the compound.
"We copy." Steve answered.
"The location is some kind of compound." She informed them. "No road leading in from your direction, but are you sure there's nothing on your map?"
After a second, which Odette used to wipe the sweat off her forehead, Natasha answered, "There's nothing there, Doc."
Odette swore under her breath.
"Anything we need to be aware of? Weapons? Guards?" Steve asked.
Odette stayed low as she crept to the front of the building and peeked around the corner. If she hadn't known better, she would say this place was just a very strange neighborhood. There were some people out and about, mingling like normal. But, Odette didn't see any weapons on them.
They looked like civilians.
"Odette?" Steve asked, catching her attention.
"No guards that I can see." Odette answered, "Nothing sticks out other than the fact this place just feels off. Wrong." She thought. "No sign of Stryker either."
"We're ten minutes from you." Clint informed her.
"I'm going to go deeper, find where Stryker's hiding." Odette began to step out from her hiding spot.
"No." Steve ordered. Odette opened her mouth to protest, when he added, "If you're right about Brooke being on her way, you need to find information about that. The rental truck. The route they're taking. Arrival time. We'll deal with finding Stryker."
"Copy." Odette answered before creeping out of her hiding spot.
She stuck to the perimeter of the compound, noting roughly twenty-five buildings, all of various sizes and that once served very different purposes.
None of the buildings stuck out in any special way. And nothing seemed out of place. Odette sighed, irritated.
"We're parked about a mile away." Steve said suddenly over her earpiece. "Mind picking us up?"
"On it." Odette confirmed. She disappeared from the compound and reappeared outside the van. Only Steve climbed out. "Clint will keep an eye on the horizon, and Nat will keep an eye on Stryker's van." He said as he walked over to her. Odette ignored the twist in her stomach to teleport the two of them back inside the compound.
"It just looks like a repurposed base." She told him, the two of them squatting behind one of the bigger buildings, "no markings to indicate what is what."
"Be careful. Stay down. Stay hidden. Stay safe." Was Steve's only warning before he crept away.
Odette took a deep breath and slipped through the wall behind her, instantly pulling shadows from the room to hide her in the corner.
Thankfully, the building—what looked to have once been an administrative office building—was more or less offices converted for civilian use.
There was a corner desk in the corner opposite of where she stood with a computer sitting on it, turned on and recently used. Two waiting room chairs on the wall she was hiding on, and a dusty old printer sitting on top of a half-crumpled cardboard box. Odette let the shadows slip away from her and snuck over to the door. She made sure it was locked before she pulled the shade down over the window in the door.
Turning back to the computer, Odette slipped into the chair. "And who do you belong to?" She asked herself as she clicked on the user info.
Y. Oyama
"Well, Y. Oyama. I hope you have something for me."
The desktop was fairly empty. There were only three icons on it; Internet Explorer, Recycle, and the basic email that came pre-installed on a lot of old computers. Odette clicked on the email and was thankful she didn't have to put in a password because something told her Y. Oyama wasn't the kind of person to have a sticky note of their passwords on the back of the monitor.
There was one unread email that simply read "Terminated", but it was from 'W. Stryker' and had just been sent six hours ago. So Odette clicked on it.
Ms. Oyama,
While you have been a wonderful asset in aiding me towards my goal, your failure to neutralize the Avengers leaves me with no choice but to terminate our professional agreement immediately. Upon your release from prison, your things will be posted to your previous place of residence and your contract with the church will be erased. We will also need you to return your gauntlets. We cannot risk anyone questioning us now.
Many thanks,
W. S.
"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" Odette backed out of the email. "Guess that means Oyama is our friend back home." She remembered the wrathful but numb expression on the scarred woman's face. How broken and disfigured her hands looked once they'd broken the sharp-nail apparatus off her.
A few more emails caught her eye, such as 'your gift' and 'Hotel'.
She clicked on 'Hotel' first.
Ms. Oyama,
In the event you, your escorts, or our guest needs a hotel, notify me of your location and I will arrange for proper disposal of unneeded staff at the nearest hotel. Under no circumstances should our guest be alone. Remember, no one must speak to her, no one can offer her any assistance, and the inhibitor on her neck must never be taken off. Do not let her ailment lead our people astray.
W.S.
Odette seethed with rage. 'Her' had to refer to Brooke. Who else could it refer to?
"They put an inhibitor on her!" She wanted to suck this whole place into a black hole. She wanted to see Stryker's face turn black and blue as his body would stretch and morph and he would suffocate before being swallowed by the black hole. Mostly, she wanted to find Stryker and punch him in his loud, smug, pompous mouth.
Man of God or not, he would die before Odette let him touch a hair on Brooke's head.
Still not finding answers as to where Brooke could be on the road, Odette backed out and clicked on 'your gift'.
Ms. Oyama,
Jason tells me you seemed to enjoy your gift. I am pleased to hear this. Though earlier tests had me worried we would deform your hands even more, Jason reassured me that your hands were perfect once inside the apparatuses. A reminder, however, that you do not have clearance to see Jason unless I am with you. How or why you were down there I will overlook for now.
W. S.
Pieces were falling together. Those strange gauntlets Oyama wielded in her fight were some kind of apparatus meant to act both as a way to fix her deformed hands and as a weapon. Oyama was meant to go with Brooke. Oyama definitely worked for Stryker. Which meant Brooke was on her way here...or at least, Odette assumed she was still coming here.
Odette backed out of the email and stood by the wall. She pressed her ear to the wall, but heard nothing.
Slipping through the wall, Odette found a near mirror image of the office she'd just been in. However, there were a few more amenities in this office, like a desk fan and a landline phone. The desk chair was spun away from the desk as if the occupant left in a hurry.
"Anything yet?" Steve's whisper in her earpiece made her jump out of her skin.
Odette pressed her hand to her heart as she doubled over. She kept one hand on the desk, holding her upright as she swallowed a startled scream.
After collecting herself, she took a breath. "Found out the name of our attacker. And it turns out, she was working for Stryker. His people definitely have Brooke." She answered. "You?" She asked.
"There is a whole underground facility here." Steve panted, he'd either been running, holding his breath, or fighting, but since Odette didn't hear any alarms she opted to believe he'd been in hiding and holding his breath. "Stryker has people preparing for some kind of ceremony. Find anything about that?"
Remembering what she'd read, Odette asked, "No." Then she remembered Clint's earlier hypothesis, "But Clint had a theory." Steve stayed quiet, so she continued, "Stryker is a fanatic, right? He wants all superheroes dead. Brooke is a superhero who is pregnant with another heroes child." Steve inhaled sharply as she spoke. "And what kind of message do you think it'll send to the world if he kills them both?"
"We've got to stop them before they get here." Steve breathed, trying hard to remain calm.
Remembering something else she saw in the email, Odette asked, "Have you seen anything that looks like it might require a high level of clearance for access?"
"What? No?" Steve answered.
"I think Stryker may be keeping someone here. Someone he doesn't want anyone else interacting with." Odette said. "They might have more answers."
"Any other vague assumptions?" Steve asked, his voice low.
"His name is Jason." Odette answered, ignoring his jab.
"Okay. I'll take a look around. Look for anything about a ceremony and keep trying for Brooke. But, I'm not staying for more than five minutes. Meet me by the South fence line." Steve instructed.
"Understood." Odette nodded. She got lucky when, once again, she sat down and found the computer to still be on and logged in.
However, this computer was simply registered as:
User 2
This user didn't even have an internet icon on their desktop. No email. Just Microsoft Word Document and the Recycle bin.
But, their background was what really gave Odette the creeps. Instead of a generic background, or even a personalized one. The background was just a photo of a sheet of paper titled:
Rules
Rev. Stryker can see everything on the computers. Take care or lose privileges.
Delete anything labeled for deletion immediately upon reading. Do not print. Do not hand copy.
No unauthorized outside contact. No cellphones, no emails.
Authorized computer time set from 8am — 11am and 8pm — 9pm. Any use outside of these times without explicit permission from Rev. Stryker will result in a loss of privileges.
Odette shuddered as she opened Word. The most recently opened documents were labeled with the default title of 'Document1'. Sighing, Odette clicked on four of them. The computer chugged and whirred as it struggled to load everything.
Odette turned around in the chair and looked out the door. The strangely empty office building was silent. "Hopefully everyone is working on that ceremony Steve was talking about." She thought, trusting that idea enough to turn her back towards the door.
The first document opened, but it was just a list of things that needed to be picked up in the nearby town. Tarps, chains, leather working tools, welding tools, garbage bags, power tools. They were building something.
"But what?" Odette's eyes scanned the screen as if she were hoping to find something not obviously listed out on the screen.
Frustrated, she opened the next document, but it was just a list of numbers on the compound. Stryker's office, a place called The Lower Levels, an Observation room. An Operation room?
Odette checked the clock on the computer, she had three minutes.
She went to the third document, which was just a bunch of codes. "Why can't Brooke or Tony be here?" Odette thought in desperation. She didn't know Binary and even if she did, she wouldn't have time to decode it.
Closing out of word, Odette put her elbow on the table and buried her head in her hands. She clicked on the icon in the bottom right corner, "Maybe I missed a document?" She rifled through the barebones.
Odette's eyes widened when she spotted a frequently used folder. She double-clicked it, but inside was just the Notepad app.
"These people," Odette muttered under her breath, "And they say I'm the relic."
"I'm on my way to the point." Steve's voice said in her ear.
Odette just hummed in response.
Found a flaw in Stryker's system. Can't track the notepad. Tarleton is pissed his wife is getting sent on a death mission. She doesn't want to leave the safety of the compound. And I don't blame her. He says the only reason she agreed to go is because they're gonna be passing by Chicago and she's got family there. She said she's gonna try to recruit them. Stryker's gonna be pissed.
Odette knew where Chicago was. It was roughly three hours north of Decatur. "That gives me a rough idea of what route they're taking Brooke." She thought, exiting out of the program.
She teleported out to the south fence line.
Steve was just running up to the location when she appeared. "Jason?" She asked.
Steve shook his head, "Nothing. There's a high clearance area, but there's no one there. But, I did find this." He held up a USB.
Odette squinted at it, "Great." She said, "What is it?"
Steve deadpanned as he put it in one of his belt pouches, "Layout plans." Then, he looked her up and down, "Brooke?"
"I think I know what route they're taking her." Odette answered. She grabbed Steve and teleported them both back to the van.
Natasha and Clint turned around in their seats to watch as the super soldiers climbed in the back. "So," Steve informed them, "Stryker is planning some kind of ritualistic ceremony. Underground. It's crawling with armed guards. Most appear to be civilian or ex-military. Do we have an idea of where they might be now?" Steve turned to Odette.
"Were you able to locate them?" Natasha asked.
"Not exactly. I found a document that said they'd be driving by Chicago. They've been driving for likely twelve hours, so they probably just passed by." Odette said.
Clint had turned back around and was typing into the laptop on his lap. "So, taking that into account, we have," Steve and Odette sat forward to look over his shoulders, "About a day before they get here." Clint had pulled up a map, which traced the possible routes between Chicago and their location. Each route gave them roughly twenty-four to twenty-six hours.
"And there's no way to narrow down the route?" Steve asked.
"Not unless you want to search each and every one, and then try to figure out if they've already passed that point, and—," Clint listed off.
"It's not feasible." Steve nodded, getting the picture.
"Do we know what the ceremony is that Stryker is planning?" Natasha asked.
"Pretty sure he's gonna sacrifice Brooke and the baby." Clint said.
"And now we have this," Steve held up the USB, "Found it in Stryker's office. It's the layout of the whole underground facility, with plans for expansion. Let's see if we can find out where all this is taking place."
Natasha took it from him and handed it to Clint.
"Alright, Stryker." Clint muttered as the USB clicked into the port, "Let's see what you're hiding."
In light of William Hurt passing, I've broken my hiatus to just drop by and update this story.
William Hurt played General Thaddeus Ross in the MCU, so I'm sure he will be missed in future movies. He had a career that stretched back to the 1980s, and was active until his passing on 3/13/2022.
Like other actors who had passed away that worked in the MCU, they will be missed by the community and general movie fans alike.
Little update on me: I'm in my final semester of college. If all goes well, I will graduate May 7th. I'm extremely busy, and once I graduate and finish school, I'll likely go back to work for four-five days a week during the summer but will try to resume my Tuesday-Thursday updating.
I included the flashback to show more of Odette and Clint's friendship and how it developed. I also hope you guys don't mind that I began to blend in the X-Men universe with the MCU universe. I did give it my own twist though, hope that's okay. I have been keeping up with Marvel movies and Marvel news, so I'm super excited for Morbius and Doctor Strange MoM!
Hope you see you all in May!
