Little Bird's Vengeance Chapter 19 Business as Usual

Tim had remained on the Helicarrier for the best part of a week, on medical advice to stay put for daily check-ups. In deference to his position as an ally, if not an agent, of SHIELD, he had been given the run of the Helicarrier, barring the usual restrictions on agents (keep out of other people's rooms; get authorization before entering the armoury; don't go into the containment levels alone; if you mess around in the kitchens, the cooks will have your head) and so convinced Agent Barton to give him a tour, so as to give himself a head start on his own exploration.

Right now, he was in a small office he had appropriated. It had little more than a desk, chair and computer console, but he'd blown up a map of a small section of New York and tacked it to the wall, annotating it with marks representing different factors.

"What you got, kid?"

Fury entered the office quietly, almost but not quite taking Tim by surprise. "Someone has it in for Tony Stark," Tim concluded.

"You don't say."

Tim raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed. "That's the best I can give you right now. But I'm fairly sure it isn't personal. Too…calculated."

"Take me through it," Fury requested.

Tim nodded and turned to his map. "This is where the initial attempt was made," he said, tapping a small red cross. "The would-be assassin is a woman by the name of Charlene Dupont. She was previously employed by Justin Hammer as a weapons researcher and helped design some of the armaments on the drones made by Ivan Vanko. Following Vanko's defeat and Hammer's disgrace, she lost her job and was blacklisted. The only employment she has been able to find since is as a waitress in Harlem. She currently lives in a small apartment ten minutes' walk from the diner. Until recently, she was several weeks behind on her rent. She maintains that her primary motivation in trying to kill Stark was revenge, but also because the man who approached her paid off her debts. He also put a sizeable sum in her bank account. Dupont described the man as about five foot eleven in height, reasonably well-built, dark brown hair, hazel eyes. As he approached her at work, I submitted a request to pull any CCTV footage."

"I'll fast-track that for you," Fury promised.

Tim inclined his head in thanks, and moved on with his report. "These marks," he said, gesturing to some orange crosses, "are the snipers I spotted. Those circles are the ones Agent Quartermain had dealt with. They were also ex-Hammer employees, but much lower in the hierarchy. They lost their jobs, but weren't blacklisted. Some have found other, lower paid jobs; some haven't. They all have poorer finances than before Hammer's disgrace. Again, they were approached by an individual matching the description Dupont gave, were paid a sizeable amount, and were armed. Dupont was given authority to command and co-ordinate this squad. There's more detail on the individuals and their movements in my report.

"These blue marks are the men I saw pursuing us, from the first place I noticed them to where either I or Quartermain's men took them out. That yellow line is the path Stark and I took. These men were mercenaries hired by a man of six three in height, much more muscular and noticeably armed. He was fairly brash and quick to anger, firm to put down any opposition to his requests. Dirty blond, dark brown eyes, cheek bones that would, I quote, "cut through a joint easier than a steak knife". These men were to function as backup for the ex-Hammers, but they were also supposed to do whatever was necessary to take out Stark. These men all have a string of petty crime suspicions and convictions tied to their names. Again, more details in the report.

"This leads me to the conclusion that the same individual sent both unknown men. He wanted to take Stark out, and was willing to manipulate emotional reactions, presumably to send us off on the wrong track. But these mercenaries indicate a much less personal motivation. Whoever's pulling the strings doesn't care what's going on in the gunner's head, as long as the target is eliminated."

Fury nodded slowly. "Recommendations?"

Tim frowned. "Well, I don't have enough to give any definites yet. But I'd suggest looking up and keeping an eye on any other ex-Hammers and do something to limit any loose mercs in New York. That, and keep Stark under some sort of protection."

"No specifics on that?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't know your underworld and such. I did take the liberty of browsing through your agent files, everyone mid-level who's not on a mission at the moment. I picked half a dozen who have experience with the New York criminal underside, two who've encountered Middle East terrorist groups, and a few with experience in corporate espionage. I attached the list to my report."

"Thorough, aren't you?" Fury said approvingly.

"I do my best, sir," Tim said, shrugging his good shoulder.

Fury nodded. "I'll see about getting you that footage. Try and get us some more leads." He turned to leave.

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Red Robin had done very well, given his inexperience operating in this world. He certainly knew how to give a good verbal report, and if the quick glance Fury had given his written report was any indication, he was equally proficient in composing those. He looked forward to reading it.

"Oh, Director?" the kid called him back. "Keep an eye out for any remnants of the Ten Rings…"

Fury turned, staring at him. His arms were folded, and his gaze was fixed on his map, a slight frown on his face, lost in thought. "Just a hunch…" he muttered.

Fury inclined his head, and headed for the Bridge to have his agents follow Red Robin's prompts.

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Tim finished typing his request for visuals of the two men, either by identikit, or a police artist (whatever the SHIELD equivalent was called). There wasn't much more he could do from the fortress in the sky, so he turned his attention to his own mission. He needed help getting home. Stark and Banner were good starters, but they'd also mentioned Dr Jane Foster, who was having a lover's quarrel with Thor.

Dr Foster was working in New Mexico, researching Einstein-Rosen bridges, BiFrost in particular, with her research assistant Darcy Lewis. Her former colleague, Erik Selvig, however, had gone into botany following his mind-capture during Loki's invasion.

Dr Foster and Miss Lewis had SHIELD clearance for any number of incidents, even if they didn't know it. Yes, they'd make very good additions to the team he'd need.

No matter how satisfying it was to solve these cases SHIELD gave him, he didn't want to spend any longer than necessary getting home.

AN: Welcome back. So, Tim is being Tim, Fury is directing stuff, and the Avengers aren't around. Yet. Who knows, maybe they've all been assassinated while Tim wasn't looking.

Also, as a reference, I have seen Thor: The Dark World, and pretty much everything in this story is kind of AU from it. I can give more details later, but it's not entirely relevant yet and I don't want to give spoilers. If you can't wait, PM me.

Next week, stuff happens. Here, and Family Ties is continuing this week and next. In the meantime, please review. I thrive on feedback.

Katara