Adrian circled the Avengers compound lazily. Gargan and told him, very firmly (and repeatedly) to wait for his call.
Wait for the call.
Fine. He would wait. Adrian had been waiting for almost an hour at this point and was beginning to grow drowsy.
Gargan was a shockingly excellent tactician and planner. He'd given Adrian, Otto, Aleksei and Sergei a briefing that was well planned and concrete. Adrian had to wonder what other kind of surprise expertise Gargan had hidden away in that brain of his. Someone didn't plan, coordinate and lead a five man heist without having cut their teeth on something just as big or bigger first.
Of course, if things went wrong Adrian couldn't exactly blame it on Gargan either. They were a five man team going into a compound guarded by a group of experienced and extremely loyal ex-SHIELD personnel.
Gargan and Aleksei were taking point, with Sergei well hidden in the nearby woods and providing sniper cover. Otto was in the truck they had driven there, priming a series of explosives that Sergei had placed around the compound earlier that evening. The first initial round of explosions had drawn around 10 Avengers personnel. Each ended up being summarily gunned down by Sergei, while Adrian watched from the darkening sky overhead.
Sergei Kravinoff seemed to draw a fair amount of both respect and admiration from Gargan, and seemed to have a mild friendliness with Aleksei. Adrian hadn't spoken to him much, and Otto didn't know him at all. The Russian couldn't have been that old. Older than Gargan but younger than Adrian, perhaps in his mid to late 40's if Toomes had to guess. He was tall and athletic, but not the pure wall of muscle that Aleksei was. The man was fiercely attached to his sniper rifle, and had a necklace of teeth that he claimed were from the ten different types of rare game he'd gunned down. Adrian wanted to ask what had drawn him away from his hunting hobby, but the way Kravinoff seemed to relish in rushing off into the woods to make his sniper's den, he wasn't sure he really wanted to find out.
As Adrian circled the compound, he wore a makeshift breathing mask and goggles that Otto had rigged up for him. He couldn't see as well as he could in his old helmet, but it wasn't too much of a hindrance. He knew each little red shape that was quickly winding its way toward the explosion was an Avengers compound guard. He knew when the little red shapes turned blue, that Sergei had dispatched them with a ridiculous amount of ease.
Adrian didn't feel terribly sorry for the personnel that had remained on the compound. No doubt they were hoping, praying, that their Avengers would return. Or maybe they were just so loyal that they wouldn't abandon their post knowing the kinds of technology and raw materials were within the warehouse they were guarding.
Specifically, guarding against people like Adrian, Gargan and Otto.
Well, they chose to stay, he figured. This was just business. It was just business burying Pedro under that roof – even if the little brat did fish his way out. It was just business manufacturing the weapons for nearly a decade. He wasn't ashamed of what he had to do to get what he needed. Right now, he needed this mission to go smoothly so he could get back to base alive. If that meant about two dozen of the Avenger's rank and file had to be put down, so be it.
Hell, he would've told them it wasn't personal if he could. He didn't install the kill switch in his wings, otherwise he'd be halfway to Kansas by now.
Adrian yawned, stretching his arms. The new wings had almost no drag or chop while he was up in the air, and it made circling the compound all the more boring.
A second round of explosions tore through the warehouse entrance, blasting it apart. That brought Adrian out of his boredom quickly, and he narrowed his eyes for any sign of Gargan.
Nothing yet.
'This is Scorpion,' Gargan's voice sounded through his earpiece. Adrian rolled his eyes. He had almost forgotten about the nicknames. Lucky him. Oh – sorry, 'call signs'.
'Got six left. They've holed themselves up in the lounge room. Can't get to them without going down a hall and we'll get shot to bits.'
'This is Doc. Just throw your last strip of explosives down the hall, I'll set it off remotely. Hunter already took care of the warehouse guards.'
A few seconds passed, then Gargan's voice came back over the comm. Explosives are down the hall, me and Rhino are on our way out. Blow them in 30 seconds.'
Otto confirmed the orders, and Adrian began to descend. Now that the guards were taken care of, he didn't have to fear anyone spotting him by pure luck in the dead of night and getting a few shots off.
Sergei's rough, low voice came in over the comm. 'Hunter moving to warehouse to begin first extraction.'
The others radioed their acknowledgment, followed a few seconds later by one final explosion in the middle of the compound. Flames rose up and out through the ceiling, burying the last of the Avengers personnel that had fought the good fight.
Adrian steered around the sudden plume of burning air, avoiding it easily as he continued to circle. He could see Sergei below, breaking the glass case of a fire extinguisher mounted on the outer warehouse wall. The man quickly put out the flames left over on the doors, and stepped inside. Otto's voice sounded out on the comm once more.
'Hurry it up. Picked up comm chatter before the last explosion – backup personnel are on their way.'
'How many?' Gargan asked. Adrian could see him and Aleksei now running across the field of dead bodies, courtesy of Sergei. They stepped over them quickly, both armed to the teeth with guns they'd snatched up from the dead.
'About thirty. They're twenty minutes out, coming up the road.'
'Vulture,' Gargan snarled, 'Get as many crates as you can to the truck in fifteen. The last crate is the arc reactors, air lift that out and avoid combat. Doc, get the explosive strips ready for our friends. Rhino, get back to the truck and get the crates on board as Vulture brings them down. Hunter, haul as many out as you can. Move.'
Gargan may have been a murderous sociopath but he was a murderous sociopath who could hold a team together.
Toomes flew lower, slowing his descent and activating the positioning lights on his wings. Sergei had shot the exterior lights of the compound out before the raid began. It was nearly pitch black save for the glow coming from distant fires.
Kraven had wheeled out two crates already for Adrian to pick up. Both were still emblazoned with the old SHIELD logo. Whatever it was, it must've been before the whole Triskelion mess. Otto had been very specific concerning what they needed to bring out, the only issue was if Sergei and Gargan could actually find what he wanted in the time allowed.
The new talons were more curved, and they pierced right through the thick material of the SHIELD crate. Adrian could feel the engine strain slightly as he forced himself to ascend. Whatever it was, it must've been heavy. Really heavy. The gears within the exo-legs whirred in annoyance at being strained so hard, but Toomes ignored it. With a bit more fighting, the crate finally rose off the ground and was ferried off.
Sergei waited by the semi truck they'd taken up there. A flatbed dolly was next to him, with a pair of ramps extended out from the interior of the semi. Raising his arms and gesturing to Adrian, Sergei helped him lower the crate onto the flatbed perfectly. As he turned to push it up into the semi, Adrian was already flying off to retrieve another.
After this back and forth nearly six times, Gargan finally waved his hand at Adrian and pointed to the final crate.
'Grab these and get back to the warehouse!' Gargan shouted over the comm before turning and signaling Sergei to retreat. The two men made a break for it across the open grounds, racing back to the semi.
Adrian ascended with the final crate, a lifetime supply of arc reactors clutched in his talons. As he rose higher up and into the darkness, deactivating the lights at the ends of his wings, he felt a memory hit him.
The beach, the stink of burning wires and scorched metal, the lights of the amusement park through the heavy smoke left from the crash. He could hear the ringing in his ears again, and feel the awful jerks and shakes his wingsuit had given him while it struggled to keep him aloft. Of course, the kid too.
Oh, Pedro. He had to hand it to him, the kid did him a solid. Not too often someone you actively try to force into a jet turbine ends up saving your life from under three hundred pounds of sizzling irony.
Adrian wondered if the kid was still alive. He hoped he was, in all truth. He knew the kid was just trying to be like his hero, just trying to do the boyscout version of the 'right thing to do'. Pedro didn't know any better. Not yet, anyway. There were plenty of growing pains in store for Peter Parker, this much Adrian knew. The kid would have to learn the hard way that, just because you treat others fairly, doesn't mean the rest of the world will return the favor.
Of course, he could've been turned to dust along with the rest of them, for all Adrian knew. But he hoped he hadn't.
A stream of lights drew Adrian's attention down to the road far below him. It looked like a glowing caterpillar, slowly weaving its way around the broad curves of the road to the compound. They wouldn't be able to see him up this high with the naked eye, and Adrian was sure they were more preoccupied with the threat ahead of them.
He didn't turn to see if Otto's road explosives had gone off, nor did he turn to see if they needed any further assistance. Gargan had been adamant that if nothing else, to get the arc reactors back to the warehouse. They would abandon the rest if they were forced to, but the arc reactors were the real meat of the mission.
It took him nearly a half hour to reach their warehouse. He didn't risk pushing top speed, even though the talons were sunken in deep to the crate walls. Adrian wouldn't risk losing an entire crate of arc reactors a second time around.
The huge empty parking lot was a welcome sight as he slowly descended. He could feel the resistance against his back as the turbines shifted to provide a purely vertical landing. Adrian released the crate once it was firmly on the ground, and flew back to the wing rig. Otto had made the final adjustments to the exo-legs, and now once the wings were in their supports, the legs cleanly opened along the front so he could step out.
Unstrapping the flight harness was another beast all together, but Adrian had to admit, he did feel a bit safer being strapped up tighter, and it was less stress on his body. The peace of mind however came at a price, he couldn't detach like he'd been able to with the last pair – once the wings were on, they were on until he was done for the day.
Finally out of the flight harness and exo-legs, Adrian stretched and walked around the parking lot a few times to enjoy the cool night air. If everything had gone according to plan, they'd be back in an hour or two, he figured. Briefly he thought to look for the kill switch during that time, but it was too dark, and he was already feeling tired from the late hour. Better to fiddle around with something like that with a sharp mind and good lighting.
He dozed off against the arc-reactor crate. That also brought back memories of Parker tugging him along the beach and planting him there, fixing him to the crates with his webbing.
'Hey , don't run off okay.' He'd said. Little shit.
The rumble of a semi engine brought him out of his half-nap. Pushing himself up, Adrian watched as the truck rolled into the parking lot. Gargan, Otto and Aleksei cheered and jumped out, fist pumping and high fiving and all the other embarrassing things grown men did when things went really, really well.
Kravinoff was completely stoic, sliding out of the semi cab with his drag bag. The man grumbled something in Russian and walked back into the warehouse.
"Top of the food chain now, baby!" Gargan shouted, whooping loudly as he ran to the back of the semi to open the doors.
Adrian watched him with mild amusement, then turned his head away, yawning. Well, he'd done his part. Sleep was calling and he was glad to answer. One spine-crushing bear hug from Aleksei later, Adrian was hobbling into his tent and zipping the flap shut behind him.
He was relieved the heist had gone off without issues. The happier Gargan was, the easier it made things for Adrian. Still, even with the success, escape was firmly in the back of his mind. He was getting roped in tighter and tighter into their five-man band, and he didn't like it. Adrian knew he had to keep waiting and bide his time, but every day felt like he was moving further and further away from ever getting free.
