Chapter 13- Battle lines

Benji, Jane and Luther found themselves back upon the streets of Waikiki around 11pm at night. It had been a grueling process of questioning with each question designed to try and trip them up and confess. Of course none of them had done anything, so Martin was never going to get anywhere. Still after awhile details did become blurred and you became so tired, thirsty and hungry that it was easy to just say you had done it to make it end. Benji suspected the director expected it to be him that would crack first and he was proud of the fact he had kept himself focused. It had ended with the director coming in to tell the agent who was questioning him that he was free to go.

"I have had communication from Fury who believes the enemy is still tracking the movements of Hunt and Brandt, therefore any of you cannot be responsible for giving information to the enemy", Martin told Benji. "However Agent Dunn, I also found that you gave SHIELD limited access to our systems". That is a violation of security Dunn, so get out and don't come back, I will not have an agent I cannot trust work for me". Martin had screamed that last comment out. Benji had not flinched, "agents are valuable assets director and you were prepared to just right us all off." He stood up straight eyeballing the director, he knew he'd just been fired but he wanted some details out of the director before he walked out the door. "So are we sending an IMF team in to back up SHIELDS search and rescue efforts", he asked.

He knew the basic outline of what was going on and thought that IMF should definitely be getting involved. "No Dunn we are not, there is still no proof Brandt or Hunt are even alive, Fury has not actually had contact with either of them. This all could be a trap to ensnare SHIELD and we would walk right into it", Martin declared. Benji stared in disbelief, "I thought we were supposed to be the best director ,since when did we walk away from danger. Even if it is a trap, SHIELD are our allies we should back them up". It was, he thought an impassioned speech, but Martin just said, "I have made my decision Dunn, now get out of my sight".

So he had walked out of the base with Jane and Luther at his side. He did not tell them he had been fired as he did not want to distract them, mind you if they did what was within his thoughts most likely they would all end up being fired anyway. They walked back toward their hotel talking softly as they went. "Let's just hire some equipment and go and handle the situation ourselves", Benji told Luther and Jane. "That dickhead Martin is obviously not going to get involved". "Yeah what does the man need, a firefight, I can't believe IMF is getting so spineless", Luther agreed. "I would have to agree", they all jumped as that voice spoke because it did not belong to one of them. They had not noticed the man that had slipped close enough to hear them speak, which was in itself a shock. His identity was the next shock. As they moved under a light they could clearly see the man's face. Benji found his nervous shaky persona descending again, "sorry Mr Secretary", he said. "No need to apologise Dunn I do not agree with Martin's assessment", the secretary of the IMF told them. They had not heard that their boss was even in Hawaii so were surprised to be talking with him in the middle of the street. "However the higher ups may agree Dunn, SHIELD has been under some intense scrutiny of late with some suggesting their whole agency should be disbanded. Barton himself has been red flagged as a possible threat with suggestions he should either be incarcerated or terminated. Director Fury has had to do some fast talking to calm things down . There are rumours though that nothing can stop the eventual fall of SHIELD .Anyone who aids them at the moment will find themselves under that same intense gaze as well. It means we would have to be accountable for our actions and IMF has quite a few things we would rather not be made public Dunn. Since Hunt and Brandt have been disavowed, it has given Martin a way out of a situation that is likely to prove to be messy. Martin made a political decision Dunn to ensure IMF does not fall with SHIELD".

"Great", Benji muttered sarcastically. He did not like it when decisions were controlled by people who had no idea what was really going on. "So we just stand back and do nothing", Benji pressed ," Brandt and Ethan work for us and we are letting SHIELD do the dangerous work of rescuing them. I suppose Martin thinks it is alright since they don't really exist anymore"." I would have thought that wouldn't matter and the goal would be ridding the world of someone who seems to be very dangerous. If we ignore that then we are all dickheads" . Jane and Luther thought Benji was being very blunt and would most likely get told to keep his opinions to himself.

Their boss however did not chastise him, just asking all of them to come with him. They followed the Secretary to a normal looking car and got in. They noted there was no official driver with the Secretary moving himself into the drivers seat. "Sir what are you doing in Hawaii", Jane asked. "I got a call from Nick Fury who filled me in on the latest developments", The Secretary told them. "It really was a rather large surprise to find out that Brandt has an identical twin working in SHIELD". "Yeah we were surprised as well", Jane confirmed. "If our agencies had talked more often it is likely we would have found out before Clint Barton decided to walk into our base here pretending to be Brandt", The secretary stated. "He did it to find his brother", Luther remarked. "Yes, but the fact he even got in the doorway raised all sorts of alarms. It made it look like our security is easy to violate."We will have some issues to work out should both Brandt and Barton be recovered alive", the secretary concluded. They noted the car was moving out of the city and heading toward Diamond head. "Where are we going sir", Jane asked. "SHIELD also has a base in Hawaii agent Carter. It is where Nick Fury sent a fully equipped search and rescue party from. We are going there where you will be joining SHIELDS team in the search for Agents Brandt, Hunt and Barton".

Benji , Jane and Luther all smiled. "This is an unofficial mission Agents and if you get caught know that I will disavow any knowledge of your actions." You see Agent Dunn I am most definitely not a dickhead", the secretary stated. No Benji decided he wasn't. They did not know their newest secretary that well but already he was proving that he did care about the welfare of his agents.

He turned into what looked like an old bunker. When the iron doors opened wide and they drove underground they all felt a sense of anticipation.

A very quick 5 minute drive through a long tunnel ended in another huge iron door. When that swung open they could not all help staring in awe. In front of them was a huge underground complex. "Wow, Benji gasped, 'how did they hide all this in here". "That is what SHIELD is good at Dunn, hiding stuff like this", the secretary replied. "Come on, we have been invited inside". They all got out and entered the iron doors. A short staircase went upward toward what was presumably some sort of control centre. An attractive brunette was waiting at the bottom of the staircase. "Mr Killian", she shook the Secretary's hand," Director Fury sends his greetings". "He has authorized me to show you certain facilities within this base then take you and your team to a place where you may await the arrival of the SHIELD team".

"That you Agent Hill", Gideon Killian aka The secretary of the IMF stated as he stared at her name badge.

Soon they were all given badges and let up the flight of stairs. They did not however enter the control room area. Instead they went along a small side corridor and into another room. It was easily identifiable as an operating theatre. "SHIELD has its best medical team standing by should any of the injured agents need surgery" ,Maria Hill told them. "Director Fury has extended that medical help to your agents as well Mr Secretary", she affirmed. "Thank you Agent Hill, since we are not officially involved then I better accept your offer", he smiled at her.

They walked back out of the theatre then further along the corridor to a large room. "You will have a few hours to brief your agents and familiarize them with our weapons before director Fury arrives", Maria told them. "All the information you will need is on that data base over there". "There is a kitchen area and bathroom just off this room that you may use to refresh yourselves. All other areas of this base are restricted to SHIELD personal", Maria added. She doubted the IMF agents would wander off, but it was standard to tell all visitors that they did not get free reign of all facilities.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Agent Hill ", Gideon stated warmly. When she left he turned to the team, "I will brief you just like it was a normal iMF mission", he told them. Walking to the walls he slid one open to reveal weapons, "take your pick", he told them. He watched them chosing knowing that this was the easiest part of what was to come. Next he had to tell them all about the SHIELD team they would accompany and that would be truly surprising and perhaps terrifying as well. It would be very interesting to see their reactions he thought.

After they had settled in seats around a large table Gideon took a deep breath, "my main job is to brief you on the SHIELD team, so that you can get to know them prior to the mission". Oh boy he thought this was going to be good. Touching a button he put the Avengers pictures up on the screen. "This is your team, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk and Black Widow". He noticed they were all staring at the pictures like they could not believe what they were seeing. "We are working with The Avengers", Luther muttered in awe. "All of them", Jane squeaked with her eyes firmly fixed upon the giant green form of the Hulk. "Yes, all of one's pictured"." They are a formidable team and with such a lot of power comes problems, which is why they have been under so much scrutiny. Not everyone wants them to intervene if it means death and destruction follows in their wake". He showed them what was left of New York. "They were in New York not long ago fighting a threat there. Nobody complained about their presence at the time, but after they left all the people could see was that their city was in ruins", Gideon concluded.

"Who were they fighting again", Benji asked. He heard some really off the wall rumour and just wanted to be assured it was not true. Of course it isn't,he told himself. "Aliens", Gideon said quite calmly. Oh gosh it was true thought Benji, he fidgeted in his seat wondering what the Avengers had done to defeat such a foe. Jane just sat there with her eyes still fixated upon the Hulk and frankly looking terrified. Luther spluttered the water he'd been drinking out of his mouth, he'd been the calmest until the secretary had mentioned the word aliens. "Are you kidding", he asked in disbelief. "No Agent Stickwell I am not kidding. SHIELD deals with the type of things that may give the rest of us nightmares. I know that all of you are very good agents but I seriously doubt you could have survived the battle of New York". What the Avengers had to do wasn't pretty and many people did die. But it saved us all from slavery from an alien world"." I am not telling you this to frighten you just to prepare you for the fact that these are not your average agents and the methods they use may actually be not that safe,"Gideon told them seriously. Benji was still trying to grasp this whole idea, it seemed so unreal."Shit and we have to work with them, why can't we have a umm normal team", he asked in that same annoying squeaky tone that seemed to come upon him whenever he was totally terrified. "Because Barton is an Avenger as well and naturally his team would take a personal interest in his retrieval just like you have with Hunt and Brandt", Gideon replied. "Ethans out there with the one they want to lock up or kill, that is not that reassuring Mr Secretary", Luther muttered. "Clint Barton is one of the good guys as are the rest of the Avengers", he smiled rather strangely at them, "you can of course refuse this mission, but it would be rather spineless and actually make you all out to be dickheads too". Now that he figured was telling them. Benji looked rather shamefaced at that comment. He had been the one who had pressed for them to get involved and now because he was scared of working with people with special abilities it seemed like he was backtracking. So that really does make you look like you are the one who is spineless, he told himself. Just take a breath and think about the fact that you are rescuing Brandt and Ethan.

He looked intently at the others for one long minute. "I suppose we do all feel uncomfortable working with such unusual people but we should just think of the mission", he told them. Luther shrugged," yeah,why not", "it'll certainly be memorable". Benji and Jane had to agree with that. They shook off their nerves and doubts and told themselves that if Ethan could work with an Avenger then so could they. "Good, the flying members of the team should be here very soon", Gideon told them. Somehow it seemed that their boss was not talking about flying via aircraft. "Uum did you say flying as in by themselves", Benji squeaked again. "You will really have to work on that nervous voice Agent Dunn", Gideon told him. "Oh and just know that Director Martin does not have the authority to fire anyone. I do though. We will have words about you allowing SHIELD access to our systems. But that is for another time. Now all I want you to do is focus".Benji nodded nervously. This was one mission that most likely set the new benchmark for being dangerous .

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Ethan and Clint huddled together over a very small fire. They had to make sure nobody hostile on the shore or sea could see the fire. Then of course was the tricky fact they wanted Will to know he was no longer alone. He though would be naturally suspicious and not approach directly. Clint cooked the fish he had caught and shared it with Ethan. Both of them were starving and found their stomach heaved in protest as they ate the food. "I can fashion some arrows from trees and use a strong branch to make a bow. It would give us a weapon of sorts", Clint told Ethan. "It won't be that effective against guns", Ethan warned him. "I took out aliens armed with just a bow and arrows Hunt, I am sure I can handle a few armed types in the jungle", Clint told him firmly. Ethan's mind had stopped at the point Clint had said aliens. He opened his mouth to ask more then rapidly closed it again deciding he would rather not know. "You are getting better at that", Clint told him with a grin. "Yeah well you are introducing me to whole world Barton", Ethan told him. Clint smiled again, "you are not a bad partner Hunt", he responded sincerely. Ethan curled himself up near the small flame. " I wonder how far away Will is and how badly he is injured. There was a fair amount of blood on his clothing ,but not a lethal amount", he added quickly. Clint surveyed the darkened jungle around them wishing they had some type of heat seeking machinery with them. "He could be mere metres away and we would not see him. We will have to wait until light to begin our search. It'll mean another night out in the elements for Will which decreases his survival rate again. We don't have any choice though", he said sadly. Pulling another long stick down beside him he used a sharp stone to begin to shape it into an arrow. "Don't get comfortable yet Hunt, you can help me build our arsenal ".

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Will was in fact only 2 miles from their location. He was lying in a small hole in the ground with leaves covered over the top of him. It was best he decided to hide rather than run anymore, especially since he could hardly move. To make sure Ivanoff did not sneak up upon him , he had set snares in the area. It had been an exhausting task with only one functioning arm. His teeth had taken the place of his right arm holding the vines while he tied them in place. He'd almost passed out after he had finished with his eye sight going all sparkly. It was a warning that the blood loss he had suffered was taking a toll upon his body. He had managed to use moisture on the leaves around him to give himself a drink and had found some wild berries that he had identified as edible but even that would not keep him going much longer. Maybe this hole would become his grave. Don't do that Will he told himself again.

Curling himself up slightly for warmth he let his eyes droop shut .

When he came partly awake again it was still dark. His entire body ached and he tried to shift himself into a more comfortable position . He found though that he could not move. By the feeling in his legs and one moveable arm he knew his physical condition had nothing to do with his lack of movement, it was because he was tied up. Pieces of vine entwined both his arms and legs and they were tight enough to restrict any movement. Even though it was dark he found he could not immediately see anyone.

So if Ivanoff had found him while he was asleep and tied him up then he must have left him here to go and get reinforcements. That thought made Will's throat go even drier. Hearing a rustling in the bushes nearby Will braced himself for the worst. But after another 5 minutes of listening to the rustling sounds he realized they were not getting any closer. When he heard some creative swear words coming from a short distance away he found himself relaxing. Ivanoff may have caught him but then he had found himself trapped in one of the snares. He had began to struggle,now it was a race to see who could free themselves first.

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On board the fishing boat the man known as Mr Fields looked over at his attack squad. All of them were highly trained mercenaries who had very few scruples, they would be happy to do anything he asked as long a he paid them well. He was well aware of the fact that since the helicarrier belonged to SHIELD what he was about to do would be seen a san act of aggression. He did not care because one thing he had told Ivanoff that was true was the fact that he did have cause to hate that agency. It was highly likely that Fury would even send in the Avengers. He had a video feed waiting to show the world more footage of the devastation these enhanced beings were causing. Sending the footage along with pictures of dead people would be a very good way of forcing the people in power to take action against The Avengers and SHIELD. While violence was effective political power could be even better.

Moving over to the far end of the hold he helped two men mount the rocket launcher onto its stand. The projectile inside the launcher had been enhanced to include heat seeking technology, that Helicarrier was going to find escape very difficult.

Looking at the clock Fields smiled, "I want everybody in the inflatables and ready to go. " The men followed his commands. Fields hit the button to open the hold doors, "firing the launcher now", he told his men.

On board the helicarrier they were skimming the surface of the ocean idling while a large beam searched the sea. Everyone on board was getting tired, but they knew that their search was almost over. With 3 out of 4 search areas eliminated they could now say for sure that the lost agents were indeed upon that Island.

Peggy was mapping out an island based search when every alarm upon the helicarrier went off.

When she saw the cause of the alarm she found herself screaming, "sir systems report that a missile was just fired from that boat. It is locked onto our position".

"Shit, take evasive action", Captain Grey yelled. He hurriedly informed Fury of what was happening. Seconds later he was thrown sideways as the helicarrier rapidly changed direction. "Sir the missile is changing course as well, looks like it is heat seeking", Peggy reported in her icy calm voice.

Grey took over the controls, here in the ocean there was very little heat to draw the missile off course . He would have to fly as fast as possible out of the area and hope the thing lost the lock upon them. "The boat is now putting inflatables into the water", Peggy reported. She brought up the picture of two inflatables with heavily armed personal. "So they are drawing us off", Grey muttered. "If if there are three agents alive on that island how are they going to cope with a small army coming there way".

Peggy wondered the same. But as she looked at the monitors around her the thoughts changed to thinking of their own survival. "The missile has increased speed sir, we are not going to be able to out run it. Unless we evade it in some manner it will hit us with the next 5 minutes".