Chapter 24 – the trouble with two

Was he really just going to give up just like that. For second Bryon had been shocked at his own thoughts. It was all because of the fact that once again he had underestimated William Brandt. The man was trying to out maneuver him. He licked his lips and looked down at the phone in his hands. "There is no way it is going to be over just like that. We still have the virus and if we can't use it in the airborne form then we'll just infect them by shooting them. It might be a lot harder but even if we get one of them it'll be worth it", Byron growled. The phone glinted in the sun, the tracking signal telling him that William Brandt was in the bunker still flashing. But it could be a lie. Looking at the phone though gave him a few ideas. The first was using the same tactics Brandt had to try and draw him closer. The second was using the contacts within the IMF and SHIELD bases to try and find out whether anyone there was certain which twin was which. First things first, talking to Brandt, he called the number the agent had sent. The phone rang a few times before Brandt's flat voice answered, "feeling chatty are we Byron, or may be calling to surrender', came the hint. Cory saw Bryon's hand tighten on the phone in anger. "Trace the signal", he muttered to his colleague under his breath. "No, not surrender Brandt, admittedly you do surprise me, well done for that. But it is not enough. You see even if you win this round, you still loose. HYDRA has had time to work on the virus since it was used upon your mother. We now have an airborne version, it was designed specifically for enhanced humans but it can be used against others. Unless one of you confesses to being the correct Brandt I am going to find every friend ,relative and neighbor you have and infect them all first. The blame for the virus will be placed on SHIELD. Clint can stand upon the sidelines with his colleagues and be branded a criminal, while he watches his loved ones die. If I don't manage to infect him myself", Bryon threatened.

It was not just Clint and Will who could hear the words it was everyone in the area. Benji had gone white, 'oh shit", he proclaimed. 'Yes, I hope it was a bluff", Steve remarked shakily. Luther was tracing the phone signal, "it is jumping about from the forest location to the bunker, I'd say both Brandt and Barton are wired into the conversation. It still does not tell us which one is which".

That statement was reinforced when one of the twins stated," I am afraid that after this many years it is possible he is not lying about the virus. He is someone quite capable of doing as he claimed", came the simple statement. That made everyone feel rather sick, the stakes had just gone up again.

"Of course I am not lying. All you have to do to prevent this is give up Brandt, one mans life for many. HYDRA does not need to kill all your friends, but we will to make a point", Bryon remarked.

He was Cory reflected giving up all their secrets. Still he doubted SHIELD or IMF could come up with a way to cure the virus quickly. HYDRA did still have the advantage.

"Alright its me", came a voice, "I am Brandt", it was the man from the bunker. "Don't do anything Ink", he begged. Don't be bloody stupid and think you can save me , I am in the forest Ink", came the other one. Luther shook his head, the signal was still jumping about, probably a good thing. Brandt had managed to cover himself well. But how was he going to hold up under a threats like these.

"I know you Ink, your threats are never empty ones'. But I also know you are not trustworthy, you'd kill our friends even if I did surrender", came the next remark from one of the twins.

"Perhaps not Brandt, I could make an exception. Still it seems obvious that you are not going to make up your mind quickly, so perhaps your friends will. 'Unless one of you decide to give up William Brandt now I will tell HYDRA to use the airborne virus on both the IMF and SHIELD bases in Hawaii, and don't think I don't know where they are. Your own people are not loyal". Ink crossed his arms over his chest and stood firm. He could feel his anger boiling below the surface and knew that only taking revenge would help him feel better. This was a good threat he reflected though he would not be able to carry it out immediately.

Back in the SHIELD base Nick Fury could see his own hands shaking as they listened to Ink's threats. "Put the base on high alert", Nick ordered shakily. "It won't help if what Ink is saying out the virus being airborne is true", Killian told him. "I know that, but I have to do something", Fury snapped back. He cast a look over at the IMFs secretary who looked calm, though he could see an underlying tension in his face. The man made no move to contact his own base . It seemed like he was holding off and Fury could not think of any reason for that. But the more he was around Gideon Killian the more he understood that this man did not always follow the expected path. "Aren't you going to warn your own people", he hinted. Killian gave him a rather sad look, "of course I want to do that. But I am holding off for a specific reason. I understand how my own people think . There will be some that will propose another way to settle this conflict, disposing of both Will and Clint. That way HYDRA would get nothing. I know this is a move you understand Fury as you've been under pressure to eliminate Clint Barton because of his role in the Loki incident". My people can in likelihood make the same suggestion regarding Will. It is preferable that he was dead, rather than giving HYDRA the location of more research that can be used against us. My people would be too blind to realize HYDRA would probably initiate an attack out of spite anyway". Killian was evidently up to date on recent events, Fury reflected. He felt a cold shiver assail him as he realized the IMF secretary's fears were not groundless. He had powerful people watching him as well and they would back this type of move. Swallowing the sick taste that had come into his mouth, Fury stated, "you still need to warn your own people". HYDRA may just do as they claim". Killian looked soberly at Lila Craddock. He could not think of a reason why Fury would keep the psychologist at his side , unless. "I guess I won't say that you think you have figured out which twin is which", he remarked. He nodded toward Lila, "that was why she is here, he added. I think that is what you were going to say before", Killian remarked. He was an astute man, Fury decided.

Fury debated with himself whether to share their suspicions, could he really trust this man. There was no doubt someone was passing HYDRA information and the list of people Fury trusted with absolute certainty was a short one. Killian was not on it. So he simply said " the answer is we have suspicion and not fact. Lila is adept at studying people and has made a hypothesis based on what she saw. However there are facts that tell me that hypothesis may not be correct. So sharing anything is pointless. It seemed more than just a coincidence that he was bringing this up now. He had already implied he was not going to tell his own people about the suspicions. So what was he up to. Fury thought the easiest way was to simply ask, "so what are your intentions". " Ink has confirmed the fact there are infiltrators in our midst. They could easily be the ones that lead to our downfall. You can use her a bait by dropping hints she knows the answer" , Killian suggested with a finger point in Lila's direction. "I will just put my base on high alert and see what happens, maybe my inifiltrators will try and contact yours." Killian wound down and waited to see what Fury would say. He could tell Lila Craddock was not keen on the plan as she had turned rather pale. She was not an agent and therefore not used to people wanting to kill her .His plan rested upon how brave this woman was. Lila felt her nerves rising ,what Killian was suggesting was going to be very dangerous with one mistake causing her death. Fury though was not immediately saying no. He could see the possibilities. Killian was correct in saying the infiltrator could cause them all to die. "If I have agents following her every movement then whoever it is will suspect a trap", Fury remarked. He was evidently leaning toward yes. She felt cold ,she worked for him and as yet he was not giving her a choice. Yet, deep down she knew there wasn't one . She had to trust that Fury would not let her risk her life unnecessarily . "Of course, that's why I could be the one to back her up. They are never going to see me", Killian swore. He looked Fury in the eye firmly, "and you can satisfy your own suspicion of me by keeping your agents watching from a distance". He offered Nick a grin, " they are a little obvious Fury".

Nick knew this plan was not without risk. It was possible Killian worked for the enemy, he was not pressing hard for them to tell him their suspicions . Maybe he had another plan in mind. Nick could see Lila shaking as she thought of all the horrible things that could happen to her. He owed her a choice, "It is up to you Lila", he said to her. Lila Craddock, looked at both of them. They did need to know who was working against them, she took a breath, "alright, I'll drop some hints", she agreed.

"Good, in the meantime we will lock down the base and hope that our teams in the field can keep the situation under control. If the real Brandt, whoever it may be cracks under the pressure it'll all be over", Fury remarked. "He's not going to crack, he's waited a long time for this moment and may be he just might have more surprises for us", Killian told them.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ink tapped his foot against the ground. Everyone was still silent, holding onto to that one precious piece of information. He did not contact HYDRA base though, there was just a chace the leader would not approve an assault upon the bases. Their ace up the sleeve, the airborne virus was no longer a secret and there were many actions both IMF and SHIELD could take to protect themselves. The leader would see the leaking of that secret as his fault, not a good strategy. He had to prove himself by eliminating the Avengers . "Dammit", he swore. "Alright, ground forces, switch to using enhanced weaponry, hit the Avengers full force. I will also increase the drones power, may be it will be Iron Man who will go down first". He cut the line. Let them get infected, then they'd know he was not bluffing.

Cory noted that they were still heading toward the bunker. "We are stil trying for the one in there ",he asked. "He is the closest to our location. Plus does it really matter who it is, I want to make both of those twins suffer", Ink declared.

In the forest bullets were now flying around them as the HYDRA force attacked. Steve could hear the sound the bullets made as they hit his shield. It was like sausages on a barbeque, a sizzle that told him the protective coating they'd added was under pressure. Beside him Benji Dunn and Jane were more vulnerable. Even the fairly solid trees were not proving to be an effective cover, the bullets ofen went straight through them. They too carried shields, not like his of course, but strengthened metal that would offer limited protection. Still he feared for him, this battle field was not a place for normal humans.

Steve could see that that they felt afraid. He did not blame them because he too could feel that sensation below the surface, normal weapons he understood and could defeat, but biological ones, they struck fear into his deepest being. "Shall I transform", Bruce asked in a voice that seemed to waver. He was a scientist and would know in every excruciating detail what a virus would do to his body. Being Bruce Banner was not going to save him, being the Hulk just might.

"Yes, but stay out of direct gunfire, see if you can use methods other than frontal assault to take them out", Steve stated with calm voice. The stakes in this were high, no longer just focused on protecting one man, they had to prevent biological warfare. Everyone had to use what they had in that fight. "Alright", Bruce confirmed. He steadied his mind, feeling both halves of his personality pulsing. The anger of the Hulk burned brightly below the surface. He let it fill his being, until it burst out in an anger that transformed his body from puny to powerful. Now he towered above them, his mind burning with rage. The enemy were trying to conceal themselves amongst the trees, hoping he could not see them easily.

Fully transformed he was a sight that would make even the most insane person pause. That pause was only seconds though, then the gunfire followed. But the Hulk had already moved out of the path of gunfire. Grasping a tree trunk in his hands he simply pulled it from the ground and used it as a battering ram.

A short distance away Thor decided to copy this idea and tore up his own tree. Working together the two were swiftly taking out 20 -25 troop members at a time. If they kept it up they would not take long to decimate the HYDRA troops.

Byron Ink had a strategy all ready to counter the effects the Hulk and Thor were having ."Concentrate your fire upon the human members", he ordered. That made the troops fire rapidly at Jane, Benji and Natasha. Bullets flew around them, shooting up bark as they plowed through trees. All three of the non enhanced humans felt fear fill them as the HYDRA troops got closer. A few metres away the remaining troops were keeping Thor and the Hulk distracted.

"You have to do something", Ethan warned as he looked down from his treetop vantage point. He could clearly see the danger to Benji, Jane and Natasha. It made him feel like he should be there beside them instead of in the tree. He had sat there listening to the threats that were made and knowing he held the answers. The thought of betrayal never entered his mind though,he understood how enemies thought and knew they would still attack no matter what he told them. Still it was hard to see his friends and colleagues in the direct line of fire.

The man beside him could feel his anxiety rising. The stakes in this were getting higher and harsher. He had to keep up his resolve, carry out the plan. Within seconds he shifted from firing arrows at the drones to firing them upon the troops below. His shots were all kill ones , Ethan noted and he fired multiple arrows in one go. It was almost like watching a machine, efficient and deadly. He could though barely detect the strain, this man could not keep this level of arrow fire up forever. It would be long enough hopefully. Below them the numbers of enemy troops attacking Benji and the others had diminished remarkably as the arrows found their targets.

Ethan was just beginning to relax a little when a sound like whistling wind alerted him to the fact that drones were now diving below the tree line and joining in on the assault upon the ground forces. Rapidly counting the number of drones, Ethan realized HYDRA must have been holding a few back, there were now 150 of the things. With their rapid fire and maneuverability they were a lot harder for the Hulk or Thor to take out. The drones were also after the human members, trying to draw them out from behind the limited cover the trees offered. Benji, Jane and Natasha were weaving and running while Steve Rogers tried to deflect as much bullet fire as he could. His shield though had several impact craters already marring its surface. Even it would not hold out forever.

Ethan could feel thngs spiraling out of control. He'd already had to decide whether to trust the man in front of him with his crazy plan. The worst part was he was not being told everything. "This does not seem to be going all that well', he remarked. Blue eyes looked back at him steadily, "it'll be alright, we are onto the next phase of our plan", came the explanation. "I am not that keen on this plan. We are up a tree under attack, Benji , Jane and Natasha are all vulnerable and even that giant green nightmare seems to not be making much of a difference". Ethan watched the Hulk take out another 25 men as he said that. All the time though bullets were getting closer. It was like waiting for the inevitable to happen.

"One of them is going to get hit", Ethan warned. The stakes were high, even a graze would mean being infected and suffering a slow death. "Form in a ring everyone and wait", came the next advice. It was the man in the bunker Ethan reflected. Below him Ethan could make out the forms of the others. They were like ants upon the ground. As he watched they formed into one large group. The HYDRA troops were close and still keeping up the continual rain of bullets . Ethan feared that it would not be long until someone was hit. His thoughts seemed to be like prophecy when he saw one of the HYDRA bullets plow toward Benji. He held his breath as his friend dodged and dived. The bullet missed him and hit a HYDRA operative in the leg. It would not be a fatal wound yet the man screamed in agony.

Benji could see up close and personal what happened to that man. A hole appeared in the mans protective clothing. The clothes then burned from his body, disintegrating in seconds. After assaulting the clothing the skin followed. It seemed to turn to liquid and drip from the mans body. His leg rapidly became bone. The screaming was awful. Benji could imagine this happening to all of them. "Retreat", he suggested. "No, move closer together, came the order from one twin. "You are not even here, Benji stormed. "Will, wherever you are stop this happening now". "Help us".

Above his head Iron Man weaved, the combined arrow fire of Clint and Will had taken out some of the drones. But now whoever in the forest was having to protect two targets, he was only being backed up by one archer. Still whoever that was seemed to have enhanced arrows because the drones immediately exploded when hit. He was still under attack though and his shield power was rapidly failing. "The virus will penetrate your suit within the next 20 minutes", warned Jarvis. Tony swallowed, "help us", he also demanded.

So it was now or never, he had to play his final move and reveal his final secret.

"Fire now",Benji heard one twin say in response to his plea .

Once again two arrows flew, one from the bunker and one from the treetops. One went up at a drone the other down by the Avengers team. It was beeping as it lay upon the ground. The others were awfully close to that beeping arrow Ethan reflected. "Whats going on", he asked the man beside him.

"There is an arrow imbedded in the ground just in front of the Avengers team, it contains the cure for your virus", came the stunning reply. The arrow exploded in a flash seconds later with a white mist enveloping them all. The skin stopped burning off the HYDRA operatives leg within a minute. It was possibly too late for the man though as he lay unmoving, his face chalk white. Probably the shock had killed him. Even though he still felt horrified relief filled Benji, Will had ensured their safety in a most spectacular way.

"What" , Byron Ink had been thown off balance yet again. "My father had months to watch my mother slowly die and he used that time well. He was not a stupid man Ink, he could think up every sick thing you might use the virus for in the future. So he worked on a cure. It took him awhile but he eventually found one. Then he had to make sure I could access that cure. So he found a hiding place in every state throughout the country. It would not matter where you carried out your monstrous plans, I would be ready and waiting'. "You have lost Ink", Brandt taunted.

Byron Ink twisted the phone in his hands. Anger filled him, yet so did another emotion, victory. Did Brandt actually realize what he had just done. "Yeah well Brandt you just made a tactical error. That arrow came from the bunker, therefore you are in the bunker. I am coming for you, you bastard," he stormed into the phone. "Come then and we'll end this" was the steely reply he got. He pulled out his knife and played with the point, pushing it deeply into his skin. The pain gave him a clarity. It was obvious Will Brandt had planned all this and that meant he had some surprise waiting for him. Well maybe it was him who would get the surprise. He smiled as he took up his phone, "alpha team, report to my location", he requested. William Brandt was about to have another 200 guests, his reserve team, heavily armed. With the Avengers engaged with the drones and remaining troops, they would not be able to help their collegue. Yes, he could still turn this around.

Cory looked at Byron. He could feel the mans anger pulsing within. This was a personal fight he figured, one he would not be part of. HYDRA had already lost. They could not use their bio weapon if there already was a cure. He did not doubt that William Brandt was not lying. The evidence spoke for itself. If Byron returned to HYDRA without William Brandt he was a dead man. Cory however was not. He knew this was the moment for him to leave , while he still could. One minute he was calmly following Byron the next he was off and running through the forest as fast as he could go.

Byron watched him for a few seconds, before pushing a button on his phone and ordering one of the drones to attack Cory. He doubted the man would be fast enough to escape. After that he quickly made another call, "do you know", he asked. "Following her now, will respond soon", came the reply. That was his fail safe, his spy in SHIELD midst. He would confirm whether he had figured this correctly. In the mean time he was going with his gut, it told him that there was 99 percent certainty Brandt was in the bunker. Looking around him, he noted that he was in the right location for the drain. He waited 5 minutes for the other men to join him. Then they all began to pull the wire from the drains opening.

From the air Tony could see the extra force move through the trees. "We have more armed hostiles, heading toward the bunker", he told the others. Evidently Byron Ink was playing it safe and had a reserve team. Once inside the bunker they would corner Will Brandt , the agent had no clear way out. It seemed like he had trapped himself like a mouse in a maze. Swerving while looking down Tony could just see his leather clad form inside the bunker. "Shit", he swore as several drones began firing at the bunker. They were trying to force Brandt back down into the structure. Pieces of concrete were flying all around. Brandt was going to get hit if he was not careful. A drones fire reminded him that he had problems of his own. When no arrow came to help him he relaised the drone fire had temporarily silenced Will Brandt.

The man had made an error when he had used the arrows treated with the cure to save them. It had revealed his identity, now his compassion toward his friends would be his undoing. Tony could do nothing to save him.

Ethan was swinging through the trees just like tarzan following the man in front of him. He swung with an ease that would almost make you think he had been born in a jungle. Ethan found it a lot harder to keep the rope swinging momentum up. "Hey, he called forward, where are we going". He noted they were not heading toward the bunker. "We are finishing the plan", came the reply. "Yeah well I thought the plan was that both of you are going to get out of this alive'. You heard what Stark said, Ink has another force with him and they are attacking the bunker". "I know Ethan, just remember you trust me", that reply really was not helpful. He had though already had to make that decision ,so kept following the man in front of him.

Xxxxx

Lila Craddock was walking down one of the most isolated corridors in the SHIELD base. She was heading for the laboratory at the end of that corridor. It all was made to seem natural, yet she could almost feel the eyes watching her. It was a challenge not to turn around and look. She had never been the frightened sort, until now. Somewhere Gideon Killian was supposedly watching her. Her safety was in the hands of a man they barely knew. Her mind was in full terror mode thinking up every horrid thing that could go wrong. That included the possibility that Gideon Killian was one of the infiltrators.

Fury is watching me too, she reminded herself. The lab was in sight and she pulled out her swipe card to gain access. It was in that moment that the attack happened. She was thrown forward into the glass door with a stunning impact that made her head swim. Warm gloved hands then encircled her throat. "Tell me Lila Craddock, which twin is with the SHIELD team", came the harsh request. Those hands squeezed her throat choking her. Was it supposed to go this far, where was her backup. 'If you do not answer ,you will die", came the threat. She could feel herself become detached as the hands squeezed again. It seemed like she had also been betrayed.