Authors Notes
Friday December 6th 2013
Fury gets a grilling from some annoyed Avengers and reveals the truth behind Ainsley's grandmother and the reason for the young doctor's presence.
Fury and the Avengers reflect on Dr Kerr's analysis of the situation while Clint gets some good news and comes to a tough decision.
Dr Whitehall enjoys a moment of reflection
"How about the truth, Fury?" snapped Tony "You know what that is don't you? It's when you tell the people you're supposed to be working with what's actually going on. That might be a very good place to start."
Fury looked at the small group assembled in the living area of Stark's penthouse. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff all looked distinctly unhappy with him. Steve stood in front of the fireplace with his arms folded across his chest. The SHIELD Director had almost expected him to be suited up, but Steve had never needed the red, white and blue suit to project an air of aggrieved authority.
"You can't get away with telling us it wasn't relevant." Steve said angrily "It's very relevant, especially to me."
Nick Fury was rarely willing to admit, even to himself, that he'd made a tactical error but he had to agree with Maria Hill's assessment. There had always been the danger they would find out about Dr Kerr's grandmother by accident; he should have briefed them once he was convinced the psychologist was firmly embedded.
"Yes, it was a mistake" he admitted
"Wow!" exclaimed Tony "Someone check out the window for flying pigs!"
"Shut up, Tony" muttered Bruce "If Fury's going to tell us, let him speak."
"I wanted Dr Kerr on the team" Fury said "I believed that prematurely revealing his grandmother's history might prejudice that."
"Prematurely implies you were going to tell us at some point…" Tony paused in the middle of pouring himself a drink as he realised what the Director had just said "What? Wait… you wanted him on the team?"
Fury sat down. It was going to be a long story but for once he would be forced to tell them everything.
"Sophia von Lebenskreuz wasn't just a brilliant scientist," he began "She was Gifted…"
It hadn't just been the woman's phenomenal intellect and analytical ability that made her one of the foremost young physicists in late 1930's Germany; she had an abnormal talent for seeing beneath the surface of things, to deduct patterns and likely outcomes from sometimes minimal objective data. It was that gift that first drew her to the attention of the Red Skull and later led her to see the Third Reich was ultimately doomed.
"…in 1944 she contacted Peggy Carter, providing intelligence and strategic analysis that was invaluable in tracking down and eradicating HYDRA cells and bases in the final months of the war…"
"So, she saw the ship was sinking and secured her place in a lifeboat?" observed Bruce "Pragmatic."
"There's nothing about her in the Project Paperclip files" said Tony, the whiskey was mellowing him but his voice was still ripe with suspicion "and nothing to suggest she continued her scientific work after the war. More secrets?"
"Not every scientist was included in Paperclip" acknowledged Fury "Some were too significant to be named. While we did have an interest in Dr Von Lebenskreuz's work…"
"You were more interested in her ability…" stated Natasha, suddenly understanding what was going on "and you think Ainsley has the same gift."
"We had him and his sister under observation for some time…"
What made a person Gifted was still a matter of ongoing debate, but heredity had not been discounted as a factor so the children and grandchildren of Gifted persons remained of interest. Sophia's daughter had shown no sign of extraordinary ability, but both her grandchildren had demonstrated unusual degrees of insight and analysis from an early age and had been placed under active observation. As Ainsley reached university age and his abilities became even more evident SHIELDs most eminent psychological specialist, Professor Karl-Heinrich Feldermann, had been instructed to take an active involvement in the young man's education and training.
"And what about his sister?" asked Steve, his own suspicions evident in the dark undertones of his voice
"Dr Isobel Kerr's death was a tragic incident in the Bafendi War, nothing more…"
"I can assure you it was significantly more than that to me."
Ainsley was coming down the steps into the lounge, looking pale and angry but with the calm focus familiar to them from when he had a project in his sight. Close behind him came a stern-faced Thor.
"Dr Kerr, I didn't mean…" began Fury. Steve held a hand up to stop him and walked over to the doctor.
"Dr Kerr… Ainsley…" he held out his hand "I'm sorry I reacted so badly. Finding out like this, it's been a huge shock to all of us, to you most of all I imagine. I just want you to know this doesn't affect how I regard you, either as a friend or a member of this team."
"Thank you, Steve" replied Ainsley, taking his hand "I know this must be difficult for you, I appreciate this."
Thor gave Steve a grateful nod; he'd trusted Steve and the others would not hold the acts of Ainsley's grandmother against him. His Little Bug had proven his goodness of heart too many times for him to believe there could be any thread of such darkness within him. He could see from the expressions of the other Avengers that they shared Steve's sentiment. Their anger and resentment was reserved for the SHIELD Director who had held this information from them all.
"And the fire at Wyndham house?" Ainsley asked Fury as he sat down, Thor beside him with a protective arm about his shoulders. "Was that also a 'tragic incident'?"
Fury sighed, the young doctor's voice was steady, measured and precise with a hint of dark sarcasm. The anger vibrating under it was palpable.
"As far as we can determine, yes," he replied "an old house with old wiring. No indication of hostile activity. It was thoroughly investigated at the time."
"That's something I suppose" commented Ainsley, wryly "And my work with the Index, part of your ongoing observation or another test? Can I expect to be added to it in due course?"
He could feel Thor stiffen slightly beside him as he asked the question. Downstairs they had discussed a variety of options for going off the grid if necessary. The Asgardian had no intention of seeing his lover co-opted into SHIELD's machinations against his will; even if it meant breaking his father's ban on travelling the Bifrost.
Fury shook his head; much as it went against his nature, this wasn't a scenario where he could obfuscate or invoke authority. If he made a mis-step the whole future of the Avengers Initiative could be at risk
"Not every Gifted person is Indexed" he stated "Like the former HYDRA scientists after the war, some are deemed too sensitive or significant to be put into the system. I was more interested to see how your talents would unfold in a 'natural' setting; to see if you could help in uncovering some of the answers we're looking for."
Ainsley glanced at Natasha, the two of them knew exactly the question Fury was trying to answer.
"You believe SHIELD's been compromised, don't you?
"You've seen some of the discrepancies yourself in the Index files and elsewhere" agreed Fury "Blind alleys, loose ends; things that go beyond the compartmentalising of information. A careful program of mis-direction towards an unknown end."
"Not unknown" said Ainsley, taking the coffee Tony handed him "Your problem's called HYDRA, and you've had it for a lot longer than you realise."
###
Clint grunted in satisfaction as another spitball hit the makeshift target he'd drawn on the lampshade. It had taken some time to perfect aiming with a plastic straw and some chewed-up paper but an afternoon's practise had him on target every time. He took the straw out his mouth and examined it critically. Why had he never thought about blow-pipes before? Not great for long-range but for close up work? Maybe a better was of delivering a dendrotoxin shot than an arrow?
Face it, Hawkeye, you're bored out your skull!
He chucked the straw into the wastebin. He could just imagine Tony's expression, and the jokes, if he asked him to help design a better blowpipe. No, wait a minute, he didn't want to imagine it. He wanted to see the sneer and listen to every off-colour comment Stark would make for the rest of the day. Clint folded his hands behind his head and sighed. Boredom didn't really describe it, frustration was the better word. A carefully cultivated tedium that had him screaming inside to be running over rooftops or firing arrows at something.
A gentle know on the door announced Dr Zabriski's arrival
"Bonjour, M. Faucon" she said with a smile "Are you well today?"
Clint swung his feet of the bed and sat up. He could understand why Doc was so fond of Helen Zabriski, she came across more like a batty aunt than a doctor; warm, friendly and fond of giving everyone silly little nicknames.
"I'm well, thanks" he replied "Just crazy bored"
She looked up at the spit-ball covered lampshade and laughed
"That I can see! You wish to be home with your friends?" She gave him a long, careful look "Even if you are still unhappy with them for putting you here?"
"We may have to have a couple of talks" he admitted "But I kinda understand why they had to."
"That is a good place to start" Helen said, patting his hand "and I see no reason not to authorise your return home. You seem… less unhappy than you were."
That was a good way of putting it, Clint acknowledged to himself. The last few months had been relentless, one blow after another knocking him back every time he tried to get on his feet. Maybe bit of enforced boredom was what he'd been needing.
"When?" he asked
"I would like to do one final review this afternoon, purely as a formality" she told him "but after that, whenever you wish. This evening if you like?"
Clint looked at her in surprise, part of him hadn't expected it to be that immediate.
"Perhaps you would like a little time to get ready and say goodbye to people?" she asked
"Just Wanda, really" he said "But yeah, this evening would be great if it's possible"
"It's possible." she smiled and took his hand "Come with me, I need to give some good news to Wanda; we're moving her to be with her brother."
###
Fury preferred to drive himself whenever possible. He liked to be in control of his own vehicle, aside from the sense of security it was a rare chance for some real privacy.
Dr Kerr's assessment had been unsettling, pointedly so. He suspected the young psychologist had taken a degree of pleasure in that, small payback for SHIELD's own manipulations. The notion that HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD from the beginning, through the scientists and technicians recruited as part of Project Paperclip, was a hard one to swallow but possessed a brutal logic.
In the decades since SHIELD was founded it had grown from being an intelligence organisation, specialising in 'unusual' technologies and persons, to a kind of invisible state with its own government, military and diplomacy; technologically far in advance of any other parallel organisation and ultimately unaccountable to anyone except its own World Council. This hadn't been what Peggy Carter and the original founders had intended, surely? It did feel more like the infrastructure a group like HYDRA would design for the purposes of covert control.
Objectively, all of this was pure speculation; backed up by nothing other than some reporting discrepancies, which might only be the casual incompetence found in any large institution, and the feeling that a secret agenda was in play behind the scenes. If he went to the World Council with this, there'd be a new Director by dinnertime; assuming the World Council wasn't compromised as well.
He'd made a call on less than this before, however. In the twilight world they operated in, ignoring an intuition could prove fatal. Perhaps it was time to look a little more into certain contentious projects; Insight for one, and Von Strucker's experiments in Sokovia. A careful touch would be needed. If there was something nasty lurking below the surface, prodding it could prove fatal.
###
Natasha sat down beside Ainsley and took both his hands in hers
"I know this makes no difference to how we feel or think about you;" she said gently "but this is a terrible thing for you to have to find out so suddenly. How are you feeling just now?"
"Surprisingly calm" replied Ainsley "although that might be due to those wonderful little pink pills Bruce gave me."
"Care to share?" Tony asked Bruce with a dry smile "You know the rule about these things 'I hope you brought enough for everyone!'"
"They're just a very mild tranquiliser" laughed Bruce "You can even drink on them"
"Oh thank God for that!" exclaimed Ainsley "Tony, fix me a G&T will you?"
"So, where do we go from here?" Steve asked
Ainsley's analysis may have hit home in everyone's minds but remained in the territory of pure speculation, lacking the objective evidence necessary for solid action and that evidence would be difficult, if not impossible, to pin down amidst a web of false trails and partial clues.
The compartmentalising and stratification of information meant it was impossible for anyone to know exactly what was going on within SHIELD's labyrinthine structure. It was the way the organisation guarded its secrets but made it nearly impossible for anyone to have an overall picture. Clearly not even Fury knew enough about what was happening behind the scenes to come up with a coherent strategy. The very thing that made SHIELD so powerful might also be working to destroy it.
"We keep out wits about us" said Bruce "Pay attention to all those odd little things that don't add up, eventually perhaps they will."
"You can take point on that!" chortled Tony, filling everyone's glasses "As our resident paranoid you have the correct skill set."
Bruce raised his glass in an ironic salute
"If you got it, use it" he acknowledged.
"We say nothing about this to anyone outside this room" added Steve "If there are HYDRA cells working within SHIELD the last thing we want to do is alert them."
They were all in agreement with that. If they were right, then any hint could bring about the disaster they were trying to avert.
Tony let out a long sigh
"I think we could all do with a few days in Aspen" He observed "I can get the jet fired up, have a room soundproofed for Goldilocks and Sherlock and the rest of us can enjoy some après ski and clear our heads"
"Don't you have to ski before you can après ski?" queried Natasha
"That's very limited thinking" pouted Tony. He glanced at Steve with a wicked expression "Or we can just fondue."
"That's a very tempting idea" admitted Ainsley, checking his phone as Thor nuzzled happily into the side of his neck, clearly already excited by the thought "But maybe not today, that's Helen letting me know that Clint's ready to come home."
Natasha threw a warning glance at Tony who raised his hands in a peace gesture
"No party! I promise!"
###
Tony had learned his lesson from the last time; only the rest of the team were around when Clint came home. The archer still had a long evaluation process to go through, to determine if he was mentally fit to return to duty, but at least he was back with them; albeit still subdued and withdrawn. There was a tacit agreement among them not to push too hard, to allow him to settle back in at his own pace.
Clint looked upon from his thoughts as Thor came into the quiet lounge. The others were out on the terrace, a light snow had started to fall and they were enjoying the spectacle. Ainsley was enjoying his fourth gin and tonic of the evening.
"Do you wish to be left alone?" Thor asked, almost timidly. The Asgardian was aware he often failed to pick up on the subtle clues of body language and other nonverbal communication. He did not wish to be an unwelcome intruder on Clint's privacy.
"It's okay, Big Blond" Clint said with a slight smile "C'mon in."
Thor placed two bottles of beer on the table and sat down beside him, fiddling with the zip of the leather jacket he was wearing. Big Blond was a real fidget when he was nervous or anxious about something, Clint observed, as opposed to the calm before the storm that descended whenever he prepared for combat.
Guess if he can't solve a problem by hitting something, all that energy must go somewhere
"I…" Thor hesitated, trying to collect his thoughts "I am sorry for what I did. I was afraid you might hit the nurse."
The look Clint had given him, as he pinned his arms back to the gurney; that confusion of panic and disbelief, still seared into Thor's memory. He knew he had done the right thing but still felt ashamed of it.
"You did what you had to do, Big Blond" Clint picked up one of the beers and opened it "Don't beat yourself up about it. I can't blame you for that."
Thor picked up the other beer and turned the bottle in his hands. He looked at Clint and the archer saw the sadness in those bright blue eyes, how hard the big warrior was trying not to cry.
"Are we… are we still friends?" Thor asked, struggling to control his voice.
"Sure we are," Clint assured him, placing a hand on his arm "but we're going to have to take a break from anything else."
"I understand" Thor nodded, sadly "You can no longer trust me as you once did."
"No." Clint's retort was firm and emphatic. He ran his hand through his hair "That's not it. You're doing what I do, Big Blond, punishing yourself for something that's not your fault."
He paused and swallowed some beer
"Guess you got blamed for a lot of stuff growing up as well?"
Thor nodded, opening his own beer
"Lo… My brother was skilled at making his mischief appear to be mine. Often even I would believe that to be so." He took a long drink of his beer, emptying half the bottle "Odin Allfather can be swifter to punish than to praise."
Clint could guess at the world of pain concealed under those words. He put his beer down on the table and sat back
"My dad used to reckon breathing too loud during his favourite show deserved the buckle end of the belt. Get hit for nothing often enough and you start believing you must be doing something to deserve it."
Thor said nothing, the brief flicker of his eyes towards Hawkeye was sufficient.
Awww, Fuck It
Clint pulled Thor towards him and kissed him, deep and hard until he had to break for air.
"I still love you, Big Blond; and I still want you" he put his arm around Thor and let him rest his head on his shoulder. "But I gotta take time out from you, and Doc. I'm getting pulled so many ways in my head right now I dunno which way's up anymore."
"It has not been easy for you, I know that" Thor took his hand "We will always be there if you need us."
"I know you will, both of you, and I'm grateful for that." Clint paused, weighing his words. He had to be honest but that didn't mean being cruel "But I been using you guys to avoid what I really need to be dealing with."
"You are speaking about your son" Thor said, comprehending Clint's intention "You seek to be reconciled with him."
"I made him a promise, Big Blond" sighed Clint "and I ain't exactly kept it. Until they clear me to return I need to give Abel 100%, try and undo the damage if I can. You understand, don't you?"
Thor thought he did, although he was not entirely sure how seeking to build a relationship with his son meant that Clint would have to cease sleeping with him and Little Bug. He thought it better not to challenge the man's logic though. It would be unwise and he would probably change his mind halfway through their next sparring session. Thor smiled
"I understand, Clint, and we will keep a place for you in our hearts."
###
"Mr Barton's latest report is quite… illuminating, Dr Whitehall"
The slender, well dressed man behind the desk polished his glasses and raised and eyebrow
"Explain, Mr Bakshi?"
"It appears that one of the Avengers, the Black Widow, has been in contact with Agent Coulson and his team. There is a possibility that Agent Coulson may be contacting Dr Kerr in the near future."
"That is interesting" said Dr Whitehall, replacing his glasses "and possibly very bad news for the Clairvoyant's plans."
"Should I arrange for the Clairvoyant to be informed?" inquired Mr Bakshi. Dr Whitehall shook his head with a faint smile
"I think not, I'm curious to see if he can live up to his name. Some of his choices recently have seemed… erratic.
"Of course, Dr Whitehall" Mr Bakshi paused "Our own plans…?"
"…remain largely unchanged" Dr Whitehall finished, thoughtfully "Of course if Dr Kerr's involvement is imminent we may need to accelerate the schedule slightly."
He got up and walked over to the polished wooden box that lay on the table behind his desk. Running his hands over the smooth surface he opened it, looking in appreciation at what lay within.
"Such elegant simplicity" he traced the outlines of the geometric patterns with his fingertips, relishing the cool smoothness of the metal "and yet possessed of such power. It may prove necessary to neutralise the Asgardian sooner, rather than later."
He closed the box and walked over to the drinks cabinet, pouring himself a sherry.
"I'm quite looking forward to an in-depth examination of their physiology." He raised the glass and inhaled the fine aroma. "Discovery requires experimentation."