Chapter 8 Two Weeks - Week One

Bucky

What a weekend. Friday night started with a baseball date with Jane and ended this Sunday morning with her wearing my dog tags, agreeing to be my girlfriend. Neither of us was expecting this but we're both going to grab the proverbial brass ring. Everything about this feels right; well mostly right. Jane wants to get an IUD, which is fine. I know they're more reliable than the pill and condoms but ever since I became a dad at the age of 17, I've been reluctant to let anyone but me be responsible for birth control. It's not that I don't want any more kids as I do. I just want them on my terms, when I'm ready. I was going to tell Jane, but she looked so pleased to tell me about the IUD that I couldn't burst her bubble. I have two weeks to get used to the idea, two weeks to convince myself that I can have sex without a condom, two weeks to give up control of my reproductive responsibility. I hope I can do it because I really want a future with her, more than any woman I've ever been involved with.

After I kissed Jane goodbye I drove home, packed my bag and waited for Danvers to pick me up. As the rookie we gave her the duty to transport us to the airport for the flight to Quantico, actually the air base near it. Thor Odinson, the FBI agent responsible for the undercover operation arranged for us to catch a military flight there. He was picking us up and taking us to Quantico where we would meet his team, then begin the reading-in of the entire operation. It was going to be information overload for the next two weeks.

A text alerted me to Danvers' arrival, and I grabbed my bag, locked up and headed out to where she was waiting in her large SUV. Joaquin was already in the front seat. Opening the back, I dropped my bag there and pulled open the door on Danvers side.

"Sarge," she said. "Nice house."

"Thanks, Carol," I replied. "Nice vehicle."

She nodded her head and pulled out, driving towards Sam's apartment. Her blonde hair was loose; normally she wore it in a ponytail. Carol was a former Air Force pilot who had been injured in a crash, after her helicopter was damaged by a defective rotor blade during a routine training session. Although she landed the helicopter intact it was a hard enough landing to cause a retinal detachment in one of her eyes. Even though it was operated on immediately the damage to her vision had been enough to disqualify her from continuing on as an Air Force pilot. After passing the physical to get into the police academy she had shown great determination during the training. Already, as a rookie cop, she had demonstrated the street smarts of a cop with many years of experience. She was calm under pressure and more than capable of handling herself physically.

"How did your wife and daughter take the news of this assignment?"

"Pretty good," she replied, breezily. "Maria's proud of me and Monica thinks I'm badass. When I was seven, I didn't even know badass was a word."

"She'll grow up fast," I noted. "Rose sure did."

Carol glanced at Joaquin. She knew. That's the nature of squad rooms sometimes. Who's seeing who, who's splitting up, who has a drinking problem. It's not always known by everyone but there's always someone who knows.

"Sarge came over yesterday and showed me how to change out a leaky faucet," said Joaquin. "You don't have to keep my secret any more. He knows about me and Rose."

She looked at me through the rear view mirror. "Sorry, Sarge," she said. "You know rookies can't spill the beans on anyone. Squad room etiquette. She's a lovely young woman."

"She is," I replied. "I'm very proud of her."

Carol pulled up in front of Sam's apartment building and texted him. He came down a couple of minutes later, putting his bag in back then got into the back seat with me, nodding at the others. Nothing was said on the drive to the airport. There was a check-in counter just for military flights and we identified ourselves to them. After putting our bags on the luggage belt, we were directed to a special line at the TSA station. We were all cleared and headed to the gate that was marked for military flights. Our aircraft was still being serviced so we took a seat along with a sizeable contingent of military personnel. As we sat there an officer came up smiling.

"Captain Carol Danvers," said the man, also a captain. "I thought you retired."

"I did, Jack," she smiled, standing up and offering her hand to shake his. "I'm NYPD now. These are my colleagues. We're going to Quantico for some training."

We all stood up and introduced ourselves. He was a fellow helicopter pilot in the same unit as Carol at the time of her accident.

"I'm glad to hear you landed on your feet," he said. "NYPD is lucky to have you. She was the best damn rotor-head in that unit. Everyone on her helo survived that crash because of her skill. Damn shame her eye injury took her out of the service. So, what training are you going for?"

"Classified," I interjected. "You know how it is."

He nodded, then listened as another military flight was announced. "Well, I better be going," he said. "Say hi to Maria for me."

"You say hi to Lainey," replied Carol.

They shook hands again and he left for his flight. For several minutes Carol sat there with a small grin on her face, obviously remembering good times. Even though I was glad to get out of the military when I did, I knew what she was feeling. There were still people I kept in touch with, good soldiers, all of them. Some were still in, having made it a career, while others were like me and went on to something else. I caught her eye and nodded at her.

"You're ex-military, Sarge?" she asked.

"Yeah, Sam and I were in the same unit," I replied. "Afghanistan. You pilots saved our bacon more than once with a hot landing. Do you miss it?"

"War zone, no," she smiled. "Flying? Yeah, I miss it a lot. I can qualify for the police helicopter but there were no open positions when I finished the academy."

"You're a good police officer," I said. "They'd be lucky to have you."

At that moment our flight was called, and we lined up, showing our tickets. Sam and I were seated together while Carol and Joaquin were further back. It was a quick flight and Odinson was waiting for us with a large SUV with extra seating. On the drive to the facility, he told us we each had our own room in the dormitory. There was full meal service and access to all the training facilities.

"We won't start until tomorrow so if you want to wander around make sure you're wearing your lanyard with your accreditation," he said. "You'll receive a map of the facility including our briefing room where we'll start tomorrow morning at 8:30."

"How many FBI agents are on your team?" I asked.

"Four others," he replied. "You'll meet them and my superior at the briefing. We have some new intelligence as well." He hesitated for a moment then looked at me, as I was sitting in the front seat. "I understand you are seeing Jane Walker."

"Yes, but she's living under a different last name," I replied. "Why?"

"We were just informed this morning that her ex-husband has succeeded with a change of venue for his trial, with conditions," replied Odinson. "He was on our radar as that software he sold ended up being found on a computer we confiscated on a raid. There is a good possibility the new venue will be in New York. By now someone from our New York office is visiting Mrs. Walker to inform her of the development, if her lawyer hasn't called her already. We don't think she's in any danger at this time but considering the extremist nature of the people we're investigating we may put her under surveillance or even protective custody."

"Is that why you wanted me on this investigation?" I asked bluntly. "She's not part of this, is she? Her software that he stole was never meant to be sold or modified."

"We know that, and it was her contacting us that alerted us to Walker in the first place," said Odinson. "But her testimony against him may be damaging to the White Sword militia and they aren't known to be very forgiving. There is a concern that your relationship with her may become known to the two officers that your IA department are now watching, as well as your assistant police commissioner, who personally requested Officer Rumlow for his detail. We're just doing our due diligence." He hesitated again. "May I ask if it's serious between you two?"

As irritating as the question was Odinson was being procedurally correct in asking me. "Yes, it's serious," I replied. "Will that exclude me from the investigation?"

"Not at all," replied Odinson. "I was sincere about needing your skills. You went all in on that drug investigation, and I need someone willing to take it that far. But if it threatens the integrity of the investigation OR if it puts your girlfriend in danger then I may have no choice but to remove you. Personally, if she is put in jeopardy, I would think you would want to be with her."

He had me there. I would want to be part of the detail to protect her. Unless that became necessary, I planned to give this joint investigation all of my attention and told Odinson as much. Taking me at my word he said no more about it. After checking in and getting our IDs we met up in the dining hall for a late lunch then took a wander around the facility with Thor. I had to admit that it was pretty impressive; three dorms, dining hall, library, classroom building, forensic training centre, auditorium, chapel, gymnasium, outdoor running track, large garage, a mock city of facades for urban training, driving track, indoor and outdoor firing ranges. I expected we would be spending a lot of time on the firing ranges, just getting to know the types of weapons our investigation would involve. Odinson showed us everything then left us to our own devices.

"You think Jane's ex will come looking for her?" asked Sam as the four of us sat on a couple of park benches.

"I wish I could say no," I replied. "He did try to kill her. She showed me the scars on her back from the car wreck."

"Yeah? What kind of scars?"

"Burns," I stated. "Flaming debris landed on her. Not to mention the emotional scars of becoming more distant then abusive in the latter part of their marriage, before she figured out what he was doing."

Sam shook his head in disgust. "She's a strong woman if she was able to get past that abuse and turn him in. He might be one of those guys intimidated by that."

I nodded in agreement even though I knew she didn't feel that strong. A couple of times I heard Jane talking or crying in her sleep and it was obvious the breakdown of their marriage plus his abuse weighed heavily on her mind. It made me feel good that she trusted me enough to bring it up when we were together. When she was ready to share more, I was ready to listen.

After eating dinner together Sam and I went for a run then a workout. Carol and Joaquin were just finishing their workout before heading up to their rooms. Thor came in with what I assumed were a couple of his team members, a tall slim dark-haired man and a shorter blonde woman. The other two seemed quite intense and looked at us a couple of times. On our way out Thor waved us over.

"This is Loki Laufeyson and his wife Sylvie," he said. "Both experienced agents. They're going to be posing as another married couple and will be going into the field in a couple of weeks to get their aliases set up. Loki and I grew up together in Minnesota. They're both masters at going all in. By the time they're in the field you'll think they're from the Deep South."

We shook hands, exchanged some small talk, and left them there to finish their workout. Back in my room I connected to the wifi network and set up a video call to Jane. As soon as her face appeared I could tell she had received the news.

"You look like you heard about the change of venue," I noted. "Thor told us on the drive from the airport to Quantico. How are you handling it?"

"A little scared," she said. "My lawyer phoned first. They're moving the trial here to New York. That means the restraining order will probably be modified to remove the same city restriction. He'll argue for it to still apply to John not seeking me out, although I don't hold out much hope on that." She was quiet for a moment. "John phoned my parents."

I sat up from where I had been lying on the bed in the dorm room. "What? Already?"

She nodded. "He wanted to know where I was and if they had my phone number. Said he wanted to make amends. My dad told him to go fuck himself. I told my lawyer and he's filed a complaint about the contact. I don't understand how he's getting these restrictions lifted."

"Thor said the software was on a laptop found on one of their raids," I replied. "He's concerned your testimony could expose a certain domestic extremist group to exposure. They may have links to some influential police officials. Do you want me to come back? I will, in a second, if you want me there."

Her soft smile warmed me inside. "No, thank you though. You stay and do your job. Two FBI agents also visited to fill me in. They're willing to put my apartment and workplace under surveillance, then take me into protective custody as well if it gets to that point. I'm going to talk to Tony, my boss. He has his own internal security and said he would use them if needed."

We talked some more about already missing each other then about what we could do together upon my return. I wished I was there with her, with my arm around her, feeling her curl into my side. I meant what I said to her, about coming back. Her wellbeing and safety meant everything to me, and I was feeling the separation from her. Objectively I knew that was part of my issues with previous girlfriends, feeling too much, too soon but this seemed different. None of them had been in potential danger that made me feel guilty for not being there. Jane started yawning, making me feel a little concerned about keeping her awake so late the previous night.

"I better let you go," I said to her. "I'll call you tomorrow night, around the same time. Remember, I'm just a phone call away."

"I will," she smiled tiredly. "We'll do another all-nighter when you get back."

Lying back on the bed after we hung up, I held my cell phone to my chest then pulled up the only picture I had of her, a selfie we took on the rooftop last night. I fell asleep looking at that picture. What a hopeless romantic I could be.

In the briefing room the next morning everyone finally met the full FBI team. Thor introduced us again to Loki Laufeyson, and his wife Sylvie, then Malin Sif, Rig Heimdall, who would be in the command truck with Sam, and finally their boss, Regina Frigg. An elegant looking woman, Frigg had a reputation of demanding the best from those she supervised. She herself had gone undercover many times during her years as an agent; breaking open a human trafficking ring and an organ harvesting ring taking homeless people as their source being the two biggest cases I was aware of. She looked over our crew and nodded professionally at us.

"Welcome to our colleagues from NYPD who are joining us on this investigation," she began, in a voice that could best be described as velvet encased in steel. "Agent Odinson spoke very highly of your recent drug investigation into the source of some tainted fentanyl. Sergeant Barnes, I was pleased that your diligence portraying a homeless man uncovered the clue that linked it to the Fontaine family. We're going to need that attention to detail on this investigation. Let's go over the scope of the investigation and then your parts in it."

They had two large interactive TV displays that brought up a brief history of the White Sword militia. Originally an offshoot of the KKK to obscure the identities of law enforcement officers who were members of that organization they slowly became estranged from the group when they began redirecting seized weapons to other militant hate-based organizations drawing the attention of federal police agencies. Their ranks now included current and retired police officers, prison guards, and military, with evidence of cooperation with some sovereign citizen movements, themselves anti-government in nature.

"We believe that they may be arming these sovereign citizen groups and whipping up their fervour with conspiracy theories in order to bring out a crisis that requires a strong police response," she said. "By strong, I mean over the top. The end game for them is to have everything under martial law, controlled by their quasi-military outfit. Your involvement in this investigation may bring you into conflict with people in law enforcement, although we won't have you based in New York, so you shouldn't have to worry about coming face to face with anyone you know."

"If they're breaking the law, they're breaking the law," I said out loud. "What about the two we know of in New York? They are just the tip of the iceberg I'm assuming."

She nodded at Thor, and he took over. "Officer Rollins was under observation by me. I witnessed him, Officer Rumlow, and Assistant Police Commissioner Pierce meet with several other officers from different precincts at a site in the Brownsville area, bringing untraceable weapons we believe were stolen from evidence lockers. Once I identified the officers involved, and Rumlow was officially made a member of Pierce's security detail I let your internal affairs department know and handed that investigation over to them. It's in their court now. They will follow their own timeline in the belief that the White Sword won't link us as we expand the investigation."

Frigg resumed the overview then broke down the assignment. Laufeyson and his wife were headed down to a suburb of St. Louis, where they would be posing as the owners of a gun shop. As part of their cover both would act as if they were originally from Alabama, fed up with government regulatory hurdles, and looking for their way into the White Sword militia there. Sam and Rig would monitor all communications in 12-hour shifts. Thor and I were to transform ourselves into the former military members who would actually infiltrate the White Swords. That left Malin, Carol and Joaquin, who frankly looked troubled. A grim smile on Frigg's face was the indicator that he might not like what was coming.

"Torres, your involvement is going to be short," she said. "You're going to get yourself killed to prove Odinson's and Barnes' commitment to the cause. We'll rig you up with blood bags and you're going to go out in style. After that you'll join the communication team, overlapping their shifts."

"I thought Carol and I were going to be a married couple who owned a business," he replied, sounding a little left out.

"That was the original plan, but we wanted something that would bother the militia more and an interracial marriage wasn't quite going to cut it."

Carol's face showed she did get it. "A lesbian couple," she said bluntly. "Malin and I are a lesbian couple."

Malin shrugged. "I think I can pull it off, can you?" she asked.

A smirk crossed Carol's face. "Yeah, it helps that I am," she replied. "My wife might not be thrilled about it."

"You won't be doing it for long," added Frigg. "Just long enough to provoke a response. You will be the proprietors of a bake shop and will make it known you will provide services for all members of society, including the LGBTQ community, and any other number of marginalized communities that have been targeted by these hate groups in the past. We have arranged for you to undergo an intensive one-month immersion into running a bakery, including learning how to bake all sorts of products. If you feel that you are still not adequately prepared, we can arrange help for you, specifically a retired agent who opened his own bakery after retirement and will provide your training. We did approach him to take this mission, but he declined to be involved unless it was strictly in a support capacity."

After going over our preliminary responsibilities Thor got into the heaviest part of the briefing, introducing the major players in the Missouri members of the White Sword militia. It was chilling to see legitimate police officers and sheriffs already under surveillance as active participants in the theft of seized weapons from lockup, putting them into the hands of hate groups and sovereign citizen groups. That first day had me wondering how deep the rot went in my own city. A few times Sam, Joaquin, Carol and I made eye contact, obviously all of us thinking the same thing. That evening Thor came to my room with a bottle of scotch and some paper cups. He must have given the others the heads up because they soon knocked on the door and he poured them each a good portion of alcohol then looked at all of us.

"I could see by the look on all of your faces that today's news hit home," he said bluntly. "Trust me, it's not just local law enforcement. We've found evidence of corruption and infiltration in the FBI, DEA, and ATF. We're only scratching the surface and it could get ugly. You all know how the rank and file might look at your involvement in this investigation. When I chose you four, and I did personally choose you, I did so in the hopes that you were capable of handling any criticism that might come your way. Captain Rhodes, Captain Fury, Lieutenant Rogers and Lieutenant Hill have all indicated their support of this investigation and have promised to watch your backs, and to see to the safety of your families. I'll leave you with this bottle to discuss whether you're still willing to proceed. If you are, show up tomorrow morning, 9 am, at the indoor gun range and we'll begin your weapons training. If you're not there, then I'll accept that this investigation is not for you. There will be no judgement from me if that is the case. I know I'm asking a lot of you."

With a nod he got up and left my room. The rest of us sat there, looking into our cups, contemplating what he just said. I looked at Carol first, as she had a wife and seven-year-old daughter, then at Sam. His widowed sister and nephews lived in Louisiana, perhaps far enough away from the action to ensure their safety. He and Natasha had only been living together for the past year and I knew it was serious between them. Joaquin and I at least had Rose to think about together, but he also had a couple of brothers, a sister, and his parents scattered across the country. As for me, I now had Jane to consider but there was also Rose, her mother and stepfather, who were family to me, as well as my parents and sister.

"I don't know about all of you," I began, "but it pisses me off that there are members of police forces breaking the law to provide weapons to domestic terrorists, all because they have issues with the legitimate governments that people elected. Governments do get it wrong sometimes but that's why we have elections, to vote them out and give someone else a go at running things. We aren't supposed to be political and can't let the fact these people wear the shield stop us from doing our duty. That's my take on it."

They all nodded their heads as I spoke then Sam cleared his throat. "My parents were killed when I was a kid, and that was my first experience with the law. Those officers did so much to find their killers and bring them to justice but if I learned that one of them was a member of the White Sword, I wouldn't hesitate to arrest him. I'm in."

Joaquin looked at me, as if he were afraid I would judge him. I looked at him straight in the eye. "This is your decision and I'll respect whatever it is. As a cop, I'll have your back, just like you had mine when I was on the street. We'll both protect Rose, regardless of whether you do this or not. I already respect you, Joaquin, for what it's worth."

He smiled grimly at my words. "I remember the first time I met you," he said quietly. "You probably don't as I was a bit of a shit when I was a teenager. We were at a party in another neighbourhood and we got a bit rowdy. One of the neighbours made a noise complaint and you answered the call while you were still a regular uniformed officer. As Latinos, my friends and I were expecting to get the third degree but you told us to chill while you spoke to the complainant. I remember him getting more upset and you just kept calmly asking if he remembered when he was a teenager at a party. Eventually, he did and you got him to admit that he was a lot more rowdy than we were. Then you came over to us and looked at each of us in turn before saying, "Guys, remember people living here have kids that need to sleep, jobs they have to get up for in the morning, and this area, this is their neighbourhood. You're just guests here. Have fun but tone it down. Respect for these people's lives is all I'm asking for." You were so respectful to us, and that was an eye opener for me and my friends. I became a cop because of you, Sarge. I'd follow you anywhere."

His lips trembled a little, as he wiped his eyes. I loved him at that moment, and hoped he and Rose could make a go of it in the long term. He was a good man, period. All of us looked at Carol as she took a long deep breath.

"Hell, I've flown helicopters in a fucking war zone," she smiled. "Dodged all sorts of shit that was aimed at me. Maria is ex-military and we got married while we were both active. I'm in." She drained her scotch and stood up. "Now I'm going to tell her to watch her six. I'll see you all at the gun range in the morning."

We all drained our paper cups and they all left. Looking at my phone I placed the video call to Jane. She deserved the first call as she was the one most in danger if this went sideways. When she answered and smiled her soft smile at me I knew I had found home, and I was all in, with both feet and my heart. Our conversation that night and the remaining nights of training reinforced my love for her, and desire to protect her. When the time came where I would have to leave her behind as I assumed my new persona, I hoped she believed in us as strongly as I did.

Author's note: While trying to come up with names for the other members of the FBI team whose MCU characters only had a single name I decided to go with names that fit the character. Malin is Scandinavian for "warrior" which fits Lady Sif well. Rig is, according to Norse mythology, the initial name that was assigned to the god who became known as Heimdall, as he evolved through the years. Frigga did have an official full name, but it was the rather unwieldy "Freyja Freyrdottir." So, I cheated a little, giving her the first name Regina, Latin for "Queen" and shortening her last name to Frigg, which is one of the several names she is known by.