Chapter 16. Setbacks

Content warning: This chapter includes a description of sexual assault and the announcement of a character's death.

Bucky

All those pictures that had spent almost the last two years on Thor's phone were a gold mine, identifying some major players in the militia's leadership. After confirming the men's identities, and they were almost exclusively men, we were able to hack into their personal records. All of them were receiving money from the same offshore account that we were still trying to crack into, while travel records, compiled from their use of bank and credit cards showed travel to various hot spots around the country, already identified as places where these now connected militias were forming.

The shell companies that owned the winery outside of Washington, D.C. and the fishing charter company led to more investments, gun dealers, auto dealerships, security companies, and cleaning companies (presumably to allow surveillance equipment to be installed in their client's premises). It was definitely a large and complex web that was spread through many aspects of society and the longer they were allowed to operate, the deeper they were becoming ingrained.

Michael Westcott reappeared after several days, a little roughed up, was placed on suspension and promptly disappeared with his wife and family. Regina Frigg tried to find out if the Bureau put him into secure custody or if he went underground himself, but she was shut out of investigating his disappearance. At first, she wondered if the Director himself had been compromised but he quickly discounted that to her satisfaction, leading her to believe Westcott's second disappearance had been handled by another agency on a need-to-know basis.

Thor and I, along with Malin and Carol, undertook a nighttime visit to the winery, when Peter confirmed that activities had slowed down there. Carol's friend, Major Jack Landon, co-piloted the civilian helicopter that Tony secured for us. Thor read him into the gist of the investigation, showing him the faces of some high-ranking military officers that were on some of those fishing charters. It rocked him as much as we were rocked by the identities of some people, people we had known for years who seemed to be part of this web. On the night we did our little tour Carol landed the helicopter about half a mile away, in an old gravel quarry, using whisper mode that dampened the sound of the rotors.

"Would have loved to have this whisper mode capability in Iraq," she said to Landon, after shutting down. "They're already spending millions for each helicopter, what's a few more to have it installed. Think of how many missions could have been successful if our rotors didn't alert the enemy we were coming."

"Well, you know that the military contractors would have added a lot more than a few million to the cost," he replied cynically. "Soldiers are dispensable, profits are not."

"Roger that," answered Carol. She turned around to us. "Ninety minutes is what Rig says we have before the security company makes their next check. By my watch it's 23:10. Do you all concur?" She took off her pilot's helmet and put a ball cap on, hiding her blonde hair, before looking at Thor. "I'm ready."

The four of us jumped down to the ground and headed out into the night, approaching the winery from the vineyard itself. Although we were all armed it was made clear to us that the weapons were only to be used if our lives were in extreme jeopardy and all shell casings had to be picked up before we left. We were not leaving any evidence behind that could be linked to us. Just before we scaled the last fence to get into the winery, we confirmed our comms were open back to our computer centre in New York, where both Sam and Rig were monitoring us.

"Alpha team here," said Thor, on his comms, referring to himself and Malin. "We're ready to enter with Bravo team. Confirm that we are clear."

"Roger, Alpha team," replied Rig, already receiving the clearance from Peter that only our four bodies were showing up above ground on the infra-red filter of the satellite he was hacked into. "You're clear to enter."

"Okay, rendezvous back here at 00:30," he said to Carol and me. "Good hunting."

"You too," I replied, and we climbed the tall fence, me boosting Carol up first then she offered me a hand so I could scramble up to the top of the fence.

We all jumped down and headed towards a series of buildings that Peter had declared as the heart of the winery; the processing floor where the grapes were macerated, crushed and the juices blended before being poured into steel containers to ferment, then the storage cellar, where the wine was allowed to age in wooden casks before bottling. Our first priority was to find if our two missing agents, Loki and Sylvie, were being held on the premises, so any locked doors were going to be opened. Our second priority was going to determine if the winery was being used to store firearms so again more locked doors were going to be opened. Our final task, if we had time, would be to break into the office area and search for sensitive documents. Thor and Malin took the processing area while Carol and I headed down to the storage cellar.

Both of us pulled out our flashlights and began searching the area like we would if we were first responders on the scene of a crime, clearing it section by section. Then we began working the perimeter, each of us taking a direction with the goal of meeting on the opposite side. I came across an unlocked door and entered it, finding a long narrow room with another door at the end. This door was locked, and I kneeled down, placing the flashlight on the concrete floor to pull out a lock picking kit. Rig Heimdall had let it be known he knew how to pick locks and showed anyone who wanted to learn while we were still in training at the Academy. A small tool kit was presented to me on my return from Canada and this was my first opportunity to put it into practice. Within seconds the lock opened for me, and I smiled as I put the picks back into its case, then picking up the flashlight I entered the room. Right away I knew someone was in here as it smelled of rotting food, urine and shit. As I aimed my flashlight towards the far wall, I heard a groan and a face raised itself from a bed, a blonde woman. It was Sylvie.

"Bravo team here," I said, into my comms. "I've located Sylvie in the storage cellar. Stand by." I approached Sylvie. "Hey, it's Bucky Barnes." I tried to speak softly, as she shrunk away from me at first. "Remember me?"

"They took him," she said in a hoarse voice. "I don't where they took him, but they kept me here." She pointed to a chain on her ankle. "How long have I been here?"

"About a week," I replied. "I can pick this lock, but can you walk?"

She nodded. "She says she can walk so keep looking for Loki," I said into my comms. "I've got this covered."

I put the flashlight on the bed, aiming at the lock on her ankle then pulled out the lock picks to begin working on the shackle. It took a bit longer than the door lock but eventually I opened it and released her leg, helping her to sit up while I kneeled before her, trying to check her out for injuries. She shook off my attempts.

"They roughed me up a little but no permanent damage," she said, not meeting my gaze. "Loki was the one they focussed on. He took some brutal beatings." Her lips trembled for a moment. "How did you find me?"

"We weren't sure where you were," I answered. "But we got lucky and tracked a car driven by some former FBI agents here. Thor will fill you in when we get you back to New York."

"New York?" she asked. "What happened to Quantico?"

"Lots," I said. "Come on, let's get you out of here and fixed up first."

Helping her up to a standing position I let her walk at first, but she was quite weak, so I wrapped my arm around her waist to support her out of the room, closing the door behind us. We came out of the long narrow room to the storage cellar where Carol met us.

"This was the only door," she said, then she looked at Sylvie. "You good to walk?"

With a nod Sylvie began to step forward and we got to the service elevator, using that instead of the stairs. We came up near a dock and headed towards the rendezvous area, checking to see that we only had thirty minutes left. I let Thor know where we were going, and he acknowledged us. Carol found a gate along the fence that Sylvie could walk through, rather than hop the fence so I sent them on their way to the helicopter after advising Thor. Before the women left, I whispered to Carol to advise Tony that a doctor should be brought in. She nodded her agreement. Running to where Thor told me they were at, I found them in the office, with an open filing cabinet in front of him.

"These are all receipts for received equipment and supplies, but nothing is related to wine making," he said. "It has to be code for guns, weapons, who knows what. What did Sylvie say?"

"They roughed her up but really laid into Loki," I replied, scanning over some of the documents myself. "They took him somewhere else, but I don't think she knows where or when that happened. She didn't really have an accurate sense of time in that room."

Rig's voice came over the comms. "Security guard is just finishing up his patrol at the property adjacent to this one. Time to go."

"10-4," replied Thor and we each grabbed some files, sticking them inside our shirts then re-locking the cabinet and the office before heading back to the fence. I showed them the gate and we went through it, running through the vineyard and arriving at the helicopter where Carol was just strapping Sylvie into one of the seats. We all boarded, while Carol and Jack went through the checklist before starting up the helicopter. Activating the whisper mode, she lifted off, keeping her flight path low while she flew in the opposite direction from where the security guard was approaching. I looked at Sylvie, who was leaning into Thor, while he rubbed her arm. He made eye contact with me, and I could tell her appearance shook him. These people were dangerous. That was becoming more evident.

Just over 90 minutes later we landed beside a private hangar at LaGuardia Airport. Two large SUVs awaited all of us, driven by Happy's team. They got us all back to the facility and we got Sylvie inside, unseen. Malin took her to a room, showing her everything and staying with her after pulling the files out of her shirt. Thor and I pulled the files we took and laid them on a table to begin figuring out what they all meant. Tony had already arranged for a doctor to come as I told Carol to alert them to Sylvie's condition. Carol shared some of her own clothes as they were close to the same size, with a promise from Tony that more clothing could be bought for her. Happy arrived with the woman doctor who went straight to Sylvie's room to examine her. Even though it was late the rest of us waited out in the common room. Everyone had stayed up to make sure we got back okay. Jane sat next to me and held my hand.

"You look upset," she said in a low voice.

"They had her chained to a bed in a windowless room," I answered. "She didn't know how long it had been since she was taken. I think they did more than rough her up, but she wouldn't confirm it."

Jack Landon cleared his throat and looked at Thor. "Can you second me to this mission?" he asked. "After seeing how your agent looked, I want to see this through, especially if there are ex-military involved in this. I have pretty high security clearance and I've got some skills on the computer. I think I can help."

"It could put your family into danger," said Thor. "These people mean business."

"I get that," he said. "Lainey is a military wife. She knows the reality of it."

Thor looked at Tony and Happy who suddenly sat next to Jack, asking him questions and entering the answers into an app he had. I watched, puzzled.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It was decided to make arrangements for your families, get them out of harm's way," said Tony. "I'm footing the bill. Your daughter, ex-wife and her family are receiving an all-expenses paid trip to a secret location that even I don't know. Your family, too, Jane. Happy is taking care of it. Even Pepper is there. I'm not taking any chances with any of our families."

"For how long?"

"As long as it takes," he replied. "Those pictures that Thor had on his phone are proof that this goes deep. It's not just hacking into government servers, or gun runners. It's a group of people who are planning a coup like we're some third world banana republic."

"Tony's right," said Thor. "For the longest time I thought it was a small stubborn group of criminals using their knowledge of law enforcement and military procedures to skirt the law but it's people that I worked with and respected that are showing their true colours. They want control and we have to stop them."

The sound of Sylvie's door opening had all of us turning towards it. Malin poked her head out and beckoned to Thor. Together they went back inside, and we heard the sound of crying. Both Malin and the doctor came out. The doctor handed Malin a slip of paper, then was escorted out by Happy. I knew, in my gut, that something bad had happened to Sylvie. By the look on Malin's face, I was pretty sure of what it was. When Thor came out ten minutes later Malin went back in but handed Thor the slip of paper.

"I'll take care of it," he said tersely. "Stay with her." He looked at all of us and shook his head. "Sylvie has given me permission to tell you that she was raped repeatedly while being held. Some of it was done in front of Loki. This prescription is for a pill to terminate any pregnancy that may have resulted, but I believe she needs to be with her family, as much as she wants to stay."

The door opened again, and this time Sylvie came out. Her face was pale but there was a fire in her eyes. She put her hand on Thor's shoulder and looked at him intently before addressing all of us.

"I don't want pity," she said. "What they did to me was done to make me talk, to tell them everything about our investigation. Almost everyone that came there took a turn on me. Phil Coulson didn't, claiming to be suffering from prostate issues. He did tell me that he was in deep and was trying to leave clues, but he had to be extremely careful, or they would turn on him. He's the only reason Michael Westcott is still alive, after he convinced them that taking someone that high up in the leadership would result in a full agency response if they hurt him or his family. Westcott promised not to say anything if they would let him go." She took a moment to breathe. "I know that you think I should get some help but right now all I want is to get my husband back, then to put these bastards in jail. I want to stay and be part of the team, even if it's just here at this secret New York facility. Let me stay, please."

"Sylvie, I'm Jane Peterson, former wife of John Walker," said Jane. "Did he take part in your abuse?"

"He did with pleasure," stated Sylvie.

"Then I think you should stay so we can both tell him to his face in a courtroom what a complete waste of skin he is. I lost a baby because of him and have the scars on my back from his attempt to have me killed. I'm with you."

I squeezed Jane's hand, so proud of her, not just for offering support to Sylvie but also for saying out loud the extent of what Walker did to her.

"I'm with you, too," I told her.

One by one the others all confirmed their support of Sylvie Laufeyson. Tony promised to make sure Sylvie's family were protected. It was late, early in the morning actually, and we were all showing signs of fatigue. It was decided that we would begin looking over the files that had been taken from the winery in the morning. Back in our room Jane went into the bathroom to brush her teeth while I put a T-shirt and sweatpants on. I joined her to brush my teeth.

"She's a strong woman," I noted, referring to Sylvie.

"She's hanging on by a thread," answered Jane, looking in the mirror then making eye contact with me. "She's doing this because she's afraid if she leaves it's like admitting her husband is dead. If he is she'll fall apart. It might be a good idea to have a counsellor on retainer to help her and anyone else who might need it."

I rinsed my mouth out and turned to her. She rinsed her mouth and allowed me to put my arms around her. There were no tears, but I could feel the tension in her. Being a former soldier and a police officer meant I was exposed to stress many times. I could count on one hand the number of times I shot a suspect as an officer. Only once as a policeman had I actually killed a man. It was mandatory policy that I took a leave of absence while the shootings were investigated. After I killed the one man, I also underwent counselling as my reaction to it was completely different than when I killed as a soldier. Sylvie had just undergone a week of repeated sexual abuse and Jane was right. She was going to need counselling as well. Before this was over, we might all need it, as we dealt with the sense of betrayal we would likely feel seeing people we had looked up to brought down to earth in devastating fashion.

I watched as Jane got undressed, then she smiled, and put on a T-shirt and leggings before getting into bed. Lifting my arm up for her I pulled her close as she rested her head on my shoulder and moulded her body next to mine. We lay quietly together for some time, listening to the sounds of our breathing.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked. She let a breath go then raised her head to look at me and shook her head. "Come here." I pulled her over so she was laying on top of me, then clasped her closely to my chest. "It seems like he's getting away with some pretty serious shit. If she files a complaint against him he can be taken into custody and held without bail."

"But that means she has to open herself up to scrutiny," said Jane. "It will become his word against hers. Even if she names the others, people will drag her name through the mud and those who did this to her will be leading the pack."

There were times I was disturbed at what some men would do and what they would resort to in order to keep their activities secret. Hell, all sorts of powerful men had done it. Even those who were finally brought to justice still found a way to drag out the process and expose their accusers to all sorts of hate and abuse. It was shitty and unfair, and complicated by the fact that powerful men could get away with a lot. To those of us who cared about the women in our lives, or even the ones who weren't it was frustrating to feel impotent in the face of such moral corruption. For the woman I loved who was in my arms at that moment all I wanted to do was take her pain away and replace it with the certainty that I would always protect her and keep her safe ... even if it we both knew it wasn't completely true. I'm sure Loki made the same commitment to Sylvie and now she was dealing with the aftermath of what had been inflicted on her, without him even being able to give her comfort. What an absolutely fucked up world we lived in.

We only got a few hours' sleep before there was a soft knock on the door calling for us to get up. Everyone received the call, and when we got out to the common room, we found out why. Loki's body had been found, beaten, bound and gagged, then left just outside the fence at Quantico. It was a message for us and for the FBI that anyone who went against the militia could be identified and dealt with summarily. Thor had already left with Sylvie to identify the body. To say it cast a pall on everyone was underselling it. It was devastating news.

Breakfast was made but most of us ate only a little, enough to satisfy the concept of a healthy breakfast. Peter had kept recording the satellite imagery from the winery and he went over it, finding the time when Sylvie's disappearance was noted. I wondered if that discovery led to Loki's death but we wouldn't know anything until the autopsy results were disclosed.

I had asked for a bulletin board to be brought in. Computer screens are fine, but I liked having physical pictures of suspects, victims, locations, and the connections between them. The board was there, and I sat at a computer searching our files on the server for the players we had identified planning on printing their pictures out. Tony and Bruce had already beefed up the security on that server so when I noticed some files were missing, I called them over.

"What the hell?" said Tony, sitting right down and starting to enter some commands. "Peter, get into the server and transfer everything to an external hard drive. There should be a 12 TB one on the shelf to your right."

Immediately the young man raced to the shelf and picked out the external hard drive quickly hooking it up to his computer then accessing the secure server. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he entered the transfer commands.

"I've put a firewall up on the external drive and made sure the VPN is turned on," he said. "How are they getting into our server? We just created that encryption the other day."

"I don't know," said Tony, sounding frustrated. "I'm trying to keep them out. Can you transfer over the backups as well? We might need them to restore some files that are already gone."

Both men looked intense as one fought off the hacking attempt while the other tried to save as much data as possible. Tony called to Bruce to help, and he sat on another computer trying to track the source of the hacking. Jane watched carefully as he kept tracking the source then she smiled.

"He's got them," she said. "That's John, I'm sure of it."

She jumped on another computer and logged into a dark web account, looking for something then she found it.

"Bruce, I've located the latest version of Fleaflicker on the dark web," she said.

He glanced at her and grimaced. "There's a fix for it," he said.

"Yes, but it will take resources away from this hack and allow Tony to shut them out," she replied. "It will also piss off John."

"Send it to me," said Bruce. "All's fair in love and war."

Jane downloaded it into a secure folder then transferred it to Bruce's computer. Once it appeared on his desktop he sent it to the site he had tracked the hacking from. As it uploaded he kept up tracking the source then looked at Tony.

"You should be seeing a slowdown in their attack any moment," he said to his partner.

There were several tense moments then Tony yelled.

"YES! Take that you slimy piece of shit! Did it! They're locked out." He looked over to Peter. "Tell me you saved all of our data."

"Just about, Mr. Stark," replied the young man. "Just downloading the backups. I'm running them through the latest version of our virus checker." A few moments later he finished entering commands and glanced at his boss with a relieved look. "It's all recovered but I'm going to run that external hard drive through the virus checker several times just to make sure. I think we should update our VPN and our firewall, maybe switch to a next-gen one."

"Take care of that," said Tony. "I'm going to set up a function that will start downloading their server to another external hard drive. Then I'll end it with a kill hard drive function. That'll teach them to mess with the good guys." He turned to look at me. "Normally I would make fun of a guy who likes hard copies but you noticing the files were gone alerted us just in time. Good catch, Bucky, and Jane, how the hell did you think of using Fleaflicker?"

"I found out John created the original version," she said. "Thought it was fitting to use his own creations against him. He's so arrogant that he wouldn't be expecting that."

"Good thinking," he said, then his face became serious. "We need to find out how they broke our encryption. Who else had access to it?"

"Just me and Ned," said Peter.

I thought for a moment and looked at Rig.

"The shell companies that you identified," I began. "Some of them were cleaning companies. Tony, do you use in-house staff to clean your offices or a contractor?"

"Contractor ... shit," he said. "Tergeo Cleaners. I thought it was funny they used the Latin word for clean making them Clean Cleaners."

Rig logged into his computer and searched Tergeo Cleaners. After several tense minutes he turned around and shook his head. They were owned by one of the shell companies meaning Tony's offices were probably bugged. Immediately, Tony phoned over to tell everyone in his office to shut down for the day, then ordered Happy to begin a security sweep of the offices and server rooms. He would also go over the security videos, hoping to identify the cleaning company employees to catch them in the act but chances were that if they were savvy enough to plant bugs, they would be smart enough to wipe away their digital footprints.

It was a pointed reminder that we were up against people who were just as talented in front of a computer screen, and just as cognizant of what was at stake. The past 24 hours had been filled with success, then despair, and now a close call that we came through intact. But we had worked together as a team throughout all of it and that made us strong. With Loki's death it was certain we would get more FBI resources behind us. I could only hope it would be enough.