Chapter 21. Preparation

Jane

I almost cried when we left as Edwin and Ana Jarvis waved goodbye to us from the private airfield in Vermont. They had been our hosts for our short honeymoon and had won us both over with their open and giving nature. The cabin, although rustic, had the privacy we wanted, but the proximity to company if we desired it. The land it was on was incredibly beautiful, with the trees already showing their fall colours, and the crisp evenings and mornings promising the coming transition to winter. It truly was the best place to have those few days alone with my husband, Bucky.

It's funny how differently I felt about this marriage than about the one with John. When I married John, it seemed so much time and effort was spent on appearances. Not that I'm blaming one of us over the other, but we wanted everything to be perfect, reflecting our vision of ourselves as upwardly mobile young professionals. The wedding with Bucky, was small and intimate, with more attention spent on the person I said my vows to.

It was the same at the cabin. The sex was great, although we tried a few things that weren't so successful but still allowed us to laugh at ourselves. After the laughter came more intimacy, both emotional and physical. Being with Bucky satisfied a deep need I had, to know that someone loved me more than anything. He probably had the same need, and we both said and showed our love often.

When the helicopter landed, we were surprised to see Happy Hogan exit the aircraft and hunch down under the spinning rotors as he ran over to the Land Rover where we waited. After shaking hands with all of us he leaned closer.

"Change of location," he yelled against the loud sound behind us. "We have new facilities."

With that he helped Bucky carry our bags, after we hugged the Jarvis's goodbye and we boarded the helicopter. Unlike the previous trip with just noise cancelling headphones, these ones allowed us to speak to each other. Once Happy gave the signal to go, he waited until we were on our way before updating us.

"There was another attempt at hacking, but they didn't get anything except our location," he said. "We've moved to another place. It's sort of a secret military installation. We're already set up there."

"How did they find out where you were?" I asked.

Happy shrugged. "Possibly from the extra activity generated by your wedding. Don't be alarmed or feel guilty about that. We always anticipated they would find us sooner or later. Besides, your wedding was just the party we needed to regroup." His smile was like the Cheshire Cat's in Alice in Wonderland. "We've been able to get into planning mode. NYPD, the FBI and the ATF have all struck response units to help us prepare for some raids, as well as another agency, so we'll have some company at the new location. The RCMP in Canada are investigating the ones up there." He stopped then looked at us again, in a much friendlier way. "How was your honeymoon?"

Bucky took my hand. "The best," he said. "Thank you, Happy. We had a wonderful time."

"I'm glad," he replied. "Edwin Jarvis and his wife are real gems. They're worth millions but live like most pensioners."

The flight to the new location didn't take as long as the trip out to Vermont. As we approached it from the air we found it difficult to believe it was a military installation from above, as it looked like the campus of an exclusive private school. Bucky said something to that effect and Happy just smiled a mysterious smile.

"Wait until we get close enough to land," he replied. "You're not going to believe it."

Minutes later the pilot advised us she was waiting for clearance to land. We looked outside and were startled to see what looked like a football field slide apart into two sections, revealing a cavernous underground space beneath it. The helicopter slowly descended into it until touchdown was achieved then the pilot cut the power to the rotors. As they slowed down the roof closed above us, and interior floodlights came on.

"Just wait until we're cleared to disembark," said the pilot, who took her helmet off and turned around to look at us from the cockpit. "Hi, I'm Melinda May. Welcome to what we call the east coast version of Area 51, in that we're very top secret. Officially, we don't exist and most of us are considered dishonourably discharged or were asked to resign to avoid criminal charges. Unofficially, we're all undercover operatives from various agencies who have been trying for years to infiltrate Pierce's operation." She looked out to where a doorway had opened. "We can get out now. You have a welcoming committee."

We looked to where she had glanced, surprised to see our team waiting for us. Happy slid open the door, hopping out, followed by Bucky who helped me step out. Tony and Bruce were front and centre, hugging me warmly. The others hugged us both, commenting that we looked very happy and relaxed.

"So, I take it we're part of a larger operation now," stated Bucky, looking up at the huge facility. "What is this place?"

Thor looked at May who nodded. "Something I didn't know about but apparently my mentor, Phil Coulson, did," he said. "He helped set this up about ten years ago. It was a multi-agency effort to monitor and act against factions within the agencies that were involved in seditious and treasonous activities."

"Director Coulson sent us a coded signal that your team was getting close to triggering Pierce to try to shut you down and take you out," said May. "We started monitoring your efforts and when the latest hacking attempt was performed, we made ourselves known to Agent Odinson. The decision was made to let the other side believe they had found your location then move you to a much more secure location, here. The work your team has done has been outstanding and brought us to the point where we can plan to implement raids on Pierce's bases."

"Director?" I asked. "You mean this is his agency now?"

"In a manner of speaking," smiled the confident dark-haired woman. "He's the one who first sounded the silent alarm, personally seeking out like minded individuals in the various agencies and military who were concerned about the direction some powerful people in those agencies seemed to be embracing. At first, we met up informally for coffee or drinks, sharing anecdotes about some of the means being taken to achieve certain ends. The more we talked the more we realized a slow but steady outside influence was driving those actions. Much of it pointed to Alexander Pierce, who has also indicated a desire to run for public office."

We had been walking while May explained the background of this agency. "So, what happens now?" asked Bucky. "We send our army after his? I don't see many people around. He likely has hundreds."

She smiled, almost knowingly. "Something like that. Sarge, can I call you that? Right now, you're seeing what we want you to see. This is just our physical base, hidden under the façade of a private school that went out of business years ago. We have operatives in every one of Pierce's locations, documenting the activities there." Her face dropped for a moment. "We fucked up when they took Agent Laufeyson and his wife. His death is on us, and we won't let anyone else get hurt by those animals. We also have a small army of people still in the agencies, waiting for the word. When we give it, they'll assemble in various places, including here, and we'll make our move." She stopped at a doorway. "Anyways, get yourselves settled, get caught up with your team and meet in the briefing room in an hour. There's a lot to share with everyone."

For an underground complex it actually felt very spacious inside. Although there were no windows there was a replacement of sorts in the form of virtual displays in the rooms connected to various live cams outside. I became somewhat mesmerized by the display in our room as it played through a dozen different views, each of them in and outside the shuttered campus. As I watched it through several repetitions, I became aware that these cams were also our early warning system, as they were placed in such a way that anyone approaching the facility would be noticed well before they entered the grounds. There was also one focused on a nearby lake and one that looked over the playing field that opened for us. Bucky, noticing that I was watching, sat next to me.

"What is it?" he asked. I told him and he watched with me for several more repetitions of the cams. "Area 51. They're supposed to know when anyone approaches their perimeter. Looks like they're doing the same thing here. I wonder if they're visible by satellite."

He asked Melinda that very question before the briefing started. "We are, sort of," she admitted. "Without admitting to anything we have the means to make sure that what shows up online shows exactly what this site is supposed to be. An abandoned private school that was shut down because of nuclear contamination of the groundwater that still hasn't been rectified. There are signs everywhere saying this is private property due to that contamination bubbling up to the surface every once in a while."

"No one notices the live cams?" he asked.

"They're noticed," she smiled. "They're completely out in the open with signage saying the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has assumed ownership of the land until it can be decontaminated. Trespassing is forbidden and anyone caught entering the property will be identified by video security and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." She turned to head to the front for the briefing then turned back. "Before you say they'll notice the grounds are mowed I'll point out that we have a crew in hazmat suits doing that as part of the monitoring the NRC does on the contamination. We're quite hidden here, Sergeant Barnes."

He sat next to me, resting his arm on the back of my chair. I knew he still had questions and concerns but he was willing to listen in on the briefing first before asking any of them. May stood at the front and re-introduced everyone on our team, including Bucky and me, to the other teams, as there were other newcomers there. In fact, it seemed like our team's arrival had signalled a new phase in the overall investigation. She asked Thor to give an overview of what our team had learned, and it was visibly evident that we uncovered a lot more than we thought when May took back control of the briefing.

"The combined FBI/NYPD team, supplemented with civilian white hats found some major connections between Pierce and certain organized crime elements, looking to cash in on providing weapons, security, surveillance, and any number of operations that they could infiltrate," said May. "They also discovered what we believe to be a major staging area for them, although until recently it had been relatively quiet there." She brought up a satellite view of the vineyard outside of Washington, D.C. "That vineyard you found Agent Sylvie Laufeyson in wasn't originally on our radar but the documents you took from there revealed Pierce's endgame after we further analyzed your initial conclusions. We believe he plans to seize control by the placing of bombs in federal buildings in most major cities. Oklahoma City, all over again but on a spread out scale."

"But most federal buildings don't allow unauthorized vehicles entry into their facilities, and monitor the parking of unknown vehicles nearby," responded Bucky. "I'm right, aren't I? Steps were taken to insure no one could leave a large bomb like that again in or near a federal building."

"He won't be using trucks or large bombs," replied Melinda. "He's using wine ... more specifically, their bottles. Our analysis, confirmed by another coded message from Coulson indicates they're planning to make many little bombs, using a solution that can be bottled and disguised as red wine. Many federal buildings have internal public areas for formal receptions where wine is served. Red grape harvest season started in late August and continues into the end of November. They're using the harvest season to bottle their bombs in the guise of bottling last year's harvest, in order to make room for this year's harvest. All they need to do when the bottling is done is to transport them around the country. We have to act before this harvest is over, in less than two months, and we have to do it without destroying those vineyards as it appears many of them were bought from owners who were threatened."

A person came with a case of empty wine bottles, handing them out across the room. Bucky and I looked at it, not seeing anything too different about it then Melinda told everyone to uncork it. Inside the top of the bottle was a thin film that Bucky pulled on, showing it to be connected to a slender transparent bag insert. Others discovered the same thing, and it was explained that the wine would be placed inside the bottle first, filling it partially. The insert would be placed inside, and the bomb solution pumped into it then sealed, filling the rest of the bottle. The opaque nature of the red wine would hide the contents of the insert, especially since it was expected to be coloured to match. Once it was corked and a metal capsule covering the top of the bottle, it would stay undetected until a small explosive charge was activated remotely, which would send up the adjacent bottles. Any resulting explosion would explode the additional bottles scattered throughout the facility, effecting almost total destruction of the location.

"This only works with red wine," she pointed out. "No doubt you've noticed that all white wine vineyards are still owned by their original owners, some of them through generations of the same family. The vineyard you visited and rescued Agent Laufeyson from had both white and red grapes, initially escaping our notice. We've found a dozen more with both types of grapes and have confirmed they are now owned by business associates of Alexander Pierce, after the previous owners were made offers they couldn't safely refuse."

It was actually quite impressive how they planned to make and distribute the bombs. They could plant them anywhere during a public event that served wine. Even if they had already done so it would take a very intensive search to locate the bottles, which would tip off Pierce's people. May also explained that it was believed the militias would come in and volunteer their services after the bombs were activated to help restore order, presumably under the approval of local law enforcement or military command. If the targets had taken out loyal military or law enforcement leaders it would be simple to instruct their moles to rise to the occasion, publicly looking like heroes but actually setting up the stage for a full takeover by militias looking to establish martial law. It was ingenious and terrifying to contemplate. After the briefing we were told to report to our original group leaders, Thor in our case, for the next phase of our training.

As our quarters were all grouped together in one area we met in the common area, like a lounge space, that all of our doors opened into. It was crowded but Bucky sat on an armchair and patted his lap with a little grin.

"I have your seat right here, Mrs. Barnes," he announced.

To the smiles of the others, I took my place on his lap and waited to hear the next part of our orientation into the larger group. There were 12 of us in all, crowded into that small common space. Thor looked at all of us then sighed.

"I need to know if those of you who are not in law enforcement have any weapons training," he said. "You won't be coming out on the raids with us but you will be in the command centre here monitoring satellite feeds, live video cam feeds, and police scanners. Agent May has also been able to acquire permission for wiretapping of the major players and we'll need you and the other IT experts to monitor that. Because the rest of us will be going on the raids you must be able to protect yourselves in the event your location is compromised."

I looked at Tony, Bruce, Peter and Ned, who put his hand up. "Does laser tag count?" he asked. "Pete and I go out every couple of weeks and play laser tag."

Bucky and the others in law enforcement grinned. "It doesn't hurt," answered Thor. "But you'll still have to take weapons training."

Bucky raised his eyebrows at me. "I have fired a handgun in a firing range, one session," I stated. "It was a date. Wasn't my thing."

The others all shook their heads. "I'm willing to be their instructor," offered Bucky. "I've done it before, on temporary assignment at the police academy."

"He's a good instructor," added Carol. "I flew through it because of my military background but I had my qualifying session with Sarge."

"I'll bring that up," said Thor.

We were dismissed until further notice. While Bucky went with the others in law enforcement to the armoury and firing range I went with Tony, Bruce, Peter and Ned, to the computer centre in the complex. Our computers had been added to their large complement in the spacious room. I was surprised to see my old boss, Ben Harmon there. When he saw me, his face lit up and his arms opened to give me a hug.

"Jane! I feel like it's been forever since I last saw you. You remarried as well. You look wonderful."

I looked at Tony. "I might have let the news of your marriage slip," he said, grinning. "We're very fond of Jane, Ben. You know the marriage is to keep her in New York after. You're not getting her back."

"Well, as long as Jane is happy," said Ben, looking seriously at me. "Your new husband, he's a good one?"

"He is," I replied. "He's here and will probably be involved in teaching us how to handle firearms. Did Tony update you on John?"

His face dropped and I could see the guilt etching itself on his face. He shook his head in disappointment.

"He had us all fooled, just ingratiating himself deeper into the business to get at our source codes. We're still finding evidence of his hacking. When that Regina Frigg contacted me in secret about joining the hacking squad against these criminals, I jumped right on it." He gestured to the others in the room. "Everyone else here has had their companies hacked by John Walker. He's going down if it's the last thing any of us do before our company's fold."

I felt disheartened by that. John's activities didn't just enrich himself, and put him into a criminal sphere of activity, they also seriously damaged the reputations of several tech companies. There were at least four companies represented in this computer centre, companies whose government contracts dried up after John used his hacking skills to steal their source codes and use that knowledge to hack into the government agencies they were under contract to. Ben indicated there were another half dozen companies who were being spammed with ransom ware. So far, the indications were the attacks were coming from offshore but initial analysis of their tactics and the software behind it all pointed to one man, John Walker. He truly had sold his soul to the devil.

While I continued to search out connections emanating out from Alexander Pierce and his upper echelon the others focused on identifying other government agencies and tech companies at risk of being hacked by John's code and trying to shore up their online security before it was too late. It was draining work, made worse by the sense of time running out for us to get the upper hand. Trays of sandwiches and drinks were brought into the room so we could continue powering our way through the massive task. It wasn't until I felt a comforting pair of hands on my shoulders, gently massaging them that I pulled my eyes away from the computer screen and looked behind to see the concerned face of my husband.

"I think nearly everyone else is calling it for the day," said Bucky, gently, looking towards the side.

He was right. There were a few hardcore white hats still glued to their screens but most of the others had decided in favour of self-preservation. Saving my work, I logged out and stood up, receiving a hug from Bucky. Tony and Ben were just inside the door, talking quietly, and acknowledged us as we approached.

"We'll have more people coming tomorrow," said Tony. "Ben and I will coordinate a round-the-clock schedule so that people don't get too exhausted by all of this. Ben Harmon, this is Jane's husband, Bucky Barnes. I told him how you asking for hard copies for you to tack up on a wall alerted us to the first attack on our tech setup when you couldn't find the folders."

"The old ways are still good," said Ben, shaking Bucky's hand. "They brought your bulletin boards over and to be honest, it was enlightening to see all the connections physically. Most of your law enforcement colleagues have found it very useful."

"I learn best using a combination of visual and tactile methods," replied Bucky. "Found that out by trial and error when I went to college by night school while I was a patrolman. In actual practice, there's something about seeing the big picture first that allows me to focus on the important parts."

It was evident both Tony and Ben were impressed by Bucky's answer. Even while we were there Tony suddenly had an epiphany about connections between the companies and government departments that had already been targeted. As he and Ben went over to a computer station to put Tony's theory to the test Bucky put his arm around me and kissed the side of my head.

"Let's get something to eat and go to bed," he suggested. "We'll both have a long day tomorrow. The extra tech people are to free more of you up for your first firearms training session."

"Do I need to ask who's running it?" I asked as we headed to the cafeteria.

"You're sleeping with him," he replied, "but he's not going to give you a free pass."

We placed our order and sat next to Sam and Joaquin. Carol and Malin came in after us, then joined our table. Thor and Rig were at another table talking to some other agents.

"They were all recruits or close associates of Phil Coulson," said Malin, leaning closer. "Turns out he sent those pictures to most of them but it was Thor, with your help, that figured out they were evidence. Only Melinda May knew that he had gone deep undercover but he didn't send her anything, not wanting to lead them to the setup here. Basically, it was him hoping they would find their way to her and the team here."

"How does he send coded messages then?" I asked, confused.

"Various online gaming sites and social media," said Malin. "They had it worked out between them. She's constantly checking them as he doesn't use one of them exclusively. Hell of a way to run an operation."

The number for our meal was announced and Bucky picked ours up. It was decent food, hot, basic, and meant to satisfy our hunger, nothing more. We had all been spoiled by the quality food provided to us by Happy which made me realize I hadn't seen him since we landed here this morning.

"He went back to New York," said Sam. "Something about cleaning up the loose ends and doing some recruiting for our side."

For some reason the news left me a little cold. I couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness and even when we went to bed Bucky noticed it. We held each other instead of making love. I mustn't have slept well because I didn't feel rested when I woke up. When I came out of the shower Bucky was waiting for me and brought me to the bed.

"Something happened last night," he said. "Thor stopped by while you were in the shower."

"What is it?" I asked, an iciness descending down to the bottom of my stomach, waiting for the next words to come out of his mouth.

"Someone hacked into Happy's SUV last night," he said. "He and the driver were both seriously injured when they deliberately hit a barrier. They're under protective custody in hospital. Apparently, before he left his location he texted Tony that he found out something but they don't know what it is."

It felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Every time we thought we were ahead of the game something always pushed us back facedown into the dirt. Now we had lost one of our best players, a man who had gone out his way to help us get married and make it meaningful. Where was it all going to end? How many more were going to be hurt as these treasonous criminals and the psychopath that was my ex-husband, kept sniping at us from the shadows. My initial feeling of despair was already being replaced by something else. Bucky must have gone through the same thing because I saw it on his face as well. We were done playing defence. It was time to take the fight to them.

Author's note: the method of creating explosive devices using wine bottles is strictly from my imagination and should not be considered as an authoritative opinion on the matter.