As promised, Lucas immediately got to work on tracing the origin of the message directed at Sierra. If he could acquire an IP address or even specific coordinates, either would be helpful.
He spent another few days tirelessly working on tracing the message. As he worked, he also turned on the ham radio as background noise to help him focus, occasionally tuning in to random frequencies that usually were erratic chatter that he paid little mind to.
Des would never admit it, but she admired his dedication to tech overall. She was quite impressed with what he came up with whenever he was tinkering back during their SHIELD days. He would create janky self-made radios, and he would take apart old radios to study how they worked. His tinkering had led him to tap into top-secret meetings on occasion, and he'd gotten into trouble for it. Naturally, though, that did not deter him.
He had long given up on SHIELD before it collapsed, having found himself unable to trust them anymore, especially after what happened in 2014 when Pierce attempted to assassinate Fury and allow HYDRA to take over.
His personal beliefs aside, he found it much more noble to be aiding one of his best friends to live as normal of a life as one could; and he also held onto the belief that her father very well could be still alive. With his father having betrayed SHIELD many years ago, he secretly hoped that there were still others who believed in the initial cause for why SHIELD was founded. Lucas had met Peggy Carter as a child after his father left, well before she went into hospice, and she reminded him of what SHIELD was meant to do, even though she was no longer director.
It had comforted him at the time, but now as an adult, with a jaded worldview, he wanted to trust in Peggy, but that had all but vanished. Especially with SHIELD having been rebranded as SWORD, which he thought was incredibly stupid; but given he wasn't affiliated with SHIELD anymore, he did not care.
The tracing software continued its diligent work on tracking the origin of the message while renovations continued. Though whenever a company stopped by the house, a large blanket covered the workstation so these random employees wouldn't be snooping around.
After several long days of working, the electrical company finally finished working on the wiring and the outlets, as well as some miscellaneous work outside. The group worked on putting in lightbulbs where needed, finally adding warm light to the house.
With the wiring complete, Sierra decided to build up the courage to go upstairs and start cleaning stuff out, not that there was much to clean out from any rooms. But she knew that the attic needed to be inspected, and she wanted to start scrubbing the bathrooms and make sure there wasn't any black mold.
She requested Des assist her, who gladly complied. Des had bought a black mold test kit a few days prior, eager to put it to use.
The main bathroom was their first stop, and while Des put the mold test to use, Sierra started working on scrubbing the mildew buildup on the shower tiles. It sucked, but it needed to be done.
Des wandered around the rest of the upstairs, continuing to test the air. She made her way into Sierra's childhood bedroom, feeling her heart clench at some of the old wall decals that were faded and peeling away, reminiscent of an innocent, worry-free time, while also incredibly 2000s-esque.
The girls continued their chores in relative silence, with Des going around the rest of the house to continue the testing when she heard loud swearing from the living room.
"Lucas? You good?" Des called out.
"Get Sierra!" Came his reply. A bit perplexed at first, then realizing it must be important, Des turned up the stairs to call for her friend, but she could already hear the footsteps making their way down the hall and to the top of the stairs.
"I heard you! I'm coming!" She replied.
The black mold test being put to the side for now, the four friends gathered in the living room, where a map and satellite data was onscreen, and Lucas had a shit-eating grin on his face, evidently quite proud of himself.
"I fucking got it!" He exclaimed. He gestured to the data block, pointing out coordinates.
"Wh-where is that?" Sierra demanded.
"Chile."
"…Chile?" Sierra repeated.
"Yep, South American country." He replied, crossing his arms, "The location pinged from somewhere outside the capital; Santiago, somewhere in the mountains."
"No wonder it took so long. If the signal is coming from inside the mountains, then all that rock would make it difficult to track."
"Exactly. Sierra, if this is your father, then he's somewhere in those mountains, deliberately trying to send you a message."
"So what's next then?"
"I'm going to do a bit more research to see what exactly is going on, see if there's a government site or something." A chill ran down Sierra's spine.
"What if it's a HYDRA base?" Lucas paused.
"As much as I hate to say it-… there is… a possibility."
"But didn't HYDRA fall? Like years ago?" Lucas sighed.
"If there's anything I've learned about government entities… just because they've been announced to have been destroyed… doesn't mean they ever go away. HYDRA lasted for decades, always within the shadows. And I firmly believe my father abandoned SHIELD for HYDRA, not that I have proof… but that's not the point."
Chris began to understand where Lucas was leading with this.
"I hate to say it, but he does have a point. Unfortunately, people love to attempt to revive bad governments, and who's to say HYDRA really ever left?" Sierra frowned, clutching her right arm close to her chest.
"SHIELD was never able to track down the operatives that attacked us… and my father was never confirmed dead… It was like they all just vanished without a trace," she turned to look at Lucas's computer, her eyes glowing for a split second, "but maybe… they didn't hide well enough."
"So… what's next then?" Des questioned. Lucas and Sierra glanced at each other.
"Time to make some phone calls."