Happy New Year everyone. Sorry it's been a bit, I had a bit of writer's block with this chapter, but that seems to have passed. For now, hope you enjoy this.
TW: Glad you enjoyed it.
Ellie Bishop: You'll see on W'Kabi. Yep, T'Challa has a lot on his plate for sure. You'll see. It'll take time but Tony is willing to put aside his feelings on the matter of Bucky for now. Glad to hear it. All in due time.
Washington DC
Afternoon
"Okay," Tony said, bringing up a 3D hologram of the building in Bobbi's files as he, Steve, Natasha, Bucky, Bobbi and Hunter watched. "So you think Ross just keeps super incriminating evidence just lying around in his office? Doesn't seem his style."
"It does if you studied him as long as I have. Ross is an ego maniac, even more than you, Stark," Bobbi said and Tony pouted at the sort of insult but didn't say anything. "He'd keep something like this close to the chest, where he could feel in control, like he's smarter than everyone else."
"It makes sense in a psychopathic sort of way," Natasha pointed out and Tony paused, considering.
"Only one problem," Bobbi said and they looked over at her. "The building is fitted with a Steranko."
"Bloody Hell," Hunter groaned as they looked at her in disbelief.
"Didn't the Pentagon call that 'overkill'?" Steve asked remembering a mission with SHIELD were they encountered one.
"It's Ross, are you really surprised?" Natasha pointed and Steve shrugged, conceding her point.
"A Steranko has a weak point: its range is limited to the inside of the building. Someone can enter from the outside and avoid detection, if you do it from the top," Bucky noted and they all looked at him in surprise. "Hydra had me run a few ops with Steranko security systems."
"And you got passed them?" Bobbi asked.
"Barely. And the Sterankos have improved themselves based on my break-ins. Won't be able to do it the same way," Bucky said, to their disappointment.
"What about underground?" Hunter asked randomly and they all looked at him confused. "Are there any underground entrances?"
"Actually, yes. There's an old service tunnel connected to a hatch in the basement. There are also no security cameras there," Bobbi noted, all of them seeing the cogs in her brain turning. "One of us can get in through there. Only one of us. The Steranko will pick up immediately if it's more of us, but a single person might be able to avoid detection for a while."
"So, who's it gonna be?" Tony asked and it was silent for a moment.
"It's gotta be me," Bucky said and they all looked at him stunned. "I'm the only one with experience in taking on a Steranko and escaping. Not to mention Ross probably has most of you flagged, the Steranko will go to lockdown the moment it sees you."
"He's got a point. And Bob and I have been disavowed, it flags us and SHIELD will be in some serious trouble," Hunter added and Bobbi grimaced but didn't disagree, knowing Hunter was right.
"He's right Steve, has to be him," Natasha told Steve, who looked uneasy but resigned.
"Buck…if you do this and get caught, there's nothing we can do to help you," Steve warned.
"Maybe that's what I deserve. But at least this way, I go down trying to do something good," Bucky said and, after a few moments, Steve nodded.
"Okay…okay."
"Well, let's go steal some proof," Tony said, hoping this would be the break they needed against Ross.
Around the same time, Wanda, wearing the veil and disguised as Elaine, used the keycard to enter the building. As she walked in, closing the door behind her, Wanda looked around uneasily, knowing she was in the belly of the beast now.
Outside, inside their base of operations disguised as a truck, Clint, Fury and Hill watched this from a security feed they had managed to hack.
"So far, so good," Hill muttered.
Neither Clint nor Fury responded, knowing that this had been the easy part. It was only going to get harder from here.
San Francisco
Same time
In his room, Scott looked down at his Avengers Phone in frustration, feeling like throwing it across the room.
"Everything okay?" Scott looked up, seeing Hope had just walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a robe. "You're looking at that phone like its Yellow Jacket."
"Just a lot on my mind. Cap and the others haven't called me back in a few days. And since The Accords deadline came and went, I'm worried."
"You think Ross could have done something to them?" Hope asked and Scott shrugged helplessly.
"You didn't see those recordings, Hope. Ross is like those guys I used to go after before I got caught, except he's worse. He has the power to squash anyone who gets in his way," Scott said uneasily.
"And Cap and the others saw the same recordings you did. I'm sure they know what they're up against," Hope tried to reassure him, even as she felt her own doubts.
A man like Ross was not one you wanted to mess with, especially when he was in charge of things like The Accords.
Scott looked back down at his Avengers Phone, hoping she was right. Because he had a bad feeling that things were about to come to a head very soon.
Washington DC
Not long after
Wanda got off the elevator and stepped onto the eighth floor, looking around uneasily. So far, so good.
"Okay, Wanda, the room is the ninth door on your left. It'll have a scanner next to it," Hill told her over the Comms.
But Wanda wasn't paying attention, nearly swearing when a man walked up to her.
"Ms. Bishop, I was wondering if I could talk to you before the meeting. I have something I'd like to discuss with you," the man said.
"Get rid of him," Fury told Wanda and she wanted to scream how but couldn't without breaking cover.
"Elaine isn't someone who hesitates in dealing with employees she doesn't like. Intimidate him," Hill advised.
"Think Nat when she's really mad," Clint added.
"I don't care," Wanda said sharply, cutting off the man's attempts to flatter her. "Take your proposal to someone who cares. I have more important things to do. Now, get back to work or I'll find someone who will. Regardless of what you may think, you can be replaced."
"Of course," the man, who had paled the longer Wanda went on, squeaked pathetically before all but sprinting away from the elevator.
"Nice job, kid. Now get moving," Hill told Wanda.
Wanda quickly made her way through the hallway and found herself at the door, seeing a scanner by it.
"Okay, now, exactly like we told you," Hill said.
With a heavy breath, hoping the Veil could fool a retinal scanner, Wanda leaned down until her eyes were level with the scanner. A small red beam shoots out at her, running over her right eye.
"Welcome, Ms. Bishop. You are not permitted access to this room," an automated voice told her.
"Shut down Steranko security and all security locks in the building," Wanda said firmly, holding out Elaine's key card, which was quickly scanned and a beep was heard.
"Security systems and locks now offline," the automated voice said before Wanda heard the door unlock.
Knowing she didn't have much time, Wanda quickly opened the door and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her as she looked around.
"Wanda, what do you see?" Clint asked.
"It's like some kind of computer bunker. I'm no expert on computers, but it seems like something you'd see on those Helicarriers from Sokovia," Wanda explained as she looked around the room, seeing the computers.
"Wanda, do you see anything that looks like a USB port?" Hill asked and Wanda quickly spotted one near the keyboard of one of the computers.
"Yeah."
"You remember that flash drive we gave you? Well, it's not a flash drive," Fury said as Wanda pulled her out of her coat pocket. "It's a sniffer. Just plug it in and it'll download everything on the hard drive."
Wanda walked down to the computer and plugged the sniffer in, watching as the computer came to life, the sniffer beginning to copy the information from it.
Down in the basement, Bucky entered through the hatch, quickly closing it.
"Okay, Ross's office is on the top floor. You're gonna need to get there without anyone noticing," Bobbi told him through the ear piece he had.
Bucky was silent, slowly making his way out of the basement and into the hallway. He had been given a suit so he'd blend in. It was a spare from Hunter, so it was a few sizes too small, but it was better than nothing.
In another part of the building, in a command center, two security guards looked up as they got an alert on the screen.
"Intruder on Level Eight, download in progress. Why hasn't the Steranko caught this?" one of them asked.
"It's been shut down somehow," the other guard said, sounding bewildered.
"Well turn it back on and put it on Level One."
"Okay, it's almost done," Wanda said, watching the download before she heard the doors lock. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh? What's uh oh? Talk to me Wanda," Clint said worriedly as Wanda walked over to the door, finding her fears confirmed.
"I think I've been made. The door is locked again," Wanda said with a heavy breath.
"She's supposed to have another minute before the security locks come online," Clint told Fury and Hill angrily out in the truck.
"The download must have set off a failsafe. Which means the Steranko will be back online," Hill said, checking the security feed and pausing. "Well, it's back online, but we might have a way to get Wanda out."
Clint and Fury turned back to the feed, staring in disbelief at the sight of Bucky Barnes, dressed in a suit, roaming the halls.
"Okay, take a left and you'll see a stairway. Take it until you reach the top floor," Bobbi advised Bucky as the others watched on screen.
The silence was broken by Steve's Avengers Phone ringing. Pulling it out, Steve quickly stepped away, answering.
"Hello?"
"Hey Cap," Clint said and Steve was taken aback.
"Clint?" Steve said and the others all looked over at him.
"Funny story, looking at a security feed in the building where Ross houses his dirty secrets and who should I see on it but your pal, Barnes," Clint said casually.
"You know what's in the building?" Steve asked in surprise.
"Fury thinks Ross keeps something in a room on the eighth floor. We sent Wanda disguised as Ross's right hand, but she triggered a failsafe and is locked in. Think you're pal Barnes can get her out?" Clint asked and Steve nodded.
"I think so. Tell Bucky there's a change of plans," Steve said, looking over at Bobbi. "Tell him to head to the eighth floor. Wanda's there and she needs help."
There was a beep and Wanda looked over, seeing the sniffer was done.
"Okay, I'm done, but I'm kind of trapped in here," Wanda said as she pulled the sniffer out of the drive.
"That's the least of your problems, you've got a team of security guards heading your way," Hill said as she, Fury and Clint watched this on the feed.
"Wanda, don't do anything drastic yet. Help is coming," Clint assured her.
"Well it better get here quick. Don't think I have a lot of time," Wanda said as she pocketed the sniffer, able to hear the security guards outside.
"So, uh, any of you know how to open this room?" one of the guards asked as they stood outside the room.
"Its high security clearance only, we'll need someone with top clearance to get inside," another answered before pulling out his radio. "Hey, we need someone with Security Level 10 clearance to unlock this room for us."
Before anyone could respond, Bucky rounded the corner at that moment, running over to the security guards. In the blink of an eye, he had punched one with his flesh arm, sending the guard hitting a wall hard enough to leave a dent. Bucky then moved to engage the surprised security guards, quickly overwhelming them. Within seconds, Bucky had knocked them all out, before walking over to the door and grabbing it. Giving it a hard pull, Bucky had yanked it open, revealing a stunned woman standing on the other side.
"Bucky?" Wanda said in surprise and Bucky gave her an odd look.
"Photostatic Veil. Nice," Bucky said before the alarms began blaring.
"Guys, we've got a problem," Clint said over the Comms.
"The Steranko just went up to Level Three, Terrorist Takeover. The building is going into lockdown," Hill said and the pair froze.
"Morse, is there any way out of here? You know the layout better than anyone," Bucky pointed out.
"You'll never make it through the front door without one of you getting caught or hurt. Only way out now is the roof, if you can get through the steel shielding," Bobbi told them.
"Leave that to me," Wanda said confidently.
"You still need a way to get off the roof. They've probably got a SWAT team on the way," Bobbi pointed out.
"Leave that to us, Agent Morse," Fury said and Bobbi was stunned into silence at the voice of Fury. "This thing isn't just a truck."
Outside, bystanders were stunned at the 'truck' suddenly lifted into the air, the tires turning sideways before it took off towards the top of the building.
Inside, Bucky and Wanda were running up the stairs, towards the top when three security guards stepped towards them, guns aimed. Before they could get off a shot, Wanda used her powers to pull the guns from them before using a blast of energy to send them crashing into a nearby wall, knocking them out.
"Nice," Bucky mentioned to Wanda and she nodded as they reached the top floor.
"There should be an emergency exit on your next left," Bobbi said over the Comms.
They saw it almost before the words left Bobbi's mouth. Wanda immediately used her powers to open it and then, with a grunt of effort, pulled the steel armor locking them in apart.
Bucky and Wanda ran out, finding themselves on the door before the mobile base flew into view, the back open to reveal a smiling Clint.
"Need a lift?"
Without a word, Wanda levitated herself and Bucky into the back. The door closed behind them before it took off.
"You okay?" Clint asked as Wanda removed the Veil and the black wig she had over her real hair.
"It went better than I thought," Wanda said as she pulled out the sniffer.
"That's what you were after?" Bucky asked and Wanda nodded.
"It's what was on a secret computer Ross had in a room only he was allowed access to. Whatever's on that, Ross went to a lot of trouble to keep it hidden," Clint said and a beat passed. "We haven't met yet. I'm Clint."
"I know. I've seen you in pictures. Bucky," Bucky said, holding out a hand to Clint, who took it in a handshake.
"Well, welcome to the team, Bucky."
And that's the Ross Job. Hope you all enjoyed it.
Next chapter, we'll get back to what's going on in Wakanda and get Ross's reaction to the break in. Until then.