Chapter 18 – Wanda

January 11 – 10 a.m.

Wanda paced in the alley, hands pulled into her coat sleeves, breath steaming. There was a sudden gust of wind and Pietro appeared in a cyclone of fast food wrappers and discarded newspapers, dumping a disoriented man onto the ground in front of her.

They had been tasked by Pierce with finding the Black Widow, and had instead found Jasper Sitwell, Hydra analyst. Wanda had been discreetly scanning the minds of Hydra agents all morning, and inside of his was something interesting, a flash of something strange, the feeling of someone hiding a secret. Worth looking into, since Wanda doubted that Pierce actually expected them to find the legendary Black Widow by themselves.

Sitwell struggled onto one knee, jacket unbuttoned, glasses askew. Pietro wasn't the smoothest form of transportation out there – and he'd had no reason to be gentle.

"Have a nice breakfast, Mr. Sitwell?" Wanda asked sweetly.

"What do – what do you want?" Jasper Sitwell swallowed heavily. His dark skin had taken on an ashen cast, and Wanda stepped back slightly in case he decided to be sick on her boots. She liked these boots.

"Do you know who you're dealing - " Sitwell tried to rise and Pietro shoved him hard, forcing him to all fours. Wanda crouched fluidly in front of him.

"We know who you are, Jasper."

She took his chin in one hand. Little raindrops beaded his bald scalp and the lenses of his spectacles. Her own eyes were reflected there – glowing red. And then, she slipped into his mind.

He was talking to an older man, gray-haired and paunchy – Stern. Wanda felt his frustration. He was a data analyst, but Pierce had him out glad handing this bureaucrat, this parasite. He could be doing so much more. Threaten the boss and you get smacked down. They walked down the stairs together, and Stern gave him a convivial embrace, whispered "Hail Hydra." His breath smelled like fish. Sitwell's stomach churned –

– Back –

Sitwell's stomach churned. He sat on the deck of the Lemurian Star, crammed into the galley with the other hostages, knees pulled up to his chest. The ship rocked from side to side. He'd never like the ocean. One of the pirates paced in front of him, hand on the butt of his automatic. The woman next to him started crying softly. The pirate came closer and she whimpered - Shut up, shut up you stupid bitch, you'll get us killed – He walked past and Sitwell exhaled. He couldn't understand it. This wasn't part of the plan. Maybe they were here for the satellite data –

– Back –

" – the satellite data!"

The woman he was talking to sighed. "Jasper..."

"They're treating Insight like a weapon – but it's so much more! The artificial intelligence is beyond revolutionary."

"I know, Jasper, but -"

"The archaeological discoveries made by satellites one tenth as advanced – We could find Attilan!"

The woman threw up her hands. "And there it is. Attilan again. How did I know you were going to bring up fucking Attilan?"

"Just look at these seafloor maps, Victoria..."

"No one cares about your alien conspiracy theory Jasper. Just get the satellites in the air."

– Attilan. That's interesting. Tell me more. –

The memories broke down into a swirl of information – coordinates, contour maps of the ocean floor, blurry satellite photographs. Underneath the confetti of images, Wanda could feel Sitwell's mind resisting hers. There was something in his memory – something he was trying to keep a secret, even from himself.

People had always tended to ignore him. He had no illusions about his own importance. In the machinery of Hydra, he was just a functionary. An awkward man with an embarrassing obsession. But if he was right – he knew he was right, if he could make them see it! - he'd be the next Zola. The next Oppenheimer!

Wanda could feel the secret like a black glass wall, sliding under her hands. Slowly, slowly...she pushed.

– I want to see. Show me. –

He wasn't supposed to be here. His security clearance wasn't technically high enough, but he had found a loophole. When he'd been assigned to Project Insight, he'd been given access to a subset of other projects. His colleagues hadn't bothered to read the whole list – after all Insight was more than a full-time job. They were working around the clock to get those satellites in the air, to fine tune the AI that controlled the drones. But Jasper Sitwell was nothing if not thorough, and he had discovered something called "TAHITI" - something that would normally require Level 1 clearance.

Surely it was a mistake, but Sitwell knew that knowledge was power. So he timed his visit to the Triskelion sub-basement for a time when he knew the most disinterested guards were on duty. Despite this preparation, his heart hammered in his chest as the guard scanned his badge, sure that he was about to be tased and hauled away for interrogation. But the tall woman just unlocked the door with a bored expression.

Behind the first set of doors was another. – An airlock? – He wondered what would justify the precaution. A biological weapon? There were no containment suits. The second set of doors was activated by a retinal scan. Once again, Sitwell feared they wouldn't open. Would the guard outside leave him stuck here between the doors? His shirt was growing sticky with nervous sweat.

The second set of doors opened into a small room – smaller than he'd expected. The lights flickered on. In the middle of the room was...the word that came to mind was "sarcophagus"...a metal box, roughly human-sized, tubes running out of it to various instrument panels that blinked and beeped softly. Sitwell felt an excitement that teetered on the edge of fear. Whatever was in there...it would change things for him. He knew it. He squared his shoulders and strode across the room with the confidence he wished he felt.

The surface of the sarcophagus was dark glass. At first he thought it was his own reflection swimming there, but then the lights came on inside the tank. The face was green. And then its eyes opened.

Wanda gasped, releasing Sitwell's mind so suddenly that he collapsed.

"What is it?" Pietro was beside her, holding her shoulders. She realized she was shaking. "What did you find?"

"There's something in the Triskelion," she said. "Something...alien."

"Alien...like...alien, alien?"

Wanda shrugged off her brother's arm. Sitwell lay on the ground, shuddering. For a moment she felt guilty, but she steeled herself and reached out again into his mind.

"Get up."

He did. He had no choice. Usually she would be more subtle than this, but with Insight so close to deployment, they were short on time for covert operations.

"Do you still have access to TAHITI?"

"Yes," Sitwell said without inflection.

"You will take us there."

Hello all! I hope you are safe and well. And I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know your feedback!