|
 |
| Issue #2 September 2009 |
"The Upper Hand" Written By Tony Thornley |
|||||||
|
||||||||
Natasha Romanoff stood outside the clear plastic clean room, tapping her foot impatiently. It had been a week since the Firebrand op, and they were still in the Buenos Aires safehouse. Normally they were in a safehouse less than three hours after the conclusion of an op, but this one was obviously quite different.
Jack Munroe lay on an operating table in the middle of the clean room. A tall man stood on his left, working carefully on the remnants of Jack’s arm. The op had ended violently when Moonstone had betrayed the team and ripped his arm off. Now, he was stable enough to bring out of the medical coma and for being fitted for a prosthetic.
“He’s going to be fine,” a voice said from behind her. Natasha didn’t turn to face Fury. If she did, it probably would have been followed with her knocking him clear across the room.
“Tell him that,” she said. “He’ll be coping with what that bitch did to him the rest of his life.” She glanced at him as he stepped up to her side. “Unless you want to regrow an arm for him.”
“Anyone ever told you that you sound more American by the day?”
“Don’t change the topic Nick,” she said. Fury sighed.
“Why do you think I called the Fixer in, Tash?” he asked. “The man’s a genius, and what he’s doing is just as good re-growing a limb.”
“What, a robotic arm?” she replied. “Are you serious Nick? How is that any consolation? It’s a joke that you even consider that an even swap.”
“It’s more than an even swap,” said a voice from their left. Norbert Ebersol walked towards them, removing the surgical mask he wore. “That’s more than a simple prosthetic. That arm is built from reprogrammed techno-organic matter I retrieved a year ago.”
“Retrieved?” she said.
“He attempted to steal inert Phalanx material from SHIELD last year,” Fury said. “Which is why he’s here. He’s officially SHIELD’s property.”
“Property?” Fixer scoffed. “Always the charmer, Nick.”
“She’s earned the right to call me Nick,” he said, pointing his thumb at Tash. “It’s Colonel Fury to you.”
“Whatever,” he replied. “He’ll be fully functional within 24 hours.” He turned and strode away. Fury watched him for several seconds before turning back to Natasha.
“What do you think of your new teammate?” he asked.
“A bit of an asshole,” she said.
“At least that means you won’t sleep with him,” Fury said. “Is that why you’re so worried about Munroe?”
“Shut up Nick,” she replied.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But Barton, Stark, Murdock…”
“You have about three seconds to change the subject before I shoot you,” she interrupted. Fury raised his hands defensively, reached into his pocket and pulled a small silver cylinder from his pocket. He handed it to her.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Your next mission,” he said. “We have several flights booked for the team starting tomorrow morning. You’ll be gathering in Panama, where we have a yacht leased for you.”
“How much did that set you back?”
“Not as much as the mini-sub that we considered,” he replied. “The data on your objective is all in that cylinder.”
“Why don’t you tell me what it is? The short version.”
“We believe there’s a Hydra outpost near the coordinates there,” he said. “There’s also going to be a fairly large reception for several Latin VIP’s aboard another yacht.”
“So, bodyguard duty?” she asked.
“Not quite,” he said. “We want Hydra to take the boat.” Tash raised an eyebrow. “They take it, we have a group of Hydra operatives stuck there.”
“What about any back-up they may have?”
“That won’t be an issue, now, will it?”
“Whatever Nick,” she said. “We’ll take care of it. I’ll let the team know.”
=FW=
24 hours later…
Dani Moonstar walked out of the airport, the warm, humid air hitting her like a wall. She smiled. The warmth was always welcome, although she was more used to the dry summers she experienced on the rez. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked into the streets of Panama City.
The city was like most Latin American cities she’d encountered in her travels. The streets were practically screaming with shoppers, cars and vendors. A police car roared by. She grinned. She loved it. Dani stepped into the chaos and pulled her phone from her pocket. She powered it on and selected her GPS. SHIELD had left a GPS locator in their boat, and she needed to get their quickly. If the team didn’t stagger their arrival, they’d blow their cover. It was bad enough that they were all aboard the same boat.
“Good afternoon Miss Moonstar,” said a tenor voice at her left ear. A rough hand grabbed her elbow. “A word please.” She was dragged into an alley before she could react. Her attacker spun her around and pinned her against the alley wall. She found herself surrounded by four men, three of them in civvies but the fourth in a full Hydra uniform. Dani raised an eyebrow.
“Abducting a SHIELD agent, and revealing that you’re Hydra?” she said. “Not a smart move boys.”
“Miss Moonstar, we’re in control of this situation,” said the masked man. “You’re in no position to be making jokes.”
“Oh really?” she asked. “So what am I in the position to be doing?”
“Listening,” one of the others said. “We know who you are, and what you’re doing here. We’re warning you to back off and leave now. Tell your team the same.”
“Do you really think that I’m afraid of your threats?” she said. She balled her fists. “I know what you’re afraid of. Each of you.” Her eyes began to glow. “Do you want to see what you’re afraid of?” There was a flash of light, and suddenly, each of the men found themselves somewhere new.
Miguel Guevarra huddled in the corner of his small apartment. The darkness moved around him, tendrils reaching out to him, past the flicking of the candle next to him. He drew his legs in closer, trying to keep himself as far from the darkness as possible.
Michael Backer stood as still as he could, trying not to look down. The beam he stood on was hanging high over a city he didn’t recognize. It didn’t matter. All he cared about was that he didn’t fall.
George Wilk tried to move but he found himself paralyzed. He tried to cry out as the doctor picked up a scalpel. He tried to scream as he sliced into his flesh.
Daniel Meyer simply watched as they took his family. He didn’t do anything to stop it.
Dani held her phone up to her ear. It rang twice before someone picked up.
“Jaqs, it’s Dani,” she said. “I need some help.”
=FW=
The full team gathered in the yacht’s living room. Ares paced back and forth near the door, tossing a dagger up and down. All the others sat or stood still. The four Hydra agents were stowed below, each bound and gagged.
“So what does thees mean?” Batroc asked.
“It means we’ve been found out Froggy,” Jaqs said. “Hydra knows we’re here.”
“We know how yet?” Dani asked.
“Moonstone had a couple Trojans installed on yo- our computers,” Fixer said. “I didn’t find them until after they had enough information to make this difficult.”
“So what’s next?” Ares asked.
“We do our job,” Natasha said. “This is a massive problem, of course, but I’ve had cover blown in the past and still get the job done. The worst we have to worry about is that they know we’re coming.”
“Which means they’ll up security,” Dani said.
“Right,” Tasha replied. “Which means we’ll need to have another plan of attack. I’m open to thoughts here.”
“We get aboard before Hydra does,” Nomad said. “Jaqs, Tasha, myself and Batroc are all aboard when the party starts. Hydra’s probably going to use a number of meta-human operatives, and holding the rest of you back until we have firm data…”
“Yeah, it makes sense,” Tasha said. “Dani, I want you to interrogate our hostages. Get as much info as you can out of them. You’ve already made them shit themselves.”
“So I’ve buttered them up.”
“That’s disgusting,” Jaqs grunted.
“Heh, it’s funny,” Ares said. “You’re comparing shit to-“
“We get it Ares,” Tasha said. “Ares, Ebersol, you’ll be on tactical back-up. If we can get in there, then I want Ares watching us constantly through a scope, and Fixer with any electronic doo-dad you can put together.” Both men nodded. “The four of us will get onto the boat.”
“No more of a plan than that?” Fixer asked.
“No more of a plan than that,” Tasha said. She glanced at her watch. “We have about twenty-four hours until the VIP’s are headed into open ocean. Let’s move.”
=FW=
Jack stood in front of the yacht’s captain and chief of security. The two men both regarded him with more than a little skepticism. Nomad folded his arms and leaned against the bulkhead. The steel skin over his arm had drawn stares since he had first came aboard.
“Mister Munroe, you’ll have to forgive me,” said Captain Guerra. “But you show up on my boat, claiming to be an independent security contractor with one of the most impressive resumes I’ve ever seen, then tell me that I have all sorts of holes in my security with less than ten hours before I take on dignitaries from all over the globe, and expect me to believe you.”
“Of course I do,” Jack said.
“And the insults you threw towards me are supposed to help your case?” said Mark Richards, the security chief.
“Also yes,” he said. “Look, you’ve done small domestic affairs. Land-locked. You’ve never done anything ocean-bound on this scale, or with this many VIP’s. I’m not asking you to change your procedures. I just want myself and my man out there on the deck present.” Richards glanced out at the man standing on the deck.
“He looks like Batroc the Leaper.”
“That’s because he is.”
“You can’t be serious!” Guerra exclaimed. “’Your man’ is a wanted mercenary and you expect me to just let you on board?”
“Yes,” Jack said. “I do. He’s the absolute best in the world, and I’m offering to have him on your side. Unless you’d rather have him in the side of any maniacs that try to hijack your boat.” Both men looked at each other before the captain turned back to him.
“You’re hired.”
=FW=
For Jaqueline Falsworth it was simple to find the British diplomat in Panama attending the party. She sipped her tea as Lord Byron Smythe sat down across from her. He took a cup himself and crossed his legs. Smythe was a notorious womanizer, and that made Spitfire’s job that much easier.
“I must say Jaqueline, you look fantastic,” he said. “The benefits of being a Great War hero, eh?”
“It seems like all of the Invaders have been blessed with eternal youth,” she said with a grin.
“So what brings you to Panama?” he said. “Last I heard you were running around the globe with a batch of black ops superheroes.”
Jaqs laughed. “Ah, Force Works. I’ve heard that rumor too. Completely false. Can’t a retired superhero go on a world trip without rumors popping up?”
“Ha!” Byron laughed. “It’s good to see you though. You know, if you’re going to be here for the evening, there’s a party in the gulf tonight. I’d love to have you on my arm.” Jaqs smiled. It was too easy.
=FW=
Natasha stood on the deck of the team’s yacht. The sun was setting in the west which meant it was nearly time. She heard someone behind her. She turned slightly.
“I thought you’d be out of here,” Dani said. Tasha smiled.
“I’m going to do it the old-fashioned way,” she said. “I’ll take the mini-boat and board in the dark. You talked to our boys yet?”
“I’m letting them marinate,” Moonstar said. “The longer they wait, the more stir crazy they’ll be.”
“Be careful,” Tasha said.
“Will do boss,” she said. “I’ll talk to you soon.” Dani disappeared down the stairs below the deck. Natasha turned back to her gear. She had a small pack of gear, mostly spare ammo. She tossed the bag over the side, climbed over the bulkhead and dropped into the inflatable boat. She started the engine and began to motor towards the yacht in the distance. She was halfway there when the air split in two.
Black Widow spun to see the second explosion tear through Force Works’ boat.
=FW=
In Force Works #3: After that, where do we go next?! Well, can you believe it gets bigger? Nomad, Batroc and Spitfire stand against Hydra while Black Widow tries to discover whether anyone survived the explosion!
