Chapter 215: Use a missile -210
Nick Fury, the director of Shield, was feeling happy, something of a rarity these days. He had just gotten confirmation that the team he sent down to Ohio had found what they suspected to be the culprit.
Now, the agents might not be able to realize it, but from what they had told him so far, Fury was fairly certain that this old man wasn't simple and that he hadn't used bombs to destroy the town. No, he was no doubt enhanced.
He wasn't sure about the nature of his enhancement just yet, but that was something he could slowly find out once he was in a secure cell. It seemed the old man was fully cooperating, or at least mostly.
He had refused to give his name or answer any real questions about himself, but he did agree to go with the agents without a fuss. Which likely meant that either his power couldn't be used to stop them from taking him.
Or his power had only recently awoken, and he sought help from Shield, likely not yet able to control them and having accidentally harmed innocent people.
The fact that he was an old man was both a boon and a curse, for one it was less likely he would allow the power to get to his head. Yet the downside was he was also less likely to sign up for fighting for justice, believing that was something for young people.
Yet, depending on his power, Fury might not need him as a field agent. If he could turn an entire town into ruins, he might be worthy of his Avengers initiative—someone to call only in an emergency.
Still, he was well aware that this wasn't without risk; if the old man had trouble with his power, he would be best to prepare for the worst-case scenario, and so he called both Romanoff and Barton to come to assist in the situation.
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[With Natasha]
Natasha was alerted that Fury had captured an enhanced and immediately grew worried that he might have gotten caught up with some SCP object. It was truly a situation of the more you know the more you worry.
Because she knew about quite a few SCP objects by now, and that just meant she really didn't want to entrust some of them to Shield, not with Hydra lurking in there.
She really wished that the Foundation would deal with Hydra, but then again, it was kind of outside the scope of their mission. They handled things normal people couldn't and wouldn't normally get involved with things such as spies in other organizations.
She didn't like it, but she also knew that there was just so many more important things for the Foundation to deal with, not to mention any possible political fallout from taking such overt action against Shield.
After all, to the leaders of the world, there would be no justification for their actions, which might make their primary mission more difficult. "God, I hate politics." She couldn't help but curse out as she quickly picked up her phone, needing to make a call.
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[SITE-009]
[With Alexander]
Alexander received a call from one of his many assistants. "Yes?"
"I'm terribly sorry for calling you, sir, but a report from Agent Romanoff has been forwarded up the chain. I know you pay close attention to her, so I figure you might want to make a decision."
While most of the Foundation had been told that Alexander Ricci, O5-1's personal assistant, was dead, he could not use that information on his close subordinates.
They all had to know the truth, so it was really only people outside his own sphere of influence who didn't know about him and would instead think that the Ricci family was now under the leadership of Alexandra Ricci.
After all, it would really slow things down if he had to constantly change back into his female self every time he had to answer a call.
"Yes, please report." He didn't waste time and told his assistant to continue. After all, he was well aware of the two highly important missions he had given Natahsa and was naturally eager to hear what she had to say.
"Agent Romanoff reports that SHIELD has taken an enhanced individual into custody. Based on the description and the unusual events surrounding his capture, we believe he might be SCP-1440."
Alexander's eyes narrowed. SCP-1440 was impossible to contain and highly dangerous. While he would normally take a few days to cause much damage, he had also been shown to be able to act much faster, as seen when his ability once caused a SITE's nuclear device to activate.
This wasn't an object that could be handled carelessly; utmost caution had to be exercised when dealing with the old man from nowhere. "What is known of their plans?"
"They are taking him to the Triskelion for interrogation, agent Romanoff is being called to be backup."
Alexander frowned. "This is bad. Very bad. If SCP-1440 is truly in SHIELD custody, it's only a matter of time before disaster strikes. Get the information about the shipment from Romanoff and derail it."
"Anything in particular you wish done?"
"Use a missile, don't get close, and remember, neither the Foundation nor the Bulwark can be connected to this." Alexander said with a grave voice.
The assistant paused for a moment before quickly replying. "Understood, sir; I'm sure other interested parties might be involved in something like this."
"Yes, I will have someone handle communication with Shield about this. You don't have to worry about that; just make sure 1440 doesn't reach a city."
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[With Natasha]
Natasha reported the situation to the Foundation and hadn't expected more after that. But contrary to her expectations, she was contacted not long after. They wanted to know more about the transport of the object, and she did what she could to discreetly help them get it.
After that she hadn't been contacted by the Foundation again, though she was fairly sure they planned to intercept the transport somehow and get their hands on the object.
Which was why she didn't have to even fake her surprise when she reported to Fury who had some bad news for her and Clint.
Fury's face was grim as Natasha and Clint entered his office. "We have a situation," he began without preamble. "The convoy transporting our enhanced individual was attacked. We've lost contact with the team, and the subject is missing."
Natasha's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Do we know who's responsible?"
Fury shook his head. "Not yet, but however it was, didn't care about the enhanced; they didn't just attack to capture, but to destroy; they sent a barrage of missiles to destroy the jet."
Clint looked at Fury, concerned. "This is getting out of hand. If they're willing to go to such lengths, we're dealing with a serious threat."
Natasha nodded. "We need to figure out who's behind this and fast. Anyone who could be behind this is clearly bad news."
Even her words were tinged with just the right amount of worry that the suspicious Fury felt a bit more reassured about her loyalty.
In truth, though, Natasha was confused. She didn't believe that the Foundation would have done this. It wasn't their style at all. They always sought to safely contain objects, not destroy them like this.
…
Natasha and Clint wasted no time. They started by analyzing the wreckage of the convoy, looking for any clues that might point to the attackers. The precision and sophistication of the attack suggested a highly skilled and well-funded organization.
They quickly suspected that this had to be either the Bulwark of the Chaos Insurgency, and Natasha, knowing that the Bulwark and the Foundation were one and the same, quickly turned her suspicion onto the Chaos Insurgency.
Natasha and Clint found traces of sophisticated explosive devices and remnants of a missile guidance system. It was clear that the attackers had used high-tech weaponry, further pointing towards a well-funded and organized group.
"These components are military-grade," Clint remarked, examining a piece of the debris. "Definitely not something a random group of thugs would have."
Natasha nodded, her mind racing through the possibilities. "We need to get this analyzed back at HQ. If we can trace the origins of these components, we might be able to narrow down our suspects."
She wished she could come clean to Clint once more, as she found herself struggling with her role as a spy. She wanted to contact the Foundation to learn more about the situation, but with Clint around, she couldn't.
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[SITE-009]
[With Alexander]
Alexander, after instructing his assistant, turned his attention to the larger picture. The interception of SCP-1440 had gone exactly as planned, but now he needed to ensure that SHIELD didn't get too close to the truth. The Chaos Insurgency was a perfect scapegoat, given their history of aggressive tactics and their known interest in anomalous objects.
Normally, he would have taken charge of leading Shield to the conclusion they wanted, but for now, O5-6 wanted to get a feel of Nick Fury, and as such, he had taken over this part of Alexander's responsibility.
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