Capítulo 23: Interrogation or Negotiation
-The Raft, Atlantic Ocean-
-January 28, 2007, 0800h local-
The Raft is built in the 1970s as a black site maximum-security prison. Initially run solely by the US Marshall Service, it is now jointly operated by the USMS and SHIELD after it's been upgraded in the 90s to hold prisoners with more superhuman abilities.
The Raft itself is a semi-submersible, self-propelled, circular rig that is self-sufficient and only needs resupply twice a year. The Raft always stays at least 200 km away from any landmass and shipping lanes to make sure it can't be accidentally spotted. It also always stays near the eye of the storm, if possible, to make it harder to find.
The cells itself are modular and can be customized to counter the ability of its occupant. Any attempts to escape are immediately dealt with lethal force. If all the security measures are bypass and containing the prisoners in the facility is futile, the Raft would lock itself and dive down as deep as it can go while starting the controlled failure of the nuclear reactor powering the Raft. As soon as the Raft reach the bottom, the reactor would explode equal to the power of 50 megatons of TNT, effectively vaporizing everything in and around it.
And this is where SHIELD took Naruto.
"Romanoff. Report." Fury said while sitting down on his desk in a room reserved for him in the Raft. In front of him are Natasha and Clint standing in attention.
Clint had already given his statement right until Naruto surrendered to a squad of quinjets.
"I was on top of the railings under the bridge as planned when the other cars arrived. The general dismounted, but the surprise came from the seller side. It's not the same seller in the file. He named himself to me earlier as Octavian Bloom. The general was also surprised by the switch up. Bloom calmed the general down and said, 'Your original contact is a little preoccupied, but we still have your item'..." Natasha said, recalling the events in Budapest. "Bloom walked behind his car after the General seemingly accepted his reasoning. That's when all hell broke loose. Bloom's soldiers are well trained and coordinated. They immediately took out the General and his guards. I guess it happened at the same time as when Barton and the team were ambushed. I was going to fall back when a tranquilizer dart shot me. It's like they know where I would be..." She added the last part as a clue for Fury to not place anything in the report since there's someone leaking information in the agency. "When I came to. I'm already strapped to a chair in some kind of by bunker with only a reinforced door as an entrance. The tranquilizer must have been timed since a few minutes later, Bloom and eight guards cane into the room interrogating me."
"For what?" Fury asked,
"The identity of the Broker, sir..." Natasha said, intentionally leaving out Naruto's name. "The ambush on Barton and his team seemed to be a leverage for me to talk. They will let them go if I give information about the Broker. They even showed me a feed of The Winter Soldier heading his way toward extract point A..." When Clint heard that part, he had mixed feelings about Nat's decision. He understood that her choice is the right one, but it does highlight that one's life is less important in this job than information. "When I didn't budge, he stabbed a syringe of some kind of truth serum, but he never got the chance to inject it into me..."
Natasha paused and took a breath. "Screams and gunfire came from the outside. Bloom sent two of his guards to check what's happening, but when the screams just keep getting closer, he ordered the remainder of his guards to lock the door and prepare. Cries for help came from the other side, but it suddenly stopped. The blood rolling under the door must have left quite an impression since they all moved back behind me..." Natasha chuckled a little at the last part. "I don't know what happened behind me, but I do know the aftermath. The guards have been shredded to pieces. Still can't figure out how he did it, though..." Clint visibly paled, just imagining what happened. Fury, on the other hand, remained stoic except for the subtle widening of his eye. "The door opened after that, and he walked in. He asked me how I am, but when I didn't answer, he grabbed the syringe still stuck to my thigh and placed a burlap sack and placed it on my head. The bag must have some tech in it since sound won't get in, but I'm reasonably sure it can get out."
"So he used the serum to get information on Bloom. Do you know hat happened to him?" Fury asked but already fairly sure with the answer.
"Shredded to pieces just like the others. When we got out of the room..." Natasha continued, leaving out some stuff. "He grabbed my hand; then we suddenly appeared 50 m behind Barton. It felt like riding the roller coaster a hundred times." She said, turning a little green just thinking about the experience.
"What's your psych profile on him?" Fury asked.
"He's a dichotomy—genius-level intellect hidden by idiocy. Maturity and childishness. Seriousness and playfulness. He can be any one of this in a drop of a hat. He might also be a great actor, hiding everything he doesn't want someone to see. The only thing I can say for sure is that he would prefer a fight over a debate..." Natasha listed off her hypothesis. "If it were me going to interrogate him, I'll treat him as a high functioning sociopath." She finally suggested.
Fury sat there, absorbing his agent's report. That's when Coulson decided to show up carrying a folder.
"I got the reports here, boss. I hope you didn't eat breakfast yet." Coulson said before handing it over to Fury.
"I only had doughnuts..." Fury said before opening the file. "But it looks like it's too much..." He commented when he saw the photo. "The hell happened? Is all of this cleaned up?"
"According to the techs on-site, the bodies are either shredded or exploded. Craters, bullet shells, and bullet fragments indicate that they fought back their enemy, but it just shrugged it all off..." Coulson reported. "As for the cleanup. They're still not yet done. Only 40% are finished last I checked. They had to use hazmat suits since all the guts and blood are considered a biohazard. The local fire trucks are borrowed to speed up the cleaning." He finished.
Clint took a peek at the photos and saw pictures that could only be seen in horror and slasher films.
Fury decided he had enough. He closed the file and placed it in the desk drawer. Coulson could just report the findings later.
"How about are guest, is he settled in already?" Fury asked, referring to Naruto.
"He's settled down inside his room, but the guards are losing it since he's been asking for ramen since he got off the plane." Coulson said with a small smile.
Fury looked contemplative for a moment before he stood up and said,
"You three come with me. We're going to ask our guests some questions."
Throughout the whole exchange, they never noticed the very slight distortion at the corner of the room.
-The Raft, Atlantic Ocean-
-January 28, 2007, 0930h local-
Naruto is sitting at the center of the room, bored out of his mind, waiting for something interesting to happen.
The room is in is called the Omega Cell—the highest level of security cell on the planet. It's a smaller version of the Raft attached to the bottom of a cylindrical room. Below the cell itself is open water. Its walls are made of triple-layered cubic boron nitride glass that would allow someone from outside of the cell to see clearly inside of it. Once any of those layers break, the cell would be propelled towards the bottom of the sea then promptly detonated. A modification was added to this cell when SHIELD found out Naruto can teleport. By continuously running alternating current through the cell, it would prevent anyone from the inside to undergo quantum entanglement outside of the room. Of course, SHIELD doesn't know that it wouldn't work for Naruto since he teleports by accessing a pocket dimension.
Naruto is currently singing badly out of tune about ramen when the doors for the overhead rafters above the cell opened. When he saw Fury come in, he can't help but ask,
"Kakashi-sensei, when did you go bald?"
Phil, Clint, and Natasha all tried to contain their laughter, but a few giggles got through. Fury now understood why Clint shot Naruto when they met. The guy somehow knows how to push someone's buttons. He reeled in his annoyance and projected a professional demeanor.
"Mr. Nine-Tails. I assume you know why you're here?" Fury asked.
"You're not going to like my butt again, are you?" Naruto said with a little shiver.
This finally made everyone laughed hard. Even the room operators couldn't help but snicker. Fury's eyebrow is now twitching uncontrollably.
"No..." Fury answered through gritted teeth. "You're here since you may have valuable information that could be of use."
"Oh, that. Well, I got nothing." Naruto said with a shrug.
"You don't seem to understand the situation you are in..." Fury said while pacing back and forth. "You are imprisoned in the most secure cell explicitly designed for you, in the most secure prison in the world that doesn't officially exist. You have no hope of leaving here, ever. The moment you even try to get out of there, it will launch you to the bottom of the sea and nuke the hell out of you..." He then started straight in Naruto's eyes. "You understand?"
There were a few minutes of tense silence. The people spectating are expecting Naruto to break any second now. Most prisoners of the Raft spill their guts out just to get a lighter sentence in this place. The thought of living on top of a primed nuke is just too much to handle.
But it looks like you see something new every day.
"HAHAHA!" Boisterous laughter was heard echoing around the chamber. Naruto is rolling on the floor, laughing. It took a few minutes for Naruto to calm down and stood up. "Damn. I haven't had a good laugh like that for quite a while..." Naruto said while wiping a tear from the side of his eye. He cleared and throat to snap out everyone out of their daze caused by his reaction. "I got five reasons why I'm not going to tell you shit. One..." Naruto raised his index finger. "You think you're so intimidating with that speech and stare; then I got some bad news for you. You're just as intimidating as a one-eyed chihuahua. Two!" Fury is definitely angry at this point. No one calls him a chihuahua! Naruto raised his middle finger next.
"You think I'm afraid of some nuke? I already took worse than a nuke. Three..." Everyone was surprised at Naruto's assertion. Who the hell can survive a nuke! His ring finger came up next. "I really have a problem with people in authority. They always think they're so special. All it takes is a simple knife to the throat, and you're in the same ditch as the rest of us. Four!" Fury felt a shadow of a knife running across his neck. He can't help but rub it to see if he is already bleeding. Naruto raised his pinky. "You really think I submitted to be placed here because of juiced up guns. Bitch, please. And finally, five!" They can't dispute his logic. Naruto would teleport at will. He has also shown the ability to tank incendiary shots. There's no reason for Naruto not to fight his way out if it came down to it. Naruto finally extended his thumb while retrieving a folder behind him. "What made you think that I can't get out of here anytime I want?" Naruto said the last part with a grin. Fury finally registered that the folder Coulson gave him and left inside his desk is now in Naruto's hands. "So..." Naruto drawled out. "You wanna start talking business?"
Fury finally understood the futility of trying to control a force of nature. He thought for a while, trying to work around the problem, but nothing came to him. It looks like Naruto holds all the cards, for now.
"What do you want?" Fury pushed out through gritted teeth.
"Awesome!" Naruto shouted before sitting on the bed. "You might want to start by turning off all remote recording first." Naruto said while pointing to a camera at the corner.
"Why?" Fury asked, not really wanting to turn off their connections to the outside in case something happens.
"Have you not been listening to Nat? Think about it. Do you want for someone to eavesdrop and record what we're going to talk about?" Naruto urged.
The group finally got the confirmation that Naruto was somehow in the room with them.
Fury recalled Natasha's report and remembered that there is a high possibility of a leak in SHIELD. He finally nodded towards Coulson's direction.
Phil walked towards a control panel by the side of the door and tinkered with it a little bit. Sirens suddenly blasted, and steel plates closed off all exits. They are now officially on lockdown. He then walked back to the group.
"Happy?" Fury asked sarcastically, still not happy with playing someone else's game.
"Very..." Naruto said from behind the group. They immediately turned around while individually pulling out their SHIELD standard-issue Glock 26 and saw Naruto materializing out of thin air. "You can't believe how long I've been standing here..." Fury turned his look back to the man he's been speaking all this time and saw him, or it disappears in a puff of smoke. "Isn't this better? We can finally talk a little better." Naruto said while removing his fox mask. This is the first time Fury, Coulson, and Barton saw his face in person. He really doesn't look more than a young adult, but with whiskers.
Fury signaled everyone to lower their weapons but not holster them. As the group lowers their guns, Naruto pulled out a steaming hot cup of ramen.
"You want?" Naruto offered while extending the cup towards them. When nobody answered, he pulled back his arm. "Well, more for me."
"Can we get started with the discussion?" Fury urged. All of them are still a bit off due to Naruto's antics.
"Alright. Here's what's going to happen. I've got four pieces of information that you would love to get your hands on. They're going to be paired up since I can't think of four things I want right now. I'm then going to ask for payment for each pair. As a sign of good faith, I'll give the info before the item is delivered but after a verbal promise. How's that sound?" Naruto laid out his conditions.
If the information he would give is as useful as Naruto make it sound, he would probably pay an arm and a leg for it, but he has no choice in the matter.
"Deal. State your first request." Fury said.
"A backdoor access to SHIELD systems..." Fury is ready to object since it could compromise their whole operation, but Naruto cut him off. "But with your confirmation and monitoring every time."
The last part is somewhat of a boon for Fury. He can finally have some way to keep track of Naruto's activities if he can look into what he is looking into. Fury nodded in confirmation to Naruto's first bargain.
"Ok. This first pair is about what Ingot from that Bloom guy. Your payment would more than worth it for this..." Naruto said, building up their expectations. "Hydra is still alive, and their highest mole in SHIELD is a guy named Pierce."
Everyone was stunned at what Naruto asserted. Hydra was always believed to be destroyed after the Red Skulls death and follow up operations conducted by the Allies. The thought of Hydra still operating and has enough clout to pull off an operation like in Budapest is just mind-boggling. The idea that Alexander Pierce, the Head of the World Security Council and Secretary of Defense, is more terrifying than mind-boggling.
Pierce has access to 95% of what Fury does, many of which are highly sensitive. His position would undoubtedly allow him to know the specifics of the operation Barton and Romanoff would do in Budapest. The only reason he doesn't know about Naruto is that they kept it close to the vest.
"Ready for the next one?" Naruto said with a smile while sitting on a chair that came from God knows where. "You, in particular, would love what I'm going to say next." He finished while pointing at Coulson.
"What do you want this time?" Fury asked while setting aside the previous revelations and working out what Naruto might say next. From what he knows about Coulson, he only really loves three things. His Spy tech collection, SHIELD, and Captain America. All three of those things can have some Earth-shattering information.
Fury was fully expecting Naruto to ask for SHIELD official badge or clearance so he can move around more freely. It would also mesh well with the backdoor Naruto was asking for, but nobody expected what he said next.
"I want a date with Nat."
They should be used to the surprises by now since they've been receiving it left and right since the whole thing started, but Naruto truly has the skill to hit them blindsided.
"What?" Natasha quietly asked after she regained some of her composure.
Naruto still had the innocence to act somewhat shy. He scratched the back of his head and said,
"You're beautiful, independent, and dangerous. Who'd not want to date you?"
Phil looked at Natasha and said,
"Your choice." But you can still see a bit of pleading in his eyes to say yes.
Clint, on the other hand, is trying his best to reel in his protective side and prevent Natasha from going to a date with a 'high functioning sociopath.'
Natasha saw no reason to deny Naruto. She was somewhat attracted to him the moment they met. It's been too long since she had a date for herself, not because of some mission. At least if she says yes now, they can get something out of it even the date doesn't work out. It's been too long since she had a date for herself, not because of some mission. Sure of her answer, she nodded her head.
"Yatta!" Naruto cheered, not seeing the weird look he is getting from the other guys. Natasha, on the other hand, is flattered by Naruto's genuine excitement. "Ok! For the final surprise! I can't tell you how I found out, but all I can say is that it's true..." Naruto warned. " Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are still alive."
When Naruto started traveling the world, he found out many fascinating people in this world. To learn more, he used a modification of Edo Tensei to call down souls and have a conversation with them. It's generally a mixed bag. Some are full-on lunatics; others are as good as a saint. One of the people that he tried to call over was Steve Rogers or Captain America, but to his surprise, no soul was called. He tried again with the whole roster of Howling Commandos and managed to call everyone except for James Buchanon Barnes. There are oy two reasons he would not be able to call someone; either the Shinigami ate their soul, or they are still alive. And since the Shinigami is not fully present in this Universe, the only explanation left is that they are still alive.
Coulson is practically catatonic. Everyone else is not much better. The Captain's legacy is what SHIELD is built on. Everything he stood for is why Howard Stark and Peggy Carter made SHIELD.
Seeing that the SHIELD agents are in a daze, Naruto wrote a note and placed it in Natasha's hand before he hiraishined away.
It took the group three minutes to fully recover their mental faculties. Fury was the first to recover at only 30 seconds. He tried to shake Coulson out of his stupor when he still had a far off look in his eyes after 2 minutes.
"We have a lot to do." Is the only thing Fury said before terminating the lockdown.
They were walking out of the room when Natasha felt a piece of paper in her hands. She unrolled it and giggled at what she read.
'Wear casual and comfortable clothes. I'll pick you up at 8 am. Take a leave ;)'
Status de energia semanal
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