Chapter 6
The sun is just ending its descent in the evening sky as the group make their way off the school campus, searching for any form of transportation out of town.
Not surprisingly, Rollins issued a radio silence on Rhodey's end, meaning they no longer have the advantage of being a step ahead of the commanding officer and the men under his control.
They did however, stumble across the nerve center that Thor had mentioned, learning that Steve and Clint had been transported to the truck depot with the rest of those deemed 'clean'.
The Colonel feels as if he has been transported back to the front lines as he observes the massacre around him. Bodies are scattered unceremoniously everywhere, and smoke is still billowing out of the school and lingering over the campus, sending chills down his spine.
The ragtag group he has with him are in various states of confusion, fear, and exhaustion.
Thor has a vice-like hold on Jane, almost as if fearing she'd be taken once again if he dares let go. Tony and Pepper almost mirror the younger couple, though Pepper seems much more calm and collected, most likely for Jane's sake. Fatigue seems to be enveloping Natasha, as both Bucky and Bobbi are helping her to press forward and keep moving.
"Pep, you remember that time I got us kicked out of the Bellagio?"
The rest of the group turn as the woman barks out a laugh before covering her mouth and turning to her husband.
"Nudity is apparently quite the crime in Vegas."
Thor allows a laugh to ghost over his lips at the words the mayor directed to no one in particular.
Pepper reaches her hand over and pats his cheek.
"Nudity is quite the crime all across the country, dear."
Rhodey just smiles, thinking he'll have to use this new information to his advantage.
"That's nothing. Back in college, we made ourselves a pretty great deal. Every time I scored higher than him on an exam, I'd make him ask the TA out on a date. She declined every time."
Tony scoffs at his friend before turning back to the group and stealing their attention, not allowing his pride to be muddled.
"And he almost never scored higher than me on an exam, so he'd end up cooking all my meals and doing all my laundry."
A comfortable silence falls upon the group after that.
Thor takes the moment to gather all the wild ideas that had been bouncing around inside his head since finding Jane to form a somewhat cohesive single thought.
He pulls her incrementally closer into his side, then places a soft kiss in her hair. Once he's got her full attention, he begins speaking in a soft voice to his love.
"Jane. I promise, once this is all over, I'm going to marry you. I'm going to find the perfect ring, and plan the perfect proposal, and then we'll have your dream ceremony, and then maybe take a vacation, because I think one may be in order."
She doesn't say anything for a few moments, and Thor has half a mind to laugh it all off or apologize; that is, until she turns to him with a tearful smile, and as the rest continue on ahead of them, takes a moment to stop them for a second and place a soft kiss on his lips.
"Nothing would make me happier."
They stay enraptured in one another's arms; and for a moment forget about the horrors they are facing.
"There's an SUV!"
They all follow Rhodey's line of sight to a beat up old Honda, left abandoned on the empty stretch of pavement.
Rhodey runs up to the vehicle, but immediately deflates once he notices the boot on the car's front tire.
"This is the tenth car we've found with a boot. We're going to end up hiking all the way to Cedar Rapids."
"Maybe not."
Nat seems finally able to stand on her own strength, pushing herself to the front of the group to stand next to the Colonel.
"We've got an old '78 police issue Bronco under a tarp in our barn. I doubt they took the time to shackle it up."
"I thought that thing was on cinder blocks?"
A smile ghosts over Nat's lips as she turns to answer Thor, still holding Jane a few steps back from the rest of the gang.
"Clint wouldn't give up on it. He got it running a few weeks ago. Even on foot we can be there in less than ten minutes."
Finally having a viable option at their disposal, the group once again begin the harrowing journey out of the Hell around them.
Sharon's pulse is racing; her eyes darting between the few operatives busying themselves with work on the top floor. Pierce's office is at the end of an empty hallway, meaning she'll be able to sneak in and out unnoticed.
The possibilities of what she could find and the weight of Fury's implications are weighing on her mind as she makes the silent descent down the long corridor to the lone door withholding all of the director's secrets.
She picks the lock with ease, slipping in without a sound and shutting the door behind her in the same way.
Just standing here now is enough to warrant a conviction, especially considering the fact that she is here under no orders of Pierce himself. The realization is enough for her to take a harrowing breath, but push her way into the dark room nonetheless.
The entire room is clinically clean and neat, unsurprisingly. The cliche pictures of wife and children sit pretty in his massive stained oak desk, and to Sharon's relief, none of the drawers contain locking mechanisms.
The first drawer finds much of nothing. A few files containing mission debriefings and senate hearings.
Two more drawers, and she still hasn't found anything even remotely incriminating.
She takes a seat in the large pleated leather chair behind the highly unsatisfying information depot of a desk, and takes a few steadying breaths.
She'd known Fury for a long time; her Aunt Peggy very good friends with the man, becoming somewhat of a mentor to him as he rose through the ranks of the Homeland Affairs department. He had never once given Sharon a reason not to trust him completely; and she ruefully thinks to herself as she makes her way over to the large bookcase across the room that she really doesn't want to start distrusting him now.
Still though, the idea of Pierce orchestrating something so despicable seems unfathomable; and the painful lack of evidence is becoming very frustrating.
Very much alike her scan of the desk's contents, the first few cabinets hold nothing interesting, and her impatience is now slowly morphing into anger.
If Pierce indeed is hiding something, how the Hell does she find out what it is? And the other option; Fury lying about it all.....
Why?
He has absolutely no reason to make such weighted accusations if monumental consequences aren't at stake.
Toward the back of a lower drawer, her hand briefly ghosts over a small solid object, and upon removing it from the case and inspecting it, she finds that it is a flash drive, the acronym BFE written in black ink on the backside.
She has spent enough time corresponding with the ranks of the army to recognize the status, Bum Fuck Egypt to mean exactly as the name entails. A barren, usually uninhabitable area that infantries usually avoid. Instincts are telling Sharon that this is somehow very important, and she needs to find out what exactly is on this flash drive as soon as possible.
The sound of hushed talking echoes beyond the door, and Sharon has but seconds to duck into a roll and take cover behind a large black leather couch adjacent to the center of the room.
The door flies open, but the room stays bathed in darkness.
She recognizes Pierce's voice immediately; the man talking very hushed, a desperate and perturbed edge to his words.
"Ross and Rumlow are inconsequential at this point. You told me that Rhodes wouldn't be an issue. If he finds out about our little project, it's over Jack. We'll be lucky if a public execution isn't in order."
The words are enough to send every nerve in Sharon's body trembling. She's desperately aware of how minuscule a cover the couch offers, and hopes beyond comprehension that Pierce doesn't move any further into the room.
"Things are quiet here. No one suspects anything. I intend to keep it that way. I need you to promise me that we can put a cap on this all. Rhodes and anyone in association with him need to be put down, point blank. Stern and I have a few ideas beyond that, I just need a little more time."
He's silent for a few moments before he begins to move, and Sharon's heart stops as the man takes a seat behind his desk; she only able to huddle in on herself, and listen with baited breath to his final exchange with who she gathered at this point to be Rollins.
"Keep me informed, Agent Rollins, and take care of Rhodes."
The room is dreadfully quiet in that moment, Pierce's heavy breaths just hardly masking Sharon's rapid fire heartbeat.
The sound of the door once again being thrown open is enough to almost give the woman a heart attack, and Stern's frantic voice fills the room a moment later.
"Well? What did he say? Have we been made?"
"No. Colonel Rhodes has a small group consisting of the mayor, the town's medical examiner and physician and a few others with him. Agent Rollins is to intercept them and eliminate them. The rest of the town's population has already been shuttled out and will be lead to believe that a natural gas leak at a local mining facility was the cause of the quarantine."
Sharon's mind is a symphony of voices, screaming at her to run, to scream, to do something, but her body stays pressed against the back of the couch, still completely hidden.
"Contamination counts are already upwards of ninety, Senator. The test run was overwhelmingly successful. We'll be reaping the rewards of this endeavor soon enough."
"I like the sound of that. We need to get back, though. The Director was freaking me out with that eyepatch."
It's not until the two men have exited the room and the door has once again been closed and locked that Sharon finally takes a breath. Her mind is still racing; everything the two just unknowingly confessed to hitting like a bullet to her chest.
Whatever this file contains, Sharon has to piece it all together and quick. She needs solid evidence of treason if she wants to bring the two down.
First issue at hand however, is finding a way to contact Rhodes. The man is in grave danger, and Sharon will be damned if she doesn't warn him, Tony, and the rest.
Making her way out of the room, she's careful not to draw any attention to herself as she slides past her constituents, and is almost to the elevator when a call comes in over a control panel, the voice belonging to one of the officers commandeering the shuttles out of Waverly.
"Rogue vehicle. Repeat, rogue vehicle. Unit 13 compromised. A group of hostiles broke the quarantine line."
Before the young man in position at the panel has a chance to respond, Sharon is at his side pressing the reply line.
"This is Agent Carter. I will speak to Representative Pierce on the matter. We have men inside. Focus on the task at hand and get those people under your watch out of the contamination zone."
"Yes, ma'am."
She ends the transmission before plastering on her best authoritative glare and turning to the few seated around her.
"Please send all transmissions from this panel to my own personal line. Pierce has too much else to deal with at the moment. Someone give me the line to the Sat phone in the stolen Humvee. I'm going to try and negotiate and end to that situation myself."
The young man closest to the panel begins typing furiously before sprawling out the number on a scrap of paper and handing it to Sharon.
She smiles curtly before turning on her heel and making a hasty retreat; letting out a slow breath and leaning her forehead against the cold stainless steel of the elevator wall once its doors slide closed.
She takes a look at the paper in her hand and then closes her eyes before dialing the number.
"Take a left up here. We'll hide this thing at the bottom of Lake Nova."
Maria does exactly as Clint instructs, all four staying quiet after he speaks.
They had agreed to dump the army vehicle as soon as they could. From there, they would make their way to Clint and Nat's farm to try and get the old junker of a police cruiser sitting in the back of the barn running, hopefully able to shuttle their loved ones out in it if all goes well.
Clint hates the tension in the small confines of the vehicle; the looks of fear in his friends' eyes. So, he lets a small laugh ghost over his lips before speaking to the three around him.
"Alright. Let's pretend we're all in highschool again. We'll do some type of spill your guts bullshit to help clear our heads. Maria, you start. First thing you're going to do as soon as this is all over."
The young brunette gives him an analyzing smile before it turns to something softer; more fond.
"I want to go back to Chicago. Make some happy memories there. I wanna try and erase all the hate my father made me feel for my hometown."
Clint didn't think that she'd actually play along with his little stint, but is infinitely glad that she did. The young woman rarely ever veers from her clearheaded pragmatism, so to see her be so emotionally exposed sets his nerves at bay.
He places a soft hand on her shoulder and doesn't break her gaze until Sam clears his throat from the backseat.
"I'm gonna order me a big ass three-meat pizza and buy a six pack of Pabst. Then, I'm going to go over to Wade Wilson's place, and punch him square in the teeth for being such an obnoxious asshole all the time."
That's enough to have the other three dissolving into a fit of laughter, helping to shift the mood of their situation away from the dread it held minutes earlier.
Sam wipes at his eyes and then continues on in a much softer tone.
"Then, I don't know. Maybe call my ma. I haven't talked to her enough recently. Maybe, visit Riley's wife and son. Maybe, finally visit Yellowstone and Old Faithful and the like. I've always wanted to, but just never took the time to pursue it. Maybe, convince Maria here to finally accompany me for dinner and a movie."
She continues smiling, and for once, doesn't take an out.
"I'd like that."
All three men look at her as if she'd just turned water into wine, Sam jokingly feeling his pulse and grasping at Steve.
"Steve. You're my best bud. Please tell me I'm not hearing things."
The blonde just shakes his head at his friend, before confirming that he indeed heard her right.
Once Maria stops laughing and finally wills the blush in her cheeks away, she looks back at Steve and gives him her best smile.
"It's your turn to spill, Rogers."
Steve smiles down at his feet, lost in thought, before lifting his gaze to his friends around him.
"I want to give Buck the best damned wedding of all time, with everyone there to celebrate. Then, we want to look into adoption. Maybe start with a puppy as a trial run."
The four chuckle at that before Steve rubs at the back of his neck and continues on.
"I think I might sell the bike so we can start saving towards adding on to the house. We both really want another bedroom on the first floor for when we do need a nursery."
Sam pats him on the back, and Clint and Maria have similar warm smiles gracing their features as another companionable quiet fills the air around them.
"Well, after all the work is done over at my place, we can all saddle up and head on over to do yours."
Clint just closes his eyes, lets his head loll back onto the seat behind him.
"Hell, I mean, I've already got everything that I need. A great job, the best friends a guy could ask for, a wife who is my literal guardian angel, and a baby on the way. I don't need anything other than to live every day for the rest of my life cherishing all that I've been lucky enough to stumble into."
Maria lets out a slightly tearful laugh, wiping at her eyes before kissing her open palm and pressing it to Clint's cheek.
"Wow, Chief. That was beautiful."
The group all stay quiet after that, a semblance of calm surrounding them. They didn't need the reminder of what is all at stake, but it helps regardless.
Maybe life will forever be different after this horror is over. Maybe, Waverly will be nothing but a distant memory years from now; but as long as they have one another, none of it will matter.
Maria eventually pulls off the road right alongside the lake, and puts the vehicle in neutral.
The focus and determination from earlier rise to the forefront of their being once again, wordlessly taking different corners of the car, ready to give it enough push to start it's way into the water.
Clint clears his throat, then begins the countdown.
"Three.....two....."
The sound of a phone ringing makes all of them nearly jump out of their skin. They stand in shock for a moment before Sam finally opens one of the doors, pulling out the culprit.
"Should I.....?"
No one gives an answer, so Sam goes against what is probably his better judgement, and answers the Sat phone.
"Hello?"
"Who am I speaking to?"
"Who am I speaking to?"
It's a female voice, that much Sam can gather. Means literally nothing when the sheer authority and tenacity in her voice is enough to make anyone quake in their boots.
"All you need to know is that I'm on your side. You pulled a real stupid stunt reentering the quarantine zone. What could possibly be possessing you to stick around with all that's going on?"
Sam gathers himself and strings together what he hopes is a coherent response, his colleagues faces all very transfixed on him.
"Well, your army buddies aren't exactly precision instruments, to be perfectly honest. There are innocent people dropping like flies out here, are you aware of that?
When the mystery caller speaks again, it's with a much calmer, less biting tone of voice. In an unexplainable way, it makes Sam feel almost calm.
"I'm aware. Very painfully aware as a matter of fact. I suppose honesty is in order. My name is Sharon Carter. I'm Level Eight clearance for the CIA. I'm trying to contact Colonel Rhodes."
Clint's ears perk up at the name, and before Sam can say anything, the phone is being pulled from his grasp.
"Yeah, uh...hi. I'm the town's sheriff, Clint Barton. My deputies and I were separated from Rhodes when the containment protocol was enacted. We're en route to the highschool as we speak."
He looks around at his three friends, then asks the question that has been biting at him since Sam first answered the call.
"How bad is the situation, Agent Carter?"
The woman lets out a steady exhale, but her voice remains lax and soothing once she begins speaking again.
"It's ugly, Sheriff. But you're all gonna get through this. I just need you to find Rhodes, and have him contact me as soon as you do. I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times tonight, but believe me when I say that I'm gonna help you all. Rhodes has a few people with him; Stark and his wife, and I believe I heard something about an ME and a doctor."
Clint feels his knees go week, grasping with his free hand at Sam standing next to him, and cuts off Sharon's next words after exhaling deeply.
"That would be the reason we stormed back in here ma'am."
She holds her tongue for what seems like forever, and that's enough reason for Clint to feel that earlier sense of dread creeping up inside of him once again.
"They family?"
"Yes. All of them."
"Well, then listen very carefully, Clint. My director delegated four other top-ranking Commanders to your hometown under the false pretense of putting a cap on the situation and facilitating a cure as swiftly as possible. I have reason to believe that the incident was orchestrated purposefully by my boss. He just gave orders to the only man he has left out there, Agent Jack Rollins, to eliminate Rhodes and the group of people he's with. I'm going to do everything on my end to put a stop to this madness, even if it kills me. I need you to find Rhodes, and get anywhere safe, and have him contact me as soon as he is able to do so. First thing you're going to want to do is ditch the Humvee you stole."
Clint regains his strength, looks around at Maria and Sam, then let's his gaze rest on Steve for a moment; a kindred spirit between the two of them, needing to find their way back to the loves of their lives.
"Already on it ma'am."
"Godspeed, Sheriff."
He hands the phone off to Sam, and immediately makes his way over to Steve, placing both hands on the man's broad shoulders, and allowing a hopeful smile to radiate from him.
"Tasha and Bucky are alive, but they're in trouble. We've gotta find them as soon as possible."
Steve doesn't say anything, just moves away from Clint, and to everyone's surprise, gives one good heave to the back of their stolen transport, sending it careening into the water.
Before anyone can string together any type of coherent thoughts, the blond is already walking away from the group down the lonely stretch of pavement leading back toward the town, and toward Bucky.
"You guys coming or what?"
With that the other three fall into pace behind him, and begin their rescue mission.
The night seems especially dark as Rhodes and the others continue on their way to the Sheriff's farmhouse.
A slight chill in the air has them staying fairly close together, and silence has once again fallen upon them.
"There's a light on in that house up ahead."
Natasha follows Rhodes' line of sight to the house in mention, and then lets out a small gasp realizing who it belongs to.
"Wanda and Pietro live there with their foster father."
Tony pulls ahead of the rest, turning back toward Rhodey, giving him a meaningful look; one the commander recognizes immediately.
"We're not leaving two kids behind, Rhodey. I hope you know that."
"I don't know who you take me for, Stark, I would never. Let's be quick about this, though."
It's not long after that they are all standing in a circle on the kid's front porch.
Natasha takes Jane's hand, and begins to step toward the door.
"Let us go on ahead of you. They'll be more comfortable with familiar faces."
The others silently agree with the sentiment, and allow the two women to slowly push the door open and enter the house.
Once the door is shut again, a compete shift in atmosphere is instantly noticeable.
Wolfgang Von Strucker was a devout Christian man, his home always being immaculately clean, and Wanda and Pietro being raised into intelligent, passionate, respectful young adults. It's no surprise that a vinyl record is spinning in the parlor, Johnny Cash's voice emanating throughout the empty first floor.
And the whirlwind, is in the thorn tree...
Nat and Jane scan through the few rooms in close proximity to them, and find no one anywhere in the house.
"Come on in. No one's home."
The other six file in slowly after Nat had finished speaking, and their ears immediately attune to the song playing throughout the empty house.
It takes all of a few seconds for Bucky to walk over to the record player and cut out the noise of the music, turning back to the group with a look of disgust.
"Im starting to really hate that song."
Nat gives a sigh before taking a seat and resting her head in her open palm, eyes closed.
Rhodey scans the room once again, and then turns to speak to the group.
"They must have been evacuated quickly. Probably didn't have time to lock up or anything."
Jane takes a seat on the couch opposite Natasha, and Bucky goes to the kitchen, grabbing a bottled water, then the bathroom; producing Aspirin from the medicine cabinet for Nat.
Everyone silently agrees to rest up for a moment, so Bobbi steps away from the group, walking quietly toward the back of the house, toward the back porch.
Tony, Pepper and Rhodey announce that they are going to head out to the barn outside and see if they have still got an old two-way radio to use to contact help, and Thor heads to the basement for the same reason.
Bucky finds his way into the kitchen, pulling a ten dollar bill out of his wallet and throwing it on the island for Strucker, before digging through his pantry for food for all of them.
The two remaining in the parlor all quickly begin to nod off, the quiet very welcome after the long night they had been through so far.
"So.....maybe up on the loft? Pep, come here, I'll lift you up."
Knowing that arguing with her husband is always futile, Pepper allows herself to be lifted onto his shoulders, then grasps at a sturdy rafter next to her, and pulls herself up onto the loft.
There are some old equipment parts and feeding bags, but to her disappointment, no radio.
"Nothing. Sorry boys."
"How about behind that hay bail?"
Pepper follows Tony's outstretched index finger to the far end of the loft, and sees a large hay bail sitting in the corner.
"Give me a second."
"Bobbi? I found some apples and oranges in the fridge."
Bobbi turns and gives a soft smile as Bucky takes a place on the back porch with her.
"Thanks, love. I'll come in in a second. I just needed to clear my head."
He pulls her into a hug then, rubbing soothing circles into her back as silent tears begin to drip from her eyes once more.
"Shhh. It's alright. As soon as we find him, I'm punching Lance in the face."
She laughs into his hair, not even trying to protest the offer.
They stay holding onto one another for a moment, when out of nowhere, Pepper's horrified scream fills the air.
They give each other one knowing look before bounding down the back steps into the yard, and taking off toward the barn.
"What the Hell happened?"
Rhodes looks just as lost as they are, Tony clambering his way up to where his wife is standing stock still, hands covering her eyes.
Once he reaches her position, he makes a distressed noise then pulls her into an embrace and turns to face Rhodes.
"Ah, God. It's, it's the twins. Someone, someone...."
And that's all it takes for the other three to understand exactly what had caused Pepper's reaction.
Jane is still half asleep when the Cash song starts playing again, and she decides in that moment that she also hates it.
Opening her eyes just enough to look across from her, Nat is still sleeping in the armchair.
Jane stays seated, knowing that very soon, they would all be back out in the chill night, marching on out of Waverly to safety.
She's vaguely aware of footsteps behind her, and begins speaking to her boyfriend.
"You find anything down there, babe?"
Thor doesn't answer, just places a hand on her shoulder.
Jane reaches up and places her open palm to it, remembering his words from earlier. The man is probably the only reason she's held herself together this long, and the thought of wearing his ring on her finger brings a small smile to her lips.
Across from her, Natasha slowly begins to wake up, and Jane watches her face go from one of confusion, to utter horror, and she has just enough time to turn and pull away from the hand on her shoulder, when another is throwing a knife down into her upper arm.
She staggers away from the couch, Natasha grabbing at her shoulders to help her along, as Strucker's bloodied form begins stalking toward her.
He lunges at her, and she is only able to let out an aborted shriek as a gunshot rings out in the room.
As her attacker falls lifeless to the floor, Thor is revealed, gun drawn, standing behind him.
Jane makes to step toward him, but instead, watches as he steps over the already dead man, and shoots him once, twice, three more times in the head, no emotions in his eyes as he does so.
Eventually, in what feels like eons later to the two women watching the terror happen in front of them, the other five come running from the barn.
Jane's eyes are glued on Thor, however; the man still staring down at the body on the floor beneath him. His eyes are dead, and Jane has never felt so helpless in all her life.
Her mind is still on hold, but her feet slowly start carrying her toward her boyfriend.
She's only somewhat registering Nat speaking her name behind her as she places a soft hand on Thor's shoulder.
"You're bleeding."
With that, he's lowering the weapon and seating them both on the couch, tending to her wound and offering words of reassurance.
The two are too far enveloped in their own affairs to notice the baited breaths and haunted looks from the group around them.