Interlude
General Ross:
The Gamma Beast Team have tracked the monster across South America. Spotted him outside of the Brazil coast, but he disappeared shortly after. Signal is currently being tracked further.
-GBT
General Ross:
No change in three months.
-GBT
Ross:
He hides well, this monster.
-GBT
Found a lock and a visual. He's being careless and has been seen with a woman for the past two days. Moving in tomorrow.
-GBT
She moved him. We fired a tracker and now wait for it to boot so we can see if it takes hold.
-GBT
Ross stared at the latest message with a hard frown. He needed to find better people to track down the beast if he escaped again. For now, he needed a team that could go to wherever this mysterious woman took him to and get him out. He crinkled the last letter in his fist and looked up, across the dining room table to his beautiful daughter. His lovely little girl.
"Do you still have feelings for the beast?" he asked, voice low.
Betty's eyes widened and Ross was about to repeat his question when she shook her head. "Of course not. He is a monster."
"And what do people like us do, my dear?"
She shivered, but Ross knew that it was simply because it was cold in the house. "We hunt them. We find where they're hiding and we hunt them down."
"Yes, yes we do." Ross stood and walked around the table. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. This nightmare will be over soon, okay? The monster won't hurt you anymore."
The tears she held back, and the lone tear that escaped, was because of her nightmares. Ross wanted to drive them away. He wanted to find Bruce Banner and make him pay for harming his baby girl. She was warped by the beast, thinking that he loved her, but Ross knew the truth. Nothing that monstrous could love anything.
"Don't go far today, Betty. I should be getting a notice about where the beast is very soon." He ran his fingers through her hair. "We'll destroy this together."
He stood there, petting his lovely daughter's hair, until his phone buzzed. Not pausing in his movements, he pulled the device out with his free hand and grinned at the message there.
Stark Tower.
It was so very close. Ross laughed and finally pulled away to go into his office. He had a phone call to make, plans to put forth, and a beast to capture. Stark had his Expo running and, as luck would have it, he knew a few people in the security team that owed him favors. They would start there.
He put the phone to his ear as it rang on the other end. It didn't take long to pick up. "Duncan, hello! It's Ross."
"Thunderbolt! Hey, you caught me on my break. I thought you were in Argentina."
"Far from it, I'm in Virginia." Ross took a seat behind his desk. "Listen, I need a favor."
"Make the request quick, okay? We got—"
"I want in on the security detail at the Expo. Me and a few of my men." Ross pulled out a few files on Banner. "No need to pay us, just get us in and get us close to wherever Stark is. He has something of mine."
"Ah, I'm not sure if I can do all of that. How many are you bringing in?"
Ross scowled as he came across a picture of Banner and his daughter. He should have stopped that sooner. "Just an extraction team. Five or so."
"Can I call you back later about this? I can't—"
"Call me when you have a spot for us." Ross hung up the phone before another word was said.
What would Stark want with a beast? Experimentation? No, the billionaire didn't seem the type. A strange security gimmick? Hulk would cause more harm than good, the mindless thing. Then what? Ross shoved the papers off the desk, watching as they fluttered to the floor.
"What do you want with my beast, Stark?"