Chill, Level Low
“So you got footage of them and Ariel didn’t even hack it?” Torres asked Sam. He seemed excited now that they finally had a lead.
It’d been a day since they’d come back from San Marino. Bucky and Sam had debated whether or not they should notify SHIELD or the CIA. They’d decided to at least tell Torres. Unfortunately, Walker had inserted himself in the conversation and the three men had had to make him swear on his life to say nothing to Val.
“I’m not sure, but when I went to get the watch back from Riri, I had her help me set up some precautions on Redwing to make sure Ariel couldn’t try and hack him,” Sam set down Redwing on the table and pulled up the footage.
“We just need to run facial recognition on them and then we can finally arrest them,” Walker asserted, walking over to see the recording.
“We can’t use any tech from SHIELD or the CIA without it being recorded and reported,” Bucky shook his head.
“Actually, I know a guy within the CIA who might not report it. He runs the high-profile facial rec and he might keep it secret,” Torres responded quickly, perking up.
“He works for the CIA. Are you sure he won’t say anything?” Sam looked at Torres trying to make sure this was legitimate.
“He’s a good friend. I’ve worked with him a couple of times too. He knows when to keep a secret and I’m sure that if we ask as a group, he won’t say a word,” Torres assured him with a nod.
“Hold on, why aren’t we telling anybody else? These people are violent criminals that belong in the Raft,” Walker asserted, looking between Torres, Sam, and Bucky.
“They said we’re fighting the same enemy and I want to see if that’s true before we jump to any major conclusions,” Sam maintained, picking up Redwing again as Torres went to the door.
“Am I the only one that sees this as the Flagsmashers situation all over again?” Walker reasoned. Bucky walked over, standing by Sam now.
Sam and Bucky exchanged a glance and Sam spoke, “I don’t think this is quite the same, but if it turns out to be so, we’ll be ready.”
Walker grumbled and then followed Torres, Sam, and Bucky out the door. The four men drove down to Langley, Virginia to the headquarters of the CIA. They easily got inside and Torres led the way up to the third floor of the building. They went down a dull hallway with agents passing them here and there. Torres stopped at one door and scanned his card, opening the door for them to go inside.
The room inside was dark with one desk and a few office chairs inside. The desk had multiple monitors scattered across it with a large stack of papers next to them. The room itself was incredibly cold. There was a light-skinned young man seated at the desk with light brown hair and brown eyes. He hadn’t noticed the group as he had earphones in and seemed to be invested on whatever was on one of his monitors.
Torres walked up to the desk and waved his hand to get the man’s attention. The man immediately spotted him and grinned, pulling out his earphones with his left hand and then stood up. The two greeted each other and then Torres directed the man’s attention to Sam, Bucky, and Walker standing near the door.
“Holy crap,” the man blurted out.
Torres laughed and gestured for the three men to come closer. They did so and Torres decided to start introductions.
“Sam, Bucky, Walker, this is Bobby Drake, the friend I was talking about,” Torres introduced the young man. Sam held out his hand and Bobby shook it, still wearing the look of surprise.
“Bobby this is-”
“Sam Wilson- Captain America- who doesn’t know him?” Bobby shook off the initial shock and stopped shaking his head, now looking at him with something between admiration and fascination.
“And you’re Bucky Barnes,” He then pointed at Bucky, “And the failed Captain America,” He looked at Walker who looked completely annoyed.
“It’s really an honor,” Bobby looked at all of them and then his eyes landed on Torres again, “Honestly, I thought he was joking when he said he knew Captain America.”
“Yeah, Torres is a great guy. I’m lucky to work with him,” Sam complimented and patted Torres on the shoulder.
“This is great and all, but are we going to get what we came for?” Walker brought up, still irritated by Bobby’s earlier comment.
“Oh right, I wouldn’t have a bunch of superheroes in my office if there wasn’t something important going on,” Bobby came back to reality and went back to standing behind his desk, “So, whaddya need me for?”
“We need you to run facial rec on a few people,” Torres spoke up.
“And we need you to not tell anyone,” Bucky added.
“Oh super secret superhero stuff, I gotcha,” Bobby nodded, looking excited now, “So who’s got the pictures?”
Sam stepped forward and set down Redwing on the edge of Bobby’s desk. Bobby looked perplexed by the drone and then asked, “Can I connect this thing with a USB cord or do you have some special Avengers tech for that?”
“No, go ahead and use a USB cord,” Sam signaled a yes to him.
Bobby sprang into action and got to work. He pulled out a USB cord from one of the drawers in his desk and connected it to one of the monitors. The footage of Paws, Claws and Ariel came up on the screen. Sam pointed each of them out while Bucky, Torres, and Walker watched, all of the men now behind the desk.
Bobby scanned zoomed in on the three faces and then transferred the shots to another monitor. He immediately began scanning each individual face and pulling up various government documents on each person. He worked on the system for a few more minutes before he turned around in his seat.
“So all three of the people are in the system,” Bobby explained, “Who do you want me to tell ya about first?”
“Let’s start with him,” Sam gestured to Paws.
“Alrighty, Bobby whipped around in his seat, “His name is Kurt Wagner, born in Witzeldorf, Germany. There’s no date listed for his birth, but I’d estimate he should be 23 by now and not a lot about his personal details overall. Looks like he was in the circus for most, if not all, of his childhood, but he disappeared from their shows around when he should have been 14 or 15. He reappeared in the US about three years later and got a student visa, going to a school in upstate New York. Since his graduation, his whereabouts have been unknown.”
“And the girl?” Walker asked.
“Her name is Katherine Anne Pryde, born in Deerfield, Illinois to Carmen and Teresa Pryde. She’s 20 now, birthday coming up. I’ll tell ya one thing, it’d be a great birthday gift to meet Captain America,” Bobby went off on a tangent.
“I don’t think she sees it that way,” Sam muttered, “Anything else on her?”
“Lots. Get this, her parents were both killed when she was ten and she was nowhere to be found. She was listed as missing for three years until she also reappeared at that same school in upstate New York. Graduated at 18 and then got accepted to MIT and has been there ever since,” He listed off the facts. Bucky and Sam exchanged a glance. Riri’s neighbor.
Bobby then moved on to Claws, “This guy has had a crap ton of names. Honestly, based on this information, it looks like he’s been alive since the 1880’s. His name is James Howlett, but the name he uses for most paperwork recently is Logan. Not a lot on him, but it looks like he served in World War II. After that, not much is on here, looks like he disappeared in the 50’s,” Bobby scrolled through some documents, “Didn’t reappear until about twenty years later when he had a run-in with the cops. Looks like he was a part of some kind of mafia. Once again, not much until when Katherine and Kurt appeared again, he joined that school as faculty. Doesn’t say what he taught, but he wasn’t long for it and he left not long after Katherine went to MIT.”
“Interesting and that’s all?” Sam questioned, looking at the screen.
“Pretty much,” Bobby shrugged and leaned back in the chair, “Since I’m keeping this secret, can I ask if this is Avengers stuff?”
“More like SHIELD stuff,” Sam cracked a smile, “Thanks for the help.”
“Of course. I wasn't expecting an Avenger in my office this Monday, but this is a welcome surprise,” Bobby beamed.
“We’ll get out of your hair so you can have your break,” Torres looked at the time, “Good seeing you, man.”
“Good seeing you too. It’s been forever. When you’re back in town, we should get drinks,” Bobby stood up and the two men hugged.
Sam, Bucky, Torres, and Walker left his office and later the building. They decided to get dinner after they drove back to Washington DC. Walker made the decision to leave to have dinner with his wife and they bid him farewell. After eating, they were walking back to the hotel when Torres spotted Bobby walking out of a pizza place. He was walking ahead of them and hadn’t seen them, as he was focused on something on his phone.
Bobby scrolled through his phone and then lifted it up to his ear as he turned the corner. The three men followed quietly and listened as he started his call.
“Hey, Kitty, I know you’re probably at a party or doing homework or something or maybe just not taking my calls anymore. I just wanted to let you know that I had to do facial rec on you today at work,” Bobby held the phone up to his ear with his shoulder as he checked the pizza in the box and talked. It sounded like he was leaving a voicemail. Bucky and Sam exchanged another look, this time of intrigue. Torres looked confused.
Bobby went on, “It’ll probably shock you to hear this, but it wasn’t just some higher-ups. It was-” He whispered into the phone, “Captain America, my friend, and two other guys. Bunch of superhero types.”
He sighed, “I know you’re stubborn as all hell, but I don’t think you should stay at MIT. Skidaddle out of there as fast as you can, because I don’t think they’re looking to recruit new Avengers. I think they’re after you for something. If you need anywhere to go, you know back home is always open. I know you don’t think so anymore, but the Professor would love to have you guys back. Call me back when you get this.”
Bobby took his phone from his shoulder and hung up. He put the pizza box in one hand and then connected his earphones to his phone, putting them in his ears as he kept walking. He eventually stopped at a corner to cross the street. He took his eyes off his phone for a second and glanced upward. He then had to double take as he spotted Sam, Torres, and Bucky.
“Oh shit.”