Tracked & Traced
It was mostly quiet at the start. Avery was just waiting—just in case someone needed her. The team was in the field, and she was their eyes and ears.
Bucky had the trackers. She could see exactly where he was, the small blinking dots on her screen showing his movements. One by one, they were being attached to vans and cars, marking the paths of the people responsible for this entire nightmare. Sam controlled Redwing, but he’d given her access to the video feed.
The first woman was already safe, sitting in the Quinjet. They had gotten lucky—she’d been left alone in a room with an open window. An escape too easy, almost suspicious. But Avery wasn’t about to question a miracle.
Then her earpiece crackled.
"Hey, kid, do me a favor?" Natasha’s voice, steady as always. "We’re taking the women to a safe house first. Can you link into the Quinjet’s speakers and explain what’s happening?"
Of course, Nat would think of their comfort. She always did.
Hacking into the Quinjet's system wasn’t difficult; it ran off the same tech FRIDAY used. Within seconds, Avery’s voice echoed into the cabin.
"Hi, can you hear me, miss?"
The woman startled slightly, glancing around the jet.
"Sorry, I’m not there with you. I’m speaking through the speakers," Avery reassured her. "You can talk back—I’ll hear you."
She hesitated, then answered, "Yeah, I hear you. Where are we going?"
Direct. Strong. Avery already liked her.
"I can’t give you the exact location, but first to a safe house. After that, we’ll make sure you get home—or find another place to stay if that’s what’s needed."
The woman nodded slowly. "Why aren’t we leaving now?"
There was tension in her voice. She was nervous.
"There are other women still in that building," Avery told her. "We’re getting all of you out."
Her breath caught. Her fingers curled into fists as her eyes flickered to the warehouse through the Quinjet’s window.
"Oh," she whispered. "I didn’t know. I thought…" She trailed off, as if realizing for the first time that she wasn’t the only one.
"It’s okay," Avery said gently. "Whatever you're feeling, it's valid. Just know that you’re not alone. And if you can, it would really help us if you could reassure any other women who come aboard."
A long pause.
Then the woman straightened her shoulders.
"I can do that," she said.
Before Avery could reply, another voice came through.
"Doll? I’ve got two more women. Bringing them to the jet now."
Bucky.
Relief hit Avery like a tidal wave. She hadn’t realized how tightly wound she was until she heard his voice. He was okay.
She refocused. "Charlie, there are two more coming with my friend James now," she told the woman in the jet.
The name suited her, Avery had managed to find out which one of the 16 women this first victim was. Charlie did not seem surprised Avery knew her name in fact it seem to relax her. Someone had come for her, even when she had no one.
True to her word, Charlie stood as soon as the ramp lowered. Without hesitation, she reached for the two frightened women and guided them aboard, speaking in a low, calming tone. The way she carried herself, the way the others instantly gravitated toward her—it was clear she was a natural leader.
Avery liked her even more now.
The operation was going smoother than expected. They had prepared for a fight, but this? This was a silent extraction—Nat’s specialty. They were slipping the women out one by one, right under the enemy’s nose.
Once the jet was full, the mission shifted. Natasha stayed aboard with the women, heading to the safe house. The rest of the team would drive back in a car they had hidden nearby.
That’s when Avery’s real work began.
The trackers Bucky had placed were active. She had locations for every van. She had audio recordings from the women on the jet—names, descriptions, clues. Cross-referencing them with Redwing’s footage, she had license plates.
From there, it was easy. Within minutes, she had names. Addresses. Home locations. Even information on their families. These men had stolen lives, but they wouldn’t be able to hide from her.
She sent everything to Nat and Steve.
Nat’s call came almost immediately.
"Hey, thanks for that," she said. There was something in her tone—pride. "Would’ve taken me at least an hour to pull all that together."
Avery smiled slightly. "Well, I also sent over the last known addresses of the women we rescued, along with local shelters near their home states. Three of them have legal claims to properties they might not even know about—dead relatives, inheritance laws. Thought they should have all their options."
Silence.
Then Nat exhaled. "Damn. You don’t mess around, do you?"
"Saving them is only half the job," Avery murmured.
There was a pause, then a chuckle. "Yeah. You’re gonna fit in just fine here."
She relaxed slightly. Coming from Natasha, that meant something.
Then Nat added, "Stark’s throwing a party tomorrow night. Celebrating your first successful mission."
Avery blinked. "What?"
"You heard me. I won’t be there, but you should get your stuff packed. Tower parties get messy."
And with that, she signed off.
Avery sat back in her chair, the screens still glowing in front of her.
Nat was staying behind to handle the aftermath. SHIELD would be involved now—witness protection, relocation programs. She had done her part. But it felt strange, knowing she’d never actually meet most of the women she had helped.
But Charlie?
Charlie, she might keep in touch with.
And now she was just… supposed to go to a party?
Her thoughts wandered.
Would James come?
James in a suit.
Now that was a sight she wouldn’t mind seeing.