Collecting information. All sorts.
I went to my room to get a couple hours' sleep. I knew that when everybody got here we'd be planning into the night. And so it was; when the rest of the team arrived, we went over to their hotel and inconspicuously went upstairs. Tony had gotten the team suites, with his being the largest and with a table we could all crowd around. The 3D projector was already up and displaying information on the degree program. I recited the information I'd gotten from the chairman and Tony added that.
"That reservoir has a lot of security, but it's not that difficult to hack," he said. "The physical security is better, but if somebody just doesn't care if they survive, they can be taken out too." The house was discussed and we decided we needed to get somebody in there to take some pictures and crack the safe. We also wanted a better idea of the physical plant of the reservoir.
"What would go into making some sort of poison for a water supply? What would it have to do, physically?" Steve asked. Tony and I looked at each other.
"Well, the first thing would, obviously, be that it's water soluble," Tony said, but there was no snark in the statement.
"We need to see those formulas," I said. "If the compounds aren't polar, then there's either no risk or it's not our project. Only polar compounds dissolve in water." Steve looked a little confused but took our word for it.
"Quantity would probably be another issue," Peter spoke up a little tentatively. "The less that is needed, the better. Less risk of getting caught than if you need twenty kegs of the stuff." I nodded.
"Right. And taste, odor, appearance. If you want somebody to use it, it can't look off."
"How it is manufactured depends on what equipment is needed and what quantity," Tony said thoughtfully.
"It has to be resistant to UV and thermally pretty stable," I said, thinking hard. "It's going to be in water for awhile before it gets to the consumer, which means that it will be exposed to sunlight and a range of temperatures."
"As for what it does, we just can't speculate. It might be just an outright poison, something to cause illness, or an attempt at a mutagen," Tony said.
"It would be a total crapshoot to seriously think you can cause wide-spread mutation through water," I disagreed. "The digestive system is really robust. The most successful mutations come from insect bites or radiation, chemicals, medical procedures. Anything that bypasses the GI tract, really."
"But it can't be ruled out completely," Tony said glumly. "Anybody can get lucky." I had to nod at that.
"It might not be meant for consumption," Peter spoke up suddenly. "What about showering, washing your hair, your clothes, brushing your teeth?"
"That is very possible," Tony said and I agreed.
"That is not as helpful as I'd hoped," Steve sighed, and I shrugged apologetically.
"We really need to see those formulas," I repeated. "More than see, actually. We need to study them."
"Right," said Steve. "I'll put it on the list." I looked at him sharply.
"It's not a matter of intellectual curiosity," I said, and he nodded.
"I understand, Emma. It's just that there are a lot of things we need to nail down and not much time. Tony, who owns that house?"
"One Anna Smith," Tony said. "Most likely a cover identity. I'm tracing funds and IDs."
"Well, that's a Smith," I said. Tony smirked.
"We'll have to know more before we can conflate our Smith with this one. Pretty common name." I raised my eyes heavenward briefly.
"Is there any big event coming up? I mean, there are the holidays, but Thanksgiving isn't til next month, over a month away," Scott asked.
"Good question," Steve said, and Sam hit the internet.
"Not for the general public," he said after a few minutes. "The president is hosting the UK Prime Minister next week for a summit along with leaders from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland who are agitating for their independence in the wake of Brexit, though."
"The global economy is remarkably...responsive to tremors out of the UK," Tony said. "Yeah, Anna Smith is a fiction, at least currently; the one attached to this social security number died in 1942 from old age. The property was most recently purchased a little over three months ago."
"OK," Steve said. "We probably have a little time. Tony, I want the real identity of this woman and ideas about her confederates. No way anybody does this on their own. Scott, I want you to go back tomorrow and get pictures of that chemistry stuff. Crack the safe. Natasha, I want--"
"You famous guys need to stay out of sight," I said. "If it gets out that the Avengers are in town that could either accelerate the plot or cause it to be abandoned. Either way we probably lose. You have to stay hidden until we're ready to move."
Steve looks like he really really wants to swear. "You have a point," he says reluctantly. "All right, Sam, I want you to drive him, but stay in the car," he stressed. "Can you send Redwing out to provide eyes and ears?"
"Sure," Sam said. "Anything to get me out of here for a little." Wanda hid a grin.
I felt better about sending Scott in on his own. Sam's drone is amazing. "Emma, you and Peter go back to the campus. See what you can turn up." Tony turned from his computer.
"I just sent you a couple of people to look into if you can manage it without looking suspicious. Two grad students, one of them researching water filters and the other looking at enriching drinking water supplies with vitamins, probiotics. The first guy looks clean but we might could use him on this project. See if you can meet him, get an impression, make an impression. The second guy's work looks like it might dovetail with Smith's agenda." I nodded and looked at the information; Tony had manage to dig up cursory biographies. The second student was from eastern Europe, in his late twenties, early thirties, didn't seem to be involved in campus activities, lived off campus.
I emailed the program director and asked if it would be ok if I came back and looked around in more depth, sending it so that it would be in his inbox when he got to work the next day. I was very surprised when I got a response not ten minutes later.
"Guy needs to leave work at work," I muttered, tapping on the message to open it. It was an invitation to return any time; if I stopped by his office, he'd get me a student guide.
"Your director is unmarried," Tony said after a moment. "Probably has nothing better to do."
'When is the water filter guy in class?" I asked.
"Looks like he gets out of class at eleven tomorrow; his pattern shows him leaving about 11:30 by the main door which are right by the director's office."
I smile. Victory.
Planning went on for a few more hours; I took a catnap. A hand on my shoulder woke me up, and Steve sent those of us who were going to be out and about back to our hotel. We were given the newest-gen earpieces with two-way communication and instructions to wear them any time we left our rooms. I got five solid hours of sleep, which is not as much as it once was, and took a quick run to really wake up. Although running on pavement is harder on my feet and knees, the thrill of no obstacles still more than makes up for it.
"Do you always hum when you're running?" Tony asked in my ear, and I shied violently. A woman walking a big Irish wolfhound hurried to reassure me that he was harmless. I smiled at her.
"Sorry, I was just in a zone," I said apologetically. "He looks like a big sweetie." She smiled and we parted when my intersection crossing indicator turned.
"Damn," I hissed, taking out my cell phone as a cover. "No, it's just nice to run on a course that is exactly what it looks like, no surprises, nice and smooth." Tony laughed and I heard him relaying this information to Steve. OMG, boys. Wait. Are they still up? Did they sleep at all? I didn't hear anything more, and I made sure to put the earpiece under a pile of papers while I showered and got ready to drive back to campus.
On the drive over, Peter seemed distracted. "Pete, if you don't want to go with me, you can hang out until I'm done," I offered. "I'm sure there's a coffee shop on campus."
"No, Mr Stark wants me to stay with you."
"Well, Tony's not here, so what I say goes, and maybe you'd like to do something else than listen to me try to charm some information out of some guys." I shook my head. "It's not likely to be pretty."
"Let's wait and see," he said evasively, and I put it down to being a teenager and also hero worship of Tony, for some reason.
The director was glad to see me again and greeted Peter. "Are you considering coming here too?" he asked.
"I've kind of got my heart set on Columbia, actually," Peter said, flushing a little. I smiled.
"I wonder if Cal Tech wouldn't be a better fit for him," I said, reaching over to smooth some hair out of his eyes. "He's so gifted, I just want to be able for him to maximize his opportunities. Not that Mason isn't a great school," I said, smiling, "But if his mom is here, I think it would be better for him to have his own adventures."
The director smiled too and offered Peter a guest pass to the computer lab, which Pete accepted politely and exited the office. After some more focused talk in which I invented an interest in water filters and told him about my work with the desalination membrane at Stark Tech, his eyes lit up. "I know exactly who you should speak to. We have an international student here who is doing some very promising research on filtration problems." He got up and and asked his secretary to watch out for my target student, then rejoined me. We passed the time by him giving me paper on the program, an application, and copies of published research, a course catalog, and the university catalog. I was grateful when the secretary escorted the kid in.
He was tall and thin, with ginger hair and thick glasses. His accent was Scottish, smoothed by years of education in the States, but there were still some words I had to extrapolate to understand. He was abrupt but not rude about it, and agreed to show me his work as long as it didn't take too much time. I could hear Tony laughing in my ear. I got a quick tour of the relevant labs and a general summary of his masters research. He was primarily working on heavy metals removal but was working on a multistage filter that would also adsorb bacteria and viruses.
"That looks fantastic," I said sincerely. "What about other types of toxins?" He responded with an explanation of the parameters of various types of filters. I hoped Tony was getting this. I thanked him for his time, shook his hand, and found Peter in the computer lab, where he was chatting with some students. After a few minutes, he walked out to where I was standing, seeming somewhat more cheerful. We grabbed some lunch at a campus restaurant, then headed back to the car. I took out my earpiece and dropped it into my purse as we left the parking lot.
"So do you want to tell me what's really bothering you?" I asked gently, and after a moment, he took his earpiece out too and closed his hand over it. I imagined Tony squawking and suppressed a grin.
"It's stupid," he mumbled, and for a minute he looked like a typical surly fifteen year old boy.
"So?" I said, shrugging. He relaxed a bit.
"So. It's just that my parents died when I was a baby. I don't even remember them. I have Aunt May, and she's great, but I keep a lot from her. I have two lives that I try to keep very separate." He was silent a moment. "It was just that when we were on the campus that night and you introduced me as your son and gave me a hug. And in the director's office, when you were talking about wanting me to have opportunities. It just..um... it just felt really nice. Kind of like I did have a mom that I could share everything with."
Geeze. His words hit me right in the feels. "It's not stupid," I said after a few rapid blinks. "I never had a dad, my mom died when I was in high school, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. So I can kind of understand. And it's true that I want you to have the best opportunities, I certainly worry about you. I mean it when I tell you to let me know if you want to talk at all or if you have a problem to discuss. You're a special kid, Peter, and I care about you."
"Me too," he mumbled. "But you could still have kids, right? You're not that old. You and Mr Rogers..."
"Well, actually, I can't have kids," I said gently, ignoring the part about Steve. "So you're the closest thing I'll have to a son of my own." He still stared straight ahead, but he seemed to relax. I patted his hand. "So seriously. Call me whenever you want, not just when there's a problem. And I should probably tell you that I set up a scholarship fund for you. You've already 'applied,' that's to avoid questions from your aunt, but you'll be getting the funds regardless of the schools you choose. It's for a half-million dollars; you'll get a full ride plus living expenses for as many degrees as you want to pursue, and you get whatever's left over once you finally graduate to get you started. So when you think about colleges, think about what's the best school for your plans, not whether you can afford it. Don't limit yourself." He looked at me in disbelief. "Tony will be giving you a Stark scholarship as well, so you can structure your educational funding however you want. You can talk it over with Foggy, the lawyer who set it up. You'll like him, he's a nice guy. He can be trusted with anything you want to tell him. That's just in case something happens to me, but I'm planning on being around."
He looked away, and there was silence in the car for a bit. Then there was a sniff to my right, and after a moment he said, "Thanks." A further pause. "My hand's buzzing. I guess I should put this back in."
I snorted and rummaged in my purse. "Tony hates not knowing everything. You don't have to answer questions if you don't want to; you can tell him to talk to me instead, honey." I parked on the street and we walked into the hotel to report. In the elevator, Peter kissed my cheek. I put my arm around him and gave him a squeeze.
I caught hell when we entered the suite, but I rebuffed it all. "It was a personal conversation, nothing to do with the current situation," I said to Tony, who was fuming. "He wanted a female perspective on a personal issue is all." Peter flushed. Tony was somewhat mollified, but yammered on a bit about how now was not the time to lose focus.
"You're just upset because your nosiness was thwarted," Steve said airily, coming into the meeting room. "So let's talk about what we learned."
Ultimately, we decided that, pending what we learned from the photos that Scott was getting for us, we'd ask this guy to work on some filters as an emergency measure, in case somehow Viper managed to dump the stuff in the reservoirs and it was stable. Toward the end, Sam and Scott came in, and Scott handed Tony the high-quality camera. Tony took the SD card out immediately and printed out copies of the formulas. I blew out a breath. Chemistry was a long time ago. Partway through the first page, Tony pulled out sets of molecular stick and ball model kits and passed me a couple. We had to construct models of functional groups, ripping off atoms and sticking on others, to understand what was going on. The others got bored and started talking about...other things. I tuned them out. A couple hours later, we had some data.
"So essentially what is described here is a system of syntheses and purifications," I said. "They're very precise, and the final structure seems very stable. There are a couple of places where there are charges, which could allow for additional binding sites. The main question is what the R group is."
"Could be anything," Tony muttered. "Hormone, protein, catalyst, enzyme... we don't know because there's no way to tell from the structure what it's meant to do. We need to hear from the people who intend to use this to find out what what we need to do. It's polar, though, so it's suitable for introduction into the water and it shouldn't break down when it dissolves." His frustration fairly boiled off him.
"What kind of surveillance does Smith have on that house?" Steve asked.
"Nothing," Sam said. "No cameras in or out, no listening devices. She doesn't even have WiFi."
"We need to bug the house and monitor the incoming and outgoing company," Tony said immediately. "We'll have to have a courier bring down equipment from Stark Tower. I have passive audio collectors and very small cameras to use outdoors." Tony immediately called Maria Hill. Ultimately it was decided that after it got dark, we'd go over and Scott would go back into the house and set the bugs while I would help Tony place the cameras. The theory was that a couple could walk slowly and wouldn't be as suspicious as a solo man. We wouldn't actually be putting them on Smith's property; there were a lot or trees and fences in her neighbors' yards that would work fine and we wouldn't have to worry about her finding them by accident.
Maria showed up with the room service and handed Tony the package. He rooted through it and was satisfied, then asked her to work on recruiting the student we'd decided on. "Expense whatever you need to," he said grandly, and Maria just shook her head and left.
We got ready to leave; my white dress shirt wasn't really suitable for skulking. I borrowed a black v-neck sweater from Natasha; it fit well and was a cashmere blend. Nice. She also gave me a can of mousse that had wash-out color in it; when I was done I had mousy light brown hair. She also did some makeup that subtly altered the look of my face, making my eyes look deeper set than they were, minimizing the fullness of my lips and making my cheekbones stand out more. My appearance was approved and Steve ruffled a few feathers by announcing that he was driving. It wasn't as risky in the dark and would provide us with some good backup, but I think he was just going stir-crazy, stuck in a hotel room with Tony.
Scott jumped out through a slightly opened window as we passed the house; there was a parking spot a block up, and Tony and I got out and ambled back. It was easy; there wasn't anybody else on the street and the cameras were easily pinned to structures. Their lenses would be adjusted remotely; all we had to do is place them more-or-less facing the house. We walked around to the alley and did the same thing for the detached garage. Then we sauntered back around the front, headed back for the car. "She just turned the corner," Steve said over coms right after we'd passed the house. "She took the bus. She's going to cross paths with you."
Before I could say or do anything, Tony stepped to the edge of the side walk and pulled me against him, his lips confident on mine.
Wow. That's really not at all so very bad at all. Nice. Just the right pressure and teasing, not too demanding... I heard footsteps approaching, and Tony changed the position of the kiss to better obscure our faces. The footsteps stopped. What the hell? Tony kissed down my throat, then over to the ear that didn't have the earpiece.
"Stop overthinking," he murmured, nuzzling me. "It's affecting your performance. " I drew an outraged breath, but then we were back to kissing, and the footsteps finally started again and moved past us. I swear I could hear a "tut" as the woman passed. It sure looked like Viper from the back. I peered over Tony's shoulder as she went up the walk, taking out her keys and opening the door. I waited until she'd gone inside, then detached myself, peeling off Tony's hands.
"She might still be watching," he said crisply, so I took his arm cozily and marched him up the street to the car. Steve was glowering when we got in.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked, a tone in his voice.
"Yes," Tony said cheerfully. Steve looked at him balefully. Scott interrupted before tempers could flare, saying that he was coming back. I looked out the window as we rode back to the hotel, absently smoothing my hair, discreetly straightening my sweater, adjusting the neckline. Scott smirked but didn't say anything. It was a pretty silent drive.
Back at the hotel, I returned Natasha's sweater and collected Sam and Peter for the return to our hotel. We were all waiting for data to roll in, and the environment was more relaxed at our rooms. We ended up playing a variety of card games in Sam's room and had a pretty good time until it was time to consider bed. I had to wash the colored mousse out of my hair; I didn't want to mess up the pillowcases and it would be gross if it started running during my morning jog. I just hoped that we'd get information we could really use tomorrow.