Chapter 7
I spent two days working on my plan in between school and catch up homework. I used all the authority I had to order Gecko into giving me all the information she had on Blake, Joseph and their fathers. Knowing that I had a lot of anger and blame to sort out, Gecko gave it without hesitation. Using the relevant information, I formed a plan. This plan involved the continued surveillance of Blake and Joey, further interrogation of Galvon and a final attack ending in the capture of Hayes and the majority of HYDRA. I wanted Fe, Spider Man, Gecko and newbies Ligero and Red Bolt to be on my time. I needed the six of us to work together to able to take down the master plan. I presented my plan to Clint who passed it onto Tony. Tony agreed with my plan and gave me the green light to start that weekend. I called my team on Friday night to inform them of what was going to happen using my new, updated holocube.
“I’ve been greenlit to lead a mission to discover the truth behind the bombing almost two weeks ago done by Blake Greenberg and Joseph Hayes,” I told the conference.
“You make this sound like it’s a military mission,” Red Bolt huffed, crossing her arms.
“It’s not,” I say, “Spider Man and Fe, I want you two to continue surveillance of Blake and Joey Hamilton. You are to report anything out of the ordinary. I want to know if there’s any truth in the rumour that the fake Hamilton brothers’ father is going to be running for mayor. Gecko will be back up should you ever need to have an extra hand on deck,” I saw Gecko flinch a little bit out of the corner of my eye.
“I’m pretty sure the rumours are true,” Fe said, “I’ve seen people put up billboards where I live saying Vote Hamilton for Mayor,”
“Same in Queens,” Spider Man agreed.
“Okay then. That slightly changes things. Gecko, your primary goal is to find every single piece of information you can on Mayoral Candidate Hamilton. I still want you to be ready to be back up for Fe and Spider Man,” I said, “Red Bolt and Ligero, at the moment I just need you to be ready for any away missions that we may come across. There could be more for you to do later on but at this point there is not much that is set in concrete,” Ligero nodded in agreement.
“This is because we’re both new isn’t it?” Red Bolt asked, “Not that I’m disagreeing with your plan or anything
“No – it’s because Spider Man, Fe and Gecko have the skills that are needed for this mission. They also are able to get close to Blake and Joey in ways that I don’t if you or Ligero could do,” I explain, “Not that I’m going to ask you to reveal any information about yourselves because it’s a total coincidence that I know what I know about Spider Man, Fe and Gecko,”
“So, what are you going to do Slingshot?” Spider Man asked.
“I’m going to talk to Mr Galvon,”
In my hands are three files. The first is on John Galvon. It’s the not largest one I have but it’s close enough. The file is filled with all known information about the infamous arms dealer from shady underground sales to the record high charity donations. The second is all the surveillance that Gecko found on John Galvon’s true identity, Jonathan Greenberg, and his family. This file is the largest. Not only does it provide clear links to John Galvon and John Greenberg, it also provides all the information on his wife and children, including photos copied from those in the Greenberg family home. The last file is thin. In it is five photos. It’s my secret weapon. I was fearful of using the file, but I knew, and I hoped, that it would be the final attack on his defence. It’s mid Saturday afternoon when I enter the interrogation room. I had been preparing this particular interrogation for a while. I knew that Hawkeye and Black Widow would be watching me through the double-sided window, ready to come to my rescue. The cold handle of the door reminds me of the tough conditions I was going into. I, a 17-year-old girl, was going to talk to a man at least twice my age with connections to one of the most deadly organisations in the world alone. As confidently as I could, I opened the door and walked in. Galvon didn’t look up as I entered, nor did he look at me when I set down my three files and sit down.
“Afternoon Mr Galvon,” Galvon doesn’t look up. “Actually, I should probably address you as Mr Greenberg, shouldn’t I?” This made Galvon tilt his head a little. “Jonathan Greenberg. Married to Juliana Greenberg. Father to Blake and Cynthia Greenberg. An accountant at a business run by John Galvon. Did I get that right Mr Greenberg? No I didn’t did I – I forgot to mention that all of John Galvon’s accounts link back up to Jonathan Greenberg’s accounts. And I know for a fact that accountants don’t make that much money per year; even with Juliana’s income,” I opened up my first two file and brought out all of the pages referring to what I had told Galvon. Galvon read them with his eyes but made no comment. He looked at the photos, almost unsurprised when he saw family photos.
“Do you want to know how we found out Mr Greenberg? We found out through your son, Blake. He’s been a busy boy lately. I don’t know how he manages to balance his responsibilities within HYDRA and his responsibilities at school. He must be crazy organised. That’s beside the point. Two Mondays ago, your son and his friend Joseph came to the States and planted a bomb. Our intelligence says its because they wanted to get back at us for getting to you,” I pulled out a photo of Blake and Joseph at JFK, “Personally I believe that because you have a key role that HYDRA needs you for – the scapegoat. Blake can’t continue being effective in their glorious battle if you’re not there. You happily let yourself be used to keep your son safe. I’d almost say that you’re doing the right thing – almost. But I need to bring your son and his friend to justice. Their bomb destroyed hundreds of people’s lives,” I opened the third file and took out three photos. “These are the bodies of Nora, Alex and Oscar Jackson. Nora and Alex worked nearly every day to provide for their daughter and son. They risked not having enough money to put food on the table by having them both take days off from work so that Nora could look after Alex and Oscar who were sick. The Jackson family were killed by the bomb that your son set. Nora and Alex’s daughter, Abigail, was left homeless and family-less and will have to endure a long court battle. Because of your son, her life is ruined. Because of your son, so many people have been affected and ruined. I am going to bring Abigail, and those many other people, some justice by bringing your son and his friend into the custody.” Galvon didn’t say anything. He just leaned back into his chair.
“What if Nora, Alex and Oscar were Juliana, Cynthia and Blake? What would you do if one day you got the call from your boss to let you know that your home had been destroyed and your family killed while you were at work. What would stop you from finding justice? What would stop you? Because I’ll tell you what’s stopping me. You are. You’re the one thing in my way at the moment. So, stop being such a good father and tell me everything you know about a man named Hamilton and how your son got to be how he is, so I can find justice,” I had noticed the break in Galvon’s façade at the mention of swapping my family for his. I tried one last ditch effort.
“Please help me find justice. Abigail and all the others affected are counting on me to find it. I know if it was your family, whom you love enough to have a secret identity to keep them out of your shady side, you would want me to find those responsible. So please Jonathan Greenberg, help me out,” The façade finally broke completely, and Greenberg split what he knew.
It took Greenberg and I four hours to get everything down of what he knew about HYDRA’s plan. Hamilton, the guy running for mayor of New York, was actually Harper Hayes. Hayes was going to gain control of New York, then he would bring in laws that would eventually lead to the entire enslavement of the citizens of New York. Blake and Joseph’s mission was to become a pillar in the school community and make Hayes look more and more human to the public. I had a feeling Hayes had something much worse planned, but for now, I was happy with what I had gathered. Interrogation drains a person. Clint and Natasha were waiting for me on the other side of the interrogation room door. Clint had a chocolate muffin and a take away cup of hot chocolate in his hands. Natasha took my notes and files from me as Clint handed me some food and drink.
“You did a good job Abigail,” Natasha said, “What made you think you could get him to talk?”
“The love for family. It’s a powerful motivator sometimes. Powerful enough that Jonathan keeps Juliana in the dark and uses a fake name,” I shrugged, “If you can exploit that, you can get almost anything done,” I took a sip of hot chocolate. It’s hot and sweet, just the way I like it.
“That’s pretty smart,” Clint said
“Did you get around to doing that check for me Nat?” I asked. Natasha nodded.
“Come with me, and I can give it to you,”
“I’ll meet you at the truck,” Clint said, “We’ve got a big day tomorrow,”
“Don’t remind me,” I sighed, becoming slightly nervous at the reminder of the upcoming court battle. Clint and Natasha went separate ways after hugging. I followed Natasha to her office. She picked up a few pieces of paper stapled together and gave them to me.
“You do know that we have trained, already vetted psychologists, right?” Natasha asked.
“I know, but Mrs Abernathy is easier to reach out to for me. We’re in the same place five out of the seven days of the week. And I think it will probably be better if I had someone who wasn’t involved with the Avengers in anyway to talk to,”
“Okay. I didn’t find anything suspicious in her record so all she needs to do is to sign the papers and you’ll be able to talk to her about the unclassified stuff,” Natasha explained.
“Thanks Nat. It means a lot that you’ve done this,”
“Everyone needs to talk to someone Abigail. Even super spies like me. Like Gecko. How did you reach her?”
“I think she expected me to yell at her when she answered my call. She thought I blamed her for everything – which I don’t – and I know she blames herself. I think she’ll be willing to come out of her room. Maybe you two should watch one of those cheesey break up films while eating ice cream. I hear that it heals broken hearts,” Natasha nodded in agreement.
“You’re a smart one Jackson. Now get going otherwise Clint is going to think we’re conspiring against him,”
“I know as well as you do Romanoff, we’re defiantly taking Clint down the first chance we get at dodgeball,” Natasha laughed.