"On another note, Sir. The Black Widow is confirmed to have joined SHIELD." One of Alex's subordinates said while Alex had his daily debrief during his dinner.
Alex couldn't help but smile at the exciting news. "Oh my, that is interesting news indeed."
"Say, how long do you think it will take for her to become disillusioned with SHIELD?" he asked casually.
"Depends on how quickly they start sending her out to do their dirty work. As I see it, they could either send her out a lot without care for her health as she would be seen as disposable. Or they could be more careful about when they send her out and treat her better."
Alex nodded, hearing that as he agreed with it. "Do we have the ability to make them pick the first option?"
"I don't believe so, Sir. Such a decision would be taken far too high up for our men to have a say in it." The response came back.
"Too bad, really. Still, I'm sure we can make do with either choice given someone of her skills. She should belong to us." He said and decided poor Natasha's fate.
Still, Alex would not mistreat or abuse Natasha in any way. He knew that she wanted to do something good to make up for all the bad she had been forced to do before. He also knew that SHIELD wouldn't allow for much of that, at least not before the Avengers became a thing.
This gave him plenty of time to wait for her to realize that SHIELD was not the good guys they pretended to be and then let her know about the Foundation.
He didn't doubt that she would be happy to work for him. After all, the Foundation worked purely for the good of mankind as a whole and not just for some wealthy senator.
For while the Foundation did a shit ton of shady shit, it was always for the greater good of the world itself. They did, after all, work outside of any national boundaries. Not to mention that it would surely be easier to feel the good one did with an increasing number of SCPs safely contained than assassinations, which are supposedly for the good.
His musing was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door before it was quickly opened. Outside stood a member of Alpha-1 who peeked in. "The team is ready to start its operation soon, sir."
"They can start as soon as they are ready; I will follow their progress from my office." Alex said and waved him off. After that, he quickly finished the meal and headed back to his quarters and down into his command room.
Getting into the chair, he opened up the sound and video feeds and leaned back to watch things unfold.
--------------------------------------
[Flashback]
[SITE-001]
Alex was going through the daily motion of declining every request for more vibranium and for actions to be taken against Wakanda. Nothing new there, really, but this one request's title caught his attention. It wasn't as much a request for action as a request for a plan of operation for how the Foundation should act if an SCP entered or appeared within Wakanda.
This actually had Alex curse as he finally realized a big problem with that little isolated country. It was a damned blindspot for the Foundation; sure, he had a backdoor into all their satellites which meant he had people watching them. Still, he didn't have the ability to act in there.
He had liked the idea of an SCP appearing there and helping him take care of the problem. Yet he had to admit that such a strategy was short-sighted.
Should a dangerous SCP appear under their shield, then getting it into containment could be problematic. If it was dangerous enough, then the whole world could be doomed before he was able to act.
Here he had thought he could ignore them until the tech they had would be outdated compared to the Foundation's. Now, he knew that he needed a way to act within their border, and all he had so far was threatening them with nukes.
While it might work in an emergency to stop a K-class scenario, it wouldn't be without drawing a lot of the wrong type of attention to himself.
No, Wakanda was now something that stood in his way and the Foundation's way to fulfill its goal, and nothing could be allowed to stand in the way.
This single request led to Alex spending hours down in his bunker throwing around ideas and possible plans. As well as imagining many different scenarios and SCPs that could cause trouble if they appeared there.
All of this led to Alex having to make a few hard decisions and change both the plot and a lot of lives as he sent out a few orders.
[Notice – D-2245896-11
To all personnel with security clearance of class 3 or higher.
It has come to the attention of general management that a flaw in Foundation procedures exists concerning Securing and Containing SCP objects within the nation of Wakanda.
All personnel are therefore invited to come forward with suggestions as to how the Foundation can remedy this flaw as soon as possible.
In an effort to save the valuable time of upper management, it has been decided that only SITE directors are allowed to hand in suggestions. Therefore, you must first get it approved by your local SITE director.
Signed: Personnel ID – S224-6-04-A.
Personal assistant to O5-1.]
He could only hope that the directors would filter the worst stuff off the top and not leave him drowning in absurd suggestions and hopefully get something he could use.
Next, he decided to give the other special task force he had gotten their first real task. Alex was fairly sure that whatever solution to the Wakanda situation would be made a lot easier with more vibranium. It just so happened that Alex knew where he could get 200kg of the stuff. And in doing so, he could abandon plans involving paying for it.
[Mission notice to – Gamma-12.
The Foundation has a need for the stockpile of the valuable mineral vibranium from the arms dealer Ulysses Klaue(his file is attached). Your task will be getting as much of the around 200+kg he possesses while, if possible, leaving him alive.
All other details can be worked out on your own.
Mission clearance – 4
Signed: Personnel ID – S224-6-04-A.
Personal assistant to O5-1.]
Alex had a small hope of still being able to get his hands on some nukes or just the materials for them out of Ulysses, so for now, he would get to live if he behaved himself and handed over the purple rocks he had.
[Flashback end.]
[James Cornwell, commander of taskforce Gamma-12]
James Cornwell, the formidable commander of Taskforce Gamma-12, watched intently as the operation commenced. The moment the green light blinked on, signaling the start of their daring raid, he raised his arm, signaling his elite squad. Like clockwork, his men launched a potent EMP missile, its trajectory aimed precisely at the heart of the enemy's stronghold.
This tactical move was crucial - it would cripple any communications, preventing their target from calling for reinforcements, and it would erase any digital footprint of their covert operation.
As the EMP missile detonated with a silent, electrifying burst, James didn't wait for confirmation. He knew the efficiency of his team and his equipment; confirmation was a formality they could bypass.
They descended upon the target, swooping in with their high-tech gear, capitalizing on the ensuing chaos and confusion. The electromagnetic pulse had plunged the enemy's base into darkness, but James, with his advanced night-vision helm, saw everything as clear as day.
The main gate was a frenzy of confused guards scrambling in the sudden blackout. James and his team didn't hesitate. They burst through the gates, guns blazing. Amidst shouts, they moved like a storm, sweeping aside any resistance.
James led the charge, his rifle barking in short, controlled bursts, taking down guard after guard who were barely able to mount a defense in the pandemonium.
In the thick of the assault, James's instincts kicked in. "Cover!" he bellowed, launching himself backwards in a gravity-defying leap, narrowly evading a barrage of enemy fire that whizzed past where he stood moments before.
The corridor erupted with enemy gunfire, but James was already in motion, signaling his team. In a heartbeat, his men lobbed grenades down the hostile corridor. Taking cover against the wall, James and his squad braced for impact.
The explosion was a deafening roar, a symphony of destruction that masked their advance. Amidst the chaos, the cries of their adversaries were drowned out as James unleashed a relentless barrage down the corridor. His men joined in, their coordinated fire cutting down the opposition with ruthless efficiency.
Within moments, the corridor was silent, save for the distant echoes of combat elsewhere in the ship.
"Any injuries?" James called out, his voice steady amid the adrenaline rush.
"None, sir," came the crisp response.
"Alright, let's keep moving." There wasn't a need for many words, and the group set out while the sounds of fighting filled the ship as his other men met their own share of resistance.
Still, as some of the best men the Foundation had to offer, James and the others didn't have much difficulty taking ground, and fast. They just had vastly superior training and equipment.
Sure, the hostiles had plenty of weapons, but the armor James and his men wore could stop most normal bullets, and few used strong enough armor piercing ones indoors like this.
Reaching Ulysses' office, they were met with heavy resistance. The door exploded inwards as James and his team made a dynamic entry. The room erupted into a fierce gunfight. James darted from cover to cover, his shots echoing through the room.
Ulysses, caught by surprise, attempted to retaliate but was outgunned. In a moment of swift action, James vaulted over a desk, disarming Ulysses and pinning him to the ground, effectively ending the confrontation.
"Ulysses, you have two options, hand over the vibranium, all of it. Or we kill you and take it ourselves. For us, it just depends on whether or not we have to use another bullet before leaving." James commanded the man.
Ulysses himself was angry and scared. He didn't like being robbed, not one bit! What scared him was how easily his men had been taken out. These people were dangerous, and he didn't know where they came from. "Not much of a choice then, is it? still, I know when I have been beaten, I submit." He finally said with a sigh and a burning rage in his heart.
Within a mere quarter of an hour, James's team had secured the ship. He stood imposingly in the office of their target, Ulysses, an infamous arms dealer. The man lay on the ground, his expression a mix of anger and fear, surrounded by the barrels of Gamma-12's guns.
"That is smart of you, arms dealer. Now, these two here." James pointed to two of his men. "Will follow you as you lead them to the payload. Don't try anything, or it will be the last thing you will ever do." James warned.
Ulysses had no choice but to lead his captures to where he had hidden his greatest treasure. Nor could he do anything as they brought it all away, and he could do nothing but grit his teeth as billions left his pockets before they even entered.
James didn't care for the thoughts of the arms dealer; he only spared him because he was asked to do that if possible. And gamma-12 always fulfilled their tasks to perfection.
He just wanted this done with and quickly. Every minute they spent here meant that the risk of exposure grew, so he made his men hurry up and left with their load of more than 200kg of the precious vibranium, less than an hour since they touched down.
While he left poor Ulysses behind who couldn't believe how fast he had lost his men and most of his wealth. He didn't even know who caused all this; he didn't even think the US had men this good.
[SITE-001]
Alex had seen the whole thing and found it far less exciting than most action movies he had seen. There just wasn't any real tension! His men just steamrolled the enemy without resistance! Still, Alex was happy that he got what he wanted, though he did worry about how this might change things in the future.
'Still, at least for a while, I shouldn't have to worry about not being able to fulfill requests for Vibranium.'
Alex then started to type away at his keyboard and updated the inventory for the Foundation with another 200kg of vibranium. He knew that a lot of people would become very happy when they went to request some and suddenly found it a whole lot easier getting it. However, he would need to get it all weighed properly before he would know just how much he had gotten in total.
"Tomorrow, I will go and get Bruce and bring him into the Foundation proper and see if he also wants to join in on the Vibranium research. It might be good for Pym to work together with him to help him get into the Foundation as well." Alex mumbled to himself as plans kept being formed in his mind.