Alex had hoped for a relaxing Christmas this year. After all, this would be his first Christmas in this New World, but with three new SCPs on the loose, a peaceful holiday didn't seem very likely.
More so since two of them were Keter class, which meant they would be a significant challenge to contain for his Foundation. However, at least one of them would only be active one day a year, even if that day would be exceptionally busy.
'I guess I will just focus on SCP-53 for now and have my men be extra vigilant for any instances of SCP-204. And at least the locating tool is proving useful for once,' he thought as he leaned back in his chair. After a moment, he sighed, sat up straight, and returned to his work.
After all, there was a little girl that needed to be picked up and brought back to SITE-19. Thankfully, it should be easy enough, given that she was willing to be contained and not overly dangerous.
-----------
"They failed?... They failed? HOW THE FUCK DID THEY FAIL!?" Alex screamed in frustration, sitting by the pool to relax after a hard day's work.
The subordinate who had come to inform him of this development recoiled at his outburst. The poor man had lost a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors, earning the unfortunate honor of being the bearer of bad news.
Alex was livid, furious, and honestly confused. He couldn't comprehend how his elite Foundation personnel had failed to secure such a straightforward SCP as SCP-053, especially when he had provided them with her exact location.
"I'm terribly sorry, Sir. It appears that we were too late," the man stammered, apologizing even though he had no direct involvement in the containment operation. He was simply flustered by his boss's anger.
"Too late? Since when has being a little late stopped Foundation personnel from completing a mission? SCP-053 can't move far on her own. Surely the agents walked around the area and found her, no?" Alex inquired, still fuming.
The subordinate's throat grew drier with each passing moment under his boss's intimidating presence. While at the same time struggling with the low temperature out here, barely stopping himself from shivering. He did not envy the guards who had to be outside in the winter chill for their work.
"Of course, the truth is someone else picked up the object," he began nervously.
"The object was taken by someone? Who? Who dared to do that? and why hasn't it been recovered yet?" Alex snapped back impatiently.
"Well, when the agents arrived at the location, everything was in chaos. The police had blocked off everything, indicating an incident involving the object. The agents did their best to breach the police barricades and secure the object, but they were unsuccessful due to interference from... from SHIELD, Sir."
"How dare they! How dare they take what is ours, steal from us!" Alex hissed, seething with fury. In the midst of his outburst, he threw his glass at the attendant, whose only fault was losing at rock, paper, scissors.
Despite the unfair treatment, the attendant didn't dare speak up, fully aware that further angering the boss could lead to a demotion to D-class.
"I hope the agents are working on rectifying this temporary loss of our little girl?" Alex demanded, his glare fixed on the man.
"Yes, Sir, they are addressing it immediately. Our cautious approach so far has been to avoid alerting SHIELD to our existence while we work on securing SCP-053," the attendant replied.
"Well, make sure she is contained as soon as possible. And remind the agents responsible that SHIELD is unaware of the object's true anomalous nature as well as the full extent of her abilities. Use that to our advantage," Alex instructed sternly.
The attendant nodded vigorously. "Yes, Sir, right away, Sir," he said, seizing the opportunity to exit the tense situation.
Left alone, save for his mandatory guard, Alex brooded in silence. His Foundation had never before experienced setbacks like this, not since coming to this new world, at least. Always managing to outmaneuver SHIELD in securing SCP objects, always a step ahead. Which was why the loss of an SCP as significant as 053 was particularly galling.
Despite his anger towards SHIELD, he couldn't help but begrudgingly admire their resilience. They had managed to capture and contain SCPs even while dealing with the formidable threat posed by Tau-5, the legendary Mobile Task Force codenamed 'Samsara' that he had directed their way. Sending these semi-immortal cyborgs, equipped with superior gear and abilities, was admittedly overkill.
Yet, even with Tau-5 operating stealthily to achieve their objectives and having been lent SCP 005 – one of his most valuable assets – SHIELD still found resources for other operations. Perhaps, Alex mused, the oversight was his own, allowing Tau-5 to adopt a more covert approach, which inadvertently gave SHIELD room to maneuver.
After all, a key that could open any lock was immensely useful. Its potential for usefulness, along with the danger it posed in the wrong hands, was precisely why Alex kept it secure and had only authorized its use twice. Besides the skeleton key, he had also permitted the use of SCP-034, another perfect tool for infiltration. Combined, these SCPs made accessing any location almost too easy.
Alex wondered if SHIELD even realized they had lost valuable research data and their ghost assassin. Perhaps he should orchestrate the theft of other SCP objects from them, overtly this time, as a form of revenge? This might also serve to divert attention from SCP-053, easing its reacquisition.
Despite the many options at his disposal, Alex was irritated that he had to handle this matter personally. Yet perhaps it was his own fault; after all, the reason he was so hands-on was due to his own desires. He liked to be in control, much like a one-eyed pirate.
Something had to be done, and SHIELD needed to be taught a lesson.
[With SHIELD]
Grant Ward could feel a major headache brewing as another problem presented itself before him. His men had inexplicably started fighting each other to the death. It began with what they thought was a simple case of a girl with mind-control abilities, causing adults around her to fight on her behalf, often fatally.
Yet despite his best attempt at working around such abilities, and despite there being no signs of the girl doing anything, his men still seemed to have fallen prey to the girl's sadistic desires. After all, how else could one explain the actions of his men?
Seeing potential in her abilities, Grant had taken personal charge of the case, managing to do so even before Director Fury's usual operatives could get involved. He had also employed his trusted Hydra agents to contain the information, a decision now causing him regret as he had lost many of them.
Despite the chaos, the girl's potential was undeniable. If controlled, she could be a valuable asset. Though the situation was giving him a headache, Grant knew he needed to update his superiors. They, like him, would surely see her value.
Hoping they would relieve him of this volatile case, Grant stepped outside for some fresh air to make the call. He told himself it was just for a break, but in truth, he didn't want to risk falling under the girl's influence or becoming a victim of his own deranged agents.
Shivering slightly from the cold, Grant quickly made the call, waiting impatiently for John to answer. "Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath, pacing back and forth to stay warm in the frigid air. After about 20 seconds, which felt like an eternity, the call finally connected. "John, it's Grant. I have something that might interest you," he said urgently.
Grant had quickly called up his mentor John Garrett to report the situation. And just as expected John seemed very interested in the news and promised to inform someone higher up about the situation.
Pierce's mood soured slightly upon hearing Garrett's voice. Not due to disinterest but because Fury was in the office, likely listening in. "Ah, Garrett, lucky for you, Fury is here right now, so you can avoid repeating this call," Pierce informed him, hinting at the need for caution.
Garrett suppressed a curse. He knew that calling pierce directly hadn't been the best call, but Grant's situation had sounded dire with the loss of many agents, Yet now Fury's involvement complicated things further. "Well, I'm sure he will find this interesting. It's about a little girl with some sort of mind control abilities. We've lost quite a few agents because of her," he explained swiftly.
Pierce and Fury exchanged looks of interest. Despite Pierce's inward cursing, both were keen to hear more. "We are indeed very interested, Garrett. Please continue and provide more details," Pierce urged, glancing at Fury for a nod of agreement.
Garrett quickly explained what he had been told by Grant: How Grant had been at a street corner where people had erupted into a deadly fight around a little girl. He had been close by when it happened, dining in a nearby restaurant. Quickly arriving at the scene, he witnessed the police, after trying to approach the girl, begin to fight amongst themselves.
From a safe distance, Grant observed the chaos. Normal individuals were acting irrationally, violently fighting over the girl. He deduced that the source of this anomaly was the girl herself.
To avoid falling under her influence, he maintained a safe distance and called in reinforcements. His goal was to get the girl to a secure location, preferably a SHIELD/Hydra facility nearby while keeping everyone involved at a safe distance.
He briefed his men on the necessary precautions before retreating to the safety of his car.
As Garrett relayed Grant's report to both Pierce and Director Fury, he was careful to omit sensitive information Fury shouldn't know, ensuring he sounded like everything was solely on SHIELD's behalf.
He concluded by informing them that Grant had secured the girl in a nearby facility. He described how the men, after transporting her, began exhibiting the same violent behavior as the police officers at the scene. A large fight had broken out during the attempt to isolate her. To prevent further incidents, both the girl and the affected agents were isolated.
Pierce and Fury absorbed Garrett's report, their minds racing. Pierce pondered how to exploit the girl's powers, planning to retrieve her from Fury's control. Meanwhile, Fury assessed the risks posed by the girl, given the chaos she had already caused. They recognized the need to relocate her but were cautious about further endangering personnel, given the uncertain nature of her abilities.
--------------
Outside, as Grant paced, reporting his findings, he was unaware that Foundation agents were closely monitoring him. Debating whether to intervene now or wait, they knew the girl, SCP-053, was unharmed due to her anomalous properties. Their mission was to track and recover her discreetly.
The dilemma of acting now or waiting weighed on them, given their limited manpower and the uncertainty at the SHIELD facility. They hesitated, knowing the difficulty of their mission would only increase over time. After consulting their superiors, they received orders to act immediately.
As Grant ended his call, a tranquilizer dart hit his neck. He reached up, feeling the dart, but it was too late. The tranquilizer took effect, and as his consciousness faded, shadowy figures swiftly subdued him, preventing any alarm.
With Grant incapacitated, the Foundation agents quickly accessed the facility using his keys. They deposited his unconscious body inside and set to work. Splitting into two teams, one disabled the surveillance while the other secured SCP-053.
Moving with precision and non-lethal force, they took control of the facility, uploading a virus to erase any footage and evidence. Aware of SHIELD and Hydra's penchant for backups, they meticulously erased all traces of their presence. Within 30 minutes, they vacated the premises with SCP-053, heading to SITE-19 for her containment.
This operation caused a stir at SHIELD. Despite losing SCP-053 after only a dozen or so hours, they had gleaned enough about the girl's abilities to understand her potential as an asset. Their frustration at her loss was palpable.
This incident marked the first major clash between SHIELD agents and Foundation members over an SCP, but it would be far from the last time such a thing would happen.