After the call with Garrett ended, Pierce couldn't help but feel incredibly annoyed at Fury's presence. He believed the girl could have been a potent tool for their cause, but now, with Fury aware of her existence, not only was her usefulness slightly diminished, but he would also have to work on getting the girl out from under him; this did make the whole thing more challenging, though not significantly.
Pierce was, however, relieved that Fury seemed so preoccupied with the girl's abilities that he hadn't noticed the unusual fact that Garrett had called him directly. Pierce made a mental note to remind him and everyone else to be more discreet in their communications to avoid such slip-ups in the future.
Fury, meanwhile, was deep in thought about the girl, her abilities, and the risks she posed. He acknowledged Grant's intelligence and guessed that the agent had taken appropriate precautions, yet heavy casualties were still incurred. This raised concerns about the feasibility and risks of safely containing the girl.
Fury wondered if her mind control was a defensive mechanism or if she simply chose not to enslave people at will. So far, it sounded like she just had them fight each other.
With these considerations in mind, Fury headed back to his office, deciding to send reinforcements to the facility. Trusting Coulson and Hill for the task, he made sure they were aware of the girl's abilities to avoid falling under her influence.
He also contemplated deploying Clint or Natasha, given their skills would prove helpful in handling controlled agents at a distance. Clint seemed the better choice due to his ranged expertise.
[SITE 001 - with Alexander]
Alex had barely progressed in his plan to distract SHIELD and recover SCP-053 when he received the news that she had already been secured. The girl was en route to SITE-19 for containment, with a cell prepared and the staff briefed.
This swift recovery was a small relief, but Alex knew the complexities of dealing with such anomalous entities were far from over.
Still, this news significantly lifted Alex's spirits, marking a positive end to his day. On the other hand, it meant that, for the first time, SHIELD would realize that a skilled and resourceful entity was covertly acquiring their people of interest and valuable objects.
Alex had so far stayed completely under SHIELD's radar. They were unaware of the numerous losses they had incurred from the files of Project T.A.H.I.T.I to the blueprints for building the stabilizing chamber for Ava Starr.
Now, another of his task forces was preparing to secure the Ghost herself, an operation that would undoubtedly alert SHIELD. This would raise their guard and complicate future missions within SHIELD, but with SCP-005 in his possession, accessing any facility would be trivial no matter their efforts in stopping him.
Alex knew he had to prepare for the eventual discovery of the Foundation. His knowledge of SHIELD's operations could only protect him for so long. He pondered the potential of revealing some information to SHIELD, mirroring the relationship between governments and the Foundation in the original universe.
He thought that the Insight project might be the key should he go down that route, using the threat of its capabilities for intimidation and securing funding from governments without their control over the Foundation.
Accessing the Insight satellites was crucial, as was getting his hands on the Insight carriers in the first place, a task that would not be easy. Yet it was something he would keep in mind for the future; after all, there was still some time until all that.
Despite SCP-053's capture, Alex's workload seemed endless. More so now that he had to deal with the threat of SHIELD. He hoped the rewards would be worth it. He also considered the peculiar case of SCP-204, which existed in multiple instances.
He was unsure about how the system would handle granting rewards for such an SCP. The system's locating tool only displayed the number of SCP-204 instances active at any given moment, or so he assumed, given all it gave him was a 0 right now, not a location.
Another busy day awaited him, with preparations for keeping SCP-4255 a secret and dealing with SHIELD. He hoped they wouldn't pose an immediate problem.
[With SHIELD]
When Grant's eyes opened again, he was assaulted by a splitting headache and bright lights. He weakly raised his hand to shield his eyes. Confusion clouded his mind as he pieced together his last memories – the chaos at the facility, the call to Garrett.
Then, darkness had enveloped him, leaving him in this vulnerable state.
Grant's eyes suddenly flew wide open as his heart hammered in his chest. He was alert and ready to spring into action, trying to piece together his last memories.
He remembered being attacked but was unclear whether he had been captured or rescued. Desperate for answers, he calmed himself and surveyed his surroundings. It appeared to be a SHIELD facility – he had been rescued, but the events after his attack were still a blur.
As he settled, the nursing staff, noticing his awakening, alerted the agent in charge of the case, Phil Coulson. Meanwhile, Grant was examined by a doctor and a nurse, who asked routine questions about his comfort and pain.
Grant, who was experienced with such procedures, answered honestly but was filled with his own questions about the incident. The doctor explained that he had been found unconscious and cold, likely due to powerful tranquilizers. It had taken him a considerable time to wake up.
Phil Coulson entered the room, accompanied by Maria Hill. They inquired about Grant's condition, and after receiving an affirmative from the doctor, they turned their attention to Grant.
He quickly asked, "What happened?"
Coulson explained that after receiving a call from Fury, he and Hill had been tasked with the mission. They had attempted to contact Grant but to no avail, which had increased their urgency to reach the facility. On arrival, they found Grant unconscious by the door, along with other incapacitated agents and staff.
However, there was no sign of the little girl.
Hearing about the missing girl, he couldn't help but ask about the agents he had locked in with her. As he was told of the fate of all eight agents, he couldn't help but clench his fist hard. Grant couldn't help but curse. His mission had failed, and he had lost eight loyal men for nothing, feeling humiliated by the ambush.
"Do we know who did it?" he asked.
Coulson could only shake his head; they had hoped Grant could shed more light on the attackers. Grant recounted his last memories - being tranquilized and overpowered by an unseen assailant. He suggested checking the facility's surveillance cameras for clues, unaware that they had already been compromised.
Coulson listened to Grant's account, realizing they were at a dead end given his limited recollection.
"I'm afraid the surveillance cameras have been wiped clean by a virus. We even checked the backups, but they were deleted," Coulson reported, dashing Grant's hopes for easy answers.
Hill, ready with pen and paper, asked Grant to describe the girl, hoping that this one clue they had might allow them to find her.
Grant, while disheartened by the lack of surveillance footage, knew of a hidden Hydra system that might still hold valuable information. Nevertheless, he provided Hill and Coulson with a detailed description of the girl he had apprehended earlier.
After gathering all the information they could, Coulson and Hill thanked Grant for his cooperation and left him to recover, reminding him to report any further recollections.
Coulson and Hill still needed to question the other personnel at the SITE, hoping for more eyewitness accounts. Grant, left alone, felt the weight of the mission's failure and the uncertainty of what lay ahead.
Coulson's hope for new information was quickly dashed. After interviewing all the guards and staff who had regained consciousness, no one could add anything more. Strangely, they all seemed to suffer from amnesia, having forgotten several hours leading up to the attack.
This only underscored the skill and efficiency of the attackers, leading Coulson to conclude they must be part of a well-resourced and skilled group.
-------------------------------
With the daunting task of reporting his findings, or rather the lack thereof, to Director Fury, Coulson wasn't feeling optimistic. He knew this case had already troubled Fury, and being the bearer of further bad news was not how Coulson preferred to spend his time.
Nonetheless, he knocked gently on Fury's door.
"Come in," came the swift response.
Coulson entered and closed the door behind him, preferring to avoid any eavesdroppers while potentially facing his boss's displeasure over a situation beyond his control.
"So, what do you have for me, Coulson?" Fury immediately inquired about the investigation into the attack on the SHIELD facility and its personnel.
"Not much, I'm afraid, Sir. Other than Agent Grant, everyone else seems to have suffered amnesia, forgetting about three hours prior to the incident, including the incident itself. Whoever's behind this ensured that all digital traces were deleted, both from the facility and from every camera within at least a three-block radius. We are currently expanding our search," Coulson reported.
Fury listened silently, but his mind was anything but still. Numerous theories raced through his thoughts: Who was responsible for this attack and the girl's abduction? If the girl was an experiment, it made sense that her creators could have embedded a tracker in her to locate her if lost.
The idea of a child with mind control capabilities being lost was distressing and needed to be addressed swiftly.
Determined to recover the girl, Fury considered the possibility that a group was manufacturing or exploiting children with abilities.
Shield was the only safe haven for such children, both for their safety and the world's. The kidnapping perpetrators had covered their tracks effectively, leaving them with little to go on except the girl's description.
Fury's voice thundered at Coulson, filled with unmistakable ire. "I won't tell you what I'm feeling right now, Coulson, because I'm sure you damn well know. I want answers, I want results, and I want them fast. So get out there and find me some answers. Find out who had the audacity to attack us and take them down. Understood, Coulson?"
Coulson nodded meekly, the weight of the directive clear. "Yes, Sir. I will make it my top priority," he vowed, quickly exiting Fury's office to resume the search for answers.
Left alone in his office, Fury sat in silence, ruminating on his thoughts. He had faced much in his years at SHIELD, from alien invasions to beings with incredible powers. But a direct, brazen defiance of a SHIELD facility? This was a first, and it was not sitting well with him. Fishing into his pocket, he pulled out a small, modified communication device.
He reflected on the friend he hadn't seen in a long time and the increasingly dangerous, confusing world they had entrusted him with. With another sigh, he tucked the device back into his pocket.
"Whoever you are, I will find you, and I will stop whatever you're planning," he silently vowed, returning to his work with renewed determination.
---------------------
Fury was not the only one enraged by the attack. Pierce, too, had received the news and was equally displeased and intrigued. The idea that someone could create enhanced humans like the little girl was of immense interest.
If there were individuals or groups with the ability to create such beings, or even just possessing the technology and secrets to do so, then those resources rightfully belonged to Hydra, Pierce believed.
He sent out a notice to the Hydra network about the situation, urging them to stay alert and keep their eyes open for any leads.
Much as he had expected, the rest of the Hydra heads found the information they received very interesting, both about the girl and her abilities, as well as the mysterious organization that took her. Some of them were curious as to why Pierce hadn't suspected any of them of being behind it.
After all, if they had lost something to an unknown group, the first suspects would be the other Hydra heads, yet Pierce seemed to rule that out. They couldn't help but wonder what he knew that he had not shared.
In truth, the reason Pierce didn't think that any of the other Hydra wings were behind this was because they weren't capable. Other than his own part of Hydra, none of the others had even close to the ability needed to pull off something like this; of this, he was very certain.
Not to mention, they wouldn't have had the chance to do so either, as unless they themselves were behind the mysterious girl and her powers, there would be no way for them to know where she was.