[Triskelion]
[with Nick Fury]
With news of Alexander Ricci's death spreading like wildfire, there wasn't much time to react to the events as they unfolded. Fury had decided not to try to suppress the news.
This was due to the high-profile takedown of the Chinese party at the airport. Meanwhile, the Chinese government could and did, in fact, suppress the news. Fury knew it would not be enough to stop it from getting out.
So, instead of wasting resources slowing down the news, he focused its attention on Agent Romanoff. He had lost all contact with her and had feared the worst until she reappeared at the airport and was seen boarding a plane back to America.
However, she had been unable to transmit any information, so it was still unknown if she was in danger and needed extraction. Therefore, Fury had to make plans for a possible extraction in case it was necessary while also ensuring that Agent Romanoff could maintain her cover if the situation allowed for it.
"Agent Barton, glad you could join us." Fury greeted him as agent Clint Barton entered the room.
"Well, I was told it was important, so I came as fast as possible." Clint replied as he walked into the room and took a position next to Agent Coulson.
"I trust you have heard the news already." Fury said, gesturing towards the screen showing news about the death of Alexander Ricci.
"Agent Romanoff is currently on an undercover mission, and he is the target."
"So she needs extraction? Why wasn't I informed earlier if I was part of the extraction team, Sir?" Clint asked, suddenly worried about his new friend.
"Mr Ricci is indeed the target but not for assassination. Agent Romanoff's mission was to go undercover as his protective detail; she was there to protect him."
Hearing Fury's words, Clint quickly realized what the problem was. As an external security advisor, Natasha had failed to keep her client alive. But she undoubtedly made her a prime suspect for someone colluding with the assassin.
"I assume we didn't have any part in this assassination plot then." Clint asked for confirmation.
"No, we've very much wanted Ricci to live. The fact that he is dead jeopardizes the whole mission and the agent currently in the field, Agent Romanoff. We are, however, not sure about her current status other than she was seen alive boarding a plane back to America four hours ago."
"It is possible that Agent Romanoff's cover is intact, and any action in trying to extract her might put her at a greater risk. At the same time, the possibility that she is being taken back here to be executed can't be ruled out."
"We are currently setting up agents at the airport. Their goal is to isolate Romanoff for long enough that she can be asked if she needs an extraction or not. I want you there in case she does need it. Is that understood, Agent Barton?"
"Perfectly understood, Sir." Clint quickly replied as he got a good idea of what this mission entailed.
"Agent Coulson will be in charge of the Commission. He can give you further information. I should make my way to the airport scheduled to land. And Agent Coulson remembers even if an extraction is necessary, it's important to ensure that nothing links us together with Agent Romanoff or her escape."
"No problem, Sir." Phil quickly responded as he had already been filled in on the entire situation.
"Alright then dismissed both of you." Fury said as he sent them both out, allowing himself to be alone with his thoughts.
And as soon as he was once again alone, he couldn't help but curse the thousands of times at whoever was responsible for this whole mess.
It was supposed to be an easy mission. Go undercover, hang around the target, and gather information. No extraction plan had been made because none had been necessary. Yet within 24 hours, everything had gone to hell.
A VIP had died, assassinated on foreign soil. Usually, he wouldn't care if some criminal was shot dead or not, but Alexander Ricci had far too many important connections to be ignored.
He had only just upended all expectations and ensured that, for the first time ever, a black man became president of the USA. Countless people had businesses with Ricci. Not to mention the amount of the underworld that held him in high respect, and he would now no doubt go to hell trying to fill the void he left behind.
He really feels like something or someone out there is trying to make his life a living hell. One thing after the other just kept happening. All were significant cases that had the Security Council and everyone else calling for answers, and he was expected to supply them.
Yet he had no answers, something that grated him on enormously.
With the Hulk and multiple other enhanced individuals out there and in the potential hands of some very well-funded organization, if the base that Coulson recently busted was anything to go by, He really didn't need more on his plate.
It's highly possible that this assassination not only served to screw up whatever deal Ricci was trying to broker with the ten rings but also to ensure that the world was so chaotic that he couldn't muster the resources to look deeper into the disappearances of those enhanced children.
He hoped that Romanoff had been successful in the primary part of her mission and had gathered some intelligence.
If he was fortunate, he would also be able to use whatever retaliation would come from the Ricci family to get an idea of who was behind his assassination and, thereby, who was trying to make the world more chaotic.
If he could do that, he might be able to get a better idea of where to look for those children and Doctor Banner, not to mention that Pym was also missing now. Someone was out there, someone with resources and means to do terrible things, and he needed to stop it.
--------------
While Fury was cursing at who was behind the assassination, one of the very people who was behind it was also left cursing.
Alexander Pierce had gotten the news that one of his assets, The Winter Soldier, had been lost after accomplishing his latest mission. By the assassination of Alexander Ricci, he had gone without a hitch; he couldn't be fully satisfied as the price paid ended up being far more than he had been willing to pay.
The Winter Soldier was one of his aces. Now, it seemed lost. He could only hope that he would be able to swallow up the entirety of Ricci's criminal empire to make up for that loss.
If he could do that, then it would truly be well worth it. I see the amount of money and resources that will be available to him would make project insight happen much sooner than expected.
Not that the prospects of that enormous piece of meat entering his mouth made him curse any less the carelessness of the other hits for losing him, The Winter Soldier.
Even more so at this crucial time when another mysterious organization without their collecting enhanced individuals. The Winter Soldier would have been excellent to have in hand to take down and consume this organization for himself.
It's just one of the things he hated the most. The constant need for secrecy and compartmentalization. He was well aware of how much was not being said by those who were supposed to be his allies.
In fact, he had no doubt that several people were using him the way he used them, which is why he created Project Insight in the first place.
It was his trump card in this game of politics and deception. His tool to end all the deception and to finally bring about a new world order, one with him in charge.
But it would not come into existence soon enough. He was still many years away from that; he needed to ensure that everything was ready for the time. Which was why he couldn't allow some new upstart organization to start ruining everything he had carefully worked for.
At least he could count on Fury to help deal with that without him needing to do anything.
-------------
[With Natasha Romanoff]
The departure from the mandarin's compound had been uneventful. Apparently, he had arranged for another plane that would take them back home, saving them all many hours of time if they had to wait around for another one.
It'll mean that the entire show didn't have much time at the compound trying to sneak around. Therefore, she's been unable to gather any further intelligence on the Mandarin or his operations.
Should you tell, it was still half the offer from the new head of the Ricci family that could provide a wealth of information, not just into the potential deal that had cake in place but also provide them with future intelligence on the Ricci family.
No, she just needed the ticket back in contact with the director so she could fill in this information and get new orders. Something that would be delayed slightly, and she's been informed that the new Ricci head wanted to speak with her face-to-face once they landed.
The flight back was as uneventful as could be; she was treated much more like a prisoner this time around than on the fly out, but she could hardly judge them. After all, much had changed in the few hours since then.
As they landed back on US soil. Natasha kept her eyes wide open by anyone attempting to make contact with her. After all customs, what's the perfect time to try and establish contact.
So she fully expected just that to happen; now she just needed to do it discreetly enough that her captures didn't notice anything or that it could really end up jeopardizing the fragile position she was currently in.
As she made her way through customs, the agents of Ricci never allowed her to get far from them, keeping a constant watch after every action as well as everyone around them.
Having flown private and being backed by someone as powerful and wealthy as the Ricci family, a trip through customs would be expedited and quick. The presence of the large, scary-looking men in black suits also scared most people, making it hard for the crowd to interact with them.
As they rounded a corner, a small woman dressed as airport security marched angrily after Natasha and rudely pulled the black sunglasses off her face. "Don't hide your face." She said equally rudely as she handed Natasha the sunglasses back.
After that, they passed through the last check, and we were allowed to finally head towards the exit; as they did that, Natasha placed her sunglasses back on her face, and as she did so, she heard a voice.
"Natasha, it's me, Clint. I got you in my sight. If you need extraction, adjust your glasses right now." Clint's voice came through a hidden speaker in the sunglasses that had been cleverly swapped by the disguised shield agent.
It was a clever ploy, and she had to suppress a smile at just how clever it was, as no one had possibly seen that one coming. She scanned around the area, trying to spot Clint or other shield agents, and she did spot a few people she believed were Shield agents ready to intervene and help with extraction if necessary.
Natasha did nothing to draw attention to herself or the spread-out agents, nor did she address her glasses. After a short while, she wants to hear Clint's voice.
"Those glasses are equipped with a camera and a very sensitive microphone and should be able to pick up whispers. If you believe they are at risk, dispose of them. If not, keep them. I will remain available so you can communicate with me if you can."
"We also currently see what you're seeing, so even if you can't communicate if we see problems, we will act to help you." Clint reassured her that she wasn't alone and hadn't been abandoned, even in her tough spot.