[ "Target is on the move." ]
Wanda turned her head at Harvey's words. A balding man dressed in a thick black jacket was walking through the tight streets of the small town outside the outskirts of Sokovia's capital. He was carrying several bags filled with groceries and supplies, just like yesterday.
[ "I got eyes on him. He's heading eastbound." ] Natasha spoke through the earpiece in her ear.
"I see him." Wanda said from underneath her cup, hiding her lips. "In pursuit."
Wanda got up from her chair. She'd been sitting at a small family-owned restaurant for half an hour. She was using this location to wait and spot their current target. After landing in her home country, Harvey and Amy left to scout the area within the circle marked on the map. While Natasha, Pietro, and herself made their way to the area's several small shops and restaurants.
It didn't take too long for Harvey and Amy to find the compound Strucker could possibly be at. With their combined senses, finding a hidden base filled with people was an easy task. After that, it was only a matter of keeping watch and waiting for anyone to leave the base.
Pietro questioned why they had to wait around, with Harvey and Amy they could just go in immediately. Harvey certainly had the power for it. Natasha quickly shot that idea down. Stating that if they do that, they could risk Strucker escaping and the possibility of him destroying any potential information they could have that could lead them to the truth behind the bombings. So with that, they all agreed to bide their time and be patient.
After a day of waiting, a balding man left the base to go into town to buy supplies; once he was done, he returned to the compound. After another day of waiting, the man left again, which gave them the perfect opportunity to grab him and extract any information he could have.
[ "Slow and from a distance." ] Natasha said. [ "Just like how we practiced." ]
Wanda nodded and turned slowly to see Natasha a dozen feet away. She was also following behind the man; if Wanda hadn't known she was there to begin with, she would have never spotted the agent.
[ "Pietro, get ready to intercept once he's reached the designated area." ] Harvey spoke.
[ "Don't worry, I'll get him." ] Pietro stated in a rough voice.
Wanda silently hid behind a corner of a building. It was a good decision since their target turned around a second later and looked around behind him; with a shrug of his shoulders, he continued walking. Wanda smiled and cheered in her head; during their free time, Natasha had been teaching her and her brother how to blend into the crowds and look over their shoulders. Essentially a quick lesson on how to be a spy.
After another few minutes, they followed the man out to the town outskirts. Wanda saw him continue walking until a streak of blue and silver snatched him from thin air.
[ "Got him." ] Pietro exclaimed.
Wanda smiled and heard Harvey talk over the earpiece.
[ "Good. Everyone, back to the quinjet. It's time we have a little chat with our gopher friend." ]
•••
Pietro stood in his spot and glared at the passed-out and tied-up man. Everyone was back in the jet; they agreed that they would extract whatever information he had once the man woke up. Mainly a way inside the compound without being detected.
"He's coming to." Amy said as she leaned against the back of the jet.
The man's eyes slowly fluttered open; with a shake of his head, he looked down and noticed his tied-up body. He started fighting his restraints in hopes of getting out. A task he would find impossible, Natasha was the one who expertly handled the rope.
"Where am I?!" The man yelled in a thick accent. "Release me now!"
Pietro saw Harvey walk up to the man. He had his hood pulled over his head. The man followed Harvey's movements until he stopped in front of him. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as his friend stood still like a statue. This seemed to just anger their prisoner.
"You bastard! Talk-"
SMACK
Pietro looked on with wide eyes as the man's head snapped to the side from Harvey's powerful slap. Looking over at his sister, he saw her mouth grow into a small, sinister smile; shaking his head, Pietro turned away from Wanda and looked back at Harvey.
"You must not be very bright. If you haven't noticed, you're in no position to be asking questions." Harvey stated as he glared down at the man. "What's your name?"
"Go fuck yourself." The man gritted out in anger.
Harvey said nothing as he crouched down and looked at the man. Suddenly, Harvey grabbed the man's leg and tightened his grip, causing the man to wince.
"Do you work for Baron Von Strucker?"
The man only glared at Harvey in response. Nodding, Harvey's bare hand started to heat up to the point his skin and muscles turned yellow, and his bones could be seen through the flesh.
"AAAHHH!"
Harvey continued to hold the man's leg as he cried out in pain. Eventually, he let go and stood up. Pietro looked down and grimaced; the man's leg was charred. A disgusting smell started to fill the inside of the jet. Harvey then placed his hand on the side of the man's face.
"WAIT! WAIT! I-I do! I do work for Strucker!" The man cried as he nodded quickly.
"Is he back in your base?" Harvey asked as he got closer to the man's face. The man frowned and hesitated, but he panicked when he saw Harvey's hand begin to heat up.
"YES! HE IS! He's there right now! He only ever leaves it during the weekend!" The man said in fear. "I swear!"
"The weekend? That's two days from now." Natasha said with a frown. "That's a small window if we want to get him now."
"How do we get in the base without setting off any security?" Harvey asked the man calmly. "Answer quick."
"Y-You can't! You need a security badge key and registered biometrics." The tied-up man said. "There's no other way inside! Strucker made sure of that."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Natasha said as she pulled out a large black crate and held a black card up. "This your key?"
The man looked shocked but then nodded quickly. Pietro guessed the agent must have gone through his pockets before she tied him up.
"We have today and tomorrow to infiltrate the compound and find Strucker. If not, we're going to have to wait four days." Natasha informed them all. "Personally, I don't like to be kept waiting. I say we move in now."
"I think so, too." Wanda said as she stepped forward. "Let's end this now."
"Pietro?" Amy asked as she looked over to him. "What do you think?"
Pietro looked down and nodded. It seemed that Harvey's brutal methods of torture bothered him more than he thought it would. Pietro thought he was ready to do what was needed to get justice for his parents and everyone else who suffered from the bombings. Could this really be how he wanted to do this?
No, he couldn't hesitate now. Not with the truth so close, he had to act now. Pietro could reflect after this was all over; now is not the time.
"Let's do this."
•••
After they received the information on how to get inside the compound, their prisoner held no other vital intel they could use. His assignment was to guard the northeast door and pick up supplies every other day. With that, Harvey performed the penance stare on the man and locked him in an empty room in the jet.
"I'm in position."
From there, Natasha devised a plan to disguise Pietro as their prisoner using SHIELD's high-tech disguise technology and have him break into the facility. From there, he would unlock the main doors, allowing Amy, Wanda, and Natasha to enter without raising any alarms. Afterward, they would scour the compound and search for Strucker and any information they could acquire.
Harvey's role in the plan was to wait outside and act as an emergency distraction in case the infiltration team was discovered. So until he heard anything, he would stay out of sight and wait. The freezing Sokovia air was no issue to him due to his body's unnatural internal temperature. He could wait out here forever if he had to.
[ "Copy that, we're heading deeper in." ] Natasha responded from the custom-built communicator on the collar of his leather jacket. It was made specifically for him; Natasha claims it can stand up to 1000 degree celsius .
Looking down, Harvey couldn't help but think back to the morning he and his team left home. The morning, Alex came to see him.
/ A Few Days Ago /
"Hah, hah! I'm glad I made it before you left!"
Harvey looked down at Alex as she tried to get control of her breathing. After a while, she took a deep breath and stood up straight. She looked at him and smiled. He couldn't help but smile back.
"What are you doing here?" Harvey asked. "I told you you didn't have to."
"I know... I just wanted to." Alex looked down and smiled shyly. "Is that so wrong?"
"No, not at all." Harvey answered. "I'm happy to see you, Alex."
The girl smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm happy, too."
Alex looked over to the black SUV and grew a panicked look. With a deep breath, she jumped up at him and hugged him tightly. "Good luck! Be careful, okay?"
"I will." Harvey leaned down and hugged her close. "Hey, when I come back. How about we go on a date?"
Harvey felt Alex jump in his arms; she nodded and buried her head into his chest. "Okay."
The two separated and looked at each other. There was a lot they wanted to say to each other since last night, but time wasn't on their side. Without warning, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"I'm looking forward to it."
/ Present /
Harvey let out a deep sigh and looked around the snow-covered forest. It was silent; only the odd few sounds of nature broke through. His mind wondered what his team was doing in there, what they were finding.
'You should focus, partner.' Zarathos spoke up, breaking Harvey from his wandering thoughts.
"Yeah... You're right."
[ "Oh my god." ] Pietro's voice broke through the comms.
"Pietro? What is it?!" Harvey asked in confusion. Whatever the speedster must have found must be bad for him to have sounded like that.
[ "Harvey... there are dead children here." ] Amy's voice spoke.
"...what?"
•••
Amy and Pietro stood still as they looked on. Their faces were contorted in fear and shock.
After the infiltration team made it inside, they broke apart and searched the base in pairs. Wanda and Natasha went one way, and Amy and Pietro went the other. This way, they could cover more ground and have a greater chance of finding Strucker.
Pietro's speed came in handy; they were capable of going through several rooms in quick succession. It wasn't until Amy felt the cry for help from a young soul a few floors beneath them that they changed directions. After taking out a dozen men on their way down, they found two large steel doors standing in their way.
Amy was capable of slowly opening the steel doors with the help of her superhuman strength. It wasn't until they stepped in that horror crawled up their backs. In front of them were several jail cells, and inside them were dozens of small bodies. It was dead children, so many of them. Only four children were still alive, but they were weak and hanging by a thread.
[ "It can't be." ] Wanda said from the comms.
"How... How could they?" Pietro whispered.
Amy shook her head and pressed down on her earpiece. "H-Harvey... we have four tender-age children. They need help."
[ "...can they be healed?" ] Harvey's voice asked.
"I'll do my best, but we need to get them out of here." Amy said as she jogged up to one of the cells. Grabbing the steel bars, she ripped them off and tossed them aside.
[ "New plan. Amy, Pietro. You two are on search and rescue." ] Harvey said, his voice changed and grew deadly serious. [ "Flip this place upside down and find any more children or prisoners trapped here." ]
"Will do." Pietro said as he crouched down next to a little girl. "I'm here to help. What's your name, little one?"
"...K-Katherine." The little brown-haired girl said weakly. "Are... you here to take us back to our parents?"
Pietro's face twisted in sadness, but he steeled his emotions and smiled. He promised her and the rest of the children that he would get them all home.
[ "Natasha, Wanda. If Strucker is here, you have to find him. NOW!" ] Harvey ordered.
[ "I'll find him." ] Wanda said.
[ "What will you do?" ] Natasha's voice broke through the comms.
[ "Get their attention." ]