"You said you'd be gone for three days… not a whole week!"
Harvey smiled awkwardly and let out a nervous chuckle. He sat kneeling on the floor while Wanda glared down at him; Pietro watched with an amused grin. It was late at night, and they were all inside his living room. A muted news report was playing in the background.
"I sorta lost track of time." Harvey said and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that."
"Is this gonna be a routine with you?" Wanda kneeled and fluffed his hair. "Disappearing for who knows how long."
Harvey smiled and leaned out of her reach, causing her almost to lose her balance and flail her arms around. "I'd like to say no, but… I can't help it. There's still so much to do."
Unknown to Harvey, his eyes grew dull, and a detached expression grew on his face. The sheer number of people he put down over the week was massive. Just remembering their horrible actions made him grow hot with anger.
"Alright." Pietro said as he stood up from the couch. "Wanda, stop messing with Harvey. It's almost time for dinner anyway. So what do you guys want?"
Walking to the kitchen, Pietro opened the fridge and inspected what was inside. He turned his head and saw Harvey and Wanda walk into the room. "We got some leftover lo mein from yesterday, or I could whip us up some spaghetti and meatballs? What will it be?"
"Aren't those the same thing?" Wanda asked as she sat down on the breakfast nook table.
"Apologize to all the Italian and Chinese citizens right now." Pietro glared playfully at his sister. In return, Wanda blew a raspberry at him.
"I could go for some spaghetti." Harvey said and tied on a black apron. "I'll help."
"Sounds good. I'll do the sauce, and you can handle the meatballs." Pietro said and tied on his own apron. It was white with a smiling yellow sun in the center.
"I can't exactly sit around and let you two do all the work." Wanda said as she walked into the large walk-in pantry of the kitchen. After a few seconds she came out with a silver homemade pasta maker machine. "I'll work on the spaghetti."
Everyone began their assignments and worked hard to bring their dish to life. The three joked and laughed as they cooked or worked, and the occasional splattering of flour of tomato sauce flew through the air and stained the clothes they wore. Once they were done, they combined their dish components, and three rough-looking plates of warm spaghetti sat at the dining room table.
The three ate with proud smiles and enjoyed each other's company. Against his better judgment, Harvey looked at the empty spot where Amy used to sit. His apatite left him, but he forced himself to finish. Wanda noticed his stare and grew sad. Her fork danced along her plate. She was playing with her half-eaten meatball.
"You know… I thought it would have gotten better once you came back." Pietro said, gaining Harvey's and Wanda's attention. He looked at Amy's empty spot with a melancholy smile. "But it still feels the same… that empty spot will always be a reminder."
"…" Wanda said nothing. All she did was nod.
Harvey absentmindedly lifted a hand and touched his chest, right where his long scar was. "…yeah."
A small ping sounded from Harvey's pocket, shaking them out of their dreary thoughts. Narrowing his eyes, Harvey pulled out a phone he always kept on him. It was the phone Natasha gave him after their mission in Sokovia. On the phone screen was a short message from Sharan.
[ SC: Meet here… ]
A set of coordinates were attached to the message. And at the end were two emojis. One was a cartoon eyeball, and the other was three blades of grass. Harvey saw the message blink out of existence as if it was never there. No matter, Harvey memorized the coordinates.
"Suit up." Harvey said and stood up. Pietro and Wanda were looking at him with severe expressions. They knew that if a message was sent to that phone, it could only mean one thing. Something was going on that Sharon needed to contact them or that there was a development with HYDRA.
"Right." Pietro and Wanda said together.
•••
Slowing to a stop, Harvey engaged the kickstand of his motorcycle. He turned his head and nodded at Wanda, who sat behind him. She let go of his chest and hopped off his bike; her red helmet was removed immediately, and she shook her head. Causing her long auburn hair to fly back and forth.
Wanda wore a dark red leather trench coat that stopped at her thighs. Beneath it, she wore an intricate black zipped-up onesie suit made of reinforced materials. The suit led down to a pair of black combat boots. The suit was a gift from Natasha that she received when he was gone.
Harvey stepped off his motorcycle and pulled down his hood. He was in his new black and white leather suit Haley and Alex made for him. Harvey turned his head to see Pietro blur to a stop beside Wanda. He was wearing the vigilante outfit that he and Amy had put together. Pietro lifted his goggles and looked around with a severe expression.
"Where are they?" Pietro asked and looked around the abandoned warehouse.
They were currently on the outskirts of San Bernardino. The warehouse they were at had once been a thriving lumber factory but closed down ten years ago because the owners couldn't afford the increasing rent prices. Out of anger for being robbed due to unfair price increases, the owners started an accidental fire that consumed the warehouse. Luckily, the fire department put it out before it was entirely consumed and destroyed. The warehouse owners didn't want to pay for it to be rebuilt or torn down, so it now stood abandoned and decrepit—a perfect meeting location.
"They're here." Harvey said, looking at the dark corner within the warehouse where the moonlight didn't reach. "They're just being shy."
From the shadows walked out three figures. On the left was Natasha Romanov, dressed casually in black and a beige leather jacket. Her new short hair bobbed as she walked, a small smile on her face. Sharon Carter walked on the right and was dressed in dark clothes. Her SHEILD uniform could be seen from underneath her grey jacket. Finally, in the center was Nick Fury. He wore his usual get-up of all-black clothing and his long leather trench coat.
"I guess I was right. Sneaking up on you is an impossible task." Sharon said when she came to a stop. "Hello, Harvey. Wanda, Pietro."
"Sharon." Pietro nodded and crossed his arms. Wanda and Harvey nodded in return.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes? How was your vacation?" Natasha said as she walked up to Harvey. But at the sight of his eyes, she arched an eyebrow quizzically. "What happened to your eyes?"
"Natasha." Harvey smiled and hugged the older woman once she was close. "It's good to see you. Ah, that's a long story, you see…"
Natasha nodded and let him go. She then walked over to Wanda and Pietro and hugged them as well.
"I'd hate to break the reunion, but we didn't call you here to catch up." Nick said with his voice laced with seriousness.
"What's this about? Is this about them?" Wanda asked with narrowed eyes.
Nick nodded and tilted his head towards the inside of the warehouse. "Let's talk in my office. We can never be too careful."
The small group walked into the darkness of the warehouse. Once inside, several lights turned on, and a long table with several folders and documents stood next to a battered wall. Harvey noticed several small blinking devices surrounding the area they just walked in.
"They're to keep whatever we say confidential and to stop any satellites from peeking in or listening. Can't be too careful." Sharon said and patted his shoulder. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you since the incident in LA. You did good work."
Harvey smiled. "Thanks." He then looked over at Nick. He could see that the man was troubled. Whatever he was about to tell them would be significant. Hopefully, it would be about a plan to move in and attack HYDRA.
"Imagine my surprise when two of my top agents hold a gun and arrow to my head and ask me if I'm a HYDRA agent." Nick said as he placed his hands on his hips. His one good eye looked over at the young trio. "HYDRA… now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. It took a while to prove that I wasn't, but in the end, they believed me."
Harvey turned his head to look at Natasha. She noticed his stare and smiled. Harvey couldn't help but wonder how that conversation had gone.
"I was even more shocked to hear that my long-time friend, Alexander Pierce, was one of our known HYDRA members. Alongside a high-ranking SHIELD agent, Jasper Sitwell. And who knows how many other agents? Don't get me started on Senator Stern." Nick said as he looked down at the table with all the documents. He picked a folder up and flipped through the paper. "After I got my head on straight. Romanov, Barton, Agent 13, and I brought together a small group of agents we could fully trust. From there, we covertly investigated every single agent in SHEILD for any sign that could prove they could be HYDRA."
"How many did you find?" Wanda asked.
"Too many." Natasha answered and picked up a folder. "On this table is every agent, citizen, and government officials we suspect to be working with HYDRA. At least who we've found so far."
Pietro walked over to the table and riffled through the papers. "There are so many…"
"They're like cockroaches." Wanda spat out and threw a folder she was looking at down at the pile.
"SHEILD is compromised." Fury said gravely. "We're in over our heads."
Harvey frowned and looked at the table. Fury was right. This has grown bigger than they thought. If they started hunting down these people, HYDRA would know they've been had and would strike back. With their numbers, they could be overwhelmed immediately, not to mention the power they held in the government thanks to Stern.
"It gets worse." Nick said, gaining Harvey's and the twin's attention. "There's been a project SHEILD has been working on that would give us the ability to strike our enemies fast and hard. It's called Project Insight."
"Project Insight involves three next-generation Helicarriers that are synced to a network of targeting satellites. Continuous sun orbital flight." Sharon said and clicked a button on a small remote in her hand.
A large picture of three massive ship-like planes shimmered to life on the wall above the table thanks to a projector hovering in the air. Several images played one after another, showing off all the features and details of the airships. But most images were of people working and building the ships; so far, only the frames of the helicarrier have been completed. Finally, the pictures stopped on a detailed blueprint showing the helicarrier specs.
"They're… massive." Pietro gasped and stared unbelievably at the images.
"They're currently being equipped with long-range precision guns that can eliminate a thousand hostiles in a minute." Natasha explained as images of said weapons flashed on the screen. "SHEILD is hoping to have working satellites made in a few years that can read a terrorist DNA whenever they pop out of their hidey-hole."
"I thought that these Helicarriers would put us ahead of the curve. Give us the power to stop threats before they happen." Nick gazed at the images with disappointment. "But the project was spearheaded and approved by Pierce and Stern, alongside several other discovered HYDRA members. I don't think these Helicarriers are going to be used as intended. No, I think they have other plans in mind."
"With these, HYDRA would have a choke-hold over the world." Harvey said and looked at the blueprints with a glare. "The sheer loss of life would be in the millions…"
Nick nodded and looked over at Sharon. She understood the unsaid message and clicked off the projector. An uncomfortable silence grew over the young trio as they thought deeply about the implications of what they had just seen.
"Has Steve Rogers been informed?" Harvey asked. "He's fought HYDRA before; if there's any information he has that can help take down HYDRA, we need to know it."
"Captain Rogers woke up from the ice just a few weeks ago. We thought we'd let him get used to being in the modern world first before dropping a bomb as big as this on him." Natasha said and rubbed her neck.
Pietro frowned and looked over at Fury. "There must be something we can do to stop them from completing those helicarriers. Tell me you've thought of a plan."
"Trust me, I've racked my brain in ways to prevent these ships from being built. But the most I can do is delay its construction. If I say we should stop the project entirely, I could risk tipping them off that I know something." Fury walked over to a chair and sat down. "And that's the one card we have to our advantage."
Wanda walked away from the table and wrapped her arms around herself. Pietro followed behind her and grabbed her shoulders.
"There has to be something!" Wanda said and spun around to look at them all. "How could you not have seen that HYDRA was that entrenched into SHIELD? Aren't you someone in charge?! How could you let HYDRA grow under your nose like that!"
Nick looked away, ashamed. He had nothing to say at that. Wanda was right. Harvey walked forward and stood in front of Fury. Blocking him from Wanda's sight.
"Wanda." Harvey said in a soft tone. "It'll be okay. I'll destroy those ships before they get ten feet in the air if it comes to that."
"Look, Harvey." Sharan said as she walked over to stand in front of him. "I know you're pretty strong. I'm sure you could give the Hulk or Thor a good fight, but these helicarriers are on another level. They could take out a nation within hours."
Harvey's following words were spoken with such confidence and certainty that the occupants of the warehouse felt a shiver of fear run down their backs. Fury himself felt a bead of sweat grow on his bald head. Natasha, Sharon, and Wanda felt their hearts skip a beat. Pietro took an unconscious step back as his friend's words rang true in his soul.
"Don't worry about that. So can I." Harvey said, his eyes glowing in restrained power.
"But I'm not worried about the helicarriers." Harvey said and looked down at the pile of papers containing all the identities of the potential HYDRA members. "I'm worried about how deep HYDRA runs within SHIELD and the government. We need to figure out how to weed them out and stop them; otherwise, they'll continue to grow and expand."
Everyone was shaken out of their stunned states when Harvey continued speaking. Nick grunted and walked over to stand next to the table. He discreetly wiped off the sweat from his brow.
"With that, I agree with you. But right now, it's impossible to discern between an enemy and an ally." Fury said and looked over the occupants of the warehouse. "The only people I trust are in this room and a few others. We need to play this smart."
"Fury's right. We have to wait for the right moment to strike." Sharon said and looked over at everyone.
"So that's it?" Pietro waved his arm in the air. "We just go back to waiting? Sure, that sounds like a solid plan! Let's just wait for HYDRA to take over the world."
"No." Nick said and shook his head. "We won't just wait around with our hands in our pockets. Our greatest weapon right now is the element of surprise."
"What's the plan?" Wanda said as she put her hands on her hips.
Nick smiled and clicked a button on his remote. He may have failed to notice HYDRA growing right under his nose, but he wasn't the world's greatest spy for nothing. No, he didn't sit around and moan about it. Nick had begun planning and strategizing on how to fight this significant threat.
Everyone turned to see a detailed blueprint inside the helicarrier's main control schematic. It then switched to a blueprint showing three thin squares standing upright. The words' Targeting Blades' could be read under the drawing.
"This is how we're gonna fight back."