Talking"
"Thinking/Talking to bijuu"
"Bijuu talking
"Bijuu thinking"
-Las Vegas, Nevada-
-March 29, 2005, 1500h-
Natasha just pulled into Motel 6 parking. She still can't believe she got out of Bianchi's place without a fight, but she won't look a gift horse in the mouth.
She got out of her car and went to the front desk. She pulled out a fake FBI badge showed it to the person at the front desk.
"Good afternoon. I'm Special Agent Naomi Ryan. I'm here to ask some questions..." Natasha took out a photo of Naruto and showed it. "Have you seen this guy?" She said in an authoritative tone.
"Omg! Is he a criminal? Please say he's not! What if he's a serial killer, and I'm his next target!" The receptionist said, clearly losing her cool.
"Ma'am, Ma'am..." Natasha said, trying to calm the receptionist down. "He's not a criminal. He's a missing person, and his family has been looking for him for over a month. One of my contacts said he spotted him leave this motel. Is this true?"
The receptionist took a deep breath to calm down. After a few deep breaths and said,
"Yes, he, he just checked out around 2 hours ago."
"Did he say where he was going?"
"Not really. But, he did ask where he could play some poker. I told him he could go to the Bellagio so he could go there."
"Thank you for your cooperation. Have a great day." Natasha pocketed her FBI badge and the photo and left.
Natasha went back to her hotel to change into something more appropriate. She checked her car to the valet and went up to her room. As soon as she locked the door, she swept the room again for bugs. Better be safe than sorry, and in her profession, being sorry might mean you die. When she got the all-clear, she took out her laptop and video called Fury.
"Good Afternoon, boss. I got a lead on the guy." Natasha said with enthusiasm.
"Forget about him, Romanoff. I'm cutting your vacation short. I need you on the next flight to New York 2 hours ago." Fury ordered.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"You could say that. Coulson just classified the 083 event as a possible 051."
"First contact? We have evidence?"
"Nothing concrete as of yet. Only some markings on a tree are indicating that it's a bridge to bring someone in."
"The tree is a bridge?" Natasha said, her confusion seeping through while she started packing up her stuff.
"Trees. Plural. Coulson would explain it better. That's why I want you and Barton to lead the search teams to confirm if there's a motherfucking alien in my goddamn planet." Fury exclaimed.
Natasha hesitated for a moment seeing her boss so agitated, but she steeled herself and said,
"Boss, I'll take a transport from Nevada field office to New York at midnight so that I can be in New York by morning."
"Why the hold-up? Is this still about the hitchhiker? Didn't just I tell you to forget about him?"
"Boss, I have a reason to believe he's a possible enhance, and he's already trained. I already sent you a copy of the underground fights he won last night."
Natasha could see Fury rubbing his head while opening the email she sent him. She could see a slight widening of Fury's eye while watching the video, which in Fury's case might as well be dropping his jaw. A few more moments passed before Fury spoke up,
"Alright. You can do what you want, but i want you in New York first thing tomorrow morning. Try to see if he's amenable to joining us. In the meantime, I'll have a team analyze the footage to have an idea on the guy's capabilities."
"Thanks, boss."
Natasha closed her laptop to finish packing her stuff at the same time, picking out a practical yet appropriate outfit to where she's going. She removed her weapons and stripped down to her lace underwear to take a bath.
When Natasha got out 30 minutes later wearing only a towel, she checked her phone.
"Well, that was fast." Natasha said, referring to the preliminary analysis of the video.
The analysis of Naruto's capabilities is based on approximated data available in the video. The speed is computed using the approximated distance traveled and frames per second. The computation for strength uses the opponent's approximated metrics and calculating the force needed for a person to fly that far. The amount of damage Naruto can take, on the other hand, is a little harder to approximate since no reaction could be seen on Naruto. The result of the analysis is simply staggering.
Natasha immediately dialed Fury's number. The call quickly went through.
"I take it you saw the report?" Fury said in a serious voice.
"Is this right? I already thought his specs are extraordinary, but not this."
"Looks like you're right again, Romanoff. But that's not all. I'll send you another file. It's an old report of an analysis of a video. Compare the numbers."
Natasha immediately went to her email and read the report. Her jaw dropped when she finally saw the name on the bottom.
"Boss, he's better than the captain?" Natasha asked hesitantly
"In terms of strength and speed, definitely yes. The guy didn't even take the fights seriously. He might be a lot faster and stronger. In fact, I'll bet on it. It's like he's picking on kids..." Fury said with a smile. "The other things Cap had, though, we have no idea. Only the lab can test for that. He certainly looks like he has experience fighting."
There was a lull in the conversation until Natasha asked the thought that's running to both of their minds.
"Is this as bad as I think it is?"
"The fact that someone may have managed to recreate a super-soldier serum without even chatter about it, it's, it's really worrying. The fact that he might have worked as a contract killer is another negative. We might have another Winter Soldier scenario in our hands..." Fury finished his thought. "Keep me updated, Romanoff. We have too many unknowns about this guy. The fact that New York is still not resolved and we just had the green signal to study the cube, we have too many things happening on our plate."
Natasha shuddered, just remembering the machine of a man who killed her client.
"Right, boss. I'll find him."
"Happy hunting Romanoff. I still want you in New York in the morning." Fury said before hanging up the phone.
Natasha tossed her phone on the bed and changed into her chosen attire. She double-checked the room for possible things she might leave and went down to the front desk to check out.
-Bellagio Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada-
-March 29, 2005, 2230h local-
Natasha had spent just spent three hours, from 4 to 7, looking around the Bellagio for Naruto to no avail. Seeing no sign that Naruto would show up, she went around all the major casinos in the city looking for any sign of him. She paid especially close attention to the poker tables since that was the only lead she got from the receptionist.
Running out of time since she needed to be on the tarmac of the SHIELD Nevada field office by 12 to reach New York on time, she went back to the Bellagio for a last look.
As soon as she entered the premises, she heard some conversation between employees.
"Damn, what I wouldn't do to be the kid right now."
"Tell me about it. I heard he already won around 90 mil. He's already on the 10 million buy-in table."
"I heard he never played Texas poker before, only five-card draw. At least that's what Jonathan said."
"Who's Jonathan again?"
"He's the dealer of the kid's first table."
"He said what the kid's name is?"
"Apparently, he shouted it in the Poker room. I think it's Naruto Uzumaki."
Natasha perked up and immediately ran to the Poker room to find Naruto. When she got inside, she directly went to the high roller area. She saw a crowd forming one of the tables.
Following her instinct, Natasha tried to see what's happening. When she was nearing the table, she saw through the crowd. The moment she saw the distinctive golden blonde hair, she knew she found Naruto. Unfortunately for her, fate had other plans.
Natasha was just going to call Naruto when a man in a suit approached him. Immediately in guard, she readied herself for action. Hearing the man's offer to Naruto to join his boss for a private game of poker only made her more cautious, that is, until she finally had a good look at the man.
He is Happy Hogan. The personal head of security of Tony Stark himself. According to his files, he has mediocre physical combat skills, situational awareness, and high-stress decision making but more than makes up for it for his intelligence, intuitive leaps, and dedication to the job. He would rather die protecting Tony Stark than let him seriously get hurt. But the problem is not Happy Hogan himself but with what his presence entails.
If you can find Happy, you can find Stark somewhere close, and vice versa. The fact that Happy is already inviting Naruto to a game with his boss means that Stark is already in the building and that means approaching Naruto is already a no go.
One of the founding members of SHIELD is Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father. He funded a large portion of SHIELD's budget and created a lot of advanced technology during his time. When he died, his friend and another founding member, Peggy Carter created an unspoken rule that SHIELD would stay away out of Tony Stark's life as much as possible, but would simply protect him from the shadows.
Seeing Naruto walking away with Happy Hogan, she had no other choice and dialed Fury's number.
"Romanoff, are you on your way to New York?" Fury asked as soon as he answered.
"Not yet, boss. Still got time. I hit a snag on the other problem though." Natasha informed with a little apprehension
"What problem? Don't tell me to didn't find him."
"Don't worry, boss. I found him; I just can't approach him now."
"What do you mean you can't approach him? He's not radioactive. He doesn't have a force field. And he's certainly not flying. So give me one good reason you can't approach him." Fury said, slowly losing his temper.
"Well, he's been invited in a private poker game..." Natasha paused to let what she said to sink into her boss. "By Tony Stark."
"Shit." Fury said in a word that perfectly sums up their situation. "I don't know if the kid's lucky or unlucky..." Fury took a deep breath and continued. "We can't do anything about it now. Just go to New York. I'll assign a team to monitor the guy for now."
"Got it, boss." Fury hanged up the phone after that. Natasha left the building and claimed her car from the valet. She got in, and drove straight to the Nevada field office, all the while thinking how hard it is to find a guy and ask a question.