Natasha's Safehouse, New York City-
-November 07, 2009, 0800h local-
Four months. It has been four months since Captain Rogers woke up and met with the love of his life. Honestly, Naruto thought that Steve would somehow blow Peggy's cover, just basing it on his boy scout attitude. Naruto had seriously underestimated the Captain's acting abilities since Fury thought that Steve was still depressed underneath everything.
Fury's plan to educate Steve on modern society has been going well. Although Naruto had to fix up some stuff to make sure everything went smoothly.
~Flashback start~
Fury was currently in his underground office in Washington DC. This was where he did his 'sensitive' work like the plans regarding HYDRA and the Avengers Initiative. Only Maria Hill knew about his hideout, but he was sure that Naruto knew about it, and if Naruto knew about it, then you could expect Romanoff to know about it as well.
What Fury was doing right now was double-checking all the reports that he had gathered about the agents that he sent to tutor the Captain. He was grateful that he was now aware that HYDRA was growing inside SHIELD, so the work that he needed to put in instantly tripled. He needed to check every person that he interacts with, create appropriate reasons to push out the HYDRA operatives, and figure out which projects he could afford to be compromised, all without HYDRA figuring out what he was doing.
Fury was still checking the reports when Naruto showed up. He didn't even show an ounce of surprise with Naruto's 'magic trick' since he had seen it too many times for it to invoke any emotion. Naruto must have seen it too since he frowned when he noticed Fury's lack of reaction.
"You're no fun anymore." Naruto said before sitting down on the chair in front of the table.
"Good to know that I'm just a source of entertainment for you…" Fury blandly replied. He took another look at the reports before placing them down and looking at Naruto. "I need the shield back."
"What shield?" Naruto asked acting innocent
"I don't have time for this. Where is it?"
"Jeez! What had got your panties in a bunch?" Naruto commented. "I think Cap already has it since I left it there a few hours after you dropped him off."
"You already met him? In person?"
"Nah, I got no interest in a man with no sense of humor…" Naruto answered. "I watched him few times, not creepily of course." He added with a grin.
Fury knew that in the past two days Captain Rogers was in the gym/ apartment/ safehouse, there were no external contacts except for his agents. However, he also knew that the surveillance camera feeds could be tampered with, but he couldn't do anything against it unless he placed an agent by Captain's side at all times.
"I noticed the agent rotation schedule. What's your plan with that?" Naruto asked like he had no idea what plan Fury had cooked up.
Fury had already figured out that Naruto was just acting but he played along with it regardless to see what Naruto was getting at.
"The guy came from the 40s. I can't consider him an asset unless he adapts to the current times." Fury explained.
"Asset, huh…" Naruto mused. "I'm not sure you will be able to use him in your standard espionage missions. He's a leader and a fighter…" He added. "You might be able to use him in search and retrieval, extraction, short insertions, and maybe, the welcome wagon."
"I know that…" Fury grumbled. "Pretty useless since SHIELD only does a few high value missions of those types."
"Anyways, that's not what I'm here for and it's your problem…" Naruto replied. "I want to see which agents you chose as the Captain's guides."
"So, it's HYDRA, huh." Fury let out.
Fury picked up the report summary with the list of six agents that had been given the assignment and gave it to Naruto. Naruto took the list and looked it over.
"You did a great job of screening the agents. Too bad you didn't check deep enough…" Naruto's statement caused Fury to frown. "Every one of these dudes and dudettes are deep undercover HYDRA agents."
"What!?" Fury exclaimed.
"Yup. From what I can tell, the first two were recruited before they joined SHIELD while the last four were recruited inside the Academy…" Naruto replied. "Just think of it like this, forty percent of every agents below sixth level clearance has some HYDRA influence on them. Sixty percent of anyone six and above. At least that's what I got from checking 80% of your personnel."
Fury couldn't help but slam his head down on the table. He knew that HYDRA had a lot of pull inside of SHIELD but hearing some concrete figures made the task of cleaning up SHIELD a lot more daunting. HYDRA literally has SHIELD by the ropes. Anything less than a complete purge and rebuild would cause SHIELD to be taken over again.
"What would it take for me to see that list?" Fury asked with a slight hint of desperation.
"You're not going to see my list anytime soon…" Naruto answered quickly. "Set everything you can for now before worrying about what to do with HYDRA…" He stood up from his chair, retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket, and tossed it on Fury's table. "These are the agents that I would recommend you to use. It's your choice on how you're going to play it so that HYDRA has no idea what you're doing."
Fury took the paper and pocketed it. He was going to check it later, right after he had few fingers of bourbon.
Naruto didn't stay long and left Fury to deal with the mess.
~Flashback end~
Naruto was thinking back on the events that had happened in the last four months when the door opened, revealing an irate Natasha. He would have chuckled when he saw Nat looking like a frazzled secretary, but a stern glare from her effectively stopped him.
"Good morning, Hime..." Naruto greeted with a charming smile but Nat ignored him and went straight to the couch. "How was work?" Nat automatically groaned when she heard the question.
"I just got a promotion…" Natasha replied while kicking off her heels. "It's horrible."
"That two statements don't exactly work together. You know, that right?" Naruto said with a raised eyebrow.
"It works if your boss is Justin Hammer and he promoted you as ONE of his 'personal assistants'…" Natasha countered. Naruto gave his full attention when he heard what Natasha had said. He stopped monitoring Natasha and Jessica after they 'requested' for him to stop. In return, they would have a hiraishin seal on them at all times. That was why he had no idea what was happening with Nat at work and Jess at college. "He's a young Tony Stark copy cat cranked up to a hundred. I think he just promoted me just to get a chance to get in my pants."
"He didn't do something did he?" Naruto asked in a low tone.
Nat immediately noticed Naruto's change in tone. She turned towards him and saw a distinct difference. Naruto's irises had changed into something more feral, more fox-like. His whiskers were more pronounced. There was also an oppressive aura coming off of him.
She placed her hand on his arm to calm him down. If Naruto's aura broke through the seals that he placed around the apartment, people who experienced his atmosphere would feel suffocated. Some might even straight up die.
"Solntse, calm down. Nothing happened…" Natasha said with a soothing voice. "He tried to make something happen but nothing did. I can handle myself. Worst come to the worst, I'll just break some bones and get myself fired."
Naruto visibly started to calm down after hearing Natasha's statement. His aura receded and his eyes turned back to his usual blue. He grabbed a hold of Nat's waist, pulled her up to his lap, and took some deep calming breaths.
"Tell me again why did Fury assign you this mission?" Naruto questioned while burying his head in Nat's hair.
Natasha leaned towards Naruto's body, just enjoying the moment.
"Fury got some info that Hammer was doing some questionable moves…" Natasha answered. "Corporate espionage on Stark Industries, shorting of contracts, and black-market sales. Just like Stane."
"Damn. Is every arms dealer just a power-hungry asshole?" Naruto mused. "Well, Tony is just an asshole most of the time." He added with a chuckle which Natasha mirrored.
"That sounds right…" Natasha agreed. "Have I told you how Hammer is pulling his hair out recently?"
"Are you going to tell me why?"
Natasha turned around and mounted Naruto, facing him while flashing a mesmerizing smile.
"Everyone in the industry hoped that Tony would completely dismantle his weapons manufacturing division after he temporarily suspended its operation…" Natasha replied. "Instead, Stark Industries returned stronger than ever, focusing on underutilized markets like body armor, reconnaissance, weapon systems, and communications."
Tony almost went through with his plan to close the weapon's manufacturing division and just focus on the consumer market, specifically clean energy. Pepper and Naruto were the ones who changed Tony's mind. Pepper concentrated on the political and corporate aspects of his decision like broken contracts, lawsuits, decreased cash flow, employee layoffs, and corporate restructuring. All of which would significantly impact the company. Naruto focused on the technological innovations and alternate options like focusing on defensive loadout instead of the weapons themselves and stricter weapon tracking and control.
"What about the whole Iron Man fiasco?" Natasha's demeanor turned sour when she heard Naruto's inquiry.
"That's a whole other beast entirely…" Natasha started. "A bunch of CEOs of weapons manufacturing companies banded together, led by Justin Hammer himself, and lobbied for the US government to take Tony's suit. It has just started, but it's quickly gaining traction."
"So that's what they've been doing." Naruto murmured, but Natasha heard it.
"Who's doing what?"
Naruto snapped from his musing and stared back at Natasha's green eyes.
"HYDRA has been moving some pieces. They are doubling down. Bribing, blackmail, and calling in favors…" Naruto explained. "I thought they were preparing for the take over but it didn't really fit with the timeline but if their goal is to get their hands on Tony's suit, it fits a whole lot better."
Natasha had no real idea about HYDRA's movement. If it weren't for Naruto, she wouldn't even be aware that HYDRA was inside SHIELD. She wouldn't even be affected by HYDRA, unless it was time for their takeover, since she was more of a field operative. A lot less drama and backstabbing than the administration.
"What are you going to do about it?" Natasha asked.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Yeah. HYDRA will not be able to move in the light. They can only do backroom deals and underhanded tactics. It can do a lot but not as much as they would like…" Naruto continued. "Besides, if Tony can make the US government back down in an attempt to get his tech? Them there won't be anymore blatant moves in the future and he will have solidified his hold on his suit."
"And if he bombs it or the unexpected happens?"
"Then I bomb the suit… or I guess melting it down is the better option…" Naruto contemplated before focusing back to the topic at hand. "They wouldn't even know I did it so it's the perfect crime. Can you imagine HYDRA grunts wearing a fully functioning Iron man suit?" He added while releasing a fake shiver.
Natasha got off of Naruto and walked towards the kitchen. She retrieved a glass, filled it from the tap before drinking it. She was feeling a little famished, so she decided to look for some food.
"We got any leftovers?" Natasha asked.
"Yeah. There's some pizza in the fridge…" Naruto answered before standing up. "I'm going to heat it up. Just relax for now…" Natasha flashed Naruto a grateful smile and kissed him before moving towards the couch. "By the way, Tony is going to start looking for a bodyguard/ assistant for Pepper anytime now." He said while putting the pizza in the microwave with a glass of water.
"He's going to hire an assistant for his assistant?" Natasha countered incredulously.
"Pepper is going to retire in December after their wedding." Naruto replied while bracing himself on the counter.
"Why December?"
"Tony is going to get married on December 16. Same day as his parents died..." Naruto started. "He wants to replace the memory of that day with something better…" Natasha looked at Naruto weirdly, which caused him to chuckle. "I know, right. I can't believe he has something like that in him." The microwave stopped a few seconds after he finished talking.
Naruto took the pizza and placed it on the center table. He took a slice and sat down next to Natasha.
"Why are you telling me this, anyway?"
"Because I want you to tell Fury about it. Just imagine what could happen if you took on that assignment." Naruto is practically vibrating with the prospect.
"Wow. You're really excited about this, huh?" Natasha commented with a smirk. "Alright, I'll ask Fury about it…" She added before remembering something. "How's the Captain and Peggy doing?"
"They're doing great!" Naruto answered with a grin. "I had to sneak them out of that safe house 8 times last month alone for their dates."
"I have an extended break next week. We should go on a date." Natasha suggested, to which Naruto agreed wholeheartedly.
-Bogota, Colombia-
-November 23, 2009, 1800h local-
Naruto and Erik were currently staying in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The mission Naruto chose this time? The systematic disassembly of a drug cartel that has a side business in human trafficking, who was rapidly working up their way up the ladder. By systematic, he means wiping out the whole cartel.
Erik was cleaning his gear when he heard Naruto walk into the room.
"So, three months left before the return of the prodigal son. What's your plan after this?" Naruto asked.
Erik froze in his seat. He had honestly forgot about that small fact. The monthly missions kind of made him forgot about his plan to takeover Wakanda and forcefully change the world order. He looked up at Naruto who was leaning on the door frame.
"I have no idea…" Erik admitted while unconsciously reaching for the Kimoyo Beads that he was currently using as a necklace while it wasn't yet complete. "I will probably still head to Wakanda."
"What are you going to do after you arrive?"
"We'll see." Erik replied before fixing up his loadout.
Naruto was kind of stuck with his plan now. He couldn't get an accurate read of Erik's thoughts. As far as he could tell, it could go fifty-fifty. Erik could just join the Golden tribe as a war dog or force a royal upheaval. He would need to deal with the problem if everything goes south.
Naruto decided to just move on to the current mission. He retrieved a holo-projector and placed it on the ground. The projector showed an accurate map of Bogota and its surrounding area. Erik stood up and approached the projected map. Naruto manipulated the map to focus on a mansion southeast of the city.
"This is the final mission area. After we deal with some cash houses and safehouse in and out of the city, we're going to raze the whole place down after retrieving everything of value…" Naruto explained before showing the whole map again. This time, multiple red dots appeared on the map. "We're going to hit every one of these places tonight before heading to the final mission area. Our goal is to end everything before the sun rises tomorrow. Any questions?" Erik just shook his head negative. Naruto retrieved a smartphone and gave it to Erik. "That thing has map of every place that you're going to hit. We'll head out in two hours."