"Somebody better tell me, what the fuck is going on right now, or I swear to god, each and every one of you is getting court-martialled!"
Nick Fury's voice boomed as he stormed onto the bridge, which was a frenzy of activity as people manned their stations and answered calls with more reports coming in by the second.
"It's Operation Ascend, Sir!" One of the ranking officers reported as he stood up from his desk with a salute, "Special Agent Hill made contact and began to initiate transportation of the target; however, we believe she was intercepted and most likely KIA by an unknown third party."
For a split moment, Fury paused before a stone-cold mask slammed down over his facial features, "And what of the target?"
"We assume that they were either killed or kidnapped by the third party; we currently have no confirmation either way." The officer replied as he licked his lips, "What are your orders Sir?"
Before Fury could respond, another officer stood up from their desk, "Sir, incoming reports of an explosion at Oscorp towers. The blast seems to have originated on the upper floors and possibly the target's office."
Fury stared at the second officer for a second before rising to his full height. "Hellicarrier initiate total lockdown protocol and isolation procedure, authorization key Zeta-Phi-Rain Shadow-3347892."
The moment the words finished coming out of Fury's lips, a blaring alarm echoed through the entire ship as heavily armored panels slid down over to cover the bridge windows, "Lockdown protocol initiated, all personnel will be confined to the ship, and all outgoing communications will be monitored."
Those on the bridge looked around uneasily as the blaring alarm boomed and emergency lights came online, but Fury's booming voice grabbed their attention once more, "What are you fools doing? A terrorist attack was just committed on American Soil, and we have an agent MIA! You all know the protocol, so why are you standing around with your thumbs stuck up your worthless asses!"
Those on the bridge quickly forgot about the alarm and promptly got back to work, more concerned about avoiding the ire of the infamous Nick Fury. But if they had, they might have noticed the storm brewing behind his dark eyes.
The list of people that managed to find a place within Fury's heart wasn't a very long one, and even then, he wouldn't let any of them compromise his mission, but Maria had been his right hand for years, and he had even made moves to make her his official successor. Now that possibility had been squashed, but even more troubling was what Maria's death meant.
'We've been infiltrated.' Storming up a set of stairs, Fury made his way into an observatory deck and quickly locked the door behind him before typing in an override command into he central console. 'There was no coincidence; whoever this third party is, they knew about the operation and its details. And they know they've tipped their hand, meaning they'll be making their move any minute before I can mount a response.'
Pulling out his pistol, Fury checked the magazine and safety before pulling on the slide and chambering a round, "Game on motherfucker."
---
With a screech, Silvija slammed down on the brakes as she came to a stop on the street and stared at the flaming wreck that was Oscorp Tower. Putting her car in park, Silvija jumped out and stared at the chaotic scene as those evacuating hacked and coughed from the smoke and dust in the air.
A heavy frown marred Silvija's face as she reached for her phone, only to be interrupted as a familiar voice spoke in her mind, 'Sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to get to the phone right now.'
Silvija quickly got over her surprise and instead tried to project her thoughts back at Harry, 'So you're a telepath as well...how long were you planning on keeping that a secret?'
'I'm not a telepath, strictly speaking, but we can go over semantics later. Right now, I suggest we focus on the fact that I'm currently unconscious in the back of a trunk, Maria is out of commission for the moment, and someone set off a bomb in my office.'
Hoping back into her car, Silvija peeled back onto the street, 'Is it the same people as before? The ones who tried to kill you on the freeway? Also, if you're unconscious, how are you talking to me?'
'I can separate my mind from my body, and yes, it's most likely the same people, and the fact that they intercepted Maria's attempt to kidnap me means they've infiltrated Shield to some extent. It seems like everyone's masks are about to come off.'
'Alright, so what's the plan?' Silvija asked calmly as she sped through traffic, 'Should I stage a rescue operation and intercept you?'
'No, this is the perfect opportunity to figure out who's been working in the shadows.' Harry replied calmly, making Silvija frown, 'You do realize that they most likely plan on torturing you for information before killing you, right?''
'Thank you for the concern, Silvija, but I assure you I can look after myself. What you need to do is get Doreen on standby, I have a feeling we'll be needing her soon.'
Silvija couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief, but as much as she wanted to say no to Harry, experience had taught her never to underestimate the teenager. 'Alright, but if they end up killing you, I'll never let you hear the end of it.'
'I know you won't, now I've got to go. I'll contact you again when the time calls, but keep me updated in case anything changes.'
And just as suddenly as it came, Harry's voice vanished from her mind, leaving Silvija to shake her head ruefully and wonder how she had ever gotten to this point in life.
---
Waking up with a groan, Harry's eyelids fluttered open as he tried to sit up, only to find himself already upright, but bound to a metal chair and stripped naked. Of course, Harry knew all of this already; his confusion was just an act for any cameras that might be in the room. Plastering a look of fear across his face, Harry looked around the room and stared at the various instruments of torture with only a singular lightbulb overhead providing any illumination. Testing out his restraints, Harry struggled pointlessly against the coarse rope and handcuffs holding him hostage as the room gently listed to the side.
'They put me on a boat? I was hoping they would at least take me to a permanent base.' Cursing his luck, Harry was about to start pleading to his captors to let him go when the heavy bulwark door to the room swung open.
"Good, you're awake, that means I don't have to go through the pain of waking you up."
Harry's head shot up as a lithe woman walked into the room, escorted by two guards, her voice cold and clinical. In contrast, her appearance most likely lit a fire in the hearts of most, given her beauty, figure, and piercing green eyes that matched her lipstick and outfit consisting of a green full-body suit, a utility belt, green high-heeled boots, and a long billow cloak.
"W-who are you?" Harry stammered as he stared up, definitely at the woman, as her escorts took up positions by the door, "What do you want from me? W-where's Madison?"
The woman stared at Harry for a moment before her lips curled and a flash of anger crossed her face. In the blink of her eye, the woman slapped Harry across the face with the back of her hand, snapping his head to the side and splitting his lip with a vicious gash, "Advert your gaze when you're talking to me, you spoiled brat! If I need to remind you again, I'll be taking an eye as punishment."
Harry coughed and spat as blood dribbled down his lip, and the left side of his face started to swell, "P-please, don't hurt me. I-if it's money you want I-I can give it to you j-just please don't kill me."
The woman let out a disgruntled sigh as if disgusted by Harry's begging, "We have no use for your money...we want what's in your mind."
The woman grabbed Harry by the hair and lifted his head up to look her in the eyes, "And one way or another, we will get it, so I suggest you be forthcoming and spare us the trouble of having to squeeze it out of you."
"Hmph, even if I told you, it wouldn't be worth anything, you need the right machines and technology, and there's no way you're getting access to them," Harry spat his words coming out slightly slurred as his lip started to swell.
The woman smiled, "If you mean the machines and technology underneath Oscorp Towers, than I'm afraid you're mistaken. My people are already on their way to retrieve it...now what did I say about looking into my eyes when talking?"