Frank tossed Bennett into a corner, then leapt out the second-floor window. His plan? Trap the enemies from both ends with Rory.
Clink,
Rory pulled the pin on a grenade. Hearing footsteps near the stairs, he didn't hesitate, lobbed it down.
The four men downstairs had just spotted the corpses on the steps and instantly switched to cautious mode.
Thunk, thunk, thunk…
The grenade bounced its way to the first floor.
"GRENADE!!"
Boom!
The explosion rocked the room into chaos, but unfortunately didn't take any of them out.
BRRRRT!
Rory leaned over and unleashed a rain of bullets down the staircase, pinning the enemies in place.
Just then, Frank came crashing back in through the front door, guns blazing, dropping two targets on the spot.
As Rory descended the stairs, his rifle clicked empty. One of the remaining attackers noticed and raised his weapon.
But Rory didn't even try to reload, he just smashed the butt of his rifle into the guy's face, shattering the wooden stock.
Only one man left.
He froze.
Just a moment of hesitation, but it was all Rory needed.
Rory kicked a sofa with monstrous force. The couch slammed into the last guy, launching him across the room.
Thud!
He landed right at Frank's feet.
"Hello there."
BANG!
Headshot.
As the final man fell, his eyes wide in disbelief, Frank's expression suddenly changed. That look, it was familiar.
He knelt down and pulled off the guy's mask…
"Billy?! Oh, holy SH*T!"
"Less talking, more moving."
Rory shoved Frank forward. Snapping out of it, Frank rushed upstairs, grabbed Bennett, and the team booked it to the roadside where David was waiting.
Back in the car, Frank sat silently, dazed. Haunted.
As they drove away, a police cruiser passed them by in the opposite direction.
Police were quick to arrive at the scene. Once they identified the victims and the missing person, the case was immediately escalated to Homeland Security.
Special Agent Dinah Madani arrived on site and nearly had a meltdown.
Among the dead was her new boyfriend, Billy Russo.
But heartbreak quickly turned to suspicion.
What was Billy doing here? Why was he involved?
Madani had a gut feeling.
This was Frank.
But why would Frank kill his former friend and war buddy, Billy Russo?
Unable to find peace, Madani uploaded all the intel into the central agency database that very night.
As soon as it synced, the data was mirrored to S.H.I.E.L.D. servers.
From there, the report went straight up the chain to Maria Hill, who promptly brought it to Peggy Carter.
"Director Carter, this just came in. Surveillance caught Rory near a property in the suburbs, there was a shootout. The house belonged to a man named Bennett, who's now missing, presumed kidnapped."
"Also, based on the scene and ballistics, Rory wasn't acting alone. At least two individuals were involved, and the weapons used were Russian-made."
Peggy flipped through the intel as Hill briefed her.
After a moment, she gave her orders:
"Have our teams investigate both the missing man, Bennett, and the source of the Russian weapons. Those are two very direct leads."
With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, she didn't expect either mystery to stay unsolved for long.
Meanwhile, David had driven Rory and Frank to the outskirts, where Bennett was dragged from the car.
Frank looked like he'd been brooding in a thunderstorm, face dark, mood darker. He didn't hesitate.
BAM! BAM!
Two vicious punches landed on Bennett's face.
He was about to throw a third when Rory stopped him.
"Frank, remember, you're not normal anymore. One more punch and he's gonna be a bloodstain."
Frank grunted and backed off.
Rory knelt beside Bennett and gave his cheek a gentle slap.
"Rise and shine, buddy. If you're still breathing, I've got just two questions. Answer them, and you walk."
Bennett, bloodied and groaning, lifted his head to look at Rory.
Rory smiled.
"First: who's behind all this? The puppet master, the so-called Orange Agent?"
Bennett was a pushover. He hesitated maybe two seconds before spilling everything.
"Rollins! The Orange Agent is William Rollins. When he got back to the U.S., he became a senior officer at the CIA."
Hearing that name, Frank's face darkened. The puzzle pieces snapped into place.
Rory nodded, satisfied.
"Second question. Who do you like more, Mom or Dad?"
Bennett blinked, confused.
"Wh-what?"
"Sorry, took too long."
BANG!
Rory casually put a bullet through his head.
"Let's go find this Rollins. I don't care what rank he is, blow up my lab, I'll atomize your ashes."
With Rory on the team, everything seemed… a lot more efficient.
Back at the safehouse, Frank had David dig up everything he could on Billy Russo.
David hacked into government databases and found it.
"Billy Russo runs a private security firm. Wait, hold on. That arms contractor from earlier? He's one of the owners."
It all made sense.
Billy hadn't been caught in the crossfire. He was part of the hit squad. He'd sold out long ago.
"No wonder he was at Bennett's house," Frank muttered. "He was after me."
Rory wandered over with a bowl of noodles, slurping as he walked.
"So the guy was gonna kill you, and you're still getting sentimental? What, you got some kind of masochist kink?"
"Billy was my brother-in-arms. My friend."
"Then you make terrible choices in friends."
Rory looked at David.
"You find Rollins yet?"
"Not yet. CIA brass don't exactly post their locations online. I need a little more time."
"Make it quick," Rory grumbled, slurping more noodles. "I'm on a schedule."
Exhausted from the long night, Rory dumped the empty bowl and flopped onto the only bed in the room.
He was out cold in seconds.
Some time later, Rory was shaken awake.
It was David.
"Found something. We hacked traffic cams, Rollins's motorcade left the city an hour ago. He's probably heading to his safehouse in the countryside."
Rory sat up groggily.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's move."
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