Chapter 61: Tony in Trouble
Meanwhile, back inside the Triskelion.
In Secretary Alexander Pierce's office, an agent dressed as a secretary handed over a file. It was the same dossier Hawkeye and the others had reviewed earlier — only this version was more detailed.
"So you're telling me you didn't even lay eyes on Ethan Cross before his people ran you off — and the man who did it was blind?"
Pierce's voice was low, level, and carried the kind of weight that didn't need to be raised. His face was like iron, his eyes cold as he stared down at the file as if he could drag the truth up out of the pages.
Across the desk, Crossbones kept his head down. "That's about the size of it, sir. We underestimated Cross and his crew. I'll be straight with you — if that blind guy hadn't been packing superpowers, he couldn't have taken me."
There was a note of frustration in his voice. The loss clearly hadn't sat well with him.
Pierce didn't look at Crossbones. He turned to the secretary instead.
"Still nothing on who's backing Cross? What kind of outfit has that many mutants on the payroll — and a suit of powered armor on top of it?"
The secretary kept her eyes on her notes. "Secretary Pierce, the Hand — the organization that was planning to come over to our side — was wiped out to the last man by Cross. We've run every channel we've got, ours and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s both. Whoever's behind him, we can't find them."
Pierce closed his eyes and thought.
The Hand was small potatoes to HYDRA. Losing them was no real loss.
A long moment passed. Then his eyes opened.
"Think we can bring him in? To our side?"
Cross's capabilities had gotten Pierce's attention. The unidentifiable superpowers, the generation-ahead mech — you couldn't just ignore something like that.
The secretary considered the file again, weighing what it said against what she'd read between the lines.
"Secretary — from what's on paper, Cross doesn't strike me as the type who likes taking orders."
"That said, he's tangled with Fury's people before. So cooperation isn't off the table. But given his standing, and the mystery organization standing behind him, it'll cost us to bring him in."
Crossbones picked up the thread. "His people didn't go for the kill when they had us. The way I read it, he's still got some respect for the federal government. I think there's an opening."
Pierce's eyes flickered with some deeper calculation. He was running the argument in his head.
He leafed through the file, and when he spoke his voice had settled into something decided.
"The Lord of Hell's Kitchen, huh... Well, a title like that comes with responsibilities. Arrange a meeting. Send someone to talk to Cross."
"You, Crossbones. You go."
"As for what we bring to the table — that hospital of theirs in Hell's Kitchen looks like it could use a renovation. We'll fund it. Government will commit to helping him recruit teachers and doctors. And we'll throw in some federal subsidies. See if he bites."
Negotiating with a man like Cross wasn't anything Pierce lost sleep over.
If Cross wanted to fix Hell's Kitchen, he was going to need friends at the federal level sooner or later. And in that particular currency, HYDRA was rich.
What would actually be a headache was a Cross with nothing to lose, nothing to protect. A man with no skin in the game — the barefoot man never fears the one with shoes. That kind of man would do anything.
"Of course, we cover our bases. Get word to the facility — have them bring the Winter Soldier out of cold storage. If Cross turns us down, the Winter Soldier puts him in the ground." Pierce always played both sides of a coin.
Crossbones frowned. "With respect, sir — I'm not sure the Winter Soldier is a match for Cross."
The way he figured it, the Winter Soldier wouldn't even reach Cross before one of his people cut him down.
Pierce smiled — a quiet, cunning little smile.
"That's the point. I want Cross to kill the Winter Soldier. Don't forget whose best friend the Winter Soldier is."
"And I hear Fury's been running some kind of 'Super Boy' initiative over at his end." Pierce let the sentence hang.
Crossbones got it all at once.
Pierce wanted Cross to kill the Winter Soldier. Then the news of it would find its way to Captain America. And Cap would come looking for Cross to settle the score.
Which meant Fury — with Cap on his side of the board — couldn't just sit it out. Which meant a full-blown superhero war.
Whoever came out on top, HYDRA won. All it cost them was one piece — the Winter Soldier.
Crossbones gave Pierce a thumbs-up. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, sir. This is why you run the show."
Pierce threw his head back and laughed. His ambition and his confidence were both on full display.
S.H.I.E.L.D. would be his soon enough. He knew it.
Meanwhile, the man being played in all this was still rattling along in his junker of a car, driving Miles out to Tony Stark's place.
By the time Ethan pulled up at the Stark Estate, it was already night.
"Finally. Piece of crap car actually stalled out on us — had to find someone to fix it just to get here."
Ethan was griping. It had taken them a solid ten hours to reach the edge of Tony's grounds.
He'd just rolled up to the estate gate when a Maybach pulled out, heading the opposite direction.
Ethan got a good look at the man in the back seat and muttered, "That bald guy... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. Whatever. Gotta find Tony."
The man in the Maybach was Tony's Uncle Obadiah — Obadiah Stane. And Obadiah had spotted Ethan's beater at the same moment.
The corner of his mouth twitched up into a thin, cold smile.
They're letting any old clunker through these gates now. How the neighborhood has fallen.
But it didn't matter. He wouldn't be coming back here again. The thought put him in a much better mood.
Ethan didn't give it much more thought either. He drove a full ten minutes through the grounds before reaching the main residence.
He parked, and the two of them climbed out.
Miles couldn't help complaining. "Mr. Cross — why didn't we just use our powers to get here? Why'd we have to drive that thing the whole way?"
"People like us — people with abilities — we keep a low profile. That's how you blend in. Don't lean on your powers for everything."
Ethan said it with a straight face, but privately he was making a firm mental note to get a new car. Immediately.
Miles had only just met Ethan, so while he wasn't really sold, he nodded anyway. Ethan was the only person he knew in this parallel universe.
Ethan walked up to the front door of the residence and rapped on it. "Tony! Tony, it's Ethan. I'm here."
His voice carried into the night. Nothing came back.
A minute passed. Then five. The door stayed shut. No footsteps, no voices.
Miles watched, frowning. "Maybe Mr. Stark isn't home? Try calling him?"
Ethan kept his eyes fixed on the residence. The lights were on inside. Someone was definitely in there.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Tony. The line was busy. Stayed busy.
A weight started to settle in Ethan's stomach. He thought back to the bald man in the Maybach, and a very bad feeling started to climb up the back of his neck.
He pounded on the door. "Tony! Open up! It's Ethan!"
Nothing.
Something was wrong. Ethan could feel it.
He took a breath, stepped back, and kicked the door in.
Miles moved to stop him — that kind of thing seemed really not okay — but he was too late.
The door flew inward, swinging loose on its hinges.
Ethan rushed inside, and the sight in front of him stopped him cold.
Tony Stark, face drained white.
The arc reactor in his chest was gone.
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