I exit the elevator with Maria and Steve a little while later. "He's all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs. Reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place." Maria explains.
"Fatalities?" Steve asks.
"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and 'something too fast to see'."
"Maximoffs."
"It makes sense that he'd go to them. They have someone in common." I reason, thinking about Strucker and what Dad saw in that secret room.
"Not anymore." Hill informs us, handing Steve the tablet she'd been carrying. I look at it as well, letting out a deep sigh when I see the picture of Strucker dead in his cell, the word peace written in his blood on the wall.
Maria parts ways from us here, heading back towards the offices. "This is a nightmare." I whisper.
"It'll be ok Myra. We'll find him."
"And what happens when we do? He's an AI, he's designed to learn and grow. And he's out there with a very real physical form, one that can't be damaged that easily."
"We'll handle it together, just like I told your dad." I let out a shaky breath and he pulls me to him.
"It's all going to fall apart."
"No it's not. Not if we don't let it." I nod, deciding in this moment to trust his confidence.
We walk past Clint in a darkened hallway, talking on the phone. "Yes ma'am." We hear him say.
"Barton. Might have something." Steve informs him.
"Gotta go." He tells the woman on the phone.
"Who was that?" Steve asks.
"Girlfriend." I snort. Clint didn't seem to be the dating type. We join the others in the lab, where Steve hands Thor the tablet showing what became of Strucker.
"What's this?" Dad asks and in his anger, Thor shoves the device into his chest.
"A message. Ultron killed Strucker." Steve informs the others.
"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Dad says, before passing the tablet to Bruce.
"This is a smoke screen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Nat asks.
"Strucker knew something Ultron didn't want us to know." I say, realization dawning on me.
"Yeah, I bet he... Yeah." Nat says checking the computer. "Everything we have on Strucker's been erased."
"Not everything." I say with a side smile as I run off to our archives room. Steve follows and helps me bring all the boxes of paper files we had on Strucker's very long career with Hydra.
"Known associates. Baron Strucker had a lot of friends." Steve says as we begin to go through the files.
"I'm not sure I'd call these people friends. Then again, I'm not sure I'd refer to them as people." I comment as I look through some of the files we had on these associates.
"I can't help but agree with Myra. These people are all horrible." Bruce says.
Dad's looking over Bruce's shoulder and stops him before he can toss it aside. "Wait, I know that guy." He says, referring to the man in the photo paper-clipped to the file. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms." Steve gives him a look, unimpressed. "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything."
"Doesn't mean Stane didn't." I say under my breath.
Dad chooses to ignore my comment, continuing his train of thought. "He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab."
"This?" Thor asks, pointing to the man's neck.
"Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it."
"No, those are tattoos." Thor says, pointing to the picture showing the man's chest. "This is a brand." Bruce hops on the computer, searching a database for a match on the brand.
"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'. In a much less friendly way." He explains.
"What dialect?" Steve and I ask at the same time.
"Wakanada.... Wa, wa, Wakanda." Steve, Dad and I all turn to look at each other, realization hitting us.
"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Dad says quietly.
"I thought your father said he got the last of it." Steve says.
"Please. There's no way that the Wakandans would sell the last of a very valuable substance to someone like Howard Stark." I say with a roll of my eyes.
"I don't follow." Bruce says, getting up from the computer and rejoining the group. Steve and I turn back to look at his shield by grandfather made for him.
"The strongest metal on Earth." Dad says cryptically.
YOU ARE READING
For the Love of a Father ✓
Fanfiction~Complete~When HYDRA is exposed and S.H.I.E.L.D. collapses with it, more than just agency secrets come to light. Fury shows up on Tony Stark's doorstep with a daughter Tony never knew he had. A 24 year old daughter was not what Tony was expecting, m...
