𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐎, p.m.

𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER SEVEN ——
REAL WORK OF ART

    "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." Steve and Hazel looked at each other as they walked with Maria, the younger girl walking between the two.

    "Fatalities?" Maria sighed as the three of them walked up the steps to where some of the others were.

    "Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see." Hazel shook her head in disbelief, wondering if she would be in the twins place if Clint and Nat hadn't found her that day in the lab. The girl looked at the agent to her right, speaking to her.

    "The twins. Well, that makes sense he'd go to them, they have someone in common. Strucker. That fucking asshole."

    "Not anymore." The two avengers quickly come to a halt on the stairs as Maria hands Hazel her tablet, the young Barton placing it in front of herself and Steve. On the screen was a picture of the man's dead body, the word 'peace' written on the wall behind him in what Hazel thought to be blood.

..........

    "That's a negative. I answer to you. Yes, ma'am."

    "Barton." The man quickly turns, waiting for the man to continue as his younger sister gives him a knowing look. "We might have something." The older Barton mutters a quick goodbye to the person on the other side. Clint quickly shoved his phone into his back pocket, the super soldier asking who was on the other line.

    "Girlfriend." The blonde just nodded his head as he walked away from the siblings, a grin appearing on Hazel's face. "Don't worry. I already told her how much you miss her and the kids. And I talked to Cooper. He said he misses you a lot and got some more books for you to read him at bed time." Hazel beamed with happiness, hearing that her favorite, which she would never say out loud, missed her. The only thing that absolutely sucked about her job was not seeing her niece and nephew all the time.

    "What's this?"

    "They're trying to send a message." Hazel chuckled as Thor hit Tony in the chest with the tablet. The brunette looked at the god in disbelief as he took it into his own hands, the young Barton continuing. "Ultron killed everyone's favorite shithead. You know, we should celebrate."

    "And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." The man quickly handed Nat the tablet as Bruce looked over their shoulders in complete shock. Hazel hadn't looked at Tony, just barely talking to him because she knew that she had to for the sake of the mission. She wasn't one to forgive people quickly, especially without an apology and Tony hadn't given her one, not even a fake one.

    "This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Steve crossed his arms over his chest as he let out a huff.

    "Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Suddenly, an idea popped into Hazel's head as she moved towards Nat, motioning to the computer in front of her. The older woman was quick to nod her head and move out of the way.

    "Yeah, I bet he..." The girl quickly typed a few things into the computer and came up on an error. "Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased. All of it."

    "Not everything."

..........

    "Known associates. Well, Strucker had a lot of friends." Each hero had gotten a box each, digging through them for anything that could help them

    "Well, these people are all horrible."

    "Wait." The group stopped, watching as Bruce handed Tony a file. "I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms." Steve gives him an accusing look, as if to ask how he knew that. "There are conventions, alright? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very 'Ahab'." The Asgardian holds up the photo of the man, the Barton's and Steve looking over his shoulder as he points to it.

    "What's this?" Thor looks at Tony in question to what the thing was on the man's neck.

    "Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it..." Hazel shook her head, reaching over Thor's arm to point at the pictures.

    "No, those are tattoos. This is a brand. Looks like it was fairly recent in this picture too. It's still red." Bruce wastes no time hopping on the computer, typing things until he found what he was looking for.

    "Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way." Hazel had realized tat he was branded as a punishment, and not because he volunteered, which is what most idiots would do.

    "What dialect?"

    "Wakanada...? Wa...Wa...Wakanda." Hazel catches a quick glimpse of the super soldier and billionaire turn to each other, like they both knew something everyone else didn't.

    "If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..."

    "I thought your father said he got the last of it?" Hazel rolled her eyes as the two whispered to each other, Bruce holding a paper in his hand as he questioned them.

    "I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" The two men turn to look at Steve's shield that had been sitting on the floor the whole time.

    "The strongest metal on earth."