The Invention Left By A Little Stark | Book 2

8) The Stranger On The Compound

Silence is a fine tailor when thoughts are a silken thread.

As Agent Hill explained the situation regarding Loki's scepter, the Avengers shared a moment of surprise. Nobody expected to hear of it again after HYDRA stole it back.

"This isn't a prank, right?" Clint eventually questioned. "You're not messing with us?"

"I'm not." Replied Hill.

"Where'd you get the info?" Natasha asked.

"Where is it?" Thor asked right after, his tone much more demanding than intended.

For a year they'd been searching. A year of many contacts, conflicts, and rooting out HYDRA remains had seemed futile, and yet here Hill was saying that they had finally found it.

Tony was the only one staying quiet.

He hadn't seen the scepter since the man who killed you took it from the street. For months the images had haunted him. He could feel the chill in his blood, the coldness bringing the synapses of his brain to a stand still. Part of it was a pain he could endure, yet another part was much akin to brutal torture.

As a hand held the necklace resting over his chest, his tone was cold and serious. "Let her talk."

Again, silence fell. No one dared argue knowing how volatile the man could be when his grief for you got in the way.

Hill nodded and flipped a switch at the head of the table. The entire surface lit up and a hologram presentation rose in clear view for them all. It was a building by the look of the flickering image, somewhere isolated and likely to be assumed abandoned.

"We have it in good trust that this fortress contains the scepter." She explained. "A loyal SHIELD agent informed me about it."

"Where's the fortress?" Steve asked.

"Sokovia."

"Sokovia?"

"It's a landlocked country with a rough history. It's nowhere special, just a Central-Southeastern mass in Europe bordered by Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but it's filled with civil unrest and anti-American protests due to the political struggles and consequential air raids."

Tony felt a different pang of guilt then, knowing that his own company had most likely supplied the bombs used due to the colorful history of Stark Industries, and unintentionally aided in the destruction of Sokovia's stability.

"HYDRA have based a testing ground there for what we can only assume is years. A lot of Sokovians volunteer for the projects because they think they're saving their country, not signing their lives away to be toyed with by the scepter."

Her explanation was really putting things into perspective. It was hard to remember some people weren't as fortunate as others, and even harder to think that civilians were finding themselves obligated to be experimented on just because they had nothing else left.

Hill flicked the hologram over to a list of people next. It was a basic profile of a picture, name, aliases, and DOB. A few of them were easily recognizable.

"We don't know who's going to be waiting, but we have an idea." She told them. "The known associates of the Sokovia Branch are Wolfgang von Strucker, a Dr. List, Mark Smith and Mark Basso, and previously Jasper Sitwell - now less of a problem for obvious reasons."

"Why does List look familiar?" Bruce asked.

"He was a SHIELD scientist. One of the more popular members who turned out to be HYDRA agents."

"And Strucker?" Steve questioned. "He looks important."

"That's because he is. He runs the place - the last base in Europe. He worked for Sitwell. It was under his eye that the scepter was supposed to be delivered during the leaks last year. Fortunately they lost it when one of our own intercepted and delivered back to us instead. FRIDAY, roll the footage."