Lost at Sea ✔

Chapter 6

Lost at Sea

Chapter 6

Accomplishments

     Wanda, Alene, and Pietro stood in the shadows as they listened to the battle raging outside.

     Strucker rushed in. "Who gave the order to attack?" He demanded.

     A soldier spoke up. "Herr Strucker, it's the Avengers. They landed in the far woods, the perimeter guard panicked." Strucker shook his head. Dimwits. He should've fired those scaredy-cats a long time ago.

     "Can we hold them?"

     The soldier looked bewildered. "They're the Avengers!"

     Strucker ignored him. "Deploy the rest of the tanks. Concentrate fire on the weak ones. A hit can make them close ranks." Soldiers rushed around, following their boss' orders.

     Strucker walked up to a German scientist, Dr. List, and said to him, "Everything we've accomplished. We're on the verge of our greatest breakthrough."

     "Then let's show them what we've accomplished," Dr. List gestured to the three teenagers idling in the shadows. "Let's send them out."

     Strucker glanced towards them but quickly said, "It's too soon."

     Dr. List argued, "But, sir, they have been training for over a decade. They have more experience than most of the people in this room." He hesitated before continuing, "Forgive me, sir, but it would be stupid to not send out the most qualified and best to face the Avengers."

     "And that's exactly why they are not going out there." Strucker cooly replied. He lowered his voice so only he can hear his next words. "You should learn your place, doctor. It would be a real shame for your children to lose their father. Do you understand?" There was a dangerous glint in Struckers eyes.

     Dr. List stuttered, "Y-yes, sir!"

     Strucker smirked. He relished the fear in the man's eyes. "My men can hold the Avengers." He looked back to the shadows but was perplexed to find his best accomplishments gone with the wind.

~(++)~

     "ThAt's Why ThEy ArE nOt GoInG oUt ThErE," Alene mocked Strucker. She was walking along on the rail of the abandoned rail track that ran underneath Novi Grad.

     Pietro and Wanda laughed. "I don't know if we should take Strucker's words as compliments or insults," Pietro commented. "Then again, I cannot recall if he has ever said anything exactly nice to us."

     "I think that may be good," Wanda said. "Some people cannot be nice. It's just their personality."

     Alene nodded, agreeing with her words. "Besides, in his line of work, you cannot be nice. Nice can be a weakness."

     "That's why you will be terrible at his job." Pietro teased. They laughed.

     Besides the echo of their voices, the only sounds within the tunnel were the click-clicking of the girl's boots on the uneven gravel. The sound gave Alene a peace-of-mind and calmed her anxious nerves. It must be from the tense and hesitation in the air. She could almost taste the stress of the environment.

     "Come on, sisters. We'll show Strucker just how good we are." Pietro said. "We're tired of siding and hiding on the sidelines. I do believe it is our time to show the world what we can do."