String Theory

Chapter 11

"There you go," Bucky mutters, grappling with the screen in front of him. "We can see your screen now. Can you hear us okay?"

He retreats to his place on the couch. All four of them are sitting in various places around the room, eyes fixed on the TV before them. The screen displays a dark room, with boxes stacked high in the background and a dim fluorescent light overhead. The surroundings of the image and the glitching quality of the picture are practically a physical manifestation of the sense of dread that Peter's been dragging behind him like a ball and chain.

"I can hear you," says a voice, and Peter sucks in a sharp breath. A chill of recognition passes over him. A woman takes a seat in front of the computer screen, and when Leslie Meyers' face appears on screen, his fear is confirmed. Four pairs of eyes are focused on her, wide with shock. She looks ready to give an Orthus announcement, with her hair and makeup done, but other than that, there's nothing reassuring about her appearance. The shadows cast on her face make her look gaunt and sickly, and Bucky can recognize the light in her eyes. It's the same look a deer has when it spots the barrel of a gun through the bushes: primal fear, checked only by her need to stay hidden. She swallows hard. "It's good that you're not turning your screen on. If they find this..."

"They won't," Ginger says firmly. "We promise they won't."

"Who the fuck is they? " Eggsy asks. He's sitting upright, arms crossed and brows knitted. He doesn't like this at all. Orthus is who they're trying to stop. They already know they can't trust anyone involved. Who knows why Meyers is calling them? A dozen reasons not to trust her jump to the front of his mind. Maybe she just wanted to track their location, or see how many of them there are.

"I don't know," Meyers says. "But there have been thirty-six reported attacks on Orthus bases in the past week. And the last one— the last one had a note."

"A note," Bucky repeats. "What note? And why would—" He cuts himself off before he can ask his question: why an Orthus assassin would attack its mother facility? He huffs quietly, considering that maybe they aren't Orthus creations, after all. Not to mention, if Meyers doesn't know about what 018 did to Peter, it'd be better to keep it that way. He continues, picking his words carefully. " Who would attack Orthus facilities?"

"And for what purpose?" Ginger adds. "Your security is state of the art. How are they getting through?"

"I don't know. We just— we call them dogs. They don't leave any survivors, and they kidnap the people who might be useful. They've stolen some of our equipment and uniforms. They wear these masks, and—"

"Muzzles," Peter says quietly. His heart is pounding.

Meyers pauses, blinking at the screen. "What?"

Peter kneads his hands together, raising his voice a little. "They're, um— they're like muzzles, aren't they? To keep them quiet. Did any of them have tattoos? On their neck, maybe?"

Oh, christ. Bucky screws up his face and covers his eyes with a hand. That's exactly what he wanted to avoid. Peter gives him a sideways glance as Meyers continues. "Yes, a few of them did. How did you know that? Who's speaking?"

Realization of the trap that Peter could be walking into hits Eggsy, and his eyes go wide. He grips Peter's arm, mouthing "no, don't," but Peter tugs his arm away, ignoring the silent warning. "Tony Stark. I— had a problem with one of them a few days ago."

Meyers' expression shifts, and she gives a soft noise of surprise. "So it's not just Orthus they're attacking. Then I'm glad I called you."

"Fucking great, glad you're glad, but why did you call us," Eggsy says briskly. "You don't even know who we are."