Calm Wanderer
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(MNIBP) Chapter 25 - New team members
🕑 Added 2023-12-06 16:31:18 +0000 UTCSouth Brooklyn, NYC, USA.
Ben's P.O.V.
As soon as her words ceased, Cross asked with some hesitation. “Can... Can you really do something about the guy?” Nodding her head to his words, the redhead replied. “If my men can find corroborating evidence, then we'll deal with him.” Pausing for a second, she added in a frosty tone. “Permanently.”
Even from where he stood, Ben could spot the emotions of doubts and hope battling in the other man's eyes, solidifying his previous decision about the two men. Well, he was more interested in Cross, but from Marco's attitude, he could guess that the kid had potential. He just had to dig a bit deeper than for the cool-headed man.
His train of thought was disturbed however by the green-eyed man's following reaction. Indeed, he suddenly bowed toward Natalia while saying. “Thank you! If you keep your word, I'll owe you a big one.” Nodding her head at his words, she responded by saying. “I just hate those kind of animals. So, as long as you're telling the truth, I'll keep my word. But it can't be here, or you'll be charged with his death.”
Nodding his head, he assured. “I'll listen to you.” Before narrowing his eyes at the woman's next words. “But I'll still have to arrest you. After all, you did rob a bank and injured several police officers.” In the background the police sirens could be heard all around the docks, with policemen surrounding the area and making sure that the civilians were removed, to avoid any accidental casualties.
Sighing in frustration at the situation, he was about to respond before Ben cut him off by proposing. “Why don't I and Mr. Smart here spar a little?” Before the redhead woman could protest at the seemingly stupid idea, he continued. “Think about it.
You've told me earlier that this situation was probably a trap from that guy Rumlow. But nothing happened at the bank. At least, nothing that seemed to indicate the presence of anything suspicious.”
The woman's gaze turned interested at his explanation, interjecting. “You've got my attention. Go on.” With a small smile on his face, Ben continued. “So, if this is truly a trap, it should probably happen here, while we're in the open.” “That would make me right in saying that your idea is stupid.” Shaking his head, the man responded. “Only if I was a normal human and I had no idea of the guy's plan.”
Cocking her eyebrow, she questioned. “Enlighten me.” Nodding, he said. “I just thought of what would I do if I wanted to kill one or multiple weak Supes. First, normal bombs are a no-go, since the impact is too spread out, making it too easy to survive and heal up. So, the next best thing would be a high-caliber sniper's bullet in the heart or head.” Nodding, she commented. “Makes sense.”
“The sniper can't be too far, because even with the bullets' speed, the possibility of missing is not negligible, all because of our super senses and super speed. And if it does miss, then finding the sniper's location would not be too hard. Also, to ensure the result, the best would be to use a distraction. In that case, they'd increase the chance of hitting us by a huge margin. So, my plan is to spar with the guy and act as the bait, while you, 25 and 28 spread out to the possible locations, wait for the guy to shoot, and then arrest him or her. ”
He spotted the redhead's brows furrowing before she replied. “You'd be an easy target. I don't like this plan at all.” He let out a sigh at her words before he replied. “I know it's a rough plan with many uncertainties, but if that guy is trying to get rid of you, and now me, we need to do something. If we stay passive all the time, we'll slip up at one point, and that'd be the end of us. It's a calculated risk.”
He noted the pensive expression on the woman's face, which meant that she was seriously considering his reckless plan. “I'm also thinking about getting the two kids in my team, so it could be considered their first field mission.” He added in a joking tone. She tapped her chin for a few seconds as she observed his seemingly impassive face and asked. “Are you serious?”
He understood her implied meaning, prompting him to answer, this time in a serious tone. “I am. For both.” Letting out a sigh in defeat, she replied. “Fine. I don't like it, but I can see your point. But you'll have to convince the two if you want them.” To which he retorted. “Don't worry, I'm good with kids.” Rolling her eyes, she was about to reply to him when the two heard 28 in their respective earpieces.
[”28, here. There was nothing on the surface, but when I dug deeper, I found many interesting things. And by interesting, I mean disgusting crimes.”] “Keep it short.” She cut him off as the man was wasting time. [”Right. Sorry, Ma'am. What I found is multiple attempts and successes at blackmail, rape,...”] As he listed the many crimes that Wallace committed, Ben felt more and more disgusted. Not that he was surprised since he guessed as much, but still. It was one thing to guess and another to have your guess verified.
“Alright, 28. You've done well.” She declared as soon as he finished his report before cutting the call. Turning toward Cross, she exclaimed. “You were right about that piece of garbage, and as promised, we'll deal with him.” Pondering for a moment, she added. “I've got a proposition for the two of you. If you accept, you'll get a reduced sentence. You may even skip jail entirely if you're lucky enough.”
“Fuck that! I ain't going back to ja...” Marco's voice cut off as the man noticed Cross' hand patting his shoulder, followed by the green-eyed man asking. “I'm listening.” Grinning at the other man's smart reaction, the redhead explained, while patting Ben's shoulder. “This big guy here wants the two of you to become his subordinates. What do you say?”
The silver-eyed man's mouth twitched at her choice of words, but he did not deny them since it was his goal. Noting the pensive look on the other man's masked face, Ben could guess what the other towering man's response would be. And indeed. “I'm curious what that entails. I'm guessing you're both not from the police force, correct?”
Turning his head toward Natalia, Ben exclaimed. “You understand why I want the guy, now?” Nodding her head, she replied. “Someone who can use his head and is a strong physical Supe. Yes, I understand.” “Right. I only need to shape him up a bit. Oh and that Sandman kid too.”
When Cross heard their words, he started waving his hand and said. “I can hear you, you know?” Chuckling at his words, Ben replied. “We can't answer your question in detail here, but what I can tell you is this: You'll be joining in dangerous missions in a team of Supes that I'll be the captain of. Also, the pay is quite high.” The latter was for Marco, who, predictably, looked instantly more amenable to the proposition.
“How dangerous? And how many people are in the team?” Cross asked, looking slightly interested. “Nothing impossible. But some of them may feel like hell. And about the number of team members...” Ben coughed in embarrassment before continuing. “With the two of you, that'd make three people.”
Freezing in surprise, the other man only replied after a few seconds. “So three people.” “For now. I'm planning to recruit more later. But I don't want people I don't trust in the team. And from what I observed so far, the two of you seem trustworthy.” “Damn right, we're good!”
Chuckling at Marco's words, the silver-eyed man retorted. “I said trustworthy, not good. Your plan was terrible, from beginning to end. The only good thing you've done is that you didn't kill anyone. Although, even that doesn't give you a passing grade since you'd have let the Wallace guy alive and with a big grudge against you. And that could have been fatal. For you OR your loved ones. Including that young lady over there.”
“Hey dude! You ain't fair with us!” “You're right. I'm actually biased. But in your favor.” “What'd you mean?” Marco asked looking confused. To which Cross responded before Ben could. “If he wasn't biased, he'd have just arrested us and be done with it. But instead, he's giving us a way out. And it may be even better than we thought.”
Letting out a breath, Cross stated. “Alright, we accept.” “Hey, bro! You ain't even asking me?!” Shaking his head, the other man said. “Because I know what's good for you.” Turning his head toward Ben, while ignoring Flint's cries of protestation, he demanded. “As I said, we accept. I've just got one demand.”
Cocking his eyebrow, the male agent questioned. “What is it?” “I want to ask for a way to protect Kate.” At his words, the woman behind him looked surprised and was about to say something, when he shook his head at her. “It's too dangerous for you Kate. Look at Mr. John. He only saw us briefly and he could guess our relationship. Unless you don't want to see me anymore, there'll be some point in time when one of the guys trying to hurt me will use you to get to me. And I don't want that.”
At the words relationship, the woman blushed and lowered her eyes in clear embarrassment. However, as soon as he finished talking, she asked, a bit anxious. “What about my mom though?” To which Cross turned his head back toward the two SHIELD agents and questioned. “Do you guys have a solution?”
Since Ben was new to the organization, he looked toward the redhead woman who seemed to ponder something. A few seconds later, her voice resounded in everyone's ears. “There might be a way, but before I answer you, I'd like to know if you've got any particular skills.”
Kate then looked hesitantly toward Cross, who gave her a nod of reassurance. Taking a deep breath, she answered uneasily. “I... I used to be a nurse. Before I started working at the bank, I mean. Does that count?” Natalia however did not answer her question but instead asked her own. “What made you quit? Or maybe you were fired?”
Shaking her head, she responded, flustered. “N-no. I was the one who decided to quit. It-it was because I had to take care of my mom and the hours were too all over the place. But in the bank, I worked from 8 to 5, 5 days a week. So it makes it easier to organize myself.” Nodding her head, the redhead seemingly took a decision.
“To answer your question: Yes, it does count as a particular skill.” Pausing for a second, she continued. “My proposition is this: You'll get the same offer as the two boys at your side with one caveat. You'll have to prove your worth since, unlike them, you're not a Supe.” Everyone around was surprised at her offer, however, when Ben remembered the previous conversation she had with May, he felt that she forgot to mention something. Kate was not a Supe. Yet.
The others however were not aware of that fact and Cross even seemed to be against it. “Didn't you say that only Supes can join the team? How do you expect Kate to face people like us in combat?” Shaking her head with an irritating smile, she explained while showing her index finger. “First, I never said she'd need to face anyone. I'm only interested in the fact that she can be trained as a field medic.”
Then she showed a second finger and continued. “Second, I never said I did not have any way for her to become a Supe. Of course, that would depend on if she's willing to put in the work.” Looking amused, she added. “Doesn't sound too bad, right?” Looking hesitant Cross looked at Kate, whose face turned resolute as soon as she gazed into his eyes. “I don't want to become your burden.”
She declared before moving her gaze in Nat and Ben's direction and claimed. “I'll do it!” Clapping her hands once at the blond-haired woman's decision, the redhead exclaimed. ”Perfect! By the way, you don't have to worry about your mother. We'll transfer all of you into a safe house. That way, you won't have any worry. Does that sound good?”
Nodding her head firmly, Kate said. “Yes.” The two men mirrored her reaction, although with less enthusiasm, drawing a chuckle from the silver-eyed man who could not help but ask the female agent. “You're sure Fury will accept handing the three to me?” Waving her hand at his worry, she replied. “That paranoid guy needs people he can fully trust. So, you getting your team members from outside SHIELD and other similar organizations would make him thrilled!”
Shaking his head with a smile, he responded. “If you say so.” Before the redhead continued. “Since we got that out of the way, why don't we go back to taking care of that trap.”
