Calm Wanderer
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(MNIBP) Chapter 20 - An unwanted order from Rumlow
🕑 Added 2023-11-16 14:59:26 +0000 UTCQueens, NYC, USA.
Ben's P.O.V.
Turning toward the facade, he took the keys that were sitting in his pocket and locked the door. Gazing briefly at the house he spent so many years of his life in, he could not help but be slightly emotional at that moment.
Nonetheless, he understood that the past was the past. 'Now unto the future...' He thought while a childish grin full of expectations shortly appeared on his face before it quickly turned into his usual small but confident smile. Turning toward the others waiting for him, Ben exclaimed. “It's time to go.”
“What's the chain of command?” He asked the two agents. Grinning at his question, Natalia responded. “I'll be the captain of this operation. Barton is my second in command and the two SHIELD agents will be... Well, agents. As for you guys, as civilians, you're not included in the security detail.”
Frowning slightly at her answer, Ben was about to protest when the woman added. “But I also guessed you'd like to stay informed and armed, so I'll give you a connected earpiece and your SHIELD-issued gun in advance. The pistol model.” He swallowed his objection at her reassurance and instead asked.
“So what's the configuration?” “One van in front, one in the middle, and the moving truck in the back. Clint will ride shotgun in the van in front with one of the agents driving. They'll be both vanguard and scout. The moving truck will have the other agent, while the van in the middle will have the rest of us.”
Tapping his chin in thought, the silver-eyed man pondered briefly. 'Clint with his great eyesight in the front, the strongest two protecting the weakest in the middle, and the bigger truck behind to cover us in case of a shooting...' Out loud he claimed. “It seems sounds enough. Should we go, then?”
“Before we go.” she gave him an earpiece, which he quickly put in his right ear before grabbing the futuristic-looking pistol she was holding toward him. Examining it briefly, he commented as his gaze went to her face. “Why does it look similar to those grey aliens' guns?” Chuckling at his question, she answered.
“Because it was retro-engineered from those exact weapons. The only difference is the use of physical bullets.” Cocking his eyebrow, he questioned. “How is it different from a normal gun then?” With a grin on her average-looking fake face, she replied. “The difference is the power. The gun you're holding has the firing strength of a high-powered rifle with less recoil due to the use of special energy as a firing mechanism instead of gunpowder. Of course, the strong recoil means that only physical supes can use it easily.”
“Physical integrity?” “Completely new alloy made from some special metals. They don't overheat even if you keep firing again and again.” Feeling amazed at her answer, Ben's eyes fell back to the incredible piece of technology in his hand. After a brief explanation from the female agent, he understood exactly how to operate it.
'Pretty similar to a normal gun.' He thought while putting the gun in a custom holster that she gave him with the gun. Hanging it on his belt's left side, he informed her that he was ready. Thus, everyone went to their designated vehicles, with May and Madeline sitting in the back seats, the three kids in the middle seats, and Natalia and Ben in the front.
As soon as the redhead gave the signal through her earpiece, the convoy started to cruise toward their destination. For a time, the ride was smooth sailing, prompting the adults to chat together to pass the time, while the kids were looking through the window at the scenery, trying to guess the landmarks' names they passed by. Funnily enough, places like the Kennedy Airport took longer for them to remember than the likes of 'Mario's Pizza', which was a small pizza joint they liked to eat at from time to time.
While the women were conversing, Benjamin thought about Natalia's refusal to answer when he asked where the safe house was situated. She was adamant that it was better to keep it as a surprise, so she would keep her mouth shut. 'It shouldn't be too far from New York in any case. Is it somewhere nice?' He wondered dazedly, his mind not really focusing on the road, since he was not the one driving.
His haze however dispersed as he heard Clint's next words from the earpiece. “Hawkeye to Black Widow, do you copy?” “This is Black Widow. Copy. What's wrong?” “Got a message from command. They've got a Supe Incident on hand and they can't deal with it fast enough. They know we're close by...”
“What's the situation?” Natalia asked while frowning. “Bank robbery in South Brooklyn. 11 hostages inside the building and from the energy signatures, two individuals were identified, the two being around Low to Mid Novice Level. Because they disabled the cameras inside, we've got no information about their powers.”
Looking annoyed, the redhead replied. “They're aware that we're currently on an escort mission, with normal civilians, right? How the hell are we supposed to deal with both situations?” A brief silence followed her words, as the man's next words visibly pissed her off. “I asked the same question and their exact words were 'You're paid to obey and not to ask questions'.”
Taking a few deep breaths to calm her anger, she asked. “Does Fury know about this?” “He's not responding, so I can't say for sure.” Rubbing her face in frustration, she muttered, chiding herself. “Of course, he's not responding. I forgot that he had a meeting planned with the council today... Whose order is it?” She asked hesitantly. “Rumlow.” Narrowing her eyes at his words, she claimed. “We're all Level 7 agents, so how...”
Hearing the sigh on the other side, Ben could already anticipate the futility of her attempt at denying the order. “He got promoted to Level 8 today. And before you asked, I checked with Coulson. It's legit.” Pausing for a second, he continued. “I don't think we can avoid this one.”
Natalia stayed silent for a few seconds, her hands tightening briefly on the steering wheel before her tension seemed to evaporate as a breath escaped her. Turning her face toward the silver-eyed man briefly, she said in a guilt-ridden tone. “I'm sorry about this, Ben. It's all my fault...” Waving her apology away, Ben replied.
“Forget it, Nat. You're also the victim here.” Pausing for a second, he added. “What's up with that Rumlow guy?” Her eyes on the road, she answered. “That guy is an as...” Looking in the rearview mirror swiftly, she faked a cough and continued. “He's a bad guy. He thought I'd be amenable to... some private conversations. I was not and he went overboard. Long story short, I broke a few bones in his body which put him in the hospital for a few days and since then he hates my guts.”
Nodding his head in understanding, Ben stated. “Not really unexpected, unfortunately.” “Mmmhh. Some men don't understand the meaning of the word no.” He kept silent at her answer since he was deeply aware of that reality. For a few seconds, only the sound of the redhead woman giving orders into her earpiece to the two other agents could be heard.
Once she was done, the cars started changing direction slightly, obviously heading toward the bank being robbed. The stillness, however, was quickly broken by the adorable voice of Ben's little princess. “Aunt Nat?” That was how she asked to be called by the three children, and besides the two older kids who were still a bit shy about calling her that, Gayle had no problem whatsoever with it.
Ben was sure that in her mind, another Aunt meant more people to spoil her. “Yes, little princess?” The female agent asked while Ben turned his head back to look in the child's direction, noticing the serious expression painted on her face. “If he's a bad guy, can I also beat him up with my pan?”
Looking both amused and surprised, Natalia questioned. “Why do you want to beat the bad guy with a pan?” In a weighty tone, the little girl responded. “Because Uncle Ben always says we can't let the bullies beat our family up.” That was not how he phrased it, but she was six years old after all. “Also, Rapunzel beat up the bad guys with her pan and she was really strong.”
Pausing for a second, the little girl added in an uncharacteristically dim tone. “And I want to protect Uncle Ben because I don't want the bad guys to beat him up like last time.” Noticing the tears gathering in her innocent blue eyes, Ben grabbed her hand and comforted her. “Gayle, you don't have to be sad. I got beaten up a bit, but I beat up even more bad guys. And I also became stronger so those bad guys won't be able to beat me up anymore.”
Gazing at his face with hope in her eyes, she asked in a soft voice. “Really?” Nodding his head, he replied. “Really!” “Pinky promise?” “Pinky promise!” He answered while entangling his pinky with her in a solemn vow. As soon as he made the promise, the tears seemed to disappear from the girl's navy-colored eyes and a cute grin appeared on her face instead. “Alright, I believe you Uncle Ben. But you can't lie to me.” Grinning back, he claimed. “Don't worry, I'm not.”
After he turned back to face the road, he heard the two women and three kids chat with May and Madeline bragging about how their kids would be the best superheroes and the kids telling everyone what superpowers they wanted to have. Listening to their conversation brought a smile to both Ben and Natalia's faces, the latter commenting with envy.
“It must be nice to have such a great family...” Noticing her fluctuating emotions, the silver-eyed man responded. “It is. Speaking of which, you never told me about yours...” “My family, uh?... It's... Complicated.” Cocking his eyebrow, he insisted. “How complicated?” Glancing at his face briefly, the woman answered. “Complicated, complicated.” The obvious reluctance in her voice did not escape the man's attention.
“Got it. I've got your back in any case.” Chuckling at his answer, the previous tension visible on her face disappeared as she looked toward him with a teasing expression. “Is that your way of saying that you'd listen to my sad childhood story like a good friend?” Gazing briefly at her average-looking artificial face, he noticed the hope in her eyes that belied the devil-may-care tone she used, prompting him to voice the words in his mind.
“Yes, I would.” Maybe it was the tone of his voice, or maybe it was the words he used, but a small red hue briefly colored her cheeks, before disappearing as she acted like he said nothing, making him believe that she did not trust him enough to share her story. However, the woman's following words uttered in a soft voice disproved his assumptions. “I'll hold you to that, then.”
An unconscious tiny grin surfaced on his face. “Sure.” As the two's hearings were a lot sharper than the others in the van, none of them heard their last exchanges and instead continued talking to each other, seemingly oblivious to the approaching dangerous situation.
The two adults in the front seat then kept silent, both lost in their respective thoughts as their vehicle drove along Belt Parkway road. After less than five minutes, they left the high-speed road to enter Brooklyn proper, with Clint's van still in front of them and the truck behind following them and soon the three vehicles were parked inside an enclosed parking lot.
As the SHIELD agents exited their respective vans, Ben turned back toward the five people he cared about the most in this world and instructed. “All of you stay put. I'll talk to Nat and Clint about leaving someone here to protect you guys.”
“Ben no...” “Ben!” “Uncle Ben!” Cutting off their protest with a wave of his hand, he nonetheless explained with a stony expression. “I can't let Nat and Clint risk their lives while I wait here doing nothing. And before any of you say anything, I've got the training and the strength unlike any of you. So, you don't get to choose this time.” His commanding tone intimidated the five of them into silence before the two women said. “Fine! But you better be careful, honey!” “Pay attention to your safety, alright?”
With a small grin full of confidence, he answered. “Don't worry, I'll be fine!” Before exiting the van and closing the door behind him, leaving May, Madeline, and the three children in a gloomy mood.
