Agent Raven of S.H.I.E.L.D. (COMPLETE)

In the Line of Fire

"That was one of the more entertaining interrogations I've had the pleasure of witnessing," Warren praised her, catching his breath after laughing so hard. "Son of a bitch had no idea what he was up against."

"Of course, he didn't. That was the fun part," Raven pointed out. "As you said, he's oblivious."

"And stupid," he added, staring into the chamber as a pair of security guards came to drag him out. "You had him singing like a canary."

She shrugged, undermining the accomplishment. "Just doing my job."

Warren nodded to the door, motioning for Raven to follow him out. The show was over anyway.

"So you think he was trying to escape?"

"I think he was expecting Hart to get him out," Raven corrected. "Once he realized Hart was dead, his resolve was gone, and so was his poker face. He flat-out admitted to funding terrorist groups to assassinate the World Security Council."

"Yeah, about that: where the hell did you get that idea?"

"The files you sent to Agent Watson," she explained. "He's been sending funds to Japan, France, England, and Russia, all of whom are represented on the Council. He's CROS's sugar daddy, right? Who's to say CROS is the only threat? What if it's one of five?"

Warren blinked, then looked forward as he considered the idea for a moment. "I thought they were trying to take out SHIELD."

"The Council oversees SHIELD. You have to take out both to tie up any loose ends. I'm just disappointed I didn't think of it sooner," Raven admitted, resisting the urge to smack herself. "CROS really did plan on taking down SHIELD that day. Once they realized they had been made, they must have called off the shots in the other countries. One assassination and they would have been exposed. Now the other groups are waiting for a reboot."

"Which means we have to find them," the general grumbled. "Four more factions to track down."

"Or four other subsets of CROS," she suggested. "It could be either one."

"Great." 

They stepped back into the elevator. Raven was done for the day, so she was headed to a section of FBI barracks set aside for visiting SHIELD agents. She would be on the next flight back to headquarters.

"Did you get anything about Damian that I missed?" Warren asked, crossing his arms.

She did, but none of her new information was hard and fast facts. "Whoever Damian is, he's at the top of the power structure," she deducted. "'Damian is the mastermind behind everything.' That's what Brooks said, word for word. He was so desperate to regain control of the situation that he let slip that Damian is in charge. We're looking for someone who would have the connections to recruit people like Brooks, Fairbanks, and Hart, which means he had access to information on powerful individuals five years ago. He's well protected, too," she realized. "For some reason, he won't 'let' us get close to him, and he's in a position to take power if SHIELD falls."

"How did you get all that from his tantrum?"

"Mamma taught me well," she joked, not wanting to actually explain her thought process behind comprehending Brooks's outburst. "It doesn't give us much, but it narrows down the field of search. There are only so many people with that much power named 'Damian.'"

Warren nodded. "I'll get my agents on it. If we find anything worth sharing, we'll let you know. I'd watch your back, though," he warned. "Brooks didn't seem very happy with you by the end."

He had a point. That was the risk Raven ran by visiting Brooks. She was painting a target on her back. "I doubt anyone in CROS is happy with me. If Brooks doesn't come after me, Damian might. If he has as much power as Brooks thinks he does, he can probably make my life difficult."

"You worried?"

"I'm worried about the time we have," she explained. "I don't know how quickly Damian can reboot the plan. He might launch the next attack before we find him."

"Not gonna happen," Warren assured her. "We're gonna find him before that."

~

Well, she certainly hoped so because, at the moment, the FBI was no closer to finding Damian than they had been before Raven left for Wakanda.

Damian was smart enough to hide his tracks. Whether Fairbanks had killed their leads on him or if they simply didn't exist in the first place was undetermined, but between the SHIELD and the FBI databanks, a possible match was nowhere to be found. 

Their best bet was to follow up on the groups Brooks had been funding and hope that they would find something they could trace to Damian. Raven offered to analyze the groups, tracing the funds to their final resting bank accounts and zeroing in on the area each group was operating in. Once she narrowed it down to a five percent error, she zipped the data files and sent them back to the FBI. They would distribute it to intelligence agencies in the respective countries of the World Security Council members, who would then be responsible for addressing the issue. 

Until they located Damian, there wasn't much else for Raven to do. Brooks was being transferred tomorrow, Fairbanks was still undergoing questioning, and Hart was dead. Unless Raven got an urgent call sometime soon, it was back to business as usual. 

Out of curiosity, she checked to see if the unit had sent out any updates. Kyle was still recovering from his burn, but Taylor was back in business and reassigned to the unit. In Kyle's place, Kate, the agent Raven had met a few weeks ago, was rejoining 6-11 as well. Once Raven returned, they would have their entire team back and could go on missions again. 

And that means Smith is going to get protective again, Raven thought, exhaling sharply. Now wasn't exactly the best time for that. If CROS was watching her now, anyone who tried to cover her was in the line of fire. Raven had tried to shove him off earlier, but that had been days ago, and they hadn't talked since. She had no idea if it had worked or if he was going to try again. 

It was one thing to watch the back of a fellow soldier. It was another to want to shelter them when it wasn't necessary.