The Frost Giant & The Wolf

Chapter 16: The coordinates

"Wait, Wheaton, New Jersey?" Steve narrows his brows and studies the map intently.

"What, you know it?" Tony raises an eyebrow.

"I used to." Steve says as he stares at the screen.

~~~~~~

Nat lands the Quinjet between the trees off the main road. The three of you step out of the jet and walk down the long winding dirt road to the tracker location.

"This is it." Steve declares, walking over to the metal fence and staring at the sign.

"Camp Lehigh," You read, "Weren't you stationed here at some point?"

"I was." Steve replies as he opens the gate and lets you in. You can tell by the dirt and weeds that it hasn't been occupied for quite some time.

"This is the right location." Nat looks at her phone and confirms.

As you look around, you say, "It seems abandoned. There are no people, no vehicles, no signs of life."

"This camp is where I was trained." Steve walks into a nearby building, checking to see if there's anything inside there.

"Change much?" Nat asks, holding up her phone in the hope of finding a signal nearby.

"A little."

"This is a dead end. Zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio." Nat reports as her phone stops beeping and she puts it in her back pocket. "They probably found the tracker and used it to lead us off track."

One of the buildings in the distance suddenly catches Steve's attention.

"What is it, Steve?" You ask, looking at his face and then following his gaze to a bunker in the back.

"Army regulations forbid storing munitions within 500 yards of the barracks." He explains as he starts walking toward the building. Nat and you follow suit. "This building is in the wrong place."

With his shield, Steve smashes the lock and opens the door, revealing a dusty staircase. You descend the stairs and at the bottom, Steve finds a light switch which he flicks, turning on the lights.

The fluorescent tube lights blink on, revealing an old office with empty desks and chairs. Upon passing a few of these desks, you run your finger over the top, noticing how dusty they are. It has been a long time since anybody has been down here.

Looking at the back wall, you notice an insignia painted on the wall. SHIELD's insignia.

"This is SHIELD." You say, as you glance back at Steve and Nat.

"Maybe where it started." Steve replies as he walks further into the room.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division." Upon reading the words surrounding the insignia, you laugh. "Geesh, no wonder they had to abbreviate it, that is a lot of words."

"There's Stark's father." Nat points to a crooked picture, barely hanging on the wall.

"Howard." Steve says, taking a moment to glance at the picture.

Steve walks past empty bookshelves and stops when he feels a soft breeze. His attention is drawn to the back of the office, where he notices that the draft is coming from between two cobweb-covered shelves. As he feels around for a moment, he pulls on one of the shelves and slides it aside to reveal an old hidden elevator.

"If you're already working in a secret office, why do you need to hide the elevator?" Steve wonders.

Nat moves to the elevator and pulls out her phone, scanning the keypad beside it for the elevator's combination.