A Complicated Web

Chapter Twenty One: Nightshade

The dark van pulled up near the front of a typical looking house. It was one of several on the street, all looking pretty much the same, a sort of aged look to them all. Dr. Bruce Banner stared at the front door. Not having had the same difficulties as the other party, they'd made good time and had reached the safe house a lot sooner than they'd anticipated. Apparently whoever was after those kids hadn't fallen for the bait.

They'd driven past the area several times, just to make sure it was clear. The house they'd parked in front of wasn't actually the one they were aiming for. It wouldn't do to point out the exact house right off the bat, just in case. One couldn't be too careful.

Bruce exited the vehicle, an earwig in one ear as he nonchalantly walked down the street to another house a few lots down. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean anything. He knew there were agents still in the van, waiting on events while he went first. They''d insisted, mostly because if someone tried to shoot at him he'd just turn into the Hulk. "I don't see anything out of the usual," he reported, then paused. He held up one hand in signal to wait.

Slowly, the man looked out of the corner of his eye where he'd thought he saw something moving. "Uh, guys, we've got company!" he called out over the frequency as he realized what he'd seen was the barrel of a gun poking out of the neighboring house's window. "How on earth did they find us!?"

Gunfire erupted through the partially opened window and Banner dived. When he came back up, he had transformed into the Hulk. He let out a mighty roar as he expanded his chest before bounding towards the house in question. The bullets aimed his way seemed to just bounce off of his green skin.

"Base! This is Mobile Two! The bird's nest has been compromised. I repeat the nest has compromised!" the driver of the van called over the radio. He went silent as another hail of bullets from another location shattered the glass.

...............................

"Echo One, Echo Two, do not approach target destination. I repeat do not approach target destination. The nest has been compromised," Agent Hill called out over the radio, causing Tony to cuss.

Fred looked up from his second bottle of juice. Having food in him helped a lot, though he was still in a lot of pain. "Tony, what's going on?" he asked, looking far from happy with the tone the man had used.

"Safe house has visitors," Tony answered him tersely as he slammed one hand against the steering wheel. Getting secure locations large enough for the kind of party they had wasn't easy. If there had only been a few of them, it would have been something different. But as things stood, they didn't have many options. "What do you want us to do?" he asked the agent over the radio.

"Hold on," Hill instructed. "We're working on it."

Hiro bit his lip, tasking blood as his teeth went through the skin. His heart pounded. "How did they find it?" he asked, not sure he really wanted to know.

Tony shook his head. "Anyone's guess. Mine is there's a leak somewhere." He pulled the headset from his ear and muted it. "We gotta come up with another place and fast. We can't just keep circling the globe."

Fred thought about that for a minute. "Uh, where exactly are we right now?" he asked as he looked out the window.

"Uh, I'd say we're somewhere in Woodbridge Township," Tony replied, looking for any signs that might confirm that.

The mascot nodded. "Okay, I know a place we can hang out."

Tony turned to glance back at him as they stopped at a red light. "Are you saying you know a place we don't that will be secure enough to keep you guys safe?"