Steve and his team took a set of stairs that led down to the sleeping quarters. The lights flickered on automatically as they ventured down the hall. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. There was a large bunk room for lower ranked men, the shower area, and then more private bedrooms. The colors were dull metal marked with the rivet heads and screws. Metal lockers and trunks were arranged around the room and the beds. There weren't any blankets or linens. Everything had been taken. Steve also noticed there were no cobwebs or dust anywhere. There wasn't litter on the floor, stray papers, or even an overturned waste basket. The bunk rooms and sleeping quarters were all eerily sterile. Like someone was ready to move in. He kept his eyes roaming the large rooms and smaller ones as his team of four moved forward, clearing the rooms. As they crept farther and farther into the living quarters there was one area that didn't have any lights on at all. Steve signaled one of his men to check it out. The soldier slid against the wall without a sound. He placed his hand on the door handle and lowered it until the handle was perpendicular to the ground. He gingerly pushed the door into the room. Nothing happened. He changed his stance and was in the doorway. There were no lights on in the room except for a small clock. He took another step in as another team member came behind him. They were silent, watching their light beams play off the objects in the room. There was a bunk bed, blankets, pillows, stacks of books, a plate and suddenly a body landed on the first man in the room. His weapon was knocked out of his grip as the second man began yelling, "Hostiles!" and then his words were cut short. Steve ran into the room and looked for the attacker. He didn't see anyone and he reached for the light switch. He turned on the lights and then he saw a hole in the ceiling. Whoever had taken out two of his men was already gone.
Steve spoke quietly into his coms, "We have at least one hostile. They're moving in the duct work." He motioned to the rest of his team to clear out the rest of the rooms. Steve retraced his steps, looking at the ceiling, trying to figure out where the attacker had gone.
Clint and his helper were still in the bridge and control room when he heard static from Steve. He stood and tapped his earpiece and said, "Say again, Cap? There's interference." He motioned for his soldier to finish up extracting hard drives. They placed them in a bag, set them to the side, and then started to make their way back to the ante room.
Steve could hear some sounds coming from the duct work and followed it towards the bathrooms located between the sleeping areas. The person or persons hadn't appeared yet and he was determined to find them.
As Clint was nearing the door he heard a scuffle. He looked back and his man was gone. He immediately drew his weapon and went back to the bridge. His eyes were covering every inch of the room from floor to ceiling. He then spotted the other Strike team member on the floor, bound and gagged, unconscious but still alive. He was still crouched down when he heard a noise come from inside the control room. He fired two shots and then ran into where he thought he heard the sound. He didn't hear anything more but saw a panel below one of the workstations was removed. "Sneaky son of a b*tch," he said under his breath. He touched his earpiece again and spoke, "Barnes, you copy? We have a hostile on the main level. He's moving in the duct work."
Clint went back to his man and cut him loose before he ran back to the ante room to try and find the Captain and Barnes.
Bucky and his men made their way back to the ante room when they heard Clint over the comms. "Barnes, you copy? What's your status? Meet at the ante room."
By the time both of them arrived Steve was there too. "This base isn't as abandoned as we thought. Anyone have eyes on our attacker?"
There was a resounding "no" from all the men present. "We need to keep looking for that beacon. Let's all keep moving," Steve said to the team.
They all headed down to the lower level with extra caution. Dark shadows and random ticks made the Strike team flinch but not shoot their weapons. Captain America was on point with Clint taking up the rear. Bucky was in the middle of the group and suddenly he stopped. He held his fist up signaling for the rest of the team to stop. He pointed upwards and all the team looked up too. They would have missed the sound if they hadn't stopped moving. There was a small scrape of cloth sliding across sheet metal. The attacker was directly above them. Clint, being one of the more stealthy of the team, set down his weapon on the metal grating and walked around the Strike team. He looked at the seams where two panels of ducting were held together. He crouched low and then sprung up with both his hands to pull down on the sides of the ducting. There was the sound of twisting and scraping metal and then a body fell out of the ducting. The body came out head first and the nearest soldier wasted no time in lowering his rifle butt to it. The body was lying completely still. "Cover me," Clint said and the soldier pointed his gun at the prone body. Clint reached down to the shoulder of the body and flipped it over. There was an audible gasp as they all saw the face of a young woman whose skin was a pale blue with small scales on the sides of her face.
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