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

Whack-A-Mole

Someone in admin had the power to shut down all of my requests, no matter if I had mission clearance or not. If they were smart enough to get the hostages in the system, they were smart enough to make it stay that way. They also had access to my mission to shut the hostages down, and they could see that I just accessed the database history. I just made myself a target.

Good thing I was in my room. I knew it was searched randomly, but there were no cameras inside. I probably didn't have much time before the mole came after me, so I needed to make a move and and a plan. 

I pulled my sleeve up and opened the text feature. After making sure it was encrypted, I sent a message to Fury: Mole in admin, probably about to kill me. He was the only one the mole might not see coming. Even if Fury was busy, Agent Hill might be able to catch a glimpse of trouble before it got too bad. 

Time was still running out, though. I slipped my pencil taser down my sleeve and strapped my weapons on. I slipped on an armored vest under my suit and pulled my hair back, still wet from my shower. If someone was about to come after me, the least I could do was be ready. 

While I changed, I tried to come up with something, anything that might give me an edge. Whoever was inside SHIELD was definitely posing as another agent. After the disaster with HYDRA, Fury was diligent about not hiring people with suspicious records. They were probably using a face mask to hide their real identity and voice. I smiled to myself. Those masks were great, but they used electricity. An EMP still worked on the masks. 

Luckily, I had an EMP on hand. I opened my watch and found the EMP settings Shuri had shown me yesterday. Was that really yesterday morning? It felt like weeks, at least. I set the range for ten feet and set the firing mechanism to quick-trigger. It was another one of Shuri's prototype features. All I had to do was make a gun with my hand and 'pull' the trigger with my middle finger. It would probably knock out a few cell phones and security cameras too, but it was better than the alternative. 

If the mole already knew I was coming, then there was no point in hiding. I didn't know how long it would take them to realize I was onto them, or if they already knew. All I knew was that trouble was about to go down, then the best agents were in admin, so that's where I wanted to be. I strode out of my room and made straight for the top floor. 

As I walked, I ran through the hostages again. The spy, pilot, and IT guys probably wouldn't be a threat, since they were positioned in other places and probably not supposed to engage anyone on the facility. The security guy was definitely my biggest threat, but also my biggest clue. If I saw someone staying particularly close to the security hostage, I knew who the mole was, especially since the security agent was assigned to Communications today. Missions control and Communication techs probably wouldn't show either. The only case that they would be in admin was if the mole had called them for some type of meeting. Entirely possible, so I needed to keep my eye out.

My watch buzzed, and I spared a moment to check it. Look for Hill, was Fury's response. At least I had the director of SHIELD on my side, and his number 2. I didn't bother to respond, he probably didn't expect me to. I took the elevator up, remembering again what the hostages looked like. They were my clues, and the only warning I'd have. 

When the doors slid open, I didn't see anyone in the lobby that was on my list. Dang it. I couldn't get into the offices without an appointment, because the secretary wouldn't buzz me in otherwise. I was about to take a seat next to the door, but I saw Agent Hill before I did. She held the door open for me, and I quietly slipped in, hoping she had taken care of the confusion that was sure to follow. 

"Who's the mole?" she asked, walking beside me and not making eye contact.

"Don't know, but I know their six allies on campus," I answered. "I guess if they start shooting at me, we'll know."

She snorted, and turned the corner with me. "You got Barton's dry humor, I see."

It was almost enough to make me smile. Almost. "What did you expect? It rubs off on you." 

We went around the third loop of the offices, and lo and behold, the security hostage was standing outside the door. I snapped quietly to signal her. So they were waiting for me. Of course.

The hostage saw Agent Hill before they saw me. I saw them do a double take when they realized I was there too, and they hesitated when they considered if they wanted to take both of us. I slipped my pencil taser out of my sleeve, ready to take him out if he made a move. 

Hill pulled her pistol out and aimed it. He did the same and banged on the office door he was guarding. Bad sign. I threw the taser, nailing him in the forehead before he could do anything else. Hill scanned her badge, overriding the locked door, and we burst in. 

Apparently, three seconds wasn't enough time for them to get ready. The four other hostages besides the spy were sitting in conference with an admin 'agent', only just realizing they had been made. The IT and Coms hostages both ducked under the table, while the pilot and the MC hostages pulled out weapons. Not fast enough, because Hill and I each hit one in the shoulder before they could turn off the safety. 

The mole was faster, though. He saw Hill cutting off the far side of the table, and decided she didn't want to deal with that. She pulled a handgun from under the table and aimed at me right as I aimed for her. She pulled the trigger before I could dodge. 

I'll say this much, her aim was fantastic. She hit me square in the chest, and the impact knocked me over. I heard Hill call out for me, but I played the part. I had to get close enough to knock out that mask. 

Under the table, I saw the pilot try to raise her gun at Hill. She kicked it away and kneed them in the face before they could fire, but she kept her own weapon trained on the mole. I couldn't help her if I wanted to take out the mole's mask. I had to let her do what she did best.

"How long?" she asked, her voice holding firm despite seeing me get shot. I could appreciate that. "How long have you been here?"

I heard the mole chuckle, but I kept my head lolled to the side, so I couldn't see her. "Long enough, I'd say." She paused, then asked, "You friends with this one?"

She must be talking about me. Hopefully that meant she was about to get closer. When Hill didn't answer, she went on. "You know, for someone so young, she was a good one. Figured out what was going on by herself, if you can believe it. I only figured out she was onto us about half an hour ago."

Not that I let it go to my head, but I was proud of that. When Natasha got back, it would be a good story for her. "Can you imagine? If you had gotten here a few minutes earlier, we wouldn't have gotten away with this!" The mole walked closer and stopped above my body. "Shame, now that she's dead, I kind of like her."

"You're going to like her a lot less when she end up being the reason you get sent to prison," Hill told her, and I looked up. I wanted to see this. 

The mole was looking at her, and I made my finger gun. The mole laughed. "This is going to be quite the shootout between us, isn't it Agent Hill? Unless you've got friends coming? Like this one?" She looked down at me, and the look when she saw me smiling up at her? Priceless. 

I pulled the trigger before she could shoot me again, probably in the head. The EMP fired, short-circuiting her mask. The mole yelled out as the lights above us powered down, and she fell to her knees, trying to scrape the mask off. 

By now, the Missions Control agent had grabbed their gun and tried to the same thing the pilot did. I wrenched it out of his hands and smacked him with it, then crouched before the mole agent, who had some pretty nasty burns on her face now. More importantly, she had dropped her gun, which was mine now. 

"Still like me?" I asked sweetly, before punching her lights out.