"Absolutely nothing. It was just a normal house," Clint reported in the conference room.
"Besides some surveillance cameras, it was completely regular." Natasha agreed, showing photographs from their observation mission. They sat in one of the S.H.I.E.L.D offices. Fury shook his head.
"But there must be a place from which the Harlovsens are monitoring the missions, where they are staying, where they are working."
"We could ask Katta," Natasha proposed, shrugging.
"Oh, yes. Hey Katta, we're trying to blow up your family. Where again do you store all your weapons and laboratories?" Clint said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. Natasha shrugged her shoulder, apologetic.
"That leads us nowhere." Fury waved off before addressing Bruce. "There was something you wanted to report, Doctor?"
"Indeed." He cleared his throat, getting up. "Our systems receive a strong radiation that is definitely not from the earth nor anything human-built." He started the screen and showed a graph. "I'm not sure what this could be so far, but it is clear that we need to have an eye on it."
"I was warned in Asgard that something unexpected will come to earth," Thor said. All heads whipped in his direction.
"Thank you for warning us," Clint sarcastically said while Fury shook his head.
"And why, god of thunder, didn't you think about filling us in with the details any earlier."
"Because there are no details. That is everything I know so far." Thor shrugged, playing with the handle of his hammer.
〰〰〰
"And the power is off in three, two one." Magnus clicked the button, and the whole power network in that part of New York collapsed within seconds.
〰〰〰
Suddenly all the lights and the TV went off before the red emergency lighting took over. "What is happening?" Fury barked into the intercom system while the others stood up, glaring around, alarmed.
"I don't know, sir. It seems that the entire power network in the environment collapsed. Should we call the IT Expert?" an agent answered.
"I don't know. Do you think it would be a good idea to call somebody to fix that problem, or should we be waiting until the energy comes back by himself?" Fury shouted rhetorically.
"U-Understood, sir," the agent answered, frightened.
〰〰〰
The door slid open, and Fenris entered the building. So, this was S.H.I.E.L.D. Men and women in suits and dresses hurried through the corridor. He could look into a few of the offices through the glass walls. The agents were occasionally chatting, drinking coffee, sorting files.
"Mister Charleston?"
Fenris turned around. An agent was coming his way, a polite smile on his face.
"Y-Yes," Fenris nodded, slightly stammering. It was a part of his character.
"Agent Coulson," the man introduced himself before leading him towards the building's control units. Fenris followed him, taking in all the cameras he could discover.
"How come I never saw you here before?" Coulson asked while holding open the door for him.
Fenris pushed his horn-rimmed glasses a bit higher. "I cover for my colleague, that usually works here. He is currently in Texas."
"Ah, the one with the brown hair, Karl, Kyle..?" Coulson stated, following him.
"He has blond hair, now," Fenris answered. Coulson looked surprised. "Really?"
"He is, how he is, right?" Fenris chuckled, clasping his briefcase a bit tighter. Coulson nodded. Fenris exhaled a breath he was holding. It had been some time since he last infiltrated a building, and Coulson seemed like a curious man.
They made it to the control units, and Fenris unscrewed the first lid, uncovering a mess of cables and blinking lights.
"I'll leave you to it. Just call if you need something." Coulson turned around and left the room.
Fenris waited a minute before he activated his earpiece. Moments later, Magnus's voice clung in his ear. "Security agencies are not what they used to be."
Fenris smirked. "Not really. Now, let me work in peace." He heard Magnus scoff, but he remained silent. Carefully, Fenris dissembled the control unit connected with the security cameras and provided Magnus access to the live broadcast.
"Alright, I'll lead you," Magnus said once he'd opened the footage on his screens. Fenris left the control room and swiftly went through the corridors. He knew that he'd chosen the right cover-up, as none of the other agents seemed to notice him.
"Left corner," Magnus said. Fenris followed his lead. His eye twitched a little as he recognized a familiar man coming his way.
"James Barnes," Magnus said. He was right. Fenris averted his eyes and looked straight ahead as Barnes was coming closer. There were the toilets. Fenris scurried towards the door and laid his hand on the knob.
"Wait!"
He turned his head. Barnes stood in front of him, an unreadable expression on his face as he eyed him blatantly.
"Who are you? I haven't seen you here before?" he asked.
Fenris slowly let go of the doorknob and projected a confused look at his face before stretching out his hand.
"Dan Charleston," he introduced himself. Barnes shook the hand, his grip tight. They glared at each other. Fenris looked behind him, seeing that the corridor was empty. He could risk knocking him out, but months had gone by without proper training.
At this moment, Coulson came out of a door nearby, a surprised look on his face as he saw him. "Charleston. What are you doing here?"
Finally, Barnes let go of his hand, and Fenris turned towards Coulson. "The problem is solved. The power should return any minute," he stated, looking at his watch. Magnus, fortunately, got the hint and reactivated the power network, causing the whole building to lighten up.
"Wow, that was fast." Coulson beamed, looking around. Barnes seemed less suspicious now that Coulson seemed to know Fenris. With a curt nod, he turned around to leave.
"That is an impressive institution here. I would have loved to see more of it," Fenris sighed, putting a slightly disappointed look on his face.
"Definitely one of the most advanced institutions existing in the USA", Coulson said, motioning him to follow. "I show you the exit."
Suddenly, Fenris heard Magnus whispering in his ear. "I got her, Fenris. I see Katta. Can you shake off the agent?"
Fenris slightly shook his head, glancing up at the next security camera.
"Fine, then get ready," Magnus said. In the background, Fenris heard him tipping on his keyboard. Then, the red warning lights on the walls went on, setting the corridor in a red shimmer. Next thing, a voice came out of the loudspeaker system—Magnus's voice.
"ATTENTION AGENTS. CODE RED, I REPEAT CODE RED."
Coulson spun around to him, a hectic expression on his face. "Shit. You find the exit yourself?"
"Sure, Agent. Do your work," Fenris quickly answered, nodding heavily. Coulson nodded gratefully and sprinted away, leaving Fenris alone. He waited for a few seconds before turning around and taking the opposite direction.
"She's behind the next corner. But she's not alone," Magnus warned him. Fenris felt his heartbeat quicken. He only had one try, and he could only hope that Katta would think fast enough to play along.
〰〰〰
"Let there be light," Tony solemnly spoke as the power returned. He walked next to Katta and Steve on the way to the cafeteria.
"Don't you have to, you know. Do your superhero assemble thing now?" Katta asked as the red light went on.
Tony waved off. "Code red is for a malfunction in the intern communication system. That's a case for our technicians on the front line."
"And what would a true emergency look like? Yellow, because it comes with force like the rays of the sun?" Katta scoffed. Tony chuckled, shrugging.
"Don't ask me. I'm not responsible for this fuss."
Katta smirked at him, shaking her head. From all of them, Tony seemed the most reasonable. He was easy to read - like an open book written in easy language. A little child on the inside that could be bribed with the right sweets. They turned around a corner, two men in overalls running their way.
"Ah, the elite troops." Tony saluted. "Make it work, guys." He chuckled, but all Katta could look at was the man coming straight her way. She hadn't seen him in months. His hair was slightly longer, and the beard was gone. The thickly rimmed glasses distracted from his bright green eyes. Fenris. He didn't wear his typical office attire. Instead, he looked like a shy, naive worker with neatly parted hair and the way he clasped his briefcase.
He shortly glanced at her, and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. Katta bit the inside of her cheek. Fenris had always been a natural talent, projecting feelings. In another life, he would have made a great actor. Katta gazed back at him, smiling. There was a reason he was here, and now it was up to her to make it work.
"Agent, watch your eyes," Tony said as he noticed the Fenris man staring at Katta. Fenris looked up at him before his eyes returned to Katta.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--" he stammered, his face blushing even a deeper red.
Katta smiled even more. "What's your problem, Stark." She stretched out her hand and waited for Fenris to take it. Upon touching his hand, a reassuring feeling flooded through her body. She wasn't alone anymore.
"Charleston, or Dan for you," he introduced himself, smiling at her. Katta tried to react as normal as possible as she felt the little folded paper in her hand.
"Katta, nice to meet you, Dan," she replied, stepping a bit closer.
"Alright, lovebirds. You make me wanna throw up. Cafeteria, Harlovsen, now," Tony commanded, tapping his feet impatiently. Katta nodded without looking at him.
"Hope I'll see you again, Dan." She pulled her hand away and winked at him before unobtrusively letting the paper vanish in her sleeve.
〰〰〰
"HIM?" Fenris heard Tony ask as he walked away back to the control panels. He smirked lightly, relieved that everything had worked out.
"Damn, you're still good," Magnus said into his earpiece. "You make a good team. Katta picked the act up in no time."
"Yeah. Now let's get out of here." Fenris quickly screwed the lid back on and grabbed his briefcase before making his way to the exit.
"Charleston," somebody yelled after him. Fenris bit his tongue and turned around. Coulson. Again. This agent was as pesky as one could get. He stopped in front of Fenris, panting.
"Oh, good that you're still here," he made a short pause to take a few more breaths. "How are the odds that you know your way around with communication systems? It seems like they are malfunctioning."
Fenris pursed his lips. "Yes, I think I have a decent knowledge about it." Coulson breathed out in relief.
"Thank god. I mean, thank the entity that arranged this. Would you mind staying for a few days until the problem is back under control? I'll let a room prepare for you."
"Do it!" Magnus's voice appeared in his ear. Fenris nodded.
"Fantastic," Coulson beamed. "Come on. I'll show you around. Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D agent Charleston."
"And that is how you infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D in half a day," Magnus commented. Fenris nodded to himself. They had not planned for him to stay, but Fenris would surely not let the opportunity pass to remain close to Katta for a few days and maybe even help her out.