Call to Action

In The Belly of the Beast, I'm a Wolf Amongst Sheep

Jase

"I'm getting sick of this game," I mutter, knocking a canvas to the side with my foot. I'm surrounded by paintings, finished and unfinished, but they don't hold the answers. Neither does JARVIS, who is flashing information against a blank canvas. Cade, is for all sense of the purpose, a ghost. He has no connections, no direction. He's a freelance idiot for hire, who just so happens to be good at what he does.

"I wish I did have the answers, Sir. It's worrisome with your father off my radar for so long." I frown, barely looking at the words scrawled across the canvas. "Cade comes off as a ghost."

"A ghost…" I repeat, leaning forward as I think of the one person who will have the answers, "Wade should have been able to find something for me."

"Sir?"

"What if we're looking in the wrong place? Pull up the warehouses that we think he's been using. Cross-compare them to ownership as well as his sightings."

JARVIS is silent for a moment as he does as I say, "Four of the warehouses belong to Roberto, including the one from Columbus. But the majority of the sightings of Cade have been in Queens. The two that belong to you have been relatively silent; shall I attempt to check the security feed?"

"Queens?"

"Yes, Sir."

"There is another warehouse on Long Island, one of them is abandoned, but it's still in the Maggia name. Check that one too."

"Accessing Maggia database as we speak." JARVIS hesitates before continuing, "I do not believe that Roberto would do something as to have your father kidnapped nor hire someone that you openly disapproved of."

"Look into Fisk." I say instead, almost shameful that JARVIS' statement is something I thought about.

"I am unsure," he brings up his profile in the left corner, "Doctor Banner and Captain Rogers do not fit his normal style, your father, however…"

"What about Barton?"

"No."

I pick up a paint brush and run my finger over the bristles; a purple smear is left in its wake. "I like your ghost theory, J. Let me know if Austen comes up or near the stairs." I open up one of the drawers and pull free an iphone. Useless compared to my Stark phone, but it serves its purpose: it only needs to be able to call one person.

"I do not believe acting reckless will help you," JARVIS almost sounds wary, "Director Fury will take that into an account. He's already attempting to keep close attention to your movements."

"You tickle me, J."

"You are your father's son." Another beat of silence, "but I will support and help whatever endeavors you should make. I will keep watch on Miss Barton."

The room falls silent as I let the call go through. There's a ring, then a second, finally, acceptance. "Angel."

"Yakov," I drop the paint brush and prop my leg up on the side of the table, "I need your help."

He hums, "ya znayu."

I smile, "is nothing ever a secret?"

"Nyet, nikodga."

"I'm alone," I prompt, dropping my leg and move from the chair. The window leads out to a fire escape; I pull it open and step out. Despite JARVIS keeping a tab on Austen, the risk is too great. He's my secret and the one person I won't share with anyone.

"I'm still looking, but I have something." His words are rough, heavily accented and warm. "If I tell you, you promise me to leave this alone."

"You know I won't do that."

"I'll come; I'll handle this for you." Despite the native tongue and accent, he still falters as he searches for words. Unsteady, his use of English is as broken as he is.

"No, fucking, no. Tell me what I need to know and let me handle it. I'm not the only person involved."

"Fury would never let his prized possessions go wayward." I grunt and he mimics the sound, "I don't like it."

"You don't like anything," I mutter, "Yakov, pozhaluista Yasha."

He's silent and I wait, knowing he'll either tell me or hang up on me. "It's HYDRA. They are not as a dead as they act."

"So they hired a toy to do their dirty work?"

"HYDRA hired another, Vincent Orsatti."

"That name sounds familiar."

"Orsatti's father tried to become self-made. He failed and ended up a captain for Gambino. He was killed seven years ago and his son took over. Luca, Orsatti's father, kept pushing for his own family and his own success. Upon his death, Vincent took over. There was no success, but he and those with him caught HYDRA's attention."

"When the fuck did these scumbags actually become a problem?"

"Isn't it your job to know that?"

I ignore his sarcasm, "have you ever come across him?"

"Nyet, but you know his right hand, Viktor Dufaigh."

I kick my foot against the rail, "no…your information is wrong."

"I hoped," he paused, "it isn't. Vincent cut ties with Gambino completely, but Dufaigh still has his hand in it. He's keeping tabs. They say he hired Cade—"

"—so what, the two of them are going to finish the job together? And what's the connection to HYDRA? It doesn't fit."

"You're forgetting, Cade kidnapped Austen Barton," I hum in acknowledgement, "that is much different than kidnapping heiresses and getting lucky. Together, they're great. Dufaigh has no love for you; he must have seen Cade as another way in."

"So, Dufaigh gives Cade all of our secrets and Cade does his dirty work. Again, what does that have to do with HYDRA?"

"Power? Money? Help? Take your pick, Angechka. Orsatti is good, but not good enough. He relies heavily on HYDRA for power. He's a figurehead while Dufaigh does his dirty work."

"Strucker's losing his touch."

"I wasn't even aware that could be a problem."

"Why wouldn't Orsetti come to me? He took on Dufaigh and he once ran for Gambino. Another step forward and you're on my doorstep. He sounds power hungry, just like the rest."

"You don't let people in, Angel, you go for them. I think that Orsetti wouldn't be happy to let Dufaigh go either."

"Sir," I turn my head as JARVIS calls for my attention, "Miss Barton left approximately five minutes ago. I have taken the liberty and already started tracking her; her direction appears to be toward Agent Barton's apartment."

"Go," he says, "I'll keep my ear to the ground."

"I'll text you later," silence slides over us and after a beat, "spasibo—"

He hangs up on me and I groan, tossing the phone in through the window. It slides across the floor and a heeled foot stops it. "That was oddly endearing, if not incredibly pathetic."

"JARVIS, what happened to letting me know if someone came upstairs?"

"I didn't think that included your sister, Sir."

Mariah stands in the doorway, hair pulled back and a knowing look on her face as she leans down and picks up the phone caught under her shoe. She flips it through her hand, "I didn't know I wasn't allowed up here anymore, or was it because of him?"

"Don't worry about it," I pull myself through the window and ruffle my hair, "what are you doing here? I thought you were staying out of this?"

She rolls her eyes, "some things came to light. Have you listened to the bug you stuck on Cade yet, because I have."

"How did you get it?"

"Marti, she's worried you're going to make some mistake. You're too busy worried about baby Barton and not about the problem." Mariah drops the cell phone on the desk and crosses her arms, "since when you have let others stand in your way?"

"Since one of them is Nick Fury."

She frowns, "I have the recording if you want it. But come downstairs, we're all here and we need to talk."

"He's here?" I ask, dawning on me that she never goes anywhere without her favorite escort.

"Yeah," Mariah looks at me in confusion, "don't worry, we talked—"

I ignore her and push past, going down the stairs. The air is heavy with spices; Roberto is at the stove and, his girlfriend, Illyana, is on the counter with a glass of wine. There are two other glasses near her and a bottle of beer, opened. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Roberto asks, glancing over his shoulder.

"Jase," Mariah demands my attention, grabbing my elbow and pulling me around, "what's wrong with you?"

I catch sight of him, coming down the hall, "you." I scowl and step forward, meeting him before he can grab his drink. I shove him back, grabbing his shoulders and squeezing, "You were supposed to take care of this, Barton."

Surprise flits across his face, "take care of what?"

"Dufaigh!" I push him back and he lets me. The force sends him against the counter and he throws his hand back, "you were supposed to take care of him."

"I did!" He stepped forward, surprise turning to anger, "I did my job."

"Then why did he hire Cade?"

"What?"

"Vic hired Cade," I hiss, "the two of them are pulling whatever strings they can."

He turns his head and looks over at Mariah; she's frozen, hand hovering over her glass of wine as my words hit home. "What do you need me to do?"

"I wanted you to do your fucking job!" My mind is already racing; I'll have him take Mariah to Italy and then …what do I do with Austen? I need her somewhere too.

"This time—"

"Uncle Barney?"

"Austen—" I don't let Barney finish, instead, giving one last shove to his shoulder,

"This is on you," I throw my hand back, gesturing toward Austen and then toward the window that faces the direction of Avengers Tower. Barney frowns, but nods and I clench my fist. There's a rough hand on my shoulder and Roberto pulls me away,

"Come on; let's go have a drink upstairs."

The last thing I hear as he pushes me up the stairs is my sister, "Austen, it's so nice to finally meet you…"

♦ ♠ ♦


Mariah

"Austen, it's so nice to finally meet you." I turn my attention to her as Roberto hustles my brother away. "I'm Mariah, Jase's sister."

"Uncle Barney, what are you doing here? What's going on? What was Jase talking about?" She demands, scowling forming on her face, "I told you I didn't need your help."

"It's okay, it's going to be okay," Barney looks uneasy, "it's a long story, Birdie, but please don't push me away with this. We heard the conversation that Jase put on Cade, there's a lot of shit that's…Mag—Mariah and I had to come here when we heard it." His shoulders fell, "I had to come here, for you and Jase."

"You talk like you know him. What aren't you telling me? Don't lie!"

"He's not lying," I cut in and press a fresh beer to Barney's hand, "go upstairs with the guys, we need some girl time down here."

"No, we don't," Austen growls, "I need to talk to my uncle."

"And he needs to go talk to my brother," I grit my teeth, "Illyana, pour Austen a glass of wine. I need to update her on what's going on."

"Austen, listen to her," Barney asks, "if you can't talk to me, please listen to her. She knows what's going on."

Austen crosses her arms as Illyana sets a new glass on the counter, "tell Roberto I took over his cooking," she says as she turns back to the stove and Barney gets to his feet.

"Please, Birdie." He says again and brushes against my side as he goes upstairs. I watch Austen carefully; she ignores her uncle's begging, but takes the glass of wine. She downs it like a shot and reaches for the bottle.

"You're not going to find your answers at the bottom of the bottle."

"It's worked before," she bites and I grab the bottle from her hand, "hey!"

"I don't talk business with drunks," I pass the bottle over to Illyana who upturns it in the pot. "Now, let's talk."

"Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Mariah Frost," I snip and finish off my own glass, "Tony's other bastard and that is Illyana, a friend of mine."

"Go ahead and ask what's really on your mind," Illyana adds, smiling as she looks over her shoulder, "Mari doesn't believe in secrets."

Austen shifts and finally sits, "how do you know my uncle?"

We might need another bottle of wine after all, "we work together."
♠ ♠ ♠
ya nzayu - I know
nyet - no
nikodga - never
pozhaluista - please
spasibo - thank you