Chapter 35

Mikael sat in his office as he watched a brown haired man step out of the elevator and walked towards him. Mikael stood up as the man stepped in front of his desk and held out his hand.

"Mr Argent, I'm agent Phil Coulson. Director Fury tasked me with assisting you and overseeing the incident." The man introduced himself as he shook Mikael's hand.

"Just Mikael is fine. Please take a seat." Mikael said as he gestured towards one of the empty seats in front of his desk before sitting back down.

"Can I ask for the details of this situation? Fury didn't give me much outside of a brief summary and a video file." Coulson replied as he sat down.

"Sure, once everyone else gets here. That way I won't need to explain it multiple times." Mikael said as he began sorting through the information that was gathered through the previous night. He looked towards the elevator as it opened to allow his parents, Frank and Jean to walk into his office. He motioned for them to sit down as he waved his hands to bring up several holographic screens.

"I suppose your family is still resting then?" Mikael asked as the group sat down in front of his desk.

"Yeah. I told Maria to stay with the kids. I don't want to involve them in whatever this is." Frank answered as he looked around the office.

"Well then everyone's here so I'll get started. This is Agent Phil Coulson, he will be working with us in handling with the situation we are currently dealing with." Mikael said as he introduced Coulson.

"I wish this was under better circumstances but it's nice to meet you all. Sarah, glad to see you're doing well." Coulson said with a smile.

"It's been a while Phil. I see Fury still hasn't approved that vacation time." Sarah responded with a smirk.

"You know him?" Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we work together. Known him for what? Almost two decades now?" Sarah questioned as she looked towards Coulson.

"A little over actually. You handled our gear for the op in Sausalito." Coulson answered.

"Yeah, when you left Melinda in the bay for five hours." Sarah nodded with her eyes closed.

"Ahem. Save the reminiscing for later please. Anyway here's what I have gathered so far." Mikael interrupted as he projected his information onto the screens.

"Everything happening right can be traced back to something called Operation Cerberus." Mikael explained as he watched Frank look up at him in shock.

"Operation Cerberus was an created by CIA agent William Rawlins to capture, interrogate and assassinate high value targets in Afghanistan using a team formed from select members of the US military. Unfortunately most members of the team probably weren't aware that the operation was in fact illegal and unsanctioned." Mikael continued as he displayed a list of the members assigned to the operation. The group turned to look towards Frank as his name and picture appeared in front of them.

"That can't be right. If it was unsanctioned then where did our funding come from?" Frank asked as he rose to his feet.

"The answer to that question is precisely why your family has been targeted. This operation was funded through the smuggling of heroin out of Afghanistan and into the United States. This smuggling operation was carried by several members of the team." Mikael answered as he projected the profiles of two men onto the screen.

"Colonel Ray Schoonover assumed the criminal persona known as "The Blacksmith" to facilitate the sale of the drugs in the states. Colonel Morty Bennett however was responsible for smuggling the drugs out of Afghanistan by hiding them inside the corpses of fallen soldiers." Mikael continued before Thomas slammed his fists on the arm of his chair.

"I'm not done. This brings us to why Frank was targeted." Mikael said as he played the video of the torture and execution of an Afghani man.

"The man being tortured in this video is Ahmad Zubair, an Afghan National Police officer that was investigating the smuggling of heroin out of Afghanistan. He got close to the truth and was then captured, tortured and executed. This video is why you have been targeted. They believe that you were responsible for leaking it." Mikael explained as Frank slumped back into his chair.

"Frank wasn't the one who leaked it, was he?" Sarah asked as she watched Frank sitting with his head down as though he was in a daze.

"No, he didn't. The video was recorded and leaked by Gunner Henderson. First to Dinah Madani of Homeland Security and then to David Lieberman, an analyst in the NSA. Madani was transferred from her post after the video was taken from her while Lieberman was falsely accused of treason and shot." Mikael answered as he walked back around his desk to sit down.

"How did you get the video then?" Sarah questioned while she continued reading through the information presented in front of her.

"Lieberman, he survived and I found him hiding out in an abandoned building here in New York. I offered to help clear his name and protect his family if he assisted us in this manner. He's been downstairs gathering evidence all night on all of the people involved." Mikael answered as he interlinked his fingers and placed his hands on the desk.

"What about the men from last night?" Sarah asked as she looked away from the screens.

"They work for the private military firm called Anvil. The founder of which is Billy Russo, another member from Operation Cerberus working with Rawlins." Mikael answered quickly.

"That has to be a mistake! Bill isn't that kind of man!" Frank yelled out before Mikael turned to look at him and wordlessly played an audio recording out loud. Frank choked back his words as he recognized the familiar voice relaying orders to a group of men.

"How about now? Is he that kind of man now?" Mikael asked as he watched the color drain from his face. Mikael watched the shock slowly turn to anger as Frank balled up his fists and clenched his teeth.

"So what will you do Frank? Your 'brother' tried to kill you and your family. The people behind this want you dead and they're not going to stop until you are." Mikael told him as he leaned forward and looked Frank in his eyes.

"Now let's talk about how we deal with this." Mikael said as he looked towards Coulson.

"With all of this evidence you should be able to convince the CIA to disavow Rawlins. However they'll likely just try to pin the responsibility onto a scapegoat and just remove Rawlins from his position."

"Yes. That will likely be their course of action." Coulson sighed as Mikael turned back to Frank.

"Can you accept that? Cause I won't." Mikael stood up and picked up a large case from behind him and placed it on the desk. He opened the case and spun it around to show the group. Inside was a uniform neatly folded up on one side while on the other rested a set of blackened metallic armor, helmet and backpack like object.

"This is a prototype set of equipment designed with special operations in mind. Unmatched protection, enhanced mobility and an array of different tools and options to combat any situation. This is the only one currently in existence." Mikael explained as he leaned against the edge of his desk next to the case.

"Here's what I want to happen." Mikael said as he looked towards Coulson.

"I want everyone that had the guts to target us dealt with… permanently. I have more important things to work on and I am not going to waste my time swatting these people away over and over like flies."

"We can likely convince the agencies to disavow the people responsible but we can't approve an operation to eliminate them without the director's approval." Sarah said as she looked at the set of equipment.

"Actually we already have the director's approval. He gave me full authority to complete this assignment. He even reminded me to meet Mikael's demands to the best of my ability." Coulson stated as he turned to Sarah as she looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"Well then. If you can get the relevant agencies disavow those involved then I'll take care of the rest." Mikael said with a grin as he looked at Frank.

"So Frank, what do you want to do? As it so happens I need my tech field tested and there happens to be an illegal smuggling operation that needs to be dealt with." Mikael asked as he picked up the helmet and held it in front of him. Frank took the helmet from Mikael as he saw his reflection in the T shaped visor.

"What about us? I'm not letting Frank do this alone." Thomas said as he watched Frank turn the helmet over in his hands.

"Well that's the only set I've made so far. If you want to help him, I can set you up to act as overwatch for him. It's either that or wait another week for me to make a second one." Mikael responded as he pointed to the case.

"We don't have a week." Frank said as he stood up and set the helmet down in the case.

"I won't give them another chance to kill my family." Frank continued before he looked at Mikael.

"Who's first?" Frank asked as Mikael grinned in response.

{Sorry for the late update, been a bit busy working ot. I'll get my release schedule sorted out one day, hopefully. Anyway I have a four day weekend so hopefully I can put out another chapter before the end of it.

That aside, I know we're just barely entering the start of the mcu but I do have plans to write a second story after this one is done. This is my first time writing and I'm kinda using it to learn and improve.

The next story is either going to be an original work or another fanfic. I have thoughts going either way. Fanfic wise the character is actually going to be someone that was born and raised in the marvel universe(no meta knowledge.) and is beginning to awaken his powers. Like a what if scenario.

As for what kind of powers? Here's a picture as a hint.}