The Fall - Book 1

82. F.R.I.D.A.Y., shut it down!

⚠️ TW: mentions of death; allusions to/implications of torture; allusions to SA ⚠️

NOVEMBER 10, 2018 — AVENGERS COMPOUND — TONY

"Mister Stark, you've received an email with a large, encrypted .ZIP file attached. Would you like me to scan and download it?" F.R.I.D.A.Y. asks.

"Who sent it?" I ask.

"It is from a S.H.I.E.L.D. email address, sir."

"Then yes, please, F.R.I.D.A.Y.."

I turn back to my notes on Doctor Cho's Regeneration Cradle.

"Tony, honey, you've been at this for days," Pepper says, entering the lab. "Take a break, please."

"I can't, Pepper. I just...Réa's wounds are going to scar. And knowing what the wounds are—and where they came from—I can't just let that happen. If I can build a new Cradle, then she can at least not have physical scars along with the mental and emotional ones," I say, choked up.

Pepper wraps me in a hug; I return it, and we cling to each other for several long moments.

"Mister Stark, I have scanned and downloaded the file. There are no viruses or malware present. Would you like me to begin decryption and extraction now?"

"Yes; thank you, F.R.I.D.A.Y.. How long will that take?"

"Approximately forty minutes, Mister Stark."

"Tony, it's seven-thirty," Pepper says. "Come take a break. Just until then. Let me fix you a quick supper, and then you can come back here and work some more."

I nod, and follow Pepper from the lab.

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After dinner with Pepper, I return to the lab and look over the email. The message is simple, only two lines, plus the attachment.

Information regarding Rumlow.
—A Friend

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., alert the Avengers and Strange—and only them—to report to the conference room, now!"

"Yes, Mister Stark."

I leave the lab and head to the conference room. I arrive to find most of the team already seated around the table; the only ones missing are Bucky, Thor, and Loki. Bucky enters the room a few minutes later; Thor and Loki shortly follow. Once they're settled, I turn on the holoprojector at the front of the room, speaking as I do so.

"You'll notice that Agents Carter, Harris, and Mitchell are not here. My gut says they shouldn't be; I'm listening to it." I pause. "I received an email with an encrypted attachment from someone within S.H.I.E.L.D.. I had F.R.I.D.A.Y. scan and decrypt it; I haven't opened anything aside from the message. Supposedly, there is information about Rumlow in it."

The others nod solemnly.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., please open and display the attachment, so that we can catch this bastard."

The holoprojection shows a black screen briefly; then, static fills the screen before Rumlow appears in a smaller picture-within-picture in the upper left corner.

"Hello, Avengers," he sneers.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., shut it down!" I yell.

There is no response.

"Damnit! I'll shut it down manually," I say.

I move to the computer, pressing keys and clicking the mouse, but nothing works.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"What you just opened is a very well-disguised remote-operating link. My source really outdid themselves there, making sure your system wouldn't discover it," Rumlow continues. "Everything is under my control currently: door and window locks, cameras, computers...everything. And if you do anything to try to kick me out or to reboot the system, there will be problems for Réa."

The camera pans away from Rumlow; it moves over CCTV screens showing each of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in their quarters and the empty common areas before zeroing in on two screens showing Réa, comatose in her hospital bed in the medical wing, and all of us in the conference room, before panning back to him.

"Oh, and I should let you know that the nurse you had on night shift has been dealt with."

He pantomimes a gunshot to the head.

"Her death was quick; she never saw it coming. Much like how none of you ever saw this coming," he says mockingly. "Also...I will not be returning control of your system until I'm finished, which means that my source has constant, unfettered access to Réa.

"The terms are simple: you all watch the following footage until the end." He pauses. "And I should mention that, if anyone looks away or covers their eyes, she pays." He smiles sinisterly. "Enjoy!"