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The Hub City docks smelled like old fish and oil, the pungent smell stung Steph’s nose as she moved quietly through the old shipping containers that lined the decaying docks. Rust was spreading like a fungus along the metal containers, branching out like a rash along the skin of a diseased person.The docks were often synonymous with the health of a manufacturing city, and Hub’s showed just how bad things had gotten here. Still, their largely abandoned nature and plentiful warehouses had given the homeless of the city a place to call their own, so they were at least providing some good. She had seen many pop up settlements using the containers and crumbling infrastructure for homes. Her heart bled for them, but at least they were surviving.

None had seen her, of course. Steph had often prided herself on her ability to stay unseen. She had graduated top of her class in stealth tactics during her time at the SHIELD academy, and they were, in her opinion, her most useful skills. Sure, her strength, speed, and agility were great when she got into real trouble. Carter, however, preferred not to get to that point. If she could get in and out of a situation without alerting the entire enemy force, she’d save a lot of time and energy.

The setting began to change the closer she got to the Roxxon dock. Bright lights illuminated the immaculate space, and a large, modern transport ship sat moored at the docks. The place was crawling with armed guards and people. It was clear something important was going down, and Question’s instincts were right.

“That crazy son of a bitch is going to help me so much,” she chuckled under her breath as she surveyed a way to infiltrate the area. The front of the dock was blocked off by a large security gate. She spotted at least three men on top of it brandishing automatic weapons, meaning that was out of the question. Luckily all the lights on the dock were pointed inward, leaving a water approach a viable option.

She stepped over to the edge of the water and wrinkled her nose as she looked at it. The brown water looked like it had a thick layer of oily residue on the top of the calm liquid. She sighed and pulled a small breather mask from a pouch on her belt, “Well, no one said this would be easy, Carter.”

The cold water stung as she dipped herself in. Her body, adaptive as it was, quickly normalized in the chilly lake, and the breather did its job, allowing her to make her way towards the dock completely submerged. She could see the dim illumination from the spotlights above as she made her way there, the only thing she could use to find her target.

Once Nomad was in proper range, she emerged from the water and pulled herself up to the edge of the dock. Before she popped up, she allowed the excess water to drip from her body, ensuring she’d make as little noise as possible when on the platform. She slinked up, and crouched behind a pile of crates and surveyed the situation. The guards were all focusing on the crate currently being loaded onto the freighter off a truck.. She didn’t need her binoculars to see the “Hub City Motors” logo plastered on the side of it. She knew that company, and its plant, had been shut down for decades. Carter made a mental note of it before deciding to get on that ship and find out where it was going.

Nomad slipped back into the water and made her way to the ship’s anchor. She shimmied up the chain connecting it to the ship. At the top, she peered over and saw only two guards patrolling the top of the deck. As the one closest to her passed by, she slipped behind him and unholstered her tranquilizer gun. In a flurry, she put her hand over his mouth and pulled him behind one of the containers, and pressed the gun to his head. He didn’t know it wouldn’t kill him, but she did, “How many guards on this deck?”

“Just two of us,” he responded nervously. “I swear. Everyone else from the ship were commanded to stay below deck while they load whatever the hell we’re picking up. Captain is in the bridge.”

“Thanks,” she smiled and put a dart into the man’s neck. She slid to the edge of the container, and peered around the corner. A few dozen yards away she spotted the other topside guard. She lined up a shot with the gun and fired another dart. After a second of nervous silence, she saw the guard fall to the ground asleep. “Still got it, Stephie.”

Keeping to the back side of the ship away from the dock, Nomad made her way towards the bridge. There, she found the captain looking over his maps and instruments. Steph slammed the lights off. He was distracted for the moment she needed. Like the guard outside, she pressed the gun to his head, “Scream and you’re dead.”

“What do you want?” the captain asked, the slight wobble giving away the fear that gripped him.

“Your destination and cargo,” Steph peered at the cargo, which was now loaded. “Make it fast.”

“Northern Africa,” he responded. “Don’t know what the cargo is. The board told us to pick something up, and we did. Simple drop off and pick up. That’s all I know. I’m just trying to do my job.”

“I understand,” Steph sighed and fired another dart.

Steph slipped out of the bridge and moved up to the edge of the boat. She peered over the side to see the guards dispersing and the truck firing up its engine. Knowing she didn’t have much of a choice, she vaulted off the side, landing on the dock with a roll. She slid into the back of the truck where she found another surprised guard. Another tranquilizer took care of him, and turned on the radio Question had given her, “Q, you there?”

“Affirmative,” the vigilante responded in his normal inflection. “What do you need?”

“I’m on my way to the Hub City Motors plant,” she gave him an update. “It looks like AIM is using it as a production facility. I need you to find anywhere Roxxon has interests in Northern Africa. That’s where the cargo is headed.”

“I’ll get to work,” Question confirmed.

“And Q,” Steph said as she plucked the guard’s keycard off his chest, “find me a way to get out of the country and to Africa. I’m finding out what Roxxon is up to, and I’m taking them down.”

“That I actually can do easily. I’ll make a call.”

The truck rumbled on to its destination, and Nomad centered herself in preparation for what would come next.