20 Chapter 20

after their experience, the Shield trio were escorted out of the compound the same way they were brought in. after that, I turned back to the Overseer, "Say, why didn't you reassign anyone in the base? You are the Overseer?" I asked.

"I can not reassign staff that have been personally assigned by the 05" he responded, writing more things on the ever-present clipboard. I smiled, "as the last 05, I grant you permission to reassign all base staff as you see fit to better the foundation and its mission" I said after some thought, it made sense, I had no idea what I was doing trying to run an organization like this on my own, I needed reliable people to help or it was going to come crashing down around my ears.

"Yes, Sir. may I make a suggestion?" the Overseer asked

"Of course, you can bring any concern you have to me, and I will consider it seriously." I replied

"Get a new outfit. You represent the entire Foundation, but you wear a set of ragged street clothes and torn up jeans and expect the outside world to take us seriously. Quite frankly, it's ridiculous." he said before turning around and leaving the room. I was quite speechless as I looked down at my current outfit, still quite trashed from its trip through the river.

i realized that I had certainly looked better, so deciding to go a bit more professional I acquired a simple black suit with some nice matching gloves, the only anomalous modification was that the clothing wouldn't restrict my movement, always shifting to accommodate any motion I wanted to make, the suit didn't cost too much I suppose, considering how long I had the other pair of clothes.

after a bit of cleanup on my point, I was feeling significantly better. Regeneration, despite being level one, had me back at my best, and I was ready to begin my revenge on Pierces branch of Hydra. first, though, I needed to set up some proper procedures. The Overseer had a point, I did suck at this. as hard of a pill it was to swallow I had to step it up or the foundation would fail before it even really started.

however, after I exited my room, I found the halls near full as dozens of staff moved to new stations, Overseer worked fast.

I needed to learn his name, I couldn't just keep calling him Overseer. That would he tedious, especially when I finally started establishing more bases.

as I entered the Control Room, that's what we had officially started calling what was originally meant to be the monitoring station, a large table had even been set up in the middle, complete with holographic display, where it was acquired I had no idea.

"Welcome to the Control Room, sir. after initiating the new protocols, we have three hundred level four staff members that are unnecessary to this base's operation. they have been instructed to assemble quickly in the garage area and to await instructions." an aide said after seemingly appearing from the shadow of the corner as soon as I entered.

three hundred extra staff? not quite enough, but a start. "understood, thank you for the report. Please vacate the area as no one without level three security clearance or higher may attend" I said, it was time to lay the foundation of our plans for the entire future of The Foundation, and the less voices talking over each other the better.

the aide gave a nod and retreated quickly as I sat at the head of the table. Aside from the Overseer, there were also a few new department heads at the table that had recently been assigned.

"we need more soldiers for the assault,, amd better trained ones to boot" a large mountain of muscle said from the end of the table, the small table sign designating him as General Omar, the Head of Military Personnel.

"we don't have the supply to support a large scale war for more than a few months with the soldiers we have, much less more of them," spoke Eric, Head of Logistics

"we need to keep any attempt at war small scale to reduce impact on the surronding populace, or we might as well abandon the mission all together and become a bunch of mercenaries" spoke Commissioner Karen, Head of the Ethics Committee

"If we do go large scale, we need to find a plausible organization for cover, perhaps Shield? or a terrorist cell? which ones are operating in the area?" Said a hooded man whose mini-sign had no name and simply said Misinformation Department

I cleared my throat," Alright, people, here's the plan."

--- Several weeks later, in a damp room

the sound of thumping could be heard, the rhythmic sound of metal smashing into flesh. a man is covered in bruises and laying on the floor as every hit lands, but the man doesn't react. the man standing above him frowns, this one was boring to try and break, he didn't even react when they began branding his skin, not even a peep was heard when they peeled back his fingernails. he shrugged and left the room. the prisoner would break eventually, they always did.

the man on the mat looked at the back of his retreating torturer. his hand was clenched tight as if it held the entire world, and if he released it, the world would vanish.

after he was returned to his cell, he waited until the guards left. He had been a model prisoner, and his personal guards had been reassigned. after they turned the corner, he opened his hand to reveal his tormentors phone. The screen was a bit cracked from his grip, but it was operating.

he had memorized every but of information he had overheard or seen in this place, but one was always on his mind, the numbers that had been issued to the men who drove him here all those months ago. months? days? he didn't know anymore. It didn't matter. he dialed an old phone number his boss used, a voice-mail. it didn't matter. He began to repeat the string of numbers, each one deliberately pronounced from the string he had kept on loop in his mind so he wouldn't forget them. then he hung up and crushed the phone before sliding the pieces out of the cell window and retaking his seat, waiting for the stone he just rolled to become a rockslide.

----A/N

it has come to my attention both from seeing a series of misunderstandings about the context of my chapters and a nice review that sometimes the picture I try to paint is a bit.... blurry. I've tried to think of a new way to write to make things a bit easier to understand, but I'm a bit lost, so I turn to you all,

what can I do to make my writing less confusing for yall?

thank yall for reading, I'm returning to insomnic night for now, until next time