Marvel: A Tale of Shadows

 Ethan quickly typed as he sat at his high tech computer. He had set up bots on the darknet to troll for data relevant to The Architect. Just using the name to find information. He also ran the name for all intelligence agencies.

The Hairu prototype was still watching television. It was developing its intelligence at an increased rate with assistance from television and the internet. It was worrying that he might learn something… wrong but he would deal with that later.

Felicia was out at the Xavier School tutoring. She had been working with Jean and the other teachers. Apparently they really took a liking to her, many of the students did as well.

He pulled up the information and found that The Architect was a bomber for hire. Almost every intelligence agency had a digital file on him. He worked for everyone and anyone that could pay.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency had the most in depth and descriptive file on him. Probably because they started with the agency, as a trained explosive expert. He was stated to be a former United States Military asset, but he still had no name or attached public identity.

He was wiped from the system, it was strange. It was impossible for them to hide their assets like that. He looked a bit deeper and found it was a unique program that was quickly canceled. Apparently all the assets they erased went rogue.

Ethan shook his head and chuckled. It was odd, they could not just erase a person's existence. There had to be some trace of them left. You would have to be magical or… Ethan stopped in the middle of typing as another thought struck him. Or it could be a superpower, a mutant or another type of person. But even then they would leave a trace. Just a different type of trace.

He switched gears and quickly found the CIA's list of super powered individuals. The one he was looking for was still being held in a secure facility. He had a number of files attached to him but only one was about erasing people's existence off of all digital platforms. Then Ethan found a relevant attached file, they were only a set of names. But they were all he needed.

Three hours later he was running through all of the names on the list. Of the names, only six were tracked down and arrested by various letter agencies. Two were confirmed killed with their bodies retrieved. Four were still out there hiding out of sight or out of reach of any and all agencies.

Of those four. One was hiding under an assumed name as a drug manufacturer in Mexico. Another was working for the Maggia as an Enforcer in Arizona. A third went to Europe and was working for the Kravinoff Family as a chemist. The fourth was living in Puerto Rico living under an assumed name, with quite a bit of wealth to his name and the only one that was his own boss.

The fourth was making contact through The Guild to various people and organizations. Most of which were terrorist groups and groups with grudges that could pay. He made trips to countries where The Architect would blow something up. He would have to do a bit more indepth research first before anything was final.

An hour of research and he was confident that this person was The Architect. He started gathering up the evidence and organizing it. Almost everything had been removed from the internet, but in-house intel bursts in the CIA were mentions of The Architect's past. He found group pictures that were providing an outline of his life. But the only blank spot was the time during his military service not even his company photos were there. If he wanted to create a timeline of his service he would have to recreate it with actual physical records. He could do it easily enough but he did not have the time nor the need.

He had all he needed to prove The Architect's current identity and the various crimes he was committing. The man really was a scumbag, he had hands in many different illegal activities.

For the most part he was manufacturing explosives, trading them for cash of various currencies. But sometimes he got gifts from warlords, terrorists, and other groups he worked with. Which meant he also ended up smuggling weapons, drugs, and even people. He apparently really took a liking to the sex slave trade.

The CIA knew about him but could or would not move against him. He was essentially the go to for smuggling operations into the south east coast both into and out of the country. His business also allowed him to smuggle into other countries where it would be difficult to enter due to civil war. So even the CIA used his services. This was going to be tricky, but not too tricky.

It did seem like the bulk of The Architect's work was being run through his mansion in Puerto Rico. He would have to empty the building before he destroyed it. Unless he chose not to, it might be beneficial to completely rob the place. But he should just stick to the original plan, it was not his business to police the world and would take too much time to rob them.

After half an hour of contemplation and planning he had a feasible plan. He would fly down as an unlisted passenger on a private military aircraft. He owned a private military company for all of his buildings and properties, he also owned a number of aircraft.

Once he was in Puerto Rico he would go under an assumed name. He would steal a vehicle to get around. He would sneak into The Architect's compound and use his own explosives to blow up his building. Stealing as much data as he could, he found schematics of the mansion and even a few codes going with an underground metal structure.

He would use the same mask and hoodie he used for the Hydra facility. He would also have to steal a weapon from The Architect as well. At least until he made his own untraceable sniper that he could take around.

He would set a portion of the building on fire and then when it was evacuated he would blow it up. It would bury all of The Architect's work and contacts which were likely in the basement. The ensuing destruction and fire would destroy any physical files that were in the building.

He quickly completed making a file on The Architect. It was all he needed for his records and the First Line if they needed it. He then completely composed his assassination plan and spent several hours making sure it was fool proof. The plan could still go wrong in fact it probably would but he wanted to make sure that he would at least keep his identity hidden.

—-------------------

Ethan made certain he had the next three days off from his internship and anything else he had to do. He made sure there was nothing else arranged either, so he would be officially 'relaxing' at home. Felicia said she would cover for him if anyone tried to reach out, his normal phone would be at home. But he would have all calls forwarded to another phone he had made for when he was sneaking around like this.

When he got back he would have to start making equipment, so it would be easier when he left the country. Having to go through and prepare everything everytime would be too annoying. This time he packed a nondescript black duffle bag he had on hand full of things he would or might need. He would fly out tonight, hitching a ride with a flight that would have a fueling stopover in Puerto Rico before it continued to South America to drop off goods for a base down there.

He started off by taking the elevator down to the garage. Then as he walked to the sewer entrance he switched off the cameras in the garage for a moment as he left before turning it back on once he was out of sight. Then he made his way through the sewers which were a labyrinth of tunnels, but ones he knew and studied for fun.

Arriving at a location near the airport he climbed out of the sewers, he sprayed himself down before tossing the empty spray bottle in a trash can. The spray would neutralize the smell, so both he and no one else would realize he climbed through the sewers.

Once he was near the airport he had to quietly sneak in. First he pulled on his mask, the metal skull mask he used during the attack on the Hydra facility. Using his spider-like abilities he began climbing over a building to get past the gate and fence line. Then he began making his way to his company's private hangar. Sneaking through the shadows avoiding cameras, guards, and any random people. He then flashed a card at the person who was writing on a clipboard noting who was boarding the craft and all the boxes that were moved aboard.

The man looked at the card and nodded, the card was a pass that indicated a 'no questions asked' situation. It meant that they would have no responsibility for them, and they would not be listed on the inventory for the flight.

Ethan boarded and sat down in one of the canvas seats in the cargo plane. Twenty of his mercenaries and a few boxes of equipment were moved onto the plane. Then it took to the runway and took off without an issue.

—-------------------

The flight briefly landed in Puerto Rico. When they moved off the runway to refuel he slipped out of the plane in the darkness of midnight. Moving out of the unguarded airfield and snuck away from the airfield. The plane took off after refueling and was gone. But Ethan was successful in disembarking and getting away from the airport without raising alarms.

Once he moved away from the airfield he stole an old pickup truck that had no digital tracking system. That meant it would be difficult for any police to find. It was stolen from the long term airport as well so no one should be looking for it for a while. He began his long drive to a remote portion of the island.

The area of the island where The Architect's mansion was located was remote. The only things near it were a small fishing village where he had several boats stored. Then there were a few farms as well but nothing was within a few miles of the mansion. The terrain consisted of some hills and several groups of trees. He would have to use those to his advantage.