"You can't quit SHIELD!"

Pete Wisdom, looked Fury in the eye, smiled, and lit up a cigarette. "Watch me." As he spoke he reached in to his pocket and threw his badge down on the desk of the recently restored SHIELD Director. "I've had enough. The Shadow King, Abyss, Mjnari. Bollocks to it all, I'm walking."

"Pete, when I first approached you it was so you could make a difference, to bring an official mutant presence in to SHIELD and integrate you," Fury was imploring him. "We can't afford to lose that."

"We had it," said Wisdom. "The XSE project would have worked, and we both know that, mutants, superhumans and regular agents working together to police the various super-villains and their teams and other terrorists. The project was good, proposed by Brian using the Captain Britain Corps as the idea and X-Force as a model, but it went to hell. Maybe if Forge, or you, or anyone with an amount of vision had done it, we could have pulled it off, but it's gone. The way it all went tits up means there's no way you can rebuild the project. The political will's gone."

"You turned it down," said Fury. "It needed you."

"X-Force turned it down," Wisdom answered. "While you were in the hospital shouting hail to the king, with Forge allegedly dead, there was no way it was going to work. Not the way it should have done. Now look at what's left of X-Force - Lydia and Maverick have gone, Bishop and the rest are considering their options and aren't likely to stay. X-Force is dead, and that was my reason for being here. Therefore, I'm off." He sighed. "Nick, they've brought you back because they need stability here, and the whole damned organisation's under review. You don't even know what SHIELD's going to be like after the investigation, and the last time there was a scandal like this within SHIELD, the whole thing was shut down and rebuilt from scratch. Bugger that. I'm held back - I can't take down Chapman, I can't take down Abyss, I can't… I can't do my job anymore, not through SHIELD."

The room was filled with silence. The original members of X-Force knew the identity of Abyss, Marcus had looked in to the minds of Kate and Pete and seen it was Vortigen Walker, but he and Theresa had promised to keep it secret. It wasn't that they didn't trust the newer team members, but they'd been down this road before. Even Fury didn't know, because the fewer people who knew the better, and the less chance of the man's name being spoken and killing whoever did it. Pete wasn't sure how that was going to work, because people would mention Walker's name and if they died, it would raise suspicions, so it had to be something to do with Abyss being Vortigen. It was just there was no way they could test it and it seemed to have no power on a telepathic level.

Pete had let the team know what he was doing, that he was leaving to figure things out, but he'd owed it to the original members, the people he had chosen for his team, to let them know why and as Fury looked at him, the SHIELD Director knew he wasn't going to convince the man that this was a mistake, because in many ways Wisdom was right. He also knew he was hiding something, but Fury knew it would come out at some point and he still had a few cards left to play. "At least think it over," he said. "Take some time off. A leave of absence, sort out what happened with Abyss in your mind, and come back…"

"Nah," said Pete as he shook his head. "What we've become these days isn't what I signed up for. To turn it back would be a challenge, I get that, but there's a taint and SHIELD's limited. With the review going on, we have to play things by the book. Abyss said I'd no chance of finding the bastard and he believes it. Why? Because there are rules…"

Fury snorted in derision. "Because you always play by them?"

"Don't start. I'm tired, Nick, tired and I need to figure out what's next. I just know… it's not this."

"You're not quitting then," said Fury. "I'll assign you to indefinite leave of absence, and have you as a reserve member."

Pete was on his feet in a moment. "No bloody chance."

"No bloody choice." Fury looked at him. "You're a great many things, including a pain in the neck but while you might be a vindictive, British sod with no regard for the chain of command or the idea that there are some things should be left well alone, but you're one of the best agents we've had. I'm not going to lose you. And if you don't come when we call, I can have you arrested."

"You know that won't happen," Pete snorted, knowing Fury was kidding. Mostly. "I'm going home, catch up with some friends, and see if I can make a new start. I'm going to find Abyss and it won't happen while I'm here. Just do me a favour."

"Which is?"

"After they've stopped pissing about with inquiries and investigations, make SHIELD great again." Wisdom shook Fury's hand. "I'll see you around, Nick."

Then Wisdom turned and walked out of the office, both men knowing that he wouldn't be back and Fury brought up the X-Force file and ordered it suspended until further notice. He'd been under pressure to place the team under review anyway, and he couldn't fight it anymore. He'd let the team know what was going on and put them all on a leave of absence until further notice, citing the review, until he figured out what to do next. The political reputation of the X-Force project was in tatters, but maybe reassigning the remaining agents to work within other SHIELD teams would work better. They were good agents and having some power in the various teams would be useful. Shadowcat would be a useful addition to their tech division, Bishop and Shard could work in the law enforcement divisions, the others moved elsewhere. They'd all proven themselves as dedicated SHIELD agents, so there was very little bias towards them.

Wisdom was right though, there were too many investigations at the moment in to the future of SHIELD, but there was one thing going on that he still had control over. It was something that both he and Forge had become concerned with during their 'absence' SHIELD and as former Director's, if both of them had reservations about this very powerful organisation then there was certainly something amiss. They'd come from relatively nowhere to gain a lot of influence, both politically and financially. However with the reviews and such, there were other matters that demanded their attention, so there was only one man they'd both trusted to get to the bottom of the mystery that was the Byron Agency, and he'd been working on it a while. He picked up the phone.

"Mary, get me GW Bridge. I want to know how his investigation is going…"

The agent approached the head of special operations, known only as Irishman. He'd had many names, aliases, but this one suited. "Union Flag's escaped. She entered the CoffeeHouse and obtained certain files."

The Irishman's eyes narrowed. "Anything that connects up to us?"

"No, sir. The CoffeeHouse has been clear of anything that relates to ourselves, however she did get many files relating to the formation of Black Air."

"I see. How did she get on to us?"

"We're not sure, sir. We know of her powers of enhanced sensory perceptions, maybe she was able to detect us. We thought we had it covered, but we're checking to find out what we missed."

"I want that report on my desk first thing." He turned away but the agent was still there. "There's something else?"

"Paris, sir. He's getting close. What do you want us to do? We're not ready."

The Irishman closed his eyes. "He's like a dog with a bone." He considered for a moment, and then made the decision. He knew what needed to be done. "Deal with it, and make it look like an accident."

Colonel George Washington Bridge, formerly commander of the United Nations team Excalibur and now SHIELD Special Investigator, had followed the trail to Paris. The Byron Agency were slippery, but there was a trail and he'd followed it as best he could. He'd been looking in to things not too long after he'd left Excalibur, and what he'd found out he'd not liked.

He knew the former X-Man Banshee worked for the Agency, and that he had a pretty high security clearance, so high that Bridge hadn't been able to approach him without an appointment and, apparently, Mr Cassidy was booked until the end of the month, but if a slot opened up, he'd be more than happy to talk with Bridge. If only this was a formal SHIELD investigation, Bridge had thought, but there was a need for secrecy. The Byron Agency was well connected and it would certainly cause problems during the review.

However, he didn't need Banshee to check out the history of the Byron Agency but they had appeared from almost out of nowhere. They appeared to be a conglomerate of likeminded individuals who had banded together to promote peace and financial responsibility through their business and political interests, however they were present in a lot of countries political climate, including the big players - America, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Europe, China. They had appeared perhaps ten years ago and had built themselves up so now their influence was far reaching. Yet they were clean. Very clean. No skeletons, no deep secrets and Bridge knew Fury and Forge were on the money. Nobody was this clean and the trail had brought him to Paris. This was where the first recorded appearance of the Agency was, or rather the first use of their influence. Somehow, they had been able to put a halt to strike action by the French truck drivers, which had almost brought Europe to a standstill. It was no small feat to pull that off, and now Bridge was looking for Gerrard L'Artois, the man who had made it happen, which was why he was in Paris. L'Artois had an apartment on the Seine, according to SHIELD records, which he'd accessed at the local sub-office.

"George Washington Bridge?" someone asked and GW looked up. The man looked familiar but before Bridge could say anything, someone grabbed him from behind in a chokehold and then he felt a knife slice in to him. The knifeman lifted it and twisted and Bridge felt his legs go numb. He'd been distracted by someone and taken from behind. "Good, we'd hate to have killed the wrong man…" The knifeman let go of Bridge, who was unable to stand, and he assumed the knife had cut in to his spinal cord. Without support, he dropped to the floor.

"Cowards," he said, looking at them. "You'd better hope they never find me, you'll bring a whole lot of trouble on yourselves."

"SHIELD's time is over," said the familiar man. "There are new players now, and we seek to control, to act, not react. Your tiger no longer has it's teeth." Then the man pushed at Bridge with his foot, casting the man in to the Seine. "Bye, GW, been real."

"You knew him?" the knifeman asked and the other nodded.

"He used to be my boss…"

After leaving SHIELD, Wisdom went for a short holiday, stopping in the little Cornish village of St Ives. He stayed there for a few days, resting and making plans. Then he returned home and made calls to his various contacts. This wasn't like the last time he was unemployed, people returned his calls and while he never said he was still in SHIELD he let them assume it and they made things happen. There were a great many things he'd needed to do, to find out. WHO were looking in to what had happened after the Jaspers affair, seeing if there was anything that had been missed. He'd also spoken with Brian to see what was happening on Otherworld. The five Proud Walkers upping and leaving and becoming forces of evil would be something that would have created a great stir. He also did what he could to find out if his sister was back. He was going to find Walker, and he was going to kill him. What Black Air had done to him would seem like a picnic by the time he'd was through with him.

"You can mess with me, you can ruin my life, you can even kill me, but you do not touch my family," he said. Then he heard a key turn and he turned to the door as a young woman stepped through and he glared at her in anger. "What the bloody hell are you doing in my apartment?"

"Pete?" she said in surprise.

"Sarah." He'd not seen her in ages

"This is awkward." He nodded and there was silence

"When did I give you a key?" he asked

"You didn't." She looked sheepish.

"Didn't think so." He sighed. "What's going on, Sarah?"

"I'm in trouble. People are looking for me."

"What did you steal this time?"

Sarah Bane was a former agent of Black Air, Pete's mentor and trainer. She was his oldest friend, and one of the few agents of Black Air who hadn't wanted to kill him after he quit. Not that there were many left these days, Black Air was a faded relic, which was why Sarah had become the premier cat burglar in the UK, known as the Union Flag because she left a little calling card. She was cocky because she was good, and she was one of the few people who could get under his skin. She was exactly like him in attitude, and there was never enough room on the planet for both of them.

"Insurance," she said. "There were people after me, and I thought they were Black Air, so I broke in to the CoffeeHouse and gathered some protection. Then they really started to come after me."

"So you're staying here?"

"Black Air won't go after SHIELD." Pete shook his head.

"Small flaw in the plan, Sar. I'm not SHIELD anymore. I quit."

Sarah sighed. "I can't leave you alone for five minutes. If you're not SHIELD…"

"Being here's no bloody good." He shrugged. "However I was going out. You can tag along if you like."

"Okay, I guess Where are we going?"

He smiled. "Westminster. And on the way I'll explain what's happened."

In Paris, the police dragged a body of a man from the waters of the Seine. Chief Inspector Gerard hated things like this, as it would affect tourism and then the mayor would be on to him about finding the murderer.

The forensic doctor at the scene was examining the body to confirm death and then they pulled his wallet out of the man's pocket. "MONSIEUR!" he shouted towards Gerard and Gerard went over and as soon as he saw the badge he knew this was no longer his case.

He would have to inform SHIELD that one of their agents had been killed.

"So let me get this right," Sarah said, as they arrived at the office of the member of Parliament for Critchley East. "Your team got a load of new people added to it, Kate miscarried a baby that may or may not have been yours, you got the hell beaten out of you, then Lydia dumped you and took off with Maverick to find her family."

Wisdom nodded.

"Genesis turned out to be Mjnari, a villain called Abyss captured you and Kate, tormented you by showing you your resurrected sister leading the fabled Proud Walkers of Otherworld and then, and only then, did you go 'bugger this, I quit'?"

"Yeah," said Wisdom. "After everything that went down with the Shadow King and the rest, I've had enough of being used as a punching bag by every villain who takes a dislike to me."

"Remind why you thought joining SHIELD was a good idea?"

"I was bored and broke," he answered. "But it was the best thing I did and quitting X-Force was a hard call, but I have to fly solo for a while, and settle some old scores. And new ones."

Sarah sighed. "After what Black Air did to Vortigen, I'm not surprised the Proud Walkers went bad."

"It was nothing compared to what we did to him," Pete muttered.

"What was that?" Sarah said, but Pete stayed silent. He knocked on the door and entered the office, to be greeted by Feron.

"Is he in?" Pete asked and Feron nodded and showed him in. "Brian!" he said shaking the man's hand. "Sarah, may I introduce Brian Braddock, Member of Parliament for Critchley East. Brian, this is Sarah Bane."

"Pleasure," said Brian. "I managed to get in touch with Roma," he said. "The Walkers haven't been seen on Otherworld since they left to build New Camelot with Vortigen at the end of the war with Necromon. There's been no sign of Romany either, so whatever Abyss has done to her, she's not who she used to be. However, Feron's an adept and he knows there's a dark mystical force out there. It may not even be the Proud Walkers, just twisted shades created by Abyss. I wonder why he didn't create a copy of Vortigen though?" Pete said nothing for a moment.

"Brian, we know what happened to him," said Pete and Brian looked uncomfortable. He remember Vortigen's fall from grace. "I should tell you that Sarah was Black Air. She knows what happened to Vortigen as well as we do. We helped set it up."

"But it doesn't track," said Sarah. "Where was Vortigen? If the other Walkers have been pulled up why not him? If they are the true Walkers, they must have him, and if they're twisted shades, then they why… "

"I don't know," Pete said, irritably, wanting to scream that it was Vortigen behind it all, that he was Abyss, but the block that had been put on him by the villain stopped him from doing so. "If I could tell you, I would, but I can't." There was silence in the room.

"I can't believe what you did to him," said Brian after a moment. "He didn't deserver what you did to him."

"No," Sarah said. "None of them ever did, but we did it anyway. We removed a greater threat, as after the collapse of the energy matrix after the Necrom affair, he was the only Walker to return to Earth, the others content to stay on Otherworld and aid Merlyn in his plans. Black Air existed before they managed to take over things, and they were waiting for him and his ilk to return. We had the means to break him, a task made easier by the serious lack of focused mystical power to call on."

Brian shook his head. "You made him in to that monster, put him on the television, ruined him."

Sarah nodded. "Yes, wee framed him, and we did it good. Made him in to a murdering child molester, faked the evidence and let things take their course. Six little girls, under tens and we put his face on every billboard in the country. He was arrested trying to escape and they caught him in a hail of bullets. Walkers are hard to kill though, so the bullets took him out of action, and his own words ensured everyone thought he was mad. While he was locked in an insane asylum that we ran, we made sure he was drugged so he couldn't do anything about it. The things we used… Science and magic, it shattered his mind and by the time he recovered Excalibur had destroyed the energy matrix that was around the United Kingdom and his powers were lessened. However there were other like-minded individuals, who knew what we'd done to him, because we'd ruined them as well. Joseph Chapman, Samantha Hasard…"

"They all became part of the Hellfire Club, protected by the Club, using it for anonymity. Sebastian Shaw needed a lot of resources in his fight against the X-Men, and other and Chapman knew that the HFC and Black Air go way back, sharing similar goals," Pete said. "They used their influence and got him out, and we oweed them a favour. But the first thing they did when Black Air fell was to form a new Inner Circle and ensure that their former enemies would never rise again. Problem was by the time Black Air had done with them, they didn't care what they did to make amends."

"Except Vortigen. He was the only sane one of the lot," Brian answered. "At least in my dealings with him."

"He was still a Proud Walker," Pete replied. "He was disgraced

"Black Air's gone," said Sarah, "however there are those who still have allegiance to the Hierarchy, and they don't like traitors."

"So we know," said Brian, having witnessed the wrath of the remnants of Black Air before.

"Sarah thinks that they're after her," said Pete. "It's why she's hanging out with me."

"Yeah, because that makes sense," Brian muttered. "Pete, I don't know what more you want. I'm only just getting used to my new powers. I'm not ready to be Captain Britain again, not yet. I can't help you fight Abyss."

"Not asking you to," said Pete, holding his hands. "I'm after friends who know things, and you're a friend who knows things. It's not your fight, Brian, but you've got contacts."

"Not as many as I did," said Brian. "Remember, the XSE was proposed by me, and I'm still feeling the political fall-out of the failure." Pete closed his eyes. He'd forgotten that had happened. "I'll do what I can, though. You may be an annoying sod at the best of times, but you're still my friend." Then the telephone rang and he picked up. "Braddock. Just a moment." He looked at Pete. "It's for you."

Pete shrugged and took the receiver. "Hello? Nick?! How did you know I was… Never mind. What? When? No don't, I'm not, Nick? NICK!" He put the receiver down. "Bastard."

"What?" asked Sarah.

"He just drafted me," Wisdom scowled. "I'm going to Paris, to investigate a murder."

"Murder? Surely that's a job for the French authorities," Brian said, not sure of what was going on. "It's nothing to do with SHIELD."

Pete looked at him. "It is when the victim is former SHIELD Director George Washington Bridge."