It hadn't been long since Trinity's mercenaries and paramilitary forces were completely annihilated by Eternal City's overwhelming firepower. Many in the mercenary business still remembered that unfortunate client who provoked a force beyond their comprehension, and so most turned down Trinity's new offers. As a result, Trinity had changed names when recruiting this time, which led to Eternal City agents spending considerable time just to identify the hired mercenary company and uncover their recruitment program. It took even longer to infiltrate the operation—Trinity's secretive practices meant that the mercenaries' actions were only directed by a "clean-hand" intermediary. Eternal City never expected to trace Trinity's surviving leadership through the hired muscle. Their goal was simply to gather intel for the Fimbulwinter First Intelligence Unit's upcoming actions.
Trinity itself was not a powerful organization. Eternal City had easily dismantled its overt power structure. But given the possibility of ties to the Feathered Serpent deity, Solomon had quietly raised the priority level of all Trinity-related operations. There was a chance that this organization had connections to certain arcane forces.
Much like Hydra, Trinity was deeply buried in shadow, tangled with major financial institutions, but unlike the Freemasons, they didn't publicly build lodges or hand out grandmaster titles. Nor did they establish societies or academic schools at Columbia University, or unify under a single ethnic lobbying bloc like those behind many White House lobbying groups. Instead, they embedded themselves among politicians, financiers, and scholars.
The only thing certain was that only in the United States could such an organization have found fertile ground to grow.
It was highly likely that Trinity, like the conservative Malik branch of Hydra, was a family-based entity that migrated from Europe to the USA. Most were Catholic and expanded their influence through rituals, bloodlines, and intermarriage. Trinity's real leadership remained hidden, but Solomon suspected they overlapped significantly with proxies for certain financial families—and those individuals were already on Eternal City's assassination list. The only issue was they hadn't yet uncovered the full identities of all targets.
With most of Trinity's paramilitary strength gone, their threat level to Eternal City had greatly diminished. Available intelligence suggested they once tried to recruit Richard Croft and Laura Croft into the organization—Richard may have had dealings with them, perhaps even passed on valuable intel. Otherwise, Trinity would never have placed an undercover agent like Laura's stepmother, Ana, so close to him. Further investigations suggested Laura's biological mother's death was highly suspicious.
This cold case had now been handed over to the most gifted detective Solomon knew—and he had provided a very generous travel budget to allow Sherlock Holmes to roam the globe in pursuit of answers.
Holmes's next stop was a company in India, his final mission before reporting to Kamar-Taj. He had thrown himself into the case with complete dedication. In the Victorian era, he might have had to take a steamship through the newly opened Suez Canal and suffer a month-long voyage just to reach what was then a British colony. But now, thanks to air travel, he could catch a clue before it disappeared—a development he grudgingly appreciated about modern society.
Solomon wasn't even sure Holmes knew how airplanes flew. Without John Watson, the man might not have even been able to purchase a ticket.
"These matters make perfect material for afternoon tea conversation," Solomon said contentedly, sipping hot tea. His desk was piled with every bit of information gathered so far about Trinity. Although there was still no intel on Trinity's headquarters or personnel composition, he had deduced most of it through logic. He began narrowing down his assassination list by matching potential Trinity masterminds—a cerebral massage disguised as a strategic task. And as later events proved, his casual deductions during tea time were eerily accurate.
Germanic male, likely suffering from rheumatism, blond or brown hair. The family practiced close intermarriage, had once held noble titles in Britain or France, fallen into decline, used to have a hippocampus on their coat of arms which was later removed, landed in New England and participated in the slave trade. After filtering through the profiles, the list of assassination targets shrank considerably.
"I hope Laura Croft watches out for leeches and mosquitoes in the jungle," he said. "And check with Dr. Maya Hansen—I hope she's satisfied with the new experimental subjects. You know I'm always willing to fulfill her wishes."
"Reasonable," Stephanie replied expressionlessly. "If you don't mind, please also review the list of Skrulls compiled by Victoria Hand."
"We still don't know how many Skrulls are on Earth, Stephanie." After a long period of processing, Eternal City's underground server farm had finally completed its initial work. The list of suspicious individuals—tied to anomalous behavior—now filled entire data storage arrays, all needing manual review. It was bound to be a lengthy task, unless Solomon personally took over with his extraordinary mind. But he simply shook his head at Stephanie's suggestion.
"This planet has seven billion people. We can't check them one by one. This is a drawn-out, protracted war. Our soldiers must adapt to new enemies and new ways of thinking. I can't help everyone through every difficulty—I can only teach them how to fight. That's the purpose of my existence."
"Even if this will delay our operations?"
"They'll grow proficient in time, dear. Our soldiers have much to learn. I'm a teacher, not a babysitter. If they can't even defend against Skrulls, then forget about achieving the Great Vision. Consider this an exam—not of combat ability, but of counterintelligence. Let them adapt to the future early, because the trials to come will be a thousand times harsher than what we now face."
Secret War: Phase One, Day Ten
The Skrull corpses and captives stored in cryo-chambers were transported into Eternal City via underwater tunnel train. Black-armored interrogators and soldiers of the Fimbulwinter First Intelligence Unit stood in rows on the platform, eyes fixed on the bio-genetics lab staff unloading the experimental materials and interrogation subjects. Few knew what lay within the cold storage; those unaware were baffled by the soldiers' readiness for combat. Even speaking to them was forbidden—any exchange was considered an offense.
If even a single live Skrull escaped into Eternal City's growing population, it would vanish like a drop in the ocean—unless Intelligence, the Royal Guard, or Solomon himself initiated a full-scale sweep. The interrogators and soldiers had been ordered to immediately detain all transport personnel if an escape occurred. All weapons were live, chainsaw swords primed for use, and the gene lab's storage vaults were placed under extra guard. Even Dr. Maya Hansen now had a Royal Guard detail.
Better to kill an innocent than to let a Skrull escape. That was the standing order.
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