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TL;DR: SHIELD's existence is a secret from the general public. Story occurs post-CA:WinterSoldier, but SHIELD still exists and Fury is still Director.

Details: When SHIELD "fell" (in CA: Winter Soldier), the government just covered it up and told the public that a criminal organization known as Hydra infiltrated a handful of government intelligence agencies (FBI, CIA, Homeland, etc) and just hid the fact that it was actually SHIELD. Afterward, the government allowed Fury to restart SHIELD from the ground up after ensuring Hydra was totally flushed out. Thus, Fury is still Director, and SHIELD's existence remains a secret from the general public.

Also, Jax Foster has no relation whatsoever to the character Jane Foster. That just accidentally happened.

This story is co-written with riboflavinb2. Go check out her stories!

I do not own any characters except Ida and Jax. All rights belong to Marvel.

Now, full speed ahead!

Prologue - The New Client

The man stood in the agreed-upon meeting place, muscles tense with annoyance. He really hated it when these dickbags made him wait.

Finally a dark SUV pulled up (bulletproof based on how low it was riding) and an older, well-dressed man stepped out. His new client.

The client gave no greeting, just pulled a file from his briefcase and handed it over. "We would like you to acquire this."

Taking the file, he briefly glanced through everything it enclosed then gave a grunt of acknowledgment. "I assume you have some idea of where I should start my search?"

The old man nodded. "During that Hydra fiasco in DC last year, we took advantage of SHIELD's vulnerability and hacked a number of their systems. The data that we acquired not only confirmed the existence of the item itself, but also led us to the identity of who we suspect is most likely its safe-keeper." The client then pulled out another file and handed it to him. "We heard you that you have some...history with the individual in question. So consider this an early payment."

The man was about to warn him that, special file or not, they still had to pay him half beforehand, as was the usual arrangement, but the words died in his throat as he opened the file. His mouth curled into a feral grin. Early payment, indeed.

It was her. The only person he considered to be a formidable adversary, and probably the closest thing he had to an equal. She had many aliases among the criminal and intelligence worlds, having built herself quite the reputation. But, as with many in their line of work, no one knew her true identity.

The last time he'd crossed paths with her had been a year ago in Greece, when she'd practically gutted him. He would never forget how it felt running through the streets of Santorini, barely able to keep his own organs from spilling out onto the pristine alabaster ground. To this day, it was the closest he'd ever come to death. Thinking about it made the jagged scar across his stomach start to throb.

It was finally time to return the favor.

Because now, he knew her name.