Steve walked into the room where Agent Hill and I were watching the surgery being performed on Fury. The doctor had just left after stitching me back up. The bullet had gone straight through and miraculously hadn't damaged anything vital. With the serum, my healing had already kicked in and it was already starting to close. Soon enough, I wouldn't need the sling the doctor had fitted me with to keep me from moving my shoulder too much.
"Hey," Steve walked up to me and hugged me against him. "Are you all right?" He started to inspect my shoulder.
"I'm okay. It was a clean shot. I'll be right as rain in a week or so," I replied, giving him a weak smile.
Steve glanced at Fury, "How's he doing?"
"As far as I can tell, not so good," I answered sighing.
Steve glanced over at Maria who was talking on the phone and lowered his voice. "When did she get here?"
"Only a few minutes ago. Fury called her earlier today before he was attacked,"
"We need to talk. Alone," Steve stated.
"Yeah. I heard what he said," I murmured
The door burst open and I caught a glimpse on Natasha as she stood beside me. She spotted my arm in a sling and the bandage under the strap of my shirt.
"Are you okay?" Natasha asked concernedly.
"Yeah, the bullet went clean through," I answered.
"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked looked at Steve and I, neither of us replied. "Tell me about the shooter," Natasha insisted.
"He's fast. Strong. Had a metal arm," Steve told her.
"Ballistics?" Natasha asked Maria, as she came to stand on Natasha's other side.
"Two slugs in him. One that went through him and then through Amara. No rifling. Completely untraceable,"
"Soviet made," Natasha and I muttered in unison, and we looked at each other.
"Yeah," Maria replied with a confused look on her face.
The conversation was effectively ended when the doctors in the OR began to scramble as the beeping of the countless machines became louder and faster. The nurses and doctors inside of the operating room started bustling about in a panic.
"BP's dropping," one nurse called out.
"Defibrillator," a doctor shouted.
"Don't do this to me, Nick," I heard Nat mumble as the defibrillator started charging and I stepped over to the glass.
"Stand back. Three, two, one, clear," the doctor called out as he pressed the paddles to Fury's chest, sending a shock of electricity through him.
"Pulse?" the doctor asked.
"No pulse," A nurse replied.
"200, please. Stand back!" the doctor shouted before shocking Fury again.
"Pulse?" the doctor asked hurriedly.
"Negative," the nurse replied.
The beeping had become one prolonged, high-pitched hum. When the doctor asked for the time, Steve turned and walked out of the room. The nurses lowered their heads. Natasha sighed, closing her eyes. Maria placed a hand over her mouth as she looked away. I bawled my hand into a fist and hung my head low.
"Time of death, 1:03 AM,"
~~~x~~~
The doctors let Steve, Natasha, and I into a small room to say our last goodbyes to Fury. Natasha stood close to the table where his body lay, covered in a white sheet.
Maria came into the room, "I need to take him," Maria muttered softly.
I nodded and Steve stepped forward, moving to stand behind Natasha. He muttered her name. She didn't move except for to reach forward and touch Fury's forehead. Then she spun around and left the room.
"Natasha, Steve called out to her as I followed close behind him.
She stopped and spun around to face us, "Why was Fury in your apartment?" she asked Steve, her face hard as stone and her eyes as cold as ice.
"I don't know," Steve told her, shaking his head as he sighed.
"Cap, Eryss, they want you back at S.H.I.E.L.D.," an agent named Rumlow told us.
I glanced back at him, "Yeah, give us a second," I told Rumlow.
"They want you now," Rumlow replied insistently.
I narrowed my eyes, "We'll be one minute," I said slowly and Rumlow got the message, nodding his head and walking back to his team.
He nodded before turning away. I sighed and looked back at Steve and Natasha.
"You're a terrible liar," Natasha noted before heading off down the hall.
"She's not wrong," I admitted.
Steve and I looked at each other, we knew something was amiss. This trip to S.H.I.E.L.D. was not looking good for us. I sighed as Steve glanced around us, noticing a man restocking the vending machine beside me. That's when I saw Steve pull out a thumb drive from his pocket.
"Where did you get that?" I whispered, grabbing his wrist.
"Fury gave it to me before he died. Why? Do you know what it is?" Steve questioned.
He glanced around quickly before taking the thumb drive and slipping it behind some packets of gun in the vending machine. The man restocking it didn't even notice.
"Let's go," Steve whispered before leading me down the hall, towards the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
"Steve, what was on that?" I whispered hurriedly.
"Something from my last mission. I'll explain later," he replied just as quietly and just as quickly.
"Let's go," Steve ordered Rumlow.
"STRIKE team!" Rumlow yelled to the other agents, "Move out!"
~~~x~~~
At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Steve and I had changed into our uniforms before heading up to see S.H.I.E.L.D.. senior official Alexander Pierce. He wanted to question us about what had happened at Steve's apartment. It was now early morning and we hadn't had any sleep. I felt funny fully armed to the teeth, including my new batons, walking the halls of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and drinking a latte. I had taken off the sling, but the bandages were still on. My shoulder was still healing, so those would have to stay on. I had decided that the sling was too much of a hindrance.
An agent came and got us, pointing us in the direction of a large office. We turned down the hall to find Kate – Agent 13, whatever she went by– talking to a man. She stood straight and walked towards us.
"Captain Rogers, Eryss," she said with a small nod as she passed us.
"Neighbor," Steve said coldly as we headed for Pierce, he was waiting for us at the door of his office.
"Wow, is it me or did it just get cold in here," I commented, and Steve ignored me.
"Ah, Captain. Eryss. I'm Alexander Pierce," the man introduced himself.
I slightly furrowed my brow, for some reason this man's voice sounded oddly familiar which is strange because we're now just meeting him.
"Sir, it's an honor," Steve said, shaking the man's hand.
"The honor's mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in," Pierce said before leading us into his expansive office. "Eryss, I'm a big fan of your work. You two have done a lot of good since you joined S.H.I.E.L.D. How's your shoulder?"
"It's healing, sir," I answered.
I noticed some photos on Pierce's desk and he saw me notice them and slid them over to me. The one on top was of Pierce and Fury taking an oath.
"That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met, when I was at the State Department in Bogota," Pierce started telling us. "ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was Deputy Chief of the S.H.I.E.L.D.. station there, and he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, no, we'll negotiate. Turned out, the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They storm the basement and what do they find? They find it empty," Pierce said before sitting down at a small sitting area with a file he tossed onto the coffee table.
Steve and I sat down as well, "Nick had ignored my direct order, and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil, and saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter," Pierce explained.
"So you gave him a promotion," Steve stated.
"I've never had any cause to regret it," Pierce said with a sad smile.
"Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce asked.
"I don't know," Steve replied, only half-lying.
I just shrugged when Pierce looked at me, "Did you know it was bugged?" Pierce asked us.
"We did, because Nick told us," I spoke up. "Did he tell you he was the one that bugged it?" Pierce asked, giving me a pointed glance.
Our silence was answer enough.
"I want you to see something," Pierce said before bringing up a video on the screen behind us.
I turned in my seat to see a man with a military buzz cut and a red wife-beater tank top on.
"Who hired you, Batroc?" someone asked as they paced behind the man, their face never in the picture.
"Is that live?" Steve asked Pierce while I was still confused by who this man was.
"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers," Pierce explained.
"Who is this guy?" I asked Steve, still looking at the screen.
"My last mission," Steve replied curtly, turning his attention back to Pierce. "Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line," Steve told Pierce.
"No, no. It's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star," Pierce started. Steve would have to explain more to me later. "He was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer, and then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts. The last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech," Pierce said before handing Steve the file from the coffee table.
"Are we supposed to know who that is?" I asked, as Steve took the file and opened it.
"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437," Pierce explained as Steve stopped flipping through the pages.
"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates?" Steve asked Pierce.
"Why?" I added confused.
"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death," Pierce explained.
I looked over at Pierce and leveled him with an icy stare, "If you really knew Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true," I stated.
Fury could be a pain in the ass, but he was a good man who loved his country.
"Why do you think we're talking?" Pierce asked before rising to his feet. Steve and I did the same as Pierce moved to a large window. "See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that, despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, to build a really better world, sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies," Pierce said before turning to face Steve and I again.
"Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today makes me really, really angry," Pierce said before looking over me and Steve. "You two were the last to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident. And I don't think you do, either. So, I'm gonna ask again. Why was he there?" Pierce asked us sternly.
"He told us not to trust anyone," Steve spoke up, revealing as little as possible.
"I wonder if that included him. If that included you, Eryss," Pierce accused.
Anger swelled in my gut. Me?
"Excuse me?" I asked, hoping this man had a good explanation.
"You were close to Nick, weren't you? Closer than the Captain," Pierce explained, nodding towards Steve.
Before I could open my mouth to reply, Steve spoke, "I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us," Steve said before pulling me towards the door.
"Captain, Eryss, somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why," Pierce called to us before giving me a pointed glance. "Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone," Pierce finished.
"Understood," Steve said with a nod.
"Duly noted," I said giving him a sarcastic salute as we walked out.
"What the hell was that?" I snapped as the door closed behind us.
"I don't know," Steve replied shortly.
"What, you don't believe him, do you? About trusting me?" I asked him, actually a bit worried as we waited for the elevator to rise.
"Amara, there is no one I trust more than you. Nothing Pierce says is going to change that," Steve assured me, grasping my shoulders lightly, I sighed and nodded.
As we continued to wait for the elevator, I stated in a low voice, "Steve, that was a threat if I ever heard one,"
Steve nodded his head in agreement, "I get the feeling that we're on a list now,"
"We might need to lay low for a while," The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside.
"Operations Control," he instructed the elevator.
"Confirmed,"
Before the doors could finish closing, I saw Rumlow and his team coming up, stopping the lift and stepping inside. "Keep all S.T.R.I.K.E personnel on site," he said and his team agreed. "Forensics,"
"Confirmed."
"Eryss," he nodded at me and I gave him a wry smile. "Cap,"
Steve lifted his head up and turned around,"Rumlow,"
The doors sealed and left us trapped. Rumlow turned to face us, "Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the Tac team ready?"
"No, let's wait and see what it is," Steve replied, not even looking at Rumlow.
"Right," Rumlow agreed.
The whole atmosphere of the elevator felt wrong...too calm. I narrowed my eyes as I studied Rumlow's men. They kept their hands on their guns, even if their faces seemed normal enough. I nudged Steve and nodded at the men, he studied them and nodded inconspicuously. Then the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and a flood of men in suits came in, all with metal briefcases and were talking. As the small elevator filled, I took an involuntary step closer to Steve. He moved one of his outstretched hands further down the railing on the other side of my waist, his arm pressed against my back. I studied the newcomers, one of the agents was perspiring nervously, pulling his shirt collar nervously.
"Excuse me," one of the men said to Steve, forcing Steve into the middle of the group and splitting us up. He cast a glance behind at me, concerned as we were both separated and surrounded.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Fury," Rumlow said to Steve, causing him to look forward again. "It's messed up, what happened to him,"
"Thank you," Steve said shortly.
The elevator doors opened again, and even more men stepped inside, pressing me even further back into the glass and squashed between two burly men. I could see Steve glancing around slightly. I knew what was going to happen next, and I was sure as hell Steve did, too. This was going to be bad. We were in a tight space, so my batons and his shield were not going to be able to come into play. We were outnumbered, but everyone else in the elevator was just human.
"Gosh, for an elevator ride, you men sure are nervous," I quipped, quieting the elevator.
"Before we get started," Steve said. "Does anyone want to get out?"
Up ahead, I heard a weapon being drawn, the familiar crackle of electricity making my blood pulse through my veins a little faster. And then he turned and tried to attack Steve, he dodged it, but he fell into the hands of half of the elevator.
The other half grabbed me. I kicked out and hit the emergency stop button. Steeling myself for the pain in my shoulder, I used the arms holding me as leverage and kicked up with both my feet in opposite directions. I got two of my guys in the face with the split kick, knocking them down with broken noses. The other three, including Rumlow, tried to twist me, but I pulled my arms together and slammed two of them into each other. I had time to see that they had gotten some kind of cuff on Steve's wrist and were trying to attach it to the wall.
Rumlow moved in to grab me, but I ducked out of his grasp and kicked him into the guys holding Steve. They lost their grip and he took advantage of it. I grabbed one of the bigger guys and slammed his head into the glass of the elevator and he went down with a spurt of blood. Rumlow managed to kick Steve and get the cuff on his wrist attached to the wall. It was a super strong magnet and Steve couldn't get it away from the metal wall of the elevator. Rumlow tried to use his stun stick on Steve, but I grabbed his arm and redirected the stick into one of the other goons. The guy went down and I elbowed Rumlow in the face.
Steve climbed the wall and pulled his wrist away. As he was coming down, he kicked the last guy into the glass wall and knocked him out. I was advancing on Rumlow and Steve joined me.
"Whoa, big guy. You two need to know it's nothing personal,"
"Whatever," I scoffed, as I stepped into Rumlow's reach and he tried to use his stun stick on me, but I spun and kicked him behind the knees. He went down and Steve picked him up, throwing him viciously into the ceiling and knocking him out.
"It kind of feels personal," Steve said, stomping on his shield and catching it on his arm. He used it to break the cuff off his wrist and turned to Buffy. I was gripping my shoulder and wincing in pain. "Are you okay?"
"I think I may have burst some stitches," I informed.
I reached down and grabbed one of the anesthetic injections off one of the S.T.R.I.K.E. members.
"Glad they're required to carry these," I sighed, and I injected it in my arm and closed my eyes in relief as the pain subsided.
As I took three more off other goons, Steve hit the emergency stop button. The doors of the elevator opened to reveal a full S.T.R.I.K.E. team in the hall. My heart dropped to the floor when I saw who was in the S.T.R.I.K.E. team as well: Agent Fields, Agent Sterling, Agent Gates.
Phillip.
"Drop the shield and put your hands in the air!"
Steve spun and cut the wires of the elevator through the broken glass. He gripped me tightly to him as the elevator plunged downwards. The emergency brakes kicked in and the elevator came to a halt between floors. Steve reached up and opened the top set of doors, but a S.T.R.I.K.E. team was already assembling on that floor. He shut the doors and I looked out of the window. They were stopped five floors above the atrium entrance and the atrium itself was at least three stories.
"Eight stories," I said. "It's doable. It's gonna hurt like hell, but it's doable,"
"Give it up! Get those doors open!" The S.T.R.I.K.E. team guys yelled.
"Can you not teleport us?" Steve asked quickly.
"Teleportation is not an option. As of right now all my emotional ties are gone because I don't know who to trust," I explained quickly.
"Get on my back," Steve said.
I didn't hesitate, he took a few steps back and then ran and jumped. We crashed through the window and he pulled me around to one side and braced his shield on his other side. We crashed through the glass ceiling of the atrium shield first and landed painfully. Both of us groaned, but knew we had limited time to get out. Steve helped me to stand first and I helped him. We ran for the garage where Steve's bike was parked.
"You up for this?" Steve asked.
"Do I have a choice?" I asked back.
"Good point," Steve retorted, and hopped on the bike first and I jumped on behind him.
He gunned the engine, they were closing down the bridge. Steve sped up and jumped the metal door before it closed as we sped down the bridge, large spikes shot up out of the ground ahead of us. A quinjet flew in front of us and turned around.
"Captain Rogers, Eryss, stand down! Stand down!" The pilot said over the PA. They dropped the guns out of the bottom of the jet. "Repeat, stand down." Steve made the bike go faster and he began dodging the bullets heading our way.
"Take over!" Steve yelled, grabbing his shield and throwing it into the right turbine. He jumped up on the seat and then up onto the plane. I slid forward and got control of the bike. I hit the brakes just as I reached the barrier and was sent hurtling over the spikes. When I rolled to a stop, I got up and turned around to see Steve take down the plane and land in front of me. The bike had been impaled on the spikes, so we were out of luck on transportation.
Without hesitating, we turned and ran.
AN: Hope you enjoyed it!