Previously:
"So was it just the name thing that was getting you down?" he asked, still concerned about my little upset earlier in the bathroom. I can't talk about Coulson. No one is suppose to know about him. Think on your feet Hill.
"Uh...one of the recruits just made a comment about me. It wasn't exactly the nicest." I answered.
"Which one?" he asked, trying to sound curious, but I could hear the concern and anger in his voice.
"I can't remember. It was just in passing."
"Just in passing?"
"He just made..um...a little comment about me as I gave him some files and then I asked him what he meant and then he explained the whole situation."
"Oh okay." he said, solemnly. "As long as you're okay right?"
"Right." I replied and sat back in the chair, looking up at the slightly cloudy sky, with my new friend sitting close by if I needed him. I have never experienced this before - comfort.
"I think there are some good moments mixed in with the bad." I said, trying to lighten his mood slightly. He smirked, still not looking directly at me, but then turned his head up to speak to me.
"So why was your day bad?"
"I can start off with a good thing which was Scott coming to join the Avengers officially..." Scott joining us was good. As well as adding a team member, it added a sense of unity, like Barton also does. He has a family. Although that puts both of their families in danger, it shows the team how they can...they can have attachments. They can. I can't. I'm the one who keeps order and no emotions can get in the way. I know Phil said differently, but Rogers can't be anything more than a friend.
"But?" he asked, pulling me back to the conversation.
"But the receptionist said "Chill" instead of "Hill." I said, thinking of another idea.
"What is it?" he asked curiously, picking up on my absent-mindedness.
"I think I have another positive for you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. The guy who was mean in the corridor made me realise that I need to let some people in, which is why we're speaking right now. So if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be having this conversation." I replied and he smiled.
"I'm very glad we're having this conversation." He said and turned his head back to the scenery, even though he blinked slightly from the bright intensity of the sun.
I looked down at my watch on my right wrist and checked the time. "I should probably get back to work." I said, about to get up.
"Wait." Steve said, quickly, his hand suddenly on my arm preventing me from going back inside. "What work do you need to do?"
"I still need to sort out some of the old S.H.I.E.L.D files."
"Well...I'll make you a deal. Stay here with me for ten more minutes looking out at the view and then I will spend all the time you want helping you with your filing. Deal?" He asked, extending his hand, and how could I resist. If there is one thing I can't stand it's filing. I would rather do it all electronically, but no we still have all the stupid boxes.
"Fine. It's a deal." I said and shook his hand. "But I don't have to enjoy the view." I snapped and looked out.
After five minutes of scanning around, I noticed all the little details that I didn't beforehand. Agent Hannah was flirting with Agent Coals - I need to write that down - someone was smoking outside and Agent Charles punched a trainee in the face. I secretly got out my pen and paper and started making little notes, but it wasn't long before Steve caught me.
"What are you doing?" He asked and I looked up at him, quickly snapping the notebook to my chest.
"Nothing." I said, hoping he wouldn't bring it up, but of course he was going to. The annoying thing is I would too. Who wouldn't?
"Stop making notes." He said, grabbing the pad from me and placing it on the side table "When I said look at the view, I meant at the scenic view. The trees, the buildings, the sky. Everything." He said, almost captivated by his own voice.
"Okay." I said, not really believing that it would help. However, I noticed something strange when I took a good look round at the scene. It was beautiful. The tips of the trees were swaying in the breeze, because they were tall. The clouds were scattered around and cast shadows on the ground. (Authors note - I'm really not meaning to rhyme this) Vision and Scarlet Witch raced over our heads and towards another building. They would be such a good-
"Scott!" I whispered urgently to Steve.
"No, I'm Steve." he joked.
I rolled my eyes. "I know that! I meant if Vision and Wanda are in the living room, then where is Scott?"
"JARVIS, where is Mr. Lang?" Steve asked.
"He is not in this building. He is currently in Central Manhattan in one of Mr. Starks sports cars with him."
I breathed out. "Not good, but better than him wandering round aimlessly with nothing to do." I looked at my watch again. "Right," I said, jumping to my feet. "Fifteen minutes is up soldier boy. Let's have fun with files." I smirked and walked out of the door.
We got to my office and I unlocked the door by using the finger scanner. "Be worried. My office is a mess." I pushed the door open and Steve furrowed his eyebrows.
"This isn't messy." He complimented, but I didn't believe him.
"Is it not?" I asked and looked round. My desk was tidy apart from a few stray folders and the floor was clean apart from a pile in the corner which I am sorting with Steve.
"I've seen worse offices." He said, smiling. I took him over to the pile and tiled him that he needs to help me sort this into two piles. Rubbish that needs to go in the bin and valuable files that I need to keep. There were at least 700 folders to sort. "Okay...so you want me to read the files out or something?" He asked.
"Umm...if they are Level 1 folders, they go in the rubbish pile. If they are level 6 and above give them to me. Most of then are level 1 though." This pile was pretty big. It might take an hour.
We spent the first couple of minutes chucking folders in the rubbish pile until level 6 and above files started coming up. Project Pegasus, HYRDA, even the Red Skull was a folder that Steve gave to me, but with hesitation. I could tell that he was tempted to open some of them. "You want to look don't you?" I asked and he sighed.
"I just want to see if there is anything that I missed." Steve said, defeated.
"There might be some low level information on it. I can look if you want?" I asked and stood up, brushing myself down slightly.
"Thank you." He said and I sat down at my desk. I went to the search box and typed in Red Skull.
LEVEL 8 CLEARANCE came up on the screen. I looked at Steve who still looked upset and then back at the screen. Why do I feel so sorry for him? Screw it. I typed in my login and the files came up. "Steve." I called and he came over. I got out of my seat so he could sit down.
"Thank you." He said, taking the seat.
"It's just a seat Rogers." I said, walking back over to the files.
"No." He said and I looked at him. "Thank you for everything." He said, his face filled with gratitude.
"That's alright." I replied and turned back to my work, after a couple of seconds looking at him. I picked up a folder, which read A.I.M. There was a subheading that read Involvement with Mr. Tony Stark.
Advanced Idea Mechanics was created as a think tank by Aldrich Killian. It's mandate was scientific research and development, but with limited funding and influenced, Killian needed to find sponsors to back his formative venture. On New Year's 1999, at a party in Bern, Switzerland, he approached billionaire industrialist Tony Stark and asked him for support. Tony fobbed off the advance, but his date for the night, the botanist Dr. Maya Hansen, did however accept Killian's contact details. As he was leaving Killian, Stark lied to him and told him he'd meet him on the roof. Killian made the ascent and waited, but Stark never came. The rejection changed Killian and had the effect of reshaping A.I.M. into something quite different to what it had been formed to accomplish.
I read further on in the article.
Stark confronts Killian and traps him in an Iron Man suit that self-destructs, but fails to kill him. Potts, whose Extremis powers allowed her to survive her fall, intervenes and kills Killian. Stark orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to destroy each Iron Man suit under Operation Clean Slate to devote more time to Potts.
We could've used Pepper's Extremis powers. She could've been an Avenger for Christ sakes, but I am happy that she is better and Tony is spending more time with her. I turned back to Steve as he was getting up and I shut the file.
"Nothing?" I asked and he shook his head annoyed.
"I knew everything that was mentioned on the file." he said, sitting back down with the huge pile of files.
"At least you looked."
"At least you gave me permission." he said, smiling. "And I am grateful."
"It was a pleasure to help." I smiled and looked back to the folders.
Centipede - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
I already know enough about that. I told myself, putting it to the side and picking up another.
Project Goliath another folder read. I forgot about this. I looked up and noticed he was distracted by a folder. He was reading it. The front of the folder read Project T.A.H.I.T.I and the subtitle read two word...Coulson's recovery. Oh shit...
"Steve..." I said and he didn't tear his eyes away from the paper. "Steve!" I said, a little louder and his head slowly rose up, his eyes glistening with tears.
"Project T.A.H.I.T.I. was a high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. program, which began in 2009, created for the purpose of saving a mortally wounded Avenger." Steve said, reading the words from the page. "It was a Level 9 projected ordered by Director Nick Fury and overseen by Agent Phillip Coulson. It involved the harvesting of an alien corpse for medicinal purposes. After the Battle of Manhattan, Agent Coulson was registered on the T.A.H.I.T.I program as he was an Avenger...at heart." He glanced up at me. "What is file GH17-PC-overview?" he asked angrily.
"What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?" he asked. "You've been keeping this from us the whole time. He's still alive Maria!"
"We couldn't tell you. What would you say? I don't even know what truly happened to him. You would tell us to stop the project."
"Yeah because it would be doing the right thing to do." he argued and went to the computer.
"We were trying to save you. It would be used as a last resort if you were dying. What are you doing?" I asked, walking over to the desk as he typed quickly into the search bar.
"I'm finding that file. GH17-PC-overview." he explained and located it easily. Level 9 access requirement. He looked up at me.
"Don't ask me for favours." I said, putting my hands up.
"Don't you want to find out too?" he asked and after a while I sighed in defeat. I was curious to find out what really happened. Coulson wasn't very open about the experience. He just said that it was a magical place. He never told me the full truth. I pushed him out of the way and typed in my login. The file came up and I pushed it onto the projection screen in my office. I turned the lights off so I could see the image.
CLASSIFIED LEVEL 10
COMMUNICATION
T.A.H.I.T.I. PROJECT SUPERVISOR
TO DIRECTOR FURY
FINAL REPORT
There was a button at the bottom reading play and I said "JARVIS, play the video."
A familiar face came up on the screen - Phil. He was surrounded by darkness, wearing a suit as always. "I've never seen this before." I whispered to myself, but I think Steve heard me because I could see out of the corner of my eye him looking at me.
"Good Morning Director Fury," he began, his words filled with despair. "I regret to inform you that I'm handing in my resignation. I know you brought me on to Project T.A.H.I.T.I. because you trusted my judgement, and it's that judgement that's telling me I can no longer, in my good conscious, let the testing continue."
"What is this?" I asked, myself.
"I understand you started the program to potentially save a mortally wounded Avenger, but the side effects are too extreme."
I heard about the side effects of T.A.H.I.T.I, but I didn't believe them. It was just gossip from the top agents...nothing real. Coulson looked so different. When I spoke to him, whilst he was with the other agents, he seemed to be okay. There was something he was hiding, but I didn't push at it. Phil let May do that.
"We had initial success with the regenerative properties of the guest-host tissue, but after the initial physical recovery, the subject began to deteriorate mentally, displaying hypergraphia, aphasia, catatonia, or just complete psychosis."
This is what Coulson went through? His words were filled with such emotion and I could feel my heart breaking in my chest. He must have gone mad.
"We don't know if it was the biology at play or simply the awareness of what was done, but the only course of action that showed any promise of stemming these side effects was memory replacement – erasing completely the awareness of what they'd been through. And even those results were very inconsistent. To be clear, I'm recommending the termination of Project T.A.H.I.T.I. Under no circumstances should these procedures or drugs be administered to anyone ever. The cost is far too great. Thank you, sir." He finished and I could do nothing, but freeze.
END OF TRANSMISSION
How could he not tell me everything he has been though? I thought I was meant to be the closest person to him. I thought I even came before May. If there was one person he could talk to...then it could've been me.
"Hill." I heard Steve say and I slowly turned my head around. I could feel the tears streaming down my face, but I didn't care. "I forgive you for not telling us about him, Maria." he said, in understanding, but I wasn't sure why. "I'm gonna hug you. Is that okay?" he asked cautiously, however, I didn't respond. I just let him do it anyway. His strong arms wrapped around my delicate body as my small ones barely touched the sides of his stomach. I was not in the mood for hugging anyone, but this was comforting.
How could Coulson not tell me? He went on at me, because I wasn't open enough with people. He didn't open up to me about T.A.H.I.T.I. He said that he would tell me anything, but he lied about the project. He said that he was fine. He went on at me - all those accusations about isolating people - but he is isolating me. He is being so self-contradictory. I needed to tell Steve about what happened earlier before I could call Coulson.
"It was Coulson. Coulson was the one who spoke to me rudely earlier. He said that I was isolating myself too much and didn't have a heart." I explained and pulled away from him slowly. I wiped my tears and went back to the desk. "But he has some serious explaining to do." I said, angrily, strutting over to my desk.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you don't watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. do. :) It's awesome! PLEASE REVIEW!
tigerlillies-and-superheroes - Thank you so much for your review! Coulson will be featured in the future evident by the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter :) I love writing about him. I might do some Agents of Shield stuff if I get the chance.
Spitfire303 - I know :( I feel sorry for her in the films as well as my chapters. Hopefully everything will turn out okay...hopefully.
xnite05 - I know I was mean about Coulson :( He'll be in nicer in the future I hope :) I'm glad that you like the stories I write.
