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"Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies"
Dorothy Allison
Chapter Seven
For it being the headquarters of SHIELD, the Triskelion was surprisingly easy to break into. The four of them had taken the control room with little resistance, though Clara was sure that once Steve did his little speech, they'd have their hands full with the outpour of Hydra.
"Attention all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me in the past few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down," said Steve, "But, I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by Hydra, Alexander Pierce is their leader, the STRIKE and Insight teams are also Hydra. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building, they could be standing right next to you."
"They almost have what they want, absolute control. They shot Nick Fury" continued Steve, and Clara was torn between grinning or grimacing at the ambiguity of his words. He almost sounded like a spy. "If you launch those helicarrier today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone they deem a threat, unless we stop them. And I know I'm asking a lot, the price of freedom is high, it always has been, but it's a price I'm willing to pay. And, if I'm the only one, then so be it, but I'm willing to bet I'm not."
"Did you write that down first?" Sam asked him, as Steve stepped away from the desk, "Or was it off the top of your head?"
Steve hid his smile, turning to Maria, "How much time do we have?"
"Two hours." She replied, "But they'll probably send them up earlier now"
"Alright, let's go." Steve said to Sam, Maria nodding at them as they passed
"Steve," she called out, latching onto his arm, "Stay safe, please."
Begging wasn't her usual style, she deplored it in fact. But if her pleading tone kept Steve alive, then she would grovel at his feet, if that's what it would take.
"You too." He replied, making no such promise, and she knew it. Begging wasn't effective as she'd hoped
Clara's hand fell back to her side, her head turning away, looking down at the ground. Steve, noticing her dismay, reached out for her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
"I'll try." He whispered
Managing a half smile, which really only consisted of an up quirk of the corners of her lips, Steve took it as a signal to leave. When he was gone, she turned back to Maria, who was watching her with a look of pity. That, she decided, she deplored far more.
"Good luck." Clara said sharply, giving Maria a quick nod, before storming out of the room
Her thunderous walk continued as she made her way down the stairs, Maria directing her to the level most in need of her assistance
"They just launched." said Maria, over the coms
"Shit." muttered Clara, they had even less time now. She had the utmost faith in their team, but they were really pushing it.
Speaking of Hydra, her muttered swear was loud enough to catch the attention of the agent a few levels below her, who then began to shoot at her. Whoever they were, they were a lousy shot, probably not helped along by the fact they were currently running up the stairs towards her.
Just as they reached the level below her, she grabbed onto the railing, pushing herself up and over, swinging out her legs to kick the gun from his hands. Grabbing onto his shirt, she used her forearm to push him back against the wall.
"Are you Hydra?" The man asked, trembling as he practically sweated from fear
"No. You?"
"No, no," he stammered, "I'm, I'm just a tech, I ran, away, they, killed them."
"What's your name?" She asked, her voice softening, but she refused to remove her arm. There still wasn't enough proof as to which way his loyalty swayed.
"Mark," he told her, "I only just started here. I...I, they're dead."
"Mark, Mark, listen to me," she commanded, "I can get you out, okay, just do as I say, can you do that?" - he nodded vigorously, and she took that as a definite - "Where did you come from? What level?"
"F-f-f-fourty"
"The others you were with, did anyone else get out?"
"No, no, they...they shot them, all of them,"
"Them? How many were there?" She asked, but Mark was no longer looking at her, he just kept muttering under his breath, "Mark, you have to keep your focus on me, okay, otherwise you could go into shock, and we don't want that. Now, how many?"
"Three."
"Okay, I'm going to go down there, you're going to come with me, is that alright?"
"Yes."
"Great." She replied, releasing him from her grip, taking a step back
Mark was a little wobbly on his feet as they descended the stairs, but he was quickly regaining his composure. She still wasn't completely sure about him, and there was no way of knowing if he was definitely not Hydra. All she had to go on were her instincts. So they would have to do.
With Mark's direction, the pair of them had managed to get in undetected, giving them the edge when Clara spotted the three Hydra agents he had spoken about. Squatting down against the wall, she turned towards Mark.
"Alright, get your gun out, and stay here." She ordered, "I'll take care of them."
"Gun?"
"The one you shot at me with." She answered, and he looked away from her sheepishly, "Fine." She said, handing her gun to him, "Don't shoot at me this time."
"Will do."
Standing up, she pulled the knife out of her belt, flicking it over in her hand as she advanced around the corner. The three agents turned towards her, and three guns were aimed at her. Flicking her free hand upwards, the guns were sent upwards, into the ceiling, before clattering onto the floor. Breaking it a run, she pushed off the ground with her left foot, kicking off the wall with her right.
Throwing her empty hand back to create a force to push herself forward more. She kicked the first agent in the chest, before bringing her legs together, her knees landing on the second agents shoulders, plunging the knife into it. As he fell to the floor, she rolled forwards off of him. The third Ageny could barely process what had happened, before she had kicked his legs out from under him, before shoving the knife into his chest.
Rising from the ground, she turned to see Mark standing behind her, trembling as he surveyed the carnage she had caused. For a second, his reaction surprised her, but then she remembered, that his horror was that of an ordinary person, not used to death the way she was. And she inwardly shuddered, at the normalcy of violence to her.
"Mark. Mark." She called out, his eyes snapping up to look at her, "We've gotta go. Now."
"Okay." He nodded, slowly creeping forward, navigating his way around the dead bodies with such precision, he looked like he was in a mine field.
"You good?" She asked when he reached her, looking at him expectedly
"Yeah, I'm, I'm fine." He replied, his tone not at all convincing
Not having enough time to evaluate his mental state, they pushed on. But they didn't find anyone, on that level, or the next. She supposed that was a good sign. It meant that the agents had gotten out, that they had a chance.
It wasn't until the third level that they came upon a group, lead by a familiar face.
"Sharon." Clara called out, running up to the group, "Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?"
"Nothing too serious, you?"
"I'm fine." She replied, "Most of the levels seem to be clear, did many get out?"
"I think so," Sharon answered, "That or Hydra got them."
"Okay, well, get these people out." Clara said, "Good luck."
"You too."
Clara turned to Mark, who's gaze was glued on the ground, she called out his name, and he looked up at her. His eyes were wide, bright blue, and incredibly broken.
"You're going to go with Sharon, alright, she'll get you out." She told him, and he nodded limply
"Thank you." He whispered
"You're welcome."
Clara watched, solemnly, as Sharon lead the group away. Hopefully they would make it out. She trusted Sharon's ability, and hoped that no harm would befall them.
"Clara." She heard Maria say through the coms, "You're needed on Level 48, there's a group of Hydra there."
"I'll be there," she replied, before muttering to herself, "I'm not taking the bloody stairs again."
And with that in mind, Clara made her way towards the elevator. It was a risky move, sure to draw attention, but she'd take the chance if it meant she wouldn't have to run up almost ten flights of stairs. This way was quicker.
The endeavour proved itself to be just as risky as she predicted, when the elevator doors opened, to reveal four agents standing in front of her, guns aimed.
"I surrender," she said, raising her eyebrow along with her arms, her hands in fists
"Hydra doesn't take prisoners." Said one of the agents
"That's a damn shame." She rexiled, opening her hands, creating a barrier that caught their shots
The agents continued to fire, but her barrier caught every bullet. They began to back away, clearly realising that things weren't going their way. She threw her arms forward, causing the barrier to fly towards them. The force knocked them over, causing the bullets to embed in their chests. Her arms fell to her side, as she walked up to them.
"Thanks." She said, plucking a gun from the arms of one of the agents.
She raised her free hand, causing the other guns to lift off the ground, before closing it into a fist, the metal letting out a crunch as it crushed into itself.
"You're even more impressive when you're the enemy." Came a voice. It was familiar, but held a vileness that was unrecognisable
Looking up, her eyes widened as they saw who the voice belonged to. She knew the woman well, she'd trained her, supervised her, known her for years. And all that time, she'd been Hydra. Or maybe some of the time. Or maybe this was a new development. Either way, she was knowing standing before her, a traitor, with her hands latched onto the jacket of a distraught woman
"Carol?" Clara called out, as the woman tightened her grip on the hostage
"Surprised?" Carol asked, pulling out her gun, holding it to the hostage head, the woman beginning to shake with sobs, "Place your weapon on the ground, or I shoot her."
"Okay," said Clara, tossing the gun onto the ground, holding her hands in the air,
"Take her," Carol ordered, nodding towards the other agents, who moved in, "You know, Clara, you really shouldn't be so predictable."
"I don't know," Clara replied, as the agents neared her, "Personally, I think I'm just the right amount of predictability."
And with that, she dropped her left hand, sending out a wave that collected one the agents. He flew backwards, straight into Carol, knocking her to the ground. The hostage dived to the side, crawling away.
Throwing out her arm, she sent the two other agents straight into the wall, leaving her to advance on her former ally. Carol clambered for the dropped gun, managing to grab onto it, and get back up to her feet. Clara grabbed onto her arm, just as she let off a shot. Jabbing her elbow into Carol's face, she dropped the gun, taking a step back. She swung around, delivering a punch straight to where her elbow had just been.
Falling down to the ground, Carol turned over. Now without her weapon, her colleagues incapacitated, and no way to avoid her imminent demise, Shd pulled a grenade from her pocket. And with a vicious grin, she pulled the clip.
"Guess you're coming down with me," she said, seeming to almost relish in the possibility of Clara's death
"Not today." Clara replied, and stony-faced, turned on her heel, holding up her hand to create a barrier, deflecting the explosion back towards Carol, and the other agents
The woman that was being held hostage had already scrambled off, desperate to get out of the building. And Clara couldn't blame her.
"Clara, you need to get up here, it's almost time." Maria said through the coms
"Alright, I'll be right there." She responded, before sighing, "The stairs are looking pretty good right now."
Clara didn't encounter anyone as she climbed the stairs. She hoped that meant that everyone had gotten out. She also hoped, that since she'd managed to reach the control room without any attempt on her life, that they had succeeded in putting a stop to Hydra's plan.
But her joy was short lived, when she heard Steve's orders as she stepped into the room.
"Fire now."
Her eyes scanned the screens, to see the helicarriers with new targets, locked and loaded, ready to blast each other out of the sky
"But Steve," Maria pleaded, and Clara's face fell, her mouth opening, her eyes widening
Steve was still in the helicarrier. Once again, he was in the direct path of danger, and he had put himself there.
"Do it." He ordered, and Maria reluctantly clicked the button, and the helicarries began to fire on one another
"No!" Clara screamed out, gripping the table, "Steve, please, don't do this."
"I have to." He replied, it being the closest thing to an apology, explanation, or goodbye, that he could offer her. Not that it would ever be enough.
"No, no." She moaned out, crumbling down onto the floor, "No."
Her whole body shook from the uncontrollable sobs that were reverberating around her chest. Breaths were shallow, her chest heaving. Curling her legs up to her. The tears stained her cheeks. Her heart shattering, as chaos reigned down from the sky, taking all her hope with them.
"Clara, come on, we need to go." Maria told her, the hand on her shoulder at an attempt at comfort, futile as it turned out to be
"No!" She screamed, hysterically, throwing out an arm, accidentally sending out a force that shattered the windows, not that she either noticed nor cared
"Steve wouldn't want you stay," said Maria, "If we get out of here, we can help him."
The tears finally stopped, her eyes meeting Maria's, and she gulped down the sobs. The mission wasn't over. There was still a chance. She could still save him. She had to finish the job.
Tentatively, she nodded, allowing Maria to help her back to her feet. She followed behind Maria, as she lead them out to the helicopter waiting to take them away. So far, everything was going according to plan, apart from Steve's self-sacrificing tendency. But even that was easily predicted.
As they flew, hovering over the water, but not so close that they were in danger of the collapsing building and falling helicarriers. She couldn't see anything, so she closed her eyes. Reaching out her mind, it was like hands were stretching out, crudely grabbing her surroundings, searching for him.
And she found him.
"I've got him, he's down there, by the water." She said hurriedly, frantically pointing to his location
"Lower us down." Maria ordered, and the helicopter slowly descended.
But Clara only waited until they were close enough for a safe fall, before moving to the edge. Maria called at her name, but she ignored her in favour of jumping straight into the water.
Water seeped through her clothes, drenching her hair. But she hardly noticed as she swam towards the shore. When she reached it, she dashed out of the water, falling onto her knees beside the unconscious Steve.
"You'll be alright," she told him, even though he couldn't hear her, "You'll be okay, you're safe. Oh thank god, you're safe."
Sorry for the wait, life was a little hectic for awhile. I hope you a enjoyed it, and please, leave a review. Don't forget about the poll, and also, check out my story A Series of Occurences.
