Chapter Eleven: Deal with the Agent of all Agents

The next few hours were spent trying to convince Steve that he at least owed Peggy a hello. Eventually I won and we headed back to my apartment so I could grab her address and a change of clothes. Veela greeted me at the door, pushing her head against my calf for attention.

I knelt down to scratch her behind the ear and shuffled over to the coffee table. The papers were still stuffed in the folder and I didn't feel like picking through all of them so I ended up grabbing them all. Veela meowed at me as I shoved them into my purse, following me around as though she were depraved of attention and love. She sat impatiently on the bed while I dressed into a pair of skinny jeans and an over-sized sweater, pawing at me every chance she got.

Sighing, I patted my leg and walked into the kitchen where I dug her food bowl into the bag. She was instantly at my side rubbing her body against my calf, intertwining herself and her tail in between my legs. Trying no to trip I maneuvered around her to set the bowl down.

"Having trouble?" I looked up to see Steve leaning in my doorway. He smiled wide, his eyebrows raised slightly at my less than attractive sprawled legs with my cat eating hungrily between them. "You were taking a while so I thought I'd check up on you."

"Sorry," I blushed swinging my leg over Veela and standing so that my thighs were pressed together. "If she goes like five hours without food she acts like she is dying." I looked down and smiled fondly. "I swear she tries to kill me sometimes when I don't feed her straight away."

"Sounds like some of the men at base," joked Steve closing the door behind me as we exited the apartment. He waited patiently as I locked the door before asking, "Are those the files you have on Peggy?" I nodded, pulling them from my purse and handing them to him. He sighed heavily taking them from my hands. "Thank you for making me do this."

Shoving my keys into my much lighter purse I looked at him sideways. "Don't thank me until it's over."

The drive to Peggy's house was longer than I thought it would be. It took over an hour to find the townhouse she owned. It sat nuzzled in between two large buildings, giving it an old San Francisco feel. Her building was a darker tan than the others and the window shutters were painted a brilliant blue. A flag hung off the porch, waving wildly in the brisk wind. Lying on the porch was a sunbathing dog that had enough fur to keep himself and a small child warm in this weather.

The cab pulled into the front and Steve sat nervously in the back seat. I put my hand on his knee to still his tapping leg and offered my most comforting smile. He exhaled slowly, repaying the gesture with a smile of his own.

"You'll do fine," I said leaning over him to open the door.

He slid out and I shut the door behind him. He tilted his head as I rolled down the window and leaned forward. "Are you not coming with?"

I shook my head. "This is something you need to do alone. You guys have a lot of catching up to do."

"What are you going to do in the mean time?"

I laughed. "Probably finely get down to doing some actual work at a nearby café or something. Jameson will be breathing down my neck if I don't get an article out soon." I widened my smile. "Go, you've kept her waiting long enough, don't you think?"

He nodded and I watched him walk to the door. The large brown dog raised its heavy head slowly, its thick tail thumping against the porch. Steve bent down to pet it when the door opened and a woman dressed in a knit sweater and plain blue jeans stood in front of him. He straightened and the two exchanged a few words before shaking hands.

I waited until the door closed behind him before directing the cab driver to the closest coffee shop. To my dismal expectations it was none other than a corporate chain where a lot of local "hipster" kids tended to frequent. At least the coffee was drinkable, I reminded myself as I paid the cabbie and found an empty table near the back. Sitting down on the plush chair I set to work, pulling my iPad from my purse and researching what I could to figure out what I'd want to write.

Around my second cup of stale coffee I began to wonder if I should call Stark. Even though we hadn't spoke since I learned that he felt pity on me and our compromise of me keeping the media off of him in exchange to give me information was no longer intact it made me curious if he'd still help me. There was a lot that I had learned over the past few months that I could have published but I really didn't feel that was fair. Steve trusted me to keep his secrets and I owed him that much.

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and pulled out my phone to see if Steve had texted yet. It had been almost three hours since I'd dropped him off. I smiled to myself when my inbox was full of nothing but work related issues and a couple of chain letters from my cousin, Gwen. At least no messages from him meant that the visit was going well, I convinced myself as I scrolled through the old texts; stopping once I spotted Trever's name in the mix. I hoped he was okay and not in serious trouble. Despite what had happened-I still cared, and still loved him.

Everyone had heard how rough S.H.I.E.L.D. could be, and was. Drunk or not I didn't want him hurt regardless of his actions toward me. I did however want an explanation and I wanted to know who this Cynthia woman was. Client or not, his comment about her left me disturbed.

We'd been together for five years. Yes, we drifted slightly apart but I knew I still loved him. And, I had thought he still loved me. Did he not feel that way about me anymore? Did he find someone else to-

"Excuse me, Miss?" I looked up to see a dark-skinned bald man with glasses standing before me. He wore a crisp black suit and his hands were pressed firmly behind his back. "My name is Agent Sitwell. I work for-"

"I was wondering when one of you would come," I interrupted, frowning deeply.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" he asked pulling out the chair across from me.

"I think you're going to sit regardless of my answer."

He nodded. "It's common courtesy to still ask." I sighed and gestured with my hand for him to sit. "Thank you," he said taking the seat. "Sleep well?" he asked getting straight to the point.

"Look," I started, leaning forward and folding my hands on the granite table. "Steve told me you guys are interested me because of my dreams; that you think I can help you find something of importance. I think you guys have the wrong person."

"The tesseract is a power source, strong enough to open portals to worlds we didn't even know existed. It was sent back to its rightful place but recently has gone missing. If it falls into the wrong hands we can have another attack like the one we had over the summer; or even worse." He frowned and adjusted his small-framed glasses. "Don't be afraid to help up, Paige Stark. Your parents certainly wouldn't want you too."

I stilled at the mention of my parents. I rarely ever spoke of them; it was a sensitive subject for me. They died when I was young, barely nine years old and I was left to live with my Aunt and my Uncle. My Uncle-the Chief of Police-said their death was ruled as an accident but I knew there was more to it than that. He would refuse to delve into any more information and eventually I was forced to give up on asking.

My mother taught at a public High School and my father was a lawyer at a small firm. They were rarely home for dinner and I spent a lot of my time growing up with my Gwen as a sister rather than a cousin at times. But, even without seeing them as much as I would have liked their death took a toll on me. After a while I refused to speak of them. Hearing someone I didn't even know mention them didn't sit well with me. Especially when that someone was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"What would you know of my parents?" I asked a little too hostile, even for my own liking.

"A lot more than you think, ma'am," he casually responded. "We have a lot to discuss. Perhaps we take this conversation else where," he suggested as he stood to his feet.

I remained seated. "I can't. I have to wait for my friend."

"We've already arranged for transportation to pick up Mr. Rogers when he is finished with his visit. If you like we can have him meet us there."

An eyebrow rose as I asked, "meet us where?"

My only answer was a smile.

Several firsts were about to take place in my life after that conversation. It began with a ride in a military-styled SUV to a helicopter that carried Agent Sitwell, myself and three other agents who said nothing at all. The helicopter escorted us to a giant ship that I hadn't even noticed flying in the sky until we were practically landing on top of it. The pilot called it a helicarrier but it looked more like something from a sci-fi film.

We stepped onto the paved platform and all I could find myself doing was gaping at everything and everyone. There was no way something this big could be flying around with no one to notice.

But, I wasn't given enough time to assess the situation or my surroundings. The moment my feet touched the asphalt Agent Sitwell and I were ushered inside immediately. I was lead through a sterile, long hallway that twisted and turned in every direction. A few men and women dressed in suits would nod in acknowledgement but no one stopped to chit-chat. Each and everyone of them wore an expression that meant serious business.

Agent Sitwell directed me into a room that was unlocked by a badge that he wore on the inside of his jacket. Compressed air sighed as the doors opened and he gestured for me to step inside. My stomach lurched as I entered the cold and empty room; save for a steel table in the middle with three chairs that sat around it.

"Have a seat," he said pointing to none of the chairs in particular. "Agent Fury will be with you soon. Would you like any refreshments or something to eat?" I shook my head no completely at a loss to do much else. "Very well," he said bowing out of the room to leave me alone.

Air puffed out of my cheeks as I stood trying to collect my thoughts. There wasn't much time to do more than sigh when the doors opened once more. I spun around, inhaling sharply at the people who entered.

Dressed in a body-fitting blue suit was a tall woman with her brown hair pulled into a tight bun. Her lips were pressed firmly together and her hands were behind her back. To the opposite side of her was an average sized man who wore a nervous expression. He had on a button-up plaid shirt that was tucked into his tan khaki's and every so often he would adjust the glasses on his face.

But neither of them held my attention like the man that stood between them. He was much taller than the two and even under the black leather trench coat he wore I could see the muscle definition. He was a darker skin-tone than his companions, bald like Sitwell and probably the most intimidating man I'd ever seen in my life. But, the most noticeable thing of all was the eye-patch he wore.

I swallowed hard as the door behind them. This had to be Agent Fury. He cocked his head and gestured to his companions. "Paige Stark, this is Agent Maria Hill and Doctor Bruce Banner."

"Bruce Banner!?" I exclaimed suddenly feeling like a star-struck schoolgirl. "I did an essay on your findings with neo-negative ion fusions in college. You're a-a-brilliant man," I sputtered feeling my face start to flush.

"Well thank you," he said kindly and pursed his lips together in a small smile. "However, things don't always go the way you hope when it comes to research."

I started to open my mouth when Fury's deep voice interjected. "Let's get down to business, shall we? We know you can help us with what we need. I suggest you don't fight us and help us willingly."

As scary as this man before me was I wasn't swayed. "Agent Sitwell mentioned my parents. What did he mean when he said they wouldn't want me to be afraid of helping you?"

"That's where I come in," swallowed Bruce. "Please, have a seat," he said moving his hand toward the chairs. Together we walked to the table and sat on the cold metal seats. He grimaced and scrunched his nose before he changed everything I'd even known about who my parents were.

"Paige, your mother wasn't a teacher and your father wasn't a lawyer. They didn't die in a fire, and as you've probably always suspected growing up it wasn't just an accident."

He continued to tell me that they worked alongside Banner researching anything from gamma-rays and cures for the common cold. Their most influential work was to cure their sick daughter; me.

According to Bruce I was inflicted with dreams that were all but too real. These dreams were taking a toll on my small body and soon I'd fallen into a coma where my body was slowly dying. Only a few years were left before the strange disease would lay claim to my young life.

Desperate my parents searched for a cure. With Bruce's help they created a serum that stilled the dreams and slowed the illness. I awoke from the coma, unaware of anything at all. But before my parents could perfect the serum a fire roared and devoured everything it its path; including their work and their lives-their bodies previously penetrated by bullets. Someone had caught wind of what my dreams could do and wanted to stop my parents work. Without the serum my dreams were returning and the illness would spread once again.

The people who killed my parents stayed to the shadows, waiting until the serum started to eject itself from my body and the dreams returned. The attack in the parking lot was not random act and as the dreams progressed so did the safety of my life. Whoever it was that was after me was going to do whatever they could to get me in their grasp.

I sat in silence for a very long time. Everything about my life was a lie. My childhood was something that I didn't even remember properly. My parents murdered. Their work left destroyed which meant my life hung in the balance of life and death. And someone who was wanted to use my illness to their advantage was actively seeking on how to capture me.

"Why didn't you take over their work?" I finally asked, casting a glare Bruce's way. "Surely you had something to go by, after all you helped them create the serum. Just because they died and their work was destroyed didn't mean you had to stop. I was just a child then! Surely you had to have some sympathy," I nearly cried, pushing the chair back with my legs and standing up.

"I tried to at first, I promise but then something happened that sopped me from really doing anything but running."

I scoffed and folded my arms across my chest. "Like what?"

Fury interceded, answering for him. "You're well aware of the Avenger team," he stated. I nodded even though he hadn't been asking a question. "Meet The Hulk."

My eyes widened slightly and I apologetically stared at Bruce. He pursed his lips together and shrugged. "As I said before, things don't always go as planned."

"We are well aware that Agent Sitwell explained the situation of the tesseract," said Agent Hill's stern voice. She didn't wait for me to reply. "I don't think we need to urge you on the importance of your help."

Slowly I sat back in my seat and pulled my hands into my lap. My fingers started to twist the fabric of my shirt. "What makes you any better than the people who killed my parents? You're just using me like them. You just want me for my dreams."

"I can assure you that we are the good guys," said Fury in an even tone. "Unlike those other guys Banner has agreed to work on a cure for you. He's already started the serum and he's positive he can find the cure."

I looked to Banner and he nodded. Sighing, I looked back to Fury. "And you'll give me this cure but only if I agree to help." It wasn't a question.

He shook his head yes. "It is a two-way street. You have the ability to help u and we you." I chewed on my lip for a moment and felt myself start to nod. Fury thanked me for my cooperation when a man's voice suddenly shot out of the intercom at Hill's waist. "What in the world-"

"I tried to stop him but he insists on seeing her," said the man's voice, clearly not pleased.

Agent Hill rolled her eyes and brought the walkie-talkie to her lips. "Let him through. He'll get in regardless if we try to stop him."

Just then the doors opened and we all turned to see who it was. I started to smile expecting Steve to be in the doorway only left to frown in confusion at Tony Stark's toothy grin instead.