Chapter 11

Painting. That's what she would do. Painting usually helped her calm down and clear her mind. She just needed to sit down and not think about what Burnow had told her yesterday. Easier said than done, but she was more than willing to give it a try.

She went out of the room and into the hall where she pulled her painting supplies out of the hall closet. A fresh, new, blank canvas was what she needed. She just needed to paint something. Anything. Anything to get her mind off of the mission and the crazed man's phone calls. She grabbed her brushes, paints, and easel and made her way to the living room. There she sat in the corner next to the window. Her favorite spot. She was able to look out at the world and let her mind wander. Wander away from any troubled times and just stay calm, quiet, and serene.

She turned to the white canvas on her easel. What was she going to paint? She stared at it, chewing her cheek like she always did when she thought. She looked out the window again and looked for any inspiration. She smiled lightly when she spotted a building with the sun reflecting on the windows and giving off a glow. Grabbing her brush she dipped it into one of the paint blobs on the tray; she turned back to the canvas. But she froze, brush in midair, not even reaching the canvas. She looked at her hand. It was shaking. She placed the brush down and clasped her hands together in her lap, trying to calm them down and stop shaking. She couldn't. She couldn't paint. She couldn't think. No, she couldn't stop thinking of what Michael Burnow had told her. How did he know her dad? Did Barry know about the mission? What even happened on that mission?

Tracey stood up abruptly, pushing her chair back and making a screech as it scraped against the floor that made Dexter jump from where he was laying down. He watched her walk out of the room and down the hall towards her bedroom before he laid his head back down on his paws.

The hacker bustled about the room, searching for her laptop. She snatched it off her dresser and quickly sat down on the bed, opening it up. Her brow furrowed as her fingers furiously skimmed across her keyboard. Her eyes scanned the illuminated screen as file after file popped up. Since being hired by Tony to get the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra files off the internet she never really spent time reading them. Why would she? They were none of her business and she didn't want to know what horrible things Hydra did or what strange things S.H.I.E.L.D. had encountered. The only thing that she ever looked at were the Hydra base locations and information. Not to mention the Winter Soldier files, but only to get rid of them for good on Bucky's request.

She took a deep breath as she stared at the search bar on her screen. Chewing her lip, she could feel her heart begin to beat faster and faster in her chest. She was nervous. She was scared. She didn't know what she'd find. She didn't know if Burnow was tricking her or not. She continued to stare at the screen until she took another breath and began to type.

Samuel Madison

She held her breath as she waited for the file to pop up. Or if anything would come up. It felt like time slowed down as she waited. But especially when a single file showed up on the screen.

Her eyes slowly moved across the screen as she read each and every line of the report. The words slowly, but surely, sinking in.

"The mission in Afghanistan to recover the 0-8-4 was a success. However, there were casualties. A group of five men from the army were the ones to discover the object. Unknown to what it was, a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were called up to meet the men at a rendezvous point in order to keep prying eyes and ears away and extract the 0-8-4. Unfortunately, once the agents reached the meet up point they were met with the sight of the five men dead on the ground. The 0-8-4 nowhere in sight. Fortunately, the agents were able to catch the man who killed them and took off with the object. He was armed and his identity was unknown. The 0-8-4 was recovered, but the masked man got away. Gunshot wounds were discovered on the men during the autopsy. Private David Brandon, Private Thomas Randsy, Sergeant Richard Peterson, Sergeant Major Ryan Wynne, and Captain Samuel Madison were pronounced dead on September 25, 2005."

Samuel Madison.

Tracey stared at the name. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach and shattered. Her breathing was slow and shallow, gradually getting faster. Her heartbeat picked up. Her dad hadn't just died on the front lines? He died on a mission helping S.H.I.E.L.D.? She was told it was on the front lines. It was a lie? For ten years, what she, Barry, and their mom believed happened to him was a lie?

Barry.

Her brow furrowed and her hands clenched into fists. Her blood boiling. He knew. He was a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. He had to have known.

"JARVIS!" Tracey screamed.

"Yes, Miss Madison?" the AI's voice came out.

"Where's my brother?"

"Up on the top floor with the rest of the…"

Tracey didn't hear the rest of what the AI said. It all faded away as her heartbeat pumped in her ears. She was furious. She was set on a path and no one was going to get in her way.

She stormed off the elevator, ignoring Skye and Trip when they greeted her from the kitchen. She moved past everyone. She ignored Tony, Bucky, and Sharon. She ignored everyone. Her eyes were set on her brother as he sat in the living room, talking with Mack and Bobbi.

"Barry!"

Barry turned around, so did everyone else, when he heard the enraged voice of his twin sister. His eyebrows shot up when he saw her stomping over to him. He quickly stood up and approached her, hands up in defense.

"Trace, what's wrong?" he said, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"You knew!" she screamed as she reached him. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Knew what? Trace, what's going on?" Barry asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

She shoved them off and glared up at him. "You knew about the mission dad was on, didn't you?"

Barry stood frozen, eyes wide as he stared, incredulous, at his sister's statement. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, trying to recover from the shock of her declaration.

"Oh don't you play dumb!" she yelled, jabbing a finger at him. "You knew our dad was on a mission with S.H.I.E.L.D.! Didn't you?"

The male twin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yes."

Tracey stared up at him, eyes wide and starting to brim with tears. "How long have you known?"

"A few years after I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. I found the file with the mission," Barry said slowly, down casting his eyes.

"You knew for nearly ten years?" the hacker screamed, ignoring everyone's eyes on her. "You knew for ten years and you never told me?"

"I couldn't tell you!" Barry yelled back. "I'm sorry!"

"You couldn't tell me? You couldn't tell me? He was our dad, Barry! He was our dad! He died on that mission and you couldn't tell me? For years I believed he died while out in the war. Not on a mission with S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

"Tracey," Coulson said, stepping up to the two siblings. "Breathe. I understand why you would be upset."

She ignored him. "Why couldn't you tell me?" she yelled at her brother, the tears building up in her eyes. She was furious!

"I couldn't because I wasn't allowed! I wanted to tell you, Tracey, I did, but I couldn't," Barry said, his eyebrows arching up. "I'm sorry, Tracey."

"Stop!" she yelled. "I am your twin sister and you couldn't have told me? What about after you left S.H.I.E.L.D.? It's been a year, Barry!" she screamed, shoving his shoulders. "A year and you didn't tell me the truth!"

"Tracey," Bucky said, grabbing her shoulders gently. "Calm down."

"No," she snapped, pushing his hands off her. She whipped around and glared up at her brother. "What about mom, huh? You expect her to not know the truth about her own husband?"

"I…I-" Barry stuttered. He couldn't answer. He just hung his head in defeat. "I'm sorry, Trace."

She glared up at him as she shook her head. "I can't believe you…"

She turned on her heel and headed back to the elevator. The tears slipped down her face as the doors closed, but they stopped when a hand shot out in between them. Bucky walked on and stood in front of the blonde, blocking her from view of everyone else. He stayed silent as he looked at her until the doors closed again.

"Baby," he said, taking her hand in his flesh one. "Talk to me…"

Tracey shook her head, lowering it to hide the tears that were falling down her face. That didn't stop her boyfriend from placing his metal hand under her chin and lifting her head up to look at him.

"Tracey, please," he said, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. "What did you find out?"

"I found out how my dad really died…" she whispered.

The super soldier sighed and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Trace." He kissed the top of her head, holding her to him for a few more moments. "Do you need anything?" he asked, looking down at her just as the doors opened up to their floor.

She shook her head. "I just…I just need to be alone…"

"Tracey," Bucky began, but stopped when his girlfriend shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Bucky." Her eyes widened when her phone went off in her pocket. She fumbled as she pulled it out and silenced it.

Bucky's brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said quickly, stepping off the elevator. "I just need to be alone. Please," she said, eyes pleading when she saw Bucky step off the elevator as well.

He stood there for a few seconds, but eventually nodded. "Alright," he said.

He watched as she turned down the hall, heading to their room. He sighed when he saw her wipe her eyes. He should be with her. But he didn't want to push her to let him stay, especially after what she just discovered. If she wanted to be alone, he'd let her.

His brow furrowed when he heard her talking from their room. It was muffled by the door, but he could hear her. Walking up to the door he strained to listen, but it was still slightly muffled. Like she was whispering. He raised a brow when he heard her yell something.

He knocked. "Tracey? Are you okay?"

"Go away, Bucky! I want to be alone!" she shouted.

Bucky took a step back from the door, staring at it solemnly. "Okay," he said, nodding his head as he turned away.

Was she talking to herself? Or was she talking to someone? Was it that person on the phone from moments ago?

The super soldier sighed, running a hand through his hair as he got on the elevator again.

What was going on with Tracey?

ooOOoo

Tracey curled up on the bed as soon as she entered the room, leaving Bucky by the elevator. She grabbed a pillow, holding it to her as the tears slipped down her face. How could Barry not have told her? It was their dad! She had the right to know the truth about his death!

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. But this also meant that Burnow was right. She didn't want to believe he was right, but the evidence was right there! What could she do?

She jumped when her phone rang again. She stared at the device, heart hammering when she saw the unknown number.

"What do you want?" she snapped when she answered.

"My my," Michael Burnow's voice said, a hint of amusement in it. "Someone's not too happy today. You also didn't answer the first time I called. What happened?" There was a pause before he spoke again. "Did you find out what happened to your dad?"

"You're an asshole," she spat, brow furrowed.

There was a knock. "Tracey? Are you okay?"

The blonde woman's head whipped up and over to the door, eyes wide. "Go away, Bucky! I want to be alone!"

There was a pause. "Okay."

"Was that Bucky Barnes you were talking to?" he chuckled. "I hope you haven't told anyone about our little talks." He paused again. "Did your brother, Barry, know about your dad?" Tracey stayed silent, glaring straight ahead of her. But that was all Burnow needed. "Oh, my dear. I'm sorry to hear that."

Tracey continued to glare as she listened to the man on the other end. She stayed silent, remembering the information she read on the mission. Her eyes slowly widened as realization dawned on her.

"It was you…"

"I knew you were smart, Miss Madison," the scientist said with a bit too much glee in his voice. "Unfortunately, yes," he said, going back to his calm demeanor. "I was the man who killed your father and his team. I'm sorry, Miss Madison, but your father was in the way of Hydra's plans. But," he said, making sure that she was listening. Although her silence told him she was. "But that was Hydra. I'm not with them anymore. We both can get revenge on them. I just need your help."

"You son of a bitch," Tracey said low and full of venom. "You think I'll help the man who killed my dad? Hydra or not, you're a murderer!"

Michael sighed. "Ah, Miss Madison. I was so hoping you'd listen and agree. I will have your help."

"Go to hell!"

"You will help me," he said, slowly, "or not only will you be risking your brother's life, but your mother's as well. I suggest you meet with me soon if you want her safe."

Tracey's heart stopped. "You stay away from my family," she growled.

"Then you better meet with me," the man said. "I'll be sending you the location soon. Goodbye, Miss Madison."

So that was chapter 11! I hope you liked it! I was so excited to write this one and reveal a little bit more about Barry and Tracey's dad. I didn't really go into much detail with him in the last story and that was partially because it was about Bucky recovering and the start of his and Tracey's relationship. Plus I didn't think of this backstory until I was brain storming this story all together. I don't know how but my heart was actually beating really fast when I was writing the part where Tracey read up on the mission about her dad. Don't know haha. So there you have it! Chapter 11!

Thank you to the-littlepurpletimelady-avenger (tumblr) for the names David Brandon, Thomas Randsy, Richard Peterson for three of the four army men. Thank you to the anon for the name Ryan Wynne. I was laughing when I read that. That's the first name of one of my friends and the last name of another! And thank you to thewintersoldierdisaster (tumblr)/AtLoLevad (fanfiction) for the name Samuel for Barry and Tracey's dad. I had a major brain fart and could not come up with names for the life of me. So thank you guys very much!

Go check out those lovelies!

If you'd like to ask the Avengers, Madison twins, and anyone else in the tower like Rhodey, Pepper, Sharon, Darcy, Jane, and Betty, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr. And I'm thinking that since Coulson and his team are currently in the tower for a limited time why not include them? So feel free to ask the Avengers and Coulson's team any questions! But it's only while I'm writing this story. Once it's done they will be gone. Sorry!

I'm also slightly regretting combining both teams. There are too many characters to keep up with hahaha

Also if you have any prompts for Life at the Tower/AUs, feel free to message me on tumblr, PM me here, or leave it in a review.

My tumblr is winter-is-ending

I would honestly love love LOVE to hear what you guys think. Was it bad? Was it good? Is there anything I need to work on? I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, concerns, and any questions you might have.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed! You guys are the best!