Four more chapters, folks.
Chapter 25: Evacuation:
Trauma Zentrum
April 5, 2015
5:30 P.M. NZT
"Are we all set?" Wally called out as he looked out across the cafeteria at the assembled S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and medical personnel. Ever since the phone call with Tony Stark that morning, the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. loyalists began packing everything they'd need on their way up to the roof. Food, guns, extra ammunition clips, medical supplies to keep treating injuries aboard the Quinjet. They grabbed whatever they could think of. Now they were down to the last hour waiting for the Quinjet to show up. Tony sent text-message status updates everytime the jet passed over somewhere different, whether it was travelling through a new state or crossing the International Date Line. Now they were down to the last thirty minutes of waiting for their rescue to arrive.
"I think we're good," Artemis commented as she rolled up next to him in her wheelchair. "Everyone's accounted for and HYDRA's attempts to get inside the building have all been thwarted." Wally couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at what they and the other loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents at Trauma Zentrum had accomplished. With nothing but extraneous medical supplies and whatever weapons they could scavenge from the corpses of their fallen foes, they had managed to survive a three day siege by the largest international terrorist organization on this Earth. Sure, not everyone had made it this far, but the fact that some people managed to survive at all was a testament to their ingenuity and endurance.
Wally was just about to break open the box of orange juice cartons for one last celebratory toast when the voices of the technicians stationed at the communications array came over the radios they had been using to keep in contact since the array had been repaired that morning. It made things easier than relying on couriers, phone calls, and text messages.
"AGENT WEST!" One of the techs screamed. "HYDRA TROOPS HAVE BREACHED THE BUILDING! THEY'VE REACHED THE COMM ROOM! WE NEED REINFORCE-" The frantic shouting of the technicians was quickly silenced by the rapid sound of gunfire on the other end of the line. Wally's blood ran cold as he realized what this meant. They needed to get up to the roof now.
"Everybody get moving!" Wally shouted. "They're right on top of us. Get everyone up to the roof. Defense Team 1, take the injured who can't walk. Team 2, assist those who can. Team 3, with me and Agent Barton. We cover the retreat." The defense teams sprang into action while Wally and Clint set up the machine gun they'd scavenged from an earlier and macguyvered into a turret to mow down HYDRA troops in a narrow space. No better time to test it than now, Wally thought darkly to himself as Artemis wheeled her wheelchair up behind him, a pair of medics from Defense Team 1 came forward with a gurney to load her onto for easier movement up to the rooftop helipad.
"I can't just leave you," she protested as the medics loaded her and Jai onto the gurney. Layers of bulletproof vests were stacked on either side of her and her son to protect them from stray shots, but she refused to leave her husband behind to face HYDRA's goons by himself. "I won't lose you again."
"I'll be right behind you babe," Wally promised as he stood up from his work and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "You're not going to lose me."
"No," Artemis whispered frantically. "Don't sacrifice yourself like this. The last time you did that you didn't even say goodbye! I know you wanted my last memory of you to be us kissing under the Eifel Tower in Paris, but you could have at last given me the "If I don't make it back," speech before you left!" She was in tears now at the thought of losing the love of her life all over again. Wally's first "death" had left her an emotional wreck for days. Him dying for real would devastate her.
"Artemis," he replied as he finished the last adjustments. "I'm not going anywhere. We're all set. I'm just bringing up the rear. But if I don't make it, I want you to remember that I'll always love you and Jai. We will get through this." He kissed her on the lips before nodding to the remaining defenders to take her up to the roof. By that time the first wave of evacuees had already left and the patients who could move had almost finished filing out of the room. Only the Wests and the last defense team remained.
Wally turned to Clint and nodded. As the nurses rolled Artemis' gurney out the other side of the room, Clint and the remaining field agent pulled the door open enough for Clint to send the makeshift perimeter turret rolling out into the hallway. The sound of machine gun fire filled their ears as the remaining defense team sprinted across the cafeteria and out the other set of double doors. Wally had replaced the bullets in the machine gun with I.C.E.R. rounds, but the lethality of the turret was irrelevant as long as it slowed the invading forces down long enough for the evacuees to get away.
Wally, Clint, and the field agent raced through the hallways up the stairs towards the roof. They reached the landing near the top when the sound of gunfire filled the stairwell.
"Go!" cried the field agent, Brendan Morris as he readied the machine gun he'd grabbed from their weapons stash. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Wally and Clint both protested, not wanting to leave anyone behind, but Brendan insisted. "It's my choice sirs," he replied. "You both need to make it back to your families. I've got nobody left. It's been an honor serving with you, gentlemen." With that, he forced the speedster and the archer through the door to the roof and locked it behind them. Turning back to the HYDRA agents, he glared down at the terrorist group in defiance. "COME AND GET ME YOU BASTARDS!" He roared as he began firing his machine gun at the line of invaders.
Realizing that they wouldn't be able to get back inside in time to save Brendan's life, and that to try would only get them killed, Wally and Clint ran passed the bloodied bodies of dying medical staff towards where the remaining survivors were crouched down behind a makeshift barricades of cooling vents and recently-vacated gurneys against an assault of HYDRA troops scaling the side of the building. Wally and Clint managed a few shots from their I.C.E.R. and bow respectively before the enemy soldiers took notice of their presence.
Wally crouched down to where Artemis was leaned against the back of an air conditioning vent and gave her a quick kiss before firing off a few more shots from the tranquilizer pistol. Tony, where are you? He mentally complained as the number of HYDRA agents on the rooftop rose exponentially. It looked as if this was the end for all of them. A tear slid down Wally's face as he sat down next to his wife and wrapped his arms around their son. He called out to everyone that it had been an honor, but before his life could flash before his eyes, he heard the sound of a lightning bolt striking the roof, and his nose picked up the strong odor of burning flesh.
Cautiously, he stood up and peaked around the edge of the vent to see that Thor had landed on the roof of Trauma Zentram and struck all the HYDRA agents currently on their level with a massive blast of lightning. Missile and laser fire from Iron Man's suit was clearly being used to take out HYDRA forces on the ground as the Avengers' private quinjet descended onto the hospital's helipad. Realizing that they only had a small window in which to evacuate, Wally scooped up his wife and son in his arms and called out for everyone to make a beeline for the Quinjet. He ran forward at super speed and deposited Artemis and Jai in the seats in the middle of the cabin before running back and grabbing more of the patients and medics and ushering them onto the aircraft.
He and Clint were the last ones on board, and neither of them relaxed until they were well clear of the besieged hospital. It's finally over, Wally realized. After three days of constant warfare, they were safe. He leaned over and kissed Artemis on the lips in celebration. But despite the celebratory atmosphere of the flight back to Avengers Tower, there was still a slight undercurrent of unease. The Siege of Trauma Zentrum was over, but the war against HYDRA? That was only just beginning.
Clint, Wally, Artemis, and Jai are all safe. Yay! Next chapter, Tony has some good news from the couple, and Wally and Artemis make plans for the future.