1:00am, Sunday, March 9, 2014
Steve stands at the door, half an hour since they got there. Maria was already calling around getting specifics. He had no idea what she was doing here but he doesn't ask, it's not the right time. The door to the observation room swings open and Natasha rushes over next to Steve, connecting their hands for a moment before moving apart.
"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha keeps her eyes straight on Fury, looking for any sign that this isn't real. Deep Shallow Conditions
"I don't know" Steve shakes his head at her, looking into her eyes in sympathy.
She wants a way to keep her mind off of all this. "Tell me about the shooter."
"He's fast and strong. Great reflexes. Had a metal arm. Unlike anything we've seen before." He tells her. Maria wonders a little if amazing reflexes had something to do with Xander, the alleged prince of a third world country.
That description matches it. She was the only person to have seen him and live to tell the tale. She had the scar to prove it. Whenever Steve asked what it was, she would simply reply with 'battle wounds' though this is worse than that. She had heard murmurs of him in the Red Room as nothing more than an urban myth. If he is real, then she knows exactly who shot JFK. One more thought crosses her mind before she loses it, "ballistics?" Natasha asks, her hand clutching the railing so tightly it was making her hands white.
"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable."
"Soviet-made" she figures.
Knowing what she knows, Maria can't say anything else "Yeah". The documents were in Russian and apparently so were Ronnie's birth parents. HYDRA must've become Russian after the war due to just that. Argh, there is still so much for her to figure out.
Natasha still has her eyes attached to the scene in front of her and sure enough, there was a syringe. An empty one. The same shape as the one the triplets had her bring to Fury. Fury you overdramatic genius.
"He's in V-tach" one of the male nurses announces. Everyone shuffles out of the way to let a large cart in. The nurses and doctor all get ready to use the crash cart. Hopefully the toxin will make sure that these don't hurt him, it's still a bad idea though.
"BP is dropping."
"Defibrillator! I want you to charge him at one hundred. Stand back!" He puts the paddles on Fury's chest and side "Three, two, one. Clear! Pulse?"
"No pulse"
"Okay. 200, please. Stand back!" It has to at least look like he's trying to save a patient. "Three, two, one. Clear! Give me epinephrine! Pulse?
"Negative."
He waits a few seconds for any sign that he could come back. "Time of death, 1:03 a.m." The nurses look at the body dejectedly while the doctor takes off his gloves, knowing what needs to happen soon.
Steve put his hand over Natasha's and this time, she didn't pull away. "No Nick, why?" She rasps into the air.
"It's ok Nat" Steve tries to tell her. He saw how upset she was over Coulson but this made him feel worse, there is some strange variable here. He didn't die in action, he was murdered. He rubs his hand on her wrist, like she often did with the triplets when one of them was upset. The Red Room had made them wear handcuffs every night while they were sleeping. She used them during the beginning of their relationship, but he had helped her break the habit.
Maria keeps her eyes on them, not having to mind Fury at the moment. They always seemed happy when they were together, but they deserve Academy Awards for how well they hid their romantical love. Steve is running his fingers over Natasha's knuckles and she naturally gravitates to him. Maria just hopes that Steve and Natasha won't kill her when they find out about the triplets' current location.
Fury's body was moved for viewing, the doctors did the best that they could to make it look presentable. Natasha has tears in her eyes, not because of his 'death' but because of what it meant. What if the triplets still have no idea what the code meant and they think that he really died? It also hurt knowing that he was not getting the necessary treatment right now because it needs to be believable. It helped though, the Black Widow never cries so this would help sell it.
"I need to take him." Maria tells her after getting off the phone with a group of very loud unknowns, she might've been able to tell if she was paying any attention. The thought of it being the triplets crossed her mind one of twice. The thought of them being in this mess made her a little queasy so she quickly moved on.
Natasha moves her hand onto his head, carefully in case he was injured there. "You dumb bastard, you had me scared for a minute," she whispers under her breath, too quietly for anyone else to hear, but Steve can. He has no idea why she would say that if her father figure is dead. It then dawns on him.
"Hill, thank you for making the necessary arrangements." She smiles, she knows that he figured it out.
Steve goes and puts his hand on Nat's shoulder, he could care less if Maria knew. She leans into his touch slightly before realizing what she's doing. She straightens up and walks out of the room."Natasha. Natasha!" Steve calls after her until she stops walking away from him.
Natasha knows that he wants to talk to her because he figured it out, she knows him well enough "Why was Fury in ou-your apartment?" She asks to test him.
Steve shrugs his shoulders at his wife, he knows her well enough to know that this is a test, "I don't know."
"Cap, they want you back at SHIELD." Rumlow shouts from down the hallway
"Yeah, give me a second." Steve tries to delay the inevitable.
"They want you now." He glares at the blonde.
Steve glares back "Okay."
"You're a terrible liar" she reminds him. She sees him make a decision. He goes to hug her and she doesn't pull away, just careful of where her hands are. "I'm very sorry for your loss Nat" he says loud enough for anyone to overher. "I love you, stay safe" he whispers to her in Xhosa. She tries not to smirk as she feels something small and rectangular in her jeans pocket. They separate. Not that anyone minded the two Avengers sharing a hug. It did look strange though. The only people who could hug her were Clint and Coulson, and neither of them made it a lingering hug like that. She didn't care though, she had to go call her kids. Nope, she couldn't because it's two am in the morning, and they're hopefully sleeping.
She had to make sure the drive is safe, alive or not, following Fury's request is always the best course of action.
(Ten Minutes Later, in the Sewage Plant.)
The triplets stood ready at the door. The doctor had done everything that he could to make sure Fury lived until they made it here, but his life is in their hands now. Maria instructed them not to open the door until she gave the code, so they couldn't run to him, no matter how much they want to. Henry had prepped the medical area as best that he could in an abandoned sewage plant, but they have to work with what they got. Ronnie has been working on the chips for the past hour, she could get this done in her sleep, if it was a long winter night and not in what will become a battlefield. Work always helps her mind stay at ease, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything to help now. Clear mind or not, this is a matter of safety and it needs to get done.
Henry and Xander got their gloves and masks on because they stitched Fury up at the hospital only half done. Ronnie pushes the button to let Maria in as she tells her the code. Maria, and the doctor are trying to carry Fury in when Xander comes out with a gurney. Maria carefully lays Fury on there while Xander attaches a series of IVs and monitors. The doctor stares at him and keeps moving.
"Xander this is Doctor Fine, he'll be able to assist you and Henry." The doctor looks like he was about to argue.
"I'm Xander Rogers, his grandson." Xander tells the doctor while rolling Fury into the medical setup. Henry comes over with a scalpel to get started. Maria is helping Dr. Fine into a gown and gloves.
"Rogers, as in"
The brothers both stand next to their barely breathing grandfather. "Yes, our dad is Steve Rogers. Now you can either be smart and come help or tell our sister to hurry it up."
Ronnie choses that moment to come in. "How long ago was the toxin injected? Get the spinal correction features applied to his lower spine, hopefully it can make sure that he doesn't become paralyzed"
"Yes that would make things a lot more complicated. And he was given it little less than forty-five minutes ago." Fine answers.
Henry cuts Fury open again. Dr. Fine looks almost appalled, this is a teenager doing a surgery that he would never sanely attempt. They say nothing on the topic.
Maria looks at her phone then up at Ronnie. "Your mom just texted, Steve is meeting with Pierce. For all we know, he's caught up in this. How are the disks coming?"
"They have all the programmining, I just need to make them able to function when attached to something that I don't have the circuit board for. It can be done by later today." She goes back to help her brothers operate on their grandfather. Not the most legal thing, but who really cares at this point.
"Damn it, Fine do you have any blood?" Henry asks. Fury's lost too much blood and he needs a transfusion.
"No, I couldn't exactly sneak it out of there." Fine quipped back.
Ronnie starts pulling up her sleeve and Xander is about to hook her up.
"You sure? He's gonna need a lot of blood." Xander asks, slightly worried.
"Yeah, Soviet super genius remember" she takes a deep breath as Xander is about to prick her skin, "besides, he could use a little serum right now."
Xander looks at Henry for confirmation. Yes Ronnie and Fury are O positive but they didn't know all of Ronnie's abilities yet or have time to study them. Xander connects the lines for the transfusion. From there it's a huge mess of Henry and Fine fixing his lungs, spine, and liver.
"Damn it." Fine shouts as Henry runs over to get a special piece of eyewear he and Ronnie designed for exactly this.
"What is it?" Maria asks as she runs into the room, all of the monitors were beeping dangerously quickly.
Henry starts working so Ronnie answers for him. "He has pneumothorax and it wasn't treated quickly enough. There's a very high chance he can die from it. Xander, get Henry the heartrate amplifier. I know it's a prototype but it's better then nothing."
Xander hands her the chords and she continues keeping the flow steady. The super serum might be just what he needs to live even if it's just a little.
"Yes that's perfect" Henry tells Xander as he sets it up. It's basically a really advanced ICD so they'll be able to focus on his lung and spine instead of his heart that thankfully wasn't damaged.
Towards the end of the operation, Ronnie nearly passes out. She had been giving Fury blood as well as working the entire time. Xander takes her over to a cot and he resumes developing the chips for her. Henry and Fine patch up Fury and leave him to rest. Henry did some calculations, due to the amount of serum Ronnie gave him in the transfusion, he should be well enough to walk when Insight is scheduled to launch. Now all they have to do is hope that their parents don't die before Monday or if they could have it their way, ever.