Soft snores were heard in the room. The lights were off. The only light in the room was from the soft glow of the television. The volume was muted. It was all quiet and calm.

Daniel laid on his stomach, his arms around the pillow and his face pressed on it, facing the television.

That was the only way he could sleep at the moment. His back injuries really preventing him from moving much. It sucked, truly. He had always slept on his back or side. So, he hated such limitation at the moment.

Nonetheless, he found a comfy position and stuck to it until he fell asleep.

Daniel really wasn't the type to sit still when injured. Well, that could be because he had rarely ever gotten hurt. There have been a handful of times where he needed to be bedridden, but he never paid much attention to those recommendations.

That just reminded him of his time in prison in Colombia, which is something that he did not want to remember.

It must have been an hour or two until he heard a knock on his door. Upon the sudden noise, Daniel groaned and shifted slightly from his spot before trying to sleep again. However, the knocking became persistent. Daniel did not know who would be knocking at his door at this hour. Well, it wasn't late. It was around three in the afternoon but still. He does not want to be bothered, nor does he want to get up to get the door.

Perhaps if I ignore it, they will leave.

They did not leave.

The person on the other side of the door did not stop knocking the door. It was slow and steady, not going too fast or too slow. They did not knock on the door hard either. If they were knocking this long, it must be a person he knows. Strangers do not knock on doors like this. It would have been a quick knock and then nothing. But this person must be someone he knows. He stayed on the bed, thinking about who it could be. Tony was still in New York working with Bruce on a project. The only people that are in D.C. right now are Steve and Nat. It isn't like Fury would come to his hotel room and knock at such an obnoxious manner.

With a sigh, he moved the bottom part of his body to the floor. Biting back a groan, he was able to touch the ground with his feet. Once his feet were on the floor, he pushed himself up with his arms and he was soon standing. He could not do many motions at the moment, because everything hurts. Training and being on a mission are very different. With training, you know what you are going to expect. You run, spar and just keep yourself in condition to complete the mission. While working, things do not always go to plan. He managed to get his lower back burned.

Shuffling from the bed to the door, a grimace was on Daniel's face when he opened the door. He was not surprised to see that it was Natasha. It had to be someone he knew, and he doubted that Steve would knock on his door this long.

"Finally, you open the door," she strolled past him and into the room. Daniel closed the door behind her, and crossed his arms against his chest to look at her.

"Yes, forgive me, I should have instantly opened the door. Not like my back hurts or anything," he rolled his eyes before walking further in the room.

Nat simply smiled," You're forgiven." She looked around the hotel room. There was barely anything out of the ordinary. The only used thing seemed to be the bed. It wasn't a large room. It had a bed, a bathroom, television and a desk. It was a simple room. "I admit, I expected more."

"Yeah, the hookers left a few minutes ago. How unfortunate that you missed them. They were nice girls, really good with their mouths," Dan said sarcastically as he moved slowly to the bed and sat down on a corner. He took a deep inhale as the pain flared. He turned to look at the redhead and took notice of her attire. The catsuit was off. She was dressed in a simple pair of black jeans, a green top and her brown leather jacket. The shirt really helped her eyes pop. He felt underdressed, simply wearing a pair of grey sweat and a white tee with a large bandage on his lower back.

Nat arched a brow in amusement, "Well, it's not like you could do more."

A laugh escaped the young Stark. It was clear that sex was not something that Daniel would be doing anytime soon. He couldn't even lay on his back or walk much. So there wasn't going to be much action in the close future, well at least for a month from what he remembered Dick telling him.

"Funny."

"Let me take a look," Nat waved him over. Sighing, Daniel walked up to her and lifted the back of his shirt to show the damage. Taking the edge of the bandage and pulling it down a bit, Nat hissed when she saw the blisters on his back. She touched the top of the injury, just taking a good look at the injury. "Your hands are cold," Dan stated as he looked over his shoulder to see Nat's expression. She simply glanced at him before fixing up the bandage and dropping her hand.

Letting go of his shirt, Dan turned around to Nat. "I don't think you're here to just see how I am doing. What's up?", he crossed his arms against his chest as he looked at the spy.

"I wanted to see if you were interested in a mission in Croatia?" She looked up at him, having a feeling that he would say yes to the mission.

Daniel bit his lip, thinking about it. That was until another thought came to mind. "Why are you the one offering me the mission than Fury?"

"He has a feeling that you like me more than him," she shrugged, as if it wasn't the truth. At that, Daniel chuckled. He did prefer for Nat over Fury. Nicholas Fury had high expectations for him, and Dan didn't like that. He hated when people had expectations for him to live up. That will just lead to disappointment for everyone. Meanwhile, Nat didn't really expect much. To many, they may find that offensive but not to Dan. It was nice, because it left no room for disappointment. Plus, she was more easygoing than Fury, and prettier.

"So, he clearly wants me to say yes, if he sent you to tell me," Daniel stated before nodding. "All right, sounds like fun."

Everything seemed alright that day. Nat left after their talk and he went back to going to sleep. However, that changed when he heard his phone ring. The temptation to ignore it was strong, but he decided to answer it in the end. Without checking the caller ID, Daniel answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Rogers" Fury's voice was heard, and Daniel was far more awake than before. He sounded tired. Daniel couldn't help but think that something has happened, something bad. Did Fury call him by accident by how he said Rogers? or was it to go to Rogers? Nonetheless, Daniel knew he needed to leave.

Fury hung up, and Daniel began getting dressed - ignoring the pain from his back. He dressed simply - jeans with a black shirt and a black bomber jacket. In less than five minutes he was out of the door and on his way to go to Steve's apartment. Daniel may have gotten his hands into the database of SHIELD to gather some insight on everyone he was working with, including Nat. Of course, he had the help of Tony to get that information. It was before he officially began working with Fury.

Daniel may have borrowed a motorcycle without asking, but that was the last thing he cared about. He drove all the way to Steve's apartment, driving over the speed limit and cutting off some cars in the process and almost getting into a car accident. It is safe to say that Stark had arrived in less than fifteen minutes to the apartment. The adrenaline of it all made him forget about the pain of his lower back. Parking the bike in front of Steve's building, he noticed Steve's bike was there too. Good, he doesn't need to brake in. Without much thought, Daniel ran up the steps and entered the building before running up the stairs .

A few months ago, he would have had a heart attack at running up the stairs. Now, he was just slightly winded, but not enough to make him stop completely. He was met with Steve's back as Cap was beginning to enter his place. Daniel could hear some music from the apartment, and Daniel found it odd since Steve doesn't seem like the type to forget to turn off his record player.

"C'mon," Daniel said as he placed his hands on Steve's shoulders and pushed him forward into the apartment. The blond was surprised to see Daniel there, especially pushing him into his apartment. Daniel ignored the neighbor, closing the door after him before pressing his palm againsthis watch - observing the way the Iron Man tech wrapped around his hand like a glove.

Maybe he should ask Tony for a suit.

"Dan? What-?" Steve said in a hushed manner, before he stopped talking when they saw Fury sitting in a chair. The light from outside illuminated his figure. Both men stood silent as they watched Fury.

"I don't remember giving you a key," Steve said as he walked in slowly into his apartment, weary about the whole situation. It was odd seeing Fury in his place, as well as Stark.

"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out," the man sighed in the darkness.

"Didn't know you had a wife," Daniel spoke that time, confused about the whole thing. He knew Fury wasn't married. So why is he saying that? He recalls all the information he had gathered on Fury: went to the military after high school, turned to the CIA and then became part of SHIELD .

"There's a lot of things you guys don't know about me."

"I know, Nick. That's the problem," Steve moved to turned on the lights and both agents saw how beaten their boss was. Bruises colored the older man's skin. Daniel was on edge now, wondering who could have done this. After all, Fury is THE Spy.

Fury motions for them to be silent before turning off the lights. Taking out his phone, Fury typed something quickly before showing the screen to both men. "EARS EVERYWHERE"

Now, Daniel was beginning to panic internally. Someone is listening to their conversation.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash." "SHIELD COMPROMISED"

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked as Fury began to type on his phone before showing them the text. "JUST US"

"Just...my friends."

"We're friends?" Daniel questioned, feeling his heart race and his palms beginning to sweat. He always loved the thrill of an adventure, the action of it all. However he loved it when be expected it. When it's unexpected, it's terrifying. All Daniel could think of is who is listening to their conversation. Whether they were nearby, pointed at them with a rifle. The fact that SHIELD is compromised didn't help, since he is using their resources to maintain under the radar.

Daniel missed what Fury said - too wrapped up in his thoughts before he was surprised by gun shots. With wide eyes, he watched as Fury dropped to the floor from being shot at three times to the chest. Without much thinking, Steve dragged the Director away from the windows while Daniel crouched down to be away from sight. He moved closer to the window, trying to get a glimpse as to who shot Fury.

"Dan!" Steve hissed and Daniel turned turned see Steve holding Fury, and his shield in the other hand. He was unconscious. Daniel's eyes wenr to Steve's hands to see him holding something. Did Fury give him something?

Doesn't matter now. What matters is getting that bastard.

As soon as he was going to leave the building, he heard the door be burst opened and Daniel didn't hesitate to aim the Iron Man blasters to the newcomer. It was the blonde neighbor, Daniel noticed. She was a spy. He could hear the sound of the repulsers powering up, ready to shoot at her, especially since she was holding a gun.

"Captain Rogers? Agent Stark?"

Daniel tilted his head slightly to the side, on edge that she knew who he was. "I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service. Im here to protect you."

Not really having the patience to deal with this, Daniel ran out of the apartment and headed to the rooftop. He knew he was not going to be able to make that jump from window to the other window of the other building.

Daniel was running on pure adrenaline. He ran up two flights of stairs before he reached the roof. He pushed down his fear of falling to his death, and began to run toward the other building. Once his foot reached the ledge, he used the momentum he had gained to jump to the other rooftop.

Tonight wasn't what he expected, and he hoped it wouldn't end with his death.

All breathing stopped as he was in air before he felt the ground under his feet again. Pain went to his knees from the jump, but he ignored it as he continued running.

Daniel could see the shooter's figure in the distance as they ran. It sucked that it was night, because he couldn't focus his gaze on the man. Nonetheless, he was going to try to shoot at him. Seeing the mysterious man jump down to another rooftop. Stark was able to see him better. The sound of the repulser was heard as he aimed his hand to the stranger.

As soon as he was ready to shoot, he saw a familiar shield be thrown before the assailant caught it with his hand. When be threw it back at Steve, Daniel didn't hesitate to shoot. An orange beam came out of the gauntlet and it hit the shooter right in the chest, pushing him over the edge of the building.

"Oh shit," was muttered before Daniel jumped down to the rooftop below, once his feet touched the ground he rolled onto his shoulder to lessen the force before he was up on his feet again.

Both Daniel and Steve stood beside each other as they looked over the edge, trying to look for the man only to be met with nothing.

Daniel panted, his chest rising and falling rapidly before turning to his comrade. "Did you...did you really go through a building?" He asked as he looked back to see some walls destroyed.

Steve simply shook his head. The sound of sirens filling their ears. "C'mon," Steve said as he began to run back to his building. Daniel took a deep breath before he began to follow after him.

"I fucking...hate...running."

Don't forget to comment, leave a like and favorite the book. It really motivates me to continue writing the story.