Hey, loves! New chapter full of lots of sadness. Writing Fury's death scene was difficult and I hope I did a good enough job for you guys. Things are starting to really pick up. I wonder how Max will fit in to the rest of TWS plot...**evil laughter**. Thanks to everyone that's followed/ favorited/ reviewed. Much love! And thanks to everyone for taking the time to read my story!
Disclaimer: Marvel is not mine.
On we go...
The Violinist
Chapter 10
Steve arrived back at the apartment after the sun had gone down. He hadn't planned on staying out so late but after his talk with Sam, Steve took a long walk to think about what he really wanted out of life. The constant fighting and protecting the world had been all fine and dandy when he just had to look out for himself. Now that Max and the baby were thrown into the equation, his perspective was changing.
The sound of jazz fell on his ears as he approached his floor. There was no light at the bottom of the door letting him know that Max was still up. He didn't hear any voices chatting away so Nat must have already left. All he could make out beyond the smooth jazz was a single heartbeat. Deciding that going in through the front door would make him an easier target, Steve turned and headed back downstairs to climb the fire escape. While on his way, he sent a quick message to Max asking where she was and if she was safe.
Darkness greeted him when he entered through the window, the music swelling around him. He spotted his shield leaning against one of the shelves in the living room. Swiftly and quietly he retrieved it and spun to find Fury slumped in a chair a few feet away.
"I don't remember giving you a key," Steve said, scanning the apartment for any sign that would tell him where Max had gone. Something tickled his right arm where he had it secured behind his shield. He ignored it and continued watching Fury.
"You think I'd really need one?" he laughed and shifted in his seat. "My wife kicked me out."
A lie, Steve knew and realized something bad must have gone down. There was something in the way he said it, something in Fury's expression, which let Steve know he had to go along with the lie. "Didn't know you were married."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," the director declared.
"I know, Nick. That's the problem."
Steve moved closer to Fury and flicked on the light switch. His eyes scanned over the one-eyed man's body and took in the cuts on this face and hands, the broken arm, the cracked ribs. Someone had attacked him and now he was turning to Steve for help.
Fury reached up slowly, clearly in pain, and turned the lights off. He held a finger to his lips so that Steve would remain quiet. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he typed something out and turned the screen towards the Super Soldier so he could read it. 'Ears everywhere', it read.
"I'm sorry to do this, but I have no place to crash," Fury continued with his story, standing and staggering over to Steve. He typed out another message and showed it to Steve: 'SHIELD compromised'.
Discreetly, Steve reached behind his shield and pinched the sticky note that had been rubbing against his arm. He quickly scanned it and held it out to Fury so he could see. They both nodded and went back to talking.
"Who else knows about your wife?" he asked. His own phone chimed in his pocket. Max.
'You and me', he wrote. "Just…my friends."
Steve chuckled, "Is that what we are?"
"That's up to you," Fury replied. Suddenly, the window Steve had crawled inside earlier shattered from the force of three bullets rocketing through the glass and into Fury's chest. He hit the floor with a grunt, Steve frozen in shock for a split second. Glancing out of the window, Steve surveyed the rooftops for the shooter. Then he grabbed the director's arm and dragged him into the kitchen. Just as Steve was about to let go of him and hunt down the gunman, Fury pressed something into his hand. He peered down to see the flash drive Nat had on the ship and shot the dying man a confused look. "Don't…trust anyone."
Fury's eye shut as someone kicked in the front door. Steve snapped around, his shield tight against him, to find his blonde neighbor rushing inside.
"Captain Rogers," she called from the living room. A gun was held in front of her as she surveyed the apartment. "Captain, I'm Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s special service."
"Kate?" he asked, confused.
"I'm assigned to protect you and Ms. Stirling," she clarified.
"On whose order?"
She caught sight of Fury sprawled out on the floor and answered, "His." Kate pulled out a radio stashed in her back pocket and spoke, "Foxtrot is down. He's unresponsive. I need EMTs."
"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" an agent asked.
Steve noticed movement on the roof across from them. "Tell them I'm in pursuit."
He made sure his shield was secure before barreling out of the window and onto the rooftop where the shooter was waiting for him.
Max never knew that the basement of Shaker's Music Studio was a S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker. It made sense now why Fury insisted she take up violin lessons here as opposed to somewhere else. And why Wayne never let her venture down into the basement while she was here.
Nat had stationed herself behind a wall of computer screens monitoring the streets of D.C. She was paying extra attention to a vehicle chase that had happened that afternoon, which ended in a huge crash. The black SUV in the surveillance videos looked similar to the ones that S.H.I.E.L.D. used.
Max was curled up on the couch in the small sitting area just to the right of the wall of computers. It was getting late and she kept trying to fight back yawns. She munched on some stale potato chips she'd sniffed out in one of the cabinets when they had first arrived. The chewing wasn't doing much to help keep her awake. This baby was leeching all of her energy and she was only two months in.
She released a hefty sigh just as her phone vibrated on the table in front of her. Natasha swiveled in her computer chair a few seconds later when her own phone chimed.
"'Are you safe?'" Max read her message aloud. She then waited for Nat to do the same. When the redhead stayed quiet, it was hard not to start panicking. The agent's face was full of dread for a split second before she went expressionless. A queasy feeling began bubbling in Max's stomach. "What is it, Nat?"
It took her a minute to respond, "It's just Steve letting me know where we need to meet him."
"Can't he come here? I didn't think we were supposed to leave until we got word from Fury."
Natasha flinched. She was hiding something. "He's with Fury right now. We have orders to meet them now."
"What about the phone call you got before we came here? They told you something happened and to protect me, right?" Max questioned.
Nat nodded and stood. "The plans have changed, though. I have to take you to Steve. Now."
Max tried not to completely lose it when they pulled up to the main hospital entrance, her heart pounding against her ribcage. Natasha had said she was taking her to see Steve and she prayed that he was unscathed when she saw him. She needed Steve. There was no way in hell she could do this, raise this baby, without him by her side.
Her legs were shaky as they worked their way through the hospital until they arrived at the correct doorway. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wandered about the halls and they all seemed to be on high-alert. The bubbling in her stomach grew stronger.
Nat went into the room ahead of her. Max followed slowly, trying to steel herself for whatever lay beyond the stark white door in front of her. Everyone was gathered at the large window in the room watching the events in the next room unfold. Nat stood with Steve, their expressions vacant. Steve turned when he sensed her behind them. He exhaled loudly, relief flooding him, and she could see some of the stress drain from his body.
His arms wrapped me into a tight hug and I instantly relaxed, breathing in his familiar scent. Pulling away, Max caught sight of her stepfather lying motionless on the operating table in the other room. Doctors worked hastily to fix the damage his body had suffered.
Her knees gave out and she was sure she was going to hit the floor because of the scene before her. Steve reacted quickly and held her tight against him, saving her from falling down.
"Is he going to make it?" Max whispered. Her words were barely loud enough for even Steven to make out.
"I don't know," he breathed, tingles brushing along her ear from his words.
Natasha, now in full-blown agent mode, spoke up, "Tell me about the shooter."
"He's fast and strong. He had a metal arm," Steve replied. He turned his attention to the other women in the room, but made sure to keep an eye on Max.
"Ballistics?"
Agent Maria Hill entered the room at that exact moment with the information regarding the bullets. "Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable."
"Soviet made?" Natasha wondered.
"Yeah," Hill answered as she observed the surgery.
All of them watched on in shock as Fury's stability deteriorated. Max was trying to breathe steadily, but she was fighting between throwing up and passing out. Flashes of her fifth birthday and her mother's death bombarded her. Steve's hold on her tightened and he was mumbling nonsense into her ear, things she couldn't hear over the roaring of her blood rushing through her.
"He's dropping," one doctor called out.
"Don't do this to me," Max pleaded with her unconscious stepfather.
"Stand back! Three, two, one: CLEAR!"
Max jerked in succession with Fury's body.
"Pulse?"
"No pulse."
Another round of defibrillation and another involuntary jerk from Max.
"Don't do this to me. Please, don't do this to me," she repeated, her hand pressed to the glass window.
"What time is it?" a doctor asked one of the nurses.
"1:03, doctor."
He gave a curt nod, "Time of death 1:03 a.m."
She just needed a few minutes to say goodbye. A few minutes to collect herself before they turned his body over to the coroners. A few minutes to let it sink in that she was parentless.
Steve hovered closely behind her. Natasha was rooted by the door, unable to move near Fury's body and say her goodbyes.
"We need to take him," Hill announced when she entered the silent room.
"Max," Steve said, stepping forward and placing a hand on her elbow. She didn't make a move to leave. Reaching out with an unsteady hand, she laid it on Fury's forehead and sighed. He had been her last remaining tie to her past, to her parents, and now he was just gone. Dead.
No pulse…time of death 1:03 a.m…no pulse…time of death 1:03 a.m…no pulse, no pulse…
She swiftly kissed Fury's forehead and removed her hand. The silence of the room was becoming too much for her to handle. Max needed to get out. Out of the room, out of the hospital, out of the city.
Spinning on her heels, Max bolted around Steve and out into the hallway where a sea of agents easily swallowed her up.
"Max!" Steve shouted from somewhere behind her.
She knew he and Nat would be rushing after her. It wasn't safe to leave the building without one of them, so she settled for finding somewhere to calm down. Suddenly, the perfect spot popped into her head and she began moving even faster to get there.
No pulse…time of death 1:03 a.m…no pulse…time of death 1:03 a.m…no pulse, no pulse…
Hope you guys enjoyed! The next chapter will be up sometime in the next week or so. I'm getting pretty busy with getting my stuff together for new semester to start. I'll try not to take forever, though. Love you all!
Sorry for any spelling/ grammar errors.
Until next time -KAITi-
