A/N: ***WARNING: This chapter has trigger warnings for 9/11, war zones, explicit violence, and mentions of past rape. WARNING***
A/N2: I didn't want to write too much about Maria's time in the Marines, because I feel like I can't portray what those brave men and women do every day justly. My dad is a Marine and I thank God for the selflessness of our troops. Based on the timeline in my head, if she did serve in the Armed Forces this would be the time period she would have been deployed. The mission and location is something I created for the purpose of this story, and does have fictional SHIELD overtones. Again- creative license- changing the timeline of some SHIELD events to fit my purposes.
A/N3: The song for this chapter is 'Live and Let Die' by Guns & Roses.
A/N4: I wanted to post this soon since I have a feeling I'll be without internet for a few days. I'll be home soon though! Yay!
Chapter 4: But In Her Web She Still Delights
Agent Phil Coulson had been in Russia for several weeks when a transmission from Fury arrived, sending him undercover to build up a file on Russian sleeper agents and the so-called existence of the Red Room. Before he voiced his acceptance- not that he had much of a choice- he asked permission to send word he would be gone longer than he thought to a friend back home. Fury answered positively, albeit cryptically, and Coulson wondered if the man knew about his odd friendship with Hill.
He took the rest of the day to pen a short letter explaining as much as he could about his absence while wishing her luck as she completed OCS and began The Basic School before she'd be deployed. He assumed he'd be back before that happened, but his mission didn't seem to have a time limit imposed. May had been pulled a week before and had been sent to China to follow up on the development of an 084 discovery. He sealed the letter and mailed it, before destroying his phone and going completely off the grid.
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Maria was silent as the television blared in the background. She couldn't erase the sight of the plane colliding with the tower from her mind. The other occupants of the room spoke in hushed whispers about what this could mean for their company, let alone the country. It was almost a sure bet they would be shipped overseas soon. Maria swallowed, and she fought back a blossoming feeling of relief that her two friends were halfway across the world on a 'business trip' and nowhere near New York. She pushed down the swell of guilt that bloomed after that thought, and bowed her head in a silent prayer for those who lost their lives.
"Lieutenant Hill," a voice called and she snapped her head around towards the sound.
"Yes sir," she quickly answered, walking towards her commanding officer.
"Pack up," Colonel Jackson stated. "We're heading out at 0300."
He dismissed her, and she hurried back to her quarters to get what she needed. A few of the others were also packing, and acknowledged her with a smile.
"Looks like we're headed to Afghanistan, Hill," Meredith Lara said with a toss of her ponytail. "Did you know anyone-"
She paused, studying the stance of Maria's body.
"Nope," Maria answered as she began to throw clothing into her pack. "You?"
"Me neither, but I heard Moody's mother worked at one of the Towers."
Maria grimaced, unsure of how to respond. For a brief moment she was glad she didn't have to worry about family. She pulled unfolded the letter she had received from Phil, and sealed it into one of the small zippered compartments with a sigh. It had been almost a year since she had last heard from him or May, and in that time she had become a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corp. She found she missed his easygoing smile and the playful banter between him and May. She took it upon herself to visit his house every so often, despite the fact he had arranged for the lawn care and longterm maintenance. Glancing at her watch, she realized she had a few hours left before she was supposed to ship out.
"I'll be back soon, Mere," she said with a wave. "I need to take care of some things before we leave."
After getting the quick okay from her CO, she headed towards the sleek black motorcycle that she'd brought to base. Running a hand over it, she said a quick prayer for the safety of her friends, and sped off in the dark.
She pulled up to the dark house twenty minutes later, and quietly unlocked the door. The darkness was familiar to her now, and she moved about the space easily. She flipped on the small kitchen light and fumbled through a drawer to find a piece of paper and a pen. Making do with the back of an envelope, she thanked Phil for his hospitality and briefly noted she was being deployed in the morning. Last but not least, she included sixty dollars before taping it to a box of spaghetti with a small smile. She gave the rest of the house a quick once over before locking the front door and heading back to base.
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The air was filled with the thundering blasts of bullets and grenades, but Maria didn't feel her coolness sway. She figured that maybe it had something to do with facing death every day as a child. Why give him the satisfaction of a flinch now? The carrier dropped suddenly, and she heard her CO swear. They were nowhere near the drop zone and a flight failure now would mean instant capture. The pilot righted the plane and swooped lower, using the trees for cover.
They had been in the Middle East for over eight months when her team had received new orders. Their mission was classified and if they were caught, no one would be vouching for them or coming to their rescue. It had come from above- an express wish for data collection in a remote outpost near the Nepali border that could turn the tide of the war. Unfortunately, the only way to get there was to cross some of the most active battle sites still raging.
A deafening roar hit her ears and the plane lurched, before rising up once more. She traded a confident smirk with Captain Meredith Lara, the team's explosive expert. Lieutenant Carter Walsh sat behind her, his face not betraying the whiteness of his knuckles as he gripped his P90 closer. Colonel Richard Jackson surveyed his ragtag team with an expert eye as they neared the border. With a quick hand signal, the team stood and donned their parachutes before jumping into the blackness below.
Jackson led the group quietly, while Maria covered their sixes. The stillness here was eerie, and she wondered for a moment if they had missed the drop point. She couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but something suddenly made her freeze. Jackson noticed his youngest team member's behavior but had learned long ago not to discount Hill's actions. The girl had extraordinary instincts. Her eyes caught his for a split second before she yelled.
"SCATTER."
The team flew apart as machine gun fire ripped apart the clearing they had just vacated. Lara lay beside her, stunned from the impact.
"You and your super freaky spidey senses are at it again," the older woman muttered before drawing her weapon and firing at their unknown assailants.
"I'm a fucking superhero," Maria droned before shifting to a better spot.
She couldn't see Walsh or Jackson, and motioned for Lara to follow her. Meredith deferred to her as the women slowly made their way towards the rendezvous point. A semblance of movement to her left made her draw her weapon only for Walsh to emerge with his hands raised.
"Easy tiger," he muttered as Jackson came into view behind him.
Maria's eyes flickered around, carefully cataloguing every shadow and smell. They continued towards the small outpost, just visible by the light of the moon.
"Hill, you take point," Jackson said softly.
She moved forward, inching towards the building. Instantly she knew something was wrong. She swung her head around right as the sound of tinkling metal reached her ears. She met Lara's gaze right as the older woman leapt on the grenade that had rolled towards them. She counted to two as she ran before a deafening boom lifted her off her feet and propelled her into the side of a tree with a sickening crunch. She fought to keep the blackness from encroaching on her vision, but slowly slipped into the fog despite her best efforts.
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"You okay, cheese?" May asked quietly.
Phil sat hunched over in the small coffee shop staring into the still full mug. He had been on American soil for the last few months, and had smiled when he found Maria Hill's note on the box of spaghetti. He felt a brief pang when he missed her nineteenth birthday, and hoped she received the care package he and May put together instead.
Last week, he had gotten word that her team was MIA, probably KIA during a classified mission that had SHIELD overtones to it. When he had questioned Fury, the only thing the other man knew what that radio contact could not be established and the team had missed their extraction point.
He answered May with a shrug.
"She'll be fine," May answered resolutely, and she joined him in his silent vigil.
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As best as she could tell, she had been in the small, dark cell for at least four days. She wasn't entirely sure how long she had been unconscious for after the blast, and she had yet to see another person- friend or foe.
Definite concussion. Possible fractured ribs on the right side. Dislocated shoulder.
The shoulder she had fixed easily enough- popping it back into place using the frame of the door. The pain had been white hot, but had since faded to a residual ache. Her stomach had started to twist with the gnawing pain of hunger, something she hadn't felt in quite some time. A bottle of water had been left in a corner, and after avoiding it the first two days, she took to carefully rationing the remaining contents.
She had searched the cell for any weak points, and had found a single loose bar. She devoted most of the hours in her day to carefully scratching at the rocky ground around it, leaving her fingers torn and bloodied. Her routine was simple. She slept fitfully, a few hours at a time. After a sip of water, she spent the next two hours doing whatever calisthenics she could manage in the small space, followed by another small sip of water. Then, she dug. The soft step of footfalls made her pause and she scrambled to the middle of the cell. She faced the door, and waited for it to swing open.
His right hand was gone.
She kept her face blank when she faced her CO for the first time. The man could hardly stand on his own, and was supported by two guards. She took a moment to carefully observe their weapons and mannerisms, before turning her attention back to Jackson.
"Walsh?" she asked.
The grimace on his face told her what she needed to know.
His arm was wrapped in blood red cloth, and she knew if she didn't get them out soon, he wouldn't make it. For the next few days, she insisted they take her.
Black eye. Broken nose. Possible fractured cheekbone.
It was like living at home all over again, she thought with a smile. The smile baffled them, and they stopped for the day. Her CO shook his head when they dumped her back in the cell. She continued to grin.
They threatened her with rape, and unimaginable pain and suffering. She just continued to stare at them blankly.
"Been there, done that," was all she said, without a hint of emotion.
They'd taken a knife to her side then. She kept her mouth shut despite their taunts, and focused on the burning of the knife as it sliced through her skin.
They started on her back next, carefully reopening old scars inch by inch. The floor was splattered with red.
On the tenth day, the bar came loose.
She impaled the first guard with a strength she didn't know she still had in her. Jackson grabbed the gun, and together they made their way out of the compound. It had been mostly emptied, and she was surprised they'd kept them alive as long as they did.
Jackson had developed a fever by that point. He rambled stories of his wife and kids, which only made her more determined to get him home. She was half dragging him two days after they escaped, and the wounds on her back had reopened. A sound from the nearby brush made her pull their lone weapon, a single bullet still in the chamber.
She could have cried at the sight of American troops that had encircled them, gawking.
"Lieutenant Hill. This is Colonel Jackson," she simply stated before passing out.
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Phil looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, and was surprised to see Melinda May with a grin on her face.
"Your girl's back," May said happily. "Dragged her CO in with her."
Phil felt a wave of relief at the news.
"She's at the hospital on base, and I've already gotten us an appointment to visit."
He sighed thankfully, and was about to question his partner fully when newly promoted Director Fury entered the break room. He motioned for the two of them to follow and led them to a secure conference room.
"I heard about Hill," he said. "I want her recruited for SHIELD before she has a chance to agree to another tour. You have my permission to read her in if she agrees."
"Yes sir," Phil replied as a file folder of paperwork was shoved into his hands.
"I'm granting you both three weeks of leave," he added. "I have a critical Asset Evaluation mission for you when you get back."
"May I ask where, sir?" May questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Bahrain."
He nodded at them both and exited the room as quickly as he had entered it.