CHAPTER 3

"DRIVE ON"

"Zella, there's something I have to tell you."

Her father's face was dead serious, blank and staring. She found her eyes wandering over the creases spreading from the edges of his eyes. Laughter lines. It seemed strange now – she hadn't seen him laughing, like, ever.

"What is it?" she said.

His eyes flickered downwards, before focusing back on her with renewed intensity. She reached out with one hand, offering it to him, smiling. His hand rested on top of hers.

"I haven't been entirely honest with you..." He took a quick, cautious look around the hospital room. They were alone. She couldn't even see anyone in the corridor walking past through the windows opposite her bed. He grimaced and continued. "I haven't told you everything about my career. Well, I haven't really told you anything. Zella, I work with SHIELD."

"SHIELD?" she asked. His words seemed to echo in her head. "SHIELD. As in, SHIELD, that...organization...the one that doesn't exist anymore? With all the planes exploding in the sky a couple of years ago?"

"Yes," he said, still staring at her. She thought he might be looking for the right words to explain all this. She hoped he found them, because she sure as hell had no idea what was going on…

"Look, it's difficult," he said, more quietly, his words rushing out. "I'm not a spy. I'm just...There's lots of parts of SHIELD. And we protect everyone, sweetheart – I just need you to know that. SHIELD is not the same as HYDRA."

"HYDRA, I remember HYDRA. Terrorists, right?"

"Yes," he said. "It's very complicated and there's more to explain."

"Why… why are you telling me this now, dada?"

"Because I have to," he said. "Because what happened to you yesterday… I can't let that ever happen again. I thought… I don't know. I was stupid. I thought if I hid all this from you, gave you a normal life, everything would turn out well. And then Luthor…"

"How do you know about Luthor?" she asked. "Oh god, Dad, I'm so confused."

"I know, sweetie. I'm so sorry."

He stood up suddenly. He turned away from her and ran a hand over his buzz-cut hair. She knew that movement- it meant he was stressed out.

"We should go," he said. "We've been here too long already. You're okay to move, aren't you?"

"Yeah, sure, but-"

"I'll explain in the car," he said. "Let's go."

Less than four minutes later, Zella was sitting in the back of a car with her father. The car was being driven by someone else – it wasn't a taxi; it was a shiny black car, and a pretty sweet ride – so she thought it might be something to do with SHIELD. Her dad was staring stonily out of the window, his jaw tight. She found herself nervous to even say anything to him.

"Uh, dad?"

"Hm?" he said, his head turning quickly to look at her.

"More explanations?"

His face cleared. "Oh, of course."

As they moved through the city, twisting through tiny gaps in the traffic, swerving around tight bends as the cloudy afternoon turned to early evening, her father began to explain everything.

"A few months ago, Luthor joined a youth branch of HYDRA. It's based in the city. Good money, easy jobs. We've been aware of the group for a while but left it alone – we're already understaffed, and then there's the matter of wiping out the more well-established branches of HYDRA.

Anyway, the group came across some intel about a week ago – leaked names. SHIELD members. My name was on the list. Luthor must have recognised it, and that's why he came after you."

"He seemed a lot more… focused than when I usually see him."

"Exactly. Unfortunately, he now seems to have left the city. I sent some people after him – what else would I do, I was angry – but there's no trace of him."

"That sucks."

"And now… I need to keep you safe, Zella. You understand?"

"Are you gonna lock me up?"

"SHIELD has an Academy. There are three sections: Operations, Communications, and Sci Tech. Science and Technology."

"The Academies still exist? I think I heard about them, ages ago, but I thought you had to have like 3 degrees to get in. I don't even have a high school diploma yet."

"I know, honey – that's why you're going in the Academy of Operations."

"And what exactly does that involve?"

"Learning to fight, mostly…"

He was waiting for her reaction, she could tell. She looked down and tried not to pull any extreme expressions. Think before you speak, Zella! Think before…

"Learning to fight?" she repeated. "Like a spy? Or like an army person? Or what?"

"Like a spy," he said carefully.

"Um," she said.

Outside the window, their surroundings had turned from crowded city streets to wide, deserted motorway.

"Where exactly are we going, Dad?"

"To the Academy."

"So I guess I'm not getting much of a choice."

He smiled. "Don't tell me you want to go back to high school? I know you weren't there most days anyway, Zella. You weren't happy. You were made for bigger things…"

"Bigger things?" she asked, not really listening. "When you say 'learning to fight'… I just… like, can I do a trial lesson or something?"

"I wish you could, Zels."

"Can you fight?"

"I went to the Academy of Communications. It's more like… public speaking, organising, office-type work…"

"Well hey, I could totally do that! I love speaking!"

"You need a degree for that, unfortunately."

"So it's, what… get ripped and shoot people, or change my name and go to a different school?"

"Yes. We could start a new life, in a new place, with new names. If that's what you want. But Zella… I think I was wrong, trying to keep you away from all this. I think you need to be a part of it. You need to learn to protect yourself."

"I did always want to make a difference…" she said.

"But this is tough. The drop out rate for Ops is something like 40%. It's not the easy route."

"I'll take it," Zella said. Lamp posts zoomed past the car, little pin-pricks of illumination in the deep blue evening sky. She noticed how bright the moon was, way above the low hills around them.

The car slowed. It stopped smoothly at a tall, electronic gate. The driver, who she'd hardly noticed, rolled down the side window and pressed his palm against a machine. Pale blue light filtered into the car as the machine scanned his iris. The car moved forward two feet, and then the same blue light moved over Zella and her father's faces.

"Clear," said the driver, and the car began to move again. Zella shifted in her seat to get a better look at the dusky surroundings. They were driving down a long road, with the tall security walls behind them. The walls stretched into the distance, into the darkness, further than she could see. It was just miles of field around them, grass cut to the same length as on a soccer pitch.

And then she twisted in her seat, and she saw the huge building looming on the other side of the car. The SHIELD Academy of Operations.

A/N: Award for dramatic cheesiness goes to...me! Hahaha. I have 20 views! Yay! Thanks for reading guys, please please review if you can :D I'm gonna try and add a chapter every day so please click follow if you want to see where this is going.