Ghosts of the Past
Chapter 15 Shadow games and demands
Authors notes I don't own Marvel Agents of SHIELD. All I own are my OC's Jack Williams, Shadow, the Katana Killer, Carl Berlin, Henry Radcliff and Cobra.
Also I recommend that all my readers check out the fics written by Angels Anthem, Appa Appa Away, LongLiveTheClones, XxheavendragonxX, Aurora Lunar 0Love This0, Icehockeychic4 Canadiancloneluver, Guardian Kitch, Jemmz, Full-Paragon, Fenrisulven13 and lastly Xpredatorx as they are twelve of the best writers on this site in my opinion.
And please if you read this fic then let me know what you think of it good or bad comments just let me know as I want your opinions on it no matter what they are. 17 people now have story alerts on this fic while 7 people have added this fic to their favourite stories list.
The main pairings of this fic will be Mayson and Jack Williams/Maria Hill but I might add others later on in the fic.
Lastly I recommend my readers have a look at the Agents of SHIELD fics written by charmed4lifekaren you will not be disappointed once you read them, they are amazing fic's and very well written.
Well that's enough of an author's notes on with chapter 15.
Rio de Janeiro
Magnus Rasputin sat down at his desk across from The Shadow, a man he once thought didn't exist. A man referred to as a Napoleon of crime was here willing to make a deal with him.
Personally Magnus was tempted to rip the man inside out, but to do so would make him some enemies he could ill afford.
Magnus decided to cut right to the chase and asked "What do you want Shadow?"
The Shadow replied "Teach me what you know. I have some people I'd like brought back to help me with my plans. In return I will give you a one off payment of 500 billion dollars. Do we have a deal?"
Magnus asked "Why do you want to know what I know?"
Shadow answered "I am not Shadow, the original Shadow anyway. All throughout history since the Middle Ages, maybe further back. There has always been a puppet master controlling the criminal underworld with an iron fist from behind the scenes. While there has been a Shadow, there has always been an apprentice he trains to take over and continue his or her master's work. All of them have worn the mask. I simply don't want to hand over the reins to another."
Magnus said "You want to hold onto your power?"
The Shadow nodded. Magnus considered the proposal and after a few moments he said "You've got yourself a deal."
Shadow smiled and said "Excellent."
London the house of commons
The defence minister sat in the house of commons and watched as the Prime Minister Ed Miliband stood up to give his reaction on the recent events to his party and the opposition.
The prime minister started by saying "Ladies and gentlemen-".
He was interrupted by an MP who yelled out "What are you going to do about what happened in the Falklands last night?!"
MP's started to whisper as the prime minister said "I wish there were words that could explain what happened."
A woman MP from the Liberal Democrats said "There are words prime minister. It was cold blooded murder. An act of war by the United States."
A MP next to her shouted out "Hear hear!"
Another MP from the other side of the room from the prime minister's own party said "President Ellis can't control his soldiers or his weapons."
An MP from the Tories said "America murdered our troops. Their own allies!"
The MP's all started to talk at once all saying the same thing. Britain needed to strike back against America.
All the while the Prime Minister Ed Miliband was in shock at what was happening before his eyes and looking like a deer in the headlights.
While this was happening, the defence minister fought to stop himself from smiling. Soon the prime minister would be out of office and the British people crying out for strong leadership. That's when he would step in.
Until then he was happy to sit back and watch the prime minister crash and burn.
SHIELD headquarters
Jack and Maria didn't say a word as they headed back to HQ. Both of them were angry.
They were back at square one and the people who were behind the murder of their son were still out there. Alive and well.
Jack then took out a photo of him and Maria taken a day after their son was born and a day before he died.
Jack couldn't help but think back to that day over a decade ago.
The day his son died.
Flashback Washington DC general hospital 11 years ago
Jack woke up when the sun instantly hit his eyes. He saw a nurse had pulled the curtain and said "Sorry about that. Wanted to let some of the morning sunshine get into the room."
Jack shrugged it off and said "It's alright. Just reminds me the last 48 hours wasn't some beautiful dream. It's a thousand times better."
Jack looked over at Maria asleep in her hospital bed and said "With my wife at my side, life is so wonderful."
The nurse smiled as she left the room.
Jack sat next to Maria's bed and looked out the window. He heard a knock on the door and smiled when he saw Phil and his father Graham there with Melinda.
Jack said "Glad you're all here."
Graham asked "So when can I see my grandson Jack?"
Jack replied "In a little bit dad. Phil, Melinda you guys want to come with and meet your godson?"
Phil and Melinda nodded as Maria woke up and said "Nice to see I have visitors."
Jack said "I'm going to go get Josh and bring him down here. Phil want to come with?"
Phil said "Sure."
The two of them left and when Melinda went to get some drinks for everyone Graham said to his daughter in law "I know you and Jack are thinking of leaving SHIELD. Whatever you decide to do I will support you both. I'll also make sure the rest of the council know to stay away. Some of them want Josh to be trained as an agent as soon as possible. The son of two of SHIELD'S best would be even better in their eyes."
Maria said "Thank you Graham."
Graham frowned and said "I've told you already Maria don't afraid to call me dad."
Maria said "OK. Dad."
Graham smiled and said "I wish Margret could have met you Maria. You and she would got along great."
Maria said "I wish that as well. Jack talks about her and how much you loved her. He told me the poem you wrote for her when you proposed to her."
Maria stopped and looked at a photo of her and Jack on a drawer beside her bed and then recited the poem Graham wrote for his wife years ago from memory "Darling hear my words speak of a love that is soft and undying. A love that will be with you always though the good days and the bad days. From now till the end. No matter what our love is eternal."
Graham smiled and had tears in his eyes as he remembered the past and knew in his heart that Jack and Maria would be together forever.
Melinda than arrived with breakfast and drinks as Jack and Phil headed down to get little Josh.
Phil said "Director Fury is looking for a new second in command since deputy director Lang is retiring. Some are thinking you'll get the job."
Jack said "I don't think he'll choose me. Most likely he'll go with someone else. Maybe you, maybe Garrett. Who knows really who he'll pick for the job?"
The two men soon got to where all the new-born babies were and Jack pointed out his son to Phil.
Phil said "He's beautiful."
Jack nodded and a moment later both men noticed immediately Josh wasn't breathing.
Jack instantly called for a nurse to check on his son right away.
While this happened Phil saw Jack was barely keeping his composure and tried to reassure his brother that Josh would be alright but as the nurse came back and Phil saw the look on her face. He knew she had bad news.
Jack saw it too and said "No. No. I saw him only a few hours ago. He was fine. No."
The nurse said "I am sorry Mr Williams."
When it finally hit him Jack had tears in his eyes and sank to the ground as he yelled out in anguish.
Less than an hour ago Jack was the happiest man in the world. Now he was anything but happy.
Graham showed up as soon as he heard Jack scream out and knew something had happened. Once he saw his son Jack sitting on the floor with his head against the wall crying. He knew what happened and cried at the loss of his grandson.
Phil took a minute to compose himself before he headed back to the hospital room where Maria and Melinda were knowing Maria had to be told what happened to her son.
With a heavy heart he was going to do just that.
End of flashback
Once Jack was finished reminiscing he saw the plane was on final approach to HQ and asked Maria "What is that Fury is going to show me exactly?"
Maria replied "Project Insight. I'll come with you. No doubt he wants our opinions on it."
Soon both of them were in Director Fury's office and Fury said "Follow me." He led them to the private elevator and had it go down to the basement level. Once it stopped and they got out Jack saw 3 large helicarrier's being built, all armed to the teeth.
Fury said "This is Project Insight. Three carriers flying next generation synchronized to a network of satellites that locates objectives. Once launched they do not need to come down ever. These new precision weapons for long range will eliminate thousands of enemies per minute. We are going to neutralize many threats before they even happen."
Jack said "Good. Scum like Centipede, AIM and others like them all need to wiped out from the face of the earth. I'm guessing you have some concerns otherwise we wouldn't be here. So what are they?"
Fury said "I want both of you to have part of the command codes for the carriers. That way no one person has all the codes if they take out one of us."
Maria said "Makes sense. So how long till these carriers are in the air?"
Fury replied "A few weeks give or take."
Jack said "I bet some in the organization oppose this plan?"
Fury answered "Some of the level 8 are concerned about this as it Councilman Yen. He is worried about collateral damage."
Washington DC
Alexander Pierce sat in his home and looked on from monitors as Fury was talking to Jack and Maria about Project Insight.
He then heard a noise from behind him and saw The Shadow was in the room.
Pierce in shock asked "How the hell did you get in here?"
The Shadow replied "I was taught not to be seen or heard, unless I wanted to be. So what are you and Hydra going to do? Are you helping me against this threat I'm facing or not?"
Pierce replied "We're not going to help you."
The Shadow said "That's a fatal mistake."
Pierce simply said "Yeah, so you say."
The Shadow asked "And if the evidence in my possession is compromised?"
Pierce answered "We're grown-ups. We can do our own risk assessment and take care of ourselves. Look, for what it's worth, I voted to step in, but others were not as forward-thinking."
Shadow said "Von Strucker."
Pierce said "There are some among us who think we should have killed you outright, called your bluff about whether or not you actually have this alleged evidence."
The Shadow said "And that would be another fatal mistake."
Pierce said "You know me considerably better than either of us would like to admit."
Shadow said "I will win this war. These enemies of mine will lose. Even with you and your short-sighted friends watching safely from a distant hill. Why? Because as bad as you may think I am, as far as you think I'm willing to go to protect that which I hold most dear, you can't possibly fathom how deep that well of mine truly goes. All you've done is ensure that when this is all over, I won't help you. When the day inevitably comes that I settle up with your little organization for betraying me. It will be you, alone in the dark. Waiting for me to come and kill you."
With that Shadow left as Pierce once again monitored Fury talking to Maria and Jack.
Unknown location
Graham Williams sat at his table in the restaurant, looked around as he ordered a meal and coffee before reading a local newspaper with an article on the rising tension between America and Britain. He didn't say a word as his inside man sat down across from him and ordered himself a steak.
After a few minutes Graham put down his paper and said "What do you have?"
Agent Sitwell took out a USB flash drive from pocket and gave it to Graham before he said "On that is a list of everyone in our organization who we can trust. Everyone not on iy is an infiltrator. I couldn't get any info on the Clairvoyant. Pierce is keeping that close to the chest."
Graham said "Good. I'll go to Fury and give him this Intel. We're going to catch Hydra off guard and purify our organization. Once that's done. We can wipe out Hydra for good."
Sitwell then asked "If I may ask. Why did you come to me for this mission? You could have easily gone to your son, Coulson. Or even May. Why me?"
Graham answered "You're a good liar and a good agent. You're also someone that no one would suspect me going to. Pierce would know if I suspected anything I would go to either of my sons or Melinda and Maria. Not you. That's why I choose you Jasper."
Sitwell smiled and as their meals arrived neither man said a word to each other when suddenly Graham said "Do you know how I learned about the infiltration of our organization?"
Sitwell shook his head and Graham gave the answer "I asked myself a simple question to myself one night out of the blue. What if Hydra didn't die with Red Skull and were still out there somewhere? That thought grew in my head and I decided to follow it up discreetly. When I learned the truth. I kept it to myself. If I had talked I would have probably died along with whoever I told and Hydra would go back underground and wait a few decades for doing what they had planned. I couldn't let that happen. Hydra should have died with Red Skull, it didn't. But it will now."
Sitwell didn't say a word as both men continued their meal.
The Bus
The Plane arrived in at the SHIELD base in Paris and as the team went to meet with Coulson, Ward hung back as he got a phone call.
He went back to his room on the plane and answered the call.
In London, the man who called him smoked his cigarette and said "You done good work telling me about Maria Hill and Jack Williams going to see Justin Hammer. If he talked we could have been exposed. I'm proud of you my nephew. Stay the course. Soon all we have dreamed of will be a reality."
Ward replied "Thank you uncle."
He then hung up and took a deep breath as he thought of what was going to happen soon. Millions of people would be dead and the only thing his uncle would feel is a sense of accomplishment. Nothing more. To him the lives that would be lost were acceptable in the long term.
However his uncle saved him from his parents and older brother. He owed him and as his uncle would say, nothing is more important than family.
New York City suburb
Carl Berlin entered the house and looked around as he said to himself "Strange… I remember it being bigger."
He headed into the kitchen as his bodyguard Laura followed him and asked "I don't' get it. You've bought places in Florence, Dubai and Sydney. All over the globe. Why buy this place?"
Carl replied "I raised my family in this house."
Laura simply said "It's lovely."
Carl headed into the back garden as he said "No it's not but it used to be."
Carl stood in the back yard and remembered all the good times he had with his wife Amy when she was pregnant and their plans for the future and their daughter. He then remembered the night he came home on his birthday and found the floor covered in human blood.
Carl wiped away a tear from his eye as his driver Dominic came upstairs from the basement and said "Sir it's time to go."
Carl without even looking at him said "Did you prepare everything the way I asked?"
Dominic answered "Yes."
With that the three of them left the house as Laura said "Place must hold a lot of memories for you sir."
Carl said "I spend every single day trying to forget what happened here Laura. This should help."
As the three of them left in a car, the house blew up in a fiery explosion.
Authors notes well that's chapter 15 completed please let me know what you think of it read and review no flames though ok.