CHAPTER 18

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

It was 8:32 AM. Allie was at her desk as she went through her emails. Junk mail. Junk mail. Junk mail. That gala invitation from Tony Stark. She stared at the electronic invitation. She really wanted to go, but she doubted her father would allow her to attend. The date was on the fourth of March. She bit the bottom of her lip and turned her head to the side to look inside her father's office. Pierce was on the phone, clearly not in his best of moods. She sighed and signed out of her email account. Perhaps another time.

Allie sighed as she tapped her fingers on her desk in boredom. Ever since she re-organized every file in her father's office, she had nothing else to do. She began to think about Fury and wondered how he was doing. They had never been close, but lately she worried about him. She had not spoken to him in weeks. Suddenly, her vision began to blur.

'Here we go," she bitterly thought to herself.

Classic Jazz played in the background from an old school record player. Fury was slumped on a chestnut brown, leather chair. He was talking to someone, but she could not identify the words that were being said. Fury took out his cellphone and typed something on the screen. Allie tried to make out the words, but they were too blurry.

"Who else knows about your wife?" a masculine voice echoed from a distance.

She watched Fury stand from the chair and advanced to the other person in the room. "Just... my friends," he replied slowly.

"Is that what we are?" the other male said in the room. She turned around and saw that it was Steve Rogers.

"That's up to you," Fury answered.

One. Two. Three shots fired. She watched Fury's body collapse to the floor.

Her vision went back to normal and she realized she was still in her office. Her heart pounded against her chest. She needed to talk to Fury immediately. Allie quickly stood from her desk. She looked at her father, to make sure he wasn't paying much attention. When he turned around in his seat to face the opposite direction from her, she walked out the hallway and into the elevator. When she reached her floor, she stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall until she reached Fury's office. The door was open and Fury was reading something on his laptop. Allie knocked a few times to catch his attention. Fury looked up at her and sighed.

"Come on in," he said gruffly.

She slowly entered Fury's office and walked up to his desk. She sat herself down on a chair. "I know we aren't supposed to have much contact. Especially since you found out dad is tracking my phone calls... But, we have a serious problem," she tried to remain calm.

Fury noticed the young woman was shaking and became concerned. "What is it?"

Allie swallowed hard. "I saw you, um," she took in a deep breath. "I saw you get shot. Three times in the chest."

He exhaled and pressed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. He looked back up at her and gave her a soft look. "I'm lucky to have you on my side, Allie."

She looked up at him in surprise. "How? I feel like this is all my fault. This is becoming too dangerous."

"Yes," Fury admitted. "This is a very dangerous game. Fortunately, I have you to help not only me, but millions of others. Can you tell me when this is supposed to happen?"

"Everything was so blurry," she said in frustration. She sighed and thought about it for a moment. "Wait... You had a phone." She closed her eyes and tried to go back to that vision.

"What ar-"

"Shh!" she shushed him as she continued to concentrate.

Fury was slumped on the leather chair. He was holding out a phone and said something to Steve. She tried to look at Fury's phone as he held it out to Steve. The time was unfocused, but the date was clear enough for her to see.

When Allie opened her eyes, Fury was staring at her.

"February twenty-eight," she said.

"What?"

That's when it happens, the twenty-eighth." Allie stood from her seat. "I have to get back to the office."

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

There was no work for her to do in the office, so Allie stayed home that day. The Asset had come back from his mission a few days ago. She was oddly excited to spend the day with him. There was something about him that she could not explain. She always felt intimidated by him at first. As time went on that feeling always went away. She enjoyed his presence. He was quiet most of the time, but he didn't seem to mind her constant ranting. The Asset didn't understand what it was about this girl or why he felt that familiar connection to her. All he knew was that he felt comfortable with her and that was all that mattered.

After spending so much time together, Allie came to a realization that she had become attracted to the Asset. The first time was the day before, she bumped a glass off the counter. The Asset caught it before it touched the kitchen floor. When she thanked him and took the glass out of his hand, she stared at him in the eyes and admired how blue they were. A few features caught her attention from time to time. However, that day there was something completely different about him.

Allie and the Asset stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. She could not rip her eyes away. There was something in his eyes that would be missed by most. She saw it, though. He wasn't the mindless Soldier she once thought of him as. He was almost human.

It was like an ember in darkness; dim and faint.