Chapter Two
"In case there's an asshole tumor, you mean."
Five days. That's how long she spends in SHIELD custody while the paperwork gets filed.
An intern comes in—at least, she thinks he's an intern; she has no concrete proof of this, except that he gives off very green, nervous vibes—and hands her a tablet and a single sheet of paper. Most of their "paperwork" is digital now, he says, but they like to keep hard copies of some things, just in case.
She briefly hesitates before signing Leila Whittaker on the dotted line. Leila isn't sure she actually has a legal name, or a birth certificate, or social security number or anything like that, for that matter, but she knows that if she does have a legal name, it's not Leila Whittaker.
She glances at the intern surreptitiously, before signing her chosen name with a flourish, quietly deciding to let the chips land where they may.
S.H.I.E.L.D. EYES ONLY
CLEARANCE LEVEL 10
SUBJECT: #482567 [0-8-4, 0-9-5, 0-0-2]
DATE: 10-12-2007
REPORT: The Veles Protocol filter has found a match.
Match: 25%
Subject: #482567 [0-8-4, 0-9-5, 0-0-2]
Four months. That's how long she spends as SHIELD's lab rat before being let into the academy. The first day is insufferable, being poked and prodded at and told how high to jump, until she gets her first indication that she's more powerful than she or SHIELD knew. Nobody says it to her that way; she just comes in for day two and she can sense a change, that people are more delicate around her, like they're afraid she's going to explode.
Leila has always enjoyed the feeling of other people being afraid of her.
Eventually, the results start coming in.
Leila thought she knew her powers pretty well. Her understanding of them pre-SHIELD:
She can copy other people's superpowers.
Copying powers requires physical contact with the original holder of said power.
Physical contact with any such holder will always result in power replication.
She can hold up to three powers at a time; if she acquires a fourth power, one of the other three will disappear, with no pattern as to which one does.
By the end of her test period, her understand is as follows:
She can copy other people's superpowers, or she can take them, leaving them without it.
Copying powers requires physical contact with the original host, or a DNA sample of said host. (Taking powers, meanwhile, requires direct contact with the host.)
Physical contact with any such host or DNA sample of the same will only result in power replication if she so chooses.
She can hold up to five powers at a time, but must choose carefully. Some powers seem to take up more space inside her DNA than others. The SHIELD scientist heading the study compares it to a hard drive with limited RAM; too many large files, and her entire system will slow down.
If she tries, she can control which power disappears when she takes a new one.
Part of it is knowing that she's more powerful than she thought she was, which is exhilarating. But another part of it is just knowing how it works, knowing the rules and limits and mechanisms of the only thing in her life that she would consider a gift—
It's like now that she understands it, she can grasp it, she can keep it. It's hers. It's the one thing no one can take from her. Not SHIELD techs, not enemies, not—
She sleeps better, knowing she has something solid to stand on.
SHIELD EYES ONLY
CLEARANCE LEVEL 4
CASE: #348253
DATE: 3-12-2011
CROSS REFERENCE SUBJECT: #482567 [0-8-4, 0-9-5, 0-0-2]
[ The following is a transcript of the post-case debriefing of Agent Leila Whittaker. Debriefing done by Agent Lachlan Foreman. ]
Foreman: Agent Whittaker?
Whittaker: Present.
Foreman: Hi. I'm Agent Foreman. This is just a formal review of how the mission went. We'll be doing these after every field mission. Please note that we'll be cross-checking with your S.O. to confirm.
Whittaker: Do you do that with every field agent, or just the bad apples?
Foreman: We do this with all our agents.
Whittaker: Ouch. And here I thought I was special.
Foreman: Why would you think that?
Whittaker: The fact that you send me with a babysitter, for one.
Foreman: Believe it or not, Agent, you're not our first operative with a less than ideal past.
Whittaker: You mean this sketchy secret organization that operates out of an invisible floating airport isn't opposed to hiring ex-criminals? Shocking.
Foreman: Mm. So how did your first mission go?
Whittaker: Oh, it was an experience. Five stars. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.
Foreman: Tell me the target's name.
Whittaker: Tabitha Workman.
Foreman: Were you successful in apprehending her?
Whittaker: Yes.
[Papers Shuffling]
Foreman: How did you apprehend her?
Whittaker: Quickly.
Foreman: I meant in terms of method.
Whittaker: She's alive, if that's what you're asking. I knocked her unconscious, and she's currently in custody.
Foreman: That is, you knocked her unconscious, and then she was brought into custody, correct?
Whittaker: That seems like what we in the legal community call a "leading question."
Foreman: "We in the legal community?"
Whittaker: I watch a lot of Ally McBeal. Have you seen it?
Foreman: Regardless of the alleged leading nature of the question, I am still going to have to ask you to answer it.
Whittaker: Yes. I knocked her unconscious, with the explicit intention of taking her into custody, and didn't raise a pinkie against her after that. Then my S.O. and I took her into custody with the utmost repose. All in that order.
Foreman: Does she have any special abilities?
Whittaker: Well, she did.
Foreman: What is—or was—the ability?
Whittaker: She was immune to radiation. Which is a kind of lame superpower, comparatively speaking.
Foreman: Okay. What superpowers were you holding when you went into the field?
Whittaker: Pyrokinesis, enhanced speed, camouflage, enhanced agility, electrokinesis.
Foreman: And what powers are you holding now?
Whittaker: Pyrokinesis, enhanced speed, enhanced agility, electrokinesis, and immunity to radiation.
Foreman: So you traded the camouflage for radiation immunity.
Whittaker: Correct.
Foreman: Can you tell me why you made those decisions?
Whittaker: Plural?
Foreman: You chose to take Workman's powers; you chose to take them instead of copying them; and you chose to relinquish the camouflage ability, as opposed to any of the four others. All in spite of believing that Workman's ability is, and I quote, "lame," and despite not being near radiation, to my understanding. What was the thought process?
Whittaker: To answer question one, I took her powers to take her off-guard.
Foreman: How so?
Whittaker: Some people can feel it when I take their powers. It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it. Kind of a "you had to be there" thing.
Foreman: Okay.
Whittaker: For question three, I felt that camouflage was the ability least likely to come in handy when fighting and subduing Workman. Which I was correct about, as per ush.
Foreman: And question two? Why take instead of copy?
Whittaker: Call it instinct.
[ Papers shuffling; chair sliding back ]
Foreman: Alright. Go to the lab, they'll need you to perform a proof of status check. Just to double-check that you're right about what you're holding, plus a quick physical exam as protocol.
Whittaker: In case there's an asshole tumor, you mean.
Foreman: …what?
Whittaker: Again, you had to be there.
Foreman: Alright.
[ Second chair sliding back ]
Foreman: I've seen Ally McBeal, by the way.
Whittaker: Weird, I haven't. Is it good?
Foreman: …goodbye, Agent.
Whittaker: Au revoir.
Three years. That's how long she spends at SHIELD's Academy of Operations, and she spends a large part of it as a giant bruise.
For the first three months, outside of supervised training, she's forced into the wristbands Barton put on her at the precinct, and no one connects them with the frequent migraines and numbness until they break and she causes a capital-i Incident, which is the type of report they file when she accidentally sets a training field on fire.
After SHIELD is satisfied that it really was an accident and that Leila didn't stage the entire thing herself—"to what end?" she asks them during her debrief, and they apparently cannot find a satisfactory answer for that question, which puts her in the clear—they're forced to resort to an honor system, where she crosses her heart and hopes to die that she won't use her powers unless they tell her to.
And she doesn't, or at least not when other people are around. Sometimes when she's alone, she likes to spark up her fingers and watch the flame burn out slowly, like a candle. There's no sinister purpose behind this; she just finds it relaxing, a nice way to end a long day of getting punched and punching back.
But she knows her word doesn't count for much around here, so she keeps it to herself.
SHIELD EYES ONLY
CLEARANCE LEVEL 4
CASE: #348255
DATE: 05-27-2011
CROSS REFERENCE SUBJECT: #482567 [0-8-4, 0-9-5, 0-0-2]
[ The following is a transcript of the post-case debriefing of Agent Leila Whittaker. Debriefing done by Agent Lachlan Foreman. ]
Foreman: Tell me about the mission.
Whittaker: S.H.I.E.L.D. sent me to apprehend a man with the ability to manipulate air…?
Foreman: Aerokinesis.
[ Fingers snapping ]
Whittaker: Right. It was on the tip of my tongue.
Foreman: What was the man's name?
Whittaker: Anguo Chang.
Foreman: Were you successful?
Whittaker: Yes. He was good, so as soon as I got close enough, I took his power and I brought him in.
Foreman: He's alive?
Whittaker: Correct.
Foreman: Which existing ability did you trade out?
Whittaker: Pyrokinesis.
Foreman: Please list for me the abilities you held when going into the field.
Whittaker: Pyrokinesis, enhanced agility, enhanced speed, enhanced stealth, camouflage.
Foreman: Please list for me the abilities you hold now.
Whittaker: Isn't this getting repetitive?
Foreman: We like to be thorough.
[ Sigh ]
Whittaker: Aerokinesis, enhanced agility, enhanced speed, etc etc.
Foreman: Agent.
Whittaker: …enhanced stealth and camouflage.
Foreman: Thank you. Head to the lab for the physical and the proof-of-status. While you're there, you can switch your abilities back if so desired.
Whittaker: No, we actually don't have a sample from the guy I got the pyrokinesis from.
Foreman: …Really.
Whittaker: Really, really.
Foreman: Then why trade out that ability?
Whittaker: It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Foreman: I'm sure.
Whittaker: It was an honest mistake.
Foreman: You don't strike me as the type for honest mistakes, Agent.
Whittaker: It was a dishonest mistake, then.
[ Sigh ]
SHIELD EYES ONLY
CLEARANCE LEVEL 4
CASE: #348256
DATE: 10-17-2011
CROSS REFERENCE SUBJECT: #482567 [0-8-4, 0-9-5, 0-0-2]
[ The following is a transcript of the post-case debriefing of Agent Leila Whittaker. Debriefing done by Agent Lachlan Foreman. ]
Foreman: Alright, so who was the target this time?
Whittaker: Seth. Seth Lennox.
[ Papers shuffling ]
Foreman: Mm. And my notes say that you knew the target prior to being recruited into SHIELD?
Whittaker: You could say that.
Foreman: And does that have anything to do with your inability to apprehend him?
Whittaker: I can assure you, there's no love lost between me and Lennox.
Foreman: And do you think that contributed to this mission falling through?
Whittaker: Elaborate.
Foreman: Do you have any anger or resentment towards the target that could have compromised your ability to focus and think clearly?
Whittaker: I resent the insinuation that I experience emotions. It's false and, honestly, defamatory. I thought you knew that, being an Ally McBeal superfan.
Foreman: I'm not—
[ Sigh ]
Foreman: Can you tell me what, if anything, was accomplished on this trip.
Whittaker: So there's this amazing little brasserie in Soho—
Foreman: Whittaker.
Whittaker: I took his ability. It wasn't a total waste of SHIELD's time.
Foreman: Please list for me the abilities you had when you went into the field.
Whittaker: Aerokinesis, enhanced agility, enhanced speed, enhanced stealth, camouflage.
Foreman: And the abilities you're holding now?
Whittaker: Pyrokinesis, enhanced agility, enhanced speed, enhanced stealth, camouflage.
Foreman: Why did you choose to let go of the aerokinesis, specifically?
Whittaker: Aside from putting out fires—which is also possible with Lennox's pyrokinesis—it's not a particularly subtle power, usually. And I know how Lennox operates.
Foreman: And he knows how you operate.
Whittaker: To an extent.
Foreman: Alright. Head to the lab for a physical and proof-of-status check.
Whittaker: Can you tell me where the lab is again? I haven't been there before.
Foreman: Goodbye, Whittaker.
Sixteen hours. That's how long she spends on the plane from the lab to Phil Coulson's office on the helicarrier, which is, as its name would suggest, a giant floating base-slash-airfield. She's heard of it, of course, and it's more or less what she imagined it would be, but it's more real now that she's there, in a way she doesn't particularly care for.
Leila has never liked flying. Leaving the ground and trusting in a machine she doesn't fully understand to keep her safe—it doesn't come naturally to her. Stepping off the plane onto the helicarrier, though, is ten times worse; the wind whips her hair around her, and she knows it has to be her mind playing tricks on her, but the sun feels closer to her skin when it hits her, warming her from the cold of the quinjet's sterile interior. It's a machine she understands even less, built by people she trusts even less.
To what end? she asks herself, as a self-soothing mechanism. Why would anyone around her build something this complex with the intention of it failing?
Except—well, there's probably a lot of people who would have reason to want something catastrophic to happen to SHIELD as a whole, or any given person who works for it.
So she falls back onto her other self-soothing mechanism: if the helicarrier falls, she'll survive. It's what she does.
S.H.I.E.L.D EYES ONLY
CLEARANCE LEVEL 6
MISCONDUCT REPORT
DATE: 07-20-2011
CROSS REFERENCE SUBJECT: #482567 [0-8-4, 0-9-5, 0-0-2]
[ The following is a transcript of the questioning of Agent Leila Whittaker following her misconduct related to civilian Adam Bousaid. Debriefing done by Phil Coulson. ]
Coulson: Let's talk about the incident that occurred yesterday.
Whittaker: Actually, it started four days ago.
Coulson: A word of advice, Whittaker? This isn't the time to be a smartass.
Whittaker: I'm just trying to be thorough, sir.
Coulson: Okay. Then tell me what happened.
Whittaker: I'm picking up on a vibe that you already know.
Coulson: Then tell the camera what happened.
[ A chair shifts ]
Whittaker: What does the camera want to know?
Coulson: Let's start with this: why did you think it was appropriate to go after an unregistered gifted without being cleared first?
Whittaker: Objection, leading the wi—
Coulson: Whittaker.
Whittaker: Right. Thanks. In my defense, I submitted a request for authorization, but it was taking too long to go through.
Coulson: You haven't answered my question.
Whittaker: The gifted in question had the ability of rapid learning. That's an invaluable addition to my skillset. I knew if I had that ability, I could immediately understand and use any other ability I acquired to its full potential. But the mission authorization was taking a long time, and as you mentioned, Bousaid was unregistered; I didn't want to lose track of him.
Coulson: The gifted wasn't hostile.
Whittaker: I know. That's why I didn't take his ability. I didn't even fight him, I just shook his hand. That's against the rules now?
Coulson: It is when you knowingly engage in behavior that could become a liability.
Whittaker: You just said he wasn't hostile.
Coulson: You never know for sure.
Whittaker: Sorry for trusting my own judgment over some random paper-pushers who've never met me or Bousaid.
Coulson: You'd never met Bousaid, either, until you went rogue.
Whittaker: I've met other 94 year olds, though. They don't tend to be dangerous, as a rule. Wouldn't you agree?
Coulson: Sure. But wouldn't you agree that both of our jobs revolve around exceptions that prove the rule? This particular incident might have turned out harmless, but we have these protocols for a reason.
Whittaker: Mm.
Coulson: You're suspended from field work for two months.
Whittaker: Fine.
Coulson: Go to the lab to turn in any abilities that we have samples for.
Whittaker: What?
Coulson: We can't guarantee that you won't go rogue again until you complete your suspension without doing so. Gotta re-earn our trust.
Whittaker: Damn, you guys trusted me? You've got a bizarre way of showing it.
Coulson: Whittaker.
Whittaker: Am I wrong?
Coulson: You're dismissed.
It's eight glorious months in the field—tracking down gifteds, collecting new powers, and it feels like she might finally be getting closer to what she's really looking for—before she is, seemingly apropos of nothing, transferred to counterterrorism.
Well. Maybe not apropos of nothing. Leila's last mission as a garden variety field agent is a big one, and at the end of it all, she doesn't remember a lot of it. Patrice Joh. Blinding light. Ending in fire. It almost feels like a dream, and if she didn't have the rapid regenerative healing ability to prove it happened, she might think that it was.
The therapist they make her talk to is sure that it's because it's her first mission that ended in death. Leila's pretty sure that that's shit, because it's not like Joh is the first person she's killed in her life, and for the most part, the other times don't feel like dreams. They feel inescapably real.
She really doesn't want to take a psychiatric leave of absence, though, or—God forbid—have to keep seeing the therapist. So she lies and agrees and gets her fit-for-duty form signed, and then is promptly handed a new badge with a new designation and put on a team with some new acquaintances, and one old one.
She doesn't question it—at least, not beyond a snarky quip to Foreman that is met with what she assumes was an equally snarky quip hidden under a layer of spy terminology. She wasn't listening that hard. But it seems strange, because STRIKE usually only takes specialists, and Leila's only ever worked a mission alone once. She's pretty sure SHIELD still doesn't trust her, that they aren't certain she won't decide she's tired of being one of the good guys and wander back into the shadows.
She also feels like the fact that her only official solo mission literally went up in flames should be a cause for more concern, not a cause for promotion, but she doesn't ask about that, either.
Someone else, though, does. Leila's team on STRIKE is made up of a Russian-born spy she's only heard whispers about, and none other than Clint Barton, who seems as mystified by Leila's presence there as she is herself. He complains to their handler, who happens to be another familiar face—Phil Coulson. "I'm not a babysitter," Barton complains, and Coulson replies with a spy terminology version of the wry smile that he wears as perpetually as his suit and tie.
On day one, Coulson asks what she wants her codename to be.
"Your choice can be vetoed," he tells her, "but we try to take your input into account."
She asks for the name "Snow White," and it goes through.
Barton finds out, and looks at her skeptically. "Snow White? Like the fairy tale? Seriously?"
"All the Last of the Mohicans references were taken," she replies, and surprisingly, he remembers the reference.
"There are still unclaimed M*A*S*H references, though."
"I'm not gonna lie—I'm actually not a big fan of M*A*S*H."
He snorts. "Alright then, Princess."
S.H.I.E.L.D. EYES ONLY
CLEARANCE LEVEL 8
CASE: #824484
DATE: 09-15-2011
CROSS REFERENCE SUBJECT: #482567 [0-8-4, 0-9-5, 0-0-2]
[ The following is a transcript of the post-case debriefing of Agent Leila Whittaker. Debriefing done by Agent Lachlan Foreman. ]
Foreman: Let's start with the target's name.
Whittaker: Patrice Joh.
Foreman: Her ability?
Whittaker: Rapid regenerative healing.
Foreman: Did you copy or take it?
Whittaker: Yeah, I took it.
Foreman: List the powers you had before going into the field.
Whittaker: Rapid learning, aerokinesis, enhanced agility, enhanced stealth.
Foreman: Just those four?
Whittaker: Yeah. The rapid learning takes up a lot of space on the hard drive.
Foreman: Right. Did you switch any of those abilities out for the regenerative ability?
Whittaker: I let go of the aerokinesis.
Foreman: …Alright. Please list the powers you're holding now.
Whittaker: Rapid regenerative healing, rapid learning, enhanced agility, enhanced stealth.
Foreman: You're awfully subdued this time around, Whittaker.
Whittaker: Just tired.
Foreman: Mm. Alright. What happened to Joh?
Whittaker: I killed her. She was hostile.
Foreman: Were you able to bring in any DNA samples?
Whittaker: No. The fire pretty much destroyed everything.
Foreman: Is that why you're tired?
Whittaker: …no, I do not find fires to be tiring.
[ Sigh ]
Foreman: What I meant was, this is the first time you've killed someone in the field. It happens to all of us.
Whittaker: …I'm sure that's it, yeah.
Foreman: Alright. I'd like to put you in for a psych eval, just in case.
Whittaker: I don't think that's necessary.
Foreman: I do.
Whittaker: Fine. Whatever you gotta do.
[ Papers shuffling ]
Foreman: After you're done in the lab, I'd like you to step across the hall. Agent Coulson wants to speak with you.
Whittaker: Uh, okay. Why? Am I in trouble again?
Foreman: That's not the impression I got. I think it's something about a transfer.
Whittaker: …Okay. Sure. I'll talk to him.
Foreman: It wasn't a request, but good.
Whittaker: Wait, that's so true. You're, like, so smart.
Foreman: There's the Agent Whittaker I know.
Whittaker: Great. So I can skip the psych eval, then.
Foreman: Nice try.
[ Sigh ]
It's six months with STRIKE Team Delta, and in those six months, none of their missions involve gifteds.
It's not that she dislikes the missions—she definitely doesn't mind the lesser frequency of them, meaning she gets to stay and train most days. And the team isn't so bad. Coulson is inexplicably likable, but in a way that makes him easy to keep him at arm's length. The guy who heads the department is nice enough—and pretty to look at, so there's that.
Barton is, if nothing else, familiar, and Romanoff lives up to all the legends about her. She's wary of Leila at first, only until they get a few sessions into their integration training, which is spy terminology for fighting each other to get a better read of their respective fighting styles, so that they can more efficiently fight someone else together.
Leila's not sure if Romanoff is wary of her because she has powers, or because she doesn't like her pre-existing rapport with Barton being intruded upon. Romanoff isn't hostile or anything, but Leila can tell when someone is using perceived warmth and playfulness to hold someone at arm's length.
Leila can pinpoint the exact day that wariness gives out, though, because immediately afterwards, Barton stops bitching about her presence on their team, presumably because he trusts Natasha's judgment.
After that, the three of them find a rhythm in working together. Something just clicks into place.
And this is all well and good, and she even kind of likes it, more than she thought she would; there's something fun about working as part of a team like this, at least as fun as espionage ever is (which is, to be fair, a lot more fun than Leila anticipated). It's still not what she's here for.
She spends two more months idling, trying to think of a way to get back on track, before accepting that the only real way to get what she wants is to ask. She's just clocked out after training for the day—Romanoff and Barton are both on solo missions at that time—when she heads to Coulson's office to ask about tracking down gifteds in between STRIKE operations. Coulson is not there.
Someone else is.
Nick Fury is sitting at Coulson's desk, flipping through a manila file. He doesn't glance up in the slightest when Leila walks in.
"Agent Whittaker," he greets. "Just who I was looking for."
Leila doesn't know if you could say that she's met Nick Fury. She's passed him in hallways on a number of occasions; she's happened to be in the same room as him once or twice while he was talking to someone else. That's the extent of it. She knows Barton and Romanoff are familiar with him, but all of her missions thus far have come through Coulson or Rumlow.
So the familiarity in Fury's voice as he addresses her is somewhat unsettling. But she figures that SHIELD is super powerful, and Fury is in charge of SHIELD, so he's the most powerful person there, which makes him the closest thing to God that Leila's willing to believe in. And God knows all his children personally, or whatever? Maybe? Jesus. Who fucking knows. She sets it aside.
"That makes one of us," she says. "I…was not looking for you, but since you're here, maybe I can just ask you the thing I was gonna ask Coulson directly, instead of him asking you for me."
"You want to go back to being a field agent."
How does he know that?
"I mean, that's the ideal, but I assume I was moved to STRIKE for a reason. So I wanted to ask if I could take on gifted cases between STRIKE operations. As a compromise."
Fury sets the file down and looks at her. "I'll think about it," he says, and his voice carries the same tone that dads on TV use when their kids want to go to a concert with a friend and then sleepover, or whatever the fuck. "In the meantime, I'd like to ask you to do something for me."
"That's my job, sir."
"I'm asking as a formality. I'm nice like that." He hands her the file, and for a second she thinks it's going to be about her, like it was in the police precinct years ago. That they've found something out that they didn't already know about. Her entire time here, she's tried to ignore the fact that she doesn't know how much SHIELD knows about her, and how many individual SHIELD personnel know it. For her own sanity, she assumes they don't know anything more than they've made clear, but this is Nick Fury, and everything about him screams that he's someone who knows more than he lets on, and a chill is running down her spine, and—
She stays completely neutral, and flips open the file, and it's not about her at all.
"Steve Rogers," she says, after scanning the page for a moment. "You guys just pulled him out of the ice, right?" The news that a famous war hero, one with ties to the earliest precursor of SHIELD, was found alive and physically preserved after nearly 70 years, was difficult to avoid, but she hadn't gone looking for more information on it. The Life and Times of Captain America had never been a particularly interesting point of history for her, and she had other things to focus on.
"Six months ago, to be exact."
She looks up. He's leaning back in the chair now, arms crossed. "There was an incident at a SHIELD research facility recently. An object was stolen."
"The tesseract." A captioned photo of it is paperclipped into the file. She knew it existed, although she didn't know SHIELD had it.
"That's correct. Agent Barton was there. He was…compromised."
Leila tries to ignore the way her gut twists at those words. Compromised is another one of those spy terms that could mean anything; it conjures up a million worst-case scenarios in her head. She hates it, and she hates that she hates it.
"Compromised," she repeats.
"There's more information in the file," he says, and she hates how his voice sounds—sympathetic. Like he knows how she feels. Like he knows that she feels. "You can read it on the plane."
"You want me to…what? Find Barton? What does Steve Rogers have to do with that? And why isn't Natasha here, too?"
"No." Fury stands up. "I need you to talk to Captain Rogers. Convince him to help us retrieve the tesseract."
"And Barton's, what, collateral damage?" She can't help the words that bubble up. All she can do is wrap them in casual body language—crossed arms, leaning back against the wall, tied up in a bow shaped like a smirk.
"Believe me when I tell you that finding the tesseract is the only way to find Barton. And if we don't, he's not gonna be the only 'collateral damage' we have to worry about."
The smile slips from her face as she studies the man in front of her. He's a spy and a liar just like her, just like everyone else here, but there's something solid about him, and she can't put her finger on it so she's not sure how she feels about it, but she believes him, at least on this.
"So you need Captain Rogers to get the tesseract because he's done it before," she says.
"That's right."
"And you need me to be the one to convince him, because..."
"Because things might get messy. Retrieving the tesseract might turn out to be a two person job." He heads for the door.
"That doesn't really answer my question."
Fury's halfway out the door when he pauses, looks at her, and says "Because I said so." Then he leaves the room, adding without looking at her "You have twenty minutes before the jet leaves the airfield. It's supposed to rain in New York. I'd pack a sweater."
Leila watches him go, and then flips through the file again. It's not well organized, in her opinion–it's got different pages on Captain Rogers, on the incident at the research facility, and more, all stacked together like some kind of horrible frankenfile. She decides to make sense of it once she gets on the plane, and looks at the first page one last time before closing it.
"Okay, Captain America," she murmurs. "Let's chat."
A/N: Fun fact: if you pay attention to the dates in this chapter, you can find a hint to a future storyline!