Chapter Seven

Zoë practically ran through the hospital when she heard the news. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Natasha and Steve.
"Is he gonna make it?" she asked.
"We don't know," Steve answered.
"Tell me about the shooter," Zoë demanded.
"Fast and strong. Had a metal arm."
"Ballistics?"

A voice answered behind her, Zoë turning to see Maria Hill.
"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable."
"Soviet-made," Natasha murmured.
"Yeah."
"What the hell happened?" Zoë snapped.

Before anyone could answer, yelling came from the other side of the room, from behind the glass wall.
"He's in V-tach!" a nurse shouted.
"Crash cart coming in!" another called.
"Nurse, help me with the drape," ordered the doctor.
"DP is dropping!"
"Defibrillator! I want you to charge him at one hundred."
"Don't do this to me, Nick," Natasha begged.
"Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear! Pulse?"
"No pulse."
"No Pulse."
"Okay. Two hundred please, Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear! Give me epinephrine! Pulse?"
"Negative."
"Don't do this to me, Fury," Zoë whispered, putting her hand against the glass. "Come on."

A few moments later, they called time of death.
"What's the time?" the doctor asked.
"One oh three, Doctor," said a nurse.
"Time of death, one oh three a.m." Zoë felt a shiver of fear go through her body. What the hell was gonna happen now?

When they were finally allowed to see Fury's body, it was Natasha who was crying. Normally Zoë would be the one in tears. After all, Clint's name for her was the gentle agent. She never did have the ability to shut off her emotions when it came to friends dying in the field. But this barely affected her. Maybe it was shock.

After Hill took the body, Natasha spun on Steve.
"Why was Fury in your apartment?" she snapped.
"I don't know." From around the corner, Brock Rumlow strolled up.
"Cap, they want you back at SHIELD, you too, Agent Aetos."
"Yeah, give us a second," Steve ordered.
"They want you now."
"Give us a second," Zoë repeated. Rumlow gave her a look before nodding, stepping back for a second.
"You're a terrible liar," Natasha told Steve before storming off.

Looking to Zoë, Steve took a deep breath before addressing Rumlow.
"Let's go."
"Yeah," Rumlow said. "STRIKE! Move out." Zoë moved to Steve's side, leaning in close to him.
"She's right you know."
"About?"
"Being a terrible liar."

At SHIELD, they were brought into Alexander Pierce's office, who was talking to Sharon Carter. Zoë nodded at her fellow agent as she was leaving, getting nothing in return. Oh well, Sharon Carter had always been a stoic one.

Alexander Pierce addressed, Zoë shaking her hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, Agent Aetos."
"You as well." He looked to Steve.
"It's an honor," Steve said.
"The honor is mine, Captain," Pierce replied. "My father served in the 101st. Come on in."

The three entered Pierce's office, Zoë's eyes narrowing in on a photo of him and Fury.
"That photo was taken five years after Nick, and I met. When I was at the State department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate." Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? The find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter."
"So, you gave him a promotion," Steve said.
"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"
"I don't know."
"You know it was bugged."
"I did because Nick told me."
"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it."

Those words silenced Steve.
"I want to show you something." Pierce pulled up footage of Batroc being interrogated.
"Who hired you, Batroc?" an agent asked.
"Is that live?" Zoë questioned.
"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers."
"Are you saying he's a suspect?" Steve asked. "Assassination isn't Batroc's line."
"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech." "Am I supposed to know who that is?"
"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 14-37."
"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?"
"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."
"If you really knew Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true," Zoë snapped.

The man sighed as Zoë took a seat, trying to process what was being said.
"Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council, not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me too, because we're both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you've got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people would be happy today, makes me really, really angry… Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So, I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"
"He told me not to trust anyone."
"I wonder if that included him."

Steve paused for a moment, taking in Pierce's words. Then he stood, grabbing his shield. He placed it on his back, gesturing to Zoë to follow him.
"I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me."
"Captain, Aetos." The two turned back to him. "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone."
"Understood."
"Copy that, sir," Zoë nodded.

The two stepped into the elevator, Steve directing the computer to Operations Control. Just as the doors were about to close, Rumlow stepped in with two STRIKE agents.
"Keep all STRIKE personnel on site," Rumlow was saying. "Understood."
"Yes, sir."
"Forensics," Rumlow told the computer. "Cap. Agent Aetos."
"Rumlow," Steve acknowledged.
"Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get a tac-team ready?"
"No, lets wait and see what it is first."
"Right."

The Elevator stopped, opening to allow more SHIELD and STRIKE agents inside. Zoë's eyes darted to one of the agents touching his weapon.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Fury, Z," Rumlow said. "Messed up, what happened to him."
"Never took you as one to care, Rumlow."
"Never gave me a chance to show you," Rumlow shot back.

Giving him a look, Zoë backed closer to Steve.
"Before we get started," Steve said. "Does anyone want to get out?"

There was a moment's pause before suddenly one of the agents turned and used an electric rod to give Steve a shock. The others grabbed him, trying to strap his wrists with a magnetic cuff. They managed to get one wrist as Zoë fought back Rumlow, narrowly avoiding the electric rod as it shocked Steve.
"I just want you to know, Z, this ain't personal." She ducked out of the way as Steve managed to get himself free from the magnetic cuff and knocked Rumlow out with his shield.
"It felt kinda personal," Zoë remarked.

The doors opened, and Zoë cursed at the sight of STRIKE agents pointing their weapons at them.
"Drop the shield!" an agent yelled at Steve. Another agent yelled at Zoë to get down on the ground.
"Trust me?" Steve asked Zoë.
"Do I have much of a choice?"

Using his shield, Steve broke off the elevator wires, sending them crashing down. He tried to open the doors at a different level, closing them again when he saw more agents. He grabbed Zoë, instructing her to hold on as he broke through the glass of the elevator, sending them plummeting to the ground. "Reminds me of New York," she said, as they took off running into the garage.
"At least you didn't break anything… Where's your gun?"
"Not on me. Didn't have time. Don't worry. If I need one, I'll get one."

Steve hopped onto his motorcycle, Zoë climbing on behind him. They took off, evading obstacles just as a Quinjet emerged ahead of them.
"Stand down, Captain Rogers. Agent Aetos. Stand down!" A machine gun lowered from the jet, pointing at them.
"Damn," Zoë muttered as they started getting shot at.
"Throw the shield!"
"Excuse me?"
"Jam the propellers!"

She pulled Steve's shied off his back, throwing it into the Quinjet's propellers. It crashed, giving the two enough time to get away.
"Where are we going Steve?" Zoë asked.
"To change, then back to the hospital. There's something I need to get."

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