Chapter 5
You’d think it’d be easy to defend a hallway from hostiles trying to come in from an elevator shaft. But the space was tight, and the men coming from the shaft were smart enough to throw out flashbangs, disorienting after the half-dark he’d been in. Steve was experienced, but this was a mess of a fight, unable to see and half-deafened.
He felt the force of the bullet more than pain, spinning around and nearly falling. He caught himself and continued on until the hostiles were down. He really didn’t notice the bullet wound until he realized he couldn’t catch his breath.
“Steve.” Thor was looking at him in concern. The blood soaking his shirt was nearly black in the dim light. Well… heck.
It wasn’t the first time he'd been shot, but he just didn’t feel much this time. Thor tugged him back into the lab, into Shen Wei's arms. He was pushed into a chair, blinking at the doctor’s concerned face.
“There’s an exit wound, good.” he blinked again as his shirt was ripped, then the pain kicked in as the wound was packed with something- he blinked and found himself lying on a table, his hand being squeezed.
“Ow.” he managed.
“Steve?”
“Here.” he groaned, his shoulder ached, feeling more bruised than shot. He got shot, right?
“You’re healing up quickly, but we should get an x-ray later to make sure there’s no bullet fragments. I was-”
“Were you worried about me, doc?” he squeezed back. Shen Wei's eyes looked bright, like he’d been on the edge of tears.
“You did bleed everywhere. No, don’t sit up-” Steve ignored him and nearly fell off the table.
“What’s the situation?” he asked as the doctor steadied him, easily taking his weight.
“Still a few hostiles on the first floor. Power is still off but Jarvis is back up and running thanks to Craig and has them locked in. The police are on their way. And Tony keeps making movie references, but no one knows what he’s talking about. Miss Potts is awake and mad no one woke her up when it started.”
“Under control, I see. Ow. That seemed too easy.”
“You got shot, I’m not sure how easy that really was. Let me take a look, I can help heal it-”
“No, it’ll be okay, I’ll be fine in a couple of hours.” Shen Wei's hands still fluttered nervously over his shoulder, not touching. “Did you get a good look at the guys that tried to come in?”
“To be fair, I was a little distracted.”
“Let’s go check them before the cops move things around. Or SHIELD, I bet they will be here in a few minutes.”
“Steve, you were shot. I’ve been shot before and it wasn’t fun.”
“Only once! Wait, when were you shot?”
“The last time was in 1948.” He tried to glare Steve into submission and he gave his best innocent look in return until the doctor gave in and sighed. “Fine, we’ll take a look. But then I want you back in bed.”
“Sure.” Steve had absolutely no intention of going back to bed. “Why were you shot?”
“Because someone wanted me dead.” he replied flatly, helping him up to his feet. Despite his smaller frame, the doctor easily held up Steve's weight. “It didn’t take, luckily.”
“What is he doing up?” Tony complained as they made their way into the lab. “He was shot.”
“Steve was shot?”
“He was. Now he’s up.”
“I’m fine, doc patched me up.”
“Steve would like to take a closer look at the mercenaries that attacked before the cops arrive. And then he’s going to the hospital for scans to make sure there’s no internal damage we missed.”
“I’m not going to the hospital, I’ll be fine. You said it was a through and through.”
“Yes, but-”
“Steve was /SHOT/?”
“It’s not the first time I’ve been shot, I’ll be fine! It’s almost all healed up. Can we go look at the bodies now?”
“SHIELD is coming over too. They better clean up, do you know how much it costs to get blood out of flooring?”
“About five-hundred dollars an hour.”
“Yes!”
“Sir, NYPD has arrived and is taking the survivors in the lobby into custody.”
“Doc, Why do you think they are mercenaries?”
“I’m guessing mostly.”
“Hans Gruber would have done a better job. At least they would have gotten somewhere… Really, no one? I trust you assholes with my life and not one of you have seen Die Hard? Wait-”
Everyone actually went quiet, turning to look at tony.
“This was a remarkably stupid operation that got nowhere and did nothing but distract everyone.” Pepper gasped softly. “Jarvis, tell the cops to get out of the lobby, just in case.”
Shen Wei's fingers were digging painfully into Steve's side, even as his face was calm.
“Doc?”
“I should call shuzhi.” he murmured softly.
“What are you-” and then he pushed Shen Wei down as a shockwave hit the building, blowing in the windows. Pepper screamed over the sudden wind rushing in, and steve wasn’t in the tower, he was crashing into the snow and ice-
“Steve!” the doctor was screaming in his ear, trying to pull him back to the here and now.
“Upstairs!” he yelled back over the ringing in his ears, and everyone rushed with them to the observation deck.
The lights of the city were coming back on, but distantly there was smoke rising.
“Is that the Met?” Shen Wei asked.