CODE DZAYNNE22
We went to the hospital,a glass window the only thing separating us from the doctors operating on Fury.
Maria Hill was there as well; our eyes were glued on his body,none of us could really speak.
Natasha came running inside the room; she was obviously shaken,her eyes wide opened as she looked at Fury's body being operated.
“How is it going?”,she asked us,though she didn't look at anyone else besides Fury.
“We will have to wait and see. We can't say anything for sure..not as things are right now”,Hill was the one to answer her.
“The shooter”,she said then,turning for the first time to look at me and Steve. “Who was it?”
“We don't know Tasha..he wasn't..”,i shook my head,trying to find the right words for this.
“He was fast; one metallic arm. He was good”,Steve spoke in my part,his head lowered down.
“Metallic?”,she mumbled. “Couldn't you like,stop him?”,she now turned to me,her brows knitted.
I pursed my lips,a huff of air escaping my mouth. “No,Tasha..that's not how it works...I couldn't bend it”,i tried to explain,though I could tell she wasn't listening to me anymore.
“How about the ballistics?”,she asked Hill,now completely ignoring me and Steve.
“Are they that close?”,i whispered to Steve and he just pursed his lips.
“I don't really know Pers..”,he huffed. “I'd be damned if I actually knew anything at this point...”,he mumbled to himself.
“What about the-”,Steve pressed my hand with his own,a cue for me to stop.
That was right. Don't trust anyone.
But still...not even Maria? Not even...Tasha?
I felt like a fraud. Tasha was always there. She knew everything,about my father,my life.. I'd always annoy the fuck out of her with my pestering,my constant nagging. Yet..she never once complained.
No. She would smile and try to cheer me up. She's make me laugh,call me out on my shit when I needed her too- fuck me,she even taught me who Britney Spears is.
And what about me?
I don't even know how she ended up here in the first place. I don't know how she became a SHIELD agent,nor why she's so shaken about Fury;s condition. I thought he was her boss,as he was mine.
And here we are,Tasha on the verge of tears while I am merely angry about the masked man leaving my grasp.
Yes,Fury's been on my ass for two years now. Yes I like him,yes I am sad about this. But mostly,i am incredibly furious.
This happened on my watch.
I tightened my fists; Steve noticed,put a hand on my shoulder. Although this usually works,this time it didn't. We were walking on thin ice.
The doctors suddenly began running up and down in distress; it didn't too long after that for them to call it.
Nick Fury was dead.
Maria said they'd take his body and we all headed out the room,though we were mostly chasing after Natasha.
“Tasha,wait-”
“Why were you at Steve's?”,she suddenly stopped and asked me.
“I..I just missed him. Wanted to see him”,i answered as genuinely as I could.
I knew what she was asking,though I was afraid I couldn't give it to her. It wasn't a matter of trust. I trusted Tasha,and I believed Steve trusted her too,no matter what he showed. But,this wasn't the place.
“What about Fury? Why was Nick there?”,she asked,her eyes pleading for an answer. “Steve?” ,she turned to him whom was standing next to me.
“Nat-”
“Cap,Miss Pearse”,we both turned around to see and agent calling on us. “You are needed in SHIELD”
“Give me a minute Rumlow”,Steve said.
“Now Cap”
Steve sighed. “Fine”
“I'll explain”,i whispered to her just as Steve turned around to leave. “I will Tasha,i promise,as soon as we come back i'll explain everything”
Her eyes were watery,her jaw clenched. She didn't answer anything back,she didn't nod. She just let us go.
Agent Rumlow and the strike team escorted us both to the Triskelion. Although,the fact that both Steve and I were needed there only meant that something was up. I'd only went there two times before,thus my memory of agent 13,but other than that..nothing.
We went up the last floor,Rumlow and his team all leaving us alone at some point. We saw Kate speaking to a blond middle aged man;
“Captain Rogers; Miss Pearse”,she nodded to us both as she walked past us.
“Agent 13”,i said with a smile and she awkwardly went ahead.
“Oh,Captain America!”,the man exclaimed,giving out a hand to Steve. “And of course,our dear Miss Pearse!”,he gave me his hand as well and I shook it. “I am Alexander Pierce. It's a pleasure,really”,he smiled at us.
“Sir”,Steve said with a nod and I followed along.
They both sat down as Pierce was speaking of old battles,reminiscing on the days back then,saying stories of him and Fury. Steve may be a patient man,enough to humour him,but I do not share that quality of his.
I kept my distance,standing up with my arms crossed.
After a while he took a tablet screen,and a live streaming video began playing.
“Miss Pearse,as I understand you only arrived yesterday from your mission in Europe,so you might not know of this”,he began saying and I took a few steps closer. “But this man's name is Georges Batroc; he was involved in one of Captain Roger's missions,concerning a hijacking” ,he explained.
The clip showed a restrained man,Georges Batroc as I understand,and an agent right beside him,interrogating.
“Batroc was hired anonymously; 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”
“And Veech is..?”
“A dead man,i'm afraid”,he smiled softly to me. “His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37”
“Are you saying Fury was behind the piracy?”,Steve asked,his face stiff.
“That is an awfully serious accusation to throw on a dead man,sir”,i noted,my brows knitted together.
“Indeed”,he agreed with a soft voice. “The ship these men hijacked contained highly confidential SHIELD intelligence”,he continued, “What we suspect is that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of that classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death”
“Nick Fury was many things sir”,i stated, “but an unreasonable thief wasn't one of them”
“Mm”,he nodded, “i would like to think so as well,Miss Pearse”
Pierce stood up,got infront of the big window wall,his gaze fixed on the vast view ahead.
“Miss Pearse”,he spoke again and I turned to look at him. “As I said before,you only arrived yesterday from your mission in Italy,isn't that right?”
“Yes sir. I was in Rome for a little over six months,and I only returned to the States yesterday”,i said in a hollow voice.
“And,as I believe,your current residence is at Tony Stark's Avengers Tower”,he continued.
“That is correct sir”
“Yet,instead of going home after such a long trip..you went to Steve Roger's apartment. Now,why is that?”
My jaw was clenched.
He wanted to know what he shouldn't.
Fury said so himself: SHIELD was compromised. So,of course,being in the same room as the head of SHIELD,i ought to be a little suspicious.
“Steve is a close friend of mine sir. I missed him,and so I decided to pay him a visit”,i answered,trying to sound as genuine as possible; although this part was true.
“Oh,i see...however,allow me to ask,why was Nick Fury there too?”,his brows were furrowed,his questioning leading if nothing else.
“He told us to be careful who we trust”,Steve answered in my part. “After that,he got shot”
“That's all he said?”,he asked.
“Yes sir. Now”,Steve stood up, “If you'll excuse us”
“Oh,of course”,he smiled again.
“By the way,Captain,miss Pearse”,he spoke again as we were now by the door. “Please bear in mind that my friend was killed. And I will make sure to capture the culprit. No matter what”
“Yes sir”,Steve said and we headed out.
We went inside the elevator. For a few moments no one spoke.
I had many questions,many things I needed him to tell me,although I had a feeling that Steve was just as left out and confused as I was.
But,i believed we were on the same page,as always.
“How was your trip?”,he suddenly asked me and I raised an eyebrow.
“At this point I barely remember anything...”,i huffed and Steve put on a half smile,lowering his head for a moment.
He put one arm on my waist,slowly pulling me close to take me in a big hug. Strangely it was just as I remembered it; tight,warm,wholesome. A..safe place to be.
Although I hadn't touched him in months..it felt as if it a day hadn't passed since the last time he hugged me.
“We really missed you here Pers”,he said in a low voice,now pulled back to see me.
“Who's we exactly?”,i chuckled,my arms still hanging around him.
“Me. I missed you”,he said and my lips parted for a second.
We heard a sound,the doors now opening,and so I pulled back,now standing next to him.
Agent Rumlow came in with one more guy with him,speaking of something neither of us payed attention to.
“Captain. Miss Pearse”,he nodded at us.
“Rumlow”,Steve responded and I just waved awkwardly.
One more stop,a few more guys came in; suddenly it was getting a little overcrowded in there.
“Why are they all calling me miss?”,i whispered at Steve and he smiled,trying to hold in a small chuckle. “Makes me feel weird”,i mumbled.
One more stop,three more guys in.
“Hey,Pers”,Steve said suddenly and I turned at him,though he wasn't looking at me as he spoke. “Remember Dzayne22?”
I knitted my eyebrows,feeling out of place for a second there;
after that second passed though...
i raised both eyebrows,my lips pursed as I let out a long,annoyed sighed.
Give me a fucking break.
“For fuck's sake...”,i snorted.
“Everything alright?”,Rumlow asked me,looking at us with the corner of his eye.
“Yeah yeah..”,i huffed, “i was just wondering...”
So here's the thing: Steve and I really like playing call of duty. And,since Barton showed me that you can actually play with other people by connecting to the internet -what a glorious invention- Steve and I began playing with other people as well.
We couldn't always do that,it was an occasional activity,one we really enjoyed once the circumstances allowed us to.
And,there was this guy: Dzaynne 22.
A teenager from Serbia called Mario. Mario was a nice fella,really good player. Saved our asses many times. Asked for Steve's autograph. Nice kid.
Mario though,this one time,told us a story about a cousin of his.
Poor man had loan sharkers chasing his ass.
One day,while in his house,inside an elevator,three men came in.
Long story short,doors open,the men get out,but poor cousin has five bullet holes on his body.
“Which one of you bright folks had the idea of attacking a person whom can shoot fire from her arms,inside a 5cm² metal box?”,i asked,an awkward smile on my face.
“Well,miss Pearse”,he turned to me, “Let's just say we counted on the fact that you're not willing to burn everyone inside”
He pressed the button,the elevator stopping.
I turned to look at Steve. Right.
“Mm-yeah. I see your point”,i said,stretching my arms a bit. “Old school it is then”
We all kinda began our thing rather simultaneously; it was impressive,really.
Steve turned around and ducked; I fell on his back as he pushed me,one kick throwing two men down as he got up,punching his guys.
They had some sort of metallic cuffs on them,some electrifying sticks too. I'd guess they preferred taking us in alive,though,Steve being Steve and me being me...every hit would be thrown with the intention to kill us both.
I kicked the glass wall giving my self enough impetus to flip and kick down one of them,right to his chest.
Truth is,i couldn't exactly use my scimitars; I wouldn't be able to move them around freely enough for them to be actually useful. And Steve,well,obviously he couldn't use his shield like that.
Us two being in there together gave us some sort of disadvantage. But,what to do.
Rumlow hit me with that stick,three more of them tried to pin Steve on the wall,forcing themselves on him in order to restrain him with those cuffs,which I understood worked as magnets to hold him in place.
I fell on my knee,the electricity vibrating my every bone,running throughout my spine as I groaned.
He tried to kick me and I leaned back,seeing his leg over me;
I put my weight on my palms,throwing myself up,kicking him. Once on the knees,once on the ribs,enough for his body to curve,Rumlow now on his knees.
“You know,funny story”,i huffed,punching another guy coming, “i once accidentally got hit by Thor's hammer”,i laughed as I spoke. “ hurt like a motherfucker,but made a good laugh out of it”
Rumlow stood up; I elbowed one man pining Steve on the side of his neck. He groaned and took a few steps back,enough for Steve to overthrow the other two.
Rumlow came at me again with that stick. I ducked,punched him on the jaw and so he took a few missteps backwards.
“So,after that being hit by that stick of yours feels barely like a tickle really”,i said with my lips pursed.
Steve punched him a good one,and so he fell down unconscious.
He was the last one,everyone else was blacked out.
“You got hit by Thor's hammer?”,Steve asked me,brows knitted together,some form of bafflement on his face as he pressed the elevator's button and the doors opened.
“Yeah”,i huffed,waving my hand at him. “One of Tony's parties,you were in Germany. I was out for two days”,i chuckled and he nodded with his lips pursed.
We turned our heads ahead,an entire unit coming at us,guns pointing our way. I opened my eyes,quickly pressing the button again.
“I guess we're stuck”,i sighed.
“Not an option”,he said,taking his shield on his hand.
I looked outside the elevator,we were at least twenty floors up. I pursed my lips,my nostrils opened as I really,really didn't want to do this.
“Oh fuck me”,i groaned.
Steve spread out his arm and I approached,taking up the empty space,my body glued to his as I held on real tight.
“This is becoming a drill,huh?”,he joked.
“I really hate this drill”,i mumbled and he chuckled.
“Just don't let us break any bones Pers”
I sighed.
We took a few steps back and then,just as I hugged him even tighter he went through the window,his shield in front of us to act as a safety board of some sort. As much as it could at least.
Shreds of glass pierced our skin as we got out,now practically flying before beginning falling down with enough force to crash our skulls on the marble floor bellow.
“Pers!”,he hummed.
“Hold on”,i said.
He put both arms on my stomach,hugging me from behind as he put his shield on his back. And,let me just say that: it isn't easy to change positions when you're falling down twenty floors.
And,one more thing. Steve Rogers is not a light weighted man.
I had to put in some great effort to turn both our bodies around,also keeping in mind to only throw fire from my palms so I wouldn't burn Steve.
I managed to cut off some of the impetus,and so we landed more smoothly,though Steve fell on his shield and I fell on my knees.
Not exactly painless,but at least all our bones were in the right place.
We stood up running towards the garage to pick up his bike. We had to be fast. My blouse was filled with red spots,an aftermath of last night and today's shreds cutting my skin. An annoying,stingy feeling,but no time for that.
They were trying to close off the bridge,but thankfully enough,Steve was fast. A little too fast actually. That bike and I shared a love-hate relationship.
A Quinjet appeared on the sky,right across us,ready to shoot. Steve was about to throw his shield when I stopped him.
“Hold on,i got this”,i huffed,trying to adjust myself on the seat.
I tangled my legs on his stomach,hugging him with them as I needed to free my arms and,ideally to not fall from the bike.
“Captain Rogers, Persephone Pearse, stand down” ,we heard a loud voice from the Quinjet.
I quickly pulled my left arm back,a big rod emerged from the opposite lane,hitting the jet.
“Eyes on the road Rogers”,i said loudly and he hit the speed.
I pulled my right arm,another followed to throw it over at the sea bellow the bridge; some explosions took place,a few parts falling down,though Steve managed to dodge and I readjusted myself again to seat normally behind him,hugging him tightly.
“Good job Pearse”,he teased me,a smile on his face as he looked at me with the corner of his eye.
“You know where to,right?”,i asked,one raised eyebrow and he turned to me,confused. “To Tasha,Rogers”,i said in a strict manner.
“You sure that's a good idea?”
“You want your ass kicked?”
“No ma'am”,he nodded.