Fated Marks

I stared out the window and watched the trees and signs pass us by. I heard a buzzing sound but it quickly stopped.

“Clint?” I asked.

“Steve.” Natasha said as my phone started ringing. “Is he calling you?”

“It’s Tony.” I said picking up the phone. “Hey.”

“Morning Sunshine. Quick question where are you?” Tony asked.

“I had to run an errand. Don’t worry Nat’s with me.” I said.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m managing. How’s Will?” I asked.

“Uh he’s still in bed. I have Jarvis monitoring him.” Tony said.

“No matter what don’t let him go to the hospital to start making arrangements until I’m back. He shouldn’t be alone for that.” I said.

“Don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Tony said.

“Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, carrot cake and salted caramel gelato.” I said.

“What’s that?” Tony asked.

“Will’s favorite comfort foods. He may not want to eat or talk or even get out of bed but that may be enough for him to at least take a few bites or cry some more.” I said. “It’s what got him though the last episode of Oprah.”

“I’ll have some delivered.” He said.

“And if he asks for anything just let him have it.” I said.

“All right. Are you going to be back soon?” Tony asked.

“Uh…” I said looking at the sign that said we were still an hour and a half away from DC. “Probably going to be home late.”

“Can I ask what you’re doing?” Tony asked.

“I’m working. See you later.” I said hanging up before he could ask more questions.

“So we’re back to lying?” Natasha asked.

“It wasn’t technically a lie. I am working.” I said.

“You still haven’t told me what the plan is exactly?” Natasha said.

“You need to go to Shield and get the guards they have on Hanson away for a while.” I said.

“To do what?” Natasha asked.

“To get him to talk.” I said. “Going directly after Hadrian hasn’t gotten us anywhere. The ghost is well a ghost so let’s go with the one person who is probably just as desperate if not more so than I am.”

“Shield’s already sent the best interrogators they have and he didn’t say a word to them. I don’t think he’ll talk just because you asked.” Natasha said.

“Who said I’m going to ask?” I said. “I know him and I know that despite how much of an asshole he is, deep down and I mean really deep down there’s a relatively decent human being. He’ll talk.”

“The guards at the hospital are either Strike or Shield Special service. They report directly to Fury. Only he can get them to leave.” Natasha said.

“He normally sends the order through a shield secure line right?” I asked.

“Normally.” Natasha said.

“Nothing I can’t handle then. I’m not allowed in the building but you are. Just get in the system and I can do the rest remotely on my phone.” I said.

“You have it all figured out.” She said.

“That’s only because you’re helping. Other wise this would have been a lot harder.” I said. “I mean I could hack Shield from the tower, but Tony’s done it so many times it get’s flagged in under two minutes.”

“When I used to think about what you were like before we met I never imagined we’d be working together like this.” Natasha said.

She caught me completely by surprise. I’d never heard her talk about he feelings or about if she even wanted a soulmate to begin with.

“Are you disappointed?” I asked.

“No. You’re perfect for us.” Natasha said. “You get into as much trouble as we do and you understand us better than anyone else.”

“I love you.” I said. Nat didn’t say anything but the look in here eyes and the smile she couldn’t take off her face said it all.

“He’s being held at George Washington Hospital on the fifth floor of the east wing. It’s only ten minutes away from the Triskelion. I’ll drop you off and then head over there.” Nat said.

“It’s a good thing I brought these then.” I said pulling out the long-range coms from my purse. “Got them from Kol back when we were still tracking down Delilah.” I said sticking mine in.

“Keep this on you.” Natasha said handing me a gun.

“I’m not using that.” I said.

“Hayley.” Natasha said.

“The guy’s restrained to his bed and is recovering from heart surgery. He’s not going to get out of bed.” I answered as we pulled up across the street from the hospital. I handed Natasha the com and got out of the car.

“Stay out of sight.” She said.

“That’s not really what I had in mind.” I said before going to cross the street. The first thing I noticed was the coffee cart outside. The one thing besides money a hospital runs on is coffee. Those eighty hour work weeks were only made possible by coffee and energy drinks.

“Good morning.” The barista said.

“Hi. Busy day?” I asked.

“Not really. Most of the staff are out for the week. The only ones around are the ones that happen to live in the area.” He said.

“Still not the ideal place to be during winter break.” I said.

“Are you here visiting someone?” they asked.

“Yeah, I am but those nurses are working really hard and look completely exhausted I thought I’d come and get them some coffee.” I said.

“Aw, that’s so thoughtful.” He said.

“Tis the season.” I said with a small smile.

“What ward are they in?” he asked.

“The children’s ward.” I said.

“Oh there’s about ten nurses on staff right now. They always stop by on their way in.” He said.

“Well can you get me their usual orders. That is if you know them.” I said.

“Of course.” He said. “That’ll be two vanilla lattes…” He said rattling off their orders.

“You’re really good at that.” Natasha said through the com.

“I’ll tell you, it’s a real addiction. Some of them come here three times in the first half of their shift.” The barista rattled on.

“I know, but can you blame them. They work long shifts, and they need the extra boost.” I said agreeing with both of them.

“Well your total comes up to $39.47.” He said.

“Well here you go.” I said handing him a one hundred dollar bill.

“I’ll get you your change.” he started.

“Oh no, you can keep the change.” I said picking up the stacked carriers. “Thank you for the help Mr…” I started.

“Just call me Stan.” He said.

“Thanks Stan. Have a nice day.” I said walking towards the entrance.

“Excelsior!” I heard him exclaim as I walked in. I went straight to the elevators and went to the third floor. I could barely see as I juggled the stacked coffees but lucky for me the elevators opened up directly to the nurse’s station. I walked straight there and put the coffees down on the counter.

“Can I help you?” One of the nurses who looked very annoyed said.

“Hi sorry. I know you’re all very busy and probably really tired so I brought you ladies some coffee from the cart down stairs.” I said. The annoyed look on her face immediately lifted into a grin.

“Oh thank you.” She said standing up.

“I asked Stan to give me all of your usual orders. They have your names written on them.” I said.

“Thank you so much.” She said.

“It’s the least I could do.” I said.

“I’m in.” Natasha said. “Just looking for a free computer.”

“This is probably pretty random but can you by chance point me to the ladies room?” I asked.

“Oh sure. The visitor one is being remodeled so just use the staff bathroom. Go straight down the hall. Last door on the right.” She said.

“Thank you.” I said before scurrying off. Once I found the bathroom I locked the door and stood in front of the sink. “Are you at a computer yet?”

“Yeah. Found an empty office.” Natasha said. “Do I log in?”

“Log in and plug in your phone. I can take it from there.” I said hacking into nat’s phone and working my way into the system. I used her account as a back door to the Shield mainframe and from there worked my way into Fury’s admin account. “Okay I’m bringing up the secure line. Just input the message asking the guards to report back to await new orders and press send.”

“That’s all?” She asked.

“Just log out. Look busy for a bit. I’ll call you when I’m out.” I said.

“Keep your com on.” Nat said.

“Will do.” I said flushing the toilet and washing my hands before walking out. I looked around and saw a woman not in scrubs or dressed for work with a volunteer badge. I walked in her direction as he walked towards me. Waited until she was close and pretended to trip.

“Oh, Wow. Sorry I think someone spilled something.” I said.

“I’ll get someone on it.” She said before walking away. I reached into my pocket and looked at the volunteer badge. Good thing it didn’t have a photo on it. I clipped it on before heading up by the stairs. I hacked into the security camera’s and checked to make sure the coast was clear. Before walking out into the hall. There were carts of sheets and shelves with blankets and sheets along the wall.

“Nat do you by chance know what room number it is?” I asked.

“523.” She said.

“Thank you.” I said looking at the directions on the wall and heading towards it. “I’m going to mute my com. Wish me luck.”

I walked down the hall and checked to see no one saw me before ducking into the room. Gerald was restrained to the bed and hooked up to all sorts of monitors and IV’s.

I walked to the foot of the bad and pulled up his charts. He was officially off sedation. They were giving him some painkillers to manage the pain of having his chest cracked open.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He groaned making me look up.

“Not who you were expecting?” I said taking my phone out and making sure no one bothered us or came to check in on him.

“Out of everyone they could have sent to interrogate me it had to be you?” He said annoyed.

“No one sent me. Actually no one even knows I’m here.” I said.

“You’re wasting your time bitch.” He said.

“That sounded really tough. Shame I can’t take you seriously considering there’s a bag of your pee hanging from the side of the bed and you’re already out of breath.” I said. “Looks like heart problems run in your family. Didn’t Abby have problems in the beginning of her pregnancy. What was it called?”

“Peripartum cardiomyopathy.” He said.

“Decrease heart function as a result of increased stress. Her heart was working for three instead of one. Pretty easy to treat if caught in time. Pricey though.” I said.

“But Hadrian came through like he always did. He was a good friend. A true brother.” He taunted. I couldn’t help but scoff at that.

“No he didn’t. I believe his exact words were. Abby would be doing Gerald a favor by letting those brats die. If their not strong enough to survive as parasites, they’re not cut out for the real world.” I said.

“What are you saying?” he said.

“I’m saying Haddy should have been called Callie.” I said. “Hadrian wouldn’t have hesitated to let your wife and daughters die just like he didn’t hesitate to shoot you and Jesse. He killed his soulmate. The only person he ever said he loved. He wants to kill his own son. That’s the monster you’re calling your brother.”

“So what?” he said as his voice cracked.

“Look around. You’re completely alone. Jesse’s dead. You’re looking at life in prison if you’re lucky but considering you committed treason, that’s not going to happen. My guess is you’ll end up at some SHIELD black site where the Geneva conventions don’t apply to get some intel out of you one way or another. Judging from what you’re pal Rumlow did to me in London you’re going to be unrecognizable by the time they’re done with you.” I said watching him shiver.

“I’ll take my chances.” He spat out.

“I’m sure you will. But are you really going to let Abby and the girls do the same?” I said making his face go white.

“You don’t have it in you.” He snarled.

“I don’t have to. To Hadrian, you and I are loose ends and you know what he does to loose ends. Right now his focus is on me, but if he gets me you’re on your own. He’ll wipe you off the face of the earth. Abby, the twins, dead. It’ll be as if you were never alive. He did it before, hell you’ve helped him do it.” I said.

“Then either way I’m screwed.” He said.

“Just because you are doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance. I out ran him for five years. I got his son out. And without Delilah helping him he’ll never find anyone again. Help me and I’ll help them. But if I walk out of this room without your help I’m going to leak some incriminating documents that’ll screw over the cartels, the mob, IRA, the Czechs and the Bratva with your name written all over it along with your address.” I said flipping my phone to show him the street camera in front of his house with a live feed of his daughters making a snowman with his wife watching from the front steps. “One button is all I have to press for that to happen.”

“You fucking…” he started.

“Ah, ah ah.” I said tapping the edge of my phone. “One button. I’m giving you a choice which is more consideration than you ever gave me when you pulled off my toenails in Flagstaff, or when you shocked me until I passed out in London. So start talking. Hadrian’s hideouts, bank accounts, contacts.

“You’re just like him.” He snarled.

“And who’s fault is that?” I retorted.

“Swiss bank accounts. One in the Caymans. But he won’t use them. He’ll use the cash he stashed in the safe houses. There’s a safe house in the north of France, a cabin outside of Novograd. All of the old ones from before. There’s a loft in New York. An old abandoned Hotel. The Hyperion. He doesn’t have friends but for the right price anyone will be your friend.” Gerald answered.

“Tell me about the Winter Soldier.” I said.

“He’s a ghost story.” Gerald said.

“He was there when Hadrian shot you and he helped him.” I said. “Who is he?”

“He’s an attack dog. He’s only let out when it’s a big job. Hadrian’s his handler.” He said.

“Handler?” I asked confused.

“His commanding officer. They tell him to jump, he jumps. They say fetch, he fetches. He disobeys, they put his brain in a blender.” He said.

“He’s a prisoner.” I said. “Where’d he come from?”

“That’s above my pay grade. There are different stories but they all end the same. We made him the best weapon possible and we’re using him to make the perfect world.” Gerald said.

“Who’s we?” I asked.

“The only reason I’m still alive is because I’ve kept my mouth shut about them. If I tell you, then I may as well kill Abby and the girls myself.” He said.

“You said it’s above your pay grade and that the soldier reported to Hadrian. Who did Hadrian report to?” I asked.

“I’m not telling you.” He said.

“One.” I started.

“They’ll kill me.” He said.

“Two.” I continued moving my finger closer to the send button.

“You fucking…” he cursed.

“Thr-“ I started.

“Alexander Pierce!” He shouted as tears streamed down his face.

“The secretary of defense?” I asked surprised.

“Member of the World Security Council and Former Director of Shield. He was the one who recruited Hadrian to Shield.” Gerald said.

“The US Secretary of Defense himself recruited Hadrian? Why?” I asked.

“Don’t know. He recruited Hadrian and Hadrian brought me and Jesse into the fold. When we asked he just said he had connections.” He said.

“Hayley, you have to move. The Strike team just got here and realized they’ve been duped. You’ve got less than five minutes before they’re back at the hospital.” Natasha said over the com.

“Our time’s up but before I go I need to ask about the firewall on Hadrian’s phone.” I said.

“What Firewall?” he asked confused.

“The Unhackable one. Literally disables anything you throw at it?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t know. I’m not that high up in the chain of command.” He said.

“Then I guess this is it.” I said moving towards the door.

“Project Paperclip.” He said and I stopped. “It was one of the files they gave us at orientation. It was a list of names. They said it all started there.”

I kept walking to the door.

“We had a deal. Abby and the girls…” he started.

“Unlike you, I don’t hurt innocent children.” I said walking out of the room and closing the door. I walked to the service elevator and took it to the first floor before leaving through the loading dock.

“Nat, I’m out.” I said walking away from the hospital.

“Pick you up at the curb.” She said.

“On my way.” I said throwing the volunteer badge in the trash as I went to go meet Nat. She pulled up just as I got there. As soon as the door closed she stepped on the gas and the Corvette sped off.

“Get anything out of him?” She asked.

“I got a lot out of him. We need to make a quick stop before we head back.” I said inputting the address into the GPS.

“Residential area?” She asked confused.

“Just a quick stop before we head back.” I answered.

With the way Natasha was driving we made it there in half the estimated time.

“Keep the engine running. This isn’t going to take long.” I said grabbing the duffle bag from the back seat and getting out of the car.

I walked up the cleared path up to the porch passing the completed snowman the twins had been working on earlier. I rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. The door cracked open and a short woman with shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes answered the door.

“Yes?” She asked.

“You don’t know me but I know your husband. You and your daughters are in danger.” I said

“What?!” She exclaimed.

I grabbed her hand and gave her the duffle bag. “There are three new identities, some cash and three train tickets to San Francisco. Pack some clothes and take the girls with you to the train station. Get off on one of the stops and start over. If you stay you’ll die.” I said before walking away.

“Who are you?!” She shouted.

“Stop wasting time.” I said before getting in the car. “Drive.”

“Hanson’s wife?” Natasha asked.

“Abby. He gave me Hadrian’s hideout in New York. He’s probably not going to be there but once he realizes we know about it, he’ll know he talked.” I said. “Jarvis call Tony.”

“Right away Miss Adams.” Jarvis answered. Tony answered before the second tone.

“Hales?” Tony greeted.

“Are you alone?” I asked.

“No everyone’s here, well except Will.” He said. “Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker.”

“Look up the Hyperion Hotel.” I said.

“Give me a sec, Jarvis?” Tony said. “It’s an abandoned building on West Twenty Seventh Street.”

“He’s been right under our noses.” Natasha said.

“What’s going on?” Clint said.

“We have Hadrian’s safehouse. At least it was, chances are he may have already moved.” I said.

“Either way it can’t hurt to go check.” Steve said. “We’ll let you know if we find anything.”

“Are you almost back?” Thor asked.

“It might be a while considering how packed the highways are right now.” Natasha said.

“Highways?” Bruce asked.

“Where are you right now?” Tony asked.

“On our way back. See you when I get home.” I said hanging up and leaning back in my seat.

“What’s on your mind?” Natasha asked.

“More like what isn’t.” I said. “I got one question answered and I end up with a hundred more. I have to find Hadrian, find a way to take him down because he’s not going down without a fight, I have to plan a funeral and I have to get Will through this and in order to do all of that I broke a promise I made to myself years ago. I crossed a line and I don’t care.”

“Josh died less than twelve hours ago. You’re still processing it.” Natasha said.

“Yeah… maybe.” I said.

Four and a half hours later we finally made it back to the tower. I hadn’t slept in over twenty four hours and I was exhausted but I couldn’t sleep. I had too much work to do.

“You should get some sleep.” Natasha said.

“No I have work to do.” I said calling the elevator.

“You’ll focus better if you get some sleep.” She reprimanded.

“Miss Adams your assistance is required in the common room.” Jarvis said.

“Uh, okay?” I said not expecting that. “Take us up there.”

“Yes ma’am.” Jarvis said and the elevator moved up to the common room. The doors opened and Tony, Bruce, Steve, Thor and Clint were standing at the door.

“Guys, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Uh well good news. Will finally got out of bed.” Tony said.

“Okay.” I said.

“And he went straight for the bar.” Steve said.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” I said. “I asked you to keep an eye on him.” I told Tony.

“You also said to give him whatever he wants.” Tony defended.

I groaned. “I’ll handle this.” I said before walking to the bar.

Will was sitting down staring at a picture of Josh as his voicemail message played on the speaker.

“Hey It’s Josh leave a message and I’ll ring you back when I can thanks.” Josh’s voice played out before the dial tone played.

Will sniffled and hung up before redialing.

“Hey buddy.” I said slipping off my jacket before sitting down next to him. Will didn’t even acknowledge me before playing the message again and taking a swig straight from the whiskey bottle.

“Hey It’s Josh leave a message and I’ll ring you back when I can thanks.”

“Will.” I said trying to get his attention but he just redialed again. “I know you’re hurting right now but drowning your sorrows in whiskey isn’t going to help. It’s going to make things worse.”

“Hey It’s Josh leave a message and I’ll ring you back when I can thanks.”

“You’re hurting yourself and Josh wouldn’t want that.” I said and just like that Will snapped.

“Shut Up.” Will said.

“Will.” I said.

“I said Shut Up!” he shouted. “You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to say his name or tell me what he would have wanted because you don’t know what he wanted. He wanted to retire from his job and go back to school for his MBA. He wanted to work in Advertising. Something creative that still brought in the big bucks so he could provide a future for the family we were going to have. He already had names picked out for our future kids. Maya and Alex. He wanted all of that. What he didn’t want was to die!”

“He didn’t deserve to die, Will. If there was anything I could do to bring him back you know I would.” I said tearing up.

“You are such a bitch!” he shouted.

“Watch your tongue!” Thor growled.

“Guys stay out of it.” I said.

“Here you go doing it again!” Will said. “I fucking hate you Hayley. If you had just swallowed your fucking pride for once in your life and let them take out that asshole Josh would still be alive. You are just as responsible as your brother. You didn’t just take him away from me, you took away my future. I wish I had never met you.”

“That’s enough.” Steve said taking the bottle away from Will.

“I’m fucking done with this place.” Will said walking away.

“Hayley, you know he didn’t mean any of it. He’s mourning.” Bruce said.

“He meant every word of it and he’s not wrong.” I said wiping the tears off of my face. I grabbed the bottle and chugged the last of it before standing up.

“Hales.” Clint said.

“I have work to do.” I said walking out.