First Light | Steve Rogers (Book Two)

Chapter Eighteen: Welcome To SHIELD

The bag was finally removed from my head and I frantically scanned the dimly lit room. Melody was sat next to me, giving me a less than convincing nod of reassurance. She silently gestured to the girl who was still asleep in Mitch's arms as he stood nearby, the sight bringing me a little comfort.

A figure emerged from the shadows with a scarred face and a determined glare. "I'm Jeffrey Mace. Welcome to SHIELD," he motioned for two guards to remove our cuffs, "Sorry about the hoods, but trust is a luxury these days. That being said, your brother vouched for you both and the safety of your child is at stake, so I'm happy to provide you sanctuary"

"Thank you, sir. Look, Hydra's after my friend too-"

"We know. He'll be here in the morning, along with Jemma Simmons"

The next morning, I wandered around the base on my own to get a feel of the place. It was large and dimly lit, filled with a busy hum.

Several of the rooms had been turned into makeshift camps for other fugitives, rows of grey beds with grey sheets and grey pillows and people who had become grey with weariness. Initials were scratched into the brick walls of the corridors, each one to remember a fallen hero in the pointless war we were stuck in.

I slowly made my way up to Jemma and Phil, who were being given a tour of the base by the Patriot, Jeffrey Mace. He gave me a quick nod before glancing at someone approaching us, "Agent Burrows"

"Sir, it's bad out there. And, uh... we lost Agent Cooke" the agent murmured sadly, his eyes darting to the wall of names.

"We honour him by continuing the fight"

Jemma walked over to the doorway of one of the camps, silently staring at them. Phil glanced over at Mace in confusion, "Who are these people?"

He looked at them with weary eyes, "Potentials. Some of them have the Inhuman gene, or they had a relative who did"

"Hydra's hunting them"

"All we can do is to find them first, give them shelter, and relocate them somewhere safe-"

He was cut off by a quiet shout and we turned to see a little girl racing towards us. I grinned widely and scooped her up into my arms, "Hey, Tasha"

Her tiny arms wrapped around my neck and she nodded over to Melody, "Mama was getting worried"

"Oh. Sorry, baby, I just needed to stretch my legs"

The large, metal doors at the end of the corridor slid open and Mitch entered along with another man I didn't recognise. "Well, look what the cat dragged in" Mace chuckled.

The two men approached us quickly and I noticed the wary glare that Jemma directed at the other one. "Been too long, sir" he sighed as he shook Mace's hand.

There was a tense pause, "What's happened?"

"They got Skye"

We had gathered in a side room, leaving Melody to look after Tasha again. I still wasn't sure why they were so insistent on me being there, but I knew that it was something serious. "I don't know," Ward murmured anxiously as he paced around the room.

"From everything you've told me, Skye's tough as hell. She can handle herself in there"

Jemma sighed and crossed her arms, "Before they took her, did she get a location on Radcliffe?"

He nodded and held out a folded up piece of paper, slightly withdrawing before she could take it from him. "You know, Skye hasn't been herself ever since you showed up," he stated in an accusing tone, "What is it that you're really after?"

"You, of all people, the Hydra double agent, are doubting my loyalty. That is rich"

"But don't forget," Mace spoke tersely, "You're only here because I trust him, not you"

She scoffed quietly, "Fine. You want to question me? When Hydra wiped out the Academy and people were dying, I was there. I fought and took a bullet. I had to claw myself out of a mass grave. How's that for loyalty to SHIELD?"

He frowned and took the ID card from her, "I apologise"

The man motioned for Ward to hand over the coordinates, which he did, albeit rather reluctantly. Her fingers gently traced over the writing, "Ogygia? These coordinates... they're east of Bermuda. There shouldn't be anything out there"

"Who's this Radcliffe person?" I finally spoke.

Mitch huffed as he placed his hands on his hips, "He's a scientist. Could probably take down Hydra if he wanted to. What does that mean?"

She shrugged, "I can't be sure, but we need to find him as quickly as possible"

"I'm sorry," Mace apologised quietly, "With all that's going on, I can't send a team today"

"Then send us"

We all turned to look at Phil in confusion and I silently shook my head. Mace frowned and took a step towards him, "With all due respect, this is a spy organisation and you're a teacher"

"Seems you need all the help you can get"

Jemma nodded in agreement, "Skye did risk her life for us"

There was a pause and Ward let out a quiet groan, "They may have a point, sir. I can pilot and supervise"

I had no idea why I had agreed to come along, but I had a gut feeling, something telling me that I had to help. Melody was reluctant to let me go, but Mitch had sworn to protect both of them while I was gone. We made our way out into a large area of pale concrete and rusted scaffolding.

 "The hangar was in total disrepair when we first found it," Mace explained, "We've had to steal what vehicles we could. Someday, this could really be special. Imagine a fleet of quinjets launching from here"

Jemma smirked as she glanced at us, "Imagine that"

"Sir" Ward nodded curtly as he shook his hand.

"Good luck out there"

"We liberated this guy last year" Ward said, his lips tugging slightly into a smile as we entered the aircraft.

Phil's eyes widened as he stared around at the interior, "This is a quinjet?"

Jemma nodded excitedly, "Yeah. And that fleet Mace described? You commanded it. Except yours were loads nicer, and you wouldn't believe Zephyr One"