𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓬 ❖ 𝓫. 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼

C H A P T E R (36) M A N - E A T E R

Steve had followed Cassie and found her a mess on the floor, so he had picked her up and placed her on a chair nearby.

Cassie watched as a familiar red-head entered the building and conversed with Steve. She recognised her from New York, not that she was there, but she had seen it on the news and her brother had talked about it a few times. The girl she had been told was called Natasha looked to be in some distress as she met Cassie's eyes. As soon as she noticed her, she pushed past Steve's shoulder and came and stood in front of where she sat.

"Why did you go with Fury to Steve's apartment?"

"Family reunion." Cassie said sarcastically before shrugging, "We just went to make sure Steve was okay."

"And why wouldn't he be?" Natasha demanded, anger evident in her voice.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She responded before a member of the strike team came walking down the hallway to where the trio stood.

He stopped a few feet away and his eyes went from Steve to Cassie, "Cap, they want you back at SHIELD. You too, C."

Cassie clenched her jaw at the initial she was given, one Fury used to use often when they were in the workplace. She thought back to the car accident and felt a pang of sadness as she replayed his words in her head.

'Cass'

A nickname she hadn't heard in so long, yet still had the same effect on her as it did when she was younger.

"I'll be there in a second, Rumlow." Cassie assured as she stood up, flash drive still in her pocket. She needed to find somewhere to hide it.

"They want you both now."

The siblings shared a look before standing up to leave, and just as Rumlow turned and walked down the hallway, Cassie took the flash drive out of her pocket and stuffed it down her shirt, lodging it a place no one would touch.

"Do you own a postal service in there?" Steve questioned with a nudge to her side, "You always seem to be hiding stuff in your shirt."

"It's efficient."

Steve shrugged as they exited the building and followed Rumlow, being transported via a SHIELD vehicle. When they finally arrived, Steve helped her out of the car and saw the cut on her head again.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" He asked as they strolled inside the building.

"Not here." She whispered.

Steve nodded as the blonde woman Cassie knew as Agent 13 walked past them.

"Captain Rogers." She said, giving him a nod of his head.

"Neighbour." He replied coldly.

"You know her?" Cassie asked when Agent 13 had turned the corner.

He replied with a nod of his head as Alexander Pierce came out of a door, greeting them both before letting them follow him into his office.

"Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce asked, completely ignoring Cassie's existence.

"I don't know." Steve lied, causing Cassie to sigh. He had never been a good liar, and she was afraid that Pierce would catch on that something was wrong.

"You know it was bugged?"

"I did, because Nick told me."

"Did he tell you he and C were the ones who bugged it?"

Steve turned his head in his sisters direction, both silent. Cassie cursed him in her head for revealing such information before finally opening her mouth.

"That rhymed."

Her brother rolled his eyes at her, obviously mad that that was the only thing she said.

"Aren't you the girl they refer to as Man-Eater?" Pierce questioned, causing her to clench her jaw at the name she had so unhappily been called.

"Yes. But it's completely untrue and unfair-"

"Are you not aggressive? Dominant?" He pressed.

"Perhaps. But I can tell you one thing; I don't have multiple sexual partners, so you can throw that name out of the window." Cassie assured with a stern tone, crossing her arms over her chest.

Pierce seemed to back off as he proceeded to view a live video of a man in restraints. He went on to talk about a mission she knew her brother had been on recently, one involving pirates and the Lemurian Star.

"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?" Steve asked.

Pierce nodded before talking about the sale of classified intelligence. Cassie chewed the inside of her cheek in an attempt to stop herself from intervening, but she realised she was there for a reason.

"Bullshit." She interjected.

"I'm sorry?" Pierce asked with his mouth slightly ajar, acknowledging her presence once again.

"It's bullshit. If you truly knew Nick Fury, you'd know this isn't true." Cassie explained furiously.

"I know it's upsetting, but there are some things Fury didn't share with people. Not even with you, Man-Eater."

Cassie scoffed and left the office in a hurry, stopping as her hand gripped the door handle.

"Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it." Pierce called out behind her.

"Ditto."

And after that, she left the room with Steve hot on her tail. He didn't say much as he walked by her side, attaching his shield to his back. "Did Fury not say anything about the pirates to you?"

"If you're asking if I knew he could've hired them, then no. He didn't say anything about hiring them because he didn't."

"You seem pretty sure about that."

"I am." She said as they reach the elevator.

Steve nodded as he entered, but Cassie hesitated.

"I'm taking the stairs." She spoke as she walked down the hallway to the stairwell, "Not all of us can lose weight and gain muscle by playing with a shield."

She smirked on her way down and eventually made it to the ground floor, running outside in an attempt to beat her brother to it. When she got there and the crisp breeze hit her face, she couldn't see him anywhere. She looked up to the elevator just in time to hear a smash; Steve had thrown himself out of the elevator and had landed on the floor surrounded by glass. She scurried over to his side as he rolled over.

"Time to go."