SHADOW [BOOK 2]

CHAPTER 3

"Well, this is awkward." Natasha said as I walked into a room with Rogers. "What are you doing?" I asked her. "Backing up the hard drive." She answered. "It's a good habit to get into." She added. "Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?" Cap asked her as I looked at the screens on the wall. "You're saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel." Cap and I said in unison. "Whatever I can get my hands on." She stated. "Our mission is to rescue hostages." I told her. "No, that's your missions, and you've done it beautifully." She said looking at me with a smirk walking passed. I grabbed her arm and she looked at me. "You just jeopardized this whole operation." I voiced. "I think that's overstating things." She countered before my hearing picked up on a beeping. I turned around to see Batroc throwing a grenade at me. "Shit." I said grabbing Romanoff as Cap deflected the grenade with his shield. I jumped over a table as Nat shot a window. I flew into the room and hit the floor as Cap jumped over us a second later as the grenade exploded. Natasha sat atop of me, breathing heavily in pain as I held her close. Cap looked over the window sill and dropping back to the floor with a heavy breath. "Okay. That one's on me." Nat said leaning her head back against the wall beside mine. "You're damn right." Cap spat getting to his feet and storming off. "Are you all right, Red-head?" I asked breaking the long sufferable silence. "I've been better." She answered. "Haven't we all?" I countered as I lifted her off of me, standing up before helping her to her feet. "Come on, Spider. Let's go." I said jerking my head towards the exit. She limped slightly passing me before she walked out. I looked around before spotting a lone flickering screen glitching on the wall. I squinted my eyes seeing a still image of a woman in a face mask and black long-sleeve crop-top. She was standing next to a man in black outfit wearing a facemask as well but...his left arm...was shining from the light being reflected off of it. It had a star on the deltoid part of the arm. "You coming?" Nat asked from the hall. I looked at her before nodding my head. "Yeah, sorry." I answered looking back at the screen to watch it fall into the fire.

THE TRISKELION
S.H.I.E.L.D. HEADQUARTERS
FURY'S OFFICE

"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" Cap asked Fury as we entered his office. "I didn't lie. Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours." Fury answered. "Which you didn't feel obliged to share." I stated. "I'm not obliged to do anything." He countered. "Those hostages could have died, Nick." I voiced. "I sent two of the greatest soldiers in history to make sure that didn't happen." Fury argued looking at the two of us. "Soldiers trust each other. That's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns." Cap sounded.

Fury rose to his feet. "Last time, I trusted someone, I lost an eye. Look, I didn't want you two doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything." He stated. "I think you're starting to forget what I'm famous for, Cyclops." I snarled. "You think I don't know what you're capable of? I am fully aware of everything you can do. But...I...don't...trust you." He said getting in my face with a slight tone in his voice.

"Perhaps...I should go back to killing people that you never could get your hands on. Because apparently, that's all I'm good for." I growled. "You walk out the door to kill people that I don't assign you to, I'll put a cap in your motherfuckin' ass." He threatened. "Enough!" Cap said pushing the two of us away. "Fighting amongst ourselves won't solve anything. Fury, keeping a leash on Reeds when you know damn well what he can do. Won't do anything to help you. And Reeds, pissing off Fury will only get you in prison." Cap explained. "I'd like to see him try." I muttered. "Don't test me." Fury sounded. I rolled my eyes.

"You two are wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." Fury stated walking out the room. I looked at Cap before following. "Insight bay." Fury sounded. "Captain Rogers and Captain Reeds do not have clearance for Project Insight." The AI announced as the three of us entered an elevator. "Director override. Fury, Nicholas J." Fury ordered. "Confirmed." The AI sounded before the elevator started descending.

"You know, they used to play music." Cap pointed out. "Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for 40 years. My granddad worked in a nice building. Got good tips. He'd walk home every night, a roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say, "Hi." People would say "Hi" back. Time went on, the neighborhood got rougher. He'd say, "Hi." They'd say, "Keep on steppin'." Granddad got to gripping that lunch bag a little tighter." Fury explained.

"Did he ever get mugged?" Cap asked him. Fury chuckled. "Every few weeks some punk would say, "What's in the bag?"" Fury answered. "What would he do?" I asked. "He'd show 'em. Bunch of crumpled ones, and a loaded .22 Magnum." He answered. I pushed my lower lip out, kinda impressed. "Yeah, Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much." He stated before I looked out the elevator with wide eyes. "Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a .22." Fury said as I looked at the line of helicarriers.

"This is Project Insight. Three next-generation helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites." Fury explained as we walked the floor. "Launched from the Lemurian Star." Cap pointed out. "Once we get them in the air, they never need to come down. Continuous sub-orbital flight, courtesy of our new repulsor engines." Fury added. "Stark?" Cap asked. "He had a few suggestions once he got an up-close look at our old turbines." Fury answered.

"These new long-range precision guns can eliminate 1,000 hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." Fury explained. "This thing is gonna put men like me out of a job." I pointed out. He looked over at me and chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that. You'll still have your fun." He said. I nodded my head.

"Thought the punishment came after the crime." Cap said. "We can't afford to wait that long." Fury told him. "Who's "we"?" I asked. "After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once, we're way ahead of the curve." Fury stated. "By holding a gun to everyone on Earth and calling it protection." Cap stated. "You know, I read those SSR files. "Greatest Generation"? You guys did some nasty stuff." Fury told Cap.

"Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so that people could be free. This isn't freedom. This is fear." Cap argued. "S.H.I.E.L.D. takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. And it's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap." Fury told him. "Don't hold your breath." Cap countered before walking away. Fury looked at me. "You got something that you'd like to say, Captain?" He asked me. I shrugged shaking my head. "Nope, I was just wondering when you became so stupid that you'd think that fear was another word for freedom." I voiced. "And what would you know about fear, Reaper?" Fury questioned. "How dumb can you be, Fury? I didn't get to where I was because I was scared. I am where I am because I instilled fear in everyone else. Everyone was too damn terrified of me to ever deny me. The fear I created landed me the title of "The World's Greatest Assassin"...and "Feared"." I explained taking a step towards him. "So don't think for a second that I can't see through your lies, because I know fear when I see it. And I don't have to have a keen sense of smell to know that you reek of it." I spat before walking off before stopping. I looked over my shoulder at him. "And another thing, the next time you threaten to kill me....It'll be your last." I snarled before storming off.