The Reluctant Hero

The Thief- Chapter 1

     The facility had been easy to penetrate and extraction of the items had been expectedly by the book. The response time by the Avengers to a supposedly unimportant location was unexpected and damning. There hadn't even been intel that any of the Avengers were even in the vicinity. If you'd had to guess, they'd suspected it might be hit judging on the trouble you were having losing them.

     Most of the soldiers Hydra had sent with you were already downed. You and your controller were all that was left. The enhanced Ducati deftly took corners allowing cutting through alleyways and sidewalks to avoid the one called Falcon overhead and the Assassin woman following in the black SUV we'd lost a few blocks back. Then my controller makes a grave mistake. Falcon hadn't opened fire because we'd been surrounded by innocents; until now. Three shots were all it took for him to hit the front tire and send us both flying. I had a split second to be glad I'd placed the cargo in the shatter-proof capsule before I felt myself slam into the building nearest to us, then again to the pavement where I slid next to a dumpster. 

     To say the pain was excruciating wouldn't have been exaggerating but pain was something I was used to. I could tell my arm was broken and useless, and the burning agony of my chest told me at least a rib or two was broken. My vision was blurry so head injury and the warmth on my face was my own blood. My legs, sore but functional so I still had a chance to hide. Holding my broken arm close to my chest, I crawled behind the dumpster and took a second to look around for a second hiding spot. My controller had already messaged ahead that we would need a second extraction team so hopefully, they would retrieve me soon. 

     My controller was dead judging by the way his head was angled on the pavement about 30 feet from me. Falcon was cautiously approaching the body and this was my open window to try and slip away. My wrist monitor began blinking, warning me a team was nearby. I slipped behind the building while Falcon was turned and held back the vomit that was threatening from my injuries and blood loss. The building seemed to be a strip mall with various dumpsters and cars parked that I could easily duck and dodge behind until I could see the black SUV heading straight for me. Hearing a noise behind me, I looked around the trunk of the car I was hiding behind to see another black SUV coming from around the other side. The female assassin was coming. 

     I unlock the wheels and strain to roll the nearby dumpster into the alleyway, blocking the assassin from following as we drove away. I look at my team to signal to cover me and as they open fire, I dive into the SUV and yell at them to go. The last thing I know before passing out is seeing my team firing at Falcon and I knew no more.