The Assistant

Part 42

It had been a long week, I signed the mission off and Maria was running point on it.
I had been working close with the new recruits, AJ was standing out, she had been plucked from the FBI when we saw how relentless she was. It's what the agency needed to thrive.

I'd been asleep a few hours when my phone started ringing, I was always on call in case of an emergency but this was AJ, I didn't know why she was calling
Y/N- is everything okay?
AJ- someone is following me, I need your help
Y/N- send me your location now, find somewhere to hide and I'm on my way. Don't move.

I throw on some clothes and run down to my car, programming in her location.
I pulled up outside an old industrial area, silence is all that could be heard.

Narrator POV-

You parked the car up behind a gate, keeping it hidden in case someone was watching.
You grab your phone out, calling the operations line.
Agent- badge number?
Y/N-572139, back up needed at my location.
Agent- copy that Agent Clarke, support is on its way.

You covered a lot of ground, following the trace on AJ's phone until you were stood outside the building, shouting and screaming coming from inside.
Gun at the ready, you entered.

Maria POV-

I'm on my way back with the Avengers, the mission was easy. Taking down an old Hydra facility where the Winter soldier had been but it was a bust, there was nothing there apart from some new DNA samples we could use.

My phone buzzed as an urgent alert had been sent out.
Maria- Oh shit
I jumped up, running to the front, Natasha flying the jet.
Nat- what's up?
Maria- I've sent new coordinates to the dash, head there and find a suitable place to land
Nat- what's happening?
Maria- there's an agent in trouble, issued urgent request for backup.

The jet landed in an abandoned industrial area, buildings graffitied and windows smashed.
Connors- Hill, we can't find her
Maria- keep looking, she can't have gone far.
The Avengers split off into teams searching the buildings and reporting directly to me if something is found. Our comms connected ready for information passing.

Steve- I've found someone, get the medical team here now.
I run down to the warehouse, medical team following behind.
Maria- AJ, where is she?
AJ- they took her, I don't know where
Maria- shh don't worry, you did everything you could

I stayed with her until she was loaded into the medical jet, taking her directly to Shield headquarters for treatment.
Steve- are you going to tell us who is missing?
Maria- the Avengers are no longer needed for this, you are all dismissed.
I walked away, phoning Shield headquarters.
Jenny- what do you Agent Hill?
Maria- Y/N is missing, I need all CCTV and traffic camera footage from my location, 5 mile radius. I also need her car and phone tracked.
Jenny- copy that, I'll have it waiting for you upon arrival.

I can't lose her, she was everything to me. My head was spiralling when my phone started to ring
Maria- yes?
Jenny- her car is 400 yards away from your location, her phone is 4 blocks away.
Maria- You are amazing, thank you!
I run towards the quinjet, the avengers packing up as they got ready to head back.
Maria- I'm sorry Steve but I need you
Steve- you dismissed us
Maria- Please, it's Y/N
Steve- does Natasha know?
Maria- I haven't told her.

I sent the Avengers to the phone location, they were better trained than the agents I had there and we could look for the car.
Steve, Natasha and Wanda went running down the road whilst Vision and Stark took to the air.

We'd found the car, her purse and ID left in the front with her training bag.
A written note was left on the seat:
Call time- 1:07am
Arrival at location-1:21am
AJ Simons called in trouble, told to hide and stay there until arrival of agents.
Good women, she had given us a timeline.

Steve- Maria, you should come see this.
His voice was troubled and I was fearing the worst. I grabbed a car and drove to the location.
Wanda looking pale as she was comforted by Vision outside the front
Vision- Agent Hill, they're waiting inside for you.
Maria- is Wanda okay?
Wanda- I've never seen anything like it before

I took a deep breath, I didn't know what could have scared her that much but I was nervous.

Blood smeared all over the floor, words written on the wall in blood.
'Come and find her'
Steve- someone's watching us
He points over to a camera in the corner, a red light flashing.
Maria- this was planned but how did they know AJ would call her?
Nat- who is missing?
Tony- we can't help unless we know.

I look at Steve, the concern for Y/N was all over his face as well.
Steve- they deserve to know Maria
Nat- who is it?
Maria- it's Y/N okay! She came to help AJ and we found her but Y/N is gone. She left us a timeline but we don't know anything else.

Natasha stormed out of the room, I tried to grab her arm but she pulled away.
Steve- let her go
She had gone outside, I could hear her sobbing as Wanda as comforting her.
Maria- I'll call the forensic team down here, we need to see if there's any evidence here.
Steve- could she survive this?
Maria- no chance, nobody could.

I unplugged the camera, handing it to a member of our tech team, hoping they can trace it.
Maria- how long?
??- we don't know, it's a tough thing to crack but we won't stop working.
Maria- good, you're dismissed.

I felt a hand in my shoulder.
Steve- get some rest, she needs you at your best if you're going to save her.
Maria- how am I supposed to find her?
Steve- she's the best agent here, everyone is going to help you and so will the Avengers, she's family to us. We won't let you do this alone.