It's a promise

Chapter 33

Rylee's POV

'Is everything okay, Nat?' We just came back to the compound after we met Bruce in a diner. I didn't know if Bruce should be called Bruce anymore since he spent 18 months in the gamma lab to merge together. I just put that thought away because Nat didn't say a word since we left and I already had a strange feeling since yesterday. Something was up and I finally wanted to know what.

'Hm? Yeah.' I wished I could pull up an eyebrow like Steve because I didn't believe her. I made a sign to Steve to get inside the compound while I pulled her towards the lake. I loved this spot. The jetty with the benches was where I led us. I sat down and waited until Nat sat down next to me.

'Nat. Are you mad at me? Did I do something?' It had to do something with me. She joked with Morgan yesterday and she talked with Scott and Steve this morning and she was the one who convinced Bruce to help with the whole time travel thing. So it had something to do with me.

'I just have a lot on my mind lately.'

'Oh really? What exactly do you mean? The mails from a raccoon because something goes south at the other end of the galaxy, that we'll build a time machine or that your ex turned into a big green bean?' Okay. I tried to make her smile but there was no reaction from her.

'The last thing is not really new, he just...'

'...put the brains and the brawn together.' I used the same words as Bruce but still no smile from Nat. I waited a few moments because maybe she would start talking. We sat there for nearly ten minutes before she said something.

'Ryles? You know you're like a sister for me.'

'Nat, what happened?' At this moment I really started to worry because this sounded serious.

'It's about Clint...'

~

Steve's POV

'Did you know?' Rylee stormed into the living room where I was sitting with Scott for the last hour.

'Did I know what?' I already had my presumption about what she meant but I wanted to be sure. She opened her mouth but looked at Scott who didn't have a clue what was going on. He was just watching us like we were a TV show. I grabbed Rylee's hand and we walked up to our room. When I closed the door she asked me again.

'Did you know that it was Clint who killed all these people from my cases?' My lack of a shocked reaction was answer enough and she pulled her hand out of mine and made a step back. But before she could say anything I answered her anyway.

'I wasn't sure. I had my presumptions but I didn't want to talk to you before I was sure.' I saw it in her eyes, she was hurt that I didn't talk to her but she also knew why I didn't do it. I put my hands on her shoulders and pulled her into my arms. I assumed she was also shocked because she never expected it to be Clint.

'I cannot understand. He was the one who shot Walker three years ago. He was there. In Russia. He could have talked to me. Why didn't he come to me? Why did he leave?'

She didn't just talk about the fact that he was in the same city at the same time and didn't call. She wanted to know why he left at all. Clint, what did you do.

'I don't know, sweetheart.' I wished I knew. I wish I knew what Clint was thinking. I was glad that he killed Walker. I would have done it myself but I never expected him to go that path. She tensed in my arms and I let go.

'I can never go back to work.' What did she mean?

'Why?'

'If the FBI don't find the person who's killing all those people, they will keep on their investigations and suspend me as long the investigations will last or suspect me every time something is wrong. They would never trust me and I would end up in a tiny office doing unimportant paperwork. If they find the person then they will never trust me because this person is my uncle and they definitely would think that I helped him. Either way I'll end up not trustworthy enough to stay.' I just realized what that all meant. She would give up her badge. She would give up her dream.