Invisible String

Eyes wide open

Sticky red eyes. Her hair unkept and scraggly. Still wearing Matt's clothes, some sweats and a baggy black t-shirt. The faint taste of disappointment and rejection from the night before on her tongue, but only lingering as an afterthought. Jules harbored the energy of a restless spirit. Neither coming nor going but tethered by nothing. For the first time in a while, she wasn't conflicted. She knew what she had to do. She had to step up and fix this.

Fuck Matt and his decisiveness. Fuck it. She couldn't think about him right now. He would come to her when he figured his shit out. It hurt though. God, it hurt. How much she yearned to be near him. To tell him to shut up. Stop thinking and just kiss her. Just stop thinking. She knew he felt it to. In those moments he held and kissed her. She knew it in every fiber of her being. However, Matt was stubborn and one of the most guarded people she'd ever met. Jules couldn't force him to get there. He had to find his own way to her.

Jules burns a trail through the S.H.I.E.L.D offices making a beeline to Nick Fury's office. She pummels the door open. Nick shoots her a vexed quizzical look. "Happy yeah, I know that. Just tell Tony to pick up my damn phone calls! I'm not to be- "Jules lunges forward, ripping the phone from his grasp and slamming it into the receiver. Fury stares at Jules in silent shock. "Ward, have you lost your fucking mind?" The expression is quickly overshadowed with one of anger. Fury jumps up from his chair stomping round his desk, eyes blazing. "Listen well and listen closely Ward because I'm only gonna say this once. You're a good agent and you've worked incredibly hard to get where you are. Think about what you're doing right now and if you're willing to throw all that away."

"I'm afraid Sir, you're gonna speak to me whether you like it or not." Jules replies swiftly in a measured tone. Fury throws is hands up in frustration and sits back in his desk. "Then of effective immediately I'm putting you on administrative leave. Clearly, you're not in a calm state of mind. The Hoffman mission went sideways, I accepted that. You argued with me about Jameson, I let that slide." Fury rest his elbows on his desk propping his chin against his fist. "And now you come into my office with this hostile attitude."

"Jules, I do not give out third chances. Evidently, the stress is getting to you, and you need some time off. Even with that I'm being generous."

They stare at each other in an icy silence for a couple of seconds. Jules leans forward resting both her palms against the head of his desk. "Everyone from my last agency is dead."
"Jameson Banks himself left me a message at the scene. I refuse to stand by while more people get hurt because of me. I need to put a stop to this. With or without you." Fury frowns and a slight sympathy washes over his hardened demeanor. "I'm sorry for your loss Jules. I am particularly proud of what women in training has accomplished...But as you know, that's just the business we're in. You get your hands dirty. You lose friends. People die." Jules bangs a fist on the table. "Women in training was a pioneering organization. I haven't so much as heard a sniff of people talking about what went down. The FBI should be all over this!" She points a condemning finger at him. "You should be all over this. The fact that you didn't know about this until a second ago is worrying. If Jameson and his accomplices could do that to them." Jules gestures to around his office. "Think about what could happen here." Fury leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. "Well, I'm appalled you have so little faith in this organization and the power we hold." Jules frowns at him. "Don't you insult my faith. I want to protect S.H.I.E.L.D just as much as you."

"Ward I'm not worried about this." Jules runs her tongue along the back of her teeth. "Do you even hear yourself right now? You hear hundreds of agents are dead and that doesn't ruffle your feathers a little bit? Doesn't make you wonder?"

"Jules, do I need to call security?"

"Fury there's something you're not telling me."

"Jules, I don't owe you shit." He barks gripping the edges of the desk. "Don't forget who's running things here. I see what's going on. You're mad about Hoffman and you're projecting that insecurity." Jules shakes her head fervently. "No. I owned my shit on Hoffman and should've done better. Don't you see me trying to do that? I'm trying to be better by getting to the truth of what's really going on!" Fury laughs wickedly. "Cut the shit Ward. You're an agent not a detective. Finding the practicals of the truth is a little below your pay grade."

"You can't just up and decide to take a case based on your judgement. There are proceedings and rules." Jules breathes roughly through her nose and rubs her temples.

"Have you got any closer to knowing what Jameson is planning?"

"I've got a team on it and they're making steady progress."

"Okay then, tell me what you've got." Jules presses.

"I can't Ward." Nick Fury sighs. An honest sadness heavy in his eyes. "It's a shame you've got so close to this and have gone snooping around. You should've done what I asked. Take on a new mission, move on. Keep your head down. " And like the steady cogs of machinery, the answers turn over in her eyes.

"Someone is paying you to keep quiet. Aren't they?" She doesn't want to say it or even get an inkling that's its true, but the words are snatched from her lips.

"Jules I'm looking out for this organization. The best option for our survival." Jules steps back in disbelief. "Why Fury? Why?"

"Jameson told me to turn a blind eye. I'm in charge of so many Jules. I can't risk losing agents that have trained their whole lives to get where they are. We get so many cases and going after him and his accomplices is gonna take a certain level of preparation and sacrifice I'm not willing to risk right now." Jules steadies herself against the chair infront of his desk. "So, you knew? You knew that he could go after those agents? The place that raised me?" Fury shrugs in defeat. "Like I said Jules. It gives me no joy to do it but...The business we're in. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty. People die. It's their lives or ours."

"I know you don't understand this Ward, but you will. I make decisions like these every day. Prioritizing who should be helped, when and how quickly. But ultimately, we can't cheat death."

It's like the foundations of her home where crumbling. Slowly but surely piece by piece laying at her feet. Everything she believed in. what she held on to. Jules face contorted into one of horror and something even worse. Pure betrayal. Lies. "Do you even hear yourself right now Fury? Protection shouldn't only be offered to one specific group of people."

"Oh, come on Ward! Wake up, the world is unfair!" Jules throws him a scorching glare her composure thinning. "I think you underestimate my understanding. My eyes are wide open, sir." She looks down on him with sheer contempt. "It's heart breaking to see. A man with morals as strong as yours being reduced to nothing but deception. I can see everything that you are now. The spotlight is right on you, you've got nowhere to hide. So just answer my damn questions. Who else has he corrupted into looking the other way? Who did he ask to murder those agents?" Fury looks at her blankly. "I don't know what you're talking about agent Ward." Jules laughs bitterly. "I'm this close to slamming your head through that desk. Stop fucking with me Fury."

"If you're referring to those many female agents, they've gone missing. Women in training headquarters at this very moment are clean. Not a trace of blood or signs of recent conflict." Nick Fury stands. "So, we have no reason to believe that they're dead, also..." He flicks on his phone to show Jules a message. "Annie May sent a message that they are relocating underground until further notice to enforce higher security and protection for their agents considering the Hoffman incident. "Fury shrugs. "But agent Ward if you have any reason to believe of these agents misfortune, I'm sure you could go down to the precinct and make a statement." He leans forward looking her in the eye. "But who do you think they're gonna believe. Me? The man running S.H.I.E.L.D. Or you? An impulsive agent who on multiple accounts has refused direct orders and has even threatened me just now? Hmm?" Jules shakes her head swiftly her jaw ticking. "He's really got to you hasn't he Fury?"

"This is your problem, Ward. You want to be the hero, do the heroic act. But you fail to see the bigger picture. You don't think ahead."

"See I was informed of your arrival before you even stepped into the building. I knew you would come here. I knew you wouldn't take no for an answer. I knew you wouldn't back down." He cocks his head to the side looking intently at Jules. "I recruited you for a reason Jules. But those very reasons are working against you right now and I wish it could be different."

"Every person in this building and soon the world  knows you're dirty. A psychopathic terrorist that blew up Hoffman and her fellow agents and has no plans of stopping. So, in a couple seconds special forces will arrive and you will be taken into custody."

"It's over Jules. You've lost."