Control (Avengers Fan Fiction)

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A harsh cough shook Scarlett's body. She leaned forward over the edge of the seat. The floor of the SUV and the back of the seats in front of her became splattered with red speckles of blood.

For a split second, her ears rang. She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to breathe. Her throat felt restricted, like there was something preventing her from being able to inhale properly.

"You sound terrible, Scarface."

She collapsed back into the bench seat, eyes opening to find the ceiling of the SUV.

"Shit. You don't look too good either."

"I.... I'm going to kill you." She rasped.

Rumlow chuckled from the driver's seat.

The HYDRA agent was badly beaten and in need of medical attention himself, but he would have to hold off on that until he got Scarlett to the rendezvous point.

With one of his arms having been broken by Scarlett, he could only drive with his right hand. His left elbow was tucked tightly against his side in an effort to minimize the pain while he held the steering wheel with his right hand.

"You know what, Scarlett? You've had plenty of chances to kill me. But you didn't. You want to know why?"

She looked down towards her feet, taking note of the tall buildings they were passing by. They were still in the city. She still had a chance.

"Because you aren't as good as you think you are."

"I-I've– I've survived this long because I–,"

"You've survived this long because Pierce protected you." Rumlow's tone turned cold.

Scarlett took a few raspy breaths and began to kick at the door by her feet.

"Hey! Cut it out!"

She managed to kick the bullet proof window once, then twice, before Rumlow slammed on the breaks and threw the vehicle into park. He reached back to stop Scarlett, but she grabbed his hand and twisted, breaking four of his fingers.

He cried out, making an attempt to pull his hand away.

When she finally released his hand, he picked up a pistol sitting in the passenger seat and held it to her with his left hand.

"Oh, you're one stubborn bitch!"

Scarlett spat a mouthful of blood on to the carpet of the SUV. She put her head back on the seat, forcing her eyes open so she could stare at the ceiling. She couldn't fall asleep now. She needed to put up a fight until the very end.

–––

"So what the hell do we know?" Steve sat down on a barstool, crossing his arms as he looked towards the television. It was displaying the news, which was reporting on the body found in the hotel. It was unidentified according to the local media.

"Scarlett was seen on CCTV walking into the Dryslane Business building just twenty-two minutes before she's seen falling from it right here." Tony made a hologram appear next to the television showing the footage of the explosion and the fall of Scarlett Rose from the building.

Pietro looked away, unable to watch the rest of the clip.

"Then the next thing that comes up after she got off the car is of her going down a few allies and sidewalks, then getting into a super sketchy van and disappearing."

"Who was driving the van?" Clint asked.

"Couldn't tell. They were hiding their face good." Tony shook his head lightly. "After the van disappeared, I lost her. So, I ran facial recognition software through all of New York to find her, and a few hours later, she popped up at the hotel Sarge found our dead John Doe."