Temper in Red *Editing*

Prologue

Prologue

*~*~*~*

It was only the next day that I found myself flying the jet that Fury had given me, closely watching the coordinates on the phone as they continued to stay in the same location. It was in California, to my surprise. I would have expected another country or something, but not just on the west coast. I found myself less than thirty minutes away when I hit auto pilot and looking at my reflection in the the glass that covered some of the equipment.

Prior to leaving I had washed my hair, clearing it of the brown dye that I had been using the past two years and revealing my blonde hair. There were bags underneath my eyes that showed my lack of sleep but didn't begin to show the disaster that used to be my mind.

Just hours ago I had abandoned the people who had become my family, abandoned the man that I loved. All just because I couldn't handle it. Because I found myself afraid of what would happen next. I was afraid of hurting them yet I had hurt them worse than any bullet likely could. I couldn't go back, I couldn't undo what I had done. Now I just needed to keep my eyes forward and find Coulson, help in any way that I could.

"This is Tower, who is this?" A voice rang through the radio. I quickly put on the headset.

"Tower this is SHIELD Echo-5." I answered, remembering how Natasha had spoken when she landed us after we'd picked up Loki a few years ago. "I am looking for permission to land."

"Echo-5 you have permission to land." The person on the radio agreed. I just gave a silent nod, knowing he wouldn't see me, and began my decent to land. My hands seemed to shake slightly the closer I came to the ground. When I did finally touch down there was a slight bump from the contact. I pulled down the runway and brought the jet to a stop before turning the key and killing the engine.

I took off the radio and grabbed my gun before making my way to the back of the jet to get off. I hit the button and waited for the door to slowly open. When it did though I found myself surrounded by SHIELD agents aiming their guns at me, looking as if they'd like nothing more than to shoot me then and there.

"Put your hands up!" A man yelled at me. I did as he said and they all seemed to tense even more at the sigh of my gun in my hand. "Drop the gun and kick it over here!"

"Fine," I did as they said. These people didn't know who I was. They didn't know that losing my gun wouldn't make me any less dangerous to them. "I'm here to see Agent Phil Coulson and his team. I'm not HYDRA."

"Your here for Coulson?" A woman asked, lowering her gun slightly as she spoke. I looked over at her, she looked to be in her forties with raven black hair and narrowed brown eyes. Everything about her screamed dangerous to me. "Who are you?"

"Coulson knows who I am." I didn't answer her question. They could all know who I was once Coulson saw me, not before.

"Guns down." The woman ordered as she came over to me, pulling cuffs out of her pocket. She didn't hesitate in putting them on me before grabbing me roughly by the arm and leading me off the jet and into the building, through the halls.

Neither of us spoke a word as she pulled me along, but I took the chance to look around. There weren't many people around and those we did past gave us second glances. All of them seemed surprised and on edge to see me there, despite not knowing who I was. I knew why though, they all thought that I was HYDRA, that I was here to kill them.

Idiots.

"Coulson, here's the pilot." The woman finally spoke as we entered a large room where people were working on computers and a large monitor at the front of the room was showing news reports. "There was no one else onboard the jet with her. She says that she was sent to see you but won't give her name."

The suited man at the front of the room slowly turned around after the woman had finished. Next to him was a younger woman with brown highlighted hair and a tablet in her hands. My eyes stayed focused on the man though. He looked the same as he had two years ago, but with a few cuts and bruises, showing that he'd been in a fight recently. It was strange, imagining him fighting with how peaceful he always was around me.

"Falconeri?" Coulson said my name is disbelief.

"Coulson." I smirked as I heated up my wrists, melting the cuffs so they fell to the ground. I pulled my arm from the woman's grasp and walked over to Coulson, stopping right in front of him.

"What are you doing here? I was told you were dead." He shook his head.

"I could say the same." I smirked as I pulled out my badge and handed it to him. "Fury seemed to think you'd need me."