𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 | " You're just a kid! "
" Yeah? Well this kid is willing to go through hell and back to save your stubborn ass and die for you, asshole. "
- in which STRIKE's strongest asset with a ridicul...
❝ and in the middle of the chaos, there was you. ❞
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The scene outside the conference hall was a chaotic symphony of sirens, shouting, and the anguished cries of the injured. Emergency responders swarmed the area, pulling survivors from the rubble and administering first aid. Smoke billowed from the remains of the building, casting a dark cloud over what was supposed to be a day of progress and unity.
Natasha and I had managed to make it outside, guiding others to safety as we went. Now, we sat just beyond the immediate chaos, on a bench that had been hastily repurposed as a triage station. Natasha was typing furiously on her phone, her face set in a mask of determined focus. Her fingers flew over the screen, coordinating with other agents, gathering information, and issuing orders. Her calm under pressure was nothing short of remarkable.
A paramedic was tending to the cuts on my back, cleaning and bandaging them with efficient movements. The antiseptic stung, but I barely noticed, my attention fixed on the woman standing in front of me.
Sharon Carter had arrived just minutes ago, having flown to Vienna the moment she heard about the explosion. "Levi, are you alright?" she asked, her voice tight with seriousness but if you just listen closer you'll hear a hint of concern.
"I'm fine," I assured her, wincing as the paramedic applied a particularly harsh swab. "Just a few cuts and bruises. Nothing serious."
Sharon's gaze flicked to Natasha, who was still engrossed in her phone. "And Nat? How is she?"
"She's fine too," I said, my voice softening. "We were lucky. Some others... not so much."
Sharon's expression hardened, and she glanced back at the ruins of the conference hall. "King T'Chaka... I can't believe he's gone. And the others... This is a nightmare."
"It is," I agreed, my voice grim. "But we have to focus on what comes next. This attack changes everything."
The paramedic finished with my back and moved on to another victim. I stretched carefully, testing the bandages. "Sharon, do we have any leads on who did this?"
Sharon shook her head, frustration evident in her eyes. "Well, there's a captured security surveillance with James Barnes just standing outside the building. But nothing too sure yet. We're working on it. I've got people on the ground, and we'll find out who did this. But Levi..." she hesitated, probably heard about my unexplainable obsession with finding James Barnes, "the higher-ups, they're convinced it's him."
Just when I was about to reply to her, Natasha finally looked up from her phone, her expression steely. "We need to move fast. The longer we wait, the colder the trail gets."
Sharon sighed before nodding. "Agreed. I've already got a team combing through the debris for any clues. We'll get to the bottom of this."
I glanced at Natasha, then back at Sharon. "What's our next move?"
