Steve managed to contact us through a stranger's phone, but I don't want to think about how long it'll take for Hydra to track the call, so we don't have much time. As Sitwell mentioned, all the traffic lights in the district are set to red, forcing us to park the car and continue on foot. I desperately need a vacation. We told Steve to come to the hospital because Nat had hidden the drive with the Lemurian Star information there. I can only hope that S.H.I.E.L.D. really pulled all its troops from the area after Fury was declared dead.
I'm really curious to hear Steve's explanation for all of this because turning from agents to fugitives of our own agency in under two hours wasn't exactly on my agenda. S.H.I.E.L.D. will first track our car, which is two kilometers away. That'll buy us some time to disappear before they intercept the call. One thing is clear to me and the others: you can't outrun S.H.I.E.L.D. forever. We know that better than anyone. From now on, every second counts.As we enter the hospital, I pull the hood of my jacket lower over my face and tuck a red lock of hair behind my ear. We swapped clothes at a donation bin so that we wouldn't be identified by what we were wearing, but right now, I wish I had my black uniform back. These clothes are definitely not suited for a chase, let alone for close combat, but at least I still have my pistols tucked into my waistband.
We walk through the hospital corridors until we reach the vending machine where Nat had hidden the drive. It's gone. I close my eyes and curse silently as we're suddenly grabbed by the collar and pulled into a side room. I'm about to ram my elbow into the attacker's face when I realize it's Steve. "You're responsible for every gray hair I've gotten today," I snap at him, and he raises an eyebrow. He'll pay for that later, but for now, it can wait. "What did you get yourself into this time?" Nat asks him, her eyes challenging. I'm all ears. Steve takes a deep breath and begins to tell us everything—and I mean everything.
He tells us about Helicarriers housed in a hangar on the Potomac River, right next to headquarters. Fury showed them to him after our mission on the Lemurian Star. They call it Project Insight. Three ships, larger than Steve has ever seen before, with hundreds of guns underneath, capable of eliminating thousands of enemies per minute. These ships never need to land. They have the latest tech from Stark and are equipped with satellites that can identify the DNA of wanted individuals. Unfortunately, that now includes us. The fact that we knew nothing about this project doesn't bode well. "They're holding a gun to the world's head and calling it protection," I murmur, though the others nod in agreement. I can only shake my head. These Helicarriers are in a hangar right under headquarters, and we didn't even know there was a hangar of that size there. "Fury believed S.H.I.E.L.D. would take the world as it is, not as we would like it to be. He said these new weapons were our breakthrough," Steve adds. Why would they do such a thing? It wasn't unusual for our missions to involve eliminating threats, but why would they need three ships designed for mass killing? "This is about instilling fear and making people obedient," Nat chimes in, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She's probably right, and that makes this even more unsettling. We all look at each other, and I know we're all asking the same question. Is S.H.I.E.L.D. really what we thought it was?
"Tell us more about the attack on Fury. We know you held something back yesterday," I urge Steve. We deserve to know the whole truth. Steve bites his lip, then starts recounting that story as well. Fury's car was suddenly rammed and boxed in by police cars, according to witness reports. A chase ensued, with the car's security systems repeatedly triggering alarms. The vehicle sustained severe damage, and Fury suffered a fractured left arm. A grenade was fired at the car, causing it to flip over until it finally skidded to a stop. The only thing we know about the assailant is the metal arm. So, we're dealing with our mystery man again. He had Fury in his sights on the street, which means Steve wasn't his target. When they found the car, it was riddled with bullet holes, and there was a large hole in the roof and the street. "So, he cut himself out and wasn't able to escape any other way," I conclude, and Steve confirms this. Fury escaped and later showed up at Steve's apartment. He had bleeding wounds, and the arm fracture was apparently quite obvious. Steve also tells us that Fury suspected his apartment was bugged, so all communication happened through written messages on a phone screen. Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. bug their best agent's apartment? Either they did it as a precaution, or there's more to the story. Steve also mentions the shots that suddenly came through the wall, hitting Fury three times in the chest. "The last thing he told me was to trust no one, and then he lost consciousness," Steve adds. His neighbor, the kind nurse named Kate, is actually Sharon, a Special Service agent. Of course. "I always knew something was off about her," Nat remarks. I snort, trying to stifle my laughter. Now's not the time for laughing, Elora. This is serious, and we're really screwed. How much do we actually know about S.H.I.E.L.D., or better yet, how much don't we know?
"Sharon said she'd take care of Fury, so I went after the shooter. I saw him on the roof of another building. I tried to stop him and threw my shield; he just turned around and caught it with his metal arm, without even flinching," Steve recounts the chase after the shooting. Excuse me, what? He caught the shield with one arm? Close combat with this guy is definitely a no-go. I don't want to experience his strength firsthand. He threw the shield back to Steve and fled. As if S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't problem enough, we also have an unknown shooter who's ridiculously strong.
The conversation shifts to Alexander Pierce, who took control after Fury. That's enough bad news for one day. The thought of that man makes me sick every time. Fury and Pierce were supposedly friends, though I find that hard to believe. Pierce wanted information, but Steve refused to give it to him. Instead, he fed him half-truths and lies because Steve doesn't trust him either. Somehow, Pierce saw through the lies and sent the S.T.R.I.K.E. team after Steve, which led to him being attacked in the elevator and fleeing. What are we missing here? Pierce also mentioned that sometimes you have to tear down the old world to build a new one, and that statement really doesn't sit well with me. Tearing down the old world to build a new one is another way of describing a revolution, and that's not exactly on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agenda. We can't trust anyone, that much is certain. Something's going on at S.H.I.E.L.D. that even most employees don't know about, or we would've caught wind of it. But what exactly is it? We let all this information sink in for a moment and try to process it. I should've stayed in bed this morning.
We're just leaving the hospital through a back exit when Nat suddenly stops. Steve and I turn to her, looking confused. "There's something I need to tell you," she half-whispers, and I can tell from her expression that it's not good news. Her jaw tightens as she clenches her teeth. Please don't let it be too bad; I can't take much more. We look at her expectantly, and I curse silently as she takes forever to speak. "I know who killed Fury." I nearly choke on my own spit. Steve beside me holds his breath. I give Nat a look urging her to continue before our captain suffocates. She can't just say something like that and not go on. "In intelligence circles, most don't believe he exists. Those who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years." It's a miracle my jaw doesn't unhinge with how wide my mouth is hanging open right now. The Winter Soldier. Two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years.
Why did he spare me? "So he's a ghost," Steve remarks, and Nat nods. "I've tried to find him myself, but always came up short. I thought it was impossible because his trail always went cold. But Elora has already encountered him." Did she just say she's tried to track him down? This woman is crazy. Steve turns pale and his gaze snaps to me. He stares at me with eyes so wide I'm afraid they'll fall out, and I begin to tell him about the event two years ago. I recount what happened in Odessa, and Steve's eyes grow bigger with every word, at some point, he even stops breathing. I shrug off my jacket, showing them the scar on my right arm.
"Why didn't he kill you?" Steve asks, slightly out of breath. That's a question I'll probably never get an answer to, or at least that's what I think. "He's known as the deadliest assassin in the world. This monster doesn't take prisoners, let alone spare anyone he's targeting. I mean, you were obviously his target," Nat says to me, and with that, another question suddenly comes to mind. It doesn't just make no sense that he spared me, but also why I was his target in the first place. I've gone over the memories of that night probably a thousand times, but no matter how I twist and turn them, it still doesn't make sense. "Tracking him always ends in a dead end. Like Steve said, he's a ghost," Nat adds. "Then let's find out what the ghost wants," Steve says, and we quietly leave the premises.
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And now we are on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. (Hydra). The first encounter with the Winter Soldier is not far off, but before that, we'll meet Arnim Zola ;)
This chapter was mostly a single conversation, but I felt it was inappropriate to simply say that Steve told them everything. Instead, I wanted to revisit the key points, which might help those who don't remember the scenes in detail to reconstruct them.
See you next time <3
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Who the hell am I (english version)
FanfictionUPDATES EVERY DAY AT 5 PM! She remembers nothing. Where did she come from? What happened? How did she get here? Where is her family? In short: she doesn't know. For two years, Elora has wandered, never staying in one place for long. Always searching...
