Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 16

Humans. There were humans, everywhere. In chambers of sorts, being contained, being worked on. The lights high above them glowed a dull blue. The smell of blood was intense, flooding her systems with its irony scent. She had to fight back a gag. "Coulson," she hissed in English. "This is bad."

Coulson immediately was responding, asking what she was seeing, what was going on. Using the contact lens technology, Asia blinked twice, taking photographs of the scene in front of her and sending them back to the Bus. This was insane. It was inhumane. It was exactly like what had happened to Mike Peterson, the man the team had been unable to save, the mission before Asia had arrived. She had seen the files.

"People?" Asia finally choked out, "You're new weapons are....people?" She was unable to mask her own genuine surprise. This was....inhumane was only the beginning of how to describe the scene before her.

Maciej chuckled, a proud and pleased grin on his face..and was that...a twinkle in his eye? Yes, yes it was. Asia felt sick. Her stomach was summersaulting, and not in a good fashion. She thought she might puke. "Yes, little flower, what better weapon against humans than...well, better humans? There is none. These...superhuman things we are creating here. They are the next world weapon. World War 3 will be fought not by guns, but by power."

Asia kept blinking and blinking, there was no other real response she could muster. She did not know what to do next, what to say next, so she stood, dumbfounded. It wasn't until Coulson spoke in her ear that she could think clearly.

"You need to blow the place, Asia. Get away from him, plant those devices we gave you, and get out as fast as you can." His words were calm, gentle, but a clear order.

"But Coulson," she whispered back when Maciej's head was turned. "There are people in here. Living people."

"Understood, Agent Monroe," Coulson replied. "But with everything we have seen from this project, they are not within saving. These people will be harvested as weapons or they will be killed in the process. There is no saving them, Agent Monroe. So do as you are ordered and come home safe."

Asia took a deep breath and turned towards her enemy, that tall, dark, handsome man. "Well, are you going to make me just look, or will you show me around?" She flashed him a coy smile, or at least she hoped it appeared as such.

"Of course, Little Flower," He said, taking her hand once more and softly pressing his lips against it. "Anything for a beauty like you." And he began to weave her deeper within the throngs of experiments. People. People jacked into electronics. It was sickening, the whole thing, and the worse thought was that they would all be dead soon. They would not be given the choice between good and evil--the choice would be made for them. And it was a choice made by her hand. Yet, she followed her orders.

She knew no other way. Orders had been her life as long as she could remember. Coulson spoke strictly and smoothly in her ear, instructing where to place each minibomb. The bombs were created by FitzSimmons in the Lab, appearing to be small USBs. She would run her hands over pieces of electronics, appearing to be inspecting them, and then, discretely, slip the chips into place, the devices activating when they came in contact with electric current. She had 30 minutes to get out before the room would explode. How many innocents would die? She thought back to the ballroom. How many of those people were just brought as guests? How many had no ties to Hydra or any other evil group?

But there was no time for that. Her mission was not to save people. She was not a hero today, she was only an agent. An agent trained by Strike Team Delta to be the next assassin. Trained to be in the new Avengers when the time came. So she did her job. With cold, calculated precision, she performed exactly how she was taught, all the while her heart thumping, her stomach begging her to stop, to run.

"Now get out, Agent Monroe," Coulson said in her ear. His voice was gentle, fatherly.

"Hurry up, Monroe," Ward said. Surely he was up above somewhere, waiting for her to get out, waiting to see her safe. "You've only got ten minutes left before they go off."

Asia turned to look at Maciej, a smile on her face. "My family....we will take ten to start, if that is possible."

"Anything is possible for you, little flower," he said with a grin. "Just take your pick."

Asia mused for a moment, eyes drifting over each experimental figure. "Ah yes....But first, may I excuse myself to the powder room for a quick moment?" She batted her eyes softly.

"Yes, yes, let me show you the way," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist to guide her, his hand resting on the small of her back.

"No, no, that is alright," Asia replied, trying to extract herself from his hold. "I am not a child, I can find it myself."

The target grinned. "A child, oh no, anyone would be foolish to think of you as a child. You're most definitely a woman." There was a predatory gaze in his eyes, a sort of hunger for her, a hunger which she had not seen in a while. "I insist on showing you the way," he said, leaning in to whisper in her ear.

Seeing no other way, Agent Monroe nodded. "Alright, I suppose I can allow you to do so." And she let him, let him steer her out of the room and down the same hall of which they had just gone. They walked at an average pace, turning left down a separate hall. He stopped the two of them in front of a door.

"The powder room is in there, I'll be waiting for you. Don't be too long now," he gave her a devilish wink. Asia smiled and slipped in the door, shutting it firmly behind her.

The room was large and decorated with gold and red. The sinks were gold, laid within marble. There were red velvet couches near the door. Small bowls of mints were next the sinks. Large mirrors lined the wall.

"Okay Monroe," she whispered to herself, "Think. Think. Think." There was an airvent, but lord knows how long it would take to get through there. There was also a small window. It would work well enough, she could fit through it. Quickly, she slipped off her painful heels and grabbed at the window ledge, shoving at it. The old wood let out a loud squeak which rebounded off the walls.

"Little flower, is everything ok?" The man outside the door called.

"yes, yes, everyhting is fine!" Asia called out immediately, "I'll be out in a minute!" She turned and saw the door handle wiggling slightly. Clearly he didn't believe her. With force, Asia jumped, pushing herself up onto the window sill and looking out. There was a dumpster below, a back alley. Or, she could grapple up, up towards where Ward would probably be waiting. Up was looking like the far better option. She took one of her heels, activating the grappling hook mechanism within it. Using as much leverage as she could, she hurled the heel up, holding onto the cord which dangled behind it.

Behind her the door thrust open with a shattering sound. "What the hell?" Maciej called out, running towards the window. With a hard shove, Asia pushed herself off, smacking into the wall on the other side of the alley. She gave two quick tugs, causing the cord to reel her upwards. She looked back at the window behind her, and instead of anger, the face in the window had mostly just pain. The was the last thing she saw before fire lit up the building and an explosion rocked the block.