Project Phoenix (MARVEL)

V

Bella sat in the boardroom alongside the other Avengers, she had her arm elevated in a sling, bandages covered her shoulder. She caught Tony watching her, "I'm fine, it was just a through and through, I did the mission"

"I know Bells, you've always been like this" he replied, "one day it might cost you something worse than a few bandages and some mothering"

"I forgot how much you did mother me" Bella smiled slightly at the man, "Tony, I'm sorry"

Fury walked into the room, he sat at the head of the table and sighed. He threw pictures and a dossier on the table before he spoke, "mystery marksman has been identified as Vincent Wilkes, English. Petty criminal until the Syndicate recruited him, and turned him into a very good killer"

"Do we know what he was doing in Tokyo Tech?" Bella asked, she grabbed one of the mugshots and looked at the mans face, trying to remember him.

"Not yet no, we have our tech teams working on their systems, and a team working on Wilkes"

"If he is Syndicate, he's not really going to respond to questioning, is he?" Clint asked, he looked at Fury with a 'come on' expression. "We know how the process goes for recruitment into the Syndicate, he'll be used to whatever you've got planned for him"

"Then we need to come up with a different tactic then, don't we?" Bella said, she dropped his picture on the table, "when me and Bucky caught him in the room, he said- "

"Not happening" Bucky quickly interjected

Bella glared at Bucky, "he said he knew me very well, and that I wouldn't remember him" she trailed off, looking back down at the picture.

"He's just trying to get a rise out of you" Natasha said, she quickly glanced at Tony.

"Give me five minutes with him" Bella looked at Fury, ignoring all the other people in the room.

"Not a chance!" Tony nearly shouted, standing up. He looked at Fury who was considering it, "he shot her!"

"Let me question him first" Fury locked eyes with Bella, "I'll think about it" he left the room, the screen behind him switched to the CCTV feed. Everyone turned to watch.

Vincent sat on a steely chair, handcuffed to the table. He looked up at the door opening and smirked slightly when Fury walked in. Fury sat opposite and smoothed his jacket before eyeing up the prisoner.

There was a small silence, before Fury spoke; "what is your business in New York?"

"Can't a man go on holiday?" Wilkes looked around the room, his eyes rested on the CCTV camera before flitting back to Fury, "is that now a crime?"

"No, but breaking into a company building, uploading a virus, blowing up a floor and shooting an agent certainly does break a few laws"

Wilkes smiled, "if I wanted your agents' dead, they would be" he grinned at the camera, "you got this wired up so they can all watch?"

"What virus were you uploading?"

"Bellatrix, can you hear this?" Wilkes said, "of course you can, you can't stand not knowing things" everyone glanced at Bella whose eyes were glued to the screen. "You asked how do I know you"

Fury sat back; his questioning was over.

"Bellatrix, I was one of the soldiers that got your team, on Pitts orders" Bella stiffened. "I helped you and the surviving members of your team become more acquainted with the best of Syndicate"

Bella held back tears, she was reminded with flashbacks of her weeks at the compound, she still couldn't move her eyes away from the screen. She was so tensed the stitches in her shoulder strained with every beat of her heart.