Coffee and Books 1

Chapter 37

It's the same drill as last time, with agent Romanoff and her suitcase with wires in the white room. Only this time, to my surprise, I am the subject of her questions. After the control questions she starts to ask me about my 'abilities'. 

"What are you talking about?"

"I think you know very well what I mean, Miss Frederikson."

"Nuh-uh, I don't."
But despite my angry efforts to evade her questions, agent Romanoff manages to trick me into giving her the answers she wants. I have the idea she already knows a lot and is merely checking her facts. She even questions me about seeing Chad in the train to Brooklyn yesterday, claiming I 'used my powers on him'. I guess being followed by S.H.I.E.L.D. is a bigger deal than I thought.

The questioning seems to take a lot longer than last time. My stomach has been grumbling for a while now and I am tired. I don't know the time, as she made me take off my watch to place the wires on the inside of my wrist.  "I am hungry," I interrupt her umpteenth question of that evening. "I haven't eaten anything since this afternoon!"
My statement seems to surprise her a bit.
"You guys kidnapped me straight from work! I'm still wearing my apron, see?!"

Agent Romanoff stands up from her chair. "I'll be right back."

When she returns, she is carrying a plate with a microwave dinner and a can of soda. "Tandoori Chicken, I hope that's ok?"

I nod and eagerly start to eat. The soda is also a nice change from the paper cup with water I got when we started.

"I was under the assumption you already had dinner tonight."

I snort. "You'll notice I am much nicer when I'm fed."

The red haired agent silently waits untill my plate is empty. I feel much better now I have some food in my stomach. Leaning back in my chair, I spin the empty soda can on the table. Agent Romanoff seems in no hurry to resume to her questioning. She is just watching me, her face unreadable. I watch back with what I hope is a blank face, studying her features. She is very attractive, I think she turns a lot of heads on the streets. But when you look in her eyes, it's like you meet a steel wall. I bet she is a lot tougher than she initially looks.
I'm glad the questioning is over, it made me feel like a criminal. All this talking about my supposed powers, I want this whole thing to be over, I am so done with this! But agent Romanoff is just sitting there, not saying anything.

Suddenly the door opens and a man comes in. He has an eyepatch and is wearing dark clothes. I don't like him the second he looks at me, even more because he is grinning at me.
"Good evening, Miss Frederikson. I am director Fury. The doctors are ready for you."

"Doctors?!" I jump to my feet, the chair legs scraping against the concrete floor. "What is this?! You can go to hell with your doctors. I am done!" I pull the wires from my wrist and neck and throw them at the table.

"You are done when I tell you you are done," Fury tells me in a stern voice.

I glare at the man on the other side of the white room. "You have no right to detain me. I am not a criminal! You can't hold me here against my will, I want to go home. Now!"

"The Sokovia Accords give me every right to question and test you." Director Fury looks at me with his one eye. "Every human or other being with powers has to be registered. And your involvement with a terrorist like Loki Laufeyson gives me all the more reason to bring you in."

I hear him using a different last name for Loki than Odinson, but my mind is more focused on Sokovia and the Accords. The disaster with that city was a major blow to the Avengers and the following Accords have been all over the news in the past few years. Never had I imagined those accords would be of any matter to me personally.
I tell director Fury to shove those Accords somewhere the sun doesn't shine, but to no avail. Agent Romanoff takes me by the arm and escorts me to another room, Fury following short behind. When I see the room they are taking me to, I start crying. It's a laboratory, filled with all kinds of unfamiliar equipment. There are some people here too, all dressed in white lab coats.