The Liberty War || Infinity War & Endgame

Chapter Seventeen: Furnace

Music is "All The King's Horses" by Karmina.

Picture is toddler Grant Barnes.

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Furnace

{September 11, 2001 -- Seventeen Years Ago}

N E W  Y O R K

The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 9:59 in the morning. Just twenty-two minutes prior, a third plane crashed into the western side of the Pentagon. Three minutes later, a fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower crumbled. Everyone in the city watched in horror as a great symbol of freedom turned to dust before their very eyes.

Four planes. Multiple buildings. Three locations. In less than two hours after Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower, New York is in a state of emergency and panic, and the country is on the verge of another war.

This is the Pearl Harbor of the twenty-first century.

I spent the rest of the day trying to get as many people away from the disaster zone as I can, all while keeping in contact with the medic that ushered the little Korean boy to a safe zone for treatment. By the time the mid-afternoon arrives, though chaos and destruction are still prevalent, it's a controlled warzone at least.

As soon as Chief Delmar orders my Company to take a few minute breather, I rush to the bunker where the boy is being treated. Peggy calls me on my radio along the short drive. At first I'm surprised that she could hack into my radio frequency, but then I remember that she's Peggy bloody Carter.

"Where are you, Emma?" she asks in a commanding tone.

"In a car, on my way to the boy I rescued," I reply, dodging the people in the streets and abandoned cars. "Where are you?"

"Where you should be," she hisses.

"Where are Rose and Dum Dum?" I demand, worry filling me. "Please, tell me they're not in Brooklyn. That's not the place to be right now."

"Understatement of the century," Peggy mutters. "Don't worry. I talked to both of them. They're in Indiana for the week. They're safe."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Where's the boy I rescued?"

"I've moved the boy to a SHIELD bunker. He's being treated here."

"Why?" I inquire, eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"Because, as far as the government is concerned, this little boy doesn't exist. No documentation, no identity, no family. We can't find any record of him, even coming into the country. The hospital you sent him to marked him as an undocumented immigrant with no known family. I intercepted the call and ordered them to transfer him to SHIELD."

I scoff and roll my eyes angrily. "Are you bloody serious? They're worried about who's undocumented, now of all days? Is that really the most important thing right now?"

"Of course not," Peggy retorts. "Which is why he's here with me, but I can't keep him here forever. Eventually, questions will be asked that I cannot answer. I'm not just Peggy Carter, I'm the former-Director of SHIELD. I need plausible deniability, Emma. I can't know what happens to this boy after the next few hours. If Nick Fury comes asking questions, I can know nothing."

I nod, realizing the implication of what she's saying. "What do you want me to do?"

"Take him somewhere. Anywhere. Outside the country, preferably. You both need to get out of America while you still can. American airspace was shut down after the first impact, but they've halted boarder crossings. The New York Stock Exchange is closed and will remain closed for the foreseeable future. New York and Washington have declared a state of emergency, and President Bush just put the military on world-wide alert by instituting Force Protection Condition Delta."