Tomb Raider - Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel

4 ~ What Was Left Behind

Nora had seen Indiana Jones (her mum had always had a huge crush on young Harrison Ford) and had played Tomb Raider (she herself preferred Lara Croft), she knew how it always went: someone, usually some ominous force was always hunting for the same 'treasure' as the hero, and there usually ended up being some sort of mystical/magical object or force involved.

But she had always accepted it as something that only happened in the movies and games and on television, not in real life. Archaeology wasn't really like that. Like with Doctor Who, there were the fantastical elements, but it was all set in the real world, grounded in reality. But also as she had discovered with Doctor Who, all that stuff was a lot closer than she thought.

Today she was tackling the office. And she was not looking forward to it.

That morning she had training scheduled at the gym. Afterwards she came home, made something to eat, and had a shower, dragging out the process as if it would make the cleaning up of the office go away. It did not, however, and if anything it only made her more reluctant.

The office door made the same old creaking sound when she opened it. She immediately opened the window and turned on the lights, trying to brighten the stuffy place that was jammed full of papers, boxes, books, and of course, more artifacts. Naturally. That was a given.

Where the hell should she start? She felt overwhelmed already.

"Bloody hell," she sighed, and dove in.

She grabbed the nearest box - nearly dropping it as it turned out to be much heavier than anticipated - and plopped down to sit on the rug (which had come from India) and began rifling through the box.

Did she even need to look at all these papers and notes? Could she just throw them out? It's not like they were being used for anything anymore. But she felt a twinge of guilt at tossing away all of her parents' hard work. But also, what good was it all doing cluttering up the office?

Putting some music on in the background helped make the task seem less dull and more manageable.

Her curious side got the better of her, and what could have and should have been a quick job became a very long one as she examined each and every scrap of paper and every sentence, word, and marking written on them. Most were stapled together, notes on various artifacts, their history, alleged location, stories about them, but there were a lot of single and incomplete sheets as well. Nora recognized a lot of the artifacts as ones still sitting here in the house, some in this very room, as if waiting for her parents to return. You and me both. Though they were waiting more patiently than she was.

She decided to do a section of the room at a time, breaking down the task into more manageable pieces. The desk seemed like the least big piece, that was, until she opened the drawers. God, her parents kept everything.

Like the rest of the room, the desk drawers were stuffed just as full, so full she had trouble opening some of them. She took to just pulling everything out and tossing it on the floor. She even went as far as pulling one of the drawers out completely and dumping out its contents.

Now there were papers everywhere, and that still wasn't the last of them. Muttering to herself, she continued with the unloading of the desk.

This carried on until she realized just how big of a pile of papers had amassed on the rug, and she decided to sort through those before adding any more.

She was moving to the other side of the pile to sit when she stood on some of the pages and slipped. Cursing, she just managed to catch her balance, although her actions shifted the rug and drew up one of the corners.

Now moving to re-adjust the rug, she tugged it back in place, lifting one end to drag it over. And when she did she found something.

A file folder sat just off centre beneath the rug. It was like the countless others she had found in here, but what was it doing under the rug of all places? Why was this one separate from the others? And why was it hidden?

Her curiosity spiked - must be important and/or exciting if it were hidden and oh-so strategically placed.

Going over she scooped it up, sliding it, and a bunch of dust, out from its hiding place. It was thin, not much inside it.

Opening it she found a sheet of paper. At the top was a black stamp, a symbol and title.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

An instant memory suddenly resurfacing struck her like an electric shock - the men in black suits who had come to break the news of her parents' disappearance, this very symbol - an eagle - had been on their badges. She had forgotten that detail until just now, the stamp jogging her memory of it. Her heart had begun to thunder in her chest. She read further.

The page was titled Project M.A.R.C.H. Beneath the acronym in fine print read: Mythical Antiquities Research and Care Headquarters.

It appeared to be some sort of vague assignment outline, but her parents seemed to be heading the project. She read their names a ways down on the page.

Behind the page, she found a couple of ID cards paper-clipped to the back of the folder. They were for her parents, one for each of them, and had the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and title on them as well. TEMPORARY was marked across the back of both cards.

Jumping up and going back over to the desk, bringing the file with her, she fired up the computer. She opened an internet search tab and punched in S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

World intelligence and law enforcement agency.

Founded: 1946. Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, Colonel Chester Philips.

Based In: Washington, D.C.

Nora cast a glance over at the ID cards. "What were you guys doing?" she voiced aloud.

She sat there for a few minutes, she didn't know how long, just looking back and forth between the ID cards and the web-page. Next time her eyes fell on the screen, they settled on the location: Washington, D.C.

She had a lead. Suddenly, after eleven years of nothing, things were beginning to piece together.

She picked up the ID cards. Time to put her forging skills to work.

----------------------------

"Mary, hi," she said into the phone, all while throwing some clothes into a suitcase. She had just completed booking a flight only minutes before. "I'm doing it, I'm taking your advice and going on a little trip. Not sure how long I'll be gone, but a few days at least."

"Oh, Nora. That sounds wonderful. Are you going with anyone?"

"No, no, just me."

"Well that's good, I'm proud of you. Where is it you're going?"

"Washington D.C."

(It's all starting to connect! ;) Hope you all are enjoying, thanks so much for reading (and the 400+ reads! :))