Choices

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two: Holding On

"Even if the sun crashes into us, I won't let go, I won't let go. And I can be your light. Stay with me tonight. I won't let go, I won't let go." - Maroon 5: Leaving California

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 "We have a hit on the new location of the Black Order," Agent Coulson announces as me, Fitz-Simmons, Skye, Agent Tripp, and May stand around the board table, "They haven't moved too far. They have retreated to their ship and they remain close to but above Alice Springs. When they destroyed their base in the rock, they must have also destroyed whatever technology they used to hide their ship from our eyes."

 "Great, let's just shoot them down," Agent May crosses her arms.

 "It's not that simple. Skye has detected that Mr. Stark is on board," Agent Coulson explains.

 My spirits lift a little bit as I hear again that my dad is alive. After a long night of grieving for Alex, it was nice to have Skye wake me up telling me that we had a hit.

 "We are going to engage, right?" Agent Tripp asks.

 "Only Monica will engage directly," Coulson looks at me, "She is the only one who could stand against the monsters; her suit will give her a major advantage. Also, they would not hesitate to kill you guys. This is out of our league. We deal with 0-8-4s and other alien devices, but we are not prepared to face an alien itself. That is an Avenger's job."

 I nod, agreeing with him. I nearly got beat up in my suit; they wouldn't be equipped enough to stand a chance. However, Skye doesn't believe that is the smartest move. "So, we just sit here and hope Monica can rescue Tony and destroy the ship?"

 "No, of course not," Phil shakes his head, "She will blast a hole in the ship's port side. Fitz-Simmons, you will send the DWARFS into the aircraft to find Stark. You will also use them to help Monica. Pilot them undetected throughout the aircraft so we can find any weaknesses we can use to our advantage.

 "Once Monica has secured Tony and are off of the ship, we will destroy the aircraft. May and Tripp, you two will be on standby in case of a dire situation where Monica needs aid. Skye, you need to be waiting by the controls ready to open fire at a moment's notice."

 "Yes, sir," We all nod in reply.

 "What about me?" Clint walks into the room. He has a cotton ball stuck in each ear.

 "You will invade the ship with Agent Potts, assuming you've been cleared."

 "Of course I've been cleared."

 "I wasn't sure if you'd be up and around today," Agent Coulson raises an eyebrow.

 "No, I was actually planning on lounging here and making quesadillas or something," Clint shrugs.

 "I knew you were," Phil replies with an amused smile, "Spend the next hour readying yourselves. We will engage at thirteen-hundred hours."

 As everyone disbands, I make my way to Agent Coulson. "Any word from New York?"

 "They haven't contacted me," He shakes his head, "I will give them a call here before you leave."

 "Thank you," I nod.

 There hasn't been any word on Alex yet. I am assuming that because there has been no call that means Alex held on through the night; however, I still can't allow my hopes to rise. There can be other countless reasons why a doctor at a busy hospital couldn't call us. Despite what Alex's condition may be, I still want to kill every person of the Ten Rings and Black Order. I want justice for what they made Alex endure, not to include that they kidnapped me, are holding Tony captive, and have killed countless of other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents whose bodies are lost under rubble.