Agent Raven of S.H.I.E.L.D. (COMPLETE)

Anyone Home?

Author's Note: Sorry about this, but this chapter accidentally got deleted. I don't have another backup copy, so I tried to rewrite it as closely as I can remember. My bad

It wasn't standard SHIELD protocol to walk out into broad daylight in uniform, but I didn't really have a choice, not for this particular situation. Besides, I was the least interesting that was going to happen in DC today. I crossed the street and didn't pay attention to the looks I got. Yeah, I'm carrying a quiver with a bow on my back. Deal with it.

The back alley I turned down ran adjacent to CROS's building. The front entrance was on the other side of the block, but I wasn't planning on entering through there. No, I was heading for a back door on the side of the building. I pulled a pistol out and released the safety. The chances of this door being unguarded were little to none, especially after all the chaos CROS had already dealt with today.

There were two homeless-looking men sitting on the steps leading up to the door I needed. When they saw me coming, they reached into a nearby bag, probably for weapons of some sort, but I shot them both in the leg before they got the chance. As they fell over sideways, I caught a glimpse of communication devices in their ears. I reached down and swiped them before they got an opportunity to use them, before grabbing their bag and rifling through it.

Guns, extra ammo, a few books to read, food, and a set of keys. I took the keys and shouldered the bag since these guys wouldn't be needing any of this for a while. They started cursing at me, quite hysterically if I was being honest, but I didn't bother to respond. I just opened the door for myself and locked it behind me. Without the keys, those guards wouldn't be able to get in, and I would like to see them get to the front entrance with a bullet in their leg. 

I dumped the bag on the ground and slipped one of the earpieces into my own ear while I took a look around where I was. The hall lights were off, and it didn't look like anybody was home. It made sense because the other CROS agents were probably getting ready for their attack on the President, but it still didn't make me feel very easy. It was still entirely possible that the abandoned look was a deception to bring my guard down. I was going to have to sweep this whole building, by myself. Yay.

Grabbing a small flashlight from my belt, I brought it up under my pistol and started advancing to the left. I tried to work clockwise when I could. I don't know why, there wasn't any reason for it. Maybe it was an old habit I picked up from Clint or something. I started poking into rooms, looking for anyone that was protecting the base. There wasn't much though, at least not on the first floor. There were a ton of offices and supply rooms, probably to provide a cover for the base in case anyone came looking. I certainly didn't see any weapons or any of the security tech I saw in the base in Maine.

There was a lobby, though. I turned off my flashlight since it was better lit than the rest of the first floor. Trying to make my steps as light as possible, I snuck around the last corner and looked for CROS agents. There had to be some here. 

I saw two, manning the front desk. Male and female, no body armor from what I could see, although they had pistols under the desk. Probably a good idea if they never got around to using those. Unfortunately for them, they were each listening to something through earbuds and facing the other way. I smirked. First rule of guard duty: Never occupy your senses unless you have to.

Walking up behind them, I pinched their vagus nerves and held firmly, just long enough to knock them out. As their backs slumped, I grabbed their earpieces too, although theirs were on the counter, not in their ears like they should have been. No one else was in the lobby, and I noticed the sign facing out of the glass doors was reading 'Closed'. At least there would be any visitors while I was here.

I still had at least two more floors to go, though. Earlier in the loop, I had seen a staircase, but I had passed it for the time being. After making sure there was no one else on the first floor, I circled back around and started climbing. I couldn't be the only other conscious person in the building. 

The second floor was as quiet as the first, although it looked much more like a rogue terrorist faction base than the first. The storage rooms had more...interesting things in them, although they were much more empty. Bad news, since the missing resources were probably going to be used at the White House in a few hours. After making a trip around that floor, I put my firearm away and released my bow from my quiver. Whoever else was in here was definitely going to be waiting for me upstairs. 

I grabbed a blast arrow out of instinct and started quietly climbing the stairs. They didn't creak loudly, but still too much for my liking. When I reached the top, I stopped long enough to hear for other people. Something metal shifted, from what I heard, and a male voice spoke through my earpiece. "She's here. Permission to fire sir?"

Not waiting to see if their superior officer would respond, I twisted left and released my arrow at the ground, knocking two guards off their feet. I reached to my waist and grabbed my gun again, aiming for their heads. They had body armor on, and chest shots weren't going to work here. They dropped dead before their leader had a chance to answer them. 

So they did know I was coming. More importantly, those soldiers were answering to someone that was most likely in the building. Someone I needed to find and kill.

After making sure no one was down the hall behind me, I looked at the door the soldiers had been guarding. I thought I was going to have to pick the door lock, or maybe destroy the door itself, but whoever was standing behind it beat me to it. The door was thrown open, and the first thing I saw was the barrel of a gun pointed at my chest. I jumped to the side, but not fast enough to avoid getting shot twice. Luckily the bullets hit my vest instead of my head, but I whipped out an exploding arrow and shot it into the room to push back whoever was in there. The explosion stopped the shooting, but I knew my opponent wasn't dead. 

Time to see who else was working for CROS.