Cheshire

Chapter 8

"Thanks for the coffee and workout, but I really do have to go now. And by the way, you should really put a band-aid on that." I say with a wink and leave the pitiful man kneeling there in defeat, but mostly confusion.

Steve's POV (After the Intrusion)

It's been about half an hour since she broke into the compound and escaped. Right now, we are all in the meeting waiting for Fury to show up, sitting in silence as we wonder what in the hell happened and how. I mean, this girl couldn't have been much older than 20. She got in completely undetected until Tony unknowingly bumped into her. And that's what concerns me most. Shes enhanced. Other than that, we are completely clueless about this girl. I can only hope Fury has some answers.

"So. You idiots let a girl escape after successfully hacking into what was supposed to be one of the most unbreachable security systems in the world and stealing top secret information that you (Pointing to Tony) originally stole from SHEILD, got your asses handed to you in the process, and are just now telling me she is also enhanced?"

Speak of the devil. By now Fury has made his way to the head of the table with a calm expression and Agent Hill to his side. He looks around the table to each of us accusingly and bewildered.

"And where the hell where you two?" He asks looking to Clint and Nat.

"We were out following a lead on the Cheshire Mission, and we actually believe she and the intruder are connected." Nat answers collectively and nods towards Maria.

The room becomes quiet for a moment before Maria connects her tablet to a big monitor on the other side of the room across from Nick.

"We were able to zoom in on the security footage before she escaped. This is the only image we have of her from today's events and as you can see, the resemblance is uncanny. The intruder is Cheshire." Maria concluded as she pulled up the picture and looked to Nick for him to continue.

By now we are all looking around confused waiting for him to explain whatever the Cheshire Mission was when Tony asks.

"What the hell is the Cheshire Mission?" After an eyeroll that doesn't go unnoticed, he reluctantly answers.

"About six months ago, a Hydra base that we had been trying to locate exploded leaving no survivors except the person who blew it up. They stole all of Hydra's files and we had no idea who they were. They fled and continued hacking into other bases, stealing information and blowing them into nothing but ash. How, we have no idea. After the most recent base was terminated last month, our agents arrived at the scene to find a note left behind."

Suddenly pictures of the said bases appeared on screen with almost nothing left. The last picture was of a piece of paper that read:

"You're Welcome - Cheshire :)"

"We thought she only relied on her hacking skills to obtain information however that idea was scrapped once we began discovering the bodies of ex Hydra agents around the same time as her escape. They were found in alleyways across the northeast all with their throats slit. We believe she contacts them to buy information and disposes of them to keep her identity hidden. We couldn't even get an image of her until we got into the security footage of a Hydra base she had just recently broken in to."

Finally, a video clip from the security footage pops up on screen in color. Sure, enough the same girl from today wearing a similar outfit was fighting off three Hydra agents. This time instead of using her knives, she grabs a gun from one of them and kills them all with no hesitation before she glances around and shoots the camera with a worried expression. The image freezes so we get a clear look at her face, and sure enough it's the intruder.

"The only reason for where able to find this footage is because instead of exploding the base up, she took what she needed and left. We don't know why. She killed everyone in that building and sent out a destress signal that we intercepted."

"So, what made her decide to go to this base in person and not blow it up?" Sam asks to my left.

"Well, this particular base was one where they used to do experiments on the enhanced. Since the Maximoff's, they have been unsuccessful in anymore "projects". Or so we thought.

"You're saying she was a Hydra experiment who escaped and has now taken it upon herself to destroy Hydra alone? But why would she go there in person knowing they're looking for her?" I now ask curiously.

"She could have been looking for something she wouldn't have been able to find over a computer?" Natasha guesses from the lower right end of the table.

"Or someone." Nick concludes further.

"Ok, but who? You said there hasn't been any other experiments since her." Sam asks again.

"Not sure. But that doesn't matter now. Our priority as of this moment is to find her and bring her in. We aren't completely sure of what powers she possesses which makes her even more dangerous. I expect you all to take care of this immediately. Good luck, and please don't get your asses kicked even more." And with that, Nick and Maria exit the room with the pictures still on screen.

As everyone gets up to leave, I notice Bucky still seated looking at the pictures of the girl.

"Hey Buck, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good I just... never mind." He trails off and walks past me.