The Secret Sister (Book 2 in The Secret Series)

Chapter 34: Reconnected

Chapter 34: Reconnected

I paced around the cell nervously, feeling like a caged animal. I passed by Agent Maria Hill, whose turn it was to watch me, and didn’t react to her wary glance. I just kept walking, occasionally setting my hands alight every now and again to vent my pent-up frustration.

I’d been here in the glass unit for just over five hours, and each hour I’d been watched suspiciously by various people, including one long excruciating hour of Johnny Storm’s teasing.

With every passing minute I grew tenser, aching to know when Hela was planning to attack. She wouldn’t leave it long to return – at most she’d wait a day. My sister preferred to jump in and attack, rather than wait for days and plan, like Nick did, which meant that she could be heading this way right now …

Maria sat stiffly on the plastic chair positioned just outside my cell, her gaze never wavering. Nick’s next-in-command took her job very seriously, which was a complete contradiction to when Johnny had been on watch duty.

“Do you think I’m still on the ‘evil’ side?” I asked nonchalantly, figuring that I might as well attempt conversation for the last stretch of her shift.

She fidgeted slightly, looking faintly uncomfortable, before replying.

“I’m just here to follow Director Fury’s orders.”

“So … that’s a yes?”

“No."

“So you do think I’m telling the truth?” I said keenly, and she shrugged, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

I flashed a smile at her, glad that someone was on my side.

“I’m glad you trust me again.”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled, confirming my thoughts.

“So which superheroes have you got on your side?” I asked, changing the subject, and Hill frowned slightly.

“I’m not sure that Fury would allow me to give you that information considering your position at the moment.”

I stopped in front of her, with only the thick glass between us, and gave her an innocent smile.

“Please?” I asked simply.

Maria hesitated, and then just as she opened her mouth to reply, her walkie-talkie suddenly whined, drawing her attention away. She stood up and answered, her voice hard.

“Sir?"

She listened to who I assumed was Nick with dwindling enthusiasm, until she finally sighed in defeat.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, sir?”

She winced as the voice crackling from the other end increased in volume.

“Whatever you say, sir,” She said finally, and put her walkie-talkie back in her belt with an indiscrete eye roll.

“Your next babysitter’s coming,” Hill informed me in a sarcastic tone, and gave me an almost sympathetic look.

She didn’t leave straight away – instead she walked over to the console that controlled my cell, and stood beside it with a slightly anxious expression on her face as we waited.

The door to the room suddenly slid open with a slight hissing noise, and my next “babysitter” walked through the door, ready to take on the shift.

When I saw who it was, I didn’t know whether to feel glad, or feel worried.

Tony held a glass of amber liquid in one hand, and a deck of cards in the other. He winked at me before giving Maria a smug look. Agent Hill grumbled something under her breath, before looking up at me.