SHIELD (A Captain America Story, Book 1 of the SHIELD Series) COMPLETE

Chapter 9: Broken Wings

When Director Fury came across the scene moments later, Coulson was already gone.

Ava's wound was severe, but she was still breathing. The SHIELD paramedics were surprised to find the Director accompanying them to the medbay. He watched from outside as they cleaned and sutured the wound on Ava's arm.

"You," Fury snapped at a passing medic, making the man jump, "Get me Carraro." The man nodded and darted away as Fury turned back to Ava. Carraro was the lead neurosurgeon in the carrier's labs, the primary consultant on concussions and head injuries, and, lesser known member of the SHIELD Psychological Experiment Team.

It took a moment to find the doctor in all the chaos and it wasn't until Ava was already out of surgery and tucked into a curtained corner that Carraro found them.

"Director, I−" she started as she pushed through the curtain into the small alcove. When she saw Ava's face, she gasped and her face paled. "What happened?" she asked, hurrying to Ava's side to check her vitals.

"She'll be fine," Fury put up a quelling hand, "All I need you to do is make sure the suppressor isn't damaged."

"I see. Are these her X-rays?" Carraro picked up the envelope by Ava's bed and pulled out the large X-ray sheets, Ava's skull glowing as the doctor pinned them up on a nearby light board. Fury could see, even from a distance, the small metal suppressor chip that had been implanted into the base of Ava's skull.

"It doesn't look like anything was damaged," Carraro remarked, "It takes a lot more than hitting her head to make the chip malfunction; we made sure of that. I could check for internal damage but it would require surgery."

"That won't be necessary," Fury shook his head, "If you're sure the chip still works, there's no reason for it."

"It should still function normally," Carraro assured him, "It will certainly continue to suppress her energy conversion powers. We still haven't quite figured out how to control her empathy ability, it's not exactly a science we're used—"

"That will be all, Agent Carraro," Fury interrupted her, "Just keep an eye on her while she recovers. Make sure we don't have any surprises."

"Of course, sir," Carraro nodded as Fury exited the alcove. He was headed back to the bridge, where Cap and Tony were waiting for him. In Fury's pocket were Coulson's Captain America trading cards, like a weight on his chest. He knew Coulson would never have approved of what he was about to do, but desperate times...

Besides, he could always apologize to Phil later.

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Ava was locked inside a holding cell. A pane of plexiglas separated her from a large laboratory, currently on fire, giving Ava a front row view of the chaos. Men and women in white coats panicked as flames sprang from the walls, paint blackening and melting as the fire spread. A small explosion sent sparks flying as some expensive piece of equipment overheated and the scientists scattered, scrambling over each other in a rush for the door. There were more screams as a piece of the cheap particle board ceiling collapsed, crushing a desk and several monitors that shattered as the heat warped the glass. Ava could feel the metal walls of her cell getting hotter, the flickering light of the flames reflecting in her window.

Ava screamed as loudly as she could and slammed her fists against the glass again and again, but no one noticed.

"Let me out! Let me go!" Ava yelled. She hit the glass with all her might, but only the barest hint of a crack showed up in the glass. "Let... me... GO!"

The crack widened and a wisp of dark smoke snaked inside the cell, making Ava cough violently as it entered her lungs.

"Please!" she yelled again, "Someone! Anyone!"