𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{2⁸} {SHIFT THE BLAME}

∆ {2⁸} {SHIFT THE BLAME} ∆

BLAME WAS A dangerous thing. Roxi tried never to blame people, but it was impossible. Pin the wrong blame on the wrong person, you could end up dead. It was just people not being able to deal with being responsible for causing a bad event, and everyone was one of those people, whether they liked it or not. Regardless, Roxi found the notion stupid, and sticking to that, there was a whole lot of stupid being thrown around the room.

"This man declined a Nobel Peace Prize," Fury started, putting emphasis on the word 'declined' as he held a picture of Alexander Pearce. Natasha was still softly cleaning Roxi's burn, but both women were listening to the room around them. 

"He said peace wasn't an achievement; it was a responsibility," he continued, throwing the photo down onto the cheap metal table. 

"See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues," Fury finished, leaning forwards in his seat as Roxi clenched her hands, partly due to the stinging of the antiseptic, but also because she knew how that felt. Feeling like you know someone, only for them to turn around and be a completely different person.

"We have to stop the launch," Natasha said as she finished cleaning Roxi's back and picked up a roll of bandages.

"I don't think the council's accepting my calls anymore," Fury told her, opening a briefcase containing three hard drives.

"What's that?" Sam asked as Roxi took the bandages from Natasha and began to wrap the wound herself, though the redhead protested quietly.

"Once the helicarriers reach 3000 feet," Hill began, flipping her laptop around to illustrate her point, "they'll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponised."

"We need to breach those carriers, and replaced their targeting blades, with our own," Fury explained as the diagram on screen showed exactly where they were.

"One or two won't cut it, we need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die." For some reason, Hill's eyes flickered to Roxi as she said it and Roxi found herself trailing her gaze onto the floor. Maybe if she'd stayed after New York, she could've stopped this. Maybe she'd have noticed the HYDRA agents. Maybe, no-one would've had to die.

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA," Fury instructed, as Roxi brought her eyes back to the man. She would deal with her thoughts later. Right now, they had people to save. Hundreds of thousands of them. 

"You get past them, insert these server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's-" Fury was interrupted by Steve as he angrily chimed in on the conversation.

"We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D." With a jolt, Roxi realised he was right, and sat a little straighter in her chair as she tried to involve herself more in the conversation. 

"S.H.I.E.L.D had nothing to do with-" Fury began, only to be cut off again.

"You gave me this mission; this is how it ends. S.H.I.E.L.D's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed." Steve explained forcefully. His last statement made Roxi's eyes drop again as she sat back in her chair and let her fingers slide onto the cool, reassuring handle of the pistol she'd been given.

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed," Fury replied in a similar tone.

"And how many payed the price before you did?" The question chilled Roxi to the ore, and her mind began to whirl with wild thoughts again, twisting and slithering through her head as she tried to keep a grip on the conversation happening around her. For a few moments, there was silence, where Roxi's mind buzzed with thoughts and considerations, and 'what if's.