After spending the entire afternoon trying to figure things out with Tony, Cassie left the Stark home with little to no new information. All she knew now was that she was born Cassandra Marie Thompson on February 24th, 1970 to George Thompson and Marie Wilson. Both parents died in an unexplained car accident in the year of 1991. Soon after that, Cassie volunteered to be the subject of the super soldier experiment being done by Stark Industries. Which was soon labeled PROJECT CMT. There was no motive known and that was all that they could piece together. Which to Cassandra was barely any new information.
As Cassie laid in bed looking up at the ceiling above her her phone started singing. She reached for it and saw Natasha's contact. Cassie answered the phone with a sigh and she heard chattering from the other line.
"Get to the General Hospital, Fury's been shot." She simply said as the call came to an end and Cassie quickly sat up in bed and with no hesitation made her way over.
Her entire way over Cassie's last conversation with Fury was flowing through her mind. She cursed at herself for being on these terms during these times. Fury had become someone important to her due to the fact that he was the one that brought her to S.H.I.E.L.D. He gave her a life after not seeming to remember her entire past.
Cassie quickly made her way through the hospital halls. With the help of some nurses she quickly came to a stop in front of a glass window that was keeping them from the doctors operating on Nick Fury. She stood there with Steve, Natasha, and Maria Hill.
"Is he gonna make it?" Cassie quickly asked as she had her eyes on an unconscious Fury.
"We don't know." Steve said softly as Cassie swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Any information about the shooter?" Cassie quickly asked as she turned her full attention to Steve leaving Natasha behind her.
"Well he's fast. Strong." Steve responded not taking his eyes off of Fury. "Had a metal arm." He added turning his attention over to Cassie as she simply looked back over at Fury.
"Ballistics?" Nat asked Maria Hill who was standing beside her.
"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable." Maria Hill quickly responded, getting Cassie's attention as she kept her eyes on Fury.
"Soviet-made." Both her and Nat said at the same time getting Maria Hill to look over at the two.
From inside the operating room the Doctors started moving around quickly. Cassie's eyes averted over to the scanners and saw how he was starting to flatline. She quickly brought her hand up in front of her and shook her head.
"Come on, don't leave me like this Nicholas." Cassie whispered to herself as she brought her hand up to her lips to try and keep away any tears.
After what seemed like forever the Doctor's pulled away from Nick as they failed to revive him. His body was soon covered and transported over to a different room. Cassie felt a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulder yet she quickly shrugged herself from them. When she saw who they belonged to she was met by a worried Steve.
She simply didn't say a word and quickly walked out of the room. She walked out towards the nearest exit and when she reached outside she quickly balled up her fist and threw a bunch at a nearby tree. With the strength she had she created a hole in the tree. She was utterly frustrated yet she didn't know how or what to feel. People like Fury, Nat, Tony, and just any Avenger in general had become her family. They filled in the shoes of the family she couldn't even remember. And just now she had lost one of them.
Fury's body laid in an empty room with Cassie standing by him emotionless. Natasha and Steve stood behind letting the woman have her own moment with him. She couldn't seem to avert her eyes from him. She simply hoped that he would open those eyes and tell her that everything was simply a good tactic to get off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Radar. Yet there was nothing and he continued laying there lifeless.
Behind her Maria Hill had joined the two standing behind. She sent them both an apologetical smile.
"I need to take him." She whispered and Nat quickly nodded her head.
"Let's just give her one more minute." She said nudging over at Cassie.
Natasha nudged Steve over to get the young girl to step away so that Maria could take his body. Steve without a word slowly walked up to Cassie and whispered.
"Cassie." He said getting the brunette to quickly look over at him and wipe away the tears that had slipped from her eyes.
Cassandra simply nodded and caught one last glance at Fury before not even saying a word at anyone. She quickly made her way out of the room and into the hall. Everyone saw the change in her, she was no longer her cheery self. This had somehow changed her.
"Cassie!" Steve quickly called out as he followed shortly behind her.
"Why was he in your apartment?" Cassie quickly questioned him as she turned to him.
"I don't know." He simply responded with a slight shoulder shrug and a sigh.
"Cap, they want you back at S.H.I.E.L.D." Rumlow said from behind Steve.
"Yeah, give me a second." Steve said as he turned back to Rumlow.
"They want you now." Rumlow responded not even giving him the chance to look back at Cassie.
"Okay." Steve said as Cassie furrowed her eyebrows at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sudden interest in Steve.
"You're a terrible liar." They both heard Natasha say from where she leaned against the wall behind them.
Cassie caught one glance at Steve and Nat before quickly walking away from the two shaking her head. She needed some time to think things through. She needed some time to grieve and try to move on. Cassie quickly hopped in her car and drove off to the nearest distraction activity, a jog around Washington.
Leaving the Triskelion after fighting an entire STRIKE team and jumping out of the elevator to avoid arrest. Also after disabling an attacking Quinjet Steve arrives later at the hospital, where he had left the USB inside a vending machine. Natasha had contacted Cassie during her run letting her know that she had an idea on what Steve was hiding.
Seeing Steve's face of disappointment as he saw how the USB was gone Cassie decided to appear behind him popping that Bubble Lishious gum in her mouth. Piecing things together and seeing that she had taken the USB, Steve quickly grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her into a nearby empty room. Cassie's back smacked hard against the wall as Steve stood in front of her blocking her path.
"Where is it?" Steve quickly asked as he removed the hood of his jacket from his head.
"Safe." Cassie simply responded not bothered by Steve's attitude.
"Do better." Steve quickly added as Cassie rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Where did you get it?" She quickly asked as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Why would I tell you?" He quickly asked, getting Cassie to shrug herself from his grip and slightly push him off of her.
"I don't know, simply because of the fact that the man I saw as a father was murdered in your hands. I guess you at least owe me that explanation." Cassie said as she glared at Steve.
Seeing as how Steve remained silent and didn't even bother looking back at her she got her answer.
"He gave it to you. Why?" Cassie quickly asked, referring to Fury.
"What's on it?" Steve asked her as he placed his grip back on her and she was once against the wall once again.
"I don't know, does it look like I loaded it up." She quickly said getting Steve to grow frustrated.
"Yeah but I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?" He quickly questioned getting Cassie to roll her eyes.
"Look, I know who killed Fury." Cassie quickly blurted out as she was growing frustrated with this conversation.
Steve looked between Cassie's eyes and he knew she was saying the truth. So he backed down yet he kept a close proximity with Cassie.
"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years. I read that in the files located at S.H.I.E.L.D. while I was looking for things about my past." Cassie said as she looked between Steve's eyes.
"So he's a ghost story." Steve quickly retorted, getting Cassie to roll her eyes.
"Five years ago when I was freshly out the chamber Fury sent me with Nat on my first mission. We were escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran. Somebody shot out our tires near Odessa." Cassie said not taking her eyes off of Steve as she replayed the memory.
"We lost control and went straight over a cliff. Natasha pulled us out. But the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering the engineer as Nat tried to fight him off so he shot him straight through me." Cassie said as she lifted her shirt up slightly and revealed the scar on her hip.
"Soviet slug. No rifling. Bye-bye, bikinis." She added as Steve glanced down at the scar and she held a smirk on her face.
"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now." He simply said, trying to divert the conversation.
"Please, if you want to see me in one all you have to do is ask." She added as she lowered her shirt. "Look, all I have to say is going after him is a dead end. Nat has tried and nothing." Cassie said as Steve backed up off her.
"Like you said, he's a ghost story." She added as she brought the USB drive into Steve's sight.
Steve didn't bother taking his eyes off the brunette standing in front of him. He softly took it out of her hand and nodded.
"Well, let's find out what the ghost wants."