𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎. | ❛ Menaces. ❜
THE DUO ENTERED THE SHIELD FACILITY, with Steve and Jamie's shield and swords illuminating from the lights above them as they walked forward in sync, all glory and heroic with their notable attires. Before they were asked to come, Jamie got a call from Anna, who with full uncertainty explained that Fury's death was most likely to be involved and that she was also asked to join the meeting.
As they reached the large hall of SHIELD, the pair noticed Alexander Pierce who busied himself with Agent 13, also known as Sharon Carter. The hushed tone and whispering made the former soldier frown, not liking where it was leading. Nonetheless, she held her head high, politely greeting a few agents along their way before they neared them.
Sharon nodded one last time, turning her heel to leave and ending up seeing the duo walking towards her. She gave Steve a curt nod, averting her eyes away from his hard stare towards Jamie who gave her a warm smile, kindly nodding in greeting. "Captain Rogers."
"Neighbor." He greeted, his eyes staring straight ahead with a blank expression.
"Agent Barzinji." Sharon gave her a smile, which was returned with the same energy.
Pierce stood at the doorway, his narrowed eyes gazing down at the pair as they neared the prominent agent. He gripped on his coffee mug tightly before bringing his hand out, "Oh, Captain, Barzinji. I'm Alexander Pierce." he introduced himself, shaking his hand with Steve first before turning to the female with a look she couldn't quite grasp yet, all she knew was that she didn't like her gut feeling.
"Sir, it's an honor," Steve said, making Jamie nod her head respectfully. She glanced at her side, noticing Anna speed walking towards them and she stifled a laugh. The sorceress kept fumbling with the hem of her jacket, mumbling incoherent words. Typical Anna.
Pierce's smile widened, taking in Anna Miller's presence. "Ah, Miss Miller, I wondered when you were gonna show up," he said, making Anna's cheeks paint a crimson red. She let out a flustered giggle, standing next to her longtime friend.
"I apologize, sir. It's very nice to meet you. It's an honor." she said in a polite manner, giving him a soft smile before quickly turning her head to Steve, giving him a small wave in which he returned with a smile.
"The honor is mine. My father served in the 101st. Come on in." Pierced answered, gesturing with his hand as the trio entered his office. Anna quickly trailed behind them, walking beside Jamie and squeezing her arm. She gave her a sweet smile before turning her attention to Pierce who showed an old photo of Fury with him.
"That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at State Department in Bogota." The agent started on his story while he roamed over his files. "ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan." He continued the story by talking about how Fury saved millions of police officers, including his daughter.
Anna hummed in deep thought, resting her fingers on her lips, "So, you gave him a promotion?"
"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce answered as he briefly glanced at the sorceress and turned his gaze on Steve.
Steve's stoic expression mirrored his, "I don't know." he lied, looking down with a clenched jaw.
Pierced leaned forward, making Jamie and Anna share a look. "You know it was bugged?"
"I did because Nick told me." Steve simply answered, his head cocked to the side.
"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce challenged, making Steve pause, not knowing this information. Jamie scratched her cheek, her knitted eyebrows matching with her friend as they quietly watched the two.
"I want you to see something," Pierce added, bringing up footage of Batroc being interrogated. Jamie frowned, inching closer as her leg brushed against Steve's. His stomach fluttered, but that feeling quickly vanished, his focus on the footage dominating his attention instead.
"Is that live?" Jamie voiced her thought out loud, making Pierce nod his head.
"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers."
"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line." Steve asked, his frown deepening.
Pierce shook his head. "No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech."
Anna shifted in her seat, her brows drawing together as she watched the three of them. "I'm sorry to interrupt, sir. But, what does this has to do with me and Agent Barzinji?" she interjected, her eyes going back and forth between him and Steve. She knew damn well why she and Jamie were called on, but the more she thought about the situation the more confusion it occurred since no one has left out any details. By the looks of it, Jamie shared the same skepticism.
Pierce's eyes lit up, his attention on the girls. "And that's where I'm heading to, Miss Miller. Tell me, Barzinji. You've been with SHIELD for decades and known Fury longer than I have. Do you have any involvement with Fury's death and his confidential matters?"
Jamie glanced at Anna before looking at Pierce, who looked at her with much intensity and wary eyes. A shiver formed down her spine. She shook her head with a shrug, "No, sir. I'm just as confused you. Nick's death took an unexpected turn for all of us. I have no involvement with this case and neither does Rogers." she explained, her stoic face matching his.
Pierce was unsatisfied with her answer. He narrowed his eyes, inching closer towards the table so that his body was fully facing Jamie. Steve watched with cautious eyes, his eyes rigid and cold. He brought out his shield in front of him, which went unnoticed by the agent. Jamie didn't break their eye contact and looked at him with a sharp look, her stolid expression almost making him break.
Pierce let out a chuckle, shaking his head rather disapprovingly, not expecting her answer. Anna had her arms crossed in front of her chest as she curiously watched him, sensing a suspicious behavior but didn't voice it. Instead, the sorceress cleared her throat and gestured with a hand, "With all due respect, sir. We have no participation nor do we share any involvement with a number of classified matters due to our level of clearance. I understand your devastation of Nick Fury's death and your acknowledgment of our work from generations, but we are just as confused as you are." Anna explained with a half-truth and a half-life. The girls had a fair amount of clearance, but Fury's death, however, was something they were not entangled with.
The agent looked at Anna, a smile forming his face. He nodded, seeming to be pleased with her explanation, but Jamie could tell he was still wary which made her roll her eyes mentally.
Pierce hummed, handing a file to Steve, "Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37."
Steve quickly scanned the words, his eyes searching for any forms of valuable information. He looked up, his scowl deepening. "Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?"
"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."
Jamie lightly scoffed, "If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true."
Pierce leered, his eyes moving from Jamie to Steve, "Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists." He conceded, standing up from the couch as he neared the window. "We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better."
"And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry." He finished. The trio stood up, their posture firm and professional. Pierces hesitated for a moment before he said, "Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"
"He told me not to trust anyone," Steve replied.
"I wonder if that included him." Steve paused for a moment, his expression turning vacant. "I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us." He concluded, picking up his shield and making his way out of the office with the girls hot on his heel.
"Captain." Steve halted in his steps, turning his head to look at the agent. "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone." Pierce said his last words, his eyes lingering longer on the former soldier, who nodded curtly before exiting the room.
"Understood."
"Well, that was something," Anna mumbled, letting out a sigh as they walked down the halls.
Jamie nodded her head, "Tell me about it. With Pierce on our asses, things are getting too tight." she worried, walking towards the elevator. Steve stood next to her as they reached the end of the hall with the lift in front of them. He turned his head and saw Anna standing a few feet away, making him raise an eyebrow, "You're not coming?"
Anna gave him a smile, "No, I got unfinished business with Elijah. But we'll be in touch. Give me a call as soon you figure things out." she told them, earning a nod from Steve along with Jamie who gave her a salute.
Being the gentleman that he is, the ex-soldier stepped inside the elevator first whilst she mumbled a quick thank you emitted from her lips. Her eyes took in the ray of sunlight illuminating through the glass pane and she had to squint her eyes. She let out a sigh, turning her body so that her back was facing the window.
Steve sauntered inside the lift and walked towards the window, his hands tightly gripped on the metal railing as his body slightly hunched. "Operations control," he said, his eyes darting over the pile of people meandering beneath him.
"Confirmed." Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Rumlow brought his hand out and walked in with two STRIKE agents trailing behind him. "Keep all STRIKE personnel on site," he told the agents, his eyes taking in the duo making him almost halt in his steps.
Jamie took a step back as the agents neared her, causing her to frown but her expression quickly turned emotionless once she locked eyes with Rumlow, whose eyes were painted with a tint of guilt of what happened at the hospital earlier. She nodded her head in greeting, her stoic face making the two agents almost squirm with fear. "Rumlow."
Rumlow greeted back with the same gesture before he moved his gaze towards Steve, "Cap." he acknowledged, earning another greeting from Steve as the elevator doors closed.
"Evidence Response found some fibres on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?" The head-agent asked the pair with a questionable look, his eyes lingering on Steve.
"No, let's wait and see what it is first," Steve answered.
"Right."
Jamie clenched her jaw as her eyes studied the three agents. She noticed one of them touching his weapon, causing her to knit her eyebrows with narrowed eyes. She looked back at Steve finding him already looking at her, meaning that he also saw it. The elevator stopped, snapping her out of her thoughts as she felt the lift being surrounded by more agents.
"Excuse me, ma'am." An agent politely greeted, making her nod her head before she made room for space, ending up standing next to Steve. She eyed the remainders once again, but this time with curious eyes as her mind wandered back to the suspicious hands on their weapons. She mindlessly brought her hand to her left shoulder, finding her holster and strapping her swords tightly as she looked straight ahead.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him." Rumlow condolences to both of them. His back was facing them, and Jamie wondered if he could feel her glaring daggers at him.
"Thank you," Steve said. A wary feeling settled into his stomach causing him to look at the agents, his eyes stopping at one particular who was sweating profusely. The elevator stopped, causing the Heroine to stumble back and she grabbed onto Steve's bicep for support. His hand found her waist, pulling her back on her feet and she quickly dropped her hand whilst she ignored the warm feeling in her stomach.
Their short moment was interrupted by more agents entering the lift, causing them to shift spots, with them being a few feet away from each other. Jamie could feel her skin slowly breaking into black capillaries, her body sensing the chary atmosphere around her. It crept upon her face, placing itself in her eyes creating a demonic face before it quickly vanished out of prying eyes.
Jamie and Steve locked eyes once again, a knowing look etched onto their features before they looked straight ahead, their weapons respectfully placed in their straps, ready to fire. "Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?" Steve broke the ice, his eyes hardening.
There was a moment of pause before one of the agents turned and used an electric rod, giving Jamie a shock. A jolt of pain engulfed inside her body, making her let out a cry of agony. Steve grabbed the agent and threw a hard punch, causing the others to grab him and try to strap his wrist with magnetic cuffs. Steve managed to knock some of them down, but one cuff remained and Rumlow used the opportunity to use his rod to give him a shock.
Jamie's eyes turn dark, the capillaries brimming under her eyes. She let out a grunt of protest at them pushing her against the glass beam. She grabbed her sword and ducked down, stabbing one of them in the leg and repeating the same by skillfully maneuvering her body towards them. One of them grabbed her by the hair, making her hiss in pain and she elbowed them before she used her other sword to stab them in the arm.
Rumlow groaned in pain, quickly on his feet ready to fire another bolt of shock. Jamie whirled her head to see Steve's hand hatched on the wall with the magnetic cuff as he struggled to break free, unaware of Rumlow bringing his rod in the air since he was too busy fighting the others. She beat him to it and threw a punch at Rumlow's leg, along with a kick to his arm which made the stick fall out of his grasp.
Another agent punched her on the square jaw, making her turn her head to them, watching how their face fell. He stumbled upon his words as his eyes widened at the sight of her demonic face. She scoffed, the stinging sensation irking her skin whilst she looked him dead in the eye. He put both of his hands in surrender, but Jamie shook her head before she knocked him down.
"Woah, big guy. I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal." Rumlow told Steve before he went to attack him with the electric rod, but Steve managed to defend himself and knocked him out. "It kind of feels personal." He panted, his eyes gazed down on his lifeless body.
Another jolt of pain reached her side, causing her to whirl her body around to be face to face with another agent. He let out a smirk, "What you got for me, sweetheart?" He said, his voice making her roll her eyes.
Before the agent could register the sound of breaking glass, Jamie dashed towards him and threw him harshly into the glass window, killing him instantly. She puffed, her quick breaths echoing the space. "I just threw you into the glass, how 'bout that, asshole?" she said, her eyes turning back to her original color.
"You alright, Jamie?" Steve asked, his eyes trailing on her hunched form. His eyes moved up, astonishment as he watched how the pitch-black arteries slowly vanished and return to her delicate features.
Jamie let out a tired sigh before she nodded her head, "Dandy," she replied, the shortness of her breath still remaining. She groaned as she fixed her posture. God, you are truly out of shape. She thought, feeling the centuries of affliction resting on her shoulders.
Steve nodded, his eyes still on the ex-soldier before he picked up his shield and released the cuff on his right hand. He neared the front, opening the door. The pair were faced by the STRIKE agents pointing their weapons at them. Jamie inched closer to the door, ready to fire a burst of energy with her swords but Steve lowered her sword, "No."
Jamie frowned. Before she could voice out her confusion, he pulled her body close to hers and used his shield to break off the elevator wires. She gripped onto the railing, feeling gravity hitching underneath her feet. The elevator stopped and Steve forced the doors to open, seeing more agents approaching them. He quickly closed the door, his eyes frantically looking for a way out.
"Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You guys have nowhere to go!" Steve neared the glass of pine, his eyes scanning the area beneath him before he looked back at Jamie. She furrowed her eyebrows, her head tilted to the side. Realization rushed through her and her glare hardened, finding his idea outrageous.
"Do you have other options?" Steve read her face, his pleading tone making her sigh. She inched closer to the railing, her eyes staring down the building with a cautious look.
"You trust me, right?" Steve asked, hope laced into his tone as he looked at her with a tip-lipped smile. The loud banging from the elevator door is what pulled her out of her daze and she nodded her head, "Of course." she answered in all honesty, earning a quick grin from the soldier.
Jamie pulled out her sword and broke through the glass in the elevator. Steve grabbed her waist, placing the shield in front of them as they plummeted down. She hugged his waist and hid her face into his chest. The duo finally hit the ground floor, their bodies colliding with one and another as they were sprawled onto the hard floor. She let out a groan, feeling her left arm numb from the fall.
She quickly stood up, Steve hot in her heel before dashing towards his motorcycle placed at the back of the building. Jamie took a seat behind him, her arms tightly clasped on his stomach as they rode out of the garage. Obstacles were laid out, but then a Quinjet emerged ahead of them.
"Stand down, Captain Rogers. Agent Barzinji, stand down." The Quinjet lowered its machine gun, but Steve doesn't let that get to him and he increased his speed. Jamie shifted her body to a standing position and threw her sword into the propellers to jam it. This gave her the perfect opportunity to hop onto it and do more damage with her swords before jumping off. The jet crashed down and Jamie escaped by gracefully landing back on Steve's motorbike.
"Your skills never fail to amaze me." Steve blurted out, his eyes fixed on the front. He was glad that she couldn't see his slightly crimson cheeks, and he cursed internally at the unexpected comment, but he couldn't help it. It was the Heroine. He reminisced his old days where women and some men, including himself, admired her bravery and modesty as a warrior. Canards and stories roamed around the streets of Brooklyn and later into science labs, either bad-mouthing or condemning her nature.
Steve remembered watching a poster of her hanging on one of the popular diners in town, her fixed heroic posture along with her two swords firmly gripped with both hands, staring at him with daring and valiant eyes. He remembered her words being plastered under the placard, without him knowing that her saying would keep him on his toes.
You were born for the storm. Keep fighting, soldier.
Feeling Jamie sitting down behind him seemed to pull him out of his thoughts. He felt her arms lazily wrapped up around his waist, making a swam of butterflies emit from his stomach but it quickly vanished as it rapidly appeared. He quickly turned his attention on the road in front of him and increased his speed, steering them away from SHIELD.
The wind ruffled Jamie's hair, making her almost shiver at the rush of cold. Jamie stared at the back of his head with a smirk, her face turning into a smug look before she clasped her fingers around his waist. "A centuries of experiences, Cap," she replied almost cockily with a small giggle at the end.
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
Hope you liked this chapter as much as I did! Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions so far. <3
Taglist: FiammataAce18 -lelcnelyislandss csmicvrse -moonblooms moonqlow BLOODOATHS missacqcia -cosmicdvst jianssluvv 1-800-DRUKKARI