After a few hours, Fury contacted the Rogers girl about the data that she and Natasha had retrieved from the Lemurian Star. They were in his SUV on the Washington's streets.
"Nick, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"The situation is getting more and more complicated and I don't like it."
"I feel your worry, and I take it that's not good, right?"
"You're right."
Suddenly Nova's eyes were lost in the void and she ended up in a state of trans, she saw before her eyes images, flowing very quickly. Probably of some event that would happen in the future and they were so fast that she couldn't decipher what they were showing her.
But why were they showing themselves to her right now? And what was going to happen?
She was like that for a few minutes and it didn't go unnoticed by the Director of the SHIELD.
He looked in her direction, "Rogers? Are you okay?"
No answer.
"Nova?!"
Still silence.
He touched her shoulder, causing her to wince and she came out of the state of trans.
"Nova, what happened to you? You've been staring at the void for a few minutes."
"I wasn't staring at the void, I saw images in front of me... they were so fast..." she paused for a moment, "...I couldn't decipher what they were showing me... I know for sure that something's gonna happen..."
"Great!" he replied, passing a hand over his face.
The SUV stopped at a red traffic light, he looked over to the next car and saw the two police officers in the car looked at him with suspicion.
"Want to see my lease?"
"I don't like it..." she added.
The policemen quickly sounded their police horn once before they started to drive off, as Fury went to drive off, suddenly another police car smashed into his SUV, then several other police cars surrounded them and then crashed into them; inside Fury and Nova were injured.
"Fuck!" Nova cursed.
"Fractures detected. Recommend anaesthetic injections."
As Fury was giving himself and Nova the injections a SWAT team truck pulled up.
"D.C. Metro Police dispatch showed no units in this area."
The car was surrounded by the police and SWAT team, he quickly realized they were all disguised mercenaries.
"Get us out of here!" Fury said to his car computer.
The mercenaries suddenly started shooting at the car.
"Propulsion systems offline."
"Then reboot, dammit!"
The armour on Fury's vehicle started to become weaker, the mercenaries brought out a battering ram to break in.
"Warning! Window integrity compromised."
"You think? How long to propulsion?"
"Calculating."
The mercenaries started to use the battering ram on Fury's car window.
"Motherf-" Nova took her gun from her holster and pointed it at the window.
"Window Integrity thirty-one percent. Deploying countermeasures."
"Hold that order!"
The battering ram was smashed against the car window again.
"Window Integrity nineteen percent. Offensive measures advised."
"Wait!"
The battering ram was smashed against the window again.
"Window Integrity one percent."
"Now!"
Suddenly a minigun pulled up from inside the car and Fury used it to return fire on the mercenaries causing the SWAT truck and some of the police cars to explode.
Nova fired at the vehicles oh her side, killing some mercenaries and piercing the wheels of their vehicles.
"Propulsion systems now online."
"Full acceleration, now!"
As they continued to fire at the mercenaries Fury's car automatically backed up and drove off.
"Initiate vertical take off!"
"Flight systems damaged."
"Then activate guidance cameras! Give me the wheel!"
Fury took over driving his car as the mercenaries chased after them in their police cars.
"Get me Agent Hill."
"Communications array damaged."
"Well, what's not damaged?"
"Air conditioning is fully operational."
"Very helpful!" Nova yelled.
The police cars continued to chase after them as he weaved through the cars on the road. Nova kept shooting at them.
"Traffic ahead."
"Give me an alternate route."
"Traffic alert on Roosevelt Bridge. All vehicles stopped. 17th Avenue clear in three blocks, directly ahead."
As Fury headed into the traffic, he smashed into some cars causing a pile up which stopped the police cars, the mercenaries got out and started shooting at Fury's car.
Nova leaned out of the window and threw fireballs, killing others of them, but the remaining mercenaries continued to chase after them and managed to sandwich Fury's vehicle between them.
"Warning, approaching intersection."
As they approached the intersection Fury managed to shake off the two police cars, killing off the mercenaries.
"GET ME. OFF. THE GRID."
"Calculating route to secure location."
Suddenly they saw a mysterious figure emerged ahead in the middle of the road.
"Oh no... it's him." Nova whispered, shocked.
He suddenly shot a bomb that attached itself to Fury's vehicle causing it to explode and flipped over.
Trapped inside the car, Fury and Nova watched as the figure walked over to the car but they managed to escape just in time by using a laser weapon to burn a hole out.
⍟ⴵ
As Steve was walking to his apartment, he heard his neighbour talking on the phone as she went to do her laundry.
"That's so sweet. That is so nice. Hey. I gotta go, though. Okay, bye." turning to Steve, "My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac."
"Hey, if you want... if you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement."
"Oh, yeah? What's it cost?"
"A cup of coffee?"
"Thank you, but um... I already have a load in downstairs, and, uh... you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I'm just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so."
"Ah, well, I'll keep my distance."
"Well hopefully not too far."
Steve nodded and turned to go into his apartment.
"Oh, and I think you left your stereo on."
"Oh. Right, thank you."
"Yeah."
Steve watched her go down the stairs before turning in suspicion to his door. He heard music as he cautiously entered his apartment though the window, he grabbed his shield for protection and found Fury sitting on his couch in the dark and Nova sitting on the floor.
"I don't remember giving you a key."
"I let him in." Nova added.
"My wife kicked me out."
"Didn't know you were married."
"A lot of things you don't about me."
"I know, Nick. That's the problem."
As Steve turned on the light, he noticed Fury's and Nova's injuries for the first time, but Fury indicated for him to be silent, he turned off the light and wrote something on his phone and showed it to Steve: "Ears everywhere."
"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash." Fury added.
He wrote another text and showed it to Steve; "SHIELD compromised."
"Who else knows about your wife?"
Fury showed him another text; "Three of us."
"Just... my friends."
"Is that what we are?"
"That's up to you."
Suddenly Fury was shot three times from through the wall and collapsed, Steve and Nova looked out the window for the shooter, then, they quickly dragged him to the next room. Before Steve could go after the shooter, Fury handed him the flash drive.
"Don't... trust anyone."
Fury passed out.
"No, Nick!" Nova exclaimed.
They heard someone breaking into the apartment as Nova took her gun, pointing it and they heard their neighbour calling out, "Captain Rogers?"
Steve saw her walking in with her gun pointed as Nova lowered hers.
"Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service."
"Kate?"
"I'm assigned to protect you."
"On whose order?"
She noticed Fury lying injured on the ground, "His." She went to Fury then contacted SHIELD through her radio, "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs."
"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?"
Steve noticed the shooter though the window, "Tell him I'm in pursuit."
Steve smashed through his window and ran after the assassin, who was the same mysterious man that had exploded Fury's car.
Steve chased him through an office building smashing through the walls, when he finally caught up with him on the roof, he threw his shield at the assassin, but he caught it with one swift move, then threw it back to Steve and then jumped down the building and disappeared.
⍟ⴵ
Natasha went to the hospital and met up with Steve and Nova Sadie, they watched doctors operating on Fury.
"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked.
"I don't know." Steve replied.
"Tell me about the shooter."
"He's fast and strong. Had a metal arm."
Just then Agent Maria Hill also joined them.
"Ballistics?" Natasha asked.
"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable."
"Soviet-made."
"Yeah."
Suddenly they watched in shock as Fury's state deteriorated.
"He's in V-tach." the doctor said.
"Crash cart coming in." the nurse added.
"Nurse, help me with the drape."
"BP is dropping."
"Defibrillator!"
Steve, Natasha, Nova and Hill watched in shock as Fury was flatlining.
"I want you to charge him at one hundred."
"Don't do this to me, Nick." Natasha whispered.
"Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!"
Fury was given a shock with the defibrillator.
"Pulse?" the doctor said.
"No pulse."
"Okay. 200, please. Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!"
Fury was given another shock.
"Give me epinephrine! Pulse?"
"Negative."
"Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me." Natasha whispered.
The four watched the doctors as they continued to revive Fury but he was still showing as flatlining. Nova turned, covering the sobs with her hand as Steve turned, taking his daughter in his arms to console her.
The doctor finally called his time of death.
"What's the time?"
"1:03, Doctor."
"Time of death, 1:03 a.m."
As Steve was holding in his arms his crying daughter, looked down at the flash drive Fury had given him.
Natasha, Nova and Steve were in a room where Fury's dead body had been laid out, Natasha was looking at his body with tears running down her face, Hill joined them.
"I need to take him." Hill said.
Steve went over to Natasha, "Natasha."
She didn't respond, instead she tenderly touched Fury's head then turned and walked out, Steve and Nova followed her.
"Natasha!"
"Why was Fury in your apartment?" Natasha asked.
"I don't know." Steve replied.
"I let him in, we needed-" Nova tried to say but suddenly was interrupted by Rumlow who was walking towards them.
"Cap, they want you back at SHIELD."
"Yeah, give me a second." Steve replied.
"They want you now."
"Okay."
Steve turned to Natasha but she already walked off.
"STRIKE team, escort Captain Rogers back to SHIELD immediately for questioning."
"I told him."
"Hide it." Steve whispered to his daughter, giving her the flash drive, without been seen. She nodded as she watched her father go to Rumlow.
"Let's go." Steve said to Rumlow.
"Yeah. STRIKE, move it out."
As they left, Nova Sadie looked around and hid the flash drive behind a pack of gums in the vending machine.
⍟ⴵ
After a while Steve left Pierce's office and Nova Sadie reached him.
"Dad, how did it go?" she asked.
"Tell you later."
"I hid it, like you said." she whispered as he nodded.
They stepped into the elevator.
"Operations control." Steve said.
"Confirmed."
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Rumlow stepped in with two STRIKE agents.
"Keep all STRIKE personnel on site." Rumlow said.
"Understood."
"Yes, sir."
"Forensics." Rumlow added.
"Confirmed."
"Cap, Mage."
"Rumlow."
The elevator doors closed and they started riding down.
"Evidence Response found some fibres on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?" Rumlow asked.
"No, let's wait and see what it is first." Steve replied.
"Right."
Steve noticed one of the agents touching his weapon suspiciously.
The elevator stopped and more SHIELD and STRIKE agents entered.
"What's the status so far?"
"Administrations level."
"Confirmed."
"Excuse me."
"I'm sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him." Rumlow said.
"Thank you." Steve replied.
Feeling something was off, Steve and Nova looked at the agents in the elevator and noticed one of them was sweating, then the elevator stopped and more agents entered.
"Records."
"Confirmed."
As the elevator doors closed Steve and Nova realized they were surrounded by agents.
They looked at each other and she nodded.
"Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?" Steve said.
There was a moment's pause.
"Nobody? Better, we'll have more fun." Nova added.
Suddenly one of the agents turned and used an electric rod to give Steve a shock, the others grabbed him and tried to strap his wrists with magnetic cuffs.
Some of them tried to hold still Nova but she knocked them out with a series of kicks and punches.
Steve managed to knock some of them down but one cuff remained, then Rumlow used his electric rod to give Steve a shock.
Rogers managed free himself from the magnetic cuff and the duo knocked the remaining agents down and then they turned to Rumlow.
"I don't hit girls."
"What a gentleman. He's all yours, Dad." Nova said, moving to the side.
"I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal."
Rumlow then went to attack Steve with his electric rod but Steve managed to defend himself and knocked him out.
"It kind of feels personal."
"Too bad he's one of the bad guys... he was cute." Nova added.
"Don't even think about it."
"Okaaay..."
Steve picked up his shield then opened the elevator doors, but they were faced by a team of STRIKE agents pointing their weapons at them.
"Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!"
Steve used his shield to break off the elevator wires which sent the elevator down.
As he forced the doors open, they saw more STRIKE agents approaching them, he closed the door and they looked for a way out.
"Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!"
"You're thinking what I'm thinking." Nova said.
Steve broke through the glass in the elevator and they plummeted down, Steve hit the ground floor while Nova landed gracefully.
"You okay, Dad?" she said as she helped him up.
"Yeah... let's go."
They started running off.
Steve and Nova rode out of the SHIELD garage on his motorcycle, evading the obstacles laid out but then a Quinjet emerged ahead of them.
"Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down."
The Quinjet lowered its machine gun.
"Repeat, stand down."
As they didn't stop, they started shooting at them. Steve threw his shield into the propellers to jam it, giving them an opportunity to hop onto it.
Nova hit the other propellers with fireballs, then they jumped off as the jet went crashing down and they escaped.