Chapter Fifteen;
Delaney drove like the devil.
She had no idea where she was, or if her friends were okay. Thinking of the other three made her stomach churn in knots; every time one of their names crossed her head, she increased her speed just a little bit more.
Were they dead? Alive? She had no way of knowing and that, more than anything, terrified her. What was H.Y.D.R.A. going to do to them? Was she already too late?
No. She wouldn't let herself think like that. As far as she knew they were alive, and she would cling to that faith. If that was taken away then there was nothing left to fight for.
Delaney stopped only once to get directions back to Washington, and after that she was a speed demon. Delaney didn't care if she got pulled over by the police; a few sweet words, and she'd be on her way. The situation at hand was more dire than if she lied to the cops – who would probably recognise her anyway.
Once she reached DC, Delaney stopped at a nearby store, desperate for any sort of news. A newspaper article, a magazine feature, comments in passing – anything. She had no idea where to start, and this was the best place to begin.
Fortunately for her, a television was playing in the corner – and the news was on. Delaney froze, instantly recognising what was on the screen.
The Triskonian. In chaos. Allegations that Steve was there, that they were fighting an enemy from within.
They're alive.
The relief was so overwhelming that Delaney forgot how to function and, if she hadn't grasped a nearby stand, she'd have sunk to the ground. No matter how often she had continued to tell herself that Steve, Natasha, and Sam were okay, there had always been a sliver a doubt. To have that cleared from her mind was like lifting the weight of the world from her shoulders.
Delaney allowed herself a few extra seconds to recover before she was on her feet again, with one thought in mind: reach S.H.I.E.L.D.. Her friends were alive, but they needed all the help they could get.
And there was something she needed to do as well.
Delaney swiped a flash drive from the shelf and hastily paid for it. She was suddenly incredibly grateful for the spare change Nicola and Richard had left in the car. Pocketing the device, Delaney sprinted back to her car and threw herself into it. Her tyres screeched as she started the car and drove toward S.H.I.E.L.D, as though the devil was on her tail.
Agents were pouring out of the building when Delaney arrived. She clambered out of the car, fumbling with the handle in her haste. As she stood she strapped her knife belt to her waist and ensured her drive was still in her pocket before she dived into the fray.
Remembering Sitwell's warning about the use of Helicarriers, Delaney sprinted outside and gasped to see that the Helicarriers were already beginning to rise into the air.
And then her attention was caught by a figure in blue, jumping down from the platform to one of the rising Helicarriers.
Steve Rogers.
Her heart soared at the more than welcome sight. "Steve!" She yelled with all her might but knew that it was unlikely he would hear her; indeed, he didn't turn around. Delaney pumped her arms and willed herself to run faster, faster, to almost fly over the ground. Her lungs burned for air – she had never run quite this fast before. Steve, I'm coming!
She bellowed the words in her mind, but somehow they had more volume than her voice as they were able to reach Steve. She saw his head divert from battle toward her (or, at least, the direction she was coming from) before returning to battle. Delaney didn't allow herself to dwell on this.
The edge of the platform continued to draw nearer. Numerous lessons from her days at S.H.I.E.L.D. flooded her memory and her body tensed, as though recalling exactly what needed to be done. Delaney increased her pace for the final few metres before she leapt off the platform, her body momentarily soaring through the air before she began to plummet to the ground. Before she reached the ground she twisted so she rolled over the floor, lessening the impact of the fall. It was still enough to make Delaney wince, but not enough to stop her; getting back to her feet again almost instantly, Delaney dashed toward Steve.
She saw him, just ahead, bashing a H.Y.D.R.A. agent. He grabbed a grenade from the agent and threw it at a group of incoming agents, who all fell back with a scream as the grenade exploded in a fury of flames.
"You could try and leave some for me," Delaney commented dryly, "Otherwise I might as well have not turned up, for you not needing me."
Steve turned and, eyes wide, their eyes locked. His face broke out into a wide smile. "Lane."
Delaney ran forward and pulled her friend into a suffocating hug. She gasped, clinging to him, feeling the warmth radiating from his skin as he tightened his own grip on her. This, more than anything, assured her that he was okay.
"Steve," she gasped. "Oh my goodness."
Words had failed her.
She wanted to hold on to him forever, but she could hear gunfire rip through the air and knew that it was going to have to be postponed for another time. She broke away and to stop herself reaching out again, she grabbed her knives and equipped on to either hand.
Taking her lead, Steve followed her as they ran back toward the fray.
"Are you okay? Natasha saw you get away but we had no idea -"
"I ran into trouble, but I'm fine now. Beside, I'm the one who should be asking you that!" Delaney closed the space between them. "You're the ones that were captured! How on earth did you escape?"
Just as she spoke, several H.Y.D.R.A. agents approached. Delaney jumped at once for cover as they opened fire. Steve was in front of her at once, shield raised, protecting them both from the bullets. Delaney felt her mind slip back into its needed state before she spun around, freezing an agent in his tracks, whom Steve knocked to the ground with his shield. They worked in that fashion to dispatch the remaining two agents.
"Never mind – tell me later," she gasped as they broke out into a run once again. "What are we doing, Cap?"
Steve's words were slightly muddled as he spoke, in his hurry to explain everything to her.
"These Helicarriers need to be stopped. We're replacing their targeting with our own devices. Assume everyone's H.Y.D.R.A.. And stay close – you don't have a communicator."
"Captain, it's going to take more than this to keep me away." Delaney winked as they spotted several more H.Y.D.R.A. agents ahead, as they neared the centre of the Helicarrier. "Let's give them hell."
And hell they gave. Delaney slipped back into her S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter stance and time might not have passed since New York, for she and Steve worked together flawlessly. They charged into the fray, Steve slightly in front and deflecting the bullets headed their way. With a yell Delaney was upon the other agents; she dodged a punch of the first and spun around, slicing her knife across his throat. She felt the presence of the second agent incoming and spun around, letting her knife fly. The sharp edge buried itself in the agent's chest and he went down with a cry.
Delaney spun around and saw Steve dealing with the three remaining agents. He had two under control so she ran toward the third. With a powerful legs she kicked his legs out from beneath him and he fell to the ground, and with a downward stroke of her knife he was gone. Delaney straightened and caught Steve's eye. They both nodded at each other and hurried inside.
Delaney had no idea what to do next, but Steve did: approaching the centre device, he took one card out and replaced it with one of his own. "Alpha locked."
They hurried outside again and Delaney faltered, a sudden thought occurring to her: how on earth were they going to get off the Helicarrier when it was several thousand feet in the air by now? But Steve seemed unfazed so she followed him, even as they continued to approach the edge without any sign of stopping.
"Hey Sam, Lane and I are going to need a ride," Steve spoke into his earpiece.
The edge was still rapidly approaching. Delaney's rapid heartbeat had nothing to do with exertion and the adrenaline of battle.
"Lane, jump!" Steve bellowed. Delaney was half pressed to scream at him but they were too close to the edge: with no choice she hurtled into the sky, just as she heard the deafening sound of explosions behind them.
For a moment all Delaney was aware of was the ground below rushing rapidly toward her and the fact she had no way to brace her fall before Sam swooped in and grabbed them both. Delaney screamed as they continued to drop, though slower. Sam strained to climb into the air but Delaney could tell: he wouldn't be able to do it, not while he was holding them both. Together they had too much weight for one person to carry.
"Sam, let go of me!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "You can't carry us both and, without knowing what's going on, I'm more of a hindrance than help!"
Sam nodded. "Get ready!"
He let them drop slightly to a safe distance from the ground before he let go. Delaney fell the short remaining distance and rolled on the ground, uninjured. She scrambled once more to her feet and looked up, watching Steve and Sam fly up toward the final Helicarrier.
They'll be alright. They've both faced worse.
After lingering for a moment longer, Delaney spun on her heel and sprinted toward S.H.I.E.L.D..
There was still something she needed to do.
+++
The panic inside S.H.I.E.L.D. made it easy for Delaney to run through virtually undetected. She was a mess, she was running just like the other agents, which allowed her to blend in. Her attire caused some heads to turn but most others were so focused on getting themselves out alive that they didn't notice Delaney race past them.
Delaney hurtled through the corridors and skidded into the computer facility. She grabbed the nearest computer and, her heart racing, hastily typed in the various needed codes.
Her parents were still out there. Delaney knew that she'd never find any information on them using the usual computer searches. Google, for once, would be useless. She needed S.H.I.E.L.D. intel. They'd found her parents before. They had been hunting for them. There had to be some sort of lead that Delaney could use to piece together the small clues she'd received from interrogating Nicola.
No more running. Delaney gritted her teeth as her search entered the drive, and numerous files instantly became available. Delaney scanned all of the information, hopeful. There was more information here than she thought there would be. Information she could use to bring the fight to her parents.
Running, Delaney realised, was never going to achieve anything. If she wanted to live freely, she needed to take out the people who were after her.
And she was going to find them, no matter how long it took.
Delaney plugged in her flashdrive and transferred all relevant files on to the disk. She then yanked it out and stuffed it in her jacket pocket, zipping it shut. She checked numerous times that there was no chance it was going to fall out as dashed back out of the building. Despite the damage and chaos around them, Delaney never felt more confident.
For once, she had a plan. She knew what she was doing.
And never again was she going to be afraid.