Julianne's hand reacted back to touch the sore spot on her neck where the unadjusted helmet had dug into her skin while watching the Avenger ponder over what she had said. Several times within the space of a minute it seemed Firman might say something, but thought the better of her comment. Caris didn't know whether to be grateful for the quiet or if her discomfort with not knowing what was transversed through the darker-haired woman's mind was justified. Yet if you took in the bigger picture, the entire span of the last seven weeks had made the techie live in a perpetual state of stress, special agent's silence or not.
Sienna still was soaking in the truth. For what seemed like eternities she had tried to remember the reason she was on the Lemurian Star after disappearing for five months. The answer that some enemy comms agent, part of the organization that had infected SHIELD, had been the sole reason for her escape was one solution that had never crossed her mind.
She still didn't have the whole story.
"How are you here then?" Firman asked, continuing to keep her tone level, "Why aren't you at the base in Germany?"
"That operation doesn't exist anymore." Julianne admitted, which made the other raise an expectant eyebrow, "Once you didn't show up on the right ship, some higher-ups went absolutely haywire. They figured out it was us who made the mistake. They didn't have time figure out which one of the fifty of us stationed there did it because they were busy trying to find you, so they didn't look too much into the evidence that they found that pointed them towards my boss."
Sienna didn't find herself too surprised when the redhead's eyes lowered to look at her lap. Falsifying evidence to make another take the fall for her actions? She'd seen women even less intimidating than this sleep deprived tech do more nefarious things.
Caris continued after pointing left to signal to turn their vehicle that way, "The whole catastrophe was enough to shut the small base down. My next commission was for the Triskelion because they didn't know where else to put me, I guess. I got stuck with monitoring messages and passing along info."
"And now you're here to tell me all of this?" Firman's brows knit together at the awful timing of her arrival, something not quite adding up, "I was in the hospital here for over a month-"
At that observation, Julianne arrived at the point in the conversation she was most apprehensive about. She closed her eyes, blowing out a breath, "Actually, that's where it gets complicated."
Of course it gets more complicated. In the last ten chapters absolutely everything has gotten complicated, the Avenger thought to herself, very done with this scenario.
She sighed, "Okay, go on."
Julianne pushed out the next flow of words, fearing the impact, "For the last month, I ended up being the one monitoring you from cameras in your hospital room."
Sienna's fingers wrapped tighter around the steering wheel, inhaling sharply before setting her jaw.
"And for the last few weeks, I've been receiving the communications from Agent Bradley on your status and passing them onto my superiors." Caris' words became even more quiet, fearing the reaction that was coming.
Firman's chest suddenly decided to compress while she felt heat crawling up her throat. Bradley. That scumbag nazi who had used Layla and Zerina to get to her, who had lied to them for years. She was in league with him, "And why exactly did you save me only to keep working for the organization intent on conquering the world?"
Julianne's hands tucked back the fallen strands of hair that had escaped from her bun, lips forming around an answer that could hopefully explain her actions, "I didn't want the job. They needed someone to keep tabs on you and they knew I was already aware of your existence. They didn't want to tell anyone else about you, loyal HYDRA agent or not. You were their first breakthrough in decades and they couldn't afford to let that secret get out. They think your special."
"That's a fact I'm getting more aware of everyday, of course not to my convenience." Bitterness flowed easily into the other woman's speech, very conflicted about how she felt about the person beside her, "What do you mean 'breakthrough'? All I can do is heal faster."
Caris pursed her lips, her usual worry being overtaken by trying to get an idea through to her, "Yeah, you can, but there's a reason HYDRA went through the trouble to kidnap and experiment on you. Now, they're doing everything they can to get you back. There's a reason you were put on a different transport than your friends."
"So do you know it?" She pressed again, "This reason why HYDRA wants me back? If you can't answer that, then I'd try telling me why you've been spying on me for the last few weeks."
Julianne pictured that this conversation wouldn't be pleasant, but didn't expect the reinforced hostility she'd been met with. She noted that Sienna was, in this instance, not a very friendly person, "I couldn't- I didn't know what to do. I couldn't do anything in that damn room. If I did anything out of the ordinary, I'd face consequences. I thought getting you out of Europe was enough, I thought you were safer then-"
"Then Fury died." Sienna stated, keeping straight on the road ahead, "Right?"
The redhead swallowed, nodding, "I couldn't do anything. You disappeared with the Captain and Romanoff. That was until Bradley managed to hitch a ride with you guys and the only reason you weren't taken in then was because HYDRA didn't know where your friends were. Bradley was also told to watch you, see if you did something odd involving alien energy."
Besides taking an ICER shot just fine, nothing. Firman's mind now wrapped around why HYDRA had come for them in the safe house was not matching up with her story, considering she never gave Colton a location for Steve and Tasha. Caris answered that unspoken inquiry.
"I told the STRIKE team to move in early because I thought it would confuse Bradley and I was pretty sure you guys could deal with that then figure out about the traitor, which maybe wasn't the best decision. I didn't know that the Winter Soldier would be part of that equation, so sorry about sending that your way."
That added up. Bradley still had to maintain his cover even through the fight because he didn't have the location of the other two rogues figured out yet.
Sienna was still mulling over the information given, not quite deciding on how she felt about the entire situation that had just unfolded. The traffic around them had dispersed as they kept to back roads, briefly passing by a second-rate business district before venturing into a seedier part of the city.
"And now I'm here." Caris' comment came after a lapse in conversation, uneasy with the other woman's silence.
Firman still worked her jaw while her head became preoccupied with going over everything she'd just heard, "And that's all you know?"
The strawberry blonde sighed tiredly, turning her head to completely face the former agent, "That's all I know."
One odd question stuck in her head, something that had come to her admits the chaos of her last battle, "Do you know anything about a glass cage?"
"Coming up to the transfer point." The radio informed them, reminding the two of their destination. Their only chance at saving Rogers, Romanoff, and Wilson was coming up. Either it would be just a normal transfer or HYDRA wouldn't hesitate to kill all three of them, "Prepare for unloading."
The Avenger's gaze went from the confused face of her newfound ally back to the road, "How far away are we from the point?"
Caris sat up straighter and desperately looked for signs that indicated which street they were on, "Umm..uh maybe a few blocks? Take this right."
They hadn't sighted another car in the last few minutes, making the area a perfect place for either an exchange or casual assassination. Sienna added more gas, careening around a corner at a dangerous speed, "How many vehicles will there be?"
Julianne barely hesitated while grabbing onto the door handle, "Three. I'm pretty sure there were just three."
Ram into one of them and incapacitate that particular car, then they'd still have two other tactical teams to deal with. Even in the off chance they managed to wound all of the passengers in the first attack, they'd still be outmatched-
"Prisoners are not in holding, I repeat. The prisoners are not in holding."
Both women's attention snapped right back to the radio, exchanging disbelieving looks before the agent clarified, "They've escaped. We're looking at a hole in the bottom of the cell."
The redhead immediately shook her head as the truck came to a stop, a stunned amazement coming over her, "No, no that's impossible. SHIELD vehicles have specially designed interiors so nothing can't cut through them. Did Cap punch his way through?"
"It's a circle right around. One of the two guards is down. Other is gone." The radio continued to suspend Caris' belief while Sienna's mind worked fast to imagine a way her friends got out.
"Set up a perimeter." Another gave an angered order.
One guard gone, inside job. Someone got them out through the floor. It made no sense, what could cut through specialized armored walls....
"Mouse Hole." Firman voiced allowed. Now it was Julianne's turn to give an incredulous glare when she had no idea what her new companion spoke of.
"What?"
"There's only two in existence." The Avenger elaborated, her mood picking up as she entertained the possibilities, "It's a new tech creation. It's a laser cutting tool that can slice through virtually any material, so it's essentially a type of light saber, in fact I'm sure that's what it was engineered to be. The guard must've been an inside man."
Caris eyes fervently darted every which way with this new information, a newfound energy to prompt the former special agent for answers, "So who are the two people?"
"Fury had one, but he's dead. It automatically falls to Hill. The only other owner is the creator, Leo Fitz." Sienna found a fond feeling in knowing there was a possibility her favorite SHIELD team had come to their rescue, "Either way, my friends getting to safety, even if it's temporary. Now I just need to find them."
A tense silence grew once the stolen truck was directed to an alley a few blocks down. Schematics of the roads they'd driven and the most used paths of travel flooded through the special agent's mind, followed by possible location and how long since they'd escaped. If she wanted to rejoin with them sooner rather then later after possible days trying to track escaped prisoners down, Firman would have to act fast. To her immediate knowledge, Steve, Natasha, Wilson, and whoever helped them had no idea she was free. It took an enormous weight off her shoulders to not have to help them escape, but finding them could prove just as tricky a task.
"They won't head anywhere near the Triskelion unless they have the stupid idea of rescuing me." She concluded, finally following through on a earlier hunch and searching available compartments for a road map that would've helped several minutes ago, "So they won't go south. They'll want to avoid areas with heavy surveillance, so the business district won't be their way out. They'll work around the perimeter the tactical team is already setting up and anything that might fall in that territory. Traffic cameras will also be a concern, so the less intersections with lights, the better."
Upon finding the paper, Sienna quickly overviewed it for any possible route that would lead away from all the dangers she already discussed. Caris had fallen into her apprehensive shell while she attempted to process the rapidly changing situation. She only came up with one definite action, "We need to leave this now. This is a stolen SHIELD transport."
Firman was already out the door and folding the map at the same time. One look up and she visually swept the alley for cameras, turning her back to one across the street she knew hadn't seen her facial structure yet. Julianne hastily moved forward, disoriented by the fast pace of the entire circumstance.
The spy had narrowed her friend's route down to a few streets not far from her current position, "We need to start moving now."
The older woman's head was spinning before her feet took a step farther. Her slow reactions came as a wave of exhaustion followed the rash movement. She wiped her brow to find sweat from the constant stress that had bombarded her the last few weeks.
She was so tired.
Sienna's agitation had fueled her burst of vigor. She pocketed the map, turning to the strawberry blonde with a plan already formed, "We need to go."
Caris shook her head, her heart finding a ridiculous pace as she became overly aware of the seconds slipping by that the rouge superheroes escaped, "No, no I can't."
"Yes, you can." Firman pushed authority into her tone, briskly gesturing ahead, "You're an agent. Let's go."
The other momentarily shut her eyes, "No, no you don't understand. This whole helping you thing was spur-of-the-moment. I can't...I don't think I physically can keep moving. I haven't gotten good sleep in ages-I can't do this!"
The darker-haired reached out to grab her arm, not letting the person who had managed to deliver her from an earthly hell go so fast, "There's no other choice."
"Yes there is! I gave you the information you needed." Julianne protested against the surprisingly strong grip, "I don't-I can't get into this. I did the right thing, I think. That's all."
"So what's your other option?" The Avenger challenged, her breath fast and adrenaline pulling into overdrive. They were wasting precious time they couldn't afford to lose. More sporadic breaths gasped air into her lungs as too many tedious seconds passed.
Caris' bloodshot eyes begged for release, but her shaky voice finally found the assertiveness to speak something other than a plea, "I leave this. I'm a traitor to HYDRA, but I'm no assassin. I've told you all I know and that should be enough. It has to be enough or I'll end up dead."
"But-"
"You're running out of time!"
"I know." Sienna gritted her teeth, the muscles of her legs tensing as they wished to carry her away from this scene, "I know I am-"
The redhead interrupted for her last time, already backing a different way down the abandoned alley in hopes to finally flee this mess she had found herself stumbling into, "I've done my part. It's all I can do."
It feels like Meredith all over again.
That claustrophobic feeling crawls under the edges of her skin again and Firman quickly deduces that the walls of the surrounding buildings are too close for her liking. The knowledge shared by a practical stranger had given her more insight on the current situation than anybody else in months. Julianne had already risked everything, even if all that entailed was a terrible job working for a truly horrible parasite.
This enemy had still saved her.
With shortness of breath, Sienna managed to relax her expression from the constant indignation she'd worn for the entirety of their meeting, "I never said thank you, did I?"
The sleep deprived communications officer didn't respond to her rhetorical question, instead biding an odd farewell, "Just stop them. Run."
She did just that.
~~~~~
It only took six minutes and many fatigued sprints to cut them off.
It didn't take long for Maria Hill to abruptly slam on her brakes. Sam Wilson, currently seated in shotgun, leaned forward. His eyes quickly assessed the block in the road; Sienna stood in street, hands near her head to signal she didn't mean any harm. An assault weapon hung down from a sling strapped over her chest and she looked significantly more weary than their first meeting.
"What is it?" Steve Rogers asked from the back of the vehicle, helping Romanoff keep pressure on her bleeding wound.
Wilson watched the woman walk up to the van, actually confused on her arrival, "Does she just appear looking murder-y in random places?"
Steve was still slightly disoriented from the entire ordeal of realizing his best friend was both no longer dead and hunting him, yet seemed to remember nothing of him. His brows furrowed together before a knock on the exterior of the van rattled throughout the space. Natasha managed to quirk her lips up, relief flooding through her despite her current injury, "I'll be damned."
The soldier jumped to his first conclusion while sliding the door open, hope breaking through the agonized mentality he'd carried the last half hour. Low and behold, Sienna looked back up at him, immediately easing upon seeing him. She offered a small grin, "Hey."
Rogers felt like he had to blink to make sure she was real. It appeared the last time he'd been forced to let her escape from his sight, she'd disappeared for five months. In that time, he had believed with all his being she'd just show up one day in questionable shape and greet them without a care. Now, when it seemed she had been taken once again, the woman simply came walking back. Without prompting, Steve gripped onto her arm and helped her inside, "Thought you were gone."
"Thought you guys were ones in trouble." Sienna responded, stepping in and identifying everyone in the van. She shut the door as her eyes rested on Maria, "You get them out?"
"Yes," Hill hadn't moved the car forward, warily staring at the newest addition to their party, "How'd you end up free?"
Firman didn't want to go into the confusing details of her escape and Caris' betrayal of HYDRA, knowing that'd end up with more questions necessary when they were running for their lives. She wasn't really happy with Hill either, considering the former deputy director definitely knew about Operation Phantom. She'd have to let that malice slide and think of an appropriate so she wouldn't be branded a double agent, "My transport didn't have as many guards for one prisoner."
Ah yes, the notion of a sickly person who had been running for days taking a squad of soldiers on by herself and then locating her friends was a far-fetched idea, but then you had to add in magical alien healing and the fact that not a lot of other things were making sense. Maria still was hesitant, but Rogers met the look of the driver, "We need to keep moving."
Hill finally obliged, still wary of Firman's suspicious appearance, but had known her long enough to hopefully be confident in her loyalty. She started moving again.
Steve took his hand off of his partner's arm as she turned to see Natasha's state, flicking her gaze down, "How's the shoulder?"
Romanoff stifled a groan as Sienna sat down next to her, delivering a dry remark, "If I don't bleed out before I get stitched up, we'll have matching scars."
Firman's bullet graze had already begun to scab, but other numerous ailments had covered most of her left shoulder in healed blemishes. She didn't mind it too much and found a small hilarity in her friend's comparison. Still, she couldn't hide her worried stare as the rag Natasha pushed against her wound became soaked in blood.
The darker-haired woman's chest grew with hurt in both fear for her friend and the shame that returned once she met Steve's blue eyes, but he spoke before her, "What about you?"
Sienna exhaled, the action not helping still the remorse humming under her skin, "I've been better."
Rogers sat back after a slight nod, the exhaustion of the day wearing down on his tall frame. He still had a particular expression falling across his features, one his partner hadn't seen before and that worried her all the more. The compact space didn't help ease any of her consternation that tightened her shoulder muscles. Her self-reproach lodged in her throat and she swallowed before finding something in her to speak, "I'm sorry."
Steve inclined his head up to study her face, at first assuming the utterance was meant as a condolence. When he moved past that belief, he realized she wore similar guilt to the one moments before SHIELD had captured them. It finally dawned on him what she intended and the message she'd desperately tried to relay to him before being hauled into the back of a truck.
Sienna had known about Bucky.
Firman could feel warmth scorching her ribcage when the captain's demeanor found another emotion. At first it was the realization of what could be perceived as a betrayal, followed by an indignation in his appearance. He looked at her for awhile, wondering why would she keep this from me of all things. Each second where only the humming of the engine and a cough from Wilson could be heard felt like a knife was digging into Firman's gut, but she forced herself to hold his gaze, a trial in itself. When Rogers finally spoke, his voice was despondent, "How long?"
The inquiry lacked the care shown in his last few actions before finding out the truth. She couldn't blame him for the anger accompanying each syllable, but dear Lord it hurt. It hurt to see him in so much raw pain and it hurt like hell to hear Steve speak to her as he would an enemy.
His whole entire life just blew apart
"Seven hours." The woman pushed the heavy words out of her mouth, "I only remembered it seven hours ago. Pierce sent him after us and I just remembered. I..."
She knew she'd lost his attention when he looked away from her. Sienna pressed her lips closed and sat back against the uncomfortable wall. More words, useless sympathies, burned on her tongue and she silenced them. They wouldn't help her now. She'd already hurt him in a way she could not justify.
The rest of the ride was a silent one.
~~~~~
Natasha had begun to near an unconscious state. Her eyelids became weighed down and her responses to her friend's questions grew slower and slower with each reply, her voice tightening in her pain. She had a hard time even standing up correctly and if it weren't for Steve's support helping her out of the van, she would've collapsed.
Firman walked behind the other four to catch her hurt friend if she faltered. Maria had rushed forward to open a door to the facility, which loomed somewhere near a rustling creek in a wooded area. When they entered the building, the suspicious smell of sewage welcomed them into a darkened, narrow hallway with high ceilings. She found it very tomb-like.
No one came to greet them at the beginning of the corridor, but Hill called out a for a medic once they turned a corner. Natasha groaned again, momentarily stopping as Sienna reassured, "Almost there."
The sound of rushing footsteps was a precursor to the man running to meet them. Maria relayed the damage, "GSW. She's lost at least a pint."
"Maybe two." Sam Wilson added, slowing his fast pace once the Doctor came closer. Peering down to the end of the hallway, a long curtain was pulled back, presumably a nurse coming to help aid.
"Then we'll need a blood transfusion." A familiar voice called out to them, coming forward as her assistant ran forward to reach Romanoff, "What's her type?"
Sienna's attention momentarily left her friend to see down the hall, frankly stunned. Steve's surprise was also evident as he slowed, Natasha even drowsily picking up her head to identify the second doctor. All were mildly shocked.
Meredith Renning's usual impatient tone prodded again, a hand going to her hip, "Blood type?"
"AB positive." Firman quickly answered, wondering how her doctor had ended up here. The last she'd seen of her, the woman had gone off to stall enemy agents in order for her patient to make a getaway.
She was alive.
Renning nodded curtly, stopping in place when she obtained her answer. The dark-haired spy couldn't help but notice her posture and the unnatural angle at which the doctor stood. Her left leg appeared gimp, but she didn't hint at any ailment while crossing her arms and adopting a condescending tone, "I leave you three alone for a couple of days and this is what happens."
Sienna couldn't bite back a small, relived grin at her safety and regular demeanor. The assistant reached them, hands outstretched to aid the wounded Romanoff, "Let me take her."
"She'll want to see him first." Hill insisted while they continued to walk forward, passing him while turning around yet another corner to lead the group to the mysterious man she alluded to. They did not have to wait long to obtain an answer.
The room looked the same as the rest of the empty facility besides the multiple machines stationed near the wall. An IV sat next to a hospital bed, hooked up to another person that's presence was a startling revelation.
Nick Fury wasn't in the best shape, yet managed to lift his head enough to assess those who'd entered the room, not seeming to care about the shock dancing across their expressions, "About damn time."
~~~
In the ten minutes since she learned he was alive, Sienna was at first stricken silent by surprise followed by something she could only identify as relief or possibly happiness. Her mentor, a man she'd known since she was nine years old, hadn't been brutally murdered. HYDRA hadn't succeeded in killing the leader of SHIELD.
Then she progressively got angry.
She sat beside Natasha behind a curtain that sectioned off the large area while they prepared to tend to her wound. Firman kept close by in an effort to keep her friend awake. Romanoff's fingernails dug into her hand while she stifled a groan when the assistant brushed against the injury.
"We'll need room to work." Meredith urged her former patient, setting up more medical utensils. Sienna's eyes flicked up before she moved, letting go of Tasha while swallowing down the last several minutes of incredulity. Renning continued to arrange her makeshift room, passing her a few bandages, "And you'll probably need to take care of that graze on your shoulder."
She nodded wordlessly, mind still murmuring with at least a thousand different thoughts at once. Meredith slowed her actions, observing the spy's behavior. A question brimmed into the air, "Anything else wrong?"
"Just a few cuts and bruises." Firman shook her head to indicate nothing else major was hurt. She started to leave the space, passing Natasha one last look of condolence. Renning still had her gaze trained on her, and it didn't take long for her to deduce why. With a soft voice, she reassured, "Layla's safe."
The doctor's natural, displeased expression broke to something warmer, her stature growing easier upon knowing her sister was out of harm's way, "Thank you."
Sienna didn't need to respond, still hoping her quirky weapon's designer was still okay. She let the curtain fall back as they began to repair the damage done to Romanoff's shoulder. When she surveyed the room again, she found Sam Wilson had wandered off somewhere else in the facility. Steve stood in front of the bed Fury laid on and looked to be just finished with a conversation hopefully explained how the director was alive.
Rogers' gaze shifted over to her and Sienna didn't know what to do when it found her. All she gathered from his expression was the lingering pain he desperately tried to keep behind a placid face, but she knew him too well to be fooled. The most obvious was his frustration and disappointment with her that was pronounced in furrowed brows. She was the first to break away when her eyes rested instead on Fury, not knowing what else to do in her guilt. She saw her partner leave the room out of her peripheral vision.
The woman was exhausted. Her muscles were sore from fighting after such long inactivity and her joints ached from the long jump on the highway. The graze on her shoulder and the cut on her hip still burned. Her elbows ached from shoving them repeatedly into a window, but she feared the mental toll of remembering the glass prison inflicted her more than the physical. She hadn't had a sold moment to take in the revelation of Operation Phantom, Caris' explanation, or any of the splinters of memories that leaked into her mind from the five months. Firman also could use a shower and a nap.
Then there was the fact Fury was also alive.
"Seems we've switched places." He began a conversation after Sienna had looked at him for awhile, deciding what to say. It was quite true about their role reversal; a month ago, she'd barely been able to walk and he'd been in fine shape.
"Funny how that works." Firman's words didn't tell of her mood, delivered nonchalantly as she recollected all the secrets she'd learned after his 'passing'. All the things he'd hid from her.
The anomaly- energy existing in her blood that she had no idea about, the operation, and how Nick seemed to have known an awful lot more about her than she did about herself.
"I assume you want a mission report." Sienna reached for the fold out metal chair next to her, taking a seat as anger buzzed under her skin. She felt heat crawl over her in one swift wave that accompanied her aggravation.
Fury inclined his head, knowing the agent didn't like to beat around the bush when it came to her missions. What he didn't anticipate was the resentment so prevalent on her face. Hill, who worked in the background, noticed it too while flipping through a few files.
Sienna only grew more irritable as she looked at him. She was tired; tired of her hurting body, of her missing memory, the lies upon lies, the distorted information that contradicted everything she once believed, HYDRA swallowing her agency, of how she managed to alienate the one person who hadn't lied to her.
She should be screaming in anger.
Instead Firman clenched her jaw, the weight of the drive in her pocket detailing Operation Phantom pressing against her. Her voice was tight as she informed Fury of the last few days, "I escaped the hospital with Rogers and met up Natasha. They left me with Layla and we drove to a safe house. Bradley owned it, and he brought Sprouse along. We were there a full night before HYDRA agents ambushed us in the morning. We barely got away and I learned there was a mole in the group. I thought it was Zerina, turns out it was your Agent 21."
She knew that Colton's allegiance to HYDRA was previously unknown to the former director, and she saw him process her statement. One of his secret circle was a part of the parasite in their organization and Nick didn't guess Bradley. Surely there were others, "I can admit I suspected one of the circle wasn't loyal. I didn't think it was Bradley."
"No one did." Sienna stated, remembering well the havoc it had caused on Layla. That only put more irritation festering in her as she recounted the betrayal, "He's still alive, which is a failing on my part. Zerina and Layla are safe."
A quiet lapsed between the superior and his former prodigy. The very brief recount of the last few days was sloppy, but Fury knew that was the intent. He took a long sigh after the pause, "I've known you a long time, Firman. You may have had a rough start with the fighting part of the job, but never with detailing reports. You're trying to make a point. I suggest you just say it."
Sienna's mind did a few turns, trying a way to vocalize every single thing burning in her chest. It was time to spit something out and get a straight answer, "How did the anomaly get in my blood?"
Maria visibly tensed at the blunt question. She raised her head from her papers to meet her colleague's eyes. Sienna didn't spare her a glance, instead directing her attention completely to Fury. The Avenger's mouth was a tight line and her indignation so readable, but her tone of voice hadn't changed since the conversation began.
Nick had expected this. He knew that the woman would find out herself sometime and he knew he'd have to deal with it eventually, "How much do you know?"
Firman reached into her front pocket and produced the thumb drive, "I know you had my doctor lie to me about my condition and that someone besides SHIELD was changing my medical records. I know I was taken by HYDRA for five months because they thought they could enhance my existing Tesseract energy. I know this isn't the first time my memories have disappeared."
She slid the drive on the table in between them while practically spitting out the next few words, "I know I was oblivious to all of this because of your orders."
Nick glanced at the piece of tech, "The Operation Phantom file?"
"Last existing copy." Sienna deadpanned, agitation growing because he so calmly addressed an event that changed her entire life.
"Romanoff?"
"She recorded an explanation the night you died."
A stalemate was reached when the director said nothing, the silence meant to test her emotional state. More tension grew in her with each breath before she broke off a bit of her composure, "I wouldn't try silence now. I wanna know why you lied to me for years about what was inside my own damn body and I had absolutely no idea, because I don't have the slightest clue where this thing came from."
"There's a reasonable explanation-"
"Then tell me." She practically snarled, holding onto her even tone despite the ferocity, "Because I can't come up with anything. There's no way I could've been exposed to Tesseract energy before I was nineteen, unless I forgot that too-"
Nick's own temper rose to cut her off after the interruption, "You were."
Firman's teeth clamped shut. The last statement sung through the high, concrete walls of the facility.
"Your father never wanted you to be aware of it."
hello wow cool rose is alive
i have been on unannounced hiatus of late that i'm now breaking so tada! here i am
the last month and a half, i've had sickness, finals, a family member in the hospital (he's okay now!), a several day youth conference, a moment where 4k words were deleted ugh, and lots and lots of impromptu road trips for family emergencies. but now i'm back to writing and it feels so good!
did i plan to reveal the rest of the tesseract secrets this chapter? yes! did it not happen because it's a long story? kinda yes! but is everything finallllyyyy coming into place? yes!
i've literally pulled the 'everything is answered' card so many times only to answer your questions with even more questions, but this time i promise cold, hard answers to most of the big inquiries i've posed are definitively coming to you
adios for now and happy reading!