Rachel rode on the motorcycle she had borrowed from Shield after assuring the reason why was an emergency and they hesitantly let her leave with it. To say they were suspicious was an understatement.
She had sped back to Shield's quarters in almost a state of panic once discovering that Fury was at risk of assassination and only a small amount of relief was lifted off of her when she discovered that he had escaped. She was glad but not so glad of not knowing where he was.
She was just glad he was alive and relied on her to save him.
That's not something you'd here every day.
Nick Fury asking for Rachel's help.
As soon as she reached the address that Steve called home she parked her bike beside his, removed her helmet and patted her hip to double check that she had her pistol in case the assassin followed her in which she did have.
Rachel ran inside the building she knew Steve was living in to only almost crash into a woman carrying her laundry.
"I'm so sorry.." Rachel apologises as the woman's eyes went wide knowing that she had only missed her by inches.
"It's okay." The woman assures before noticing Rachel's concerned and panicked look. "You okay?"
"Steve Rogers." Rachel blurts. "Which... which flat?" Rachel asked as she began to slowly speed up the staircase.
"First floor. Number 4." The woman replies confidently yet her expression was far from that.
"Thanks!" Rachel shouts as she ran up the steps rushing to find Steve as the woman left her site.
As soon as she reached the top of the stairs she could see the number four on the door in front of her and rushed towards it knocking on the door harder than she realised.
"Steve!" Rachel shouts knowing he would be defensive if she just burst in. "Steve it's Rachel! Open up! Please Steve just-" out of nowhere the door was suddenly opened and Steve made himself known.
"Rachel? Why are you here?" He asks.
"It's Fury." She starts to only have Steve stop her talking as he raised his hand.
"I know." He muttered. "Be quiet okay." He says before letting her in.
Rachel although had never been to Steve's place before she was confused as to why the lights were off. Maybe he just arrived back but it didn't explain the fact that he had his shield with him.
It was only when Steve motioned to where Rachel supposed the living room was she locked eyes with none other than Fury.
"Oh. So that's where you ended up. Thanks for saving me Rac-" Rachel cut herself off when she looked up towards Steve who held a serious look. "What hurts?" She asks.
"My wife kicked me out." Fury explains making Rachel furrow her eyebrows.
"Your married?" Rachel says in disbelief.
"A lot of things you don't know about me." Fury tells her simply and Rachel instantly noticed the weakness in his tone. Mind you the flip was pretty expressive.
"Tell me about it." Rachel tells him rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest before Fury turned his phone around to only see the words 'Ears everywhere' written on it.
Steve looked around his apartment now in annoyance now knowing from the big man himself that he had bugged it. Rachel could only shake her head in dismay as she looked down.
"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no other place to crash." He lied for Steve and Rachel's sake as they now knew that there was something bad truly going on.
Rachel's eyes soon locked back onto the screen when he turned the phone back to face them to see the words that Rachel wished that would never happen to MI6: Shield compromised.
"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asks even though he's referring to who knew about Shield being compromised.
"Just my friends." He says standing up as he the phone now spelt You and me.
"Is that what we are?" Steve asked only to have Rachel slap him on the arm.
"That's no way to treat your boss Rogers." She scolds.
"That's up to you." Fury tells Steve honestly before Fury was shot three times successfully causing him to yell out in pain as the three bullets lodged themselves into his back.
"Fury!" Rachel shouts in panic as she caught his fall before speeding him into the kitchen for cover. "Oh, god." She mumbles to herself as she looked through the window after carefully setting him down to see the same metal armed assassin from a matter of hours before.
As Steve reached Fury's side with his shield still fastened on his arm Fury grabbed his wrist before placing a drive in his hand as Rachel got on one knee out of panic.
"Don't trust... anyone..." He tells Steve coughing in pain in the process before he fell unconscious.
Both Rachel and Steve's heads snapped in the doors direction as it was kicked down forcefully by someone.
"Captain Rogers!" A woman yelled as she walked through the door as Steve leaned against the wall with his shield ready to attack as Rachel lifted her loaded gun towards the open area. "Captain, I'm Agent 13. Shield special service."
"Kate?" Steve says in disbelief as Rachel lowered her gun confused before realising it was the woman from earlier.
"I was assigned to protect you." Kate tells Steve.
"Excuse me?" Rachel muttered in shock.
"On who's orders?" Steve asked mirroring Rachel's movements as Kate froze upon seeing Fury's state.
"His." She tells them before rushing to his side as Rachel stood. Rachel watched as this Kate checked him for his pulse before grabbing her walkie-talkie. "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs." Kate orders as Rachel fixed her eyes back outside the window to see the assassin still there.
"Do we have a twenty on the shooter?" Someone asked.
"Tell them I'm in pursuit." Steve says before racing towards the window.
"Steve!" Rachel yelled as she watched him crash out of the window into the building next door.
Rachel looked back at Kate almost frustrated that she did exactly what Fury told her. Exactly what Rachel told him not to do.
"You know about me right?" Rachel asks.
"You being Spitfire?" Kate assumes. "Yes."
"Good." Rachel tells her before speeding through the already broken window and through every broken door, turned over desks and annoyingly dented walls. Just to find Steve.
She sped down every broken hall and through its equally broken doors as she followed Steve's very easily to follow path to him. She almost wanted to thank him for making such a mess.
Jumping through another window she landed on the ground the exact same time Steve did and it didn't faze him in the slightest way.
Steve rolled forward as Rachel held her 'superhero' like landing before looking up to watch Steve's shield being tossed in the assassin's direction but to their surprise the assassin caught easily with his metal hand.
Rachel's eyes went wide in shock as the man locked eyes with her own. He literally caught Steve's shield with no issue. As if it was a frisbee.
Steve's however stayed stern even though he was shocked by the assassin's actions.
Right as Rachel went to grab her gun back from its holster Steve's shield was tossed rapidly back making Rachel duck down out of instinct as Steve caught it. Its force causing him to be pushed back a couple inches.
To their dismay as they looked up the man with the metal arm had vanished just like Rachel witnessed hours before. She raced to the edge using her speed to only be met with the empty lit up streets below.
Steve soon reached her side and his shoulders slumped as he too realised that the assassin had disappeared.
"He got Fury in that state didn't he?" Steve assumes looking down at Rachel who held an anxious stance.
"He did." Rachel confirms. "But there's something off about him."
"In what way?" Steve asked as Rachel continued to look ahead of her.
"He didn't know who I was. Spitfire I mean." Rachel explained before turning her head towards Steve. "Unless this guy has some sort of issue of not knowing his biggest enemies I don't know what's wrong with him. But it doesn't make sense."
"Everyone knows us."
"I guess not everyone does."
- -
Rachel kept her eyes focused on her feet as the doctors through the glass performed surgery to save Fury.
She wasn't the best with blood or anything surgical for that matter so even listening to what she could here made her feel queasy.
Since getting Fury to the hospital Rachel had called Natasha and it didn't take much for her to hang up. As soon as she told her that Fury was pretty much at the brink of death and which hospital they were at Natasha hung up.
Upon hearing the door slam open Rachel knew instantly that it was Natasha as she paced towards her and Steve. She stopped in between the two and her breathing was shaky as she watched what she feared in front of her.
"Is he gonna make it?" She asks as she tried to hold her strong composure.
"I don't know..." Steve admits. His tone just as nervous as her own.
"Tell me about the shooter." Natasha demands quietly as Rachel looked up towards her and not her own feet.
"He's fast, strong. Had a metal arm." Steve states.
"He vanishes just as fast as he shoots." Rachel continues. "His skills... they're as strong as yours." Rachel admits before looking up at Steve as Maria now stood beside Rachel.
"Ballistics?" Natasha asks.
"Three slugs. No rifling. Completely untraceable." Maria informs as she too held a nervous stance.
"Soviet made."
"Yeah.." Maria confirms in disbelief of Natasha knowing such information which even surprised Rachel as she looked up at her.
Everyone's heads snapped to the surgery room as Nick's heartbeat begin to drop rapidly. Everyone in the room went into panic, rushing around to do anything to keep Nick alive.
"Oh god, no..." Rachel as her hand went to her mouth and tears brimmed her eyes. She wasn't one to get emotional, neither would she be one to be emotional about a man that she occasionally considered a jerk but he did mean something to her.
She listened as surgeons yelled out orders as all hopes of saving Fury became slim. Each and every second wasted would get Fury closer and closer to death.
"Don't do this to me Nick..." Rachel has never heard the infamous Black Widow so weak over one man. Yet that man brought her out of the darkness that had consumed her.
"Clear! Pulse?"
"No pulse."
Rachel turned her head away as her hand continued to cover her mouth in attempts to keep her tears back.
"Stand back! Three, two, one, clear! Pulse?"
"Negative..."
Rachel felt a shiver down her spine as the long beep made its way to her ears. Like Natasha and Maria her eyes continued to glass over.
Nick Fury was dead.
It only made Rachel wonder if her fate would be the same.
"What's the time?" The surgeon asked as Steve walked away.
"One oh three Doctor." A nurse replied.
"Time of death. 1:03 am." The surgeon called out before Rachel walked out of the room as a single tear slipped down her cheek. She couldn't handle it.
Nick Fury had stayed alive all these years. Assassin after assassin. But dead in less than twenty four hours of Rachel being back in Washington was scary. And the worse was yet to come.