SHIELD'S NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS wasn't a terribly far trip from Stark Tower.
The four of them were stopped at the entrance, but with a flash of Natasha's and Clint's badges, and a look at her and Steve, nobody else moved to intercept them.
Clint trudged along, still looking half-asleep.
Sam tried to drink everything in— from the agents in suits to the towering ceilings to the memorials on the walls. They earned stare after stare walking along. She tried not to shift uncomfortably, but would do anything for the cover of a hood or baseball cap.
Fury's office was on the very top floor.
Climbing each set of stairs, Sam could have killed him.
The one-eyed man waited for them behind a large desk. He barely glanced up as they entered, only waving away an agent at his side. The man quickly moved around them, inclining his head and hurrying out.
Sam glanced around the room. The entire thing was empty and bland, lacking... well, everything, really. The only object that he seemed to have and that caught her eye was a framed picture of a cat on his desk.
Fury set it face down when he caught her staring.
She hadn't pegged him for a cat lady.
"Fury," Steve crossed his arms. "You wanted to talk?"
The man pressed his lips together. "Correction. I wanna talk a hell of a lot less than the World Security Council does. But they pushed for it, so I figured I should brief you all first."
Sam raised a brow. "So they're really all old farts, then?"
Fury's gaze snapped to her. She couldn't tell if the flicker of surprise and amusement that flashed through his eye was real or not. She'd never seen that emotion on him before.
"They're... not to be trifled with. This is exactly why I called this briefing. You go in there calling them farts and that's a one way trip to the Fridge."
"Wait, the what?"
"SHIELD business. Not of importance."
Sam narrowed her eyes. But he didn't offer anything more.
"Do they know the Tesseract and scepter are missing?" Natasha asked. Looking toward her, he nodded.
"And they're not happy about it. Especially since no one seems to know where two powerful objects went."
The four of them exchanged a look. Fury's eye narrowed.
"Do you all know something?"
"Nothing," Steve said. The director's frown deeped.
"You better not be keeping something from me, Rogers."
"Wouldn't dream of it, sir."
Fury scoffed, fixing his dark gaze on Sam. When she didn't move, he glared at Clint. "Barton?"
The archer only blinked tiredly at him. "Sir."
Fury opened his mouth, but before he could say another word, there was a knock on the door. Maria Hill opened it and gazed inside.
"The Council is ready for them, sir."
Sam's heart thudded nervously. Fury still didn't look happy but stood and nodded the woman out, following her into the hall. He regarded them darkly. "Not a word of old farts. Or I'll have you all locked up myself."
Despite it all, Sam suppressed a smirk.
They moved down the hall and into a bigger room. At first, Sam didn't see anyone. But then she realized the flickering images that slowly formed were people— all seated, six of them in total. The unimpressed gazes were enough to make her not want to step any closer.
Steve, on the other hand, didn't seem to care, stepping forward and crossing his arms.
"Afternoon."
Fury gave him a sharp look and took charge. "Councilmen, Councilwoman. I trust—"
"We're here to speak with the so-called Avengers, Director, if you'd allow us."
Fury's eyes blazed and he gazed at the one who dared cut him off. It was an older man, with a long face and hard look in his eyes. "So I've been told, Mr. Malick. But right now, I'm the one speaking."
Sam stepped forward before anyone could say anything else. Probably a bad idea, but she did it anyway. "Talk, if you will. Cause we have some questions too."
"Samantha," Steve said quietly. She ignored him.
"Like why you sent a nuke to New York, for example. Or, gee, I don't know. Why you're overseeing the technological advancements in HYDRA weapons."
Every eye was fixed on her at that. She noticed with interest, that Malick flinched a little at her mention of HYDRA. She narrowed her eyes. Then the man next to him shifted and her blood boiled even more.
Alexander Pierce.
But before she could say another word, Natasha stepped beside her.
"We all have questions. But right now, the main one is why we're here. The city is still rebuilding. A lot of people could use our help."
"The discussions was to regard the unnecessity of the Avengers," Pierce answered. "Though, with your friend's outbreak, I think we can all agree that's proof as to why a bunch of hotheads shouldn't be overseeing the city's current state."
Fury gave her a warning look. Sam clenched her jaw, but lowered her gaze.
"We're here because no one else was when New York was under alien siege," Steve said, stepping forward. "Because the Council's decision was to nuke millions."
"A decision that didn't go through."
"Only because Tony Stark took your missile through the wormhole," Clint suddenly said. They all looked at him, surprised, and he stepped to Sam's side. The man's brows were furrowed and his eyes flashed. "I think we can all agree that's proof as to why a bunch of hotheads shouldn't be running the WSC."
This time, Fury didn't say anything. In fact, he looked a little smug, gazing back at the Council.
"Mr. Barton—"
"If this meeting was to regard the formation of the Avengers, than you can consider us already formed," Steve said. "Nothing is going to change that now."
"Mr. Rogers—"
"In addition," Sam said. "The next time you dare nuke the city, or any other cities, Tony Stark will personally fly the missile back to your little base. And I think we all know what happens then."
Five pairs of eyes widened. She only smirked.
"So... I trust this meeting is adjourned?" Fury asked. Silence was his answer and he shrugged, turning toward where Hill stood. The woman looked both taken off guard and impressed. "Good. It was a waste of time to begin with."
Sam gazed at Pierce, who was watching her in silence. The man looked to be frowning, but at the same time, there was a calculating interest in his eyes. Like he knew something that she didn't.
It was unsettling.
Tearing her gaze away, she started to turn too. Only to hesitate at the door, glancing back one more time.
"You're all a bunch of old farts."
Wide eyes turned dark. She smirked and left, the others following one by one. The second they stepped out of the room, the holograms vanished.
Fury fixed her with an icy look.
"You, Miss Clarence, are never allowed to be in that room again."
Sam met his gaze steadily back and tell if he was angry or suppressing his own amusement. She settled for chewing on her lower lip, nodding after a moment.
"Seems fair."
"So what now?" Steve asked. Fury shook his head.
"Keep Stark and Banner on search for our missing artifacts. Anything comes up, I want it going through me first."
There was an unsaid air around the four of them that his order probably wouldn't be the case. But Steve only nodded. "Sir."
"And I'm serious. Clarence isn't coming back here."
Steve glanced at her and she forced away a grin. Fury shook his head and muttered something they didn't catch, turning away. Hill followed at his side, but not after giving them each a nod. The moment they were alone, Clint snorted, looking a little more awake after the encounter.
"Personally, Sam, I approve of everything that went down in there."
She gave him a grin. "Well at least somebody has a sense of humor."
"Come on you two," Natasha shook her head and started down the hall, leading them back out. Steve fell toward the back, ever as vigilant as they moved from corridor to corridor.
They passed groups she didn't recognize. Agents, scientists. But one man who started to hurry by, she realized she did.
Sitwell.
The squat man who'd taken the scepter before it had been stolen.
His eyes widened as he saw Steve and he stopped in his tracks. Steve's brows furrowed but he paused too, inclining his head politely. Sitwell nodded back and started by again, only to hesitate. He murmured something she didn't catch. Then moved along.
Steve went utterly rigid.
"Steve?" Sam slowed, giving him a look. Natasha and Clint paused too, glancing back.
"Did... did he...?"
Sam raised a brow. She'd never seen Steve's face go so pale, blue eyes widening and shoulders going straight. He spun around and gazed after Sitwell. But the agent didn't look back.
"Steve?" She tried again, stepping closer. "Is something wrong?"
"I... he... He just..."
"What'd he say?"
The man turned back to her, face tight and hands in sudden fists. He looked both confused, shocked, and about to snap. It was almost scary.
"Hail... Hydra."
~ ~ ~
HA! Well, we all knew that was bound to happen at some point. Sitwell does, after all, think Steve is HYDRA.
*coughs* Idiot.
Thoughts so far? Comments? Is there anything you guys wanna see? This is basically an AU so it can go ANYWHERE.
also... I don't outline so it probably will