June 18, 2014
The facial technology that Fury put on my face was like a facial mask. It felt a little weird being on and even though I still felt like myself, my face looked completely different in the mirror. I walked with the other councilmen, disguised as Councilwoman Hawley. Pierce walked up to us and smiled. I smiled back. Natasha taught me everything I know about going undercover. "And how was your flight?" Pierce asked me. I looked up at him, following him in SHIELD HQ.
"Lovely. The ride from the airport less so." I told him.
"Sadly, SHIELD can't control everything." Pierce stated, making me chuckle at him. Councilman Rockwell nodded moving to the other side of Pierce.
"Including Captain America." Pierce walks over to one of the guards who hands him a case containing four pins. Pierce completely ignored Rockwell's statement.
"This facility is biometrically controlled, and these will give you unrestricted access." Each of us put the pin on our clothes. By now we were in Pierce's office, a glass of champagne in our hands. "I know the road hasn't exactly been smooth, and some of you would have gladly kicked me out of the car along the way. Finally we're here, and the world should be grateful." As soon as we take a sip of the champagne, Steve's voice interrupts from the speakers throughout SHIELD. Everyone could hear him.
"Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader." I watch as Pierce looks at us and shrugs. He moves behind his desk and puts down his glass. "The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you." Pierce pulls out his phone and texts someone. "They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not." Steve finishes his speech and the intercom turns off.
The councilmen around me turn to Pierce. "You smug son of a bitch." Rockwell snarls as a group of STRIKE agents walk in the room, hands on their weapons.
"Arrest him." Singh orders to the agents but the one just points his gun at Singh.
"I guess I've got the floor." Pierce says, shrugging as he moves to the front of the room. From the outside, I can hear the helicarriers launch, going into the air. We watch from the window as the helicarriers shoot at Sam and Steve. Pierce then turns to Singh. "Let me ask you a question. What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow, and you knew that they were gonna drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution?" Pierce hands Singh a glass of champagne. "And you could just stop it with a flick of the switch. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you all?" Singh turns to Pierce, shaking his head.
"Not if it was your switch." Singh tosses the glass aside. One of the HYDRA agents hands Pierce his gun and Pierce points it at Singh. Having enough of this, I move Singh out of the way and take down the other HYDRA agents before taking the gun from Pierce's hand, pointing it at Pierce.
"I'm sorry. Did I step on your moment?" I ask Pierce as I take off the technomask, throwing it to the floor with my wig. I move myself to the computer at Pierce's desk, handing the gun to one of the councilmen.
"What are you doing?" Rockewell asks me. Before I get a chance to answer, Pierce answers for me.
"She's disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the Internet." I look at Pierce.
"Including HYDRA's." I smirk at him. Pierce just moves closer to me, the gun still pointed to the back of his head.
"And SHIELD's. If you do this, non of your past is gonna remain hidden." I continue typing away at the computer. "Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?" I smirk, looking up at him.
"Are you?"
"Disabling the encryption is an executive order, it takes two Alpha Level members." I chuckled, shaking my head.
"You don't seem to learn, do you?" Pierce gives me a confused look. "Don't worry, company's coming." Just then a helicopter appears outside, lands and Fury steps out to enter the building to Pierce's surprise.
"Did you get my flowers?" Pierce asks Fury, remarking about Fury's 'death'. Fury looks at him coldly. "I'm glad you're here, Nick." Fury just chuckles as he comes to stand by me.
"Really? Cause I thought you had me killed." Pierce just shrugs.
"You know how the game works."
"So why make me head of SHIELD?" Fury asks, stepping away from me and closer to Pierce.
"Cause you were the best and the most ruthless person I ever met." Pierce tells him, putting his hands on his hips.
"I did what I did to protect people." Fury growls at him.
"Our enemies are your enemies, Nick. Disorder, war. It's just a matter of time before a dirty bomb goes off in Moscow, or an EMP fries Chicago. Diplomacy? Holding action, a band-aid. And you know where I learned that; Bogota. You didn't ask, you just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing twenty million. It's the next step, Nick, if you have the courage to take it."
"No, I have the courage not to." Fury takes Pierce to the retinal scanner with me pointing my gun at him. The computer went online.
"You don't you think we wiped your clearance from the system?" Pierce chuckles, but Fury stares at him.
"I know you erased my password, probably deleted my retinal scan, but if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary..." Fury removes his eyepatch to reveal his scarred dead eye. "You need to keep both eyes open." They both look into the retinal scanner with Fury using his dead eye.
"Alpha Level confirmed. Encryption code accepted. Safeguards removed." The computer repeated.
I watched the computer as the files uploaded to the world wide wide. "Done." I looked down at my phone, hearing its annoying buzzing. I turned around, smirking at Pierce. "And it's trending." Just then Pierce sets off the pins he gave the council members, causing it to burn deeply into their sternums. Me and Fury points our guns at Pierce. Pierce looks at me.
"Unless you want two inch hole in your sternum, I'd put that gun down." I don't back down, leaving my gun pointed at his head. "That was armed the moment you pinned it on." Fury and I reluctantly lower our weapons. "Lieutenant, how much longer?" Pierce asks through his radio.
"Sixty-five seconds to satellite link. Targeting grid engaged. Lowering weapons array now." The man said. I looked at Fury but he kept his eyes on Pierce. "Deploy algorithm."
"We are go to targets." Pierce told him through the radio.
"Fire when ready." We heard him say. It was painful not being able to do anything to stop this. We all turn to the helicarriers, hearing them start to fire. But they fire at themselves I smile, knowing Steve did it.
"What a waste." Pierce mumbled. I smirked at him.
"Are you still on the fence about Rogers' chances?" Pierce looked at me and grabbed my arm.
"Time to go, Councilwoman. This way, come on. You're gonna fly me out of here." Pierce starts to leave with me when Fury speaks up.
"You know, there was a time I would have taken a bullet for you." I look down at the pin in my shoulder and bit my lip.
"You already did. You will again when it's useful." I looked at Fury and pressed down on an electric disk that emits an electric shock through my whole body and disables the pin. My eyes close as I lie there on the floor.
I feel someone shaking me as my eyes flutter open, looking up at Fury. "Ow. Those really do sting." I say as Fury helps me up. I look around, seeing Pierce's almost dead body lying on the floor. I grabbed my gun and shot him twice more. I needed to make sure he was really dead. Fury leads me to the helicopter, handing me a com to put in my ear. As soon as I do, I hear Sam's voice.
"Please, tell me you got that chopper in the air!" He pleads.
"Sam, where are you?" I ask him.
"41st floor, north-west corner!" I repeat the floor to the pilot, telling him to get as close to the building as possible.
"We're on it, stay where you are." I see Sam jump out of the building and the pilot moves to try and catch him. I grab his arm, pilling him into the helicopter.
"41st floor! 41st!" I laugh as I lean my head back.
"It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!" I shake my head.
"Maria, where's Steve?" I ask her through the coms.
"He was in the helicarrier. I don't know if he got out." She responds. I look out of the helicopter, looking towards the water where the helicarrier had landed.
"Land here." I told the pilot, pointing him in the direction of the last helicarrier. He nodded and flew us to the ground. I was the first one out, racing to the river's edge. I looked left and right, seeing an unconscious Steve, lying on the ground. I ran to him, lifting his head up. I looked around, trying to find Bucky. But if he survived, he was gone.