[WS!AU] the century weapon

[from_the_outside]

As promised, she updates Bucky throughout the evening, letting him know that no one's come for her... yet. Several hours after they left, she hears Steve return. She doesn't try to contact him; it would be strange for Kate to do so. Instead, she texts Bucky that he's back and that everything is quiet, then goes to bed and sleeps the sleep of an agent who has just spent the last week trying to put down a rising cartel.

Fury's not expecting her until mid-morning. She texts Bucky when she leaves for work, and is relieved to get a response. Seems Steve's contact is trustworthy after all.

She also sends a text to Nat, telling her she's cashing in on that offer of drinks, then dresses in a crisp blue button-down and neat pencil skirt and heads to the Triskelion to face her fate.

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

"I can be closer without him seeing me." He pulls a balaclava from a pocket and dons it, then pulls the dark goggles that he uses for high-sun conditions and puts them on as well. Bucky taps the railing of the bridge.

"There's plenty of room beneath the walkway. But I'd be responding to audio only for threat signaling, in that case."

[from_the_outside]

She nods. "Fine."

It won't come to anything else. She has to believe that. Without Fury, they may well be sunk before they even begin. "If I have to, I can take him myself. I'm more worried that if he's HYDRA, he'll bring backup."

[nerves_of_ice]

"He might. But if they're not expecting me it won't be enough." He taps the rail again. "Stay to this side of it. If I need to extract you it'll make it easier."

Behind the glasses she can't see the way his eyes narrow as he studies her face. "Do we have time for you to debrief me on your encounter with Command?"

[from_the_outside]

Honestly, she believes it. She's seen him in action, and now that he's working under his own mind again – kind of – she's pretty sure he can be even more effective.

There's a whole lot wrong with all of that, but they can't dive into it right now. Both of them need to be at the top of their game. "Yes."

She does her best to meet his gaze through the smoked glass of the goggles. "He called me in first thing this morning. To congratulate me on my effectiveness."

[nerves_of_ice]

She's trying to meet his eyes, he realizes. He hesitates for a second, then pulls the goggles off again and stows them once more.

"You were effective," he points out. "Very."

[from_the_outside]

"Yeah, well, when I start fishing for compliments, it'll be so you tell me I'm pretty," she says. "I'm just saying what happened. He asked for my read on the situation. I told him I thought it was weird that Felipe could manage to bring in a sniper like the one I'd tangled with."

She smiles, slightly. "I told him I thought it might have been a whole team."

[nerves_of_ice]

He blinks once, not sure if she's teasing him or scolding him, then decides to leave it alone and just nods.

"Interesting. How'd he take it?"

[from_the_outside]

"He seemed interested," she reports. "He asked what I thought we should do. And if I had any idea where the sniper had gone after I went after him."

She lets that sit a moment, then continues. "And he wanted to know if I wanted to be involved with next steps."

[nerves_of_ice]

Weariness flickers in his eyes, but there's no sign of surprise to be seen. He's not even aware of it.

"You were successful at anticipating my movements. Of course he'd want to know where you thought I was."

He suspects he knows the answer, but he has to ask the question anyway. "Did you tell him yes?"

[from_the_outside]

"To being involved? Yes. To knowing where you were? No."

She slips her hands into her pockets and thinks back over that conversation. "I had to report it like I would if I didn't know anything. I told him that if the aggressor really had been enhanced, and if more shit was going down in Colombia, Steve and STRIKE would be the best response. But it won't come to that."

[nerves_of_ice]

He nods, gaze flicking around them again to check for threats or changes. "Smart," he observes. "They may not suspect you. Yet, anyway. Be careful. Please."

[from_the_outside]

"I will," she promises. "But I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to let them try and recruit me. If we have enough time," she amends.

Unlikely. She doesn't think Steve's going to be able to keep working with STRIKE. "But first things first. We need to determine if Fury's one of us or one of them."

[nerves_of_ice]

"No." Deadly even, without even an instant's hesitation. "But sure, first things first."

He puts his left hand on the railing and vaults over it, firing a zipline from his arm to catch on a girder beneath the bridge and pull him up into them, out of sight.

[from_the_outside]

"One of these days, I'm going to leap off a bridge and get the last word," she mutters, but she positions herself where he'd indicated and waits for Fury to arrive.

[marvel_npc]

He'd spent a large chunk of the time between the morning and now looking at the Lemurian Star mission in more detail, and examining all the files from Colombia to boot. He still has more questions than answers, and he doesn't like any of them.

Fury strides out of the treeline, coat flapping around him, and eyes Agent 13 from the far end of the bridge before he shrugs, steps onto it and walks toward her. "Never figured you for a fresh air fanatic," he observes, dry. "Quite the location."

[from_the_outside]

"They say it's good for you," she points out, and holds up a hand when he's about ten feet away from her.

"Stop there, Director." Her voice is a sharp whiplash. "And keep your hands visible."

[marvel_npc]

He comes to a halt, staring at her with a sharp, narrowed glance.

"What the hell, Thirteen?"

Slowly, he spreads his hands out from his sides so that she can see them, carefully judging the distance between them and watching her for any sign of movement.

"Explain. Now."

[from_the_outside]

"SHIELD has been compromised," she says, flatly. "And you are the Director of SHIELD."

He's at gunpoint already, though he doesn't know it yet. "I want you to tell me what you know."

[marvel_npc]

"And you're one of my best agents, so I can understand your paranoia. Comes with the business," he drawls.

"Which means you should know better than to make an open-ended demand for classified information from me. How about you tell me why we're going through this farce, instead?"

[from_the_outside]

"We're going through this farce because I'm hoping you're not part of it," she says, hard. "But we could make it a lot harder if that's what you want to do."

Her jaw sets. "SHIELD has been infiltrated, Nick. Like you said, we are at war. We just haven't known it until now."

[marvel_npc]

He eyes her, weighing his options. ACCESS DENIED prints itself across his memory.

"The Lemurian Star?" he asks.

[from_the_outside]

She nods. Sitwell's in deep, she hears Bucky say again in her memory.

"Sitwell's one of them."

[marvel_npc]

"One of who?" She's hinted at a possibility, an oblique one, but he can't believe that's actually what she means.

Can she?

[from_the_outside]

She meets his one-eyed gaze without flinching.

"HYDRA."

[marvel_npc]

Evidently she can. Fury turns away from her and plants both hands flat on the railing, looking down at the water as it rushes past below the bridge.

"I'd ask if you were serious, but you damn well know better than to make a claim like that as a joke." He looks over at her. "HYDRA. You're sure, Thirteen? If I'm going to yank Sitwell in to spill his guts as hard as this'll take, you better be damn sure."