𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓬 ❖ 𝓫. 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼

C H A P T E R (35) - H O S P I T A L

Cassie opened her heavy eyes to be met with a dim light shining in the corner of the room she was in. She had been placed in a small armchair and once her eyes had fully adjusted to the light, she made out a figure sitting in the corner in the opposite chair.

"It's Fury." He mumbled, loud enough for her to hear.

She nodded slightly, trying to ignore the pulsing ache in her head. "Where are we?"

Just after she had finished speaking, footsteps sounded in the hallway.

"You're about to find out."

From around the corner, a face peered around the wall and looked between Cassie and Fury. It didn't take long for her to work out who it was.

"Steve?" She asked in shock before her feet carried her towards him, an instinct to embrace him tightly.

"Cassie," he said as he returned the hug, "What are you doing here?"

When she pulled away and the light shone on her, the cuts she had received on her face were evident. Steve opened his mouth to say something, but she stopped him before he could and moved aside to reveal Fury sat in the chair, swaying his hand to the rhythm of the music playing in the background.

"I don't remember giving you a key."

"Did you really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out and I needed a place to crash."

Cassie leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to rid the pain from her head. She listened to their conversation, still with her eyes closed and reopened them when the conversation fell silent. She saw as Fury typed certain things on his phone, things they had found out the hard way.

'SHIELD compromised.' He wrote.

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve questioned, looking around his apartment.

"Just you, me and C."

"That rhymed." Cassie hummed, amused from her place by the wall.

This caused both of the men to look at her, and she just shrugged before allowing them to continue. As Cassie pranced around the apartment, looking at photos in frames, three gunshots could be heard. She quickly ran back to the room where Steve was dragging a limp Fury along the floor.

"What the hell happened?" Cassie shrieked, dropping to her knees at his side.

Fury had become a father figure to her, and she placed a hand on his cheek as he raised his and handed a flash drive to her. Cassie shoved it in her pocket and placed her hand in his, squeezing tightly.

"Don't trust anyone." He managed to mumble before passing out.

Cassie let a tear fall from her eyes as she felt Fury's grip on her hand loosen, lowering her head in guilt. She had promised to protect him with her life, and she was too busy admiring photos to even be there to try.

She raised her head again and was eye level with a window, seeing a figure move away from a window in the opposite building. A figure she recognised from earlier that day. She returned to the room where Steve stood in conversation with a blonde woman who was speaking through a radio.

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?"

Steve opened his mouth to respond, but Cassie had already took a leap of faith out of the window, landing in the opposite building surrounded by glass. She groaned at the few pieces that had lodged themselves into her hands as she pulled herself up and ran through the building which seemed to be a type of office.

Steve was quick to follow, but Cassie had followed the shooter all the way up to the roof and caught him just before he got to the edge.

"Who are you?" She questioned as she took a few steps closer to him, trying to intimidate him to the edge.

The mystery man didn't respond, yet turned his head in her direction. Half of his face had been covered with a mask and his eyes had black paint around them, as if he was trying to hide his identity. Cassie looked deep into his eyes, watched as the breeze sifted through his mid length hair. He raised a gun quickly and aimed it at her, but not before a familiar shield was thrown from behind and hit the man, causing him to flee.

Cassie got to the edge to track him, but he had disappeared without a trace. She turned around to Steve who was picking his shield up and looking at her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She sighed and furrowed her brows, trying to see if she could pinpoint any emotion in that mans eyes, but they were cold and empty. Had she been any closer, she could've understood them more, but due to the distance she could hardly make out the colour.

"Where's Fury?"

"On his way to the hospital."

Without another word, Cassie ran towards the edge and jumped, feeling the wind first before pulling out her grapple gun that Fury had gifted her. She attached it to the lip of a window and used it to lower herself to the floor gently before speeding off in the direction of the hospital.

**

"Come on Fury..." Cassie mumbled with her head against the glass window that had a view into the operating room.

Her warm breath fogged up the glass slightly, causing her to pull her sleeve over her hand to wipe it away. Just as she did so, Fury began to flatline.

"No, no! You can't do this to me Nick..." she whispered as Steve put a hand on her arm. The doctors had tried to revive him, but he was already gone. Steve looked down guiltily as he squeezed her shoulder.

Cassie repeated the words endlessly, but not once did they change the inevitable outcome.

"I've still got to tell you the story about the dog tag..." she whispered, tears falling from her eyes.

Cassie ran out of the small room and leaned against the wall outside, the tears were unstoppable as she closed her eyes shut and slid down the wall. She pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed into them, causing her head to ache even more. But she didn't care. The man she had seen as a father figure was gone.