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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN SHIELD COMPROMISED
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Natasha was not answering her phone.
That in of itself wasn't strange. Riley had known her a handful of years, and he knew that she didn't answer her phone often, if at all. Not unless she was on a mission and it was her job phone, of which she answered plenty. But Riley knew for a fact that she wasn't on a new mission, because she always said goodbye to him before she went off. He grew more and more nervous as he tried and failed to get her to answer her phone. He had avoided taking his car, instead slipping into a hoodie and jogging pants and slipping out onto the open sidewalk. He kept a lookout for anyone following him, and altered the light around him to make himself invisible whenever he thought it was needed. Nathan had tried to follow him at first—still doing his job, even after he'd been caught—but Riley lost him fairly easily, with a little light trick and slipping into the right building and out the back. Now, he had his hoodie up and his headphones in. He was nothing but a late-night jogger, keeping his head lowered to avoid directly looking at road cameras.
His mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to make sense of everything he had learned the last few hours. Nick Fury had been in a car accident, and he'd been having both Steve and Riley watched by agents. For their protection, Nathan had said, but protection from what? Steve's identity as Captain America was already out there—he had been doing commercials and such for money until his paychecks from S.H.I.E.L.D. had started clearing—and his name had been clear in the credits. Not to mention he was a historical hero; the press had a field day when they finally figured out that the great Captain America was seemingly back from the dead. Riley's identity as Solar, on the other hand, was secure as ever. He checked every other day, and any camera footage anyone had gotten of his face was fuzzy at best. The only one who had gotten a clear look at him was the kid, Miles Morales, who had done nothing but give him the name Solar. Natasha was the same way, and any enemies who did recognize her face never lived long enough to tell anyone else.
Riley puffed his breath evenly as he continued jogging, as he continued thinking. He was missing something vital here, so he went back to Nathan. Nathan had been appointed for protection by Nick Fury. Steve had been assigned Sharon Carter for protection as well. As far as he knew, Natasha didn't have the same treatment, but Riley and Steve had something that Natasha did not—powers. Steve had everything a super serum entailed, and Riley could control elements from the sun. Perhaps they were being protected because of that; from potential threats from enemies that disliked their superpowers. But that didn't explain Nathan's lack of...well, talent. He had been so easy to lose when he had tried to follow. Even without his powers, Riley could've lost him with his eyes closed. Why would Fury have chosen an agent less skilled than Riley himself to protect him? It made no sense.
