Agent [Rose Book Two]

The Winter Soldier

It doesn't take Skye long to tech me how to scramble any signals containing a trace of Captain America. Hopefully this'll hold off SHIELD until I can figure out what's going on. "You do realize this is basically treason, right?" Skye asks me. I take a deep breath.

"I know." I reply. "But I refuse to believe that Captain America would kill Nick Fury."

Skye sighs. "Neither do I. I've got to go. Keep me posted, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks." I reply, and hang up.

I decide to head home early. Feeling edgy, I load the gun I typically keep in my back pocket. The walk home is quick, but I don't want to take any chances.

I'm barely halfway home when uneasiness sets in to the point of paranoia. I instinctively pull out my gun and whirl around.

The metal arm registers before anything else. It's silver with a red star by the shoulder. Instantly, my breath becomes shallow as flashes of my encounter with the Berserker Staff come back.

"You." I hiss. "Who are you?" I take a few steps back. The man doesn't say anything, just pulls out what looks like a gun. I don't stay to find out. I turn and sprint as fast as I can down a nearby alley, trying to fumble with the buttons on my phone. I accidentally drop it, but don't try and grab it.

The alley abruptly ends. I twirl around, desperately trying to find an escape. I grab onto the gutter pipe, seeing it as my only option, and try to climb as fast as I can.

I only make it a few feet up the building before the man catches up with me. I aim my gun and try to keep climbing. "Was it real?" I whisper. "Tell me!" My voice raises. I'm almost near a window. "Tell me right now! Was it real?" My hand shakes.

I've reached the window. It's locked. Seeing other way out, I quickly aim my gun at it and shoot the lock. I quickly jump through the window as a bullet lands less than two feet from my head.

I crash on the floor, banging my head. It's enough to cause momentary confusion. Haze crosses my eyes, and time slows down. I roll over on my back to find myself not in an apartment, but a lab somewhere. "She's the only one." I hear a voice say.

Everything blurs and I'm back in the apartment. Less than a second has passed. I jump up and dash into another room. A woman is in this room. The car crash scene flashes in front of my eyes, and I lean against the wall for support. "Can I borrow your phone?" I ask her weakly, knowing the metal armed man will be right behind me. The woman quickly hands me her phone, and I try and head to another room.

"This is SHIELD Agent 16, I'm under fire and need extraction, I repeat, I am under fire and require extraction!" I say, giving the SHIELD operator my location. "Like, now." I add.

"Get to the roof. We'll have an extraction team there in about two minutes." The operator says calmly. "Like that's an option." I mutter under my breath, ducking out of the room.

The metal armed man is waiting for me. I try and dash as fast as I can towards the front door, and reach it barely. "What do you want from me?" I ask, my fingers fiddling with the knob. "Besides trying to kill me."

I don't wait for an answer, quickly opening the door and slipping out, slamming the door behind me. The elevator is just down the hall. I jump in, quickly slamming the "roof" button. The elevator is too slow for my liking, but it will get me to the roof faster than the stairs.

The elevator doors open to the sound of wind rushing across the rooftop as a helicopter comes close to the roof. "Get in!" Someone yells as the door opens. She holds out a hand for me, and I sprint towards it, grabbing the woman's hand. She quickly pulls me inside and closes the door.

Exhausted, I collapse against the side of the copter. "Thanks." I say to the woman. She nods in reply. "What was attacking you?" She asks.

"I'm not quite sure." I reply. "It was a man. He had a metal arm, and long hair, as well as a mask that covered most of his face." The woman nods again. "And any weapons?" She asks.

"A gun, it looked like. I didn't see anything else, but I didn't give him too much of a look." I add. The voices from the apartment return to my head as reality begins to fade.

It's cold, and a bright light is shining in my face. "I've already dealt with everything."