Avengers The Captain's Secret

Part 11: Intel

CAP POV

The next day back on the ground at SHIELD, I made my way down to the door to Eve's quarters with the recording device taped inside my cargo pocket after seeing off Thor and Loki. I keyed in my code and it didn't work. I keyed again. Nothing. I took a deep breath, and thought: Philly. Okay, that meant that it was a special code. Most codes on board were straight numbers, but special codes began with a pound sign or asterisk. Even mine had one; not everyone could get to my uniforms and weapons.

I jogged back to my quarters and packed a small backpack with a change of clothes. Oh, I was getting in, but my code not working meant there was resistance somewhere. Once I was in, I was staying. I keyed in *-7-4-4-5-5-9. Nothing. "Damn." I whispered to myself.

"Good morning."

I turned to see Fury standing there. "Good morning."

"Problem with the door?"

"Actually, yes, I wanted to check on Evie."

Fury's eyebrows raised. "Evie?" I watched him watch me, and I felt my jaw tighten. "Oh, I'm sure she's fine."

I straightened. "I'd like to see for myself...if you don't mind."

Fury tried to conceal his agitation. "Look, I appreciate all you've done, but--"

I ignored him and keyed in my guess: #-7-4-4-5-5-9. It was worth a shot. The door opened, and I looked at Fury, watching his one eye widening at me. "Must have made a mistake the first time, excuse me." More like three times, I thought to myself. I strode through the corridor. I thought he'd follow, but he stood there as the door closed behind me.

I felt like running. This was...I'd never felt unsure or unsafe in SHIELD headquarters before, and suddenly I did. I thought of how Fury told us the Tesseract would be unlimited power for the world, and then Tony found the specs for weapons while I dug up files that indicated the same. It chilled me, even though it made sense. Fury sounded as if his reasoning was founded, but his lying to us-not so much. I was used to taking orders, but now I felt like I had to think and question more. It's my right.

I got to her quarters and the screen opened. Evie stood there.

"What's going on?"

"What?"

"What's going on?" She frowned, and then her voice lowered to a whisper. "One of Dad's special codes rang to me here."

"Philly..." I watched her eyes grow huge. "He left me a message." I reached into my cargo pocket and revealed part of the old camera to her.

She covered her mouth with both hands and backed away. "I-I was wondering where that was."

I took out the recorder all the way. "Can you destroy this, Sedi?"

She gasped softly. "I think so." Her eyes were wide as if she'd seen a ghost. Her gaze lowered to the object in my hand. "What's on it?"

I suddenly realized that I didn't want her to know what was on the recording. It was a lot. "Just that you had information for me?" I watched her face fall. "Evie?"

I followed her inside, but stopped when I realized she was going to her room. She returned with a thick file, and handed it to me. "I'll leave you to it."

"Is this your file?"

She looked upset, taking a breath to steady herself. "Yes." She was going to her room. "Dad didn't want my file on any system. Smart move."

"Sedi?"

She turned again.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd give you space to evaluate the file--"

"And then?"

She swallowed hard, and frowned, her chin tilting up in a way that told me she was protecting herself. "You'd probably leave."

I frowned at her.

"After you read that, you may not know who or what I am anymore, or not like it, so--"

I sat down and patted the space next to me. "No, it doesn't work that way. This is your story, and you're going to share it with me. There is so much more to a person than any file, only narrow-minded people rely on just that." She stood there, just watching me. "I tell you what, we'll exchange stories, the stuff in our files and the stuff that isn't." She looked like she was holding her breath. She looked so vulnerable, not sure whether to stay or run. She didn't want me to go, but then she'd already decided that I wouldn't stay. I wasn't like that. "Deal?"

She stood awhile, just looking at me. I waited. Then finally she scurried over and sat next to me. Her smile was hopeful and all the more beautiful for it. There was such a light in her, and I could see why Coulson took it upon himself to protect her. She looked almost relieved. "Okay."

We'd gone through the files. Most of it was SHIELD data, but the most interesting notes came from Coulson himself. They were written in the margins, and were more beneficial. As she grew, life showed what she could do and couldn't. I also found that Evie faked test results at his behest, out of fear of Fury finding out the extent of her powers or what she could truly do, which they seemed to find out at home or on vacation. Real results were written in the margins. She had some influence on the elements, but nothing having to do with heat. She had influence with animals, could actually communicate with them and could track scents. She could freeze things solid through and through, but it weakened her depending on environmental temperature. Coulson wrote in an entry that Evie cooled a pitcher of lemonade for him with one touch of a finger. She was an empath; she couldn't read minds, but she could read physical changes and interpret emotion through them. This was something Fury knew about. But then there was a final entry. It was a picture of her in the Helicarrier at SHIELD headquarters running. Under the picture, Coulson wrote: 11:24. Then he wrote "Home-11:25?"

She swallowed hard. "Clint gave me those."

"What?"

"I just wanted to see you, but I wasn't allowed to come, and then--" She sighed.

"What is it?"

"I snuck aboard the helicarrier to see the Avengers up close." She confessed. "Just for a minute, but Dad caught me. I went home."

I looked at the photo. It was us in a meeting room, but in the shadows, I made her out. "The ship was in the air at this point."

"Yeah, and Dad was so mad, but he looked more scared than anything."

This meant that footage had been doctored. Someone was helping Phil. Hawkeye was my best guess. "So how did you get home?"

She scooted away from me. She looked like she was bracing herself. "The same way," she took a deep breath. "The same way I did after I saved your life."