Schism In The Safe Place

Chapter 3

 My back was still sore when we reached the Tri-Skeleton, S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters. My father had dragged me in to see Director Fury with him, absolutely livid that he hadn't been told the whole story about the mission.

"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" he sneered as we entered the office.

"I didn't lie," the director defended. "Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours."

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share."

"I'm not obliged to do anything." He mocked the way my father said that word.

"Those hostages could have died, Nick, and my daughter was injured."

"A-Actually, I'm fine now." The looks I received silenced me.

"I sent the greatest soldier in history and his daughter who can move things with her mind to make sure that didn't happen."

"Soldiers trust each other. That's what makes an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns."

"Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." That silenced my father as I awkwardly tapped my feet against the floor. "Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything.

"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own."

"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all."

"Except you." Director Fury stood straight, frustrated.

"You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." He looked at both of us before starting from the room. "This way." My father grabbed onto my hand as we left, something he did when he wanted to make sure I wouldn't get distracted and wander off, as I sometimes did. We entered a glass elevator that was high enough to give us a view of all of DC.

"Insight Bay," Director Fury instructed the elevator.

"Captain and Elanor Rogers do not have clearance for Project Insight," the computer system informed him.

"Director override. Fury, Nicholas J."

"Confirmed." The doors closed and the elevator began to go down. "You know, they used to play music."

"Yeah."

"My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years." Director Fury was clearly trying to keep things converational. "Granddad worked in a nice building. Got good tips. He'd walk home every night, a roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say 'hi.' People would say 'hi' back. Time went on, the neighborhood got rougher. He'd say 'hi.' They'd say 'keep on steppin.'' Granddad got to gripping that lunchbag a little tighter."

"Did he ever get mugged?" Director Fury chuckled.

"Every week, some punk would say 'what's in the bag?'"

"What would he do?"

"He'd show them. Bunch of crumpled ones and a loaded .22 Magnum." My father laughed. "Yeah, Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much." He moved to look out the window behind us, and as I followed his gaze, my eyes widened. Three large airships were quickly being worked on, while an armada of other weaponized vehicles sat below them. They all couldn't be used for any other purpose than fighting. "Yeah, they're a little but bigger than a .22."

"They're terrifying," I whispered.

"This is Project Insight. Three next-generation helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites." We stepped out of the elevator to get a closer look at the ships.