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fourteen

"You smug son of a bitch." A councilman turns to Pierce, anger spreading over his face. I take this as my cue to move in. I draw a 9mm, holding it at my hip and make myself known.

   The councilman notices me and must think I'm an agent of some kind, because he gestures to Pierce. "Arrest him."

   Alexander chuckles, "I'm sorry, but she doesn't take orders from you." He nods to the councilman and I pull on the slide of the gun, loading a bullet into the chamber and flip off the safety as I point it at him. "I guess I've got the floor." He shrugs.

   "Let me ask you a question. What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow, and you knew that they were gonna drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution?" Alexander walks over to Councilman Singh, handing him a glass of champagne. "And you could just stop it with a flick of the switch. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you all?" He turns and looks to all of them.

   "Not if it was your switch." Singh tosses the glass aside and Pierce snaps his fingers at me and hold out his hand. I produce my other handgun from its clip, placing it in his hand.

   Councilwoman Hawley's sudden movements cause me to spring into action. I shove Pierce away as she does the same to Singh. I slide onto my side, kicking at her feet and making her fall to the floor. I jump onto her torso, pinning her down and setting my feet on her ankles while pressing the barrel of my gun to her forehead.

   "You almost stepped on my moment," Alexander bends down, pressing a button on her neck and peeling off a mask and wig that reveals a redheaded woman. "Natasha."

   She looks up at me, staring into my eyes, her face filling with concern which only confuses me. "Raven?"

   "She won't answer you, Agent Romanoff." Pierce tells her, but I don't acknowledge the statement, instead I try to figure out where I've seen or known this woman before. She seems familiar, like the man over the speakers earlier, but I can't place it.

   I hear multiple footsteps enter the room, I see two other HYDRA agents come in and back up Pierce.

   "Sorry about this, you'll understand eventually." Despite how much I know it hurt, the woman rips her arm from beneath my boot and hits my gun out of my hand while kicking the back of my head.

   When she does this, she's able to free herself from underneath my frame. I roll to my feet and move to her. I deliver a kick to her side and duck when she tries to do the same to my head, instead I grab her ankle and twist it so she loses balance and lands on the floor again.

   She reaches into her pocket, developing a small disk that she throws at my stomach. Small pieces of it dig into my clothing and skin where it attaches. I look to her as she smirks and holds up a button that she quickly presses.

   The shock from the tiny device surprises me as I fall to my knees. I'm desperate to rip the thing from me, but she stands and gives a roundhouse kick to my head, sending me to the ground.  Spots invade my vision as I fall into darkness for a few moments.

• • •

   I wake up to find the redhead at the computer in the room while Alexander was being held at gunpoint and all attention was on the woman.

   I get to my feet as quietly as I can and reach for the knife in my boot. I run and slide past one councilman, slicing open the back of his ankle and sending him falling to the floor.

   I stand up, throwing my knife at the other one's leg, lodging it in his lower thigh near his knee.

   The man that held Pierce at gun point grabs him and presses the gun closer to his skull. I raise my hands, as if to surrender, but instead I reach for the gun clipped in between my shoulders, pointing it and firing at the man's hand, causing him to drop the gun as I shoot at his leg, too.