2012

New York City

S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters, Conference Room

One Day Later

 

(Omniscient POV)

"Crossbones?" Nick Fury questioned as he looked across the table at the people sitting opposite him.

Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Clint all sat solemnly at the conference table, each wearing expressions of intense worry and concern. Maria Hill, whose expression was hard to read, stood behind them.

A sizeable holographic picture floated above the table, showing the reconstructed image of a figure wearing sleek ebony-black armor that glowed with a blood-red hue and a horrifying skull helmet masking their face.

"Yeah, that's what he called himself," Steve informed Fury. "He's the one who took care of Loki and gave me his scepter to close the portal."

Fury frowned at the information.

"Well...that's certainly interesting." Fury muttered. "But why would this...'Crossbones' do that?"

"I don't know," Steve admitted, "But the truth of the matter is that he did save us. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten that portal closed in time. And without that, Loki would have come back with an army and killed us all. He saved our lives. I don't know if he had some plan beyond that... But we should at least give him the benefit of the doubt."

Fury paused for a moment before nodding his head and leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"We'll be keeping an eye out for him," Fury told them. "But I'm not sure if we'll be able to do much else at this point. After the battle, he seems to have disappeared in the wind. If he turns up again...we'll deal with him accordingly."

Tony and Clint nodded their heads in agreement.

Steve simply rested his chin on his palm as he stared at the holographic projection of Crossbones. Wondering if this mysterious person was a friend or foe.

"That's fine," He told Fury. "Just make sure you keep the rest of us updated if anything happens."

"I'll try," Fury nodded his head.

The hologram of Crossbones faded away and the room fell silent.

"So...what happens now?" Clint asked.

Fury sighed.

"Right now... we recover. After that, We'll gather the rest of the team and discuss what we want to do next. But until then...I suggest you all take a break."

Everyone but Steve was happy to hear those words and nodded their heads in agreement. They left the conference room and headed back to their respective quarters, leaving Fury alone with Maria.

Maria frowned at Fury and leaned down to whisper into his ear.

"Sir, Secretary Pierce's chopper is on its way here now," Maria informed him. "He will arrive shortly."

Fury nodded his head and motioned for Maria to leave the room. After she left, he took a deep breath and sat back in his chair.

"Alright," He began. "Let's see what he has to say."

*************

New York City

S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters, S.T.R.I.K.E Team Barracks

Captain's Quarters

A Few Minutes Later

 

Brock lay on his bed in the cramped room, staring up at a small blue orb he held in his hand. Looking closer at the small blue orb, one could see a familiar smooth yellow gemstone floating inside the orb's center.

The Mind Stone.

"So...how exactly am I supposed to use this thing?" Brock asked aloud but received no answer.

Cyttorak hadn't spoken to him since he won the fight against Andreas. He could still feel the God's presence within himself, but for some reason, he wasn't answering any of his calls.

Brock let out a sigh and clenched his fist around the orb in his palm. He felt like he was missing something important, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Brock shook his head and lay back down on the bed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

*Knock*

*Knock*

The sound of rapid knocking interrupted his thoughts as Brock slowly opened his eyes and looked over to the door.

Pocketing the orb, Brock let out another sigh as he sat up and grabbed his discarded uniform from the floor, slipping on his pants and shirt in the process.

He slowly walked over to the door and unlocked the handle, opening it to reveal Jasper Sitwell's weaselly face standing outside of his quarters.

"What do you want?" Brock grumbled at the small man.

Sitwell gave a smug grin and stepped closer to the door.

"Secretary Pierce has arrived at the base," He informed him. "And he wishes to speak with you."

"Well, I suppose I can spare a few moments," Brock shrugged, closing the door to his quarters behind himself and shouldering past the small man.

Sitwell grumbled something under his breath as he followed Brock down the hallways and into the elevator that led up to the office that was reserved for the Undersecretary of the World Security Council, Alexander Pierce.

Once they reached the top floor, Brock and Sitwell exited the elevator and stopped at the reception desk.

"Good morning, Sirs," A young, attractive woman greeted them with a smile.

Brock nodded his head politely at the girl while Sitwell just glared at her.

"Morning," Brock told her.

The receptionist nodded her head in response and gestured for the two men to follow her.

She led them through the door to the office where Secretary Pierce was patiently waiting.

Sitting behind the large oak desk, Pierce looked up from his work as the doors opened and smiled at them both with a warm greeting.

"Hello, Agent Sitwell," Pierce greeted him. "How are you today?"

Sitwell stood at attention in front of the desk, giving a slight salute with his right hand.

"I'm fine, sir... And may I say it's always an honor to see you, Sir." He replied flatteringly.

Pierce chuckled slightly and waved aside the comment.

"Please, Sitwell! I'm the President's Top Advisor, not some military officer!" Pierce told him with a chuckle. "No need for the formalities."

"Yes, sir," Sitwell bowed his head in respect. "I apologize, sir."

Pierce nodded his head and turned to look at Brock, who stood off to the side in parade rest.

"And how are you today, Captain Rumlow?" He asked.

"Fine, sir," Brock answered calmly. "Thank you."

"Excellent! I hope you and your team were able to get some rest last night," Pierce said. "You boys had quite the big day yesterday."

Brock nodded his head silently in agreement.

"Yes, sir," He responded.

"First..I would like to congratulate you and your men on a job well done yesterday," Pierce continued. "Your actions allowed us to secure a significant victory against Loki."

Brock nodded his head in thanks.

"Which is why I am promoting you to Major," Pierce said. "I'm sure you were already expecting that, but I wanted to inform you officially anyway."

"It's an honor, sir," Brock thanked him.

"Please, it's nothing. You deserve it. You're the best of the best. The only problem we seem to have is trying to find enough jobs for the team to do." Pierce shook his head. "Which brings me to the next piece of business...."

Pierce presses a button underneath his desk, securing the room of any unwanted ears.

"My apologies for bringing this up so late, but the President's security council has decided to schedule a meeting for tomorrow morning. It will consist of representatives from the United Nations, the World Security Council, and other government officials. They'll be discussing the events of recent days and what we plan to do moving forward. I've been ordered by the president to represent S.H.I.E.L.D in this gathering."

Brock cocked his head slightly as he listened attentively.

"I want you and your team to act as my personal escort to the meeting," Pierce told him. "I also need you to make sure everyone behaves themselves and that there aren't any incidents during this gathering. There are important moves that need to be made in this meeting."

"Understood," Brock nodded his head. "I'll make sure everything goes according to plan. Can I ask what exactly is going to be discussed?"

Pierce sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure myself," He admitted. "But the president has told me that some decisions need to be made concerning Loki's imprisonment. He believes that Loki might try to escape at some point. So he's ordered me to prepare a game plan for a...' worst case scenario' situation"

"Hmm..." Brock pondered for a moment. "I think I understand. We'll take every precaution necessary to make sure the meeting is not interrupted, Sir."

"Of course," Pierce nodded his head. "Thank you, Major Rumlow. The cause appreciates your service. Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra," Brock replied.

With that, Pierce dismissed Brock and Sitwell from his presence and they returned to the elevator and headed back downstairs.

Back in the main lobby, Sitwell broke out into a smug grin and clapped Brock on the shoulder as he passed by.

"Congratulations, boy!" He said with a fake smile.

Brock just grunted in reply, pushing his hand off of his shoulder.

Sitwell grimaced and then left as Brock took a deep breath and exhaled in relief.

After a brief respite, he sensed someone approaching behind him.

"How did the meeting go?" Ava's ghostly voice asked.

Brock nodded his head, not turning around to face her.

"Went smoothly," He told her. "Got a promotion and new orders."

"I see..." Ava replied. "Anything I can help with?"

Brock shook his head.

"No, I think I got this handled," He assured her. "You keep poking around for information on your cure."

"Very well," She agreed. "I'll stay in touch."

Ava's invisible form reached forward and slipped a stolen comlink into Brock's hand before she vanished back into the shadows of the base.

Brock pocketed the small device and smiled to himself.

"It's nice to have good help," He whispered.

*************

A/n: Hey guys, hope you are enjoying the story so far and as always thanks for reading! If you like my work and want to support it, check out Patreon.com/Swarthy or Paypal.me/xSwarthyx anything is appreciated.

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