Alpas

Chapter 25

*Authors note*
Guys, I can't even begin to tell you the month I've had. Not only did I lose motivation for this piece, but I also started a new job, managed to trick a guy into being my boyfriend (lord help him), but now I've also moved in with him? It gets complicated. And weird. But I know there is no excuse for me not to have posted an update in so long. So please. Call me on my bullshit and tell me to get my ass in gear. Let me know it's been too long and I need to get my shit together 😂

Love, Sam 😘

"Babe, listen. It's not okay for you to spring last minute business trips on me." Tony whines over the phone.

"I'm not on a business trip honey. I'm just having a code 6 at my office. I'll be home in a few hours, I promise." I chuckle as I make my way up stairs.

"It feels like the same thing. And a few hours? It's already midnight." He sighs.

"Says the man who can go days without sleeping. Look, I'll be back here in a little while and I'll tuck you in when I get home whether you're asleep or not, sound good?" I smile as I walk into my office.

"I guess that'll work. Just hurry home. I feel like we haven't spent much time together lately."

"Darling, that's because you are saving the world everyday. And I'm running a business. Sometimes our hours just don't mesh. And that's okay. We always find a way. Plus, you just spent the whole weekend with me. It's literally Monday. I think you'll live."

"You underestimate my need for you. I'm needy. There. Happy now?" He laughs.

"I'm hanging up the phone Tony. Love you." I chuckle and cut the line off. If I wouldn't have, he would have kept talking til I said I was on the way home.

Finally. Just a little peace and quiet. Sort of. I really did come up here to write. And to sketch some. I have been neglecting my jobs here lately. I need to get back on track. Get back in the game.

"Agent 19." I hear a deep voice say from the shadowed corner of my office.

"Hello? Who's there?" I ask as I back away toward my shirt wall, making sure to keep my eyes open and alert.

"Don't be alarmed. It's just me." And my heart stops, only for a moment, when director Fury himself steps out of the shadows.

"Jesus. How long have you been waiting there to scare me? Is this gonna be a thing?" I asks as I let out the breath I was holding in.

"You know I like messing with you. It's become a hobby. But I'm not here just for laughs. I'm here on business." He says as he walks around my room.

"I told you. I don't do business for shield any longer. Unless the world is coming to an end, I will not intervene."

"That's what I'm here to talk about. We have a major threat on our hands. Hydra has risen back up, and they are even more relentless than before." He states.

"So. Hydra will always be around. No matter how hard you try to get rid of them. Even if you get rid of their current leaders, new ones will rise up in their absence. That's nothing new. To me, they aren't a threat big enough for me to step forward."

"But those goons at the party several months back were? They barely tipped the scales. Dakota, we need you." He says as he moves closer to me.

"No. You need the Avengers. Put an anonymous tip out there. The team will come. They will help you. It's you after all. They may not show it, but they care about you a little bit. Especially Natasha."

"So, you mean to tell me that you'd rather send your friends in than go in yourself? This doesn't sound like you. Where's the Dakota I met years ago? Scared but ready to do her part."

"That was years ago Nick. I've changed. I'm no longer afraid of Hydra or what they stand for. I have a life now. Friends. Family. I don't need that kind of life style to fill that void anymore. I'm happy where I am."

"So I assume you've told the team then? About who you truly are?" He questions.

"No. Because you're supposed to protect your family. And I'm protecting them from that part of me. It's something they don't need to know."

"You can't change if you aren't okay with who you are." He states and leaves the room.

For once, I wish he was wrong.

                             ~~~~

"Guys, I may not be an expert on missions. But I don't think they are supposed to go to shit the moment we land." I say in my comm as I scan through the computer screens in front of me.

"Have you found anything yet? We are getting killed out here." Clint states.

"Comments like that won't make us go any faster." Nat says as she takes the chair next to me and starts doing what I am doing.

Fury did get his wish. We found the Hydra facility he mentioned. And it is definitely occupied to say the least.

We managed to make it inside, clearing out what we could. But they need us to find information. About something called "Project H." Doesn't ring a bell to me. And you'd think it would. Considering I was Hydra. And I made sure to know everything about them once I escaped. But, you can't know everything, right?

"I'm not getting anything on these computers, you?" Nat asks me.

"Nothing. It's like they wiped everything clean." I responded.

"Hey guys, we have incoming on the south side of the building. Too many to count. We need to move." Sam states.

"Copy that Sam. Everyone, back to the jet." Steve says. Nat and I start to leave whenever the computers start to have random images flash on the screen.

"What's happening?" Nat asks.

"I have no idea. I was hoping you'd know."

"Wait, look. It's talking about Project H." She says as we both move closer to the computers, compelled to stay by the content on the screens.

"It's talking about a serum? Am I right?" I ask.

"Yes. And they gave this chemical concoction to only one person. Because all of the other test subjects rejected it. 50 died. And only one person survived the experiment."

"But it doesn't say who."

"By the DNA strains, I think it's a woman."

"Wait, there she is. Hold on. No..." I gaps, trying to keep calm.

"It is! Project H is about-" and we are cut off by a ticking noise that leads to the wall around us exploding.

I remember looking over at Nat, I can tell she could see the fear in my eyes. I could see the fear in hers as well. But it was too late. Staying was a mistake.

The air turned to dust. The walls to rubble. The floor to ashes. Everything disappeared. I couldn't see Nat anymore. I couldn't see anything. Nor could I feel anything.

It's a strange feeling. Being unconscious. It's like you can hear what's happening around you. But you don't know exactly what that is. You can't feel anything. It's like you are nothing.

As the dust settles, I'm sure they will come to find us. But for now, we will lie here in the chaos, unaware of the danger that's fallen upon us. But fully aware of what we saw on that computer screen.

She knows now. I know. But I've always known. I just didn't think it had a name. Project H. Couldn't come up with anything else, huh? Hydra sure was good at coming up with names.

I wonder how long it's been? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? Who knows. Time is irrelevant in the world of your subconscious. It's like it just fades away. Kind of like I am. Or could be. Am I fading away? I'd like to think not.

But I know one thing for sure. It's going to get harder for me once I wake up. And I'm going to have to really keep myself together this time. Cause with this team. Well. They just might break me.