Chapter Thirtytwo – How Did You End Up Here?

You continue to sit still in your cell, hoping that Thomas didn’t see you. There is nowhere to hide in the cell, so if he shows up in there, you’re toast. You try not to make a sound. You barley dare to breathe. The defening sound of the alarm, still sounds all over. What if Thomas saw you? What if he comes in here? What if he stole a gun from the guard? All kind of worst case scenarios thundering inside your head. Oh, how you wish Rumlow was here. He would know exactly what to do in this situation.

You are so wrapped up in your own thoughts, that you don’t realise at first, that the alarm stops. You try to listen for sounds. Any sound. Footsteps? Screams for help? Gunshots? But nothing. No, wait. A sound is coming from the hallway. Sounds like someone is in pain. Should you try to help?

You slowly make your way over to the door. Take a look outside down the hallway. It’s the guard. He’s not lying down anymore. Instead he sits, with his back against the wall. Clenching his shoulder. Thank God, Thomas didn’t kill him. It looks like he roughed him up a bit though. You take another look up and down the hallway, before you quickly make your way over to him.

You kneel down next to him. You’re careful not to touch his shoulder. It looks painful. The guard looks up at you.

– You’re YN, right? Rumlow’s girl? Just so you know I didn’t agree with Pierce in your case…

– No time for that now? What is happening? What do you need?

The guard tries to move, but his shoulder keeps him down on the floor.

– My shoulder is dislocated. You have to help me get it back. I’ll tell you what to do! Can you do it?

You look at his face, then you look down on his shoulder.

– I.. I’m not a medic!

– You don’t have to be. Just put your hand there…

The guard places your hand carefully on his shoulder.

– Then grab my wrist with the other hand. Like this…

He puts your other hand on his wrist.

– Hold thight. And on the count of three you pull my arm down, and push my shoulder back. Got it?!

You nod. You’re not sure if you really can do this. But if you want to get out of here, this is your only chance. You can’t risk running into Thomas on your own, on your way out of the building.

– OK! One…. Two… Three

You do exactly as he told you to. Drag and push. You can see that it’s painful. But he’s an agent, he’s probably been through worse than this. It takes a while for him to get his composure back. But when he does. He gets to his feet.

– We need guns. Do you know how to use a gun?

Do you? You only know what Rumlow told you. You’ve never actually used one. You never actually pulled the trigger. You just aimed the gun at the wall. When you think back on that night, you can feel Rumlows breath on your neck. And you can feel his hands on you. Sensually and carefully teaching you how to use the gun.

– I… I don’t know. Rumlow told me how to. But I never actually used one.

– Rumlow’s a good teacher. You’ll manage. Follow me!

You follow him. He walks fast, you almost have to run after him. At the end of the hallway, he pushes on the wall, and a door opens. A secret door. You can’t even see it. This SHIELD building have it all. Inside the room, there is a lot of cabinets, all locked. The guard reaches for his keys. But then he stops.

– Fuck, he stole my Keys. YN! Grab that fire axe!

He points to an axe hanging on the wall. You grab it, and hold it out to him. He shakes his head.

– My shoulder, YN! You have to do it. I can probably hold a gun, and fire it. But I should’t move my arm. Use the axe to get these cabinets open.

What? Is he asking you to break into SHIELDS gun supply? What if you can’t trust this guy? You look at the axe in your hand. The guard sees that you don’t know what to do.

– Look, I know you’re feeling like you can’t trust me. I could tell you that you can, but that’s what a bad guy would do. So…

You don’t let him finish. You start to hit the axe against the lock, again and again. All your frustration and anger goes into this. And it doesn’t take long before the cabinet is open. The guard takes out a gun, and gives it to you. Thank God, it’s the same one Rumlow left for you back home. You can do this. At least you think you can..

When you both have guns, you follow him again. Slower this time. Carefully around every corner. You feel like you’re in the middle of an action movie. Or maybe an action comedy, by the way you’re looking. Following this guy around in an unfamiliar building, not having a single clue what you’re actually doing.

– We’ll have to take the stairs. Elevator is too risky. I hope you’re in shape!

You’re probably not in shape, working at a computer all day. But the adrenaline makes the walk up the stairs easier. After a while, he stops, gives you a sign, so you stop as well.

– This is the server floor. My guess is that they’re here. Get your gun ready. Aim, and shoot. Shoot first, ask questions later. DON’T hesitate. If you hesitate, you’re dead.

He reaches for the door handle, when he grabs it, he turns towards you again.

– Oh, and…. Don’t shoot me!

You don’t know if it’s a joke or not. But you find this whole situation kinda funny. So you smile at him.

– OK. I’ll try!

– Well.. I guess that’s good enough..

He moves like Rumlow did, when your apartment was broken into. Almost like a cat. Quiet, fast. You try to mimic his movements, but you feel that you look like a prey, rather than a predator.

You follow him into another long hallway. You remember what Rumlow told you, about employees stealing information, and what Pierce told you about information that put the agents at risk. Then you remember Thomas in the hall downstairs. Is he the one who’s stealing information? What kind of information? And why? And why are you involved?

The guard continues to move down the hallway, you just follow along. It feels exiting and terrifying all at the same time. How did you end up here? You’re just a normal girl. And now, you’re standing here with a ninjaguard in the safest building on earth. With a gun in your hand. This is surreal.

The guard turns to you again, whispers to you.

– We have to get to the main server, and shut it down. If we do that, they won’t be able to download what they need. I need for you to do exactly as I tell you. If you don’t, you’ll put us both at risk!

You don’t know what to answer, so you just nod.

– The main server is in the very back of the server room. They’ll probably be in there. Follow my lead, and have your gun ready. If you have a clean shot. Take it! Stay behind me!

You round another corner, and he points to a door. He doesn’t have to say anything, you know that that’s the room. And you get ready, as ready as you can get, considering, you don’t have any clue what you’re doing.