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"We still tipped them off. Yesterday morning at ten o'clock, Director Fury left headquarters and was ambushed."
"He made it to Captain Rogers, but was attacked again. He was pronounced dead."
"By the time Commander Hand and I got word, the HYDRA agents embedded in New York's SHIELD branch had already started moving. Caught off guard, a lot of SHIELD agents were gunned down on the spot. I was trying to get Commander Hand out of the building."
"But she took a bullet to the leg. So she stayed behind to cover me while I escaped."
"After that, I spent the night hiding. When I felt like their search had died down a bit, I found a car and drove here."
Actually, Gwen's house hadn't been Sharon's first choice.
She didn't want to bring danger to Gwen's doorstep.
HYDRA wanted world domination. But if anything happened to Gwen, the world itself would be in danger.
If Gwen got hurt, Hawk would lose it. He'd scream, "My love is dead—I don't care about right or wrong anymore," flip the table, and burn the entire planet to the ground.
But New York was a big city, and Sharon had run out of safe places to go.
Safe houses were out of the question.
This was an internal SHIELD uprising. Any safe house she knew about, HYDRA knew about too. They were probably waiting at every single one, ready to spring a trap.
Next on the list—SHIELD's allies in New York.
Thor? He was out of state with his girlfriend, Jane Foster, visiting New Mexico.
Tony Stark? Iron Man and Pepper Potts were in South Korea for the grand opening of Dr. Helen Cho's regeneration lab. They'd gone to show their support.
Carrie White, the rising witch? Carrie had left a while ago with her mentor to visit other supernatural witches in New Orleans.
As for Natasha and Barton—forget it...
They weren't even based in New York. And if Captain America was being hunted, Natasha and Barton were probably in just as much trouble as Sharon.
So after running through her options, Sharon had thought of 521A Bleecker Street.
Except HYDRA had apparently thought of it too. Sharon's two gunshot wounds hadn't come from yesterday's escape. She'd been hit on her way here, just minutes ago.
But here was the strange part...
The moment her car entered the Bleecker Street neighborhood, the two HYDRA vehicles chasing her had slammed on their brakes.
Gwen blinked as she listened to Sharon's story.
"They stopped outside the neighborhood?"
"Yeah."
Sharon nodded, then considered a possibility. "SHIELD has files on Hawk. HYDRA definitely has access to them. Maybe, in HYDRA's view, Hawk's someone they can't afford to provoke."
Reputation cut both ways.
To Hawk's friends, he was easygoing and laid-back.
But in SHIELD's records, Hawk had an official codename—Phoenix—and an unofficial nickname.
The Demon King.
Because Hawk was the kind of guy who, once provoked, would go nuclear. Best case? He'd wipe out your family. Worst case? He'd wipe out your entire bloodline.
The former was represented by General Ross's family.
The latter was represented by the Wakandans.
Even though Hawk wasn't currently in New York—only his fiancée Gwen was home... Provoking Gwen was infinitely more dangerous than provoking Hawk directly.
Hawk was the Demon King.
Gwen was the chain that kept him restrained.
The last group that tried to hurt Gwen had been wiped off the map. Wakanda's ashes were still settling.
Sharon guessed that was why HYDRA hadn't dared to enter Bleecker Street. They weren't giving the Demon King any reason to rampage.
Gwen's mouth fell open slightly.
She'd thought HYDRA was supposed to be terrifying and unstoppable. She hadn't realized HYDRA was apparently afraid of Hawk.
But was Hawk really that scary?
He was actually pretty nice. And he listened to her. When she told him to wash his hands, he washed them. When she said to—
Gwen quickly shook her head, refocusing on the situation. She turned to Sharon. "So you're saying I should be safe here?"
By now, Gwen had finished her emergency treatment.
Sharon looked at the bandages wrapped around her shoulder and abdomen. She tried to stand, but the sharp pain forced her back down.
Gwen quickly helped Sharon onto the couch.
Sharon looked at her.
"Do you have a phone?"
"Yeah."
Gwen nodded, turned, ran into the kitchen, grabbed her phone, and came back.
Sharon took the phone, glanced at the screen, and her lips twitched. She handed it back to Gwen.
"They've blocked the signal."
"..."
Gwen took the phone back. Sure enough—"No Service" flashed on the screen. She looked up just in time to see Sharon struggling to stand again.
"Wait, Sharon, what are you doing?"
"I have to leave. If they attack, you'll be in danger."
Better safe than sorry.
If HYDRA succeeded, there'd still be a chance to fight back.
But if Gwen got hurt, the world was finished.
Gwen raised an eyebrow and gently pushed Sharon back onto the couch. "They're right outside. If you leave now, you're walking into a trap. And you said it yourself—they stopped at the edge of the neighborhood. They're not coming in."
Sharon shook her head. "That only works if Hawk's here. Now that he's gone, who knows if they'll actually stay out."
Gwen sighed. "Sharon, Hawk left New York temporarily. He's not gone forever."
Sharon froze, looking up at Gwen.
Oh. Right.
Hawk wasn't dead. Just away.
Would HYDRA risk it?
...
Just then.
There was a knock at the door.
Sharon instinctively grabbed her gun from the side table.
Gwen jumped, then turned toward the front door.
A voice called from outside. "Miss Stacy. FBI."
Gwen frowned.
Sharon's voice dropped to a low growl. "They're here. Get upstairs. Don't come down, Gwen."
As she spoke, Sharon forced herself to her feet. Her pale face flushed an unnatural red. She was planning to make Gwen go upstairs while she handled this final fight alone.
But—
Gwen grabbed her arm.
"You hide. I'll check it out first."
"What? You—"
"Relax. I'll be fine."
Gwen pulled out her Andromeda Cloth necklace and smiled at Sharon. "Hawk gave me this. As long as I'm wearing it, I won't be in danger."
She remembered what Hawk had told her at Kamar-Taj. If she was ever in danger, the necklace would protect her.
And for some reason, the thought of opening the door and facing HYDRA agents didn't scare her. Instead, she felt a strange flutter of excitement.
Maybe it was because every time she'd been in danger before, Hawk had always shown up at exactly the right moment.
Like when Betty Ross sent those assassins after her.
Or when the Wakandans came.
Hawk was always there, standing in front of her, shielding her.
So, Gwen wasn't afraid. She was... almost looking forward to it.
Before Sharon could respond, Gwen turned and walked toward the door.
Sharon, who had been about to stop her, watched helplessly as Gwen headed for the entrance. She gritted her teeth, scanned the room, then pressed herself against the wall beside the door—gun raised, ready to fire the moment things went south.
It wasn't perfect protection. But it was better than actually hiding and leaving Gwen to face danger alone.
Soon, Gwen reached the front door. She glanced back at Sharon—pressed against the wall, gun in both hands—then took a few deep breaths. The moment the knock came again, she opened the door.
The instant the door swung open, Gwen saw three men standing on her front porch. All of them wore black suits with FBI vests emblazoned with the letters in white.
The three agents saw Gwen too—standing there in a pure white loungewear outfit stained with blood.
Gwen kept her voice as steady as possible.
"Can I help you?"
"..."
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~# 70 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
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