stories.htm
Playing Hero
"Chapter Three: S.H.I.E.L.D"
Title:
Playing Hero: S.H.I.E.L.D
(Chapter Three)
Rating: T (what
does this mean?)
Date Written: April 2009
Word Count: 2227
Summary: Part Three of
"Playing Hero". Logan meets up with Laura in
Central Park, and makes plans to keep her from
Fury's grasp. But it's not long before the pair of
them are forced to run.
Disclaimer: Marvel/X-Men
characters, established concepts and previous
storylines full credit goes to Marvel, Stan Lee, Craig
Kyle, Chris Yost, and Co. Original storylines credit
goes to me.
Author's Notes:
Please read the first arc to the series titled "Ties
that Bind" before reading this. |
Chapter
Three: S.H.I.E.L.D
Forty minutes after Logan had called
Laura, he'd stashed his bike in an old lockup, then
carefully making sure he wasn't being followed still,
he made his way to though the busy city to Central Park.
Making his way though the park's thick foliage,
he'd found Laura where he'd asked her to wait.
The two of them had taken refuge in the park's dense
trees and bushes whilst Logan explained to Laura what
was going on. He had decided to wait until it was
dark before moving. Although, he had yet to figure
out where he was going to move to. "It'll be dark
soon. We'll move out then", he told Laura. "And go
where?" she asked. "Don't know. Haven't figured that
out yet" he answered truthfully. "We need a plan" Laura told him,
"A well thought out plan is the first step to the
success of the mission" she carried on. Logan raised
his eyebrows slightly, "Uh huh..." he muttered. When
Laura spoke about "plans" and "missions", Logan was
reminded of just what her creators had put her though.
It made him feel sick, she was just a child, and
at sixteen, she'd seen and done more things than the
average war veteran. But Logan knew she wasn't wrong,
they did need a plan.
Dusk began to draw in as Logan and Laura sat waiting
for darkness. "Is S.H.I.E.L.D likely to give up
hunting me, if I put enough distance between us?"
Laura asked Logan. Logan sighed, "Fury ain't the 'givin'
up' kinda guy, Kid". Laura gave a nod to show she
understood. "But, we'll figure this out, a'right?"
Logan added. "I have hurt people, Logan. People I
cared about. People I had promised to protect. That is
why he is hunting me. That is why we are sitting here"
said Laura in a quiet tone. Logan wasn't quite sure
what the teen was getting at. "Perhaps being caught by S.H.I.E.L.D is what I deserve" finished Laura. Now
Logan understood. "Hey... What yer deserve,
is a shot at a normal life" he told her, "Not this.
Not any of this..." he muttered. "I do not think
S.H.I.E.L.D or the X-Men would agree" Laura told
him. Logan glanced at the teen - unfortunately, he
knew she was right.
As darkness fell on the city, Logan and Laura began to
head out across the parkland. They kept to the foliage
and shadows, the less they were seen by passers-by
the better. They'd been walking ten minutes when Logan
came to a sudden stop. Laura saw this and stopped
also. She watched Logan as he listened into the
darkness. "What is it?" she asked him. He turned to
face her, "Yer don't hear 'em?" he asked. Laura
listened, after a moment she said, "Dogs. Five of
them". Laura and Logan's heightened senses had
picked up the sound of their barks, the beat of their
footsteps, as well as their scent. A normal human
being would be totally unaware of the dogs at that
range.
They both continued to listen into the Darkness.
"Looks like we got at least fifteen men comin' at us"
Logan told Laura. "There are twenty one men on foot
with the dogs" she corrected him, "And By the pacing
of their footsteps, it seems most of them are carrying
weaponry". Logan couldn't help but smile slightly, he
was impressed with the accuracy of Laura's tracking
skills. Laura turned to Logan, "They must have tracked
you from the school". "I was careful" growled Logan, a
little annoyed at the accusation. "Perhaps not
careful enough"
said Laura. Logan thought about arguing back, but
in the end he let it go. "A'right, here's what we're
gonna do--" he began, but was he interrupted by the
sound of a helicopter overhead. Laura and Logan
instinctively glanced up towards the darkened sky.
Fury's search for Laura was now in full force, "Crap" growled Logan angrily.
He turned back to Laura, "If the dogs are trackin' me,
they're gonna find me alone. Go west, get out
of the park, head for the city border. I'll head 'em
off east". Laura nodded, "Where is the rendezvous
point?" she asked. "There ain't one" said Logan as he
walked away, "I'll find yer" he added. Laura didn't
move, Logan noticed this and stopped. From her
expression, Logan could see Laura wasn't comfortable
with this. He looked her straight in the eye, "I'll
find yer, kid" he promised, "Now, go!" he ordered,
pointing to the path he wanted her to take. Laura gave
Logan an unsure look, then sprinted off in an westerly
direction. Logan let out a breath, before heading
east.
Logan moved at a steady pace though the trees. He
didn't want put himself too far from the dogs, as
leaving a close trail would keep their mind on him,
rather than picking up Laura's scent. Logan glanced up
overhead as the search lights from the hovering
Helicopter passed him by. Logan knew that the
Helicopter belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D, and that Fury was
inside - he'd caught his scent on the wind. Moments
passed as Logan carried on his way though the park,
the dogs getting closer and closer. His thoughts
turned to Laura. It was obvious that Fury wasn't going
to back down, and without an outright confrontation,
Logan had no idea how he was going to keep Laura from
falling into S.H.I.E.L.D's hands. So be it.
If a fight's what Fury wants, that's what he'll get,
thought Logan.
Logan slowed his pace a little, the sound of the dogs
now seemed to be fading. Surely they weren't having
trouble tracking him, he'd laid easy and obvious
tracks. He came to a stop and sniffed the air. Using
his enhanced senses, Logan formed a picture in his
mind: The dogs were no longer heading east, towards
him, they'd stopped and were doubling back. In that
moment, realisation hit, Laura had been wrong: the
dogs had never been tracking him, they had been
tracking her.
As he sprinted back the way he'd come, Logan cursed himself for not thinking things though. Yes, Laura had
great tracking knowledge, but she'd just assumed
they'd tracked him from the school, she couldn't have
known for sure. And, yes, it was the mostly likely
scenario, but this was Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D that
they were dealing with. Logan knew he should have
known better. He was pissed with himself for not
having the foresight to know that if Fury wanted Laura,
he'd be tracking Laura. It dawned on him that the
person Fury had following him from the school was
just a distraction.
Logan headed back towards Laura,
taking every short cut he could find. He had to reach
her before the dogs did. He knew by now that she would
have realised what was going on, just had he had. He
also knew,
that if the worst came to the worst, Laura would not
hesitate in taking out both the dogs and the soldiers.
But, this was S.H.I.E.L.D - Logan knew they
were well equipped with all kinds of Gadgets - Gadgets
that may just be enough to incapacitate and take
Laura down.
As he sped though the parkland, Logan could small
Laura's scent getting stronger, he was catching up to
her, but that meant he was also catching up to the
dogs and S.H.I.E.L.D's men, who were now closer to
Laura then he would have liked. He pushed on though
the trees and soon the dogs and soldiers were just
about in sight. Logan took a path leading to his right
- the plan was to overtake them, and catch up to Laura
- without being scented by the dogs or seen by the
soldiers.
Avoiding fallen logs, brambles and other foliage,
Laura quickly made her way west. She instinctively
glanced backwards as she moved though the parkland.
The dogs catching up with her at a rapid pace. Laura
thought about Logan, she wondered where he was right
now, and wondered if he was angry with her for
miscalculating the situation. One small mistake can
lead to the failure of the entire mission. And the
mistake that she had made was not a small one. Logan
should be angry, thought Laura. If she had messed
up like this on a Facility-mission, she would have
been punished.
Laura came to a stop for a few moments. She thought
about waiting for the dogs and soldiers to catch up to
her and take them all out. But that would draw
attention to her location, and it was most likely that
S.H.I.E.L.D had back up teams on the way. Also, she
didn't quite understand why, but she could sense that
Logan wanted to avoid a confrontation. Taking note of
her surroundings, she was just about to set off again
when she heard a twig snap. Laura spun round, claws
popped, ready to fight. She came to a stop when she
realised who was standing in front on her: Logan.
"Logan" breathed Laura, as she retracted her claws.
"Lost yer senses, Kid?" Logan asked her, "Yer shoulda
caught my scent long before I broke that twig".
Yes, I should have done, thought Laura, Another
mistake. "I am sorry. I seem to be--", began
Laura, but Logan shook his head, "Forget about it" he
told her, "Lets move" he added. Laura followed his
lead as the two of them set off once again. They
hadn't gone far when Laura said, "I am sorry". "I said
forget about it" Logan replied. "No, I... I meant, I
should not have assumed the dogs were tracking you. I
should not have questioned your Escape and Evade
abilities. I am sorry" apologised Laura. Logan glanced
at the teen, "We all make mistakes, kid" he told her.
"But we shouldn't. I shouldn't! Mistakes can
lead to the failure of the entire mission" she
replied, sadly. "Yer're not a machine, Laura. Makin'
mistakes - it's called bein' human" said Logan
firmly, "So, forget about it, a'right?" he added.
Laura nodded.
The pair of them travelled onwards,
trying to put as much distance between them and the
dogs and soldiers as they could. The helicopter
continued to fly overhead. Every now and then, Laura
caught Logan glance up at the nights sky, keeping an eye on the
helicopter. She noted that he seemed uneasy. "Once we
get to the other side of the park, and back into the
city, it'll be harder for them to track us. Even at
night, a group of soldiers is gonna be seen" Logan
told Laura. "So, that is the plan? To reach the
opposite side of the park?" she asked, "Then where do
we go?". Logan sighed. He hadn't thought that far
ahead yet. "Just follow my lead, okay, kid?" he
growled. Registering the tone in his voice, Laura
decided to reframe from asking him anymore questions.
Ten minutes later, they reached a clearing. Logan
stopped and turned to Laura. She knew what he was
going to say, and she didn't think it was a good idea.
"You want to cross the open ground" she stated, "It is
a bad idea. We should stick to the trees" she
finished. "Kid, the only way we can do that is head
back the way we came". He glanced over his shoulder,
"And that ain't an option. They'll be on us in
minutes. No cover is risky, I know, but we gotta move
forward". Laura swallowed. She didn't like this plan.
Logan caught her expression. "Look, we make it fast,
we'll be fine" he said. After a few moments, Laura
nodded. "Okay" said Logan, "Ready?". Laura Nodded.
"Go!" he told her.
Both Logan and Laura sprinted form the trees, heading
across the open parkland. The helicopter suddenly flew
into view overhead. Laura glanced up at it, "Keep
movin', kid!" said Logan as he ran beside her. Laura
stared ahead as she ran, the trees in the distance
seemed too far away to reach, and with every step,
they didn't seem to get any closer. At any moment,
Laura was expecting to hear shots fired at her from
above, however, none came, the helicopter simply flew
above them.
Like Laura, Logan was also expecting fired shots from
above. Somthin's not right, he thought. From
above, the helicopter had a perfect opportunity to
fire at them both, it didn't. Suddenly, Logan picked
up the sound of vehicles, racing over grassland,
snapping branches as they ploughed though the trees. A
quick sniff told him they were heading in his
direction. It had to be S.H.I.E.L.D.
Moments later, two of S.H.I.E.L.D's vans bust from the
trees to their right, then another two from the left,
and finally three from the trees in the distance,
where they had hoped to find cover. Logan came to a
stop, as did Laura. "Ah, crap!" spat Logan,
"Looks like we got company, kid" he said. He sighed
angrily, he didn't want this. He didn't want a fight.
But if a fight was what Fury pushed him to, then he
was ready. The vehicles came to a stop a little way
off from the pair, and countless soldiers
jumped out, armed with guns. From the tress behind
them, the soldiers and dogs who had been tracking the
pair, had finally caught up. Laura and Logan were now
surrounded on all sides. |
|
|
