It's Magic, My Dear

My head ached and as my eyes slowly opened to black clearing away from my vision I felt the sting of a cut above my brow and an ache on my jaw. My body felt heavy and oddly restricted. White light beamed around me.

“Sorry about the rough handling.” A voice invaded my ears, but all I could focus on was the wash of stinking sick whirling around my gut.

I let out a groan and I thought I was going to hurl. My head dropped back heavy and groggy. In that moment I had no idea what had happened or where the hell I was.

“I am Agent Coulson. You might remember me from Jane Foster’s Research Centre.”

My head lolled to the side and all I could see was a man staring down at me who certainly didn’t look like an agent. The crossbow at his side put me on edge.

“Yeah, yeah I remember you.” My voice was thick but slowly I forced myself to sit as straight as I could and as I did I found my hands had been bound behind my back. “What is this?”

“Precaution. Barton spotted you lurking around our perimeter.” Agent Coulson nodded towards the man with the crossbow.

“I wasn’t lurking. And did you really need to hit me so hard?” I sucked in a breath through my lips and gritted my teeth against the pain radiating in my face. Slowly I was remembering a fist being thrown into my face.
Barely at the edge of the facility fence and heavy hands had grabbed me from behind and spun be around like a ragdoll.
SMASH and I was out.

“Well it seemed like you were and just on that we can-“

“Throw me in a cell and leave me to rot. I am aware.” I blinked my eyes as my vision began to focus again and rested my gaze on Agent Coulson. He was a short man, balding and in his mid-thirties. Definitely not threatening, physically anyway.

“But I have been ordered to do anything but. Tygera Foster.”

Crap! He knew my name and by the tone he also knew what I had been up to on their databases the past year or so. Whoops.

“I take it by your expression you are aware of just how much trouble you are in?” He tapped one finger over the back of his hand as they rested on his stomach. Agent Coulson’s voice was beginning to gain menace and I wasn’t looking forward for what was about to come next.

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah I can imagine it.”

“So I will also take a stab in the dark and guess you would consider an offer?” He wrapped his hands behind his back and bent to sit on the seat in front of the one I was tied down to.

“Throw it at me.” I could tell my tongue had just sounded a bit too smart-arse like as he bristled at my words.

“I would be careful of my tone here, Miss Foster.” Coulson straightened his jacket and glanced up at Barton before returning back to my face. “My overheads have prepared an offer for you. We know you’ve been in our systems and it has taken us this long to track you down…to cut a long conversation short, your skills are unmatched and we would like you to join us.”

My brow raised and I sputtered. Definitely not what I was expecting. “What? Is this some kind of joke?”

“No this is not a joke, Miss Foster. We have had enough time playing hide and seek with your movements that we know you are someone who this team will benefit from.”

“Team? What team? This lot you have scurrying around in here? You’ve got to be joking. Seriously.” My dropped my chin into my chest for a second and squeezed my eyes shut. This was all getting too much and again my head began to cloud.
That must have been some hit.

He nodded curtly and pursed his lips before the next reply. “Your other option is to, as you put it, rot away in a cell.” The smug look on his face irritated me as he sat back and crossed his leg. “Your choice.”

“How long do I get to think on it?” I asked, knowing that my fate had just taken a massive tire smoking turn in a direction I had never thought of and certainly didn’t want.

Coulson drew back his sleeve and looked down at his watch. “Thirty seconds.”

This dude wasn’t playing. I sighed. “If I can see my sister-“

“You will leave with us when we leave here. So you will have your time.”

God, wasn’t this just crap? “Alright. I agree to your deal.” My gut began to churn and twist knowing that this was a decision I was going to forever regret.

“Excellent.” He nodded to Barton who stepped forward and took his time undoing my ropes.

“Don’t think of running, while you were out we fitted you with a tracking device.” The ambiguous look on his face wasn’t about to give up the whereabouts of that device.

My jaw went slack. “Jesus fu-“

“Ah-uh, no swearing.” He chided me with a finger. A finger that I wanted to snap off and shove down his throat.

I slowly got my feet and arched my back, feeling it crack in several places.

“I’ll show you the way out.” Barton laid a hand on my shoulder and began to march me forward.

As we walked I felt like my whole world had been taken away from me and tossed in the garbage and in return I was given this new opportunity that was going to tear me away from everything I knew. Even then I was aware of that fact.

“It’s not so bad working with us.” Barton stopped at the fence and opened the gate with a key attached to his belt.

I turned to look at him and shook my head. “I doubt that.” With a scowl I turned and headed back towards where I had parked my car. This was going to be so much worse than ‘bad’.