33. Destruction Breeds Creation
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Coulson looked at agents- remaining agents- in front of him. They all had the hollow frightened look in their eyes. If he was alone, he would have adorned the same look but he had seen and gone through a lot to know that the team is just the reflection of the leader. When he spoke up, his ever-playful chirpy voice filled the room.
âNo Darkhold. Base gone. If anybody has ideas now would be the good time to say it.âÂ
âMe and Fitz have been looking up about Loki. The normal ways used to kill a vampire will not work on himâ started Simmons.
âHow fucked are we?â Hunter quipped.
âHe is a vampire and a witchâ Fitz replied with a tilt in his head. âSunlight, Holy fire, Stake, I guess even beheading cannot stop that guy. So, I will say very much.â
âThat explains his powers. I knew something was up with that guyâ Mack said.Â
Simmons cut through the banter bringing the focus on the research. âSir, All the powers, every single thing we saw out there was witchcraft. Actually, he is a winter witch. His powers are more prominent in colder weather. According to the data Agent Romanoff provided earlier, he can bring winter anywhere.â
âHe needed the Darkhold to cast permanent winter. If he succeeds, we canât turn it back. Maybe the book would help us turn it back but itâs just a theoryâ Fitz said. He sighed and placed his hands on his hips.
âBut there is one thing that could bring him down. The Stake of the First Vampireâ
âNow, we just need to know where it isâ Hunter said looking expectantly at Lincoln.
âI have no idea,â Lincoln shrugged.Â
âI will contact Jiaying. Trip and Thompson evacuate the city. Hunter and Elena run ops.â
The agents nodded to their Directorâs order and took off.Â
âSir, I need permission to bring my daughter back here,â Mack asked. When Coulson gave affirmation, he left with Trip and Thompson.
The young man walked into the Gothite Industries. He was stopped by the security.
âWho do you want to see?â
âOh yes. Mr. Malick. You could say Iâm his family. Hail Legion.â Nathaniel said the last two words in the guardâs ears. The guard immediately stepped aside.
âSorry sir. I didnât know you were... But I have never seen you around.â
âThis visit is long overdue.â
âWe came across five bloody massacres and we still havenât covered Brooklyn.âÂ
Elena sighed. âWe need to prepare for the upcoming battle.â
âHey. You there. What are you doing here?â shouted a man grabbing the duoâs attention. They turned around to see a policeman. âDonât you know you have to vacate the city?â he shouted. âFuckers. Making my job difficult.â
Back in the jeep Elenaâs mind was racing on what to do. âWe need to do something,â she told Hunter.
The policeman shouted racial slur at a black teenage boy who just exited the nearby shop. The police neared the terrified boy.
âWhat have you got there?â sneered the man, taking his gun out. âYou are stealing, arenât you?â he threatened the kid.
The kid started stammering and dropped the things down. He lifted his arms above his head.
âNo sir, I left some mone-â
The kidâs eyes widened in surprise. He didnât finish his sentence as he saw a man sneak behind the harasser and sucker punch him. The policeman went down to the ground, unconscious. Hunter turned towards Elena and made an âokayâ gesture with his hand.
Hunter approached the kid. âHey are you okay?â he asked, still keeping his eyes on the police.
âYeah, if I hadnât, he would have shot youâ
Elena making her way towards them. âWhatâs your name?â she added looking at the boy.
âFlint, the city is in great danger. We need you to get out as soon as possible. There is a bus five blocks away. We will drop you there.â
âNo. I canât leave my sister. She is handicapped. I need to take care of her.â
âThen letâs get your sister.â
Mack went to collect his daughter. When he reached school, he saw that it was a total mess. All the parents and children were running around trying to find each other. Mack joined them desperate to find his daughter.
âHopeâ he shouted. There was no response. He called her for her again and again. Finally, he heard a feeble voice answering back.
âHopeâ he shouted again.
âDaddyâ a little girl shouted from inside the classroom. She ran to him and he swept her in his arms.Â
âDaddy, whatâs happening?â
âA bad guy had taken over the city. We need to get out soon.â
âYou always said we should always fight back. Also help others. Arenât we going to do that?â
âFirst, Iâm taking my little princess to safetyâ
As he reached the Quinjet, he placed Hope on the seat. âBe here. Daddy will be back.â He turned to Trip, âCan you watch her till I come back?â
Gideon Malick was on the conference call with the higher ups in the government. He used them as puppets in his master plan. What he didnât expect was Loki coming back. He needed to put an end to it. For the Legion to grow over here, he needed to have control over The Council. Had Loki not come back, the ATCU would have been a success.
Gideon heard a rapport knock on his door. He wasnât expecting anyone. He signalled to Giyera to be on alert as a young man stepped inside. The blood drained from the businessmanâs face. His eyes widened and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
âYou werenât expecting me, were you? I have always wanted to hunt you down. But Barnes and Wilson were also about letting it go. They donât know the inner turmoil. They donât know what you did to meâ Nathaniel said pacing the big office. Giyera was on his guard ready to attack on his bossâ order. Gideon had lost the ability to speak as he looked at his so thought dead brother.
âFinally, my time has come. Anarchy is here. The Council would never understand thatâ Nathaniel stopped his pacing and glanced at his petrified brother. âGideon, you trapped yourself in the Legion and the government, bound by their history, rules, hierarchyâ he spat the last word. âYou go around saying âHail Legionâ and âGod bless America.â Say goodbye to all that. Say hello to anarchy.â
âI didnât come here to listen to your pathetic pleas.â Nathaniel closed his hands around his elder brotherâs neck and lifted him. Giyera ran forward to stop him. But he caught the bodyguard with his other hand and threw him against the wall. Giyera went down unconscious. He turned his attention to Gideon.
âYou planned and tried to kill me back then. Just for this Legion. You know what? It all turned out good. Your organizations are all the same. More and more hierarchy. It diminishes oneâs true potential. It creates unbalance. Iâm going to destroy all that. Destruction breeds creation.â Nathaniel snapped the neck of Gideon Malick. He dropped his brotherâs limp body and walked out.Â
Flint took the agents to his home. The door was slightly open and there were signs of forced entry. Elena and Hunter shared a look but didn't say anything.
"Tess" called out Flint. Hearing no reply, he panicked as he approached her room. He opened the door to see his sister lying on the bed. At first it looked normal but on closer look he felt something was not right.
Elena and Hunter noticed that Tess was pale. Her skin looked grey. Flint shook his sister awake but got no response. Hunter checked the pulse. He realised she must have just died now. There was no pulse but the body was still warm.
Hunter signalled Elena to scan the house. As she slipped away quietly, Hunter pulled the crying boy towards himself. He tried to get Flint out of the house but he resisted.
âLad, we need to get out soon,â Hunter urged. But Flint pulled himself away from Hunterâs hold.
âMy sister is dead, man. Iâm not going anywhereâ he shouted as he pushed Hunter further away.
Hunterâs eyes widened as he saw the figure in the bedroom doorway.
âDuckâ he shouted as he drew out his gun and pointed at the man. The man came out of the shadows. He wore old crumpled clothes. His face was in contrast. His skin glowed healthy. His eyes were red and his fangs had descended. Hunter shot the man but it was in vain. He kept shooting again and again. Blood poured out of his chest but he kept walking. Hunter protectively pushed Flint behind him.
Elena was in the other room when she heard the gunshots. She hurried back to check on her companions. She saw an unknown man approaching Hunter and Flint. Hunter fired the next consecutive shots but it didnât seem to stop the stranger. Elena took out her gun and shot the man straight through his skull.
The vampire fell down. Everyone breathed out in relief. Hunter kneeled down to examine the body. He noticed that the bullet was still lodged in the skull.
âDoes a bullet kill a vampire?â
âNo. I donât think so.â
âWhy isnât he moving?â
âDo you want him to?â she said snarkly.
A new person appeared on the doorway startling the group. Elena swung around her gun raised. A man holding a baseball bat was standing there.
âHe is a friend,â said Flint, putting himself between the two. Both of them lowered their weapons.
The newcomer was Mike Peterson. He was in the apartment next to Flintâs. He and his son were on the way to the evacuation bus when he had heard the commotion. So, he came to check on his neighbours. Hunter gave his gun and ammo to Mike. He asked them to head to safety.
âWhat should we do with him?â Elena asked pointing at the wounded vampire on the floor.
âSimmons would have fun cutting him up.â