Call for Help (Sammy)

[the_next_avenger]

(Immediately following this.)

 

Joe headed down to the garage and got on his bike, kicking the engine to life. He put in his bluetooth and dialed Sammy's number, waiting for his oldest friend to answer.

"Hey, I need you. Something just happened and I need some back-up. You available?" Joe asked as he sped away from the house.

Comments

[the_next_avenger]

"I bet he does. Who knows how many inmates we'd find missing if we were actually /looking/." Joe said, saying that last part a bit louder than needed.

"So what's the next step? Do we head back to the helicarrier for more instructions?" he asked.

[agent_timeout]

"They'll be looking now. If it gets out they're missing any, the hammer will come from above, and I'm not talking Thor here."

She took his arm and steered him toward the parking lot. They didn't need anymore ears than necessary listening to their conversation. "We head back to New York. There may not be a whole lot we can do today except give the hacks time to work. Your friend's been out long enough to hide his tracks. Our guys are good but they still need the time to run him through the system."

[the_next_avenger]

Joe nodded in resignation. He wanted to get out there and find Jason but Sammy was right. He'd had a lot of time to go underground and plan this out and they were stuck reacting to whatever his next move was. He didn't like it but the situation wasn't permanent.

"All right, home it is. I can go talk to Mom and Dad when I get back and let them know we've got it handled." he said.

[agent_timeout]

"Maybe they'll believe it, too." Sammy was all too aware of overprotective parents. "I'm pretty sure Uncle Steve thinks we're still five and watching Santa land on the helicarrier for the very first time."

[the_next_avenger]

"You were so excited." Joe remembered, laughing a bit. Of course, he had been too, but he was better at hiding it. Or so he liked to believe.

"Those days were easier, you know."

[agent_timeout]

"Like you were so cool yourself," she teased. "I don't know if those were easier days or not. It was just life in the Life."

[the_next_avenger]

"Yeah, I know. Do you ever think about how crazy it was so many of us had parents in SHIELD in one fashion or another?" he asked. "You, me, Quinn, Roxie...the list goes on. Makes you wonder sometimes if we're all doing this because we chose it ourselves or if it's because it's the only thing we know." he said.

"I mean, how many of us could put all of this behind us and just be normal?" he asked.

[agent_timeout]

"We might've had a shot at it if we didn't know what's really out there. You ran away from us, but what were you doing? Not living a normal life. You were still fighting evil."

[the_next_avenger]

"Yeah, you're right. I don't think I could do normal if I tried. And I really tried with Melissa. But I didn't want it badly enough. The first chance I got to jump in front of a bullet, I took it." Joe said.

Quinn Barton came to Joe's mind again and he wondered what happened to him. He'd have to look into that later.

"You ever think about what it would be like to just be Sammy without being Nick Fury's daughter?" he asked.

[agent_timeout]

"I did when I got old enough to date and I couldn't because it involved two agents and a background check for any guy brave enough to face Dad. It doesn't help when your dad is also in the history books."

[the_next_avenger]

"I know how you feel. If I was some young guy that got the chance to meet Nick Fury while dating his daughter, we'd have missed a lot of dates. I could talk military history with Uncle Nick all day every day." Joe said.

"You want to drive us back?" he asked.

[agent_timeout]

"Sweet! Hand over the keys!" She held out a hand for them. "You look like you want to stare out the window and get moody about something."

[the_next_avenger]

Joe handed Sammy the keys, noting his kid almost-sister's glee at being allowed to drive. This was another reason it was good to be home.

"Hey! I don't get moody. I just have a lot on my mind. Deep thoughts, deep man and all of that." Joe said.

[agent_timeout]

"It's in your DNA, goofball." She tossed the keys in the air and caught them before beeping the doors open. "Driver picks the music! Get our alibi ready because I might be testing that speed limit suggestion."

[the_next_avenger]

"As long as it's good music, I'm with you, Themla." Joe grinned.

[agent_timeout]

"All right, Lou." She grinned back and ducked inside. She had the key turned and was punching her way through the radio channel selections when he got in beside her.

[the_next_avenger]

Joe could help it. He was having a good time despite the fact that a psycho was on the loose. Sammy's presence made it bearable.

He almost felt like he'd get through this just fine.