People were going to die. It would be her fault. Someone was going to lose a mother or father, an aunt or uncle, a brother or sister, a grandmother or grandfather, a cousin, niece or nephew, and it would all be because she couldn't figure out the riddle behind the bomber's story. Some mediocre terrorist was going to outsmart her in a battle of brain, and it would cost people their lives.

Londyn wiped some sweat off her neck, staring even more intensely at the computer screen, if that was possible. She tried to ignore the bustle around her, the shouting, the running, the frantic typing. But the worst thing was the watching. It felt like there were so many eyes on her. So many people depending on her to save others. She was the best mystery-solver in S.H.I.E.L.D. They were all waiting, confident that she would figure it out. But she wasn't. The riddle that lay before her was short, only four verses, but nothing appeared when she ran it through the computer, or when she scanned it with her own eyes.

"Please try to follow along, with your misunderstanding ways.

"Everyone has different ideas, different ways to see through the haze.

"All is for naught, for the celebration today.

"Keep along with the thunder, for soon you will have nothing to say."

The woman wanted to bang her head on the table and pull at her coppery hair. Nothing made sense, none of the sentences went along any lines of reason. None of them were stuck together in anyway. Unfortunately, everyone was watching, she needed to stay calm and try not to worry anyone.

But there wasn't time.

The bombers were striking today. They had included that in the email that came along with the poem from a library in Italy. They were celebrating the fact that they had exploded nine minor bombs without being caught by the United States government and were now going to detonate a larger explosive to prove their point. They sent the poem as a taunt, something to nag at the agents while they set their stage.

They had twenty-two hostages. Seven females, fifteen males. They planned to kill them with the explosion of their celebratory bomb. That was what was ripping her up inside. They had twenty-two people, ready to murder because they had stood up against their terrorist attacks and sought peace. Those people had families and friends who were worried sick about what was happening, and they would soon be mourning their loved one if she didn't crack this soon.

Londyn gave the tiniest of whimpers, still staring at the screen.

A hand came to rest lightly on the desk beside her computer, and a face leaned down beside hers. It was a handsome face, with velvety black eyes that searched her understandingly as the fingers belonging to the hand tapped the dark desk.

William. Her husband. Of course, not very many people knew he was her husband, they had a very small celebration and only informed closest relatives and friends. They had all understood. Neither of the married couple wanted one to get hurt out of spite for the other from their various and many enemies, so they agreed to keep the whole thing quiet. Only Londyn's parents, four siblings, and their spouses knew from her side of the family. Will had told his mother, but didn't trust his stepfather, so the only other family member he told was his brother. As for friends, Londyn only told her closest one, who promised never to tell another soul, and together they informed Nick Fury, their director, who was also a friend to them. Will didn't really have a lot of friends, none whom he would have told that he was having a secret marriage.

For now, he just gave her a heartfelt look that said, "I know what you're thinking, and I love you." But all he said was, "any ideas yet?"

Londyn sighed, shaking her head, desperately wishing he would hold her in his strong, confident arms and press a kiss to her head. But no one could know how much they truly loved each other. It would leak out and one of their enemies would find a way to spite them because of it. Being an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a dangerous job, and neither of them took it lightly.

Her green eyes returned to staring at the computer screen.

Then her eyes flashed, and she quickly typed something into their detailed search system, much to William's confusion. The result came up positive, and she did her best not to jump up and scream for her boss.

"Director Fury!" she called sharply. "I think I've got something!"

A bald, African American man quickly strode over, his one good eye snapping. "Agent Justice, what is it?"

"Here." She put it up on the large screen at the front of the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and wrinkled their foreheads as they tried to figure out the picturesque scene before them. "This is Thunder Peak. The perfect spot for a terrorist bomb. They set up the captives on the edge, detonate the bomb not far from them, which both kills them and makes the cliff crumble away and drop onto the town below." She used the computer to illustrate her points, zooming in on specific areas as she spoke.

Fury studied it for a moment. "That's good. But do you have any proof that this is where they'll be striking?"

"Yes, sir." Londyn switched the screen over to the riddle. "If you put the beginning letters of each line in order, it spells 'peak.'" The computer typed the word in at the bottom. "And here, on the last stanza, it says 'thunder.' I checked and it's the only peak that could possibly be mentioned within this poem. It's the only word that matches up."

"Then that's where we'll go," the director said, then began to order people about. When he finished, he leaned in close to her. "Are you sure about this?" he asked in a low tone, looking her in the eyes. That's what made him a good director, he was always double-checking, always looking out for everyone, and he didn't call anyone out in front of others, he merely took them to the side to have a discussion. "There are a lot of lives at stake here." She knew it wasn't because he didn't trust her, since he trusted her both as a friend and an agent—as he had told her repeatedly. He only wanted to ensure everyone's safety.

Londyn's heart was pounding as hard as it ever had as she answered. "Yes, sir. This is the only clue we have. If they're not here, then they aren't telling us where they are."

He gave her a solid nod, then continued issuing orders.

She took a breath, trying to calm herself and slow her heart as he strode away. What if she were wrong? Would she be blamed for the deaths of countless people? Who would trust her ever again? All she could do was hope she was right.

Will leaned in again. They were still surrounded by people, so all he could do was lightly touch her hand for a moment and look at her agonizingly. "I believe in you." He whispered.

She smiled thinly, but there was no joy, no thanks, only sadness and worry. They both caught a ride on a helicopter to Thunder Peak, sitting a little closer than strictly necessary. When they landed, both popped out, a gun in Will's hand. Londyn wasn't a field agent, but she had training and Fury allowed her to come since she had previously been assisting.

"I have to go diffuse the bomb," said Will, looking at her tenderly as they paused for a moment. "Help with the prisoners. I'll see you later."

Londyn glanced around, but no one was watching. "All right. I love you." She whispered, then pressed a kiss to his lips. They both closed their eyes, relishing the moment, but it could only be that. A moment. Then, they separated, and ran their own ways.

It was easy to pick out which were terrorists and captives. There were no other people around. As soon as the helicopters arrived, the captors began high pitched shrieks in another language and danced around, waving their rifles in almost a comical way. The first wave of agents took all of them out. That wasn't her department, so she waited until the threat of being shot by terrorists were gone, then dashed in and unsheathed her knife. The first prisoner she came up was tied next to a large rock, along with three others, all sitting around the boulder, bound hand and foot as well as gagged.

First thing off was the ropes around the hands, then she cut his bindings around his feet while he gag off.

"Thank you." He whispered; small, brown eyes wide.

Londyn smiled a little, but there wasn't much time. She directed him to a rescue copter, and he rushed towards it, assisted into a seat by another agent. The other three were quickly freed and also herded towards safety.

The next two she rescued were alone, each separate from the others. The terrorists had spread all their prisoners out. Probably to make them watch each other die. They were sick in that sort of way.

Five minutes and six people later, Londyn dashed over to her husband, who was sweating hard from the fear. "Will, just leave it!" she shouted over the sound of helicopters flying overhead. "We have to go!"

"I can get it!" he said, glancing up at her for a moment. He was terrified. His dark eyes were wide with the weight of people's lives on his shoulders. "Make sure we got everyone out! It's only got a minute left!" He turned back to it.

"No, Will! We have to get away! It'll kill you!" It was hard, but she kept her distance, not wanting to accidentally touch something. "Just let it go, come on!"

"If I don't do this, it'll kill a lot of other people! Get everyone clear, Londyn, now!" One more glance was sent her way. Soft with love, but hard with determination. He wasn't going to leave. And that scared her.

Londyn took a step back, a tear trickling down her face. "Be careful!" she shouted, then turned away. There was one last prisoner desperately trying to wiggle free, so she ran to him. Before she left, though, she thought she heard an echo of her husband's voice saying that he loved her. Fighting back the tears, she cut the captive free and raced him to one of the last helicopters. When he was secured, she looked back to see Will still trying to diffuse the bomb. But it was beginning to tick faster.

"Will!" she yelled at him, beginning to run towards him. But the ticking increased. He looked up, eyes panicked and began to stand. He was only halfway up and she had only taken three steps when the ticking stopped.

There was a split-second of complete silence.

Then the bomb exploded.

With Will right next to it.

The force of the explosion propelled Londyn back, picking her up and dropping her off in front of a helicopter. She instinctively covered her head and face, feeling shrapnel and dirt bite into her arms and legs. As it rained deadly pieces for those few seconds, millions of thoughts raced through unconsciously, none of them actually registering in her mind.

Ow. Keep my face covered. Don't let anything hit my head. I hope Will is okay. Everybody needs to stay down. The bomb went off. What's left? Ow. My legs are going to cramp here soon. I might lose circulation in my arms. WILL! Is that blood I feel? Just dirt. I wish Will was here. Was that bomb loaded with shrapnel? Better have my gun handy. Someone might try to attack us while we're down. Thinking like a field agent. Where is Will? Ouch. Smells like cookies. I need some water. My leg hurts. Is everyone safe? Ow.

Then the few seconds were over, and the air was clear again. Londyn sat up cautiously, remembering the one thing that had stuck in her mind. She looked over where the bomb had been. It wasn't there anymore. The cliffside had crumbled away, creating a landslide towards the town, but that wasn't what she was worried about.

"Will..." she breathed, eyes flicking around to find him. The image of his terrified eyes came back to her, right before the bomb had exploded. "Will!" her voice came out in a shriek as she stood and walked over to collapse at the new cliff edge, still searching. "No!" there was nothing in the dirt below that resembled her husband.

The cliff piece under her began to shift and she slid on her backside away from it as the piece fell into the rest of the dirt. It made a hollow thumping noise as it split apart down below, echoing a little.

Behind her, the remaining agents were busily checking on people and getting ready to fly out to check on the town. "Agent Justice," a woman came up to her. "We're going now."

She could only sob some more. Tears were falling heavily as she clutched her middle without anything else to hold.

The other woman was sympathetic. "I know that you aren't a field agent, and that this was scary, but we have to check on the town with everyone else and get the injured to safety. None of the wounds look fatal, I think everyone... almost everyone is going to make it."

"But William..." choked Londyn.

"I know. I saw it," the other woman said somberly. "But we have to move. Come on, you need to get some of those injuries check out." She pulled the still-crying woman to her feet and helped her to a waiting helicopter. Londyn hadn't even felt the pain of the gashes and bruises on her, but as she looked down at the blood, all she could think of was how much worse it had been for her husband, and the crying started anew.

She stayed in the helicopter while the other agents checked on the town. It had been evacuated as soon as S.H.I.E.L.D. had found out, so there were no casualties, but whatever stood in the path of the avalanche was ruined.

The sliding door to the copter was flung open. Nick Fury was revealed to be standing on the other side, his only eye wide and distressed. "Justice! I just heard... is it true? Agent Hughes is..." Londyn's lip trembled and she nodded, bursting into wails of grief. Fury shook his head, pressing a hand to his face sadly. "Londyn," he said, restraining his own tears, though it was evident in his voice. "I am so sorry, if I had known that he was going to... those men are going to pay."

She tried to eke out a question, but all that proceeded out of her mouth were little blubbering noises. The woman took a moment to regain some semblance of composure, then asked again. "How many... how many died?" Her voice was weak and broken, exhausted from the emotional and physical stress.

"Just Will," replied her director, keeping his voice low to avoid having others hear him this way. He had few friends and was very closed-in towards his other agents. "Everyone else is safe with some scrapes and scars that will last a lifetime." He seemed to notice her appearance all of a sudden. "Londyn, you... you need to find a medic."

Her head swung side to side. "Take care of everyone else." she said hoarsely. "I can hardly feel the pain anyway."

Her words struck deep into Fury's heart. He turned away so she couldn't see the tears shining in his eye and marched off to give out more orders. He hid his sorrow underneath a shell of calm and rigidness, refusing to give in to the pain.

Londyn wished she could do the same.

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