Nick's team of agents finally had a chance to catch their breath.
From the crash of the Helicarrier, to gathering every remaining uninfected person they could for a breakout, to reaching the secret safe house in New York, they had endured it all.
Only a little over a day had passed, but it had undoubtedly exhausted them more, both physically and mentally, than any previous mission.
The feeling that the entire world was against them, and those unbearable, blood-soaked scenes, had dealt devastating blows to their once-firm resolve.
The team members sat slumped against the walls, their spirits low. Some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents looked utterly crushed as they thought of their parents back home, who might already have contracted this devilish virus.
But Nick could not stop. Until that powerful ally arrived, he had to keep the situation under some semblance of control.
Giving up completely just because someone stronger could shoulder the burden was not how the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. operated.
Of course, Nick would never know that the dependable female warrior wreathed in golden light would never receive his distress signal in this lifetime.
Nick still looked as composed as ever. Whatever he felt inside, as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he had to project confidence in front of his subordinates.
"What are you all lying around for?!"
"Do you think that damned virus will disappear on its own if you lie down and rest once you're safe?!"
Nick kicked a technician, who looked just as lifeless as the others, hard enough to send him tumbling.
"This base has an external signal transmitter too. Find a way to keep calling the Avengers!"
Then he swept his grim, solitary eye over the room. "Get up, all of you! Pull yourselves together!"
**"Check yourselves for wounds, and for any bodily