Work Text:
It’s near the end of the day long conference. Dozens of people had already spoken. Injured victims who showed to let the Rogues see, in person, the damage they caused. Some walked in, while others had to be helped.
Families and friends spoke in the place of someone who could no longer speak for themselves. Parents talked of their sons or daughters who they’d never see again. Wives and husbands talked about how the love of their life was taken from them.
It’s been a long day for the Rogues and it shows on their faces and in their demeanor. Their general air and attitude had long since turned to frustration and irritation. Nothing they said seemed to please anyone. No one believed them or cared for their explanations.
The Rogues explanations to questions were becoming shorter and more curt as their irritation leaked through. And as the last person stepped forward, the Rogues almost seemed to sigh in relief that the conference was almost over.
Their attention already shifting to what they’d do afterwards. Whispered words to meet up and eat out are exchanged despite the looks of anger and disapproval from multiple people.
The petite red haired woman ignores all of this as she walks up to the microphone. In her slightly trembling hands she holds a large poster board and a folded up black stand. She unfolds the black stand and gently sets the poster on it.
On the poster, a man with tousled dark brown hair and warm brown eyes smiled back. His arms are around two children. One a young boy with the same brown hair and eyes as the man. The other was a little girl with the same fiery curls as the woman and the identical eyes of the man and boy.
Once the poster is set up the woman steps up to the microphone and softly clears her throat.
”This is my husband, my son, and my daughter. They were my entire world. I loved them more than life itself. And on May 6, 2016 they were traveling through a tunnel on their way back to our hotel after a day out.
“We were on a family vacation and that particular day, I wasn’t feeling well, so I stayed at the hotel while my husband took our children out for a day of fun. I never imagined that when I hugged and kissed my family goodbye that morning, it’d be the last time I’d ever see them alive. Because, you see, that tunnel they were driving through, that was the same tunnel you, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Barnes, and Mr. Wilson used to try and evade the German police.
”On May 6, 2016, my husband, my son, my daughter, my family, my world died as part of the collateral damage that you caused.
”Now, I have sat in that audience all day and listened to each and every testimony and question. I’ve heard every answer and apology you’ve given. And I only have one question for you.
“What are their names?”
At this, a look of confusion crossed every Rogues’ face as they looked at both the woman and each other. Rogers leans forward into the microphone in front of him and say, ”I’m sorry, but could you elaborate?”
”My husband and my two children. What are their names?”
The Rogues are silent in their confusion and bafflement. Their names? How could they know the name of a man and two children they've never met? Before any of them can voice their confusion, the woman continues.
”You speak of regret and remorse for the lives that were lost, that you unintentionally took. You speak apology after apology and explanation after explanation. Now, if I ever take a life, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and I truly regretted the life that was lost; then I would have their face ingrained in my memories and their name burned into my heart and mind. I would know everything there is to know about that person because I’d want to know about the life that I had ended. If you truly regret someone’s death, then shouldn’t you know everything about that person? Wouldn’t their name and their face haunt your sleep and your thoughts?
“So, I’ll ask you one more time. What. Are. Their. Names?”
Only silence could be heard as the Rogues were left speechless. Rogers’ mouth opened then shut as he did not have the answer. Wilson and Langs’ faces were downturned as they did not have anything to say. Barnes, Barton, and Romanoff’s faces were carefully blank, as expected from master spies. Maximoff was the only one that seemed completely indifferent. The Rogues did not answer and as the silence stretched, it became obvious to everyone there, they did not know.
The woman let out a hollow laugh and in a broken voice said, “That’s what I thought.”