Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc are property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot belong to the author. The author is in no way associated with the original creator an no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1

I glanced at the clock on my office wall. I had had a late night at work, trying to finish up the project I was working on. The clock read 6:20, which meant it was going to be dark in a few minutes. I sighed and turned off my computer, tucked my laptop in my bag and grabbed my coat from off the back of my chair. I pulled the dark gray peacoat on and did up the large black buttons. I slung my pale gray bag over my shoulder and headed out of the office building.

The light had almost completely faded away by the time I was outside. I shivered at the slight chill in the air and headed underground.

After about ten minutes on the tube, I got off on the Piccadilly Circus station. It was pretty much completely dark by the time I got off the tube, and I shivered, and not completely because of the cold. I could've gotten off on a station closer to home, but I needed to run into Waterstones to pick up a book, so I decided to just brave the ten minute walk back to my flat.

It didn't take long to find the book I needed (just the newest book in one of my favorite series) and I only spent about fifteen minutes browsing before figuring I was hungry and really needed to get home. I stepped out of the cozy bookstore and into the cold night.

After about five minutes of walking, I began to feel distinctly uncomfortable. I never felt particularly safe walking home alone, especially when it was dark, but I could feel a slightly irrational fear creeping into my head. Nevertheless, I continued walking, albeit much more on edge and jumpy than before. And rightly so, for as I walked passed an alleyway, two hands jutted out and roughly jerked me into the alley.

I tried to scream, but a hand covered my mouth and an oily voice spoke up. "We'll be having none of that, sweetheart. You're just going to be quiet and do as I say. Okay?"

I didn't respond, but almost screamed again as he pulled me roughly and pushed a knife against my throat. "Let's try that again. You'll be quiet and you'll do what I say. Okay?" I nodded, terrified, trying to ignore the pain from the dull blade pressed against my throat. The man opened his mouth and I could smell beer on his breath. That, combined with the lingering smell of cigarette smoke made me want to throw up. But before he could say anything, I heard another voice.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I was relieved for the distraction, but fear kicked in, wondering who the second person was. He was clearly a man from the sound of his voice, and I couldn't help but think he sounded familiar.

I heard the man walking towards us, and my captor released me quickly. I sagged against a nearby wall and placed my hand on my neck. It came away with blood on it. I slumped against the wall and watched the scene unfolding in front of me. The man who had clearly grabbed me was a slim, shady guy with dirty grayish-brown hair. He was really just gross and the urge to take a shower was extremely strong now. The other man was tall and bulky, with neatly trimmed blond hair and glasses. I watched as the blonde man swung a punch, catching the other man completely off guard. He stumbled backwards and braced himself against a wall. He spat, and I could see that it was mostly blood. I shrunk to the ground and buried my face in my hands, but it wasn't long until I heard a voice.

"Hey." I looked up to see the blond man standing in front of me. He offered me a hand and I took it. I had a better view of him as he pulled me up, and I couldn't help but think I knew him from somewhere. After staring at him for a few more moments, it struck me.

"Holy crap." I stumbled back a bit, and suddenly the man looked uncomfortable. "You're Captain America."

He held up his hands. "Yes, yes, that's true. But um, do me a favor and just call me Steve." He suddenly squinted at me. "Wait a second, are you Stephanie Hayes?"

I stumbled backwards before bracing myself against the wall. "How do you know my name?"

He furrowed his brow before shaking his head. "It's a long story. But you need to go home."

I frowned. "What about you? Are you just going to leave me?"

He shook his head. "No, I need to come with you. There's something going on…" He shook his head again. "Forget that. Lead on."

I gave him an incredulous look, but turned around regardless to head home. I was aware of Steve's presence behind me, and found it was quite comforting.

After about five minutes, I was at my door. I hadn't noticed how much I was shaking, and I didn't think it was because of the cold. I fumbled with the key before finally getting it in the knob and unlocking my door. I felt better once I had stepped inside, but the look Steve gave me told me my comfort wasn't going to last.

I set my bag down on my couch and and looked at Steve. He seemed to be a bit out of it, but jolted back to reality when I cleared my throat.

"Oh sorry. Okay, so…" He stopped talking and vigorously rubbed his temples. "This sounds absolutely insane, but I need you to pack a bag and come with me."

I opened my mouth to ask one of the thousands of questions fluttering through my mind, but Steve put his hand up, and my mouth snapped shut. Steve sighed and opened his mouth to speak again.

"I know you're confused and heck, I don't blame you. I feel pretty safe saying this is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you, but I need something truly valuable from you." His face and voice took on a serious tone, and he looked to me. "I'm asking for your trust. I need you to put your trust in me."

I gulped and stared at him. I felt scared and uncertain, but at the same time, I felt a wave of confidence washing over me. I stood a little taller and looked in his eyes. "Okay, what do I need to do?"

Steve looked quite relieved at my agreement to come along and nodded. "Okay, I need you to go to you room and pack a bag with some stuff. I hate to worry you, and I really don't have the time to explain why, but you probably won't be back any time soon. Or ever." His eyes scanned me, taking in my work clothes I was still dressed in. "You may want to change into something a bit more… convenient."

I gave him a half smile and headed back to my room. I grabbed a pair of joggers, hoodie and shirt and changed out of my work clothes. I then grabbed my teal backpack from my closet and packed it with some clothes, my laptop, phone charger and, thinking back to what Steve said, a few personal photos and personal things. My hands trembled slightly as I zipped up the bag.

Not fifteen minutes later, I was back in my living room. When Steve heard me coming, he jumped up off the couch arm where he had been perched and offered me a small smile. I returned the gesture. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a loud bang sounded at my door. Steve's head whipped to the door, and he quietly cursed under his breath.

"What is it?" I asked, surprised at Steve, and in shock.

Steve sighed and was quite for a moment, as if debating how much to tell me. Finally, sighed.

"Technically, it's a who. Hydra."

The look of shock and fear must have been pretty blatant on my face, because his features softened and he spoke to me in a hushed tone,

"We gotta be quiet," He whispered. "We don't want to hear. Do you have a fire escape?"

I took a moment to soak all of this in and nodded. "It's in my room."

"Okay, great." He replied. He gestured for me to head to my room, so I did. Once I was in, I lifted the window.

"Do you need me to get away?" I asked.

"Yeah, just get down. I'll be right behind you."

A loud bang sounded and I winced. A look of concern molded Steve's features before he gestured for me to go.

"Hurry! I'll stall them."

I didn't need to be told twice as I hopped out onto the fire escape into the brisk October evening. I hurried down the fire escape stairs, trying not to focus on the commotion coming from my bedroom. My feet hit solid ground and I darted into a small alleyway where I would have a good view of the fire escape. The few minutes I stood there felt like the longest ones in the world, with adrenaline pumping through my veins.

Suddenly, I heard a crash, distinctly like glass breaking. I watched as a curled figure figure fell and landed on the pavement with a loud, metallic bang sounding. I recoiled as I noticed who it was. I dashed to the super solider who was making slow movements.

"Steve?" I said nervously. He groaned, and I took that as I good sign. At least he was conscious. He looked up at me, and I offered him my hand. I stood up agonizingly slow and sagged against the wall. I crossed my arms and stared at him.

"You know, that was a really stupid idea."

Steve looked a bit sheepish at my reprimand and rubbed his head. "You're probably right."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. Can you at least walk though?"

Steve nodded. "I can probably run, but I think it'll be kinda slow."

"Where's the getaway?" I asked.

"Grosvenor Square."

I let out a sigh of relief. That wasn't too far to go, and we could avoid the main roads pretty easily.

"Well then," I said, putting on what I hoped was a convincing smile. "Let's get going."

It only took about five minutes to get to the park. I could see the black quinjet from where I stood, but we would have to cross Grosvenor Square Street so we could get to the jet. All in all, it was probably only about 50 meters to the jet, but Steve was injured and it was all open. I sighed and turned to Steve.

"We're gonna have to make a break for it."

Steve nodded. "It'll be okay. We'll make it."

I took a deep breath and ran.

The first bit wasn't too bad, but then I heard commotion behind me, most likely Hydra. Then the bullets came. They were firing on us. The adrenaline pumping through my veins gave me a newfound energy, but when I was about a yard away, I heard a grunt of pain. I didn't dare look behind me, but just focused on the open door of the quinjet. I ran in, barely missing the man standing in the door and bracing myself against the wall to catch my breath. Steve rolled in a moment later, and the door began to close. I sagged against the wall and sighed.