A New World

Paris, France – Now

Sabine Durand wasn't sure what she suspected as she entered Le Select, on 99 Boulevard du Montparnasse. She was one of the new hires at the Studio 404 podcast and so far most of the stories she'd covered tended to be human interest and fluff pieces. That didn't mean she wasn't interested in doing more substantial investigative stories, but it was a foot in the door, she told herself. At least she was doing stories, not just acting as someone's gopher like she would be if she were at one of the traditional national outlets.

All of this contributed to her being here just after the lunch hour. Absently she thought it was called the Early Bird Special in the states. A brief smile came to her lips, as that seemed oddly appropriate for the subject of the story she was working on. The biggest story of the year was the Avengers, the Accords and what happened in Vienna and Leipzig. There was wild speculation and tantalizing rumors flying all over the traditional news, while Twitter and all of the new outlets were blowing up over all of it.

None of the Avengers were talking. Four of them had been arrested at the Leipzig airport, then disappeared but had subsequently been liberated from the super maximum prison they were being held in. No one knew where any of them were, fugitives from 117 countries. Tony Stark was back in New York, but he wasn't talking which was totally out of character for the flamboyant billionaire. The US Secretary of State Ross could barely contain his anger whenever the subject of the Avengers came up. As far as he was concerned they were number one on the most wanted list. He and his office seemed to go out of their way to portray them as nothing better than terrorists and called them the most dangerous people on the planet.

Public opinion seemed to be all over the map regarding opinions on the Avengers and few public figures from any country wanted to go on recording about them besides a blanket condemnation. This just intensified the media frenzy surrounding all of them.

The man seemingly at the middle of all of it was Captain America. He had been the most vocal about not signing the Accords before the bombing in Vienna and seemed to be at the center of everything that happened afterwards. His friendship with the international criminal and terrorist, the Winter Soldier surprised and shocked many. It hadn't been confirmed, but he was also believed to be the one that had orchestrated the prison break of the 4 locked up Avengers. He was the most wanted man in the world and seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth along with the others. So imagine Sabine's surprise as she entered Le Select and was directed to one of the outdoor tables, only to come face to face with the living legend himself.

He stood when he saw her and moved over to hold out her chair for her.

"Miss,' he said softly with a gentle smile.

Sabine was so flustered she just stood staring at him, her mouth a gape.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "Don't men hold out women's chairs anymore? I wasn't trying to be offensive, I promise."

"Wh-Wh-What?" Sabine finally said, finding her voice at last. "Um, no, that's not, I mean thank you, it's fine, it's just …"

She stumbled over the words for a second before finally just blurting them out.

"You're Captain America!"

He seemed to flinch at this and quickly looked around to see if anyone heard her.

"Could we just keep that between the two of us for now, please?" He asked.

"What? Oh, um, right, of course,' Sabine replied, blushing with embarrassment at her fan girl moment. God, I'm supposed to a journalist, she thought, and this is the biggest story ever and what do I do? Practically shout his name in a public as soon as I meet him. Get it together, Sabine, she scolded herself.

"Um, Captain,' she started.

"Please, it's just Steve Rogers, Miss,' he replied. "Why don't we sit down so we can talk? The food here is as good as I remember it."

Sabine finally sat down almost as if on autopilot. Once she had, he moved back to the other side of the small table and resumed his seat. She noticed he'd chosen a table where he could see all the exits as well as the traffic on the street outside. Taking a good look at him, her first impression was he looked tired, bone deep tired. He was undeniably handsome, with matinee idol good looks, but there was an aura of sadness along with the fatigue that seemed to surround him. His hair was longer than the photos she'd seen and he was sporting a beard and mustache. He had loose fitting clothes on, but sitting this close to him there was no doubt who he was. He was a living legend and his photo had been splashed everywhere even before all this happened. What was he doing here?

Before she could say anything else a waiter came over and offered her a menu. Rogers ordered another Guinness and the waiter said he would be right back, to which he thanked the man. He still had those old school manners, she idly thought.

"I hope you don't mind, I ordered before you got here,' he offered. "I arrived early and I remembered Ernest raving about the Château filet de bœuf, béarnaise et frites maison so I just had to try it."

"Ernest?" Sabine asked, finally finding her voice again.

"Hemingway,' he replied, picking up his knife and fork to dig in. "Most people think of him at the Ritz or Harry's New York bar, but he told me that when he first got here after World War I, this was one of his favorites."

"Hemingway?' Sabine said in disbelief. "The Sun Also Rises, Old Man and the Sea, the most famous writer of the twentieth century, that Hemingway?"

"I don't know about the Old Man and the Sea, I haven't heard of that or read it or even how famous he is, but yes, the Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls were two of his books,' Steve replied. "I always liked his Nick Adams stories myself."

"You met Hemingway?"

"Yes,' he replied simply, taking another bit of his steak.

"What did you, Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald paint the town back in the day?" Sabine sarcastically asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"No, Scott was back in the States by then,' Steve replied. "There was a war on, after all."

"Oh, right,' Sabine muttered. World War II, you idiot she said to herself. Before she could embarrass herself anymore, the waiter came back. Sabine quickly glanced at the menu and ordered Soupe à l'oignon gratinée and a Café Crème. The waiter set the Guinness down and Rogers thanked him. With a small smile the waiter nodded and then silently moved off.

"Your French is very good, Captain,' Sabine remarked.

"Thank you and it's just Steve, Miss,' he replied. "I have to admit I was a little rusty at first, but I had a good teacher so the language came back pretty fast."

"Who?" She couldn't help asking. "And if you say Charles De Gaulle I'm seriously going to freak on you."

"No, not De Gaulle, Jacques Dernier, "He replied. "He was a member of the French Resistance before joining the Commandos. He was the teams explosives expert."

"Oh, right of course,' Sabine replied. The Howling Commandos, she chided herself, this was the guy that led them in the war and how could she forget Dernier? The man was a French National hero.

The waiter returned with her order and asked if they needed anything else. Rogers politely said they would good and once again they were alone. As Sabine took a sip of her cappuccino, she pulled herself together and tried to get into reporter mode.

"So, Captain, I mean, Steve, you're taking a terrible risk being here,' she asked. "Why?"

He set his knife and fork down and seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Because the world is only getting one side of the story,' he finally began. "In my day it was called propaganda, but it seems they've renamed it since then."

"So you're going to spin it in your favor?" Sabine asked. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, "he said with a shake of his head. "While everyone is entitled to they own views, they aren't entitled to their own facts. The truth is always the truth, no matter how much you try and deny it."

"So no alternative facts?"

"No,' he firmly replied. "I promise you to just speak the truth. I think that's sort of what's wrong with people today. They only want the truth if it flatters or agrees with them. Just because you don't like it, doesn't change what the truth is."

The question that had been on the tip of Sabine's tongue since she recognized him finally couldn't wait any longer.

"Why me? I mean you're a fugitive in 117 countries. You're probably the most wanted man since bin Laden and yet here you are setting up a meeting with me, a low level new employee at an Internet podcast? Why?" She quickly said. "Why not the New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde or Die Welt?"

"Let's just say I'm trying to embrace new technology,' he offered with a smile.

"Try again, why me?" She replied.

"You're not going to like the reason,' he offered, taking another large bite of his steak.

"Just tell me."

"Alright, have you ever heard of Asher Brown Durand?"

"No."

"He was an American painter from the Hudson River School," he explained. "One of his most famous paintings is called Kindred Spirits. I remember seeing it once at the New York Public Library when I was a kid. It really made an impression on me."

"Wait! What?" Sabine gasped. "You picked me cause you liked some old painting?"

"I told you that you wouldn't like it," he offered with a shrug.

"Yeah, thanks for that little bit of truth,' she grumbled. "What did you just go through the list of people that work at Studio 404 and pick my name?"

He didn't answer and dipped his head a bit.

"You did, didn't you?" She exclaimed. "You're doing wonders for my self esteem, Captain."

"I said you wouldn't like it," He replied. "I did do some research on you after making the pick. I still think I made a good choice."

Okay so that was a pretty good answer, Sabine admitted to herself. It took some of the sting out of his earlier confession, but not all of it.

"Okay, I'll let it slide for now,' she said. "So back to the other part of the question, why Studio 404 and not a major news outlet? I mean some of them have offices all over the world. You could have picked any one of them?"

Steve set his fork down and took another drink of his Guinness before answering.

"Because I wanted what I say to be unfiltered,' He replied. "The major outlets would use bits and pieces of what I say, the most popular bits but not all of it. Your podcast is small enough so you can do a long form interview and broadcast all of it without cutting it up. I want people to hear what I have to say, all of it, not just bits and pieces."

"What makes you think we'll give you what you want?" She asked.

"I may be from a different time, but I do understand ratings,' he replied with a smile.

"True,' she admitted. "So how do you want to do this?"

"I thought we could finish our lunch and then you can ask me anything you want,' Steve replied. "You have a tape recording device of some sort, I assume?"

"Yes, so is everything on the table or are some things off limits?"

"All of it,' he stated. "It's all on the record and can be broadcast."

"Even the Winter Soldier?" Sabine nervously asked.

"Absolutely."

Sabine nodded in agreement and the two of them went back to their lunch. It was good, Sabine thought; I guess Hemingway knew what he was talking about. When they were finally finished, they both order coffee and Sabine took out her phone and set it between them to record. Turning it on, she stated the date and asked him to say his name.

"Steve Rogers."

"Also know as Captain America, that Steve Rogers?" She asked. "I just want to get that on the record here at the start."

"Yes, that Steve Rogers."

"All right, first question, you do know you're a fugitive in 117 countries, don't you Captain?" She asked. 'Including this one."

"I am, but I think the truth is more important than my safety."

"You refused to sign the Sokovia Accords,' she said. "Your actions in Vienna, Bucharest and Leipzig, put you in violation of them."

He held up his hand to stop her.

"Yes?" She asked.

"About the statement that I was in violation of the Accord. I've heard that said and repeated over and over again, but it's not true. I wasn't in violation of anything." He informed her.

"Excuse me?" Sabine asked.

"As unfortunate as it was, the bombing happened before anything was signed,' he explained. "Yes they were meeting in Vienna to ratify them, but it never happened. I don't know if they've been formally passed since, but at the time they weren't. I broke no law, because there wasn't a law to break yet."

"But America's Secretary of State Ross clearly said you had broken the Accords,' Sabine struggled to say, unsure what to think of his first statements. "He's been in the lead on this from the start."

"Yes, I know he has, but when exactly did all the countries sign the Accords?" Steve replied. "It wasn't in Vienna because of the bombing and I haven't heard of the meeting being rescheduled, so when was it signed?"

Before Sabine could reply, Steve continued. "As for Secretary of State Ross, his record as a General speaks for itself when it involves 'enhanced' individuals. It's been awhile since I was in school, but I don't seem to remember it being the Secretary of State's job to organize military actions, especially on foreign soil, yet that's exactly what he did. The Accords hadn't been signed at the time, but he preceded like they had."

"Secretary Ross says you're terrorists and according to the Accords your actions in aiding the Winter Soldier in Bucharest and Vienna was in direct violation of them." Sabine offered.

"Again, the Accords weren't in effect as they hadn't been signed,' Steve countered. "And while we're on the Accords, let me state plainly, I am still completely against them and refuse to sign."

"Even if it violates the law, Captain?' Sabine asked. "Your own country recognizes them as law, as well as the UN. You've been a soldier and hero fighting for your country, but now you're being branded a traitor and a terrorist for opposite the Accords."

"Some times you have to stand up for what's right, even if the official government says you're wrong,' Steve replied. "During the war, Vichy was the official, recognized government here in France. You mentioned Charles de Gaulle earlier; he would have been labeled the same back then, as he was fighting with the Free French and the Republic. Was he wrong?'

"No, but that's history, Captain, we're talking about the present,' Sabine countered. "It was a different time back then."

"Yes, I've heard that before,' Steve conceded. "Have you read the Accords, Miss?"

"Not all of them, no,' she admitted.

"I have,' Steve replied. "I'd like to quote one passage from them to you. Enhanced individuals who break the law, violate the Accords, or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the public may be detained indefinitely without trial. I'd like to repeat that last part, otherwise deemed to be a threat to the public may be detained indefinitely without trial. So even if I retired and tried to live a quiet simple life, someone could deem me a threat and I would end up in jail without a trial. I'd just disappearance one day."

"It says that?' Sabine asked.

"Yes,' Steve nodded. "If you're an 'enhanced individual' by their definition, you don't even have to commit a crime to be labeled a criminal under the Accords. They can lock you up for what they fear you might do. It doesn't spell out who gets to 'deem' you're a threat, just what acts will be taken. That doesn't sound like justice to me."

"But some of your own teammates signed it,' Sabine pointed out. 'I'm sure they would disagree with you on the Accords. Besides wasn't the main thrust of the Accords that the Avengers will no longer be a private organization and will now be operating under the supervision of the United Nations? That seems like something everyone agrees with."

"Yes, some of my teammates did sign,' Steve said softly. "I'm sure they all had their own reasons, as is their right. As for being under the UN, it isn't that simple I'm afraid. Again if you read the Accords, that supervision comes with a lot of strings attached. Anyone that signs the Accords has to register and provide biometric data, which is a fancy way of saying fingerprints and DNA samples."

"So?' Sabine asked.

"History is filled with people trying to replicate the Super Soldier serum that was given to me,' Steve replied. "They believed it is in my blood. Most of those attempts haven't been by people interested in the good of the world, but by those that wanted a super soldier army for themselves. What do you think the chances are that all that biometric data will be used for simple verification?"

"That's a unique case only related to you, Captain,' Sabine pointed out.

"Is it?" Steve asked. "Hydra spent millions of dollars and countless years trying to replicate it. The Winter Soldier program is one example. The Soviets also tried, their Red Room program used something similar to the serum. There's also the fact that the government wanted the Iron Man suit, along with the specifications so they could replicate it. Again, none of this is optional once you sign."

Steve took a sip of his coffee and then continued.

"Also in the Accords is says all enhanced individuals with innate powers have to wear a tracking bracelet. All enhanced individuals, no matter if they're just living their lives and have nothing to do with any of this, has to wear a tracking bracelet at all times. If they don't well, I imagine they would be deemed a risk and once again we're back to people being detained indefinitely without trial."

"Okay, what about the Avengers as a rogue organization?" Sabine said. "Doesn't one of the new regulations say any enhanced individuals must be given clearance by a nation's government or the UN for them to participate in any actions in said country. No one wants another Lagos, Captain."

"Lagos was a tragedy,' he replied. "I've seen most of the coverage and I can understand why people feel the way they do about it. They don't have all the facts though. As far as us being rogue, we informed Nigeria's State Security Service about the possible threat that might be coming. The Avengers have always shared intel, that's how we learned about the strike in Lagos."

"They knew you were coming?" Sabine asked.

"Yes, not the specific time, but they knew,' Steve replied. "And as far as Lagos goes, I think Wanda Maximoff has been getting a raw deal. Hydra terrorists, lead by Crossbones, a Hydra assassin named Brock Rumlow, set off a chemical weapon in a crowded marketplace, no one else. Yes, people were killed, but she save hundreds of others, myself included. It was a split second decision with lives on the line and she made the right one. Let's focus on the truth, she was a hero that day, not some wildcard that needed to be locked up. The whole team were heroes in my book."

Sabine found herself being swayed by his words. She had to remind herself this was Captain America, the Living Legend. He was famous for inspiring others but she couldn't let him sway her on this. This was her golden opportunity, once in a lifetime chance and she had a job to do.

"What about the other incidents that have been sited by Secretary Ross as to how dangerous you all are?" She asked.

"New York was an alien invasion,' Steve replied. "We were brought together by the government to stop it. We did, even though the government fired a nuclear missile at New York. Who was looking out for the people then, the government or us? As far as Washington, I take full responsibility for what happened there. As it's been reported, Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD all the way to the top. If they'd launched those carriers, millions would have died and there would have been no stopping Hydra. A kill list had already been feed into the computer on board those carriers and with their targeting capability they could have killed anyone, anywhere in the world from on high. Incidentally, Secretary Ross was on that list, along with just about every head of state and UN member."

"Sokovia?" Sabine asked. "Didn't Stark create Ultron?"

"The being that came to be known as Ultron existed long before Tony Stark created an android body,' Steve explained. "Ultron took over that body and began replicating himself. He wanted to wipe the human race off the face of the Earth. In Sokovia, the Avengers first mission was to save the civilian population. For the most part, we did just that. As a side note, it was Tony Stark that figured out a way to finally stop Ultron. He's a genius you know?"

Steve gave Sabine a smile and she found herself returning it.

"You seem to have an answer for everything, Captain, ' she remarked.

"No,' Steve said with a shake of his head. "I just know the truth about events I was part of."

"There's still the matter of the Winter Soldier," Sabine said. "He's an assassin. You can't deny all the killings he's responsible for. He needs to face justice for his crimes."

"The Winter Soldier is James Buchanan Barnes and he's been a prisoner of war for seventy years,' Steve stated flatly. Sabine could see the passion in his eyes as he spoke about the Winter Soldier. "He's been tortured and brainwashed over and over again to be used as a tool by others. The Geneva Convention has very specific rules about prisoners of war."

"I know you're close to the Winter Soldier, but aren't you a little biased?" Sabine asked. "I think Bucharest attests to where your loyalties lie."

"After Vienna, there was a rush to judgment,' Steve offered. "The order was shoot to kill, no arrest and no trial, just put him down like an animal. Yes, I consider him a brother. I told someone before Bucharest that I should be the one to bring him in because I was the least likely to die doing it. If I hadn't, a lot of people would be dead now. Yes there were injuries, but no one lost their life. Bucky was brought in, but while in the task force's own headquarters, the true bomber was able to activate his brainwashing. James Buchanan Barnes was innocent of the bombing, but that shoot to kill order was never rescinded."

"He's still a killer, Captain," Sabine pointed out.

"While under the control of others,' Steve replied.

"I see," Sabine offered, checking her phone. "I'm almost out of memory. Is there anything else you want to say before we finish this?"

"Yes, Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson and Scott Lang are innocent,' Steve stated. "The Accords weren't in place during the fight at the Leipzig airport and all the damage has been paid for. The fight was between the Avengers and I don't believe any of them have brought charges. They were just helping me, so if anyone should be held accountable, its me not them. They were taken to a super max floating prison with no charges or legal rights offered. While in that prison some of them were subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment. Again, they committed no crime and were subjected to a law that hadn't been passed yet."

Sabine stopped her phone and sat back looking at Steve.

"Your realize you just painted a bulls eye on your back with that last statement, Captain."

"Better me than the others."

Steve stood and picked up the check.

"Thank you for meeting me and listening, Miss,' he offered.

"You just gave me the story of the year, I should be thanking you,' she replied. "Oh, and you can call me Sabine, Steve."

"Just promise you'll get it all played and that will be thanks enough."

"I have to say Captain, you've only been out of the ice for a couple of years but you seemed to have caught up rather fast,' Sabine observed.

"I had help,' he replied with a smile.

"Oh really? Who?" Sabine asked.

"That's a story for another time,' Steve said. "Thank you again and good bye. Sabine."

With that he paid the check and disappeared out the front door.