Why Me?

Chapter 7 – The End of S.H.I.E.L.D

"It was Steve. He looked right at me and he didn't even know me."

Bucky, Natasha and Sam were sat in the back of a S.H.I.E.L.D – actually HYDRA – van being taken somewhere. Natasha was bleeding heavily from where she'd been shot. Bucky was still in shock at seeing Steve Rogers again.

"How's it even possible?" asked Sam. "Everyone knows the original Cap died."

Bucky gave a deflated sigh, similar questions had been bothering him. "The super soldier serum must have meant he survived the fall. And I'm here now physically unchanged so maybe HYDRA found Steve and then froze him."

"None of that's your fault, Buck." Natasha muttered weakly.

"I know but… Even when we had nothing, Steve and I still had each other."

From that moment things all happened in a blur…

Sam demanded medical attention for Natasha from the HYDRA agent who was with them. Turned out that underneath the helmet was Agent Hill. With help from Hill the trio escaped from the van and finally managed to get away from HYDRA. Hill led them to a secret facility that was fortunately still under S.H.I.E.L.D control. Natasha was taken to have her wound finally looked at.

With the wound being treated Hill then led Bucky, Sam and Natasha through to another part of the secret facility.

"About damn time."

To everyone's surprise Nick Fury lay there.

"You died. They cut you open, your heart stopped." Exclaimed Bucky incredulously.

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

Bucky sighed. "You always have a plan, but why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?"

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful." Explained Hill.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust."

Whilst Fury's secret keeping and lying still infuriated Bucky he had to admit that plan made a lot of sense.

"We have to stop the Insight launch, that's our priority." Said Natasha, the bleeding was under control and her wound was treated.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore. But I do have this…"

Fury opened a case containing three chips. Bucky had no idea how they were to use them and what they'd do but he guessed they must be important.

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized." Hill started to explain.

Fury continued the explanation. "We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own."

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get passed them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..."

Bucky, Nat and Sam had been listening to Hill and Fury's briefing but at the mention of salvaging something Bucky interjected. "We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D."

Fury for once looked surprised. "S.H.I.E.L.D had nothing to do with it."

"Look you gave me this mission and I say this is how it ends. S.H.I.E.L.D's been compromised, you've said so yourself. HYDRA was right under your nose and nobody noticed. S.H.I.E.L.D partially started because of Captain America and now I'm ending it."

Despite what Bucky said Fury was still unconvinced. Fury couldn't help wondering if Steve might have been better at following orders if he'd got him as Captain America. "Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed."

Bucky crossed his arms, unwilling to back down on this. "But how many paid the price before you did notice?"

"I didn't know about Steve Rogers."

As many other people had found out recently it was a big mistake to try and use Steve in an argument against Bucky. "Even if you had known that the original Captain America - my boyfriend – had become a HYDRA assassin would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that information too? After all you already have a Captain America, an extra asset could have been useful. I'm sorry but S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA, it all goes."

"He's right Nick." said Natasha.

Fury looked at Hill who nodded in agreement with Bucky.

Then Fury turned to look at Sam.

"Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower."

The group discussed their strategy for the attack on HYDRA and the end of S.H.I.E.L.D, fortunately when Hill had escaped from the Triskelion she'd managed to take various bits of tech with her. To Bucky's relief they also had a Captain America uniform in the secret base, he was hoping that seeing the uniform he'd once worn might trigger something in Steve.

After they'd finalised the plan Bucky just felt like he needed some air to clear his head a little. Bucky was stood on a bridge outside the secret base. As he stood there he had several flashback to various moments he'd spent with Steve. All the clichéd couple things like first kisses and long nights spent together but also things that were just them.

In Brooklyn when they were younger…

"Thank you, Buck, but I can get by on my own."

"The thing is, you don't have to. I'm with you till the end of the line."

The time he'd made Steve ride the Cyclone on Coney Island and Steve had thrown up.

The many times he's nude modelled for Steve to draw him. And the many times that had ended in the bedroom.

When Steve had rescued him after he'd been captured.

"I thought you were dead."

"I thought you were smaller."

However, Bucky's thoughts were interrupted by Sam joining him on the bridge.

"He's gonna be there, you know?"

"I know."

"Look, whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop."

"I can't stop him, I know my Steve must be still in there."

"Well, he might not give you a choice. He doesn't know you."

"He will."