Together


"They're all gone."

Peggy sat up straight in the bed, holding the phone Howard had provided for her in her hand.

"What?"

Steve slowly woke up beside her, sitting up and stretching, looking over at her with concern. She gave him a stressed look, then focused back on the conversation.

"They're gone. All of them." Howard's voice sounded panicked as he relayed the new information.

Peggy moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "What do you mean, gone? There are hundreds of files, thousands even-"

"I was just there, and every one of them is missing. I think they were stolen or maybe.. I-I don't know, Pegs, but it's not there and-"

"Howard!" Peggy yelled over the phone, causing Steve to jump slightly beside her and place a hand comfortingly on her shoulder blade. "I'm coming to the office now, we can work this out." She took a deep breath, then stood up slowly, putting on her robe and setting the phone back in its place.

"Is everything alright?" Steve asked, moving to the side of the bed.

Peggy ran her hands through her hair. "The files have all gone missing," she turned around, looking at the blonde sitting on her bed. "Everything that we have disappeared."

"Okay," he nodded slowly, running his hands through his hair. "Let's go to the office, and we'll go from there."

Twenty minutes later, and the three of them stood in the conference room, staring at the empty files.

"I came back to see the room like this," Howard said, sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

"This is not your fault, Howard," Steve placed a hand on his shoulder, taking a deep breath. "We should focus on the facts. Who would take these?"

"We have many rivals around the world. There's no telling which of them it could have been," Peggy crossed her arms, looking through boxes for any sort of clue as to where the information had gone. "This was classified information. The things stored in these boxes could start wars."

"Let's not think of the extreme," Steve held his hand out, raising his eyebrows. "Try and stay focused."

"Russia," Howard spoke up, standing up quickly. "They knew we were looking into the Winter Soldier program. What if they didn't want us to?"

"It's a good theory, but how could they have gotten here?"

Silence filled the room as one man came into their thoughts. They all shared a look of concern and fear, knowing this was far over their heads.

"Would they really send him in for something like this?" Howard asked, pacing back and forth in the doorway.

"He killed a man in cold blood just because he warned me about where Steve was being kept," Peggy reminded her associate. "Whoever took our files is hellbent on keeping their confidential information confidential. This would be easy for him."

Steve seemed to shift uncomfortably to this new information. "Regardless, we have been piecing together something that we shouldn't be looking into. Maybe this is for the better."

"Are you kidding?" Peggy looked over at him. "Steve, this poses a higher threat than Hydra during the SSR days. We cannot sit idly by as our enemy continues to strike. As far as I'm concerned, this was an act of war."

"Peggy is right," Howard stepped in. "We can't let them have the advantage. Are there any known locations where the Winter Soldier could be stationed?"

"Where I was captured," Steve shrugged. "If Peggy knows how to get there."

"I do," she looked over at Howard. "This isn't a small threat, though. He almost killed me in cold blood, and whatever they have access to was intense enough to sedate and take control of Steve. This isn't something we can rush into."

"That's not going to happen again," Steve shook his head. "The Winter Soldier is nothing more than an experiment. I won't live in fear of him."

"So what's our move here?" Howard inquired.

"We strike while they don't expect it," Steve looked at the two of them with determination. "They believe we are wounded by what they've taken, and so they won't see us coming if we attack now. Peggy was right, this is war. It's our turn to hit them where it hurts."

Peggy gave him a disapproving look, though she wouldn't lie, she loved to see him in action. If anyone was meant to be a captain, it was him.

Only an hour later, troops were gathered in the main room, with Steve, Peggy, Howard, and Gabe leading them.

"Howard, you're staying here with fifteen guards. They can't get any more on us than they already have," Steve commanded, then turned to the next group of soldiers. "You all are with Agent Carter and myself. Our mission is to get into the facility and gather up any information we can, and search for the Winter Soldier. If he is found, you know what to do."

Silence filled the room as Peggy gave her fiancé an icy glare.

"As for Gabe and his team, you all are going to be stationed in a secure room in the building beside us. You are our eyes and ears. You are guiding us through the building, providing needed escape if necessary, and you will be listening through their radio to warn us of any other dangers. Everyone got it?"

"Yes," the room boomed with the response, and very soon after, they were on their way.

Once they arrived to the facility, loaded and ready for the mission, Peggy snuck by Steve. "Are you sure about this?"

He looked down at her with a reassuring smile. "I am, Pegs. This is the only thing that we can do."

"And what if we fail?" She asked, putting her hands in his. "I almost lost you last time. I don't know if I am willing to put that at risk again."

"You won't lose me, Peggy," he consoled with her, pulling her into a hug. "Think about it, every time I get myself in danger, you drag me out of it. How could you lose me?"

Peggy smiled softly, then pulled away. "I hope you're right."

"I'm always right," he smirked, walking forward. "I guess that makes me the damsel in distress."

"Face it Rogers," Peggy stepped ahead, smirking back at him. "You were always the damsel in distress in this relationship."

Steve couldn't help but watch her walk towards the troops, her hips swaying confidently. His smirk grew as she turned, cocking her hip to the side ever so slightly, crossing her arms over her chest. He walked to her side, prepping the team.

"You know your orders," he called out, nodding slowly, then swung his arm back, placing his shield in front of him. Peggy walked beside him, her gun outstretched at eye level, prepared to take any kill shot if necessary.

When they entered the building, the soldiers flooded in, clearing the room. There was no one in sight, not even a single agent.

"They knew were coming," Peggy observed, dropping her gun and looking over to Steve, who was looking around in suspicion.

"How?" He asked, then walked into a room, pulling open a file cabinet. "They left all of the files. It looks like they abandoned the place, and didn't even bother hiding their information."

Peggy looked back at the soldiers. "Gather all of the files you can," she ordered, then ran her separate way, running into a small room she remembered seeing during her first visit.

The files stood stacked upon one another, towering over her. She was determined to find out just who it was that was behind it all, and how she could bring them down once and for all. She started skimming through each drawer of files, running her finger over the titles. She picked up clusters of files that seemed important, titles ranging from the SSR to Hydra, as well as files on herself and Steve.

As she went through, she stopped as she reached the Winter Soldier files. Her heart pounded against her chest as she debated lifting it up and reading what it had to say, unsure of what she would find. She looked around, then pulled it out.

The first thing she noticed was the thickness of the files. She flipped the file open, beginning to read. It began with Hydra files, describing the program itself. A man was to be turned into the perfect weapon, someone who would be the face of Hydra, and the man to shape a nation. The entire program was based on the theory that one man, at the right place and the right time could be more effective than an army.

As she turned the page, it began to get even darker. It referenced to the Project Rebirth, and the serum that changed Steve. This chosen man was to be given the same serum, and was to be trained to be the equivalent of Captain America himself. Peggy thought back to the day she encountered the Winter Soldier himself. He was truly the perfect match for Steve.

She read on, learning what else the project entailed. The files were new, dating back to 1944 and 1945, meaning the soldier had only been in place for only a few years. She noticed that it truly began in 1945, when the soldier was transformed.

She turned the page once again and began reading about the man himself, learning about the serums he was injected with, where he was taken from, and his name-

Peggy dropped the file to the floor, moving her shaky hands to her mouth, her face growing pale.

James Barnes.

Her enemy was Bucky Barnes.

She stepped back, her breathing scattered and shaky. No, no, it had to be wrong. Steve watched him die, it couldn't be him. There was no way. She kneeled down slowly, picking the file up with shaky hands.

She read on, taking deep breaths. It now read that Bucky, Steve's Bucky, had been forced into the role of the Winter Soldier against his will, after being injected with a similar serum to Steve's. It wrote that after his fall, he was recovered by Hydra scientists, fixed, and put to use almost immediately. They shoved the old man out, and replaced it with a new, improved version of himself. The face of Hydra.

"O-oh my," Peggy whispered, covering her mouth upon reading the terrible things that had been done to a once good man.

"You find anything?"

Peggy jumped at the sound of Steve's voice, closing the file instantly. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't. She hesitated for a moment before picking up the files she gathered, including the Winter Soldier file, and tucked it under her arm.

"Nothing of importance."

"Right," Steve nodded, then motioned for her to come. "We should go. We never know when they'll return."

"Of course," Peggy obeyed, leaving the room with the same look of paranoia on her face. She had lied to him. She knew it was for the better, but it didn't settle her conscience.

They walked out together, the team following.

"You okay?" Steve asked eventually. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Peggy's heart thumped against her chest. She couldn't tell him that the man he told his team to kill was his best friend. She wouldn't. "I'm alright," she nodded, then took a deep breath. "That place brings bad memories, I suppose."

Steve nodded. "I know," he sighed. "Let's get back to the office." He motioned for the team to gather together, and soon, they were on their way.

Back at the office, the four of them met up with the new files, excluding that of the Winter Soldier's.

"What have we learned?" Howard asked, looking over at Steve and Peggy.

"Well, for starters, Hydra used to control the Winter Soldier," he pulled out a file on Hydra itself, pointing to the sentence. "It says here that he did work for them. It even mentions my 'death' and their work on the serum."

Peggy looked over at him, fear running through her veins. He already knew a lot.

"What else?"

"Well, I couldn't find any files on the Winter Soldier program, but I found their research on the serum. Remember when the 107th was captured?" Steve looked over to Peggy, who forced a small nod.

"Well, apparently they were experimenting their versions of the serums on them," he added, his expression growing solemn. "It lists Bucky as one of the victims."

Peggy swallowed, watching Steve carefully. He redirected his attention to the file, shaking his head slowly. He didn't know. She almost sighed in relief.

"Anyways," he cleared his throat. "Apparently the serum lacked the vita-rays, and the first fifty injected immediately rejected the serum, and there wasn't any survivors."

"And what about the others?" Howard stepped closer, looking at the file as well.

"It doesn't say there were any survivors," Steve observed, then narrowed his eyes. "Except.."

Peggy chose this time to interrupt. "What did you find about the Russian Intel we asked for?" She took the file from his hands, setting it on the table.

Both men looked at her with a confused look, only earning a warning glare in response. "Nothing," Steve responded. "But we haven't looked into all of it."

"Do we have a name on the Winter Soldier?"

Peggy looked at Howard, her expression flat. She then looked at Steve, who shook his head slowly.

"No, we don't. We don't know who he is."


A/N: I'm getting right into it! I knew that reveal would come soon, and since everyone already knows who the Winter Soldier is, I didn't want to wait to reveal something that had already been revealed. So now, Peggy knows, and I guess we'll just have to see where that goes. ;)

Review Responses:

PenPaperParadise: Howard is one of my favorites, haha! Writing him is so much fun, even more so than that of Peggy and Steve. Howard's just a great character, and definitely one you'll see more of as time goes by. I'm glad I made this longer too! I think it's about as much fun to write as it is to read, haha!

JuliaAurelia: They're all so adorable. I love Gabe and Howard so much, and there was no way I was going to write a story without including them. Even in my stories that take place in modern times, I make sure Gabe and Howard get put in there somewhere. Also, I have this small part of me that sort of, kind of, maybe, really ships Howard and Peggy, and so I had to somehow get that in there, even if it was just Howard being happy for the two of them.

That's the exact thing I was thinking. I mean, if we think about it, Steve was only separated from Bucky a few years in his mind. The wounds of his loss in the MCU and in this story are the same, even to how long he's had to deal with that pain. I haven't gotten into it yet, but there will definitely be some of Steve going through the coping process, and maybe finding out that there could be a small part of him left, even if it's just a name in the files, could set him off on a serious hunt for the Winter Soldier. But I'm saying too much, haha. Thank you so much for your constant input! I love hearing from you!

Satan#2 (AKA, Zenappa, you're a dork): The P fic! Hahahaha. Clint is the best. I UPDATED NOW ITS YOUR TURN. People think we're crazy. Okay, Satan. And I have no idea how to respond to you XD You're crazy.

Thank you guys!

-June