A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed!
This story is unbeta'd, so there are going to be a few mistakes here and there.
I apologize for my lack of updates, my computer's motherboard was having problems, but they're fixed now.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 12: Escape
Beth POV
Three weeks had passed since the night that I told Steve what had happened to me in high school and I was starting to get nervous, but not for the usual reasons.
I was nervous because my SHIELD preliminary training and testing would be starting the next day. Steve, Maria, Clint, and Natasha would all be coming along to a facility known as 'Home Base' and Steve would be one of the general instructors along with a few other agents that I didn't know.
Having Steve as my superior would be a bit odd, but I was most nervous about doing something wrong and having him raise his voice at me. I know that he would try to avoid doing that, but the trainers weren't allowed to play favorites and had to treat all recruits the same unless they were off the clock.
Fury told me early on that the training I was about to do was like a standardized test. He explained to me that all the recruits were given a SHIELD handbook and assigned to a mentor several months before the two-phase preliminary training.
It was up to the recruits to get themselves into shape and learn the rules with the help of their mentors during those months.
When the recruits went off to 'Home Base' for the two and a half month Phase I training, their mentors would go with them as support, some of them (like Steve) would be general instructors.
In those months, the recruits would apply what they learned and they would be assessed by the head agents from all the departments within SHIELD to find out where they would be placed.
The recruits would take a series of halfway exams and then leave for a month-long holiday break. They could train on their own or with their mentor during this time. If they didn't want to celebrate the holidays at their SHIELD apartment, they could travel, but they still had to have some way of staying physically active.
After break, the three-month Phase II training would begin and recruits would undergo more intensive training.
After passing the last written, oral, and physical exams, the recruit would meet with the eight head agents, Director Fury, and their mentor to get the results of their exams. The recruit would be assigned to a department, issued a new handbook for said department, and begin their internship.
My training would be the same as anyone else's but I already knew that I was going to be in the Administrative department. After my training, I would come right back to NYC Headquarters and begin my secretary job.
Fury told me that NYC SHIELD HQ, Avengers Tower, and the mysterious 'Home Base' would be three of the safest places for me if Alex Finch was hunting me down. He had insisted on taking daily combat lessons with Natasha so that I would have more defensive and offensive skills if I needed them.
I checked my packing inventory for the last time and sighed as I sank down on my sofa to check my mental To Do list for the millionth time today, and it wasn't even noon yet.
I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep.
A loud crash from next door startled me and the first thought that went through my head was, "Is Steve okay?"
I ran next door and knocked.
"It's open!", Steve yelled and I could tell that he was in an odd position.
I entered and saw Steve on all fours and flour covering the tile floor in the kitchen.
"Watch your step.", he said with a grimace as I crossed the room and opened up the storage closet, trying to avoid getting too much flour on my black combat boots.
I pulled out two dustpans, brooms, and a paper bag before helping to sweep up the flour.
"Thank you.", he said as I put the last dustpan full of flour in the paper bag.
"So what were you doing?"
"I was going to bake you a cake…your birthday is just around the corner, so I figured we should celebrate early because Home Base doesn't have the best cafeteria food…besides, we'll be on a last name basis on Base, so it wouldn't really give the arrangement a romantic edge.", he explained, "I'm sorry it couldn't be more."
"Well it's the thought that counts.", I replied, "What caused you to make such a mess?"
"The bowl just slipped out of my hands.", he said as he wiped the countertops off.
"Were you planning anything else for my birthday, or was that it?", I asked.
"I thought about taking you out to a restaurant, but I know how you are, you always like it when it's just the two of us and you always want to be well-rested before a busy day like tomorrow.", he said as he pulled out a couple of sponges and dampened them. I took one and we began to wipe the flour off of the cabinets.
He was right, I did like it when we were alone together and I was a stickler for getting a good night's sleep before traveling or doing a lot of strenuous work.
"That was thoughtful of you.", I remarked as I wiped down the cabinets.
"Yeah. Are you packed?"
"All I need is my dress uniform for arrival tomorrow and I'm set."
"Well that was delivered about twenty minutes before I knocked the flour on the floor…it's the black garment bag hanging inside the hall closet.", he replied.
"Thanks."
Steve POV
Making a cake for her would've been a surprise but I was grateful for Beth's help.
She was wearing her heavy work pants, combat boots, and an older t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a long braid and I watched her move with grace about the room. She even made walking in combat boots look like it could be part of a choreographed routine.
"Can I tell you something?", I asked.
She glanced over her shoulder.
"Sure."
"Whenever you're doing something, it looks like you're dancing…The way you move is so graceful…like you're walking on air…I wonder how you do it.", I said just loud enough for her to hear.
She stopped in her tracks with her back to me before turning around, fixing me with a loving smile, and walking over to me. She placed both hands on my chest and I got lost in her eyes.
"Steve, I've always been a dancer and a runner…both require a lot of grace. My aunt said I practically danced my way into this world.", she laughed to herself.
"Can I tell you something?", she asked.
"Anything."
"Well, it's kind of embarrassing…", she said, blushing slightly before continuing, "Ever since I found out who you were, I've wanted to spar with you and I've wanted to be your sidekick. Is that weird? I know we can't spar because you might accidentally hurt me too badly…"
"No it isn't weird at all, in fact, I wish you were my sidekick too, but perhaps you should complete your training first.", I said with a smile.
"Just know this: one of these days I will be stronger and I will be your number one sidekick.", she said softly as she gazed up at me.
"I don't doubt that.", I replied before noticing that the front of her black pants was covered in flour.
"Beth, I ruined your pants…", I began.
She glanced down at herself.
"Oh well, they are my old pants…", she sighed and pulled away from me. "I suppose I'll go change then.", and left the apartment, taking her uniform with her.
I was pulling on a fresh pair of pants when someone knocked on my apartment door.
"Who is it?", I asked, knowing that Beth never knocked in that pattern.
No reply. Just more knocking.
I glanced through the peephole and saw no one standing there.
This better not be another one of Tony's stupid games.
I opened the door slowly and saw Darcy Lewis, Dr. Foster's assistant, crouched down and tying her shoe while listening to her iPod. She saw me, straightened up, pulled an ear bud out and greeted me.
"Hey Cap, this was in my mailbox, but it's addressed to Beth. I knocked on her door but she told me that she had to clean something up and that I should just take it to you, so here you go.", she said before handing over a letter.
"Oh, thank you Miss Lewis.", I said as she turned to walk away.
"Dude, just call me Darcy…Miss Lewis is my mom and she's like, fifty.", she said with a smirk as she got on the elevator.
I went back to my apartment, hoping that 'Dude' wasn't a bad nickname.
I sat down on my sofa and glanced at the envelope in my hands.
It looked harmless enough.
Beth knocked and entered.
"That must be the letter Darcy had for me.", she said and glanced around. "It just occurred to me that this is the first time I've ever been in your living room…", she said, "It's kind of…plain yet it has a certain charm to it."
I shrugged and replied,
"It's home to me. I don't really get into the interior design thing."
My walls were plain white, the carpet was beige, my sofa was low sitting and upholstered in a dark leather and the other wood furniture pieces were all stained in a dark cherry color. Pepper had been kind enough to order furniture that was a blend of the late 1930's styles I favored and modern elements.
"So, about that letter.", Beth said and I realized I was still holding it.
"Here you go.", I said, handing her the letter.
"Whoever sent it knows my full name, there isn't a return address on it…", she mused before flipping it over and tearing the seal open.
She pulled out the letter and paced as she read it, her eyes growing wider and her skin growing paler.
"Beth? Is something wrong?", I asked.
She didn't reply, she tugged the rubber band at the end of her braid off and ran her fingers through her hair, undoing the braid, letting her hair (which now came down to just below the middle of her back) flow behind her. She was still pacing. I was worried now.
"Beth? What does it say?"
She didn't even acknowledge me, it was like she was in a trance.
I began to think and then I wondered, "Did I do something wrong?"
"Beth?", I repeated, a bit louder this time.
Then she stopped pacing and swayed a little before she dashed out of my apartment and into her apartment.
I pursued her and knocked on her apartment door.
"Beth!", I called as I knocked again.
I went to knock a third time but she opened the door and threw a large duffel bag at me, which I caught with a grunt.
"What's going on?", I asked as she darted away again.
"No time to explain, we need to go now!", Beth said hurriedly, tossing a backpack out.
She grabbed her phone, keys, and wallet from an end table, put them in the smaller bag and ran back into her bedroom, not even bothering to close her door. I saw her pulling off her shirt and then averted my eyes.
Three minutes later, she returned in her full SHIELD uniform with her hair still floating behind her, which she remedied by pulling it into a loose ponytail.
"Steve, we have to leave now! Get your things, let's go! Put your uniform on!"
My mind raced.
"I…um- which uniform?", I asked.
"The one you wear when you go to SHIELD!", she yelled as she picked up her bags and locked her apartment door behind herself.
I ran back to my apartment, tossed out my duffel bag, and went to the back of my closet to open the secret alcove where my uniform was kept.
I squeezed into it (why on earth did it have to be so tight?), grabbed my shield, and half hopped/half walked out of my room, pulling my boots and gloves on as I went.
When Beth and I got on the elevator, she pushed the buttons for the 78th floor which was a residential floor with two apartments just like the one Beth and I live on. Only this was different. Much different.
Our floor didn't come with a warning to those who wanted to knock on our doors, floor 78 did.
Then again, the 78th floor was home to Agents Barton and Romanoff, so a warning to all trespassers seemed to be a pretty reasonable and almost thoughtful act.
We reached the 78th floor but the elevator doors remained closed.
Natasha's voice came over the intercom.
"State your name and your business.", she said in her usual monotone.
"It's Beth, I'm not safe here so I will have to go into protective custody at the SHIELD Home Base as soon as possible. Steve is with me and we plan on going to the SHIELD base and just staying for training. We don't have a vehicle big enough for all our bags, and I know that you and Clint would already have your things packed and ready for tomorrow, so"
"I understand.", Natasha said, cutting Beth off.
The elevator doors slid open a second later and Agents Romanoff and Barton threw two small duffel bags into the elevator before getting in with us. Agent Barton pressed the button that would take us to the garage where the SHIELD vehicles were kept.
"So Beth, what's the problem?", Clint asked as we walked into the garage and tossed our bags in the back of Clint's all-black SUV.
"Well…", she began as we got in the SUV and rode out of the garage, "I got this letter in the mail and it basically said that Finch was onto me and that he knew where I was. I couldn't stay at the tower and Fury told me that SHIELD would allow me to go into protective custody if a case like this should arise."
Natasha's head whipped around from the front passenger's seat, fixing Beth with a not too friendly stare.
"Do you have the letter with you?", she asked.
"I shoved it into my pocket.", she replied, pulling out the crumpled letter as she did.
Natasha snatched it away from her and Beth put her finger in her mouth before replying sharply, "Hey what the hell! You gave me a paper cut..."
"Toughen up Blondie.", Natasha replied as she studied the letter, "You won't become a SHIELD Agent if you aren't willing to get through the scrapes and learn to ignore the pain to save people on your team."
Clint reached into the center console first aid kit and handed a band-aid to Beth.
Beth took the band-aid and put it on her finger as Natasha read over the letter.
"Why do you want to know what it says? That's my business.", Beth asked.
Natasha turned around and pointed to a bit of correction fluid that stuck out slightly further than it should have off of the page.
"You see this?", she asked.
"Yeah…it's a clump of White Out, mistakes happen to everyone, even ex-cons, what's so bad about it?", Beth answered.
"It's not the White Out that bothers me, nor is it the information in this letter…", she replied, before she took her fingernail and scratched the White Out gently so it flaked away to show a tiny green bump on the paper, "…what concerns me is what the White Out was hiding."
"What is it?", I asked as I leaned forward in my seat and studied the thing.
"That's a tracking chip…", Natasha said simply.
"Tasha… we're being tailed…", Clint said from the driver's seat.
I turned around and saw that there was a U-Haul van following us, the driver constantly checking a phone in his hand, looking between the phone and the SUV we were riding in. I knew he couldn't see us, the windows were tinted too dark.
Beth turned around, took one look at the driver, and screamed for Clint to step on it.
"OH MY GOD, GO! THAT'S HIM!", She screeched.
"That's Finch?", Clint asked as he floored the gas pedal.
"WHO ELSE WOULD I BE TELLING YOU TO GET US AWAY FROM?", Beth screamed.
Clint stepped on it and shrugged,
"I don't know, I think I would try to speed away from my ex if I ever saw her behind me in traffic…Bobbi Morse was pretty crazy.", he said.
Rage filled my entire being as I turned around in my seat and glared at the driver of the U-Haul van who was in hot pursuit.
Alexander Finch.
"Steve…", Beth gasped as I pulled out my handgun and took aim through the back window.
I was going to shoot that bastard in his head.
"Steve!", Beth repeated, louder this time.
I looked over at her and saw that her face was contorted in fear from the fact that my rage was probably very clear and that we were being tracked by the very man she was trying to escape.
"This isn't your fight.", she said simply as I kept my aim. "Lower it.", she said, pointing to my gun.
I lowered it hesitantly.
I turned around just in time to see Finch raise a handgun of his own.
"DUCK!", I yelled as I grabbed my shield and protected Beth as Finch opened fire on us, shattering the back window of our vehicle and the windshield of his vehicle.
"Motherfucker shattered my SUV window!", Clint swore as he began to do a complex serpentine navigation, getting onto the New Jersey Turnpike and weaving through traffic, cars honking at us as we kept up a high speed.
Finch was still in hot pursuit and I kept my eyes on him as he got behind us and took aim.
"Natasha, torch the letter!", Beth yelled as she and I unbuckled our seatbelts and crouched on the floor.
"On it.", came the redhead's reply as I smelled something burning.
Finch kept shooting and I saw a calm look cross Beth's face.
She began to sit up, where her head was an easy target for Finch's bullets.
"BETH! GET DOWN!", I yelled, grabbing her wrist.
"He wants me dead…I can give myself over and save you guys.", she said, her eyes not moving from mine. "I love you Steve and I don't want to see any harm come to you or Clint and Natasha."
I was dumbstruck until I heard the same words that I had said when I was alone and flying the Valkyrie coming out of her mouth.
"This is my choice."
I couldn't lose her now, she was my whole world, and now she was willing to sacrifice herself to save Clint, Natasha, and I.
"Steve, Alex wants me dead, not any of you.", she repeated, pulling her wrist free from my gloved grasp.
My heart was racing at a million miles an hour.
She couldn't let herself die like this.
I couldn't let her end her life like this.
"ARE YOU SUICIDAL?", I yelled as another shot was fired, narrowly missing her and shattering the windshield in the SUV.
Glass shards flew back on us as the wind whipped Beth's blonde hair around. I felt the shards scratch my face and I saw them cut Beth's flawless skin in slow motion.
"BETH!", it couldn't end like this, I had to stop her but it was as if I had been frozen.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like my world was ending and that my heart was breaking, emotions that I could never express because of my rank in the military and because it was considered 'unmanly'.
I felt like screaming at her to stop
What happened next was the craziest and most heroic thing I had ever seen someone do.
Not even Peggy Carter could've done what Beth did.
"NOPE I'M NOT SUICIDAL," she yelled, grabbing my shield and slipping it onto her arm, "I'M NOT INSANE EITHER!", she yelled as she grabbed two knives from the center console, "HE SAID HE WANTED ME IN THE LETTER, SO IT'S ME HE'LL GET!", she finished with a determined look.
She vaulted into the back seats with an almost inhuman battle cry and hoisted my shield before looking around for something she could use to ruin Finch's aim.
Her long blonde ponytail obstructed her vision for a split second before she grabbed the end of her hair, grabbed one of the knives, and hacked the entire ponytail off in one swing, releasing it into the breeze where the afternoon sun caught each hair and made them shimmer like they were thin golden strands in the air.
It distracted Finch just long enough for her to fling the same knife she used to hack off her hair into one of Finch's front tires, causing the tire to blow out and thus making his vehicle swerve so that the tire diagonal to the one she had just blown out was in sight.
She glanced back to me and picked up the second knife before throwing it. It blew out the back tire, causing Finch to lose control and swerve into the median where his van came to a halt.
Beth crawled back up to her seat as Clint drove us to the nearest exit. Her face was bleeding, her hair was unevenly cut, and she handed me my shield as she sighed, coming down off her adrenaline rush.
In that moment, something in me awakened and a new sense of awareness took over.
I wanted to keep her safe from everything but I was just now understanding that she was never really safe and she never could be.
I realized as she wiped blood off her forehead that I just wanted her to be more resilient…those cuts she had would need some attention and they would take a while to heal. She would have a faint scar there forever as a result of the actions of someone that I didn't shoot.
All because she wanted the fight against Finch to be her fight.
My cuts were already clotting and the skin would be completely healed without a scar in less than a week due to the Super Soldier serum.
"If only she could become a Super Soldier via serum infusion…", I thought. "Then she could spar with me like she's always wanted to, she could be the greatest agent that SHIELD has ever had, and I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally hurting her…"
Then it hit me like a freight train.
"If she was like me, she could take on Finch alone and win the fight in no time. We could be partners in the field, she could be my sidekick…
I couldn't stop staring at her, still in shock at what she had just done.
Clint got off the Turnpike and we parked in a Wal-Mart lot, where Natasha emptied the ashtray with the charred remains of the letter and both the Agents turned around.
"What the hell do you think you were doing?", Natasha rounded on her, "Running straight into the line of fire…ugh, you could've got yourself killed and you could've killed all of us in the process! Do you have any regard for the safety of others or yourself?!", she ranted.
"Hey you could just say thank you and get off my case about it!", Beth retorted.
"What will Fury say about this?", Natasha said to no one in particular.
"Okay, for the record, fuck whatever Fury has to say about that, I thought that was awesome.", Clint said as blood ran down his face from a cut under his right eye. "Thank you for saving us Beth.", he said.
"Why the hell didn't you put a bullet through his skull instead of going all Xena on him?", Natasha asked, blood dripping steadily from a cut above her left eyebrow.
"My gun was in my bag and Steve's fell between the seats when we were swerving around, so I improvised."
We sat there and waited in silence as Natasha called for backup.
Soon we were taken to the nearest airfield/SHIELD base and treated for our injuries. We all took showers, changed, and then we were debriefed by Agent Sitwell as we had dinner.
When I finally got to speak to Beth again it was when Agent Bernadette Holmes, one of the few female SHIELD agents on the base, was shaping up Beth's impromptu haircut in her office.
I knocked a few times on the office door.
"Come in.", Beth called and I entered.
Agent Holmes nodded to me, "You can sit on the desk.", she said and bobbed her head in the general direction of her desk.
I sat as Agent Holmes snipped a few ends here and there, watching carefully as a few locks of Beth's hair fluttered to the floor.
"You know I read the debriefing from your encounter with that ex-con and I'd say that Miss Covington here saved the day.", she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
I smiled as Beth held up a hand mirror and our eyes met in the reflection.
"There—all done. What do you think?", Agent Holmes asked placing her hands on her hips as she studied her handiwork.
Beth turned around in the desk chair and said,
"I love it. It's stylish, classy, versatile, and lightweight.", she turned to me.
"What do you think Steve? Do you like it?", she asked.
"You look like a movie star from the 1930's and 40's named Veronica Lake, she was very pretty. You know, one of these days we'll have to watch the movie "I Wanted Wings".", I said as she twirled a curl around one of her slender fingers.
"How about we go get ready to board our, um…what did Clint call it?", she asked, screwing up her face in concentration, "Twinjet? No! Wait- Quinjet, that's the name!"
I smiled and took her hand as we walked out of the office after thanking Agent Holmes for her help.
As we walked away, I could've sworn I heard Agent Holmes sigh and murmur,
"Those two were meant to be together."
A/N: Sorry if it was a bit short, but I will publish chapter 13 by Friday so keep checking for updates.
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