A/N: Hi, guys. Sorry for the slightly longer wait - I haven't been able to get online to post this for a few days now. Hopefully the chapter makes up for it ;)

Big thanks to: livyboo, The Ardent Ginge, Inu-Hanyou2016, sat221b, crazehfreakbesasseh, chubbybunny. cdlt, Mamat496, LoneWolfPack, jenni10121, kinastar9561, evemarie07, blondmage, My mother is a koala, AveMak, Smartha12, Vixen of mischief, Ravendust6 and DeliriousPrincess for following/favouriting. Nice to see this is still getting some attention :)

Review Response(s):

sarah0406: Hehe, hopefully XD

TMNTGirl: Sorry for the additional wait. Hopefully it'll be worth it :/

Guest (1): Hopefully it lives up to expectations...

Guest (2): Haha, well then you're going to be a very happy bunny :3

2000Aerobars: Hopefully none of said bullets hurt you...

crazehfreakbesasseh: I'm glad you think so. And it wouldn't be a fic about assassins without a little blood, am I right? ;)

12 - Reunited (Sort Of)

I was sat casually in the car, leaning my head back against the metal of the car as I listened to Steve, Natasha and Sam (I finally learned his name) talk.

"It was him," Steve said, having just informed the others that the Winter Soldier was his best friend from the war years. "He looked right at me and he didn't even know me."

"How's that even possible?" Sam asked. "It was like seventy years ago."

"Zola," Steve bit out through a tight jaw. "Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43; Zola experimented on them. Whatever he did, it helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him."

"None of that's your fault, Steve," Natasha said, grimacing slightly as her bullet wound continued to leak blood.

"She's right," I said, causing them all to look at me in surprise. "He may have no idea who he was or who you are, but that doesn't mean I don't," I informed them. "The Winter Soldier has been my partner since the late 50s. Every now and then we have our memories wiped and we're thrown into cryogenic storage - we're frozen alive. So, that's how he's survived how long. And that's why he has no idea who you are." I glanced over at Romanoff, then turned to the two guys in black suits. "You know, if we don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out right here in the truck. And I don't know about you but I don't really want to have to deal with the resulting mess."

The guard on the left pulled out an electric rod, flipped it in their hand, then jabbed it into the other one, neutralising him. Everyone looked at me, expecting me to react, but I just sat there, watching as the person pulled their helmet off and revealed that they were, in fact, female.

"God," she groaned, "that thing was squeezing my brain."

"They're meant for men," I told her with a grin. "They don't accommodate for the added space needed for ponytails."

She looked at me, then at Sam. "Who's he?" she asked.

"Sam Wilson," Steve said. "What I want to know is why the infamous Silverthorn isn't trying to kill us right now?"

"Silverthorn's been compromised," I said dramatically. I turned to the woman. "I have no idea who you are but clearly they do. Now, we're at the back of the convoy so we have a chance to escape. Unfortunately, Rumlow locked and double locked the doors so we're not getting out that way. I hope you have a plan."

"And what makes you think you're coming with us?"

"You can trust me," I said. "I spent the last six decades being warped into a killing monster. I have more reason than most to want Hydra gone for good." She stared at me for a long time, before pulling out a small device from her pocket and turning it on, revealing a blue flame. She pressed the machine to the floor and drew and quick circle. The metal fell out. I chuckled. "So that's how he did it," I muttered.

The Winter Soldier tried to ignore the thrill of fear that shot through him as he was sat in that infernal chair, and instead focused on the prickling, constant, painful poking at the back of his mind. He barely even noticed when one of Hydra's men started to tinker with the damage in his arm. No, he tried to focus on the feeling of... well, he had no other way of describing it other than familiarity... that surrounded the blonde man with the colourful shield.

He kept his face perfectly blank as he pushed himself to remember anything. Anything at all. Even the smallest thing. What was so special about that man? What had Silverthorn called him - Steve?

His brain ached as a flash of white shot through his skull. White. Cold. Wind. A train. Then he was falling. He was screaming. Fear flooded him. Panic. Still falling.

The panic from this memory (if it even was a memory) caused him to lash out at the man beside him without even thinking. That fear still remained, and he found himself breathing heavily in an attempt to calm himself down. Deep breaths - that was what Silverthorn always told him. Focus on breathing.

Silverthorn.

The Winter Solider felt his brow furrowing. Where was she? Why wasn't she back yet?

He barely noticed when Alexander Pierce entered the room. "Mission report." The words filtered slowly through his brain. His mind was back on that man again. The familiar man. "Mission report, now." This time, the words didn't even register. It came as a complete shock when Pierce suddenly struck the side of his face, though he dutifully kept any and all emotion from showing. Even though it was extremely difficult to squash down the urge to pull Pierce's lungs from his chest.

"The man on the bridge," the Winter Soldier found himself asking. He blinked a few times, then turned to face Pierce. "Who was he?" Silverthorn was clearly rubbing off on him - he would never normally speak to his superiors more than he had to. But this was something he had to know.

"You met him earlier this week on another assignment," Pierce said carefully, pulling up a seat and perching on it.

The Soldier frowned. "I knew him," he muttered.

"Your work has been a gift to mankind," Pierce said, and almost instantly the Soldier's mind began to drift. This was a speech he'd heard at least half a dozen times before, in various shapes and forms. "You shaped this century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and Hydra can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

He shook his head slightly, brow furrowing even more. "But I knew him," he urged.

Pierce sighed and stood, turning to face the scientists in the room. "Prep him," he ordered coldly, and the Soldier felt a shiver run down his spine.

"He's been out of cyro-freeze too long," one of the scientists said slowly.

Pierce sighed. "Then wipe him and start over."

"Silverthorn," the Soldier said. "Where is she?"

"Silverthorn has yet to return," Pierce announced without turning around. "You'll know it when she does." Then he disappeared, and the Winter Soldier let his mind fall blissfully blank as the shockwaves of white-hot agony shot through his skull.

I knew they still doubted me, but something clearly made them not question the woman - Agent Maria Hill, apparently - as she wordlessly allowed me into their new top secret S.H.I.E.L.D. compound.

The corridors were dark, and almost as soon as we entered the facility a short man in a white lab coat rushed towards us.

"GSW. She's lost at least a pint," Hill reported.

"Maybe two," Sam piped up.

"Let me take her," the man said, clearly a doctor of some kind.

Hill shook her head. "No, she'll want to see him first."

I smirked to myself. "Twenty bucks says it's Nick Fury," I muttered, and Steve looked at me in surprise. "I'll take that to mean you accept the bet," I said with a chuckle, before falling silent.

We walked for several more minutes, taking twists and turns that even I struggled to remember. The doctor was fussing over Romanoff, handing her a thick piece of white material to press over the wound in her shoulder.

We rounded a final corner, and Hill pulled back a white curtain to show a hospital bed. None other than Nicholas J. Fury was lying in the bed.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's about damn time," he muttered.

The doctor rushed Natasha into a chair and began treating her wound.

"What happened to you?" Steve asked, looking astonished even as he dug into his pocket and numbly passed a twenty to me. I chuckled and accepted it.

"I got shot, soldier," Fury replied. "But if you're looking for a list of injuries..." He sighed, then dully started to name said injuries, as if he'd already had to do so a thousand times. Maybe he had. "Lacerated spinal column; cracked sternum; shattered collarbone; perforated liver; one hell of a headache."

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," the doctor piped up.

"Oh, let's not forget that," Fury said with a wry smile. "But otherwise, I'm good."

"They cut you open," Natasha said, still appearing to be in a state of disbelief. "Your heart stopped."

"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." Fury smirked, then nodded to me. "Thanks for the tip, by the way."

I smirked. "I've been at this a long time, Director," I said. "If I didn't know what I was doing by now, there'd be some serious issues."

"Why all the secrecy, though?" Steve asked, frowning. "Why not just tell us?"

"Any attempt on the Director's life had to look successful," Hill stated calmly.

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

"Are you sure you know even now?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. "I mean, what about me?"

He snorted. "You stopped me from being killed twice in one night," he said. "You had me trapped in a corner, and not only did you let me go, you also told me to get the very thing that would save my life a few hours later. Although, I didn't appreciate your comment about shooting me in the back."

I chuckled. "Actually, that one wasn't me."

"Ah, yes," Fury said dramatically. "The Winter Soldier."

"Bucky," Steve said automatically.

Fury raised an eyebrow.

"As it turns out the Winter Soldier is Steve's best friend from the war," Natasha commented idly.

Fury frowned. "You're his partner," he said to me. "What can you tell us about him?"

I sighed. "Not much that'll be helpful, I'm sure. I suspect most of what I'm about to tell you you'll either already know from research into him, or you'll know because Steve told you about Barnes." I let out a long breath. "After he fell from that train in '44 he lost his arm, but was found by a group of Soviets who were a minor limb for Hydra. He was moved back to America where Doctor Arnim Zola created his prosthetic arm. It's linked to the nerves of his body so it moves when he wants it to - it basically is his real arm, just made of something a little stronger." I sighed again, rubbing my face with my hands. "I met him in '53, when I was first dragged into Hydra by Christopher Pierce - Alexander Pierce's father. I didn't know it at the time, but the Winter Soldier was the person who kept visiting me at night to test my reflexes. That went on for a couple of months, but then he was put into cryo-freeze. Next time we met was three years later, right before I was given Hydra's version of the supersoldier serum. Ever since then we've been partners. Over the last few decades we've completed around ten assassinations together, though most of the contracts we fulfilled were done separately - I can only assume Hydra wanted the world to believe we worked independently." I shook my head, perching on the edge of Fury's bed. "The Winter Soldier is skilled with many weapons, but his greatest strength is as a marksman. Something I understand he carried forward from his war days." I glanced up, seeing Steve nod his head. I frowned. "The Soldier and I have a strong bond that I don't think even Hydra knows the extent of," I said slowly. "Once he realises I'm not going to Hydra they're probably going to make him think one of two things: either you guys kidnapped me, in which case he's going to come at you all guns blazing, or they're going to tell him that I've betrayed them."

"And what happens then?" Romanoff asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." I frowned. "He and I planned to leave Hydra when this was over. We decided a life on the run would be better than a life in chains. They're probably going to throw him back in that goddamned chair and wipe him, meaning he'd be more susceptible to whatever lies they tell him. But-"

"But prolonged exposure to the machine means you start to develop a resistance to it," Fury said, reciting my words almost perfectly. "So when he wakes up, you'll be the first thing on his mind."

"Hydra are clever," I said lowly. "They might be able to twist the story and make it seem like I betrayed him, not Hydra. And then I honestly have no idea what will happen."

"Well then," Fury said, pushing himself in a seated position. "We'd better hope they tell him we kidnapped you."

Over the next hour I was told what Hydra's plan was - I didn't need to know more than the fact they were going to use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 'helicarriers' to kill a lot of people.

"The more I hear about this guy, the more I want to kill him," I murmured.

"You sound like this is all surprising to you," said Hill, raising her eyebrows.

I frowned slightly. "Alexander Pierce's tactic of getting us to obey him is to convince us it's all for the betterment of humanity. Hydra, in a way, would soften the blow with each of our missions, because each one was always one person at a time - except for once, in the 90s, but I wasn't involved it that one personally. Pierce has never made any hints towards mass-murder, that I can recall. I honestly didn't think he'd go that far."

Fury snorted. "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said peace wasn't an achievement; it was a responsibility. See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch," Natasha said.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore," he said, before opening a briefcase and revealing three square chips.

"What's that?" asked Sam.

"Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponised," Hill said grimly.

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

"Why do I get the feeling there's a catch?" I murmured, sighing heavily through my nose. I'd been here only a few hours, but already I missed the Soldier. I couldn't wait for this to be over.

Hill sent me an unreadable look, before saying, "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," Fury said, furrowing his brows slightly. "We need to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left-"

"No," Steve cut in quickly, a severe look on his face. "We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick; we're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with it," Fury retorted angrily.

"You gave me this mission, 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."

Fury huffed. "Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed."

"Yeah, but how many paid the price before you did?"

"Too many," I said through a tight throat. "Just between the Winter Soldier and I, 51 people were killed. Including a U.S. President."

Sighing, Fury leaned back in his chair. "Look," he lowly, "I didn't know about Barnes."

"Even if you did, would you have told me?" Steve asked scathingly. "Or would have compartmentalised that too?" He shook his head. "S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra... It all goes."

"He's right," Hill said lowly.

Fury looked at her incredulously, before turning to Romanoff, then Wilson. Sam held up his hands. "Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower."

Then Fury's eyes fell on me. "I've been waiting for this moment for six decades," I said lowly. "I won't stop 'til Hydra goes down. If that means taking out S.H.I.E.L.D. while I'm at it, so be it."

Fury sighed. "Well," he said at length. "Looks like you're the one giving the orders now, Captain."

"I just have one request," I muttered, looking up at Steve. "Don't kill him. That's my condition - I will only help if he's kept alive."

Steve looked at me for a long time, blue eyes scanning over every millimetre of my face, before he gave me a single, sharp nod.