Metanoia

Chapter 14: Louring

Lunch with Steve and Sam wasn't as awkward or unbearable as Rory had been expecting. In fact, Rory actually found herself having a good time, even though Beth and Sam did most of the talking. It was good because they were both incredibly quick witted and funny people, and listening to them talk was about the first normal thing Rory had done in a long time.

Occasionally Steve would contribute and at least twice James had something to say in response, but Rory could still feel the tension in the air and she as hyper aware of whatever Steve was doing. Sometimes she could feel his eyes on the side of her face but when she looked he wasn't looking at all. She didn't know whether she was happy or saddened by this. Gone were the days where they could talk for hours about everything and nothing. She realized, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, that she'd do anything to get those back.

The kiss they'd shared played on her mind almost every day and whenever she thought of it she remembered the words she'd said to him.

"I don't want to love you anymore. Not anymore."

They'd hurt her to say, they'd hurt her to think and there wasn't even an ounce of a lie in them. It had floored her to realize that even though he'd betrayed her, damned her trust to ash, she still had this pang in her chest and this fluttering in her gut whenever she thought, saw, spoke or even so much as looked in his general direction. She still loved him and it killed her to know that she did.

"Rory! Will you tell him that yoga is the ultimate stress reliever?" Beth's voice broke through her thoughts and brought Rory back to the communal living room where they'd chosen to eat lunch.

She frowned and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, glancing from her friend to Sam.

"Stress relief?"

"Yeah, like what do you do to wind down?" he elaborated, which told Rory exactly nothing about how they got onto this subject. She looked to James for answers but he just shrugged. "Beth says that yoga is the best –"

"Because it is!" She laughed. "You should try it sometime –"

"Me?" Sam's face was a picture of horrified amusement. "I don't do freakin yoga. Do I look like I do freakin – Steve, are you hearing this?" He looked at Steve, rolling his eyes as he did.

"I'm hearing it," Steve agreed, wiping his mouth and leaning back against the cushions of the couch. "I can't say yoga is something I've ever wanted to try." He agreed with Sam, who let out a loud HA! "I've heard chocolate is pretty good though."

His eyes slid toward Rory and when they locked onto hers he smirked. She let out a snort, remembering the night he'd come back from the Arctic mission. Chocolate had always been her second choice for a stress relief and Steve knew this. She was sure he did too because he laughed when she replied. "I guess it's a close second."

Steve laughed, not once breaking his gaze and it was like music to her ears. His laugh was a sound she'd missed while she'd been away and she was happy to hear it again.

"Second?" Sam prompted and Rory felt her cheeks burn remembering that her first choice had been sex and she couldn't exactly tell Sam, Beth and James that. She dropped Steve's gaze and shrugged.

"Sorry, Sam. I'm with Beth. Yoga lowers the heart rate, strengthens the mind and the body and makes you stop and breath." She covered smoothly and Beth cheered, satisfied with her lie. Only James gave her a look that clearly said he knew she was lying. She watched as he looked at Steve and a sly grin formed on his face when he saw Steve's expression and red ears. She narrowed her eyes at him and he snorted, shaking his head and covering it with a cough. He was too damned perceptive for his own good.

"Oh sure, take her side. Damn stupid girls and your flexibility," Sam mumbled and Rory laughed.

"I'm sure you've never complained about a girl's flexibility before, Sam," she said and Sam grinned wickedly.

"Well when you put it like that…" He winked and Steve cleared his throat. Sam turned his shit-eating grin toward his friend but said nothing else.

They prattled on for a while longer before Beth needed to get back to work and Sam conveniently realized he was supposed to be somewhere.

Which left Rory, James and Steve alone in the living room in complete silence that was equal parts awkward and stressful, as no one quite knew what to say. Rory's stomach churned as the silence stretched on and with each passing second the urge to leave rose higher and higher in her gut, like vomit on the edge of spilling over.

She looked between the men; James was looking at his hands and Steve's eyes were focused on a spot outside the window and she knew she would have to be the one to break the tension. Things weren't going to change if she didn't do something soon and she had promised her grandparents that she would at least try and get the two men on neutral ground.

"So, how do you feel about helping us take out Rumlow?" she said slowly, not quite knowing what else to say. She could have prattled on and on about random things like she used to but she really didn't know how anymore.

Steve's eyebrow rose as he turned to her and he shifted in his seat.

"Are you asking me for help?" he asked, genuine confusion in his tone. He glanced at James, who shrugged and gave a nod before he glanced at Rory for confirmation.

"Yes," she said indignantly, annoyance at both of their surprise flashing through her. "You don't need to sound so surprised by that." She cleared her throat. Steve's brows knitted and he held up his hands.

"I'm uh… sorry?" he said lightly, clearly treading very carefully with his words. "I just… didn't realize you were staying," he said finally. "I'm actually surprised you're still around. I was expecting you to leave as soon as you could." His eyes fell on her arm that was no longer in a sling but still bandaged around the shoulder.

Rory looked at her hands and picked at a nail.

"I wanted to," she admitted softly, "But James made the argument that we should stay, so I did."

Steve looked to James, even more confused than before. He thought for sure that all James wanted to do was get away from everything.

"She's still injured and she trusts everyone here," he explained with an almost embarrassed shrug. "With her injury, if we got ambushed again we'd be sitting ducks."

"Security here is pretty solid," Steve agreed, silently thankful that his old friend was still military right down to his core. "So, what, the plan is to stay and take out Rumlow before moving on?"

James sighed and looked at Rory, who said nothing in return. The stubborn set of her mouth told Steve she wouldn't say anything and he knew this had to be killing her, not having control of what she wanted to do. He knew she probably wanted to run, to get away from things that were bothering her – himself, for example – and he couldn't help but feel proud that she wasn't, or hadn't yet anyway.

"Yeah, basically," James said after a moment. "I'm not going to stay off Hydra's radar forever and when they do find me it won't be a walk in the park. It wouldn't be wise for us to be here when they do but we obviously can't leave safely because Rumlow knows where she is."

"And he'll be watching," Steve agreed with his friend.

"And he'll just keep attacking until he gets what he want," James added. Aurora gave a frustrated sigh and stood, pacing back and forth in front of them while rubbing her shoulder. "Good?" James asked and she glanced at him, nodding.

"Painkiller's worn off," she murmured. "It's aching."

Steve watched as James reached into a pocket of his jeans and produced a small bottle of pills. Rory took them without a word, popping the cap and swallowing four. She replaced the lid and handed them back, sending him a soft smile of gratitude.

Steve's chest felt tight. They were closer than he thought and he couldn't help but remember his old friend Bucky and how he'd once been with women. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and grit his teeth. He had no right to be jealous. After all, she'd told him herself that she didn't want to love him anymore. Maybe James was just another attempt at letting him go.

"So you want to get in before him and take him out before Hydra find you?" Steve prompted, steering himself studiously away from that train of thought, and both of them looked at him like they'd forgotten he was there.

"Right. Except we're going to need help," Rory said. She gestured to her arm. "Brock has always liked to use force and there's no way I could take him any time soon." She rolled her eyes and sat back down beside Steve. Her words made him bristle and anger flashed through him.

If she was insinuating that he used force on her then he wouldn't just bring the man in – he'd kill him but before he could say anything James spoke instead, literally reading Steve's mind.

"I really hope you don't mean what I think you mean, doll."

The old language threw Steve but it made him hopeful. Bucky was still in there somewhere, he knew it.

Rory looked from James and then to Steve, noting both their expressions. She rolled her eyes again, huffing slightly at the twin looks on their faces.

"I've been there before and I was better prepared for it this time," she replied cryptically. "He needed four stitches after I busted his lip in retaliation for shoving me. Sadly though, that was a turn on for him and he knew I could take it."

Steve and James' fists tightened at the same time, the metallic whir of James' bionic fingers echoing through the room. She gave a small laugh and held up her hands. "Down, boys," she murmured. "By 'force' I actually meant how many men ambushed us. It wasn't just Brock. I don't actually even think Brock was there." She shook her head.

"He wasn't. There was no sign of him on the security camera footage from the lobby that we pulled," Steve agreed. "The question now is, did you two take out his entire team or can he get others?"

"Depends if he's smart enough to work with Hydra to get hold of James or not," she replied and Steve groaned. That was a whole new kettle of fish that he hadn't even thought about.

"I think he's too proud for that," James said, shaking his head. "He wanted me dead. Their orders were 'kill the asset, get the girl'. He's got a single-minded obsession with Rory and I don't think he'd risk asking for help in case Hydra decided to take her in for double crossing them and helping me."

"Good point," Rory agreed. "I think the best thing to do will be to set me up as bait – "

"You are not using yourself as bait," Steve said immediately, shaking his head as he cut her off. Rory folded her arm across her, pinning him with a dangerous stare. She cleared her throat.

"Uh, Steve? You're doing that thing again where you think you can tell me what to do," she said. Her voice was low and hard, and Steve knew he'd said the wrong thing again.

"You're still injured," he pointed out lightly and she laughed.

"And? I'm proposing using me as bait to draw him out so you and Sam can take him down quietly and efficiently," she explained the rest of her plan that Steve had cut off.

"And how do you want to do that? Walk around New York in broad daylight and wait until he comes for you?" Steve asked, rolling his eyes. There was a beat of silence and James shrugged.

"That's actually, probably the most efficient way to do it," he said and Steve realized he was right. "It's not like he'll waste time if he thinks she's alone."

"We can have Sam above, looking over everything. I can be on foot a little behind, Tony can run surveillance, make sure we're not attracting attention of anyone we shouldn't be…" He glanced at James but didn't say anything,

"Don't even think about leaving me here, Punk." James shook his head defiantly. Steve hesitated, the name throwing him ever so slightly. "I won't do it."

"James…" Rory started but he held up his hand.

"No," he said firmly. "I'm not being left out of this. That son of a bitch is dangerous and the more heavy hitters you have looking out for you, the safer it'll be," he argued, his eyes blazing. Rory chewed on a nail and looked at Steve. He seemed to be thinking hard about something and he met her gaze.

"I supposed we are going to need someone to drive us back. We can't exactly carry Rumlow from Central Park to the Tower," he reasoned. "You can drive, right?"

James' eyes narrowed.

"I taught you. I remember that much."

Steve grinned. "So that's a no then. You were fucking terrible."

James let out a snort and shook his head.

"Then that's it then. That's the plan," Rory said, smiling at them both. Steve smiled at her, a gentle smile that made her chest tighten.

"I guess it is," he agreed. "We'll rendezvous with Sam to narrow down the logistics. The quicker we pull this off the easier it's going to be for everyone." He cleared his throat. He didn't want to happen too fast because the quicker they eliminated Rumlow, the sooner she and James would be gone.

"Less chance he has of pulling together another team," James agreed.

Rory nodded and yawned, her whole body feeling tired and heavy. The pain was gone at least but drowsiness was no way to function in the middle of the day.

"I wish this arm would heal," she muttered as she stifled a second yawn.

"Doctor Cho said it was healing nicely when I asked. The serum is working like it should," Steve replied and she opened an eye to look at him.

"You asked her about me?"

"Just how you were going. I haven't seen you in a few weeks, I didn't think you'd actually answer me if I asked," he replied, sadness tinting his words.

"Oh."

"What serum?" James asked before she could say anything else and she glanced at him, realizing she'd never actually told him about that either.

"Uh, well… my grandparents each took a version of the serum Steve was dosed with and it transferred genetically to myself and my siblings," she explained as simply as she could. "Then when I… when I was taken and hurt by Hydra, they used the remainder to accelerate healing and it kinda stayed in my blood." She glanced at Steve, watching the pain cross his face as the same memories invaded his mind like they were hers.

"Wait, so you're a superhero too?" James asked and she shook her head.

"No, a little stronger and more durable than the average person but nothing like you or Steve. I'll probably look 25 for a few more years, which is nice." She laughed and James smiled.

"It's a good age to be frozen at." He rubbed his cheeks and grinned.

Steve let out a snort.

"You're 27."

"And yet, I still look younger than you."

Rory watched Steve's eyebrows disappear into his hairline and then he laughed. It was a sound she hadn't heard him make in such a long time and happiness erupted in her chest.

Hope wasn't lost for the man he wanted back. Every now and then, flashes of Bucky Barnes came to the surface and all they had to do was encourage them. Keep them safe. She was glad she was helping them both in a way because bringing Bucky back was exactly how she was going to make up for the 2 years she'd taken from Steve.

It was raining the day they decided to put their plan into action but that actually was a good thing. Rain meant less people in Central Park where they would hopefully apprehend Brock Rumlow. It also meant the streets weren't as crowded as they would normally have been so there were fewer places for his team to hide. All Rory had to do was walk the streets around the Tower – like a woman enjoying her freedom – and Sam's little flying drone would scan the crowd for anyone acting suspiciously. Tony assured them that people kept to a very specific pattern when tailing someone and that the drone would find it.

Sam was to be monitoring from up high on the platform of the Tower, James was going to be walking the streets separate to Rory, and Steve was the end game in Central Park. At all points of time they would have eyes on Rory and with so few of them everyone was confident things would go to plan.

Being out of the tower was nice too, despite the rain. It was cool and refreshing and Rory was just glad to stretch her legs. She kept herself hidden by an umbrella like most of the people in the street and no one looked her way for a second. The one thing that could definitely be counted on in New York was anonymity.

"Redwing's picked up on someone following you, Dugan. About a block behind," Sam's voice came to her around the 30 minute mark.

"Redwing?" she murmured back in disbelief.

"Beth named him. It's kinda cute. Dude has a grey hoodie on, hood up."

She heard James give a snort at the name but then he cleared his throat.

"I see him. Can't see his face," he agreed.

Rory stopped at a red light and looked around, keeping her glances short and sharp but there he was. Even without seeing his face the overall size and shape of the figure was right for Brock.

"I can't get a look at his face," she muttered, shielding her face with the umbrella again. "I'm going to go and get a coffee," she said, looking at the Starbucks in front of her. The light changed green and she stepped off the curb. "See if he follows me there."

"We've got eyes on you, dol,." James assured her and she forced herself to breath.

She ordered her coffee, gripping her umbrella tightly in her hands.

"Anything?" she asked Sam as she stood to the side and waited for her name – Maggie – to be called.

"He's out front," Sam replied. "Watching the entrance. James, you see him?"

"I see him."

"Redwing scans him at 6'1, 210 pounds. Walks like a killer. It's about 80% sure he's our guy."

"80% isn't enough for me, Sam," Steve spoke finally and she could hear in his voice that it was killing him to now have eyes on the situation. He was in Central Park by now, getting into position at the Bethesda Terrace.

Rory took her coffee and went to the creamer station, glancing out of the windows.

"I'm ready to leave. Which way do I go?" she asked, readying her umbrella again.

"Head right when you leave the doors." James replied. "He's a half block to the left, opposite side of the street. See if you can catch a glimpse but don't let him block you off."

"Yessir," she muttered a salute and stepped onto the street. The warmth of her coffee seeped into her fingers and she took a sip as she looked around. "Where are you?" she asked around the cup.

"Your right, half a block, same side of the road. Don't worry, you won't see me."

"As long as you can see me," she murmured.

"That I can promise," he replied and she smiled softly.

Sure enough, there was a 6'1 man in a grey hoodie standing and watching the Starbucks entrance. Her eyes caught his and for a moment she couldn't move. There was something wrong with his face but she couldn't make out what as it was still obscured in shadow by the hood. He lifted his hand and waved, a smile pulling at what little face she could see. At least she thought it was a smile. It could have been a snarl.

"It's him," she said as she shielded herself with the umbrella and hurried down the street. "He made contact."

"Keep walking. Enter the park. Stick to the plan," Steve said calmly.

"I've got eyes on you. Steve, you in position?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm at the Terrace. Make sure you come down the Mall. I'll see you easily."

"Roger that," she nodded.

The footpaths of the park were wet as she hurried along them and her boots were soaked through in a matter of moments but soon she was approaching the Terrace and Steve was telling her he could see her.

"He still behind me?" she asked, her breath coming out in short gasps.

"Yup. I got you, keep walking," Steve replied. It comforted her and she slipped down the stairs of the terrace and out of the rain.

For 5, long minutes all she could hear was the sound of the rain and occasionally the rapid footsteps of someone passing by, hurrying to get out of the wet. Her heartbeat hammered in her chest and she fought the urge to reach for her gun. She sipped her coffee slowly, trying to look as casual as she could.

"Relax, sweetheart. You look tense. You're meant to be out for a stroll, remember?" Steve's voice was soft and she let loose a shaking breath forcing herself to park her ass on the bench in the middle of the terrace. It was cold in there and she shivered, forcing herself to breathe. "I'm just outside the pillars when you're facing the fountain," he told her.

She glanced toward the fountain and nodded.

"He's just standing at the top of the stairs, same way you came." Sam spoke and the back of Rory's neck prickled. She swung her head around and held her breath. "Wait, he's moving…" There was a pause. "Steve you're gonna have to move. He's doing a perimeter check…"

She heard the shuffle of boots and then Steve crept in past her. Their eyes met and he gave a wink, ever the cool and casual Captain America. His shield was slung over his back, even though he was only in a black hoodie and jeans. It was a stark contrast between the two people he was.

"He's coming down the right side stairs."

"James, go back to the car, I don't want to be here long. I'm going to take him out as soon as I can…" Steve breathed.

James gave a grunt of acknowledgment, which Rory found surprising but she guessed he agreed. A quick takedown was a good one, especially in a public place where anyone could see the.

"He's at the bottom of the stairs."

Rory looked to her left and could see the grey hooded figure looking around. She heard Steve's footsteps skitter as he made for the arches and when she looked she found him out of sight behind one.

"He's moving…"

Brock passed by the arches slowly, looking every bit like a man out for a walk but she knew he was circling her like a predator. Rory's heart raced tripled when he disappeared from sight.

"Heading back up the left."

Steve ducked around the pillar and walked back past Rory. Their eyes met again.

"We're gonna get this son of a bitch, sweetheart," he promised in a low voice and she nodded.

"Of course we will,"she agreed, watching him disappear out of the terrace again.

For another 5 tense minutes she sat and forced herself to drink her coffee, all while trying not to think about what he might be doing.

"What's he doing, Sam?" Steve asked.

"Standing at the steps just looking in…"

"He's taunting me," Rory replied, looking to the roof. "He knows I know he's there and he wants to see if I make a run for it."

"Prick – Wait, he's moving again. Down the steps… Lost the visual…"

But Rory gained it as he came into view.

"Breath, doll. You've fought him once. You can do it again."James spoke to her in Russian and she sucked in a deep breath. She heard footsteps and dropped her head, pretending to look at the coffee in her hands.

"I was wondering if I was going to have to do some Prince Charming type bullshit to get you out of that tower, Cupcake."

His voice broke the silence as he approached and she looked up. There was something different about his voice. It was deeper, full of gravel and spite.

"I got shot by one of your guys," she replied coolly, gesturing to her shoulder. "First time I've been able to get away."

He walked to the other end of the Terrace and looked out at the fountain ahead.

"Yeah, I saw what you and that bastard asset did to my crew," he growled, glancing around. "I'm surprised he's not here, following you around like the little lap dog you turned him into."

"I didn't turn him into anything." She shook her head. She stood, rising to her feet carefully. "I'm surprised to see you alive, Brock," she said, keeping him distracted while Steve got into position.

"Can't keep me away from you, beautiful." He shrugged, turning to face her. The hood shifted and she gasped as his chin and cheek came into view. They were marred with deep, angry scars and they contorted his lip in a funny way. A chill ran through her as flashes of Zemo's scarred face grinning down at her played through her mind.

His hand came up and touched his cheek. He turned away, toward where Steve was hiding.

"I ain't as pretty as I used to be. I'm working on it. Hope you don't mind," he said in a muffled voice.

"Let me see," she murmured and he turned to look at her. Slowly he pushed the hoodie away and she fought the urge to recoil. His face was pockmarked with burns and scars and a line of stitches around his eye made it look sunken and hollow.

"I saw you try and come after me, cupcake. When the building fell, I saw you try and get to me. To save me," he said and stepped toward her. Steve started moving again. "I was so mad at you, I wanted to kill you and I thought you might actually kill me…" He gave a laugh. "But when you thought I was dead I heard you scream for me…"

She swallowed and blinked, adrenalin dumping into her system like a toxic wave. Her hands shook violently and she clutched the coffee cup hard enough to buckle the cardboard.

"The building was collapsing. If anyone got to kill you it was going to be me."

Rumlow laughed at that.

"That's my girl," he chuckled. He rolled his neck, something in his eyes snapping from warm to cold and when he looked at her again she took a step back. There was a predatory glint in his eye and his hands were moving in his pockets. "Which is why I'm hurt, babe." He clenched his teeth and fidgeted, stepping first toward her and then away. "You told me he meant nothing to you… You told me that you and him were done…"

Rory frowned, lowering her hand slowly to the weapon on her hip.

"Me and who?" she asked gently, her first thought being James.

"Captain fucking America."

She drew a breath and fought to keep her face neutral.

"Why do you think we're not done?" she asked, her voice wavering only slightly. She couldn't see Steve moving in the distance anymore and she hoped he'd only moved out of her line of sight.

"Because I know he's fucking here. I'm not an idiot, Roar. I know what you're trying to do," he snarled, his face twisting grotesquely. She shook right down to her core as it rifled through her memories like a rake and disturbed some she'd rather forget. "I know he's been in that building with you. I've been watching and waiting and I know he still loves you…" His voice had turned dangerous and low and Rory clenched her jaw. "But do you know who else I saw?"
He asked and when she didn't say anything he stepped toward her and screamed at her "ANSWER ME! Do you know who else I saw?"

"Who… Who did you see?" she asked, swallowing hard. Her eyes glanced at where his hands were buried in his pockets. He could have anything in there. She wasn't armed for this. She had a gun on her and her knives. Her shoulder throbbed painfully, reminding her why she couldn't use those properly but she would if she had to.

"That fucking Asset," he hissed.

Rory didn't need to hear anymore to know that their plan and been blown open but before she could move away from him he reached for her, grabbing her in equally scarred hands.

"Oh no you don't. You see, I called some people; made a very convincingly distressed phone call to NYPD's finest and made sure to say that The Winter Soldier is in a car near Central Park, he's got a gun!" his voice went bright and false and high pitched.

"Fuck."

"How did he –"

"Bucky get out of the car and run NOW!"

"If Hydra didn't know where he was before, Cupcake. They sure do now." Brock grinned and she struggled against his grip. Her shoulder sang with pain as she lifted her palm and drove it across his cheek, hard enough to swing his head all the way to the side. "Oh that's definitely what I've missed. The fire. The passion." He was still grinning when he looked back at her. "You set this up so that Hydra gets what they want with The Asset and I get you." He pulled her in close and pressed his lips to her ear. "I'm going to have some fun with you."

"Put her down, Rumlow," Steve's voice was loud and commanding and it echoed around the Terrace. Brock laughed and straightened up, turning his head to Steve.

"Ah, the Great Captain America. Just can't admit that it's over between you two, huh?"

Steve's fists clenched. His shield was on his back but he hadn't reached for it yet.

"Kind of like you, I guess," he said dryly.

"Oh no, I know what I have. Just gotta remind her about it." Brock's grip tightened. "But now you have to figure out who you're going to help – her or your best friend –" The distant wail of sirens left Rory's blood running cold. "I can promise you, those aren't NYPD's finest after him."

"Steve, go and help James!" she yelled and she could see the conflict raging within him. "I can take him, just go."

"Don't you dare leave her there, Steve. I am fine," James growled back through their coms and Rory knew Steve heard it.

"Steve don't worry I got it. I got James." Sam's voice was the deciding factor and it took Steve only a second to make his decision. In a swift move he pulled his shield from his back and swung it like a discus. It bounced off the columns in the Terrace and Rory heard the sickening thunk as it connected with the back of Brock's head.

He dropped like a sack of bricks and took her with him but Steve was there, scooping up both her and his shield a second later. He pressed her against his chest, holding her as far away from Brock as he could while he assessed if the man was still conscious.

"He hasn't sent anyone here. He separated us," Steve breathed. "He knew I'd have to make a choice."

"He wasn't counting on us having Sam. C'mon, we need to go help them," she pulled on his side, unable to stand looking at the scared face of her ex lover.

Their hands were clasped tightly together as they sprinted across Central Park. Through their coms they could hear Sam and James trading orders and fighting off too many foes to name.

"Sam! Sam where are you?" Steve barked.

A groan and a grunt sounded before Sam replied.

"First Ave, near the hospital. Sticking to back alleys. Can't go high, there's a chopper."

"Buck?"

"I'm with him Steve, don't worry," James replied and Rory felt the breath of relief as it left Steve's lungs.

"Steve, we're ahead of them for now but they're armed and I don't think they're taking hostages today," Sam reported. "Civilian lives are the least of their problems."

"We're heading for the car, don't worry ok we're coming." Steve changed their direction and headed to the alley where they'd parked the SUV that they were supposed to use to bring Brock back in.

Rory skidded to a halt when she saw four agents standing by it, each armed

"You good to take the two on the left?" Steve asked, his eyes flicking to her shoulder and back and she nodded.

"It's gonna hurt but what's a little pain, huh?" she asked and he snorted, kissing the back of her hand before dropping it and launching himself into the alley.

They were on them before any of the agents had a chance to lift their guns, rendering them useless. Rory delivered a swift uppercut to the one furthest from her before turning to see where the other was. She twisted out of his way at the last second, twisting before whipping out a leg in a turning kick to the ribs.

He gave a shout of pain as he staggered into a dumpster and Rory left him for the moment. The second agent was coming for her and instead of stepping back like he expected she delivered a blur of strikes and counter strikes that he managed to only half block. Her shoulder sang with pain but she grit her teeth and ignored it for the minute.

"Aurora, watch –"

She gasped out as she was shoved forward from behind, losing both her knives and she ducked under the arm of the second agent as the first drove forward. She slipped out of their reach just as agent one made to grab and he ended up with his hands across the face of his partner. She ducked back, kicking agent one hard enough in the back of the leg to have him down on the ground and her booted foot came down over his temple. His eyes rolled back and his body went lax.

She turned to the second agent again and they circled each other for several seconds. He was bigger than her and thought he had the advantage but the bigger they were the harder they usually fell.

He drew his handgun and Rory moved like water, stepping to the side and gripping his wrist with both hands. She turned her back on him, pulling down on both his wrists as she drove her shoulder up into his forearm. She heard the break in both ulnas' seconds before he let out a scream and the gun clattered to the floor.

She swooped down and picked it up, turning on her heel to point it between his eyes. She cocked the hammer and took aim.

"Aurora! NO!" Steve yelled, his voice muffled by her breathing and it took her a few seconds to hear what he was saying. "Get in the car," he ordered and she looked from the broken man kneeling in front of her to Steve. "Do not shoot him, get in the car!" He gestured to the open door. "That's a fucking order."

Rory sucked in a breath and held it as she kicked the agent viciously in the face. She turned and scooped up her knives before she slid into the car, clicking the safety on the gun back into place. She focused on her breathing again as Steve slammed the door, willing it to slow down.

Steve jumped behind the wheel and revved the engine before he pulled the car out into the sparse New York traffic.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded as they drove and she looked at him with mild surprise.

"What?" she asked, leaning back in her seat and pressing a hand to her shoulder. It ached something horrible but the adrenalin in her blood was helping with the pain.

"That execution that I almost witnessed!" Steve growled. She rolled her eyes.

"He would have done the same and not hesitated, Steve," she replied, not opening her eyes. "I hesitated."

"That's because he's Hydra."

"So was I, or did you forget that?" she snarled back. "It's what you have to do to survive."

Steve swore and glared out of the front windshield.

"You… can't just…" he seethed and clenched his teeth, not saying another word to her. She was fine with that. She concentrated on what was happening on the other end of her coms. "Sam, we need a rendezvous point."

Grunts and groans came from the other end of the line.

So did bickering.

"WHERE ARE YOUR TACTICS?!"

"I was using tactics."

"Care to fill me in next time?"

There was a pause and a grunt and the sound of bone crunching beneath a metal fist.

"No," James sniffed and Rory fought to stifle a groan.

"James, bud? Be nice to Sam ok?" she said. "You need to get him out alive."

"Hey! I resent that you think I can't get myself out of this, Dugan," Sam growled at her. Steve huffed a laugh and shook his head. "We managed to lose them in East Harlem…"

"We're five minutes out from there," Steve muttered, swinging the car around through a red light.

"By lose them, do you mean: beat them to a bloody pulp?" Rory asked.

"More or less," James agreed. She laughed and shook her head.

They picked them up in East Harlem at a parking yard on E 125th Street. They parked there for a moment while they tried to figure out where to go next.

"We can't stay in New York," Rory said as she turned herself around in the front seat to look at Sam and James in the back. "And unfortunately, you and Steve are wanted men," she gave Sam an apologetic look.

"Ah hell, don't worry about it. I've been 'wanted' since D.C." He shrugged, giving that easy grin she was coming to love. "The thing is, where do we go once we're out of the city?" he asked and Rory shrugged.

"I honestly don't know." She glanced at Steve, who was still staring out of the windshield of the car. "Any ideas?"

He looked at her then, his eyes still clouded with anger and she knew he was still stuck back in the alley. She tried not to dwell on his anger too much. She was doing what she'd been trained to do for the past 2 years. Her reactions were something she could control, unlike a lot of other things in her life right now.

"Boston," he said quietly and she frowned.

"Boston?" She asked. Her old hometown. A place she'd been so homesick for for such a long time.

Steve nodded.

"Your grandparents never sold the house," he said in a voice barely above a whisper and her eyebrows shot into her hairline.

"Excuse me, what?"

She'd been devastated to learn that they'd sold her childhood home. She'd never said goodbye to the place that would always be her home. How on earth did Steve know they never sold it?

"They technically sold it, had a sleeper family move in when they moved out. Secretly, it's a safehouse for if any of us needed it," he explained and Rory's eyes narrowed.

"Why didn't they tell me?" she asked and Steve shrugged.

"I don't know. They wanted you to stay in New York?" he suggested but Rory knew it wasn't a suggestion.

"You talk to them every day. You know more than I do about my own family," she stated, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. Steve looked down at her and sighed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"There was kind of a lot going on, Aurora. I kind of –"

"That is not the point, Steve! They're my family! Not yours!" she exclaimed. Sam cleared his throat from the back seat.

"We should really start to –"

His words were overridden by the looming argument in the front seat.

"You left them, Aurora. You left me. They helped me through that and they are as much my family as they are yours!" Steve slammed his hands on the steering wheel.

"I left because of you and because ofthem, but I supposed the Commando's always stick together," she said bitterly, scowling hard. She threw the door open and got out, pacing away from the car as anger flooded her system.

That anger wasn't just directed at Steve. She was angry with herself as well. Angry for leaving, angry for losing touch with those she cared most about and angry that she was mentally slipping closer and closer to the person she'd once be.

She had been scared on the mission today. Scared of Brock and scared of what could happen. She hadn't been scared in a very long time because 'scared' wasn't an emotion she'd let herself feel.

She heard gravel crunching under boots and she whipped around to face who she thought was Steve. Instead, James stood in front of her, his steely eyes watching her every movement.

"Do you want to leave alone?" he asked in a low voice and she hesitated, caught between nodding and shaking her head. Finally she folded her arms.

"No. We need to get out of the city," she reasoned. "We'll be better equipped if we stay with them." James nodded.

"Then you need to put whatever it is that's going on aside and get back in the car so we can leave," he said and Rory knew he was right. He turned as she started to walk back to the car and he got into the front seat beside Steve.

Rory hesitated for a moment before she opened the back door and settled herself into the SUV. Sam caught her eye and he flashed her a smile.

"Sorry Sam," she muttered. Steve loosed a breath and started the engine, peeling out into the New York traffic with ease.

"Don't worry about it. If you need to talk about anything, I'm here." He offered and she nodded and settled into the seat for the 3 and a half hour trip.

Author's Note:

Sorry this is late. I had dinner with a friend last night and didn't get home til late. Hope you enjoy it!

Playlist:

Get Up - TJ Stafford

Present Past Future - Beware of Darkness

You Drove me To It - Hell is for Heroes