Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Maria and Bucky were sleeping next to each other. For now all Bucky could see was the back of her head as she slept. He was having trouble falling asleep, since he knew that they would infiltrate HYDRA the next day. It was one o'clock in the morning.

Bucky was starting to drift off when he heard Maria start to cough. His eyes flew open and he was immediately on alert, searching for the noise that had startled him. She coughed again, and Bucky rolled over.

The SHIELD agent's body shook with the force of her coughing. Bucky didn't know what he should do.

"Maria?" he whispered into the dark. She didn't answer. Bucky scanned her motionless form. He still could see her body rising and falling as she breathed- so she wasn't dead. Bucky shrugged and rolled over so that he was facing Steve, instead.

He drifted off with Maria's sweet vanilla scent seeping into his nostrils.

The next morning, Maria was up before Steve or Bucky.

She knew Bucky had heard her the night before. She hoped that it had passed as a slight tickle in the throat, but in truth she felt terrible. Maria hadn't been able to sleep well for years after HYDRA captured her. The constant feeling that she was betraying her friends plagued her every night when she slept. On top of that, she had nightmares about her father and Natasha's capture. And she was worried that Steve hated her.

Maria steeled herself and put a gray tank top and a pair of athletic shorts. She had run every morning since she joined SHIELD. Six miles a day. It took her about thirty-five minutes to run the full six miles, and Maria wasn't about to skip one of her runs. It cleared her head sometimes.

When she returned, Bucky and Steve were awake and looking over their plans.

"Wash in the river and come back here in ten." Steve said without looking in her direction. Maria wiped sweat off her forehead and grabbed a pale blue shirt and a pair of jeans out of her duffel bag. She saw Bucky give her a questioning look as she passed him, but she didn't say anything.

She finished washing and joined Steve and Bucky.

"You'll be taking Steve hostage, Maria. Since we knocked out the other Maria the other day, they'll think that you're her. We know she wears her mask at all times, even at the HYDRA base, so you should be alright." Bucky told her. Maria nodded. "Hopefully the leader will put Steve in with Nat. From there Steve will use hidden explosives to bust her out of the prison. You and I will give them as much time as they need to get out. Then we'll blow the bunker up and call SHIELD. We'll also eliminate the leader personally. We don't want to give him a chance of escaping. We'll also kill the fake Maria as well."

"What's your cover?"

"You found me in a SHIELD base. You reintroduced me to HYDRA's cause and I came to help you capture Steve." Bucky replied immediately.

"I'm going to need my shield. Bucky, you should put it on your back and say you took it from me. When I need it, I'll fake a fight with you and get it back." Steve said. Bucky nodded. Maria's nerves were tingling with anticipation.

She missed the field.

Once they were in range of the HYDRA bunker, Maria took hold of Steve and dragged him toward the doors. Guards immediately went on full alert.

"Miss Thorne?" one of the guards asked. Maria nodded crisply.

"I found Captain America lurking in the forest ten miles out. I'm bringing him in to see the Commander." she said, standing straight. Steve watched the guards accept her story. He narrowed his eyes. It was too easy.

"Alright. We'll take you to him straightaway, Miss Thorne." the guard said. He motioned to another guard and they flanked Maria, Steve, and Bucky as the stepped into the bunker. The door closed shut behind them.

"Hail, HYDRA." Bucky muttered, his eyes dark.

They walked through hallways and turned corners. All around them guards saluted at the sight of Maria. The SHIELD agent held her head high. The guards looked suspiciously at Bucky.

A guard scanned a card and led Maria, Steve, and Bucky into a large, dimly lit room. The HYDRA symbol was on the wall opposite the door, and a high-backed chair hid its occupant from view.

"Miss Thorne is here, General." the guard announced. The chair turned around.

It was a tall, older man with a sardonic smile on his face as he took in Maria, Steve, and Bucky.

"Well done, Miss Hill." he said. "I see you've succeeded."

Steve comprehended the gentleman's words and his vision was filled with red. Traitor. Maria was in league with HYDRA all along, and she had just led Bucky and Steve into a trap. He never should have trusted her. People like her never stopped to think about friendship and loyalty. All she wanted to do was get Natasha killed.

Maria stepped a little ways away from Steve and Bucky. Steve didn't have time to think about what he was doing.

He snatched his shield off Bucky's back and flung it at Maria with all the force he could muster. The shield hit her hard in the stomach and she was thrown against the wall. Steve heard the sound of breaking bone and was almost pleased that the traitor had broken something. She had gotten what she deserved. He hated her. For the first time in his life, he hated Maria Hill with a passion.

Bucky stared at Steve in horror.

The room swam before Maria's eyes as she lay their on the floor, gasping for air. She felt her ribs cutting into her lungs. She slid to all fours and spit blood out of her mouth. Shock didn't allow her to register what Steve had just done.

The room spun and Maria's vision was fuzzy. Pain. She was so cold... She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Bucky was staring at her, his mouth moving, but she didn't hear what he was saying to her. It was was one hundred times worse than the tunnel collapse when she chased after Barton. It was so much worse than the grenade thrown on the helicarrier. Her chest was burning, the fire threatening to consume her. She rolled over so she was laying on her side.

Bucky could see Maria's bright blue eyes growing dimmer. He could see the blood that she had spat up on the floor. He saw the pain on her face. He could see her chest struggling to rise every time she breathed in and out.

Bucky didn't know what to think.

"I always thought she would come around to the right side of the war." the Commander said. He rose from the chair and started to walk toward Bucky and Steve. "Why did you kill my best weapon, Captain?"

"She betrayed us!" Steve snarled. "She deserves to die."

"If you join HYDRA, I will let you kill her in every which way possible. I will give you back your girlfriend if you join HYDRA. I'll let you live in peace if you infiltrate SHIELD and tear them apart. Don't let them come after us."

"I would never join HYDRA!" Steve said. Bucky could see his friend's resolve start to waver. They were promising him Natasha. "You've probably hurt her!"

"I assure you, Miss Romanoff is completely happy and safe with us. Far safer than she was with SHIELD looking after her. After all, who tried to blow up the bunker you were in with that missile? SHIELD. Under the command of your 'Director' Fury and Miss Hill, here. Who made her fight with Hulk on the helicarrier?"

"You're the one who ordered that missile strike!"

"Oh, no, Captain. You see, we tried to stop them. Our agents were in the command center. We wanted to stop those carriers from launching. SHIELD was convinced that you were a liability in their operations. They wanted to get rid of you once and for all."

"That's a lie!"

"You know it's not true. Why do you think they had Agent 13 watch over you at your apartment? Why they tracked you down when you went missing from SHIELD?"

"You're the ones who tried to track me!"

Bucky was inching closer to Maria. The agent's eyes were closed and her breathing was getting shallower. Every now and then her body was wracked with violent coughs.

"No. The reality is, Captain, HYDRA is the good guys. SHIELD masqueraded as us to turn you against our cause. After you came out of the ice they brainwashed you into thinking we were bad. We're just looking for evolution. SHIELD is trying to stop it."

Just then, the door was blown off its hinges and Agent Fitz and Agent Simmons stepped into the room, accompanied by Agent Jocelyn Simone.

The wrap up was quick after that. Fitz shot the leader of HYDRA in the forehead. Agent Simone brought Natasha into the room once all of the guards in the room were dead.

Natasha ran into Steve's arms and they embraced. Steve never wanted to let go of her. Her sweet-smelling hair never smelled so wonderful. He felt content at last.

"Maria betrayed us." he whispered to Natasha. She pulled away from him.

"Maria would never betray us, Steve. What are you talking about?"

"She turned me in to HYDRA. She's been working for them all along. It's been the fake one all this time." Steve breathed. Agent Simone pulled someone from the hallway. It was the body of a blond woman, dressed in a SHIELD issue uniform.

"No, you knocked out the right one, Captain Rogers. HYDRA knew that the Maria you were with was the real one. They wanted her and you out of the equation in order to clear the way for the murders of the other Avengers." Agent Simone said, her tones clipped.

Steve's heart sank. He looked over at the prone agent on the floor and almost cried.

Bucky cradled Maria's head in his arms through the whole ride back to the SHIELD base. Simmons had given Maria a shot to knock her out so she wouldn't move too much and damage her chest more.

Maria's body was too light. Her face was too pale. And the blood on the front of her uniform almost tore Bucky's heart out.

He knew that he could never live life to the fullest if Maria Hill died.

I hope the explanations make sense... if not, oh, well, just enjoy the story.

I came up with the brilliant idea for Steve to throw the shield at Maria when I was supposed to be listening to a lesson. Whoops.