a/n: Anything you recognize is property of Marvel. Ellie is strictly my own imagination.
a/n2: Thank you for the follows: xrysatsan and Mangamak. Please continue to read and review. :)
When the day has come
But I've lost my way around
And the seasons stop and hide beneath the ground
When the sky turns gray
And everything is screaming
I will reach inside
Just to find my heart is beating
You tell me to hold on
Oh you tell me to hold on
But innocence is gone
And what was right is wrong
~ Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons
*~*~* October 11th, 2013- Washington D.C. Bar*~*~*
Steve parked his motorcycle in front of a bar that he had passed multiple times, but never had frequented. Knowing that thanks to the serum, alcohol would more than likely not ever do anything to numb the pain, he still hoped to be able to feel less of the pain he was currently feeling.
Walking inside, he sat down at the nearly empty bar, at the darkest portion of it that he could find. A bartender came out of the back and saw him then paused, "How can I help you?"
"Just bring me a glass and a bottle of whiskey please" Steve told him as he pulled his hat down lower on his face.
The bartender stared at him for a moment then his eyebrows rose in recognition, "Yes sir"
Steve sighed as the bartender sat the bottle and a glass down in front of him.
He was halfway through the bottle when he realized that even after all these years; his metabolism is still too fast for the buzz. Taking his wallet out, he pulled out the picture he had taken from Ellie's house. It was the last picture of him, Bucky and Ellie together about two weeks before Bucky's death. Propping it up on a napkin holder next to him, he picked up the whiskey bottle, and gulped down the remaining half as he thought to himself, 'I miss you guys so much you know. I'd give up anything to see you guys again"
After a couple of minutes, he felt a slight buzz and closed his eyes enjoying it for the few minutes it lasted.
The bartender cleared his throat, "You okay Cap?"
Steve looked at him with a sad smile as he put the picture away in his wallet then handed a hundred dollar bill to the man, "Sometimes it's horrible being Captain America… when I can't get drunk anymore. Thanks, keep whatever is left"
"Are you okay to drive?" The bartender asked concerned.
Steve nodded, "Not drunk at all, not even buzzed. I haven't been drunk since 1943 but thanks for asking"
He pulled his jacket closer to his body then walked out of the bar.
*~*~* October 11th, 2013- Washington D.C *~*~*
After a drive around town to try to clear his head, Steve pulled up to an apartment that he had known of, but never had visited. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that it was 9pm and he hoped that the occupant was not asleep. If anyone would understand what he was currently feeling it would be this person.
Pulling out his phone, Steve walked up to the front door of the building and called.
"Cap? What are you doing calling at this late of an hour? Shouldn't a fossil like you be in bed?" Her voice joked.
"Funny Romanoff… I…" Steve said as an ambulance drove by and he realized how ridiculous he was being. He needed to get a grasp on himself, "Nevermind"
"Wait… are you here? At my apartment?" Natasha asked as she mumbled something in the background.
"I just… I don't know why. Nevermind" Steve said as he turned around and started walking back to his motorcycle, "Sorry to bother you. Have a good night"
The door opened and he turned around to see her standing in the doorway.
"You okay Cap?" Natasha asked.
Steve looked her over. She was wearing a nice dress and had makeup on. He had never seen her look like that before, "I… I'm sorry for bothering you. I just… you said before that I was free to stop by"
Natasha frowned as she walked over to him barefoot and looked up at him, "What's wrong… is that… whiskey I smell?"
Steve sighed and was about to say something when the door opened again. He glanced up to see Clint in the doorway.
Internally groaning, he realized he must have interrupted a date. He always had suspected after New York that they were more than just partners in the field.
"Nevermind" He said swallowing hard, "Sorry to bother you both. I just…yeah. Have a good night. Sorry Barton"
Natasha grabbed his arm and he looked down at her, "Steve, are you sure you are okay to drive?"
Steve swallowed hard, "it's just the smell of it…I can't get drunk" Steve said bitterly.
"Something must be wrong if Captain America is trying to get drunk. Are you sure you are okay?" Natasha asked concerned.
Steve put on a fake smile, "I'll be fine. You go… enjoy your company. Sorry for bothering you"
"It's just Clint. You are free to join us" Natasha told him.
Steve sighed, "No, I'll be fine. I'll just… go back to my apartment and go to bed"
"I'm here if you change your mind" Natasha told him.
Steve nodded, "Night"
Walking back to his motorcycle, he climbed back on. Glancing back towards her, he saw Clint walk over to her as he started it up. She shook her head and watched him as he took off.
Despite telling Natasha that he was going straight back to his apartment, he continued to drive around a bit. Around 10pm Steve finally drove up to his apartment. He pulled into the alley and turned his motorcycle off, hoping that after a long shower and climbing into bed, that he could sleep the funk he was in off. Walking up the stairs he heard his neighbor as she came out of her apartment with a laundry basket of clothes.
"That's so sweet. That is so nice" She said as she saw him, "Hey. I gotta go, though. Okay, bye" She said as she hung up and turned to Steve, "My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac"
Steve smiled at her then when remembered what Sam had said. Kate reminded him of his long-requited love, Peggy. Peggy was currently sitting in her nursing home and he would not be able to change things. Maybe it was time for him to move on, move forward into 2013.
"Hey, if you want...if you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement." Steve offered with a smile.
"Oh, yeah? What's it cost?" She asked wondering.
"A cup of coffee?" Steve suggested trying to be as smooth as Bucky used to be. Then internally groaning to himself.
Kate smiled then sighed, "Thank you, but um...I already have a load in downstairs, and, uh...you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I'm just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so…" She said.
Steve read between the lines, "Ah, well, I'll keep my distance"
"Well hopefully not too far" Kate told him with a smile.
She nodded and he turned towards his apartment.
"Oh, and I think you left your stereo on" Kate told him.
"Oh. Right, thank you" Steve said trying not to show her the moment of panic as his heart rate rose as he had not in fact left anything on inside the apartment.
"Yeah" Kate said as she walked down the stairs and Steve looked at his door trying to strategize how to get in his apartment without alerting whoever was inside.
He heard one of his old records playing and decided going through the window would probably be the best bet. He made his way to the fire escape then around to his apartment's window. He pushed the window up then climbed in. He made his way into the hallway and his shield was sitting there so he quickly grabbed it. Thankful that whoever it was, had not messed with it. Glancing around the edge of the wall, he saw Fury sitting in his sitting room in the dark.
"I don't remember giving you a key" Steve told him relaxing.
"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out." Fury told him.
Steve tried not to frown, in the last couple of years; he had never heard anything about Fury having a wife.
"Didn't know you were married" Steve said.
"A lot of things you don't about me" Fury told him.
Steve sighed as the anger tried to make a full return.
"I know, Nick. That's the problem" Steve said as he turned on the light and froze when he saw Fury's injuries.
Fury held his hand up and turned the lamp off next to him. He typed something out on his phone and showed it to Steve, 'Ears Everywhere'
Steve looked around the room trying to figure out where the bugs might be.
"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash" Fury told him as he typed something else out on his phone and showed it to him with a shaking hand, 'SHIELD compromised'
"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked as Fury showed him another text as he stood up, "You and me"
"Just...my friends" Fury told him.
"Is that what we are?" Steve asked.
"That's up to you" Fury told him as gunfire erupted in the room through the wall behind Fury, knocking old family pictures from the wall.
Steve grabbed Fury's arm and started dragging him as he looked out his window and saw a flash of metal on the roof across the way. After dragging him to the next room, Fury grabbed his hand as he went to leave to go after the shooter and handed him a metal flash drive, "Don't trust anyone"
Fury had just passed out as Steve heard someone breaking into his apartment.
"Captain Rogers?" Steve looked around the wall and saw Kate walking in with her gun pointed, "Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service"
"Kate?" Steve asked confused.
"I'm assigned to protect you" Kate said still holding out her gun.
"On whose order?" He asked as she saw Fury.
"His" She said as she dropped to the ground and checked his pulse, she picked up her radio, "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs"
Someone on the other end asked, "Do you have a twenty on the shooter?"
Steve glanced back out the window and noticed the flash of metal was still there, "Tell him I'm in pursuit"
Steve ran through his apartment and threw his body through his window, shield first and went through the window in the building next door to his. Glancing through the building's glass roof, he can see a man running on the roof away from him. Knocking through doors and against walls, he ran through the office building attempting to catch up with the shooter. He made it to the end of the hallway just in time to see a man jump from the roof, onto the building next to the one he was running through. He jumped through the window onto the roof and threw his shield at the other man.
The shooter turned and caught it with a metal hand. Staring at him over the shield, wearing a mask and war paint around his eyes, the man threw it back at him, causing Steve to fly backwards but he remained on both feet.
Steve stared at his shield in shock as he looked up to see the man gone. Running to the edge of the building, he saw no trace of the man. He had just vanished into thin air.
Steve sighed as he caught his breath as he finally heard sirens coming closer.
*~*~* October 12th, 2013- Washington D.C *~*~*
Steve was standing in the hospital in the surgical observation room as Natasha ran in and stood next to him.
"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked.
"I don't know" Steve told her honestly, "They haven't told us anything"
"Tell me about the shooter" Natasha told him looking straight ahead.
"He's fast and strong" Steve said as he briefly looked down, "Had a metal arm" Steve told her as Agent Maria Hill joined them.
"Ballistics?" Natasha asked.
"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable" Maria told her.
"Soviet-made" Natasha guessed.
"Yeah" Maria told her as the doctor's started moving quickly inside the operating room.
"He's in V-tach!" Someone yelled.
"Crash cart coming in"
"Nurse, help me with the drape"
"BP is dropping"
"Defibrillator!" The doctor yelled as Fury flatlined, "I want you to charge him at one hundred"
"Don't do this to me, Nick" Natasha said as Steve steeled himself.
"Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" The doctor yelled as they shocked him, "Pulse?"
"No pulse"
"Okay. 200, please. Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" The doctor yelled as Fury is given another shock, "Give me epinephrine! Pulse?"
"Negative"
"Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me" Natasha whispered next to Steve.
Steve turned away as the doctors shook their heads.
"What's the time?" The doctor asked.
"1:03, Doctor"
"Time of death, 1:03 a.m" The doctor stated.
Steve looked down at the flash drive in his hand as he stared out into the hallway.
The doctors brought Fury into a room and covered him with a sheet until SHIELD could take custody of his body. Natasha stood over him as Steve stood back against the wall observing and giving Natasha space as she cried.
"I need to take him" Maria told them as she came into the room.
"Natasha" Steve said as he walked over to her.
Natasha didn't respond, instead she touched Fury's head then turned and walked out. Steve followed her, "Natasha!"
"Why was Fury in your apartment?" Natasha asked as she turned around in the hallway.
"I don't know" Steve told her as Brock Rumlow, one of the STRIKE agents came over to him.
"Cap, they want you back at SHIELD" Rumlow told him.
"Yeah, give me a second" Steve said looking back at him quickly.
"They want you now" Rumlow insisted.
"Okay" Steve said as he turned back to Natasha.
"You're a terrible liar" She said shaking her head as she turned and walked off.
On the edge of his hearing, Steve heard Agent Sitwell say in Rumlow's earpiece, "STRIKE team, escort Captain Rogers back to SHIELD immediately for questioning"
"I told him" Rumlow replied.
Steve glanced over at the vending machine next to him and paid the man stocking it a dollar, as he grabbed a candy bar, slipping the thumb drive behind the packs of gum. Remembering what Fury told him as to not trust anyone.
Steve walked over to Rumlow, "Let's go"
"Yeah" Rumlow nodded to Steve as Steve led him to the doors of the ward, past the rest of the STRIKE team, "STRIKE, move it out"
*~*~* October 12th, 2013- Triskelion - Washington D.C *~*~*
After leaving the hospital and heading back to SHIELD, Steve stopped quickly in the STRIKE locker room and suited up in case Pierce, who requested to see him directly, wanted to send him out on a mission. After changing, he headed upstairs to the World Security Council offices. Upstairs, he saw Kate, or at least he thinks that might be her name, heading out of a meeting with Alexander Pierce.
"For whatever it's worth, you did your best" Pierce tells her.
"Thank you, sir" Agent 13 replies as she sees him, "Captain Rogers"
"Neighbor" Steve said coldly.
"Ah, Captain. I'm Alexander Pierce" Pierce introduced.
"Sir, it's an honor" Steve said shaking his hand.
"The honor is mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in" Pierce said inviting him into his office.
Pierce showed Steve a picture of Fury and Pierce, when both were much younger.
"That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at State Department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate." Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty" Pierce said as he sat down and Steve sat down as well, "Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil, "He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter" Pierce told him.
"So you gave him a promotion" Steve stated.
"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce asked.
Steve looked at him, "I don't know"
"You know it was bugged?" Pierce asked him.
"I did, because Nick told me" Steve informed him.
"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce asked.
Steve froze and just looked at him, 'Is he telling the truth or does he have an ulterior motive'
"I want you to see something" Pierce said bringing up a video.
"Who hired you, Batroc?"A SHIELD agent asked their suspect.
"Is that live?" Steve asked watching Batroc being interrogated.
"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers" Pierce told Steve.
"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line" Steve told him confused.
"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts" Pierce told Steve and Steve looked at him, "the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech"
Pierce hands him a file, "Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve asked taking the file.
"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37" Pierce told him.
"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?" Steve asked confused.
"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death" Pierce said.
"If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true" Steve told him.
"Why do you think we're talking?" Pierce asked as he stood up and walked over to his large window overlooking DC, "See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies" Pierce told Steve looking back at him.
"Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry. Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?" Pierce asked Steve.
"He told me not to trust anyone" Steve told him giving him only a little information as he still wasn't trusting of him completely.
"I wonder if that included him" Pierce stated.
Steve paused thinking about it.
'Punk, don't trust this guy. Something isn't right' He heard in his head in Bucky's voice.
"I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me" Steve said as he picked up his shield and placed it on his back then started to walk out of the office.
"Captain" Steve stopped and looked at Pierce, who is now sitting on his desk, "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone"
Steve nodded, "Understood" He said as he turned and left the office.
He walked to the elevator and entered it, standing at the back of it gazing out at DC, "Operations control" He stated, wishing more than ever that Ellie was standing next to him in the elevator. That she would have stayed in Europe, and made it onto the Valkyrie with him. Maybe if so, by some miracle she would have survived.
"Confirmed" The elevator replied.
Just as the doors are about to close, Rumlow blocked them and stepped in with two STRIKE agents.
"Keep all STRIKE personnel on site." Rumlow told the other agents.
"Understood" "Yes, sir"
"Forensics" Rumlow told the elevator.
"Confirmed."
"Cap." Rumlow said.
Steve turned around, "Rumlow" He said turning around as the elevator doors closed and they started heading down to the lower floors.
"Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?" Rumlow asked.
"No, let's wait and see what it is first" Steve told him.
"Right" Rumlow replied.
Steve noticed one of the agents is touching his weapon suspiciously as the elevator stopped and two more agents and two more STRIKE members climbed aboard the elevator.
"What's the status so far?" An agent asked.
"Administrations level" Another agent said.
"Confirmed."
"Excuse me" One of the agents said crowding Steve in the elevator.
Steve moved away from them to the middle of the elevator trying to get some room, meanwhile becoming very suspicious of his current surroundings.
Rumlow looked back at Steve, "I'm sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him"
"Thank you" Steve said looking over at the SHIELD agent next to him in the elevator and he noticed a bead of sweat drip down the agent's temple.
The elevator stopped again and three more STRIKE agents got aboard.
"Records"
"Confirmed"
Steve glanced around and realized he was completely surrounded now by STRIKE and SHIELD agents, "Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"
There was a moment where no one reacted then the STRIKE agent in front of him used his electric rod to try to shock Steve. Others grabbed him and tried to cuff his wrists with magnetic cuffs, but Steve managed to hold back so the cuff didn't magnetize to the wall of the elevator.
A STRIKE agent put his arm around his neck and Steve elbowed a SHIELD agent, who tried to put the other magnetic cuff on him.
Rumlow kicked his hand, sending his hand against the wall behind him, magnetizing the bracelet around his wrist.
Pain surged through his body as Rumlow hit him with his electric rod in the back. He managed to elbow Rumlow to throw him off and punch a SHIELD agent. Using some of the karate and kicks that Bucky and Ellie had taught him all those years ago, Steve kicked and knocked multiple agents out.
Finally having the opportunity to jump up to get leverage. He jumped and fought to pull his hand free. The magnet finally released and he flipped down knocking out all the agents but Rumlow.
"Whoa, big guy. I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal" Rumlow yelled as he tried to hit him with his electric rod again and Steve defended himself, eventually knocking Rumlow out by throwing him to the roof of the elevator.
"It kind of feels personal" Steve said as he picked up his shield and opened the elevator doors.
"Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!" More agents yelled through the open door.
Steve swung around and used the shield to break the elevator cables, sending the elevator to the ground. He forced the door open and saw more STRIKE agents approaching him, so he closed the door and looked for a way out. It is at least 50-100 feet below to the roof of the lower building.
"Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!"
Steve took a breath and busted through the glass of the elevator, putting his shield under him as he plummeted, smashing through the glass roof of the building before hitting the ground floor a little dazed. He got up and took off running towards the garage before they could lock it down.
Hopping onto his motorcycle, he jumped through the doors of the bridge as they were about to close, tearing off down the road. In turn, they put up obstacles in his way trying to prevent him from leaving.
A Quinjet flies in front of him, "Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down" The pilot radioed.
Steve kept driving as they lowered a machine gun and started shooting at him. He threw his shield up into the engine to disable it and hit the brakes on his bike, flying through the air onto the windshield of the Quinjet. He tumbled over the top of the jet, rolling to grab his shield. He pulled it from the engine just as the Quinjet went into a spin. Wedging his shield into the jet, he swung himself then flipped, throwing the shield again to disable more of the jet. As the shield was heading back towards him, he caught it and flipped from the Quinjet. Falling to the ground. He watched it hit the road and took off in the opposite direction.
'Now punk listen to me' Echoed in Steve's head.
Steve remembered looking at Bucky as he put his arm around his shoulders, after rescuing him from another beating.
"If I'm ever not there and some other jerk messes with you. Here is what you need to do, if they won't leave you alone…. Hide in plain sight" Bucky had told him.
"Plain sight?" Steve asked confused.
"Go in a store, go wherever you have to go and blend in. Change your clothes if you have really pissed him off" Bucky told him with a grin, "I can't be with you everywhere"
Knowing that he is an easy target with his shield and uniform, he took off trying to find some place to change. Spotting a high school about two miles outside of headquarters, he parked his bike at the park across the street then ran over trying to find an open door. After trying four doors, he opened one and heard the squeaking of shoes on a court. Following the sound, he found men playing basketball in a fun scrimmage. Grabbing multiple bags, he looked through trying to find clothes that would fit him. He hid under the bleachers, changing after he found clothes big enough for him. Leaving his uniform and helmet in the bag, he returned the bag to the spot then took off thankful that the shoes were large enough as well, in fact they were too large. Hiding the shield in the ceiling, he ran. Starting to attempt his hiding in plain sight.
a/n3: Thank you for the reviews PistolHattersButtercup and Fatjack36!
PistolHattersButtercup: Getting closer to what you are waiting for. Hope this one didn't drive you too crazy. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Fatjack36: Thank you for reading and reviewing!