A/N: Thanks for reviewing!

(Cliche Melancholy - They are definitely in the Good Cop category! And I'm glad you appreciate their low-key sweetness :) Very good points! I hope you enjoy reading to find out!)

Help Me Bring in the October Moon

This wasn't going to be easy, but it was necessary. They couldn't just drag a prisoner along with them, especially if they were going to Steve's secret hideout. Sharon had to take care of this – she was the only one with the resources to do it. Still… There were a lot of compromising things the man could say that could get her in trouble down the line. She would just have to hope that the promise of being kept safe from Barabal would keep his mouth shut regarding with whom she was working on this.

Oh well. Time to make a phone call. "Tapper, it's Carter," she said when he answered.

"That was fast. You find the guard already?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I've been working on it, but nothing so far. I do have a location on the agent who got away from us in Berlin. Can you send a team?"

"Of course."

She gave him the address of Natasha's safehouse, as was the plan. Natasha had been less than thrilled with the suggestion, but they were in a hurry. Though their prisoner was unable to identify a timetable, there were only so many agents left to complete their missions. And the woman might speed things up given the recent wrenches they'd managed to throw into her plans. Sending the CIA after their prisoner by claiming he was the same man from Berlin would hopefully cause them to realize, after questioning him, that there was a network of agents completing these crimes. Hopefully.

If not, well, then Steve's team could help them keep things handled. Explaining everything in her reports at the end of all this was going to be a challenge, but it was worth the risk. Nat was right about continuing to include herself and Bucky – no one else could be as good a source as they were. Even if that meant they might be more at risk of being a liability if they came in contact with Barabal herself.

"Need anything else?" Tapper asked.

Well… Should she just entrust all this to her superiors? Tapper would help her any way that he could, and surely she could come up with a way to have gotten her information without divulging her sources. And then they could go safely back into hiding while she finished the case. But maybe she was still a little angry about how she'd been treated after the last time. Maybe she wanted Steve and his friends to have a chance to prove their worth. Maybe she thought it could change something.

In any case, she told Tapper no and hung up despite the sick feeling in her stomach. She headed to the living room, where Natasha was sitting, reading something on her phone. Steve was contacting his people in the other bedroom and Bucky was in the kitchen.

"You alright?" Natasha asked without looking up.

"Probably."

Natasha's expression was skeptical. "Second thoughts?"

"Yeah. Accusations of vigilantism is how all this started."

"That's true. But it is your job to investigate these cases, isn't it?"

Sharon raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

"And someone with your rank would have leave to use whatever resources you see fit."

A slight smile crossed her face. "Theoretically."

"I'm sure you have other contacts not necessarily on the right side of the law. Ones you've used to solve cases before," Natasha tried again.

"I have," she admitted.

"Just think of us as that, then." She must not have looked convinced, because Natasha pursed her lips then continued. "One time, I was sent to investigate a crime lord no one had been able to pin anything on. The only tactic that proved effective was when I went undercover to get close to him. Entering his operation was how I brought it down. People in our line of work do that all the time. When you go back and submit your report, you can just say you were undercover and that you don't want to compromise your contacts by revealing their names or locations."

With a shrug, Sharon let her smile turn a little wry. "I'm already on thin ice, Natasha. I don't know if that'll fly."

"Well, we'll think of something else, then," she replied, patting her on the shoulder as she stood up. "But you know that we can handle this better than your people can."

Sharon watched her walk away, thinking that it was unfortunately true. Too bad the folks in power didn't understand that. It would make things much easier for all of them.

Natasha wasn't an excitable person. There were not many circumstances that could break her calm demeanor. But the thought of getting to see Clint again was getting close. So unlike James and Sharon, who both looked increasingly nervous the nearer they got to Steve's hideout, she was smiling and making jokes. That helped Steve stay positive, too, which was nice. Whether he was concerned about including his team in the investigation, or letting she and Sharon know where the hideout was, or even just worried about Sharon seeing where he lived, she had no idea.

To her surprise, the hideout they were using was one to which she'd been before. Not in a very long time. But trust Clint to remember such a place. It was hidden in a forest and took a long drive on a dirt road to reach. She wondered if that would be a problem in the coming winter months. They were all very quiet as they approached and she stopped doing anything to relieve the mood, more interested in seeing their reactions.

The building was a single story so the trees provided cover from any aerial investigation, but she knew it had significant floor space underground. What they could see appeared to be hardly more than one room. "It's bigger on the inside, I take it?" she asked lightly.

Steve was parking in a camouflaged carport, alongside several other vehicles, and turned to smile at her. "Yeah, it is."

They all climbed out and headed inside, Steve walking over to take Sharon's hand. James was next to her, but didn't do the same, which was too bad. Now was not the time to comment on it. Perhaps he was fretting about having to explain their relationship, whatever it was, to the rest of their friends. However she was feeling about him, she wasn't going to push. These were people she'd known a long time and she was comfortable enough to be herself around most of them. It made sense if he didn't feel the same way.

"I was expecting you an hour ago," Clint called from where he leaned against the doorway. He smiled at her, and she ran over to hug him.

"Steve drives like he's, well, like he's ninety," she teased, grinning.

"I can imagine. Hey, Cap," he added as he shook Steve's hand. "Sharon, Bucky," he continued with a nod to each of them.

"Are you going to give us the tour?" was her question.

He smiled slightly. "Maybe some other time. We've got something from Wanda, Cap."

Steve's expression was very serious, what she thought of as his Captain-America-face, and he nodded. "Alright, I'll be right in. Let me just take them downstairs."

They headed inside and Clint disappeared into a room immediately to the right that contained a lot of monitors and other tech. The stairs, the only other exit on the short corridor, were directly ahead, and Steve led the way down them. It opened onto a pleasant living area, with quite a few doors off of it, presumably leading to bedrooms and a bathroom or two. She couldn't remember exactly from her rather brief visit with Fury some years ago. Sam Wilson was reading on the comfortable-looking couch, but he stood up when they arrived.

"Hey, Sam," Steve said warmly, shaking his hand too. "Clint's got something for me, so," he trailed off, pointing back upstairs.

"So you want me to entertain our guests?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow dubiously.

Steve looked sheepish. "I mean, if you're not busy."

Sam gave a longsuffering sigh. "Fine, go save the world."

"I'll try," was Steve's flippant response as he left them.

"Sharon, Nat, always a pleasure. Barnes."

James grinned at the cold reception. "Hey, man."

"Alright, there's not much to see here. It's important to keep working so you don't go insane in the enclosed space. I'm talking to you, Barnes," Sam continued, gesturing eloquently.

"I'll do my best," James promised.

Sam showed them around the small headquarters, which mostly meant the bedrooms. There were a few empty ones, which was fortunate. Wanda and Scott were on a job, apparently, so were not present. Natasha couldn't help but feel a little relieved at that, her initial excitement having faded a bit. She didn't know Scott, and preferred not to meet anyone new at a time like this. And Wanda… Well, Wanda might hold a grudge a little more than the others. Since she had been the one most in danger, and being locked up had been significantly worst for her than anyone else. Maybe Natasha wouldn't stay here longer than was strictly necessary, then.