A/N: Thanks to CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur for the Beta, and the brainstorming. And to Lady Pandora, and Black' Victor Cachat for additional brainstorming.
Footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage we did not take,
towards the door we never opened, into the rose garden.
― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
Namaste,
Sunny
Captain America
Echoes in the Memory
Chapter 52
Insight Command Center
"Alpha and Charlie are grounded," Hill informed Steve. "What's up with Bravo?"
Cameron winced at the sound of fighting, interspersed with the crackle of electricity.
"Workin' on it! What's the word on Chase? Anyone seen him?"
Hill shrugged a question at Cameron. For a response, he rolled over to another monitor, and called up the security cameras inside the Triskelion. He tabbed through each floor, finding nothing until he reached forty-one. "Cap, this is Cameron. Rumlow and his goons are on forty-one, southwest corner, headed up. We should warn Agent Romanoff."
"She's on radio silence. But don't worry. She has help."
Rolling her chair over next to him, Hill watched over his shoulder. She pointed to the lower right as two figures approximately the same height crept out of the stairwell. Both were armed, and ready for a fight. The men took up aggressive stances side by side, as Rumlow and his people did the same. There was no audio, but they could see that both men were dressed oddly.
Cameron gave Hill a glance, and she shrugged a response. The two groups faced off, each waiting for the other to make the first move. One of the guys with Rumlow got impatient. He aimed at their opponents, firing several rounds.
He and Hill stared at the screen, astonished when the two men jumped high into the air, spinning like circus acrobats, all shots missing. As they twisted and turned, they brought out their weapons, aiming as they landed back several feet, taking out all but Rumlow who dived behind a desk for protection.
Bravo's weapons tech came over the feed. Satellites will be in range at three thousand feet, sir. But without Alpha and Charlie, we'll only be able to take out a third of the targets.
Pierce's unmistakable voice responded, That will be sufficient to make our statement to the world. Deploy the algorithm as planned.
Yes, sir.
Not waiting for Hill to issue the order, Cameron activated his headset. "Cap, you might want to step up your game plan. Pierce just gave the order to fire when they reach three thousand feet."
"Roger that. I'm on it."
Council Chambers
Natasha retrieved the weapons, kept one for herself, and gave one to Councilman Rockwell. Hawley and Rockwell would keep an eye on their prisoners while she got to work. She laid her weapon within easy reach. Using the codes Fury provided, she accessed the security protocols, and set about setting them up to be disabled.
Rockwell moved closer. "What are you doing?"
Pierce, with his hands in the air, calmly uttered the devastating news. "She's disabling the security protocols, and dumping all the secrets onto the Internet."
"Including HYDRA's."
"And SHIELD's. If you do this, none of your past is going to remain hidden." Natasha kept typing without missing a beat. Pierce took a deep breath, preparing to offer an argument in favor of not continuing her current course of action. "Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?"
One side of her mouth turned up in a smirk. If he thought he could stop her by bringing up the obvious, he was mistaken. "Are you?"
What no one knew, and she wasn't about to offer up the information, was that Jarvis would be adding so many layers of encryption that it would take even someone of Tony Stark's genius years to decipher the trillions upon trillions of bytes of information she was putting out there for all to see.
From the corner of her eye, Natasha could see the wheels turning in Pierce's head as he came up with yet another stop-gap, or so he thought.
"Disabling the encryption is an executive order. It takes two Alpha level members."
Hawley stepped forward. "That would be me, Alexander. You've been so busy planning a coup you have no idea what's really going on. All you see is what you want, and anything more is irrelevant."
"The enemies of HYDRA are your enemies, Elizabeth. Disorder, war. It's just a matter of time before a dirty bomb goes off in Moscow, or an EMP fries Chicago."
Mentally shaking her head, Natasha mused that Pierce just didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. He was giving them HYDRA's future plans, and didn't realize it.
"Diplomacy? A holding action, a Band-Aid. I learned that in Bogota. Fury didn't ask, he just did what had to be done." Pierce shifted his feet. "I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing a few million. It's the next step, if you have the courage to take it."
Councilman Singh moved in front of Pierce, and for a moment, it looked like he would grab the councilman by the throat. Then, he backed off a step. "No. We have the courage not to, Alex."
Singh nodded to Hawley. She gestured with the gun, and Pierce moved over to the retinal scanner with Natasha aiming her weapon at his head.
"Retinal scanner active," the SHIELD computer informed them.
Pierce and Hawley looked into the scanner. Light flashed as the computer read their retinal patterns. Rockwell motioned, and Pierce moved away.
"Done." Natasha's mobile device beeped, and she smiled. "And it's trending."
~~O~~
Pierce watched out the window as the Potomac flooded the hangar bay, shaking his head. In the midst of the flooding, Bravo lifted into the air, turning to align itself with the satellites that would deploy the algorithm. "What a waste."
Hawley came around where he could see her. "You're not still on the fence about Captain Rogers' chances, are you?" As expected, Pierce didn't respond.
The sound of the lift running diverted Hawley's attention just long enough for Pierce to wrest the gun from her hand, and knock her to the floor. He aimed for her heart, smugness turning his handsome features into a grotesque mask.
If he expected her to beg for her life, the man she once called a friend would be waiting for a long time. Hawley used her hands to push herself upright, determined to meet her fate head-on.
~~O~~
Rockwell's weapon came up, and Sitwell saw his chances for revenge about to be taken from him. It was true, he hadn't been a field agent for several years, but you never forgot your training.
Sitwell pushed Rockwell's gun hand down, and slammed him aside with an elbow to the face, sending him stumbling into Singh. The two men fell to the floor, distracting Natasha long enough for him to snatch up a weapon, and cross the council chambers to stand in front of Pierce. He chambered a round, and aimed the weapon at his former leader. Pierce held his gaze without blinking.
Bringing a hand to his right temple, Sitwell disabled the mesh mask and removed it, watching with glee, the look in Pierce's eyes as his identity was revealed. "Surprised to see me, Alexander? You should be, because you tried to have me killed. It was a good attempt, but you chose the wrong man to eliminate."
Neither man noticed that Hawley rolled from between them, and got to her feet, another weapon in her right hand.
"Really? Because from here, it looks like I was right. You betrayed HYDRA, and we don't take prisoners."
A small smile played on Sitwell's lips. "I know."
Before anyone could stop him, he shot Pierce three times in the chest. Pierce's gun hand wavered, blood poured from between his lips, and the wounds in his chest. His knees bent, and he fell to the floor. Through bloody lips, he was able to utter only two words before dying. "Hail, HYDRA."
Singh and Rockwell disarmed Sitwell, forcing him to sit with his back against the windows where they could keep an eye on him.
Chase, Justin and Rumlow
Triskelion
The two groups faced off, each waiting for the other to make the first move. One of Rumlow's men switched to rapid fire, moving the weapon side to side to take them both out. What he didn't take into account was that one of the men facing them was the Asset, and the other was his twin.
As if they'd practiced the move, Chase and Justin jumped high, twisting and turning so that all shots missed. As he came back down, Chase brought out his weapons, assuming that Justin would do the same.
As they landed, the brothers took out all but the leader, who dived out of the way. Typical HYDRA, Chase mused to himself, remembering stories that Gramps and Steve told about fighting the Red Skull in WWII. Run away, and let someone else take the heat.
Rumlow was obviously hoping his team would take out their opponents, though he had no way of knowing they were brothers, let alone twins. Or did he? Chase wasn't so sure now.
Justin really looked at his brother's clothing for the first time. "Why are you dressed like the Dread Pirate Roberts?"
Rolling his eyes, Chase made a universal sign that needed no translation, and turned his attention to the fight.
Shaking his head at Chase, Justin motioned for them to separate, to catch Rumlow between them in a pincher movement. Chase smiled ruefully. "As you wish."
As they got close, Justin held up his hand, pointing to Rumlow's hiding place. Seconds before they would've taken him out, Rumlow jumped on top of the desk. He'd divested himself of his Kevlar vest, and had an almost feral gleam in his eyes. "You're out of your depth. HYDRA doesn't take prisoners. Order is all we want, and order only comes through pain. You ready for yours?"
Chase tossed the AR-15 aside, and exchanged a glance with Justin. "Go save your friend. I got this, big brother."
Justin hesitated, and Rumlow laughed. "Friend? Brother? You're the Asset. That's all you'll ever be. Get to Bravo. Stop Rogers."
~~O~~
Letting his features go slack, Justin let Rumlow believe that he would obey the order. He turned away from Chase, and in that last moment, when their eyes met, he winked. In response, Chase engaged Rumlow in a fight that surely wouldn't go the HYDRA agent's way.
Chase pummeled Rumlow, and the favor was returned, while Justin marveled at his brother's ability to fight, something he hadn't the expertise for prior to Justin's supposed death, and rebirth as the Asset.
An upper cut sent Rumlow stumbling backward, nearly tripping over a hump in the carpet. It didn't slow him down, as Chase rushed a tackle that sent both men into a huge potted plant that had no place in an office.
Out of sight of the combatants, Justin cocked his head to the side, listening. In the distance, he heard explosions, and the screech of metal coming closer to the building. Chase saw him coming back, and maneuvered Rumlow in that direction, his eyes widening at seeing the helicarrier coming toward the building. "Oh, s***!"
Chase punched Rumlow, knocking him to the floor, and together the brothers ran away from their opponent, who was grinning like a clown, obviously believing he'd scared them away. And that was his mistake, not thinking. If he had, the HYDRA agent would've realized that fear had been programmed out of the Asset, and running away was a self-preservation move, not one of desperation.
By the time Rumlow realized what was going on, the helicarrier had hit the Triskelion, shaking the walls, floors, and everything else as it crumpled like a tin can under a boot heel.
Bravo
Mia and Steve
Growling with frustration, Mia flopped into the nearest chair, proper her elbow on the console, and dropped her head into it. A bottle of water came into her sight, and she gratefully took it. She drank down most of the contents, and replaced the cap. "I'm sorry, Steve. I just can't generate a field strong enough to take them all out at once."
"I know you're exhausted, but we need to move on before HYDRA's goons show up." He held out his hand, and she took it, leading her to the door, his head turned to listen for enemies approaching their location.
He opened the door, and stuck his head out, motioning for Mia to follow. At one point in their quest to complete plan B 2.0, better known as plan C, they'd gotten into a skirmish with a squad. They took them out, removed their weapons, and communicators, and locked them in a closet.
Keeping her voice low, Mia whispered, "There's another access on the starboard side, amidships, level six."
"Then that's where we're headed." What she was thinking had to show on her face. That or Steve was especially good at reading other people's moods. "We'll figure it out, Mia."
Steve used the shield to let them into the room that had access to several servers. Mia took off her backpack, and wandered around the room, looking for the best place to begin. "If I take out the targeting computers…"
"We tried that. They rerouted." He led her to a chair. She sat down, and Steve crouched in front of her. "Clear your mind. Think about creating the biggest electrical field you've ever made, and using it to shut down their main systems so fast, they won't have time to reroute."
Mia turned toward the window that faced the Triskelion, watching the clouds, and using their falsely calm appearance to ease her mind. Movement inside the building caught her attention, and when she looked closer, she saw her cousin, Chase, fighting with that beefed-up Neanderthal who'd nearly killed Steve, Sam, Chase and Natasha.
Another form moved within her field of vision, and Mia could swear that it looked like Justin. But if Chase had found his twin, wouldn't he have mentioned it? Giving herself a mental slap, she realized he did tell them about Justin when said he had help dealing with Rumlow.
Closing her eyes, Mia breathed deeply. If her cousins could do this, so could she. She opened her eyes, raised her arms to shoulder height as she turned toward the servers, forming an electrical field between her hands. Moving her arms away from her body enlarged the field.
Again, Mia closed her eyes, concentrating on strengthening the charge. And when she felt ready, she flung the field at the servers, stumbling backward to avoid the sparks that erupted from all but the last two. "Dammit!"
"Just fry them, and we're done."
Mia tried several times, with no success. "Sorry, Steve. I gotta build up another charge. Takes a few minutes."
Steve wandered over to the window, inhaling sharply. He can see Justin and Chase fighting with that SOB, Rumlow. Probably wishes he could be in two places at once.
Through the deck, Mia felt vibrations spring up, and the helicarrier tilted to starboard. Maybe I did do some damage after all, she thought. Her eyes met Steve's, showing that they had the same thought.
The vibrations increased, knocking Mia sideways at the helicarrier's impact with the Triskelion. Consoles sparked, ceiling tiles fell, and the floor buckled, throwing them toward the window. Mia hit face first, bending her elbows to absorb the energy of the impact.
Angry that she and Steve hadn't gotten off the ship before it crashed, Mia stepped back, the heels of her boots giving her more traction than she thought when she first put them on.
The shaking slowed, and the helicarrier began to pull away from the Triskelion, leaving the elegant building in ruins. Without the ship jammed into it, the side nearest them continued to crumble at an alarming rate.
Inside, she saw her cousins running from the destruction. Her mouth dropped open when they crashed through the window at the far end. Chase had his arms around Justin's neck as his brother's metal arm clamped onto the skid of a passing chopper.
Relieved, Mia was able to give more energy to building up another charge, determined to stop the helicarrier at all costs.
Over the PA, she heard a voice emotionlessly planning the deaths of millions.
"We're not going any higher, sir. We'll have to make it work from here." The man was obviously a weapons tech. "Satellite coming online now."
The next voice was even more devoid of emotion than the first, if that were possible.
"Deploy the algorithm. With only one ship, we won't be able to take out all the intended targets. No more than seven million. But it will be enough to make HYDRA's intentions clear to the world."
"Algorithm deployed. We are go to targets, sir."
Another tech's voice joined the first two. "Target saturation reached. All targets assigned."
The second voice, the one Mia thought of as the Captain, calmly gave the order. "Fire when ready."
The electronic sounds of the computer reached Mia and Steve, spurring her to an even greater effort than before.
"Firing in three… two… one…"
Triskelion
Chase and Justin
Running for their lives, Chase and Justin headed for the opposite side of the forty-first floor. What they'd do when they got there, well, Chase hoped that his brother, the super-soldier, had a plan.
Justin slowed down, and Chase stopped to watch him take a grenade from his pants pocket, and throw it into the crumbling mass that used to be the helicarrier. He caught up, and together, they ran full out toward the window. "Justin…"
"Do you trust me?"
His brother nodded. "Remember the song Mom used to sing to us when we wouldn't go down for a nap?"
Not getting the change of subject, Justin said, "Stand by Me."
"I'll always stand by you." For the first time in more than two years, Chase heard his brother's voice singing.
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
Chase gave a passing thought to joining in, but wasn't given the chance. As the last line ended, Justin grabbed him around the waist, ducked his head, and brought up his left arm. The twins crashed through the window, and fell out into space.
Bravo
Mia and Steve
Mia saw Justin and Chase falling. The thought that she would lose her beloved cousins in such an awful way after all they'd been through angered and frightened her. "NO!"
She generated an enormous field, that pushed outward, encompassing the entire helicarrier, expanding at an as yet unseen rate. Anything run by electricity sparked, popped, and went dark. The field continued on, shutting down what was left of the power in the helicarrier, the Triskelion, and the surrounding area for a mile in all directions.
Triskelion
Hill and Cameron
On the monitors, Cameron watched with horrid fascination as the helicarrier swung around in the sky, as if the bridge techs had no control. His state of inertia was broken when he realized that it was coming toward the Triskelion. "Commander, we gotta go!"
"We can't. Steve and his team still need our help."
Cameron got to his feet, knocking his chair over, and stumbling back a step. He looked from the helicarrier getting bigger the closer it got, to Hill, who seemed oblivious to the fact that they were going to die. "Commander…"
"Just go, Klein!"
On the monitor, Bravo's CO looked confused, and angry. "Where are the targets? Where are the targets?!"
For less than a millisecond, he considered doing just that, but then he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if Hill died and he could've prevented it. Tapping into that well of courage that had lain stagnating inside him until recently, Cameron did something he vowed never to do when it came to one of his superiors: he disobeyed a direct order.
Pushing the chairs out of the way, Cameron grabbed Hill's left wrist. He pulled her up at the same time bending at the knees and waist, and threw her over his shoulder, ignoring her indignant, "What the hell, Klein? Put me down, or you're fir-rr…"
Hill's voice trailed off when she saw why he insisted they leave now!
Heading down the stairs, Cameron reached the fifth landing before Hill spoke again. "I can walk, you know." He put her down, pressing himself against her, covering his head with his arm for protection as the building shook, raining plaster, glass and pieces of metal down on them. It stopped for the moment, and he leaned back to see if Hill was okay. Their eyes met, and something passed between them. Cameron wasn't sure what to call it. Understanding, a sudden flash of attraction that hadn't been there before, or agreement that they were lucky to be alive. He wasn't sure.
The shaking started anew, worse than before, and all the lights went out. Cameron grabbed Hill's hand, and ran down the stairs. Having worked in the Triskelion for several years, he knew all the shortcuts. Five levels down, he let go of Hill so they could wrench the door open. She didn't question him, as he led the way through the crumbling floor to another set of stairs that were relatively intact after the impact.
Cameron opened the door, ushered Hill through, and followed her a hallway that went to yet another set of stairs, getting out at level twenty. He put out his hand, and Hill automatically took it, trusting him to lead her to safety.
When they finally reached ground level, they burst out the side door, and kept running until they were far enough away to escape harm. They hadn't run into anyone on the way, or Cameron would've stopped to help them as well.
Relived to be alive, Cameron and Hill hugged each other tight.
Frankie and Sharon
Physically and emotionally battered, Sharon used the railing to pull herself up in time to block Frankie's punch to her head. She fell to one knee, using the other leg to kick Frankie in the knee. Frankie fell backward, and Sharon jumped on top of her, the women grappling, and rolling side to side as much as the catwalk would allow. Frankie got a knee between them, and pushed Sharon off.
She landed on both feet, a surprise in itself, considering the beating she'd taken so far. Both eyes would be black by the end of the day, her upper lip was split, and the tooth it covered chipped. There would be bruises, scrapes, cuts, and who knew what else, maybe even a concussion when she finally made it to the hospital. Frankie wasn't much better off. Blood was beginning to dry on the deep cut on the inner part of her left forearm. She'd cut it on a projection near the computer housing at the end of the catwalk. Both women's clothes were torn and bloody.
Sharon knew this had to end, and soon, or she'd be too tired to defend herself. Rallying all her strength, she took a page from her beloved Washington Redskins, ducking her head, and rushing at Frankie, hitting her in the solar plexus with her shoulder.
Instead of falling, Frankie let herself be pushed backward until they were near the end of the catwalk. Sharon was working out a new strategy when the helicarrier hit the Triskelion, shaking everything, issuing a deafening groan as metal, glass, and plastic were ripped to pieces.
They grabbed opposite railings for support. Sharon nearly toppled over the side, saved by Frankie grabbing the back of her Kevlar vest. She didn't get a chance to thank her ex-girlfriend before the shaking got worse, throwing them side to side. Sharon hit the upper railing with enough force to injure a rib, maybe two. "Aaaahhh!"
"Shar! You alright?"
Shaking her head, Sharon pushed herself upright as far as she could, one hand on her ribs.
Debris fell from above, crashing into the computer controls, causing sparks, and smoke to belch into the air. More debris fell, and the fight between her and Frankie was forgotten in light of the new danger.
Sharon felt a pair of familiar strong arms wrap around her shoulders, turning to lead her back inside so they could escape. An explosion above them shook the catwalk, making them stumble. Sharon cried out when she bumped her sore ribs, and Frankie's arms tightened fractionally to let her know she was safe.
As they neared the exit, ominous creaking, and tearing of metal came from above. They looked up just as a huge piece of equipment broke loose, and crashed into the catwalk. Frankie's arms fell away, and for the first time since they'd known each other, Sharon heard her scream in terror as she tumbled over the railing.
TBC
Stand by Me is a song originally performed by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King, written by King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and was released in 1961.
