Later that night Laura, Steve and Nat are in a room where Fury's dead body is laid out and Laura is still in shock.

"I need to take him" Hill said walking in.

"Nat" Steve asked as Nat touched his face?

"Why was Fury in your apartment" Nat asked Steve while looking at Laura who still had the flash drive in her pocket unsure what to say?

"I don't know" Steve lied as Laura and Nat see Rumlow from a distance and Nat whispered to Laura quickly.

"Give me the drive" Nat asked her firmly through her teeth as she did so sneakily behind her back as Nat took it as Rumlow approached them.

"Cap, they want you back at Shield." Rumlow

"Yeah, give me a second" Steve told him annoyed.

"They want you now. Both of you" Rumlow told Steve and nodded at Laura who gave a confused look.

"Why? I don't take orders from you" Laura told him annoyed while glaring at him since she never trusted him.

"He wants to meet you" Rumlow told her as Steve gave her a reassuring look as she reluctantly nodded. "It'll be ok Laura" Steve added as they left.


They walk in front of Pierce's office and Laura sees Agent 13 talking to him "For whatever it's worth, you did your best" Pierce told her as she sees them enter the room.

"Thank you, sir" Agent 13 nodded.

"Neighbor" Steve nodded.

"Kate…" Laura greeted unsure what her name is.

"Ah, Captain. I'm Alexander Pierce" Pierce said shaking his hand.

"Sir. It's an honor" Steve nodded.

"And Laura Watson we've missed you around here and I thank you personally for your contributions to Shield especially with Project Insight but you're still welcome at headquarters anytime" Pierce told her as they shook hands.

"Thank you, sir, and sorry but I took some time off for personal reasons" Laura told him vaguely.

"Yes, well in any case thank you for your work and the honor is all mine Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in" Pierce said as they saw a photo of him and Fury.

"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. 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".

"That sounds like Nick" Laura said smiling and Pierce nodded.

"So, you gave him a promotion" Steve asked?

"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night" Pierce asked?

"I don't know" Steve lied.

"You know it was bugged" Pierce asked them as Laura remained silent?

"I did, because Nick told me" Steve replied.

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it" Pierce asked, and they didn't respond? "I want you to see something" Pierce said bringing up footage of Batroc being interrogated.

"Who hired you, Batroc" the agent asked him?

"Is that live" Steve asked as Laura watched with eyebrows furrowed?

"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not so safe house in Algiers" Pierce told them.

"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line" Steve asked?

"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, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech" Pierce replied.

"Am I supposed to know who that is" Steve asked as Pierce gave them a file as they read it.

"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 them. "Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why" Steve asked? "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 told them as Laura glared at him.

"That's not true and you know it" Laura told Pierce angrily not being able to remain quiet anymore.

"Why do you think I brought you up here with Captain here" Pierce told her while sighing. "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. 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" Pierce said as he sighed. "Captain, Laura, you were the last ones 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?

"He told me not to trust anyone" Steve answered.

"And I'm just on my vacation I don't know anything" Laura lied as Pierce looked between them.

"I wonder if that included him" Pierce suggested to Steve?

"I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me" Steve said grabbing his shield as both him and Laura began to walk out.

"Captain, Laura somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone" Pierce told them.

"Understood" Steve nodded.

"And again, I'm just on my vacation here visiting some friends. It was nice to meet you sir" Laura nodded to him who nodded back as they left his office.


As they were walking towards the elevator Laura nodded at Steve towards her loop that had her spear in its usual place who nodded back as they entered the elevator as Rumlow entered with agents at the last minute holding his hand between the door as Laura moved her hand to the handle standing next to Steve. "Cap, Laura" Rumlow nodded.

"Rumlow" both of them nod as the elevator door closes. "I'm sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him" Rumlow told Steve.

"Thank You" as both her and Steve nod back as they look around the elevator suspiciously.

"Evidence response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac team ready" Rumlow asked?

"Not now let me escort Laura off Shield Headquarters first and let's wait and see what it is" Steve answered.

"Right..." Rumlow replied suspiciously looking between them as Laura kept her guard up gripping her spear handle tightly.

"What's the status so far" an agent asked? "Administrations level" another answered.

"Confirmed" the computer announced as Laura looked at Steve with her eyes who looked back at her motioning them to the guard sweating in the back as Steve nodded with his eyes back as the elevator stopped as the door opened and more agents entered. Laura was pushed more closely to Steve in the crowded elevator while looking at him nervously who nods back as the door closes and they descend again. "Before we get started, does anyone want to get out" Steve asked as Laura crouched down slightly getting in a stance?

Suddenly the agent in front of them brings out a blade quickly as Laura brings out her spear just as fast and uses it to stab the agent in the wrist as he screams in pain and the blade falls to the floor. Suddenly both her and Cap are pinned by the agents against the wall as the agents try to put cuffs on them and try to remove Laura spear from her gripped hand as she struggles to breath with an arm wrapped around her neck tightly as both her and Steve kick an agent in front of them knocking them forward and Steve breaks free kicking the guard choking Laura who stumbles sideways and Laura head butts him hard into the wall behind them knocking him out and Laura wrapped her legs around the other agent's neck quickly getting onto his shoulders quickly punching him hard in the head with both hands like how Nat taught her in their training sessions with him stumbling around the elevator as he collapsed, and she knocked another out hard with her spear handle falling down to the elevator floor. Suddenly Steve's hand is cuffed on the wall by Rumlow as he shocks him rapidly as Laura stabs him in through his wrist who screams in pain and Laura hits him on the side of the head hard with the spear as he drops the taser as he collapsed onto the floor.

"Mobilize strike units 25th floor" Sitwell ordered from the command room.

"You ok" Steve asked, and Laura nodded while trying to catch her breath while grabbing the future bruise on the back of her head.

"Nat's training comes in handy every now and then" Laura answered casually while looking at the bodies on the floor as Steve kicked his shield up. Steve presses the button on the elevator as it opened, and the strike team is at the door aiming their guns at them. Suddenly Steve throws his shield at the cable causing the elevator to free fall as Laura holds on tight as it stops suddenly. Both her and Steve open up the jammed door and see more agents running towards them as they look at each other with worry as Steve closes the door and Steve looked down through the window behind them. Steve backs up against the door and grabbed Laura around her waist tightly pinning her to him. "Wait Steve what are you doing" Laura asked quickly as Steve ran through the elevator window smashing the glass with his shield as they free fall down with Laura screaming loudly as they rotate through the air and smash through the glass roof below and land hard on the concrete ground with Steve taking the brunt of the ground on his back with the shield breaking their fall as Laura rolled over off of his stomach in pain and both run off.

"They're heading for the garage lock down the bridge" Sitwell ordered looking at them through the security camera as the barrier at the entrance began to lift up from the ground as Steve jumped it with his motorcycle with Laura on it holding his waist tightly from the back seat.

"Uh Steve…" Laura yelled while pointing at the spikes and barrier rising in front of them. Suddenly a quinjet flies in front of them ordering them to stand down as it began shooting bullets at them as Steve dodges them with his bike while throwing his shield at the engine causing it to nosedive. Steve nodded at Laura quickly to grab the handles of the bike as he jumps off and lands on the nose diving jet with Laura looking back at him driving it who turned it around and stepped out seeing Steve running towards her on the bridge.

"You can have your bike back now" Laura told Steve still breathing heavy as he smiled.


Laura and Steve change into hoodies as they head back to the hospital to get the drive from Nat.

"Where is it" Laura asked her?

"Safe" Nat told them.

"Do better" Steve yelled!

"Where did you get it" Nat asked Laura who was about to answer but Steve put his hand up preventing her?

"Why would we tell you" Steve asked?

"Fury gave it to you. Why" Nat asked?

"What's on it" Laura asked?

"I don't know" Nat answered.

"Stop lying" Steve yelled!

"I only act like I know everything, Rogers" Nat replied as Laura rolled her eyes.

"I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you" Steve told her?

"Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you" Nat told them.

"You know that"s not true" Laura told her annoyed with her lying.

"I'm not gonna ask you again" Steve asked?

"I know who killed Fury. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years" Nat answered.

"Winter soldier" Laura asked?

"So, he's a ghost story" Steve replied.

"Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me" Nat told them while lifting up her shirt revealing the scar on the side of her stomach. "Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye bye bikinis".

"So that's why you asked if the slug was Soviet earlier" Laura asked, and Nat nodded. "Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried" Nat told them.

"Well, let's find out what the ghost wants" Steve said. "This wasn't exactly… what I had planned when I said I wanted to hang out with you guys but whatever" Laura joked while shrugging her shoulders as Steve smiled and Nat nodded.