hey guys, a head's up- i'm going to start updating now once a week instead of twice. sorry! as always, enjoy :)
TWENTY ONE
"You know, Mathew was a sniper in the Navy before he joined SHIELD," Gemma said casually, as Natasha put down the red light.
"I feel like that makes a lot of sense," she responded. Natasha and Gemma were waiting for Sam and Steve to bring Jasper Sitwell up to the roof. "He ever teach you a few tricks?"
"Yes, actually." Gemma looked at her watch.
"So, why did you and Steve want to keep it to yourselves?" Natasha inquired. She didn't seem mad, more so curious. Gemma shrugged.
"We just want to take it easy. This relationship is a big step for both of us," Gemma explained. Before she could say anymore, Steve burst through the door on the roof, pushing Jasper Sitwell through. With a shared grin, Gemma and Natasha followed behind him, up to the point Steve forced Sitwell to the edge of the roof.
"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?" Steve asked, continuing his interrogation.
"I was throwing up, I get seasick." Gemma rolled her eyes as Sitwell smiled. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because that's not your style, Rogers." Steve stepped back, letting go of Sitwell.
"You're right. It's not," Steve agreed. "It's hers." Steve moved out of the way so Natasha could kick Sitwell off the roof, who went down screaming.
"I just want to let you guys know I was planning to trick you both into a blind date," Natasha said.
"Is that so you could win the bet?" Gemma asked. Natasha shrugged.
"I was getting desperate."
"You still wanna do that date?" Gemma asked Steve. Just then, Sam, in his Falcon suit, flew up with Sitwell, dropping him onto the roof. They walked towards the man, forming a circle around him.
"Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing Insight's targets!" Sitwell exclaimed, holding a hand up.
"What targets?" Steve asked. Sitwell started listing.
"You! A Tv anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future."
"The future? How could it know?" Steve's question caused Sitwell to laugh.
"How could it not?" he spat. "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it." When they looked confused, he elaborated. "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."
"And then what?"
"Oh, my god," Sitwell muttered. "Pierce is gonna kill me." Gemma rolled her eyes.
"What then?" Steve yelled.
"Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time."
"HYDRA doesn't like leaks!" Sitwell exclaimed. They were on the way to the Triskelion, Natasha and Gemma shoved in the back with the HYDRA agent. Gemma felt herself roll her eyes yet again.
"So why don't you try sticking a cork in it?" Sam suggested. Gemma snorted.
"Insight's launching in sixteen hours," Natasha reminded the group. "We're cutting it a little bit close here."
"I know," Steve said. "We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly."
"What?" Sitwell exclaimed. "Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea." Before any of them could respond, something landed on the car roof. Gemma saw a metal arm pull Sitwell through the window, throwing him into the oncoming traffic. Gemma said some unholy words as the person started to shoot at them. She reached for her gun, but before she could use it, Steve pulled the break, making what Gemma guess to be the Winter Soldier, Natasha's ghost story, drop onto the road, just as another car smashed into behind. Natasha shoved Gemma forwards into the front of the car, onto Steve's lap, where she started shooting. It was useless; the bullets ricocheted off his arms. The assassin moved towards the car, jumping back onto it and grabbing the steering wheel. Sam joined in with Gemma's spiel of bad words. Natasha also climbed into the front, attempting to shoot as Steve held onto the car door.
"Hang on!" he yelled to the group. They did, just before Steve broke open the car door. They slid a while down the road. At some point, Sam must have let go, but Gemma had no time to think as she, Steve and Natasha came to a stop and got up. Steve shoved them out the way just as one of the others that had joined the Solider shot at Steve; Gemma watched him use his shield in defence. Natasha turned to Gemma.
"Stay with me," she said. "That's an order. You're not dying on my watch." Gemma nodded, following Natasha's lead. They both pulled out their guns again, standing behind a car as they shot at the HYDRA agents. Gemma's stomach ache had reappeared.
"Come here!" Natasha yelled, pulling something out of her jacket. "And hold on." Gemma generally trusted Natasha, but she wasn't so sure of that as they jumped off a building. The object Natasha had seemed to attach to something, allowing the duo a safe landing.
"Okay," Natasha said. "You see the shadow on the other end? We run and we shoot." Gemma nodded again, following the assassin's cue. They turned just as they reached the end of the tunnel, shooting up at the Winter Soldier.
"Should I pull out the whips?" Gemma asked, turning her head to look at Natasha as they started running again. Natasha kept looking over her shoulders.
"I forgot about those!" Natasha yelled. "But not yet!" She pulled yet another gadget out of her jacket, coming to a stop behind a car. "We're going to leave a record, then attack from behind. I attack, you shoot." Gemma nodded. They only had to wait a few moments, taking cover as they watched the Winter Soldier head towards where Natasha had left the recording of them. Moments later, a bang went off in that direction, causing Natasha to leap onto his back. Gemma aimed her gun at his legs, hoping to cause injury there. She kept going, moving around the car as she watched Natasha start to strangle him. He threw her off. Natasha motioned at Gemma to run, following the younger agent as he started to follow them. Looking behind her, Gemma saw him raise his gun, and so Gemma pulled Natasha in front of her, raising her own gun. The shot meant for Natasha hit Gemma in the shoulder, forcing Natasha to pull down Gemma behind a car.
"What the hell, Bloom?" she whispered angrily, checking the wound. Gemma swatted her away.
"You're a better fighter than me," Gemma said, "and that makes you more important. Go!"
"No!" Natasha replied. "We can't let you bleed out."
"I'll sort it out. Go help Steve!" They both peered around the car, where Steve in fact engaging with the Winter Soldier.
"Shut up, I'm helping you!" To avoid anymore protests with Natasha, Gemma did silence herself, although she knew this was going to come up as a conversation later.
"Steve needs your help more!"
"Steve will literally kill me if you die."
"I'm not dying and he won't," Gemma said weakly. Natasha had already pulled off Gemma's jacket with a little difficulty, but before she could continue, they were suddenly surrounded. Gemma thought she could hear Rumlow. Both Gemma and Natasha held their hands up, allowing themselves to get arrested.
The van was a tight fit. And unfortunately for Gemma, it was her newly injured shoulder that was squashed against Steve, who was in noticeably heavier restraints in comparison.
"It was him," Steve said broodily. "He looked right at me like he didn't even know me."
"How's that even possible?" Sam asked. "It was seventy years ago."
"Zola," Steve answered simply. "Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43. Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must and found him and…"
"None of that's your fault, Steve," Gemma said gently, observing the super soldier's face.
"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky." If Gemma could, she would've put a hand on him. The van went silent for another moment until Sam noticed Gemma's shoulder.
"We need to get a doctor here," he said to the guards. "We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck." Natasha went to say something, but one of the guards pulled out an electric rod and used it to neutralise the other guard, knocking them out. Gemma drew her brows together as Maria Hill appeared out of the helmet.
"Ah, that thing was squeezing my brain," she muttered. She and Sam looked at each other, confused. "Who's this guy?"
Gemma was a little dizzy as the group walked down the secret facility; she hadn't even paid attention to her surroundings. She listened as Maria shouted some things to a man running towards them. Gemma assumed he was a doctor.
"GSW. She's lost at least a pint," Maria called.
"Maybe two," Sam said.
"Let me take her," the doctor responded. Gemma felt Steve's hand on her back press on her protectively.
"They'll want to see him first," Maria told him.
"What the fuck?" Gemma mumbled, looking at Steve in confusion. He shrugged. Maria led them to no other than Nick Fury, alive. Gemma felt shock fill the room.
"About damn time," he said, observing the group. The doctor pulled a chair for Gemma to sit down on, starting to treat her wound.
"She's allergic to that cream," Natasha stated, nodding at the tube he was holding.
"What, did you read my medical history or something?" Gemma retorted. She didn't get an answer, so she shrugged.
"But what the hell was that?" Natasha repeated. "You weren't meant to get shot!"
"Neither were you!" Gemma responded. "But you're the-"
"You already said that-"
"It's no big deal-"
"There's a hole in your-"
"Not like I haven't been sho-"
"Yeah, the last time-"
"Shut up!" Maria yelled. "Please." Natasha and Gemma stared at each other before turning their attention to the former director. He started listing injuries.
"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache."
"Don't forget your collapsed lung," the doctor added.
"Oh, let's not forget about that. Otherwise, I'm good."
"They cut you open," Natasha said incredulously. "Your heart stopped."
"Tetrodotoxin B," Fury responded. "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."
"Why all the secrecy?" Steve questioned. "Why not just tell us?"
"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful," Maria clarified.
"Can't kill you if you're already dead," Fury continued. "Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust."
"Rule four," Gemma muttered. Where everyone looked at her, she explained more. "Best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person. There's no third best."
"All done," the doctor told Gemma.
"Ooh, do I get a lollipop?"
"Gemma, that's serious," Natasha warned.
"I've been shot-"
"At this rate, you'll be more-"
"I can handle myself!" Gemma exclaimed. "I'm not a child."
"You still got hurt," Natasha responded. "And you were in-"
"You don't have to look after me! I can-"
"No, you can't, you don't-"
"You don't know what I've-"
"Oh, my god please!" Maria looked at Steve. "Can you shut them up?"