"That was smart," Sam deadpans, "Did that make you feel better?"
"Not as good as it's going to feel when I rip his fucking heart out," You snap, bringing your cuffed hands up to wipe the blood from your mouth. You turn to Rogers who sits next to you staring at his cuffed hands with slumped shoulders and instantly your rage begins to dissipate. You lean into him, bumping your shoulder with his. "Talk to me Rogers," you say gently, "You recognized him. The Soldier."
He doesn't respond at first, his eyes not moving from his lap. But you wait and finally he lifts his head, his eyes meeting yours. He looks about a hundred years older than he had hours ago. "I knew him. His name is Bucky Barnes. We grew up together. Served together. But he looked at me like he didn't even know me."
"How's that even possible?" Sam demands, clearly listening in, "It was like seventy years ago."
"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43. Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did must have helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and…"
"None of that's your fault, Steve," Romanoff assures him, but he shakes his head.
"Even when I had nothing I had Bucky."
"I told you," You remind him, "They wiped his memory. Brainwashed him. Of course he wouldn't recognize you.
"Yeah, speaking of, didn't really seem like your boyfriend was happy to see you," Romanoff says archly, but you can hear a tremor in her voice. You look at her ashen face and the blood leaking from her shoulder with concern.
"We need to get a doctor here," Sam looks at the guards angrily, "We don't put pressure on that wound and she's gonna bleed out here in the truck."
One of the guards pulls out an electric rod and you tense, ready for the oncoming attack. To your surprise the guard attacks the second guard and pulls the helmet from their head, revealing themselves to be a young woman. "Ahh," She sighs in relief, "That thing was squeezing my brain. I see you've made some new friends Cap," She doesn't look particularly approving, "You're all coming with me."
You lean against the wall outside the hospital room as Romanoff and Rogers approach Nick Fury's bedside. You expected the director of SHIELD to be good but not survive an assassination from the Winter Soldier and fake his own death good.
"So you were pretty good out there," Sam says as he moves to stand next to you, "Not bad at all."
"Thanks for the review," You tell him, your lips curling up at the corners, "You seemed pretty rusty yourself. But I mean, you were retired for a while right? I'm sure you don't see a lot of action these days."
"Damn girl, you're ice cold, you know that?" Sam shakes his head in mock offense before his expression sobers, "You okay though?"
"Sorry, I'm confused here. Are you trying to be my therapist or are you trying to fuck me?" You cock your head, "It's coming off a little weird that you want to do both."
Sam seems unfazed, "I just know that couldn't have been easy for you. Him thinking you were the enemy."
"Sam," You say gently, "Let me tell you something." You lean in closer, your voice dropping so only he could hear you, "Remember earlier when I pulled that gun on you? You didn't flinch because you thought you knew I wouldn't pull the trigger. You were wrong. I'd prefer not to kill you. But that's all that is. A preference," You can hear Rogers coming down the hallway and drop your voice even lower, "So next time you feel like trying to psychoanalyze me ask yourself, 'would I prefer to stay alive?' and if the answer is yes, shut your fucking mouth." You clap him on the shoulder and turn away as Rogers enters.
"So what's going on?"
"Nothing good," Rogers runs a hand through his hair wearily, "Come on. Fury's got some information for us."
"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility.'" Nick Fury tells you all, looking at a photo of Pierce, "See it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."
"We have to stop the launch," Romanoff says, ignoring his anecdote.
"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore," Fury turns and opens a case containing three chips.
"What's that?" Sam asks.
"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites before becoming fully weaponized. We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own." Fury says.
"But one or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are going to die," The agent-Hill continues.
"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA," Fury says, "We need to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left…"
"We aren't salvaging anything," Rogers cuts in, "We're not just taking down the carriers Nick, we're taking down SHIELD."
"SHIELD had nothing to do with it," Fury states, but Rogers is not having it.
"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD has been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."
"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave?" Fury demands, "I noticed."
"And how many paid the price before you did?" Rogers' fists clench, and Fury sighs.
"Look, I didn't know about Barnes."
"Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes."
"He's right." Hill tells Fury gravely. Fury looks from Romanoff to Sam to you, and Sam shrugs.
"Don't look at me, I do what he does, just slower." Sam quips.
"Do we really have time for this?" You interrupt and Fury sighs.
"Well...Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."
"(Y/n)," Rogers holds you back before you head off. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"What's up?"
"I know I said this before but now…" Rogers frowns, "Look, I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything. If you want to take off, I understand. I'm sure you walking into a HYDRA stronghold isn't your idea of a good time, and if we survive this, I'll help you to start over, if you want."
"I appreciate the sentiment," You tell him, "But Sitwell was right, HYDRA doesn't like leaks. I've been seen with you. There's a pretty solid chance that they've put my name in the Project Insight algorithm. I might as well go down swinging. So I'm with you, till the end of the line Steve." You turn to walk away and he grabs your shoulder bruisingly hard, spinning you back towards him, "Rogers, what the hell-"
"What did you just say?" He demands, still gripping your shoulder.
"I said I would fucking help you," You snap, slapping his hand off of you, "What's your problem?
"Right. Yes. Sorry," Steve shakes his head and takes a deep breath, "Till the end of the line. It's something Buck and I used to say to each other."
You freeze for a moment and then the words rush out of your mouth,"The Soldier used to say it sometimes too," A smile spreads across your face, "The same thing. That's where I picked it up Steve, from him."
"He's still in there," Rogers says weak with relief, a smile on his own lips.
"He's still in there," You agree, "And we're bringing him home."