AN: Well, this has been one heck of a chapter. I've finally got ideas as to how I'm going to wrap this story up, though it'll be a long while until that happens. The good news is, hopefully that means there will be more updates somewhere in the future. Thank you to ColdOnePaul for reviewing; reviews are always appreciated and encourage me to update sooner :D

Chapter Seventy Six

It didn't take them long to chance into different outfits. After determining that it wasn't safe to go back to the apartment, Ada quickly suggested they find something that would help them blend in a little better. Steve changed into civilian clothing while Ada changed into a gray hoodie, hoping to hide her most recent injuries. Thanks to Rumlow, the side of her stomach was still recovering from a recent cut. She tried ignoring the stinging pain that would flare up every now and then. They had more important things to worry about at the moment, such as finding the flash drive that Steve had left behind at the hospital.

Once they were changed into fresh clothing and met up again, they made their way to the hospital in question. Unfortunately, the flash drive they had been hoping to find was no longer where Steve hid it. Ada rose an eyebrow in surprise, while Steve's brows furrowed together in confusion. He'd left it in the vending machine hoping that no one would find it. But it seemed as if someone had known it was there.

It wasn't until hearing a popping sound that Ada whirled around in time to find Natasha leaning against a wall with her arms crossed over her chest. The smug expression written across her face told Ada that she found the flash drive in question. Ada held back a sigh of frustration when Steve suddenly slammed Natasha into the wall. The Super Soldier knew she could take a few hits, so he wasn't too concerned about hurting her at the moment.

"Where is it?" he demanded.

"Safe," Natasha replied without hesitation.

"Do better!"

He was getting impatient. Not that Ada couldn't blame him. She crossed her arms and glanced at nothing in particular, knowing full-well that getting involved was a bad idea.

"Where did you get it?" Natasha asked.

Steve finally released his grip on her, having had enough with her nonchalant behavior. Ada glanced between the two, not missing the tension between them. She had a feeling that Natasha knew more about why Fury had stored those files than she was letting on.

"Why the hell should I tell you?" Steve griped.

"Fury gave it to you for a reason. Why?" Natasha pressed.

Ada rose an eyebrow in surprise when she realized what the redhead was implying. It seemed as if Fury had known this was going to happen. He'd known that he was going to be ambushed, which was why he chose to visit their apartment instead of going straight to Pierce. She didn't know the full truth behind Fury's intentions or why he'd chosen their apartment in particular, but it was beginning to make some sense.

"Look, whatever his reasons for giving us the flash drive, he had to have done so knowing he'd get killed," Ada let out a sigh of frustration and ran a hand through her hair. Natasha gave her a thoughtful look when she finally seemed to register that they weren't alone. "He hired those pirates for a reason, and I'm guessing you knew that."

It was Steve's turn to look surprised when he caught the tone in her voice. Natasha finally let out a sigh of her own and gave a reluctant nod. It was clear she didn't want to have this conversation. But after everything that happened, they needed to get their acts together and figure out why Fury had been killed in the first place. More importantly, they needed to figure out why SHIELD had suddenly begun going after them like they were fugitives.

"I know who killed Fury," Natasha suddenly declared. Both Ada and Steve rose an eyebrow in surprise when Natasha pursed her lips together. "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones who do call him the Winter Soldier." A shiver of unease swept through Ada at the name. It sounded eerily familiar, like something she had researched back when she first joined the agency. "He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

"So he's a ghost story," Steve remarked dryly.

Somehow, Ada seriously doubted that. Natasha wouldn't make something like that up. Not unless the situation demanded it. Besides, the research she had done matched up with the story Natasha told them. She couldn't help but wonder at the fact that there was an assassin who was sent after Director Fury. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa," she told him. "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."

Ada's heart nearly skipped a beat when she saw the scar she showed them on her stomach. It was a bullet hole, one big enough to have killed someone. But Natasha had survived it, and it was probably because she was keeping even bigger secrets from them. Ada suddenly felt sick at the thought. She couldn't imagine going through something like that. But as far as she was concerned, Natasha had been through worse long before joining SHIELD.

"A Soviet slag, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis."

She didn't miss the resentment in Natasha's voice. Though she tried to hide what little emotions were being shown, Ada could see right through her ruse. She tilted her head to one side curiously.

"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now," Steve retorted.

Ada nearly rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge, not missing the look he was giving her. She knew he was still feeling sour over the fact that Natasha had taken the flash drive. Though she had a feeling those emotions stemmed from the fact that Natasha had been so loyal to Fury, even while on missions.

"Going after him is a dead end. I know because I've tried," Natasha warned them. "Like you said, he's a ghost story."

"Well then, maybe we should try and catch a ghost," Ada suggested after giving it some thought.

…

"The first rule of being on the run is not to run. Walk," Natasha informed Steve as they arrived at a mall.

Ada stifled a giggle when she saw him trip for the umpteenth time over his massive shoes. The only reason he'd found the shoes was because they were twice his size. But at least they worked for now. He wasn't completely helpless when it came to being on the run, but Natasha was right. They needed to be alert, but not too alert.

"If I run in these shoes, they'll fall right off my feet," he complained.

"In my defense, they were the only shoes they had available at the time," Ada reminded him with a pointed look.

Steve just rolled his eyes at her comment, though he didn't bother smirking as he imagined what the sales associate thought of her purchase. Natasha gave them a shrewd look when she noticed they were trying to make light of a serious situation. Though in Ada's defense, she hadn't wanted anything to do with this situation in the first place.

She was still trying to figure out how they'd gotten into this mess. Between SHIELD suddenly turning them into wanted fugitives and Director Fury dying, she wasn't sure what was worse. She knew Tony would just rub it in her face after all the warnings he'd given her. Telling him right off the bat would only end in disaster as far as she was concerned.

"The drive has a level six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are."

Somehow they'd ended up going to a nearby mall at the Apple Store. Natasha was dressed in normal civilian clothes while Steve and Ada had on what they wore earlier. Ada easily hacked into the security system while Natasha carefully pulled out the flash drive she'd taken. A few employees from the store had already tried asking if they needed help. Ada tried not to laugh when they called themselves 'geniuses'. They wouldn't know a genius if one hit them in the head.

"How much time do we have?" Steve asked warily.

"Uh… about nine minutes from… now," she replied as soon as Ada popped in the flash drive.

"Macs may be good but they have horrible security," Ada announced under her breath. She flinched when she noticed a band of codes written across the screen. This was like nothing she'd tried hacking into before. She had a feeling that Skye could easily hack into it if she wanted to. But mentioning Coulson's team now probably wasn't such a good idea. Natasha was well aware of the team Coulson had started, but Steve knew nothing about them or the fact that Coulson was still alive. "Well, this is new," she muttered.

"Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something," Natasha said after reading the same file. "This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter your commands."

"Can you override it?" Steve asked, looking curiously at Ada.

"The person who wrote this device is smarter than me, slightly," she replied with a roll of her eyes. She was beginning to wish that Tony or Skye were there to help. Both would have cracked the code at a faster rate than this, but she had to work with what she had at the moment. Besides, the last thing she wanted was to put Tony's life at risk. "We're also running out of time."

Ada added the last part with a glance in Natasha's direction. She knew they were short on time, so cracking the code was more urgent now than ever.

"I'm gonna try running a tracer," she told them. "This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from."

She nodded in agreement as Natasha typed in a few codes once she stepped to the side, allowing her to take over. Between the two of them, they could easily crack the code. Steve just watched the pair of women with a look of fascination and annoyance. He might have gotten used to twenty-first century technology, but it still amazed him at how complex computers were. He was ready to say something when a cough sounded from the other end of the table. Ada glanced up warily, eyes narrowing when she spotted another employee approaching them.

She supposed in his defense they did look suspicious just standing there. They'd been at the computer for less than five minutes, but in that time most costumers made up their minds.

"Can I help you with anything?" he asked hesitantly.

It was clear that he was intimidated by their presence. Ada almost smirked at the thought. She realized with a start that it did look strange for the trio to be standing there at the computer. Still, she decided to intervene before the situation got any worse.

"Oh no, my fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations," she explained while throwing an arm around Steve's shoulder.

The Super Soldier threw her a wry look when he realized what she was implying. Ada couldn't hide the sheepish grin that followed when the employee looked between the two of them. He didn't look skeptical, but his expression was filled with curiosity as he studied Steve in particular. She didn't miss the fact that Steve's cheeks had turned a faint shade of red at the mention of 'fiancé' either.

"Uh… right! We're getting married!" Steve exclaimed in a voice that suggested otherwise.

"Congratulations! Where do you guys think you're going?"

Ada shared a knowing look with Steve when a map appeared on the screen. It had taken Natasha less than two minutes to hack into the database and find what they were looking for. She frowned when she saw the location in question. The look written across Steve's face told her he wasn't happy with the revelation either.

"New Jersey," he replied.

"Oh…" The employee suddenly looked embarrassed for asking in the first place. But his embarrassment only lasted for a few seconds when he got a good look at Steve. Ada stiffened when she thought she saw recognition sweeping across his face. "I have the same exact glasses."

"Wow," Natasha smirked in amusement as she glanced in their direction, "The two of you are practically twins."

"Yeah, I wish," the employee scoffed, "Uh… If you guys need me, I'm Aaron."

Ada was stifling a fit of laughter by the time he left. She had to bury her face into Steve's shoulder to keep herself from bursting out with laughter. By the time he was gone, Steve gave her a look of annoyance that said everything. It took a few seconds for her to recover and catch her breath.

"So when is our wedding?" she asked coyly.

The moment Steve balked was when Natasha let out a snort of laughter.

"Let's try and get through this mess before we talk about wedding dates," Steve finally muttered.

"He didn't say 'no'," Natasha quipped with a knowing look.

If he wasn't blushing before, he was now. Both women laughed at his expense, and it didn't take long for him to let out a sigh of frustration as he realized they were ganging up on him. She knew it wasn't entirely fair to do so considering he wasn't used to being placed on the spotlight. But she could hardly resist.

"You said nine minutes, come on," he grumbled.

Natasha was still typing away at the computer until finding the source of the signal. Ada frowned as she saw the location in question, especially as she caught Steve looking at the screen. Just as she suspected, the location had some kind of meaning to him. She knew that was where he had trained before becoming Captain America. It was where his new life had officially begun. Natasha caught the look written across their faces, not missing the fact that they seemed to know something about the location in question.

"You know it?" she asked curiously.

"I used to," Steve replied. He glanced at Ada thoughtfully as she leaned back and ran a hand through her hair. "Let's go."

They left the store once Natasha pulled out the flash drive and cleared the computer's history. The last thing either of them wanted was for the rest of the world to know what they were up to. Though, Ada had a feeling that SHIELD was already aware of their current location. Unfortunately, her instincts were spot on when she spotted Rumlow and his men in the crowd of bystanders.

"Well, this just got more interesting," Ada muttered under her breath.

"Standard tact team," Steve warned them. "Two behind, two across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro."

"Shut up and put your arm around me, laugh at something I said," Natasha snapped. "And you join in," she quickly added to Ada.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Just do it!"

All Ada could do was nod and laugh the moment Steve put his arm around her. Two agents were walking towards them, and they looked at them in confusion before walking away. Ada held back a sigh of relief once they reached the escalators. That relief was short-lived though when she saw Rumlow reach the escalator. The guy really was like an irritating tick. Natasha suddenly took that moment to turn and face Steve as Rumlow went to the 'up' escalator.

"Kiss me."

Ada nearly rolled her eyes when Steve stiffened at Natasha's command. His confusion only got worse as he realized what she was implying.

"I can't," he argued while glancing at Ada.

"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable," Natasha pointed out.

"Yes, they do," Steve agreed with her for a change. "Especially public displays in front of my—"

Natasha didn't give him the chance to finish. Just as Rumlow was about to reach them, she suddenly grabbed hold of his neck and kissed him. Ada let out an uncomfortable whistle as she stood not far from them, ignoring the fact that Rumlow was glaring in their direction. She had no doubt that he was desperate to reach them, but there were too many witnesses around. She knew he wouldn't cause a stir unless the situation demanded it.

"You still uncomfortable?" Ada quipped with a sly look.

"That's not exactly the word I would use," Steve grumbled in response.

…

Ada curled up in the back of a pickup truck that Steve managed to hard-wire. Once they had the pickup truck up and running, she wasted no time in trying to catch some shut-eye. She was exhausted after spending most of the day on the run. Plus it gave Steve and Natasha the chance to discuss what they would do once they reached the military base. Though, her nap was short-lived when she felt someone poke her shoulder. She blinked a few times when she saw Natasha giving her a sympathetic look.

"We're here," she warned her.

Steve parked the truck nearby, hiding it in one of the bushes. Ada peered out the window in time to see that the base itself hadn't changed much.

There were several buildings surrounding the grassy field, along with long sidewalks leading to said buildings. What surprised her the most was that the building themselves didn't look like they'd fallen apart over the years. There were a few that looked as if they'd seen better days, but most of them were still in good shape. Ada glanced at Steve thoughtfully. His expression was impossible to read as they approached the main courtyard.

"This is where you did most of your training, isn't it?" she asked curiously.

He'd told her stories about what his life was like before he became Captain America. When he first signed up for the military, he was brought to this base in particular. It was here that he learned how to become a proper soldier and struggled through every aspect of training. Ada couldn't imagine what that must have been like for him.

"More or less," he nodded in response. "I used to try and climb that flagpole every morning. Some of the men would get up early just to watch and see if I'd make it or if I'd suffer an asthma attack."

Ada frowned at the mention of one of his many ailments. When they first started getting to know each other, Steve talked about his past life. Before he became Captain America, he was weak and skinny. No one wanted him enlisted in the army because he was too much of a liability. The only reason he was accepted in the first place was because of Doctor Erskine's program. Even after that it took a while for the army to fully accept him. To them he was nothing more than a lab experiment gone wrong.

"I think that's what I admire the most out of you… you were always determined to prove everyone wrong, in spite of what they all said," she said thoughtfully.

The Super Soldier gave her a look of surprise when she said that. Few people would have remembered him or even envied him if they had known about all the medical issues he suffered from before Captain America. When she started looking through the historical records, Ada had been impressed with how Steve handled himself in a fistfight. Even if he was usually on the receiving end of a fist, he never backed down from a fight. Ada hadn't realized until then why she really admired Steve. It wasn't just because of the Super Soldier Serum. It was the fact that he fought for what he believed in, even when everyone else believed otherwise.

"Has it changed much?" Natasha asked while watching the pair with guarded eyes.

"A little," Steve replied with a shrug. Ada quirked an eyebrow as she wondered what was going through his head. She could tell from the way he studied the flagpole that he was remembering something from his training. "Any readings?"

"This is a dead zone," Natasha explained once she pulled out her tracking device. "Zero heat signature, zero waves. Not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off."

Ada's brows furrowed together as she studied one building that stood out from the others. It didn't take long for Steve to follow her curious gaze. She'd been around enough army bases thanks to Tony's line of work and Rhodes to know what the regulations were like. In the case that an explosion could strike the base, ammunition was supposed to be within a regulated sector of the base.

"Isn't it odd that there's an ammunition building within feet of the barracks?" she quipped.

"What?" Natasha glanced at the two, not missing the fact that Steve's face lit up as well.

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks. This building is in the wrong place," Steve explained.

They reached the building within strides. Steve eyed the lock warily before using his shield to break it open, and in a matter of seconds, a gust of air greeted them. Ada narrowed her eyes when she noticed that the inside of the building looked more like an office than that of an ammunition's storage. She eyed the large, imposing space thoughtfully as she realized that this space really was an office. She had a feeling that this was a SHIELD base, and quite possibly one of the first. Judging from the amount of dust that covered the few desks left and the empty shelves scattered along the floor, it hadn't been used in years.

"This is SHIELD," Natasha confirmed Ada's assumption.

"Maybe where it started," Steve said thoughtfully.

"Most likely, especially if this was made after the war," Ada nodded in agreement. "Knowing SHIELD it was a strategic location because who would guess that a base was built here?"

Natasha gave her a knowing look as she continued mulling over how the base was made in the first place. She knew for sure that Howard Stark had played a major role in developing the agency, but in reality Peggy Carter was the one who headlined the agency. That was part of the reason she looked up to Peggy. Not only had the woman founded SHIELD along with Howard, but she also proved that women were just as powerful and intelligent as men. Peggy was also willing to throw her weight around in a world where women were often overlooked as nothing more than housewives.

Sure enough they reached a smaller room where portraits of Peggy and Howard were placed on the wall. Ada couldn't hide the small smile that followed as she looked at both agents. Even though she never met Howard in person, she knew what he was like through the press and what Tony told her. That didn't stop her from wishing she had the chance to meet him. She knew Tony was biased after the way he had been treated growing up.

"Who's the girl?" Natasha asked.

"Peggy Carter," Steve explained. Ada eyed the portraits thoughtfully, feeling a sense of nostalgia. Director Fury used to have such portraits in his old office as well, though they had been removed over the years. She was shaken from her thoughts when she caught Steve walking towards a crop of bookcases staged against the back wall under the portraits. "If you already have a secret office…"

Ada frowned when he began tapping on the wall, eyeing a section that seemed just a bit off compared to the rest of the wall. She reached him within a couple of strides and tapped the wall as well, not missing the fact that the wind had come from the tiny opening. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Natasha watching the pair curiously.

"Why would you need to hide an elevator shaft?" she finished for him.

A sense of foreboding suddenly swept over her as Steve pushed the bookcase to the side with ease. Sure enough, pushing the bookcase exposed an elevator leading to what she suspected was an underground base below. She tried pushing the unease threatening to overwhelm her as they climbed into the shaky looking elevator. It didn't look as though it had been used for years. Looks were deceiving though. She could tell just by looking at the pulleys and gears that they were recently oiled, and that the shaft itself had been used recently as well.

There was a tightness in her chest she hadn't noticed before as the elevator made its way down to the lower level. It felt as though the trip itself was taking forever, when in reality seconds went by. Ada closed her eyes shut for a brief second, struggling to maintain control of her emotions before they overwhelmed her.

Once the elevator reached its destination, Ada finally opened her eyes to find the elevator leading to a narrow underground tunnel. Her eyes narrowed as the three of them quickly walked through the tunnel, only to find it opening into a large room filled with ancient looking computers. It was clear the computer system itself had been designed to hold a powerful system, because all of them were connected to what appeared to be one monitor.

"This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient," Natasha said while eyeing the computers warily.

They reached to the old looking monitor that appeared to be well-used. Ada rose an eyebrow when she noticed that the whole system whirred to life. Even the lights had flickered on above them, sending a shiver of unease through Ada.

'Initiate System?' the screen suddenly asked while writing the words out in tiny green letters. Natasha typed in the word 'YES', and within seconds the monitor itself hummed as it powered on.

"'Shall we play a game?'" Natasha quipped while glancing at Steve, "It's from a movie—"

"I know," Steve cut her off before she could continue. Ada merely pursed her lips together as he let out a sigh. "We watched it together when Ada was catching me up on classic movies."

She couldn't hide the sheepish smile that followed as Natasha threw them an unimpressed look. She was ready to say something else when a voice that crackled with static interrupted them.

"Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984." Ada stiffened when the voice addressed the first newcomers. She couldn't help but wonder how the system would figure out her age. Considering her mother had sent her from a different time period, there was no telling how far back that time period went. "Stark, Ada. B-Born 1900."

Ada's heart sank as she realized that the system couldn't go back further than the year computers were first introduced. She didn't miss the wary looks Steve and Natasha had given her. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as she found herself feeling anxious once again. The last thing she wanted or needed was to explain how that was possibly, especially given their current situation.

"It's some kind of recording," Natasha said after noticing a camera zooming in and out on them.

"I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am."

Steve's eyes narrowed with fury when a man's face appeared on the screen. She recognized the man from the history books as Arnim Zola. He was infamous for being the head scientist of Hydra. What horrified her the most was the fact that this evil man was in fact very much alive, in spite of what everyone claimed. She eyed the computers warily as she registered the idea that his brain had somehow been infused with the memory banks.

"Do you know this thing?" Natasha asked.

"Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years," Steve explained, glaring at the screen.

"First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive," Zola snapped. "In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."

"How did you get here?" Steve demanded.

"Invited," Zola replied.

"It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic values," Natasha explained for him.

"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own."

"Hydra died with the Red Skull," Steve retorted.

Unease crawled through Ada at the fury in his voice. Steve had been led to believe that Hydra was dead. She knew at the end of the day that it was nothing more than a lie, or an empty promise to make him feel better.

"Cut off one head, two more will take its place."

"Prove it," Steve commanded.

"Accessing archive." Images began flashing across the screen. Ada watched as a face with red appeared, than was replaced with the founders of SHIELD. "Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much." More images began appearing, pictures of people that were killed because they did not follow Hydra's rule. "Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new Hydra grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years Hydra has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

"That's impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you," Natasha retorted.

"Accidents will happen."

Ada's jaw clenched as a newspaper clip of Howard Stark and his wife being killed suddenly appeared across the screen. Her hands balled into fists when she realized that Hydra was responsible for killing Tony's mother and father. Even though Tony hadn't been that close with Howard, he had been close with his mother. Losing them had hit him hard, more so when he was still developing into the adult he was today. She knew Tony wouldn't take it well if he found out that his parents had been murdered in cold blood.

"You're nothing more than a coward hiding behind plexiglass," she snapped. "You should have the chance to rot in hell where you belong."

"You should consider yourself lucky to be alive, Miss Stark," Zola pointed out. "Had it not been for Hydra you could have been picked off the street." Fury swept through her as she realized what he was implying. She'd known there was more to her story than being adopted by Tony. When Coulson explained to her that he kept her the first few weeks at SHIELD, she'd been grateful. He played a part in giving her a second chance at life. But she also knew that SHIELD had other motives by taking her in. "It was no mistake that you were brought into the agency. The only mistake that was made has already been resolved."

Steve and Natasha threw her strange looks. It took everything she had not to lash out at Zola. She knew it was pointless – it was just a computer monitor after all. No. If she planned on taking her frustration out on anyone, it was whoever was in charge of Hydra now. And she suspected that someone happened to be at the top of the agency.

"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, Hydra's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum."

"You haven't won anything yet, you bastard," Ada snapped.

Her anger finally got the better of her, and she released a ball of flames at the computer screen. She was tired of being someone's pawn. It was bad enough Director Fury had roped her into his mess. Now to find out that Hydra had been planning to use her made it that much worse. Steve promptly smashed his fist into the screen seconds later.

"As I was saying…" Zola's voice continued echoing through the room, causing all three of them to stiffen in surprise. "What's on this drive? Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm."

"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Natasha asked.

"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it."

None of them were given the chance to react when the doors behind them suddenly swung shut. Steve threw his shield at the door in an attempt to keep it from closing, but they were too fast. The shield merely bounced off and rolled back towards him, landing on the ground in a heavy thud. It was only then that Natasha pulled out the device in her pocket, only to hear a beeping sound emanating from said device.

"We've got a bogey headed straight for us," she announced. "Short range ballistic. Thirty seconds, top."

"Who fired it?" Steve asked in alarm.

"SHIELD."

Horror swept through Ada as she began looking for cover before the missiles reached them. The only cover they had was Steve's shield, a small table and the computer systems that surrounded them. Her heart was beginning to race for a whole different reason as panic set in.

"I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain." Steve grabbed her wrist and pulled me over while looking around for an escape. That was when he noticed an escape hatchet they could use. "Admit it, it's better this way. We're both of us… out of time."

Steve jumped into the bunker after prying the hatchet open while Ada threw a pile of concrete around them for added protection. If the ballistics were anything like Natasha mentioned, they would need as much protection as they could get. The only thing they could do now was brace themselves for the impact that would follow.