The two pull up to outside an abandoned military base where the signal led them to. Steve felt unsettled by Natasha's anger.
"This is it," he said.
"The file came from these coordinates."
Her tone was cold. He almost flinched at the gaze aimed towards him.
"I'm sorry," he said.
""Like you said earlier, little too late for that," she said.
Later that night as they walked around the base trying to pinpoint where the signal came from, Steve packed up the courage to speak to Natasha again..
"This camp is where I was trained."
"Changed much?"
"A little."
"This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off," she said.
Steve noticed a building ahead of them.
"What is it?" She asked.
They walk over to the cylindrical building.
"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place."
Steve opened the lock with his shield and they enter inside, when they turned on the lights they notice that the building was a SHIELD office.
"This is SHIELD," she said.
"Maybe where it started."
They entered a room with old framed portraits of Howard Stark, Peggy and Col. Chester Phillips.
"There's Stark's father," Natasha said.
"Howard."
"Who's the woman?"
Steve didn't reply. Instead he turned away to walk further down the room and stopping by a massive book shelf.
"If you're already working in a secret office..." he said.
he pushed the book shelf and slides the door open to reveal an elevator behind it.
"Why do you need to hide the elevator?"
They pair use the elevator, taking them to a room with old looking computers.
"This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient," Natasha said.
Natasha noticed a small flash drive port, she placed the flash drive inside, activating the ancient computer in the room.
Initiate system? The computer asked.
"Y-E-S, spells yes."
Natasha smiled as the old computer started to crank up.
"Shall we play a game?" She asked. "It's from a movie that..."
"Yeah, I saw it. Helena likes horror films."
"Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984
They see an old camera moving above them as it analyzes them.
"It's some kind of a recording."
"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," the voice said.
The computer screen showed an old photo of Dr. Arnim Zola.
"Do you know this thing?" She asked.
"Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years."
"First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. 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 asked.
"Invited."
"It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value," Natasha said.
"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own."
"HYDRA died with the Red Skull," Steve said.
"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place," Zola said.
"Prove it."
"Accessing archive."
The computer screen showed them old footage of Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, of the how the original SHIELD founders.
"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. 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 said.
"Accidents will happen."
The computer screen showed them HYDRA had killed Howard and Maria Stark making it look like a car accident along with the kidnapping of Helena and recent death of Fury
"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."
In anger Steve smashed the computer screen.
"As I was saying..."
"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."
The doors started to close, Steve tried stop it by throwing his shield in between the metal but he's too late.
"Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops."
"Who fired it?" Steve asked.
"S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha said.
"I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it's better this way. We're both of us...out of time."
Steve noticed a small opening on the ground, he threw the metal door aside and just as the place exploded he threw himself and Natasha into the hole and protected them with his shield, he then managed to get them out from under the building rubble just as STRIKE agents arrive to roam the area for them.
"Call in the asset," Rumlow said.
OOOO
Returning home from his morning run Sam heared a knock at his door. He opened the door to see Steve and Natasha.
"Hey, man," Sam said.
"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low," Steve said.
"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha said.
Sam paused a moment before replying.
"Not everyone," Sam said.
Sam let them enter, thinking about calling Helena before worrying that involving her would put her in too much risk.
OOOO
As Steve and Natasha are cleaning up, Steve noticed Natasha looking sad and thoughtful.
"You okay?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Natasha said.
"What's going on?"
"When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore."
"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business," Steve said.
Natasha smiled faintly.
"I owe you," Natasha said
"It's okay."
"If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?"
"I would now. And I'm always honest."
"Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing."
"Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting. Knowing our girl is alive helps," Steve said.
Natasha rolled her eyes, about to call him out.
"I made breakfast. If you guys...eat that sort of thing," Sam said.
The two followed Sam to the kitchen.
"Hey," Sam said. "Have you heard from Lena? I can't reach her."
Steve's eyes softened. They sat down at the island and Sam met his gaze.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked.
"HYDRA has her," Steve said.
"They've done some experiment on her," Natasha said. "Don't have exact details."
"But I just saw her the other say," Sam said.
Natasha shook her head.
"We think they have someone in her place. They don't want to draw Tony's attention."
"But she's alive, right?" Sam asked.
"As far as we know," Steve said.
The group stilled. No one appreciated the thought of Helena being in danger.
"So, the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha said.
"Pierce," Steve said.
"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."
"But he's not working alone, Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."
"So was Jasper Sitwell."
"So, the real question is: how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"
"The answer is: you don't," Sam said.
Sam dropped a file in front of Steve.
"What's this?" Steve asked.
"Call it a resume," Sam said.
Natasha picked up a photo of Sam with his para-rescue team.
"Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?" Natasha asked. "You didn't say he was a para-rescue."
"Is this Riley?" Steve asked.
"Yeah."
"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?" Natasha asked.
"No. These," Sam said.
Sam handed Steve the file.
"I thought you said you were a pilot," Steve said.
"I never said pilot," Sam said.
"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason," Steve said.
"Helena needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."
"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"
"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall."
Steve looked at Natasha who shrugged her shoulders.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Steve said.
OOOO
Nobody wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she had created a routine. Imagining day and night for her own. She had one corner for the bathroom and one for sleeping. The organization helped her keep sane.
Her body flinched at the sound of metal creaking above her. Command stood over, looking in at her with sorrow.
A rope ladder was lowered down. She hesitated. Was this a test? Should she desire to stay in the hole? She was so hungry. Would Command hate her now? She should have behaved. What if her protector had been harmed?
She should have behaved.
"Come darling," Command said. "We have things to do."