Крытый вагон
January 12th
Fury sat in the pilot's seat of the black helicopter that would be the group's ride to the Triskelion. The blades were already beginning to spin as Maggie walked up to it. She ducked, habitually, as she got nearer to the blades. From outside the helicopter, Maggie could see Maria Hill sitting in the co-pilot seat next to Fury as the two prepared for take-off.
Maggie climbed into the helicopter and looked around the small space. Sam and Steve were seated across from each other—leaving three seats open for Maggie to choose from—although she barely noticed at first. Instead, her eyes were glued to Steve in his very familiar outfit. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face.
Steve was in his old, World War II Howling Commandos uniform, just like she was also in her old Howling Commandos uniform. The night before he had gone 'out' without telling anyone. When he returned, he had given her the old uniform. Initially, she had been confused. The space they were in when he gave her the uniform was dark, but as she felt the star, tears had come to her eyes. Now, a day later, she stood before him wearing the very uniform he had helped design for her nearly 70 years prior.
Steve looked at her, then looked over her outfit and smiled.
"Looks like they still fit," he said. She sat beside him, buckling herself in before she put the headset on. She lowered the mic as she looked back at Steve.
"Where in the world did you find these?" she asked.
"The Smithsonian," he replied, "I borrowed them from the mannequins."
"And they had one of mine?" she asked in surprise.
"Thanks to Peggy Carter," Hill began into the headset as the helicopter lifted from the ground. Maggie looked toward her as she continued, "After you went MIA they wanted to strip you of your rank. She took your side, insisting that you were likely a POW. When the Smithsonian wanted to put up a dedication to Cap and the Howling Commandos, they tried to write you out of it. Again, she was the one to not only say you were important to the cause but pushed for your plaque next to Sergeant Barnes's."
"You should check it out some time," Sam said sitting across from Maggie. Her attention shifted to him as he continued, "It's kind of disgustingly sweet. Something about love on the battlefield, very romanticized."
"It may seem romanticized," Steve quipped. Steve and Maggie's eyes met as he continued with a fond smile, "but that's what they were actually like. Drove the Commandos nuts. Especially Dugan."
"They thought I couldn't do my job and be in love. I always wondered if Dugan was jealous," Maggie began, and a laugh escaped her lips. Her eyes went back to Sam as she continued on with an explaination, "he thought himself quite the lady's man. Monty was always on our side though."
"Monty was a good man," Steve said, his eyes on Maggie, "Everyone gave him hell because of how close he was with you. I remember Dugan telling him that Bucky would kill him one day if he knew Monty was sweet on you."
"What?" Maggie asked in surprise as she turned to face Steve, "Monty? Really? I always thought we were good friends, though."
"Bucky knew that, or at least he knew that's what you thought so he never worried about it. He knew Monty was a good enough man to respect the two of you. I even remember they came to an agreement," Steve paused then looked at the scenery through the window, "that should anything happen to me or Bucky, Monty would take care of you."
Maggie's mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. After a few moments she looked out of the window opposite her, Steve, and Sam, attempting to ignore the feeling of Sam's eyes on her.
"Huh, I wonder what happened to him," she mumbled into the headset after a few quiet moments.
"He passed away at some point," Steve said looking at her, "Sometime in the 80s. After the Commandos, he ended up getting married and having a couple kids."
"We're about there," Fury spoke into the headset, "Unless of course you would like to keep reminiscing back there. I'm sure the fate of the world can wait until you're ready."
"We're ready," Steve replied.
"Good," Fury stated, "I already tried to get landing clearance. No surprise, they said no. So as soon as I get within jumping distance, you three need to bail. I'll be around for a little bit if you need back up, but I suggest you do your best to manage on your own."
Hill, Steve, Sam, and Maggie all responded in various words of confirmation. Fury brought the helicopter in as close to the building's lower roof access as he dared. The helicopter was barely settled when Steve opened the door. Hill, Steve, Sam, and Maggie jumped from the helicopter onto the roof. The jump wasn't the biggest jump Maggie had ever taken—only a few meters off the ground—but Steve caught her as she was about to land and set her down gently.
"Thanks," Maggie said as he set her down, "but I would have been okay."
"I know, sorry," he replied. She nodded and they continued their mission
As they got to a door leading into the communications center, Maria lifted her arm. She pulled up a hologram screen, quickly accessing the communication system of the building. She disabled all outgoing communications and sent a tone of feedback through the system to get their attention. Behind the door in front of them they could hear an assortment of exclamations and explicatives of temporary pain. Immediately, someone to come to the door to assess the situation.
As the door opened Sam and Maria held their guns up at the soldier. He raised his hands in defeat immediately.
"Excuse us," Steve said stepping forward and the man—Moore, his uniform read—stepped out of the way. Maggie followed behind Steve as Sam and Maria followed her. Steve went immediately to the building's PA mic. Soldiers in the room looked at one another, allowing the four-man group to take the room without a fight. Still, Maggie looked over the people in the room and kept her eyes on potential threats. Her fingers twitched as she resisted summoning a precautionary blade into her hand. Steve took a deep breath before pushing the button to go over the internal speaker system.
"Attention all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers," he began speaking into the mic, "You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down, but I think it's time you know the truth.
"SHIELD is not what we thought it was," he continued and the soldiers in the room looked at one another, "It's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The Strike and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you.
"They almost have what they want: Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone who stands in their way. Unless we stop them.
"I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one then so be it," he continued on, looking at Maggie as she shifted beside him, "but I'm willing to bet I'm not." She smiled at him and nodded in approval. Sam stepped up next to him as Steve took his hand off the button.
"Did you write that down first or was it off the top of your head?" he asked.
"He's always been infuriatingly good at simple, but motivational speeches," Maggie said, "I think it's his cadence."
"We need to move," Steve said with a smile as he started to walk out of the room, "They're going to be pushing ahead on that launch."
"Right, first though," Maggie said, then turned to the soldiers, "all of you, out." Some of the soldiers immediately took to the door, but a few others—including Moore—stayed behind.
"What are your orders, Cap?" Moore asked.
"Do whatever you can to get this launch stopped," Steve said, "or at least give us the time to get to them."
"Understood," he said and looked at the others. He nodded at the few that were left and they took off out the door.
"Time to go," Steve said looking back at Maggie and Sam. Maggie nodded.
"Right behind you," Maggie said as Sam responded similarly.
"We're on your six, Cap."
"They're initiating launch," Maria Hill called over their coms as the three ran toward the topside of the hangar bay-doors.
"We're not gonna make it," Maggie said, looking over at Steve.
"We'll make it," he responded as they got to the outside doors. Maggie looked around and saw the carrier she was supposed to go to. Immediately she peeled off from the other two and forced her legs to move as fast as she could get them. The carrier's satellite array was already above ground and Maggie was still at least 200 meters out.
"Gonna make it Mags?" Steve asked. One-Seventy-Five.
"Not now," she said between heavy breaths, "running." One-Fifty.
In front of her, a Hydra agent lifted his weapon at her. She overhand threw a blade at him. He fell to the ground. Seventy-five.
The top gun turrets breached the surface. Fifty.
"Говно!" Maggie muttered angrily.
"Maggie?" Sam called. She ignored him. Twenty-five.
She jumped, but the edge of the Carrier was out of reach. In a panic, a spike appeared in her hand, extending out until it reached the carrier. Her body jarred as she came to a sudden stop, and she barely held onto the spike with one hand. She breathed heavily as she reached up with her other hand and got a better grip on the long piece of metal.
"Maggie?!" Steve called again, the sound of panic in his voice.
"I'm here," she said trying to catch her breath, "I'm almost on the ship."
Maggie lifted her legs to wrap around the thin metal spike and started moving toward the flight deck. After a few moments reached the platform, climbed onto the deck and laid on her back, briefly, to catch her breath. She let out a disgruntled sigh, then got up and looked over the edge. The rod was at least four of her tall and looked more like a giant arrow at roughly a 60-degree angle sticking out of the side of the ship.
"I'm not tired," she mumbled in surprise as soon as the thought came to her.
"Maggie," Maria spoke over the coms, "not to rush you—"
"I know," Maggie said turning. The deck between her and the door to go below was strangely clear, "I'm on my way."
As she ran across the clear flight deck, she looked over at the other two carriers. The carrier they had deemed Alpha carrier had Steve on it, and he looked like a fighting machine, taking down Hydra agents left and right. Meanwhile, Sam was flying over Bravo carrier. The topside turrets were turned toward him and firing quickly as they attempted to shoot Sam out of the sky.
"Hey Cap," Sam called over the coms, "I found those bad guys you were talking about."
"You okay?" Steve replied immediately.
"I'm not dead yet," Sam responded as he dodged a barrage of missiles.
"Try to keep it that way, Sam," Maggie responded.
"Easy for you to say," Sam quipped, "your path looks pretty clear over there."
"A little too—"
"AHA! LITTLE ONE!" a deep Russian-accented voice boisterously rang out. A giant of a man stepped out from behind one of the missile flats. Maggie came to a stop as she looked over the familiar older man.
He was wearing a long blue coat with a black fur collar. On the left side of his hip was a sheathed, ornate shashka, and on his right side was a pistol—neither of which he needed in a fight. Hidden beneath his layers of black and blue, she knew the man standing in front of her was built like a modern day, Russian Adonis. His personality though, more that of Dionysus.
He wore a big, goofy grin that was easily visible through his well-maintained beard and mustache. His once dark brown hair had mostly turned silver with age, although did little to show how old the man actually was, instead making him arguably more attractive.
Excitement lit up his light blues eyes as he looked at Maggie. He was ready to fight her. She lifted her hands, her right foot shifting back into a sturdier fighting stance as she readied herself to go against him. She knew one-on-one, she stood little more than a chance of beating him, but they were alone…
Nearly two dozen armed soldiers ran out to stand behind him, their guns trained on her. Her heart felt as if it stopped.
"Shit," she mumbled.
"You good over there, Maggie?" Sam asked.
"Uh, yeah," she replied, barely attempting to feign confidence, "Well, we'll see soon I guess." The man in front of her was happily smiling, his arms out as if expecting her to run and embrace him.
"Little one!" he repeated, his accent thick, "I have not seen you in many years! Look at you! You look so strong! I taught you that!"
"Dmitri," she started, "I didn't think you'd be one to fight me with the aid of all these little peons. Are you afraid of me now?"
"AHAHA!" he bolstered, "No! I will fight you fair and square. Then if—big if—you beat me, you get to fight all of them. But I do not anticipate that. Don't worry I will bring you back home—maybe a little roughed up—but safe and sound otherwise."
"I'm not going back Dmitri," she replied unintentionally switching to Russian. She summoned a blade into each hand as she continued, "And we both know they don't want me back."
The large man frowned as he looked over her. She did in fact seem much stronger than the last time he had seen her. The blades that seemed to appear out of thin air were a new touch, too. He stared at the dark metal, then raised his eyes to hers. He couldn't help but wonder what she had gone through after she left his care and training.
"You are like a daughter to me," he said, "I do not wish for it to come to this."
"Say the words and it won't," she replied, "I'll have to comply."
"The words?" he asked curiously, "What words? Do you mean 'please'? Sure! Will you please come back with me, my Little Anya?"
"Maggie. Or Margaret. Not Anya… And no, not please, Dmitri. You know the words," she responded. But as she noticed his confused expression, she continued, curious as to if he actually did, "You do know them, don't you?"
"Bah," he dismissed walking towards her. He didn't know what she was talking about, and he didn't want to. He continued, "Enough. It is time to quit playing games, Anya. Come home."
"I'll go home—my home—once I've stopped them," she replied, her learned Russian accent coming through, "Dmitri, they took everything from me. Everything. We're nothing but tools for them to use, and I am going to make sure they can't do that to anyone else, ever again."
"Then, I suppose we fight," he replied, his face grim as he unsheathed his shashka. Maggie settled into her fighting stance, once again.
"I suppose you're right," she said softly, disappointment clear in her voice.
She made a motion, as if she was going to run at him and the large man took the bait. As he charged her, she waited for him to get close enough to her before she stepped toward him and parried as he swung at her. She seemingly danced around him, kicking at the back of his knee and through his long coat.
Dmitri dropped to one knee as her foot connected. He turned to swing at her again, but she was already on his back. Her blades clattered to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck, attempting to put him in a sleeper hold. He turned as he grabbed her and threw her over his head into a few of the Hydra agents. The agents grabbed her, immediately attempting to subdue her.
"You are not part of this fight!" Dmitri yelled and they let her go. She stood and brushed off her top. Dmitri held out his arms once again, although the motion this time was more of a come at me stance. As she ran at him, she summoned a blade similar in shape to his. They fought back and forth for several moments, their fight maintaining a deadlock.
"Falcon, where are you now?" Maria said over the com and Maggie froze in momentary panic at the word falcon.
She realized a moment too slow the word had been said in English, but she was taken aback by it just long enough that she wasn't able to block Dmitri's punch to her abdomen. The hit sent her flying back and she rolled on the ground, the blade flying from her hand. It hadn't been as painful as the hit from the Winter Soldier's a few days previous, but it knocked the breath from her.
"Had to take a detour!" Sam responded to Hill over the coms.
Maggie stood slowly, her hand on her abdomen as she assessed the damage. She had at least two broken ribs that were pressing against her lungs a little more than she preferred.
"I can't believe you let me hit you, little one," Dmitri said standing in his place, "I almost feel bad. Come here and hit me now."
"Dmitri," she said turning to him slowly. She allowed herself to show him the pain she in. She swapped to Russian as she continued, "why are we doing this?"
"You know I have to little one," he replied, "It is time for you to come home."
"What are they saying?!" one of the agents yelled lifting his weapon at her. Other's followed suit. She looked at the soldiers behind him.
"They'll turn on you too, Dmitri," she said focusing once more on him. He turned to look at the men at his sides. The one who had asked what they were saying turned to face him. The two men held eye contact for several seconds before the Hydra soldier turned his gun on Dmitri.
"Whatever she's telling you is a lie!" he exclaimed, "She needs to be gotten rid of once and for all! Kill her!"
"No. She is meant to be brought back, alive," Dmitri responded, his voice wavering with anger.
"Pierce said dead was fine so just kill her already, you yammering idiot!" the agent replied. The man screamed out in pain as a small blade went through his firing hand and into the weapon. Dmitri looked at Maggie, still in the follow-through stance from the throw. Time seemed to move slowly as she looked back at him, a sympathetic smile on her face.
There was a brief moment of silence before the Hydra soldiers behind him turned their guns on her and started firing. A metal plate, like a shield, rose from the ground in front of her and they began advancing, flanking her sides. When they got close to her, she stepped out from her cover, taking on the soldiers sometimes multiple at a time.
Dmitri stood still watching Maggie fight off the soldiers with a sudden vigor and anger she had not shown him during their fight. As she ruthlessly killed the soldiers, she held their bodies against her, using them as shields from barrages of bullets. As she threw a dead body at one of the other soldiers and then killed said soldier, he realized she was even more ruthless than he had taught her to be.
He watched as blade after blade came from her hand—there was no way he could mistake them coming from anywhere else—she was in fact making them somehow. She took hits, like he often did, brushing them off as a minor inconvenience. She had been experimented on, clearly, but they had told him she was ineligible for the super soldier program… her voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"I'm a bit busy at the moment!" she yelled, and he looked around. Seeing no one, he looked back at her and realized she had an earpiece in. She wasn't working alone. For some reason that brought him happiness… until she was knocked to the ground and several Hydra soldiers jumped on her.
Dmitri ran toward her immediately, fighting off Hydra soldiers on the way to her. He was still a few meters away from her when she screamed and spikes exploded from her, going through, and killing all the soldiers around her.
She looked at him, from her place kneeling on the ground. Her skin was pale and dark, tired circles encapsulated her eyes. She smiled weakly before her eyes closed and she fell forward. Dmitri ran to her, throwing any of the soldiers who tried to stop him—not that there were many left—out of his way. He lifted her and ran to cover, holding her in his hands as he called her.
"Little one!" he yelled trying to get her to wake up, "An—no! Margaret! Wake up little one, you are going to be okay!"
He checked her pulse. Her heart was still beating, and relief filled him, but her eyes would not open. He grabbed the earpiece and put it up to his.
"HELLO?" he yelled into it.
"Jesus," Maria responded.
"IF YOU ARE THE LITTLE ONE'S FRIEND, PLEASE, SHE IS INJURED," he yelled again.
"You don't have to yell big man!" Sam spoke into the headset, "we can hear you just fine if you speak normal."
"AH! Oh sorry! BUT she has friends now! Please!" he said again, trying not exclaim, "I have her here, but she is sleeping at the moment. I cannot keep her safe, you must come get her.
"I'm on my way," Cap called over the earpiece.
"AHA! CAPTAIN AMERICA!" Dmitri exclaimed, "SHE SPOKE OFTEN OF Y—"
"Let's keep this channel clear," Maria began, "Eight minutes, Cap."
"Working on it," he responded, "Alpha lock."
Dmitri... Is absolutely one of my favorite OCs I've ever created and boy howdy do I hope you all like this jolly Russian man as much as I do. Me? Mention a named character once and never use them again? Bahahaha, unlikely. And in case you're wondering, yes, he does have ties to Alexei, Melina, Natasha, and Yelena. But that is a story for another day.
I can't tell you guys how happy it makes me that you're reading, enjoying, and commenting on this story.
A couple of points of order as this part starts to come to a close, I'm working on a couple things. The first being a Patre0n which by no means do you have to join, but I am working on monthly rewards and potential behind the scenes access as part of the various levels which I thought could be a fun thing for anyone interested, or if you just feel like giving a little tip every now and then. The second thing being related to the first, I had the thought of starting a little discord server, that anyone interested could join. At various tiers of Patre0n, you could get potential special access, but there would still be free accessible content.
I know I don't have the largest following, but the love and hype you guys send me every chapter just makes me so happy. With part two winding down, and knowing that a lot of work needs to be done before I even start posting (as well as my chaotic work schedule and other creative storytelling ventures I'm working on) I thought the discord and Patre0n could be a fun way to keep in touch, and give you guys easier accessibility to when the next parts are ready, as well as potentially show you other things I'm working on. Neither are ready quite yet, but hopefully by next chapter they both will be.
With much love, Dubs/Cal