The next morning, Laura, Steve, and Nat were in the morgue of the SHIELD hospital where Fury's covered body was laying on the table.
The three still in shock over his death.
Laura and Steve stood respectively in the back and she looked over to Nat who had tears in hers eyes.
One streaming down her cheek.
Hill walked in silently.
"I need to take him." she said gently.
Laura watched Nat cup Fury's head before marching up.
She and Steve shared a worried look.
"Natasha." she called out for her and she and Steve rushed after.
Nat swiftly turned around, blocking their path.
"Why was Fury in your apartment?" she demanded.
"I don't know…" Steve stumbled, lying badly while shrugging his shoulders but Rumlow walked in.
"Cap, they want you back at SHIELD. You too, Watson." he ordered.
"I don't take orders from you." she said, narrowing her eyes up at him.
"He wants to meet you." he hinted.
She frowned and looked back up to Steve.
"It'll be okay, Laura." he reassured her.
He headed back down to the STRIKE team,
She looked down to see her still blood stained shirt and covered hands.
"I need to change and wash up first." she muttered but Steve turned back to Nat.
"You're a terrible liar." she glared at Laura angrily turned and walked down the hallway.
Laura frowned at her friend before reaching her hand down to her jeans to grasp the drive inside her pocket.
She looked up to Steve while she pulled it out discreetly.
The two noticing a vending machine in the hall open and being filled with candy.
The pair thinking the same idea.
A few moments later after the worker closed the vending machine they walked down the hall towards Rumlow and the STRIKE team.
"Let's go." Steve told him.
"Yeah, STRIKE, move it out!" Rumlow ordered as the worker closed the vending machine.
Discreetly hiding the drive behind a rack of gum.
After Laura washed her hands and was given a plain shirt, she and Steve were marched into the Secretary Pierce's office.
Steve in his uniform with his Shield strapped to his back.
They were in the lobby on the top floor of one of the towers at The Triskelion.
Pierce, an older man with blonde, greying hair man in a suit and glasses was meeting with Agent Thirteen outside his office.
He concluded and she began walking back towards them to the exit.
"Neighbor." Steve greeted coldly while she walked past.
Laura eyed her, not really sure who she was.
"Ah, Captain. I'm Alexander Pierce." he greeted with a handshake.
"Sir, it's an honor." he nodded before Pierce turned to Laura.
"Ms. Watson, it's an honor to finally meet you." he said formally while shaking her hand.
"Mr. Secretary." she nodded curtly.
"The honor is mine. My father served in the 101st. Come on in." he offered.
The three walked into his large office towards his conference table.
He showed them an old photo of him and Fury swearing him in.
Pierce was at the table, getting files.
"That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at State Department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate." Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter." Pierce told them.
The three sitting down around a coffee table in the corner of the office.
"So you gave him a promotion?" Steve asked.
"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce asked him.
"I don't know." he lied again.
Laura kept face neutral.
Her training kicking in.
"You know it was bugged?" Pierce asked.
"I did, because Nick told me." Steve stated.
"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce also asked.
Laura frowned, obviously not knowing that.
Pierce saw the look on her face and grabbed a remote from his pocket.
Turning on the TV on the wall which was playing a live feed of Batroc being interrogated.
He was cuffed at a table in a small room while SHIELD agents interrogated him.
"Who hired you, Batroc?" was heard.
"Is that live?" Laura asked confused.
"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers." Pierce revealed.
"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line." Steve argued.
"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech." Pierce explained, giving them a file to read.
That story didn't sit well with Laura while she read it.
"Am I supposed to know who that is? " Steve asked in confusion.
"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37." Pierce added.
"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?" Steve asked.
"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death." Pierce accused.
"You and I both know Nick wouldn't do that." Laura said, speaking up forcefully. Defending the man she often clashed and disagreed with.
"Why do you think I brought you up with Captain Rogers here…?" he said and got up.
He walked over to the window which gave a panoramic view of D.C
. She and Steve got up.
"I know Fury specifically asked for your assistance in that hostage rescue Ms. Watson." he said, walking back to face her.
She tilted her head up and stood her ground.
"See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry." he warned.
She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at him.
"Ms. Watson, Captain, the two of you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?" he ordered them while glancing between them.
Steve stepped over to Laura protectively.
"He told me not to trust anyone." he quoted.
Laura glanced up to him.
"I wonder if that included him." Pierce pondered.
Laura could feel the thick tension in the room coming from Pierce.
"I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us." Steve said, nodding to Laura who nodded back.
He picked up his SHIELD and began to follow her out.
"Captain. Ms. Watson." Pierce called for them, causing them to stop in place and turn their heads back to him.
"Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone." he warned them.
"Understood."
They walked out and down the hall to the elevator at the corner of the tower.
They stepped in and Laura groaned, leaning up against the glass wall.
Feeling a migraine coming on.
Pinching her nose beneath the bridge of her glasses.
"Operations control." Steve ordered the A.I.
"Confirmed."
The door began to close but Rumlow stuck his arm between.
He and a few STRIKE agents walked in.
Laura shifted off the railing and corrected her posture.
"Forensics." Rumlow ordered.
"Confirmed."
"Cap, Watson." he nodded to the pair.
"Rumlow."
The elevator door closed and they began to descend.
"Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?" Rumlow asked Steve.
"No, let's wait and see what it is first." he answered.
"Right." Rumlow said and turned back around.
Laura looked down to see one of the agents gripping his taser strapped to his ankle.
Shifting nervously.
She frowned, feeling his nervousness from a mile away.
The elevator stopped at a lower floor and a few more agents walked in.
Forcing her and Steve closer together in the middle of the group.
The elevator continued its descent.
Rumlow was right in front of them.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him." he apologized.
Laura hearing the fake sincerity in his voice.
"Thank you." Steve nodded.
She and Steve glanced over to see an agent talking into his earpiece, sweating nervously.
Her gut sending blaring warning signs that something was wrong.
She glanced up to Steve with worry as the elevator stopped once again.
Three large black ops walked in, blocking their way out.
The doors closed and Laura reached back towards her waist where her spear handle was strapped underneath her shirt.
She looked up to Steve with her eyes and nodded at him.
"Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"
The black ops in front of them brought out his taser but with a war cry Laura brought out her spear even faster, slicing his hand clean off.
He cried out in pain while everyone scrambled.
Steve's eyes widened at her but multiple agents pinned him to the wall.
He stopped the elevator while Laura had a magnetic cuff clamped to her wrist, forcing her to drop her spear.
She was shoved to the wall opposite of him while three agents pinned her down but she brought her legs around the agent's neck and tightened her hold.
She head butted him, hard, causing him to stumble into the chaos.
Laura pried her hand free and used the cuff to strike an agent down while Steve kicked and punched multiple agents down.
She had the one in a head lock while repeatedly punching him in the head with both fists with all of her muscle before he collapsed.
She landed gracefully and grabbed her spear.
She swung it over her head while Steve flipped a large agent over.
He got taken out by her swing and into the window.
Taking out the camera which Sitwell was watching from the control room.
"Mobilize STRIKE UNITS 25th floor." he ordered.
Shattering it and sending his body hundreds of feet down into the lobby below.
His screams disappearing with a shatter of the glass roof.
Rumlow struck a few times at Steve with his taser but Laura sent a blast at him, flinging him back hard into the door,.
Knocking him out as his body landed on the floor with a thud.
She and Steve were panting heavily, looking around at the bodies crowding the elevator around them while she swung her spear around and planted the butt of it on the ground.
"You okay?" he asked with worry while looking over to her spear.
She shrugged her shoulders.
"Always…" she said but pressed the panel to open the door.
A swat unit rushed in, aiming their rifles at them but Laura sent a blast from her spear at them.
They saw and heard all off them being forced backwards from it before Steve used his shield to snap the elevators wire, causing it to free fall.
They held on before the clamps caused it to screech to a halt.
They pried the doors open to see another swat unit cornering them.
She sent another blast at them before they closed the door.
Laura was looking around nervously while Steve peaked over the railing and through the exposed elevator.
Looking down where the hole through the shattered roof of the lobby was and thought of an idea.
"Steve what are we gonna do?" she asked him with worry.
"Do you trust me?" he asked seriously.
"What…?" she frowned but he grabbed her waist, pinning her to his chest before leaping out and jumping over the railing before she could respond.
They free fall all the way down.
Steve shifting so his shield would break his fall and placed himself between it, protecting her while tumbling downwards.
Laura braced herself before they shattered another hole through the ceiling before landing hard on the concrete floor of the enormous lobby.
Landing on a pile of glass and next to the agent's body.
Laura winced in severe pain while rolling off Steve.
Coughing after having the wind knocked out of her, she crawled the shards of glass to grab her dropped spear.
Passersby gasped at the scene but she and Steve ran out of the lobby and down to the garage.
They ran to his bike and she hopped on.
Strapping her spear back on while he rode out towards the gate which began to close.
He made it out onto the bridge over the Potomac just in time but spikes rose at gate at the end which were lowering.
Laura brought out her spear but a Quinjet flew in low overhead in front of them to block their path.
"Stand down! Stand down!" was heard from the pilot over the speakers while the turret was aimed at them.
Laura sent a blast at the cockpit and at the engines over Steve's head.
Causing fiery explosions and the jet to spiral out of control and into the blockade.
Steve skidded his bike to a halt and glanced back down to Laura who tilted her head smugly up at him.
"Didn't see that coming did ya?"
They "borrowed" hoodies and made their way back to the SHIELD hospital where the drive was.
With hoods over their heads, they made their way to the vending machine but saw all of the sticks of gum were gone along with the drive.
Laura clenched her fist, knowing who was responsible who appeared in the reflection, blowing a bubble from a piece of it.
She spun around and grabbed her shoulder.
Shoving her into the closet behind them.
Steve following behind her.
"Laura…" she began but she put her hand.
"Do you have any idea… what you got me in! Steve and I are criminals now. SHIELD is after us! So just give us the drive because I don't have any more patience." she hissed through her teeth so people outside wouldn't hear them.
"Where did you get it?" Nat asked evenly.
"Why should I tell you?" Steve argued.
"Fury gave it to you. Why?" Nat demanded.
"What's on it?" Laura asked with a frown.
"I don't know." she denied.
"Stop lying!" Steve said, getting frustrated.
"I only act like I know everything, Rogers." she quipped.
"I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?" he accused.
"Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you." Nat reasoned.
"Natasha…" Laura warned while narrowing her eyes directly at hers.
"Laura, you know who killed Fury as well." she pointed out.
She swallowed with unease and took a few steps back.
Steve glanced between them.
"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years." Nat said. "So he's a ghost story." Steve replied.
"Three years ago, I asked Laura to join me on an extraction in Tehran. We were escorting a nuclear engineer out. Everything was going well until somebody shot out my tires near Odessa while she was driving…" Nat said while nodding across to Laura who swallowed with unease.
"We lost control, went straight over a cliff, she pulled us out but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering the engineer, so he shot him straight through me…" she said and pulled her shirt to reveal the scar on the side of her stomach.
"Laura got me out of there but the engineer wasn't so lucky. Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis." she explained.
Laura subconsciously rubbed her scar on her shoulder.
"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now." Steve quipped.
She smiled faintly.
"Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried." Nat said firmly while holding up the drive.
"Like you said, he's a ghost story." she said and Steve took the drive from her.
"Well, let's find out what the ghost wants."