Tiffany's phone began ringing loudly before either woman was ready to face the day. She groaned loudly and reached over, clearing her throat before answering, "Hello?"
"Is this Kayla Ellis's assistant?"
"Yes it is." Tiffany chirped, rubbing her eyes as she sat up and smacked Kayla hard, but the blonde groaned and pulled the pillow over her head.
"We need her to come in for questioning about the assassination of Director Fury last night. When is she available?"
Tiffany looked at Kayla and the woman just pulled the pillow tighter over her head, "I don't suppose you'd do questioning over the phone, would you? She's a bit... indisposed at the moment."
Kayla peered out from under her pillow at that, narrowing her eyes at Tiffany as she mouthed 'what?' and continued listening to the man on the other end of the line. "Uh huh. Yes. Yeah, she can do that. Let me collect her." Tiffany muted the phone and handed it to Kayla, "They want you at SHIELD by eleven."
"But I don't want to go to SHIELD." Kayla mumbled and Tiffany just raised her brow, challenging Kayla to give her a good reason why if she wanted to be excused from questioning. Kayla reached into her pocket, realizing she'd slept with her phone against her leg. A text from Steve simply said He's gone. Kayla puffed out her cheeks and blew the air out through pursed lips, "Alright, tell them I'll be there by eleven."
Tiffany unmuted the phone and continued, "Miss Ellis can do eleven. Mmmhhmm. Yes. We'll see you then. Bye." Tiffany tossed her phone onto the dresser, cringing at the crashing noise it made. "You have two hours, get your ass out of bed."
"I don't want to go." Kayla grumbled, but Tiffany gripped the covers and ripped them from Kayla's body. "Hey!"
"I thought you wanted to stalk your neighbor? I'll work my magic, pull some strings, you'll answer a few questions. Lie under oath, you know, what you usually do."
"I've never been on trial." Kayla mumbled but Tiffany just looked up in a state of confused thought.
"Huh. Must have been a fever dream then. I dream about you getting murdered and arrested a lot. Probably because of all the illegal and dangerous shit you pull." Tiffany smiled over at her boss and Kayla beat her in the face with a pillow.
"I'm getting up." Kayla grumbled, acquiescing to Tiffany's orders. Steve would most likely be at SHIELD, so if she showed up to the Triskelian, she had a better chance of finding her boyfriend.
Steve held the velvet black ring box in his right hand as he leaned against the sink in the SHIELD locker room. He'd changed into his stealth suit, knowing as soon as his interrogation was over he'd have to figure out what was on that flash drive. If SHIELD was really compromised, Steve probably wouldn't be coming back, and he wasn't leaving Kayla's ring behind.
He should have proposed when he had the chance, because he didn't know how long it would take for him to figure out who killed Nick Fury, but he had told Steve not to trust anybody, so he was on his own.
Steve locked the box into his utility belt, then latched his shield onto his back and strode out of the locker room to the elevator. He looked up as he rode to the top of the Triskelian, wondering how Kayla was doing and what she was thinking. Was she scared? Was she angry? Would she need some space away from Steve and SHIELD and the dangers of dating Captain America?
The elevator doors opened too quickly for Steve, and he was forced back into the real world and the repercussions of being the only person Nick Fury trusted, apparently. He walked toward Secretary Pierce's office, seeing Agent 13 finishing up her meeting with the Secretary. When she saw Steve, she bowed her head and greeted him, "Captain Rogers."
"Neighbor." Steve said coldly, finally understanding why Kayla was always so unnerved by the woman. Perhaps he should have listened to his girlfriend's paranoia instead of brushing it off as petty jealously.
"Captain. Alexander Pierce." The man greeted warmly and Steve shook his hand.
"Sir." Steve replied, "It's an honor."
"The honor is mine, Captain." Pierce responded, leading Steve farther into his office before turning around and getting straight to the point, "Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"
"I don't know." Steve lied stiffly, pulling his shield off his back as he took a seat across from Pierce on his couch.
"You know it was bugged?" Pierce asked with a raised brow, but Steve responded that he knew because Fury told him. Pierce nodded a little, "Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Steve answered with silence, keeping Pierce's gaze as the man gauged Steve's reaction. "You know, Nick was the one who suggested we meet with your girlfriend, the President's daughter. Said she was a chemist working on a serum similar to what created you. I'm assuming you're aware."
"I am. My girlfriend and I don't keep secrets from each other." Steve grunted and Pierce nodded again. "Why did you want to meet with her?"
"Because I listened to the recordings from your apartment myself when Nick brought her up. And I heard her talking to you about, what did she call it? An anti-serum to counteract the super soldier serum you took." Pierce cleared his throat, clasping his hands together, "That alarmed me, Captain. If she can do that, what others have tried and failed to achieve, then we needed to make sure she was making it for our side. Nick said no."
"I asked Nick to tell you no, I don't want her working for SHIELD. I don't want her working on it at all." Steve told the Secretary, unsure why the conversation had shifted from Fury to Kayla. "What does she have to do with any of this?"
"Because I have reason to believe that she's working with Fury to get to you. Our Intel shows she's creating biological weapons using the knowledge she has about your serum, and that Nick wanted a way to eradicate you if you stood in his way." Steve clenched his jaw tightly, but didn't respond. He didn't need to respond to these theories. He knew the woman he loved. Pierce saw his determination and shrugged. "I could be wrong about her. I don't know her the way you do." Steve didn't answer again so Pierce continued, "I want to show you something."
Secretary Pierce pulled up footage of Bartoc being interrogated, followed by his theory that Fury hired the pirates to infiltrate the Lemeurian Star. Steve's stomach plummeted, suddenly unsure if anything in his life was real. Pierce was trying to turn him against Kayla. Fury was trying to turn him against SHIELD. Steve didn't know where he could go or who he could trust or what the hell he was even doing in the 21st Century if he was nothing but a puppet.
"Captain." Pierce grabbed Steve's attention back as he stood and the soldier stared up at him with piercing blue eyes. "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 going to ask again, why was he there?"
Steve stood and clenched onto his belt, raising his chin defiantly, "He told me not to trust anyone."
"I wonder if that included him."
Steve stared at Pierce for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Finally he softened, "Sorry. Those were his last words." Steve felt his phone vibrate in his belt and knew it was time for him to go. "Excuse me." Steve said as he began to walk out of the room. He scooped up his shield from the base of the couch, latching it onto his back.
"Captain." Steve paused and turned, looking over his shoulder at Pierce as he leaned against his desk. "Somebody murdered my friend, and I'm going to find out why. If anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone."
Steve dropped his gaze, knowing the threat was directed at him. He gave a subtle nod, "Understood."
Pierce shifted, drawing his brows as Steve started to leave again, "She may have the President and Captain America wrapped around her finger, but I won't play Kayla Ellis's games. Hopefully you know what you're doing, because I'm worried you're sleeping with the enemy."
Steve didn't turn around at that, instead leaving the office and making a beeline to the elevator to get away from the Secretary and his ominous warnings about Steve's girl.
He stepped into the glass elevator, leaning against the far wall and looking down thoughtfully, wondering what Kayla would say when he pressed her about Pierce's theories, "Operations Control."
"Confirmed." The automated voice responded and the doors began to close until Steve heard Rumlow's voice behind him, joining him in the elevator. Steve didn't turn around as Rumlow asked to go to Forensics, instead staring out the window. He wasn't in the mood for casual conversation with his teammate.
It wasn't until Rumlow said, "Hey, Cap," did Steve finally turn to look at the shorter man. He greeted Rumlow, but didn't engage in conversation, instead choosing to pull his phone out and call Kayla.
"Hello?"
"Hey, how are you?" Steve asked quietly, leaning against the back railing of the elevator. "Are they bringing you in for questioning?"
"Yeah, I'm here now actually." Kayla looked over at Tiffany as the small woman harassed one of the receptionists, asking for a file on one of SHIELD's employees. Kayla let Tiffany handle it, looking around in boredom, "You have a few minutes? I want to see you."
"I have a couple things I need to do first, but then I can meet you. What time is your meeting?" Steve asked casually, looking to his right and noticing one of the STRIKE members had his hand on his gun, ready to pull it from its holster. Steve narrowed his eyes, half listening to Kayla as she complained about having to come in for questioning before lunch. The elevator stopped and several professionally dressed men with high-tech briefcases filed into the elevator around Steve. He wiggled his way into the middle of the elevator, staring straight ahead as he kept Kayla on the phone, "Well how about we go for food after your meeting? Do you have any other appointments today?"
"No. I'm all yours." Kayla promised as the receptionist continued to deny Tiffany's request. The brunette looked to Kayla with an annoyed expression that told Kayla if she wanted the file, she'd have to pull some strings herself. "Hey, baby, I'm gonna let you go. How long do you think questioning will take? What time should I meet you?"
Steve looked to his left, seeing one of the men sweating profusely, but the elevator wasn't warm, even with all the bodies crammed into it. The door opened and Rollins entered with several more STRIKE members, "Maybe a half hour." Steve answered, realizing he was surrounded, "How about you call me when you're done with questioning? We can go from there."
The elevator doors closed and Steve looked around again, seeing the men around him tense. He wanted to keep Kayla on the phone, because they probably wouldn't attack him if he was on the phone with the President's daughter. However, if he didn't take care of the problem before he got to the lobby, they could hurt Kayla.
She closed the gap between her and the receptionist, and Kayla could see the look of resignation on the woman's face. "Sounds good, Honey. I'll see you soon. I love you."
"I love you too." Steve answered slowly, dragging out the words as the elevator continued to drop. He slid the phone into his belt, looking back and forth casually. "Before we get started, does anyone wanna get out?"
"Listen." Kayla snarled, staring at the mousy redhead behind the counter, "Let's stop playing this little game where you think that I don't have clearance for what I'm asking for, because when the President of the United States makes the call, you're going to hand it over. I do not work for SHIELD, I am not affiliated by SHIELD, and having SHIELD bug my home and have someone spying on me makes me really unhappy. So you're going to hand over what you have on this Agent 13 person, and you're going to do it now, because if you don't, we're going to have a real problem."
"Miss Ellis, I'm sorry, but we can't just give you classified information about our covert agents. SHIELD takes security very seriously, and when our Special Forces Division has a job to do, we have to make sure nothing inhibits them from being able to do that job-"
"Yeah, I get that, but you realize he's Captain America, right? He can take care of himself, he doesn't need some hot blonde babysitting him, he already has that." Kayla narrowed her eyes and grinned as the woman pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just need a name. I don't need an address, I don't need a phone number, I just need to know-"
"I'm sorry, Miss Ellis, her name is redacted."
Kayla laughed loudly, leaning against the counter to get closer, "That's bullshit. And I suggest, if you want to keep your job, that you get me her fucking name. Because if I have to ask again, it'll be my father asking, he'll want to know why SHIELD was spying on his daughter."
The woman looked from Kayla to Tiffany, but the assistant just shrugged, offering no indication that Kayla Ellis was bluffing, "Let me make a call."
"Thank you, see, was that so hard?" Kayla snapped, looking down at her watch. "I'm going to head upstairs to meet with Secretary Pierce, if Steve gets here before I do, tell him to wait here-"
Kayla began to walk toward the elevators leading into the main tower of the Triskelian, but looked up at the sound of shattering glass above her. She stumbled back a step as the woman handed Tiffany a small handwritten note, realizing it was a person falling through the ceiling. Tiffany screamed, but Kayla blinked rapidly, recognizing the figure as he landed hard on the ground.
"Steve?" Kayla felt like her breath had been snatched from her lungs as she took a few tentative steps toward her boyfriend, wondering if he was dead. He stretched his right leg as he tried to get his left out from beneath him. "Steve!" Kayla shrieked, diving toward him and grabbing his arm as he dug his gloved fist into the glass to push himself up. "Baby, what happened?"
"They're trying-" Steve groaned, gritting his teeth in pain as he shifted to his knees. He looked up and panted, "We have to go." Steve staggered to his feet and grabbed Kayla's hand as he started to run.
Kayla didn't bother trying to ask what was happening, because Steve was practically dragging her toward the garage and she couldn't keep up. He let go of her hand when they got into the garage, pressing his hand to his stomach before pulling on his cowl, "Steve, what's happening?"
"I don't know, but we've got to get out of here, get on!" Steve ordered as they reached his SHIELD motorcycle. Kayla hopped on first and he climbed on behind her, holding the handlebars around her, "Hold on!"
He sped out of the garage toward the bridge leading away from the Triskelion, hoping to get out before they locked him in. He saw the gates begin to close and sped up, pushing his bike as fast as it could go as Kayla ducked her head, half expecting to be smushed by the massive gates. She felt Steve stand behind her, using his arms to pull the bike up and over the closing metal as they got out onto the bridge.
The exit of the Triskelion was no more than a hundred yards away, and Steve expertly drove them away as he leaned hard into Kayla's back to push the bike faster. She kept her head as low as she could, feeling Steve's chin hard against her shoulder as they swerved right and left.
Kayla saw spikes appear at the exit, blocking their way out, "What are we gonna do about that?" Kayla yelled above the roar of the motorcycle just as a Quinjet appeared from behind the building to hover over the bridge.
"Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down." The pilot ordered and Kayla felt Steve flinch around her.
"Are they going to shoot at us?" Kayla asked quietly, knowing no ordinary person would be able to hear her, but Steve Rogers was no ordinary man.
He let go of the left handlebar, reaching behind his back to pull his shield off and shove it in front of Kayla, "Hold this." Kayla let go of the bars and grabbed the back of Steve's shield, lowering her head just as the Quinjet began to shoot at them. He leaned lower and sped up, keeping his eyes on the plane.
"Captain Rogers, stand down and release the girl."
"Do you trust me?" Steve yelled in Kayla's ear and she nodded, "When I tell you, I want you to slam on the brakes and jump off. I'll come back for you, I promise."
Kayla sighed, letting go of the shield and grabbing the handlebars, "I hope you know what you're doing."
They were approaching the jet, and the shield couldn't protect both of them, "I love you." Steve grabbed the shield from the front of the bike and chucked it at the turbine of the quinjet, causing the jet to falter and stop shooting. "Now!"
Kayla slammed on the breaks, ducking her head as the motorcycle flew forward onto its front tire, diving off to the right as Steve flew forward to take out the Quinjet. Kayla rolled away and groaned, wiping her bloody hands on her jeans as she looked up in time to see Steve hanging from the side of the jet by his shield. Kayla fell onto her ass, preparing to watch the man she loved die, but he managed to pull off the impossible and jump off the jet, landing on his feet as it crashed into the opposite lane that Kayla sat in.
She stood up, looking across the carnage at Steve, but the sound of more vehicles approaching from SHIELD gave her pause. She turned back to Steve and motioned for him to go. He took two tentative steps towards her, seeing the gate begin to open to the Triskelion. Kayla mouthed 'go'. Steve hesitated and she yelled as loud as she could, "Go!"
He turned and jogged away from the Triskelion as several cars sped toward him, but Kayla Ellis quite literally stood in their way. She placed her hands on her hips and stepped in front of the cars, causing them to skid to a stop. The agents leaped from their cars with their guns pointed at Kayla and she just laughed, "Woops."
Two SHIELD agents held onto each of Kayla's arms as they escorted her into Operations Control, where dozens of agents at computers were typing away, Steve's face displayed up on the massive screen at the front of the room. When they entered everyone stood and Kayla snorted, but she realized everyone was looking behind her at a bald man with glasses.
"Eyes here. Whatever your OP is, bury it. This is level one. Contact DOT. All traffic lights in the district go red. All security cameras in the city go through this monitor. Scan all open sources. Phones, computers, PDAs, whatever. If someone tweets about this guy, I want to know about it."
The two agents who held Kayla began to lead her toward the front of the room, and she noticed Tiffany was already standing there with her arms crossed. When they approached, Kayla stomped hard against the man's foot, glaring at him as he released her and she ripped her elbow away from the other man, "Go to hell!" She hissed, and Tiffany grabbed her and gently steered her away.
"Kayla, we're in some serious shit, I'm gonna need you to simmer." Tiff growled under her breath and Kayla turned back to the agents as someone spoke up above the crowd.
"With all due respect, if SHIELD is conducting a manhunt for Captain America, we deserve to know why." Agent 13 called out and Kayla crossed her arms, tapping her foot angrily.
Tiffany's breath caught in her throat and she crumpled the note in her palm, "Kay, leave her be."
"I hate her."
"Please. Don't make this any worse. I'd bet good money she's the only one in this room aside from you who's on Steve's side." Tiffany's voice was a weak whisper but Kayla caught the desperation in her voice and narrowed her eyes. Tiffany inhaled slowly, "I'll explain later. Not here. We have bigger problems."
"Because he lied to us." An older man entered the room and everyone turned to him. Kayla recognized him as Secretary Pierce from dinner the other night and dropped her head, averting her eyes in case he tried to talk to her. "Captain Rogers has information regarding the death of Director Fury, and he refused to share it. As difficult as this is to accept, Captain America is a fugitive of SHIELD." Pierce turned to Kayla, and it took everything in her not to fidget in his sharp gaze, "Miss Ellis, are you alright?"
Everyone turned to look at Kayla and she looked around, catching eyes with the bald man with glasses and with Agent 13 and eventually looking back to Tiffany before answering, "I almost got shot, and crushed by a jet, but aside from that... pretty terrible."
"Miss Ellis, Agent Sitwell and myself would like to ask you a few questions in private about the events of last night and this morning. We're going to need you to hand over your phone to us to intercept any messages you might receive from Captain Rogers." Pierce said, approaching the blonde, but she responded by pulling her phone from her purse and chucking it on the ground, stomping on it and grinding the heel of her boot against it to smash it. Pierce looked down and smiled, "I would expect nothing less from you, given your reputation."
"Get my father on the phone."
Pierce looked over his shoulder as Brock Rumlow entered the room, shifting his jaw back and forth as if it was in pain. When the Secretary looked back to Kayla, his own expression was hard, "I hate to do this, I really do, however... the World Security Council has the power to override the President, and in this case we'll have to. Miss Ellis, Captain Rogers is dangerous. We need your help to bring him in."
"Over my dead body." Kayla snarled and Tiffany pulled her back. Kayla ripped her arm away from Tiffany and got into Pierce's space, "I was in the room when Fury was shot, I don't know what you think Steve knows, but you're wrong." Kayla leaned in, but several SHIELD agents pulled her away roughly.
"He really did a number on you, didn't he?" Pierce asked sadly, almost as if he pitied Kayla. "I'm sorry we have to do this, but we need to keep you here. Agent 13?"
Kayla looked over at the agent, noticing how panicked and conflicted she looked. "Yes, Secretary?"
"Please make sure Miss Ellis and her companion are comfortable. We need them here."
Kayla stared down Agent 13 and the other woman just motioned for Kayla and Tiffany to follow. "Play along." Tiffany whispered in Kayla's ear and Kayla grunted, allowing her nemesis to guide them to the back of the room where they'd be kept until Steve was found.