Rollins wasn't gentle as he pushed Kayla through the doors of the Triskellion, out onto the tarmac where fighter jets were preparing to take off to fight Captain America. Kayla cowered as she was faced by an even taller, larger man than Rollins, someone similar in size and stature to Steve, but with eyes dark as night and a determined scowl. She knew the face, but the man before her was a far cry from the gentle friend who Steve gushed about all the time.
"The Winter Soldier." Rollins hissed as he pushed Kayla forward, but the soldier just looked down at her dully without a hint of emotion. "The Secretary says use her in any way necessary. Don't let anyone interfere with the helicarriers. The man from the bridge will try to protect her."
Kayla's eyes widened as she watched the Winter Soldier reach out and take hold of her wrist with his metal arm, squeezing so tightly she thought it might snap. She looked over her shoulder to see Rollins retreating back into the building as the assassin surged forward with a rocket launcher in one hand and Kayla in the other. As they approached the jets, the soldier dropped Kayla's wrist and shot her a warning stare that told her if she tried to run away, one of those explosives would find its way to her. She didn't run, but she didn't move, allowing him to stalk ahead of her and take down two jets before they could make it twenty feet above the ground.
He ripped a rifle from a nearby agent and fired several shots into a another, scooping down to pick up a grenade and toss it into the back of a quinjet effortlessly. Kayla considered darting when the Winter Soldier kicked a man into a jet engine, but as she prepared to run he turned around and aimed his gun at her. She quickly raised her hands and walked forward as he met her and grabbed her forearm to drag her toward the last remaining jet. Kayla winced as he easily leapt onto the top and fired two shots into the pilot. He jumped onto the wing and ripped off the window, then scooped down and grabbed Kayla to toss her through the open window. She landed on the body of the pilot, trying to push herself away from his bleeding head as the Winter Soldier sat down and took the jet to the air.
Kayla squirmed as she watched the man, wondering if he'd respond if she tried to converse with him. "Who are you?" She asked softly, wondering if he knew that he was Bucky Barnes. Steve had said he hadn't recognized him. Kayla wondered if she could appeal to the man Steve spoke so highly of, "What is your name?"
He shot her a dirty look as he landed the jet, and Kayla didn't ask anything else. He grabbed Kayla and pulled her out, holding her by the back of her shirt like an animal. He dropped her onto the ground and she fell to her hands and knees, looking up as he landed hard in front of her. She glared up at him, but he tugged her to her feet and pushed her ahead of him, using her as a human shield against anyone who might try to shoot at him.
He led her into the helicarrier, taking her down the stairs to the glass underbelly of the machine, situating her in front of a control panel. He ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom of her blouse, taking the blue fabric and tying her hands behind her back around one of the beams encasing the panel. The Winter Soldier stepped back and stared at her blankly, even as his eyes studied her appearance. Kayla shivered in his gaze, almost wishing there had been hunger, or lust, or something, because she could have been a sack of potatoes by the way he gazed at her without emotion. The Winter Soldier didn't even think of her as a person, which made her feel small and insignificant, something Kayla Ellis hadn't felt in a very long time.
"Stay here." He muttered gruffly as he turned and stormed up the stairs back to the top of the flying aircraft carrier.
Kayla snarled up at him, pulling against the tight knot that burned her wrists, "Where the fuck am I supposed to go?" She looked around, seeing Sam fly up in front of her holding Steve by his hand, and suddenly they were gone, somewhere above her. Kayla panted, trying to fidget against her binds, but the more she pulled, the tighter the fabric dug into her wrists. She blinked rapidly, trying to bat away her tears, but they spilled over her cheeks anyway. Even if Steve somehow managed to stop the helicarriers, Kayla wasn't getting off of it. She didn't expect them to land softly in the water.
Realization hit Kayla like a bullet train as she began to understand that she wouldn't have had to suffer this fate. She could have forgiven Steve. She could have talked to him about his wrongdoings and come to an agreement. She could have acted like an adult, instead of a spoiled child, but she was hurt and tired and overwhelmed. And now she was going to die.
Suddenly, Kayla looked down when she realized Sam was pummeling toward the Triskellion below. "Sam!" His parachute opened and Kayla sighed, leaning her head back. At least when she was gone, she knew Sam would be around to be there for Tiffany. She'd be jobless, homeless, and best friendless, she'd need a good, strong shoulder to cry on.
The sound of boots against metal told Kayla that the Winter Soldier was back, and she lowered her head so she didn't have to look at him. She could hear him approaching, stalking her like an animal he was going to rip apart. Considering that Sam had fallen without Steve, Kayla assumed that's exactly what he planned to do. She knew he was beside her, but she wasn't ready for him to grab her jaw and lift her face, squeezing her as he looked down at her, studying her closer this time.
"Do it. We both know I'm not walking away from this." Kayla's voice was shaky as she tried to pull away, but the Winter Soldier released her, slowly moving his hand to touch the chain around her neck. She dropped her head and cried, "Please... please don't hurt him. Don't hurt Steve." She begged, looking up at him as he dropped the chain, tracing the skin beneath the metal with his right hand. Suddenly, she heard the sound of pounding footsteps and looked past the Winter Soldier in time to see Steve slow to a stop. The look of devastation on Steve's face made Kayla wish the Winter Soldier had already killed her, because then she wouldn't have to see how conflicted he looked.
He wouldn't choose her. He had to put the good of everyone above her life, no matter how much he loved her. She knew this, but it didn't make it any easier to see the look on his face as he pressed his hand to his comm, and said quietly, "Hill. The President's daughter is up here."
"Steve, I-"
"Please don't make me do this." Steve begged the Winter Soldier, his chest rising and falling as he took a tentative step forward. Bucky stood firm between Steve and the console, and the girl. Steve looked to Kayla, seeing she was missing the bottom of her blouse and that her legs were shaking. Her mascara was running down her face and her nose was pink, like it looked in the wintertime, like when they went ice skating at Rockefeller Center. He wished he could take her back to that moment, wrap her in his arms, and promise he'd take care of her, but he couldn't.
"It's okay." Kayla assured Steve, nodding a little and forcing a brave smile, "You need to be Captain America right now."
"That's easier said than done!" Steve grunted as he threw his shield at the Winter Soldier, but the other man crossed his left arm across his body and sent the shield hurtling back to Steve. The Winter Soldier shot at Steve at close range, bullets flying off his shield until one sliced through his side.
Kayla screamed as Steve finally got the upper hand, smashing the Winter Soldier back into the control panel. The soldier pulled out a knife as he strode back toward Steve, and the blonde man spared his ex-girlfriend a glance and a groan before his ex-friend began trying to pierce him beyond his shield. Steve pushed him to the side long enough to pull down the control panel as Kayla watched the other super-soldier, "Steve, look out!"
"Kayla, shut up please." Steve growled as he tried to pull the chip from his pocket, but Bucky came rushing back toward him. Steve tried to grab the knife, thinking he could slice Kayla's binds and she could help him switch the chips, but that idea was stolen from him as Bucky threw his body at Steve, knocking them both over the railing to the glass below.
While Steve and Bucky fought below her, Kayla shifted to try and get a better view, until she felt her chest began to heat up. She gasped, leaning forward as the pin on her chest began to fry through her blue blouse. She learned farther, trying to keep the fabric away from her chest as it began to burn away, but the heat burned her skin anyway as she began to sob louder.
Steve sprinted across the glass panels toward the fallen chip, but he looked up when he heard Kayla's pained wail, only to be bashed in the back by his own shield. He managed to kick it up into his hand to shield himself from Bucky's gunfire, but he couldn't focus, not with the sound of Kayla weeping overhead. He threw his shield, but Bucky easily blocked it again and stormed toward Steve, dropping his gun in favor of his knife. Steve tried to block him, but when Kayla cried out his name, Steve dropped his guard and Bucky plunged the knife into his shoulder. Steve headbutt him several times, eventually getting enough space to rip the knife out and shove it through his belt before strangling the chip out of his best friend's hand. "Drop it!"
As Bucky finally passed out, Steve grabbed the chip and scrambled upward, climbing the stairs as fast as he could. It wasn't until he reached the landing below the control panel that he realized Kayla was silent. He looked up through the grated bars to see her slumped body, realizing she was unconscious. "Kayla!" She didn't answer his call, and he started sprinting up the landing until he was shot in the thigh from behind. He fell as he screamed out, looking back to see Bucky standing with his gun aimed up at him. Steve climbed up the ladder, taking another bullet to the shoulder as Maria Hill's voice echoed in his ear, "Thirty second, Cap!"
"Standby." Steve gasped, pulling the chip out of his pocket and looking to the right to see Kayla on her knees, held up only by her tied wrists that were raw from her struggling. Once he replaced the chip, the helicarriers would turn on each other. There was no time to get her to safety. He didn't even know if she was still alive.
A bullet ripped through Steve's stomach just before he placed the chip in the slot, and he fell on his ass. He stared forward in a daze, counting down the seconds in the back of his head. He was out of time.
He struggled to push himself to his feet, knowing if he could do this one last thing, he could die knowing he saved everyone. Almost everyone.
"Charlie locked." Steve gasped as he slipped the chip into its slot, lowering himself onto the ground and turning toward Kayla. He pulled the knife from his belt and sliced the fabric holding Kayla's wrists, allowing her to fall to the ground with a thud.
"Okay, Cap, get out of there." Maria Hill warned as Steve carefully flipped Kayla over, finding a hole in her blouse over her chest. He carefully tugged at the singed fabric, finding a dark burn mark on her pale skin. "Cap?"
"Fire now." He muttered, pulling Kayla closer to his bleeding stomach, stroking her cheek with his thumb.
Maria's voice broke as she argued through the comm, "But Steve..."
"Do it. Do it now!" He barked, ripping his earpiece out and chucking it to the side as he doubled over, and cried over the future they'd never see.
The helicarriers began to fire on each other, but Steve didn't care. If anyone was looking for them, he wouldn't know. He had everything he needed and wanted in his arms, and he'd ruined it with his fear. He slid his hand along her arm and lifted it, seeing the blue sapphire ring on her finger. Steve hadn't even gotten the chance to give it to her.
"Steve?"
He lifted his head to see Kayla turning slightly, her chest was barely moving, but she blinked open her green eyes to look at him. Steve grabbed her cheek and ducked his head, whispering weakly, "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry." Steve tried to stand, but the helicarrier jerked to the side and he fell against the railing as Kayla stumbled into him. He looked over the rail and saw a piece of the ship pinning down Bucky. He looked back to Kayla and she swallowed, holding onto his shoulders to keep her footing as the aircraft carrier shuddered.
"He was my best friend."
Kayla looked out the window, seeing more gunfire heading their way as she ducked down, placing her head between her hands. Kayla sobbed through her words, keeping her eyes trained down, "Do whatever you want. It doesn't matter anymore."
"I love you." Steve said as he steadied himself, his legs shaking. "I need to help him, Kay."
"I told you," Kayla snapped as the helicarrier began to lose altitude, "Do what you want, Steve." She pulled the ring off her finger and shoved it into Steve's hand, "I'm not you fiancé, I'm your ex. Go."
"I'll come back for you. I won't let anything happen to you, you know that, right?" Steve asked and Kayla just stiffened. Steve wouldn't come back for her. Steve couldn't save her this time. He wouldn't be able to save Bucky either, but Kayla wasn't about to tell him that.
Steve crawled down through the rails to help his friend, and Kayla held her hand to her mouth and sobbed as the helicarrier careened toward the Triskellion. She wondered if her parents were still alive. She wondered if Sam was still alive. She wondered if death would come quickly or if it would be slow and painful, like the scream of the Winter Soldier as he was crushed alive by the ship he was sent to keep in the air.
She saw a chopper soar past the building below her, and noticed most of the bottom of the ship was gone. Kayla climbed down the metal ladder, using all of her strength to keep her sweaty hands from sliding off the bars. She continued moving, seeing the chopper swing back toward the helicarrier as it started to veer toward the Potomac. A sudden jolt caused Kayla to tighten her grip, and she realized a massive piece of the ship was falling over her.
It knocked down the platform she sat at and she began to fall, realizing the glass bottom was completely shattered as the ship continued to fall slowly into the water. Kayla closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was happening around her when she died, but her arm caught something cold and metal moments before a piece of debris struck her head, and she fell asleep.
Sam Wilson led the search for Kayla Ellis in the Potomac. Natasha Romanoff hacked into the tracking system Steve had put in her ring, and Sam used that to find the location of her body. Nobody had been allowed to search the wreckage for four hours, even though officials knew it was the President's daughter they were searching for. Former President's daughter, Mathew Ellis had a gaping hole in his chest somewhere in the crumbled Triskellion.
That was why Sam was so determined to find Kayla, because the First Lady had lost everything, and her life was about to spiral. Perhaps Sam could bring her a little comfort in the form of laying her only child to rest, since she wouldn't be able to give her husband the burial he deserved.
"Up ahead, about thirty feet below." Sam called to the boat captain as the divers suited up. He'd promised Tiffany. Sobbing, wailing, inconsolable Tiffany who'd watched the news knowing she was losing the only family she had left. She'd almost collapsed at the sight of Sam, and he knew he had a decision to make with the woman, because if he stayed, he was in it for the long haul.
The moment she wrapped her arms around his chest, he knew he'd stay.
"Right here." Sam had them stop the boat and the divers fell off the side backwards, quickly moving downward to collect Kayla's body. Sam braced himself, knowing she would not have survived the impact when she hit the surface of the water. He almost wished Steve hadn't warned them she was on the helicarrier. Then they could have all held out hope she'd be somewhere else, but Steve's tracker didn't lie.
Sam leaned over the side of the boat as he saw movement, the divers coming back to the surface in a clump, but as they ascended, it wasn't Kayla they held, it was Steve. They hoisted Steve's body out of the water and Sam reached forward and grabbed him, tugging him into the boat.
"He was the only person where you described. Has she floated away?"
Sam looked down at his tablet, seeing the tracker was right in front of him. Steve had the ring, not Kayla. Natasha had said they'd forced it onto her finger before they took her away so Pierce could keep tabs on her, but at some point she must have given it back to Steve. They had no idea where she was.
"I guess just search everywhere. I don't have any more leads." Sam answered before leaning down to press to fingers to Steve's neck, finding his pulse faint, but there, "Cap is still alive, we gotta get him to the hospital."
The sound of music echoed in Steve's mind as he slowly began to regain consciousness. He breathed slowly through his broken mouth as his eyes struggled to open. Eventually he drew his brows as he looked ahead, seeing himself in a hospital bed with tubes running to his chest and hands. He tilted his head to the right, seeing Sam reading a book in the chair beside his bed. He gazed at Sam for a moment, seeing how serene the soldier looked, and Steve felt thankful he had someone at his side after everything he'd done.
"On your left."
Steve looked ahead, but he could feel Sam's eyes land on him. He shifted in the hospital bed as he groaned, feeling pain radiate throughout his body.
"How ya feeling, Cap?"
"Like shit."
Sam nodded, a hint of a smile on his face that turned somber quickly, "I'm sure you do. Your buddy did quite a number on you. Four gunshot wounds, a stab wound, not to mention all the water in your lungs. We found you at the bottom of the Potomac."
"Where's Kay?" Steve groaned softly, feeling his lids grow heavy again from the fluorescent lights. When Sam didn't immediately answer, Steve shifted his jaw, causing the stitches on his mouth to tug painfully, "She's gone."
"We can't find her." Sam corrected, shifting a little to look at Steve straight on. "We used the tracker you put in her ring, it led us to you instead."
"She was on the helicarrier with Bucky and I."
"Can't find him either."
"The President?" Steve asked. He kept his eyes closed so he didn't have to look at the lights, but his head pounded nonetheless.
"He's dead."
"Sandra?"
"She wishes she was." Sam muttered, fiddling with his hands as Steve flinched.
"Natasha?"
"She's fine. She's meeting with Congress to discuss what happened, so, maybe unhappy, but fine."
Steve lulled his head to the side to look Sam in the eyes, "I tried to save Bucky instead of Kayla." Sam's brow rose slightly, but instead of speaking he just bit down on his lips to keep his mouth shut, "He was pinned down, I thought I could get through to him and go back for her. I was wrong."
"They are still looking for her. When they find her, you'll know right after her mother-"
"I'll go look myself." Steve started to push himself up and Sam stood and gently eased him back into the bed.
"There's nothing more you can do. You're in pretty bad shape, you need to rest." A tear escaped Steve's eye as he turned his face away in an effort to conceal his grief from Sam, but Sam just said, "You can let your grief out, Steve, and you can let people in. I know how much she meant to you."
Steve sniffled, the monitor beside his bed beeping wildly and several nurses charged in to check on him. When they realized he was awake, they started yelling for a doctor, but even in the chaos Sam stood by his side, loyal and unmoving.