Nick Fury gazed at an old photo of Alexander Pierce, lamenting about the Secretary's denial of the Nobel Peace Prize. "He said peace wasn't an achievement. It was a responsibility. See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues." Fury shifted his gaze to Steve, "I'm sorry about Hayes. If it's any consolation, she really did love you."

"Then how could she keep this from me?" Steve said darkly, referring more to Bucky being alive than her working for Hydra. He stood past the table with his thumbs hooked into his pockets. After thinking about it for a moment, he sighed and rolled his shoulders, "Doesn't matter anymore. We have to stop the launch."

"Hayes could be our best bet of getting in." Fury said, meeting Hill's surprised gaze, "She'll do anything to protect her family. She's shown that much. Maybe if you can get to her, Cap…"

"No." Natasha interjected, "We can't trust her. They've got her sister, you said it yourself, she'll do anything to protect her family. She's not going to risk her life, not even to help us."

Fury leaned back in his chair and reached towards the files on the table, pulling out an old photo of Brooklyn training at the academy, "I wouldn't be so sure about her. She might just surprise you when it counts."

"Let's not plan on it." Steve said, taking a step forward, "We need a plan to keep those helicarriers on the ground."

"Not necessarily." Maria Hill produced a briefcase and Fury opened it, revealing three computer chips. "Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they become fully weaponized. If we replace their targets with our own, they can take each other down."

"If even one of those carriers remain operational though, a lot of people are gonna die." Fury said cautiously, "We have to assume everyone on the carriers is Hydra. Maybe when the dust settles, we can salvage some of what's left of SHIELD."

Steve raised his head, steeling his jaw as he stared down Fury, "We aren't salvaging anything Nick. We aren't just taking down the helicarriers, we're taking down SHIELD. SHIELD, Hydra, it all goes." He looked to Natasha, seeing her nodding along with him before looking sadly at Fury.

Fury looked to Maria Hill, who just nodded, "He's right. It's over."

With a groan, Fury shifted his good arm and gestured up at Steve, "Well, it looks like you're the one giving the orders now, Captain."

Steve gave a firm nod, then froze, slowly looking over his shoulder. The sound of footsteps falling in the damp corridor outside their control room alerted him to somebody's presence. He grabbed his shield from where it sat beside Natasha's chair and began to creep towards the corner, "Somebody's here."

Maria Hill brandished her gun before handing one to Sam, staying a few feet behind Steve to watch his back. Steve motioned for them to stop as he reached the doorway, pulling open the heavy door easily before coming face to face with the intruder.

"It's me! It's just me!" Brooklyn cried out as Steve's expression darkened, "I came alone, but I don't have much time. They'll be right behind me."

Steve reached out and grabbed Brooklyn by the neck as Fury and Natasha scrambled to their feet to prepare to leave. "How did you find us?" Steve snarled as he pinned Brooklyn against the concrete wall.

Brooklyn grabbed his massive hand with hers, trying to ease up his grip as she struggled to breathe, "I injected a tracker into your neck while you were sleeping." She gasped, tears beginning to stream from her eyes, "They have Dallas... They're gonna kill her."

Steve released Brooklyn, letting her fall to the ground in a heap as he turned around, "Move out. They'll be able to track her here."

"I only got about a thirty-minute head start. They'll be here any minute." Brooklyn gasped as she shoved her hair out of her face to look up at Steve, "I'm so sorry."

"I don't want to hear it!" Steve bellowed as Maria Hill holstered her gun and began collecting their data to evacuate. He stood over Brooklyn, seeing her for how pathetic she really was. For the first time, Steve saw what everyone else saw. She really wasn't that special. She was just as corrupt and manipulative as everyone else. "I suppose you've come to kill me."

She shook her head, leaning on her hands to keep her balance as she gasped for breath, "Steve, please, I need to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk."

"It's important-"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have lied to me!" Steve yelled back. His voice echoed through the halls of the secret base, causing Brooklyn's very soul to shudder in fear. He clenched his fist, and for a moment she wondered if he was actually furious enough to strike her. She looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes, her lower lip quivering as her jaw hung open. Steve punched the wall behind her, causing some of the rock to fall against her, "I trusted you. I loved you, I wanted to spend my life with you. I gave you my mother's ring."

"I put it in the drawer. Where the letters were." Brooklyn muttered, and Steve realized she wasn't wearing the ring. "I burned the letters. They weren't real. I was never in Belarus." She raised her head, tears streaming from her eyes, "Steve, you have to listen to me. You-"

Steve struck her with his shield, knocking her out. She collapsed in a crumbled heap at his feet and he dug through her jacket pockets until he found her cell phone, seeing the tracking app pulsating on their location. He tightened his grip on the device, crushing it in his palm before dropping the pieces in front of her face and leaving her to be found by Hydra.

"Wake up!"

Brooklyn startled awake when she felt a harsh kick against her stomach, causing her to cough and roll onto her back. She realized it was Rumlow hovering over her with an unamused expression, "What happened?"

"I should be asking you the same question." He grumbled, gesturing around. Brooklyn sat up and massaged her head, still hearing a ringing in her ears as she gazed around the empty room.

She squinted up at Rumlow, then past him to see the rest of STRIKE geared up behind him, "They were here. I swear on my life, they were here."

"Don't worry, Sweet Cheeks," Rollins chuckled as he offered his hand to help her up, "the imprint on your face makes it abundantly clear you found him."

Brooklyn raised her fingers to her cheek, feeling an indent on her cheekbone. Steve had hit her with the shield to knock her out, "Well. I deserved that." She mumbled as she stretched out her jaw, trying to ease the pain that radiated from her face. "They didn't tell me anything. But-" She allowed Rollins to pull her to her feet, deciding not to tell them Fury was alive, "it was just the three of them. Romanoff, Steve, and Sam Wilson."

Rumlow considered this, then turned to the others, "STRIKE, roll out." When he turned back to Brooklyn, he was surprisingly kind, "You gonna be okay?"

"I've been worse." She mumbled as she massaged her aching cheek, "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

He smiled, pulling Brooklyn into a tight hug, "There's my girl. We've missed you."

She didn't respond to that, instead choosing to cock her gun and stomp on her phone for good measure, "Let's take them out."

Meanwhile, Dallas was being dragged around by Secretary Pierce like an unwilling puppy. She glared at him as he led her to the entrance of the Triskellion, being thoroughly threatened about saying anything snarky or trying to run away. She was aware that the pin he'd secured onto her uniform to give her access to the restricted areas of the building with him was rigged to blow, and unless Dallas wanted to be collected in a hundred pieces, she'd better play along.

Pierce looked up at her, finding the girl a few inches taller than him in her heeled boots she'd been allotted. She pursed her lips and stared past him, choosing not to engage in conversation with her captor.

"You know, someone of your intelligence would make a wonderful asset to SHIELD." Pierce suggested and Dallas rolled her eyes so far back into her head the hazel almost disappeared. Pierce chuckled at her reaction, "Get it all out now, because if you so much as frown at the council, I'll kill your sister."

"She deserves it." Dallas drawled, not about to be bullied into submission as easy as Brooklyn. The older sister had more at stake.

Pierce shrugged, "Then I'll kill your aunt. She's innocent enough, isn't she?"

Dallas paused at that, knowing her Aunt Jenna had given up everything to raise her and Brooklyn. She was currently a sitting duck at Dallas's apartment, hopefully watching over her cat.

When the woman didn't respond, Pierce smirked, "That's what I figured. Now, give me a pretty smile for our guests. You're too important to execute, but I can always change my mind."

"Yes, Sir." Dallas grumbled through painfully clenched teeth as she forced a smile at the approaching dignitaries.

Pierce greeted them grandly, then gestured to Dallas, "This is Doctor Wells. She's been a huge part of Project Insight, given her studies of human biology. She's the reason the satellites have such a high success rate of pinpointing targets."

"Yup. That's me. I definitely did all that." Dallas hummed through her fake smile. She turned to Pierce, "Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this special day."

"How was your flight?" Pierce asked the woman, and Dallas smirked that she'd annoyed him enough to get him to ignore her.

"Lovely." The woman answered, "The ride from the airport, less so."

"Sadly, SHIELD can't control everything."

"Including Captain America." One of the councilmen said and Dallas bit her lips together to keep from laughing. Pierce shot her a dirty look and she straightened up, side eyeing another agent who appeared with a briefcase.

When it opened, Dallas felt her stomach flip, as she saw four pins to match hers. Pierce was gonna kill the council.

"This facility is biometrically controlled. These will give you unrestricted access." He told them as they each fastened on the pin. The councilwoman gazed at Dallas for a moment, and Dallas averted her eyes, knowing if she alerted them that something was off, she'd be as good as dead.

"Let's head up to the meeting room, that's the best view in the building." Pierce directed them towards the elevator and Dallas had a sinking feeling she wasn't coming back down.

At least the view was pretty.

Once she was ushered into the room, Dallas looked out the picture windows overlooking the Potomac, "It's beautiful." She murmured, touching the glass. She tried to shield her fear with wonder, knowing this was probably the last thing she would ever see. She cleared her throat and looked to Pierce as he poured everyone a glass of champagne. He looked up and raised a glass, seemingly offering it to her. "For me?" She asked incredulously as she crossed the room to take it. He just nodded and she thanked him weakly before taking a slow sip.

Didn't taste like poison. That was a good sign.

Pierce raised his glass and addressed the group. Dallas looked around, trying to figure out how the hell she wound up here, but he didn't look to be in the murdering mood. "I know the road hasn't exactly been smooth, and some of you would have gladly kicked me out of the car along the way. Finally, though, we're here, and the world should be grateful."

Everyone raised their glass and started to drink when a voice came over the intercom, "Attention all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers."

Pierce turned to Dallas with an accusatory stare and she raised her hands, backing up a step, "Don't look at me! He's not my boyfriend, he's my sister's."

"Your sister is dating Captain America?" The British man inquired as he glared between Dallas and Pierce while Steve continued talking. Dallas swallowed hard and downed the champagne, hoping it was poison, because it would hurt a lot less than a hole in her chest.

"SHIELD isn't what we thought it was. It's been taken over by Hydra." Steve explained and Dallas felt her spine tingle as he continued, "Alexander Pierce is their leader."

Everyone turned to look at Pierce and he just shrugged as he walked behind them to refill his glass, seemingly unfazed by the revelation that he was leading Hydra. Dallas watched him nervously to see what he'd do, but he stayed silent as Steve continued his speech from somewhere in the building.

"If you launch those helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone who stands in their way. Unless we stop them." Dallas turned to Pierce, glaring at him as she straightened up.

From her place beside Rollins in the hallway, Brooklyn raised her head at his voice, closing her eyes as she clenched her gun tightly. "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. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

She took a slow, shaky breath as Rollins looked down at her, "You're not getting anywhere near him."

"I know."

"You try anything, your sister is dead." Rollins warned and Brooklyn swallowed hard as he gestured towards the door they were guarding, "See for yourself."

At his urging, Brooklyn swept into the room with Rollins and two other agents on her tail. When she saw Dallas, dressed in a SHIELD uniform quivering behind the councilmen, Brooklyn froze, "Dee?"

"Arrest him." One of the councilmen ordered, but Rollins raised his gun and aimed it at the man, showing where his loyalties lied.

"It's no use." Dallas spat, glaring at her sister, "They're Hydra."

"Dallas, I-"

"I guess I have the floor, Agent Hayes." Pierce warned and Brooklyn shut her mouth quickly as he faced the council. Her nervous eyes flittered between her sister and Pierce, making sure his attention wasn't on Dallas, but he seemed more than content just taunting the council members.

Suddenly, three helicarriers began their ascent from beneath the water, and Brooklyn turned to Pierce in alarm, "Why are they launching? Launch isn't set for another two hours?"

"The timetable has been moved up." Pierce nodded out the window and Brooklyn followed his gaze, seeing someone running faster than should have been possible, "You have anything to say about it?"

Brooklyn looked over her shoulder at Dallas, seeing her shifting back and forth as one of the Hydra agents had a gun trained on her, "No." Brooklyn answered softly, "I don't. Seems like a smart plan."

"Good girl." Pierce patted Brooklyn's cheek and she winced, causing him to chuckle, "That's gonna be one nasty bruise come tomorrow."

"It won't hurt nearly as bad as my heart." She murmured under her breath as he walked away. She stayed by the window to watch the helicarriers as they rose to the sky, shooting at the Falcon.

"Let me ask you a question." Pierce said and Brooklyn looked over her shoulder to see him set his phone down. She studied it for a moment, then watched him taunt the councilman from Mumbai some more, threatening his daughters. Brooklyn flinched at his words, knowing this was why she'd joined Hydra. So, no more kids would lose their parents needlessly. So, there could be order, and safety for everybody who submitted. "And you could just stop it with the flip of a switch, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you all?"

But looking at Dallas, Brooklyn realized that notion only worked if Hydra kept their word.

The councilman threw his champagne flute to the side and bit back at Pierce, his voice as sharp as the glass shards, "Not if it was your switch."

Pierce nodded and looked to Rollins, who wordlessly handed him a gun. Pierce aimed it at the councilman and Brooklyn took a long step forward, grabbing for her own gun until the Councilwoman kicked him out of the way and quickly disarmed the Hydra agents.

She bashed Jack Rollins's face against the table, then looked to Brooklyn expectedly, but Brooklyn just holstered her gun and ran over to her sister as the councilwoman aimed her stolen gun at Pierce, "I'm sorry." Her voice distorted as she pulled off a photostatic veil to reveal her face. Dallas gasped happily as Brooklyn took a nervous step back when the Black Widow finished, "Did I step on your moment?"

She pulled off her wig, letting her red hair cascade around her shoulders as Dallas clapped happily, "Have I mentioned I'm in love with you?"

Natasha smirked at that but didn't take her eyes off of Pierce. Brooklyn looked between the two of them, then out the window at the helicarriers as one of the councilmen asked Natasha, "What about her?"

Brooklyn stiffened and turned, seeing everyone, including Pierce, staring at her. Waiting to see what she'd do. "I'm just trying to save my family."

"That's not good enough anymore." Natasha warned, handing off her gun to the councilman before she walked over to the computer screen, "I'm spilling everything onto the internet. Everything about SHIELD, Hydra, me, and you." Brooklyn clenched her jaw as she looked out the window, seeing the Falcon burst through the glass bottom of one of the helicarriers.

"Disabling encryption is an executive order. It takes two Alpha Level members." Pierce warned and Natasha just smiled at him, "Don't worry, company's coming."

Brooklyn and Dallas raised their heads to see a helicopter landing, and Nick Fury emerged as his trench coat blew wildly in the wind. Pierce chuckled and looked to Brooklyn but didn't say a word. She held her breath as Fury entered the building, barely sparing her a glance before walking over to Romanoff to remove the safeguards of the encryption.

An explosion went off down below, and Brooklyn ran to the window, momentarily distracted until the three councilmen yelled in agony before falling to the ground. She bolted back to Dallas, but Pierce held up his phone. He looked between Brooklyn, Natasha, and Fury, "Those have been armed since the moment they pinned them on. Now, Agent Hayes." Pierce grabbed the gun from Natasha's hand to pass it over, "I believe I promised you the honor of killing Nick Fury."

Brooklyn looked at the gun, then look to her sister, seeing how scared and angry Dallas was. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Take the shot Agent Hayes. It's all you've ever wanted." Pierce taunted and Brooklyn turned to face Fury, holding the gun up at her jaw quivered.

He didn't pull a weapon. Didn't tell her to stop, or even raise his hands in surrender. He just shook his head and apologized, "I'm sorry for what happened to your parents. It was an accident."

Brooklyn gasped, feeling her hand shake, "You knew?"

"Of course I knew. It's why I took you in. It's why I kept an eye on you, made sure you had the best training. I wanted to make sure you were well taken care of, because I knew what I'd caused. I'm the one who funded the scholarships for your sister to go to med school."

"No." Brooklyn shook her head, not willing to believe his lies, "You didn't. I had to do everything on my own because you took my family away."

"I caused a car wreck while chasing a shape shifting alien, I promise you, I didn't do anything intentional. What you're about to do though, you'll never be able to escape." Fury answered.

Brooklyn looked to her sister, seeing her clenching the pin on her chest, "I just wanted to protect you. I thought- I thought if I joined SHIELD, I could make sure you were okay, and then, and then Hydra happened. They promised me power, and the ability to make sure nothing ever happened to you, or Aunt Jenna, or me ever again." She turned to Fury with a scowl, "They told me what you did."

"Why do you think I jumped through all those hoops for everyone to think you were in Belarus?" Fury looked to Pierce, then back to Brooklyn, taking a step towards the barrel of her gun, "If killing me brings you peace, then do it. Just know that if we don't stop Hydra… if those helicarriers reach three-thousand feet, nothing is going to stop them from murdering her. There's nowhere you can go, nowhere you can hide, where she'll be safe from them-"

Before Fury could even finish his words, Brooklyn shifted and fired her gun three times in rapid succession, causing Pierce to stumble back and fall with his eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling. Brooklyn panted and threw the gun down, looking back at her sister, "I'm the only one who can stop him."

"Stop who? Stop Steve?" Dallas yelped as she jumped over the bodies to run to her sister. She looked down at Brooklyn for a moment, seeing how sad she looked, "Oh. You mean… him."

Brooklyn pulled Dallas into her arms, then pushed away and gave her arms a squeeze, "I'm gonna fix this."

"What do I do?" Dallas asked and Brooklyn looked back at Fury with a grim smile.

"Go with them. I'll meet you after, okay?" Brooklyn said, giving her sister another quick hug before turning to Fury, "Thank you… for everything."

"Be careful, Agent Hayes." Natasha called as Brooklyn jogged out onto the helicopter pad. She looked around, seeing one of the Quinjets heading towards the highest helicarrier.

With one more look at Dallas, she bounced on the balls of her feet and jumped off the side of the building, swinging a grappling hook towards the jet as it ascended. It caught quickly and pulled her upward, taking her to the impending fight.

Fury ran to his helicopter, beckoning Dallas and Natasha to join him. Dallas lingered though, staring up as her sister was carried to the helicarrier, "Please be okay."

Meanwhile, on the last helicarrier, the Winter Soldier had thrown Steve off the side and grounded Sam. Steve managed to catch himself before tumbling to his death, pulling his body back up into the carrier so he could finish the mission.

When he arrived at the control console though, Bucky was standing between him and his goal. "People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen." Steve begged, but Bucky didn't so much as blink in response. "Please don't make me do this."

Steve had to make the first move, because Bucky didn't flinch until the shield was hurtling towards his face. Bucky began to shoot at Steve, but the bullets bounced off the vibranium as Steve tried to fight his way to the console. He got the control panel open and began to fumble with the chip as soon as he had a brief moment, but it didn't last long before Bucky was pummeling him again.

Bucky's metal arm slammed against the shield moments after Steve had pulled out the chip from the control panel, but before he could replace it, Bucky sent them both hurtling over the railing.

The chip slipped from Steve's glove and he charged after it, but Bucky tackled him, causing the chip to fall to the glass floor below. Steve leapt down and began sprinting towards the chip before being pelted in the back with his own shield. He fell hard but managed to kick his shield up to his hand in time to block the shots that Bucky fired at him.

Steve chucked his shield as hard as he could, but Bucky blocked it with his metal arm, causing Steve to lose his only weapon. He held off his best friend as best he could, until Bucky pierced his shoulder blade with a knife.

He headbutted Bucky to get away, but Bucky used the distraction to grab the chip before Steve could. He clenched it in his real hand as Steve threw them onto the ground, holding Bucky by the neck to choke him as he muttered, "Drop it," over and over again.

Finally, Bucky went limp in his arms and the chip slid to the glass below, allowing Steve to swipe it and sprint back to the control console. There was only one minute left. Steve swung himself up onto the platform and began running again, only to be shot in the thigh from behind.

He clenched his hand to his leg and looked back, seeing Bucky stumbling to the side with his gun raised. Steve used what little energy he had left to leap up and pull himself onto the base of the console, climbing it before reaching the metal catwalk at the control panel. Another shot went off next to his arm, but he dodged it. Steve was moments away from placing the chip into the slot when another shot rang out.

The chip went into the slot. No bullet hit Steve, but he collapsed to his knees from exhaustion, "Charlie locked."

Bucky's hands began to shake, and he dropped the gun before lunging forward to grab Brooklyn's shoulders before she collapsed. Steve heard the racket and crawled to the edge of the platform. When he saw Brooklyn fall into Bucky, he raised a shaky hand to his ear and told Hill, "Fire, now."

The helicarriers turned on each other and gunfire ripped through, but Steve didn't care. He climbed down to the lower level where Bucky held Brooklyn in his arms.

When Steve approached, Bucky turned to him with fire in his eyes, but Brooklyn coughed a little and grabbed his face, "No…"

"He's my mission."

"Not anymore." Brooklyn wheezed, pressing her hand to her stomach. She pulled it away to find it covered in blood as she winced at the sound of creaking as the ship began to fall, "Listen to me."

Bucky wanted to move towards Steve, but Brooklyn grabbed him again, holding him with one hand while grasping her abdomen with the other. Her legs were shaking as she leaned into Bucky, her skin turning ghostly white as she bled out. "Мне жаль. Пожалуйста, прости меня." I'm sorry. Please forgive me. He pressed a kiss to her temple as Steve stood beside them. Brooklyn grabbed Bucky's hand and squeezed it, nodding as she tried to smile.

"Спасти его." Save him. Brooklyn murmured softly to Bucky as she tried to lean towards Steve, but she shook as she coughed a bit. "Моей дочери нужен ее отец."

Bucky's eyes widened and he looked up at Steve in terror before carefully holding Brooklyn out for Steve to take. Steve fell to his knees as part of the helicarrier crashed behind them, but it fell on deaf ears as he stroked Brooklyn's hair away from her face, "What did you say?"

"I told him to save you." Brooklyn wheezed, grabbing onto Steve's hair tightly, "I told him that he needs to trust you. That you're his friend." Brooklyn tilted her head over to Bucky, seeing the Winter Soldier staring at Steve with wild eyes, "Bucky." He looked to her in surprise and she nodded weakly, "You'll do that for me, right? You'll let Steve take care of you?"

"I'm supposed to kill him."

"Not anymore." Brooklyn answered through a shaky breath, "You don't answer to anybody but yourself. Not Pierce. Not me. He's your best friend, and he's gonna help you put the pieces back together, alright?"

Bucky nodded, lowering his head. "Okay."

"You gotta take care of my little sister, too, you gotta make sure nothing happens to her or Steve, do you understand?" Brooklyn cried, and Steve held her a little tighter to his chest, so she lulled her head towards him, "Steve… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm sorry-"

Steve stroked her hair back from her face and cut her off with a quick kiss, "Shh, you're gonna be okay. I promise."

Brooklyn leaned her head against Steve's chest as the helicarrier began to crash into the side of the Triskellion, "I love you Steve. I'm sorry- I'm so sorry…"

The wind began to blow wildly as the side of the helicarrier was torn away by the building, the impact shaking Bucky to his knees as they hovered towards the water.

Captain America dropped his shield, letting it fall through the broken panes as he looked at Brooklyn, "I forgive you. Just hold on for me, okay."

She nodded, reaching behind his head to scratch the base of his neck as Steve pressed his glove to her bleeding stomach, "Steve-"

A beam fell from above and shattered the glass beneath them, causing Brooklyn, Steve, and Bucky to fall towards the Potomac. Bucky grabbed onto the metal base of the ship with his hand before reaching down and clasping Steve's wrist as he fell, but Steve couldn't catch Brooklyn in time, and she plummeted down into the water.