Sam no longer got called into meetings in DC very often, so he was trepidatious about this one. He was glad to have Maria at his side. She kept him calm with her competence, grounded with her sarcasm, focused with her intelligence. She was his strongest supporter as Captain America and his quickest critic. He liked her, but more importantly, he valued her.

As they waited in the corridor for Nick to join them, Sam said, "Thanks for being here."

Maria smirked. "Couldn't let you wade into the shark tank by yourself. Especially without the ability to fly away."

Sam felt self-conscious if he wore the Captain America suit to meetings, but now he felt weird without it. Maria must have noticed his quick glance down at his simple shirt and jeans, because she playfully tapped his upper arm. "Hey, I was kidding. You always handle yourself just fine."

Sam wondered if he would ever get used to the new expectations of him. He exhaled deeply. "Thanks."

Nick joined them at that moment. "No need to worry, in any case. It's only Secretary Ross and a few consultants. We're not having you run the full gauntlet today."

Nick waved a badge over a pad, then leaned in for a retinal scan. The door opened, and he waved Sam and Maria ahead of him into the office suite. The conference room behind the reception desk had glass walls, so the other meeting attendees could be seen as they walked towards them.

Sam tilted his head towards the room and its occupants. "Is that Steve?"

The last time Sam had talked to Steve, it was to brief him about the state funeral planned for Captain America. Steve accepted the decision to declare him dead as the most logical way to proceed and said he was enjoying his quiet life.

"Yes, it is. He wanted to come in as a private advisor. To smooth the transition for Wilson, like we discussed." Nick addressed the unspoken question. "For those in leadership he interacts with, they've been told the serum stopped working and his age caught up with him rapidly. "

"And they're buying that?"

"If they aren't, they haven't said anything."

Maria's voice was full of doubt when she asked, "Steve is okay with the lie?"

Nick shrugged, a rare sign of discomfort. "Apparently, yes."

Although it was always followed by guilt at thinking poorly of someone he once considered his best friend, Sam couldn't shake his nagging sense of distrust about Steve. "But he's a horrible liar."

"Guess he's had decades of extra practice," Maria said, drily.

Hmm… Maria was right. Steve would have been forced to lie, even in a new timeline. He certainly couldn't tell the world he was from the future and what he'd experienced there and then, perhaps not even divulge the truth to those dearest to him. Sam recalled how uncomfortable Steve had been when required to go undercover, and he found himself deeply unsettled by the thought of a Steve who could easily lie.

A green light appeared over the door, which slid open for them to enter. In addition to Steve and Secretary Ross, James Rhodes was also in the room. He stood up to shake hands with Maria and clasp his hands on Sam's shoulders. "We are living in some strange times, Sam." He kept his voice low, as did Sam, when he responded, "You don't know the half of it, man. We need to catch up."

Everyone shook hands, then settled down at table. Secretary Ross wasted no time getting started.

"Thank you for gathering today. As you know, we are experiencing a humanitarian crisis beyond anything in the history of humankind. When fifty percent of us disappeared, our infrastructure began to crumble and production capacity collapsed with the population. The loss of people was easier than absorbing the influx when they returned. We now need to reframe the battle we are facing. We are no longer mourning the half of our population we lost. We lack appropriate food, housing, and transportation for the world's current population, which doubled overnight."

Nick gestured towards Sam and Maria. "Our team may not be at the full complement they once were, but we stand ready to continue the work we've started."

Sam said, "We've been honored to contribute to the rebuilding effort."

"We commend your work. The projects you've championed have certainly been completed faster with your assistance. However, we'd like the Avengers to step back from construction and distribution enterprises and instead be deployed to protect high value targets."

"Such as?"

Sam immediately noted the suspicion in Rhodey's voice. Rhodey was a thoughtful man, not one to jump to conclusions quickly, so Sam knew to listen carefully to all the words not being spoken.

"The details aren't important at the moment. The Avengers will receive their orders from a committee impanelled by the United Nations, just as was laid out in the Sokovia Accords."

Maria said, "I wasn't aware the Sokovia Accords were still being observed. There were no sanctions after our team battled Thanos and his forces without committee oversight." Her tone was polite, her smile tight. Sam forced himself to look more relaxed than he felt.

Ross waved a dismissive hand. "We always knew there would be exceptions. Now we are reminding you who is in charge."

Sam looked at Steve, surprised he hadn't spoken up yet. "Steve, are you on board with this?"

Steve nodded. "Sam, look, I've had the unique opportunity to witness these events twice. It's allowed me to learn from my mistakes, my arrogance. The Avengers need supervision and guidance. I understand that now."

Wait, what?

Sam could not let it slide. "Twice?"

"Yes." He seemed confused by Sam's confusion. "You do realize I look like this because I got old the regular way, by living."

Sam exchanged a quick look with Rhodey before answering, "Yeah, but I assumed you created another timeline and just hopped back over to this one."

Steve chuckled, "As far as I know, we haven't developed the technology required to traverse timelines."

Nick kept his eye fixed on Steve, but shifted in his chair. "But we haven't noticed any changes in this one."

"Good. That was the plan. I had to make sure I didn't impact it, because there were two of me, you know. Peggy's husband and the one underneath the ice."

"But how is it possible you, Steve Rogers, made no impact?" Rhodey sounded like he was struggling to keep his composure.

Steve shrugged. "I led a simple, quiet life as a house-husband and father. Nobody expected Steve Rogers to be alive. I was just Peggy's husband to the world. I think I earned that, don't you?"

Ross smiled reassuringly. "Of course, you did."

"So there were two of you in this timeline all along?" Maria's arms were crossed over her stomach, like she felt ill.

Sam felt much the same. You didn't save them. You didn't save Barnes, you didn't save Stark's parents, you didn't save Natasha…

Sam saw the distressed expression on Rhodey's face and knew he was thinking the same thing.

Steve was oblivious to the turmoil he'd caused in his friends. "Yes. Hence, my unique perspective. I witnessed myself make mistakes, unable to interfere, but able to better learn from them. The Avengers need direction."

Ross did not bother to hide his gloating about having Steve in agreement with the Accords. "Direction and more firepower. I think it has become abundantly clear the Barnes situation needs to be handled. Either he's with us and we can put him to use in our peacekeeping efforts, or he's in prison so nobody else has him. Agreed?"

Steve responded immediately. "Agreed. He would be a substantial asset to us if he could be properly motivated to join the team. And certainly, we can't let anyone else get to him first."

Sam twitched.

Ross slapped his hands on the table. "Then it's settled. Colonel Rhodes, please assemble a Strike team to apprehend James Barnes. We've operated too softly for too long on this matter."

Rhodey shot a quick glance at Sam before speaking. "With all due respect, Mr. Secretary, Barnes will only turn himself in to friendlies. Treating him as an enemy combatant will not only prove ineffective, but it is disrespectful to his status as one of our own veterans."

"I disagree. What do you say, Commander Rogers?"

By this point, Sam was not surprised to hear Steve agree with Secretary Ross. "Barnes has had plenty of time to turn himself in."

Barnes.

Rhodey shook his head. "At least give me some time to put together a team of trusted and tested operatives. This mission must be discreet. Some of the world's interested parties have received intel from us heavily implying Barnes is dead. Any high-profile effort will clue them in. And in the meantime, if Sam and his team can bring him in, all the better."

Nick brought his full authority to the table now. "Colonel Rhodes has suggested the best course of action."

Ross attempted to disagree. "I'm not so sure…"

Maria interrupted Ross. "The Winter Soldier does not want to be found. Give me and Wilson more time to lure him out while Rhodey assembles his team." For good measure, she added, "Please, sir."

Nick quickly responded, "I have no objections."

Rhodey agreed. "I don't see why not."

Sam didn't allow for Ross or Steve to interrupt. "Agent Hill, you're with me."

Maria stood. "Sure thing, Cap."

Sam and Rhodey also rose to their feet as Rhodey said, "I'll go back to the Pentagon and get things started on my end."

Ross threw up his hands, realizing he'd lost control of the situation. "Well, before you go, perhaps you can satisfy my curiosity. Wilson?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Do you know of any reason why Wakanda has now restricted United States diplomatic entry to you and your chosen companions alone?"

Sam couldn't help but think Because Princess Shuri has witnessed Barnes' memories, and the whole royal family is upset not only with his betrayal of Bucky, but that Steve apparently has been corrupted by his own power.

Steve looked mildly interested, not betraying any conflict that this diplomatic turmoil was in part directed at him.

Because nobody had confirmed to Sam the exact reasons for the Wakandan decision, he could truthfully say, "No, sir."

Ross raised an annoyed eyebrow, but said nothing.

Nick settled deeper into his chair. "Colonel Rhodes, I know you're busy, but I hope you have time to update Wilson and Hill on the Jersey proposal."

Sam realized Nick was buying them time to speak privately. "We can walk with you, if that helps."

"Yeah, yeah, that'd be great. Thank you."

Sam, Maria, and Rhodey chatted about a mass transit upgrade project well underway until they exited the building. Rhodes said, "I'm parked a few blocks away."

Sam pushed a button on his StarkTech watch, scrambling the signal of any nearby listening devices. "All clear."

Rhodey started it off. "Steve really let Tony's parents die."

Maria fumed. "He let SHIELD get compromised by Hydra. Coulson would be devastated."

"And Barnes…" Sam's voice cracked. "I don't know what he'll do if he finds out."

Rhodey asked sharply, "Do you think he'll become violent? Vengeful?"

Sam related his current fear. "I'm honestly worried he'll kill himself."

"Jesus."

"Barnes put himself back together again hoping to live up to Steve's faith in him." Sam swallowed down the nausea threatening to overtake him.

"And they want to use him as a weapon." Maria shook her head in horror.

Rhodey was clearly dismayed. "I can't believe the disrespect back there. Barnes is the longest-held American POW, and they want to treat him like that."

"We'll get Barnes first. You make sure they can't legally force him to serve." Maria answered the doubting faces of the two men. "Who knows? Maybe he'll want to join the team of his own volition?"

"Did either of you you notice anything else weird going on back there?"

Maria responded, "Sam, that was nothing but weird. Anything in particular stand out to you?"

One word kept ringing in his ears. "Steve referred to Barnes as an asset."

"Well, he would be a great help to us."

Sam realized Maria didn't know. Neither did Rhodey. "But Maria, that's what Hydra called him. The Asset."

Maria's stride faltered briefly, enough for Sam to know she understood.

And so did Rhodey. "Shit, this is bad."

Sam felt lost. He couldn't believe Steve was Hydra, but he also couldn't bring himself to trust Steve. "I don't know what's going on. But something is very wrong."

Rhodey stopped at the next intersection. "You know, even when I disagreed with him, I always respected Steve for doing what he thought was right. Now, I don't know… I feel like I don't know anything."

Something was nagging away at Sam. Something that had been bothering him about this whole situation ever since Steve returned. "It's like…"

"Like what?" Maria gave him an encouraging nudge.

Sam put his hands on his hips. "This is going to sound nuts, but it's almost like that Steve back there was a caricature of himself, based on history books, you know?"

Maria agreed. "It's been bothering me, too. Went back in time to be with the person we were taught was the love of his life, being all God and Country with the suits."

"Yeah." Relief that he wasn't alone forced an abrupt laugh out of Sam. "It feels so wrong."

"That's an understatement." Rhodes sighed, then looked around at the increasing foot traffic as the evening commute was about to begin. "You guys need a ride?"

"No, thanks. We've got a helicopter waiting for us."

"Good luck, you two."

After shaking hands, Rhodey split off, and Sam and Maria continued towards the Stark Industries DC building. Sam disabled his communications scrambler, and his phone immediately chirped.

Text message from Shuri. Code Purple

Damn. Sam turned the scrambler back on. "We need a Quinjet, and I think we should bring in Sharon Carter. We need to keep it quiet, though."

For the first time since this whole fraught meeting began, Maria favored Sam with a genuine smile. "Don't insult me by implying that's a challenge."

Sam smiled right back at her. "Care for a trip to Wakanda?"

"I thought you'd never ask."