Chapter Thirty-two: the End of the Line
Back up came for Hydra to arrest Steve and his team. It was an out of body experience to be arrested by people wearing her grandmother's logo. The Hydra agents loaded them in the same vehicle and for some reason, Emma felt like that was a mistake on their part. She was proven to be right when Maria Hill revealed herself after knocking out the Hydra agent.
"I've always liked you, Maria," Emma said with a grateful grin.
Maria led them to a dam and brought them inside. Emma didn't move from Natasha's side as she was currently loosing blood from her gun shot wound. Maria led them to the back where she pulled back the curtain to reveal the still breathing form of Nick Fury. Emma couldn't help but laugh. Of course, Nick Fury faked his death. She wasn't surprised at all. He wasn't in great shape but he was alive. Despite everything Emma was grateful for that.
They all sat around a dingy table to discuss what to do next. Fury revealed three chips which would breach the hellicarriers and replace their targeting blades with their own. All three needed to be in place in order for it to work. It was going to be tricky but they needed to get it done or a lot of people were going to die. All of it was going to have to go. All of SHIELD. Emma hated it but she knew her grandfather was right. SHIELD was too far gone, the cancer known as Hydra had metastasized into several parts of the body. Nothing could save it now.
Once Emma made sure that Natasha was being tended to she followed Steve out onto the bridge of the dam. She was going to leave him to it, leave him alone to think, but she needed to talk to him. He looked lost in thought, lost in memories, and Emma almost turned around.
"I think he's still in there somewhere," Emma said.
"What makes you say that?" Steve asked.
"Because he could have killed me and he didn't," Emma said. "There was something in his eyes. He knew me but he called me by my mother's name. Why is that?"
Steve refused to look at her. He knew something but wasn't saying anything. It was almost like he couldn't. Steve had never kept something like this from her before.
"I'm sorry, Emma. I can't," Steve said softly.
"Just tell me something, Pops, do you have a really good reason?" she asked.
"Yes, a very good reason," Steve said, looking at her.
"Then I trust you to tell me when the time is right," Emma said.
Steve pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Sam came out at that moment. It was time to gear up. They ended up stealing Steve's old uniform from the museum after parting ways with Natasha. She had her own mission. Steve didn't care that people were watching as he planted a kiss on Natasha's lips.
Maria, Sam, Steve, and Emma arrived at the launch site with barely two hours to spare. They went on to take over the PA system where Steve went on to make one his famous speeches to talk to both SHIELD and Hydra agents. It was a warning for the agents that weren't Hydra.
"The price of freedom is high and it's a price I am willing to pay. If I'm the only one then so be it but I'm willing to bet I'm not," Steve said.
Emma grinned. He was really too good at that. They were too late. He'll broke and the launch was overridden. The hellicarriers were beginning to rise up in the air. Emma stayed with Maria while Sam and Steve went to stop the launch. Maria and Emma needed to protect them from the inside, to stop Hydra at all costs. They remained on comms and Emma made sure no one came in. One chip in, two to go.
Correction, two down and one to go. Sam was successful at placing his, Alpha and Bravo were locked in. That's when the Winter Soldier showed up, destroying the only air support that they had then he went after Steve. Two Hydra agents tried entering communications, Emma and Maria reacted at the same time. They went back to comms to over watch as Steve went after the Charlie carrier.
Brock Rumlow went after the world security council so Sam went after him. There wasn't much he could do to help Steve with the Falcon suit down thanks to the soldier. Meanwhile, Steve was facing the Winter Soldier and Emma could only listen from the sidelines. She bit her lip as she heard the cries of pain from both of them. It was cutting it close, one more minute. Emma gasped when she heard the shots ring out.
The hellicarriers reached 3,000 feet and locked onto their targets. Maria and Emma watched nervously, sharing a look with each other. There was nothing that they could do. It was stopped at the very last second and the two women breathed out sighs of relief. Now, Steve just needed to get off the hellicarrier before they fired.
"Fire! Do it now!" Steve exclaimed.
"But -," Emma protested.
"Just do it!" he yelled.
Maria gave her a glance and gave the go ahead to shoot down the hellicarriers. The first two came down into the water but the last one was coming down on the triskellion. Emma was relieved when Natasha's voice came over the communications asking where Steve was. He was still on the hellicarrier.
"You're my friend," Steve told Bucky.
"You're my mission," they heard Bucky reply.
"Then finish it," Steve said. "Because I'm with you until the end of the line."
They heard nothing after that. Emma choked on her own breath as she struggled to breathe. Did he do it? Did Bucky just kill his best friend?