Once Nick was deposited into the armchair, Maria took a second glance around the apartment SHIELD had set up for Rogers. Her lips twitched at the collection of vinyl and she wondered at the implications of playing Harry James. Shrugging, the reached for the record and increased the volume as the speakers popped.
"It's been a long, long time?" Nick quietly asked.
"Sue me, I'm just a bit maudlin," she retorted.
The orchestra picked up, and she closed her eyes for a moment. 'You'll never know how many dreams I dreamed about you' indeed, she mused. Sighing heavily, she snapped back to attention and made sure Fury was comfortable.
"You're mother henning, Hill," he muttered.
"You're an ungrateful bastard."
He flashed her a smile, and she quietly slipped out of the window. She shivered once, and looked around at the unexpected weight of being watched. She took a moment to check the sight lines, noting nothing out of the ordinary. With a frown, she reluctantly headed back to the car parked several blocks away, pulling Steve's jacket tightly around her body.
She doesn't have long to wait. Not even two hours later, the transmissions from Agent 13 are blaring in her ear and she's simultaneously dialing Romanoff.
"Get your ass to the hospital ASAP," she barks out. "Fury's down."
She ends the call, cutting off Natasha's swear. There will be time to deal with her friend later. Right now, she's trying to stay afloat in an organization that wants her head on a platter. She knew Nick should have taken the Winter Soldier's presence more seriously. If the old bastard actually died, she'd revive him and kill him again. Romeo Protocol be damned. Her phone is clutched in her hand as the door to the viewing room opens behind her, the reflection clearly Romanoff. They stand in silence.
Maria swallows hard when Steve bursts in behind her. She twists her head briefly to acknowledge him, but he's focused on the scene in front. Her face contorts in a flash of pain when the time is called. She won't know for another thirty minutes at least if the protocol worked. Her stomach's knotted with tension, the emotion on her face real as she confronts the possibility that she may be well and truly alone in a seemingly impossible situation.
Goddamnit.
She turns away from the sight of her mentor, bloodied and still in front of her, and disappears out the door without a word to any of the other occupants. Sitwell tries to catch her eye, but she ignores his look. She draws in a rough breath in the hallway before steeling her shoulders and her nerves. A flash of movement catches her eye, and she looks up to see Rumlow studying her with an appraising expression. She shoots him a withering glare and dials Alexander Pierce.
"Director Fury has passed," she bluntly informs him.
There's a moment of silence on the other end, and she can visualize the other man analyzing his next move. She fights the urge to roll her eyes. She's always hated the politics behind the World Security Council, although she'd play them if she was forced.
"My condolences, Deputy Director. I will inform the others. I assume you'll be responsible in arranging matters?"
"Yes sir. I'll keep you informed."
"Please do."
She ended the call, and took the elevator to the lower level of the hospital. When she quietly entered the room, Natasha was standing in front of the body. Her shoulders were hunched, and Maria wanted to curse Fury and his insistence on compartmentalization. She felt a finger lightly brush her hand, and she looked up to see Steve looking at her with concern. She mutely shook her head, but she can tell he's not going to let this one go. She leans into him, his arms folding around her.
"It's not safe," she barely whispers, and she can feel him tighten beneath her. "Whatever he told you to do, stick with it."
She knows he wants to protest as she pulls away with a regretful glance. She wants to tell him more, and she knows he can read the hesitation on her face. There's a sound outside the door, and she knows she's out of time.
"I need to take him," she simply states.
Agent 13 is waiting for her outside with an ambulance, and she knows she only has minutes before someone realizes she's taken the body. They quickly load the vehicle, and Maria dismissed the other girl with a nod. She exits the parking lot without another glance backward.
A few miles away, she pulls over and quickly inserts an IV into Fury's arm and places an oxygen mask over his face. Her eyes study him for any source of movement, but the man remains still. Her heart clenches and she pushes back the sudden surge of emotion knowing he still has fifteen minutes left. She slips back into the driver's seat and continues to head to the predetermined location.
She pulls into the bunker with three minutes to spare, and wastes no time in ordering the medical staff to remove him and hook him up to the machines waiting. Her eyes never leave his face. Just when she assumes there's no hope left, he draws in a ragged breath and his eyes flicker open. She bows her head and blinks back tears.
"That's an unnecessary waste of emotion, Agent Hill."
"I fucking hate you," she whispers. "Now let the doctors take care of you. We need you, sir."
Once she was sure he was cooperating with the medical staff, she headed to the small conference room and began studying the documents Fury had collected. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but a nurse brought her a tray with a sandwich and some chips before leaving with a disapproving glare. Maria took a bite of the sandwich and turned back to the laptop where she continued to hack through SHIELD's servers. She trusted Romanoff to watch Steve's back while she continued to compile more information on possibly Hydra connections.
"He's awake and asking for you, ma'am."
Maria blearily rubbed her eyes, and gave a brief nod of thanks to the agent standing in the doorway. Glancing at her watch, she realized it had been nearly twenty four hours since she brought Fury to the bunker. She vowed to get some sleep after checking in with Nick.
"You'll be no use to us if you don't get some sleep."
"Says the man in the hospital bed," she countered. "I lost track of time."
"Where are we?"
"Underground," she cheekily replied.
"Don't be an ass."
"You are officially dead, and there seems to be no reports of anything suspicious. Romanoff and Rogers were last tracked to a Camp Lehigh, and there were records of a missile strike shortly after. They haven't been sighted since, but Rumlow's team appears to still be on the move. Sitwell's officially been turned, the motherfucker. I'm almost certain he's reporting back to someone on the World Security Council."
"Good work, Hill. Now get some sleep."
"Yes, sir."
shieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshieldshield
"Deputy Director, we have a situation."
She jolted up at the voice in her ear, and then glanced at her phone. Well six hours of sleep were better than none. Moving gingerly, she was mindful of her still healing ribs as she pulled on her shoes and headed towards the makeshift situation room.
"What have we got?"
"There was a Winter Soldier Sighting approximately ten minutes ago. We also confirmed a visual of Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff with Senator Stern."
"Those two can't stay out of trouble," she muttered to herself.
She scanned the surveillance pictures and glanced at the city map. There was a good chance there would be a showdown between the Winter Soldier and the Captain in the next hour if her triangulation calculations were correct.
"Where was the last location for Rumlow's team?" she questioned.
"Not far from Rogers and Romanoff, ma'am."
"Shit."
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. There was no time to form a proper extraction team, but if she didn't get someone downtown soon, Rogers and Romanoff were going to be in more trouble than they realized.
"Keep me informed of both Rogers' location and Rumlow's. Let me know immediately when the Winter Soldier makes an appearance."
She left the room without another word. Retrieving her backup piece from her quarters, she slipped out of the bunker and headed towards Rumlow's last known location. She knew they'd be expecting her to go after Rogers, but if she could get into the unit before they moved in, there was a better chance of success.
"Ma'am, we have reports of an incident involving the Winter Soldier and Captain Rogers."
"Copy that."
She almost scoffed at how easy if was to disarm one of the guards when she spotted the armored van. She quickly slipped into the uniform and prayed to god her assumptions were correct. Sliding into the back, she tightened her grip on the standard taser and hoped her fellow guards weren't feeling talkative.
She leaned back as the vehicle shifted into drive.
She bided her time as Rogers, Romanoff, and an unknown were thrown into the vehicle. From behind her mask, she could see the hitch in the redhead's breathing and hoped the wound wasn't too severe. Steve kept throwing Romanoff worried glances while she tried to get a read on the unknown man accompanying them.
Rogers angrily turned towards them.
"We need a doctor here. If we don't put pressure on that wound, she's going to bleed out in the truck."
Maria highly doubted that. She'd seen Natasha in worse situations, but she figured the moment was right. They were nearing the overpass where hopefully one of her team had left a vehicle. She hit the button on her taser, bringing the weapon to life. Rogers tensed and she paused, the guard behind her remaining silent. Without warning, she swung her weapon into the guard's midsection followed by a kick that had the man out cold. She took a moment to catch her breath, her ribs severely protesting the sudden movement, before pulling off her helmet.
"That thing was squeezing my brain," she grumbled.
She could have laughed at the expressions on the faces of the group in front of her. She tried to smooth back her hair, and glanced at the man in front of her.
"Who the hell is this guy?"
"Maria?"
Steve's expression was almost vacant, as he stared at her in confusion. She sighed. Explanations were going to have to wait. She turned to Natasha.
"Do you trust him?" she questioned.
"Sam Wilson," Romanoff said with a nod. "He's on our side."
Maria ignored him for now and pulled out the blowtorch she'd stashed away.
"Who's this chick?" she heard Wilson ask.
No one answered. Maria kicked out the circle she'd just cut through and the van slowed.
"Drop through, and roll to the side. Stay down for sixty seconds before you even think about standing. Go now," she ordered. "We've only got one shot."
No one questioned her orders and she made sure Rogers was through before tucking and rolling herself. She grimaced when she hit the ground, the wind knocked out of her lungs.
"Fuck," she murmured as her eyes watered.
A hand appeared in her line of sight, and she accepted the help up from Wilson. He pulled her to her feet, and she took a moment to locate Rogers and Romanoff. Natasha was moving slow, but gave her a thumbs up before waving off Rogers who then focused his attention on her. Before she could say anything, he was in front of her. His hand cupped her cheek as he pressed his lips to hers.
"Okay then," she heard Sam mutter behind her.
Steve pulled away, his hand running down her side. He frowned when she winced, and she batted his hand away with a glare.
"I'm pretty sure you told me it was going to be meetings and paperwork," he chastised.
"Someone had to save your ass," she replied.
"And it had to be you?" he responded with a hint of incredulity.
"Yes." she stated somberly. "In case you haven't noticed, we're kind of in a tailspin. Now, move it."
She led them through a series of allies before stopping briefly.
"I have a car waiting, but I'd prefer to continue on foot a little farther if everyone can handle it," she said with a look towards Romanoff.
The redhead nodded, despite Steve's protest.
They continue to walk for another few blocks, before Maria led them to a van parked behind an abandoned warehouse. She doubled back a few times, her eyes glued on the rearview mirror. Ten minutes later, she turned towards their new headquarters. Natasha shot her a questioning glance as they piled out of the vehicle towards the abandoned gate. Maria ignored her for now, and continued to lead the group farther down the sewage entrance. Unlocking the door, she gestured them inside before sparing a searching glance behind her. When nothing registered, she closed the gate behind her.
"Medical's waiting, Commander," another agent supplied.
"She's going to want to see him first," she stated.
Natasha met and held her gaze, her mouth tightening. Maria refused to back down. She'd deal with the redhead's feeling of betrayal later. Steve and Sam looked between the two women, not entirely aware of what was happening.
"Follow me."