Captain America: A Timeless Love

Ch. 5 Opening Day

The night was pitch black as the loud all terrain truck creepied along the out skirts of Vorkuta, Russia. It was a very small city lying in the middle of a frosted tundra. A faint shadow of mountains lurked behind the city. The glow of street lights casted a sinister orange hue against the snow, the truck stopped just before entering the city limits. Captain Rogers parked the Hydra truck behind an abandoned mill. Everyone exited the truck and headed for the source of the orange glow. They secured their guns and weapons, if they were spotted by citizens they didn't want to appear hostile. Their goal however was to not be spotted at all as they merged into the empty city.

"The Red Hen Inn is what we are looking for." Peggy whispered to her group of men. "We are to meet Howard thru the back entrance."

The hardened old snow crunched under their feet. Their combat gear jingled as they snuck between buildings. Their breath visible in the crisp night air, it was much too cold out for anyone to linger around outside. There was an occasional civilian still lingering in the streets. Either a homeless person or a worker starting their night shift. Finally along a main street was a line of hotels with their lights still on. One of them was the Red Hen, the crew moved towards the back alley. Upon approaching the Red Hen's ominous back door, a shivering figure stood under a street lamp. It was a tall slender figure who was cupping his hands in front of his mouth to keep warm. He noticed the crew and jumped in surprised. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Peggy's rosy face.

"Ah Ms. Carter. Oh how I miss the days of our adventures in Los Angeles." Mr. Jarvis shivered. He quickly opened the door and let everyone in. The crew was greeted with the delightful warmth of the hotel's industrial furnace. Everyone could feel the blood flowing back into their toes and fingers. Mr. Jarvis led them to an express elevator that was used for staffing. He rung them up to the top floor. The décor of the top floor could be summed up in one word, elaborate. It screamed Howard. Red carpeted floors, French styled walls and mirrors everywhere.

"Well this is discreet." Peggy noted. A very odd place to be hiding a group full of agents running a covert mission.

"Mr. Stark has rented out the entire floor, you may chose any room for yourself. However Mr. Stark has already claimed the presidential suite for himself. He thought it best to have the floor to ourselves as we plot out our undercover scheme."

Steve raised a brow, "Undercover?"

"Mr. Stark will give you all the details." Mr. Jarvis opened the doors to the largest room on the floor, the presidential suite. Howard was standing in front of a fireplace pouring himself a glass of scotch while smoking on a cigar. Typical fashion for him. He looked delighted to see the group.

"Made it here in record time. Nice hustle. Come on gather by the fire. We'll swap intel."

Everyone collapsed on the coaches in front of the fireplace, they took off their packs and kicked their feet up on the coffee table. Mr. Jarvis's nostrils flared as the dirt and melted snow began to stain the carpets and the furniture.

Howard reached into his pocket for something and tossed the object to Peggy. It was a handheld telescope. She looked at him questionably. "Take a look out the north window, building across the street, 7th floor. Balcony."

Peggy moved over to the window and looked for what Howard wanted her to see. Across the street was a fancy hotel, much like the Red Hen. There were a few illuminated windows on the 7th floor but all of their curtains were drawn. And then she saw it, on the far right there was a ledge with two people sitting outside smoking with their fur coats on. A man and a woman. The man looked so eerily similar, it almost couldn't be real. "Who is that?"

"Those two are going to be at the big opening tomorrow. Now let me ask you something, does that gentleman look like Captain Rogers or what?" Howard smirked.

Peggy glanced from her view of telescope then to Steve who was cluelessly staring at her. "Eerie. The blonde hair for sure, strong cheek bones and similar build. But with a mustache. Huh."

"That gentleman is Eugene Tomly. He comes from a wealthy family of inventors, graduated from Harvard and recently applied to Stark Industries. However I denied him because his family has ties with the former Nazi Party. I had my boys track his movements and how convenient is it that he comes crawling all the way out here to the exact same opening as the one we're going to." Howard eyed Steve, "And what's perfect is that Hydra and Leviathan have never seen this kid before. He's hoping to coast in with his family's connections and wealth. He's a blank slate."

Steve glared at him skeptically, "You want me to play undercover monopoly in a room full of Hydra and Russian scientists?"

Peggy smiled, she actually liked this plan. Going undercover was more her style, "I think I can pull off his escort there. Judging by their mannerism and that giant rock she has on her finger, I think we have our two leading roles casted."

Steve looked a little bewildered. Going undercover wasn't really his best skill. Romanoff back in the day had taught him a few good pointers about being a spy, but it never fit his style. He was a solider a man of action. Hiding under a fake identity and trying to copy their life felt like putting on a new foreign skin. But if Peggy would be his partner for this act, she could hold his hand on this one. He knew that this was second nature to her.

"Alright then what should be our next move once we're in?"

Howard stood in front of the fireplace and poured another shot of scotch for himself, "Well, we are flying in blind here. This is a location we've never been to or have anyone the inside. You'll be surrounded by Hydra agents that will recognize you and Leviathan agents that will recognize her. I'd say the best first move is all reconnaissance. Get comfy at this opening, get a lay of the lodge, find out where they got Bucky. We dress up these fine gentlemen to be your drivers, butlers and shoe shiners. As the evening whines down, these guys go and grab Bucky as you two keep your host distracted. And boom we are out the front door. The opening doesn't start for another 48 hours so we got plenty of time to hide the real Mr. Tomly and his blondie."

Everyone fell into a silent agreement. There was enough time to work out more of the details later. It was a plan that they could sleep on and digest over breakfast and a real cup of coffee. Peggy looked over her team and realized just how untrained these soldiers were about doing a heavy undercover assignment like this.

"Well I think it would be best for everyone to take a bath and get some rest." Everyone nodded. It was a quarter to midnight. The crew disbanded and went into their own separate fancy rooms.

Peggy chose her room on the far end of the floor, to get some of girl privacy away from the boys. Peggy thru her bag down and sighed with discontent at the very décor of her room. It was all too loud and expensive for her tastes. Rich colors, handcrafted furniture and elaborate embroideries. But she couldn't argue with it since she had been sleeping in dirt and a Hydra truck for the last few nights. She made a bee line for the bathroom and turned on the shower. Perhaps she would feel more comfortable in this room after a thorough relaxing wash. After removing her military grade jumper, she jumped into the steamy hot shower and let out a moan of pleasure. The sweat and dirt rolled off of her. The bitter cold winter melted away from her skin as she was greeted with the warm embrace of steam. She spent a good long time under the hot water, cleaning everywhere. After toweling off and pulling on a silk hotel embroider robe, there was a knock at her door.

"Peggy, it's Steve. I got some files on our two characters we are suppose to play." Steve's voice spoke from behind the door. He was oddly very silent, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear.

She opened the door, a playful smile on her face, "Ah our script for the opening day." She took the files from Steve's hand. As she skimmed the files, she could feel Steve's eyes linger on her.

Steve licked his lips, "I was actually hoping we could go over our parts together. I'm not use to playing someone else, let alone a person from upper class. And I know you are way better at it than I am."

Peggy opened the door wide, "Well we can't have our leading star get stage fright." Steve sheepishly entered the room, he rubbed his hands thru his wet clean hair. He must have just popped out of the shower before coming to her room. His white undershirt was clinging to his damp skin. Peggy took a deep breath and looked back at the files. She looked at Mr. Eugene Tomly's passport photo and then back at Steve. "I'm gonna have to trim your hair a bit. It's gotten a bit shaggy for Mr. Tomly."

She placed the files on the bed and pulled out a chair. She motioned Steve to sit as she pulled out a towel, scissors and a straight razor from the bathroom.

"You know how to cut men's hair?" Steve raised a brow as he sat down.

Peggy draped the towel over his shoulders and began sharping the straight blade with skilled finesse. "My father developed hand trembles as he got older so my mother would often cut his hair and shaved his face. I learned from watching her, but my father liked it when I cut his hair. My brother however hated it when I cut his hair. He always felt uncomfortable around me if I had any sort of sharp objects." She laughed to herself. She began eyeing Steve's head and then compared it to Mr. Tomly's photos. She set up a plan and went straight to work.

"I hope I'm not as stubborn in the chair as he is." Steve smiled at her.

"Well if you are a good boy, I'll give you a lollipop afterwards." The scissors snipped away damp edges of Steve's hair. It relaxed Steve to have Peggy's delicate care work away at his scalp, it helped put his mind at ease about their upcoming mission together.

"So in the file," Peggy talked as she slid the blades around, "Mr. Tomly was raised in Germany and then shipped away to Harvard. He knows German, French, English and Russian. How good is your German?"

"Ich mochte mein friseur danken." (I would like to thank my barber)

Peggy smiled, "Ahh, bitte." (you're welcome) "Russian?"

"Moy russkiy ne tak khorosh, kak moy nemetskiy." (My Russian is not as good as my German)

"Dostatochno khorosho." (Good enough) "Now as for Mr. Tomly's fiancé, she is a model. And she only knows French."

"Mi amor, je ne parlerai une langue pour vous." (My love, I shall only speak one language for you.) Steve said with a somewhat playful voice, but it was strangely serious.

Peggy paused her cutting and couldn't help but get swept away with just how convincing his French accent was compared to his German and Russian. He got the sweet seductiveness of the words right. It sounded like something Mr. Tomly would probably say to his blond French bride to be. Peggy couldn't help but fall into the part, "Comme un secret partage entre nous." (Like a secret shared between us)

"Je me sens mieux a vous parler comme ca. Au cours de la mission." (I feel better speaking to you like this, during the mission.)

Peggy could listen to Steve talk like this for hours, "Well we can safely speak French together at this opening. It would be very uncommon for most gentlemen at this opening to speak French. Hydra and Leviathan don't really have a good relationship with them." She went back to work on his hair, using the razor to shape his hair line.

"Bien." Steve said with his cocky smile, he could see Peggy growing a bit flustered when he spoke French.

Peggy stopped and huffed, "Ok do you want me to nick you? I'm trying to concentrate."

Steve laughed, "Ok I'm sorry."

Peggy worked in silence, Steve remained quiet, but he couldn't help but smile. Finally Peggy stepped back and retrieved a hand mirror. Steve looked at his reflection and then back at the files, "Wow we do look a bit closer now. Do you think I can grow his mustache by tomorrow?"

That was the one thing Eugene had that Steve didn't, a very fine well kept mustache. Peggy waved him off, "Oh we can snip off some of Dugan's and glue it to your lip."

They both laughed. Peggy stood before Steve, her knees leaned into his. She could see how relaxed he had became since coming into her room. During the war, Steve never liked doing undercover missions, even if they were something very simple and brief. Perhaps it was because Steve liked to show off his stripes and stars. He wanted to make sure people knew who he was the moment they saw him. He wanted it to be very clear to his enemies and the people who he was trying to save.

"We have all day tomorrow to get into character and run over a few scenarios we might face. Luckily Mr. Tomly isn't well known with these two so we might hardly have to interact with anyone. We just have to look the part."

"You mean look like an engaged French couple?" Steve smiled.

"Oh yes because the air of being a couple seems like something you and I would struggle with the most." Peggy sarcastically spoke as she placed a kiss on his lips. Steve cupped her face and held her there. It had been awhile since they kissed. Since their mission started, they feared public displays of affection would be distracting and it would honestly get a rise out of the boys. Like they had mentioned before, these kinds of actions should be done behind closed doors. With just the two of them alone.

They were behind a locked door. In a hotel bedroom. Everyone would be going to sleep right about now.

Peggy felt greedy and ran her fingers thru Steve's newly cut hair, pushing him deeper into her lips. Almost immediately Steve responded back with the same greediness as she did. She missed kissing him. It was as if everything stopped in time, just for them to have this moment together. And in this timeless space they could practice the concept of kissing. It never ceased to be a wondrous explosive feeling that welded up in her chest. It made her feel weak and empowered at the same time. She could surrender and merge with this feeling all too easily. The deeper she fell the warmer it got. More drastic impulses would take over before she could even think of them first. The impulse of more; more kisses, more heat, more of Steve.

His free hand grabbed for her waist and he pulled her forward. Peggy obeyed and straddled his hips in the chair. Its wasn't until her bare skin touched his sweat pants that she realized she was only wearing a silk robe. And nothing else. This one kiss was leading them into some dangerous territory. And she liked it.

They fell in sync with each other much faster than before, like they had done this fall into passion several times before. There wasn't a nervous barrier anymore of discovering each other bodies. There was more confident in each move. Steve ran tender hands along Peggy's bottom and back, giving her a partial massage and firm embraces. He tried something very new, something he hadn't done to her before. He parted from her lips and began kissing her neck. At first it was soft, he barely touched her skin. Only his breath tickled her neck and her collarbone, making her buzz with anticipation. It then turned to gentle bites and lingering wet kisses. Steve's kiss trail only went south. His lips past the line of her collarbone to the tops of her breasts. Suddenly that silk robe felt even thinner as warm hands cupped her breasts. She couldn't help it, it was desperate to come out. A moan escaped her throat. The silk material slid open, the knot on the belt seemed to want to slip away. The robe itself wanted to escape. Steve only took advantage of his new opening and kissed the exposed skin. He looked up at her as he kissed her breasts. Peggy truly was captured in this timeless abyss of ecstasy, falling deeper and deeper.

A sudden knock on the door made them both jump in the chair.

"Hey Peg," It was Dugan. "There's a pub still open, and the boys and I were gonna grab a pint. Care to be our leading lady for the night?"

Peggy stared at the door and then back at Steve, she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry Dugan, but I'm just settling in for the night."

Dugan responded, "Ah well it was worth a shot." He paused, "How about you Steve? Wanna a glass?"

Peggy and Steve let out an annoyed sigh together, they've been caught.

"Ah, thanks but I'll gonna pass for tonight. You have fun."

There were some muffled bursts of laughter coming from behind the door, there was more than one of them.

"I knew it." They heard Jim's voice.

"You owe me $20."

"I'll buy first round alright."

Peggy flattened her lips into a frown and rolled her eyes with severe annoyance. Well she was up and out of that abyss of ecstasy now. This was only the second time that they were behind a closed door and they were embarrassed by their "friends" yet again. When would this pattern end?

"Should we go?" Steve asked. Obviously the moment they were having was ruined.

Peggy huffed, "No, because they'll properly continue the harassment once we are at the pub."

"Should I stay?" Peggy looked into his blue eyes, they were still flowing with deep affection. His eyes were really saying, 'should I continue?'

Peggy sighed, "No, well I mean yes, you should stay. We could keep going over our characters if you'd like."

Steve nodded, "Ok. Well if I was Mr. Tomly, according to his file he is very much a womanizer as Howard, he would stay with his lovely fiancé instead of going out to the pub."

"Oh dear lord, you becoming like Howard? I would be appalled."

Steve gave her a smirk, like he was plotting something, " Je prevois de rester avec vous ce soir. Dois-je continuer? (I plan to stay with you tonight. Should I continue?) He used that staged persona again. His heavenly French accent. Peggy couldn't resist.

"Vous faites mes nuits tres difficile." (You make my nights very difficult)She found herself once again at the edge of the timeless abyss they were at before. But she was hesitant to go in again, worried that there might be another interruption or if someone would hear them again. But fuck Steve's roleplaying was making it difficult to decide.

"Je peux arrester si vous voulez." (I can stop if you want) His voice grew warmer. His hands, which were cautiously at her sides before when they were interrupted, were now tenderly squeezing her thighs. When his tongue finished his French dialect, he moved to cup her cheeks. "Je serai douce cette fois." (I'll be gentle this time) His lips hovered over her collarbone.

'Hello abyss I'm back.' Peggy bit her lip, he did know how to make this difficult. She couldn't get her mouth to form another word. Her silence was a confirmation for Steve to continue. And she didn't protest. Peggy was embarrassed by how fast she was willing to jump back into this again. Like it was an addiction. Steve's fingers played with the ceases of her hips, Peggy squirmed at those ticklish spots. She found her hips moving on their own again, a stirring ache was developing in her lower abdomen.

With a steady motion, Steve lifted himself and her off of the chair. He cradled her ass in his hands. The silk robe was barely hanging on her. He gently placed her in bed and crawled on top of her. He moved very slow with studying eyes. Every move he was making was planned out and precise. However each move was all geared towards the same mission, to pleasure not himself but her. He gave her one more kiss and his head disappeared completely from her sight. She looked down to find him kissing his way down her abdomen towards her…..good lord. He placed down one kiss on her exposed sex and it sent her spiraling. She was lost to him now. A sweet hiss came from her lips followed by a moan when he kept kissing it. Soon came his tongue. Peggy's voice hiked up on the inhale and the exhale came out in trembling breaths. Her entire body was enveloped in intoxicating pleasure. Her brain lost any sense of control. She was at his mercy. Her body impulsively grabbed Steve's head and hugged him closer to her crotch. Her fingers raked thru his newly cut hair. Her voice repeated the same moans. Within only a few licks, she was at the end of her fuse ready to explode.

But then Steve stopped. She looked down at him with drunken lustful eyes with a questioning stare. He looked back, he was obviously very amused by her reactions. Like this was some kind of test run. She could see the wheels in his head turning as he plotted his next move. He wanted to watch her reaction to this next part. She felt one of his fingers poke around her sex and then slide inside her. A warm electric pulse ran up from her core and up to her head, it forced her back into an arch.

She heard Steve giggle between her legs.

"Ne pas arretez" (Don't stop) Peggy demanded.

"Oui madame." (Yes ma'am)

Steve nervously played with the cuffs of his tuxedo. He felt like he was in a familiar situation but under very different circumstances. He was in a fancy car, wearing a high class tux, and next to him sat his gorgeous date. Peggy was wearing a revealing scarlet dress. Sadly her warm brown hair was stuffed under a very bright long blonde wig. She looked like a very striking character, with heavy makeup and powdered cheeks. She certainly looked like a French model, but that wasn't Peggy. She was someone else. And Steve had to be someone else. The faux blonde mustache on his lip itched. He was always a cleaned shaved man so this hair on his lip was a new sensation.

"About 3 more miles until you've reached the lodge." Steve heard Howard from his inserted ear piece. Howard had stationed their hotel floor to be a hot spot for their radio system. Everyone on this mission was wearing a radio.

Yesterday they were all hard at work getting their supplies ready for today. Lugging the radio up to the top floor without being spotted by hotel staff, that was the hard part. The easiest part was exactly disposing of the real Mr. Tomly and his fiancé. It was really easy to slip them something in their morning coffee, and then hide their unconscious bodies where hotel services wouldn't find them. Dugan, Jacques, Gabe and James were able to snag a nice set of wheels and clothes for their roles to play as Steve's staff. Dugan would play the role of his driver, Gabe was his butler and James and Jacques would be Peggy's. Jim and Mr. Jarvis were stationed with Howard at the hotel.

They were able to snag a nice looking limo with all wheel drive, but it also contained a few weapons and Steve's shield hidden inside the cabin. Steve felt a little nervous, he couldn't help but put his Captain America outfit under his tux. He knew his role in this mission was to be a distraction as Mr. Tomly but he had a bad feeling about this. The uniform helped with his confidence. As well as having Peggy close by his side as his fiancé.

Finally they arrived at the lodge. There was a small packing lot of rich vehicles parked in front of a grand wooden lodge. The sky was bright blue without a cloud in sight. The 6 of them exited the vehicle and were greeted with the mountain's crisp frigid temperatures. An even darker chill ran up Steve's spine when he saw the various Hydra logo's on some of the vehicles and a banner waving from the lodge. It was an eerie opening display. They were so far up in the mountains in one of the most remote regions of Russia that these men could present their pride so openingly. They were in the belly of the beast now. Steve snapped at attention when Peggy took his arm. Dugan, Gabe, James and Jacques all tighten up around them. Mr. Jarvis gave them a butler lecture before they left and it was paying off. They all certainly looked their parts.

"Gentlemen, we are in the thick of it now." Peggy looked around. Many men, both Hydra and Leviathan were crowded around the balconies and doors of the lodge. They all looked so proud to be here. They all felt so safe. "Remember the first step, discreetly locate Sergeant Barnes. And above all don't drop the act, no matter what. If we are discovered, we will be hopelessly be outnumbered and outgunned."

"No pressure." Howard said over the radio, "Good luck." Together the 6 of them took their first few steps towards the lodge.

"Pret, mon fiancé?" Peggy fell into her character, giving Steve a confident bubbly smile.

"Oui."

Upon entering the massive lodge, it was very clear who was Leviathan and who was Hydra. The agencies kept themselves separated and they muttered to themselves. The tension between them was very chilling, like the cold temperature outside. This was a room filled with sharks, very dangerous sharks that wanted world domination for themselves. However they both shared the same likeness, they both hated the American government, Captain America, the SSR and especially SHIELD. Getting thru the security was surprisingly easy, Steve only had to mention his fake name, his fake family's history of being a part of the Nazi party and mention his fake hatred of Howard. The hard part was saying it all in proper perfect German. But the lodge's butler and staff waved them in. Howard's assumption on Mr. Tomly was correct. To Hydra, Mr. Tomly was only a big wallet walking into their opening, the perfect disguise.

They were in and safe for now. Now came the hardest part, appearing friendly and sociable to the most despicable people in the world. As soon as Steve and Peggy began blending in with the scene, Jacques, James, Gabe and Dugan began to meander away from them. They stuck in pairs of two and began looking around for any kind of clue to Bucky's location.

Peggy and Steve stuck close to each other and whispered in French.

"Do you see Dr. Braunein?"

"Not yet, I'm guessing he will present himself in at some point. His entrance back at Project Last Hope was alittle….loud. I would assume young Wilhelm would do the same."

The two continued to mingle with the party. Steve was grateful not many people wanted to talk to him, Mr. Tomly was only a young inventor with a lot of money and ties to the Nazis. A few Hydra agents showed some welcoming support to him, which felt very eerie. But Steve was able to have simple decisions with them. The hardest part was keeping up a very high class attitude, like how Howard would talk. It was very foreign to Steve and even more difficult to do it in German. Luckily if Steve stumbled a bit on his words, Peggy would chime in as the dumb blonde French girl, who didn't understand German, and lighten the mood with her physical charm. Many gentlemen were eyeing Peggy when word was spreading that she was a French model. It was only adding more benefit to their disguise.

"Rogers," Dugan came over the radio, "We heard word that their grand display will be coming up pretty soon. They want to move everyone into the ballroom for the unveiling. I'm assuming that's where they'll present Bucky. We're getting our team in place around the ballroom."

"Bien." Steve responded in French. Peggy was by his side in the bar room, they displayed a bit of public affection to keep the action off of them. Steve took Peggy's hand and kissed her ringed finger. That was the fine detail of her look, Peggy was able to pry off the engagement ring before leaving their unconscious originals. She claimed it was an important detail to have. The rock on the ring was massive, it definitely said a lot about their relationship. They looked like a filthy rich couple. Steve embraced Peggy close, his heart was racing and he wanted her to feel it. He wanted her to feel that it was killing him to think that Bucky was here in this area and he wasn't looking for him. It was killing him to put on a fake smile and socialize with these monsters that have tortured his best friend.

"We are almost got him," Peggy embraced him and looked around at the crowd of men who were paying them no mind. "Perhaps what we could do is have Dugan get the car ready before the unveiling, and have Jacques kill the lights as Gabe and James….."

Peggy cut her sentence off, Steve could feel her tense in his grip. She broke her character and muttered a whispered, "Fuck." Her stared with horrification at a person standing on the far side of the bar room. A blonde haired woman in a white dress with a sinister all knowing smile. Peggy's old "friend", Dottie Underwood. She was looking right at Peggy, smiling at her, looking right thru her.

"What?" Steve shook her.

Peggy faltered to get back into her character, this was bad. Very VERY bad! "Gents we got a wild card in play. Dottie Underwood has made an appearance at this event. She's spotted me." She tried hard to hide her panic and keep her language in French.

Howard came on the radio, "WHAT! I thought she was long dead to these guys. Why is she back with Leviathan?"

"I don't know, but we better move fast. Everyone, we are all going on a frantic search to find Bucky right now." Peggy looked around to try to find Dottie, but she had disappeared from the bar room. Peggy took Steve's arm and rushed him out of the room. The two of them tried their best to look calm. Peggy saw an empty office from across, the foyer. She made a bee line for it.

"Who's Dottie?" Gabe asked over the radio.

Steve and Peggy got in the office and shut the doors behind them. Peggy broke her French acting and went back to English, "Someone who is really gonna throw a wrench in our plans if she tells Leviathan we are here."

Peggy paced across the floor and rubbed her temple in frustration.

"Should we try to take her out?" Steve suggested.

"No, no! She is a highly trained, very dangerous Russian spy for Leviathan." Peggy placed her hands on her hips, she hated to admit this, "She is almost as good as me, if not more lethal. Do not engage her. She doesn't know any of your faces and I'd like to keep it that way." Peggy's mind rushed for their options.

Steve ran to the desk and started frantically pulling out drawers to look for some kind of map. This office that they cornered themselves in was a perfect place to regroup. There was a name plate on it labeled Wilhelm Braunein, this had to be his office for the lodge. Maybe it had a clue or a blueprint of this potential lab that Bucky would be in. His hands rummaged every part of the desk and even the shelving behind the desk. His hand snagged a hold of an unusual figurine on the shelves. It was firmly lodged into the wall, however it could be pulled down like a level. Steve yanked it down-wards and the shelving popped open to reveal a hidden door.

Peggy perked up from her frantic thinking and headed for the mysterious door. Cautiously, they peeked thru the door together. A green light came thru and the smell of sterilization blasted them. They jarred the door even further to scan the mysterious room. It was a lab and there wasn't a soul in site. The air was chilly. Peggy and Steve walked in, scanning the lab quickly. At the far end of the lab sat a frosted tube. It was buzzing to life trying to keep its contents cold. Steve ran a hand over the frost to reveal what was inside. Bucky's sleeping face appeared.

"We found him." Peggy reported. "Head to the main lobby and look for a locked office door on the east side."

Steve stared at his frozen friend. He was still missing his left arm and it was replaced with the robotic one. He looked like the same Bucky that he was forced to fight with back in the future. He only hoped that it wasn't too late to try and save him. To redo any kind of mind control that Hydra had infused into him.

"We are heading back." Called Gabe.

"I'll get the engines hot." Dugan reported, "You two get out of there and distract. The rest, grab Buck before they put him on display. We're cheesing it out of here."

Peggy pulled on Steve's arm, "Steve, we need to go. If we wanna leave here with him, we need to go."

Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a device Howard gave to him. A tracker, he slapped it on the foot of the tube. Hopefully no one would see it. Steve took some careless steps away from his friend and ran back to Peggy's side. They rushed out of the lab and back into the office. But they froze in their tracks. Someone was waiting in the office there with them. And it wasn't one of their comrades.

"Hello Peggy." Chimed Dottie's sweet voice. She was sitting on the desk, looking very gitty to see them. "Long time no see. Last time we saw each other I believe you had stuffed me in your trunk. But don't worry, no hard feelings."

Steve's fists tightened, he wished he had his shield.

Peggy swallowed, "I'm surprised Leviathan took you back. I thought they pinned you as a failure after your attempts to destroy Manhattan."

"Ouch Peggy, that hurts. You and I both know just because you fail doesn't mean you can't climb your way back up. They wanted me back partly because of you. You and your SHIELD are causing problems not only for Hydra but also for Leviathan. And then they heard you were one of the directors, well gosh, Leviathan was more than thrilled to take me back. Of course I promised them if I was around them, you would soon follow. And lookie here. We're together again!" Dottie eyed Steve, "And I see you brought your Captain America. Surprise, surprise. We all thought he was dead."

"Peggy," came Gabe on the radio, "We got trouble, armed Hydra agents are storming into the lobby." They had to get out of here before those agents caught sight of any of them. Luckily they still had the advantage of not being spotted yet. Peggy grabbed Steve's arm and stepped towards their exit. Dottie flipped off the desk and ran towards them. Her arm extended into a punch. Both of them dodged it and took their stance for a fight.

"Oh you're not going anywhere. I've dying to have a rematch with you Peg. And it's been a dream of mine to go against the Captain." Dottie squealed in delight.

"Guys, get out of the office now! Hydra agents are coming your way!" Gabe yelled on the radio.

Peggy tensed up her fists. This wasn't just bad, this was very very very bad.