Disclaimer: I own nothing Captain America-related, not even Bucky Barnes…though I might consider asking Marvel to loan them and the rest of the Avengers to me for a while. Until then, only original characters and plots/ideas are mine.

AN: At last: a Steve and Adena appearance! And a few other guest stars, who will be familiar to those who watch Agents of SHIELD. Enjoy, and please don't forget to review! Thanks!

Chapter 17: Bad Tidings:

It had almost been too easy. The targets had been under minimal surveillance by SHIELD, and even then, it was easy to spot the agents and deduce their schedules.

"You would think that they would be sharper, what with their reduction in numbers," Stone muttered as he glanced over at his superior.

Lennox, meanwhile, had focused his attention on the view screen. "Fortunately for us, they aren't. Now, tell me about how the mission was accomplished."

The techs quickly did so, mentioning that they had located the house that SHIELD was using to hide the Winter Soldier, as well as the young civilian woman assigned to assist him with his memories and reintegrating him into the world.

"We've observed them for the past couple weeks, and found that it is relatively simple to predict when they will emerge for trip into the outside world," Stone reported. "We also noticed that the Soldier is quite protective of the woman, and therefore, she's clearly his weakness."

Stone gave the tiniest smirk. "Today, they gave us an opportunity to act."

This very day, their target had gone shopping with his live-in companion, the two separating on occasion so that the woman could go into stores and browse. It was clear the two were comfortable enough outside of their living space to spend brief amounts of time apart, and the HYDRA agents watching them fully intended to exploit that to their advantage.

Unbeknownst to their targets, several HYDRA operatives dotted the streets all along the route that had been taken from the house to the city. The Soldier was a bit suspicious of those they walked by, but when nothing unusual occurred, he began to relax.

With the Soldier and his companion, Miss Wallace, preoccupied with amusing themselves, it was child's play to put several large vans around the neighborhood, each with a 4-person team inside and a false company logo on the side, so as not to attract attention. These teams were given the orders to take Miss Wallace by force. Once she was in their possession, they could "persuade" the Soldier to surrender himself to them willingly, and not cause a fuss.

There were also several agents in strategic places, to cause a distraction. When signaled, they would cause a scene, distracting those around them to the point where it would be easy to extract Miss Wallace.

Sure enough, the opportunity presented itself, and Stone had immediately signaled the appropriate teams. One group of men created a scene in a nearby alley, and while the Soldier had turned away, distracted, a van close to Anita Wallace had grabbed her, pulling her inside and rendering her unconscious within seconds.

The extraction had to be quick, of course, and quiet. Numerous doors in the area were slammed open or shut, so that the Soldier couldn't pinpoint where his companion had been taken. Actions had been swift, and since the abduction had taken place on a quiet street, without many witnesses around, Miss Wallace was out of sight before anyone noticed.

Now she was imprisoned in this HYDRA facility, a good distance from where SHIELD had attempted to hide her and the Soldier. She was still unconscious, but she wouldn't stay that way for long.

And they were very interested in the things she might have to tell them.

Lennox looked over at his second-in-command, and expectant look on his face. "Is she awake yet? I want to start questioning her as soon as possible."

The tone in his voice clearly stated that he had better not have traveled half way across the world for nothing. In Lennox's point of view, it was one thing to have underlings do the menial tasks, like traveling and getting their hands dirty –it was another for him to do it himself. The only reason he was here was because of Whitehall, who rather liked it when his officers showed their dedication by going above and beyond in their work.

That was why he was here, instead of his comfortable home on the Mediterranean. Still, it was for HYDRA, and Lennox was every inch the loyal follower.

Stone shook his head. "Not yet, sir. However, if you wish, we can bring her out of it."

Lennox carefully pondered the situation. The girl wasn't a spy or agent of any kind, and thus, not prepared for pain, harsh questioning, and torture. If he forced her out of the drugged sleep she was in, then began interrogating her, it could backfire in ways that could end badly for everyone, Lennox included. Whitehall would not be happy if their key to getting the Winter Soldier back became a quivering, useless mess, simply because Lennox didn't wait and use his resources wisely.

'But if I don't question her soon enough, it would make the chance for retaliation from SHIELD even greater.'

And if SHIELD got involved, it would cause some serious difficulties. The world might think SHIELD dismantled and gone, but there were scatterings of agents all over the world, and they were getting better at hiding.

'It seems we taught them something,' Lennox thought with a touch of irony. 'They were always working behind the scenes of the world, but we've taught them to hide even more in the shadows, just as we have for so long.'

It was a good lesson, but learned nearly too late, at least for the dearly departed Nick Fury. When SHIELD had been brought out into the light after the Invasion of New York, HYDRA had still operated inside it, growing quietly and watching, waiting for its moment. Now, SHIELD was trying to copy the traitors and spies it had unknowingly been harboring.

'I believe this Phil Coulson will be as big a threat as Nick Fury was. But he is someone that the leaders will deal with, when the time comes, not me.' For now, there was Anita Wallace to consider.

"Contact me the moment she wakes," Lennox ordered. "I need to brief Whitehall on the situation."

His officer saluted as Lennox made his way to his office, every underling in the hall clearing a path. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long before he made a good (and very anticipated) report to the one he served so dutifully.

If there was a way to reach through a screen and strangle the person on the other end, I would have done it.

"Phil," I slowly drawled. "I am seriously having a hard time not being pissed off at you for hiring my cousin to live with a known assassin and professional killer."

To give my friend credit, he looked both worried and anxious. It might have had to do with me being mad as hell, but it could also be due to the fact that Steve was just as pissed off as I was. And since Steve was Phil's hero, that seemed to make the new head of SHIELD even more anxious.

"I know, Adena, but it had to be done this way," he said, his face silently begging me to not kick his ass the next time I saw him. "I wanted a way to help Lieutenant Barnes, and it involved as little input from you and Captain Rogers as possible."

"But he's my best friend!" Steve snapped as I cried, "But Anna's my cousin!"

My husband and I exchanged looks, our gazes warring for a long moment before Steve nodded his acquiescence, allowing me to take first dibs in yelling at Phil. In this instance, blood relatives trumped life-long friends, though those were a close second.

"Phil," I drawled, crossing my arms as I stared at the large screen on the hotel room wall. "Tell me again why you felt putting my cousin in danger was a good idea, so that I know how mad I want to be at you later."

He sighed, his shoulders slightly hunched forward as he went over his story one more time.

"I selected your eldest female cousin based on a lot of parameters that Lieutenant Barnes himself put together. Apparently he felt that a female presence would be better at dampening his aggressive behavior, and since your father's family was already familiar with Captain Rogers' background and history, he thought that a smart, mature woman from that family would suit his purposes."

I glared at him. "Which are what, exactly?"

"Rehabilitation and memory recall," Phil stated bluntly. "Barnes didn't want a psychiatrist getting into his head and forcing him to remember things when he didn't want to. He feared that doing things that way would only aggravate him, and cause people to get hurt. Drugs won't work on him, not with the serum that HYDRA pumped into him, and leaving him out on his own was not an option, so I decided to help him by doing things the way he thought would be most effective."

"By putting a member of my family in danger?" I yelled, wanting to throw something.

"Adena, calm down," commanded a familiar female voice from off-screen. Natasha then stepped into view. "Phil was right to do what he did. Barnes wanted help, but he wanted it on his terms. He felt that a woman would be the most helpful, and since your family is well-read in the area of Steve's past, it was a logical choice."

She smiled. "Besides, we saw how much good you did for Steve and reeducating him about today's world. If it worked once, why couldn't it work again?"

"Barnes and I took a chance. We figured that, with such a large family, there would be another woman like you to achieve what most people in the world couldn't," Phil said. "You're a good, kind, patient woman, Adena, and Barnes had done enough research to locate someone enough like you to try and repeat Fury's experiment, hopefully with the same results."

Steve looked torn between angry and confused. "Experiment? What are you talking about?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "The one where Fury wanted to make sure that you were able to fit into the modern world," she deadpanned, her tone stating that it should have been obvious. "Fury wanted to ensure your mental and emotional growth and stability, so he looked for someone he thought would get the job done. One of Fury's friends recommended Adena, so she was brought in to help."

My friend smirked a little as she said, "The two of you falling in love was a bonus that only helped things along."

Steve didn't look too amused, though I did see the corners of his mouth twitch. "Well, it's nice to know that our relationship was a help to Fury's little project," he sarcastically retorted.

Phil waved my husband's words aside. "Anyway, back to the task at hand. Anna was brought in to help Bucky, and for the most part, it's been successful."

I eyed him carefully. "I sense a 'but' in there somewhere, Phil. Something's happened, hasn't it?"

The new Director of SHIELD sighed. "Adena, I'm afraid your cousin has been kidnapped –by HYDRA."

Steve was there in a split second, supporting me as I sagged towards the floor.

'My cousin is a hostage of HYDRA,' was the thought that repeated inside my head.

Once I was conscious again after my faint (which was hugely embarrassing for me, since it was the first time I'd ever done it), Phil told me the whole story in the briefest way possible.

"Bucky and Anna went out for lunch, did some shopping, and while Bucky was distracted, someone grabbed your cousin," he said as Steve offered me a glass of water. "They actually had the nerve to leave a message, saying that if Bucky wanted Anna to stay alive, he'd have to surrender himself to them within the next twenty four hours."

That took a moment to sink in, and while it did, Natasha stated that she needed Steve to head to New York City as soon as possible. "We need you for the rescue mission," she said. "We're putting together a small team, and we'd like you on it."

I sat straight up on the couch. "There's no way in hell he's going back without me!" I forcibly told them. "It's my family member they have, so there's no way you're keeping me out of this!"

Thankfully, no one chose to argue with me.

In less than an hour, Steve and I were in the air on Tony's jet, flying to New York City.

Poor Sam Wilson had been forced to stay behind, since we actually had been on a business trip for Stark Industries this time, and not just out searching the globe for Bucky. Because Sam was listed as Steve's assistant in security, he'd agreed to take on the tasks that Steve was supposed to, so that we could rush out on more important matters.

"I'd much rather be kicking HYDRA butt with you, Cap, but I'm willing to take one for the team," he joked as he helped load our luggage into the trunk of the limo.

Now we were headed back, and my stomach was tying itself in knots as I stared out the window, picturing all sorts of different ways that Anna could be hurt or tortured while in enemy hands.

"Adena," Steve whispered, coming over to sit beside me. "Don't do this to yourself."

I couldn't help it. Anna may be only a few months younger than me, but I still considered her my little cousin. Even though we'd seen each other only during the summer, we had spent a lot of time together, and had many similar interests. Needless to say, we were close.

In a way, I could see why Phil, or even Bucky, would choose her out of all my cousins, but I was still pissed off that no one had told me about it. They may have wanted to keep it a secret, but considering all the other secrets I had inside my head, they could have trusted me with this one!

I fumed about it for more nearly an hour, but calmed down as the flight attendant brought me some champagne. A solid employee who'd been working for Tony for years, she knew how to recognize someone with a lot on their mind, and how to help them relax and deal with it.

After a couple glasses, I was calm enough to put my worries on hold until we landed. It was only when my mind was somewhat cleared that I realized that Steve looked as unhappy and frustrated with the situation as I was –and unlike me, he didn't have the ability to drink himself into relaxation.

Quickly putting my empty glass aside, I went to take a seat beside him, snuggling into his shoulder as he put his arm around me.

"Are you okay now?" he whispered, pressing a kiss to my lips.

I returned his kiss with one of my own. "Yes," I softly replied, "Though I know that you aren't. Do you want to talk about it?"

He sighed and pulled me into his lap, turning me so that I was sitting sideways and could wrap my arms around his neck as I faced him. "It's just hard to believe that Bucky's been in SHIELD custody for so long, and Phil didn't even tell me. I understand why he did it, but part of me keeps imagining all the different things that I could have helped him remember during this whole time."

I thought about that for a minute. "That's true. However, it might have been worse having you deal with Bucky. No, hear me out," I said, stopping his protest. "It was hard enough helping you, with all of your memories popping up and you getting nostalgic for everything you lost. Bucky had lost nearly all his memories, and if you kept mentioning people, places or things that you remembered, but he couldn't, it would have driven him crazy. He might even have run away, because the pressure to remember everything would have been too much for him."

Steve looked slightly offended, but gave in. "Okay, you're probably right about that. But I still wish that Phil had told us about this whole thing earlier, rather than waiting until something like this happened."

"Well, we'll give him a piece of our minds when we land," I joked, earning a smile from Steve. "So, it's a long way to New York. What should we do to keep ourselves busy?"

Hours later, we were on the ground, and there was a welcoming party waiting for us.

After we'd climbed down the steps to the tarmac, I was relieved to see Clint Barton and Natasha standing there, looking as calm and collected as only two SHIELD agents could. With them was an Asian woman, clad in all black, her dark hair streaming in the cool breeze of the evening.

Smiling, Natasha stepped forward to pull me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Adena," she apologized. "I tried to keep Anna safe. But with SHIELD spread so thin and with fewer resources, I couldn't stay close by, and there was only so much I could do for her."

I quietly assured her that I didn't blame her for this whole mess, not one bit. But I was very glad that Phil had sent some familiar faces to help rescue my cousin.

"And who's this?" I asked, looking at the other female agent.

There was no question whatsoever that she was an agent. Her face had been serious as she watched us approach, and the closer I got to her, the more she looked like she could break me in half with her bare hands. Her dark eyes took in everything around her, and I had the feeling that she was analyzing every little thing she saw. I also highly suspected that there were some very well-hidden weapons in easy reach of her hands.

"Adena, Steve, this is Agent Melinda May," Clint introduced. "Phil sent her to help with the rescue mission. You can trust her."

Steve nodded and reached to shake Agent May's hand. "It's nice to meet you, and good to know that we've got another fighter for this."

"Nice to meet you too, sir," she said to him, her face impassive. "It's an honor to be working with an Avenger."

When it was my turn to shake her hand, I was relieved by the firm, but gentle grip she gave my fingers. "A pleasure to meet you, too, Mrs. Rogers," Agent May greeted me, a slight flicker of kindness in her brown eyes. "Director Coulson speaks highly of you. He asked me to say hello, and promises whatever you need in order to complete this op successfully."

Steve nodded his thanks. "Right now, though, I'd like to know how Bucky Barnes is doing."

Agent May gave him a flat look. "He's still at the house, with a few hidden SHIELD eyes trained on him. He feels immensely guilty about what happened to Miss Wallace, and we're afraid that he might go try and save her on her own."

"So we should head over then," I said. "We definitely don't need him going rogue, just as we got here."

Natasha nodded her head. "We're going to discreetly move him to a SHIELD base just outside the city. Another agent will remain at the house, in case HYDRA tries to make contact again. Once we're all together, we'll formulate a plan to get Anna back."

I nodded, willing to go along with it. "Okay. Let's go."

Steve helped me into the large SUV waiting for us, and after loading our baggage, we were off.

AN: More reunions next chapter. Please be kind and review?