''I think I've got it,'' Jess nodded, interrupting Steve's instructions. ''Look, it's fine, I'm totally driving like a normal person,''

Steve looked up at the road, trying not to panic as Jess swerved between lanes. To be fair, she wasn't being dangerous but her driving was so erratic and messy that he thought they were going to end up being abused by the other drivers on the road. Steve didn't have a car of his own, preferring to ride his motorcycle, but he knew how to drive well enough to show her the basics and help her however he could.

''Regret buying this for me yet?'' Jess looked over to him, noticing him tensing up as she turned a corner.

''Whoa watch the road!'' he warned.

''I've got it! Calm down!'' she shook her head. ''I have driven a car before, just not...on a busy road or anything like this, but have some faith in me, my confidence is being really shaken here,''

Steve managed to let his grip of the dashboard go when they got onto a straight road, knowing she couldn't do anything too dangerous here. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but she was a lot more daring than he thought.

''I don't regret buying it,'' he finally answered her, sitting back into the seat more.

''It was way too much,'' she told him for the hundredth time. ''Seriously, I still can't believe you bought me a car. I've never had my own car, this is...insane,''

''I don't have many people in my life anymore that I like enough or trust enough to consider a real friend. People are full of secrets these days, both the bag guys and the good guys, so it's nice to have you as a friend,'' he smiled.

Jess had never felt so guilty. Steve trusted her, he believed she was a completely genuine person, and she had been hiding so much from him. Stealing from SHIELD, spying on missions, some involving Steve, hiding her motives and her real identity. She was just as bad as the people Steve despised. There had been so many times that Jess had wanted to tell him what her real name was, who her family was and explain everything to him, but she couldn't. Steve was still struggling to let go of those memories, she didn't want to bring them all back after hiding it for so long.

When she first came to this city after many others, her last intention was to become friends with Steve Rogers, the legendary Captain America and the man who fought alongside Bucky Barnes, his best friend. But when she met him and they began talking, she wanted to know him more. She wanted to know the man she'd heard so many stories about, and not just the stories in the books and historical articles and memorials. She wanted to know the man her family did.

But it was too late to explain anything. If he found out what she'd been doing, he wouldn't trust her ever again, or even believe her at all.

''But having this car comes with a catch,'' Steve began, breaking Jess away from her thoughts as usual.

''A catch?'' she looked over to him worriedly.

''You can't use it to run away,''

Jess stared back at him as they slowed down to a stop sign.

''I know you've been going from place to place since you were a kid, and you just lost your mom and that you think you're gonna be all alone. I know that'd be reason enough for me to run away from anywhere, but you're not alone, okay? You've got me,'' he told her sincerely. ''So don't run away, and if you feel like you need to, just come talk to me,''

Smiling, Jess tried not to let her eyes tear up too much as Steve's gesture. He really cared about her, he didn't want her to feel abandoned in this world or like she had no other option but to leave another home. It was all too much. The car, the promise that she wouldn't be alone, the fact that he was much too good of a friend to her, someone who didn't deserve such kindness.

Jess was walking around her living room a few days later, fastening a belt around her pants as she attached a few weapons to it. It was the night of the unknown operation and although she had no idea what was going on or if anything at all was going to take place, she planned to find out what was going on. It wasn't as if she'd gain anything personally from it, but the idea of Secretary Pierce approving any operation that seemed so questionable was intriguing to her.

She had been holding her phone to her ear for a few minutes, huffing in annoyance every time her call was redirected to voice mail.

''Zac, if you haven't gotten my last two messages then I don't know what you're even doing. I need some information, nothing major so don't freak out, but it'd be really great if you got back to me within like ten minutes okay?''

Jess slipped her phone back into her pocket, taking Zac's inability to answer as an answer in itself. When he helped her get into SHIELD and take those files, look into their systems, that had been enough for him. Jess always provided him with money or some technical support in regards to his cheating girlfriend for his efforts to help her out, but she supposed he didn't want any part in it anymore.

It was lucky she always had a good sense of direction. She didn't dare take her car that night, it wasn't even an option. She had to be careful and make sure nothing could trace back to her if SHIELD was actually there or something went wrong. She wasn't expecting an eventful night though, she wasn't even sure anything was going on at all, but her curiosity had always been a weakness.

Back at the docks she remembered, it was exactly what she'd been expecting. Absolutely nothing was going on. She'd been chasing nothing. She'd been there for almost two hours, sitting around on one of the roofs hoping that the night hadn't been completely wasted. Every now and then she checked her phone to see if Zac had called back, but there was nothing. It was a waste of time.

Just as she was going to leave, she heard footsteps against the ground below and ducked down quickly, peeking over the edge.

''Is Sitwell back yet?'' one of them asked.

There were two men standing on the ground facing one another but glancing around to make sure they were alone. For some reason, the name Sitwell sounded familiar to Jess, but she couldn't place the reason why.

''No, the boat's comin' in now. He won't be coming here though, SHIELD will want to talk to him,''

Jess was glad she didn't leave. This did involve SHIELD, but she wasn't sure how just yet. These men didn't sound like agents, but they could have been undercover. The docks they were at was almost abandoned, no boats or ships came here anymore, she didn't know why they had chosen this as their location.

''Did you talk to the guy in charge?'' one of the men asked, emphasizing his question.

''I did. It's been called off for now, but he wants us here to make sure no one shows up,''

''And if they do?''

''Then they weren't invited. We take care of them,''

Jess moved back away from the edge of the building, hoping they weren't going to do a sweep of the place. There was no way she could get down and get away if they stood there the entire time.

''Let's just hope Captain America doesn't show up,''

The name made Jess pause, another thing to worry about.

''Pierce wouldn't let them send him over here,'' one of the men laughed. ''That's the perk of being in charge,''

Pierce had sent them and was in charge of whatever was going on. Whatever was meant to be happening tonight, he had organized. He was corrupt.

It would have been a good idea to leave now, to get away before they started searching or in case anyone else showed up. But Jess wanted answers. If Pierce was behind this, she wanted to know what it was about and what else he had planned.

She looked down at her legs to see the bulges underneath her pants and reached down to pull a gun from each side. She checked it over and made sure it was ready to go before she took a deep breath, shook her head at how stupid she was being, and jumped down from the short building.

''Don't reach for your gun,'' she told the men as she jumped up, a gun in each hand pointed directly at them both.

The men had their hands at their pockets, but as Jess gestured with the guns, they raised them up above their head.

''If you're looking to rob us kid-''

''Hey, I'm not a kid,'' she cut in angrily. ''And I want answers, not cash. What was going on here tonight?''

The men looked between one another.

''What are you, training to be a cop or something?''

''I want to know about Pierce. You know, the guy in charge of this thing. Don't play stupid now guys, come on. Here, I'll help you out. Pierce sent you here tonight for a reason, but then it all fell through. I want to know what it was,''

''You're getting into dangerous things now kid,''

Jess took a step closer to the man who spoke and pushed the gun to his chest, making him move back and hold his hands up higher.

''Don't call me kid,'' she growled. ''I want to know what Pierce is doing! What is SHIELD hiding!''

''SHIELD,'' the other man laughed. ''Here's a little tip sweetie. Focus less on what they're hiding and more on what's being hidden from them,''

Jess stared at the man.

''I know you weren't SHIELD,''

The man stopped talking them, a smirk on his lips as if he knew so much more than she did. While Jess stared at him, waiting for his response, the other man hit her arm hard and knocked the gun from it. As she turned, the other man attacked, twisting her arm and holding it behind her head.

''What the hell do you know?'' he asked, pushing her arm until she winced.

''Enough,'' she told him in a pained voice.

Jess ducked her head and pulled the man's arm over hers, throwing him to the ground. She stood up with a deep breath and ran to the other man who had been watching on. Jess jumped onto his back and pulled her arms around his head, directing him into the concrete wall nearby. The man grabbed her and threw her backwards, hearing the thump as her head hit the same wall before he did.

Standing up hurt, everything hurt, but she knew she had to run now or she wouldn't get away. The men were on the ground with minor injuries, they'd be chasing her soon, so she ran as fast as she could. Her vision was blurry though from her head hitting against the wall and she was sure she was concussed, but she couldn't risk stopping.

''We'll find you kid!'' the man shouted.

It was a stupid idea coming here and expecting nothing. SHIELD was truly corrupt, it wasn't just a theory anymore. Pierce was behind something sketchy, he was controlling people who weren't SHIELD and he was in charge of an operation that certainly wasn't SHIELD. She'd gotten too close, but now she knew she was onto something this whole time. It hadn't just been her paranoia or her constant inability to trust that SHIELD was doing anything for the good of the people. She had been right this whole time.

Not a fan of this chapter but I wanted to get this part over and done with because the next chapter will be pretty intense I think. Review and let me know what you think :)