Jess picked up her fork and poked the food in front of her as if she wasn't sure what it was. In an underground hideout, she didn't expect a fancy meal, but these were possibly the worst microwave dinners she'd ever seen. Since she hadn't eaten all day and they were leaving very soon to begin Steve's plan, it was advised she at least have a meal. If this qualified as that.

''I don't know if I'll be much help to you if I eat this,'' Jess looked over to Steve and then back at her plastic plate. ''It might kill me,''

Steve couldn't help chuckle at her.

''You don't have to go into this you know,''

''I'm not sitting this out,''

''It's just that it's gonna be really dangerous,''

''I've been in really dangerous, I can handle it,''

As she gave up trying to eat and picked up her bottle of water, she noticed Steve's gaze and raised her eyebrow.

''I'm just not used to this yet,'' he shook his head, noticing her confusion. ''A week ago you were just my friend, my neighbor who worked at the diner and always played her music too loud and now you're the granddaughter of my best friend who knows more about SHIELD than I do,''

Jess sighed, understanding his struggle to fully accept all of the new information.

''I'm still the same person,'' she reminded him with a smile. ''Still gonna make fun of you forever over Pirates of The Sea,''

''I know,'' Steve laughed. ''It's just a lot to take in,''

Jess thought for a moment.

''What did you think I lied to you for? I mean, when I left, before you knew SHIELD had me as a target, what'd you think I did?''

There were so many answers he could give her, because for the brief time she was gone, he had considered everything. A spy working against SHIELD, getting close to the agents who worked there and then stealing from the inside. Things had changed since the '40's that he grew up in. A woman was openly capably of anything, he didn't know where to begin.

''I honestly don't know,'' he shrugged. ''I mean, I had ideas. Working for a terrorist organization was up there, but I couldn't believe any of the scenarios I came up with to explain why SHIELD was coming for you or why you'd bothered to befriend me if you just up and left every time you were finished with a job or something. I think that's why I was so angry at you, because I didn't know why you did it or why they were after you. I care about you a lot, you're like a little sister, and the fact I was being kept in the dark about who you were or what you were mixed up frustrated me more than anything,''

Jess couldn't help smile when he said he considered her a little sister. They had a friendship that was very much like a sibling bond, and since she didn't have any brothers or sisters, she was comforted to know that he cared for her to same.

''I thought they'd tell you something horrible about me, to pin you against me. That's why I told you not to believe them because I didn't know what they'd say, but I knew it wouldn't be the truth, only that could come from me,'' she explained. ''I've never told anyone about my life before. You know everything now, I'm not hiding a thing, I promise,''

Steve smiled and reached over to put his hand on hers.

''I trust you,''

Sam stood in the main room of their underground tunnel hideout or whatever it was being called, looking around at all of the weapons that Maria Hill had managed to get her hands on before she went into hiding with Fury. There were boxes full of guns and deadly tech, all kinds of SHIELD inventions he hadn't heard of, but if it got the job done he didn't care what they were called.

He looked over to Jess who stood in the corner going through one of the boxes and laying out her chosen weapons on the table beside her. Sam didn't know her well at all, but Steve had faith and trust in her, and that was enough for him.

''You were a pretty good shot earlier,'' Sam spoke, trying to break the silence since it seemed too quiet. ''How'd you learn to do that?''

Jess looked over and shrugged.

''Fear, I guess. I've ran into a lot of unpleasant assholes in my travels. It's easier when they assume I wouldn't have a clue how to hold a gun,'' she put her hand on her hip. ''And when they assume I'm just a kid,''

Sam chuckled.

''Yeah, sorry about that,''

''It's fine, I get it all the time,'' she shook her head, assuring him it wasn't a big deal. ''I'll admit I'm not the tallest 21 year old around,''

''You seem older than 21. I mean, you look younger, but a regular 21 year old doesn't know how to shoot like that or deal stuff like this, and they sure as hell don't look through a box of weapons taking their pick with a smile on their face,''

They both chuckled, the tension in the room lessening. Jess had the feeling Steve was the only one who wanted her here, but Sam was a nice guy.

Wait, so you're the Sam who Steve bothers all the time on his morning runs?'' Jess asked, leaning back on the table as she pulled a belt around her waist.

She looked like a field agent dressed in her long black cargo pants which were secured below her knee by her heavy combat boots. There was a black t-shirt on her as well, underneath the shoulder holster that she was now filling with handguns and any small weapon she could fit into it.

''That's me,'' he grinned, folding his arms.

Sam didn't really have to prepare as much as Jess or the others did. Sure he had weapons hidden on his clothes, but his main advantage against Hydra and SHIELD was the Falcon suit he wore.

''I've seen you before,'' she nodded. ''From far away though, I can never be bother to run that fast that early in the morning. Steve made fun of me too many times so I ended up boycotting the whole thing. I can't compete with a super soldier,'' she laughed.

''Hey, you seem to be doing fine, having come this far on your own since you were a kid, it's impressive,''

''Well, thanks. The bird suit is pretty impressive to,'' she pointed out. ''I've never seen anything like it, or heard of it,''

''There's only one left, and I called it before you get any ideas,'' he joked. ''Only one Falcon,''

Jess was sitting inside on her own, looking over a photo she always kept in her pocket when she was in the middle of running from one place to another. It was of her parents, smiling together as they looked into each others eyes adoringly. It always made her happy to see the picture. No matter what was going on in their lives, she always knew her parents loved one another and their daughter more than life.

If today was going to be as dangerous as she thought and as bad as she'd been warned, she wanted to see the photo one last time, she wanted a happy memory to be fresh in her mind. She was doing this for her family, she was going to try and save the only other person in it, even if she didn't know the man.

''That's your parents?''

Jess looked up to see Steve walking up close behind her, his eyes on the photo in her hands. He had been outside speaking with Sam, presumably about what they were going to do, but she gave them their privacy as she'd been given hers.

''Yeah, it was in my pocket, I forgot about it,'' she lifted the photo and passed it to Steve. ''Still think I'm the one who looks like Bucky?''

Studying the photo, a smile crept onto Steve's face as he looked at the man. He was almost an exact copy of his father, it was surreal. Steve had a lot of time to feel sorry for everything he had missed in his past, but he'd also felt sorry for the life Bucky didn't get to have either. He missed out on being a father, watching his son grow up, meeting his granddaughter and having a wonderfully normal life in Brooklyn.

''He looks just like him,'' Steve shook his head in disbelief. ''I bet he was like Bucky,''

''My grandmother used to tell him that. He had Bucky's playfulness apparently, but then again my grandmother only knew him for a night and the rest of us didn't know him at all,''

''Bucky had a brother though,'' Steve remembered.

''He didn't have kids. He died in a building accident years after Bucky. My dad was the only Barnes left and then when he and my mom died, it just left me,''

''You're the only one left,'' Steve nodded.

He remembered the day Jess's mother had died and Steve found her during a breakdown, repeating the fact that she was the only one left now. It all made sense to him.

''But I'm not, not really anyway. Bucky is still my family whether we've met each other or not, he's still my...grandfather,'' she made a face, realizing how odd it was to call the deadly soldier such a name. ''I can't give up on my family,''

''You don't have to. You've got me too, you know. You'll always have me,''

Jess smiled up at him before she heard noises from the other room. They were about to leave, there was no time to reconsider. She looked down and made sure she was ready, checking over her clothing and weapons before noticing Steve still looked the same.

''Haven't you gotta suit up or something?''

They'd been walking for a while now and finally made it to the clearing across from the Triskellion. They had their way of getting in, but they didn't want to get caught before they had their chance, so they'd made their journey on foot. Sam walked ahead of Jess, fitted with his Falcon suit, next to Maria who looked very professional in her SHIELD field uniform.

But it was Steve's clothing that Jess was fascinated by. They had to steal it from the display at the Smithsonian, which Steve usually wouldn't condone, but technically it did belong to him. It was the same one she'd seen in photos, the one that wore when he fought alongside Bucky in the war. In that uniform, Jess could clearly see that he wasn't just Steve Rogers, he was Captain America. The Captain America.

''So we had to make a stop so you could out-dress us all?'' Jess looked back at Steve.

Sam chuckled loudly in front and Maria's lips pulled up into a smile. They all found the uniform intimidating in all honestly, they were fighting alongside a war hero now, the man SHIELD had widely praised throughout the years.

''Gotta have a uniform,'' Steve smiled.

''This is a uniform,'' Jess pointed to her all black ensemble. ''That is a relic,''

They continued walking, hoping they'd find their moment to get into the Triskellion soon. Security was high, but Maria knew her way around them. Steve walked up behind Jess and grabbed her arm, pulling her back as the others walked on. Jess looked up at him, confused and then worried.

''What is it?'' she asked, alert.

''I don't want you to get hurt in this,'' he began, ignoring her sigh of frustration. ''No, listen, I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourself and you know how to fight and shoot a gun, but if this gets out of hand, I want you to run-''

''Not an option,'' she shrugged. ''I'm not going to leave if it gets too hard,''

''It's not worth dying for Hydra,''

''It's worth it if it destroys them and saves Bucky,''

Steve looked away for a moment. He understood her reasoning, but he wasn't going to let her lose her life over Hydra, they'd done enough to her. This wasn't her battle to fight, this was SHIELD's mess.

''I'm just trying to look out for you, like Bucky use to for me,'' he hung his head low, the memories paining him. ''He wouldn't want you to die at the hands of Hydra,''

They started walking again when Maria turned to see how far behind they were, but Jess wasn't finished.

''I'm not going to let them kill me. I'm a fighter Steve, I have been my whole life, I'm not going to stop now. I'll fight until I can't anymore, but I won't die. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. But that speech you just gave me, it goes for you too. Bucky wouldn't want you to die like this, for Hydra to ruin you too. We'll both do what we can and fight with all we've got and we'll be fine,'' she told him.

Steve nodded in agreement, giving her a light smile to let her know he believed it would all be okay. Truth was, he wasn't sure. He'd taken down Hydra once before, but now they were stronger than ever. They turned SHIELD on them, they were insiders now. He couldn't be sure if they would come out of this okay or if Hydra would be destroyed, but he was going to give it everything he had.

Meanwhile, across the bridge at the Triskellion, Alexander Pierce was welcoming the World Security Council members into the building, ready to launch Insight. The project that was meant to kill criminals and threats before they had the chance to do damage. The project that would take away the entire world's freedom.