Chapter 8

The radiation alarm went off according to plan, and Peggy led Howard and Agent Reed into the lab. The large space was mostly empty, but not empty enough. Gunfire sounded as her agents faced off against the Soviet soldiers. Howard immediately went to work disabling the automatic door.

"I've got it!" Stark exclaimed behind her. Peggy turned to see the door whoosh shut. "Or not," he amended.

"Get it open quickly," she shouted as she picked a soldier off the catwalk above. "We don't have a lot of time."

"I am acutely aware of that," he retorted, sounding annoyed.

The sound of battle from across the lab was escalating. The only good thing about the sealed door was that it prevented the arrival of more soldiers. The only other exit was still blocked by the cave-in from their previous assault.

"Protect Stark," she ordered Reed and ran into the fray. Steve was surrounded by five men, but as she watched, he took them out one by one with his shield. Dugan was holding his own with his rifle, and over by the computer banks that separated the medical lab from the main room, Parker and Belenko were working back to back shooting guards on the catwalks like they'd done this before. Pearson was slumped against the wall with a bullet wound to his right shoulder and was attempting to shoot left-handed. One of the Soviets was about to take advantage of Pearson's poor aim when Peggy downed him with a clean shot to the head. She pulled Pearson to his feet and helped him towards the exit.

She glanced into the medical lab and once again noticed the human-sized metal capsules lining the walls. She recalled Reed mentioning other human test subjects, so she ran back after getting Pearson settled. Peggy kept her back pressed against the warm, humming computer banks as she rounded the corner. The soldiers were all in the main laboratory–this section was completely empty. She ran to the nearest pod and peered in the darkened glass window. It looked vacant. She checked several more but none were occupied. Maybe Reed had imagined it.

Peggy scanned the room again, hoping to find something to shed light on what had been done to Steve in this room. She noticed a large empty space on one of the walls that previously had a solid line of capsules and filing cabinets. The cabinet was gone. Maybe Reed hadn't imagined anything. Both the research and the subjects had been removed. Either the last assault had spooked them or they knew S.H.I.E.L.D. was coming back. Peggy hoped it was the former, and she ran back to the exit.

She was surprised to find Howard collapsed beside the door and Reed nowhere in sight.

"Howard," she exclaimed kneeling beside him and hurriedly checking him over. He didn't appear to be bleeding. He let out a groan and a mumbled curse before moving a hand to his head and opening his eyes.

"Someone beaned me."

"Where's Agent Reed?"

"I don't know," Howard said, slowly getting to his feet.

"And the door?"

"I think it's time for plan B."

"Stay here," she ordered. "I'll get you help." She sprinted part way across the lab shouting for Steve and delivering a solid right hook to a guard who got too close. Steve rushed to her faster than she expected. "Can you pull the door open?"

"I'll try. Dum Dum, plan B," he called without looking behind him.

"You got it, Cap," Dugan responded as he swung the butt of his rifle into another soldier's head.

Peggy returned to doors to find Steve and Howard had pried them far enough apart to wedge the edge of Steve's shield between them. A familiar voice behind her speaking in Russian caused her to turn around.

"Agent Reed, where did you–" Peggy broke off at the sight of the pistol pointed at her chest.

"I can't let you succeed," Reed said calmly, her hand steady.

Pearson noticed them and shouted, "Eleanor, what are you doing?"

"I don't want to kill you, John. Stay out of my mission, and I won't have to." Reed's voice shook slightly with the threat. Pearson was stunned into silence.

"The charges are set. There isn't enough time to disarm them all. The lab will be destroyed, but you don't have to be," Peggy reasoned.

"But you do." Reed spoke again in Russian, and Steve, who had been strangely motionless during the exchange, approached. He seemed oblivious to Reed or her gun as he walked up to Peggy, and before she could think to defend herself, he had his hand wrapped around her throat. Peggy's hands instinctively went to his to try to loosen his grip and let some air into her lungs. If he'd used his full strength, she'd be dead already, but even now his hand was an unyielding vise.

"Steve," she rasped. "It's me, Peggy. You have to fight this." In the distance she could hear Howard yelling at Pearson to shoot him, but it took all her focus to keep pulling at the hand around her neck. The blue eyes across from her were cold and vacant.

"You've never backed away from a fight," she whispered painfully. "Don't let the bully win." The iron grip around her neck loosened just the tiniest bit, and she strained to pull air into her lungs.

Peggy was vaguely aware of Reed shouting in Russian and other voices yelling in the room, but the blackness at the edge of her vision was growing larger and larger, threatening to consume her.

She must have passed out briefly because when she came to, she saw Steve squeezing something in his other hand and the grip on her neck was continuing to loosen. Steve blinked and suddenly released her like his hand was on fire. Howard caught her before she could hit the cement floor. Peggy took a shallow, painful breath and noticed Reed lying on the ground.

Footsteps pounded towards them, and Dugan shouted, "Time to go!"

Steve moved slowly, looking dazed, but he helped Dugan pull the door open. Peggy would have gasped if her lungs allowed it when she saw three bullet wounds in Steve's back, his white shirt stained red with blood. Howard tried to pick her up, but she waved him away and chose to stand with help. Parker hoisted up the unconscious Reed, and Belenko helped Pearson through while Steve and Dugan held the doors open.

The first explosion shook the building just as Steve stepped through the door, releasing it to slam shut behind him. The rest of the building was thankfully vacant as navigating the rumbling stairs was difficult enough. The team moved through the darkened streets of Moscow as quickly as they could, not concerned about drawing attention at this point. The three vehicles still waited at their meeting point, and the small caravan headed north out of Moscow.

Peggy looked out the rear window to see a red fireball rise into the night sky. Her throat and lungs ached, and she couldn't produce more than a raspy whisper. "Howard, that wasn't-"

"Nuclear? Not even close," he replied, glancing in the rearview mirror as he drove.

"What happened?"

"Are you asking about the explosion or Captain America trying to kill you?"

"But he didn't." She couldn't resist glancing at the car behind them with Steve, Dugan, and Pearson. "I think something got through to him. Besides, we have a bigger problem. We had a Soviet mole in S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Think there might be more?"

"Possibly." Peggy paused in thought. "She must have notified the MGB about Volkov."

"And tampered with the explosives. She was the one helping Osborn, wasn't she?"

"Who knows what other information she may have passed on. No one would question an analyst looking for files."

"Looks like you've got a bit of work to do," Howard said as he turned off the dark stretch of highway and pulled over. The other two vehicles followed his lead.

"What are you doing? We're not even halfway to Leningrad."

"Hitching a ride," he replied, pulling out the long collapsible antenna of a homing beacon and depressing the button on the front of the device. Howard got out of the car and looked up at the sky, and Peggy followed suit. She heard a noise like a propeller, but louder and choppier. Suddenly, bright lights illuminated the field as a helicopter touched down.

The seven agents (more or less) picked their way carefully but quickly across uneven terrain. Dugan carried the tranquilized traitor, Reed. Howard and Peggy reached the helicopter first, and Howard took the seat next to the pilot.

"Good evening Mister Stark, Miss Carter," the pilot greeted them in clipped, British tones.

"Jarvis?" Peggy asked incredulously.

"We have a slight trust problem in S.H.I.E.L.D. right now," Howard explained. "And Jarvis is checked out on the new Stark H-5."

Peggy resisted rolling her eyes and joined the others taking their seats. The only empty spot was between Belenko and Pearson. Someone had hastily bandaged Pearson's shoulder, but the white bandage was already staining red. She saw that Reed had been handcuffed to a railing and silently nodded in approval before noticing the cuffs around Steve's wrists.

"Is this necessary?" she asked, not sure where to direct the question.

"I asked," Steve replied calmly. "I couldn't risk hurting anyone."

"Maybe we should gag Reed, too," Belenko said bitterly. Pearson flinched at the comment.

"She fooled us all," Peggy said gently.

"What are you going to do with her?" Pearson asked.

"She'll be questioned and turned over to the Department of Justice."

Pearson nodded, and Peggy wasn't quite sure if he was satisfied or relieved by her answer. Maybe both. The helicopter's rotors started up again, and the noise precluded any further conversation.