The Soldier and the Doctor

by thesoldiermormont

Set before, during and after The Winter Soldier. HYDRA hires Mallory Smith, a doctor and daughter to a HYDRA agent, to tend to the wounds of their assassin between missions. Mallory quickly becomes intrigued with the mysterious Soldier and enthralled with the charms of STRIKE agent Brock Rumlow and is caught up in the midst of a decades old conspiracy to take control of the world.

18. This is the End

Maria Hill, the other female agent who finally introduced herself, ran through the full plan to get the Hellicarriers off air. Sam and Steve would carry the chips and take the Hellicarriers off air; the remaining agents loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D would do all they could to hold off the STRIKE and HYDRA teams. Maria would run interference and support from a base just off the launch site. At the same time, Natasha would attend a meeting disguised as one of the Security Council members to surprise Pierce and keep him in custody until Nick arrived to deliver his own brand of justice and access the full archives to dump onto the internet. Unsurprisingly, everybody was reluctant to put Mallory on the ground with them.

Mallory however was less so. This was partly her fault and she was determined to see this through to the end. "Surely there's somewhere you could put me."

Maria sighed. "No offense, Mallory, but I can't authorize a civilian on the ground. If you got hurt or you died, it would be on my conscience and I can't deal with that."

"I'm a HYDRA agent, or I was. I've been in the field before, I can handle it." Her memory gently reminded her of all the nights she had spent crying over her field missions, but she knew that this mission wouldn't be as personal as her last. Natasha narrowed her eyes at Mallory – she knew how hard it had been for Mallory to be in the field – but thankfully she didn't say anything.

"You have?" Her surprise was insulting but Mallory was used to it.

"Yeah. With the Soldier." Mallory explained and she noticed Natasha's fists tightening in the background. "We were tasked – well he was – with eliminating a man who was blackmailing Pierce. I was there for… support."

"And you were okay with that?" The accusation in her statement was rife.

"No, as a matter of fact. Once I found out that he was only do it to rescue his pregnant wife and daughter from the prison's experiments, I made a bit of a stink about it!" Mallory winced at the rising tone of her voice and the steel within. Maria's frame hunched a little and she exchanged an awkward looking glance with Natasha.

Her guilt won over. "I'm sorry. I just... I'm sick of being painted the bad guy."

"You never were." Natasha tried to smooth it over and Mallory laughed harshly, running a hand through her hair.

"Yes I am. I see the way all of you look at me like I'm sort of social pariah." Mallory folded her hands. "I don't blame you if I'm honest, I'd do the same. I suppose it makes me sound completely stupid if I didn't realize who or what I was working for. My job was to protect and look after the Soldier – anything else seemed trivial."

Maria looked at her thoughtfully then spoke. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way. And I want you to know that everybody here believes you."

"I tried to put up a fight for Kohl. And he promised he'd try." Mallory sighed. "He's a good man, really, under all of his toughness. He still killed him but I can't exactly blame him for that. I blamed Pierce."

Maria and Natasha exchanged a look that Mallory didn't quite understand. Natasha walked back to the table and took the seat next to Maria, casually leaning back and placing a hand on the table as Maria continued cleaning her gun.

"Can I ask you a question? Without you taking offense?"

Mallory swallowed, suddenly nervous and nodded.

"Do you love him?"

Her first thought was of Rumlow and she must've looked confused as Natasha elaborated. "The Soldier. Bucky. Do you love him?"

Mallory's throat tightened up horribly. She'd be musing on her feelings about him before yet they were still unanswered. To be honest, she wasn't sure. Probing deeper in the vast expanse of her subconscious warranted no further clarity to her true feelings. She could narrow it down to that she did indeed care for him but to what length? Sisterly love? Romantic love? Friendship love? Mallory chose her words carefully.

"I don't not love him." A double negative which caused Maria to smile and Natasha to crack up with laughter. "But I'm not in love with him. I don't think. He's my friend. I think. And I think I love him like that. Am I making sense?"

"No." Natasha said, between laughs.

"You just sound confused." Maria added, continuing cleaning her gun but meeting Mallory's eyes with a knowing smile.

"I am confused." Mallory admitted. "So confused. I know I care about him but I don't know how. I'm confused about everything nowadays."

Natasha, interested, lent forwards. "What else confuses you?"

Mallory looked off in the distance, Rumlow's face swirling in her mind. "My feelings mainly. About Rumlow. About my dad, HYDRA, the Soldier, this operation. I just feel like I can't concentrate anymore."

She hated Rumlow with the passion of a thousand burning suns but if he told her he loved her and kissed her and took her into his arms again, she knew deep down she'd go weak at the knees and allow him too. She hated her father as well but knew if he said sorry enough and seemed like he meant it eventually she would stop trying to throw drinks over him at family weddings and funerals.

And the Soldier. She cared for him too much but once this had all blown over and miraculously everybody had survived and he had remembered everything, if she found him in her bed waiting for her could she turn him down? An image suddenly broke free of shackles she wasn't aware she'd chained up of her writing beneath him with pleasure as he thrust into her and breathed her name. It wasn't an image she wanted to see right now but it was also not unpleasant to witness. Her head hurt. She chained the image back up.

"Can I give you some advice to help you?" Natasha stirred her out of her thoughts and Mallory nodded eagerly. "Forget it for now. We all have our problems. I'm not going to admit mine and neither is Hill here but we all have them. Just push it to the back of your mind. Focus on our task."

Maria, nodding, added, "Because ultimately, whatever the hell you are feeling is miniscule compared to the mission we face."

They were unkind words but delivered kindly and Mallory knew she was right. Mallory nodded, attempting to suppress all her mind whirring and focus on the mission at hand. Maria and Natasha exchanged another look and Nat shrugged.

"I could watch her." She looked to Mallory. "You know how to use a gun?"

Mallory nodded, remembering all the back yard lessons that had constituted her daughter-father bonding time. She was thankful Nat didn't have the time to ask if Mallory would actually use it. Natasha nodded at Maria.

"I could watch her." She repeated yet Maria still looked unsure. "We'll have the drop on him. We just need to drum up a disguise for her to get her inside."

"Same one as yours?"

Mallory tuned out as they made plans, her mind attempting to clear itself as she felt anxious feelings drum in her stomach. Soon they would be heading off and what Mallory would be doing was unknown to her. The plan was simple but even the best of plans failed and... he would be there. Steve seemed so sure of himself that he wouldn't be able to hurt him but despite all of his brainwashing and torture he had suffered at the hands of HYDRA, the Winter Soldier was still a man who had committed terrible, crimes. Would Steve be able to stop himself once he learnt of Oswick and Kohl's deaths? If the Soldier went after Wilson first and it was life or death, would Steve pick his living and levelheaded friend over the broken one? Mallory wasn't sure. Steve stood for justice, and he stood for freedom but the price of freedom was high. The prospect of the Soldier's death seemed nonexistent after Steve had proclaimed he would try and get him back but now... it seemed so obvious. Images of his agony, by a gunshot wound or perhaps a well placed knife after being caught of guard by either Sam or Steve brought tears to her eyes. Thinking about his death was painful to her.

Push it to the back of your mind. Easier said then done but Mallory tried and ultimately succeeded to switch back to primal commands. The mission. The plan. What was at risk. Mallory pushed her hair from her face and interrupted the two women as they ran through her involvement.

"I have an idea. About what I should do."

She looked up from where she had been staring at the floor and noticed Steve was back, suited in his old uniform he'd worn during the war with Sam beside him, pulling goggles back from his face to see them better. Both women had changed as well; Maria in a S.H.I.E.L.D issued jumpsuit, Natasha in a royal blue jacket and skirt with jewelery that was far too old for her.

"What?" Maria's mouth was pressed into a thin line as she surveyed Mallory's shaky stand to cross the room to reach Natasha. The women clearly disagreed with Mallory's involvement but under Natasha's assurance she had relented to allow her in the field.

"Give me my old phone. I need to make a call when we get there."

"To who?"

"Rumlow."

Maria and Natasha exchanged worried glances and Steve folded his arms.

"Planning on double crossing us?" Sam asked, the only one with a smiling face. Mallory appreciated his lighthearted humor and smiled up at him.

"I wouldn't be a very good double crosser if I told you that." Mallory sighed. "No. I can keep him out of your way. He's dangerous."

Steve nodded thoughtfully, eyes wistful as if he was remembering something. "I know. He's lethal."

"How do you know that?" Mallory eyed him critically. Steve tilted his head and stared at her until it clicked. "Oh. Sorry my ex-Nazi boyfriend tried to kill you."

"Not kill." He shrugged and acted as if they were talking about something casual, like the weather or the state of American politics. "Just maim."

Mallory tried to hide her laugh but failed. Natasha folded her arms and nodded. "Good choice. Rumlow will keep you safe till we can pick you both up afterward."

"Do you think he'll realize I'm playing him?"

Natasha shook her head and spoke grimly. "No. He'll be too blinded with love to realize the obvious."

Mallory pulled up on the sidewalk of the Triskelion and observed the building from the tinted windows of the white Rolls Royce. The entrance was only reachable by a long highway and as they rolled through it both had already applied their disguises. Natasha was disguised as a councilwoman who had been diverted from the meeting by a team of S.H.I.E.L.D hackers who were still loyal to the agency. As her features changed and her voice heightened in pitch, Mallory found a chuckle escape her lips.

"What?" The technology enhanced voice of Nat asked self-consciously.

"Nothing it's just you look nothing like yourself."

Natasha laughed. Mallory freed a hand off the wheel to smooth back her hair. Her clothing was a large jacket worn over her worn-down tank top and some oversized pants that covered her already cargo pants. She kept the shoes on however, guessing that nobody in the Triskelion would look at a lowly chauffeur's shoes. In her right ear nestled a small gray microphone that connected her with everybody who was in on the plan apart from, weirdly, Fury.

Natasha's new face grew serious and she lent forward, the leather seats crinkling. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Okay but make it quick, we're on a time limit here." Mallory turned in the front seat and smiled at her.

A smile crinkled Natasha's new mouth and grew even more serious. "If your dad turns out to be there-" Mallory froze and gripped the wheel ever so slightly, her knuckles beginning to bleach white. "- you do realize we're going to have to take him into custody once this is over?"

The lighthearted tone snapped in an instant and Mallory suddenly could feel the ghost of her fist to her father's face lingering on her knuckles. Mallory dropped her eyes, unable to answer Natasha's brazen stare. She looked at the wheel, attempting to decipher the answer in the emblem imprinted on the wheel. When she finally gathered her courage she looked up and answered Natasha with a curt nod.

"He's HYDRA so he gets arrested." My poor mother. Mallory vowed to explain everything to her once this was over. "I know that. But what about me? I was HYDRA. Do I get arrested?"

Natasha clearly hadn't thought of that as she frowned. After a moments silence of deep thought, she attempted a smile.

"I'll vouch for you. We all will, at the investigation. I'll say that we offered you immunity if you helped us with inside knowledge. We all know you were deceived into being HYDRA and that any crime you committed was unbeknownst to you."

As far as she knew Mallory had offered little inside knowledge apart from informing Steve of the Soldier's weaknesses with his mind to help him get his friend back. This neither helped nor hindered the larger mission so it didn't really count. And nobody had offered her immunity for taking part here; she had wanted too, to clear her guilty conscience. To be honest, a lifetime in jail for whatever crimes they pinned against wasn't desirable but it was no less then what she deserved. Before Mallory could open her mouth, her earpiece crackled and Maria's voice rang out.

"Is she inside yet?"

"She can hear you, you know." Natasha said. Mallory was glad of the distraction and rolled her eyes at Natasha.

"No, she's still here but we're leaving now."

"Hurry. We're on a time limit."

"I know."

Maria sighed and spoke again. "Are you sure you can do this? See him again, I mean?"

Inside Mallory wanted to answer no but she knew Maria would force her to stay away from the ensuing chaos so she nodded and spoke as confidently as she could manage, "Yes I'm sure."

"Okay." Despite the lie, Maria still sounded uneasy. Natasha got out of the car and walked without a backward glance to Mallory in the car to make it seem more legit. She greeted Pierce who waited for her at the entrance and Mallory took a deep breath before fishing her mobile out of her pocket and finding the number that had called her around fifty times in her absence. His name flashed up, only his second name, alongside a picture she had taken of him in her month absence from Department X. Her heart swelled uncomfortably at the sight of him and Mallory found herself, in the silence before the storm, flicking through pictures on her phone.

Amongst old photos of her parents at family gatherings and pictures of Mallory and friends who had long abandoned her, he seemed to have invaded everywhere. Most pictures were of them during impromptu trips to bars or picture marathons in her apartment. Mallory was an isolated young women, reaching out to only her family and Rumlow and the Soldier and it showed so obviously in her photo album. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she came face to face with a photo some stranger taken of them in a darkened bar, the flash of the camera illuminating his Cheshire cat grin as he encircled her with his arms. Mallory was looking at the camera, smiling, oblivious to the look of love he was giving her that even now still seemed real. Did you mean it, Rumlow? Did you mean any of it?

"Mallory? Mallory are you there?"

She jumped in her seat and wiped her eyes, clearing her throat before answering. "Yes, yes, Maria I'm here. What's up?"

"We have the post. Steve's making the speech."

Mallory nodded to herself and wound down the window of the Royce, the faint buzz of the tannoy audible even outside of the headquarters.

"Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D agents, this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down but I think it's time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and INSIGHT crew are HYDRA as well."

This was her cue but she had to listen. It felt good for someone to be saying it out loud, the suspicions she had known and the dirt she had been working for. For Mallory it was a cathartic release of a rotten core inside her, a weight of her shoulders and a pressure release in her heart, a metaphorical sigh of relief. Even if she hadn't revealed it herself, the mere sound of somebody telling the world of the danger they had been working for was brilliant. Mallory, for what felt like the first time in ages, finally felt like the good guy. She was helping the heroes achieve their mission to save the world from HYDRA's control, a control she had helped to put into place.

"I don't know how many more but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want; absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Hellicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in there way. Unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot. The price of freedom is high it always has been and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one then so be it... but I'm willing to bet I'm not."

Mallory lent back in her seat and albeit a little late, rang the number.

He didn't pick up. That was surprising. She believed even if he had lied to her, the fifty missed calls she had received from him would put him on standby. She tried again, and heard the distant crackle of gunfire. Her head snapped up, alongside other S.H.I.E.L.D agents who did the same. Mallory undressed, ripping the chauffeur's pants and jacket off to the reveal the clothes beneath. Mallory got out of the car, switched her phone on vibrate and put it in the cargo pocket on her pants. She fingered the holster of her handgun as she crossed the footpath as inconspicuously as possible and entered the building.

Nobody looked at her. Nobody noticed her as a low murmur picked up after the Captain's speech. Most agents she was pleased to note were on the side of Steve and were making plans to start curtailing the launch of the ships. As she crossed the lobby and tried Rumlow's number again, an agent in front of caught her eye and tilted his head. Recognition flared in his eyes, and as Mallory's inner alarm began to wail, he pulled out a handgun and fired a shot.

She dropped. Instinctively, surprisingly. The Soldier's training of their short lived and painful Russian mission flicked a switch inside of her that had her running across the lobby like some half-starved Celtic warrior, a war cry uttering from her lips. She reached him in seconds. She crashed into the agent without thinking and the pair went wrestling for his gun onto the ground. Instincts she never knew she had were directing her movements, a primal instinct to protect herself. She smashed the butt of her handgun against his temple and the man crumpled beneath her, the body she straddled between her legs going limp and weak with unconsciousness. As the primal instincts of fight-or-flight wore off, Mallory clamped a hand over her mouth with shock and backed away. That was the second time today she had knocked someone out. The agents around her looked stunned.

"HYDRA." She said, to the nearest male agent who seemed to have trouble closing his mouth. She put the handgun back in the holster and felt Maria's voice crackle in her ear.

"They're initiating launch."

Shit. Mallory pressed the button in her ear and said almost breathlessly. "Are they out there yet?"

"Yeah. They have the chips and they're ready to go."

"Natasha?"

There was a pause as Mallory assumed Maria called up the surveillance footage. "She's okay. The other council members are turning on Pierce and it won't be long before she has him in custody and starts dumping data online."

"About time." Mallory sighed. "And Rumlow?"

"One second, let me find him." There was a strained silence as Maria located the agent in question. "Got him. He's heading out of the INSIGHT launch room near the lobby yelling at someone over his comm and- oh now he's checking his phone. He's stopped yelling. Stopped walking actually. You have an effect on him. He looks like he's about to cry. How many times did you call him?" There was a hint of accusation in her tone.

Mallory shrugged. "Three, four. Don't remember."

"Well expect a call right now because he's dialling you back." Her curt tone switched off and a second later Mallory's phone began to sing her favourite song by Nicki Minaj. She let it play for a few seconds, ducking into a storage cupboard in the lobby to answer the phone amongst the distant rattle of gunfire. As she took a breath to calm herself, she pressed the green button on the screen and in an instant the worried voice of Rumlow entered her ear.

"Mallory?" He sounded a thousand years old and weary.

She paused for effect then sighed. "Hey."

The sigh of relief that Rumlow released was loud and he sounded so genuinely relieved that Mallory had to give him kudos for his acting skills. "Jesus Christ – you scared the crap out of me, baby. Where are you? Your dad said-"

The knowledge that him and her father had been in communication angered her.

"I'm in the Triskelion." It was hard sounding as if she didn't want to shoot him.

"What? The Triskelion... where? Where are you? Whereabouts?" He was panicking. Mallory stayed silent for another moment to let him suffer.

In her other ear she heard Maria bark, "He's coming through the lobby, looking for you. Natasha has neutralized Pierce and revealed herself."

Mallory didn't answer Maria but rather Rumlow. "I'm in the lobby." She exited the cupboard and walked shakily across the room, scanning to see him before he could see her. "Can you see me?"

In the briefest of moments before he spotted her, Mallory saw him over by the large S.H.I.E.L.D sign in the lobby. The concern on his face was undeniable and Mallory could feel her heart thudding in her chest with nerves and love. And then as his head swung around and he saw her, his sprint towards her would beat the fastest record in history as he reached her before she'd blinked and thrown himself at her.

The impact was both physical and emotional. The pair swayed and rocked with the momentum of his run, the only thing keeping each other from hitting the ground were each other. Even though they had touched thousands of times it had never felt so desperate, so real and so horrible at the same time.

"I was so worried about you. I thought you were done with me." His words were spoke somewhere between her neck and shoulders.

As much as her skin crawled and tingled she held him tighter. "No. I was for a moment-" They broke away for him to cradle her face in his hands, eyes searching her for any visible wounds. "- But I just couldn't, I just couldn't stay away from you."

"You believe me don't you? That I love you?"

She wanted to shake her head but she nodded wordlessly. Rumlow smiled, breaking her heart even further. As this happened, her earpiece crackled and Natasha's voice patched through.

"Hill said you're with him so don't answer but I have Pierce under control. Data dump commencing."

Mallory didn't react as she processed this information and an alarm started wailing from somewhere within the lobby. Agents that hadn't already scattered began to run properly through the halls and in the distance the crackle of gunfire was growing louder by the second. Rumlow cocked his handgun and motioned for her to follow him.

"Come on. We gotta keep moving."

Mallory nodded and followed him as he lead her across the lobby to a staircase where he began moving upwards. As they did, Mallory bide her time eyeing his cargo pants pockets until she couldn't wait any longer.

"Did my dad call you? About what I did?"

He was concentrating on checking the stairs for any intruders so it took him a moment to reply. "Yeah. You fractured his jaw."

Guilt consumed her alongside pride. "I heard it crack."

"Where did you? We were in the middle of organizing a manhunt till Pierce called." Mention of his name and the acts he had done to her Soldier made her ball her fists but she gritted her teeth and tried to control herself.

"I just went for a walk to clear my head. Started thinking about you. Almost got lost. I remembered INSIGHT's launch and figured you'd be here."

He turned slightly, to smile at her over his shoulder then headed up the next flight of stairs. Mallory sighed.

"Can I call him?"

"Who?" Distraction laced his tone.

"My dad, who else? He isn't answering my calls."

Rumlow dropped his steadying hand from the grip of the handgun and stopped on the stairs, patting around each pockets of his cargo pants till he located the phone. With a hand he unclasped the button and passed it to her, then rearranged his stance to a guarding one as she made the call. Mallory carefully dialed the number and listening to the ringing sound as it faded off and the monotone voice told her it wasn't available.

She tried three times before surrendering. "Huh. Must've switched it off."

The earpiece crackled again as she handed the phone back.

"One Hellicarrier is down. Air support is on its way."

Mallory didn't answer but as they ascended the stairs to the twenty first floor she smiled and felt the warm glow of hope ignite in her. It would all be over soon. Cameras on the staircase meant Maria was tracking her every move and despite his violent nature, she knew Rumlow would never physically hurt her no matter how mad he was at her.

"Two down."

Rumlow kept silent as he took the stairs ahead of her, checking behind each corner. As she walked behind him, despite her better judgement and Natasha's advice, she couldn't help but ponder him. She realized now that everything she knew about him could most possibly be a lie. How his birthday might be in a different month then June. His past pet, the yellow Lab that his landlord had forced him to get rid off. Even his favourite colour could be a lie. She wondered how many times he had gritted his teeth to force out another lie expressing pleasure at what she was saying.

Then the earpiece crackled again. "Air support is gone." Mallory's mouth went horribly dry. "Barnes is here."

As she and Rumlow came out of the stairway and headed along a corridor, he motioned for her to stay there as a man from around the corner shouted loudly through a phone and some others hurried in the alarm punctured silence. With a fury she had only seen matched with Barnes, he swung around and disabled all three targets with his prowess with knives.

"Mal, it's safe."

She turned the corner and stepped over the fallen bodies. His radio crackled and as somebody informed him of a breach in the security council, Mallory bent by the nearest body and checked his pulse. Weak, but still alive. She hoped the rescue mission that would inevitably follow this fuck up would get to him in time.

"Come on."

Mallory followed him back to the staircase which they'd came and she noted he moved with determination, a lethal objective in mind instead of the former target of sanctuary. She folded her arms. "We just came this way."

"Council's been breached by the Widow." He reasoned as they passed the digit thirty four on the stairs and rounded the corner. "Need to deal with her."

Who would win in a fight between Rumlow and Nat? She wasn't sure. Maybe if Nat got the drop on Rumlow she'd come out on top easy but Rumlow had the surprise advantage and he would go in all guns blazing – Nat was a stealth killer, a spy, an agent. Rumlow belonged to STRIKE, who were tactical. She glanced wordlessly at the cameras on the stairwells, and second later in answer, her earpiece crackled.

"He won't get anywhere near her. Falcon's been grounded and he's heading your way."

She wasn't sure what the pararescueman could do in a fit against Rumlow but she hoped it worked. Usually, two against one were favorable odds even if one member of the team refused to shoot a gun against bad guys. But then again, she reminded herself, look at how you took down that guy in the lobby. Without hesitation and if she had hit him any harder she would've caused brain damage. It was frightening that she had done that.

Speaking into the mic, Rumlow broke her thoughts. "I'm on 41, heading for the southwest stairwell."

As he stepped through the door, his foot holding it open for Mallory behind him out of nowhere a large fist sprung out and a yelp of pain landed Rumlow on the floor. Sam, she could see from the back of his head and the shirt he was wearing, and Rumlow had a brief scuffle before Rumlow caught him in the head with his own head and sent Sam sliding across the smooth tiled floor. As he stemmed the blood from his nose, he looked to Mallory.

"Get over her." Mallory obeyed. "You alright?"

Before she could answer, Rumlow started toward her. "You know him?" Then it clicked into place. "You're with them?!"

"Did you really think I would forgive you that quickly?" Anger overtook her and her hand sprung out slapping him hard across the fast. It was a release, akin to an orgasm or a sneeze, a feeling of euphoria followed with a calm she had not felt in a while.

He clicked his jaw back into place but he seemed calmer than her when he slowly turned his head toward her. "I suppose I deserved that. And when you read about all this and you see how they're going to paint me as the bad guy, I want you to know from the bottom of my heart, that I meant every single word of what I said to you."

"Liar." She spat.

"It's true." He looked uneasily from Sam to Mallory. "I don't want you to watch this." And then before she had time to react he had leapt forwards and grabbed her wrist, and then slapping those snap handcuffs on her to a pole that was nailed to the table. Helpless, Mallory could only watch and struggle against the bindings as he shifted into a deadly agent preying on a man who already looked as if he had lost.

Rumlow unzipped his jacket and threw it to the floor. "This is gonna hurt. There are no prisoners with HYDRA. Just order and order only comes through pain. You ready for yours?"

The moment was intended to be dramatic but Sam spat out blood and looked disgusted at him. He looked toward Mallory, his face now resembling a semi concerned and frustrated expression before he looked back to Rumlow who now stood dancing on the balls of his feet like a boxer, gearing himself up for what looked like an almighty clash.

"Man, shut the hell up."

For a man who seemed like he had been losing previously and had identified himself as a man who was slower then Captain America, Sam Wilson could hold his own. Even without his extraordinary Falcon wingpack, the pararescueman was useful, innovative and deadly. He held his own against a dirty fighter like Rumlow. They threw each other against walls, through the glass computers, onto tables. Knives were slashed and stolen and used against their owners. At one point Rumlow began contemplating using a firearm but Sam kicked it clean across the room, rendering the fight less lethal but still deadly. The fight seemed to go on forever each punch made by both opponents making her cringe with pain or cry out in suffering, before her earpiece crackled and Maria spoke. As she was about to speak, outside, a huge rattling akin to the thunder of Thor or the crack of an earthquake sounded. The floor rumbled beneath them and the building shook, as if the earth itself had cracked and split open to swallow the Triskelion and all of its illegal activities straight to Hell.

"All three Hellicarriers destroyed. As far as we know, Steve and the Win- Barnes were still on that ship."

Mallory's eyes fringed tears and an ache shot through her chest. They're both super soldiers. They have a better chance then anybody. Unless Barnes had killed Rogers, breaking his promise to Mallory that he wouldn't hurt anybody. She couldn't even respond to Maria as her hands were bound; she just had to sit and wallow in sadness as her ex and the pararescueman fought and the Hellicarriers crashed to river along with the world's only two super soldier best friends.

Hill spoke. "Mallory? Mallory are you there?"

Rumlow picked Sam up and threw him through a table, shattering even more glass and making Sam groan with pain on the floor. Rumlow jumped on the opposing table and panted heavily, as Mallory strained and squirmed on the floor with her hands bound.

"You're out of your depth kid." He quipped, but as he did that both Mallory and Sam swung their heads to look at the looming shadow of a Hellicarrier in the background. Mallory's heart seemed to throw itself into her throat and thud dumbly in the background, the feeling of imminent death breaking her out into a cold sweat. She was helpless to move to free herself from the situation.

Or so it seemed. Rumlow followed Sam's train of sight as he moved and slid on his knees towards Mallory, tugging at the cuffs in a vain attempt to free them. As he did that, Rumlow dropped from the table and as he began his sprint to safety passed a magnetic strip across the tiled floor to Mallory. She pressed it against her cuffs and almost magically, they released her from her bonds. She barely had time to rub her wrists before Sam grabbed them and hauled her up, his war cry of "RUN!" shrouded in the deafening sounds of the Hellicarrier crashing into the building.

Mallory and Sam were ahead of Rumlow, and behind her she heard his gruff voice swearing with passion as the trio sprinted forwards. The pressure of Sam's hand clamped around her wrist was worse then the handcuffs but somehow the pain of it was a secondary feature to the certain death experience she was currently having. It was like a bad dream, running from destruction only she knew she wouldn't wake up. She could only grip Sam's hand back and run faster then she'd ever run before, attempting to keep ahead of the destruction behind her and in step with the fit man beside her.

Sam was speaking into the earphone. "Please tell me you got that chopper in the air!"

She didn't hear the reply or who it was, but Sam's voice edged up an octave with fear as they slid across the ground and jumped over some falling debris. "41st FLOOR, NORTHWEST CORNER."

A second later he screamed, "NOT AN OPTION!" with his hand tightening around Mallory's and their pace increasing. As they neared the edge of the building, Mallory began to pant heavily, her legs cramping. She felt her heart stop completely as they reached the edge and the world sharpening with pain and fear as their feet left the shaking solid ground for freefall. She never looked back to see where Rumlow was, or if he'd made it out.

They fell. It was like that moment where she'd jumped down with the crazy man on the bridge with the Soldier's crew. But worse; much worse. That moment of freefall was extended to forever, with glass shattering behind them both and the scream of Sam as they windmilled through the air. The force broke their hold on each other and Mallory found herself begging at him. But the words of no take my hand don't let go please don't let go never left her mouth. Instead they were replaced with a scream of terror as she realized how far away the chopper was and how the pilot pulled it on its side for the two people within. She couldn't see Steve as they crashed toward the ground.

As they fell through Mallory went first, and the pilot was a second too late on pulling the chopper back up. She fell straight through the entrance of the chopper and right back out the other side, plunging to certain death.

A/N: I know it's late but I've had a prom to prepare for, I've been ill as hell (still ill right now but feeling much better now) and I sorta lost a little mojo with this chapter

Anyway, the response has been crazy. Twenty thousand views! That is intense guys! I am read every comment and you all motivate me so much. Everybody seems to be on board for the sequel so that'll be happening. I don't know whether or not to wait for Age of Ultron but I do have a vague idea of the plot. But thank you for your patience and understanding!