Sam
It was early morning when Sam opened his eyes. He was lying in the guest bed, he wasn't under the covers though. His face was in the pillows, he lifted his head to look at the time. He stopped halfway and put his face back down in the pillow. He could actually sleep this morning, a break from getting up at five. The sun had just started to shine, he opened his eyes as he laid there. He looked around with the one eye that wasn't pressed up into the pillow. He saw that the room was dim, he could only see the soft subtle light coming from his door. He pushed himself up almost like he was doing a pushup, he turned onto his back and exhaled comfortably. He looked up at the ceiling in the small consciousness that he had. He didn't want to get up, for once he just wanted to stay asleep. The sound of someone moving in the kitchen made him wake up a little more. Sam slowly sat up, he felt his muscles stretch as he did, he let a low groan escape his lips. He saw that the apartment was bright and awake outside his door. Clearly Morse was an early riser. He sighed and moved his legs over to the edge of the bed. He placed his feet onto the floor, he arched his back and pushed his shoulders back and his back cracked slightly.
Sam stood up and he took a few steps, he stopped and looked back at the bed, he thought about falling back onto it. He continued toward the door and opened it. As the light hit his low light accustomed eyes he shut them quickly with a groan. He slowly opened them and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. He walked out of the room and into the hallway, he looked at the white walls. There was nothing on them, they were white and plain. Sam rubbed the back of his head and walked toward the kitchen. When he walked around the corner he saw Morse was cooking something. She looked up and noticed him, she smiled "Morning"
"Morning" Sam said, clearly still tired.
"You might want to move" Morse said
Sam frowned "What?" he heard someone behind him and he turned out of whoever it was' way. A man walked into the kitchen, he was putting on a shirt, he looked at Sam "Hey man" he held out his hand.
Sam took it and shook it, he still didn't get why he was here, or who the hell was he. He looked at Morse "I never got your name"
"And you don't need it" she said as she grabbed a plate out of the cupboard. He nodded "Got it, I get the protocol"
Morse smiled and he turned to leave "Nice seeing you though"
Morse sighed "Yeah, maybe I will see you around the city"
"Maybe"
The man left a few minutes after that, once he got all of his things. Sam looked at her when he left "When did this happen?"
"Last night, I went out"
"And brought home someone"
Morse looked at him "I'm not a monk Sam, I have sex with people"
"Do they always end like that?"
"Usually, they're only good for one night, once the booze wears off, eh"
Sam looked back at the door "Well, um, what are you making?"
"Eggs"
"Save any for me?"
"Yeah, the plate that is already filled with food" she said pointing to a plate to her left that has eggs and toast and sausage. Sam walked over "Thanks"
"Don't mention it"
Sam took the plate and walked over to the couch and took a seat. He began to eat, he was almost done with his eggs when Morse joined him on the couch. She sat down and ate her toast first. Sam didn't say anything till after he was down to just his toast. "So, does that happen often?"
"More since I'm not working" she said taking a bite of her eggs.
"So, did you forget about me last night?"
"No, I just…" she looked at him "Wait are jealous?"
Sam frowned "What? No, I just…" he was caught off guard with the question "I want to know that while I'm staying here if I should get used to that"
Morse nodded "You might" she said smiling at him.
Sam nodded "Ok, that was all I wanted to know"
"You sure?"
"Yeah"
"So you don't want to…"
Sam looked at her, she stopped talking "How's the food?" she asked looking down at her plate wanting to change the subject. Sam looked at his plate that was absent of food "It was good"
Morse nodded and took a bite of her eggs, she glanced up at him it was quiet and a little awkward now. Sam finished his toast and stood, he moved toward the kitchen to put his plate in the sink. He took a deep breath and he turned around. Morse wasn't looking at him, he stared at the back of her head, her long blonde hair draped over her back. He walked toward the hallway "Thanks for the breakfast"
"Your welcome" Morse said looking over at him, but he was already in the hallway and out of sight. She sighed and looked at her plate of food. She put it on the table, she lost her appetite. She leaned back into the couch and put her head back. She exhaled, closing her eyes.
Sam closed the door and looked at the bed. He rubbed his eyes and walked toward it. He sat down on the mattress and pulled out his phone. He stared at the dark screen, and he put it back on the nightstand. He fell back on the bed and let a huffed sigh leave his lips as he laid there staring up at the ceiling. He placed his hands on his chest and intertwined his fingers. He closed his eyes and did his best to relax, the warmth of the bed didn't make it hard, but he was making it hard. His mind was thinking a million thoughts a mile a mile a minute. He inhaled deeply and exhaled, hoping it would help. It didn't.
Peter
That morning it was still early and Peter had told Aunt May that he was going to school, or at least he would have been, if Felicia hadn't got him out for a week. He decided to spend that time in the city doing what he loved. He was crouched on the ledge of a building. He watched as taxis and other cars drove through the streets. He looked around and he was waiting for something to happen, he wasn't exactly proud of himself when he got excited when something bad happened. He kept the police scanner open and he listened. He had forgotten the ear pieces for FRIDAY at home, not in his routine to take them with him, next time. He felt his communicator ping and he looked at it. It displayed a text, cool that it linked to his phone, makes contacting someone better than having a phone stuffed somewhere in his suit. He looked at it: Morning Spider.
Peter sighed, Felicia never left him alone, well ok he was alone right now, but you know what he meant. Peter looked away from it and it pinged again. He looked at it: Come stop me ;)
Peter sighed and he heard voices on the police scanner. There was a robbery going on in Hell's Kitchen. Peter thought for a second about not going, it couldn't be her. Not to mention he didn't really want to see the Devil of Hell's Kitchen again. Peter looked down at his communicator as another text came: You coming?
Peter cursed to himself and jumped off the roof and fired a web and swung toward Hell's Kitchen. Peter wasn't going to enjoy this was. He swung over the street and he heard some people yell random things at him. He couldn't really hear though. Peter crossed over into Hell's Kitchen, sad part was you could tell. Peter landed on the roof of the robbery in process bank. Peter flipped over the edge and attached himself to the side of the building. He pulled up a window, breaking the lock. He leaped in and he was standing in a file room. He looked at the printer. "Who knew I would be in the file room one day" he said under his breath.
Peter walked forward and opened the door. He slipped out quietly and he could hear people moving below him. He saw a stair case that led down he leapt onto the wall and he crawled on the wall and transferred to the ceiling. He saw thought he could hear people it was really just Felicia pulling a large diamond out of a safety deposit box. Peter silent shot web at the ceiling and lowered himself upside down behind her. He stayed upside down and he titled his head. He put his fist to his mouth "Ahem!"
Felicia gasped and turned around "You did show up"
"Well you did text me" Peter said
"That I did, so what's the plan, hand me over to the authorities?"
"Pretty much"
Felicia smirked "Good luck"
Peter let go of the web and landed on his feet "Put the diamond back Felicia"
She looked at it in her hand and she looked at him "I don't think I will"
Peter knew she was going to say that, he took a step forward and someone landed to their right. They both looked and it was the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Peter slumped his shoulders "Oh man"
"Hi Devil" she said
Peter frowned "Wait you know him?" he asked pointing at him
Felicia shrugged "Yeah"
"Cat, put the diamond down" he said
"Cat?" Peter said
He looked at Peter "You again"
"Well yeah, we live in the same city"
He didn't say anything "Well look at that" Felicia said
They both looked at her "The two costumed boys that I know, both here for little old me"
"Just put the diamond back" they both said in unison
They looked at each other. Felicia smacked her lips "I think I'll keep it, get them boys"
Peter and Devil saw twelve men walk into view. Peter and Devil backed up and bumped into each other in the back. They looked at each other "This happen to you often?" Devil asked
"All the time" Peter said looking at all the men, Felicia was sitting on the banister of the stairs and her leg hung over it as she sat back admiring the diamond. They looked at the men that were surrounding them. Peter put his hands into fists and let them open, he let them open loosely. Devil could tell that they were nervous, their hearts were beating rapidly. The guy next to him though, his heart was calm and steady. Peter took a step, one pulled out a pistol he ducked and fired a web at the pistol. He pulled it out of his hand. Devil side flipped over him and punched one in the face. Peter flipped back and kicked one into the wall. He fired a web and pulled himself toward two of them. He hit them both with his feet and he landed on his back and pushed back and kicked one behind him. Devil hit one in the ribs and then punched him in the nose breaking it. Peter dodged a punch and jabbed him in the ribs and swung his body and hit him with his foot. He fell to the floor hard and Peter fired a web onto him so he couldn't get back up.
Devil blocked a punch and dodged another as he tried to hit him, he twisted the ones' arm that was in front of him and kicked him in the back, sending him into a display case. He leaned back and a fist flew past him, he came back and knocked his arm out of the way and smacked him in the throat and kicked him in the lower gut. Felicia enjoyed watching them beat the crap out of them. She saw Devil dodge another punch and Peter jumped over and hit him in the face, Devil came up and broke the man's jaw. Peter slid across the floor and spun his body and hit two men in the groin. Peter came up and grabbed both by the collar and pushed them to the floor. He felt his head buzz and he rolled out of the way of a bullet as one man fired the pistol that and been thrown across the room earlier. Devil heard the gun go off and he turned and grabbed the man by the coat and pulled him back. He punched him in the throat as he fell back. He rolled across the floor and dove over an unconscious man and came up, a fist went for him and he felt it hit him in the face. He came back and kicked the man's leg sideways and he hit him in the ribs and he felt two break, he put his hands on the man's head and kneed him I the jaw, making the man bite down so hard that his jaw cracked and his one if his molars broke.
Peter rolled himself over Devil's back and kicked on in the face and hit him with both fists, making him fly into the wall. Peter and Devil almost hit each other as the noticed that there wasn't anyone else to fight. They stopped and looked at each other. They were both panting and they looked at Felicia. She was still admiring the diamond "Well that was quick"
"Put the diamond back Cat" Devil said
She frowned "Fine" she tossed the diamond to Peter and he caught it. Peter handed the heavy rock to Devil. "It's fake anyway"
Felicia hopped off the banister and walked toward them "Well see you boys around"
"Not so fast Cat" Devil said and he grabbed her arm. She looked at him "Be a good boy" she tapped his face. She looked at Peter "See you around Spider" She rushed him and gave him a passionate kiss. Peter moved his hands to her waist as she broke away and jumped onto the banister and disappeared. Peter exhaled and Devil looked at him. Peter turned his head to him "What?"
"Well that was unexpected"
"She does all the time" Peter said a little more calmly than he should have. Devil shook his head slightly "I thought you wouldn't be coming back"
Peter stared at him as he walked away and looked back at him. "I tend to follow her around"
"Yeah, well stop, she is just playing"
"So interesting to see you out during the day, aren't you a night person?"
"Not anymore"
Peter nodded "Ever thought about joining the Avengers?"
Devil chuckled "No, not the kind of place someone like me goes"
"And someone like you is?"
"A loner" he answered
Peter watched him leave "if you ever want help…"
"No" Devil said before he disappeared.
Peter nodded, well that could have gone worse. Peter looked at all the unconscious men lying around the large room. He tip toed out of the room "I'll leave you guys to your beauty sleep".
Natasha
"Nothing gets in the way of your mission, why would you even want them?"
"Welcome to the world"
"Don't fight it, let it come naturally"
"Hold down the feelings, they make you weak."
"Don't let your past define you and tell you where you should go"
Natasha opened her eyes and whispered "Steve". She closed her eyes and opened them again. She was lying in a bed and she was lying next to Steve, he had her close in an embrace. She was warm in his arms and not to mention his huge flannel over shirt. She softly breathed, her eyes were wet, she was crying. She wiped them away as softy as she could, she didn't want to wake Steve and make him move. She wanted to stay in the warmth and the only thing that she was sure of. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She stayed quiet as she tried to fall back asleep. She couldn't though, but she didn't want to move, and that she could accomplish. First of all she wasn't going anywhere in one of Steve's embraces, and why would she? Natasha knew that she shouldn't have that reaction whenever someone mentioned them having kids and she can't. She had accepted it a long time before now, but that was when she was alone and had no one special in her life. That was when she was the Black Widow, she still is. It may not be her normal face, but it's who she is, that was going to have to be dealt with eventually, and she was working on it. She wanted to get over it, she spent so many years numbing herself to it that she never really thought about it too much. She knew that it wouldn't change anything, but now that she was with Steve and he made her want things that she never thought she would want. A normal life? She was willing to give it a shot.
If someone would have asked her that a few years ago, she would have laughed and told that that love for children. Now she just seemed like a hypocrite, but she never really thought about it back then. She did for a brief time when she first met Clint, but he was already married, so that wasn't going to fly, well it would have if Clint was a dick, which he isn't. So Natasha accepted being just her for a long time, and she was the go to person whenever she had a mission to seduce someone, yeah that led to a lot of unfortunate nights. She never saw it that way though, it was just work and how she lived, and it was all she knew. With Steve, she was seeing different things, things that she never had that she wished she did. Now she was just here and had no idea what was coming, how could she? It was all uncertain and Natasha wasn't used to that, she always had Intel about everything, nothing passed her by. The uncertainty was killing her, but having Steve was nice, he always seemed to be solid ground whenever uncertainty was ahead, him and his damn optimism, she wished she could be like that. She still only saw the bad things and with uncertainty means bad things can happen and you have to deal with it as it comes, god it must be annoying being normal. Now she was living it, she thought about Clint, when were they going over there? She would ask Steve later. She opened her eyes and looked at him, his hair was messy from the pillow, he was asleep and he looked like he might let out a snore at any moment, but he didn't. Natasha could feel his heart against her hand as it laid on his chest. Still steady and calm, not hard to fall asleep to something that was so sure in what it was doing. She kept her eyes on him. He was deep in sleep, she smiled softly.
She looked at her left hand and the ring wasn't there, she had left it at the facility, now she missed it. She wanted it back on her finger, but she knew that she wouldn't be wearing it in public, as much as she wanted to, her and Steve needed to keep it between trusted people. She didn't trust the press, that was a just a mistake waiting to happen. They would have a field day with them. Captain America: the man who stands for truth and justice, sees the best in everyone and wants to protect everyone. Marrying the Black Widow: a notorious assassin that doesn't have any truth, surrounded with lies and uncertainty if she is either good or bad. Yeah that sounds like a field day for the press. Did Steve really care though, would he be able to handle it? He was ok with it being a secret, but was it just because that's what she wanted? If everyone did know, how good would it be? It would bring more danger, all the enemies would know and they could use her to get to him, or him to get to her. Was that worth the risk of just being labeled? Uncertainty was all that lied down that road, yep she hated it.
She moved her hand close to his face, she didn't touch him though, she kept her hand close to his skin, she moved her hand down and she felt his breath on her palm as it drifted over his mouth. Natasha closed her eyes and she slightly moved her leg and she felt something pressing against it. She smirked, she looked at Steve, and he was still asleep. The night was ruined by her, maybe the morning could be rekindled by her to. She was still in his arms, she moved professionally and she made her way down. Her hands slowly moving down his chest, she smirked mischievously as she slowly moved down and she was under the covers slightly, if he woke up now he would see red hair at the edge of the covers. Natasha placed her hand onto him and she felt him under his boxers. She moved her hand slowly and quietly and put it into his boxers and pulled him out. He was fully awake down here, maybe he just needed a little encouragement to wake up, up there.
Natasha breathed on it and she could feel it pulsing in her hand. She slowly put her lips on the tip and kissed it softly. She looked up and Steve was still asleep. She smiled wider and she placed her lips on the tip and wrapped around him and lightly moved her tongue over the tip. She made him rub against the inside of her cheek and she heard a soft moan come from him above. She glanced up and he was still asleep, she was just going to have to try harder. She took her mouth away and she moved her hand slowly up his shaft and her fingers went around the tip and she lightly squeezed. Another moan came from his lips, but he was still asleep. Natasha decided not to play nice anymore, she put the tip against her lips and then took him as deep as she could.
Steve slowly began to open his eyes and he felt something lightly squeeze his member. He moaned slightly from the small pleasure that came from whoever was down there. He noticed that Natasha was missing, he opened his eyes more when he felt someone put their entire mouth over him and he felt their tongue go around him. He moved the covers out of the way and Natasha was sucking on him, she looked up once she was caught. She took him out of her mouth and smiled at him "Morning" she said and she put him back into her mouth.
Steve moaned "Morning"
Steve didn't entirely remember too much after that, except that it was amazing. Steve was lying on his back and his head was at the end of the bed. He was breathing heavily and he was actually sweating. Natasha was lying over him and their naked bodies were wrapped around each other. Steve looked at Natasha, she was in a similar state that he was in. She looked up at him "Well I made up for last night"
"You did, and you didn't have to"
"But I wanted to, and I wanted to give you a wakeup call" she said smiling at him playfully.
Steve smirked and looked back on the recent memory "And I answered it" he said with a contempt smile.
Natasha smirked "That you did"
Steve looked around for the alarm clock, it was on the floor. He tilted his head a little as it stared up at him upside down. It was still morning, and there was a lot of time till everyone would be back from the break that they were given. Clint wanted them over for Christmas, he assumed that meant Christmas Eve as well. He looked at Natasha, who was waiting on him with a simple gaze that gave him a hint that she was deep in thought. "So what do you want to do today?" he asked looking at her.
Natasha sighed "Nothing"
Steve smirked "Well we have to do something"
"I have an idea"
"And that is?"
Natasha moved up and she was still lying on top of him. She moved her hand up his chest and placed it on his jaw. She leaned down and whispered into his ear "Exercise"
Steve looked at her, her eyes gave off a sign of playfulness and the small smile that she gave him made his heart quicken in pace. He smiled "You're on Romanoff"
Fury
The Helicarrier was busy as usual, Fury was walking toward Jane's lab. He had Sharon Carter behind him. They were only a few halls down from the lab. Sharon kept up with Fury as they moved toward the lab "Update" Fury stated
"We still have no location on Yelena Belova"
Fury grunted "Zemo?"
"He keeps slipping from our grasp"
"Try harder"
Sharon nodded "Um…sir?"
"Yes?"
"What about Alexie?"
Fury sighed annoyed when he heard the name "He still won't say anything of value to me, maybe when Rogers finally interrogates him"
"When is that exactly?"
"Rogers wanted him to stay in our custody till after Christmas. He had plans"
Sharon sighed "I don't really think we should be waiting that long"
"It's only a week"
"Yeah, that gives him a week to get out"
Fury thought about that, but Alexie didn't seem like he wanted to go anywhere. "I don't think that's part of the plan"
"Then what is part of the plan?"
"Hopefully it isn't in motion anymore since Niko is dead"
"Did we ever find his body?"
"He fell off a cliff and landed on frozen ice, if anything, he's frozen right now. Not to mention he has over five bullets in his chest"
"Ok point taken, but what if Alexie and Niko knew that this would happen, don't you think that they would have a backup plan?"
"Maybe, but I highly doubt it, Niko never trusted anyone with that much information. Niko liked to make deals, Alexie must have been offered something just like the others that he dealt with"
"What could Alexie possibly want?"
"No idea, right now though, we let him cook. Let's focus on finding Belova and Zemo, they're still out there"
Sharon decided not to push the topic any more than she already had. She saw Agent Allen walking toward them. Fury looked at him, Allen fell in with them and walked next to Fury "Report?" Fury asked
"I had a team search the base like you asked, they didn't find anything"
Fury stopped in his tracks and looked at him "Nothing?"
"Not even a body"
Fury sighed "Did you have them check the water?"
"Yeah, there was a clear sign that the ice had broken and something went into the water. Other than that it could take weeks to check the entire body of water"
"Keep at it, I would like to think that Niko is dead, but otherwise, I want a body"
They wall walked into Jane's lab, Fury saw Jane as she was typing away at her computer. She looked up at them "Well I have a treat for you"
Fury felt a small amount of victory "What kind of treat?"
"Well, Yelena had a safe house in Serbia"
"Why Serbia?" Allen asked
Jane shrugged "I don't know, the view"
Allen chuckled "Well it wouldn't be the first time"
Fury swallowed "Anything else?"
Jane nodded "Yeah, Zemo is popping up more every day that goes by, he's up to something"
"How is it you find things about them that we can't?" Sharon asked
Jane shrugged "I have help from Gerald, charming fellow"
"Any idea what he's up to?" Fury asked putting his hands on his hips.
Jane shrugged "From what I have right now, I have no clue. He spends a lot of time doing nothing." She walked over to another computer, she typed on the keyboard "I mean look, he makes a move and then he's gone for an extended period of time"
Fury looked at the timeline that she had made from the data that she was collecting. Fury tilted his head "Any patterns?"
"That's the thing, no. if he was meeting someone annually then there would be, but it seems that he is constantly on the move and whenever he stops to talk, he makes a blip on the search grid, other than that, nothing. Even the little blip he makes loses all relevance an hour after he leaves, he leaves now traces, it's almost like…"
"He wants us to see what he is doing" Allen said
Jane nodded "Exactly, it may be too soon, but he may have some people on the inside"
"If we had a mole again, we'd know." Fury stated
"He could be using other sources" Sharon said
"Like what?"
"That is Miss Foster's job to find out, you two are going to that safe house in Serbia"
Allen and Sharon looked at each other, it was a good thing that they weren't free for Christmas.
Hill
Hill was lying in the bed that she had fallen asleep in the night before. She was snug under the warm covers. She shifted slightly and lightly moved her head on the pillow. She opened her eyes and first she forgot where she was, she blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. She saw that she was in a cave like room, but it looked like marble. She remembered that she and Bucky had stayed with Gerald. She looked to her right and Bucky wasn't lying next to her, the bed was even made. She pulled the covers off of her, she quickly stood and grabbed her clothes; she was naked after all. She pulled her pants up and did the button on her jeans, she pulled one of her shirts over her. She looked at herself, she looked ok. She walked toward the exit, she looked down the hallway while still inside the room. She walked down the hallway slowly, her hand was gliding along the wall. She heard voices in the library that Gerald mentioned, it amazed her that all of this was under the pub.
She came to the edge of the doors to the library, she didn't really know why she was trying to snoop, but she was. She heard Gerald's voice first "James, calm down"
Then Bucky spoke in a hushed but loud tone "What do you mean they can't find his body?"
"He fell down a cliff and landed on a frozen lake, there are sign that the ice broke and something went into the lake. Niko maybe dead still, just somewhere in the lake"
"Do you really think that Fury is going to find anything?"
"I don't know, but I hope, even if they don't we don't know, the lake is deep and huge. It may take a while"
She heard Bucky sigh frustrated "Why is it whenever I think I've killed the man he's alive"
"James, no one said he was alive"
"Gerald, you and me both know Niko, you know that he could survive that"
She heard Gerald stammer over his words "James…try not to think about it, he's dead. You shot him in the chest over five times"
"Yeah and Red Room stuffed him into a cryo chamber for seventy years"
"Cryo Bucky?"
"He was awake the entire time Gerald, he doesn't get affected by the cold"
"Even if that's so, you still shot him and he fell down a cliff, his body is broken"
"I don't know Gerald"
Hill heard Gerald speak in a tested voice "Don't do this James"
"Do what?" Bucky led with a sigh
"This, you instantly assume that the worst is coming and you stop whatever you're doing and you go check it out yourself"
"Maybe I should"
"Dammit James, that's not what I meant"
"Then what should I do just let Fury take care of it?"
"Yes, spend time with Maria"
Hill heard Bucky shift and she had a feeling he was looking at the doorway in her direction. "Maria?" Gerald asked
Hill took a deep breath and walked into the library "So Niko may be alive, nice"
"Don't you go assuming too" Gerald pointed at her
"Well honestly Gerald I have a right to assume, Niko wants Bucky dead"
"Yeah and looked where trying has got him"
Bucky stood up from the chair that he was sitting "Gerald, I don't trust what Fury does"
Hill looked at him even surprised what he said "Why?" she asked
Bucky looked at her "Well frankly he hasn't done the best job"
Hill put her hands on her hips "Don't talk about Nick like that"
"I'm just telling the truth, Hydra grew in S.H.I.E.L.D., and then he pretended that he was dead which everyone still thinks he is, he hasn't done much"
Hill glared at him "You've known him for what a year?"
"So?"
Hill was shocked "So, I know him better than you, and he's a good man and he has done a lot. Fury has done so much that we can't even talk about, honestly I would think you'd have more respect for him"
Bucky sighed "I don't want to fight"
"To damn bad Barnes, we're fighting!" she snapped
Bucky looked at her, Gerald stayed quiet, not his place to speak. Hill walked up to Bucky and glared at him. Bucky looked her in the eye and he didn't say anything. She slapped him in the face and it echoed throughout the room. Bucky took it and Hill flared her nostrils "Maybe you haven't changed"
Bucky watched her stomp out of the library and Gerald raised an eyebrow. Bucky looked at him and he could tell he was going to say something "Please don't"
Gerald titled his head "She is right though" he said turning back toward his desk that was cluttered with books.
Bucky took a deep breath, way to go Barnes. He walked out of the library and followed Hill. He saw a glimpse of her as she walked into the room that they stayed in. He followed, he noticed that his boots where making loud smacks on the floor, he softened his steps, he didn't want to sound angry. He came to the doorway, he stood at it. Hill was standing at the far corner, her back was to him "Come to apologize?" she asked
Bucky could tell she was mad, and she was right to be. He was out of line, she did know Fury longer than he did. "Yeah" he walked into the room.
"Well I don't feel like hearing it, how about you just go back to the states and check out the situation about Niko, it's what you really want to do"
"Do you really thing that's what I want to do?"
"Don't know, you're not giving me any proof otherwise" she said with her back still to him.
Bucky sighed "I'm sorry what I said about Nick, I don't know him enough to give judgement"
Hill looked back at him "That didn't stop you though"
Bucky nodded "You're right, it didn't"
Hill fully turned around, her arms were crossed and she still looked pissed. "Well then, I guess you meant what you said"
"Yeah, I did, there face it" Bucky said
"I am, I'm just thinking about whether not to shoot you"
"Well I would have had it coming"
Hill glared at him "Don't go trying to add some of your weird humor into this"
Bucky breathed and gave her a smile that was clumsy and unsure. Hill shook her head "Just go"
Bucky frowned at her words "I'm not leaving"
Hill rolled her eyes "You usually do"
"Yeah I do, I don't trust a lot of people Maria"
"Maybe you should work on that"
"Most people haven't given me a reason to try"
Hill rubbed her eyes "I have heard these words before, this is exactly what Natasha sounded like when she first became a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent"
Bucky wasn't too surprised to hear that "Well I don't blame her, coming from her standpoint you really couldn't trust anyone in Red Room, or Hydra for that matter"
Hill sighed "What happened back then?" she swallowed "You've told me what you've went through, but what have you done, or what did they do other than make life hell?"
Bucky took a deep breath "It's not a nice story"
Hill walked forward "Well I get that, but sometimes stories need to be told"
"Not this one" he inclined
"Well if you won't. I will" Gerald said from the doorway
Hill looked at him, Bucky turned his head and sighed "Gerald you know why we don't talk about it"
"Well that's because of what is entailed with it" Gerald walked forward and leaned against the wall "James is right though, you sure you want to hear?"
Hill looked at both of them "How else will I understand why you act the way you do?" she gave Bucky a look.
"Don't blame James, or Natasha for that matter. They are…survivors of horror stories"
"I don't blame anyone"
"Yes you do" Gerald said chuckling "You just don't seem like it, but you do"
Bucky looked at Gerald, he seemed to look older than he had in years, he wasn't happy or smiling, nothing but a somber face was displayed. Hill nodded "I want to know, I need to know"
Gerald nodded and gave Bucky a look. Bucky nodded and stood up from the bed. Gerald walked forward a little more "Now, where to begin?" he gave a sheepish smile. It quickly disappeared. Bucky closed the door and leaned against the side of it. Hill noticed how he stayed a distance away from them, he crossed his arms. He kept his mouth shut. Hill looked back at Gerald, he glanced down at the bed and blinked a few times in preparation. "Now, I must ask you not to think of us less after this"
Hill stared at him, Gerald nodded "In 1942, during the invasion of Stalingrad"
"Like the movie Enemy at the Gates?" Hill asked
Gerald nodded "Good movie, but yes. There was a soldier named Ivan Petrovich. He was credited as being cold and courageous, the Russians loved him"
Hill chuckled softly at that, Gerald tilted his head in agreement, Bucky stayed still and didn't do anything, his face stern. Gerald continued "He was alone in the streets of this godforsaken city and he came across a pub, and within was a noise. Well he inspected it, after he took the pub as shelter from any German patrols. He investigated the noise and he found a woman. She was wounded badly, she had a small baby girl in her arms. Her name was Natalia Alianovna Romanova"
"Natasha?"
"Yes" he nodded "The woman gave her to him, she died soon after. Ivan took Natalia and got her out of Stalingrad, he raised her as his own. Now fast forward a few years when the good Captain and Bucky Barnes were taking out Hydra, one base at a time. One mission was a success but with one casualty, Barnes was declared K.I.A. Only he lived. Whatever Armin Zola did to him while he was in his custody at the Hydra base helped him survive. He was found by the Russians, they of course were Germany's enemy, but not Hydra's. See the organizations that came about in this time such as Department X and A.I.M. and ONI much later, they had a deal with each other. They would work together, but also in their countries best interest, but they would do their best to leave the other agencies alone." Gerald cleared his throat and slightly smirked "Red Room gave him to Hydra, Zola was in contact a few years later once the war was over and he was recruited by the U.S. Government. He in his spare time worked with his other Hydra agents and began their slow infection into the new agency that was created years later"
"S.H.I.E.L.D." Hill said
Gerald nodded "But during the years from 1945 to 1947, the Winter Soldier was created. A faceless assassin for Hydra. Now they did so well that the KGB took notice, they wanted Hydra to loan him to them, and like the business partners they were, they agreed. KGB just wanted him to keep the memories of Red Room, otherwise wipe everything else." Gerald looked back at Bucky, he was still stone faced and emotionless.
"Now during his time that he was with Hydra, he killed important targets in our time and he shaped the century, well that was all good for Hydra, helped them stay hidden. Red Room was busy with their own projects at this time and they saw the effectiveness of the Winter Soldier and they wanted his skill set, he was tasked with training the Black Widows and a secret project only given a name: Wolf Spider. Bucky was not entirely needed for the Black Widows till much later, but Wolf Spider was his main concern. The boy named Niko Constantin was to be trained and experimented on by a Professor Grigor Chelintsov, he also helped Hydra with wiping Winter Soldier's mind, so easy for him to choose what he remembered. He hid the fact of what they were doing to Niko while he wasn't there. Grigor wanted to push it as far as he could, and he did. Soon Niko could heal almost instantly, quiet a pain in our necks, but sadly it made him more unstable as it went on. Eventually Grigor saw him as a lost cause and casted him aside. Then Winter Soldier was tasked with training the Black Widows in emotion control. This is when he truly met Natalia Romanova."
Bucky blinked and Hill saw that he was still emotionless. She looked back at Gerald and he continued "He made her into the assassin she is today. He taught her ways of seduction and how to control her emotions, the seduction classes were…um…the most damaging. The Winter Soldier would play with her mind, treat her special and then do nothing. He got her to fall for him then he broke her heart, cliché as it is, but it's what happened. He taught her that nothing like love matters it's for children, interesting enough, before this she was engaged to be married, well Natalia saw it as something that was necessary, even though she did like the man, but he died soon after they were wed. It was another ploy to make her even colder. It worked to, but she wasn't cold enough, just one more thing to take away"
Hill frowned, she looked at Bucky and he adverted his eyes away from her, the first sign of shame he gave the entire time that Gerald spoke. Gerald breathed and continued "She was given the graduation process, being the last Black Widow and Red Room's last chance for success. They gave her their form of the super soldier serum, developed by Lyudmila Kudrin, a brilliant Biochemist. She developed the serum to slow aging and increase white blood cell count, it made Natalia age slowly and she was immune to most poisons and diseases. Now it also in a way sterilized her. Her fallopian tubes themselves still work, they weren't tightened. She has such an overabundance of white blood cells that they kill anything foreign in her body. We already know that the female body already tries to kill the sperm as they try to fertilize an egg, also the egg is in danger even if it is fertilized; they don't basically. So in other words, it is overkill so she cannot have children. This is what truly made her the Black Widow, they took her and broke her so many times that she couldn't be put back together again, not by herself anyway. Not without help"
"Clint helped her"
"Yes our good friend Mr. Barton did and we have to thank him for it, or Natasha Romanoff would not be here. Now after Black Widow became an agent full on, the Winter Soldier was no longer needed at Red Room, they gave him back to Hydra, permanently. Where he spent his time with them from 1984 to 2014. Now I know Natasha's birthdate is 1984, but it's really 1942, Red Room made those files when she fully became the Black Widow, she spent the next years becoming what she was, deadly, then she defected. And there she is now with the Avengers. The Winter Soldier on the other hand was not free so easily, it only took his best friend to break it out of him. Now he is learning as quickly as he can and he has a fiancé who I might add is very beautiful" he said smiling
Hill chuckled, Gerald spoke again "And Niko came back and tried to kill him and now he is dead or maybe alive, but it doesn't matter. Back then he had one friend, me. I tried to keep a good record of him the best I could but I can't tell him all of Hydra's operations because I don't know. He has friends now and" Gerald looked at Bucky "And we will stand with him, against anyone"
Bucky blinked and a tear fell down his cheek, Hill looked at him. She gave Gerald a somber look. He gave her a sad smile "So that is a short version of what happened, the rest is for history, but only for the few. The others will not know, and we can't. We have to go with what we know. So Maria, that is the reason why he acts the way he does, not knowing what the next person will do, could you trust everyone you met? It is difficult for him, so what do you think of him?"
Hill looked at Gerald and at Bucky "I think he deserves a second chance and that he's a good man. And that he does have a beautiful fiancé" she said with a smile
Bucky exhaled, Gerald smiled and with a chuckle "Told you, you dummy"
Bucky chuckled at Gerald words and he took a deep breath. "Now you know why Natasha hates me so much"
"Well I would hate you to if I was her" Hill said
"So, don't defend me from her that I do deserve. If someone has the right to blame me it's her, even though it wasn't me, but the blame is not all mine, just everyone who was involved. So I have to live with what I did so yeah, I'm not the greatest person"
"The Winter Soldier was a dick" Hill said
"That he was" Bucky said
Allen
He'd been to Serbia once before, but that was a long time ago, and it was in a city, not the middle of nowhere. The Quinjet landed a good distance away from the safe house, if Yelena was there, she wouldn't see them coming. Sharon was walking a few feet behind Allen, she had her hand on her pistol in her holster at her thigh. Allen held a rifle, he had it close. He kept his eyes on the safe house and the small area around it. Sharon looked around, all she could see was white she couldn't even tell if there was any hills around. Allen lifted his rifle a little higher as they came closer to the safe house. Allen stopped as he looked at the ground, He held up his hand to Sharon, she froze.
She looked at him, he pointed to the ground, she looked, there was metal prongs sticking out of the snow. Allen shrugged slightly "Well we have mines"
He advanced slowly, making sure he wasn't going to step on one. Sharon walked directly behind him and stepped in his foot prints. Allen stepped over a mine and moved on, Sharon did the same. They got to the general vicinity of the safe house. Allen saw that there weren't any more mines, he turned around and he put the barrel of the rifle into the snow and drew a large line. He looked at it, it was good enough; at least they could find a safe way to leave. Sharon walked past him and looked at the windows of the house. They were dark, the house seemed to be empty, but she didn't let her guard down. Allen followed her to the door of the house. Allen noticed a cellar, he gave Sharon a silent indication of the cellar. Sharon gave him a nod, he turned and walked toward it.
Sharon saw him put his hand on the wooden door that would let him down into it, he gave her a nod. Sharon pulled her pistol out of her holster and cocked it. She kicked the door open as Allen entered the cellar. Sharon moved in and checked her corners, she was standing in a living room that was empty and dusty; no one had been here in a while. She kept her pistol ready though, she moved on to the next room. She entered the kitchen and she saw that there was still dishes in the sink, she could smell mold on them, and she squinted in response to the smell.
Allen moved through the dark basement, he stepped over boxes that were full of canned foods. He found the stairway, he went toward it, he had to squint a little and focus on trying to see in the dark. He made it to the very badly taken care of stairway. He slowly ascended the stairs, one creaking step at a time. He came to the door and he pushed it open with his hand, keeping his rifle ready. He came out to a kitchen and he saw Sharon standing there covering her nose. He saw what she was frowning at, the dishes in the sink were covered in mold "Yeah, no one's been here in a while"
"You've got that right" Sharon said in a disgusted voice.
Allen walked down the hallway, he came to an office like room, there was a computer sitting on the small wooden desk. He lowered his rifle and he walked over to it. He pulled the small computer chair out and let it roll across the room on its wheels. He clicked the computer on. The monitor booted up, he wiped the dust from the screen. "Hey Carter, come look at this"
Sharon entered putting her pistol back into her holster, she walked up to the computer with interest "Find something?"
"Maybe"
She watched as he clicked on a file, it was audio files. Allen frowned as he looked at the name of them "What is Project Reborn?"
"No idea"
Allen clicked on the first audio file. A voice came on and it seemed to be intellectual, probably a doctor or scientist. "The idea for the Super Soldier project may actually show some relevance"
Allen and Sharon looked at each other, the voice spoke again "Jim thinks it could work and that is enough for most of us here at ONI"
"ONI?" Allen asked looking at Sharon. The voice came again "The subject that we have been interested in has shown some quality, it may be too soon to say, but we might actually be able to do this"
"Noah, how is the device?" another voice asked, this one seeming older, with more authority in his words, probably Jim.
"It's…it's incredible sir, it is in the final stages of production"
"Good, well hopefully we'll have more success with this one than the Power Man"
"Hopefully, how is our subject?"
"He has a name doc"
"Yes…sorry…how is Richardson?"
"He's doing well, I think I will ask him tomorrow"
"So soon?"
"Why not, the device is working, we can update it can't we?"
"Well, yes, as we develop better technology we can tweak things"
"Good, have you been able to solve the problem with the AVX patch?"
"Yes, it have integrated it with the device instead of having it be separate, this way it actually lasts forever basically, overtime I can make it better so he can be stronger"
"Our dream is coming true, we might actually be able to make Captain America"
"It's a shame Dr. Erskine died so soon"
"Yes a tragedy, and that we lost Captain America"
"Yeah"
"But don't worry Noah, this Captain America the new one. He will live up to the name"
"I hope you're right Jim"
"I usually am"
The file stopped at that and Allen and Sharon were silent, they really didn't know what to say or do with that. Allen swallowed "Get the flash drive"
Sharon nodded and took out a flash drive out of her coat and plugged it into the computer, they copied all the audio files. When the download was done, they heard something move outside of the room. Allen turned around and aimed his rifle, Sharon put the flash drive into her coat and pulled out her pistol.
The noise got louder, it was clearly footsteps Sharon glanced at Allen. The footsteps got closer and the floor boards creaked. The footsteps stopped and they saw a shadow of someone standing outside of the room but not in the doorway. The shadow was not shaped like Yelena, it was someone else. They saw who it was and it was a man that stood a head taller than Allen, who was almost two heads taller than Sharon. He was staring at them, he had brown hair and he looked intrigued. "Well, I see you found my other home" he said, his voice was calm and somehow commanding.
Allen swallowed and his heart rate was elevated slightly "Who are you?"
"Well that would have to be up to you, am I the one who here to stop you? Or am I here to see what you are doing here?"
"We have Intel that this house was used by a wanted criminal"
"Who would this wanted criminal be, and who is looking for them?"
"Yelena Belova, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is looking for her" Sharon said
The man nodded "Well you better get going, get out of my house"
"You aren't here often are you?" Allen asked with a testing voice
"I still own the place"
"Then why did Belova use this as a safe house?"
"I don't keep track of anyone who needed shelter, criminal or otherwise"
Sharon stared at the man that was a mystery, he was covered in winter gear, she could only see the brown strands of hair because of his hat, and his face was covered by a thin scarf. Allen took a step forward, the man chuckled "Put the gun down, no need to be hostile"
"Sorry if I don't trust strangers"
"Well I wouldn't blame you, now get moving before I change my mind"
Allen doubted that he could do very much, just because he was big, didn't mean he was be able to take them out, especially unarmed. Allen and Sharon made their way past the man and out of the room. He stared at them as they left "Be safe, it's cold out there" the man said as they left the house.
Allen and Sharon left the house and were walking back towards the small mine field so they could leave. Allen turned to look and he noticed that the man was standing at the door, he was holding a bag "Is this yours?" he called after them.
Sharon frowned "No"
The man shrugged and opened the bag. The bag beeped and exploded, erupting the house in flame and making wood splinter outward. Terrible crack came from the explosion and the shockwave made Allen and Sharon fall to the ground. Allen dropped the gun and it landed on a mine and it exploded, snow and dirt were shot up into the air and it set off the other mines near it then the others near them. The house was destroyed and it collapsed from the fire and the damage from the explosion, smoke filled the air, Allen's ears were ringing and he could barely hear anything, nothing but a pestering ringing. Sharon groaned as she put her hand to her ear. Allen looked back at the house and how everything was gone. Allen heard a motor and he looked a woman in all back and with long blonde hair handing out from under a hat was sitting on a snowmobile. She gave them a little wave and drove off, Allen pulled out his pistol on his ankle and fired at her.
He didn't hit her, she was too far away and he could barely see anything from the snow that was now falling. He groaned and he noticed that he had a piece of wood in his shoulder. He pulled it out and gritted his teeth, Sharon got to her knees "Well that sucked" her muffled voice said
"Just be happy that we have whatever was on that computer" he said to her, not knowing if she could hear him or not.
Sharon grimaced slightly as she had four shard of wood in her leg, she had a cut on her foreword and blood was streaming down the side of her face. She wiped the blood out of her eye "Fury needs to know about this"
"How much you want to bet that he's going to be pissed?"
"Without a doubt"
They both exhaled in pain as they slowly stood, Allen put Sharon's arm over his shoulder and he helped her walk back to the Quinjet, they were both lucky to be alive, the guy that showed up was nonexistent now, being in the direct explosion would do that to you, Yelena knew that they were coming, she must have had it set to explode from a detonator. The idea of another Captain America was enough to make you fall on your ass, but now it was certain that there actually was another Captain America, the one question: What happened to Him?
Sharon was sitting in a chair in the middle of the Quinjet as Allen got it up into the air and set it on a course for back to the facility, he put it on auto pilot and he helped Sharon removed the shard of wood in her leg and he helped patch up her head. Allen took a deep breath "Well our first outing ended with death and fire, not so bad"
"I've had worse"
"Me to"
Allen pulled out a large shard of wood and Sharon grunted in pain and he looked at her "Sorry".
"No problem it's the headache I'm about to have that is going to annoy me, hit my head on the ground pretty hard"
"I have aspirin back at the facility" Allen said smirking
Sharon chuckled "It would be greatly appreciated".