Steve showed up at the gym at one o'clock dressed in sweatpants and tee shirt. He scanned the area and saw the Strike team with Rumlow in charge taking over the ring. Rumlow called out names and they got in the ring and started sparring. Steve watched for a few minutes and shook his head. Their idea of sparring was to cause pain to each other. It was brutal and no one held back.
As he watched Clint and Natasha walked up beside him. Clint groaned as he watched one of the newer members take a kick in the balls and go down hard.
"These guys are assholes," Natasha stated.
"Be nice. We have to work with them," said Clint then he grimaced as the new guy took another hard hit.
"I wonder how Rumlow ever got through SHIELD's psych eval," growled Natasha.
"All you have to do is tell Kline what he wants to hear," smiled Clint.
"This isn't team building. It's sadism," Steve stated in a soft voice to himself.
Before Clint or Natasha could remark Steve walked towards the ring. He stopped beside Rumlow.
"Do you mind if I get some sparring in?" he asked pleasantly.
"Why not, Captain?" smiled Rumlow.
Steve didn't like his smile. It reminded him the way all those bullies he fought in Brooklyn smiled.
"Thanks," said Steve.
He waked over to the ring and in a clean, easy vault went over the top rope and landed almost in the middle of the ring. Walking over to the new guy he helped him up then said, "Go take a seat."
"Thank you, Captain," said the new guy.
Clint and Natasha wandered over to the ring to watch. Rumlow shook his head as the new guy limped over to the stands and sat down. Steve looked at how man were left. There were five included Rumlow.
"Rumlow, why don't we make this interesting and have you all attack me. No holding back," said Steve.
Rumlow grinned then said, "You're in charge, Captain."
"Yes, I am," said Steve.
Rumlow looked at his remaining men and nodded. They all climbed up on the ring and entered it. Steve just stood there as if he was waiting for a cup of coffee. The first man to attack him ended being kicked so hard that he landed on the floor outside of the ring. The next man was used a battering ram to knock another one of them out of the ring then Steve tossed him effortlessly out of the ring. Now it was Rumlow and Rollins. They were the two most experienced and two toughest. Steve smiled as they came at him.
"I told you there was a good reason to like him," Clint said to Natasha.
"His technique needs work," she said as she watched him dismantle Rollins and Rumlow. When he was done with them he grabbed one by his right hand and the scruff of his shirt and the other by his left hand and the scruff of his shirt and carried them out of the ring.
As the Strike team nursed their injuries, Steve spoke up.
"I'm in charge of this mission, which means I'm in charge of you. We are a team. We don't hurt each other, we support each and have each others back," he told them. "If you want to spar like your Roman gladiators then I can request a new Strike team from Director Fury. Now I expect this Strike team and agents Romanov and Barton in conference B for a debrief at four. Dismissed."
He walked away leaving some scowling faces and a few smiles. Natasha smirked.
"I think I'm going to invite him to dinner tonight," said Barton.
"We were going for steaks," said Natasha.
"I bet he eats steak," grinned Clint.
She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Natasha had seen Clint adopt stray puppies before and there was nothing you could do.
AVENGERS
"Okay. Tomorrow is a free day. Thursday is our go day," Steve ended the briefing.
Natasha noticed that Rollins had a black eye and Rumlow was sporting a swollen jaw that kept him talking too much. Everyone except Steve, Clint, and Natasha stood up and filed out of the conference room. Clint looked at Steve.
"Nat and I are going for steak at a pub called Murphy's in Georgetown. You care to join us, Cap?" Clint asked.
Steve looked surprise at the offer. He smiled in a way that made him look even younger than he was.
"If it's not a bother, I wouldn't mind," he said.
"I asked so it's no bother," Clint said. "Nat is driving me in her corvette. You want to follow us on your bike?"
"Sounds good. I just have to change," he said.
"We do, too," mumbled Natasha.
"Forty minutes in the lobby," said Clint.
Forty minutes later Clint was on his cellphone talking to his wife, while Natasha leaned up against a pillar. Clint was dressed in jeans, a polo shirt and black leather jacket. Nat was dressed in black jeans, black knee high leather boots, a black silk shirt, and black leather jacket. Clint hung up when he saw Steve coming there way. He was dressed in jeans, a blue oxford shirt, the brown World War II leather jacket he wore back in the war and carrying a canvas bag that had his shield in it.
"Hey, Cap," said Clint. "Just follow Nat."
"Sounds good."
Twenty minutes later they were at Murphy's being seated in a booth. Clint and Natasha took one side and Steve sat opposite them. The waitress couldn't take her eyes off of Steve. He tried not to notice.
"We'll have three t-bone steaks, baked potatoes, and creamed spinach," Clint ordered for them.
"And to drink?" she asked looking at Steve who stared at the table top.
"A pitcher of beer," ordered Clint.
The waitress left.
"I think I only finished the t-bone here once," said Clint. "You should do fine with your appetite."
"It's embarrassing sometimes how much I need to eat to keep my metabolism going strong," said Steve.
"Your food bill must be ridiculous," said Natasha.
"I'm kind glad I had so much back pay coming to me," smiled Steve.
Clint chuckled. Natasha sighed.
"So, Cap, what do you think of the Strike team?" asked Clint.
"I wish they had been trained differently. There is no team cohesion but they have blood lust," he said.
"They can't be trusted," Natasha said in Russian.
"Trust is earned," Steve said to her in Russian.
She looked at him in shock. Natasha wasn't used to people understanding her when she spoke Russian. Even Clint never bothered to learn her mother tongue.
"How many languages you speak, Cap?" asked Clint.
"Russian, German, Spanish, French, and Irish," he said. "Once I had the serum in me learning languages was easy."
"Nat has a variation of the super soldier serum in her," Clint told him.
"Really," Steve said excitedly.
"It increased my strength, reflexes, speed, but not on your level. My metabolism is probably twice normal, so I can get drunk. Thank God," she stated.
The waitress came with the food and the pitcher of beer. She laid it all out then smiled at Steve and left. Clint immediately started to eat.
"I heard the estate we are infiltrating belongs to a guy named Zemo," said Natasha.
"That's right. Fredrick Zemo. I killed Baron Helmet Zemo during the war," Steve stated.
"Hydra definitely needs fresh blood," smiled Clint.
Steve started to eat his steak.
AVENGERS
The Quinjet was headed towards the Zemo Estate in Costa Rica. Clint was checking his bow, while Natasha sat on the bench beside him trying to get a nap in. Rumlow and his men were prepping their weapons. Steve sat and watched everyone.
"ETA forty minutes," the pilot announced.
Steve closed his eyes for a moment. Baron Helmet Zemo was a piece of work. The man was cruel and evil. He experimented on and killed American soldiers in the name of so-called science. Was Fredrick Zemo the same as his ancestor?
"Hey, Cap, infil and exfil, ten minutes?" asked Clint.
"Ten minutes or less," said Steve. "I want you and Agent Romanov to get as much of the intel as you can. The Strike team and I will handle the guards and look for Zemo, just as planned."
"Hey, Cap, you going to make the Strike team obey you/" smirked Natasha.
"I'll make a smartass Russian spy obey me," Steve said in Russian.
"You can try," she grinned then started to check her Glock 22 sidearms and her widow bites.
"So, I heard that you are trying to see movies you missed while in the ice," Clint said. "Have you watched The Godfather yet?"
"No, I haven't," Steve answered.
"I have it on DVD. We'll have order a pizza and watch it," said Clint.
"Have you see The Wizard of Oz?" Nat smirked.
Steve shook his head. Her smirk was starting to get under his skin in a way he didn't anticipate.
"I have seen Wizard of Oz, Agent Romanov," he told her. "It came out before the war."
"Did you like it?" she teased him.
"No, ma'am, I didn't," Steve answered. He was the movie as part of a blind date set up by Bucky. It was a horrible evening. "Though I do like musicals."
Clint snorted, "Cap, you are one of kind."
The time passed quickly. The Quinjet went into stealth mode and Steve stood up to
make an announcement.
"We are bungie cord jumping out of this jet, so check your harnesses then have a partner check it and attach the bungie cord," he ordered.
Natasha checked Clint and Clint checked Natasha. She noticed that Steve merely put on the helmet they made for him.
"Old man, where's your harness and bungie cord?" she asked.
"Must have forgotten it at HQ," he grinned then the red light went on. In five minutes the green light would go on and they would begin their jump.
Steve walked over to the new guy on the Strike team. He looked at his name plate.
"Hogarth," he smiled, "don't be nervous and follow the lead of your team leader and you'll be fine."
"Yes, captain," said Hogarth.
Steve looked at Rumlow.
"When I land I'll start circling the estate clockwise. You and your men will go counterclockwise and we'll meet up," he stated.
"What about Hawkeye and Black Widow?" asked Rumlow.
"They are here for intel collection. We take out the hostiles," Steve re-stated for the tenth time. He was starting to wonder if Rumlow didn't want to follow his orders.
The green light went on. Steve walked over to the rear of the jet, slapped the red button and the ramp started to go down. Before the ramp was fully deployed, he jumped. Clint sighed.
"He likes to take too many risks," Clint remarked.
Steve landed, bent his knees and did a tuck and roll. He came up with his shield ready for action. Behind him he started to hear the rest of his team land. Looking over his shoulder he saw Natasha release her bungie cord about three feet from the ground and land gently. She was followed by Clint and so on and so forth. Natasha and Clint immediately started to make their way towards the estate, while Steve started his perimeter search for hostiles. He didn't get far when he came on four men with assault rifles Before they could get a shot off, he threw his shield taking out two of them and was on top of the remaining two in seconds rendering them unconscious.
As he continued his search he heard a large scale firefight break out. He touched his earpiece and spoke.
"Rumlow, do you have a problem?" he asked.
"Meeting serious resistance, Cap. Keep your head on a swivel," replied Rumlow.
"Cap, it's Hawkeye. Do you want me to check them out?" Clint asked.
"You and Widow get in the estate and get intel. I'll handle this," he said.
Steve picked up his pace and went through hostiles quickly and efficiently until he made it around to the other side of the estate. He found about fifteen dead hostiles and Hogarth dead. There was no sign of the Strike team, though. Steve took a second to stare at Hogarth. He had to be no older than twenty-three. Someone Steve felt he had failed him.
He touched his earpiece, "Hawkeye, status?"
"Widow downloading treasure trove of intel. Give us two minutes," he said.
"No sign of Strike team except Hogarth, who is dead. Meet me at exfil once you have intel," he ordered.
"Yes, sir," replied Clint.
The three made it to the exfil spot. The Quinjet hovered a good fifteen feet off the ground. The ramp was down. Steve got into position and Natasha ran at him. He used his shield to toss her up into the air and onto the ramp. Next was Clint then Steve put his shield on his back, got a short running start, and jumped up onto the ramp. They settled into the Quinjet.
Steve walked down to the pilot and co-pilot.
"When we can break radio silence, get me SHIELD and Director Fury," he stated.
"Yes, sir," said the pilot.
The Quinjet left the jungle behind and headed over the ocean. It didn't get far before the pilot called back to them.
"Secure yourselves. We got missiles in coming," he told them.
"This is going to a rabbit hole," growled Clint as he folded up his bow and attached it to his quiver then buckled up.
Natasha buckled up then she looked over at Steve, who had yet to buckle up.
"Cap, buckle up," she told him.
"Last time I buckled up in a situation like this, ma'am, I ended up frozen for over seventy years," Steve grinned. "It's not happening again."
Suddenly the Quinjet jolted from a hit. The pilot turned on the emergency red light then announced, "One engine down and the other sputtering. I'd recommend preparing to bail."
Both Natasha and Clint unbuckled and went to the parachutes. They each grabbed one and started putting them on. As they were doing this the Quinjet took another hit and started to descend. Steve reacted quickly. First he checked the pilot and co-pilot. The latest hit had killed them. He turned and ran to the ramp and deployed it then looked and saw Clint had fallen and knocked his head on the bench. He was out cold. Natasha was trying to revive him.
He grabbed her, escorted her to the ramp, and tossed her out then he returned to Clint. He carried Clint to ramp and jumped. As they descended, he pulled the rip cord of Clint's parachute then continued his own descent without a parachute. Right before he hit the black water, Steve extended his body. His body submerged under the water then he swam to the surface. Using his enhanced eyesight he scanned the water for two parachutes. He saw Natasha swimming towards Clint. He started to power stroke towards them. Reaching Clint before her, he checked the agent out. He was still out cold, but he seemed fine otherwise. Steve took the parachute off of Clint. Natasha arrived, as the Quinjet hit the water in a fireball.
"How is he?" she demanded.
"Still unconscious but otherwise he seems fine," said Steve. "I want you to hold him then I'll grab you and swim us to shore."
"That has to be two, maybe five miles," she said.
"Yeah, a nice healthy swim," smiled Steve. "Wrap your arms around him and hold him tightly. I'll backstroke it but I'll hold onto your catsuit's collar."
She did as he said. At a speed that surprised her, he had them headed to shore. As they swam Clint started to wake up.
"Ouch, my head hurts," he mumbled.
"Hold on. We should be on land soon," Natasha told him.
"Rabbit hole," growled Clint.
"I know. I know," Natasha said.
Steve got them to shore. He was slightly out of breath but otherwise in good shape Natasha checked Clint.
"He has a mild concussion," she told Steve.
"We need to get moving," he stated. "Whoever shot down the Quinjet will probably be looking for us. You still have the intel you collected?"
"I have," she said.
"Clint, can you walk or do I have to carry you?" Steve asked.
"I can walk, slowly, but I can walk," he replied.
"Okay, we are now in survival, evasion, resistance, and escape mode. Let's make our way to Colombia where we can get transportation back home," Steve stated.
"After you, Cap," said Clint.
Steve grinned and started walking into the jungle.
"He's spry for an old man," Natasha teased him.
AVENGER
As Natasha and Clint started a fire, set up a makeshift camp, Steve went to the Gatun Lake to see if he could catch them some food. It took him several hours and experimenting with many methods but he finally caught six Peacock bass. He also found a plastic two liter bottle and filled it up with lake water. He knew that he could drink the lake water without a problem, as the serum would protect him, but Natasha and Clint would have to boil the water to drink. He returned to camp.
"Fish and water," he said.
Clint was leaning up against a tree. He looked as if he had a headache.
"How's the head?" Steve asked him.
"Not a migrane but I could use some Advil," grinned Clint.
Natasha took the fish and started to gut them with one of her knives. She also had found a way to bowl the water in a makeshift pot. Steve knelt down beside her.
"I'll re-check our perimeter and make sure no one has found us yet," he said.
"You get to the two biggest fish. You need to keep your strength up in case you have to carry Clint," she whispered.
"I'll check the perimeter," Steve re-stated.
AVENGERS
A penitent Rumlow stood in Fury's office. He stared straight ahead as he stood at attention.
"I don't give a fuck how much flak you were taking, you do not abandon your team and haul ass off into the jungle," growled an angry Fury.
"Sir, we were outnumbered and outmanned," said Rumlow.
"You are supposed to be elite warriors. Elite warriors fight, they don't run," spat Fury.
Fury paced back and forth for a moment then spoke again.
"So far all the chatter we have picked up has Rogers, Romanov, and Barton evading capture. They must be on their way to Colombia," he said then he glared at Rumlow. "They better fucking make it to Colombia or your ass is gone from this organization. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir," I understand," said Rumlow.
"Now get the fuck out of my office," yelled Fury.
Rumlow turned on his heal and left the office. What Fury didn't see was the smile playing on Rumlow's lips.
AVENGERS
Besides evading whoever shot down the Quinjet, which Steve chalked up to Hydra, they had to evade terrorists groups that made Panama their home. Steve lead the way. He scouted about a mile ahead of them then circled back and rejoined Natasha and Clint. Clint's headache was finally clearing up.
"I need a vacation," complained Clint.
"I hear Panama City is nice this time of year," teased Natasha.
"Very funny, Tasha," said Clint.
Part of Steve was jealous of Clint's and Natasha's relationship. They appeared not only to be friends but paramours.
"Can we stop and look for food soon?" asked Clint.
"Let's set up an early camp," Steve said. "I'll go search for some food."
Steve and his shield took off leaving Clint and Natasha. Natasha heard some noises and pulled her two Glocks. She scanned the area but she saw nothing. Putting away her sidearms, she started to prep a fire. Clint smirked.
"Getting paranoid, aren't we?" Clint teased her.
"I don't like jaguars, pumas, or ocelots," she said.
"Good point," sighed Clint.
"Let's get the fire started and then find water or some sort," said Natasha.
"Yeah, I got you," Clint agreed.
AVENGERS
They were worried after two hours, but after three hours, they were sure something had to have happened to Steve. Natasha prepared to go search for him when he showed up. His torso was a little worse for wear, but he did have a wold boar slung across his shoulders. Clint chuckled.
"What attacked you, Captain?" asked Natasha.
'Let me check you out, Cap. Pulled down your stealth suit top," she said.
"It'll heal," Steve assured.
Clint got up and pulled out a knife. He started to work on the boar.
"This going make a delicious meal," said Clint.
Natasha cleaned up the claw marks from the jaguar. She noticed that they were already starting to heal.
"You are a lucky man," she said.
Steve, who was a little intimidated by Natasha's closeness to him. She could tell this and enjoyed make him feel uneasy. Clint also noticed it.
"Where's the jaguar?" she asked.
"I smacked him really hard with my shield and it took the fight out of him," Steve told her.
Slowly, almost erotically, she cleaned the last claw mark. Steve blushed. Natasha slowly leaned forward and kissed Steve on the cheek.
"Thanks, Cap," she said. "You've been a good provider for me and sparkles over there."
"Hey, I prefer Clint to sparkles," Clint corrected her.
"It's my duty, ma'am," he said.
"Call me Natasha or Nat," she said.
"Okay, Nat," smiled Steve.
Natasha got up and joined Clint in his work on the boar.
AVENGERS
Deputy Director Hill stormed into Fury's office. The man was standing staring out at DC. He turned to look at her.
"We just heard from Rogers. They made it to Colombia and they have the intel," she stated.
"It's about mother fucking time," smiled Fury.