8 – Truth Will Out – May 13, 2012
Aspen's eyes widened as two men stepped forward, both holding guns trained on her and Steve. She recognized them as the ones who had been trailing them. Clearly their trail hadn't gone as cold as she had hoped.
"Your biggest mistake?" she asked.
"Experiments gone wrong. Something your parents would understand."
"Were they behind these experiments?" Aspen asked both fearing and craving the answer.
The man just smirked. "Your parents were behind a lot of things," he said.
"How did you find us?" Steve asked.
"Anonymous tip," the man returned.
"Seem to be getting a lot of those lately," Steve returned. He placed a hand protectively on Aspen's back.
"Where's your shield?" the second man asked. "Not much of a hero without that now are you?"
Steve clenched his jaw. "Put the guns down and let's see," he said.
The man laughed. "No thanks. We've got orders to bring her in unharmed. You, on the other hand, we can bring in in any condition we see fit."
"You're going on the assumption that I'm going to be easy to bring in?" Aspen asked with a laugh. "Not too smart."
"How's your leg?" Aspen started. "Yeah, we know about that," he said at the look on her face. "You won't last two seconds."
"You're not getting anywhere near her," Steve growled, pushing Aspen behind him Aspen had never seen his eyes so dangerous, cold as steel. "Stay behind me," he told Aspen in a low tone.
"I'm not just gong to stand back and do nothing!" she said.
Steve turned slightly so that he could look down at her. In the narrow doorway, she could see every bit of the grey and blue that made up the spectrum of his eyes. He leaned close, brows furrowed. "I can handle this. You use the window in the office. Get to the car and get somewhere safe. Anywhere. I'll catch up."
"I am not leaving you, and that's final!" Aspen said, glowering up at him. He seemed surprised by her reaction, frowning down at her in consternation.
"Not to interrupt this endearing argument, but neither of you is leaving. Do you really think we didn't bring back up?" The first man touched something in his ear and said, "We're ready." Steve tensed, a hand going to Aspen's arm. A second later, a dozen men burst into the front doors of the building. Five more burst in through the window behind them, spraying glass everywhere. Steve shielded Aspen, pressing her close to his chest.
"Now I wish I'd listened to Fury and taken the damn quinjet," Aspen muttered before Steve pulled her into the main room, away from the men closing in behind them.
"Stay behind that desk," Steve told her. Aspen started to protest, but suddenly the men converged on Steve, and she had no choice but to crouch down behind the overturned desk. Her leg was throbbing again, and she had no weapon. Her fingers touched something cold and metal and wrapped around a scalpel.
Steve had thrown two men aside and was wrestling out of the grip of a third. He kicked out, sending another man down and then threw his weight backwards, slamming the man holding him to the ground and getting nimbly to his feet. His hand-to-and combat skills were so intricate that it was like following a dance where each movement was perfectly choreographed. He threw punches quicker than her eyes could follow and his blocks brought the image of hitting a rock to mind. Soon eight men lay unconscious at his feet. The attacks kept coming, but he didn't seem to be tiring in the least. Then five men ganged up on him. Silver glinted as one of the men brought a knife toward his side.
"Steve!" Aspen screamed.
He managed to dislodge two of his attackers but the man holding the knife sunk it into his side before he could deflect it. He winced in pain, managing to kick aside the man who had stabbed him. Another man had grabbed him around the neck. Aspen flung herself at the man. She slashed at his arm with the scalpel, and he cried out in pain, flinging her off of him. She landed hard and bits of broken plaster and stone dug into her skin.
"Don't harm her!" the man who had first spoken to them shouted. "She's valuable!"
Aspen bristled at his comment and got to her feet. Seven men remained besides the two men with the guns and the man nursing his bleeding arm. Aspen saw Steve pull the knife out of his side, slick with blood and wield it before him. The seven remaining men eyed him cautiously, realizing that he could fight perfectly well without his shield. Aspen joined him, and they stood back to back.
"You okay?" She threw at him.
"Fine. You?"
"Same."
"I guess it's not going to do any good telling you to sit this one out."
"Nope."
"Then we do this together. Can you cover my back?" he asked.
"Got it."
The seven men moved in on them. Aspen's back brushed Steve's as they both readied themselves. One of the men made to grab Aspen, but she dodged, bringing the scalpel down across his back and shoving him into the wall. Steve executed some complicated footwork ending in a flip. Suddenly gunfire echoed loudly in the room. One of the men holding a gun slumped to the ground. The other raised his gun, looking around for the sniper. Aspen saw movement on the roof. Two men around them fell.
"Get her in the van!" the remaining gunman shouted. A man grabbed Aspen around the waist. She kicked out. He grunted but did not release his grip on her. He grabbed her wrist and bent it, forcing her to drop the scalpel. Aspen stomped hard on his foot. He cried out, but grabbed her around the neck, shoving a sickly sweet smelling cloth over her mouth and nose. She struggled, but the drug overwhelmed her. The room went hazy, and the last thing she saw were Steve's blue eyes widened in fear.
…
Steve ducked as a bullet ricocheted off the wall, narrowly missing his head. Aspen was in the grip of one of the thugs. He watched in horror as the man held a cloth over her nose. Aspen's green eyes went hazy, and she slumped into the man's arms.
"Aspen!" He charged the man, but someone collided with him, and they went sprawling. The man punched him hard in the side where the knife had wounded him. Pain shot through Steve's side and lights danced before his eyes. A fist pummeled his jaw before he could fully recover. His vision swam. He was still holding the knife, and he jabbed up at the man and threw him off. He rolled to his feet as a volley of bullets broke any remaining test tubes and beakers. Steve ducked behind a desk to access the situation. There were only three men left including one of the original gunmen and the one Aspen had slashed with a knife. A few of the men he'd knocked unconscious were coming too as well. He tried to see who was firing, but it was hard to tell with plaster and dust falling down on them. He looked around for Aspen, but the man holding her had disappeared. He wanted to bolt after her, but he didn't dare leave his cover as another round of gunfire rang out. He needed to get outside. He wished he had his shield and looked around for something he could substitute. His eyes alighted on a metal locker that had fallen on its side. One of the long doors hung loose. He ripped it from its hinges and held it along the edge. He looked over at the doorway and then took a deep breath.
As soon as he started running, gunshots rang out again, bouncing off the metal of the locker door. He dodged a pile of collapsed roof and flung himself outside. He could see the van parked past where he had left the rental car. The man who had taken Aspen was pacing outside of it, gun in hand. When he saw Steve coming, his eyes widened. He raised the gun and shot. Steve blocked the bullet, slamming the metal door into the gun as he reached the man. The gun fell to the ground, and he brought the locker door down hard on the man's head, knocking him unconscious. Steve picked up the gun.
He assumed Aspen was in the back of the van and fumbled with the latch. "Drop the gun and step aside, Captain," came a female voice. A spark of recognition alerted him to who it was before he even turned around. She'd pulled her hair up in a ponytail and was now holding a gun, but there was no mistaking the purple hair and piercings. It was the girl from the Amtrak, the one who had been so interested in him and Aspen. He thought he knew why now. He dropped the gun and raised his hands slightly.
"So you're working for them. Are you the one who gave them the anonymous tip?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
She surveyed him for a moment. "I don't work for them. But yes, I did give them the tip."
"Why?" he asked.
She cocked her head to the side as if this was a silly question. "To get them altogether so we could shoot them," she said simply with no signs of remorse. "They've been a real thorn in our sides."
"Who's 'we'?" Steve asked.
"My organization likes to stay under the radar, so you'll forgive me if I don't tell SHIELD who we are."
"I'm not SHIELD."
"No? We'll you're snuggling up to one of them. Too close for me."
"What do you want with us?"
"Same thing as they do."
"We don't have the formula."
"She does." The girl nodded at the van.
"I'm not letting anyone take her," Steve said, putting himself squarely between the girl and the van.
"The one difference between them and us is that we don't need you alive," she told him. "I will shoot you if I have to."
"All this for one serum."
"With the potential to change the world. With this serum, we could change the very fabric of our society. Our military would be far superior. No one would question the might of our country again. Is that not a better future?"
"I hear an awful lot about what a better future would be like, but none of it actually sounds good," Steve told her.
"Well you'll change your tune soon enough," she said with a smile. "Now step aside."
"No."
"As I said, I will shoot you."
Steve placed one foot a step forward, his shoe coming down on the edge of the locker door. "You're not taking Aspen anywhere," he said firmly.
"Alright." The girl shot a second after Steve pressed his foot down on the locker door. It came up and took the bullet just in time. Steve knocked into the girl, disarming her and sending her to the ground. She kicked out, catching him off balance and sending him to his knees. She grabbed the gun as Steve tackled her arm. She screamed in frustration, trying to aim it at his heart, but he was too strong for her. She dropped the gun, and he snatched it, getting to his feet and aiming it at her. She started to get up slowly, but the next second an explosion that rocked the building sent them both to the ground again. The gun flew out of Steve's hand and landed out of reach. Steam was issuing from the research facility and rubble showered down on them.
"Shit!" the girl cursed.
A man came hobbling out of the building, limping heavily. The girl scrabbled for the gun, but the man raised his own gun and shot her. She fell back down, and Steve saw that she was still alive. The bullet was imbedded in her shoulder. Another man limped out of the building, and Steve recognized him as one of the men he had fought, more specifically, the one Aspen had slashed in the arm with the scalpel. Steve looked around for the gun, but the first man aimed his own gun straight at his head.
"One move and I put this bullet in your brain," he said. "You're going to get in the back of that van when he opens it and not make a fuss. You won't try to escape with the girl. Do you know why? My friend there," he indicated the unconscious man by the van, "he injected her with a slow acting poison that will kill her if she doesn't receive the antidote within 24 hours. The antidote is where we're going so if you try to escape, she will die. Do I make myself clear?"
Steve gave him a stiff nod. His vision was nearly blurring he was so angry. He didn't know if the man was lying, but he knew he wasn't going to take that chance. So did they. The second man, still nursing his cut arm, unlocked the back of the van and gave Steve an unnecessary push. Steve saw Aspen lying on the floor, her red curls splayed out around her. "Aspen!" He rushed to her side just as the man slapped the door shut. It was pitch dark suddenly. Steve felt his way to Aspen and pulled her into his arms, sitting down on the hard floor of the van. Her skin felt hot to the touch, and her forehead was dotted in sweat.
"What did he do to you?" Steve asked. He smoothed back her hair and pulled her closer to him, cradling her next to his heart. The van jolted into motion, and he braced himself. He lost track of how long they traveled, but he was aware that they had come to an airport. He heard a plane taking off low overhead. He tightened his grip on Aspen when the van stopped and the two men opened the back doors. Sunlight temporarily blinded him. The gunman motioned for Steve to get out of the van with a flick of his gun. Steve lifted Aspen and dropped to the ground. He glared at the men as they motioned him toward a waiting plane.
"Get on," the gunman told him. Steve had no choice but to obey. In the light, he could see how pale Aspen had grown.
"What did you give her?" he asked.
"Not your concern," he told Steve. "Get on the plane."
It was a small plane, but Steve was able to lay Aspen down on a row of seats, sitting across from her. The two men took places at the front of the plane. "Where are we going?" Steve asked.
The men ignored him. The plane started up, picking up speed until it left the ground. Steve ground his teeth, trying to fight off the nerves he was feeling. This time he didn't have Aspen to keep him distracted. He took her hand and held it tightly, taking some relief in the beat of her pulse in her wrist.
He managed to doze off once though he didn't mean to. He hadn't slept since the night before last, and as the hours went on, he found himself unable to keep his eyes opened. When he woke up again it was dark outside. Aspen was stirring, and he leaned closer to hear what she said.
"Where are we?" she asked weakly, her voice rough. She coughed. "Why do I feel so miserable?"
"You'll be alright," Steve told her. "We've been captured. I'm not sure by who. A.I.M. possibly… There were two different organizations there. It turned into a bloodbath and then someone blew up the facility." Aspen's eyes widened. "The girl from the Amtrak was there. She worked for another organization. She got shot, but she was alive when I last saw her."
"Oh god, what have I dragged you into?" Aspen whispered, her eyes reflecting her horror.
"Don't worry about me," he said.
"Why is my throat so dry?" Aspen asked.
"Can we get some water?" Steve asked the men, turning around. "Please, she needs water. You said you wanted her unharmed."
One of the men finally got up and went to the very back of the plane. He returned with a bottle of water. Steve unscrewed the top and helped Aspen sit up a little so she could drink.
"I'm burning up," she said. "What's wrong with me?"
Steve didn't know how to answer.
"They did something to me, didn't they? To ensure that you came without a fight. That's the only way you would be here, the only way you would have gotten captured."
"They injected you with something," Steve told her. "The antidote is wherever we're going."
Aspen nodded. "Poison. I can tell. How long do I have?"
"Twenty four hours."
"Then let's hope our flight is on time. How's your side?" she asked, eyeing his blood-soaked T-shirt. Steve lifted the shirt a little to look at the wound. It was already starting to heal.
"It's mostly dried blood. I heal quickly," he told her at the horrified look on her face. "I'm more worried about you."
"You heard them. They want me unharmed. Or at least alive. I'm safe. I'm worried about you." She furrowed her brow.
"Don't worry about me," he told her.
"Where are they taking us?" she asked, looking out the dark window.
"I'm not sure. We've been in the air a long time."
"Where's my phone?" Aspen whispered. She dug around in her pockets and sighed when she found it. "Do you still have your bracelet?" she asked.
Steve nodded, pulling back the cuff of his jacket. Aspen nodded, shutting her eyes. "I'm so tired," she said. "But I don't want to fall sleep. I keep seeing horrible things. I keep seeing the patients and hearing their screams. In one of the dreams I was one of them. I was patient #53."
"It was just a dream. No one's going to experiment on you," Steve told her. He hated how frightened she was. It wasn't supposed to end up like this. It was like playing with fire, he realized, and they had both been burned. And this was only the beginning.
Aspen dropped off a few minutes later. Her breathing began to labor a little as dawn touched the sky. Steve peered out the window and saw and endless expanse of blue. They were over the ocean. A mass of land was slowly growing bigger on the horizon, and the plane began to lose altitude as they prepared for landing. As the plane flew lower, he saw what looked to be a small coastal village. An airfield lay just beyond, and the plane touched down. The two men got out of their seats once the plane stopped and motioned for Steve to do the same. He picked up Aspen and walked toward the exit. Aspen woke up and looked around with blurred eyes.
"What's happening?" she asked in a whisper.
"We're here wherever here is," Steve told her.
"Stay with me," she pleaded.
"I'm not going anywhere," Steve swore to her, tightening his grip on her.
He stepped down onto solid ground. There was another van parked a few yards away with six armed guards and a man dressed in a tailored suit. When he saw them, he held his arms out wide in greeting.
"Finally!" he said in a friendly voice. He was clearly American though Steve was sure they had left the country. "I was wondering if you were ever going to get here. I've been waiting so long. Did he give you any trouble?" he asked his men.
"Came quiet as a mouse," one of the men responded with a smirk.
"I always admire a fighter," the suited man said. "That's why I like Aspen so much. Despite everything she's been through and she still keeps fighting. Just like her mother."
"You know her mother?" Steve asked sharply.
"I'd like to think we're friends," the man told him. "We went to university together after all."
Aspen weakly tried to lift her head, but she was fading fast. "She needs the antidote," Steve said. "She's dying."
"Of course, how uncivil of me!" the man motioned to one of the guards who came forward with a small black case. He pulled out a syringe and stuck Aspen's arm. She moaned, and Steve tensed. After a moment though color began to work its way back into her face, and she opened her eyes fully. She met Steve's gaze and then turned to look at the man in the suit.
Steve watched her eyes widen. "You know him?" he asked.
"Oh my god," she whispered. "You."
"Me," the man said with a shrug.
"Who is he?" Steve asked.
"He teaches at Columbia University," Aspen told him. "He goes by Professor Stewart."