A/N. Hello! Wow, it's been a while. I think procrastination has seeped into my daily life from my school work and now I'm just too lazy to do anything. I apologize for the wait. I have reasons, but none of them are good enough. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter Twelve

Sam had a car, so they didn't have to steal another one, luckily. It was a bit beat up (and kind of an ugly colour, but no one asked Tania) and it would do for the mission they had in mind. It was just transportation, after all.

Fort Meade was located in Maryland, which was was about an hour from their location, give or take ten minutes. Using the GPS on Sam's phone, the four of them piled into the car equipped with only the weapons they'd had on their person for the past several hours. Except Sam. Natasha was loaning him a dart gun.

"Remember," Steve was saying from the backseat, because that's where all the best motivational speeches are made, "these are the good guys. We are breaking the law and we are infiltrating a facility of the American government. Do not engage if at all possible. If impossible, do not kill." He coughed. "Natasha."

Twisting around the passenger seat - she called shotgun very enthusiastically before everybody else - Natasha mock-glared at him. "I'm trying to clean my ledger, not saturate it more, Rogers. You don't have to worry about me." She turned to face front, but held up her left hand, a Widow's Bite held between each of her fingers. "Non-lethal and relatively quiet. I'm good."

"I'm sure you'll be at the top of Santa's 'nice' list," Sam teased, going with the flow and making a smooth turn at a green light.

Natasha punched his bicep.

"OW! That was a sarcastic compliment!"

"I hit you for the sarcasm."

"Guys," interrupted Tania, amused but trying to remain focused. Sam would fit right in with the Avengers. At least, that's what she was hoping.

Natasha crossed her arms and looked out the side window, but everyone knew she was listening intently. There was no way she would ignore such vital information about a mission.

Steve nodded at his girlfriend in thanks. "We need to be in an out as fast as we can. We split into two groups. Sam, you and Natasha will go in first. Natasha will steal clearance off of one of the guards and get you in. Tania and I will follow two minutes after, making sure you aren't discovered. We'll rendez-vous when we reach the meeting point. Tania and I will then make our way back the way we came, clearing the way for Sam and Natasha to walk out of the Fort carrying military property."

"I'll steal a backpack off someone to store it in," offered Natasha casually without turning to face them.

"It'll need to be big," said Sam, eyes flicking to his rearview mirror.

"I got it. And Steve, your shield-"

"I know," he sighed. "This is not the kind of mission for it." It would draw too much attention, whether red, white, and blue or just blue, the shield was too conspicuous. Hydra would know exactly where he'd been, though maybe not why.

Tania patted his knee. "It's alright, dear. Your shield is mostly for combat anyway. We're going for stealth."

"When we get out of there, we meet back at the car, which will be parked a couple of blocks away, and then we find Sitwell."

"I can use Clint's password to search through the SHIELD database," Natasha volunteered. "His name shouldn't send up any red flags. He's not a fugitive. He's got level seven clearance. I should be able to find Sitwell's schedule that way."

"We should call Tony," Tania suggested. "He should be able to hack it no problem without drawing unnecessary attention to Clint."

"According to his answering machine, he's busy taking down A.I.M." Natasha waved her phone into view as if in demonstration. "Something happened and Tony needed the armour, which is never a good sign. They have their own stuff to deal with. We can handle this. Besides, none of our Avenger friends are any good at stealth anyway."

"I guess…" She would feel better having the whole team behind her, but she supposed that Natasha was right. This wasn't a big enough operation. Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man couldn't do much at the moment. Maybe later, but not now.

The beaten grey car slid to a halt in the parking lot of a bus station, where parking was free and likely unmonitored. They said their good-byes in the car, wearing the clothes Sam had bought for them on the way there from the mall (a different one than last time). Disguised as tourists, Steve and Tania wandered around with their noses stuck in the same unnecessarily large map, whispering to each other and pretending to be lost, when really they were slowly progressing toward Fort Meade, which they would "stumble" upon and decide to check out.

Upon hearing the successful crackle of Natasha's, "We're in," Tania set a timer on her digital watch for two minutes. To pass the time, they assumed their favourite cover: that one couple that makes out absolutely everywhere. As Natasha said, PDA tended to make people uncomfortable (those who weren't engaging in the actual PDA, that is).

When it was their turn, the superhero couple followed Sam and Natasha's lead and bypassed the guards, tip-toeing down hallway after hallway. To this day, Tania still didn't know how someone as heavy as Steve could be so light on his feet. They ran into a couple of guards, but they were easily taken down quickly and silently with whacks to the head. Since Natasha had gone in first, she'd used her Widow Bites to disable the security cameras. They didn't have to worry about being watched, just seen.

As Romanoff claimed there wouldn't be earlier, there wasn't a single problem that couldn't be fixed. After making their way past the three guarded gates that Sam and Natasha had easily bypassed on their own, Steve and Tania met up with them in front of a heavily armoured door, which looked untouched, yet Sam had a huge backpack around his shoulders that sagged with the unmistakable weight of a giant pair of falcon wings.

No words were exchanged, only nods and confirmation of smoothness of the mission so far. Steve and Tania turned around and began to make their way back the way they had come, Sam and Natasha remaining a respectful distance behind in case of an ambush. They passed the knocked out guards, on whom Natasha planted one Widow's Bite each. When they were out of sight, she activated them, waking the guards abruptly.

With each of the three gates they sneaked through, they closed it behind them as if it had never been opened. All of them wore gloves, so there were no fingerprints. The U.S. government would be hard—pressed to find any trace that they had ever been here. Tania hoped, anyway.

She and Steve emerged first, still dressed as tourists, and slipped into the crowd like a drop of water into a lake. They resumed their previous tactic of pretending to be lost while staring at a map, this time upside down to heighten the facade. They even stopped to ask a family of three for directions. About a half hour later, they found Sam's car and waited patiently for their friends, seeing as Sam had the keys. When he arrived, his smile was blinding.

"You guys are in for a treat," he told them with a laugh, unlocking the car. Everyone piled in, removing accessories and wigs and disguises.

"You mean we get to watch you fly around for a bit," Tania corrected, fluffing up her hair and trying to catch her reflection in the rearview mirror.

Sam buckled his seatbelt and stuck the key in the ignition. "Something like that."

It was another hour drive back, during which the four of them alternated between planning out Sitwell's kidnap and bantering like nobody's business. Sometimes there was a hazy middle, where they talked about nothing in light tones of voice, laughing and trying to get their minds off of the mission they were about to embark upon - and its unknown consequences.

Natasha wasn't able to locate Sitwell, but she managed to find his phone number, reserved for SHIELD agents only. She then downloaded an app to make the person you called get the wrong caller I.D. so that when one of them called, Sitwell would think that Alexander Pierce was phoning him.

According to the database, Sitwell was currently in a meeting with Senator Stern concerning some government and political stuff that Tania didn't understand. It didn't say where he was, but because it listed his number, Natasha was able to track him down via GPS. He was downtown at the Hotel Fritz. That's an odd place for a meeting, Tania thought. Then again, if he's Hydra, maybe it's not a meeting at all.

Now with the knowledge of Sitwell's location, Sam made a U-turn and rerouted the car to head downtown. The four of them went over the game plan one last time. It was relatively simple, so they got right to it. About a ten minute drive from the hotel, Sam dropped off Steve and Natasha at an apartment building. Steve kissed Tania good-bye and she wished him luck. She and Sam pulled away and headed for the hotel.

They made a pit-stop to pick up a laser pointer from Staples. When they arrived, they parked at a restaurant across the street from the hotel and parted ways. Sam walked into the restaurant alone while Tania entered the two story grocery store next door. While she and Steve really did need groceries, she had a feeling that they wouldn't be going home for the next little while. Probably not until the whole Hydra thing blew over. She sighed and grabbed a basket anyway. It wouldn't do to look suspicious. She made her way to the second floor, meandering by the windows and pretending to inspect the produce.

Finally, Sam's phone vibrated in her pocket. Since Sam was using Natasha's phone to pretend to be Pierce, she had been given Sam's in order to keep in touch. Hers had been destroyed in the explosion and she couldn't afford to get a new one just to have Hydra track her down. She reached into her jacket and pulled it out, swiping the screen to unlock it.

You see him?

She wandered over to the window and looked down. Across the street, a group of men in fancy suits (must be security detail) had emerged from the hotel and were standing in position. They surrounded a bald man with glasses that had to be Sitwell and an older man who was probably the one who needed all the protection, aka Senator Stern. Crap. This plan wouldn't work if Sitwell stuck with those bodyguards.

I see him, she texted back, reaching into her purse for the laser pointer. The cashier had assured her that it was very powerful and could travel long distances. She wasn't that far. Hopefully it would do.

She returned the apple she'd been glaring at to the shelf and resumed her watch of Sitwell and his… friend. Was this SHIELD stuff or Hydra stuff? Who was good and who was bad? How was it possible to tell?

Stern and Sitwell hugged before the senator ducked into a fancy car, a couple of the security detail waiting behind with Sitwell. It occurred to Tania that those bodyguards might be SHIELD agents. Finally, the two of them loaded into the car and it drove away. Perfect.

She watched as Sitwell reached into his suit jacket for his phone. He answered. She began to mentally count as she reached for the lock on the window and slid it open. She could only hope no alarms would go off.

None did. This was a grocery store. Thank heavens for that. Though she may be on the security cameras, she was still in disguise, so that was something. She only kept the window open a crack, enough to stick the pointer through. When she reached thirty, she switched it on and pointed, aiming at Sitwell's chest. Her aim was fairly steady, but that might be because the device was lodged between the window and the wall.

She wasn't so far away as to be unable to see his expression as he looked down and then back up again, searching for her. From the almost frantic way he turned his head, she concluded that he hadn't found her. He nodded his head jerkily and snapped the phone shut, slipping it back into his pocket and storming towards Sam's car.

Tania yanked the pointer out and dropped it in her purse before slamming the window shut. She winced at the noise and hurriedly made her way downstairs, to the cashes. She found the shortest line and waited anxiously to get outside. There really was no reason to hurry, but she wanted this mission to be over and done with. She didn't want to keep Sam waiting.

She was done within five minutes and speed-walked to the grey car two spaces down from the restaurant's main entrance. She yanked open the passenger seat and slid in, sighing. She pulled the door shut and dropped her bags of food onto the floor of the car. "Sorry it took me so long. Had to maintain my cover."

Sam lifted his fingers and pushed out his lips as if to say, 'not a problem'.

"Thanks for the cash, by the way. I needed all of it to buy this stuff." She held up one of the bags with one hand and slid her sunglasses onto her head with the other.

"It's you!" Sitwell gasped from the back, leaning forward between the driver and passenger seats.

Sam twisted and placed his palm on Sitwell's face before shoving him backward. "You stay back there or that tie isn't the only thing that's going to get messed up," he threatened.

Tania turned to get a better look at Sitwell. He was fairly ordinary and easily a man she could overlook in a crowd. He was bald and and had glasses and eyes that hid behind them. He had a round head and chubby fingers. He wore a suit, but it was slightly disheveled from the seatbelt he was wearing. He was breathing rapidly and staring, wide-eyed at her.

Overall, he was pretty unimpressive.

She turned back to the windshield, buckling her seatbelt. "Let's go. Come on. They're waiting for us."

"Who? Who's waiting for us?" Sitwell asked. Tania could hear the quiver and panic in his voice.

"A couple of friends. I think you'll recognize them."

There was in intake of breath behind them as Sam started the car.

They pulled up to an apartment building about ten minutes from the Hotel Fritz. Tania slid her disguise back into place and stepped out of the car, shoving the door closed. She opened the back door, where Sitwell had yet to take off his seatbelt. She leaned down to be on his level. "Come on. There's some people who really want to see you." Another red dot appeared, slithering around the floor of the car. Sitwell jerked away, kicking Sam's seat in the process.

"That's it, get out!" Sam barked.

Sitwell fumbled with the buckle and then practically flew out of the car. Tania tried not to chuckle as she pushed the door closed. Natasha must've gotten her hands on a laser pointer too. Tania waved to Sam, who merged into traffic to find a secluded place for the next part of the plan.

She grabbed Sitwell's arm as if he were escorting her to a ball and led him into the lobby. They followed a resident into the elevator in complete silence. Tania was apprehensive. He was a level six SHIELD agent and possibly Hydra. Could he take her down?

The elevator ground to a halt and the one resident exited, his own grocery bags swinging beside him as the doors closed again.

They were alone.

Not a word was spoken as they kept going higher. She noticed that Sitwell was sweating and constantly wiping his scalp with the palm of his hand. She could practically see his glasses bouncing off his nose. Maybe he was one of those rare agents who was high up but couldn't fight. Or maybe he was scared of her.

Her gut clenched. Scared of ME. She never wanted someone to feel like that - afraid that she would hurt them, kill them, do something to them she would regret later. Fear was carnal and it was instinctual. If he feared her, did that mean she was someone who should be feared?

Before her thoughts could dive into a downward spiral, the doors opened again. The highest floor. She jerked her head. Sitwell went first, spine straight but shoulders curved. She followed, trying vehemently not to go into that self-deprecating tailspin she tended to get herself into now and again. It was hard not to harp on herself for all of the things she'd done. But that was why she had Dr. Diallo. And Steve, of course. But now was really not the time for depression or whatever her problem was to sink its teeth into her.

"In there." She pointed at a door down the hall.

Sitwell hesitated, then pushed the door open. It was just an empty staircase. Before the door could swing shut, she slid inside. The sound of the door closing reverberated up and down the entire building, ringing in her ears.

"If you try anything," Sitwell said, speaking for the first time since the car, "SHIELD will want you now more than ever."

"We're already trying something and they already want us. As far as threats go, that's pretty lame. Up you go." She gave him a gentle push toward the stairs, but he acted as if he'd been thrown up against the wall. He stumbled into the first step and then he ran. He bolted up the stairs, the pounding of his feet a staccato rhythm that danced in her eardrums.

She took off after him, using the railing on her left to launch herself forward. She reached the top, where he was banging on the door and jiggling the handle as if that would help open a locked door.

Oh God, her calves weren't happy with her right now. Breathing slightly erratic, she hobbled over to him and physically removed his hands from the door. She knocked to the tune of the song she sang to the Hulk to get him to sleep until the lock clicked and the door swung open. Steve was there and as soon as he caught sight of Sitwell, he narrowed his eyes.

Sitwell was literally thrown onto the roof, his back colliding with the ground as he rolled with the momentum, dirtying his suit and reputation. Tania stepped through the door, calves burning, stomach squeezing, lungs aching. She gently shut the door, leaning against it with her arms crossed.

She didn't want to do this. This was wrong. This was kidnapping and threatening and manhandling. It was violent and fear-inducing. Those were all things that sounded like something a villain would do.

Sitwell rolled to his feet, picking up the glasses that had fallen off. Steve and Natasha chased him, walking purposefully toward him like walls closing in on you. Tania could sense his fear as if it was coming off him in waves.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve demanded.

This is for Nick, Tania reminded herself.

Sitwell kept walking backward, his strides as long as he could make them. He quickly shoved his glasses onto his nose. "Never heard of it," he panted.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?" Steve pushed, still stalking forward. He was like a predator.

Stop, she told herself. We're doing this for Nick. For SHIELD. For Peggy and Howard and Colonel Phillips. What choice do we have?

"I was throwing up. I get seasick," replied Sitwell, standing straighter. That sounded like the truth. Just not all of it.

She watched as they approached the edge of the roof. This is all part of the plan. So why was her heart racing? She pulled out Sam's phone and typed out a text as fast as she could.

You in position?

Someone gasped and Tania's head shot up. Sitwell's heels had hit the end of the line and he began to topple over, but Steve grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him forward, precariously balanced on the edge.

The wind blew gently.

Sitwell began to laugh. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're going to throw me off the roof?" He was grasping at straws for some sort of reassurance, Tania could tell. She was gripping the phone tightly, but it kept slipping due to the sweat from her palms. "Cause it's really not your style, Rogers."

He's right, a voice in her head piped up. This isn't us. All of it. How could we do this?

"You're right," said Steve, un-prying his fingers from Sitwell's shirt. He began smoothing out the wrinkles at his shoulders. "It's not."

The phone in Tania's hand vibrated. In position.

"It's hers."

Tania looked up just in time to see Steve step back and Natasha step forward. She swung her other leg forward and slammed it into Sitwell's stomach, sending him careening over the edge. Tania surged forward, running to join the other Avengers. As she peered over the ledge, she heard Nat and Steve chatting amicably while Sitwell fell to his death.

Ignoring them, she searched frantically for the falling, screaming figure. She found him directly below, flailing and twisting and turning and crying for help. Her heart felt like it was being wrung out like a dish towel. She knew how it felt to be in his position. How it felt to get pushed off a building for the first time. To watch as the ground raced to kill you.

The world began to tilt and she turned away, unable to look anymore, even though she knew what was about to happen. She felt sick. They'd done to someone what had been done to her. What were they turning into?

Someone knelt down next to her. "Tania?" Steve's presence was always calming, but not today. Not right now. Not when he'd just let someone get pushed off a building. She'd agreed to it too. Then, it had seemed reasonable. Now? Now she wanted to go back and suggest interrogating him over tea and cookies.

Jasper's scream started getting louder and louder until something soared up past them, a breeze gusting through their hair. She turned and saw the Falcon lift Sitwell higher, the wings silhouetted by the sun. Sam flew forward and dropped his cargo roughly onto the roof, swinging his own legs down to land smoothly several meters away. The metal wings contracted and folded into the backpack from before, glowing and moving in a way that reminded Tania of the Iron Man armour.

Natasha made her way over to Sitwell. Steve stayed behind to help Tania to her feet. "You okay?" He asked.

"Fine," she answered.

"You look pale."

"We can talk about this later." She pulled away from him and jogged over to join Natasha as Sitwell spewed information like a sprinkler.

"… it's a program…" He was saying, panting hard between words. "… for choosing… Insight's targets…"

"What targets?" Steve asked, coming up behind Tania to stand on her right.

"You," Jasper heaved, waving one arm while on his hands and knees as if he could show the targets on a PowerPoint. "The DVA in Cairo, the other secretary of defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city… Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat… to Hydra!"

Bruce. No.

She, Steve, and Natasha all glanced at each other. They were all thinking the same thing. They couldn't let this happen.

"Now," Sitwell continued, "or in the future."

"The future?" Steve repeated disbelievingly. "How could it know?

It was Sitwell's turn to seem disbelieving, but of Steve, not of some diabolical plan. He laughed. "How could it not?" Gaining confidence, he pushed himself to his feet. They let him. "The twenty first century is a digital book. Zola taught Hydra how to read it."

No one spoke. They still needed more information from him before they could let him go. He wasn't done talking.

Tania looked to Steve. He didn't seem to understand. Natasha seemed confused. Sam met her eye. The realization was dawning on both him and her.

"Your bank records!" Sitwell elaborated when no one responded. "Medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past… to predict their future."

She watched Steve carefully. His face didn't change, but his next words were laced with understanding and dread. "What then?"

Sitwell's smile faded and he looked down at his shoes. "Oh my God, Pierce is gonna kill me," he whispered.

Steve stepped forward menacingly. "What then?" He demanded.

Sitwell looked up, mouth open. He started backing up, but Sam fisted a hand in his collar, reminding him that he was surrounded. Sitwell turned back to Steve, licking his lips. "The Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list," he breathed. "A few million at a time."

A/N. I kept the description of Fort Meade very vague on purpose. I have never been and have no idea what it looks like or... anything about it, really. I tried looking up what it was, but I still didn't get it. I was originally going to dedicate a whole chapter to the retrieval of Sam's wings but decided against it due to my lack of knowledge on Fort Meade. I apologize for all inaccuracies and mistakes.