Clint watches as Steve makes no move to avoid the attack.
Maybe he's injured enough to not be able to.
But Clint thinks it's more likely he's allowing it to happen.
Steve only shifts and angles back a tad, changing the placement of where the knife will land.
The slicing schluck sound the knife makes as it enters, pushed hilt deep, makes him wince.
But Steve only makes a slight sound of pain before his face shifts and he's wrapping his arms around her, holding her in place against him, as she holds the knife into his chest.
"Peggy? Baby? It's me, It's Steve—" Carter winces, flinching her head back and so does the girl. Steve's face shifts to horror and then to such rage that Clint is scared before it's back to determination. Carter is struggling mightily, trying to free herself but she's trapped in his arms. Her kicks to his thighs with her heavy boots go ignored. "Peggy, listen, it's me. I'm here, I'm so sorry—" his voice cracks and Clint feels like he's intruding on something so desperately sad and private.
"Her face does seem familiar." The girl says, still standing in front of Barnes who is rigid like a statue.
They hear the squelch as Carter yanks out the knife, a horrible sucking sound, and Clint sees her start to raise up her arm as if to strike again, this time no way for him to escape a well placed attack.
Natasha must sense that too as she raises a hand, charging up a widow bite.
But Steve turns his head to her, "if you hurt her, I will snap your neck." Before standing, dragging Carter up with him and getting to his feet. "Peggy, stop—-" he shifts, the knife slicing along his arm. He shifts his hold, trying to grasp her wrists to keep her from attacking him.
A growl of frustration is all that exits Carter's mouth.
Steve keeps moving. Shifting his hold and circling her, keeping her in place as she tries valiantly to stab him. Eventually he knocks the knife from her hands and Clint wants to scoff that he was probably able to do that the whole time.
"Peggy." Steve says in a firm voice, "listen to me, you know me—"
Carter lands a punch that makes Clint grimace and Steve's head goes reeling back. He still doesn't release her, but he takes a second, wrinkling his nose and Clint can see his eyes water from the pain before he huffs a sad laugh, "shit, Carter—" his voice is in awe but also sad, "—that hurt."
She growls again but this time there's words, "Имаме заповед да убием този човек! Атакувай сега!"
The girl looks over, alarm on her face, but there's no time to react as Barnes leaps around her, avoiding the girl and slamming into Steve and Carter, making them all tumble into a heap.
Steve is forced to release her from his grasp as they start struggling on the apartment floor. Clint hears blows landing. He just can't tell who's hitting who from all the thrashing limbs.
The girls goes to move forward when Steve is suddenly on his feet, stepping in between her and Barnes and Carter. Who both slowly rise, staring at Steve like he's their next meal.
Without turning his head towards them, he speaks, "do not, for any reason, interfere. Do you understand?"
Tony, still crouched behind a wall, "you talking to us? Or her?"
He does turn then, a tiny bit of his eye showing as he still watches the two assassins in front of him, "I mean all of you." He pauses, "understood?"
"I want to help—" she starts.
"Help me by staying safe."
"They won't hurt me—"
"You can't guarantee that. They have orders to kill me, you could be collate—"
His voice cuts off and eyes widen as the realization sinks in to everyone.
"Oh shit…" Tony whispers out, "holy shit."
Steve does turn then, piercing the girl with his glare, "stay out of it."
He shifts back and faces his best friend and wife, "Ако се опитваш да ме убиеш, сега е твоят шанс."
The girl makes a sound of shock but it's ignored as the assassins leap forward.
"What did he say?" Tony half whispers.
"If you're going to try to kill me, do it now." Natasha answers, watching the ensuing fight.
The girl shakes her head, "no, he said 'if you're going to try to kill me, now's your chance'."
Clint's half listening while watching the fight continue before him.
He's seen Steve fight. He's seen Steve kill.
He has never seen Steve dance the way the man is moving around the floor. Spinning, turning, ducking, leaping, and sliding away from all their attacks. Not allowing a blow to land but also not taking the opportunity to land blows on them. His back and chest wounds are still bleeding from all the movement, staining both sides of his shirt.
All four of them watch in wide eyed awe as Steve seems to know what their next moves will be. They fight as if they've been fighting together their whole lives.
It's a few minutes of this, them watching as Steve keeps talking, trying to get through or say something that will catch them off guard. All while avoiding their hits and not throwing any of his own.
"We need to help!" The girl hisses.
"I've learned my lesson." Natasha says back, "not til he says."
At least 10 minutes pass before he hears the sigh of annoyance from Steve, "Come on!" He snaps, "you have to remember, you have to!" Just then Barnes barrels forward, knocking Steve on his back and pinning him to the ground. But only for a second. Steve grapples with him, switching their places. Barnes lets out a feral sound and Steve is pleading with him, "Bucky, stop! It's me, please, it's Steve!" Barnes tries to rip his arm free and Clint hears the electrical zaps as Steve's fingers scrunches into the groves of the metal. Barnes cries out and Steve yanks his hand back, "is this connected?" He asks in a panic, but no one answers because no one knows.
Clint watches as either time slows down or the girl speeds up. With Steve's back towards Carter, she's pulled a pistol from somewhere (Clint had thought they were all out of weapons by this point) and she points it at the back of Steve's head.
The girl is gone in a blink, rushing forward as Clint hears the hammer get clicked back.
She's sliding between her mother and the back of her father when the gun goes off.
It happens too fast, he can't process it, but Steve must have heard, twisting and yanking the girl down and out of the way just milliseconds in time. The bullet goes whizzing into the wall and suddenly the girl is on her backside on the ground looking up with wide eyes at her mother. Who looks annoyed and is now pointing the pistol at Steve again, finger starting to depress the trigger once more. Blood still seeps out from the knife wound in Steve's chest as he makes no move to save himself.
"Mum?" The girl says, causing everyone to pause, "do you remember me?"
Carter stiffens, her eyes looking down at the girl. "Извинете ме?"
Barnes is still struggling, but Steve has him pinned, the metal arm whirring fiercely.
"I'm your daughter." The girl says, "you're my mother. This is my dad. You taught me his lullaby."
The woman is staring them down, her expression one of intense confusion. "The Agent is not allowed to have children." Her voice grates out. And Steve's eyes widen at the sound of her voice.
"Peggy? Please, you have to remember—"
The gun click is their answer. Steve scrambles up and off of Barnes, yanking his daughter up and out of the way, shoving her behind him to a muffled "hey!" of protest.
They start to dodge the barrage of bullets as Peggy fires at him, over and over until the magazine clicks empty. Peggy tosses the pistol at Steve who knocks it aside with his forearm. Two more knives and a pair of sharpened spikes get thrown with deadly speed as well, but Steve manages to avoid them and keep the girl safe as they dodge through the room. Then it gets awkwardly quiet as Carter moves back to the corner where Barnes is, struggling with his arm.
"Can we help now?" Tony asks quietly, surprising Clint.
Barnes' eyes turn towards him and he ducks further behind the wall.
"Their directive is to kill me." Steve says, keeping his eyes on the two who are now standing side by side, staring him down, "stay out of the way. In fact, you guys should take her and go—"
Protests from Natasha and the girl are first but Clint shakes his head, "not happening, Phil sent us on this mission. We're here."
Steve doesn't argue, just angles to face them directly on. "Your leader is dead. There's no Hydra to give you orders. You're no longer needed as the Asset or the Agent." His voice struggles on that last word, but he manages it out. "Stand down."
"Command code?" Carter asks, confusion creeping in.
The girl steps forward, "who's command code do you need?"
"Pierce." Carter says, her voice like flint at the word.
Everyone looks at the girl, and she looks panicked, "I don't know it! He would never have given me that information!"
Steve looks at them, "what are your missions?"
They stay quiet. But Clint notices the flick of Carter's eyes to Natasha. And Natasha notices it as well. Something like understanding flickers.
Natasha steps forward, close to Steve's side, "what are your directives?"
Barnes, who seems much less with it. Keeps his eyes on the ground and head bowed as he speaks, "Permanent directives are: Obedience in full. Memory wipes requested after each incident, kill Phil Coulson, kill Nicholas Fury, kill Colonel Phillips, kill Captain Rogers, kill—"
"Okay." Natasha says with a sharp commanding tone, "enough."
"If your directive is to kill me—" Steve starts, "why haven't you?"
Again they don't answer.
Natasha repeats his question.
"Disarmed." Barnes answers, eyes still on the ground, "unable to complete mission."
"No," Steve asks, aiming the question to Natasha, "why haven't they come after me all these years?"
"Why haven't you sought to kill Captain Rogers?"
"Directives are on contact only. No search and kill."
Oh. Fun.
"He said permanent directives." Tony mentions, still behind his wall, "what about temporary directives?"
Natasha nods, turning towards the two, "do you have temporary directives?"
"Stay in assigned location. Do not break in-house protocol."
Which explains why they haven't kicked out a window or tried to leave the apartment. Even with their permanent directive to kill Steve failed, they're not allowed to leave the apartment. Hence why they're hunkered in a corner staring at the group like feral animals unable to escape a trap.
"Why are they answering you?" Tony asks Natasha, "I mean, you're not Hydra—"
"They're trained to listen." The girl says softly, "we were trained to listen to command. She carries the badge of the Red Room Operatives—" she points to Natasha's widow bites, "so they'll answer her."
Natasha then steps forward and slightly in front of Steve, who looks ready to protest but she looks at him, "5%, remember?"
He nods, and Clint sees a bit of desperate hope in his eyes.
"Agent, Asset, stand down. Are you able to accept new directives?"
"Command code?"
"7-9-4-6-1-2-0 Charlie, Lima, Tango."
"Code unknown." Carter answers.
Natasha takes a second to think and then she takes a deep breath before closing her eyes, "9-9-3-1-4-8-0 Alpha, Golf, Oscar."
"Command code: General Dreykov accepted."
Steve looks over at Natasha like she's a ghost, "you knew Dreykov?"
"Trained under him." Natasha says a bit shortly.
Steve's hand reaches out and rests on her shoulder, "I'm very sorry."
She shrugs, but she doesn't shrug off his hand. Then she turns back to the two, "Asset, Agent, sit."
They sit.
Steve leans forward, his eyes sad, "ask them if they're hungry."
Natasha nods, understanding, "Asset, Agent, when is the last time you had sustenance?"
"Water from the sink morning and night." Carter responds.
Steve closes his eyes and the grip on Natasha's shoulder gets tight. Natasha rolls her eyes and shakes her head, "No, when was the last time you ate solid food?"
Clint gasps at the answer, "that's the day after Coulson's death!"
"That's probably when they were sent away." Natasha replies calmly. "Tony, Clint, go get food."
Neither want to leave, but they obey. Not when she glares at them, but when Steve turns to them and his eyes are deep and sad, "please."
So they go.
—-
They race through the grocery story in the large city and grab a ton of ready to eat food. When they return, Carter and Barnes are in the same seated positions.
They set the food down, and Steve reaches for it, pulling things out and setting it in front of them like offerings.
Natahsa leans forward and looks at both of them, "You are required to eat until you are no longer hungry."
Steve has a mixed expression of guilt and gratefulness.
Then Natasha pulls him and Tony to the next room. All four in the other room can probably hear but she's obviously pretending they can't. "They won't leave without Pierce's command code."
"Leave?"
"This apartment." Natasha clarifies. Their permanent directives were given by whatever leader they had. So until we get that command code—"
"Or until they remember—" Tony cuts in.
She sighs, "maybe, I don't know. But how long would that be?"
Tony shrugs, "I don't know."
"But I do know that Steve isn't budging. If they're here, he's staying. And I assume that's the same for the girl."
"Damn, she needs to pick a name." Tony grumbles.
Suddenly Clint is overwhelmed with a sadness, "we completed Phil's mission. And he's never gonna know we saved them."
Natasha rests a hand on his arm, "no, he trusted us with this mission. He knew we'd find them."
Tony's eyes widen, "oh shit I need to call my dad!" He pulls out his phone.
It rings once before a loud, "Hello? Tony?"
"Yeah, dad! It's me, I—"
"Can you get Jarvis? I need that—"
"Dad, I'm not at the house. I need you to listen! We found them! We found Peggy Carter and James Barnes!"
It goes quiet and then a strange quality creeps in, "you what?"
"We found them! You were right! They are alive!"
"The kid?"
Tony smiles, "She's alive too! They're all alive!"
No one comments on the choked sob of relief that exits the speaker. "Tony, Tony, bring them to my lab. I gotta talk to them. Where's your mom? She'll want to know!"
"Mom's dead, dad." Tony says gently, "and remember, I'm out of the country, but I'll bring them as soon as I can."
"Can I talk to them?"
Tony looks at Natasha who shrugs.
They walk back into the room and maybe Steve was too distracted to listen but the girl watches them.
"Dad, they can hear you." Tony says softly. He holds the phone out, speaker up.
"Carter? Barnes? Are you there?"
Other than a flick of their eyes to the phone they don't respond, but Tony speaks, "they can hear you. They're listening."
"I looked for you. And Steve—" Carter winces but Howard can't see that. "I never told him. I looked, I promised, I kept my promise, I never told him, I never told him, I promise!"
Carter's expression gets very sad before it schools back to nothing.
"She heard you." Tony whispers.
"Barnes, I watched out for your parents and sister. She has grandkids. Three of them. And two are named after you guys. They're taken care of. Rebecca's taken care of. Jarvis! Jarvis! Can you get the album?"
Tony grimaces and then waves at them as he walks away and talks to his dad in the other room.
"It's true." Steve says quietly. "She's still alive, in Brooklyn. Three grandkids. James, Natalie, and Stephen." His voice cracks on the last word and his head bows forward.
"Did you visit them?" The girl asks.
Steve nods. "Yeah. I used to. But they didn't know I was there." His face is flat as he stares at the two who are very slowly taking bites and chewing slowly as if they might have to throw it down and fight any second.
Steve keeps placing food on their laps, and then he turns to the girl, "did you get enough to eat?"
She's watching them all so closely, a plastic wrapped sandwich in her hand, half eaten, "yeah." She takes another bite, "but they should eat more. I always feel better and have a clearer head when I get enough to eat."
"How often is that?" Clint asks.
"Every couple years."
Steve's eyes close and he takes a deep breath.
It's quiet for a while. They've not moved, except to eat.
And Clint notices that there does seem to be a sharpness to their eyes that wasn't there before.
The girl scoots closer, getting close to Barnes' legs and he straightens at her approach.
"Hey Asset—"
"Bucky." Steve says quickly. "His name is Bucky."
The girl nods, "okay, hey Bucky. Do you remember me?"
"Affirmative." The man asks.
"When did you meet me?"
"Unknown."
The girl is about to ask another question when Natasha gasps. Standing up so quickly it puts everyone on edge. "Oh!" She gasps out, looking at the two. "I think I know how to fix their directive!"
Steve looks up, "what? How?"
Natasha looks at him, "I know Dreykov's code because he used it on his little pet when he didn't know I was still in the room. His taskmaster. I heard it, though. And I remembered it." She turns slowly to the two. "Asset, Agent. Repeat Pierce's Command code from memory."
Carter doesn't speak but Barnes' eyes glaze and he speaks flatly, "0-0-3-1-7-3-8 Alpha, alpha, yankee."
Natasha grins, "I knew it! Her voice changes to a commanding tone. "Asset, Agent, your permanent directives have changed. All kill missions have been suspended, and all permanent directives have been suspended. Temporary directives have also been suspended. Command code: 0-0-3-1-7-3-8 Alpha, alpha, yankee."
Bothe Carter and Barnes nod, "affirmative." They say at the same time.
Natasha turns to them and grins before being swept into a hug by Steve. Surprise flits across her face and Tony walks in, "what the hell?"
Steve turns back to the two, and he sinks slowly to his knees. Both of his hands hesitantly reach out and rest on each of their hands. "I have missed both of you—" his voice cracks, "so much. Please come back to me. I know you remember. Or can. I know you will."
The girl joins him on the floor and she studies her mom's face, "Mum? It's me. I'm your daughter. I remember that song you taught me."
She starts to hum it, softly, so low Clint can barely hear it. But it makes Carter's expression shift, something stirring in her eyes and Clint can see her breathing elevate by the rate her shoulders move up and down.
"It's the song my ma always sung." Steve whispers, "Isle of Hope." He grins sadly, "Peggy, do you remember? You'd get so annoyed at me for singing that chorus over and over when it would get stuck in my head."
"I think we need to understand that this is going to take time." Natasha says calmly. "It took me a long time and I hadn't had my memory erased. We can't expect them to remember right away."
"I know." Steve says hoarsely, "I know."
"They're alive, they're safe and they're not trying to kill you." Natasha adds, "we've made amazing progress already."
"Well," Tony says with a snap, "we should get out of here. My dad wants us all back at the house and I think that's a good idea. If anyone can figure out how to undo what they did, it's him…" he grins, "and me."
Steve looks at them, "can we take you somewhere, to get you some help?"
Barnes looks down at his arm that has been relatively motionless since Steve disabled it. Steve winces, "sorry," he turns to Tony, "you think you could help with that?"
Tony nods, "oh yeah, for sure. Mechanics are our speciality."
Steve turns back around, "we can help fix your arm. Will you let us?"
"Affirmative." Barnes says.
Steve turns to Carter, something so desperately hopeful in his expression. "Will you come with us too? Please?"
Carter's eyes flick to the girl and Steve catches it nodding as if answering an unspoken question, "yes, she's coming too. We're not separating again. Not ever again." The girl raises an eyebrow and Steve winces, "if you're okay with that."
The girl smiles, a smile that makes Carter lean forward as if pulled. Both Steve and the girl notice, watching her.
The girl smiles slowly, "yeah, I'm okay with that."
—
They take the Quinjet.
While still silent and unrelenting in their wary expressions. There had been little to no resistance in their following of requests now that the command code had been given.
The girl is right. Every time they eat they seem more… alive. That's how Clint would describe it.
But still they don't speak.
Steve is unrelenting by their side. He tells Clint to pilot the jet as he sits back there, watching them, offering food, water, anything he can.
The girl is like his shadow, and Clint can tell that she is thrilled. There is some level of teenage excitement visible in her expression. He wants to laugh, because only a person raised by Hydra would be so excited at the prospect of having two terrifying parents and an assassin uncle.
"We need to refuel." Clint announces 10 hours into the flight. "Before the jump over the Atlantic."
Steve helps direct them to a place he remembers and they land, stretching their legs in the hangar as the Quinjet refuels.
"You okay?" Clint asks, pointing to Steve's chest.
Steve feels at his back where dried blood is from the first knife wound, "this one hurt. But it's healing." Then he looks down at the chest wound, and back up, smiling, "ha, yeah, I'm fine. Hell, today's not even the first time she's stabbed me."
Clint's about to ask for the background story on that comment but gets interrupted by a laugh. They turn to see the girl laughing at something Tony is saying. And Clint feels a grin spread across his face at the fact that both Barnes and Carter are tuned into that sound. Like radios catching a clear frequency.
Tony says something else and the girl laughs again, and Clint sees the shudder. The ripple of repressed movement from Carter. Like she wants to get closer but isn't allowing herself.
"She remembers." Steve says with a hopeful determination, "I know she does."
Clint nods, "I believe you."
Then Steve turns to him and rests his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."
Clint blinks, "huh?"
"Thank you. For everything. For listening to Coulson, for coming to find me. For getting me to listen about her." He gestures to the girl, "I never would have found them if not for you. So thank you. You have my undying gratitude. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you let me know."
Clint is too stunned to respond as the man walks away from him and towards his daughter.
—
Howard stares at them as they get out of the car.
His eyes are wide as saucers. "JARVIS!" He shouts back into the house, "get Colonel Phillips on the phone!"
"Phillips is dead, dad." Tony says with a humored huff, "for a very long time."
Steve walks forward and surrounds the man in a hug, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have got so angry with you about them being taken."
Howard awkwardly pats his back and then grins, "listen, we'll call Phillips and tell him the good news huh? You found 'em."
Steve smiles sadly, "sure. Phillips will be thrilled. Might even crack a half a smile."
Howard nods, and Tony throws up his hands with an annoyed eye roll.
Howard looks at the group, "who are all you?"
Clint and Natasha reintroduce themselves and the girl steps forward, "I'm…" there's an awkward pause where she has no idea what to call herself, then she gets shy and looks quickly over to Steve, "Steve's daughter."
Oh man the sun has nothing on Steve's bright expression at those words.
"Nice to meet you." Howard says with a raised eyebrow to Steve. "Does Carter know you already have a kid?"
Tony sighs, "dad that is Carter's kid! The one she was pregnant with."
Howard's worried eyes flick to Steve, but Steve shakes his head, "don't worry Howard. I already knew. If I'd known you knew I would have… I would have told you not to feel guilty. I let her go on that mission too."
"You didn't let anyone do anything." Natasha says with a snap. "She went on her own volition." She turns to Carter, "she went because she chose to. Not because she had either of your permissions."
They go silent and Steve nods, "I know. I know."
"Come on," Tony waves, "let's go inside."
—