A/N: Many thanks to my team of betas and support: xxdustnight88, gaeilgerua, & mystrana. Hope you all enjoy! xx

Chapter Six

Hermione worried her lower lip. She had seen on the Muggle news that Captain America had been branded a traitor and that he was currently wanted by the government. Her stomach had not stopped churning anxiously since she had received the news about Fury's death.

"Miss Granger."

"Good afternoon, Miss Rodriguez," Hermione said, smiling tentatively at her supervisor. The death of Fury had moved their division in an area of unease. Their collaboration was Fury's initiative, not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. They wondered what would happen next.

"The Winter Soldier has not yet been seen, but we're going to keep our eyes out there." She looked at Hermione pointedly. "I know you've put in a request to assist Captain Rogers, but we have to deny it."

"Steve is looking for the Winter Soldier. I know he is," Hermione argued. "If I could help him, we would reach our end goal faster."

"Your mission is the Winter Soldier. He's working for someone out here, we have to figure out whom."

"But if we could further collaborate with-"

"Hermione, Rogers is wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D. They will not collaborate with us. I know you mean well, but I think we should just watch and wait for now."

Hermione nodded, knowing that there wouldn't be any changing her mind. She knew that it made sense to just wait and see what would happened, but it still felt wrong to her.

"I just… I know that Steve isn't a traitor. He loves this country, he would never betray it," Hermione said softly. She wanted to clear Steve's name.

"I know you've become friendly with him, but we need to keep a clear mindset." Miss Rodriguez frowned. She took a deep breath. "I think it would be worth looking into the Super Soldier program further - at least before someone realises that we have access to some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database."

"Yes," Hermione murmured, knowing that was probably a good idea. If the Winter Soldier had taken some version of the serum, she needed to know what she was up against. Research was her current mission, after all.

Steve leant back against the chair. After finding out about Zola and the algorithm, he and Natasha had turned to Sam. He had almost considered turning to Hermione, but he didn't want to bring her any further into this.

Then, to complicate things further, Sam had told Natasha and himself about his time in the military. He wasn't just a pilot.

Sam pursed his lips, crossing his arms. His gaze was determined. "I want this, Captain."

"Back in the field? Are you sure you're ready for that?" Steve looked at Sam. He had read the report but had not quite expected to see what Sam had experienced.

"I'm with you, Steve. If Captain America needs my help, then I'm in." Sam smiled at him.

"So what's our next step?" Natasha asked between bites of breakfast. "We need to figure out about the algorithm, but there's no way we'll be able to get to Pierce. Plus, we don't know how much of S.H.I.E.L.D. is actually Hydra."

"What about Sitwell?" Steve asked, looking to Natasha. "I'm sure he would know. He's rather chummy with Pierce, isn't he?"

Sam nodded. "I think I saw that Senator Stern was in town, and they usually meet for lunch at this Italian place downtown. All the big shots usually eat lunch or dinner there. We could stake it out?"

"That's a good idea," Natasha said. "So," she looked at Sam, smiling. "Do you still have this gear? Because I would love to see it in action."

"Of course I do," Sam said. "Didn't think I'd ever use it again, but I'll admit I miss the rush of flying."

Steve looked down at his phone. He wanted to text Hermione, but he wasn't quite sure if he should or not.

"Just text her. Let her know that you're okay."

Steve looked up to see that both Natasha and Sam were looking at him.

"Text her," Sam said once more. He nodded encouragingly. Natasha looked at Steve strangely before looking away, finishing her food.

"Fine," Steve said. Taking out his phone, he looked and found Hermione's name in his phone. Selecting it, he started typing out a text. I'm okay. He hit send.

Thank goodness, was her response. His heart squeezed at the speed of her response.

Trust no one, Hermione. Steve sent. He knew that she'd have questions, but he had to at least tell her that. He hoped that she didn't think he was a criminal.

Be safe, was all Hermione texted back.

He looked up at Sam and Natasha and took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

"All right then," Natasha said, standing with a smirk. "And I can't believe you didn't tell me you had a secret girlfriend," she teased. "All this time I was trying to set you up."

"We've only gone out twice," Steve said, looking away. He could feel his cheeks warming from the thought of Hermione.

"But clearly there's something there?" Natasha probed, arching a brow at him.

"Yes, I think so," Steve said, smiling softly. He grabbed his shield, gripping it tightly. "But let's go and find Sitwell. We need to figure out this algorithm and stop Hydra."