The sound of someone grunting resonated in Spencer's ears—she could hear the sounds of flames cackling, Nat coughing, and debris being moved. Her body was aching something awful as Steve finally managed to shove away the massive cement debris covering them; Spencer blinked several times to adjust to the sudden lighting. Her throat hurt; her eyes were itchy and no doubt red from the lack of sleep. She seriously needed a vacation.
Steve glanced over at her and then towards Nat—the master assassin was unconscious. Spencer moved over towards her mentor and checked for any serious injuries—the worst being that she had been hit in the head with something, probably a random piece of debris. "We have to get moving," Steve murmured quietly, "It won't be long until they send a team looking for our bodies." Spencer glanced up at his dirtied face and nodded silently.
Steve moved to pick up Nat carefully in his arms, "Any serious injuries?" Steve asked as they began to move with purpose. Though, Spencer was sure both of their bodies were screaming in pain from having a secret building fall on them.
"She was hit in the head with a piece of debris." Spencer commented as the distant sound of Quinjet's began to near.
Steve must have heard it, too. "Let's go." Steve muttered, "Towards the car." Spencer nodded and took the front though she was unsure where they could even go at this point; it seemed, for a moment, futile to try to run from Shield; Shield had eyes everywhere. They could only run for so long.
"Where are we going?" Spencer asked keeping her voice above a whisper.
Steve was quiet before she heard the super soldier sigh, "A friend's." Steve vaguely stated.
Spencer turned around to look at her best friend with narrowed eyes, "What friend could possibly want anything to do with fugitives'? I bet Shield has our faces plastered all over the news by now." Spencer begrudgingly muttered. It didn't take them very long to reach the truck, Steve put Nat in the back, and Spencer took shotgun. Steve put the truck in drive and hauled ass away from his former training camp.
There were no stops, potty breaks, or snack breaks until they reached Washington again. As soon as they reached the outskirts of the city, Steve stole another car; a little Prius which made Spencer turn her nose up at the car. "We have to blend in." Steve nagged at her when the young assassin refuses to get into the car. By that time, Nat was awake and was rolling her eyes at Spencer's childish behavior.
"Get in, little spider, before I force you inside." Nat blankly threatened without having to look at Spencer.
Spencer knew very well never to disobey Nat; especially when things were bad as right now. Spencer made a displeased sound from the back of her throat and got inside the damn Prius. It didn't take long to reach Steve's destination. It was a quiet residential area in some random part of the city—far from headquarters. It would buy the trio some time to come up with a plan and freshen up. Spencer hoped and prayed there was food at this destination.
They parked the car and Steve began to lead them towards his friend's house—it seemed like Steve had parked the stolen Prius a few miles away from his friend's place because it took them, like, half an hour or so to reach their final destination. Steve took them through the backyard and knocked on the back door. It didn't take long for their host to open the door.
Spencer perked up instantly. It was the handsome chocolate man from a few days ago! Spencer couldn't remember his name and wasn't sure if Steve had even mentioned this man's name before, but he gazed at the dirtied and battered trio with wide eyes before they settled on Steve, "Hey, man."
"I'm sorry about this," Steve apologized with a slight cringe, "We need a place to lay low."
And then Nat had to add, "Everyone we know is trying to kill us."
The chocolate man gazed at Nat for a few seconds before giving a light smile, "Not everyone." He stood to the side and gestured for the trio inside; Spencer gave a light whoop and hurried inside with a sigh of relief. Nat and Steve followed. It turns out that the beautiful savior was named Sam and he offered his house to them; whatever they needed for the limited time they had before Shield found out where they were.
The trio showered and changed into fresher clothes; Sam offering that his sister often visited and left clothes in the guest bedroom. Spencer was the first to shower, change, and head out the guest bedroom to find something to eat because her stomach was a roaring lion right now. Sam was acting as their sentinel because he was keeping a close watch on the outside. Sam had lowered the blinds on all of his windows and made sure anyone that came snooping around wouldn't see anything.
"Hi, Sam." Spencer sat down at his dining table.
Sam offered her a light smile, "Shockwave." There was a light teasing in his voice.
"Spencer will do, Sam," Spencer grinned lightly, "Thanks for doing this…it isn't an easy thing to do especially when we're all basically strangers to you." Spencer said with a soft sigh.
"It's no problem," Sam chuckled lightly, "Want to help me make some breakfast? Do superheroes eat breakfast?" Sam asked jokingly as he began taking ingredients out of his refrigerator.
Spencer snorted, "You would be surprised at just how much we eat—especially Steve." Spencer enjoyed Sam's quiet and humorous personality a lot as they cooked and waited for Steve and Nat to join them. Sam would fit in with the group fairly well, Spencer thought. Spencer was just finishing up the pancakes when Sam excused himself to go rally the spider and the old man.
When everyone was content with the food in their bellies, is when the trio explained to Sam what was going on up until the trio reached their back door. "So, the question is who at Shield could launch a domestic missile strike?" Nat questioned looking much better and her head wound had been patched by Sam.
Spencer and Steve exchanged knowing looks as Sam buttered his toast, "Pierce." The two best friends stated in unison.
Sam cocked an eyebrow at them in question.
"Jinks, you owe me a cat." Spencer smirked lazily at Steve.
"It's normal." Nat reassured Sam.
"You know I don't trust cats." Steve scowled at Spencer.
"How would you when you've never owned a cat before?" Spencer grumbled with a frown.
"Anyway," Nat raised her voice to gain their attention again, "Pierce happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."
"He's not working alone." Spencer pointed out as she snagged a bacon strip from Steve's plate, "Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."
A look of realization crossed Nat's face, "So was Jasper Sitwell."
Steve seemed to realize something and sighed, "So, the real question is how the three most wanted fugitives in Washington kidnap a shield officer in broad daylight?" Steve asked.
Spencer munched on her bacon as her head tried to figure out a decent plan but Spencer wasn't known for coming up with plans. "The answer is, you don't." Sam's smooth voice snapped the young assassin out of her thoughts. Sam plopped down a file in the middle of the dining table—the cover was a picture of Sam and some young soldier.
"What's this?" Steve asked leaning over to pick the file up.
"Call it a resume." Sam spoke.
Steve and Nat gathered around to look at the file, "Is this Bakhmala?" Nat asked with interested eyes. "The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?" Nat asked Sam with an impressed expression. Steve looked at his friend with surprise as Nat continued, "You didn't say he was a Pararescue." Nat handed the file over to Steve who looked down and back to Sam.
"Is this Riley?"
Sam nodded, his expression softening the tiniest bit, "Yeah."
"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?" Nat asked curious as ever. Spencer felt a bit out of the loop at the moment; military missions were a loss on her, to be honest.
Sam shook his head, "No," He picked up the file that was under the photo of Sam and Riley and handed it to Steve, "These." Spencer stood up and gazed into the file. Steve looked up at his friend.
"I thought you said you were a pilot."
Sam snorted, "I never said pilot."
Steve looked impressed but was silent for a few moments before shaking his head, "I can't ask you to do this, Sam." It was true…Spencer admired Sam and respected him for letting them stay in his house but to ask him to partake in something as dangerous as taking down Pierce was…not right. "You got out for a good reason."
Sam scoffed, "Dude, Captain America needs my help, there's no better reason to get back in." Spencer laughed and grinned at Sam.
"I like you, can we keep him?" Spencer mused to Nat and Steve.
Nat smirked at her, "Settle down, Spencer, your inner fan-girl is showing."
"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?" Steve asked Sam; who was trying not to blush under Spencer's admiring gaze.
"The last one is in Fort Meade," Sam told them, "Behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall." The trio looked at each other with an obvious question in mind. Nat shrugged and Spencer nodded eagerly.
"Shouldn't be a problem." Steve told Sam.
"I forgot who I was talking to for a moment," Sam sighed with a laugh, "Two master assassins and a super soldier."
Spencer smirked, "This is easy peasy for us, Sam."
Tracking down Jasper Sitwell was easier then breaking into Fort Meade and grabbing Sam's wings. It didn't take long for the weasel to comply with Sam's instruction and before Spencer knew it; Steve was shoving Jasper onto the open roof of an apartment building in some random part of the city—far away from prying eyes and high eye to make Jasper uneasy.
Steve wasn't gentle and as Nat and Spencer trailed behind Steve, the super solider began to question Jasper with a no-nonsense type of voice. "Tell me about Zola's algorithm."
Jasper, who was trying to steady himself, hastily put on his glasses, "Never heard of it." He replied almost instantly.
"Why do they always say that?" Spencer asked loudly with a wicked gleam in her eyes, "If you didn't then we wouldn't be here right now." Spencer sneered at the man.
"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?" Steve asked.
"I was throwing up, I get seasick." Jasper stated dumbly as the back of his legs hit the edge of the building's border. He staggered back but Steve was merciful enough to grab him and yank him safely onto the roof.
"Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof?" Jasper said in a condescending tone which irked Spencer, "Because it's really not your style, Rogers." The stupid idiot had the nerve to look smug.
Steve let go of him and agreed, "You're right," Steve smoothed down his suit, "It's not," Jasper, bless his soul, looked really relieved, "It's her." Steve stepped to the side and Nat struck like a snake—her food connected to Jasper's chest and sent the moron flying over the edge screaming like a little girl.
"Oh, what about that girl from accounting, Laura, I think?" Nat asked Steve casually.
"Lisa?" Spencer frowned.
"Lillian," Steve corrected with a nod, "Lip piercing, right?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, she's cute, right?" Nat smiled.
"She has weird hands." Spencer muttered lowly.
"Yeah," Steve dragged the word, "I'm not ready for that." And Spencer nodded in agreement. It was then that Sam, with his cool wings of steel, dropped the still screaming Jasper back onto the roof.
"Nice wings, Sam." Spencer grinned.
"Thanks, Spencer." Sam sighed with a chuckle.
"Zola's algorithm is a program," Jasper nearly shouted as Steve, Nat, and Spencer reared up on Jasper, for choosing Insight's targets." Jasper was breathing heavily trying to catch his breath.
"What targets?" Steve demanded.
"You," Jasper blurted out, "A TV anchor in Cario, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, and Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA." Spencer felt a chill go down her body at the sound of Hydra's name coming out of Jasper's mouth. "Now, or in the future."
"In the future? How could it know?" Steve questioned.
Jasper responded by laughing—as if the question was plain to see, "How could it now?" Jasper spat at Steve as the officer stood on his legs again, "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught Hydra how to read it." Spencer cocked her head to the side in confusion and Jasper looked almost exasperated, "Bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, even your damn SAT scores!"
Spencer was stunned into a silence as Jasper continued, "Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."
"And what then?" Spencer demanded.
It was then that Jasper got quiet—something akin to horror washing over his face, "Oh my god, Pierce is going to kill me." Jasper muttered.
"What then?" Steve demanded as Sam kept Jasper in place by grabbing the back of his suit.
"Then the Insight hellicarriers scratch people off the list," Jasper managed to calm down enough to answer and Sam let the officer go for the moment, "A few million at a time." Spencer's blood ran cold at his words. All this had been happening under their very noses?
It took a few minutes for Jasper's words to settle into everyone's minds before it was decided it was time to leave to start their hastily put plan. "Why do I have sit in the middle?" Spencer moaned as Sam drove, Steve was shotgun, and Nat and Jasper got window seats.
"Because you're the youngest." Nat remarked smartly.
"Hydra doesn't like leaks." Jasper muttered looking a bit scared for his life.
"Then why don't you try sticking a cork in it?" Sam scathingly told Jasper.
Spencer smirked at Sam's feistiness as Nat leaned in towards the center console and stated, "Insight's launching in sixteen hours. We're cutting it a little bit close here."
"We've done worse." Spencer shrugged it off.
"We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the hellicarriers directly." Steve stated firmly and Spencer saw the horrified expression on Jasper's face.
"What?!" Jasper snapped, "Are you crazy?!" Everyone pointedly ignored him, "That is a terrible idea."
There was thud that resonated on the hood of the car. Suddenly, Jasper was being grabbed through the side window and thrown onto the other side of traffic. Spencer's stomach rolled nastily as Jasper was hit by an oncoming semi-truck. Nat and Spencer barely managed to see the attacker's gun being pulled out before Spencer and Nat jumped into Steve and Sam's lap. The first bullet hit Spencer's headrest then Nat's. Nat jerked Steve's head out of the way as the third bullet hit Steve's headrest and Spencer did the same for Sam. Steve was quick enough to pull the car's emergency brake on and the whole car halted throwing off whoever was trying to kill them.
It was the Winter Solider.
Right as Nat pulled out her handgun to shoot the Winter Asshole, a blacked out hummer slammed into the back of our car causing the assassin to drop her gun. "This is real bad." Spencer muttered into Sam's ear as the large SUV moved them in towards the Winter Soldier. Spencer watched as Nat struggled to find her gun and the Winter Solider expertly jumped onto the roof of their car.
Sam tried slamming on the brakes but it was no use. Suddenly a metal arm was ramming through the top of the windshield and ripping the steering wheel from Sam's hands. "Holy shit!" Spencer cursed as did Sam.
Nat, finally finding her gun, aimed her gun and shot upwards but most likely missed. "What do we do we have no steering wheel?!" Spencer shouted as their car was somehow managing to drive in lane despite no steering wheel.
"Pray we don't die." Sam said.
The black SUV slammed into the back of their car; the car jerked to the side and hit the concrete divider. Steve bought up his shield, smacked it against the passenger door to rip it off its hinges, and shouted, "Hang on!" Steve grabbed Nat, pulled in Spencer and Sam and right as the car flipped in mid air, Steve pushed against the passenger door—it didn't fight the strength of the super solider and fell straight down onto the road with incoming traffic.
They landed with a loud thud and Spencer hastily threw up a small force field of energy to keep the glass and debris from hitting the group. Sam and Spencer were thrown off as Nat and Steve remained on the broken off door and slid off further then her and Sam.
Spencer jumped on her feet and further down where the SUV stopped is when she saw the Winter Solider aiming a gun with a rocket launcher towards Steve and Nat—who were just getting up. Spencer rushed forward just as the Winter Soldier took aim and shot.
Steve was barely able to shove Nat and put up his shield in time—Spencer jumped in front of him and threw out a force field—the force of the blast sent both Captain America and Shockwave over the bridge and down onto ground—Steve hit a bus and Spencer was thrown back further into a building. Her body hit brick and concrete—a cry escaping her lips before she tumbled onto the ground and her vision went black.
Poor Spencer cannot seem to catch a break. I'm sorry for the wait. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and be assured that I will be updating soon-Probably tomorrow because I am eager to get WS done so we can move onto Age of Ultron!