Hiding Out
Steve sighed as he hurried next to Natasha. Ducking behind bushes and buildings, he winced at how sore his body was after being trapped in the explosion at Camp Lehigh. He’d learned a lot in the span of 24 hours, and most of it he couldn’t believe was true.
Nick Fury had been murdered.
SHIELD had turned himself and Natasha into fugitives.
HYDRA wasn’t only back, but it had never been defeated.
They killed Howard and Maria Stark in cold blood. (In the back of his mind, he knew Kara would be devastated by that news.)
HYDRA was SHIELD.
SHIELD was HYDRA.
Shaking the thoughts from his brain, he gestured to Natasha, and they ran over to the sliding glass door of a small ground-level apartment. He knocked, and they stood in silence as they waited for an answer. When the door finally opened, he felt guilty.
“Hey, man,” Sam said, confused.
Shaking his head, Steve shrugged. “I’m sorry about this. We need a place to lay low.”
“Everyone we know is trying to kill us,” Natasha added morosely.
Eyeing both of them, Sam moved aside instantly. “Not everyone.”
Once inside, Sam showed them where they could wash up and fix up their wounds. They were lucky enough to walk away from the blast with only minor burns and cuts, but it didn’t settle well with any of them that their own people would try to take them out.
As he washed his hands, Steve looked up and saw Natasha sitting on the bed and staring into the air. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She told him too quickly.
Sighing heavily, he walked closer to her and sat only a few feet away. “What’s going on?”
Her voice was quiet and rough when she spoke. “When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA,” She sighed. “I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but I guess I can’t tell the difference anymore.”
“There’s a chance you might be in the wrong business.” He told her, referencing a joke they’d shared earlier.
“I owe you.” She told him honestly.
He shook his head again. “It’s okay.”
“If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, now you be honest with me…would you trust me to do it?”
“I would now.” He told her using the same honest tone she’d given him. “And I’m always honest.”
Natasha smirked at him. “So you’re going to tell Kara everything that we just went through? The shootout, the bomb…”
“Let’s not even think about that right now, okay?” He teased with a smile now on his lips.
“Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing.”
Leaning back, he let out a relaxed sigh. “Well, guess I just like to know who I’m fighting.”
“I made breakfast.”
Turning, Steve saw Sam standing in the doorway of the room. He was watching them closely and watched them both carefully.
“If you guys eat that sort of thing.”
Nodding, they made their way into the kitchen and ate before discussing the situation at hand. Steve was dying to call Kara to explain, but he knew better than to use technology as SHIELD would be on them in minutes if he did.
“So, the question is, who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?” Natasha asked.
Sitting in his chair, Steve pondered that thought for a moment. “Pierce.”
“Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world.” She retorted.
“But he’s not working alone.” Steve countered. “Zola’s algorithm was on the Lemurian Star.”
A light went off in Natasha’s head, and she looked at him. “So was Jasper Sitwell.”
Steve looked at her in shock for a second before putting two and two together and sighing in disbelief. “So the real question us, how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?”
Shaking his head at the two fugitives behind him, Sam walked to the counter and picked up a folder before setting it on the table in front of them. “They answer is, you don’t.”
“What’s this?” Steve asked, leaning forward to grab it.
“Call it a resume,” Sam told him seriously.
Grabbing the picture on top, Natasha’s eyes held shock. “Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission; that was you?” Then she looked at Steve. “You didn’t say he was a Pararescue.”
“Is this Riley?” Steve asked him, mentioning the friend Sam had said he’d lost in combat.
Sam nodded. “Yeah.”
“I heard they couldn’t bring in the chopper because of the RPGs,” Natasha said, impressed. “What did you use? A stealth chute?”
“No. These.” Sam lifted the folder and gave it to Steve.
On the page were the schematics and break downs of a pair of government-issued mechanical wings.
Looking up at his new friend, Steve smirked. “I thought you said you were a pilot.”
Chuckling, Sam shook his head. “I never said pilot.”
Only letting the amazement take him over for a second longer, he shook his head and looked down. “I can’t ask you to do this, Sam.”
“Sure, you can.”
All three heads lifted at the voice and looked at the doorway behind Sam. Standing against the doorjamb was Kara, arms crossed and a determined look on her face, dressed in her usual glasses and a red blouse with black slacks.
“How the hell did you get in here?” Sam asked, immediately placing himself between her and his new friends. “Who even are you?”
She shook her hand in the air, dismissing him. “A friend…and I have my ways.”
“What are you doing here?” Steve asked her quickly, though he wasn’t exactly surprised by her presence.
She shrugged. “I thought you could use some help. And that was before I saw the news. There is no way I’m letting you get yourself even further into this mess alone.”
“I’m sorry, can someone explain to me what the hell is going on and why this woman is in my house?” Sam asked, head looking back and forth between the super soldier and the seemingly normal woman in his walkway.
Walking forward, Kara held her hand out for him to take. “Sorry about that. I’m Kara…Kara Stark.”
“As in Tony Stark?” He asked her.
“Yep. I’m his sister.” She told him. “I came as soon as Steve told me about Fury and tracked you here.”
“Wait, if she tracked you here, SHIELD is probably on their way now,” Sam said anxiously.
Shaking her head, Natasha smirked. “Kara has a…let’s say different way of tracking people that SHIELD can’t pull off. I think we’re okay.”
Finally, Sam’s eyes lit up. “Oh…you’re Cap’s girl. Interesting.”
Rolling her eyes, Kara faced her boyfriend. “Don’t even think of telling me to go home. First of all, you already know how that will go. Second, I have to bring Layna’s hero home to her, or she’ll kill me.”
“What?” Steve was confused, and it dawned on Kara that she’d never gotten the chance to talk to him about her homework assignment.
“Remind me later to tell you about the school incident,” Kara told him. “Right now, we have a government agency to take down.”
“Hey, wait,” Steve asked, confused. “That call was two nights ago. What took you so long to get here, anyway?”
“I had a few things I had to take care of before I could find you. Sorry.” She sat in a chair but didn’t sound apologetic, which was suspicious to him.
Letting it slide, he smiled at her. “Well, you’re here now. So at least we have four of us to rely on.”
Looking around the room, Natasha took that as her cue. “So, where were we?”
“The tech.” Steve reminded her. “Where can we get our hands on one of these things?”
“The last one is at Fort Meade,” Sam told them. “Behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall.”
Both Steve and Natasha looked at Kara simultaneously, once again leaving Sam confused and out of the loop.
Kara just shrugged and looked at him. “You said steel? Shouldn’t be a problem, as long as it isn’t lead.”
“No, it’s definitely steel.” The puzzled man told her. “How are you going to get them, though.”
Grinning, Kara stood. “As I said…I’ve got my ways.”