Chapter 37
The men separated into two groups.
The group led by Sydney and Steve, headed towards the headquarters to where the secret passage was. Meanwhile, Dean and Tony headed with the second group.
“Tony and I are not wearing German’s uniforms.” Dean started while they were in the car. “So, we will pretend that you captured us. When they see us, they won’t bother to check on you guys.”
“Alright, then.” Alain muttered from the front seat, while Bucky drove the car silently.
They passed a few search parties, that didn’t try to stop them all the way until they reached the headquarters.
But suddenly, a German captain and his men stopped them, his brows furrowed sternly while he stared at Tony and Dean.
“Did you catch them?” he asked firmly. When Alain was about to answer the captain continued. “You idiot! Didn’t you hear the new orders?”
Tony and Dean exchanged worried looks while Alain asked carefully: “New orders?”
“Yes. The new orders. General Holdstein undid all Colonel Von Darke’s past orders, who was killed by the three fugitives.” He glared at Tony and Dean before looking back at Alain. “Come over here.”
Alain jumped from the car and headed with the captain a few feet away from them and started to talk to him firmly.
“Do you think he is ordering him to kill us?” Tony whispered carefully.
“No.” Dean shook his head. “From the way Alain’s face is reddening, I say that the captain is telling him something horrifying.”
“You think so?” Tony turned to him in worry.
They saw Alain doing the military greeting and head towards them with a flushed face.
“We’re about to find out.”
Alain jumped inside the car and addressed Bucky. “Go.”
“What happened, Alain?” Bucky asked in concern as he drove away and towards a side street.
When they were out of view in the side street, Alain burst in anger. “Treason!”
Before anyone could understand what was going on, Alain turned and pointed his gun at their faces. “You played us! It is a trap!”
A wave of panic ran through the men as they also raised their guns towards Tony and Dean.
“What do you mean?” Bucky asked in confusion.
“What happened?” Dean muttered as they stepped out of the car and moved a little in front of Tony to cover him.
“That German scum scolded me for arresting you!” Alain shouted in anger. He told me that Holdstein ordered them to chase you down in just a routine procedure but ordered that no one would shoot you and facilitate your escape! What the hell does this means?”
Dean’s eyes widened while Tony just gaped at him muttering. “Holdstein ordered that?”
“Yes! He tried to protect you, traitors!”
“No! He wanted to track us! So we could lead him to where he want.”
“Liar! He can’t track you unless he sent men after you.”
“That might be true in your era, but in ours it is different.” He said it while trailing his hands over his body, searching for something. He took off his shoe and checked it carefully until he found a very small device. “See?” he threw the device away and looked back at them. “He heard every word we said! Which meant that Sydney and Steve are in danger! They’re preparing a trap for them!”
“This will happen because of you, traitors!” one of the men shouted.
“Would you just calm down and listen to them?” Bucky shouted anxiously. “They know what they’re talking about!”
“I don’t care about what they say!” Alain shouted and pointed his gun at Tony and shot it, but Dean darted towards him.
“Don’t you dare to harm him!” Dean yelled as he gripped the gun and raised it upwards, the bullets sounded in the whole area until it reached Sydney and Steve.
“This is the signal!” Sydney announced, and they darted towards the secret door, not knowing there was a trap waiting for them.
***
“There is something I still don’t understand.”
Castiel said thoughtfully as he watched his team work.
“What is it?” Clint asked from where he was standing next to him.
“Why didn’t the robot guardian go after the other time traveler? Why did it only go to Sydney?” Clint was taken aback by his question since he didn’t think of that before while Castiel continued. “Which lead us to another question: why did the time ship take off the moment Sydney reached it without waiting for the others? If there was others, that is.”
“You think there is a chance that there is no another time traveler?” Clint asked in surprise. Castiel just shrugged. “But there must be at least another one. Or who hacked SHIELD earlier then?”
“Maybe it was Hydra or something. From what I gathered, SHIELD does have lots of enemies. It doesn’t have to be a time traveler.”
“The hacker used pretty advanced ways.”
“Charlie could hack into anything with several different ways. These things advance pretty fast.” Castiel shrugged again and turned to face Clint. “I’m just trying to see the situation from every possibility.”
“Yeah, I understand. I-“ he was cut off when a ringing came from his watch which he immediately raised towards his mouth. “What is it?”
“Another hacking attempt, Barton.” Came Coulson’s nervous voice from the watch. “I was told to immediately tell you if that happened again.”
Clint and Castiel shared a quick look before glancing at Charlie.
“Charlie. Another attempt.” Castiel called out immediately.
“On it!” she answered already getting to work.
A few tense seconds passed as everyone in the room watched Charlie intently, before she cursed and looked up at them grimly.
“It ended before I could track their location completely.” She announced in frustration.
“Dammit.” Clint muttered.
“But I did manage to at least know where they are approximately.” She added fast.
“Which is?” Castiel asked urgently.
She checked her result and furrowed her brows nervously. “Uhm, I’m sorry to say that but the hacker isn’t exactly far away.” She looked up at them while biting her lower lip. “The Hacker is in SHIELD headquarters.”
***
At the same moment they started to storm into the secret door, Sydney’s brain started to work.
Why was their escape that easy?
Why weren’t they hit by any bullet even with the bullets that were raining on them then?
Even the motor bike driver didn’t try to shoot them directly but shot the car tires instead.
Sure, she knew about the secret passage from her excessive research on this era when she was younger, but the corridor was empty. So was the room.
With all those thoughts running in her head, she saw a glimpse of a German uniform from the partially opened secret door.
Understanding dawned on her.
It was a trap.
She closed the door violently while shouting: “Fall back! It is a trap!”
The men were darting behind her and when she shouted they stumbled against each other. They stepped back nervously.
“A trap?!” Brigitte exclaimed anxiously.
“Sydney, what are you talking about?” Steve asked nervously.
Suddenly, The Germans emerged from everywhere and surrounded them completely.
“Treason!” one of the men shouted and glared at Sydney.
Guns where raised to their faces.
The resistance’s men raised their guns back to shoot but was stopped by Steve.
“No, don’t. It will turn into a massacre!” Steve shouted firmly.
One of the men growled and turned towards Sydney and hit her in the jaw with the heel of his gun. “You bitch! You tricked us!”
Brigitte screamed as she saw Sydney hitting the wall painfully, while another man ignored Steve’s words and raised his gun shouting: “Death for the Nazis!”
And the shooting begun.
***
When the sound of shooting reached them, panic filled Tony completely.
“No! Steve!” he screamed and tried to run towards his husband but was gripped tightly by Dean.
“You tricked us! You led us here!” Alain shouted at their faces while waving his gun.
“Just shut up and think for a fucking second!” Tony yelled while trying to escape Dean’s hold.
“All I can do is give you a bullet in your forehead!”
“I swear if you touch a fucking hair on his head I will rip your lungs out.” Dean growled at him, ignoring the guns that was raised to his face and focused to keep his hold on the thrashing Tony.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Bucky shouted suddenly. “You are standing here exchanging blames while our friends are fighting for their lives alone there! We need to go to them.”
“We can’t help anyone now.” Alain muttered in desperation as he stepped back anxiously.
Dean and Tony immediately turned to where he was looking, at the same moment they heard angry shouts coming from the men around them.
Because they were suddenly surrounded by tanks that were aiming their cannons at them.
“It is over, gentlemen.” Holdstein’s voice sounded from around them. “You fell into our hands just like your friends.”
They noticed immediately that the sounds of shooting stopped.
“He is right.” Alain said bitterly. “We are done for. The French Resistance is over.”
His words made Tony and Dean look at each other in panic.
His words meant that Holdstein’s plan was succeeding.
Everything was going to hell very fast.