Chapter 41
Dr. Queen relaxed in his chair while he was staring at the computer screen inside his lab. He was checking on one of the suspects who was sitting inside a small cabin with conditions similar to that of the time ship, while the suspect’s vitals and biological reactions were being written right in front of Dr. Queen’s eyes while Sam and Natasha were sitting in front of him expectantly.
When he was done checking the results, he looked up at the both of them.
“He is the last one, right?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, he is.” Natasha nodded in confirmation.
Meanwhile, Sam studied Robert very carefully. Honestly? He was more interested in him than the results.
Robert Queen just seemed really familiar somehow, but in a different way than Sydney, who definitely reminded him of two very important people in his life in a very suspicious way, in the brief encounter he had with her. Queen, however, his looks and the way he speaks, was familiar, but he wasn’t sure familiar to who.
“Why don’t you relax in your chair, Mr. Winchester?” Robert smiled calmly at him.
“I am.” Sam answered shortly, still looking intently at him.
“Are you?” he let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Are you done trying to look right into my soul? Tell me, what did you find?”
Sam furrowed his brows in annoyance and was about to say something but Natasha stopped him by placing a gentle hand on his knee.
“Can you tell us the results now, if you please?” Natasha asked coldly.
Robert and Sam sized each other up one last time before the former finally turned to address Natasha.
“I am sorry to say that, but the five men are innocent.” He announced grimly.
“What? But how?”
Robert just shrugged as he relaxed again in his chair. “There must be a mistake. Maybe Miss Bradbury and Dr. Banner made a mistake in their data or there was a mistake of the choosing of the five men, or-“ he cut himself off.
“Or what?” Sam urged him impatiently.
He was hesitant for a few seconds before answering: “Or maybe the whole thing is just an illusion.”
Sam and Natasha’s eyes widened a little at that.
“Illusion? What do you mean?” Natasha wondered in confusion.
“I mean maybe that second time traveler doesn’t exist at all.”
Sam shared a glance with his partner before turning back to Queen.
“Can you explain your point of view?” Sam had his full attention on Robert.
“Sure.” Robert shrugged as he adjusted in his seat. “You reached that conclusions when you subtracted Sydney’s vitals from the total of the vitals that the ship recorded, then assumed that the rest is the vitals of the second time traveler, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“And that was the mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“You thought that Hunter’s vitals will remain the same all the time. You never considered that maybe her vitals multiplies every time she enters one of the time holes.”
“That didn’t cross our minds.” Natasha said with raised eyebrows.
“And that is the difference between you and me. I am an expert in what I do.” Robert leaned on his desk towards Sam with a small smile.
Sam stared him right in the eyes ‘Where did he see these eyes before?’ before asking: “How high do you think that theory true?”
“60% for now. “
Natasha’s brows furrowed as she rethought everything. “This actually makes sense, and answers lots of questions. Castiel thought about something like that.”
“What about the hacking attempts?” Sam interjected.
“It is probably something different. A Hydra spy or something with high hacking skills.”
“That’s also what Castiel suggested.” Natasha nodded at him. “I think I lean a little towards that explanation.”
“Bullshit.” Sam announced firmly, making both of them turn to him in surprise. “We’re in the middle of a huge problem. The only way to deal with it is by physical proof. Not just theories.”
“But Sam-“
“Physical proof, Nat.” Sam cut her off. “In our situation, we need only physical proof.”
Natasha looked at him for a long time, before seeming to understand him and nodded.
“Alright. You will get your proof.” Robert announced calmly.
“Are you going to proof the nonexistence of the second time traveler or whoever is trying to hack into SHIELD?” Sam challenged him firmly.
Robert’s face froze for a few seconds before a small smile appeared on his face that Sam didn’t understand. “Looking for a Hydra spy is not my job. But I can proof that the traveler doesn’t exist.”
“And this is enough for us.”
***
Dean rained his bullets on the German soldiers while moving around from one hideout to the other lightly and boldly, while Tony and Sydney worked together to light up another gas cylinder and throwing it towards the Germans, who when they saw it rolling towards them turned around and tried to escape from it.
Then the cylinder exploded, destroying one wall of the building violently.
“Where is Steve and the others? Where do you think they’re keeping them?” Tony asked anxiously.
“Ask Syd. She obviously know more about this fucking era.” Dean answered loudly while still shooting at the Germans.
“There are two places.” Sydney started while racking her brain to remember. “The big dungeon in the back of the building or the backyard. Which do you suggest?”
“The backyard.” Tony and Dean answered together, making Sydney’s lips twitch at the familiarity of it. “They will put them under surveillance. The big dungeon is not big enough for their numbers.” Dean continued.
“Then let’s rush there.”
The moment she said that, Carl’s voice sounded as he shouts: “Kill all the hostages! All of them! General Holdstein’s orders.”
Tony’s eyes widened in sheer terror. “No! Steve!” he screamed before jumping to snatch one of the fallen machine guns and pressed its trigger continually as he rushed to the backyard.
“Tony, wait up!” Dean shouted as he followed him with Sydney who snatched another gun.
Fires were up in lots of parts in the building which most of its walls were gone. The three of them made their way towards the backyard while bullets were raining down on them.
***
Carl suddenly appeared in the backyard, where the hostages were standing nervously, with ten guards pointing their guns at them.
“What do you think is going on?” Peggy whispered to Bucky as she heard the fight happening in the building. “Do you think its Steve?”
“No, I don’t think so. He seemed pretty weak and pale from that goddamned thing that devil injected him with when they took him a while ago. I think he needs help and fast. I swear I will rip that bastard apart if he laid a hand on Steve.” Bucky growled in anger.
“Maybe it is our future friends.” Brigitte suggested hopefully. “The fight seemed to be inside the building not out.”
“You think so?” Alain asked curiously.
“That will be a painful hit to the Nazis.” Peggy commented. “They did everything to secure their headquarters from outside attacks that they didn’t expect the attack will be from the inside.”
Just then, Carl stormed in and shouted: “Kill the hostages! Kill them all!”
Immediately the guns were raised, and bullets rained heavily.
***
When the sound of bullets reached them Tony screamed again: “Steve! No!”
He didn’t know exactly what happened next. He felt something explode inside him that felt suspiciously like pure rage as he stormed into the backyard, his finger never easing from the trigger as he rained his bullets on the Nazis while screaming curses on them.
His bullets were joined by Dean and Sydney’s to reap the Nazis mercilessly.
Carl ran away while shouting in panic “Fuck! Fuck! Where are the reinforcements?!” he kept running until he reached one of the cars and drove away as fast as he could.
In the backyard, Tony was still shooting angrily until Dean grabbed his shoulder firmly and removed his finger from the trigger gently. “That’s enough, Tony. It’s over.”
Tony stopped and looked around with wide eyes at the backyard that became a large pool of blood. He was frozen trying to understand what just happen before he remembered what put him in this state in the first place.
“God! Steve!” he screamed before darting towards the resistance’s men who lost five from their men by the Nazis and a lot of them were injured.
“Barnes! Where’s Steve?!” Tony yelled as soon as he reached the dark haired man, vaguely noticing Sydney rushing towards Brigitte embracing her happily while Dean caught up with him.
“I don’t know, Tony.” Bucky answered bitterly, looking on the verge of breaking down. “That fucking Holdstein ordered his butcher to take him to his office and we didn’t see him since then. They injected him with something and he was so weak he could barely stand up!”
“No! No. Nonono. This can’t be happening!” Tony’s face got paler and paler each passing second.
“Hurry up, guys!” Dean called out to the men. “Gather all you can from weapons and take all the cars you can find and get out of here as fast as possible. It will take them only minutes before the German army will surround the whole place!”
Tony didn’t hear a word Dean said, because the moment Bucky finished what he was saying, he darted to look around for his husband. The love of his life. His fucking Soulmate.
“Steve! Steve, where are you? Steve! Please, where are you?” he kept calling again and again.
But he didn’t get an answer.
Steve disappeared with Holdstein.
Without leaving a trace.