14. C.A. Winter Soldier (4)

When I felt the rocks stop falling, I lifted the ones sitting on my force field away and helped Dad make a way out. Aunt Nat was knocked out, so Dad picked her up, and we walked out of the cave of the broken building. We then spotted S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft heading toward us and started running in the opposite direction. Dad placed Aunt Nat in the car, and I hopped in the back seat. We drove off back to Washington.

When we got back, Aunt Nat had woken up, and Dad took us to the place where we got the car, so we could return it.

"Where do we go now?" I asked, exhausted. Dad thought for a moment before responding,

"A friend's."

I didn't question him, and the three of us started walking. After half an hour, my legs grew weak. I hadn't had a proper amount of sleep in two days. Dad seemed to notice that my pace had slowed.

"Here, Honey, let me carry you," he offered.

"No, Dad," I stated, "You and Nat are just as tired as I am. I'll be fine."

"Katie Rogers, I love that you want to be fair, but you forget that you are a growing teenager and need more rest."

I hesitated but, with a frown on my face, lifted my arms for Dad to pick me up. He was careful of my injured arm while I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder. I tried to keep my eyes open and stay awake, but I eventually drifted off. I woke up when we were in a neighbourhood.

"Where are we?" I inquired sleepily.

"Sam's, Sweetheart," Dad replied. We walked up to his patio door and knocked. A few minutes passed, and Sam pulled the door open. He looked at us quizzically as we were covered in dirt and a bit of blood.

"Hey, man," Sam started.

"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low," Dad told him, with me still in his arms.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," explained Aunt Nat.

"Not everyone," Sam let us inside. "You guys can use the bathroom down the hall, in the guest bedroom."

"Thank you, Sam," Dad said, putting me down, "Do you have bandages and medical tape?"

"Yeah, I'll go grab them," Sam said, eyeing my cuts, and walked away. Aunt Nat, Dad and I went into the guest bedroom.

"Katie, why don't you grab a shower first, then Natasha, and then I'll go."

"Ok," I replied, placing my backpack on the floor, grabbing my extra clothes and walking into the bathroom. I showered and rinsed my hair, then I put on my jeans, sports bra, and my tank top. Because my arm was still bleeding, I didn't put my shirt on yet. Once I braided my hair into two braids to keep it out of my face, I came out of the bathroom. Aunt Nat went in for her shower, and I sat down on the bed next to Dad, who had bandages ready in his hands. He dabbed at the wound on my arm, and I winced.

"This should heal in two or three days. It's deep but not deep enough for stitches," Dad told me as he wrapped the bandages around it.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt?' I asked, making sure that he wasn't hiding anything for my sake.

"I promise." Dad finished with my arm and moved to grab the medical tape for a cut I had on my face. When I was all bandaged up, Dad placed his hand on the back of my head and pulled me toward him, so he could place a kiss on my forehead. "Try and take another nap while Natasha and I finish, ok?"

"Ok," I nodded, knowing that I'd be exhausted later if I didn't. I pulled on my hoodie shirt, then crawled on the bed, up to the pillows, and fell asleep.

"Hey, Baby. Sam made breakfast."

I sat up after hearing Dad's voice and rubbed my eyes awake. I stood, and the two of us walked to the kitchen. I was finishing up my second pancake when we started talking.

"So, the question is, who in S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?" Aunt Nat asked. I finished chewing, and it came to me,

"Pierce," I said, looking up at Nat.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"But he's not working alone," Dad spoke, "Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

"So was Jasper Sitwell," Aunt Nat added from beside me.

"So, the real question is, how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in broad daylight," Dad finished.

"The answer is, you don't," Sam said, dropping a file on the table in front of Dad and me.

"What's this?" Dad asked him.

"Call it a resume."

I stood up with Dad and looked at the pictures. Aunt Nat was looking at one when she spoke,

"Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you," Aunt Nat said, turning to Dad, "You didn't say he was a para-rescue."

"Is this Riley?" Dad questioned, showing Sam a photo.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I heard they couldn't bring in the chopper because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?" Nat inquired.

"No, these," Sam handed the file to Dad, and the three of us looked at it.

"Cool!" I said with a smile.

"I thought you said you were a pilot," Dad said to Sam.

"I never said pilot."

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason."

"Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."

I smiled at Sam as he spoke.

"Where can we get our hands on one of these?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall."

Dad looked at me and Aunt Nat, and we both shrugged.

"Shouldn't be a problem."

I smiled at Dad, and we discussed a plan.

Sam had been able to lure Jasper Sitwell to the building that we wanted. Once the two men arrived, Dad grabbed Sitwell, and Aunt Nat and I followed them up to the roof. On the roof, Dad threw Sitwell.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Dad demanded as Sitwell struggled to stand.

"Never heard of it," he slyly responded.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up, I get seasick."

Dad grabbed Sitwell by the collar of his shirt and held him at the edge of the rooftop. I stood slightly behind Dad with my arms crossed, and Aunt Nat stood to the left of me. Instead of looking terrified, Sitwell smiled. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're going to throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers."

"Daddy," I said, uncrossing my arms with a fake frown. Dad glanced back at me for a second, then looked back to Sitwell.

"You're right. It's not," Dad released him and straightened out Sitwell's jacket, "It's hers."

Dad and I then smirked as we moved out of Aunt Nat's way, so she could kick Sitwell off the roof. I walked closer to the edge to get a look at him falling as he screamed.

"Oh, wait. What about that girl from accounting, Laura...?" Aunt Nat asked Dad.

"Lillian. Lip piercing, right?" Dad replied.

"Yeah, she's cute."

"Yeah, I'm not ready for that."

I turned to Dad with a chuckle as Sam brought Sitwell back up to the roof using his Falcon jet-pack wings. Dad, Aunt Nat, and I walked up to him, and Sitwell put his hands up in the air.

"Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing insights targets!" Sitwell said, out of breath.

"What targets?" I sternly asked.

"You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future."

"The future? How could it know?" Dad asked.

"How could it not?" Sitwell stated," The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it."

We all looked at him in confusion. "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."

"And what then?" I questioned.

"Oh, my God. Pierce is going to kill me."

"What then?!" Dad shouted after he didn't answer me.

"Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time."

I looked at Dad with panic in my eyes. Dad grabbed Sitwell, and we walked down the building and got into the car. I sat in between Aunt Nat and Sitwell in the backseat while Sam drove us to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Triskelion. "HYDRA doesn't like leaks," Sitwell warned.

"So why don't you try sticking a cork in it?" Sam threatened.

"Insight's launching in six hours. We're cutting a little bit close here," Aunt Nat said.

"I know," Dad answered, "We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly."

"What?" Sitwell worriedly asked, "Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea."

All of a sudden, we heard something land on the roof of the car. An arm then smashed the window and grabbed Sitwell, throwing him into the oncoming traffic and killing him. My mouth was wide open in fear and shock. Aunt Nat then yelled for me to move and pushed me to the front seats, causing me to land in Sam's lap right as the Winter Soldier started shooting at us through the roof. I screamed as Dad pulled the brake handle, making the Winter Soldier land on the road in front of us. Aunt Nat was about to shoot at him, but a car smashed into the back of ours and pushed us forward. The Winter Soldier jumped back on top of our car and smashed his hand through the windscreen to pull out the steering wheel. I screamed, and Sam swore,

"Shit!"

Aunt Nat had time to grab her gun, which had fallen, and started shooting at the Winter Soldier, but he jumped onto the car, pushing ours. As our car was losing control, Dad grabbed his shield and Aunt Nat.

"Katie!" he spoke at me, "Just like the elevator!"

I nodded and grabbed Sam.

"Hang on!" I warned him as Dad pushed threw the passenger door, and Sam and I followed with my force field around us. The four of us landed on the road. Dad and Aunt Nat were sliding on the car door while Sam and I rolled in my force field. I dropped the shield, and the two of us stopped rolling. Sam helped me up, and we were looking for somewhere to take cover, but before we could, I saw Dad get thrown over the side of the bridge and into a bus. "Dad!" I screamed, grabbing a HYDRA agent's attention, and Sam pulled me behind a car. I calmed myself down and thought of a way out of this. I knew Sam's suit was in his trunk, so we had to get to it somehow. When Sam and I saw the Winter Soldier and some of the HYDRA agents follow Aunt Nat and Dad over the bridge, we analyzed our situation and planned.

"I'll take the guy on the right, you take the one on the left?" Sam asked me, and I nodded.

"One," I started counting down, "Two, three."

Together, we came out from behind the car and snuck up on the HYDRA agents that were still on the bridge. I grabbed my target's arm and threw his gun out of his reach, then knocked him out cold. Sam was able to knock his guy over the side of the bridge and take his gun. I looked down and saw that Dad was being shot at. Sam started shooting at the HYDRA agents below, and I picked up the gun that I tossed, so I could help. I was able to shoot one of the four guys shooting at Dad while Sam hit two. Dad got to the agent with the machine gun, and I was instantly relieved. There were more guys, so Sam and I kept them occupied. Dad looked up at us, and Sam called down to him,

"I have Katie! Go, we got this!"

I smiled at Sam briefly before continuing to shoot the bad guys. All that target practice had paid off. Once we had successfully taken down the remaining agents, Sam and I ran over to his car, so we could get his suit. When Sam tried to get the trunk open, it seemed to be jammed. Sam hit it with his fist, but it didn't budge.

"Damn it!" he said in frustration, and then I got an idea.

"Let me try something," I told him, and Sam moved out of my way. I gave the corner of the trunk a remarkably hard kick, causing it to cave in slightly and make a small opening. Next, I created a small force field ball in the opening and quickly expanded it until the trunk popped open. I smiled to myself, proud of my quick thinking, as Sam put on his jet-pack.

"Nice work," he told me.

"Thanks. So, how are we doing this?" I asked him, referring to the fact that he was my fastest means of transportation.

"Just remember to stay as stiff as you possibly can and hold on to my arms."

I nodded hesitantly and walked to stand in front of him, my back facing his front. Sam tightly wrapped his arms around me and took off. I made sure to do as he said the entire way. Once we were close enough, Sam slowed down a little.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready!" I assured him, and he let go of me. I started walking toward where Aunt Nat was sitting on the ground with my force field steps. Once I got to her and stepped onto the ground, she looked behind her at Dad, the Winter Soldier, and Sam with a shocked expression. I followed her gaze as she grabbed one of the HYDRA agents' guns and shot it at the Winter Soldier right before he had the chance to shoot Dad. I then turned her toward me and covered her shot wound with a force field. Sirens started heading in our direction, and black vans showed up, surrounding us. I helped Aunt Nat stand as STRIKE agents came at us with guns raised. Rumlow and most of the agents went for Dad while the rest walked up to Sam, Aunt Nat, and I.

"Drop the shield, Cap!" Rumlow ordered, "On your knees! Now! Get down! Get down!" Rumlow continued to bark orders at him, Dad raised his hands. Rumlow kicked Dad's leg, causing him to kneel, and an agent held a gun up to his head. The agents coming up to Aunt Nat and I hadn't grabbed me yet, and I prepared to run toward Dad to help him.

"No!" I screamed as the agents restrained my arms. I struggled to get to Dad before they could shoot him, but luckily, Rumlow saw the helicopter above us.

"Put the gun down. Not here. Not here!" he instructed, and the HYDRA agents took us into custody.

After a few minutes of silence in the van, Dad spoke up. He still looked as though he had been through hell.

"It was him," he said to us, and I turned my head to him, "He looked right at me. He didn't even know me."

"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago," Sam stated.

"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43. Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him, and-"

"None of that's your fault, Steve," Aunt Nat interrupted weakly.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky," Dad finished, and I laid my head on Dad's shoulder since I couldn't comfort him with my hands cuffed.

"We need to get a doctor here," Sam spoke up, "We don't put pressure on that wound, she's going to bleed out here in the truck."

I hadn't been able to keep my force field on Aunt Nat's shoulder because of the special cuffs. After Sam spoke, one of the guards raised their electric rod threateningly. But after a moment, that same guard attacked the other, knocking him out. The guard pulled off their helmet to reveal Aunt Maria.

"Ah, that thing was squeezing my brain," she said.

"Aunt Maria!" I exclaimed with a giant smile. Sam and Aunt Maria looked at each other confused.

"Who's this guy?" Aunt Maria asked Dad.

"Hill, this is Sam. Sam, this is Agent Hill," Dad introduced. Aunt Maria uncuffed all of us. Then, when the van stopped, she took out her pocket blow torch and made a hole in the ground to the sewer.

"Not again," I whined, but everyone looked at me questionably, "I'll tell you later."

And we walked, following Aunt Maria the whole way. We soon arrived at what looked like a secret facility. She had given Aunt Nat a cloth to put pressure on her wound and walked us down a hallway. A man then started jogging in our direction.

"GSW," Aunt Maria said, referring to Nat's shoulder, "She's lost at least a pint."

"Maybe two," Sam added.

"Let me take her!" the man shouted down the hall.

"She'll want to see him first," Aunt Maria stated, and we all looked at her with confusion. The man, a doctor, and Aunt Maria brought us to a room that resembled a hospital room, and lying on the bed was none other than Uncle Nick, alive. Dad, Aunt Nat, and I were all shocked, and I felt as though I was in a dream.

"About damn time," Uncle Nick said, and I laughed with tears in my eyes.