Lady Liberty |1| The Liberty Saga (An MCU Fanfiction)

Chapter Five: The Best Men (and Woman)

A few days later, the team were back in the SSR's London headquarters. Bucky and the other men who had been captured had been granted a small period of leave to aid their recovery, but the rest of the team still had work to do. On this particular afternoon, Elke was stood beside a map of Europe with her arms crossed, watching in amazement as Steve plotted on it the bases he'd seen on the map before they'd escaped from the Hydra stronghold.

"... the fifth one was here in Poland, right near the Baltic, and the sixth one was... about here, thirty, forty miles west of the Maginot line." As a soldier took the map away to be reproduced, Steve noticed Elke's gaze and misinterpreted disbelief for disappointment. "I just got a quick look."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Well, nobody's perfect, I suppose."

"These are just the weapon factories we know about," Steve pointed out as they joined Colonel Phillips and Peggy Carter at the next workstation. "Sergeant Barnes said that Hydra shipped all the parts to another facility that isn't on this map."

Phillips nodded. "Agent Carter, coordinate with MI6. I want every Allied eyeball looking for that main Hydra base."

"Sir." She gave a fleeting smile to Steve and Elke, then left.

"What about us, Colonel?" Elke asked.

Phillips smiled. "We, Fischer, are gonna set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass. What do you say, Rogers? It's your map—you think you can wipe Hydra off of it?"

"Yes, sir," Steve agreed readily. "I'll need a team."

"We're already putting together the best men," Phillips told him.

Steve nodded. "With all due respect, sir... so am I."

***

In a nearby bar, a selection of soldiers he'd rescued from Austria—Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Montgomery Falsworth, Jim Morita and Jacques Dernier—were sitting around a table, listening to Steve's proposal.

"So let's get this straight," Dugan began, frowning.

"We barely got out of there alive," Jones cut in, "and you want us to go back?"

Steve winced, knowing how crazy it sounded. "Pretty much."

On the other side of the table, Falsworth shrugged, smiling. "Sounds rather fun, actually."

"Will Fischer be there?" Morita asked, belching loudly.

"If she agrees to come," Steve said, tilting his head.

Morita nodded. "Then I'm in." The others raised eyebrows, and he blinked. "What? I wanna know the big guns are onside."

Dernier leaned over to Jones, having a rapid conversation in French. Then he laughed, shaking Jones' hand. "We're in," Jones confirmed, grinning.

"Hell, I'll always fight," Dugan agreed, draining the last of his pint. "But you got to do one thing for me."

"What's that?" Steve asked.

Dugan grinned. "Open a tab."

Steve rolled his eyes, but nodded, heading for the bar.

***

Meanwhile, Bucky and Elke were sat at the counter on the other side of the bar. "Oh my God," she was saying, as Bucky shifted in his seat for about the thousandth time. "What is up with you today, bub? Do I need to get you a doctor?"

"It's nothin', doll," he assured her, waving a hand. "Absolutely nothin'." After a moment's hesitation, he added, "I'm just a little nervous, that's all."