Fire and Ice

•22•

"The question is, what to do with Kate?" Steve asks Nat quietly, but Kate is close enough to overhear.

She sighs. "I'm right here, Rogers."

"Sorry," he replies. "It's just, you know... you're injured."

"You're also bad at lying, so putting you with me could be a risk," Nat adds.

"But you're also, obviously, a valuable asset."

"Send her with me," Hill says. "Probably less combat, but if there is, she'll burn 'em up. And she'll be close if you need back up."

"Can't fight a hydra without fire," Fury comments, the corner of his lips turning up at Kate, who shakes her head.

"Alright, the ugly stepchild no one knows what to do with will accept this plan. Let's take 'em down, I guess." She raises her good arm in a fist half-heartedly.

"Great pep talk," Sam comments.

Preparation doesn't take too long, Nat leaving first in order to go undercover within the council so she can get to Pierce, and Fury secures a helicopter with the help of other agents. Steve stops at the Smithsonian for his suit, and then he, Hill, Sam, and Kate approach the Triskelion from the woods. Sneaking into the building is remarkably easy, most resources focusing on the launch itself. They make it to tech, where Kate sends a jolt through all the earpieces by lightly frying the main frame. It often glitches, she's heard.

They wait outside the door, Sam and Hill with guns raised, Kate with a small flame. A tech opens the door, a shocked look on his face.

"Excuse us," Steve says. The guy, smartly, puts his hands up and gets out of the way.

Steve makes a beeline for the PA. His voice echoes over the speakers, the source still right in Kate's ears, too. "Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth... SHIELD is not what we thought it was; it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader... The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you.

"They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury, and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way — unless we stop them. And I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. It always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet that I'm not."

He stands straight, and Sam asks, "Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?"

"Probably off the top of his head," Kate replies. "He's got a gift." Steve chuckles as he and Sam leave, while Kate and Hill quickly set up shop.

Minutes later, Hill says on comms, "They're initiating launch."

Kate switches her gaze from the computer screen monitoring everything to out the window, where there's spatters of gunfire and a small Sam Wilson flying about. He gets above a carrier, which has a large set of guns — guns Kate didn't think about before, not when she was designing the labs. They fire at him.

"Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about," he says on comms.

"You okay?" Steve asks.

"I'm not dead yet."

A few minutes later, they hear a SHIELD agent over comms. "Satellites in range at three thousand feet."

"Falcon, status?" Hill asks.