till the end of the line

13 HYDRA

Seeking refuge in D.C. once more, we found our way to what was Sam's house.

He opened his home for us and we began cleaning up. Natasha showered as Steve and I cleaned off debris and soot. Once Natasha finished, Steve pulled her aside as I walked to the kitchen and slid down the wall.

Sam looked at me and only sighed as I pulled my hoodie over my head, "Thank you, for taking us in Sam."

"No worries at all, Katerina. I'm sure you would do the same."

I looked up and met his eyes, "I would for Steve or even Buck, but I truly don't know if I would. After being held in a cell for so long, I don't know how to cope anymore."

"How long were you imprisoned for?"

I lowered my head and sighed, "I was taken to Asgard and time is different there. So if I went missing here for about seventy years, well let's just say that was nothing compared to how long it was in Asgard."

He cocked his head and turned to me, walking over as he helped me up and onto a chair at the table, "Katerina, how long were you locked up?"

"Seven hundred and forty-two years. Over half a millennia I was trapped in that damn cell. Alone."

"What?"

I turned my head to see Steve standing behind me as I shook my head, tears starting edge only I pushed them down, "Steve, I-"

"Over half a millennia, why didn't you tell me?"

I looked down and shook my head, "I tried to- but then with the mission and running for our lives, I never found a good time. Besides, it didn't matter. To you and everyone else, it was only seventy years."

He sighed and pulled me into his arms as he whispered into my hair, "I'm so sorry you had to endure that. I wish you only told me sooner."

Embracing each other, we soon got over the issue as we ate the breakfast that Sam had graciously made.

While they spoke about the mission, I walked out of the room and left the rest of the plan to them. After a while of setting things up, I got ourselves another vehicle as Sam set up the trap.

Taking the agent to the roof, Steve threw him down before he began to question him, "Tell me about Zola's algorithm."

The man stood up and readjusted his glasses, shaking his head, "Never heard of it."

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up. I get seasick."

We walked the man right up to the edge of the building where Steve grabbed him by his jacket.

"Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers."

Steve sighed and nodded, "You're right, it's not," he let go of the man and straightened out his jacket before taking a step back, "It's theirs."

I smirked and looked over at Natasha before motioning for her to go and so she nodded, throwing a kick at the man as he fell off of the roof.

I let out a laugh and smiled, "That reminds me of when Thor did that to Loki, and then me. Oh, I'll get him back."

Steve and Natasha looked at me and then smirked before I winked at Natasha, who turned to Steve, "Okay, wait. What about that girl from accounting? La- Laura-"

Steve glanced at me before chuckling, "Lillian. Lip piercing, right?"

"Yeah, she's cute."

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

I sat down on the edge as I looked down waiting and then just as planned, Sam caught the agent, bringing him back up to the roof, dropping him.

We walked up to him as he stood on his knees, holding his hand out in surrender, "Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing Insight's targets."

Steve glanced at me before looking back at the man, "What targets?"

"You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defence, a high school Valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, Katerina Eriksen, Tony Stark, anyone who's a threat. To HYDRA. Now, or in the future."

I knelt down and met his eyes, "In the future? How could it know?"

He let out a laugh before I grabbed his neck, before standing him up, "How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. 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."

Steve tilted his head as the man backed away, "What then?"

Lowering his head, he backed up, muttering, "Oh no. Pierce is going to kill me."

"What then?!"

He looked up and met each of our eyes, "Then the Insight helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time."