You Can't Save Everyone

Chapter 10 - Bluffs & Double Crosses

Y/N POV
It took us less than an hour to rework our original plans for infiltrating the Rome base. We were airing on the side of caution that Hydra would assume the Avengers were too moral to give my team up so we decided to bring Fury in to do it. SHIELD was no stranger to sketchy decisions for the greater good and a meeting was set for midnight at the entrance to the base. The Avengers would be lying in wait for our signals that they could enter. Then things got very complicated.

"We've had a lot of stupid plans... but this might just be the stupidest" Sam said shaking his head in disbelief.

"You got a better suggestion?" Kayleigh asked and the room was deathly quiet.

"It'll work. It has to." I said. This had become very personal for me and no one was dumb enough to stand in my way. I'd go through them without hesitation to protect my sister's memory. Hell would freeze over before I let that video go public. I couldn't save her but I could protect her dignity and stop her death from being sensationalised in national news. I refused to let her be 'that girl' who was murdered. 

"Y/n? You with us?" Steve called to me.

I shook my head to brush of the daze I was in, "Yeah"

"We're not going to let that video be posted y/n. We'll destroy it when we take the base down." He said kindly.

I met his eyes, "I want to be the one who destroys it"

"We wouldn't expect anything less" Steve replied with a nod that I returned.

"Are we all clear on the plans?" Tony asked and we all nodded.

"Are you girls sure you want to do this? There's a high possibility this goes wrong and you end up Hydra's prisoners" Nat said and I could hear the concern laced through her tone.

"Nothing we haven't been before." Jess quipped and Sam placed a hand over hers on the table to comfort her. She smiled at him and it made me happy to see her letting someone in other than me.

"Fury will be here to take you in 15 minutes. Suit up." Steve announced but he stopped us just before we left the room, "Ravens... I just wanted to say I know going back there under these circumstances isn't easy and... well, it's been a bumpy ride but I'm glad Fury assigned you to work with us. You're all courageous women and we're grateful for you."

I impulsively walked over to Steve and pulled him into a friendly hug. He seemed shocked at first but wrapped his arms around my back for a few moments before we pulled away.

"Thank you. *I turned to face the rest of the team* All of you. I know my team and I, well mostly me, can be difficult and snarky towards you all *they chuckled* but we're grateful for your help against Hydra and that you've learnt to trust us.... and I'm sorry for accusing you of ignoring us in the past. I know most of you well enough now to know that if you'd have known... you'd have tried to help us."

A guilty look passed over Bucky's face because he had been the one to withhold the knowledge of us but I felt a weight lift off my chest as I let go of that deep-seeded grudge. Deep down, I'd known for a while that these people weren't the villains I'd perceived them to be but my pride overruled my ability to forgive. Yet as we prepared to go back to a place that belonged in our nightmares... it felt right to set myself free from the burden of trying to hate the wrong people because I felt obligated to do so.

We all left the lab to suit up. My team and I had to conceal our weapons as one of the demands was that were were handed over unarmed. Tony gave us each  a handgun wrapped in camouflage technology so it was completely invisible in our thigh holsters and wouldn't be picked up by a metal detector should they use one. The knives we strapped to our bodies were carbon fibre so they'd also be undetected and though they wouldn't do as much damage as our usual choice of daggers, they were good enough.