Fear the Fever ⏃ Captain America [3]

Chapter Nine

Christina blew out a breath of frustration; adjusting her bra straps. She didn't want petty arguments starting between Micah and Liam. If they were going to get out of there, they had to pull together and work as a team. "Micah - find a few more weapons for us to bring, and then get a couple of the pistols on that shelf over there. Liam, you and I will fill up a box with as much ammo as possible."
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Christina, Micah, and Liam gather everything they could possibly carry between the three of them. Christina had one grenade launcher strapped to each shoulder in addition to one in her hands. She'd stuck two loaded pistols on the sides of her underwear, hoping and praying that her underwear didn't slip off, and several ammo clips in the sides of her bra. Micah did the same, and Liam held a cardboard box full of the fiery grenades and more bullets, his grenade launcher on top.
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Christina had to trust Micah. She had to do this for her friend, but curiosity burned inside her like a brushfire. She wanted to know the truth about the day of his death, but, she knew, though, that she had no time to waste. They had to get out of this HYDRA complex. She could talk to Micah more in the car - if they could get to the garage and steal a vehicle.
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They'd been walking for quite some time when Micah abruptly froze. He pointed to his ear. It was hard to see because the hallway was only dimly lit.
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Christina stopped along with Liam, tried to slow her breathing and listen. She heard it immediately. A low moaning sound. It was coming from a few yards ahead of them, through a rare window in the hallway that looked into a large room. From where Christina stood, the room seemed completely dark. The glass from the window had been shattered from the inside - shards littered the tiled floor below it.
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Micah held a finger to his lips, then slowly and carefully set down his two extra grenade launchers. Christina followed suit, while Liam placed his box of ammo on the ground. The three of them gripped their weapons, and Micah took the lead as they crept slowly toward the noise. It sounded like a man trying to wake up from a horrible nightmare.
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Micah stopped, his back against the wall, right at the edge of the window frame. The door to the room was on the other side of the window, closed.
"Ready," Micah whispered. "Now."
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He pivoted and aimed his weapon into the dark room just as Christina moved to his left side and Liam to his right, weapons held ready. Christina's fingers hovered above the trigger, ready to squeeze it at a second's notice, but there was no movement. The green glow from the emergency lights didn't reveal much, but the whole floor appeared to be covered in dark mounds. Something that was slowly moving.
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"They're guards," Liam said, his voice cutting through the silence.
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Muffled gasps escaped from the room, and finally Christina could see faces, several of them. Mouths gagged and eyes open wide in panic. The guards were tied up and laid out on the floor from head to toe, side by side, filling up the entire room.
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"So this is where they all are," Liam breathed.
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Micah leaned in to get a look. "At least they're not all murdered in different ways sprawled out on the ground, or even hanging by their necks from the ceiling."
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After gathering up their weapons and ammunition, Christina and the others jogged down hallway after hallway, all the whole on the lookout for whoever had overpowered all those guards. Finally Micah stopped at another set of metal double doors. One of them stood slightly ajar, and a breeze flowed through, ruffling his clothes.
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Without being told, Liam took up position on one side of the doorway, weapons at the ready. Micah grabbed the handle of the door, pistol aimed into the opening. There were no sounds coming from the other side.
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Christina gripped her weapon tighter, the back end pressed against her shoulder, muzzle aimed forward.
"Open it," she said, her heart racing.
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Micah swung the door wide and Christina charged through. She swept her weapon left and right, turning in a circle as she moved forward. The massive garage looked like it was built to hold six large airplanes, but only a single car stood in sight. Other than a few cargo crates and what looked like mechanic's stations, the rest of the area was nothing but open space.
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Christina pushed on, searching the garage as the other two spread out around her. Not one thing stirred.
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"Hey!" Micah shouted. "Over here. Someone's on the..." He didn't finish, but he had stopped next to a large crate and had his weapon trained on something behind it.
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Christina was the first one at Micah's side and was surprised to see a woman lying hidden from view on the other side of the wooden box, groaning as she rubbed her head. There was no blood showing through her dark hair, but judging from the way she struggled to sit up, Christina bet she'd been hit pretty hard.
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The woman leaned on an elbow, and when she dropped her hand from her face, Christina let out a small cry and rushed forward to her, pulling her into a hug.
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Mary.
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Christina took Mary's face in her hands and studied her features. "What happened to you? How'd you get here?
Where is everyone? Are you okay?"
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Mary groaned again and gently pushed her away. "Calm down, Christina. My head feels like someone's been pounding it with a hammer for the last hour. Just give me a second to gather my bearings."
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Christina gave her some space and sat down, her face flushed, her expression anxious. She had a million other questions, but she understood well what it felt like to be knocked in the head. They watched Mary as she slowly got her bearings.
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Mary squeezed her eyes shut and opened them a few more times, then started talking: "I don't know how they did it, but they took over the facility. There was an uprising, a mutiny. Got rid of the guards, stole most of the vehicles. I was an idiot and tried to get them to wait until I could find out more about what's going on. Now my head's paying for it."