They watched as Agent 13 and Pierce had a conversation at the end of the hall as they walked closer, both having gotten into the mission suits as told.
Agent 13 turned and started walking away. "Captain Rogers," she greeted as she passed.
"Neighbor," he said, barely looking at her.
"Ah. Captain. Miss Rogers. I'm Alexander Pierce," he shook their hands.
"Sir. It's an honor."
"The honor's mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in." He led them into his office, handing Steve a couple of pictures and Annabelle looked over his arm at them. "That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met when I was State Department at Bogata. ELN rebels took the embassy and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was Deputy Chief of the SHIELD station there and he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, 'No. We'll negotiate.' Turned out, the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement and what do they find? They find it empty." He put down a folder on the smaller table and they sat down on adjacent couches. "Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil and saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter."
"So you gave him a promotion?"
"I've never had any cause to regret it." Steve nodded and looked back down at the picture. "Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"
Steve looked at him for a second before shaking his head before looking away. "I don't know."
Pierce looked at Annabelle and she shook her head, but her eyes remained on him. "No, sir." Her voice didn't waver and she didn't look away.
"Did you know it was bugged?"
"I did," Steve told him. "Because Nick told me."
"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?"
"No, but it doesn't surprise me," Annabelle spoke up, but Steve looked slightly surprised.
"I want you to see something," Pierce pulled up a video on the screen of Batroc.
"Is that live?" Steve asked as they watched someone interrogate him.
"Yeah, they picked him up last night at a not-so-safe house in Algiers."
"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line."
"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer and then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts."
"Someone certainly wanted to cover their tracks."
Pierce nodded at her statement. "The last one went to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech," he handed over the file to Steve.
"Am I supposed to know who that is?" he asked as he opened it.
"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437." They looked up at him from the file.
"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates?" Steve asked. "Why?"
"Well, the prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."
Steve paused. "If you really knew Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true."
Pierce nodded. "Why do you think we're talking?" He stood and walked over to the desk across the room, the Rogers' following. "See, I took a seat on the council, not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me to. Because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking, the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today? Make me really, really angry. Captain, Miss Rogers, you were the last ones to see Nick alive and I don't think that was an accident. And I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again. Why was he there?"
"He told me not to trust anyone," Steve decided to say.
"I wonder if that included him." Pierce continued to look at them.
"I'm sorry. Those were his last words."
"He didn't tell us anything else," Annabelle agreed.
"Excuse us," Steve told him, starting to walk out after placing his shield onto his back.
"Captain," Pierce made them stop, "somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone."
"Understood."
"Got it," Annabelle told him before they walked out of the room. They walked down the hall, entering the elevator and Steve went and looked out the window, leaning against the handrails.
"Operation control."
"Confirmed," the computer told him. The door started to close before someone caught them, walking in with two members of his team behind him.
"Keep all Strike personnel on site," Rumlow told them.
"Understood."
"Yes, sir."
"Forensics."
"Confirmed."
"Cap, Annabelle," Rumlow greeted them.
"Rumlow," Steve said, putting his back to the window as Annabelle nodded.
"Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see," Rumlow told them as the elevator started to move. You want me to get the tac team ready?"
"No, let's wait and see what it is first."
"Right," Rumlow looked away again. Annabelle nudged her brother's arm, slightly cocking her head towards one of the team members whose hand rested on his gun. Steve looked back at her, both sensing that something wasn't right. The elevator doors opened and some people in suits walked in.
"Administrations level."
"Confirmed."
"Excuse me," one of the men said, stepping between Steve and Annabelle, pushing them to different sides. The siblings locked eyes as Steve moved a bit, giving people some space as Annabelle got pushed against the opposite wall.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Fury," Rumlow got Steve's attention. "It's messed up what happened to him."
"Thank you." Steve looked over at the man standing by Annabelle, sweat condensating at the top and sides of his forehead. The doors opened once again, Rollins and a few more members of the Strike team stepping in. Steve ended up in the middle of the people while Annabelle remained pushed against the wall.
"Records," Rollins said.
"Confirmed." Annabelle glanced at Steve, her hand slowly coming to rest on her belt next to her staff. The doors closed. The elevator started moving.
"Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"
So, not the most interesting chapter, but we all know what comes next. It's gonna be fun.
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For Better or For Worse - Book 3 (The Winter Soldier)
Fanfiction"I need to see what I think of the world first. It may be a new world, but in some ways it's still the same." Annabelle woke up in the twenty first century after spending almost seventy years in ice. Not only is she thrust into a new world, she also...
