The Chronicles of Captain Carter - The First Avenger

29.

***************************************************************************************

Chapter Twenty-Nine - A Friend Who's Not A Pilot.

***************************************************************************************

Sam Wilson had done his usual morning run by the Reflecting Pool, undisturbed by a certain super soldier, and was about to start breakfast, when a knock at the door startled him. He opened it and to his surprise, there stood Peggy Carter and Natasha Romanoff looking the worse for wear.

"Hey."

"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low. " Peggy asked, looking tired and panting heavily.

She had run from New Jersery to Washington DC, about 169 miles, in 2 hours and the adrenaline and fear of discovery was beginning to wear off.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Nat added.

For a moment, Sam studied them. Their scratched and dusty faces, their forlorn expressions. He could tell they needed his help, and he was willing to give it.

"Not everyone." He said as he let them in.

***************************************************************************************

Peggy finished freshening up in the bathroom, and saw in the reflection of the mirror Natasha looking pensive and troubled. "Are you alright?" She asked. The agent looked up at her. "Yeah."

Unconvinced, Peggy sat down on the bed next to her. "What's going on?"

Giving in, Nat turned to face her. "When I first joined SHIELD, I though I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but I guess I can't tell the difference anymore. I owe you." She finished, referring to Peggy saving her life.

"It's okay."

"If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, now you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?" Nat asked, watching Peggy with a scrutinizing gaze. The answer was something she needed to know.

Did Peggy trust her?

"I would now. And I'm always honest."

Relieved at the answer, Natasha smiled slightly. "Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing." Peggy exhaled deeply, the day's events weighing deeply on her. "Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting."

The conversation ended once Sam announced that breakfast was ready. "If you guys eat that sort of thing."

***************************************************************************************

Peggy sat at the kitchen table, while Sam fixed himself an omlette. Natasha paced the floor as she asked "So the question is, who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce." Peggy realised.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"But he's not working alone. Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

"So was Jasper Sitwell." Natasha pointed out.

"So the real question is how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is, you don't." Sam entered the conversation, chucking a photograph onto the table.

"What's this?"

"Call it a resumé."

"Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you? You didn't say he was a Pararescue." Nat stated, an impressed tone in her voice as she looked over the photo.

"Is this Riley?" Peggy asked.

"Yeah." Sam replied quietly.

"I heard they couldn't bring in choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use? A stealth chute?" Nat asked.

"No. These." He handed Peggy a file, who opened it and stared at him in shock.

"I thought you said you were a pilot. "

"I never said pilot."

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason." She sighed.

"Captain Carter needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."

She nodded, a light feeling in her chest at the thought of some reinforcements. "Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade. Behind three guarded gates and a 12 - inch steel wall."

The two Avengers shared a look, before turning back to Sam.

"Shouldn't be a problem."