The Recruit

32. You

To say you were freaking out was an understatement. The panic had started when Sam had sent everyone on the run late with an apology and no explanation. It meant that the fact Bucky and Sharon weren't there yet was unexpected. So for the entire run, while all you wanted to do was run up to Sam and ask him what the hell was going on, you had to keep with your friends and join in on conversations about weekends and romantic partners, and speculation on why things got started so late today.

When Sam canceled circuits and started ordering people around, that's when you really started to freak out.

You've been given your orders. You moved to the side, waiting to hear about what needed to happen with the rest of the recruits. They were all huddled together whispering theories about what was going on. You were not paying any attention. You kept glancing over at the group of agents huddled around Sam, trying to figure out what they were saying. Your mind was whirling with potential problems, but the one you kept lingering on was that something was really wrong with Steve.

Someone said your name and you snapped your attention back to the others. "What do you think?" Jackie asked. "Alien invasion?"

You shook your head. "I don't think so. I think it's closer to home."

"What are you thinking?" Zuri asked.

You shook your head again, slower this time as you considered what you could say. Your eyebrows knitted together and you let out a breath. "Not sure. Just - maybe to do with our mission."

The agents and Avengers all head toward the elevator together, except for Wanda and Clint. They approached the recruits together and Clint clapped his hands. "Alright, kids," he said. "I know you're all wondering what's going on. But for now, we have work to do. Let's head down to the shooting range."

The recruits all followed along, each looking confused and worried, but none of them appeared nearly as confused or worried as you felt. As you went into the shooting range, you were all separated into individual booths and given weapons to practice with. You were just loading your handgun when Clint came into your booth.

You looked at him and opened your mouth, ready to let out a barrage of questions. Clint shook his head and put his finger to his lips. He held up his hands and fingerspelled A-S-L. You nodded.

Clint signed out a little of the information. It was hard to follow even with him going slowly. He didn't seem to know a lot, and what he does know he was stumbling over, but what you did glean from it, was that Steve attacked Sharon and now he was missing. The story didn't exactly calm your nerves down at all. You had to stand there doing target practice for an hour pretending you weren't worried.

You were sent on a break and when you looked over at Clint to see if you might be able to go wherever he was going, he subtly shook his head.

The group of recruits went to the cafeteria together. It was fairly empty - just the cafeteria staff and some of the admin staff. You and the other recruits grabbed some food and sat in the far corner. They huddled together, whispering about what was going on, but your mind was racing.

It took a few goes before you realized that someone is saying your name again. When you looked up the whole table was looking at you.

"Are you alright?" Qadira asked.

Your stomach twisted into knots and you knew you couldn't tell these people what was going on, but at the same time, this was eating you alive.

"I'm going to tell you all something, and you can't ask me why or how I know. You just have to take my word for it," you said.

"What is it, honey?" Jackie asked.

"The reason things are weird today is because Captain Rogers attacked one of the Agents. Agent Carter. She was found unconscious in the elevator. And now Captain Rogers is missing."