Lilith-Captain America: The Winter Soldier AU

Chapter Seven

Steve groaned and grunted as he pushed debris off of himself and tried to get up. "Are you okay?" he asked Rachel as she coughed. "Yeah, fine, just get Natasha and let's get the hell out of here", she replied. He nodded and picked up Natasha. Once they got back out in the open, they noticed helicopters with lights searching for them. They started running.

Steve knocked on the door. Sam opened the door, looking confused at their current state. "Hey", he greeted. "I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low", Steve said. "Everyone we know is trying to kill us", Rachel said. "Not everyone", Sam said, letting them in.

Steve washed his hands and looked at Natasha who was silent. "You okay?" he asked her. "Yeah", she replied. Steve and Rachel exchanged a look and sat next to her. "What's going on?" Rachel said. "When I first joined SHIELD I thought I was going straight", she explained. "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".

"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business"

She smiled. "I owe you", she said to Steve. "It's okay", he said, shaking his head.

"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?"

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

"Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing"

"Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting"

"I made breakfast", Sam said from the doorway. "If you guys eat that sort of thing". He left. "So, the question is, who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha said.

They sat in the kitchen as Sam buttered some bread. "Pierce", Steve stated. "Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world", Natasha added.

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

"So was Jasper Sitwell", Rachel pointed out.

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

"The answer is you don't", Sam said, putting a file on the table in front of them.

"What is this?"

"Call it a resume"

"Is this Bakhmala?" Natasha asked, picking up the file and inspecting it. "The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you? You didn't say he was a Pararescue". "Is this Riley?" Rachel said, looking at a picture of Sam and a man next to him.

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

"No", Sam said, picking up the file and handing it to Steve. "This". "I thought you said you were a pilot", Rachel said, peering at the file in Steve's hands.

"I never said pilot"

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

"Captain America and Agent Howard need my help. There's no better reason to get back in"

"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?" Steve said.

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

Natasha shrugged. "Shouldn't be a problem", Steve said.

Steve pushed Jasper onto the roof. "Tell me about Zola's algorithm", he demanded. "Never heard of it", Jasper said, getting up and fixing his glasses.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up. I get seasick"

He gasped as he reached the edge, almost falling but Steve caught him by the collar. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof?" he asked. "Because it's really not your style, Rogers". "You're right", Steve agreed. "It's not. It's hers". Natasha kicked him in the chest and he fell, screaming all the way down. "Oh, wait. What about that girl from Accounting, Laura...", Natasha suggested to Steve. "Lillian", Rachel corrected. "Lip piercing, right?" Steve clarified. "Yeah, she's cute", Natasha said.

"Yeah. I'm not ready for that"

Jasper continued screaming as he was picked up by Sam, wearing his wings, and dropped back onto the roof. They walked over to him and he held up his hand in panic. "Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing Insight's targets", he explained. "What targets?" Rachel asked.

"You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA. Now, or in the future"

"In the future? How could it know?"

He started laughing. "How could it not?" He stood up. "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future"

"And what then?"

"Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me"

"What then?"

"Then the Insight helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at the time"

Sam drove Steve, Rachel, Natasha and Jasper in the car. "HYDRA doesn't like leaks", Jasper stated. "Then why don't you try sticking a cork in it", Sam snapped. "Insight's launching in 16 hours", Natasha said. "We're cutting it a little bit close here". "I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly", Steve replied. "What? Are you crazy?" Jasper questioned. "That is a terrible, terrible idea". Suddenly, there was a loud thud on top of the car and the window on Jasper's side was smashed. He was dragged out of the window, screaming. The other window was broken and Natasha and Rachel ducked as they were shot at. Steve pulled the handbrake, halting the car and sending the two figures that stood on top of the car flying forward. They landed in a crouched position, scraping the road as they skidded. They stood tall almost immediately after. Natasha pointed her gun, ready to shoot at them when a car rear ended them, pushing them towards them. The two figures flipped over the car, landing on top of their car once again. One of the figures broke the windshield and yanked the wheel from Sam's grip, throwing it away. "Shit!" Sam exclaimed. Natasha attempted to shoot at them but they jumped at the other car as Sam attempted to get them away with no steering wheel intact. They were rear ended by the same car once again. "Hang on!" Steve instructed. "Get ready!" Steve pushed open his door, dragging Sam with him and Rachel did the same with Natasha. Natasha and Sam rolled away and Steve and Rachel got up near each other. They saw the two figures being handed large guns and they started to shoot. Steve pulled Rachel close to him and they ducked behind his shield. The shot hit and they were sent flying over the edge of the road, through the window of a passing bus. The horn blared as the bus was crashed into and flipped onto its side.

Steve raised his head, looking over at Rachel, a small cut on her forehead, bleeding lightly. He grabbed her shoulder to make her look at him. "Are you okay?" he asked her. Before she could answer, gunshots started once again and they rushed to get up. They dove out of the bus, Steve grabbing his shield and they ducked behind it. They ran toward the man shooting from the top of a car as Sam shot the others from above. Steve jumped on top of the car, taking the man down and joining Rachel behind the car. "Go! I got this", Sam yelled down to them.

Steve and Rachel ran towards the two figures standing on top of a car, about to shoot at an already injured Natasha. They took one each and started trying to disarm them. They coordinated their final fighting move, flipping the two over and knocking off their masks. The two figures turned around, revealing their all too familiar faces. "Bucky?" Rachel said shakily. "Heather?" Steve said. "Who the hell are they?" Heather said furrowed brows. 

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