The Price of Freedom

08

Shortly after he returned home from his morning run, Sam heard a knock at his door. He opened the door to see Steve and Natasha.

"Hey, man," Sam greeted.

"I'm sorry about this," Steve apologized. "We need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha said.

Sam paused a moment before replying, "Not everyone."

Sam looked around, making sure they hadn't been followed, and let them enter.

LATER

As Steve and Natasha were cleaning up, Steve noticed Natasha looking sad and thoughtful.

"You okay?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Natasha replied.

"What's going on?"

"When I first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., I thought 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."

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

Natasha smiled faintly. "I owe you."

"It's okay."

"If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, and 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."

Sam popped his head in and said to Steve and Natasha, "I made breakfast. If you guys... eat that sort of thing."

LATER

They sat in Sam's kitchen and Natasha said, "So, the question is: who in S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce," Steve replied.

"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."

"So, the real question is: how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is: you don't," Sam told them as he dropped a file in front of Steve.

"What's this?"

"Call it a resumé."

Natasha picked up a photo of Sam with his para-rescue team and said, "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you." She turned to Steve. "You didn't say he was a para-rescue." She looked at the photo of Sam with his colleague.

"Is this Riley?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied.

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

"No. These." He handed Steve the file. Steve opened it and read it.

"I thought you said you were a pilot," Steve remembered.

"I never said pilot."

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

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