The Price of Freedom

09

Sam was driving the group to the Triskelion and Sitwell said, "HYDRA doesn't like leaks."

"So why don't you try sticking a cork in it," Sam retorted.

"Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here," Natasha warned.

"I know," Steve said. "We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly."

"What?!" Sitwell cried. "Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea."

Suddenly, the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star landed on the car roof and the former pulled Sitwell out through the window and threw him into the oncoming traffic, killing him, then started shooting at them until Steve pulled the brake handle, making the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star drop down onto the street as another car smashed into their car and pushed them along. The Winter Soldier jumped back onto their car and smashed through the windscreen and pulled out the steering wheel.

"Shit!" Sam yelled as Natasha started shooting at the Winter Soldier, but the Winter Soldier jumped onto the vehicle behind them. As their car was being pulled off the road, Steve held on to the car door.

"Hang on!" Steve yelled as he broke open the door. Holding onto Natasha and Sam, they slid on the car door through the streets.

The Winter Soldier and the Silver Star were joined by HYDRA agents and started shooting at them. The three scattered and ran off in different directions with the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star shooting at Natasha, but she managed to shoot them in their eye goggle masks and ran off.

The Winter Soldier and the Silver Star dropped to the ground and pulled their goggles off with an angry expression. After a moment, they stood.

"Она моя. Я позабочусь о ней. Найди их.," the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star said.

(She's mine. (I'll take care of her.) Find them.)

The Winter Soldier and the Silver Star went in pursuit of Natasha as the HYDRA agents went after Steve and Sam who both managed to fend them off as they shot at them. Steve then noticed the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star and in pursuit of Natasha.

"Go, I got this!" Sam told Steve.

The Winter Soldier and the Silver Star thought they'd found Natasha hiding behind a car as they could hear her voice.

"I make an LZ, twenty-three hundred block of Virginia Avenue," Natasha's voice said. "Rendezvous two minutes. Taking fire above and below expressway. Civilians threatened. Repeat, civilians threatened." He rolled a bomb towards where she thought Natasha was hiding. As the bomb rolled behind the car, Natasha wasn't actually there, but a recording over her voice was being played back on a phone. "I make an LZ, twenty-three hundred block at Virginia Avenue. Rendezvous two minutes." As the bomb exploded, Natasha jumped onto the Winter Soldier's back and tried to kill him, but he threw her off. She started running off as the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star went after her. She threw a chip that disabled the Winter Soldier's arm. The Winter Soldier glared and removed the chip. He swung his arm and it clanked.

Natasha said to the civilians as she tried to get away from the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star, "Get out of the way! Stay out of the way!"

Suddenly, she got shot in the shoulder. She fell and looked around. As the Winter Soldier and the Silver Star came up from behind to shoot her, Steve jumped in with the shield and attacked them. They fought and in the process, the Winter Soldier took the shield and threw it at them, but Steve managed to avoid being hit.

The Winter Soldier began choking him and Steve freed himself, causing his metal hand, which had made a fist, to make a dent in the pavement. He fended the Silver Star off as she began attacking him.

The three exchanged even punches. Whoever they were, Steve could tell they were well-trained and incredibly dangerous.

The Winter Soldier and the Silver Star pushed Steve against a van and dragged a pocketknife along the side and he barely avoided the sharp blades. Steve grabbed the shield from the back of the van.

They came after Steve with a pocketknife and kicked at him. Steve grabbed the Winter Soldier's metal arm, but was kicked back.

Steve managed to grab his metal arm and placed a hand on his mask before flipping him over his shoulder. He did the same to the Silver Star just as she lunged at him.

The Winter Soldier and the Silver Star rolled on the ground and their masks came off. They looked around at Steve, who was shocked.

"Bucky? Chava?" Steve said in a shocked tone.

How they were here he didn't understand. Bucky had fallen off the train and he'd thought him long dead. He thought Chava long dead. But that clearly wasn't true.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" the Winter Soldier asked as he looked to the side in confusion.

"Who in the hell is Chava?" the Silver Star questioned as her brow furrowed.

Steve stared at Chava. In the time he'd know her, he hadn't ever heard her utter a curse word. Whatever had happened to her had changed her, in more ways than one.

Bucky and Chava went to shoot at Steve, but before they could shoot, Sam flew in and kicked them aside. Bucky and Chava took aim again but before they could shoot, Natasha used the grenade launcher Bucky dropped earlier and shot it. Bucky and Chava vanished in the smoke of the explosion. The three heard sirens after which they were surrounded by HYDRA agents being led by Rumlow.

"Drop the shield, Captain!" Rumlow ordered. "On your knees! Get on your knees! Now! Get down! Get down!" Steve held his hands up. "Get on your knees! Down!" He kicked Steve's legs and Steve knelt down. "Don't move." Rumlow looked at the helicopter flying above them and warned Rollins who was holding Steve at gunpoint. "Put the gun down. Not here. Not here!" Rollins lowered his gun. The HYDRA agents took Steve, Sam and Natasha into custody.