Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

THE WINTER SOLDIER: CHAPTER THREE (!)

Steve stormed into Fury's office, jaw tight. "You really can't help yourself, can you?" he snapped. "No wonder Rhiley wanted nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. after New York."

Fury didn't flinch. "I didn't lie. Romanoff had a different op, you had yours. That's how the game works."

"And Rhiley?" Steve took a step forward. "You didn't think I deserved to know why she walked away?"

"She didn't walk away — she disappeared." Fury's voice was flat. "There's a difference. If you need to blame someone for it, blame New York. Or the world. Or her. But she made her choice."

"No," Steve said, voice low and sharp. "You made it for her."

Fury's eye hardened. "Agent Romanoff followed her orders. Compartmentalization keeps the world spinning. No one spills what they don't know."

"Except you," Steve shot back. "Everyone else carries the weight while you pull strings in the dark."

Fury stepped closer. "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye. I'm not sending people blind into the unknown."

"I can't lead a mission when my team isn't on the same mission," Steve said.

"It's called staying ahead," Fury replied. "Something the world can't afford not to do."

Steve just shook his head. "And that's exactly why Rhiley left."

He turned for the elevator. Fury followed.

"Insight bay," Fury ordered.

"Captain Rogers does not have clearance—"

"Override. Fury, Nicholas J."

The car dropped. Fury spoke without looking at him."My grandfather worked elevator security for forty years. Walked home every night with a bag full of ones from tips... and a .22 Magnum. Loved people. Just didn't trust them."

The elevator opened, revealing three monstrous Helicarriers. Steve's stomach tightened. "What is this?"

"Project Insight." Fury's tone carried pride and dread in equal measure. "Three next-gen Helicarriers. Sub-orbital flight. Stark's repulsors. Satellites scanning DNA in real time. Threats stopped before they start."

Steve stared. "Punishment usually comes after the crime."

"We can't afford to wait."

"We?" Steve echoed.

"You think the SSR were saints?" Fury countered. "You compromised."

"We did," Steve said. "So others could live free. Not live scared." He looked Fury dead in the eye. "This isn't protection. It's fear."

Fury exhaled slowly. "You're gonna need to get with the program, Rogers."

Steve turned away. "Don't hold your breath."

He walked off. Fury watched the carriers loom overhead like omens. Quietly, almost grudgingly, he muttered:  "Rhiley said the same damn thing."

A Week Later — Coffee

Coffee had become Rhiley and Sam's unofficial weekly ritual — her first friendship outside the Avengers, outside missions, outside chaos. She liked it. He didn't see a weapon when he looked at her. Just... a woman who drank too much espresso.

"So," Sam said, stirring sugar into his cup, "what was it like working for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Rhiley shrugged. "Eh."

"That's the whole review? 'Eh'? You worked for the most secretive agency on earth."

"Eh," she repeated, smirking.