Dancing with Embers - Book Two (Winter Soldier)

4. Fugitives

Chapter four:

*We are all in a race for dear life: that is to say, we are all fugitives to death.*

~~~~~~

The glass elevator continued to smoothly descend down the side of the Triskelion with the six people inside.
I was getting jittery due to the slightly cramped quarters and the fact that the whole entire elevator was made of glass, making it possible for me to see everything around me-including how high up we were.
It wasn't that I was scared of heights, I just preferred to not be in a fucking elevator made of glass.

"Evidence response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see." Rumlow said, turning his head to look at Steve. "You want me to get the tac-team ready?"
"No, let's wait and see what it is first."
"Right."

As the two men were talking, I busied myself by scanning the people around us in the elevator. They were all men I had seen before on the STRIKE team, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
My eyes stopped on a man standing relatively close to the doors. His hand had drifted down to subconsciously rest on the handle of his gun strapped to his leg. I frowned and flicked my eyes up to Steve to see if he had noticed.
Our eyes met and I could tell that Steve was having the same bad feelings as I was.

I was startled when the elevator stopped a second time with a small ding, and the doors slid open to reveal more STRIKE agents. Four of them walked into the elevator before the doors closed again and we kept moving downwards.
"Excuse me." One said as he moved behind Steve and I. Steve moved forwards until he was standing in the middle of the large elevator, surrounded by eight other people. I stood behind him but my nerves weren't going down any time soon.

"Sorry about what happened to Fury." Rumlow spoke again. "That's messed up, what happened to him."
"Thank you." Steve said. Rumlow nodded and turned back to face the elevator doors. I swallowed hard at the mention of our Director but I didn't say anything. I turned to my left to scan the men next to me, and frowned when I saw a bead of sweat running down one's neck.
It wasn't that hot in here....
Why were they so nervous?
I looked at Steve and saw that he too had noticed the man sweating.

But the doors slid shut again and the elevator began to descend. I was itching to get out as soon as I could, I didn't know how much more I could take before I snapped and roundhoused the guy closest to me. All the other agents were acting off. It was almost as if they were uncomfortable or anticipating something.
It took all I had not to scream when the elevator stopped for a third time, the doors sliding open to revel three more STRIKE agents. Steve and I were now in the exact middle of the elevator, completely surrounded by other agents that I didn't know nor did I trust.
Something was definitely going on.
I sighed inaudibly. The next time I saw Pierce, I would try to remember to tell him to pick better agents next time that wouldn't give away their task like free shirts on the side of the street.

"Before we begin," Steve said to everyone in the elevator with us, that had now began to slowly move downwards yet again, "would anyone like to get out?"
There was a dead silence where nobody spoke or moved for a few seconds. All my muscles were tensed, waiting, ready for the inevitable fight that was about to happen, although I still had yet to find out why.

Then all of a sudden, the man directly in front of Steve pulled out an electric rod from his vest. Within half a second the man had turned the rod on, spun, and lunged at Steve. On his cue, all the other agents around us moved in coordination. I felt a sudden weight behind me as two men grabbed my arms and pinned them behind my back. I growled in irritation and drove my leg back into one's stomach. He gave a small yell and crumpled to the floor. I spun quickly and caught the other man by the throat, throwing him hard enough against the glass wall behind us that I momentarily thought the elevator was going to break.
But it didn't, so I kept moving.
The elevator had been stopped, I noticed, as well as the fact that Steve's shield was nowhere in sight. I saw it laying by the feet of one of the many men holding the Captain up against the wall.