Bullet in Her Daddy's Gun

Chapter 8

They stood on the back doorstep of a suburban home. Each of them a little worse for wear.

Sam Wilson answered the door. "Hey, man. Madison", he said.

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

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

"Not everyone", Sam said. He let them inside and closed the door. "Um, guest bedroom's over here. It has a bathroom attached".

"You can shower first", Steve told Madison.

"No thanks", she said and went into the living room.

"Baby bird..." Natasha said.

"Ya ne khochu govorit' ob etom materi (I don't want to talk about it mother)".

Natasha rolled her eyes muttering, "Podrostkov (Teenagers)".

Sam and Steve just looked at them. "I didn't just invite the KGB into my home, did I?" Sam asked.

"No, they just do this because I can't speak Russian, so I don't know what they're saying", Steve said.

Steve and Natasha went into the guest bedroom to clean up while Sam made breakfast. Madison eventually got up and went into the kitchen. Sam made her plate and handed it to her.

"Thank you", she said.

"She your mother?"

Madison paused while she was eating. "No, but she might as well be. My mother died when I was a baby. Natasha helped my father raise me".

"I'm sorry to hear that", Sam said, earning a smile from Madison.

Natasha and Steve eventually joined them.

"So, the question is, who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha said.

"Pierce", Steve answered, glancing out the window.

Madison placed her hand on his and he laced their fingers.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world", Natasha said.

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

Natasha looked at Steve. "So was Jasper Sitwell".

Steve took a breath and said, "So, the real question is, how do the two...well 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 said, throwing a file on the table in front of them.

"What's this?" Steve asked.

"Call it a resume".

Natasha picked up a picture and said, "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?"

Madison didn't understand anything her surrogate mother was saying.

"You didn't say he was a Pararescue", Natasha told Steve.

"Is this Riley?" Steve asked.

"Yeah".

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

"No", Sam said, "These". He picked up the file and handed it to Steve who opened it.

"No way", Madison breathed.

"I thought you said you were a pilot", Steve told Sam.

Sam smirked and said, "I never said pilot".

Steve shook his head. "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", Sam said.

Madison smiled. "I like this one Steve. Can we keep him?" she asked.

Steve smiled and nodded. "Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

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

Steve looked at Natasha who shrugged. He looked at Madison who simply said, "Could be fun". Steve finally looked at Sam. "Shouldn't be a problem".

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm", Steve said, stalking towards Sitwell.

Madison found it funny how easy it was to get Sitwell alone. Clearly he hadn't been trained very well.

"Never heard of it", Sitwell bluffed.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up. I get seasick". Sitwell backed up and nearly fell off the roof of the building.

Steve grabbed him and hoisted him up.

"Is this little display meant to insinuate you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers", Sitwell said.

"You're right. It's not", Steve said, smoothing out his suit, "It's hers".

Natasha drop kicked him in the chest, sending him flying off the roof. Sam came flying up, throwing Sitwell back onto the roof.

Sitwell was cornered. "Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing Insight's targets", Sitwell told them.

"What targets?"

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

Madison knew that HYDRA would never be able to kill Bruce, but who was Stephen Strange?

"The future? How could it know?" Steve asked.

Sitwell started laughing. "How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it".

They all looked at him confused.

"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".

"The future isn't always set in stone, it can always change. People can change!" Madison argued.

"And what then?" Steve asked him.

"Oh my god. Peirce is gonna kill me", Sitwell said.

"I'm gonna kill you", Madison spat, but Steve held out an arm to stop her.

"What then?" Steve asked again.

Sam grabbed Sitwell so he couldn't run away.

"Then the Insight helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time", he said.

"Half of those people could be innocent!" Madison yelled.

"We need to get to HQ and stop those helicarriers. And you're going to help us", Steve told Sitwell.

I have a very special one-shot planned for Madison that involves Steven Strange and I'm super excited to put it out after the next book is done!