The Seventh Avenger

Chapter 63: Divulgence

Steve was a fast walker. By the time I make it out of the lab and into the hallway, he's already turning hurriedly around the corner. Whether his fast pace was caused by the serum pupping through his veins or that he simply just wanted to get as far away from Tony and his infuriating antics I didn't know. But I didn't like the fact that he was heading back in the direction that led towards the bridge, where I could almost guarantee Fury still was.

I take off after him sprinting down the empty hallway. I practically skid around the corner, having to throw a hand up to keep myself balanced and upright. A huff of annoyance escapes past my lips as I struggle, which doesn't go unnoticed by Steve. He was already halfway down this hallway though he stops and turns at the sound. A look of surprise mixed with frustration etches itself to the features of his handsome face, but he doesn't say anything. He only turns on his heel and begins to walk away once more, not saying a word. Someone was still ticked off then.

"Steve wait!" I call out, running after him once more. I find myself falling in step beside him when I catch up, though his strides were far longer than my own. I had to move twice as fast to ensure that I didn't fall behind. "Look, I know what you think we're doing is wrong-"

"Wrong doesn't begin to cover it."

I have to refrain from wincing at the bitterness to his tone. As we stride down yet another corridor, I hastily add, "You're right. But at the same time, Tony is as well. If we were to approach Fury then he would only lie to us. He's a spy: that's what he does."

He only grunts in response, keeping his cold eyes fixed forward as we moved. The fact that he hadn't responded to this had my stomach dropping with dread and I can't help but ramble, "As I said before, Fury has kept things from people in the past- including me- and he's almost killed people in doing so. But I get the fact that you're a loyal soldier and you want to focus on the task at hand. I'm just as worried about Loki being here as you are, but I'm also worried about what Fury is potentially hiding from us. This could affect the team. So if you want to tell him, could you at least wait until after the hack is done so that we can see whether or not this is the truth-"

He suddenly stops walking at this, abruptly turning to stare down at me. "I'm not just a loyal soldier." He firmly snaps. His words cause me to clamp my mouth shut in an instant. Being this close to him, I could see just how frustrated he was. Whether it was simply because of me, of Tony and Ava's actions or the fact that he was starting to see that Fury was lying to us, I didn't know. But it had me tilting back away from him ever so slightly as he continues, "I don't simply just follow orders blindly and without question. I can think for myself...and I think that you're right. What you and Stark said made sense. I just think that you're going about it the wrong way," He finishes with a hint of bitterness to his tone.

My jaw drops, having not expected him to say this in the slightest. Captain America, the Captain America, was going against direct orders? I knew that he had been a hardworking and dedicated soldier during the war, yet looking at the seriousness in his face, I realised something. This wasn't just Captain America beside me: this was Steve Rogers. A scrawny kid from Brooklyn who, according to Gran, both persistently and always stood up for what he believed in- even if it meant bending the rules now and again.

Much like he planned on doing now, apparently.

"So...so you're not on your way to tell Fury?"

"No- I'm searching for what he's hiding," He explains, before taking off once more. I blink in shock after him, having not expected the conversation to turn down this road. It only takes me a few seconds to recover from my initial shock as my body soon kicks into gear and I hurry off after him.

"What do you mean that you're searching for it yourself?"

"Hacking into SHIELD's files is too much of a risk," He huffs, turning down a corridor that- thankfully- leads down and further away from the bridge. "Ava may be good at what she does, but this is SHIELD that we're talking it. It's highly likely that Fury's going to find out what they're doing well before they can find anything. So I'm looking for the truth the old fashioned way."