Deception || Steve Rogers Daughter

Chapter Five

Emma continuously shakes out her hands as she stalks through Central Park. After ditching Barnes, she had found herself hopelessly lost within the park itself. Her mind had just been so clouded by everything that she hadn't realized where she was going or where she had been until it was too late. Emma's emotions were still tense and if something else happened, she'd probably blow something up by accident, but she was working on calming herself down. 

April rushes down one of the paths, her mind racing with the possible scenarios of what could've happened to her friend. Was she okay? Did Hydra finally catch up to them? Was she next? April frantically looks around and stops when she sees Emma slowly walking down the path towards her. 

"Oh thank god!" April shouts while rushing towards Emma, who looks up in surprise at the sudden outburst. "Are you kidding me? You're forty-five minutes late!" 

Forty-five minutes? Emma had thought that it was only ten minutes passed their actual meeting time. How was she so off? Probably because she didn't own a watch or phone at the moment, the last had been broken when they were running from Hydra in Wisconsin. 

"I-I'm sorry." Emma stutters. She clears her throat and opens her mouth to try and explain further but nothing comes out. What could she say to April? She met someone she used to work with and he accused April of being a Hydra agent undercover? That would explain the amount of times Hydra has found them - No! Emma couldn't let him get into her head, that's what Bucky wanted and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"You're burning up." April cries while placing her cold hands on Emma's arms. It brought only a little relief but Emma was going to take what she could get at the moment. 

"I just...it was a little scare." Emma lies while breaking away from her friend. "I'm fine." 

"We really need to get you a new phone." April shakes her head. "We should probably go now, though, our guy isn't who he said he was." 

"Who was he?" Emma questions without moving from her spot. 

"It doesn't matter, come on, I found us a car and packed everything already." April waves her off while turning away. "I parked it in an alley so no one will suspect anything or take it."

Forty-Something Years Ago
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown

"Remember, agent, that our enemy will do everything to isolate you from your team." A woman tisks while walking around Emma in a tight circle, so close that Emma could feel her breath on her neck. "You must not let them when you are vulnerable. Do everything in your power to stay with people until you find a good time to take them down. Do not let yourself be isolated, it makes you an easy target." 

With that, the woman strikes Emma on the back and causes her to fall to her knees with a cry of pain. Yet she doesn't say anything, Emma has learned about the consequences of begging for mercy or asking for forgiveness. 

"Get up. We go again." The woman orders. "Repeat back to me the lesson."

"Don't be isolated." Emma gruffs while pushing herself to her feet. She sways slightly but ultimately stays up. "Stay with people until you can take the target out."

"Very good." The woman compliments before she turns away again.

"What if I fail?" Emma whispers, more to herself than the woman.

"There is no room for failure." She shouts while striking Emma in the back of the knees, sending her to the floor in a heap. "You will not fail, you cannot fail. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes. I will not fail, I will not be isolated, I will succeed." 

Central Park
Present Time

Emma blinks and pulls her arm away from April's, she hadn't even realized that they had started moving. April turns around with a sound of aspiration, she places her hand on her hips and glares at Emma. "What is wrong with you?"

"I don't want to go, not yet." Emma clears her throat. "Why don't we just hide out in a cafe or something?"

"Emma, this is the only way that we're going to be safe." April argues. "They will find us and drag us back to that hell, I'm just trying to help you." 

"Are you?" Emma questions. "Where do you get all of this information, April? How come you never tell me anything and how come we always end up getting chased by Hydra? It's obvious that our location must be handed out to them somehow!"

"Whoa whoa whoa." April scoffs while holding her hand in the air. "Are you accusing me of giving them our location?"

"I...." Emma trails off. "Yes, I need to know. Are you still a Hydra agent?"

The question falls from her lips before she can stop herself and everything around them seems to disappear. Despite the screaming car horns, crying children, and construction all around the world seemed quiet. 

April opens her mouth and closes it like a fish, trying to come up with something to say back to Emma. Her right fist rests near her thigh, clenching and unclenching repeatedly. "Why would you ask me this?"

"Because I'm scared." Emma slowly replies. "And I'm just trying to figure out what's going on." 

"So you blame me?" April continues.

"I've been raised to question everything, April." Emma rolls her eyes. "You should know this by now." 

"Yes, I know, but I thought that we would've been past this by now." April crosses her arms. 

"Then just tell me no!" Emma shouts and throws her hands in the air. "Haven't you realized that you haven't denied it yet?"

"Denied what?" April inquires. "That I'm a Hydra agent? That's absurd!" 

"Then say it out loud, for me." Emma orders. "Tell me you aren't a Hydra agent." 

April stays silent, the defiance evident in her eyes. The two stare at one another for a few more seconds before Emma takes a slight step back from April, the tension growing between them. April continues to stare at Emma with a cold expression, something so different from how she had acted before.

"How could you?" Emma whispers. "I trusted you?"

"And you were never supposed to figure it out." April scoffs while tipping her head to the side. "You were never a perfect soldier, were you?"