The Most Important Mission (Captain America x Child!Reader)

Part 6

The room was dead silent as the six Avengers watched the man struggle against the restraint in his chair on a screen. They were all at Tony's top floor, while the agent was in the very bottom. On another screen beside the security footage was the news channel reporting a code red incident that had happened while the team was catching the HYDRA agent in town.

"Today, the nearby primary school was put into a state of shock as a code red was mysteriously put into motion. Police report a missing teacher and student. The teacher is a woman between ages forty to sixty, while the student is a young girl from ages five to seven-"

Steve, a scowl on his face, angrily turned it off, unable to hear any more of his failure. He had one job. One, single, focus for that mission hand he failed without even realizing it. All he wanted to do was protect his daughter, and he couldn't do it. The most disturbing part to him was that it happened right under his nose and he had no idea. I should have switched teachers, talked to the principle, just... something... But I did nothing, he thought, his lifeless blue eyes falling down to the floor, his hands gripping his forearms as they were folded across his chest. He felt nothing. It was like a switch was flipped. He just felt so lost in himself. "I'm sorry Steve," Natasha whispered, a quiet sniffle escaping the redhead. "I'm so, so sorry. I chose that teacher, this is all my fault" she said, despairingly holding back tears. "Don't blame yourself. You're the best at recognizing HYDRA agents from a mile away. If you couldn't have known, none of us even had a chance" Steve told her, not looking away from the floor. Clint swallowed the lump in his throat, resting a gentle hand on his best friends shoulder. "I can't believe they got her back..." Tony mumbled, leaning against the table. "No, there has to be a way to get her back! Isn't there a stronghold that these HYDRA beings have that we can find?" Thor exclaimed, the tips of his fingers sparkling. Steve turned around to face Thor, a serious look stuck on his face. "They do. HYDRA always has a main base that they report to. But we don't know where that is" Steve said. "We do not. But he does" Thor said, pointing at the security footage of the prisoner still trying to get out of his restraints. Everyone's eyes flew up to the screen, a shared hateful glare digging into it. "I couldn't agree more, point break," Tony spat, turning to face the redhead and super soldier. "You two are on interrogation" he said, earning a nod form the two. And just like that, they were off to the elevator. They stood in silence as the elevators floor screen showed them going lower and lower into the building. "I really am sorry Steve" Nat whispered, looking away from Steve. The tall man looked at his friend with empathetic eyes. While Steve was the most heartbroken about his daughter being kidnapped, Natasha was the most guilty in blaming herself. She was the one who picked out the teacher. It was her job in choosing a suitable teacher to make sure that (y/n) would be safe in the school. And her decision caused her niece to be taken by HYDRA again. While Steve may have no true idea what Natasha was feeling, he could at least imagine. "I meant what I said. It's not your fault" he told her. Natasha's eyes tore away from the wall to look at Steve. He could see the unwavering thankfulness in them. He watched as she took a shaky breath and swallowed the lump in her throat. Her hand raised to wipe away the growing moisture in her eyes before sighing. "Thanks, Steve. Let's go beat the living shit out of a guy to get your girl back" she said, a sad but joking tone in her voice. The solemn aura shifted ever so slightly as Natasha said this, feeling somewhat in higher spirits. The silence was broken when the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open to reveal the prison floor. The prison floor was the lowest plane of Stark Tower, as well as the coldest. It wasn't as nice as the rest of the tower, but it had the highest level tech to prevent any prisoners from breaking out. Steve didn't go down there often, but still had his fair share of experiences inside. The two friends footsteps echoed against the metal-tiled floors as they walked up to the cell that the unfortunate HYDRA agent resided in. After punching in the password, they stepped inside. Steve's face set into a horrifying expression as he laid eyes upon the man strapped to the chair in the center of the cell. At the sound of the doors opening, his head snapped up to come face to face with his captures. The expression on his face said that he was dangerous, but the look in his eyes that Steve saw told him otherwise. The super soldier saw nothing but worry and fear in them. A part of him was happy that the agent was scared, that he feared for his life like his daughter was doing right now. He knew that it was his emotions talking, but the feeling kept on growing, manifesting in his heart till the feeling spread to the tips of his fingers, making them tingle a bit. Natasha cleared her throat before walking in front of him, a terrifying look in her eyes that convey her desire to kill him. "How has your stay been so far?" she asked in an emotionless voice. The man scoffed at her. "Gee, I don't know. I was knocked out and woke up strapped to a futuristic electric chair!" he exclaimed. His voice was deep and full of an angry venom. But his tone surprised Steve. He seems surprisingly lippy for someone in his position, Steve thought. "Yeah, it only gives you a little shock, but we can change that for better or worse. But that depends on you, of course" Natasha said. "What makes you think I know the information you want?" he asked them, his words coming out like a snap. "Oh you better have the information we want if you want even a fraction of a chance of making it out of here alive" Natasha said slowly, her signature glare in her green eyes. "Look, I don't know what you want to know, and even if I did, I don't think I'd tell you" the man said. It was silent in the room for a few seconds before Steve threw a punch, his fist hitting the man's jaw. "Ahhhh!" he cried, his jaw blazing with pain. "Let's start off with your name" Steve said. Natasha looked at him with wide eyes but did nothing. He couldn't tell if she was in shock by his actions, or if she was just expecting him to snap eventually. Maybe it was a bit of both. "I tell you anything, I'm a dead man," the prisoner spoke, his mouth hanging open a bit. But his unyielding attitude was quickly remedied by Steve raising his fist to strike him again in a swift motion. "RYAN! MY NAMES RYAN!" he cried, his body edging away from the super soldier as much as it could against the straps in his chair. Natasha stepped forward, her arms crossed. "I think you'll come to realize that we're scarier than anything HYDRA could come up with," she whispered in a haunting tone. "So, I have a deal for you. Help us and we'll make sure HYDRA never finds you. Ever" she said. Ryan huffed at her, a doubtful look in his eyes. "Really?" he questioned in a skeptical voice. "Well, my friend here could use you as a punching bag. I'm sure he's really pissed off at you for the kidnapping of his daughter. Not to mention a God of Thunder, a Hulk, an inventor, a master archer, and me... The resurrection of hell" she told him. Ryan swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "So.. what you do people want to know?" he asked. Steve and Natasha looked at each other, their eyes speaking the triumph that they couldn't express. Steve turned back to look at Ryan, his hellish smolder on his face. "Everything you know about my daughter" he answered.