Strange Winters: Heroes Fall

13. Ghosts

Sharon. He needed to make sure she was safe. Their son, was safe. He'd already had Kyra removed from SHIELD files, and at worst, she could handle herself. Steve
dumped his tech and bought gum from a gas station to get change for the phone booth. He called his neighbors and asked them to get Sharon on the phone.

"Hi, honey! How was-"

"Grandpa's dead," he immediately spat out their codeword.

"Oh no; how long?" Sharon was on alert.

"I don't know. Nursing home's a sell out. You both should go see him soon."

"We'll leave now. Take care." Sharon hung up. She raced home and quickly got their road bags, put James in the car, and headed for a friend's private airport. England was nice this time of year.

Meanwhile, Steve picked up Natasha from the hospital and their search off the flash drive lead them to the last place Steve thought he'd find himself; Camp Lehigh. It turned out to be a day full of ghosts, and the two Avengers had just barely managed to not turn into ghosts themselves.

Captain America could run fast, but almost dead weight slowed him down some. Still, he was faster than the tac team. He ran towards downtown as emergency vehicles passed by. The city was silent after midnight, but the cars were there. Steve placed Natasha on a bench and jacked the nearest forgettable car.

They needed to get away. They were an hour away from Wilmington, but Steve couldn't risk going to the old place. Luckily, he had more options. It was daylight by the time they arrived, and Natasha was up too. They ditched the car and continued on foot towards their destination.

"Who lives here?" Natasha asked as they tresspassed into someone's back yard.

"A friend," Steve replied and knocked on the sliding door.

The blinds pulled back and a curious face looked out, immediately opening the door.

"Hey, man!" Sam Wilson greeted them.

"I'm sorry about this, we need a place to stay low."

Sam offered them his house and the two refugees cleaned up. Natasha was having a hard time coming to terms with the new information she'd learned. Steve gave her trust, and Sam gave them breakfast as they sat and tried putting together the puzzle until they came up with a name: Sitwell.

When the two most wanted people in Washington wondered how they would kidnap a SHIELD agent in broad daylight, Sam served them his resume, and later, Sitwell.

Steve dragged the double agent up to the roof and immediately started asking questions. It took a little persuasion from Natasha and the Falcon to get him talking.

"Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing Insight's targets!"

"What targets?"

"You!" Sitwell pointed at Steve. "A tv anchor in Cairo, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange..."

Steve grumbled at the mention of Stephen Strange. Any target on him could put his sister in the crosshairs.

"Oh my god. Pierce is gonna kill me." Sitwell clammed up, but Steve wasn't finished.

"What then!?"

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

They were taking Sitwell home when they were attacked on the bridge by a familiar ghost. Natasha knew him as the Winter Soldier, and Steve knew him as Bucky. Sam knew him as a pain in the ass.

Hydra wasn't the only one with ghosts as Maria Hill rescued them from the back of the prisoner van and delivered them to an unmarked bunker where a very alive Nick Fury was waiting for them.

As they handed Natasha over to the doctor, Steve borrowed a phone to make a call. It was turning out to be a very strange day.