Stark Spangled Banner Ch 14: Nothing Personal
Summary: Steve confronts Fury about The Lemurian Star and discovers another secret that the Director has been concealing from him, one he struggles to reconcile morally. Little does he realise, however, that learning said secret is the catalyst to a devastating chain of events, which put him and Katie directly in the firing line of a deadly assassin...
Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark
Warnings: None for this chapter bar them saying some bad language words and someone getting shot and a bit of fighting and shizzle.
This one is a bit long- it got away from me a little but there was soooo much to get in!
Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist
Steve’s good mood lasted all of 5 minutes into debrief. Natasha wasn’t even there, which wasn’t surprising, but pissed him off. Instead of letting it sour the meeting he added it to the long list of stuff he was going to confront Fury over. He praised the STRIKE team, thanked Rumlow for his leadership, Evans for his impeccable sniper skills, as usual, and Rollins for his coordination from the jet. He dismissed his team and then headed up to see Fury.
“You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?” Steve said as he crossed the floor of Fury’s office.
Nick didn’t even need to ask him what he was talking about. Without turning round the Director spoke calmly. “I didn't lie. Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours.”
“Which you didn't feel obliged to share” Steve pressed, raising an eyebrow as the Director spun in his chair to face him.
“I'm not obliged to do anything” Fury said simply, looking at him.
“Those hostages could've died, Nick.” Steve pressed, holding the man’s gaze.
“I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen.” Fury said simply, and Steve could feel his temper rising even more. He hated the blasé attitude the Director was discussing the issue with, like it was simply something he wasn’t all that bothered about.
“Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army.” He said after a short pause. “Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns.”
He wasn’t expecting the response he got. Fury leaned forward, frowning as he levelled Steve with a look.
“The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” he said. Steve cocked his head to one side, crossing his arms but maintaining his silence “Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything.”
“I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own” Steve said, pointing down at Fury’s desk.
“It's called compartmentalization” Fury eyed him. “Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all.”
Steve snorted silently “Except you.”
Fury took a deep breath and levelled Steve with a look. “ You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that.”
Steve frowned as Fury stood up and motioned for him to follow.
“Where are we going?” Steve said, frustration evident on his tone.
“You’ll see.” Fury said, stepping inside the elevator. Steve followed. “Insight bay.” he instructed.
A photo of Nick’s SHIELD ID flashed up on the screen, surrounded by a green light. Then Steve noticed his, but the light was red as the SHIELD computer spoke. “Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight.”
“Director override, Fury, Nicholas J.” Fury spoke, without missing a beat.
“Confirmed.”
The elevator started to moved downwards. Steve leaned against the rail which ran round the middle of the glass box and clasped his hands in front of him by his belt. Despite his initial annoyance, he had found himself beginning to understand what the Director was saying. SHIELD had so many secrets, many a matter of national security. It made no sense for everyone to know everything, it was a security risk, he got that. But it still irked him though.
“You know, they used to play music.” he said, his tone softer as he broke the silence, making a joke at his own expense.
“Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years.” Fury said, somewhat nostalgic. “My granddad worked in a nice building, he got good tips. He'd walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say "hi", people would say hi back. Time went on, neighbourhood got rougher. He'd say "Hi", they'd say, "Keep on steppin'." Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter.”
The flash into Fury’s personal life surprised Steve somewhat. He cocked his head to one side and looked at the man. “Did he ever get mugged?”
“Every week some punk would say, "What's in the bag?"
“What did he do?”
“He'd show 'em. Bunch of crumpled ones and loaded .22 Magnum.” Fury smirked “Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much.”
Steve had to smirk slightly, thinking that Fury sounded a hell of a lot like his grandpa. He looked down for a second, and when he looked up he was aware that they had now travelled down the side of the Triskellion and were descending further, underground even. As Steve looked around he realised he was in some sort of hangar, and he looked out of the glass, spotting 3 giant Helicarriers. His mouth fell open in surprise, his brow furrowing.
“Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a .22.” Fury remarked.
Eventually the elevator stopped and Fury stepped out, Steve hot on his tail as he watched people bustling around the hangar shouting, carrying things, fixing things. The helicarriers were bigger than the one they’d used during the Chitauri invasion, each being able to house at least 20 Quinjets.
“This is Project Insight.” Fury said as he led Steve across the floor of the hangar. “Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites.”
And then Steve understood. “Launched from the Lemurian Star.” he said, a statement not a question.
“Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulsor engines.” Fury stopped underneath one.
“Stark?” Steve asked, frowning.
“Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines.” Fury said, as they continued. “But don’t worry, that’s not something Nova is keeping from you.”
“I wasn’t” Steve said honestly, as he looked up and around the hangar “I trust my girl.” he said with a shrug.
Fury looked at him before he turned his attention back to the matter in hand and pointed up again “These new long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.”
Steve crossed his arms. “ I thought the punishment usually came after the crime.”
“We can't afford to wait that long.”
Steve could feel the nerve twitching in his jaw. “Who's "we"?”
“After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve”
“By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection?” Steve looked at the director, frowning. He didn’t like this. It smacked of something Hydra or the Nazis would do.
Fury picked up on his tone and he looked at Steve, arching an eyebrow. “You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff.”
Don’t’ I know it? Steve thought to himself as he took a deep breath. “Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free.” he turned and pointed at the helicarriers before looking at Fury “This isn't freedom, this is fear.”
“SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be.” Fury said simply. “It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap”
Steve shook his head. “Don't hold your breath” and with that he left.
He changed quickly, eager to put as much distance between him and SHIELD as possible for the rest of the day. After a short conversation with Rumlow about a mission report he was on his bike and heading for Katie’s apartment, his mind whirling. What was Fury playing at? This wasn’t what he signed up for, at all. It felt so far removed from what he had joined the army to do, to keep people safe, free… had he really changed that much? He felt a sudden pang for his Howling Commandoes, for Bucky, for Peggy, for Colonel Philips, for all those damned missions which had been simple- destroy Hydra.
Despite the fact he had woken up that morning and felt so happy with his girl being there, he couldn’t help but wish life was as simple as it had been back then.
*****
Katie’s morning had been far more productive. She had looked at a couple of transcript extracts her editor had selected. She had to admit, the guy had a good eye for a future blockbuster, and this one she particularly liked. After discussions, they settled on an initial run of 200 hard copy of the books to be sold online, along with a downloadable kindle version, and if they went they would review how many more we needed.
Pleased with her mornings work and having cleared her diary for the afternoon, she had lunch in the kitchen and had just finished when she heard the elevator door open. She headed into the hallway to greet Steve. He looked drained.
“Hey…” she asked, “How did it go?"
He sighed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug, simply wanting to feel her close.
“That good huh?” she said, squeezing him gently before she pulled back and headed towards the kitchen, him following behind her.
“Debrief was fine…Fury, however, went on about compartmentalisation, the usual crap.” Steve sighed, running his hand over his face, smiling softly to himself when he saw she was gathering stuff out of the fridge to make him a sandwich “And then shared something I really wish he hadn’t.”
“Like what?” she asked, throwing some turkey and mayo onto a sub.
“Ever heard of Operation Insight?” Steve asked, even though he knew the answer. There’s no way she would have and not told him.
“No?” she said, handing him a plate.
“Well apparently your brother has…” he shrugged, taking the plate from her and taking a bite as he sat at the breakfast bar. He swallowed and then continued “3 huge hellicarriers that are basically designed to go up in the air and never come down. Programmed to monitor potential threats and wipe them out before they get chance to do anything…”
She frowned, settling on the stool next to him. “And Fury has sanctioned this?”
Steve nodded, taking another bite of his food. “I don’t like it. Like I said to him, punishment normally comes after the crime…”
Katie could see he was really struggling with this and that his faith in SHIELD was running very, very thin. A lot of what the Agency did was political, not just about keeping people safe. She’d tried to explain that the lines were a lot more blurred than back in the 40s, but still had to admit she was kind of with him. As she pondered for a moment, Steve could see the cogs whirring in her brain, the slight “v” shape crease that always formed in the middle of her eyes when she was thinking had formed. Steve didn’t blame her, it had thrown him too and he’d had the full explanation. The hangar had been huge, and there were enough people in there to make him realise that a LOT of people knew about it. What he didn’t know was who on his immediate team knew about it.
“I just wanna know who I can trust” he sighed, looking at Katie as she reached out gently, touching his cheek.
“I know sweetheart” she said, sighing “Ok. No more talk about SHIELD or hellicarriers, or whatever…” she said, moving her hand back to the counter, picking up her soda. “What do you want to for the rest of the afternoon?”
He wanted to go to the Smithsonian. He’d been thinking about it since they had emailed him to invite him to open the exhibit on him, which he had politely declined. But he was curious to see what it was like, curious and also eager, after today, to be reminded of a time when he worked with people he knew inside out, people that he would trust with his life. And he was keen to share that with his girl, the woman who had months ago before they even started dating, been the one to help him pick what the museum would display.
“You know, we’ve still not been to the Smithsonian since they opened the exhibit.” he said, shrugging, hoping his tone was casual enough to make it sound like he hadn’t been thinking about it enough. He failed though, smiling as Katie looked at him, arching an eyebrow.
Busted.
“Call it curiosity.” He shrugged.
“You know what curiosity did don’t you?” Katie quipped back, her eyes flashing playfully.
“What?”
She grinned as she delivered the punchline “Killed the Cap.”
*****
“A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honour, bravery and sacrifice,” the narrator at the Smithsonian museum said as we entered the exhibit.
Steve paused to pull the collar of his blue jacket up a little further, a gesture that, along with the cap that was pulled down over his face, he hoped would prevent him from being recognised as they made their way to the start of the pieces.
"Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier," the Narrator continued. Steve paused to look at the display to his right when Katie gently nudged him.
“Think you’ve been rumbled.”
Steve looked down at her, and then followed her gaze as she looked to her left at a small boy dressed in a light blue T-shirt adorned with the design of his shield who was watching the pair of them, his eyes growing wide. Steve smiled, put a finger against his mouth to indicate for him to keep quiet. The boy nodded and then turned, running back off to find his mum.
Without speaking Steve took her hand and led her over to the part of the exhibit that had an older looking motorcycle on a platform and some black and white footage playing beside it. The footage was of him in his older Captain America uniform, also currently on display, running through a battlefield.
"In this rare footage, everyone's favourite war hero, Captain America…"
He didn’t stop to hear the rest, he could remember that mission by heart. It had been on the outskirts of Toulouse, liberating another HYDRA prison camp. Katie allowed herself to be led by him, this was his moment after all. They slowly walked to a display of mannequins dressed in his original suit, plus those of the Howling Commandos, which had been donated by their families. His eyes lingered on Bucky’s for a second and he took a deep breath.
"Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division,"
Katie looked at the uniforms, a smile on her face. She had only seen photos of the suit, not seen it in person and it intrigued her. More so because this was something that her dad had made, something physical he had touched. She felt a tug on her hand again, and she looked up to see that she was being led to a section dedicated to Bucky. The familiar (albeit again, only from photos), handsome face of his best friend looked back at them as they wandered over to read what it said in more detail.
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were inseparable on both school yard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country…”
The narration didn’t cover half the text on the black, glass screen and in Katie’s opinion it wasn’t a particularly good tribute to a man who had lost his life in such tragic circumstances. She read the rest of the text as Steve’s eyes skated over it, reading, despite the fact he knew it all. He wished he could have saved him, he really did. He’d loved him to have been able to meet Katie. But then, he wouldn’t have anyway. As he would have most likely been dead now. Or what’s to say things may or may not have ended up differently. Would Buck have been on the Valkyrie with him?
He watched the black and white footage playing, where the two of them were talking and then laughing about something and he felt the sadness hit his chest again. And as if she sensed it too, Katie gripped his hand a little bit tighter and lay her head against his arm, her weight giving him something to anchor himself too, and he was grateful for it.
They carried on walking and then they found there was a small cinema area a bit further round the corner playing footage and interviews. Steve paused for a second and then looked at Katie, the question stayed silent. She nodded and together they walked in, taking a seat on one of the benches. There was a bit of introduction footage, and then a familiar face appeared on the screen.
Besides him Katie took a deep breath and whispered a single word “Dad…” and he automatically dropped a hand to her knee, where she placed hers on top of his as the two of them watched her father an animatedly talking to the camera.
“Rogers was different” Howard spoke, smiling, the caption on the screen telling him the footage had been filmed in 1953. “He was constantly striving to do the right thing, with no fear or care for how it would affect him. He, err, when we dropped him behind enemy lines we had no idea if we would see him again. I narrowly escaped myself, the machine guns nearly took our aircraft down but without thought to how he would get back, he told us to leave him behind. When they declared him missing in action the entire company was devastated but, lo and behold… well they can’t keep a good man down. “ Howard paused and then looked down and back up at the camera “I can only hope that if I’m graced with Children, they grow up to be half as driven as he was to do the right thing…”
As Katie looked down at her feet, a stray tear fell down her cheek. Seeing her dad there like that was raw. She knew that Tony felt the loss of their parents far more than she did, she had only been 7 after all when they had died and Tony had been her father, if you will, for far longer than her actual dad had, but still, seeing him in front of her so candidly, talking about his hopes for his future children made something in her chest tighten and she couldn’t help but feel sadness at the fact she never got the chance to really know him. Steve gently squeezed her knee, but then as he looked back up at the screen it was his turn to still as someone he recognised extremely well, her face painted into his memory for life, entered the screen and began speaking, also in 1953.
"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months.” Peggy Carter stumbled slightly through the interview. “He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would become my husband as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life," And despite the fact that she smiles slightly at the end of this line, it’s clear to see that talking about Steve affected her a lot.
Katie leaned against him and with a breath he lay his head on top of hers. “We haven’t seen her for a while…” she whispered as the video finished. “Shall we go on the way home?”
He gave a soft chuckle and dropped a kiss to the crown of her head.
“You read my mind.”
*******
Peggy was pleased to see them. They both greeted her and after a few pleasantries they told her about their trip to the Smithsonian. Peggy smiled, informing them that she remembered the interview, like it was yesterday, apparently the man interviewing her had been an “utter rogue”, but she didn’t elaborate on what that meant. They chatted a little about her time as Director at SHIELD before she trailed off with a sigh as she noticed that Steve was uncharacteristically quiet. After a little gentle coaxing from her and Katie he told her what was on his mind.
"My whole life I've just wanted to do what was right, I guess I'm not sure what that is anymore.” he paused for a moment, thinking of how to voice his worries about SHIELD “And I thought I could just throw myself back in and follow orders, it's just not the same."
Peggy chuckled as she rolled her eyes and looked at Katie "He’s always so dramatic.”
Katie let out a small laugh, nodding her agreement. “Tell me about it!”
Steve shook his head, a smile on his face as he raised his eyebrows slightly and looked away as Peggy continued to speak.
“Look you saved the world, we rather mucked it up."
"No you didn't. You know, knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stay."
“And the other half being…” her eyes strayed to Katie who smiled, looking down and then up at Steve as he caught her eye, his hand resting on her knee.
“I quit remember?” She said.
Peggy smiled “Indeed, a woman with principles. That I can get on board with.”
Katie gave a little smile and turned to the old lady in the bed.
“Look, the world has changed and none of us can go back.” Peggy spoke softly “All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over."
She started to cough. Steve quickly picked up a glass of water from the table and rounded the back of the chair Katie was sitting in to try and hand her the glass.
"Peggy," he mumbled. Her coughing subsided as she sipped her drink. She looked up and stared at Steve as if she was seeing a ghost
"Steve?" Peggy breathed out in an amazed yet broken voice.
"Yeah," Steve whispered, his heart sinking as he recognised the look in her face. Her memory had gone, again.
"You're alive! You, you came, you came back," Peggy whimpered. Tears were gathering in her eyes at this point as she tried to hold them back and Steve was struggling to do the same with his own. One of the smartest, nicest, bravest women he had ever met was being betrayed by an illness that was literally rotting her brain. It was cruel, and every time she did this, they went through the same routine.
Katie squeezed his hand gently as she stood up so he could take the chair next to Peggy.
"Yeah, Peggy," Steve responded forcing a smile onto his face.
"It's been so long. So long," Peggy started to cry, giving up on holding back her tears.
“I’ll leave you with her…” Katie said gently as she gently touched his shoulder. His hand briefly reached up to lay over hers before he leaned over to take Peggy’s.
"Well, I couldn't leave you.” He said gently, “Not when you still owe me a dance."
Normally that calmed the old lady down, but not today. She was becoming more and more confused and in the end he had to press the call button for a nurse.
“Again?” The nurse said softly, and Steve simply nodded.
“I’ll fetch the doctor.”
Outside Katie took a deep breath and headed towards her car. Ex partners could always be an issue in relationships but this was something else, something completely different. She opened the passenger side to the car and sat side on in the seat, door open, legs dangling out. She felt sorry for Peggy, she really did, and her heart ached for Steve. It can’t be easy seeing the woman he once loved, and probably still did in some way, fading like that in front of your eyes. She ran her hand over her face, rubbing at her eyes slightly and waited as she watched various people coming and going out of the main doors of the hospital. It wasn’t that long before a familiar figure appeared, a flash of white T-shirt standing out against his dark navy jacket and equally dark jeans as he walked towards her, hands in his pockets. She stood up, not saying a word as she wrapped her arms around him and he buried his face into the nook of her shoulder and neck, his safe place, his hands gently resting on her hips as he breathed out a sigh.
“She ok?” she asked gently.
“Yeah they sedated her.” He said as he pulled away.
“I’m so sorry Steve.” she said gently
“What for?” he frowned.
“Peggy…it’s so unfair.”
“Yeah…” he said. And it was. He wished things could be different, that Peggy wasn’t ill. That she could be home, with her family, living out the last years of her life with the dignity she had lived the rest of it. She deserved more. He looked over the car roof across the street and watched for a second, everyone milling about their business, getting on with their lives. Like he was, and whilst he wished things had been different for Peggy he found himself thinking and wondering if he would change anything if he could.
He felt Katie still in front of him, reacting to the fact he himself had changed posture, and as he looked down at her he was suddenly struck with the answer to his question. Right now, despite everything, despite his sudden feelings of nostalgia sparked by the events of the last 24 hours or so, no he wouldn’t. Because whatever had happened, every action, every decision, it had led him to her, and he loved her so fucking much it hurt. Yeah he had loved Peggy, he still did in some ways, but it was nothing compared to this. Nothing. He reached out and took Katie’s hands, pulling up her arms so they were round his neck, pulling her closer to him as his own hands joined at the bottom of her back
“I love you.” He said gently, needing her to understand, to believe him.
“I know…” she said back, and he smiled softly, satisfied she did.
“How about we head back to mine and not leave the flat for the entire day tomorrow?” he said, the idea suddenly coming to him and he face lit up. Katie loved lazy days. It was rare Steve was in the mood for them, his incessant energy normally meant he had to be doing something. But on the odd time he agreed it usually involved them staying in bed till about midday, then watching old movies on the TV under a blanket on the couch, maybe a bit of fooling around and then calling a take out before retreating back to bed. Right now that sounded like a damned fine idea. “Can you clear your diary?”
“Consider it cleared.” she smiled.
“I just wanna make one quick stop on the way.” he suggested, his journey of contemplation was leading him to one more place. He glanced at his watch before planting a kiss on her lips “Thought we could pay our jogging friend a visit.”
********
"Look who it is. The running man and his pretty girl." Sam joked slightly as he came over to the doorway where Katie and Steve were stood.
"Hey." Katie smiled as he dropped a kiss onto her cheek.
"Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense," Steve commented as Sam shook his hand.
"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret," Sam shrugged. As his sentence went on his voice got more serious and softer.
"Have you lost someone?" Steve asked, perceptive as ever. Katie mentally cursed herself for not filling him in fully, but Sam didn’t seem too bothered to talk about it. He nodded gently.
"My wingman, Riley. Fly in the night mission. A standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till an RPG knock Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch," Sam paused to cross his arms over his chest, his posture slightly tense. "After that, I had really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"
"But you're happy now, back in the world?" Steve asked
"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah," Sam joked, loosening up slightly, before getting a bit serious, "You thinking about getting out?"
"No. I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did," Steve shook his head a bit.
"Ultimate fighting?" Sam shrugged and Steve laughed as Katie snorted. "It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?"
Steve turned his head to look at Katie, an unconscious movement, smiling gently as he shrugged. “I dunno...”
"Oh I think you do." Sam said, smirking slightly as Steve placed his hand on the small of his girl’s back.
"Oh, stop by the front desk on your way out," Katie turned to Sam, smirking, and he raised an eyebrow in question,
"We asked for you by name." Steve clarified.
"She seemed thoroughly impressed." Katie finished. Both of Sam's eyebrows rose at that and he looked down the hallway towards where the front desk was.
"You two are the best." He said a smile stretching across his face as he began to turn to head down the hall. "Stop by anytime."
"No problem." Steve said in amusement as Sam jogged his way down the hall.
It was 8pm by the time they got home, having made a pit stop for a beer on the way. Steve held the door open for Katie, and she stepped into the apartment building and started to climb the stairs in front of him, giving him a quite pleasing view of her ass as her hips swayed side to side in front of him.
“Sam’s right you know.” she said, continuing their discussion from the bar. “And so is Peggy.”
“What about?” he asked.
“If you wanted to get out you could do, start over…”
He took a deep breath “I don’t know what I want, but spending the rest of my life playing janitor for Fury is not it.”
“I can write you a resignation note….” she grinned
“What, I quit, fuck you?” he snorted.
“I didn’t actually write that.” she laughed “Actually, I didn’t write anything...”
He chuckled slightly and then took a deep breath. “You know, it’s funny when I think about it. Us, stuff, what we’ve done and how far we’ve come in a year.”
“You’re saying it like it’s a bad thing” she teased as she stepped onto his landing.
“No, that’s not what I mean at all…” he said as he took a deep breath as she headed towards his door and turned to face him “You know, I’ve never really talked to anyone or shown them about my past in detail or introduced anyone to Peggy bar you.”
“Well I am your girlfriend.” she shrugged, holding onto the hand that wasn’t digging into his jeans pocket to fish out his keys. “You should be able to talk to me about anything.”
“I know, I’m not explaining myself very well.” He said, sighing, finally succeeding in obtaining his keys. And he wasn’t. He was trying to tell her that he couldn’t imagine his life without her, that he wanted her to share his everything, including his home…
“Spit it out Rogers…” she said, as he slid the key into the lock.
He took a deep breath. “Coming home last night and you being there…and then this morning…it was perfect doll and I want that all the time.” He said, turning to face her leaving his key hanging from the door. “How would you feel about us maybe moving in together?”
She paused for a moment, looking at him, realising he was deadly serious. She raised her eyebrow.
“I thought you came from a time where man and woman didn’t live together until they were married?” she teased.
“Well we could get married if you want…” he found himself blurting out. That made Katie raise both eyebrows as she studied him again, her mouth dropping into a small ‘o’. Steve looked back at her, trying to keep his face passive, as if it had been a joke, he knew it wasn’t. He’d known for months she was the one. But to blurt it out like that? And just over a year since they’d started dating.
Way to go, Rogers.
Katie cocked her head to one side, there was a funny look on Steve’s face that she couldn’t place. But whatever it was, even if Steve was serious about them getting married, she knew him well enough to understand that was not how he would want to propose, and that he was probably kicking himself about stumbling it out the way he had done. So she broke the nervous tension, as she always did, with a slight joke.
“You know, that’s not much of a proposal…” she said, sliding her arms up around his neck “But it’s one step up from you’d make a great housewife…”
“Should I try again?” he quipped, a cheeky grin spreading across his face, glad the tone was playful, his arms circling her waist
“Yeah, with a big, fuck off Tiffany diamond…”
“I didn’t think you were so materialistic?” he laughed as he committed that to memory.
“Well, you know what they say? Diamonds are a girls’ best friend.”
“And there I was, thinking it was me…” he said, his lips pressing onto hers
“That’s so sweet…” a voice interrupted and they both turned to look at Kate, his neighbour from over the hall. For a split second Steve thought she was talking to them but it soon became apparent she was on the phone. “That’s so nice…but hey, I gotta go…okay bye…”
She dropped the phone into the basket of laundry she was carrying before grinning at us both “My aunt, she’s kind of an insomniac”
Steve smile before looking at the basket of washing in her arms as he dropped his arm round Katie’s shoulder “you know if you want…if you want, you can use my machine. Might be easier and cheaper than the one in the basement.”
"Thank you, but I already have a load in downstairs actually, and you really don't want my scrubs in your machine.” She grinned “I just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so,"
"Ah, well, we’ll keep our distance," he grinned, holding his hands up, palms out.
"Hopefully not too far…" she chuckled. “Don’t want to lose my best neighbour…well I better be off.” She turned to go before she stopped and spun back round to look at Steve. “Oh, I think you left your stereo on,"
“Right, thank you…” Steve watched her go, frowning. He looked at Katie as they both pressed their ears to the door. The record player was certainly on but…
“We definitely didn’t leave that on before.” Katie looked at him, as the gentle tones of Kitty Kallen Long Long Time hit their ears.
Steve held his finger up to his lips and gestured to the window, before leaving Katie where he was. He ran off, down the stairs as fast as he could and then he scaled the gate on the fire escape easily. Once he reached the steps which were parallel to his window he took a running jump, easily pulling himself up over the sill and into the kitchen area. Quickly and quietly he moved along the wall, picking up his shield which was leaning against the shelving unit. Holding it up he cautiously peered round the corner of the room into the living area and instantly relaxed when he saw Fury lounging in a chair.
“I don’t remember giving you a key.” he said, somewhat sardonically.
“What, you really think I’d need one?” Nick replied. Steve shook his head and headed to the front door of the flat, pulling it open.
“Fury…”he said with a roll of his eyes, turning and walking back into the apartment.
“Huh?” Katie asked a she followed him into the living room, where the music was coming from, to see Fury sitting on the couch in the dark.
“What are you doing here?” she asked
"Nice to see you too, Nova. And in answer to your question my wife kicked me out."
"I didn't know you were married," she continued, frowning. And she didn’t. And she wasn’t sure that he was.
"There are a lot of things you don't about me," Fury said casually.
"I know, Nick. That's the problem," Steve grumbled walking forward as Katie remained where she was, eyes narrowed at her old boss. Steve flipped on the light switch, instantly recoiling in surprise when he noticed Fury’s injuries. Besides him Katie gasped slightly and moved to get closer to help but Fury indicated for her to stop and the both of them to stay quiet. He turned off the light again and typed something on his phone.
'EARS EVERYWHERE'.
Bugs? His apartment was bugged? By who? They both exchanged a glance and instantly Katie looked up and around the room, as if she expected to see a microphone glaring at them...
"I'm sorry to have to do this but I had nowhere else to crash," Fury said looking around a bit. He typed something else up on his phone:
'SHIELD COMPROMISED'.
Steve and Katie shared another glance, the pair of them wide eyed. This was bad.
"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked, keeping his voice even.
Fury showed them another text;
'YOU TWO AND ME'.
"Just, my friends," Fury grunted in pain while getting up and walking closer to them.
"Is that what we are?" Katie narrowed her eyes at him. She still hadn’t completely forgiven the man for lying to them all about Coulson.
"That's up to you." Fury replied, his eyes darting from Katie to Steve.
Then out of nowhere came a rapid succession of gunshots. Steve quickly pushed Katie out of the way, the pair of them taking cover behind the kitchen wall as Fury groaned before he collapsed down to the floor. Steve scooted forward, keeping as low as he could, pulling him into the kitchen. Katie knelt next to him and tried to check his injuries through his black clothing when he reached up and handed something to Steve.
"Don't, trust anyone," he coughed before passing out. Katie and Steve both looked at what he had been handed and saw that it was a flash drive. Steve curled his hand around it and looked at Katie, but before either of them could say anything else there was the sound of someone breaking into the apartment. Steve quickly moved into a defensive position, in front of Katie and Fury, raising his shield.
"Captain Rogers?" a familiar voice suddenly called out and they watched as Kate, his neighbour, cautiously walked in with a gun pointed. "I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD's Special Service," she informs.
"Kate?" Steve frowned, shaking his head. He’d just about had his fill of surprises.
"I'm assigned to protect you," she continued
"On whose orders?" Katie snapped.
Kate stopped as she spotted Fury lying on the floor. "His," she dropped besides Katie, checking Fury for a pulse and then spoke into her radio
"Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs."
"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" A SHIELD agent questioned through the radio.
Then there was a movement on the other side of the window, on the roof adjacent to the building. Steve instantly glanced up and saw a flash of silver and the shadow of a figure running across the rooftop.
"Tell them I'm in pursuit." he said and with that he took a running jump and smashed straight through his window, and through into the office building opposite. Steve ran, keeping his eye on the man, smashing through walls, windows, anything in his way. Eventually he caught up with him on the roof and flung his shield at the assassin who, to Steve’s shock caught it with one swift move in the hand of his metal arm. There was a pause as Steve could do nothing but eye the man with surprise before the shield came flying back. Steve caught it, with both hands on its rim but the force pushed him back a few yards along the gravel surface of the roof. By the time he had stopped the momentum moving him, the assassin had jumped. Steve ran to the edge of the building and looked down.
He was gone.
*****
“What happened?" Hill asked as they all looked through the glass window at the hustle and bustle of the operating room. Steve moved his arm from around Katie and took her hand in his, squeezing her fingers gently.
"He was at my apartment when we got home," Steve started. "I hadn’t even had chance to ask why when there were two blasts, then another. Someone shot him through the window of the apartment - three times. I tried to go after the shooter, but I lost him on the roof of the building across the street."
Steve had no doubt in his mind that if there was anyone else in SHIELD they could trust right now it was Hill, but both he and Katie kept quiet. He had taken Fury’s warning of trusting nobody seriously and had told Katie as much as they had strode through the ED of the hospital. Both were aware that Hill was studying them, side on, her face stony.
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked quietly.
"Nothing." Katie answered for them.
Before Hill could drill either of them anymore the door to the observation room flung open and heavy footsteps crossed the room, stopping at the other side of Katie.
"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked, almost inaudibly, staring through the window.
"We don't know," Hill mumbled.
"Tell me about the shooter," Natasha whispered
"He's fast and strong. He had a metal arm," Steve said, letting go of Katie’s hand to fold his arms across his chest and as he did, they both caught the look of recognition and slight fear on Natasha's face reflected in the window.
"Ballistics?" Natasha asked swallowing heavily.
"Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable," Maria answers softly.
"Soviet made?"
"Yeah," Maria answered looking at Natasha in shock. Steve turned to face her, as did Katie, but she didn’t look back. She stared straight through to the operating theatre but before Katie could ask what it was that she wasn’t saying, the operation room went into overdrive. Machines started beeping erratically, the doctors and nurses were rushing around the room and the panic was palpable even behind the glass. But they couldn't save him.
"Time of death, 1:03 A.M."
Natasha pushed past Katie and almost sprinted out of the room. Steve pulled his hand out of his pocket, turning the flash drive that Nick had given him over in his hand. Nick had been killed because he knew whatever it was that was on that drive. What could possibly be so bad, so secret, so dangerous that the Director of SHIELD was deemed a threat for knowing? He glanced up at Katie who was watching him, tears in her eyes. She might have had her issues with Fury, but he was a good man and would never have wished him dead. With a sigh Steve placed the item back into his pocket and pulled her in for a hug.
******
A little later, the 4 of them stood the the same room as Nick’s body. Natasha was by him, hardly having moved a muscle, almost like she was in shock. And it unnerved Katie. Nat wasn’t one to really show emotion but then again, Fury had meant a lot to her. The door opened and a doctor entered, speaking to Hill. She nodded and then walked over to Katie and Steve, coughing to clear her throat.
“They need to take him.” she said, her voice cracking slightly. Steve nodded and stepped towards Nat.
“Nat...” he said gently, “Natasha...”
But at that she turned away from them all and made her way quickly into the corridor of the Hospital. Katie and Steve looked at one another, before they hastily followed her.
"Why was Fury in your apartment?" Natasha span around to ask Steve. Her eyes were filled with sadness, but Katie could also see suspicion etched on her pretty features.
"I don't know," Steve sighed shrugging his shoulders, and before the conversation could go on further they were interrupted by Rumlow.
"Cap, they want you back at Shield," He informed them, gently touching Katie’s shoulder. "You too Nova."
"Alright, give us a second," Steve said dismissing Rumlow, perhaps a little more harshly than he intended, as he turned back to Natasha but Rumlow was insistent
"They want you now,"
"Alright" Katie said, firmly but calmly. Rumlow nodded and then moved back down the hallway.
"You're a terrible liar." Natasha said to Steve with her trademark smirk that didn't reach her eyes before she turned and left.
"What the hell is on that drive?" Katie said to Steve after a moment of silence.
“I don’t know, but it’s what Natasha was saving data to on our mission the other day.” he said before he looked up staring very focused into a vending machine to his right, which was open as a janitor filled it up. He didn’t want to take the drive back to the Triskellion, just in case. He knew that something wasn’t quite right.
Katie caught his eye before glancing around the hallway that was mostly full of SHIELD agents, luckily they were all congregated on the other end.
“Do it.” she said, figuring out his intention to hide the item “I’ll distract them.”
Without another look back at him, she began to stride forwards towards Rumlow.
“Its almost 4 am.” she glanced at her watch. “What do they want us for Brock? We already told Sitwell what we know and I don’t work for SHIELD anymore, remember?”
Rumlow shrugged “Honestly, I don’t know Nova. I’m just under instructions to get you both back to base.”
At that point Steve reached them, but he wasn’t stopping. Taking Katie’s hand he nodded to the STRIKE leader
"Let's go."
"Yeah," Rumlow said falling in step with them, fixing his earpiece. "Strike! Move it out."
Steve drove to the Triskellion, Katie’s car flanked by the Armoured SUVs as they sped through the streets of DC. Katie dozed off for 10 minutes and Steve let her sleep, lost in his own thoughts. He had expected her to be called in alongside him, especially after she had been, along with him, the last people Fury had spoken to him before he died. But he wasn’t happy about it, he wanted her as far away from whatever the hell was going on as possible. Once they arrived he gently shook her awake and the two of them were given an hour or so to grab something to eat. Neither were hungry, but they forced down their sandwiches, Katie’s brain working in overdrive as she did so. Something was nagging at her, and she was trying to make the connections, figure it out, but her head simply kept replaying Fury getting shot over and over.
"Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs."
"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?"
She frowned. That was odd.
“What is?” Steve asked, coffee in his hand as he sat back on one of the large chairs in one of the common rooms by the kitchen area.
“Before…when Kate…Agent 13, whatever the hell her name is called back to base…she said Fury was down and needed EMTs…”
She paused and Steve waited, knowing how her analytical brain worked. She had to follow threads, talk them over or write them out, letting them weave together as she did. A look of comprehension crossed her face as the threads connected.
“Sitwell…” she said gently, looking at him.
“What about him?” Steve asked.
“He was the one that replied, at least it sounded like him.” She bit her lip, but not in the seductive way that made his crotch twitch, the way she did when she was thinking “And he asked…do you have a 20 on the shooter…”
Steve frowned, not quite sure where this was going. “Ok…”
“Well, how did he know Fury had been shot? How could anyone know he had been shot?”
Oh, now he understood. He understood completely. Damned it she was clever. “They couldn’t…” he said, sitting up “Not unless they were there or Kate…whoever, told them.”
“And she didn’t. She just said he was down and unresponsive.” Katie said.
“Which means…” Steve began, but Katie finished for him.
“Sitwell knew about the hit. Because he was in on it. Along with fuck knows who else...”
Fury was right, SHIELD was compromised. But how far, they had no idea. Before he had chance to reply the door opened and Rumlow stepped in
“Secretary Pierce is ready now guys.”
“Thanks…” Katie said, shooting Steve another glance as they both stood up.
“Not a word.” he mumbled as they got into the elevator “We say nothing, not until we figure out who we can trust.”
“If anyone.” she mumbled back.
*****
"Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Secretary Pierce looked at Steve as he sat on the couch in the large office.
"I don't know." He answered in a soft voice.
"Did you know it was bugged?" Pierce pressed on.
"We did." Katie said meeting the secretary's eye. "Because Nick told us."
"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?"
Steve took a breath and glanced at Katie, his expression stony but the two of them shared the understanding.
No, no he had not.
"I want you to see something." Pierce continued, and gestured to a monitor just behind the couches we were sitting on. On the screen was a man tied down to a chair, he looked to be currently being interrogated. Katie didn’t recognise the man, but Steve did. It was Batroc, the lead merc from the hijacking of the Lemurian Star.
"Is that live?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not so safe house in Algiers."
"Are you saying he's a suspect?" Steve said not taking his eyes off the screen "Assassination isn't Batroc's line."
"It's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to hijack the Lemurian Star. He was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer, and then the money was run through 17 fictitious accounts. The last going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech." Pierce said handing Steve a folder.
"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve asked, skimming through the file offered to him in curiosity and confusion.
"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437."
"Wait," Katie said, gathering what the secretary was suggesting. "Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?"
"The prevailing theory?" Pierce shrugged. "The hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."
"If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true." Steve said strongly, and he believed it. Fury was a lot of things, but a traitor he was not.
Pierce nodded in agreement. "Why do you think we're here talking?" He then got to his feet and began to walk towards the window. "See, I took a seat on the council not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me to because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy, and the hand shaking and the rhetoric, to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies."
Steve didn’t like the way this was going. He looked at Katie and gestured for her to stand as he did. Pierce turned back around and looked at them both.
"Those people that call you dirty because you've got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today," Pierce shoved his hands in his pockets. "Makes me really, really angry. Captain, you and Miss Stark were the last ones to see Nick Fury alive. I don't think that's an accident." Pierce said matter-of-factly. "And I don't think you do, either. So, I'm going to ask again was he there?"
"He told us not to trust anyone." Steve said honestly.
Pierce made a humming sound. "I wonder, if that included him."
There was a tense moment of silence before Steve spoke again. "I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us," He turned to leave, picking up his shield that he sent down upon our arrival and attaching it to the harness on his back, before ushering Katie out of the room slightly ahead of him.
"Captain," Pierce's voice halted him mid step and he turned to look at him. "Someone murdered my friend. I'm going to find out why. Anyone who gets in my way is going to regret it." Pierce's voice rang out again, a pointed look in their direction.
Steve wasn’t a stupid man, and he knew that was a veiled threat. He took a deep breath, considering his response, before he decided appearing un-rattled was the best option.
“Understood.” he nodded, holding the door open for Katie to step through keeping himself between her and Pierce as he followed, anchoring his hand on her back to keep her moving.
“You should have lied.” she whispered.
“Huh?”
“Back then, said we didn’t know why Fury was there. By telling him that he told us not to trust anyone he knows we know and that we’re hiding something…”
“We need to get to the hospital and get that stick." Steve said, adamant that whatever it was that was on there would hold the answers. He looked up and down the corridor before they stepped into the elevator.
“Operations Control” Steve spoke as the elevator scanned his face and Katie’s Guest ID.
“Confirmed”
Just as the doors were about to close, Rumlow stepped in with two other STRIKE agents.
“Keep all STRIKE personnel on site” he was saying. Both the agents nodded and voiced their acknowledgement of his order.
“Forensics.” Rumlow said.
“Confirmed.”
“Cap, Nova…” Rumlow said, nodding to them both.
“Rumlow.” Steve acknowledged him as the doors closed and they started to descend.
“Evidence Response found some fibres on the roof they want us to see.” Rumlow turned his head to look at us “You want me to get the tac-team ready?”
“No, let’s wait and see what it is first.” Steve said.
“Right.” Rumlow turned back and Steve looked out of the side of the elevator, pondering what his next move was. Chase down the man responsible? The drive? The elevator stopped at the next floor and Rollins plus a few more SHIELD and Strike agents entered, Steve moving over slightly to allow them in.
“What's the status so far?” Rollins was saying.
“Administrations level” another one asked, before they continued whatever it was they were talking about, moving round to find a space behind Steve and Katie.
He noticed Katie look round, a frown on her face, but before he could say anything Rumlow spoke, looking over his shoulder at Steve.
“I’m sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him”
“Thank you.” Steve said.
Katie could sense something was off. Years of training as an Agent didn’t just leave you when you quit, and those years of training had taught her very well to read body language. Rumlow was alert, too alert, and it was more than just a nervousness because Fury had been killed. There was an atmosphere in the lift, and she glanced at one of the agents that had joined them at the last floor. He was still talking, normally, but he there was a bead of sweat dripping down his cheek from his temple.
Steve could sense it too. He watched as Rumlow and Rollins exchanged a glance and looked down at Katie who was watching him, nervous expression on her face. He shook his head gently, instructing her to keep calm.
The elevator stopped and another agent entered.
“Records”
This one stood in front of them, facing the elevator doors and it was then with a slight air of exasperation at allowing it to happen, Steve realised they were surrounded. Whilst he wasn’t too concerned, he knew he could more than likely fight his way out, it was his girl he was bothered for. It had been months since she had been in active combat, and this was going to be brutal. Besides him Katie stiffened, feeling very underprepared for what was about to go down. She had no weapons, nothing. Instinctively Steve gripped her hand and pulled her forward so she was stood next to him instead of behind and moved his feet apart slightly, hands on the buckle of his belt, adopting his Captain stance, preparing for what was coming.
“Before we get started…” Steve sighed, looking down before he stared straight ahead “Does anyone want to get out?”
His eyes flicked to the back of Rumlow’s head. There was a moment’s pause before all hell broke loose. Steve was fighting with 4 of them at once, as 2 of them launched at Katie. They put up a good fight, ducking, diving, punching. Steve was shocked with a baton, but he simply grit his teeth, absorbing the electricity into his body. It hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. And then they managed to snap one of his arms to the wall of the elevator using some kind of metallic clamp and then he had 5 of them on him at once, attempting to pin his other arm in too. He kicked out, taking down as many as he could.
Just as she had floored the second of the agents who had launched at her, Katie was grabbed from behind by her hair and hauled to the edge of the elevator, being wrestled roughly to the floor by Rumlow who was instantly on top of her, trying to get her wrists from where she had positioned them underneath her body in an attempt to stop them restraining her.
"Brock…” she said gently, looking at him as she swallowed. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry Stark…” he said, “Just following orders…”
“Yeah well follow this…” she said, the anger brewing in her as she jerked her head forwards as hard as she could, feeling it connect with his nose. He yelled, and then her head snapped painfully to the right as he back handed her straight across the face. She felt her lip split and the warm, metallic taste of blood hit her taste buds, stars flashing in front of her eyes as her ears began to ring from the harsh knock.
Steve saw Rumlow land the blow to Katie’s face and let out a growl of anger and aimed another kick at one final agent who had stumbled back up, causing him to collide with the side of the elevator before slumping down. He turned, pulled on his arm as hard as he could, wrenching the cuff off the side of the elevator and looked up in time to see Katie, who was now pinned against the wall by another set of those damned cuffs, take a blow to the ribs from Rumlow causing her to cry out in pain.
“Rumlow!” he yelled causing the man to whip his head round, surprise on his face. Katie, using her arms as leverage, swung her legs upwards, kicking Rumlow with both feet. The STRIKE leader stumbled slightly as Steve snarled at him, his entire body and face alight with rage “Touch my girl again…and I’ll fucking kill you.”
Rumlow got to his feet, holding one of his arms out, electric rod in his hand “Whoa, big guy. I just want you both to know, this ain't personal.”
He then lunged at Steve with his electric rod but one on one Steve was easily able to defend himself, he moved to the right, dodged and grabbed him, throwing him harshly upwards where he crashed into the ceiling of the elevator, before falling to the floor, unconscious.
“Yeah well…It kind of feels personal” Steve said, his breath slightly ragged from the exertion. He used his foot to flip his shield over like a Frisbee, catching it perfectly.
“You alright?” Steve asked, stepping over the bodies of the 8 agents they’d taken down to get to Katie.
“Yeah…” she said. Steve cut the cuffs that were restraining her into 2 pieces with his shield and she bent over, his hands gently on her back as she rubbed at her side before straightening up and stalking over to where Rumlow was beginning to stir slightly. She kicked him hard in the face, causing him to flip backwards and he was out, unconscious.
“Nothing personal…” she spat, then looked up at Steve. There was a moment during which they both looked around, trying to make sense of what had happened, before the elevator doors opened and Steve pulled Katie sharply behind him. They both stared at a team of STRIKE agents pointing their weapons into the elevator. Steve raised his shield.
“Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!”
Steve looked round, and spotted the elevator wires to the left of Katie’s head
“DUCK!” he yelled at her, and as she did he swiped with his shield over her head sending them plummeting. Eventually the emergency brake systems kicked in and the elevator stopped, slightly misaligned with the doors by a few feet. As Katie bent down to retrieve a gun and some ammo off one of the Agents, Steve forced the door open, intending to climb out but more STRIKE agents were approaching. He closed the door again and looked at Katie, then around the glass walls, looking down below us at the glass roof of the main Triskelion atrium.
It was a long way but they could make it.
“You’re kidding, right?” Katie exclaimed, realising exactly what he was thinking.
“Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!” came the yell from the floor outside the elevator door.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, taking a deep breath, raising his shield in front of him.
“Of course I do, but…”
“Then hang on…”
She sighed and jumped onto his back, swinging her legs round his waist and her arms round his neck. Steve propelled them forward and broke through the glass in the elevator, spreading his arms out wide as he fell to prevent himself from tumbling through the air before tucking his body as tightly in to his shield as he could. Katie did the same, burying her head into his back as they crashed through the glass ceiling and hit the floor with a loud clang, to screams and shouts from people all around the atrium.
Katie gave a soft groan, rolling off Steve who moaned and stretched out, having been winded from the impact. But Steve knew they had to keep moving. He pushed himself up onto his knees, took a deep breath and offered his hand to Katie to help her stand. They both took a quick glance around before he started to run, pulling her with him. She stumbled slightly, but he kept hold of her, not letting her fall until her legs seemed to be working again.
And then they ran.
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