La Petite Fleur

Guerre

"Move, and I shoot," growled a voice behind him with a thick Russian accent.

The shadows to the left shifted and a man dressed in black left his hiding place, holding Antoinette with a glinting blade pressed to her throat. Her head was tilted sharply backwards and the knife had already begun biting into her skin. A thin trail of scarlet led from the knife tip to her collarbone.

Steve met her terrified gaze and slowly raised his hands in surrender. "What do you want from me?"

"It's not you we want, Soldier," the man holding Antoinette answered. "It's your precious Flower. She broke the rules and must pay the consequences. So we offer you two options: attempt to save your sweetheart and both of you die here in the catacombs, or you let us take her and we allow you to live. What will it be?"

Steve's training couldn't help him now as much as weighing the sacrifices and cons- mainly because there were no pros. He felt the tip of the gun dig between his shoulder blades harder, forcing him into a decision. He was never a good negotiator but he'd have to try.

Then something occurred to him: Antoinette had chosen a path through the tunnels with only one exit. She must have known something like this would happen and planned ahead for it. He felt a surge of admiration but kept his face void of all emotion. The slightest tip could kill them both. The man restraining Antoinette dug the knife deeper into her skin and she cried out in pain.

With a jolt, he made his decision. "Take her."

The men both grinned maliciously and the leader pocketed his knife. The pressure from the gun point left his back and the man behind him crossed the cavern to the leader's side. Antoinette stared wide eyed at Steve in horror and it broke his heart to do this to her but he had to keep up the bluff.

The man with the gun kept it pointed at Steve until both men and Antoinette were racing down the tunnel. In his head, he counted down from ten before following, sneaking through the shadows and keeping the trio in sight.

The men shoved her roughly along until they came back to the original cavern. Few citizens and tourists were in the catacombs now but with the gun directed at them, they took immediate cover. As soon as the men had disappeared up the staircase to the open air, Steve chased them at top speed, pouring all his energy and anger into his footsteps as he pounded methodically up the winding stairs.

When he reached the surface, people were scattering in every direction to get away from the man with the gun. But now there were at least a dozen more thugs in black all handling guns with experienced, trigger-ready fingers.

A bang from behind Steve startled him and soon, searing pain shot across his arm. Confusion was the first thing he felt, but when he realized the bullet hadn't hit him, only grazed his bicep, he plunged into the fight.

The nearest man in black made the mistake of charging him head on. With a quick kick to the ribs and a hit to the jaw, the man skidded across the pavement and Steve scooped up his gun. The pair of assailants who thought they'd have a go next began to back up quickly but Steve grabbed one man and used his momentum to send them both into a nearby parked car.

When those two were dealt with, three more charged him and he began to fall back. Across the street, he could hear Antoinette fighting as best she could, screaming insults and curses at her captor with the feisty sort of spit fire attitude he'd come to enjoy. When one man landed several punches to Steve's head, he lost sight of her.

A commotion down the street to his left caught his attention and he found himself facing a very welcome sight. "Forget something, Cap?" Agent Romanoff asked, tossing him his brightly painted shield.

He allowed himself a brief moment to nod to her in thanks before bashing the nearest man in the head. Just as they had in New York, he fought side by side with Natasha until the throng of men surrounding them began to thin. "I've got this," she told him, knocking two men backwards over each other. "Go find her."

"Thanks," he said, forcing his way out of the circle and racing down the street to where he'd last seen Antoinette. He rounded the block and paused before noticing a blood trail leading to the right. His stomach plummeted but he tightened his grip on the shield before following the trail at a dead sprint.

When he passed into a more open space, he caught sight of Antoinette and her captor immediately. He was dragging her backwards, kicking and fighting with everything she was worth. Steve was convinced this would be easier than he thought when she spotted him and shouted his name.

Everything went downhill when the man in black halted and whipped his head around. With the shield strapped to his arm, Steve wasn't exactly hard to spot, and when the man saw him, the world slowed.

Antoinette began to fight with renewed vigor and managed to break free but only briefly. Her captor grabbed her from behind and plunged the knife hilt deep into her ribs. Her eyes widened and she doubled over, choking.

In a split second decision, Steve pulled the shield from his arm and flung it toward the man, chasing after. The man didn't duck in time and the shield caught him in the forehead. Steve reached the pair in time to catch up his shield and slam the man in the chest, throwing him backward across the asphalt.

After the initial surprise, the man in black began to fight in return, far surpassing his minions in both skill and strength. In several quick minutes, Steve felt like he'd been run over by a construction truck but the other man showed it more. Both were bleeding heavily and gasping for air as they grappled in the street.

Finally, Steve managed to retreat ten feet before flinging the shield again and taking out the assailant's legs. The next two hits to the head forced the man unconscious and he fell to the pavement, motionless.  Heavily, Steve sank to his knees.

Antoinette.

He spun around and dashed across to where she was lying on the pavement, hand pressed to her wound.  Dark blood seeped from between her splayed fingers and her entire body shook.  The cut on her throat was no reason for real concern but a line of blood led down from her temple, probably from an injury she sustained while struggling.

When he bent beside her, she gasped and tried to scoot away, fighting to stand.  "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," he told her, so beyond confused why she was acting like this.

"Get away from me!" she screamed at him.  When she could reach a traffic light pole, she hauled herself to her feet, gasping with the effort.  Every move she made caused her agonizing pain and she wouldn't be able to stand for long.

When he reached out to help her, she swore at him in French and lashed out with a bloody hand.  "Antoinette? It's just me," he tried to plead with her but she wasn't listening.

"Just you?" she exclaimed, "And who are you? Clearly not who you 'ave been saying you are!  I can not believe you lied to me!  You lied to me!"  Every sentence cost her precious effort and she collapsed to the ground again.

He knelt beside her but she swore at him again.  "I'm just- I-" he stammered.

All the lies he'd told her, all the promises he'd made, all the decisions he'd made for the better at the time, all the warnings he'd blown off- they'd all blown up in his face.  He felt like someone had clamped a vice on his throat.  He couldn't breathe.

"I never-" he began.

"Never what?" she gasped, clutching her ribs.  "Told me ze truth?  Why couldn't you 'ave told me at ze beginning you were Captain America? From ze beginning, you could-" she had to stop and fight for air but she'd already lost so much blood.

She was fighting just to keep her eyes open and he knew he had no other choice but to scoop her into his arms.  She tried to fight, tried to protest, but she didnt have the energy anymore.

With his left arm under her knees and the right behind her back, her head rested against his shoulder and he lifted her off the ground.  The spot where she'd been was dark where her blood had spilled onto the sidewalk.  He tilted his arm slightly so the shield would protect her head and stepped carefully back the way he'd come.

Halfway down the block, Agent Romanoff intercepted him and took one look at Antoinette before saying, "Hospital's this way."