Captain America: Professional Best Friend

Lurking in the Shadows

Emma's body hits some water and her consciousness springs back into her. As she becomes more alert again, she blinks hard before asking, "What the hell just happened?"

"We have to move. Split up. It's me he's after, not you," Fury replies, limping ahead.

Emma manages to catch up and tells him with a bit of sternness in her voice, "Fury. I need answers. Who is that and why is he trying to kill you?"

Fury stops in his tracks and faces Emma. "That...is The Winter Soldier. Trained assassin. Best in the business. If we don't get moving now he will find us and he'll kill us both, no negotiating. Now, you need to get moving to somewhere safe. Get as far away from me as possible, I will not be risking your life anymore today." After a few moments, he sighs and admits, "SHIELD has been compromised, trust no one."

"But Fury-"

"That," he snaps, "is an order."

"Yes sir," Emma sighs. "Be careful out there okay?" Fury nods in response and limps off in the opposite direction.

Emma limps herself away from him, the pain in her hip almost bringing her to tears. She eventually finds a way out from the underground though. Before emerging, she takes out her severely cracked phone. On the screen, there's a text from Steve saying thank you to her earlier message and then a couple of missed calls from Sam. Emma hovers her thumb over Steve's contact to call him, but then remembers Fury's words, trust no one...

"But surely..." Emma says to herself, about to click on the dial button before taking her thumb back, "trust no one...get somewhere safe."

Emma looks at the last text from Sam and plugs his address into the GPS, deciding that if she's going to have to trust someone it's going to be him.

On the long journey to Sam's, Emma keeps to the shadows and avoids all cameras she sees. Her progress is slow, and she is still bleeding by the time she finally arrives at the front door of her new friend's house, hoping he's home because she feels like she is about to pass out from the blood loss.

Emma quickly knocks loudly on the door three times and then hears footsteps approaching the door. Sam opens the door, greets her with a smile, and says, "Emma Baker, why haven't you returned my ca-" he stops mid-sentence as he sees her state, seeing the blood staining her clothes and quickly ushers her inside, "Shit, you need medical attention right now."

Sam helps Emma into his bathroom where he begins running water on a towel to start the cleanup process. "I can't go to a doctor Sam."

"I think the hell not," he replies. "You have a severe limp, glass shards all over your body, and a gunshot wound. This will get infected if you don't get it treated."

"It's not that I won't, it's that I can't Sam!" Emma raises her voice.

Sam stops for a second and asks, "What the hell happened?"

"I was with Director Fury. He was asking me about some mission details and Steve and my progress with him when we were attacked by an assassin and his cronies. SHIELD has been compromised, Sam. I came to you because you are the only one I think can trust right now."

"What about Steve?"

"I can't trust anyone in the agency, Sam! We don't know who sent that assassin after The Director. If I approach anyone at SHIELD and they know I was with Fury during the attack, a target could be put on my back if there isn't already one on it."

"But why can't-"

Emma interrupts him, desperation in her voice, "Sam, please. I know Steve wouldn't do something like this, but I can't disobey direct orders."