ＳＬＡＴＥ ◼ STEVE ROGERS◼

ＦＩＦＴＹ－ＴＷＯ

"About damn time,"

Nick Fury had a smirk on his face as they watched the group sit around his recovery bed. Lottie and Steve only watched him uncomfortably. They were happy that he was alive, they really were, but at the same time he had lied once again.

"You were dead," Lottie simply said, eyeing the man.

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it,"

"Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve questioned as Maria jumped in.

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful,"

"Can't kill you if you're already dead," he looked between Lottie and Steve for a moment. "Besides, I didn't know who to trust."

The group settled in the room, Natasha getting checked over by the doctor as Nick Fury looked down at a photo of Alexander Pierce and himself, already having been filled in on everything since he had been 'killed'.

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We've got to stop the launch," Natasha quickly cut in, giving Fury a look.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore," he grabbed a briefcase that sat beside his bed, opening it to show three chips inside.

"What're those?" Sam questioned.

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized," Maria began to explain to the group as Fury jumped in.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own,"

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die,"

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left-"

"We salvage nothing," Fury looked to Lottie with wide eyes, but she stood defiantly. "We're not just taking down these hellicarriers, Nick. SHIELD is coming down too."

Fury went to argue, but Steve was quick to beat him to it.

"You gave us this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in a secret cave?" Fury sneered, narrowing his eye at the two. "I noticed."

"How many had to pay the price before you did?"

Fury sighed, his gaze softening slightly as he looked between the two.

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes-"

"But you wouldn't have told us, would you, Nick?" Lottie questioned, staring down the man. "You would have compartmentalized that too, right?"

"SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes,"

The room was silent as Fury stared at the pair. His eyes trailed over to Maria, who only nodded her head. He looked to Sam Wilson, who just shrugged.

"Don't look at me. I just do what they do, but slower,"

Fury sighed, looking to the soldiers.

"Guess you two are calling the shots now,"

The room went quiet again as Steve exited without a word. Sam and Lottie watched him go, and Sam went to go after him. Lottie shook her head, asking him for a second, before heading off after him. She knew exactly what was going through his head, because it was going through her's too.