ℜ𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔅𝔬𝔫𝔢 | Winter Soldier | Bucky Barnes

VI

✪

Athena was gently awakened by Steve. He had opened the door to her side of the car and carefully shook her shoulder until she opened her eyes.
Seeming a bit disoriented at the change of scenery and time, she got out.

"This is it?" Athena asked confused. She was looking sceptically at the old and abandoned military camp in front of them.
"The file came from these coordinates." Natasha said, walking to Athena.
The two women looked at the camp bathed in the eerie moonlight.

"So did I. This camp is where I was trained." Steve told them, walking past them and further into the abandoned camp. "Changed much?" Natasha asked.

"A little." Steve responded. Athena looked around and imagined how the place had looked back then in the 40's. In her head she imagined the barracks painted army green, people running around on the obstacle course, the Stars and Stripes swaying proudly in the wind from the now broken flagpole and of course pre-serum Steve in his much too big helmet and uniform, the small guy she'd seen on the few photos and videos that existed of him from back then.
Athena couldn't help but frown as she turned to Steve and noticed the faraway and nostalgic look in his eyes.

"This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off." Natasha, who had wandered off, said. Steve and Athena both looked over at where she stood with her scanners, but Steve's eyes then drifted further to something behind her instead.

"What is it?" Athena looked at the building that he was now determinately heading for.

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place." Steve opened the lock by smashing it with his shield, all three entered.
It was dark inside, but Athena hesitantly moved her hands along the wall until she found a switch and flipped it.
As the old lights flickered on, Natasha huffed surprised.

"This is SHIELD." Steve and Athena looked over in her direction and noticed the huge SHIELD logo on the wall and the giant one on the round table too. "Maybe where it started?" Steve suggested. Athena cautiously moved further into the next room.

She studied every small detail of the room, only to find the most interesting thing to be three old framed portraits of Howard Stark, Peggy Carter and some third man. "There's Stark's father." Athena pointed out as her two companions walked in.

"Howard.." Steve said quietly. Athena wanted to take his hand and pull him into her tiny arms for a comforting hug, just like he'd done with her several times now, but she didn't, it was like her body was having a fight with itself. One side was eager to just hug him and felt fine about the kiss, the other screamed at her too keep her distance and that the kiss had been horribly wrong.

"Who's the girl?" Natasha's words made Athena snap her head up. She watched as Steve's jaw tensed and he turned and walked away.

"Cap is in quite the mood today huh." Nat asked rhetorically before she was about to walk away too, but then Athena spoke up.
"That's Peggy.. Peggy Carter." She mumbled. She could see Natasha inwardly flinching at the familiar name. Athena thought she heard Natasha scold herself with some colourful words before her eyes wandered back to Steve as he suddenly stopped walking and looked suspiciously at a giant bookcase.

"If you're already working in a secret office.. Why do you need to hide a door?" Both women looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

Steve shook his head at the simultaneously asked question as he began pushing the massive bookshelf. The bookshelf groaned before it slid open and correctly enough revealed a door behind it.