The Winter Warrior // Captain America

«Chapter 15»

Steve turned off the engine of his Harley Davidson, and he and Bucky clambered off. The two walked up the stairs to their shared apartment. 

"So sweet. That's so nice," they heard a female voice say. When they reached their floor, they discovered it was their blonde neighbour, Kate. "Hi," she greeted the two men. "I gotta go, though," she told the person on the phone that she clamped between her shoulder and her ear. She held a full laundry basket on her hip while she closed her apartment door. "Okay, bye." 

She turned to Steve and Bucky. "My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac," she chuckled, holding up the phone before dumping it on top of the laundry. 

Steve smiled, and Bucky eyed his friend with amusement. "Hey, if you want... If you want, you're welcome to use our machine," Steve said, motioning to her laundry basket. "Might be cheaper than the one in the basement." 

"Oh, yeah? What's it cost?" she asked, amused. 

"A cup of coffee?" Steve suggested. 

Kate smiled, even blushing a little. "Thank you, but ehm... I already have a load in downstairs and you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I just finished a rotation in the infectious disease ward, so..." 

"Oh," Steve laughed softly. "I'll keep my distance." 

"Hopefully not too far." She smiled before turning toward the stairs. Bucky fished the key to their apartment from his pocket. "Oh, and I think you left your stereo on," Kate called.

"Oh, right," Steve muttered. "Thank you." 

She walked down the stairs and Bucky looked at Steve. "You didn't turn on the stereo at all today, did you?" he asked. 

The blond shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Come on." 

They rushed back down the stairs and climbed up the fire escape. Without making a sound, Steve opened the window in their hallway and slipped inside, Bucky clumsily following. 

The music suddenly stopped before a different song continued. It was all music from the 40s, Bucky realised. With Steve ahead, they silently snuck through the apartment toward the stereo. Steve snatched his shield off the floor. 

He carefully peered around the corner but was utterly confused to see Nick Fury slouched in a chair. Steve sighed, leaning against the wall. "I don't remember giving you a key," he commented, and Bucky walked into the living room, folding his arms. So far for his quiet night at home. 

Fury grunted as he sat up. "You really think I'd need one?" he asked rhetorically. "My wife kicked me out." 

"I didn't know you were married," Bucky said.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me," Fury stated. 

"I know, Nick, that's the problem," Steve said irritatedly, flicking on a light, but Fury held up a hand and turned the light off again. He typed something on his phone before showing Steve and Bucky. 

EARS EVERWHERE

Bucky frowned, eyeing Steve with confusion.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash," Fury said, typing on his phone again.

SHIELD COMPROMISED

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked.

YOU AND ME

"Just..." Fury began, rising to his feet. "My friends." 

"Is that what we are?" Bucky asked, starting to put together what was happening. 

Fury looked at him. "That's up to you." 

Their conversation was cut short by a bullet whizzing through the wall behind Fury and piercing his back. Several gunshots followed, and Fury sank to the ground. 

Bucky was quick to jump around the corner while Steve dragged Fury with him. As he lay on the floor coughing and gasping, he tightly grabbed Steve's forearm. In his hand, he held a flash drive. "Don't... trust... anyone..." 

Behind them, the sound of the door being broken open caused the two men to shoot up. Confusing everyone even more, Kate entered, holding up a gun. "Captain Rogers?" she called, approaching them. "Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD, special service." 

"Kate?" Bucky breathed. 

"I was assigned to protect you both," she said. 

"On whose order?" Steve inquired. 

Her eyes fell on Fury lying on the floor. "His." She dropped to her knees, feeling Fury's pulse. She fished a walkie-talkie from her pocket, pressing a button. "Foxtrot is down. He's unresponsive. I need EMTs." 

The person on the other side of the line responded, "Do we have a 20 on the shooter?" 

Steve squinted his eyes as he spotted something, or someone, on the roof outside their apartment building. "Tell him I'm in pursuit," he grumbled before leaping forward and jumping through two windows to land in the building on the other side of the street. 

He sprinted through the hallways, smashing doors and windows while protecting himself with his shield. He held a close eye on the figure that ran on the roof. Ahead of him, he saw the figure jump from the roof and onto the building next to it. 

He crashed through the window and somersaulted onto the roof. He threw his shield at the figure, hoping to knock them down, but the figure turned around, catching the shield with their hand. Their metal hand. 

Steve's eyes widened. It was a girl with long brown hair. The bottom half of her face was covered by a black mask as her blue eyes were surrounded by black war paint. Her entire left arm was made of metal and a red star was painted on her shoulder. 

The girl looked at him before flinging the shield back at him. It hit his torso and he slid a few feet back. He doubled over with a grunt and when he looked up again, the girl was gone. He sprinted to the edge of the building and looked down, but there was no sign of her. 

Rushing back inside, he discovered Fury had been taken to the hospital. Bucky drove the two of them there, and while they watched the surgery progress, Natasha Romanoff stormed inside. "Is he gonna make it?" she asked Steve.

"I don't know," Steve answered quietly.

"Tell me about the shooter," Natasha asked, desperately seeking something to distract her racing mind. 

"It was a girl. She's fast. Strong," he replied. "Had a metal arm."

Maria Hill stepped forward, standing beside Bucky. "Ballistics?" Natasha asked. 

"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable," the brunette woman responded. 

"Soviet-made," Natasha muttered. 

"Yeah," Hill confirmed.

In front of their eyes, Nick Fury's vitals were failing. The surgeons rushed to bring in a defibrillator. 

"Don't do this to me, Nick," Natasha pleaded.

Even after defibrillating several times, Fury's pulse wouldn't return.

Steve turned away because he knew there was no point in trying anymore. Bucky placed his hand on Natasha's shoulder to console her, and she lowered her head, silent tears slipping down her cheeks.