Steve and Katherine walked into Fury's office and the former almost immediately said, "You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?"
"I didn't lie," Fury replied. "Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours."
"Which you didn't feel obliged to share."
"I'm not obliged to do anything."
"Those hostages could've died, Nick," Katherine argued.
"I sent the greatest soldiers in history to make sure that didn't happen."
"Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes an army," Steve said. "Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns."
"The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye. Look, I didn't want you doing anything you two weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything."
"I can't lead when the people I'm leading have missions of their own."
"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all."
"Except you," Katherine said.
"You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." He stepped into an elevator with Steve following behind. "Insight bay."
"Captain Rogers and Private Nelson do not have clearance for Project Insight," the S.H.I.E.L.D. computer said.
"Director override, Fury, Nicholas J."
"Confirmed."
The elevator began moving down.
"You know, they used to play music," Steve said.
"Yeah," Fury replied. "My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years. My granddad worked in a nice building, he got good tips." He looked up. "He'd walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his bag. He'd say "hi", people would say hi back. Time went on, neighborhood got rougher. He'd say "Hi", they'd say "Keep on steppin'." Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter."
"Did he ever get mugged?"
"Every week some punk would say, "What's in the bag?""
"What did he do?" Katherine asked.
"He'd show 'em. Bunch of crumpled ones and loaded .22 Magnum." He smiled. "Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much."
As they continued to ride down the elevator, Steve and Katherine noticed the giant Helicarriers.
"Yeah, I know," Fury said. "They're a little bit bigger than a .22." He showed Steve around. "This is Project Insight. Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites."
"Launched from the Lemurian Star," Steve said.
"Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulsor engines."
"Stark?"
"Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines. These new long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they can even happen."
Steve frowned. "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime."
"We can't afford to wait that long."
"Who's "we"?" Katherine wondered, staring at the Helicarriers. Bucky would've loved to see this.
"After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve."
"By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection," Steve noted.
"You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff."
"Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free. This isn't freedom, this is fear."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past time for you to get with the program, Cap, Private."
"Don't hold your breath," Steve and Katherine shot back, turning and walking away.
---
Steve and Katherine took off on his motorcycle, ending up at the Smithsonian. There was an exhibit dedicated to Captain America and Private Nelson.
The Smithsonian narrator said, "A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America and Private Nelson is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice."
Steve and Katherine kept their faces hidden under their baseball caps as they walked towards the exhibition.
A woman on the PA said faintly, "Welcome to the Smithsonian. Visitor information booths are available on the second level."
The Smithsonian narrator continued. "Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier."
Katherine shook her head. "I still can't believe you agreed to that."
"Neither can I," Steve replied with a small smile.
A boy recognized them. Steve and Katherine smiled and put a finger to their lips, indicating the boy to keep quiet and the boy nodded.
Steve and Katherine watched old footage of themselves.
"In this rare footage, everyone's favorite war hero, Captain America..."
Steve and Katherine went to the display where there were mannequins with costumes of Steve's old commando squad. Katherine caught sight of Bucky's and she stared at it blankly.
The Smithsonian narrator spoke again. "Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division."
Steve and Katherine walked over to the display of their friend Bucky.
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. They were soon joined by Katherine Nelson, who was known better as Katie. According to some, the young soldiers shared an accidental kiss and may have become more had their fate ended differently. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of this country."
Steve and Katherine watched an older looking Peggy Carter being interviewed.
"That was a difficult winter," Peggy said. "A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve..." She hesitated. "Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down it turned out. He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would... who would become my husband as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life."
Steve looked at the photo of Peggy he kept in his old compass.
Katherine pulled out an old photo of Bucky and held it close to her heart.
---
Steve and Katherine visited Peggy, who was lying sick in bed.
"You should be proud of yourself, Peggy," Steve told her as he looked at Peggy's family photos by her bedside table showing with her husband and children.
"Mm," Peggy hummed. "I have lived a life. My only regret is that you two didn't get to live yours." Steve and Katherine looked sad. "What is it?"
"For as long as Katie and I can remember, we just wanted to do what was right. I guess we're not quite sure what that is anymore. And we thought we could throw ourselves back in and follow orders, serve, help save people. It's just not the same."
"You're always so dramatic. Look, you saved the world. We rather... mucked it up."
A light smile tugged at Steve an Katherine's lips before she said, "You didn't. Knowing that you helped found S.H.I.E.L.D. is half the reason I stayed."
Peggy took Steve's hand before saying, "Hey. The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best we can do is start over." She started to cough. Steve got some water and went to hand it to her.
"Peggy," Steve called.
Suddenly, Peggy looked at Steve like she was seeing him for the first time since he was frozen and she called, "Steve?"
"Yeah?"
"You're both alive! You... you two came, you two came back."
"Yeah, Peggy."
Peggy began to cry. "It's been so long. So long."
Steve smiled and said, "Well, I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owes me a dance."
Katherine bit back a pang of jealousy. She'd give anything to see Bucky again, but that wasn't happening any time soon. He'd died almost 70 years before.
---
Steve and Katherine went to a PTSD meeting.
Sam was counseling other veterans.
A female war veteran said, "The thing is I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED."
"Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back," Sam told the group. "It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase or in a little man-purse? It's up to you."
After the meeting, Steve and Katherine waited for Sam as he finished saying goodbye to the veterans.
"I'll see you next week," the female veteran said.
"Yeah," Sam answered.
"Yeah."
Sam walked over to Steve and said, "Look who it is. The running man. Who's your friend?"
"Caught the last few minutes," Steve replied. "It's pretty intense. This is Katie Nelson."
"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret. Nice to meet you, Katie."
Katherine nodded. "You too, Sam. You lose someone?" She struggled to push away the thought of Bucky.
"My wingman, Riley. Flying a night mission. Standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till RPG knock Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch."
"I'm sorry," Steve apologized.
"After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"
"But you're happy now, back in the real world?"
"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?"
"No. I don't know. To be be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did."
"Ultimate fighting?" Steve laughed. "It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy? What about you, Katie?"
"I don't know."
Katherine shrugged. "I have no idea."