𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. | ❛ Plan B. ❜
JAMIE SAT BESIDE NATASHA, having Sam and Steve across from them as they were being escorted in a van. It was dead silence, an uncomfortable one in Jamie's opinion. She noticed Steve's change in demeanor and wanted to voice her concerns, but decided against it.
"It was him. He looked right at me like he didn't even know me." Steve broke the ice, looking at his hands with a thoughtful expression.
"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago." Sam questioned, looking at Steve with a confused look.
"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and..." Steve replied, his voice getting smaller at the end.
Natasha gave Steve a reassuring look. "None of that's your fault, Steve."
"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky." Steve shared, his eyes tinged with sadness.
Jamie could feel Natasha's ragged breathing and she shifted in her seat so that she could lay her head on her shoulder. She clenched her jaw, her worried eyes taking in her injured form. Jamie looked at the guards with annoyance. "She needs medical assistance, we need a doctor here," she demanded.
Out of surprise, one of the guards pulled out an electric rod and neutralized the other guard, knocking him out. The guard revealed Maria Hill as she took off her helmet. "Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain," she complained, looking at the helmet.
Sam looked at her in confusion, and Maria turned to Steve. "Who's this guy?"
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Maria took them to what seemed like a secret facility. As they walked inside the building, a man ran towards them; referring to Natasha's wound. "GSW. She's lost at least a pint." Maria told the man.
"Maybe two," Sam added, looking at the redhead with worry.
A doctor neared the group, gesturing his hand to her. "Let me take him."
"She'll want to see him first," Maria said, taking them to Fury, who was alive and lying in bed. The quartet looked at him in shock.
"About damn time." Nick Fury said, opening his eyes and looking at them with a look. "Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache."
"Don't forget a collapsed lung." A familiar voice echoed across the room, making Jamie turn on her heel. A content sigh escaped from her lips and she walked towards him, launching into Elijah's arms, holding him tight.
"Hey, sweetheart." Elijah softly whispered into her ear, rubbing her back soothingly.
Jamie quickly pulled away, thinking of her other longtime friend. "Annie...Is she okay?" she worried, her brows knitted.
Elijah nodded his head, rubbing her back comfortably. "She's safe. Don't worry about her. Are you okay? Did the potions work?" he said, whispering at the end, leaving the last bit hidden from prying ears.
Jamie shook her head, "I'll survive. I'm more worried about Nat." she avoided his concerns, giving him a tired smile. Guilt prickled at her chest, watching his face falter at her answer. She turned her head to her friend, who was looking at her with a comforting smile.
The rest watched their interaction in awe, a swelling feeling inside their chest at their tight friendship. The redhead watched them with soft eyes, before she voiced her thoughts, looking at Fury with confusion. "They cut you open, your heart stopped."
"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner and Visser developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it." Fury explained, folding his arms in front of his chest.
Steve frowned, "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?"
"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful," Maria told him, leaning her body against the wall.
"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust."
A reign of pain engulfed Jamie's body, causing her to shakily exhale. She clutched at her chest, closing her eyes at the sudden switch. Steve, who was standing across from her, left his spot and went forwards. He looked at her cautiously, watching how she used her trembling hands to cease her heavy breathing. "Jamie, you alright?"
The ex-soldier responded with a slight nod, brushing him off with her hand. The buzzing inside her brain made her squeeze her eyes shut. She went to sit down, but her feet slipped luckily Steve caught her just in time. "It's okay. I got you, doll," he said, holding her waist, tucking away her hair from her face.
Grey arteries sneaked from her neck to her face, making Steve frown. "Your face..." he managed to let out, looking at her with shock.
Elijah stepped in, patting Steve on the back before taking Jamie into his arms. "I got her." The scientist carried her and laid her down on one of the bunk beds.
Fury's eyes went slightly wide at her state, his eyes tinted with concern. He turned his head to look at Sam, but he only shrugged his shoulders having the same reaction as the others.
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"Stay still." Elijah scolded the Heroine, prepping her wounded leg.
Jamie sat on the bunk bed, looking at the scientist with a glare. "I'm fine-"
"You're doing fine? That's something new coming from you." The scientist retorted, his face painted with annoyance as she finished off her leg. He put his tools back on the table beside him and turned his body to her, giving her a look she couldn't quite read.
Jamie covered her face with her hands, her muffled sighs enough for him to hear. She removed her hands and looked at him, with the same eyes that looked at him when she lost her husband. "I don't know what's happening to me." she finally opened up, speaking in a low tone.
Elijah's face softened. He watched her fiddling with her bracelet, a habit she did whenever she was stressed. "I'm not sure if it's the side effect of my longevity, but I'm not healing properly and the potions don't work. I haven't even gotten any major injuries, and the smallest ones hurt like hell." she shared, feeling herself rambling.
"What's the other part you're not telling me?" he coaxed, knitting his eyebrows.
Jamie closed her mouth, looking anywhere but him. "Is it the nightmares?" he gently asked, leaning forward and taking her hands in his.
She shakily exhaled. "It never ends, Lijah. I'm scared to sleep because of it. It still haunts me. It's all my fault." she lamented, her glistening eyes glowing from the lights above them.
Elijah shook his head, cupping her face with his hand. "Thomas' death is not your fault. There was nothing you could do about it. He chose to sacrifice himself. It was his own choice, to protect you. Sweetheart, you can't keep holding this burden. It's been fifty years. Your body is reacting to that grief, that's why you feel this way. Give it a rest." he told her, wiping a single tear with his thumb.
Jamie bit her lip and nodded. She covered her hand with his. "It just feels like history is repeating itself. H.R.N. and now HYDRA. It's been existing inside SHIELD and we didn't know." she fretted, her glassy eyes staring into his.
"I know, and we're dealing with it. Together." He reminded her, rubbing her cheek before taking her into his arms.
Jamie melted at his touch, feeling herself slipping away from reality just for a second to enjoy his warm body against hers. "I'm really glad that you're here." she muffled into his chest, hugging his waist.
Elijah kissed her head, caressing her hair. "There's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be, Jamilla."
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Jamie adjusted her bracelet around her neck, clutching her wedding band tightly in her grasp before hiding the chain inside her sweater. She looked at her reflection, a sigh escaping her lips. She nodded at herself, muttering some positive affirmation to keep her going.
Thanks to Fury's team Jamie was offered a new set of clothes and a shower, which she happily accepted. She hummed in satisfaction, reminding to thank Maria later for the choice of attire. Taking one last look at the mirror, she opened the bathroom door and walked back to the main facility.
"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." She heard Fury's voice echoing through the dark halls. Entering the main room, she noticed everyone gathered around a table looking at a picture of Pierce.
Their heads turned at her arrival and she gave them a sheepish smile, inching closer to the group. Natasha walked up to her, giving her a fond look and guiding her to the table with her hand rested on her back. The duo took a seat beside each other and Jamie turned her head to her left, noticing Sam standing beside her. He gave her a pat on her back before moving his attention to the picture.
Elijah, who was standing beside Steve watched her with cautious eyes. He folded his arms in front of his chest, his eyes gazing down at the folder in Fury's hands. "We have to stop the launch," he advised, making the redhead nod her head at his statement.
"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore." Fury told them, opening a case containing three chips.
Sam narrowed his eyes, arms crossed. "What's that?"
"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized," Maria explained, turning her computer for the others to see.
"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own," Fury added.
Maria nodded, "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 past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..." Fury asserted, but Steve shook his head.
"We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD." Steve argued, his stoic expression matching Fury's
"SHIELD had nothing to do with it." Fury answered back.
"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA and supposedly H.R.N. grew right under your nose and nobody noticed." Steve stormed, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed." Fury reminded him, looking at him with eyebrows raised.
"And how many paid the price before you did?" Steve shot, his voice lacing with anger.
Fury let out a sigh, "Look, I didn't know about Barnes."
"Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, H.R.N., it all goes." Steve concluded.
"He's right." Elijah agreed, making Steve look at him with a nod.
Fury looked at Jamie and moved his gaze towards Natasha and Sam. The Falcon shrugged, "Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower." he said, looking at the others.
Fury looked down at the table for a second, before he moved his gaze back to Steve. He nodded. "Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."