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CHAPTER EIGHT
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A MASSIVE LUMP formed in Emersyn's throat as her eyes met Steve Rogers' heavily built frame in the elevator. She had hesitated in the doorway and Rumlow looked back, flashing her a warning with his wide eyes. Emersyn struggled to swallow and tried to clear her throat instead, but at the sound, Steve Rogers turned around to face them.
"Cap," Rumlow addressed him.
"Rumlow." He replied cooly, with dark eyes falling onto the agents around him.
Emersyn stepped forward to try and move behind Rumlow so she was not in Steve's line of vision, but he recognized her quickly before she could make it across the elevator.
"Sharp," Steve said, a little softer than when he had spoken to Rumlow.
Emersyn felt his gaze burning into her, and she struggled to peel her eyes off the floor. She had to blend in. At this thought, she looked up and met Steve's eyes, but was surprised to find them full of concern. Emersyn paused a moment as she read his expression; he seemed like he was asking her if she was okay.
"Rogers.." Emersyn replied rather slowly, confused about what he was trying to convey to her. Then, she realized the last time she had seen him was when she ran out of the medical room. He had stood in the doorway and Emersyn pushed past him to escape, but he called out to her in concern when she ran down the hall.
Emersyn let a smile grow on her face at this thought and told herself that maybe Steve Rogers wasn't such a cold heart after all. However, the fact remained that she was very likely to fight Captain America in an elevator.
The casual clothes, lack of lethal weapons, and the team splitting up to engage at different times, all led to one explanation: S.H.I.E.L.D was trying to capture Captain America in secret.
It was like a kidnapping, except for the world's strongest and most famous war hero. Steve obviously was not supposed to be aware that he was going to be arrested, and this whole casual elevator talk was all an act. The rest of the team would enter later so it seemed more likely that they were on separate business, rather than having a whole armed crew arrive in one mob.
Rogers would not go down easily, Emersyn knew that, and she also knew she definitely did not want to fight him. S.H.I.E.L.D was after him for a reason, and that reason probably was because of Fury, because if she was honest everything was related to Fury at this point. Steve had the hard drive and that meant he had information, so S.H.I.E.L.D being S.H.I.E.L.D probably interrogated him since he was the last one who saw Fury alive. Things went south, Steve struck a nerve, and S.H.I.E.L.D sent several teams of agents to contain him.
All of that meant that Emersyn, as much as she hated to admit it, had to be on team Rogers.
A hundred curse words were shouted inside her head, and she clenched her fists to refrain from displaying her disappointment and frustration aloud. She needed to think quickly of an alternate plan.
Rumlow distracted her as he spoke to Rogers, asking, "Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they wanted us to see. You want me to get a tac team ready?"
Steve replied in his, dry, deep tone. "No, let's wait and see what it is first."
"Right," Rumlow replied stiffly, seeming uncomfortable.
Emersyn was shifting her weight on each leg out of anxiety as she struggled to find a solution. She had to play her part as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent but had to help Rogers escape. Perhaps if she half-heartedly pretended to attack Steve, she would go unnoticed in the chaos of the mob and could wait it out.
There was not much time to decide, because the elevator stopped at the next level and five more men entered.
"Administrations level." One of them spoke to the elevator AI.
The men carried briefcases and made an obvious effort to squeeze tightly together around Rogers. Some hands were placed apprehensively on their gun holsters, despite the casual conversations that were floating about in the air. Emersyn noticed Rogers slide slowly to the front and watch the faces of those around him with keen, sharp eyes.
She made a move toward him in hopes of giving a warning, but the elevator stopped again, and three burly, stone-faced men appeared outside the door. They had chiseled, cold faces that glared with cold eyes and walked with slow, strong strides toward Steve. Emersyn felt herself tense as they grew closer.
"Records." One man said.
Three men built for combat had no business in records, Emersyn knew. They had closed off her path to Rogers, so she couldn't reach him now, but she assumed the fight would start soon because there was hardly any more room in the elevator. Emersyn was fidgeting from apprehension, waiting for the chaos that was about to ensue.
Rogers' calm, steady voice rang loud in the cramped space. "Before we get started.. does anyone want to get out?"
Emersyn felt a smirk tug at her lips and began to tighten her fists. There was a few seconds of painful silence before one of the burly men pulled out a taser and attempted to stab it into Rogers. Bodies went flying, men scrambled to hold Steve against the wall, shouts filled the air, and Emersyn dove into the fray.
Steve smashed the emergency stop button as he was struggling in a chokehold and pinned against the wall. Emersyn stumbled as the elevator suddenly jerked to a stop, and felt her stomach lurch with her. All the men crowded Rogers, holding his limbs and using magnets disguised as briefcase handles to force him onto the wall.
Steve groaned with the pressure, fighting back the force of the magnet, but couldn't break his arms free. Emersyn pretended to help hold his leg but really was just in a squat beneath him. She was trying to stay out of the fight as much as she could. A loud clang was heard as Steve gave into the magnet, but it was soon followed by the thudding of punches landing and bodies falling.
Steve kicked out, knocking Emersyn backward in the jaw. She groaned and fell against the glass, and watched as a single man fought off ten hand-picked strong S.H.I.E.L.D agents. He body-slammed some, and drop-kicked others, all while still being pinned to the wall with one arm.
Emersyn let herself crumple to the floor and pretend to be knocked out. She closed her eyes and listened to the groans, crashes, and thuds of the action around her. Steve was winning by the sound of it, because only three guys remained, and they were being brutalized.
She couldn't help but be in shock at how powerful Rogers was. He alone took out the toughest agents in a compact elevator while being severely outnumbered.
Electricity buzzed from tasers, and several men fell beside Emersyn with a groan. She heard several accurately placed punches, and then silence.
"Whoa, big guy," came Rumlow's heavy voice.
Emersyn squinted her eyes open and saw over the hills of fallen bodies, Rogers' heaving chest, and Rumlow facing off for a final fight.
"I just want you to know, Cap, this isn't personal!" Rumlow ended his words in a yell, charging forward and driving the taser into Rogers.
Steve stopped one arm but wasn't quick enough for the other, and screwed up in pain as the taser was driven into his stomach. He hit Rumlow's weapon away but was met again by the second, and yelled aloud from strain.
Emersyn wondered if she might have to intervene, but just as Steve looked like he would give in, his strong arms threw Rumlow up into the ceiling and sent him crashing back down.
Steve stood over all the unconscious bodies, chest heaving and anger flowing in his veins. "It kind of feels personal." He muttered through gritted teeth. His foot stomped on his shield on the ground and sent it flying back up to his arm. The magnetic clasp, still attached to one of his wrists, was broken off with a snap as Steve hit it with the shield.
Emersyn awkwardly lifted herself up off the ground and faced him, wary. Rogers turned around swiftly at the sound and raised his fists. When he saw her, he faltered for a moment, before tensing again for a fight.
Emersyn slowly raised her hands in surrender, her gaze unwavering from him. "I swear..." she said. "I didn't know they were gonna do this."
Steve narrowed his brows and demanded coldly, "Get on your knees and stay down."
Emersyn smirked slightly at his aggression but obeyed. "Take my weapons, I don't care, I'm not trying to hurt you."
Steve came closer with powerful strides, obviously on edge. "Then what are you doing here?"
"It's really hard to explain, but we don't have much time." Emersyn began, but Steve turned away with an angry breath and tapped a button to open the elevator door.
"Rogers!" She hissed under her breath, desperate to get his attention.
He was met with several teams of S.T.R.I.K.E agents. "Drop the shield and put your hands in the air!" They yelled.
Rogers quickly swiveled around and swung the shield to snap the elevator cable, just narrowing missing Emersyn's head. The elevator lurched and fell rapidly downward, throwing Emersyn off balance. She fell forward and groaned aloud as her stomach felt sick again from the hangover. Steve fell onto one knee in front of her, struggling for balance. Emersyn looked up in surprise and saw him just inches away from her.
She swallowed thickly and was irritated now, both by the lack of attention Steve was giving her and the sickness in her stomach. "You have to listen to me. I'm here to get you out."
Steve grabbed Emersyn with surprising force by the arm and dragged her up. He held her close with fiery eyes and demanded, "I need answers now. Who are you working for?"
Taken aback by the question, she stood gaping and blinked as she realized how close he was. "Well, if you would let me talk, I'd say I'm on your side. I work alone." She answered.
"Why should I trust you?" Rogers spat, pulling her tighter.
Emersyn flinched slightly at their contact and spoke quickly, "Fury called me before he was attacked. He said I needed to find the hard drive and keep it safe, and not to trust anyone. S.H.I.E.L.D was compromised." She maintained steady eye contact with Steve in hopes he would believe her.
His brows furrowed in confusion and he asked, "why you?"
"Because although it may not seem like it, Fury and I were really close." Emersyn snapped. "But that's not the point. You were the last one who saw Fury, Fury had the hard drive and he gave it to you. S.H.I.E.L.D is after you, and that hard drive. I have to find out what's on that drive too. We have to work together." She was growing more and more frustrated with Steve's pestering questions and stubbornness.
Rogers let go of her roughly and hurried to the elevator door. He pulled the doors apart, straining only in the slightest, and saw another flood of agents running down the hallway. Emersyn's eyes widened at his strength but continued speaking rapidly, "you have to listen to me. Fury trusted both of us with that drive, so we're in this together, I don't care what you say."
Steve was not looking at her, but outside the glass and the building several stories down.
"Give it up, Rogers, get that door open. You have nowhere to go!" An agent yelled while pounding on the elevator shaft.
Emersyn was growing irritated that he wasn't responding to her so she ran forward to face him. "We have a plan, you've got to trust me."
"We?" Rogers repeated. "Who's we?"
"It doesn't matter," Emersyn hissed. "Stop asking questions, we have to get out of here, now."
Steve stared into her eyes stubbornly and said, "Fury told me not to trust anyone."
Fuming, Emersyn said as quietly as she could without bursting, "he told me the same thing! But we have to trust each other because Fury trusted us! He told us both to protect the hard drive, didn't he? We need to work together!"
She could see a thousand thoughts going through Steve's mind, but he rolled his eyes in exasperation before walking backward and staring intently through the window.
Emersyn realized as she saw his shield positioned in front of his body that he was going to dive out of the building. "We don't have time, Rogers, you have to take me with you."
He looked at her, gears turning inside his head, and finally sighed in acceptance. "I'm jumping."
"I'm not suicidal." Emersyn sassed back, looking out the window.
The pounding of agents on the door grew louder and louder. Steve, running out of options, grimaced from embarrassment and crouched down, gesturing for her to get on his back.
Emersyn stifled a laugh and climbed onto him, wrapped her arms around his stomach, and pressed close to his body. This was so foreign to her, it slightly scared Emersyn. The feel of his touch was uncomfortable at first because she was so tentative being this close. She had had some previous intimate encounters with co-workers in the past, but nothing like this... nothing where she felt something.
There wasn't time to understand the jittery feeling in her stomach before Steve ran forward with the shield covering his head and smashed through the glass. The cold air came as a shock once they burst out of the elevator, and the wind whipped through her hair fiercely. Emersyn's stomach lurched again with the fall, and she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at what was about to happen.
She had done many crazy stunts before, but never as drastic as leaping out of a hundred-story building. If Steve could not land correctly, Emersyn would likely die. It was terrifying and weird that she was placing all her trust in Steve Rogers now, after all their bickering and struggles in the past. Her arms were squeezed tightly around his waist, clinging onto him for her life, and her face was as close to him as possible.
Amidst the chaos and terror, Emersyn felt safe wrapped around Steve. It was weird to think about, but she actually felt... comforted. The warmth of his body spread to hers and was happily received compared to the harsh, whipping wind.
Emersyn could hardly hear out of her ears due to the rushing air around her but recognized a yell from Steve. "What?" She yelled back, still not opening her eyes.
"Before we hit the ground, you need to let go!" He hollered over the wind.
Emersyn squinted her eyes to see how close they were to the building below and muffled her squeal once she saw the glass ceiling directly in front of her. She pressed close to Steve and tensed at the loud crash. Wincing as glass flew up and cut her cheek, Emersyn forced herself to open her eyes again.
They were rocketing toward the ground, sending shards of glass below them, and she had to focus on the perfect timing for when to let go. Emersyn ignored the screams of the bystanders, and stared at the ground, forcing back her fear.
Steve held his shield tightly in front of him and she felt his muscles tense up as he prepared to land. Emersyn couldn't look. She let go of Steve, and as soon as he hit the ground with a booming clang, her body went flying. As if she had been on a trampoline, the force of the fall was sent through Steve, and her, and Emersyn was shot back up into the air. She fell with flailing arms and landed hard against the shattered glass on the floor.
Emersyn winced as several sharp shards dug into her skin. She looked up with wide eyes and saw Steve groaning next to her. His shield covered his body, but he still struggled to move. Emersyn crawled to her feet, and looking around, remembered the intensity of their situation. She limped over to Steve and offered her hand. "We've got to go."
He did not take it, but jumped to his feet and started off on a sprint. Emersyn rolled her eyes and followed after him, still grimacing from the impact. She could not run nearly as fast as he, and struggled to keep up. They made their way to the garage, where Steve picked up a motorcycle. Emersyn managed to catch up to him and, panting heavily, said, "you gotta slow down."
"There's no time," Steve replied quickly, hopping onto the motorcycle.
"Well, you gotta accommodate for the injured person," Emersyn said as she sat behind him. This time, she held onto the sides of the vehicle instead of Steve's waist. She wasn't sure how she felt about holding onto Steve. Her heart was pounding, not just from the sprint, but because of the conflicting thoughts inside her head.
Part of her felt comforted and actually... liked holding onto Steve, but the other part was screaming, "no!" and gagging. She had to maintain her professionalism, and not be thinking about her co-worker's body... but it wasn't wrong to feel protected by him.. right?
Emersyn snapped out of her thoughts once Steve slammed on the gas. She was thrown backward by the sudden acceleration and immediately reached out and clung onto Steve's waist.
Her body pressed against his tightly, and when Emersyn realized how quickly she had held onto him again, she couldn't help but smile.
Why was there a new tingling sensation in her stomach?
She blinked and realized what she just thought of in her head. Ew. Why was Emersyn smiling? Frustrated and confused, she immediately wiped the smile off her face and moved her head off Steve's back.
The hanger doors were closing, and Steve was cutting it close. S.H.I.E.L.D was trying to trap them inside, and if Rogers didn't make it quick enough, things would get a lot more difficult.
She tried to distract her mind from the new emotions inside her and yelled at Steve, "Hurry up..!"
The engine revved loudly as Rogers increased speed, and he used a ramp to fly into the air. Emersyn ducked her head as they narrowly escaped through the closing doors. They landed hard against the pavement of the bridge outside, and Rogers accelerated even more. The jolt of the motorcycle sent pain spiraling up Emersyn's body, and she grimaced from her already sore muscles.
"You're a terrible driver!" Emersyn yelled, annoyed at his recklessness.
"You're not helping!" Steve fired back.
She still clung onto him, muttering angrily to herself, but then rolled her eyes when a quinjet flew in front of them. "So much for not making a scene.."
"Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down." A man said through a speaker of the quinjet.
"Hold on a minute," Steve said to her as he leaned forward and sped up.
"Woah, woah, woah, what're you doing?!" Emersyn yelled in protest as the quinjet aimed a gun at them.
"Repeat, stand down." The agent said.
"That's a gun, Rogers, you know that right?" She exclaimed loudly, pressing as close to him as possible as if he were a shield.
Hundreds of gunshots rained down upon them and narrowly missed Emersyn on either side. Steve began to swerve the motorcycle from side to side, and Emersyn got sicker and sicker with every movement. Thoroughly annoyed, she yelled in exasperation, "WHY ARE YOU DRIVING TOWARD THE GUNSHOTS?"
"BE QUIET!" Steve yelled back, focusing on the road. They grew closer and closer to the quinjet, and Steve's speed only increased.
"DO YOU HAVE A PLAN? IS THIS THE PLAN?" Emersyn screamed, desperate for an answer.
Steve jerked the motorcycle again, much more forcefully than last time. Emersyn felt like she was about to vomit. "YOUR PLAN SUCKS." She yelled carelessly.
Rogers had no interest in responding to her, or listening to anything she said, it seemed. This only angered Emersyn more, and she peered around Steve's body to see the quinjet frighteningly close to them.
Rogers threw his shield with incredible force and perfectly hit one of the engines of the quinjet. Emersyn raised her brows in surprise but then was quickly returned to a state of panic when Steve rose to his feet on the motorcycle.
"STEVE?!" She yelled nervously.
"Take control." He ordered before leaping off the motorcycle and onto the quinjet.
"WHAT THE HELL!?!" Emersyn screamed as the motorcycle started spiraling out of control. She reached for the handles too late and was thrown off and crashed to the pavement. The landing was hard, but Emersyn rolled for a long distance to relieve some of the impact. She slumped against the ground, spluttering and groaning.
She lay there, angry and sulking, not wanting to get up. Thousands of thoughts were flooding her head, all centered around her growing irritation toward Steve Rogers. He didn't care about anything that happened to her, and only did what he wanted, without caring to ask, or even tell her what he was going to do. He was pathetic and selfish, always acting like he knew best, and staring her down with that disappointing, disgusted look. It was infuriating. How was she supposed to work with him at all when he ignored her questions, plans, and almost her entire presence? The one to two-word answers and commands were like orders to a dog. Sit, stand, roll over. Emersyn hated it.
Before she could continue to dwell on this, Captain America himself landed in a superhero pose with a loud clang of his shield beside her.
Emersyn lifted an eye up and spat, "I hate you, Steve Rogers."
A/N
Here comes the drama 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 there's gonna be a lot of arguments on this wild ride... don't worry