They had finally arrived at the Triskelion. Steve, Connie, Sam, and Maria all stood at the entrance to the Triskelion control room, waiting on someone at the opposite to answer. Sam, Connie, and Maria all had their guns cocked and aimed just in case whoever appeared on the other side of the door appeared to be a threat, while Steve waited behind them in all of his Captain America glory.
After several seconds of waiting, the door finally opened to reveal one of the control room workers. The startled man held his hands up at the sight of the numerous firearms being aimed at him, and at Steve's words, he kindly allowed the four of them inside. Connie and Maria kept their weapons in hand; both of them scanned the room while Sam and Steve worked with one of the workers to access the intercom.
Despite the fact that the workers wore S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms, none of them could be trusted. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been compromised by Hydra, so there was no telling just how many of them in the room were working with Hydra as well. If any of them made a move to threaten her or the team, especially Steve, she had no problem shooting them on the spot. She was just in that mood today; she had a mission to complete, and she refused to allow anyone to compromise it for her.
Connie's attention shot over to Steve, though she tried to keep her eyes on the room's occupants.
"Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, this is Steve Rogers," the Captain spoke into the intercom. "You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down, but I think it's time for you to know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was; it's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you.
"They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury, and it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyway that stands in their way. . .unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high—it always has been—and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it, but I'm willing to bet I'm not."
Connie finally lowered her gun and slowly walked towards Steve.
"Did you write that down first?" Sam asked with a small smile on his face. "Or was it off the top of your head?"
"I'm pretty sure it was off the top of his head," Connie said to Sam with a smile on her face as she looked up at Steve. "I'm proud of you, Steve."
"Thanks, kid," Steve smiled at her. "Let's say we get movin'."
Sam, Steve, and Connie quickly made their way outside, thought they weren't given much time at all before Maria's voice sounded in their ear.
"They're initiating launch," she informed the trio.
The three of them began running towards the bay where the helicarriers were lifting off.
"Hey, Cap," Sam called over the roar of the helicarrier engines. "How do we know the good guys from the bad guys?"
"If they're shooting at you, they're bad."
"Got it," he said before taking off into the sky.
Steve and Connie continued running, and before long the two of them were leaping off the edge of the bay doors and down onto the helicarrier below. Connie landed gracefully on her feet, just as she always did, while Steve used his shield to break his fall. The two ran together for several seconds, only splitting up when they were shot at. Steve took one side of the helicarrier, while Connie took the other side.
Connie luckily managed to avoid the numerous bullets flying toward her in order to get to the men. She pulled two of Natasha's electroshock disks from her belt and threw them at two of the agents, putting them down immediately. She then pulled out her electroshock batons, maneuvering herself around quickly as she dug the batons into the bodies of the agents. As she ran through the cases of ammunition, she came across two more agents. Both raised their guns and attempted to shoot, but before they could, Connie had swung herself around in the air, knocking both of the agents' weapons from their hands and to the ground. She delivered a few quick jabs and kicks to one of the agents' torsos before grabbing the other agent by the arm and swinging him into a case of ammunition. After grabbing two grenades from either one of the men and pulling the pins, Connie hopped up onto a case of ammunition and tossed both of the explosives at men on either side of the helicarrier, benefiting not only her, but Steve as well.
Connie hopped off of the case and ran over to Steve once most of the agents had been taken care of.
"What was that about you not wanting me to go off on my own earlier?" Connie teased him as the two continued running across the deck of the ship, taking care of stray agents.
Steve hit an agent in the face with his shield, while kicking one into one of the many ammunition cases. "You know why I don't want you going off on your own, at least during this mission."
"I know," Connie breathed out as she punched an agent in the face. "But I still think I'd be okay."
"Maybe physically, but we both know you're not emotionally prepared for this," Steve exclaimed.
Connie scoffed and kicked and agent into another one. "I could say the same for you, Steven."
"Touché."
"Eight minutes, you two," Maria's voice sounded again.
"We're working on it," Steve assured her as he and Connie made their way into the helicarrier.
Connie ran ahead of him and into the helicarrier's main control center. She quickly punched in the code on the computer and replaced the chip.
"Alpha lock," she told Maria before taking off with Steve again.
The two of them ran back outside, though Connie stopped when Maria's voice sounded.
"Charlie carrier is 45 degrees off the port bow. You have six minutes."
Connie split from Steve and headed toward one of the Quinjets on the deck, much to Steve's confusion.
"What the hell are you doing, Con?"
"Hitching a ride," she answered as she kicked in the glass of the Quinjet window, hopping in the pilot's seat after she did so. "I doubt Sam's strong enough to carry the both of us, so. . ."
Connie had the Quinjet started and in the air in seconds, and it wasn't long before she was taking off. She hovered over the deck of the Charlie carrier, and once she was at a safe distance up in the air, she hopped out of the Quinjet cabin and down onto the deck below, leaving the aircraft to crash into the river below.
Sam and Steve were nowhere to be found on deck, but she found the answer to why that was after peeking out from behind an ammunition case. Bucky was standing at the very edge of the ship. His stance was rather defensive, and Connie knew then that it wasn't Bucky but it was the Winter Soldier. Connie hid herself behind the case of ammunition and brought her wrist to her face.
"Steve, I'm on deck," she said into her communication link. "Where are you?"
"I'm still on the ship. Climbing back up to deck now," he informed her.
"He's here," she said quietly, almost as if to prevent the soldier from hearing her.
"Do not engage him, Connie," Steve ordered. "I won't forgive myself if you get hurt. Just stay put and wait for my command."
Connie let out a sigh and peeked around the case again, only to find him gone. "I would take heed of your words if I didn't have the final chip."
"How the—Connie, don't!"
"Goodbye, Steve," she said to him before cutting their channel off.
Connie ran as fast as she could towards the entrance to the helicarrier's control center, though she knew Steve was close on her tail. She just couldn't help it. She wanted to see him; she wanted to see him the way she hadn't seen him in seventy years. Steve was right when he told her that her emotions could potentially screw things up for her, but he had no room to talk. He cared about Bucky just as much as she did, and he didn't want to hurt him either. The two would, however, fight him if they needed to, though it would not be by their choice.
The moment Connie pulled the metal door open, she sped onto the walkway, though she stopped when she took notice of the figure standing in front of her. Bucky stood about twenty feet away from her with two pistols in hand, his blue eyes cold and empty as they met her brown ones. Connie's jaw clenched as she looked at him and she sucked in a breath, silently wishing it would not come down to a fight between them. Her wish would not be coming true, though.
"Bucky," Connie started, though she could not finish. She couldn't seem to formulate a proper sentence, or even words for that matter. The love of her life was standing in front of her, and the only thing she really wanted to do was run up and hug him, but she knew that wouldn't be the smartest thing for her to do.
The metal door behind Connie opened and she turned her head around to see Steve, who was now slowly making his way towards Connie as he took sight of the soldier standing in front of her. He shifted Connie behind him protectively as he approached her, much to her dismay, of course. Steve looked at his old friend, letting out a sad breath as he knew what was about to happen.
"People are gonna die, Buck," Steve said to him. "We can't let that happen."
Connie moved out from behind Steve just enough to make herself visible. "Please, Bucky. . .please don't make us do this," she pleaded with him, hoping to trigger something inside him, but nothing worked. The soldier remained still and stoic.
Steve let out a breath when he realized nothing was going to change, and before Connie could even think, Steve was hurling his shield towards Bucky.
Connie disappeared through the railing to avoid being in the crossfire. She had to replace the chip, and she doubted there was a way for her to get through the gunfire without getting harmed or harming Bucky herself. Steve was her only means of protection considering he had the shield, but she didn't want to inconvenience him, especially not now.
Bucky and Steve were so involved with their fight with one another that neither one of them had even noticed that Connie had hopped back onto the walkway. She neared the mainframe and began punching in the code, but was stopped when she was struck from behind by what felt like a human body. She mentally cursed Steve for being stupid, but then the slight fear that he had thrown Bucky into her set in, and her defensive mode kicked in immediately.
She felt Bucky get off of her, but one glance backward informed her that his intention was not just to leave her on the floor. He pulled out a pocketknife and lunged for her, but Connie kicked her leg up at him with as much strength as she could. Her boot struck him in the sternum, sending him a few feet back. Connie attempted to switch the chips again, but she was yanked away, the surprise causing her to drop the chip to the floor.
Steve pulled Bucky away from Connie before he had the chance to harm her, and the two continued their brawl. Connie stepped in to help while Steve tried to retrieve the chip. She delivered two blows to Bucky's face and a strong kick to his knee, but his determination to complete his mission refused to allow him to go down.
Bucky swung his right fist at Connie, striking her in the side of the face. He kicked her into the railing and he tried once again to plunge his pocketknife into her skin, but she threw her arms up at the last minute, using all of her might to prevent him from succeeding.
"You don't wanna do this, Bucky," Connie forced out. She almost wanted to admit defeat when his eyes didn't change, but she refused to give up—she refused to give up on him.
Connie raised her knee to his groin, eliciting a pained grunt from the super-soldier. She knocked the knife out of his hands and kicked him away from her. She was ready to continue the fight when he shifted his focus on Steve, who had just been about to replace the chips. The main chip was out, but theirs was the one that needed to go in. Bucky didn't want that happening, though.
Bucky kicked Steve in the knee, knocking him to the floor before he could replace the chip. Steve got up quickly, using his shield to block multiple blows from Bucky. Connie then joined the two of them on the small walkway. She elbowed Bucky in the face, while Steve kicked him into the opposite railing, only further angering the super-soldier. He let out a cry of anger and lunged at the two of them, hitting them with enough momentum that not only sent them flying over the railing, but himself as well.
Steve let go of the chip as he slid across the platform, though Connie snatched it as her small body slid off of the platform. The brunette managed to snag onto the railing before she could fall onto the glass below, and she hoisted herself up and back onto the platform. She took notice of Bucky and Steve fighting and quickly tried to move passed them. She didn't have long until the helicarriers were locked and loaded, so she needed to act fast.
Connie jumped onto yet another railing in order to get up to the mainframe, but before she could get too far, someone was grabbing her ankle. The next thing she knew, she was dropping the chip and flying through the air. She landed a split second later on the glass dome below the mainframe; it didn't take her long to realize that Bucky had thrown her.
Connie wasn't on the glass but for about five seconds before the chip made its way down, followed by Bucky, and then Steve. Steve ran after the chip, but was stopped by his own shield. Bucky had thrown it, of course. Connie saw Bucky move for his gun on the floor, and so she kicked it out of the way with her left foot, all while landing a kick in his face with her right foot. She removed herself from the floor quickly and turned to face Bucky, who looked angrier than ever.
Bucky ran at her, but she kicked him once again. This did not stop him, however. What Connie had forgotten about during the fight were the two pistols strapped into either one of the holsters on her thighs, but Bucky had been eyeing them since Steve had knocked both of his guns away earlier. Now that Connie had knocked his away yet again, his target was now either one of the firearms strapped to her sides. The soldier was growing tired of dealing with the two of them, and he knew that if he didn't get rid of them soon, he would likely go mad.
As Connie extended her leg again, Bucky caught it in midair, and before she could even think, he was ripping one of her pistols from its holster. A wave of fear struck Connie as his grip on her leg tightened, followed by the devious smirk on his face. Everything that happened next was much too fast for her to comprehend. Bucky pressed the barrel of the gun to her abdomen and pulled the trigger without so much as hesitating.
"Connie, no!" Steve called from behind the two of them.
Connie's gaze fell downward as the warm blood began to seep through the fabric of her clothing, and she looked back up at Bucky, her brown eyes glistening as they met his blue ones. He quickly tossed her away, leaving her bleeding on the floor. Steve rushed over to her, his worry for the chip and the helicarrier seeming to dissipate altogether.
Bucky simply disregarded the two of them and hurried for the chip laying in the middle of the floor.
"Connie," Steve breathed out as he raised the top of her body off of the floor.
Connie looked up at him with fearful eyes. "Get the chip," she forced out.
"I'm not gonna leave you here," Steve told her.
"Get the chip," she repeated more sternly. "I'll be fine. Finish the mission, please."
Steve clenched his jaw and nodded before gently laying her back down on the floor. Connie rolled over onto her stomach, pressing her hand firmly to the wound to keep herself from bleeding out. She could feel herself growing weaker and weaker as the seconds passed her by; she could feel the exhaustion that wracked her body, but she refused to succumb to it. She feared that if she did, she would never wake up, and if she never woke up, she would never be able to complete the second part of her mission: rescuing Bucky Barnes from the evil that was Hydra.
Connie could hear the two of them fighting from her spot on the floor; she could hear Steve's pained screams, as well as Bucky's. It had never really occurred to her just how horribly it hurt her to see the two most important men in her life battling one another until now, as she lay bleeding from a gunshot wound on the floor. The sound of gunshots, as well as Steve's pained grunts, only made things worse. She wasn't really sure what was going on around her; she was so focused on the pain she felt and trying to stay awake that the wonder of it all seemed to slip from her mind.
Connie wasn't sure how long she had been relatively out of it trying to collect what little strength she had left, but the next thing she knew, a vast amount of gunfire could be heard. The floor below her trembled over and over again, and Connie knew then that Steve had completed the mission. Connie let out a sigh of relief and rolled back over onto her back, her gaze falling above her as the gunfire began destroying everything inside the ship. Debris fell, though Connie's particular location on the floor beside a steel beam protected her from it. One who was not protected, however, was Bucky.
His pained scream echoed throughout the bottom of the ship, and Connie turned her head to see him now trapped beneath a metal support beam. The sight of it upset her, and the sight of seeing him in pain allowed her to gather up the energy needed to help him. She didn't care if he had shot her and she didn't care if he had tried to kill her; she cared about him and what she could do in order to save him.
Connie pushed herself off of the floor and began the slow trek over to Bucky. She stumbled several times but still managed to arrive at his side. He looked up at her as he struggled to lift the beam on his own. His eyes were filled with pain due to his arm, but they were also filled with confusion. He wondered why she was coming to help him; he wondered why she wasn't pulling her gun out and shooting him as she had the chance to do. It was much the same with Steve as well. He couldn't begin to understand why the two of them would want to do anything but kill him.
Steve and Connie, although injured, used whatever strength they could to free him from beneath the support beam. Once they had it lifted, Bucky pulled himself into a standing position, as did the two of them, though Connie used the metal beam to support herself as she stood.
"You know us," Connie coughed out as she looked at Bucky.
"No I don't!" Bucky exclaimed angrily. He delivered a swift punch to Connie's face, though he found a part of himself immediately regretting his actions as he looked at the intensely pained expression not only on her face, but in her eyes.
Steve stepped protectively in front of Connie; he didn't want her hurt any more than she already was, especially at the hands of the man she loved.
"Bucky, you've known us your whole life," Steve tried to explain to him, but Bucky's mind was too muddled at the moment to want to listen.
Bucky let out an angered groan and punched Steve, sending him to the floor. Steve got up quickly, his eyes meeting Bucky's. Connie pulled herself up from her spot against the beam and inched her way to Bucky, collapsing in pain just at his feet, startling him slightly.
"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes," she told him, her voice strained.
"Shut up!"
Bucky cried out in anger once again and kicked her small body as hard as he could towards Steve, the momentum enough to knock them both to the ground. Connie rolled off of Steve and fell back to the floor, while Steve stood up, ripping his helmet from his head as if to help further trigger Bucky's memories. He and Connie were breaking the Winter Soldier down, that much he could see. It showed in his eyes.
"I'm not gonna fight you," Steve breathed out as he released his shield from his hold, leaving it to fall to the earth below. "And neither is she. You're our friend."
Bucky grunted and ran towards Steve, stepping on Connie's arm in the process. He tackled the Captain to the floor, looking him in the eyes after doing so. "You're my mission," Bucky told the Captain before repeatedly beating his face in with his fist.
Connie, who lay on the floor in pain a few feet away from them could only watch with tears in her eyes as the situation unfolded. There was nothing she could do to stop him, no matter how much she wanted to.
"You're my mission!" Bucky exclaimed between punches.
Something inside him seemed to light up with realization, and he raised his fist again, though he didn't follow through with his actions. All he could do was look down at the battered face of Captain Rogers, unsure of why he felt so much guilt bubbling up inside him.
"Then finish it," Steve muttered weakly. "'Cause I'm with you 'til the end of the line."
The sound of Steve's words sent an intense wave of emotions inside the soldier's body, and his eyes finally widened with realization. He looked down at Steve, tears burning in his eyes as the recognition began to slowly set in; he glanced back at Connie as well, his emotions only seeming to grow stronger. He wondered if it was too late, not only for Steve, but for Connie as well, and for some reason, deep down inside him, the thought of it pained him. He was still confused, horribly confused about everything, including the identities of the two bloodied people in front of him, and he hated it. He hated knowing that what he was doing was wrong, but he hated not knowing exactly why.
There was no time for a verbal response from anyone before the mainframe of the helicarrier crashed down on the glass. Connie grabbed onto a metal beam as the glass disappeared from beneath her, as did Bucky, but Steve wasn't allowed the chance, much to Connie's knowledge. It wasn't until she saw his body falling toward the Potomac with the rest of the debris that she panicked.
"Steve," Connie squeaked, causing Bucky to glance back at her.
She used what strength she could to crawl along the large metal beam, and she pushed herself into a standing position. Without hesitation, she dove off of the helicarrier and towards the river below. Yes, Bucky was a priority, but Steve, in his near-death state, was her main one. She was in no condition to be diving a hundred feet into a river, but in order to save Steve, she knew she had to make that sacrifice.
Bucky, however, knew that she wouldn't be able to get him out of the water on her own, let alone her own self. Both of them were too weak and too injured, and it was because of him, and it was because of that he knew he needed to do something about it. Letting the two of them die was not an option for him, and so he released his hold on the railing, which sent him plummeting towards the river below.
Once Bucky was below the surface of the water, he became informed of just how right he had been about the two of them. Connie had fallen unconscious trying to rescue Steve in her condition; had Bucky not jumped in after them, they would have drowned, and he didn't necessarily want to think about how he would possibly feel if that had been the case.
Bucky reached out to both of them, grabbing them both with either of his hands, regardless of the fact his right arm was injured. He pulled them both to shore, only stopping long enough to make sure both were breathing before he took off along the riverside. He was unsure if or when he'd ever see the two of them again, but a part of him knew it wouldn't be long until one of them tried to usher their way back to him, and that part of him was very right.