❝HOW MANY HAD TO DIE BEFORE SOMETHING WAS ACTUALLY DONE?❞
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SITTING IN THE BACK OF A POLICE VAN WITH, THEO, SAM, NATASHA, AND STEVE, WAS NOT ON CARMEN'S AGENDA. But then again, seeing Bucky alive wasn't on it as well. That was all she could think about, how close he always seemed, how close he truly was. But how in reality how far he was because that man she saw was not Bucky. It may be his body, but that was not his mind. She wishes it was, and so does Steve. So they could have all been together, once again, just like the kids they were in Brooklyn.
It had been silent the whole time until now when Steve decided to speak. A sad and confused look overcame his face, as a similar look on Carmen's as well. No words in the world could describe how this felt. Even if they tried, it wouldn't compare. "It was him. He looked right at me like he didn't even know me."
"How is that even possible? It was, like, seventy years ago." Sam stated the obvious.
Carmen scoffed, not at Sam, but at the fact of how annoyed she was at herself for not realizing sooner why she could never see the Winter Soldier because it would 'trigger memories.' Now it all seems so obvious. "Trust me, HYDRA has their ways. Whether it was the same way Theo and I are still here or not, doesn't matter. They must have experimented on him in '43, his unit was captured. It was most likely Zola."
She finished and Steve continued with the statement. "Whatever he did, helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him..." Steve trailed off not wanted to finish his sentence. He and Carmen both looked at the floor with guilt. If they just wouldn't have given up on Bucky so quickly, maybe he could still be here... just as himself.
"Neither of that is either of your faults." Natasha directed towards the two as they sulked.
Steve sighed, "even when I had nothing, I had Bucky - I mean Carmen as well - but before Carmen, Bucky was all I had." Carmen looked at Steve with a weak smile and when he looked back he shared the same one. They desperately wanted to give each other a comforting handhold but nonetheless, they couldn't. Simply due to their hands locked together. Thus Carmen settled for resting her head on Steve's shoulder, in which he now rested his head upon Carmen's. So much pain and confusion filled their bodies, but at least they were together. At least that they are together it can feel like home.
Meanwhile, Sam had taken a glance at Natasha's injured shoulder. Which had now bled through the cloth Carmen had tied around. Sam took his eyes off of Natasha and now looked at one of the guards in the back with them. "We need to get a doctor here. If we don't put pressure on that wound, she's gonna bleed out here in the truck." The guard completely ignored what he said and turned on their stick - that seems to tase people - in a threatening manner.
Everyone just looked at the person in shock. But this soon changed when with a swift motion they stabbed the other guard, tasing them, and knocking them out cold. Soon they took their helmet off to reveal the one and the only Maria Hill. She let out a groan before saying, "that thing was squeezing my brain." She then made eye contact with Sam and looked at Steve. "Who is this guy?"
Steve lifted his head up, as well as Carmen. A chuckle couldn't help but be released from Steve's mouth. "This is Sam Wilson. He's a 'good guy' if you will." Maria nodded and then leaned forward and began to laser a hole into the bottom of the van. Seeing as they now came to a stop the group quickly filed through the hole and made a sneaky run for it. They then proceeded to hop into another van Maria had hidden. They traveled a short way before stopping at what seemed to be an abandoned building. None of them - but Maria - knew what they were doing there. They are just glad to be okay.
Maria guided them to a gate to enter the building. She proceeded to guide them through where she called out, "GSW! She's lost at least a pint." This was motioned towards Natasha who is being held up by Steve.
And soon enough a man came running towards them. "Maybe two! Let me take her!"
Maria nodded in agreement before stopping. "She'll want to see him first." The group all looked curiously at Maria but nonetheless followed her. They all walked little ways before stopping at some plastic that draped like a curtain. Maria proceeded to pull it back to reveal another person they thought was dead - Nick Fury. Theo couldn't help but think, 'I guess no one can just die without coming back.' She, of course, didn't mean it in a negative connotation, she'd rather have people living than dead. But then again, of course, this was gesturing to Bucky Barnes as well as Nick Fury who was always presumed as, well, dead.
Nick Fury lifted his head up ever so slightly and with a smirk said, "about damn time." Natasha and Steve smiled wide as they were the first to enter. Sam, Theo, and Carmen all shared awkward looks before following behind. As they did so the man from before took Natasha to help her injured shoulder. When doing so Nick began to list off all that was wrong, and everyone made sure to listen intently. "Lacerated spinal column, a cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache, otherwise I'm good," he concluded.
"They cut you open, your heart stopped," Natasha stated, almost in a questioning way. But then again it wasn't a question, for she saw it happen. Her and four others - Maria, Steve, Carmen, and Theo.
"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it." Nick explained.
Steve decided now would be a good time to speak up. His eyes that once focused on the floor below him eventually looked up at Nick. "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?"
The question was directed to Nick, but Maria had answered instead. "Any attempt on the Director's life had to look successful."
"Can't kill you if you're already dead," Nick added before continuing. "Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust." The room grew eerily silent as no eyes dared to look at another. Perhaps they were all taking in all the information Fury just gave, but not Carmen. Her mind is too occupied by the familiar blue eyes she once fell in love with, they were the same, yet so different. Like a part of them had lost its color and Bucky lost his mind. Could she even call him Bucky? Could Carmen call him the man she once knew? "And you must be Carmen," Nick now said.
This caused Carmen to look up with a force smile and a nod. "Yeah, Carmen Ripley. I guess you could say Steve and I go way back." Carmens thought were quite rude, and she knows it. She didn't want to be there, she didn't give a shit about Nick Fury and him being alive. It was just another death that didn't happen. The only fake death she cared about was Buckys. And she wanted nothing more than to leave everyone in there behind and save him. Because she saved herself and Theo from Hydra and all their manipulation, and Carmen has no doubt in her mind that she could do the same for Bucky.
"Trust me, I know. I've heard a lot about you, and Theo. Not just from Steve, but Hydra." Nick continued to explain, "you two have had them in a frenzy for quite some time because they've never been able to find you. How is that?"
Theo could tell Carmen's headspace was not into this conversation. So she decided to answer this question instead. "It just takes a little determination, love, trust, and a hell lot of moving. But in times like that, that's all you really need." Her cheeks flushed at all the eyes on her. For Theo didn't know most of the people in here like she knows Carmen, and attention is something Theo has never liked. By now the room grew silent once again and Nick Fury had gotten up - with help of course - and changed before entering the room again.
He sat on a chair and picked up a photo of Alexander Pierce. He examined it before simply saying, "this man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." He then dropped the photo and continued to speak. "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."
"We have to stop the launch," Natasha added looking up at Steve. The two shared a glance before Natasha looked away making eye contact with Theo. A visible blush spread onto Theo's cheeks.
"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore," Nick admitted. He then proceeded to open up a briefcase where three zip files like disks.
Sam was the first to question them, "what's that?" Carmen wanted to ask but she couldn't muster out any words. Her throat just felt so clogged, which is why she barely speaks. It could be for the fact that if she speaks she'll cry, but maybe it's the fact that she really can't wrap her mind around any of this. Guilt is building up in her body because now she sees how painfully obvious that Bucky was there.
She was never allowed to see the Winter Soldier and vice versa because she would have triggered his memories. And they knew Carmen was smart enough to sneak out and help Bucky be her Bucky again. This is why after killing David they never had the Winter Soldier come after her and Theo. But it still doesn't explain why they had no problem sending him after Steve and not Carmen.
That's because she doesn't know that before Bucky got brainwashed he asked if Carmen was okay, and that's when they knew she would trigger too much.
"Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized." Maria turned her computer around to show the group what looked like a tracking device.
Fury decided to continue the statement, "we need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own."
"One or two won't cut it." Maria continued again, "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."
As everyone around remained silent Fury spoke up. It was a continuation of Fury speaking then Maria, then Fury, and so on. Each member took hold of this information carefully. "We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We have to get past them, search the server board, and maybe, just maybe we can salvage what's left..."
"We're not salvaging anything!" Steve said angrily, causing everyone to look at him in shock. "We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick. We're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D." Carmen couldn't help but smile at Steve's words. Even if they've changed Steve is still the same man that sticks to what he believes in and fights his own fights and doesn't back down. He's still the same person in the back of an alley attempting to fight those he knows are in the wrong. Carmen is proud of Steve.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with this!" Fury stated back at Steve's remark.
"You gave me this mission! This is how it ends. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been comprised, you said so yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed!" Steve argued back, making his message clear.
"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed," Fury responded with clear annoyance.
And maybe it wasn't Carmen's place to talk seeing as she just met the man. But she couldn't just keep her mouth shut on the one thing that has made sense to her this entire day. "How many people had to die before something was actually done?" Carmen crossed her arms with a shrug.
Steve nodded in agreement with his long-time friend. "She's right. How many paid the price before you did?"
Fury grew silent for a second and looked around the room. "Look I didn't know about Barnes," he stated as his voice now became softer and more sympathetic.
"Even if you had, would you have told me?" Steve asked, still clearly angry. "Or would you have compartmentalized that, too? S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, it all goes."
"He's right," Maria agreed giving Fury a shrug and soft look.
Fury looked between the group, it was clear he was defeated. When looking at Natasha, she just leaned back in her seat. He then looked at Sam and Sam only had one thing to say, "don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower." He stated with a shrug. He then looked at Carmen and already knew the answer of course, but the smirk and shrug that came from Carmen still irked him. Meanwhile, Theo was already pointing at Carmen basically saying she's always gonna be on Carmen's side.
Finally, he looked at Steve, then back at the table avoiding eye contact. "Well... it looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain." And this is where the story truly begins again, no not the story of Carmen and her life with Hydra, or the story of how Theo and Sam made a plan on how to get Natasha to fall in love with Theo. Yes, this is the start of how Steve and Carmen are going to get Bucky back, but that story started when Carmen moved Washington. No, the story that starts now is the story of two people who were once in love, and have unfinished business.
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TOTAL WORDS: 1261
NOT INCLUDING AUTHORS NOTE
NOT EDITED: BUT WILL BE SOON!
THIS UPDATE WAS LONG OVERDUE, BUT IT'S MAINLY BECAUSE AS MUCH AS I LOVE THIS STORY IT'S FLOPPING AND NO ONE READS IT ANYMORE ) :
ANYWAYS PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT!
MELANIE.