s i x
*•.
GENEVA'S EYES BURNED AS SHE FORCED THEM OPEN. The sun was peaking through a set of closed blinds, and was reflecting off of the blue walls. Gen had no idea where she was, or where her friends were, and that scared her a little more than the former. It took her a moment to remember what happened in New Jersey, and that fear was suddenly muffled by a sense of anger. Anger at SHIELD, at HYDRA, and an anger on behalf of Steve.
Slowly she sat up, a faint wave of dizziness washing over her, but only for a second. Gen examined her right pant leg, which had been cut to the knee and replaced with bandages. She could feel it now, a growing pain there. Her eyes darted around the room. The door was cracked open and on the bedside table was an unopened bottle of water and a white pill bottle labeled Ibuprofen. She wasn't going to take them, not yet at least.
She heard the floor creaking outside in the hall, and called 'hey', in an attempt to catch the person's attention. Whoever it was came to the door quickly, lightly pushing it open. The man was not someone she recognized, making her go on the defense instantly. His dark skin glistened in the sun and his eyes widened as he saw her awake.
"Who are you, 'cause I swear I'll drop kick you before you ever lay a hand on me," Geneva said without humor. She would work around the injury as she'd been taught to do. Yet, she would not dive into a fight without explanation or being provoked. That was not something she did unless the situation was dire.
The man chuckled slightly, but he seemed to be aware that she meant what she said. "Sam Wilson. Cap and Natasha are eating breakfast. Practically had to force him to leave you."
The man seemed genuine, truly, but Geneva couldn't let him off so easily. She brought her legs over the side of the bed, albeit a little painfully. "I don't believe you Sammy," she replied through gritted teeth.
He nodded. "In that case, I'll tell Steve you're awake." Sam left without another word, and she hobbled onto two feet with a wince.
Suddenly, she could hear quick footsteps in the hallway, and she was met with those blue eyes that sent waves of relief down her spine. Gen sighed sitting down, his eyes following her motions. Neither said anything for a moment, but then he spoke, pointing at the bedside table.
"Why didn't you take it?"
"Precautions," she replied, leaning back and taking the pills in her hand. She popped two in her mouth and proceeded to use the water to down them. "Where are we? What happened to my leg?"
His grey shirt tightened over his chest as he moved to sit next to her. "Back in D.C. You got cut by something, it wasn't too deep. Natasha cleaned it and stitched you up. You should probably see a doctor soon, to make sure—"
"Are you alright Steve?" She asked, interrupting him. He met her gaze full on, nodding slightly. She noticed that he did that a lot, especially when he was trying to make her see something his way. Gen turned away.
In the corner of her eye she saw him smile, albeit a little sadly. "I'm fine Geneva."
"Even after finding out HYDRA still exists? Zola basically said you died for nothing."
"I was angry, you saw it for yourself," he said pausing, but only for a second. "But I've got another chance so I'm gonna fight. I want you to help me."
Her eyebrows raised, and she took a deep breath. "What are we fighting Steve?"
"HYDRA and SHIELD if we have to, but first," he said standing up, "we have to catch you up."
He held out his hand for her, but she simply looked at him from where she sat. "I'm sorry."
Steve let his hand fall in confusion. "You haven't done anything wrong."
"Trust me I have, you know I have. Just not to you. Never to you," she sighed standing up, leaning on him slightly. "I'm sorry because good can't always win, even when you try your hardest."
He smiled at her. "Where I'm from good always wins. If not now then in the end."
Geneva returned the smile wholeheartedly. "Let's go before I start crying and this gets too cheesy."
Steve chuckled before taking her outstretched hand.
°°°
"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve demanded, forcing a flustered Jasper Sitwell across the rooftop. Geneva and Natasha followed closely behind.
The man stumbled backwards. "Never heard of it." His voice was breathless when he answered, a sense of fear deeply rooted in his voice.
"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?" Steve questioned, almost to the edge of the roof.
"I was throwing up, I get seasick," Sitwell let out seconds before he nearly fell off the roof. Steve grabbed the man by his shirt, practically holding him up. Geneva stood next to Natasha where both women watched the interaction. Gen frowned when she noticed Sitwell's smile. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers." The man's voice was somewhat condescending and that made a wave of aggravation bombard Gen.
Steve paused, letting go of the man and straightening out his shirt. "You're right. It's not," Cap began stepping aside, "it's her's."
Natasha didn't think twice before easily kicking the man off of the rooftop. His screams did not phase them, not even in the slightest. Geneva sighed, slightly disappointed that she didn't get the chance to do something.
"Oh, wait," Nat said suddenly, looking to Steve. "What about that girl from accounting, Laura—"
"Lillian. Lip piercing, right?"
Geneva recalled whom they were talking about. She could only assume what they were talking about, and it sounded like Nat was trying to get Steve a date.
Natasha nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, she's cute." And she was, but Geneva just could not picture her and Steve together.
Cap sighed. "Yeah, I'm not ready for that."
"That's okay," Gen said patting his shoulder, "If we survive this, I know the perfect person for you to go on a date with."
Steve looked at her questioningly, but anything she was going to say was quickly put on hold as Sam dropped as still screaming Sitwell onto the roof. Geneva watched Sam, impressed. The three of them walked toward the breathless man, business faces instantly put in place.
Sitwell raised his hand in surrender. "Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing Insight's targets."
Geneva's eyebrows raised at the mention of Project Insight. Like she'd said many times before, she did not support the project and situations like these were reasons why.
"What targets?" Steve questioned, pulling Gen out of her thoughts.
Sitwell waved his hand in Steve's direction. "You. A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA. Now, or in the future."
Steve took a step closer. "The Future? How could it know?"
Sitwell began to laugh, yet, it held no humor. "Stop," Geneva commanded and he did so immediately.
Slowly the man stood up. "How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it." He paused noticing the blank stares he received. "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."
"And what then?" Steve's voice was quiet.
Sitwell looked away fearfully. "Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me."
"What then?" Steve demanded his patience obviously thinning.
There was a pause. "Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time."
Geneva shook her head. "Unbelievable."