I told Steve about the mission but I left out Bucky and the kiss. If I told him about Bucky he still wouldn't believe and I don't blame him. The kiss, he would think that I kissed a random stranger. If I was him, I wouldn't believe me either.
We got out of the car and I checked the co-ordinates again just to be sure.
"This is it" Steve said, getting closer to the gate.
"The file came from these co-ordinates"
"So did I"
We waited till dark before entering the camp.
"This camp is where I was trained" Steve said
"Change much?" I joked.
"A little"
Steve then, I'm guessing, saw a vision or memory of the camp. I loved this scene, looking at the little Rogers running behind everyone, and then you look at Steve now and how much he's changed, aged and matured.
"This is a dead end. 0 heat signatures, 0 waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off, but not me, not us." Steve looked away at a building and I knew where he was going with this.
"I know what your looking at. Let's go." I say as I walk with Steve to the building.
~~~~~
"Army regulations forbid storing munitions within 500 yards of the barracks"
"This building is in the wrong place" I finish as we get to the door.
Steve broke the lock with his shield and we go inside. I go to a wall that has loads of switches and turn the lights on.
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D" I say as we are walking around.
"Maybe where it started"
We walk into a room that has pictures of 3 people.
"Oh, granddad, and Peggy." I look at Steve to see if he's okay but he walks off. I get it.
He goes to an empty bookshelf, the one with the secret door. I follow.
If your working in a secret office" Steve said as he pushed the shelf
"why do you need to hide the elevator?"
I insert the code, not even using any tech and we go into the elevator. We go down to the computer lab, where Zola was, or is. It's dark and the elevator doors close when we're far from it. We walk even closer to the computers, causing the lights to turn on. I get chills up my spine just by thinking about it.
"This is the data point, even though the tech is 'ancient' as Nat would say"
I see a USB plug and plug in the flash drive, everything turning on after I do.
"Initiate system?" the computer asks.
"Y-E-S spells yes" I say as I type in an answer.
"Rogers, Steven, born 1918. Stark, Y/N, born 1995"
"It's Zola" I say coldly.
"Yes, though I'm not the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945"
"You know who Zola is?"
"Yeah, remember, I told you I watched the movies about you and everyone else, and this guy is a pain in my ass"
"Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years"
"Actually, he's swiss" I say. Zola starts to speak.
"Correct, but Captain, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind however, that was worth saving, on 200,000 feet of databanks. You are standing in my brain"
"How did you get here?" Steve asked.
"Invited" Zola replied.
"It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. S.H.I.E.L.D recruited German scientists with strategic value" I say, looking at Steve, then back at Zola.
"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own"
"HYDRA died with the Red Skull" Steve said with hurt in his voice.
"Cut off one head, two more shall take it's place"
"Prove it"
"Accessing archive" Zola said Before showing us a video and explaining what HYDRA was built to do.
I looked at the video in disgust. I wanted to hit something. my granddad died because of HYDRA, and Nick almost died too. I can't believe this. At the end of the video, I punched the screen and Steve did it with me, causing the screen to shatter and the computer fling back. Zola than went to another screen to continue.
"What's on this drive?" Steve was so frustrated. He wanted answers, and so did I.
"Project Insight requires insight. So, I wrote an algorithm"
"He's stalling, we gotta move. Steve let's go" I say trying to urge Steve to leave.
"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Steve asked, me still trying to get him to leave.
"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." The doors started to close. Steve threw his shield but it was too late.
"You should have listened to the girl when you had the chance" Zola said, making me angrier.
I hear my phone beeping and look at it to see a quinjet.
"Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops" I say, walking to Steve.
"Who fired it?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D"
I grab the flash drive and go back to Steve. He lifts a vent cover thing off the ground and we jump in quick enough to avoid the missile. Steve has his shield over us, stopping debris from hitting us. The whole building collapses and Steve is holding me tight by the waist while I help him hold his shield up. Everything goes dark and I can't see anything. I just hear Steve and myself grunt while we try to move a heavy object out the way. I think I move ahead of Steve and push it out the way, finally seeing light. I start coughing and I turn back to see Steve unconscious. I use all my strength to lift Steve up bridal style and carry him to the car. I look around and I see quinjets coming forward so I run as fast as I can. Me and Steve go to Sam's house after Steve wakes up, hoping to find someone to help us.