thirty-three

*•.*

"TONY, STOP TRYING TO TURN THIS INTO AN INTERROGATION," Geneva said, her fingers gently grazing over her bruised neck. She remembered the metal hand that had been wrapped around her throat and the fork she'd used to stab the assassin in the chest. It was her mistake for not actually wanting to hurt Bucky Barnes when it was clearly the Winter Soldier she was dealing with.

It was also her mistake for not leaving this damn building when she had the chance. They'd stuck her in a glass room before she could even think about calling Steve.

Tony briefly pointed at her from where he stood, the bruise around his eye beginning to show. "I am absolutely going to pretend you didn't say that."

"Is all of this funny to you?" Geneva asked, leaning forward in her seat, her hands splaying on the hardwood table. She winced, pain shooting through her neck.

Tony regarded her from where he stood. "No, not at all, actually."

"Then tell me what you need because my patience is quickly becoming nonexistent."

He sighed heavily. "Where is Steve, Geneva?"

"That's a good question," she began, tapping a finger on the table, "one I'm sure you can answer without me." He hummed and she tilted her head agitatedly. "They are innocent, you know?" Stupid, but innocent.

"Aside from aiding a presumed terrorist, yes they are innocent," Natasha said as she entered the room, taking a seat a few feet from Geneva.

"He didn't do it, and maybe you would know that if the idiots who ran this place would pay the slightest bit of attention to who they let in here." The man who'd been in the room with Bucky hadn't even been a doctor.

"They shouldn't have run," Natasha let out quietly, and Geneva had to admit that running had worsened the situation.

"I don't suppose you have any idea where they are?" Another voice came, gaining the three Avengers' attention.

Secretary Ross.

Geneva had to suppress an eye roll.

"We will," Stark spoke up. "GSG-9's got the borders covered. Recon's flying 24/7. They'll get a hit."

Geneva smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "See, you've got it covered without me."

"I'm handling it," he murmured with a shrug.

Secretary Ross scoffed. "You don't get it, Stark. It's not yours to handle." His eyes followed Tony as he moved closer to the table. "It's clear you can't be objective. I'm putting Special Ops on this."

"What happens when the shooting starts?" Natasha asked, her eyes darting around the room. "What? Do you kill Steve Rogers?"

Geneva's teeth clenched at the thought.

Secretary Ross regarded Nat and Geneva, his face emotionless. "If we're provoked. Barnes would've been eliminated in Romania if it wasn't for Rogers. There are dead people who would be alive now. Feel free to check my math."

Tony slowly sat down.

"So you fix death with more death?" Geneva asked, her eyes narrowing. "And with the death of America's Golden Boy no less."

"But he was never so golden was he?" Ross asked, his lip curling beneath his thick facial hair. "If he was, he would've chosen better company."

Geneva felt that dig right in her chest. It was clear that Ross had bunched her in with Steve's 'bad' company. "You've got a lot of nerve, Mr. Secretary."

"Not as much as you."

No, not as much as her. "No one kills Steve," she said quietly, her voice hard. Or I'll come for you. And she wouldn't kill him, no, but she could think of a few worse things.

They all heard the unspoken threat, but Ross simply tilted his head at her. "You better hope he comes quietly."

He wouldn't, though, and they all knew it.

"All due respect," Tony began, "you're not going to solve this with boys and bullets, Ross. You gotta let us bring them in."

Ross watched him. "How would that end any differently from the last time?"

"Because this time, I won't be wearing loafers and a silk shirt," Tony forced out. "Seventy-two hours, guaranteed."

The secretary mulled over the words. "Thirty-six hours," he decided. "Barnes. Rogers. Wilson."

Tony didn't look at the man as he left. "Thank you, sir." Her friend slumped over, rubbing his arm. "My left arm is numb, is that normal?"

Natasha went over to him, and they shared a moment, speaking lowly.

"Last chance to help us Geneva," Tony told her when he and Nat had finished speaking.

"I can't," she murmured, dropping her eyes. "Not when I know they don't belong in some prison."

"And if they had done something to warrant an arrest? Would you have helped then?" Natasha asked, though it seemed as if she already knew the answer.

Geneva's eyes found hers and they shared a long look. The dark haired woman shook her head, a small smirk coming to her lips.

The red head let out a sound that was somewhere between a huff and a laugh. In that moment, things felt normal, but they both knew that it was anything but and that there was a good chance that things would never be again.

When Natasha and Tony left her alone in the room, Geneva found herself reaching into the left pocket of her jacket where her burner phone resided. She clutched it in her hand knowing that there was no way she could make a call nor was there any way she could leave.

She watched curiously as Sharon Carter entered the room. "I haven't gone anywhere."

Sharon's blonde hair swung loosely around her shoulders as she moved to stand directly before Geneva. "You and I are going to walk out of here."

Geneva sat up quickly, surveying the woman's determined face. "Sharon—"

"Get up, Blake. We don't have much time before they realize." She pulled Gen to her feet, and they silently made their way out of the room, their heads low.

"Before they realize what?" Geneva asked when they slipped into an empty staircase and began heading down.

"That I took Steve and Sam's gear," Sharon muttered, pushing open a door that led to a parking garage.

The cool Berlin air hit Geneva's face and she watched as Sharon slid into the driver's seat of a gray Audi, before sliding into the passenger seat herself. "You don't have to do this."

"I already am," the woman said pulling out of the parking space in one swift motion.

Geneva felt like she needed to warn the woman. It felt wrong to just allow her to fall into this. "Sharon, they're gonna come for you too."

"I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do, and if I'm going rogue, I may as well go the whole nine yards."

Geneva couldn't help but smile at that, but it quickly turned into a frown as the phone in her right pocket began ringing.

She glanced at the screen. Natasha's smiling face stared back at her. Without answering it, Geneva lowered the window and chucked it out of the car.

Right then, the phone in her left pocket began vibrating. She answered it.

"You make stupid decisions sometimes, Steve Rogers," she said in greeting. She'd been defending him ten minutes before, but now was the time for chastising. "Why run?"

"Because they were never going to hear Bucky's side."

"And now you look like a criminal too."

"Geneva, I don't have time to—"

"To what? Reflect?" She tried to keep her anger in check in the small space. She had no doubt that Sharon was uncomfortable, but she would have to be apologetic later. "Shit went south and now they're ready to kill you, Steve."

The phone crackled with silence before he spoke again. "Are you with Sharon?"

"Yes."

A sigh—of relief maybe. She wasn't sure. "Ask her to fill you in. I'll see you when you get here." And he hung up on her.

Geneva gritted her teeth and shoved the phone back in her pocket. "Fill me in Sharon, please."

With a quick glance at her way, Sharon began explaining as she drove.

hey! thanks for reading!

-syd