"You should be proud of yourself, Peggy." Steve glances at Peggy's family photos by her beside table, showing her with her husband and children. He has remained reserved so far, but maybe he's afraid that the luck will leave us soon. That Peggy's gonna forget us any second. I try to make the best out of it, pretending like she doesn't suffer of Alzheimer, a careless disease that robs every single one of her memories and therefore also parts of Peggy herself.

"Mm. I have lived a life. My only regret is that you didn't get to live yours." She mutters and Steve's face saddens. "What is it?"

"For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore. And I thought I could throw myself back in and follow orders, serve. It's just not the same." He admits and I nod slightly, understanding what he means. It's a rare occasion that he opens up.

"You're always so dramatic. Look, you two saved the world. We rather...mucked it up." She takes his hand and I consider leaving the room to give them their time alone, but then she shoots me a glance as well. "The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over."

"How was Howard the whole time? Before his death, I mean. We're kind of friends with Tony now." I speak up carefully and she scoffs.

"Annoying. He couldn't stop talking about you." She rolls her eyes annoyed, and Steve smirks slightly amused about her reaction. I swallow and just shrug, trying not to be too affected by that.

"He probably just wanted to brag that Project Reborn resulted so well."

"He didn't mention the experiment once." Her face becomes serious, almost nostalgic. "He talked about you and would have done anything to see you now."

"Oh..." I press my lips together, my eyes start burning and I glance at the ground. A heavy burden builds up on my chest and I feel Steve's hand on my back, stroking it gently. I accepted Howard's death a while ago, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt anymore. He had always helped me and was my first friend after Steve and Bucky.

Peggy starts coughing and Steve turns around to hand her a glass of water as I look worriedly at her, trying to help her. He's about to give her the glass but then she stares at him, her blank and shocked expression is written over her face, fully focused on my best friend. "Steve?"

"Yeah." He responds slowly, waiting for a reaction but I already know what happens now. Standing up, I leave the room and wait on the corridor, aware that they need their time alone. Every time when the Alzheimer attacks Peggy's brain, she forgets that Steve is back and that I even exist. So it's better that I'm not there, otherwise she would have a panic attack about the stranger in her room. And that, is how you lose your first female friend.

Steve leaves the room and his eyes are filled with pain. I don't say anything and just walk towards him, pulling him into a tight hug. His head rests on my shoulder and I can feel his tears running down my hair. If I had a wish, I'd wish that we had never waken up.

***

"Hey... Eve? Come on, wake up, we're back." Steve wakes me up and I squint my eyes, opening them in the darkness of the city. Removing my arms from his waist, I stand up from his motorcycle and look at our blockhouse. It still feels odd to live here. "You better stop falling asleep on the motorcycle, it's dangerous."

"I somehow can sleep much better on the Harley when you're driving than in my own bed." I yawn and we enter the blockhouse. On our floor, we meet Kate who is telephoning with someone while she carries a basket filled with laundry.

"That's so sweet. That is so nice. Hey. I gotta go, though. Okay, bye." Kate hangs up and sends us a kind smile. "My aunt, she's kind of insomniac."

"Hey, if you want, you're welcome to use our machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement." Steve friendlily offers but she shakes her head.

"Thank you, but um...I already have a load in downstairs, and, uh...you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so." She is about to leave but before that, she informs us. "Oh, and I think you left your stereo on."

"Oh. Right, thank you." Steve nods and we share a knowing look. Neither of us has used the stereo, someone must have broken into our apartment. He decides to walk in through the window while I just enter through the door. In case of an intruder, we could surprise him. The sound of a fizzle arises in my hands, yet there's no electricity. Hearing Steve enter through the window, we sneak together into the living room to the stereo and almost flinch when we see Fury on the chair.

"Are you bloody kidding me?" I groan and the sound of the weapon in my hands disappears. "Since when do you own a key to our apartment?"

"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out." He tells us, still relaxing as if he owned this chair. I turn on the light and just now notice Fury's injuries, my eyes widen at the bloody wounds. He shakes his head, motioning us to remain quiet and I turn off the light. Something's clearly wrong.

"Didn't know you were married." Steve mumbles and Fury writes something on his phone, showing us his message. Ears everywhere.

"There are a lot of things you don't about me." SHIELD compromised. I stare at his message and gulp, clenching with my teeth. What does that mean about Natasha and Clint now? Can we trust them? "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no where else to crash."

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve questions quietly.

"Just... my friends." You and me. What the hell is happening? Why is he injured? I carefully walk to him and hand him a towel that was lying on the couch. If we can't bring him to a hospital, then I should do at least that.

"Is that what we are now?" I raise a brow in the air and he shrugs.

"That's up to you." In the next moment, the window suddenly shatters, broken glasses and bullets fly around, coming from nowhere. Fury is shot three times, collapsing to the ground and blood splashes out of his chest. I let out a shriek when I almost get hit and throw myself on the ground. Crawling to Fury, I check on him, his breath is weak and the blood spreads incredibly fast.

"Shit. No, no, no." I stand up and drag him to the next room, away from the bore sight as Steve looks out to identify the shooter from the other building. "Steve, follow the shooter, you're faster than me! I'll take care of Fury!"

Steve nods and grabs his shield, following the track and I take the towel to press it on his wound but it keeps bleeding. My hands are covered with his blood and he suddenly takes them, handing me a little object. A flash drive. "Don't... trust anyone."

"What??" I stare at him and the flash drive but then he passes out and I shake him carefully, slightly slapping his cheek. I start panicking and the flash drive remains tightly in my hand. "Shit, no, Fury, wake up. You're not going to die on me, not on my damn watch!!"

"Miss Farrell?" I hear Kate's voice entering the apartment and turn around, watching how she walks in with her gun pointed. "Evelyn, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD's Special Service, Sharon Carter. I'm assigned to protect you."

"You belong to SHIELD??" I quickly hide the flash drive in my boots and remember Fury's warning. SHIELD compromised. "Carter? Are you related to Peggy? And who did order this?"

"Yes, I am... " Her voice trails off at the sight of his condition and she immediately takes out her radio, contacting SHIELD. "And on his order. Oxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs. Captain Rogers is in pursuit of the shooter."

Then everything goes so fast. Steve's return. The drive in the ambulance. The stench of hygienics in the hospital. The chaos of hectic rush. And then, time suddenly stops and passes slowly when Fury is stuck between life and death, filling the room with pressure and tension. I watch the operation through the glass pane, my top and hands still covered with blood and Steve joins me. "What's up with the shooter?"

"Gone. He's fast and strong, had a metal arm."

"Metal arm?" I raise a brow in the air and Steve nods confirming. It gets more and more odd. Maria Hill enters the room and worry is written on her face, Fury has always been her partner and friend.

"The bullets were Soviet made. Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable. Combined with the metal arm, I assume it's the Winter Soldier. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, though. But he's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years." She tells us and I gulp when Fury's state deteriorates.

The doctors do their best to keep him alive but he's dropping and flatlining. The several attempts to revive him fail and they finally affirm his time of death that settles deep into my bones. "Time of death, 1:03 am."

I glance at the ground, clenching my hands into fists. And again, someone died in front of my eyes while I was being useless. Leaving the room, I kick against the wall and accidentally leave a dent, the rage numbs the pain in my leg and I clench furiously with my teeth to oppress an angry cry.

"Hey. Hey, is everything alright?" Steve follows me and I shake my head.

"We have to catch him, the Winter Soldier, but on our own. Fury told me that we shouldn't trust anyone, especially not SHIELD. He... ", I nod towards my boots and lower my voice, "...also handed me a flash drive. Important information."

"We will." Steve nods and Maria leaves the room, walking towards us. "Do Clint and Natasha know about Fury?"

"They will, if I know where to find them." Her voice becomes serious, laced with mistrust. "Why was Fury in your apartment?"

"I don't know, he was just there when we entered." I lie before Steve can even speak. He's a terrible liar. "I thought you would? Fury doesn't trust us and you're like his right hand."

She doesn't really doubt my statement and we are called by Steve's STRIKE team, Rumlow. "Captain, Voltricity, they want you now at SHIELD."

"Coming." I answer and leave with Steve, still carrying the flash drive, maybe even the reason for Fury's death, in a pair of black leather boots. Hopefully, SHIELD won't get it.

***

"Ah, Captain and Voltricity. I'm Alexander Pierce. It's an honor, my father served in the 101st." The old politician in the suit and glasses at the SHIELD HQ shakes our hands, motioning us to enter his office. "Come on in."

"The honor is ours." Steve answers politely and I just nod, walking in and sitting down. I can't trust anyone from SHIELD anymore and Natasha and Clint's location is unknown, they disappeared. I need to know what the hell is happening and who exactly this Winter Soldier is, the urge to find the truth for justice is like an itch. I can't even call Bruce or Tony because my phone is from SHIELD, they could read everything.

"... Why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce wants to know and brings me back from my thoughts. I look up, shooting him an innocent glance.

"We don't know. I mean, it's Fury we're talking about. Who even understood this man and his secrets?"

"You know it was bugged?"

"Figured." I shrug. "If he could enter as easy as that, then it was highly possible. We also got this apartment from SHIELD."

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" His questions makes me silent, I'm taken aback by this new information. Pierce shows us a footage of Batroc, Steve's last mission. "That's the interrogation of a suspect in Algiers. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to someone who lived closely to Nick's mother six years ago."

"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates on my mission? Why?" Steve frowns in confusion.

"Well, the prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."

"That doesn't sound like Fury. And you should know that, you two were friends. It can't be true." I disagree, not believing a bit of it. Fury was for sure annoying, but still a good man. Is Pierce seriously accusing Fury of everything now?

"Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. You were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"

"As I said, we don't know." I repeat and stand up. This isn't a harmless meeting, it's an interrogation. "Excuse me."

"Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why." He stops us to leave his office before we go. It sounds like a threat. "Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone."

"Well, good luck." I wish him half provokingly and we leave his office. Walking towards the elevator, I shoot Steve a glance. "They're treating us like criminals or suspects. What the bloody hell is happening?"

"No idea." He mutters and we step into the elevator. "Operations control."

"Confirmed." The SHIELD computer is about to close the door but then Rumlow enters with two STRIKE agents. An uncomfortable feeling settles down in my stomach.

"Forensics." Rumlow orders and the computer confirms again, starting to ride down. "Evidence response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?"

"No, let's wait and see what it is first." Steve commands as Rumlow nods. Then the blonde nudges me inconspicuously, motioning me to look at the agent whose hand is lying suspiciously on his weapon. On the next floor, SHIELD and STRIKE agents enter, crowding the elevator. I tense up, noticing that something's off.

"Um...sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up what happened to him." Rumlow half- heartedly apologizes and on the following floor, more agents step in again.

"Thank you." Steve says and I notice that one of the agents is sweating, even though the air conditioning works and it's not warm. The elevator is crowded with agents, maybe ten. Crap. Steve and I share a knowing glance.
We're trapped.