Chapter 5

"Think you got enough?" Steve said as the nurse pulled the needle out of his arm. They were sat in a room taking blood from his arm.

"Any hope of reproducing a programme is locked in your genetic code. But without Dr Erskine it will take years." Peggy told him.

"He deserved more than this." Steve muttered getting up and rolling his sleeve down.

"If it could only work once, he'd be proud it was you." Abi told him with a small smile. They turned and walked out into the hall where the Cornel and the senator were talking.

"Hydra is the Nazi deep science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions." Abi told the senator after over hearing them talking as they walked out of the room.

"Hydra's practically a cult. They worship Schmidt, they think he's invincible." The cornel told the senator.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" The senator asked.

"Spoke to the president this morning. As of today the SSR is being retasked." The cornel said looking at Abi and Peggy.

"Colonel?" Abi asked.

"We are taking the fight to Hydra. Pack your bags Agents. You too, Stark. You're flying to London tonight." The cornel told them Abi looked at Steve.

"Sir, if you're going after Schmidt, I want in." Steve said looking from his sister to the cornel.

"You're an experiment. You're going to Alamogordo." The cornel told him.

"The serum worked." Steve protested.

"I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough." The cornel said walking away.

"With all due respect for the cornel, I think he may be missing the point. I've seen you in action Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it. Paper!" The senator said walking over to Steve, Abi and Peggy.

"The enlistment lines have been round the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that and hide him in a lab. Son, do you wanna serve your country on the most important battle field of the war?" The senator asked.

"Sir, that's all I want." Steve said.

"Then, congratulations. You just got promoted." The senator said shaking Steve's hand.

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After the incident with the serum Abi was whisked from place to place until the SSR settled in Italy, five miles from the front, on an army base. She was flown out late after an incident in London so as she arrived Steve was already there and on stage in front of some soldiers. She was greeted by Peggy who briefed her and told her Steve was on the base. She then watched from backstage as the soldiers chewed him out. She had to feel sorry for him. All he wanted was to serve his country but he was stuck on stage, in tights.

She and Peggy walked up to him after the show. He saw Abi and immediately pulled her into a hug.

"Hey Steve!" She said from his big bear hug.

"Hi. What are you doin' here?" Steve asked looking from Abi to Peggy.

"Officially we're not here at all. That was quite a performance." Peggy told him.

"Yeah. Uh...I had to improvise a little bit. Crowds I'm used to are usually more uh..." Steve said looking down as Abi put her arm round him.

"Well I understand your America's knew hope?" Abi said.

"Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit." Steve muttered.

"Is that Senator Brandt I hear?" Peggy asked.

"At least he's got me doin' this. Phillips would have had be stuck in a lab." Steve said. Abi looked at his drawings in his notebook.

"And these are your only two options? A lab rat or a dancing monkey? You were meant for more than this, you know?" Abi told him. Steve went to respond but stopped.

"What?" Abi asked.

"You know for the longest time I dreamed about coming overseas and be on the front lines. Serving my country. I finally get everything I wanted, and I'm wearing tights." Steve told them solemnly. "They look like they've been through hell." Steve said as an ambulance pulled up with the wounded.

"These men more than most." Peggy said.

"What do you mean?" Abi asked. She was still in the dark as to why this base had been picked.

"Schmidt sent out a force to Rosano. Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the one-oh-seventh. The rest were killed or captured." As she said one-oh-seventh Abi's stomach twisted into a knot and she choked back a sob.

"The one-oh-seventh?" Abi choked out. When Peggy nodded Abi stood and ran towards the cornel's tent.

"What?" Peggy asked Steve as she looked after Abi. But Steve was on his feet as well and starting to follow.

"Come on!" Steve called to Peggy who was struggling to run through the mud in heels.

"Cornel Phillips." Steve said as they approached the cornel.

"Well, if it isn't the star spangled man with a plan. And what is your plan today?" The cornel asked.

"We need the casualty list for Rosano." Steve said.

"You don't get to give me orders, son." The cornel told him.

"We just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the hundred and seventh." Abi choked out.

"You and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won't enjoy." The cornel said pointing to Peggy and Abi.

"Please tell us if he's alive, sir. B-A-R..." Steve started wrapping his arm around Abi's shoulders.

"I can spell." The cornel said getting up and going through his condolence letters.

"I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry." The cornel said Abi choked back another sob as Steve pulled her into a hug. Bucky couldn't be gone he just couldn't. He was one of the only things she had left.

"What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?" Steve asked.

"Yeah! It's called winning the war." The cornel said.

"But if you know where they are, why not at least...?" Steve started.

"They're thirty miles behind the lines. Through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save. But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl." The cornel retaliated.

"I think I understand just fine." Steve told him.

"Well then understand it somewhere else. If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in thirty minutes." The cornel told him as he walked away. Steve looked at the military map which showed where the men were.

"Yes, sir. I do." Steve said as he walked out.

"If you've got something to say then know is the perfect time to keep it to yourselves." The cornel said to Peggy and Abi. Peggy took Abi's arm and led her outside. Abi had calmed down. She knew what Steve was planning. She also had every intention to go with him.

"Who is he?" Peggy asked as they walked.

"He's been mine and Steve's best friend for years." Abi told her thinking back to the night before he had left.

"You love him?" Peggy asked with a smile.

"For as long as I can remember." Abi said. Peggy nodded and smiled as they walked into the changing room for Steve's show.

"What do you plan to do? Walk to Austria?" Peggy asked.

"If that's what it takes." Steve said as he packed a bag.

"You heard the cornel; your friend is most likely dead." Peggy said giving Abi a sympathetic look.

"You don't know that." Steve said.

"Even so, he's devising a strategy to take..." Peggy started.

"By the time he's done that, it could be too late!" Abi said. "I'm coming with you." She said to Steve.

"Abi..." Steve started.

"Steve I'm coming." She said then sighed and decided to tell him what had happened. "He came back the night before he left. I told him everything." She muttered. Steve looked taken back for a moment but nodded his head and turned to Peggy.

"You told me you thought I was meant for more than this. Did you mean that?" Steve asked.

"Every word."

"Then you gotta let us go." Steve said putting his stuff into the back of a truck.

"I can do more than that." Peggy said.

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Peggy had managed to get Howard to give them a lift over the Hydra base. Abi had changed into a pair of fitted trousers combat boots and a leather jacket with a fur lining that Bucky had given her for Christmas. Steve was still in his Captain America costume and still had the shield. The only difference was he was wearing a brown leather jacket and one of the stage girl's helmets.

"The Hydra camp is in between these two mountain ranges." Peggy told them pointing to the map she was holding. "It seems to be a factory of some kind."

"We should be able to drop you right on the door step." Howard called from the cockpit.

"Just get us as close as you can." Abi called back.

"You know, you two are gonna be in a lot of trouble when you land." Steve called.

"And you two won't?" Peggy called back.

"Where we're goin', if anybody yells at us we can just shoot 'em." Steve said.

"They will undoubtedly shoot back." Peggy told him.

"Well, let's hope it's good for somethin'." Steve said tapping his shield.

"Agent Carter, if we're not in too much of a hurry I thought we could stop off in Lucerne for a late night fondue." Howard called from the front. Peggy glanced awkwardly from Abi to Steve. Abi knew what Stark was talking about but from the look on Steve's face he thought it was something completely different.

"Stark is the best civilian pilot I've ever seen. He's mad enough to brave this airspace, we're lucky to have him." Peggy said.

"So are you two...? Do you...? Fondue?" Steve stuttered.

"This is your transponder. Activate it when you're ready, the signal will lead us straight to you." Peggy said handing Steve the transponder.

"Are you sure this thing works?" Steve called to Stark.

"It's been tested more than your pal." Stark called back.

Just then the plane was rocked back and forth as guns started firing at them. Steve and Abi stood and walked towards the door.

"Get back here! We're taking you all the way in." Peggy shouted. Abi made sure her parachute was on properly before preparing to follow Steve.

"As soon as we're free, turn this thing around and get the hell outta here!" Steve shouted back.

"You can't give me orders!" Peggy yelled.

"The hell I can't! I'm a captain!" Steve called back as he looked at her one last time and jumped out of the plane. Abi gave Peggy one last look before launching herself after Steve.