《It's Now or Never》Part 9
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Sam, Steve, and I traveled to London for Peggy Carter's funeral. I could see how much she meant to him and it hurt me to know that he was hurting. Since Bucky was not in the picture, he had lost his one connection to his past. I knew he still loved her and I was ok with that. He never got to live the life he deserved with her.
Sam and I sat in the front as Steve and six other pallbearers carried Peggy's coffin draped with the Union Jack. His eyes were red - he's been crying. At the altar, a candle burns by a framed photograph of Peggy Carter in a military uniform. The label reads "Margaret 'Peggy' Carter". Steve sat in the middle of Sam and me as the Priest started.
"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words."
Sam watches a woman get up and nudges Steve. He looks up to see the woman, who glances at Steve and takes a breath. I recognized her from after SHIELD. Steve told me she was his "neighbor" sent to spy on him for Fury.
"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD... but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy." Sharon starts.
Steve realizes who exactly Sharon is and looks at Sam shocked.
"She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move... it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say No, you move." Sharon finishes. I could tell it was directed towards Steve and he knew too.
Later, Steve stands alone in the aisle as Sam and I sit in the chairs behind him. I look up and see Natasha coming down the aisle. Steve turns to face her.
"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her."
"She had you back, too," Natasha said back.
"Who else signed?" Steve asked.
"Tony. Rhodey. Vision."
"Clint?" Steve asked.
"Says he's retired."
"Wanda?" I asked.
"TBD (To Be Determined). I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet." Natasha says.
Steve sighs and bows his head.
"Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together." She says with a reassuring smile.
"What are we giving up to do it?" Steve says looking up at her.
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She sighs and he shakes his head, unconvinced.
"I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it."
"I know."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I didn't want you to be alone. Come here." Natasha pulls him into a hug.
After Natasha left, we went back to the hotel and ran into Sharon. Steve wanted to talk to her so Sam and I followed him from behind.
"My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting, but, um, not Aunt Peggy. She bought me my first thigh holster." Sharon said.
"Very practical," Steve said.
"And stylish," I said butting into the conversation. We got to the elevator and waited for the doors to open.
"CIA has you stationed over here now?" Steve asked.
"In Berlin, Joint Terrorism Task Force," Sharon answered.
"Right. Right. Sounds fun." Steve says.
"I know, right?" Share said with a laugh.
"I've been meaning to ask you. When you were spying on me from across the hall..." Steve starts.
"You mean when I was doing my job," Sharon says cutting him off.
"Did Peggy know?" Steve asks.
"She kept so many secrets. I didn't want her to have one from you." The elevator then arrives. "Thanks for walking me back you guys. I needed the company."
"Sure," Steve says.
"I know you lost someone special to you today, but you still have her," Sharon said nodding over to me as I stood behind Steve.
"She would have wanted you to live the life you deserve, even if it wasn't with her." Steve looked over his shoulder at me and smiled.
Sams phone then goes off. He watches something that I couldn't see.
"Steve. There's something you gotta see." Sam calls out.
"A bomb was hidden in a news van..." I hear the news anchor say.
"Who's coordinating?" Sharon asks.
"...ripped through the UN building in Vienna." The new anchor finishes.
"Good. They're solid. Forensics?"
"More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations."
"I have to go to work." She says walking away from us.
We leave the hotel right after Sharon and head over to the disaster. Steve had us put on simple disguises. Steve then phones Natasha.
"Yeah?" Natasha speaks.
"You alright?" Steve asks.
"Ah, yeah, thanks. I got lucky. I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do. Stay home. You'll only make this worse. For all of us. Please." Natasha begs.
"Are you saying you'll arrest me?" Steve asks.
"No. Someone will. If you interfere. That's how it works now."
"If he's this far gone, Nat, I should be the one to bring him in."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the one least likely to die trying."
Steve ends the call.
Steve, Sam, and I then walk over to a coffee shop and sit down.
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"She tells you to stay out of it? Might have a point." Sam said.
"He'd do it for me," Steve says back.
"1945, maybe. I just want to make sure we considered all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me." Sam says a little disappointed.
Sharon then arrives by Steve.
"Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter soldier goes to their gym. Most of its noise. Except for this. [She slides Steve a file.] My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now... so that's all the head start you're gonna get."
"Thank you," Steve says to her.
"And you're gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight." She says as she walks away.
Steve was in Bucky's apartment as Sam and I was his lookout.
"Heads up, Cap. German Special Forces, approaching from the south." I said to Steve over the radio.
"Understood," Steve answered back.
We then hear Steve talk to Bucky.
"Do you know me?" Steve asks him.
"You're Steve. I read about you in a museum." He answers.
"They've set the perimeter," I said to Steve over the radio.
"I know you're nervous. And you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying." Steve said to Bucky.
"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore."
"They're entering the building." Sam and I said at the same time with concern.
"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive." Steve told Bucky.
"That's smart. Good strategy."
"They're on the roof. We're compromised." Sam told Steve.
"This doesn't have the end in a fight, Buck," Steve says.
"It always ends in a fight," Bucky says back.
"5 seconds," I call out.
"You pulled me from the river. Why?" Steve asks Bucky.
"I don't know."
"3 seconds!" I call out again.
"Yes, you do," Steve says.
"Breach! Breach! Breach!" I yell over and over again.
Sam and I had no idea what was happening. We saw Bucky start to run and a man in a black suit follow him along with Steve. Falcon picked me up and we flew down towards them and followed.
"Sam, southwest rooftop," Steve orders us.
"Who the hell's the other guy?" Sam asks.
"About to find out." Steve answers.
Steve leaps from the balcony down onto the neighboring building as a chopper flies up. The man in the black suit lunges at Bucky with his claws, but Bucky grabs his wrists. A soldier fires a machine gun from the chopper and the ammo bounces off the man's black armored suit.
"Sam," Steve calls out to him referring to the chopper.
"Got him." Sam flies down and shoves the chopper off course. Then swoops towards street level with me still holding on.
Bucky breaks free from his attacker, slings his bag on his back, runs, and jumps down a level. The man in the black suit slides down the wall using his claws for traction. Steve follows and lands rolling along the ground. Gunfire from the chopper tears up the sidewalk. Bucky jumps down through an opening and lands in an underpass, he runs through the traffic. The man in the black catlike suit and Captain America drop-down and chase after Bucky. A Special Forces Vehicle pursues them.
GSG-9 Driver: Stand down! Stand down!
The vehicle closes in, blue lights flashing. Steve leaps onto the vehicle and splinters the windshield. The driver stops. Steve yanks him from the vehicle and kicks the windshield out, then drives off.
Bucky runs over the top of a speeding car, outpacing it. The man in the black catlike suit is a few cars behind, keeping pace with Bucky. He leaps on the back of the 4x4 that Steve's driving. Steve swerves from side to side, trying to throw him off.
"Sam, I can't shake this guy," Steve calls out.
"Right behind you," Sam yells back.
Several police cars join the chase. Steve side-swipes another car and drives on.
Up ahead Bucky reaches a fork in the road and faces oncoming traffic. He leaps over a barrier and Steve drives through the barrier.
A motorbike speeds towards Bucky. Bucky grabs the handlebar and spins the bike around in mid-air, throwing the rider off. Bucky gets on the bike and rides away sending cars careering out of the way. Steve keeps on Bucky's tail with the man in the black suit holding onto the back of the 4x4. They all rocket through another underpass. Sam and I then fly into the underpass. The man in the black suit leaps off the front of the 4x4 onto Bucky's motorbike. Bucky flings him over his head and the bike leans down on its side. Bucky kicks his assailant away, straightens up, and rides on. The man then catches a ride on Falcon's leg. I try to kick him away as Sam follows Bucky still. Bucky throws a sticky bomb and blows up the roof at the end of the underpass, bringing down tons of rubble. The man in black leaps off from Falcon and throws Bucky off the motorbike. Steve swerves the 4x4 through the rubble, leaps out, and pulls the man in the black catlike suit away from Bucky. Steve stands and watches as armed police arrive and surround them, guns aimed. War Machine leaps down from above along with Sam and me and we all raise both hands.
"Stand down, now," Rhodes says to them.
Bucky stands beside Steve who puts his shield on his back.
"Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal." Rhodes says to Steve.
Police move in and force Bucky to his knees. The man in black raises his hands. A cop moves Steve's arms behind his back. The police then move to Sam and me. One of them was too rough with my left injured arm and caused to me suck in a shaky breath, trying to hold in the pain.
"Easy with her." Steve barked at the policeman. The man in black retracts his claws and pulls off his mask revealing his face. It's T'Challa. Steve and Rhodes look curious.
"Your highness," Rhodes says.
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