Ch 41 Betrayed

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"I actually took your advice seriously, Rogers." Fury told him.

"Thank you." Rogers said to him.

In his office, Fury plugged in the drive Romanoff had brought and tried to access the Lemurian Star's satellite launch file but failed. Even decryption and director override didn't work. And the files were sealed on his authority, based on what he was told at the moment.

"Uh-oh. Now you have to stick your nose around to find out what's going on." Tony said.

"Yes. And I did." Fury told him.

"It appears you are already suspicious." Vision said.

Fury walked into the elevator to go to the World Security Council floor. On the floor, Secretary Alexander Pierce was meeting with the members. Council member Rockwell said Fury was mistaken if he thought he could get his costumed thugs and STRIKE commandos to mop up his mess every time and Council member Singh said the attack had taken place one mile from India's sovereign borders. He wanted to move for immediate hearings. Hawley said they didn't need hearings but action and Yen said it was their duty to oversee SHIELD so this breach raised serious questions.

"Of course it would." Natasha said, "After all, it was devised by a smart guy."

"Yup." Fury said.

Rockwell asked how a French pirate had managed to hijack a covert SHIELD vessel in broad daylight but Pierce corrected him that he was Algerian and that he could draw a map if it helped.

"Looking down on all of them. Why am I not surprised?" Clint said.

"While he is a son of a bitch, you got to admit, he is smart and has wit." Sam said.

"No kidding." Hill agreed.

Rockwell said the Council appreciated his wit but took matters like international piracy seriously. Pierce said he didn't care about one boat but the fleet and that if the Council fell into rancor every time someone pushed them on the playing field, they needed someone to oversee them.

"You do actually. But for different reasons." Steve said.

Before anyone could respond, his assistant walked up to him and told him something. He asked them to excuse him and walked out, shutting off the holograms. His assistant led him to Nicky Fury outside and he joked how he worked 40 floors away but it took a hijacking for him to visit. They shook hands and Fury joked that a nuclear war would do it too.

"Or maybe an extraterrestrial war." Bucky said.

"50-50." Fury said.

Fury said he needed a favor. He needed Pierce to call a vote and delay Project Insight. Pierce said that was a sub-committee hearing. Fury said it probably was nothing. Pierce asked what if it was something and Fury said in that case, they would both be glad the Helicarriers weren't in the air. Pierce agreed and they shook hands but he told him he wanted Iron Man to drop by his niece's birthday party and not just a flyby, he had to mingle. Fury simply thanked him.

"Or maybe he would try to take your life in return." Logan snorted.

"No kidding." Fury agreed.

Steve walked into the VA where a former female soldier was telling her experience in a gathering to Sam, saying a cop had pulled her over last week because he thought she was drunk. She had swerved to miss a plastic bag which she thought was an IED.

Everyone looked at the woman in sympathy as Frank said softly, "I understand."

Sam told her, "Some stuff you leave there. Other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase, or in a little man-purse? It's up to you." The woman nodded.

"That was very…." Natasha trailed off.

"Intense?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." She said, "And helpful."

"I know a guy who would get along well with you." Frank told Sam.

The woman later told Sam she would see him next week and he saw Steve there, jokingly calling him the 'running man.'

"He has come to run alongside you again." Peter said.

"No thank you." Sam chuckled.

Steve said he had caught the last few minutes and it was pretty intense. Sam said they all had the same problems like guilt and regret.

"Yes. All of us." Logan sighed.

Steve asked if Sam had lost someone and he said it was his wingman Riley. They were flying a night mission, standard PJ rescue op which they had done a 1000 times before but an RPG knocked Riley out of the sky and he couldn't do a thing except watch.

Everyone looked at Sam in sympathy.

"I'm sorry." Frank said.

"Thank you." Sam said.

Steve apologized as Sam said he had a hard time finding a reason to be out there after that. Steve asked if he was happy now to be back in the world and he said he was as the number of people giving him orders was zero. He asked Steve if he thought about getting out and he said he didn't and that he didn't know what to do with himself if he did. Sam said he could do Ultimate Fighting.

"You would be looting the audience in that case." Scott joked.

"Not really. Pay money to see Captain America being a badass." Hope joked. Everyone laughed at both the comments.

Sam told him he could do whatever he wanted and asked what made him happy. After a few seconds of thinking, Steve said, "I don't know."

Everyone seemed flabbergasted at that point.

"You really don't know, Cap?" Tony asked him.

"No." Steve said.

"What about fighting?" Odinson asked.

"Only if necessary." Steve said.

"Telling war stories to younger people?" Thor asked.

"No. Though I wouldn't say no to sharing some with close friends." Steve said.

"Gym?" Rhodes asked.

"Only to practice." Steve said.

"I think Cap needs a girl." Natasha smirked and everyone chuckled.

"I wish it was that simple." Steve said.

In his car, Fury contacted Hill via secure line and said he needed her in DC in deep shadow conditions. She asked for 4 hours but he gave her 3.

"And you managed to reach him in that time?" T'Challa asked.

"Yeah." She shrugged.

Fury stopped in front of a red light and a cop car pulled up next to him. Fury jokingly asked if they wanted to see his lease.

"No. Just my split skull." Fury snorted.

As he started the car, a cop car hit him from behind and another from the front as he was surrounded by four of them now.

"Oh shit!" Jessica said, "Hydra bastards!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Matt said dryly.

Fury's AI said he had a fracture and needed an anesthetic injection, which he took as it told him there was no DC Metro Police dispatch in the area.

"Because there is none, unfortunately." Elektra said.

Fury asked to be driven out but propulsion systems were offline so he asked to reboot as the 'cops' started firing at him, damaging his bullet-proof glass while the armor integrity dropped. The AI calculated the time required for propulsion as the thugs installed a battering ram and started hitting his window.

"These idiots have devices for everything." Luke snorted.

"No kidding." Trish agreed.

The armor integrity kept falling until it was 1% and then Fury took out a machine gun and fired, shattering the damaged window and killing many of the thugs nearby.

Everyone clapped as Tony said, "Never underestimate the Director."

As propulsion systems came online, Fury initiated full acceleration and the car started, moving further as Fury killed a few more thugs. He said they needed vertical take-off but flight systems were damaged so he asked for guidance cameras and took over the wheel. He asked to call Hill but communications array was damaged. He asked what was not damaged and was informed air conditioning was fully operational.

Everyone chuckled as Tony said, "Dying in an AC isn't the worst way to die."

"Shut your pie hole." Fury said and everyone laughed.

Fury was informed there was traffic ahead and asked for an alternative route, to which he was informed there was one in 17th Avenue 3 blocks down. Fury drove there, hitting a few cars and causing a minor traffic jam as the thugs got out of the cars and chased him. He was trapped between a few cars as they tried to fire at him from all sides but he avoided. The civilians screamed and ran around in fear. Eventually, Fury backed his car and hit a thug, crashing him into another car. He then moved forwards and hit another one, sending him crashing into a telephone booth before driving away as one of the thugs got back in a car and drove after him.

Everyone clapped for Fury again as Bruce said, "Your car and you are a dangerous combination."

The chase continued as one of the thugs fired at him from inside the car and rammed into his. He grabbed the thug's hand, making his shots go haywire as another one rammed into his car from the other side. Fury grabbed the thug's hand as he took out a pistol and punched him twice when he was informed and intersection was approaching. He applied the brakes as the two cop cars went further and were hit by a truck.

Everyone clapped as Peter said, "That was awesome!"

"I know." Benjamin said.

Fury asked to be gotten off the grid and the route was being calculated when he saw a tall man with long hair wearing goggles and a mask to cover his face standing in the car's way. He had a metal arm and a gun in his hand.

"Oh God!" Bucky paled and turned away, not wanting to watch as Natasha grasped his hand while Steve put one on his shoulder.

The man fired a disk under his car and it attached to it before exploding, sending the car crashing to the ground as the man moved out of the way. He then started approaching a downed and dazed Fury who took out a 'Mouse Hole' and started drilling. The man reached the car and with his metal arm, effortlessly ripped the door out but saw a giant gaping hole in the ground.

"Wow!" Pepper said, "What a thing!"

"Packs a punch." Fury said.

"Yeah we remember." Natasha smirked.

Steve rode back to his apartment and as he walked inside, the nurse across the hall was talking to someone on the phone and greeted him. She ended the call and told Steve it was her aunt who was kind of an insomniac.

"Yeah we know which aunt." Clint smirked.

Steve saw the clothes she needed to wash and said she could use his machine which was cheaper than the one in the basement. She asked what it costed and he said a cup of coffee with him.

Everyone chuckled as Steve sighed.

"Actually, it's not a bad pickup line." Hope assured him.

"Really?" Steve asked.

"I think it's pretty gentlemanly." Trish said.

"And classy." Natasha added.

"Uh, thanks." Steve said.

She thanked him but said she already had a load downstairs and he didn't want her scrubs in his machine as she had finished a round in the infectious disease ward. Steve said he would keep his distance and she said not too far. The two looked at each other for a few seconds before she walked off and told him he had left his stereo on. Steve thanked her for the info as she walked away but then became very alert, listening to the "It's been a long, long time" song that was playing.

"So you didn't leave it on." Aunt May said.

"Nope." Steve said as he turned to Fury, "Someone else did."

"That is a great song." Frank said.

"Yes, especially considering why it was made." Logan agreed.

Steve snuck into his own apartment with his shield out. As he walked further, he saw Fury sitting in his apartment. Steve said he didn't remember giving Fury a key and he asked if he would need one.

"No you won't." Steve said.

Fury said his wife had kicked him out and Steve said he didn't know Fury was married. Fury got up with a groan and said there were a lot of things Steve didn't know about him. Steve turned the lamp on said that was the problem but Fury shut the lamp off, leaving the stereo on and showed him his phone which said, "Ears everywhere." He apologized, saying he had no place else to crash on and showed his phone again which said, "SHIELD compromised." Getting the hint, Steve asked who else knew about his wife and Fury showed him the phone which said, "You and me."

"That is smart." Hope complimented.

"I wasn't the Director of SHIELD for so many years for no reason." Fury pointed out.

Fury said it was just his friends and got up. Steve asked if that was what they were now and Fury said that was up to him. Suddenly, a round burst through the wall and hit his chest, followed by two more as he fell down.

"Oh no!" Wanda gasped.

"Shit!" Sam said.

"Damn!" Rhodes said.

"Just before the beans could be spilled." Tony snorted.

Steve dragged Fury away, looking briefly in the shooter's direction as Fury held up the drive and gasped, "Don't…trust…..anyone." He then passed out as Kate the nurse walked in with a gun in hand, calling out to Captain Rogers. She said she was Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service, shocking him.

"Meet Sharon Carter. Peggy's niece." Natasha said.

"Wait, she is Peggy's niece?" Scott said, "That makes the entire relationship kind of gross."

"I know." Steve sighed and shook his head.

She said she had been assigned to protect him. Steve asked on whose authority. She then saw Fury lying on the ground and said his. She took out her phone and told everyone Foxtrot was unresponsive and she needed EMTs. She was asked if they had a 20 on the shooter. Steve told her to tell them he was in pursuit.

"So it begins." Hill said.

"Unfortunately." Bucky sighed as he put his head in his hands but Natasha put an arm around him.

"Do not blame yourself, Sergeant Barnes." T'Challa assured him.

"I know I don't deserve it but for what it's worth, I'm sorry Fury." Bucky said.

"It wasn't your fault, Barnes." Fury simply said.

Steve leapt out of a window, shattering it and breaking a door, ran after the shooter above. He used his momentum and shield to shatter walls.

"Wow!" Peter said.

He then leapt out of a window onto another rooftop as the shooter landed on it and threw his shield. The man caught the shield with his metal arm and glaring at Steve, threw the shield back at him. He caught it but slid back by a few feet as the shooter jumped off the roof. He ran up to the edge of the roof and looked down but no one was there.

"And he is gone." Sam said, "Unfortunately."

Natasha later arrived as Fury was taken to a hospital and operated on. Steve and Natasha watched from outside as she asked about the shooter and he said he was fast and strong and had a metal arm. Hill walked up next to them and Natasha asked about ballistics. She said they were three slugs with no rifling and completely untraceable. Natasha realized they were Soviet made.

"Connecting the dots." Natasha said.

"Which is a good thing." Bucky agreed.

Hill was shocked that Natasha knew the info as Fury suddenly started seizing. "Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me." Natasha muttered as Fury was given defibrillation but still didn't respond while Natasha muttered a prayer under her breath. Eventually, the machine beeped and the doctors had to note his time of death as Natasha and Hill both felt tears drop.

No one said a word. While Fury was still sitting with them, it still felt sad to see his fake death there and some of them even felt sorry for their treatment of him, though it was justified.

Natasha closed her eyes and took deep breaths as Bucky held her hand.

Steve looked at the drive in his hands and later stood behind Natasha as she stood over Fury's dead body. Hill walked up next to him and said sadly she needed to take him. Steve walked up to Natasha. She patted Fury's head and walked out as Steve walked after her. She asked why Fury was at his apartment the previous night and he replied he didn't know. Rumlow arrived and said they wanted Cap back at SHIELD. He asked to give him a second but Rumlow said they wanted him now. Steve agreed as Natasha told him he was a terrible liar and walked off.

"Quite the opposite of me." Loki smirked.

"Yes." Steve agreed.

Steve then saw a vending machine nearby and a few minutes later, walked off with the STRIKE team, leaving the drive behind some bars in the vending machine.

"Nice." Sam smirked.

"Not that nice." Natasha remembered with a smirk as Steve chuckled.

Steve later arrived at Alexander Pierce's office in his Captain America suit. Pierce assured Sharon Carter she had tried her best and she walked off, greeting Steve who simply called her 'neighbor.'

"Which she was." Bucky said.

Pierce greeted Steve as they shook hands and he said it was an honor while Pierce said the honor was his as his father had served in the 101st. Pierce later showed Steve a picture of him and Fury which had been taken 5 years after their first meeting, when he was at a State Department in Bogota. E.L.N. rebels had taken the embassy and while security had gotten him out, the rebels had taken hostages. Nick was Deputy Chief of the SHIELD station there and had formulated a plan, which was to storm the building through the sewers. Pierce said they would negotiate but turned out the ELN didn't negotiate and put out a kill order. They had stormed the basement only to find it empty as Nick had ignored his direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil and saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including his daughter.

"Wow! That was badass and would have taken balls of steel!" Scott said.

"He has balls of Vibranium." Clint complimented Fury who shook his head with a smirk.

"Makes the Accords even worse." Matt said, "Because they restricted SHIELD as well."

"I know." Fury said.

"Unfortunate." Benjamin agreed.

Steve realized this is why Pierce had promoted him and he said he didn't have any reason to regret it. He asked why Fury was in his apartment last night and Steve said he didn't know. Pierce asked if he knew the apartment was bugged. Steve said he did because Fury had told him. Pierce asked if Fury had told him he was the one who had bugged it.

"So many secrets." Tony sighed.

"No need to bring that up right now." Steve said firmly.

Steve didn't reply and Pierce showed him footage of Batroc being interrogated. Steve asked if that was live and he said it was as he had been picked up the previous night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers. Steve asked if he was a suspect but Pierce said assassination wasn't his line and it was much more complicated. Batroc had been contacted anonymously via email to hijack the Lemurian Star and paid via wire transfer. The money had been run through 17 fictitious accounts.

"You really thought this through, didn't you?" Natasha asked.

"Couldn't afford even one misstep." Fury said.

Pierce said the last one went to a holding company registered to a Jacob Veech as he handed Steve a file. Steve asked if he was supposed to know the person but Pierce said he had died 6 years ago and his last known address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive and when he had first met Nick, his mother had lived in 1437. Steve realized Pierce was implying Fury had hired the pirates and he said the prevailing theory was the hijacking was a cover for acquisition and sale of classified Intel. The deal had gone sour and that had led to Nick's death. Steve said if he really knew Fury, he would know that isn't true. Pierce told him that was why they were talking.

"No. We're talking to get me out of the way." Steve snarled.

"Good to see you have faith in me, Rogers." Fury joked and everyone shook their heads.

Pierce walked to the window and said he had taken a seat on the Council because Nick had asked him to and they were both realists. They knew despite all the diplomacy and hand-shaking, to build a better world they needed to tear the old world down and that made enemies.

"Already looking shady which he is." Rhodes said.

Pierce said the people called them dirty as they had the guts to get their hands in the mud and the thought that they could be happy made him very, very angry. He said Steve was the last person to see Fury alive and they both knew it wasn't a coincidence. He asked again why Fury was there. Steve said Fury had told him not to trust anyone. Pierce wondered if it had included him. Steve said those were his last words and excusing himself, started walking out after picking up his shield. Pierce said somebody had murdered his friend and he was going to find out. Anyone who got in his way would regret it. Anyone.

"The threatening begins." Clint said.

Steve said he understood and walked out into the elevator, asking to go to Operations Control as he thought about what to do. Rumlow walked in with his STRIKE agents and the two greeted each other. As the elevator went down to Forensics, Rumlow said Evidence Response had found fibers on the roof and asked if he could get the tac team ready. Steve said they should wait and see what it was first. He then noticed one of them had a hand on his gun's holster. The elevator opened and more people walked inside in suits. As the elevator went down, Rumlow apologized for what had happened with Fury, calling it messed up. Steve thanked him and looked around at all the people. One of them was sweating.

"Uh-oh." Scott realized.

"It's kind of obvious." Hope said.

"Now I will never be able to get into elevators with too many people." Tony said and everyone chuckled.

"Don't worry, you will find a way." Steve told him.

The elevator opened and some more STRIKE agents walked in with Jack Rollins.

"Now they're just asking for it." Luke said.

"No kidding." Frank agreed.

As the elevator continued going down, Steve noted everyone's behavior and finally asked, "Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"

"And it begins." Bucky said.

"Polite even to your enemies." Pepper said.

"Didn't want unnecessary damage." Steve shrugged.

Rollins suddenly brandished a taser rod and turned around as the others together grabbed Steve and pinned him to the wall. They took out magnetic cuffs and put one on Steve's hand, trying to pin it to the wall. Grunting with all his strength, Steve freed his hand and kicked one on the knee and smacked one out before elbowing one away as his cuff stuck to the ceiling. He kicked another away and smacked Rollins away before punching another out and elbowing the one behind him, flipped him to the ground.

Everyone clapped and cheered happily at Steve as Rhodes said, "Yeah take that Hydra morons!"

"Cap being a badass." Peter clapped.

Rumlow kicked Steve's hand and it got stuck to the wall due to the cuff. Steve tried to free it as Rumlow struck with the taser rod. Steve blocked once but was hit a second time, though he resisted it for many seconds.

"Wow!" Jessica said, "A normal guy would get knocked out in a second."

"We are not normal." Steve said.

He elbowed Rumlow away and threw another into a camera, shattering it as Jasper Sitwell ordered to mobilize tranq units.

"True colors revealed." Natasha snorted in disgust.

Steve grabbed an agent's hand and made him tase another one out before kicking two down and grabbing a third's hand and kicking him down too. He then pulled his hand out and finally managed to free himself as he flipped down. He then knocked one out and flipped the other down too as Rumlow got up and said, "Whoa, big guy. I just want you to know Cap, this isn't PERSONAL!" With that he attacked as Steve dodged and blocked but was hit by a taser. The process was repeated till Steve punched Rumlow and smashed him on the ceiling, knocking him out finally. "It kind of feels personal." He panted as he kicked the shield into his hand and broke the cuff.

Everyone cheered as Logan said, "Never mess with Cap in an elevator."

"You won't live to regret it." Frank joked and everyone laughed.

He started walking out but a team was waiting for him. He broke the elevator support and it went down before finally stopping due to the emergency support. He opened the doors and saw more agents coming. Realizing he had no other choice, he put the shield on his front and leapt out of the elevator, smashing the glass. He fell several floors onto the ground below, smashing a column on the way but the shield absorbed the impact and a groaning Steve got up and ran off.

Everyone's jaw dropped as they slowly started applauding.

"You're full of surprises, Captain." Hill told him.

Sitwell was shocked and asked to lock down the garage but Steve managed to leap out on his bike before it was possible. He rode around as a Quinjet flew in front of him and demanded him to stand down. It fired with is turret and Steve avoided all the shots before throwing his shield, staggering it back as the shield got stuck. He then flipped on his bike and leaping onto the Quinjet, ripped the shield out as the Quinjet swirled violently. Steve was almost thrown off but used the shield to hang on and jumping back up, threw it at the two wings, destroying them. He then leapt off with a flip and grabbing the shield, landed on the ground as the Quinjet crashed to the ground. Steve smirked and ran off.

Once again, there were applauses from everyone as Benjamin said, "This is what makes people into Cap fanboys."

"Uhhh, thanks." Steve said lamely.

"Now things are getting serious though." Natasha said and they all nodded, looking firmly at the screen.