[ WWII AU ] a ghost story

[from_the_outside]

It's been almost two years since she's been home, and little by little, the grief has gotten easier to live with.

It hasn't gone away. But she's able to focus on her job, watch movies, chat with friends, sleep most nights. She still dreams about him, but the dreams are tinged with wistful longing and only sometimes does she wake up with tears on her cheeks. She can't have his picture out in this apartment, Kate's apartment, but it's safe in the mountain house, along with his last letter to her, and she has a scan on her phone to look at when the long day is over and she's in bed, the stars from the lamp he'd given her filling her dark room.

Steve has helped, more than she could ever explain, and she hopes she's helped him in return. Aside from a few deeply classified missions here and there, they haven't worked together all that much, but she still sees him almost every day. In the halls, she's undercover as his mild-mannered neighbor, Kate, but in her secure apartment they can talk over anything, everything.

And it works. Every day is a little easier. They lean on each other when they need to, and they spend hours remembering and reminiscing about Bucky, talking shop, chatting about how Steve's fitting into the future. It's nice. She still misses Bucky, an ache that never really goes away, but they can both breathe through it, work through it, live through it.

She's on her way up from the basement laundry machines when she hears a familiar step in the hall, and has to smile to herself – first her own, then Kate's sweeter, more open one. "Hey, neighbor."

Comments

[from_the_outside]

* * * * *

She doesn't understand how everyone can be acting like everything is normal. There's a slight pall over the Triskelion, but she'd have expected the death of the Director to hit SHIELD like an atom bomb.

Instead, it means a quiet meeting with Pierce while every nerve is on edge. She passes Steve in the hall and can't quite keep from letting her glance linger on him just a little longer than would be expected. "Captain Rogers," she says, smoothly, and receives a brusque greeting in return.

Nat is the only one who seems as shaken as Sharon feels – not that they've been able to communicate by anything other than a few quick calls and texts. Nat only asks her to confirm a few details Steve had mentioned about the shooter and offers nothing in return, which makes Sharon think her friend may just be considering going after the man herself.

If that's the case, she could use back up.

But before Sharon can leave, she's summoned, along with everyone else from at least ten floors, to the command pool, where she folds her arms as Agent Sitwell enters. "Eyes here," he tells the agents, who all give him their attention. "Whatever your op is, bury it. This is Level One. Contact DOT. All traffic lights in the district go red. Shut all runways at BWI, IAD and Reagan. All security cameras in the city go through this monitor, right here. Scan all open sources. Phones, computers, PDAs, whatever. If someone tweets about this guy, I want to know about it."

What? A chill runs through her, and she glances around at the other agents, some of whom are already on their phones with contacts, obeying Sitwell's orders.

Is this it? What Fury had meant? Is there anyone in this room she can trust? "With all due respect – "

She lifts her chin and speaks clearly, her glance steady on Sitwell. "If SHIELD is conducting a manhunt for Captain America, we deserve to know why."

[marvel_npc]

"Because he lied to us." He'd had a feeling that Sitwell wouldn't be able to handle this on his own. Pierce moves into the room with all the confidence the moment demands, careful to make sure his expression shows nothing more than determination flavored with disappointment and a hint of grief.

It's even true. He's going to miss Fury, but the man had been asking too many questions, and the cause is too important for him to have risked letting him continue, especially after he started becoming suspicious of Insight.

"Captain Rogers has information regarding the death of Director Fury. He refused to share it." He scans the room, meeting gaze after gaze, making note of anyone who looks like they might argue. More than one looks stunned and off balance, but of them all, it's the very effective Agent Thirteen who'd had the courage to speak out. He directs his next remarks to her. "As difficult as it is to accept, Captain America is a fugitive from SHIELD."

[from_the_outside]

It isn't difficult. It's damn impossible to accept, unless she also accepts that her beloved SHIELD isn't what she believes it to be. She meets Pierce's gaze and wonders, suspicion sharpening: is he the enemy?

Because Steve isn't. But no one else seems willing to back her up on that. "How do we know he's withholding information, sir?"

Her shoulders feel painfully tight. "I've come to know Captain Rogers over my assignment. He's usually pretty forthcoming."

[marvel_npc]

"I asked him myself." It's only natural she'd feel responsible for her protectee, he figures, and there's no question that Steve Rogers is an inspirational sort.

Still, she'd been right there on the scene after Nick Fury went down. She'd been the first to respond, trying to save his life. Had she seen something? Had he said something?

Pierce shakes his head. "I gave him every opportunity to explain. I even warned him how important this was, how much we needed his help."

[from_the_outside]

He'd attacked Steve, she realizes. The alarms she'd heard before – Steve had been going in to speak with Pierce right after her. He must have said something – or not said something Pierce wanted to hear – and they'd gone after him.

Fury was right. SHIELD is compromised.

And she's standing in the middle of an army of agents.

A thrill of adrenaline threads through her, but she stands her ground, planting her fists on her hips the way she used to as a child, unconsciously emulating her great-aunt. "Steve Rogers is a reasonable man," she argues. "We're treating him like the enemy."

She has to get word to Steve. She has to get out of here. "He knows me, now. If you call off the hunt, sir, maybe I can get him to come back in. Quietly."

[marvel_npc]

"Every second we delay increases the risk that Nick Fury's murderer gets away with it. No. We can't afford to wait."

Pierce shakes his head and looks around the room. "No one hopes more than I do that this is all some kind of misunderstanding. But in order to answer that question, we need to find Captain Rogers. Now." It's an order, and the agents in the room take it as such. As they start moving, he turns his regard on Thirteen.

"Agent, a word, if you wouldn't mind?"

[from_the_outside]

She minds. But she leaves her position and comes to fall in with him, her expression neutral despite the way her mind is spinning. "I don't mean to be insubordinate, sir," she says, as she comes close to him. "Director Fury... he recruited me. I worked with him for a long time."

[marvel_npc]

"I understand. It's been a difficult day for all of us." He studies her carefully. "But I hope you can see the position we're in. Can I count on you, Agent?"

[from_the_outside]

"Yes, sir."

She lets her tone become a little more fervent. "SHIELD can always count on me."

[marvel_npc]

"Glad to hear it." He moves a little further to the side of the room, near the exit, tipping his head to indicate she should accompany him. "Now. You suggested you thought Captain Rogers might listen to you?"

[from_the_outside]

"We spoke most days."

She walks alongside him and pitches her voice a little lower. "Yes, he knew me as my cover, but we chatted. Got along. We were... friendly. And after last night – "

Her voice threatens to lock on her; she powers relentlessly through. "He knows I'm SHIELD, but he knew me as Kate first."

[marvel_npc]

"Personal connections. That'd mean a lot to a man like him," he agrees.

Something to think about, for certain.

"Do what you can to talk him in, Agent. If you've got a way to reach out to him, now'd be the time."

[from_the_outside]

"Yes, sir."

She has to get a warning to Steve. She has to keep him the hell away from the Triskelion. "Anything else, sir?"

[marvel_npc]

"Not at the moment." He checks his watch; he's about to be late for his call with the rest of the Council.

"Clock's ticking. Good luck, Agent Thirteen."

Pierce nods, dismissing her, and leaves the room with quick strides.

[from_the_outside]

She waits until he's gone, then goes back to the pool, where other agents are already working on the screens and at the desks, Sitwell pacing nearby, watching them. She makes her way directly to him, adrenaline coursing through her veins. "Agent," she says, as she comes up to him. "I need to go back to the apartments. There may be something there we missed last night."

He considers her, but the slight note of submission she'd put into her voice seems to do the trick; Sitwell always had liked being in charge. "Fine," he says. "Report in when you have something."

Sharon nods, then makes her way out of the room – the opposite direction from Pierce.

Just in case.

[marvel_npc]

* * * * * * *

Everything that's happened brought more questions than answers, but hopefully they'll find some of those at Lehigh. Steve concentrates on driving the borrowed truck, keeping his cap pulled low at Nat's instruction to avoid being caught by traffic cameras.

"It'll be easier once we're on the back roads," she assures him. "It might take us a little longer, but it'll be safer."

"Whatever works." He glances over at her, then back at the road. "You're sure that phone of yours is secure?"

She shrugs. "As sure as I am of anything."

"You realize that's not much comfort," Steve points out. Nat shrugs again. "Would you rather I lied to you?"

"No. I wouldn't." He sighs, but there's really no way around it. They have to risk it. "See if you can get a hold of Sharon. She needs to know what's going on."

[from_the_outside]

She's running hard up against the edge of when even she has to admit she needs to call in or rouse suspicion, but she hasn't found anything yet. Steve isn't answering his phone and neither is Nat – both good signs, she tells herself – and there's nothing in his apartment when she does a sweep. Even tracking Steve's race across the rooftop yields no results but shattered glass and a few bootprints that offer no answers.

But she can't go back to the Triskelion.

She's climbing back down the edge of the neighboring building when her phone goes off, the caller ID showing a number she doesn't recognize. Sharon hits accept and lifts the phone to her ear. "Who is this?"

[marvel_npc]

"You don't sound happy to hear from me," Nat murmurs, putting the phone on speaker so Steve can hear as well. "Am I interrupting?"

[from_the_outside]

A sigh of relief escapes her, and she looks down so no one will be able to read her lips. "Nat."

Hurriedly, she slips back into her own building and goes up the stairs as quickly as she dares. "As it happens, I've been given a brand new assignment. And so has everyone else."

[marvel_npc]

"Everyone?" Nat asks, archly. Steve thinks he sees a flicker of dismay in her eyes, but he can't be sure. "That sounds important. What assignment?"

He doesn't wait for her to answer. "Are you okay?" he interrupts.

[from_the_outside]

This time, she can't help the relief from flooding her voice. "Steve."

For a moment, she leans her hand against the stairwell wall, her head bowed, just to take a breath before she keeps going. "I'm okay. Hang on. Let me get secure."

A moment later, she's heading into her own apartment and locking the door behind her. "Secretary Pierce has instituted a division-wide manhunt," she tells them. "Every agent is looking for you, Steve. He told us you lied to him, that you withheld information. You need to get out of DC."

[marvel_npc]

He ignores the sudden interest in Nat's glance as she listens to Sharon's reaction, and focuses instead on what she's telling them. "Guess he needed a reason to justify sending STRIKE after me," he says, dryly. "Can't say I'm all that surprised. He really wanted to know why Fury came looking for me."

Steve blows out a rough breath. "Don't worry. We're safe, for now. But we know who killed Fury. We've also got a lead on why, and so we're trying to find out what he wants."

[from_the_outside]

She swallows her first impulse, which is to tell them to head to the mountain house – or, hell, to hop a plane and go to France, where Sharon owns a little cottage way out in the middle of nowhere, a perfect place to hide out – and focuses on Steve's intel. "Who?"

He hadn't had any details last night, only that the guy was fast and strong. "Why?"

[marvel_npc]

"They call him the Winter Soldier." Steve's already heard this, so she doesn't need to worry about his reaction. Instead, Nat concentrates on keeping her voice as natural as she can so that she doesn't give everything away, knowing that Sharon will be able to read anything wrong in a way that Steve can't yet. "Remember the assassin who shot through me in Odessa?"

[from_the_outside]

"You're kidding."

There's something in Nat's voice she doesn't like, but she can't quite pinpoint what it is. "I guess that explains the whole 'shooting people through walls' thing."

Her thoughts race. "Does that mean... SHIELD's been compromised by Russia?"