Steve and Rachel walked to Alexander Pierce's office where he was talking to Kate or Sharon. They finished talking and she walked towards them. "Captain Rogers, Agent Howard", she greeted, walking past them. "Neighbour", Steve replied. "Oh. Captain. Agent", Pierce said. "I'm Alexander Pierce".

"Sir, it's an honour"

"The honour's mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in"

Pierce held up a photo of him and Fury with one hand on their hearts and one hand raised. "That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met, when I was at State Department in Bogota", he explained. "ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was Deputy Chief of the SHIELD station there, and he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate". Turned out, the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what do they find? They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order, and carried out an unauthorised military operation on foreign soil, and saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter". "So you gave him a promotion?" Steve said.

"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"

"I don't know"

"Did you know it was bugged?"

"I did, because Nick told me"

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it? I want you to see something"

A video appeared on the screen of Batroc being interrogated. "Who hired you, Batroc?" the interviewer asked. "Is that live?" Rachel said. "Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe-house in Algiers", Pierce said.

"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line"

"No, no. It's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star. And he was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer, and then the money was run through 17 fictitious accounts. The last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech"

"Are we supposed to know who that is?" Steve said.

"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437"

"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?" Rachel said.

"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"

"If you really knew Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true"

"Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to, because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that, despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you've got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today makes me really, really angry. Captain, Agent, you were the last people 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?" "He told us not to trust anyone", Steve said.

"I wonder if that included him"

"I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us"

"Captain, somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone"

"Understood"

They got into the elevator. "Operations Control", Steve said. "Confirmed", the SHIELD computer said, shutting the door. But before the door could shut, Rumlow and some colleagues entered the elevator. "Keep all STRIKE personnel on strike", Rumlow instructed. "Forensics". The doors closed.

"Cap, Agent"

"Rumlow", Steve said. They started moving. "Evidence Response found some fibres on the roof they want us to see", Rumlow informed them. "You want me to get the tac team ready?" "No, let's wait and see what it is first", Steve replied.

"Right"

They looked down to see the men clutching their guns. The doors opened and men in suits with briefcases piled in, chatting. They moved into the middle to make room. "I'm sorry about what happened with Fury", Rumlow said to them, without turning his head. "It's messed up, what happened to him". "Thank you", Rachel said. Steve looked over at the man beside him, discovering beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. The doors opened again and three more men came in. "Before we started, does anyone want to get out?" Steve said. The man in front pulled out a sword and aimed for Steve. Rachel tried to block him but both her and Steve were restrained on opposite sides of the elevator. They put cuffs on their wrists. Steve kicked at them and elbowed the man about to put the second cuff on his wrist. He fought them off and freed himself. While they were distracted, Rachel was able to free herself and help Steve fight them. Unfortunately, the cuffs were magnetic making it impossible to move. "I just want you to know, this isn't personal!" Rumlow said, starting to attack them. They eventually fought them all off. "It kind of feels personal", Rachel commented as Steve picked up his shield. He pressed the button and doors opened revealing a STRIKE team all pointing guns at them. "Drop the shield and put your hands in the air", they instructed. He used his shield to hit the wall, causing the elevator to fall several storeys. It stopped and Steve pulled open the doors, seeing the STRIKE team running towards them, he closed them again. He looked down. "Give it up! Get that door open!" they yelled. "You have nowhere to go!" Steve looked at Rachel. "Oh, absolutely not", she said. "We don't have a choice", he replied.

"Ugh, fine"

He put his arm around her waist and burst through the glass. They fell down to the main lobby, landing on his shield. They slowly got up and started running.

They just made it through the closing gate on Steve's motorcycle onto the highway as a quinjet flew in front of them. "Stand down. Stand down", the pilot said, preparing the gun. "Repeat, stand down". He started firing and Steve carefully dodged each hit. He threw his shield at the left side of the jet, knocking it slightly. "Get ready to jump", he said to Rachel.

"What?!"

He pulled the brakes and flipped onto the jet while Rachel rolled onto the road. He grabbed his shield and hit the back of the jet. He caught it again and landed on the road. "Show off", Rachel muttered, standing up.

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