3 Chapter Three

Carissa was still reeling over the fact Fury was alive as he sat in front of them. Honestly, none of them could believe it. They'd watched him die. Now Carissa watched as Fury talking to her dad, Nat and Sam. He trusted Sam, but not her? She remembered what she'd said before, about not questioning things. She thought about taking that all back. She had questioned this. A lot. 

They were talking about stopping the launch. She knew her orders. Follow Natasha. The mention of Barnes made her look up, but it had been over as soon as it had happened. The young assassin shook his name out of her head. She knew what happened when they were distracted.  Fury told Steve that he was giving the orders. It was backwards, to say the least but Carissa knew what she had to do. Follow Natasha was all that was supposed to matter to her. That was all she'd been trained to care about. Where's her dad? Who gives a shit?  She needed to follow Tash.

She stood behind her dad on the old bridge as he got that far away look in his eye. He's thinking about Bucky, she knew that face. So was she, but he had actual memories. She had only known what the Smithsonian had told her about him, but her dad had real memories. She had the stories Steve had told her about him and her dad had lived through those stories. She hadn't thought it was fair.

She followed her dad off the bridge. It hadn't been time for her to follow any orders yet, so she went with him. Next thing she know, they were standing before the Smithsonian. They entered, Carissa laughing to herself slightly. Funny how she had just been thinking about it. Fitting. Before she knew it, her dad was covered top to bottom in red, white and blue, leaving behind a naked mannequin. She smiled, more amused than anything. She always hated his original suit, so the smile was more mocking. She raised an eyebrow to match. She had loved this.

If there was anyway Bucky would recognize Steve, it would be due to that suit. Unfortunate, but true. Bucky recognized, maybe even preferred it, but it wasn't a great suit for him. It wasn't a great look for him. It brought back the ideals of what it had been created for 70 years ago. He only had the upgrades because he needed them. Fit in with the times, grandpa. 

"You're not following Natasha." Steve told her as they waited in the control room. "Follow me."

"What?" She asked. They never deviated from the plan, afraid of getting sloppy. Plans were well thought out before hand for this exact reason. He didn't answer, he just walked off. She'd never gotten that order before, but something told her this may be her new normal. 

A man opened the door, a shocked expression crossed his face as he came face to face with Captain America with Sam, Maria and Carissa all pointing their guns at him.

"Excuse us." Steve said. The guy raised his arms in surrender.

They made their way to the intercom. "Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D agents, this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it."

"You're not the only one, dad." Carissa had interjected.

He smiled before finishing. "But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

Sam took a step forward. "Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?"

Carissa laughed at his comment. "He definitely reverses." She told Sam. She could hear gunshots erupting from all around them as she waited for further instructions. She ran out with Steve and Sam. Follow Steve was her mission.

"Hey Cap, how will we know the good guys from the bad?" He asked.

"If they're shooting at you, they're bad."

Carissa made a face at Steve, who just shrugged in response. How else was he supposed to answer that? That's a great way to tell the difference. Carissa just hoped they would all be fast enough to tell the good from the bad. Sam powered up his wings, flying off the side of the cliff. Steve and Carissa both jumped. They both landed, rolled, and continued running. More acrobatics were involved as they avoided getting shot. Carissa's core was burning, muscles screaming. No matter how often they did this, they didn't get used to it.

She heard her dad ask Sam if he's okay and her heart stopped. Steve nodded at the girl and she knew he was okay. Her breathing returns to normal as her heart started again. Holding her breath had caused a whole new level of burning to coarse through her body. She pulled her gun out of her holster. One thing you desperately tried to avoid in this line of work: don't get attached to anyone. That was the girl's weakness. Getting attached.

"Dad?" She asked for permission.

"Fire at them all, sweetheart."

She did as was told, firing at whoever fired at her. Steve ran ahead of her, taking out who he could with the shield alone. They ran onto the helicarrier, he did what he needed to as she waited, standing guard. He nodded at her and she followed as they ran back out. Steve told Sam he's gonna need a ride as they ran out.

Sam grabbed her and Steve. He set them down and walked with them on the roof of the building.

"You're a lot heavier than you look." Sam told Steve.

"I had a big breakfast." He replied.

The Winter Soldier pushed Steve off the side of the helicarrier out of nowhere. He'd sat there, waiting for any opportunity he came across. Sam jumped to his rescue, but Winter grabbed his wings, pulling him back. He shot at him as he just rolled away. Carissa shot at him, prompting him to grab her and throw the small girl at Sam before throwing both of them off the edge. Sam screamed as she just held her breath. He pulled out a parachute and they landed, he immediately asked Steve if he was okay. After a few seconds he looks at her. She furrowed her eyebrows, only able to her Sam's side of the conversation. She wished she had an earpiece, too. 

"I'm grounded. The suit's down. Sorry, Cap." A few more seconds passed. "She's fine. Looks a little paler than usual." He said to Steve. Steve said something she couldn't hear before Sam looked at her again.

"Not afraid of HYDRA or the Winter Soldier, but you're afraid of heights?" He taunted.

"Nobody's afraid of heights. They're afraid of the fall. I am very much not fond of falling." She responded. "What now? I have orders to follow my dad."

"I'm on it." He said into his earpiece. "You come with me." He told her.

As per usual, she did as she'd told and followed him back into headquarters, her gun in her hand. They move their way through the floors. They get to floor 41. Sam waited, standing behind the door. She hid under a desk as Rumlow walked in. She hated this Rumlow guy, always had. She's just glad it was finally being justified. Sam surprised him, but Rumlow quickly put him down.

"This is gonna hurt." He said. "There are no prisoners with HYDRA. Just order. And order only comes through pain. You ready for yours?" Rumlow asked.

"Man, shut the hell up." Sam said. Carissa took that as her cue, jumping onto Rumlow's back to stall him. It didn't work. He threw her off of him and onto a table. A small squeak erupted from the girl.

"Sorry, Riss. Nothing personal." Rumlow said. She'd heard that line before and just like that time, this felt personal.

"Man, shut the hell up." She said, quoting Sam. Rumlow turned back to Sam, both taking a step towards the other, fists raised.

Meanwhile, she realized she couldn't move her arm. She slowly slid off the table, attempting to aim her gun in her right hand, her dominant hand down for the count as of right now, thanks to Rumlow. Her right arm shakes as she aimed for Rumlow's abdomen. Nothing lethal, just to stall. Well, if he got seen fast enough it won't be lethal.

As she pulled on the trigger; she realized how off her aim really was. The bullet barely grazed his left thigh.

"Damn it." She whispered. She closed her left eye and tried again, careful not to hit Sam. From how much they were moving, it would've been extremely difficult not to. Then a helicarrier started breaking through the building. Literally through the building. Shattered glass came hurdling toward them as the building crumbled. Sam and Carissa started running. He relayed their location to Nat as they both jumped out the window. Natasha grabbed Sam as he grabbed Riss by her left arm. She screamed as the pain ran through to her elbow.

"It's broken." Natasha told him. That explained why she couldn't move it.

"Rumlow threw her across a room. She shot him in the thigh in return." Sam told her.

"I was aiming for his abdomen." The girl told them. Nat smiled.

"That's my girl." She said.

They find Steve all bloody beside a body of water. Both Steve and Carissa admitted to the hospital, despite the fight the girl put up. Sam sat with him, playing music on the table beside her chair. Her arm wrapped in a cast, already itchy. This is gonna be fantastic.

He opened his eyes and turns to Sam. "On your left."

Sam and Riss both smiled. Steve turned to her and looked at my her, a concerned look crossed over his face. She looked at Sam.

"You love telling the story, so go ahead." She told Sam.

"It was crazy, man. Rumlow starts talking and I tell him to shut the hell up so this crazy girl jumps on his back to give me a bit of an advantage, which doesn't work out considering Rumlow threw her across a room and broke her arm. But don't think that stopped her because little blondie put her gun in her right hand and grazed his thigh, which helped slightly." Sam was all excited. Too excited. He didn't know what was to come, none of them did as they sat in that hospital.

"I was aiming for his abdomen."

Steve smiled. "That's my girl." He said.

The three of them stand next to Fury as they look at his headstone. It felt weird, not questioning. She wondered who or what they had buried. They talked about business, as usual. Fury said he's heading to Europe and asked Steve to join. Europe? She'd always wanted to see Europe.

"There's something I gotta do first." He said. Carissa nodded, knowing what that meant. That meant they had something to do first. 

Fury asked Sam. He declined. Fury shook both of their hands and looked at the girl. He sighed before offering her his hand. She smiled, taking his hand. Fury didn't smile back, which she had expected, but he nodded at her. That was good enough.

Dad spotted Nat and walked to her. They talked; the girl waited. Sam walked over and she followed.

"You're going after him." Sam said.

"You don't have to come with me." Dad replied.

"I know." He said. "When do we start?"

She smiled at him then her dad. 

We start now.

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