Alive but not Awake
Unsettling People
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Fanfic | Alive but not Awake | Unsettling People
Steve and Bucky walked side by side as they travelled through the Shield building, around the top floor where they were supposed to be meeting Alexander Peirce; one of several governors of the world. The strike team had met them at the hospital after they said a last farewell to Fury's body, who died only hours before on the operating table in front of their own eyes. Both of them had immediately got into their uniforms as soon as they could, Fury's warning bouncing around their head at a hundred miles an hour. They may not especially like the guy, but many people seemed to trust him to some extent – especially Natasha Romanov.
The two of them turned a corner to find 'Kate' or as they had found out 'Agent Sharon Carter' standing next to a late 50's male who looked like he's had a lot of plastic surgery even though it was probably his natural skin. He had light brown hair that looked as if it were carefully combed back to make him look professional while his attire was a light grey denim suit and placed on his face were large black rimmed glasses that young people would typically say were nerd specs. He held a takeaway cup of coffee in his hand and took a small sip as Agent Carter turned away from him to see Steve and Bucky coming her way.
Agent Carter started her walk down the way Bucky and Steve were coming from, her hands were held together and she tried to hide the disappointment that neither one of them were exactly excited to see – they weren't happy, not like they were when she was playing Kate. Who would be? They had just found out that she had been basically spying on them for months, letting them think that she was just like any other civilian who cared about privacy and being nice enough not shout out that she was rooming next to the American heroes. It hurt Steve bad at the realisation, he was really beginning to like the woman - until of course her big unveil. Bucky felt sorry for him, he had been the one to push him into trying a relationship with 'Kate', it made him feel stupid for even suggesting it now.
Agent Carter wore the type of clothing that you would find on any other shield agent that worked in the building, she let out a small hesitant smile as she walked past them, "Captain Rogers, Lieutenant Barnes."
"Neighbour." Steve said, still looking forwards and not even glancing at her while Bucky just stayed silent not even bothering to answer to her. They felt her gaze from the back of their heads for a moment before it was gone, and so was the taps of her two-inch heals going around the corner they came from.
Bucky and Steve finally came up to the man who wanted to speak with them, their reason for leaving the hospital early and hiding that flash drive Fury had given to Bucky just before he passed out of pain and exhaustion.
"Ah, Captain. Lieutenant." Pierce exclaimed, a smile tinting on his face as the two American heroes walked up to him, "I'm Alexander Pierce." He held out his hand for both soldier to shake, which they did but something was screaming at them not to trust him. There was something in his eyes they could get a grip on, something he seemed to be hiding.
"Sir," Steve spoke for the both of them, "It's an honour." He shook away the feelings of dread that he caught from just looking at the man.
Pierce nodded, the smile still evident on his face, "The honour is mine Captain. To the both of you." He started to turn away from them and head for the door, "My father served in the 101st. Come on in." He gestured the room as he walked in himself. The two super soldiers followed close behind him, before closing the door.
~ 8 ~
Bucky and Steve stood by the long rectangular business table as they locked their gazes on the several pictures Alexander pierce had presented them. He was telling the two boys about Fury, and these pictures were to go with the story he's had locked in his head for a long time. On the pictures were two figures; one was Fury and the other was Alexander Pierce. "That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met," Pierce explained as they still looked at the photo in their hands, "When I worked at the State Department in Bogota." He strolled around the room at a slow pace towards his desk, he carefully placed his suit jacket around the desk chair before straightening his back once again – willing to tell more of the story.
"ELN Rebels took the embassy. Security took me out but the rebels took hostages. Nick was Deputy Chief for the Shield station and he comes to me with a plan," He paused as he looked up from gathering the paperwork that was lying around on his desk, "He wants to storm the building through the sewers and I said no, we'll negotiate. It turns out the ELN never negotiated, but initiated a kill order." He walked over to Bucky and Steve, holding a folder in his hand for each of them to look at. "They stormed the basement and what do they find? They find it empty." He slammed down the folder he was carrying onto the table and sat down on one of the small chairs. Bucky and Steve followed his example but making sure to keep their eyes on the man. "Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorised military operation on foreign soil, he saved the lives of a dozen political officers including my daughter." Both Bucky and Steve couldn't help but feel impressed by the man, they had done the exact same thing back in 1942 when Ava and her team were captured by the enemy. They didn't care about the order, only getting their sister/lover out of enemy soil including all those men that were in her team regardless of the future consequences.
"You gave Fury a promotion?" Bucky questioned, a little confused at how easy it was for a man like Fury to get such a job like this on just one spur of the moment, unauthorised mission. Although it wouldn't be much of a surprise since him and Steve – after the rescue they had hung up their talent shoes and built a team that would soon take down all the Hydra stations so they couldn't continue their work.
Pierce nodded, glumly, "I've never had any cause to regret it." If he wasn't behind everything then he would have felt actual remorse for the guy, but he was just a piece of the puzzle that needed to be removed for the ultimate plan to begin. He looked between the two boys who looked deep in thought, "Captain, Lieutenant. Why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Warning bells rung in each soldiers head at the question.
Bucky and Steve looked at each other as if they were having a silent agreement, telling each other to go with Fury's last dying wish - even if Pierce was supposed to be Fury's good friend, as he put it. Steve looked up to Pierce and putting on a small confused face, "I don't know." He lied.
Pierce just sat there for a moment, staring at the pair like he was trying to figure them out, "Did you know it was bugged," He noted, personally he had watched the tapes last night and he could tell that there was a hidden message in Fury's voice. That man definitely knew how to keep a secret and he was a little uncomfortable knowing the fact that these two could potentially bring down their ultimate plan that Hydra had been preparing since the end of the second war – everything thanks to the genius work of Dr. Zola.
Bucky glanced at Steve, "We did." He nodded, leaning his elbows on his knees as he eyed the governor with a scrutinising eye. Bucky could tell there was something that the man was hiding, he didn't show the typical signs of missing someone terribly – no matter how close he and Fury were, he should be grieving for the person he had known for a long time – he couldn't see anything that signifies grieving. He got the impression of an upcoming mess that was soon to move towards him and Steve in the near future. "Nick told us a while back."
"Did he tell you two that he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce questioned, he got a silent reply from the two best friends. They sat there not knowing what to say to that, each of them had made a silent guess to begin with when they heard about the secret spying equipment, and it was something Fury was good at after all. Pierce glance at the screen beside him, "I want you two to see something." He told them as he turned in his seat, pressing the on button – revealing a document that had a video of a man sitting in a chair being questioned.
Bucky and Steve turned in their seats too as the film came on, "Is that live?" Steve wondered, not seeing any video timeline on it like pre-recorded ones would have underneath.
"Yup." Pierce nodded, "They picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algeria."
Bucky looked between the video, "So, he's a suspect?" He assumed, the guy didn't look like much but looks can be deceiving – just ask the flaming red-headed agent.
"It's a little more complicated than that," Pierce grabbed the file he put on the table earlier, "Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian star and he was contacted by email and paid by wired transfer, then the money was run through 17 fake accounts. The last one went to a holder company and it was registered to a Jacob Veech." He closed back up the file and handed it to Steve.
Steve glanced at Bucky who looked as confused as he grabbed onto the file, "Are we supposed to know who this is?" Steve raised an eyebrow, he had never heard of the name before and just looking at Bucky once told him they were in the same place.
Pierce shook his head, answering, "Not likely," He muttered, "Veech died 6 years ago and his last address was 1435 Elmhurts Drive," There was a halt, "Nicks mother lived at 1437 Elmhurts drive," Steve was going through the files carefully – reading things with a good eye while Bucky looked over his shoulder in curiosity.
Bucky and Steve's head snapped up together in disbelief, finally getting what Pierce was saying, "Are you saying that Fury hired the pirates?" They both said at the same time, slightly looking at each other afterwards with a small glare as they did so. "Why?" Bucky continued, bringing his head back to the situation at hand.
"A prevailing theory," Pierce stated, sitting like Bucky was earlier, with his elbows leaning against his knees, "Was, that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence," Bucky and Steve suddenly thought back to the memory drive they hid in the gum section of the vending machine. There must be something very important on it if Fury gave it to them to protect, or maybe even solve. They had already come to the conclusion that both of them would do what it takes to bring down whoever was working at large right now, it's what they were built for. "The sale went sour and that's what led to Nick's death."
Steve just looked down at the file in front of him while Bucky sat there and observed the Alexander pierce as if he was trying to induce a conclusion on the man. Steve's head lifted slightly as he talked slowly. "If you really knew Nick Fury," He began, it didn't sound like the whole story was being told. He wouldn't have been surprised if the order for a raid was coerced by Fury – but to sell off intelligence, that didn't sound like him at all and he hasn't even known the man for long or well. "Then you know that's not true."
Pierce nodded with a raised eyebrow, "Why do you think us three are talking." He reminded them, he had to get that information – they could ruin the whole plan. Although, there was a 1% chance of that even happening – the 1% could be a deadly chance though and that would be all the soldiers need to revert their upcoming plans for the new world.
Pierce got up from his seat, Steve and Bucky following him in union. He strolled over to the wall-size glass window behind his desk, "You see, I took the position on the council not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me too. Because we were both realists." He leaned against the window with his right arm as he gazed upon the city, "We knew that despite the diplomacy and the handshaking, then what we really need to build a better world - would sometimes mean be to tear the old one down." He looked back at the boys, "And, that makes enemies."
Bucky frowned at his wording, the way he was saying those words didn't feel right in his gut. What Pierce was saying, wasn't the things Fury was telling them beforehand. Fury took the world for what it was, he spoke nothing about tearing the old world down and building a new one – but the way Pierce said those words made him feel dread in the futures events and something was shouting at him to stop the man before it was too late. He glanced at his best friend, who look back at him – both of them seemed to be getting that feeling.
"The people that call you dirty because you have the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to do something better and the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry." He paused, placing his hands inside his under-jacket for the suit, "Captain, Lieutenant – you were the last two people to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident and I don't think either of you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"
Steve and Bucky already knew what each of them were to say, they didn't trust this man to begin with. Bucky from the first time he met the guy and shortly after Pierce spoke about how Fury was going to sell intelligence for Steve. Both super soldiers could feel something dirty roll off him when they looked hard enough.
Bucky looked into the man's eyes, "He told us not to trust anyone, I held his hand while he passed out from the pain of the bullets." He noted a dangerous spark glint show up in Pierce's eyes but it disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
"I wonder," Pierce hypothesised, "If that included him."
Bucky and Steve were silent until Steve spoke up this time, "I'm sorry," He began, "But those were his last words. Excuse us." Steve and Bucky picked up their shields they had taken off when the originally sat down and clipped them back into their back holders. Both walked towards the office door, each of them feeling the strong urge to leave this place.
"Captain!" Pierce called, he was now leaning on his desk table. "Lieutenant!" Steve and Bucky turned together, "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why." He narrowed his eyes at the two American Heroes, "And no one will stand in my way. If they do, they're going to regret it. Anyone."
"Understood." Both soldier nodded and spoke in union, not even bothering to glare at each other as they spoke at the same time. They turned and walked out the door, feeling Pierce's deadly gaze on their backs.
When they were out of the room, Bucky dropped his voice as they walked towards the direction of the elevator, "I don't trust him at all, Steve," He cautioned, trying not to attract attention from the agents they walk past, "There's something about him that stinks."
Steve nodded, Bucky and Ava were always the best judges on character and demeanors. Even though his gut was also telling him not to trust Alexander Peirce, he would always go with Bucky's feelings anyway – not just because he was his best friend but also the fact that Bucky had a strong sense to know whether a person is good or bad. Ava was the one to teach him to assess body language and how people spoke before the serum, Bucky did better in the lessons than he ever did. It was all part of her original training to begin with, before the war. "I don't think we can trust Shield either, even though we never really have." Steve stated as they came up to the elevator. "Right now, we're on our own."
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Steve and Bucky walked side by side as they travelled through the Shield building, around the top floor where they were supposed to be meeting Alexander Peirce; one of several governors of the world. The strike team had met them at the hospital after they said a last farewell to Fury's body, who died only hours before on the operating table in front of their own eyes. Both of them had immediately got into their uniforms as soon as they could, Fury's warning bouncing around their head at a hundred miles an hour. They may not especially like the guy, but many people seemed to trust him to some extent – especially Natasha Romanov.
The two of them turned a corner to find 'Kate' or as they had found out 'Agent Sharon Carter' standing next to a late 50's male who looked like he's had a lot of plastic surgery even though it was probably his natural skin. He had light brown hair that looked as if it were carefully combed back to make him look professional while his attire was a light grey denim suit and placed on his face were large black rimmed glasses that young people would typically say were nerd specs. He held a takeaway cup of coffee in his hand and took a small sip as Agent Carter turned away from him to see Steve and Bucky coming her way.
Agent Carter started her walk down the way Bucky and Steve were coming from, her hands were held together and she tried to hide the disappointment that neither one of them were exactly excited to see – they weren't happy, not like they were when she was playing Kate. Who would be? They had just found out that she had been basically spying on them for months, letting them think that she was just like any other civilian who cared about privacy and being nice enough not shout out that she was rooming next to the American heroes. It hurt Steve bad at the realisation, he was really beginning to like the woman - until of course her big unveil. Bucky felt sorry for him, he had been the one to push him into trying a relationship with 'Kate', it made him feel stupid for even suggesting it now.
Agent Carter wore the type of clothing that you would find on any other shield agent that worked in the building, she let out a small hesitant smile as she walked past them, "Captain Rogers, Lieutenant Barnes."
"Neighbour." Steve said, still looking forwards and not even glancing at her while Bucky just stayed silent not even bothering to answer to her. They felt her gaze from the back of their heads for a moment before it was gone, and so was the taps of her two-inch heals going around the corner they came from.
Bucky and Steve finally came up to the man who wanted to speak with them, their reason for leaving the hospital early and hiding that flash drive Fury had given to Bucky just before he passed out of pain and exhaustion.
"Ah, Captain. Lieutenant." Pierce exclaimed, a smile tinting on his face as the two American heroes walked up to him, "I'm Alexander Pierce." He held out his hand for both soldier to shake, which they did but something was screaming at them not to trust him. There was something in his eyes they could get a grip on, something he seemed to be hiding.
"Sir," Steve spoke for the both of them, "It's an honour." He shook away the feelings of dread that he caught from just looking at the man.
Pierce nodded, the smile still evident on his face, "The honour is mine Captain. To the both of you." He started to turn away from them and head for the door, "My father served in the 101st. Come on in." He gestured the room as he walked in himself. The two super soldiers followed close behind him, before closing the door.
~ 8 ~
Bucky and Steve stood by the long rectangular business table as they locked their gazes on the several pictures Alexander pierce had presented them. He was telling the two boys about Fury, and these pictures were to go with the story he's had locked in his head for a long time. On the pictures were two figures; one was Fury and the other was Alexander Pierce. "That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met," Pierce explained as they still looked at the photo in their hands, "When I worked at the State Department in Bogota." He strolled around the room at a slow pace towards his desk, he carefully placed his suit jacket around the desk chair before straightening his back once again – willing to tell more of the story.
"ELN Rebels took the embassy. Security took me out but the rebels took hostages. Nick was Deputy Chief for the Shield station and he comes to me with a plan," He paused as he looked up from gathering the paperwork that was lying around on his desk, "He wants to storm the building through the sewers and I said no, we'll negotiate. It turns out the ELN never negotiated, but initiated a kill order." He walked over to Bucky and Steve, holding a folder in his hand for each of them to look at. "They stormed the basement and what do they find? They find it empty." He slammed down the folder he was carrying onto the table and sat down on one of the small chairs. Bucky and Steve followed his example but making sure to keep their eyes on the man. "Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorised military operation on foreign soil, he saved the lives of a dozen political officers including my daughter." Both Bucky and Steve couldn't help but feel impressed by the man, they had done the exact same thing back in 1942 when Ava and her team were captured by the enemy. They didn't care about the order, only getting their sister/lover out of enemy soil including all those men that were in her team regardless of the future consequences.
"You gave Fury a promotion?" Bucky questioned, a little confused at how easy it was for a man like Fury to get such a job like this on just one spur of the moment, unauthorised mission. Although it wouldn't be much of a surprise since him and Steve – after the rescue they had hung up their talent shoes and built a team that would soon take down all the Hydra stations so they couldn't continue their work.
Pierce nodded, glumly, "I've never had any cause to regret it." If he wasn't behind everything then he would have felt actual remorse for the guy, but he was just a piece of the puzzle that needed to be removed for the ultimate plan to begin. He looked between the two boys who looked deep in thought, "Captain, Lieutenant. Why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Warning bells rung in each soldiers head at the question.
Bucky and Steve looked at each other as if they were having a silent agreement, telling each other to go with Fury's last dying wish - even if Pierce was supposed to be Fury's good friend, as he put it. Steve looked up to Pierce and putting on a small confused face, "I don't know." He lied.
Pierce just sat there for a moment, staring at the pair like he was trying to figure them out, "Did you know it was bugged," He noted, personally he had watched the tapes last night and he could tell that there was a hidden message in Fury's voice. That man definitely knew how to keep a secret and he was a little uncomfortable knowing the fact that these two could potentially bring down their ultimate plan that Hydra had been preparing since the end of the second war – everything thanks to the genius work of Dr. Zola.
Bucky glanced at Steve, "We did." He nodded, leaning his elbows on his knees as he eyed the governor with a scrutinising eye. Bucky could tell there was something that the man was hiding, he didn't show the typical signs of missing someone terribly – no matter how close he and Fury were, he should be grieving for the person he had known for a long time – he couldn't see anything that signifies grieving. He got the impression of an upcoming mess that was soon to move towards him and Steve in the near future. "Nick told us a while back."
"Did he tell you two that he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce questioned, he got a silent reply from the two best friends. They sat there not knowing what to say to that, each of them had made a silent guess to begin with when they heard about the secret spying equipment, and it was something Fury was good at after all. Pierce glance at the screen beside him, "I want you two to see something." He told them as he turned in his seat, pressing the on button – revealing a document that had a video of a man sitting in a chair being questioned.
Bucky and Steve turned in their seats too as the film came on, "Is that live?" Steve wondered, not seeing any video timeline on it like pre-recorded ones would have underneath.
"Yup." Pierce nodded, "They picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algeria."
Bucky looked between the video, "So, he's a suspect?" He assumed, the guy didn't look like much but looks can be deceiving – just ask the flaming red-headed agent.
"It's a little more complicated than that," Pierce grabbed the file he put on the table earlier, "Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian star and he was contacted by email and paid by wired transfer, then the money was run through 17 fake accounts. The last one went to a holder company and it was registered to a Jacob Veech." He closed back up the file and handed it to Steve.
Steve glanced at Bucky who looked as confused as he grabbed onto the file, "Are we supposed to know who this is?" Steve raised an eyebrow, he had never heard of the name before and just looking at Bucky once told him they were in the same place.
Pierce shook his head, answering, "Not likely," He muttered, "Veech died 6 years ago and his last address was 1435 Elmhurts Drive," There was a halt, "Nicks mother lived at 1437 Elmhurts drive," Steve was going through the files carefully – reading things with a good eye while Bucky looked over his shoulder in curiosity.
Bucky and Steve's head snapped up together in disbelief, finally getting what Pierce was saying, "Are you saying that Fury hired the pirates?" They both said at the same time, slightly looking at each other afterwards with a small glare as they did so. "Why?" Bucky continued, bringing his head back to the situation at hand.
"A prevailing theory," Pierce stated, sitting like Bucky was earlier, with his elbows leaning against his knees, "Was, that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence," Bucky and Steve suddenly thought back to the memory drive they hid in the gum section of the vending machine. There must be something very important on it if Fury gave it to them to protect, or maybe even solve. They had already come to the conclusion that both of them would do what it takes to bring down whoever was working at large right now, it's what they were built for. "The sale went sour and that's what led to Nick's death."
Steve just looked down at the file in front of him while Bucky sat there and observed the Alexander pierce as if he was trying to induce a conclusion on the man. Steve's head lifted slightly as he talked slowly. "If you really knew Nick Fury," He began, it didn't sound like the whole story was being told. He wouldn't have been surprised if the order for a raid was coerced by Fury – but to sell off intelligence, that didn't sound like him at all and he hasn't even known the man for long or well. "Then you know that's not true."
Pierce nodded with a raised eyebrow, "Why do you think us three are talking." He reminded them, he had to get that information – they could ruin the whole plan. Although, there was a 1% chance of that even happening – the 1% could be a deadly chance though and that would be all the soldiers need to revert their upcoming plans for the new world.
Pierce got up from his seat, Steve and Bucky following him in union. He strolled over to the wall-size glass window behind his desk, "You see, I took the position on the council not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me too. Because we were both realists." He leaned against the window with his right arm as he gazed upon the city, "We knew that despite the diplomacy and the handshaking, then what we really need to build a better world - would sometimes mean be to tear the old one down." He looked back at the boys, "And, that makes enemies."
Bucky frowned at his wording, the way he was saying those words didn't feel right in his gut. What Pierce was saying, wasn't the things Fury was telling them beforehand. Fury took the world for what it was, he spoke nothing about tearing the old world down and building a new one – but the way Pierce said those words made him feel dread in the futures events and something was shouting at him to stop the man before it was too late. He glanced at his best friend, who look back at him – both of them seemed to be getting that feeling.
"The people that call you dirty because you have the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to do something better and the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry." He paused, placing his hands inside his under-jacket for the suit, "Captain, Lieutenant – you were the last two people to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident and I don't think either of you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"
Steve and Bucky already knew what each of them were to say, they didn't trust this man to begin with. Bucky from the first time he met the guy and shortly after Pierce spoke about how Fury was going to sell intelligence for Steve. Both super soldiers could feel something dirty roll off him when they looked hard enough.
Bucky looked into the man's eyes, "He told us not to trust anyone, I held his hand while he passed out from the pain of the bullets." He noted a dangerous spark glint show up in Pierce's eyes but it disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
"I wonder," Pierce hypothesised, "If that included him."
Bucky and Steve were silent until Steve spoke up this time, "I'm sorry," He began, "But those were his last words. Excuse us." Steve and Bucky picked up their shields they had taken off when the originally sat down and clipped them back into their back holders. Both walked towards the office door, each of them feeling the strong urge to leave this place.
"Captain!" Pierce called, he was now leaning on his desk table. "Lieutenant!" Steve and Bucky turned together, "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why." He narrowed his eyes at the two American Heroes, "And no one will stand in my way. If they do, they're going to regret it. Anyone."
"Understood." Both soldier nodded and spoke in union, not even bothering to glare at each other as they spoke at the same time. They turned and walked out the door, feeling Pierce's deadly gaze on their backs.
When they were out of the room, Bucky dropped his voice as they walked towards the direction of the elevator, "I don't trust him at all, Steve," He cautioned, trying not to attract attention from the agents they walk past, "There's something about him that stinks."
Steve nodded, Bucky and Ava were always the best judges on character and demeanors. Even though his gut was also telling him not to trust Alexander Peirce, he would always go with Bucky's feelings anyway – not just because he was his best friend but also the fact that Bucky had a strong sense to know whether a person is good or bad. Ava was the one to teach him to assess body language and how people spoke before the serum, Bucky did better in the lessons than he ever did. It was all part of her original training to begin with, before the war. "I don't think we can trust Shield either, even though we never really have." Steve stated as they came up to the elevator. "Right now, we're on our own."
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@Lokisqueen
The Sequel will be up in just under an hour - with two chapters. The prologue and chapter 1. And thank you so much.
10/7/15