To The End [Steve Rogers]

14 - Mystery & Mayhem

Steve parks the truck outside of an abandoned military base. Jessica, who had only just woken up from a short nap, stretches her arms as soon as she gets out of the car.

Pulling her phone from her pocket, she raises it to the sky. "Yup, the drive definitely came from these coordinates."

Steve looks at the sign on the gate. His expression is nostalgic, "So did I."

The sun is setting in the distance, but Jessica doesn't detect any rush in Steve's steps. He follows her with his shield strapped to his arm protectively, but the look on his face proves that he's watching an entirely different scene around him.

"Steve," she says, placing a hand on his arm, "Are you alright?"

It's a moment before he looks down at her. His eyes are foggy and expression blank, "This camp is where I was trained."

Though it's grown dark since they've arrived, Jessica tries to imagine her surroundings as a noisy military base. As difficult as that is, it's even harder to picture Steve there pre-serum.

"A lot has changed since then," she says.

"Yeah." He admits, "It's places like this that reminds me of that."

She smiles softly, though he can't really see her now that the night has taken over. Hearing him talk about his former life makes her heart flutter. He trusts her enough to talk about it, even though it's hard to relive.

They continue scouting the area, but Jessica's phone isn't picking up any sign of activity. The coordinates match perfectly, but the base has clearly been abandoned since the war.

"I think we've got the wrong place," she glances his way as he's staring off into the distance. "I don't mind sticking around if you want—um, Steve?"

He hasn't averted his eyes away from the building behind her, "I don't remember that being there."

Jessica looks at the perfectly normal warehouse and Steve holds a hand up to her absentmindedly as she jumps down from the ledge she's on.

"That can't be a coincidence," she realizes.

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place," Steve informs her, unhinging the door with the help of his shield.

They open the door to a room with a staircase that is only lit with emergency lights. As they start down it, Jessica feels her nose start to twitch amidst all the dust and the cobwebs. When Steve flicks on the lights, the room at the bottom of the stairs reveals itself to be an office space.

"This must be where SHIELD started," she says, amazed.

They don't find anything out of the ordinary, so they continue into the space. Despite Jessica's attempts to wander a different direction than him, Steve continues along behind her. Maybe he's being overprotective, but something tells her that he's just not fond of memory lane.

Old, framed portraits hang on the wall before them. She attempts to match the faces to the names she knows from Steve's file, but only a few of them stand out.

"Howard Stark," she recalls, "Tony's dad."

He nods.

The one beside it is a portrait of woman she vaguely recognizes, but can't pinpoint a name, "Who is she?"

His stoic expression leaves her feeling guilty for bringing it up. He continues silently, though his distance from her does not change.

She trails behind him as he comes up to a dusty bookcase.