Choices || CAPTAIN AMERICA

Chapter 2

"Oh, 5 years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my batting swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass. I found something 40 years in the army never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unplayable debt. You've... fought for us. Protected us. Risked your lives. While a great many people see you as heroes, there are some.... would prefer the word ' vigilantes'." The secretary tells our group.
"And what word would you use Mr. Secretary?"Nat asks him.
"How about 'dangerous'? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals, who routinely ignores sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind them." The screen lights up and shows us cities after battles we have fought.
"New York." He says. He then shows us a footage with what happened during the battle. He does the same for the other 4 cities we had destroyed and I start to feel guilty.
"Washington DC."
"Sokovia."
"Lagos." I see Wanda tense up on this one and Steve might have noticed it too.
"Okay. That's enough." He tells Mr. Secretary.
"For the past 4 years, you operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution." He took off again. An assistant handed him a book but I couldn't really make out the title from where I was sitting.
He passed it to Wanda and she passed it to Rhodey.
"The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries. It states, that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations Panel, only when and if that Panel deems it necessary." He continued and I have to admit that the fact that we would be under control and that all those disasters we are responsible for could be limited, let alone could stop, made my grief and stress of the last two days turn into relief.
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve affirmed.
"Tell me Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of 30 mega to be nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." The Secretary contradicted.
"So there are contingencies." Rhodey asked.
"3 days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. So talk it over."
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" I asked, still debating whether I should sign or not.
"Then you retire." He told me blankly.

"Secretary Ross, has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is 1 more that you have." Rhodey argued with Sam. I was sitting on the couch next to my brother who was hardly trying not to fall asleep.
"So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they lo- jack us like a bunch of criminals?"Sam argued back.
"A 117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're like ' No, it's cool."
"How long are you gonna play both sides?"
"I have an equation." Vision cut them off. Thank God.
"Oh. Now this will clear it up." Sam mocked, earning a stare from me.
"In the 8 years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of noted enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world- ending events has risen at a commissive rate."
"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve asked him.
"I'm saying there may be a casualty. Our very strength invited challenge. Challenge invites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight. Oversight is not an idea that could be dismissed out-of-hand."
"Boom." Rhodey said.
"The Stark siblings are being uncharacteristically non-hyper verbal today." Nat remarked with a slight smile.
"I just- I just feel that if we sign all this pain we caused could decrease significantly." I sighed.
"See, Sam? Maybe you should be more like your best friend."Rhodey said with a triumphant smile that made me roll my eyes.
"Do you always have to make it personal?" Sam objected.
"Boy." My brother said and stood up. "Actually I'm nursing my electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on Cap. It's just pain.... says Humphrey. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" He showed us a hologram of a boy. I couldn't quite get who that was.
"Oh. That's Charles Spencer, by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree. 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig. An Intel plan for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles his soul. Before he park it behind the desk. See the world, maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam. Sounds fun. He decide to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where? Sokovia. He want to make a difference , I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass. There's no decision making process here. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, we' re bounderless, we're no better that the bad guys."
"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up." Steve said.
"Who said we're giving up?"
"We are for not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames."
"Sorry, Steve, that... That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the world security council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA."Rhodey defended.
"No, but it's run by people with agendas and agendas change."
"That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands I shut it down and stop manufacturing them."Tony butts in the conversation.
"Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign these, we surrender our right to choose. What if Panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go. What if it's somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us. We may not be perfect but the safest hands are still our own."
"If we don't do this now, it's going to be done to us later. That's a fact. That won't be pretty. "
"You're saying they'll come for me." Wanda said.
"We will protect you." Vision told her.
"Maybe Tony is right. If, we have one hand on the wheel that can still steer."Nat said and I looked at her with pure shock. Did she just say she agree with my brother?
"Aren't you the woman who told the government to kiss our ass a few years ago?"Sam asked her.
"I'm just... monitoring. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win our trust back."
"I'm sorry. Did I just misheard you or did you agree with me?" Tony asked surprised.
"Oh, trust me I want to take it back." Nat answered.
"No, no, no. You can't retract it." Steve's phone buzzed causing me to look to his direction. His face dropped.
"I have to go." He told us and left. Everyone looked at his direction. Nat elbowed me lightly. I nodded.
"If you'll excuse me too." I said and made my way downstairs. I tried to find him and I saw him down the stairs, his hand on his face. I made my way down the stairs.
"Hey." I said caressing his shoulder. "What happened?" He didn't respond but I saw his red eyes.
"Come here." I said wipping a tear off his face and then hugging him. He hugged back tightly. There was a mirror in front of me and Steve was still holding his phone. I read the message.
"I'm so sorry. "I told him and caressed his hair after I kissed his head.

LONDON
We sat on the front row with Sam and Steve. I sat between them.
"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter, to come up and say a few words." Wait. I know that name. She came up and I elbowed both of them. They looked at me surprised and I nodded toward Sharon.
"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD. But I just knew her as Aunt Peggy. She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage at a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, compromise when you can. When you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move. It's your duty, to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say 'No. You Move.'"
When the funeral was over, Steve told Sam and I he wanted to be alone. And yeh, he stayed in that room for more than 10 minutes. But I don't blame him. He's never gonna have the chance to see Peggy, he should as well say his goodbyes. I decided to go talk to Sharon.

"My mom tried to talk me to enlisting, but... not Aunt Peggy. She brought me my first knife holster." She told me when we entered the door. We talked a bit about her work in CIA.
"I know how that is. My father showed me my first bomb as well." I said and we laughed.
"So CIA has you stationed over here now?" I asked once we arrived in front of the elevator.
"In Berlin, joint terrorist sand task force."
"Right. Sounds fun."
"I know right?"
"Steve wanted me to ask you, when you were spying on him from across the hall, did Peggy know?"
"She kept so many secrets. I didn't want her to have to remember him."
I nodded.
"Thank you for accompanying me."
I smiled. "Anytime."
"Alice, there's something you gotta see."Sam interrupted us.  I followed him to a room where part of us were listening to the news.
"...blast through the UN building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead. Including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect. Identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier." I looked at Steve just to see a hard expression his face. "The infamous HYDRA agent , linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations."
"I have to go to work." Sharon told us. As if on cue, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. Annoyed, I take it out and look at the caller ID: Tony.

"Yeah, I know." I said referring to what happened in Vienna.

"No, you don't. We need you in Berlin. I'm sending a jet to come pick you up. Be ready in 5'." He told me and immediately hung up, not giving me time to answer. I sighed and looked at Steve.

"Don't do anything stupid." I warn him.

"Only what's necessary." He replied. I looked at him one more time and made my way outside to find the jet my brother had sent for me.