Coffee, Courage and a Captain

Chapter Twenty-Two: Behind Enemy Lines

She only had a brief second to realise she was probably going to die as she plummeted toward the earth.

Internally, she cursed Howard's questionable piloting skills, and had to admit to herself that despite the cold wind lashing at her face, she was generally okay. Probably dead in a minute, but at least she wouldn't feel much pain. She flipped over so that she could watch the stars and not the earth rushing up to meet her face. The silver tail of the plane glinted in the night sky as Howard's plane turned sharply and headed back to Italy, the gunfire ceasing as they moved further away from the heavily guarded territory. Despite knowing she was about to cease to exist, she felt her heart warm as she realised her friends had got away, that Steve might rescue Bucky, and knowing the war would be won.

A hand grasped hers tightly as Steve pulled her underneath him and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself close to his body as he pulled the cord to release the parachute.

They were dragged up into the sky as the resistance grew and they slowly drifted down to the ground.

"How did this happen?" Steve asked Charlotte, who had understandably begun crying.

"Howard Stark's piloting," she replied, her arms tightening around him as she saw their feet above the tops of the trees, and Steve steered them toward a flatter area.

They landed on the pebbly shores of a nearby river, Steve immediately detaching his parachute as he dragged Charlotte to the tree-line. He left her there and returned to his parachute, gathering it up and hiding it in the forest undergrowth near them, therefore reducing attention from anybody who happened to fly over.

Charlotte was busy taking in their surroundings, furiously wiping her tears away as her heartrate settled slightly upon realising that she was no longer falling to her death.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked quietly, reaching out to touch her face as she looked around at the huge amount of trees surrounding them.

"I'm fine," Charlotte said, looking remarkably calm despite the small problem of them being behind enemy lines. Her teeth chattered slightly as she shivered. "What's the plan now?"

Steve took a moment to realise that Charlotte was wearing clothes that were not exactly appropriate for storming a HYDRA base in the middle of November. "What do you have on you?"

Charlotte checked the pockets of her coat- which were thankfully zipped closed. She had transferred her flashlight, pen and pocketknife to her coat when she had got changed, and she produced these with a small flourish and a smile.

"Why do you have a knife?" Steve asked, noticing the silver steel of the knife handle.

"Phillips issued it to me- same as the boots."

"Why?"

"There was an incident when we got to London," Charlotte said vaguely. "But anyway, I now have a knife and appropriate footwear, so that's something."

He stared at her in the moonlight, noticing the pendant glinting in the moonlight as the stars sewn onto the outfit she was wearing shone. She was busy pulling her hair back from her face and securing it in a bun with her pen and hair tie, and she buttoned up the front of her jacket to retain some of her body heat. He noticed she stored her knife in her right boot, and her pocket flashlight in her left boot.

"Charlotte, we'll get out of this, I promise."

She smiled at him, but it was a sad smile. "I know, Steve. You still have to take me out for that dance. And Howard owes me another coffee."