Even After Everything | Steve Rogers

Chapter 18

I walked into the lobby, with my face mask and ugly blue pantsuit, seeing Pierce and the other councilmen. Pierce handed us all pins, and I pinned it to my suit, "I know the road hasn't exactly been smooth, and some of you would have gladly kicked me out of the car along the way," we arrived in Pierce's office, "Finally we're here, and the world should be grateful."

Suddenly I heard Steve's voice over the speakers, "Attention, all SHIELD 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. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE 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. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

Pierce laughed to himself

"You smug son of a bitch," councilman Rockwell muttered.

Councilman Singh looked to the SHIEILD agents, not knowing they were HYDRA, "Arrest him," the agents pointed their guns at Singh.

"I guess I've got the floor," Pierce smiled. He looked out the window, seeing the Helicarriers firing at something in the air. I saw a tiny Sam Wilson flying above them. Pierce walked over to us and looked to Singh.

"Let me ask you a question. What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow, and you knew that they were gonna drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution?" He handed Singh a glass of champagne as well, "And you could just stop it with a flick of the switch. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you all?" He looked over to the rest of us.

"Not if it was your switch," Singh tossed the glass to the ground. One of the HYDRA agents reached into his holster and handed Pierce a gun. Pierce pointed it at Singh. I took the moment and kicked Singh in the hip to get him out of the way, then reached for Alexander's gun, punching him in the face. I threw a small weapon at another agent which electrocuted him and brought him to the floor. I threw the gun at the other, bringing him to the ground as well. A man came at me and I punched him across his face, grabbing his shoulders, and brought my knee into his stomach. I swiped my feet underneath him and slammed him to the floor. Another agent came towards me with his gun pointed. I quickly dodged under it, grabbed his neck from behind him, and slammed his head into the glass table, and he crumpled to the floor. I turned around, the final agent pointing his gun to me. I knocked his arm away from me, spinning the other way and elbowing him hard in the neck. I brought him over my shoulder and slammed him down. I grabbed his gun from his limp hand and cocked it, standing up slowly to look at Pierce. He looked back at me in surrender. I peeled the disguise of my face and pulled the itchy wig off my head, my dirty blond hair falling back down my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, did I step on your moment?" I asked with mock sweetness.

I walked over to the computer and began working on what I came to do, the gun still pointed at him.

"What are you doing?" Councilman Rockwell asked me.

Pierce responded for me, "She's disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the Internet."

"Including HYDRA's," I added.

"And SHIELD's," He said, "If you do this, none of your little friend Natasha's past is gonna remain hidden. Including yours, Ms Wilder. Your history in Chile? Don't think it's gone unnoticed. People will see who you really are," I immediately hesitated. Did I want to do this? Everyone will know who I am. And I didn't want to do this to Natasha. But Steve decided this was the only way to win, "Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?"