CHAPTER EIGHT —
( This isn't payback, is it? )

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          Evelyn Parrish was in her element. Every week, the Howling Commandoes would go out after a HYDRA base and destroy any trace of them. They were erasing bases, one by one, and now they only had a couple more left. Evelyn was ecstatic that she was finally doing something that she always wanted to do, to fight for her country instead of standing on the sidelines and waiting for the men to do it for her.

From the moment they started fighting and going out for their missions, the Howling Commandoes never treated Evelyn like she was a porcelain doll that needed constant care. They knew her strength, they knew she'd be fine. Steve worried, though, occasionally, and would sometimes try to guard Evelyn as they came charging into a base. But she'd overcome that easily, by either proving herself with a perfect shot to the head with a sniper or taking out several HYDRA agents in one go.

They were currently walking through snow-covered woods on high alert. Evelyn was walking closely behind Steve when he suddenly froze. She bumped into his back slightly at the stop, making an 'oomph' sound. Steve turned to Evelyn and held a finger up to his mouth, causing Evelyn to stick her finger up at him. He then turned back around and threw his shield up like a frisbee towards a man hidden in a tree. Steve caught his shield when it bounced back to him and slotted it back on his arm. All of the Howling Commandoes just looked at him, in shock and in surprise.

He shrugged, "I've been practising," he said and turned around to continue walking until an explosion sounded out, forcing all of them to run towards the base. They gunned the HYDRA men, all the while trying to dodge explosions and bullets.

Evelyn ran out of ammo in her shotgun, so she would only be able to do hand-to-hand combat or use her pistol. Someone came out from behind a tree, so Evelyn charged towards him. She blocked his punch towards her head and kicked his midsection and stomped down on him, keeping him on the ground. Evelyn got her pistol out and didn't hesitate to shoot his head.

Evelyn looked up but was too late to see a knife come flying at her. The man stabbed her in her shoulder, causing Evelyn to hiss out in pain before head-butting the agent and shooting his head. Evelyn bit her lip as she pulled out the knife, looking at the blood covering it. She then looked at her wound and watched as the blood ran back up her chest and back into the cut, the cut closing itself instantly.

From the corner of her eye, she saw someone closing in on Steve from his side with an advanced weapon. Evelyn didn't hesitate to throw the knife through the air, finding its way between the man's eyes. He dropped to the floor within a second, and Steve looked over at Evelyn with wide eyes. She simply smirked at him and ran off.

Evelyn found it hard, most of the time, to be around Steve. He made her feel things that she had only ever felt about Howard, which just made her even more confused. Evelyn couldn't help but think back to what Howard said at the pub. Did she like Steve? That would explain the reason behind her constant butterfly eruption and her sweaty palms. But, was it possible, to have fallen for Steve Rogers in such a short time?

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The Howling Commandoes were currently on a truck, on their way towards another HYDRA base. Colonel Phillips thought it would be a great idea for one of them to have a camera and capture what was happening. For documentary purposes, Evelyn guessed. It was Chace's turn to have the camera, and he wasn't complaining.

Dum-Dum kept giving Evelyn weird looks throughout the whole ride, so she finally turned around to him. "What's wrong, Dum-Dum?" She asked.

"Nothing's wrong," he replied, turning slightly pink when he noticed Evelyn caught him staring.

"Are you sure?" Evelyn asked.

He sighed deeply and fiddled with his fingers. "It's just, I don't know why you're doing this," he looked up at her. "I don't know why you are fighting in this war. Women don't normally do that."

Evelyn laughed quietly and patted his arm. "Dum-Dum, I love fighting for my country, it's what I want to do! Plus, do I look like a normal woman to you?"

He looked Evelyn up and down. "Well, you do—"

Bucky smacked the back of his head. "She meant personality-wise, dumbass! Of course, she looks like a fuckin' gal, just look at her!"

Steve didn't even look up from his map, but mumbled a loud, "Language, Buck." All of the Howling Commandoes laughed.

"My god, he'll be the death of me," Bucky mumbled.

When they came near to the Base, Steve started throwing orders at them. They all took it in, readying themselves to jump out of the truck. A tap on Evelyn's shoulder halted her from loading her gun up. She looked at Chace who smiled widely at her.

"What?" She asked.

He pulled her closer to him and nodded down to Steve's hands. "Look." Evelyn looked down at the compass in his hand. It was open and contained a small photo of Evelyn and him in it.

Evelyn went back to loading her shotgun, all the while trying to conceal the ever-growing blush on her face.

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The Howling Commandos had taken down another three HYDRA bases within a month, meaning they only had one more left but weren't sure about its location. Hence, why they were standing at the top of a snowy mountain, waiting for a train carrying one of HYDRA's most valuable henchmen onboard; Zola.

There was a zip line, going from the top of the mountain to the edge of a mountain in the distance. Steve, Bucky and Evelyn were looking down the mountain, waiting for the train to come.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked Steve as they stood, side-by-side, looking down the mountain.

"Yeah, and I threw up?" Steve asked Bucky.

"This isn't payback, is it?" Bucky asked.

"Now why would I do that?" Steve chuckled lightly.

"We were right. Dr Zola's on the train," Gabe Jones informed them. Steve, Bucky and Evelyn turned around to listen to what he was saying. "HYDRA dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad."

Bucky, Steve and Evelyn sent each other looks before Steve threw on his helmet and walked towards the zip line, just as Evelyn loaded up her guns.

"Let's get going because they're moving like the devil," Monty said.

Steve hooked himself onto the zip line. "We've only got about a 10-second window," Steve informed the group. "You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield."

Monty chuckled. "Mind the gap."

"Better get moving, bugs!" Dum-Dum joked.

Monty gave Steve the signal and he was off. Evelyn quickly hooked herself onto the zip line and followed after him. When Evelyn got closer to the ground, the train came from underneath her. She quickly let go of the zip line and crouched down onto the train, the wind trying to blow her back, but Evelyn had a good stance. Evelyn followed after Steve as Bucky landed on the train. Steve reached a ladder that rested against the side of the train and quickly climbed down it, Evelyn in tow.

The three of them made it inside, and Bucky quickly closed the door. They silently crept forward, towards another set of doors. Evelyn walked next to Bucky with her gun held up, on high alert. Steve began to walk into the next room when the door suddenly closed.

Evelyn looked through the glass at Steve until she heard the sound of several feet behind her. She turned around and came face to face with HYDRA agents. Bucky and Evelyn began firing at them, using a nearby crate to cover them. Evelyn easily shot one guy down but found the rest hard to see so she stood up to try and shoot them again when she realised she had no more bullets. She quickly took her pistol out and fired at an agent coming closer. Evelyn sat up to shoot again when she realised that she had run out of bullets again.

Evelyn crouched back down behind the crate, watching as Bucky did the same. The door suddenly flew open and Steve looked down at the two before throwing his pistols down at them. Steve dove into the room and quickly used his shield to push a crate towards the agent, hitting him and knocking him out.

Evelyn walked towards him and shot him in the head twice. "Mother fucker," she mumbled before kicking his side.

"Umm, language?" Steve asked, unsure. Evelyn rolled her eyes and walked up to Steve and Bucky.

Bucky cleared his throat. "We had him on the ropes," he told Steve.

"I know you two did," Steve said.

Evelyn heard a gun firing up, so she quickly whipped her head around to find a man with an advanced weapon moving towards them.

"Get down!" Steve quickly held his shield out in front of the trio just as the man fired. All three of them got thrown to separate sides of the room.

Evelyn quickly shook her dizzy head away and looked up to see the side of the train had been blown apart. Bucky bent down and picked up Steve's shield, blocking the man as Evelyn stood up behind him. She began to shoot at him, but his suit made the bullets bounce off. The man's gun loaded up and shot at the shield, causing Evelyn and Bucky to fly out of the train.

Evelyn quickly grabbed onto the first thing in front of her which happened to be Bucky's hand and he quickly grabbed onto a pole that was barely attached to the train. Instantly, Evelyn could feel her hand begin to slip from Bucky's as Steve came into view reaching his hand out. "Hang on!" he called as he began to climb out of the train and towards them. Evelyn knew she couldn't reach Steve, but maybe Bucky had a shot if he had a free hand. She locked eyes with Steve and his eyes instantly widened. "Evelyn, no!"

She let go of Bucky's hand and fell down the cliff, smacking into the earth.

AUTHORS NOTE
Sorry not sorry