CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE —
( FALCON. )

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They didn't take long to arrive at Sam Wilson's house. Evelyn remained silent throughout the drive, and Steve chose not to question it. She had escaped HYDRA only to end up working for them again unknowingly. They parked a couple of hundred meters away and walked to his house. Evelyn knocked on the door and waited.

Sam pulled up his blinds and looked at them in surprise. He opened the door and said, "Hey, guys," taking in their appearance.

"I'm sorry about this, but we need a place to lay low," Steve explained.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Evelyn added.

Sam looked between the two of them and sighed. "Not everyone." Steve and Evelyn walked in, and Evelyn headed straight towards what she assumed was the bathroom. "Where are you going?" Sam called out.

"The bathroom," she replied.

He chuckled. "You're going the wrong way."

Evelyn turned around and smiled lightly. "Oops."

"It's down that corridor and through the door on the left," he instructed.

"Thanks! Do you mind if I take a shower?" she called back to Sam.

"Yeah, just make sure you two don't canoodle," he teased.

"Ha ha."

Evelyn entered the bathroom and quickly shut the door before stripping down. She hopped into the shower, turned it to warm, and washed away all her worries.

After rinsing off thoroughly and ensuring she smelled nice, Evelyn turned off the shower and stepped out. She grabbed a towel and dried herself off before putting on her underwear. Going through her dirty clothes, she checked to see what was clean and then chose a tank top and pants before exiting the room.

Steve smiled warmly at Evelyn as he walked in after her. "Oh, by the way, I used up all the hot water," Evelyn told him.

"I should have joined you," Steve said with a laugh.

"Well, now you've missed your opportunity," she smiled as she sat on the bed in Sam's spare bedroom, drying her hair with a towel. Evelyn couldn't help but reflect on how the events transpired. She had escaped HYDRA, only to go back to it.

Steve came into the room wearing a white tank top. Evelyn glanced up at him briefly before looking back down. "Are you okay?" Steve asked as he sat down beside her.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

He took Evelyn's hands in his, stopping her from drying her already dry hair. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"When Fury brought me into S.H.I.E.L.D., I thought I had finally escaped HYDRA for good and was on the straight and narrow. But I guess HYDRA is where I truly belong," Evelyn sighed, looking down at their hands. "I thought I could block them out of my life forever, but I guess they're a part of me."

"HYDRA was a part of you, but it isn't anymore," Steve reassured her.

Evelyn's eyes met his. "I owe you," she told him.

He laughed. "You don't owe me anything."

"You saved my life. It's the least I could do," she said.

"You saved my life plenty of times back in World War II. You don't need to repay anything," he smiled.

Evelyn chuckled. "You seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing."

"Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting for," Steve said lightly.

Evelyn smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks for the talk," she said.

"I made breakfast," Sam announced as he entered the room. "If you two eat that sort of thing."

"Do you have pancakes?" Evelyn asked, earning a nod from Sam. "Then I do eat that sort of thing."

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"So, the question is, who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?" Evelyn pondered aloud as she indulged in a spoonful of fluffy pancakes. A look of pure delight crossed her face as she savoured the golden syrup drizzled over the stacks. "Ugh, these are so good," she sighed contentedly, reaching for another bite.

"Pierce," Steve responded.

"I thought he looked familiar," Evelyn replied. "I've crossed paths with him around HYDRA before."

"And, let's not forget, he's perched atop the most secure building in the world," Steve continued, his eyes narrowing. "But he's not working alone. Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

"So was Jasper Sitwell," Evelyn interjected. "He's HYDRA, too." She squeezed more maple syrup onto her pancakes, clearly unfazed by the dark turn of the conversation.

"So, the real question is," Steve said, crossing his arms, "how do the two most wanted fugitives in Washington pull off the kidnapping of a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is, you don't." Sam strode into the room, handing Evelyn a thick file.

"What's this?" she asked, glancing at it curiously.

"Call it a résumé."

Steve pushed back from the table, moving behind Evelyn to peer over her shoulder. "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission was you?" A small smile crept onto Evelyn's face as she scanned the pages.

He glanced at the photo nestled inside the file. "Is this Riley?" Steve inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed.

"They couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use? A stealth chute?" Evelyn asked.

"No," he replied. "These." Sam produced another file, handing it to Steve.

Steve raised his gaze. "I thought you said you were a pilot," he accused.

"I never said pilot," Sam shot back, his grin widening.

Evelyn snatched the file from Steve as she finished the last of her pancakes, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"This is incredible," she exclaimed, her grin widening as she read over the details of the FALCON.

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason," Steve said, the weight of his concern palpable.

"Come on, man. Captain America and Gemini need my help," Sam laughed heartily. "There's no better reason to get back in the game."

Evelyn nodded enthusiastically, her determination ignited. "Where can we get our hands on one of these?" she asked.

"The last one is at Fort Meade, tucked behind three heavily guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall," Sam explained, his tone growing serious.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Steve remarked confidently, tossing the file back onto the table. The word 'FALCON' stood out boldly across the front.

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After they stole Sam's old flight suit from the army base where it was locked up, Steve parked the car a block away from where Sitwell was located. Evelyn and Sam exited the car and headed in Sitwell's direction. Before Sam entered the café, Evelyn tapped his arm.

"Can you make sure to get me a muffin from that café?" Evelyn asked.

"Okay, but only because I believe in respecting my elders," Sam replied. Evelyn lightly smacked his arm and watched as he walked away. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her before climbing the tree beside her.

Evelyn sat on a branch and observed as Sitwell spoke to Senator Stern, her immediate thought being that he was also HYDRA. Soon enough, the Senator left, and Sitwell pulled out his phone to answer a call. Evelyn got her laser pointer ready.

He answered the call and began talking to Sam, but Evelyn could only hear Sam's side of the conversation. "Agent Sitwell, how was lunch? I hear the crab cakes here are delicious," Sam said. "The good-looking guy in the glasses, your 10 o'clock." Sitwell turned to look but glanced in the wrong direction.

"He must have higher standards," Evelyn told Sam over the earpiece. All she heard was a scoff in response.

"Your other 10 o'clock," Sam added. Sitwell finally spotted Sam. "There you go," Sam said, raising his drink in a toast. "You're going to go around the corner to your right. There's a grey car two spaces down. You and I are going to take a ride." Evelyn aimed her laser pointer at Sitwell's tie, smiling as she did so. "Because that tie looks really expensive, and I'd hate to mess it up."

Sitwell looked down at his tie, then scanned the area, trying to find who was targeting him with the laser.

Reluctantly, Sitwell walked to the car, with Evelyn following closely behind while Sam prepared himself. Before Sitwell could enter the car, Steve got out and pushed Sitwell into a nearby building. Evelyn followed them inside and up to the roof, where Steve shoved him to the ground.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve ordered.

Sitwell put his glasses back on as he backed away from Steve and Evelyn. "Never heard of it."

"What were you doing on the Lumerian Star?" Steve asked him.

"I was throwing up. I get seasick." Sitwell reached the roof's edge and almost fell over when Steve caught him and picked him up by his shirt. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof?" Sitwell grinned. "Because it's really not your style, Rogers."

A moment of silence followed as Steve released Sitwell, and Sitwell's gaze locked onto Evelyn's. The smile vanished from his face. "No," he exclaimed.

Evelyn grinned. "Yup." She delivered a powerful kick to Sitwell's chest, sending him flying off the roof. Evelyn glanced at Steve with a playful spark in her eye. "What do you think about Go-karting?" she suggested, her voice laced with excitement.

"Go-karting?" Steve replied, raising an eyebrow as curiosity washed over him.

"Yeah, it's like racing miniature cars on a track," she elaborated, her enthusiasm evident as she described the thrill of speeding around sharp turns and her adrenaline rush from competing and winning against others.

"I don't think I would fit in the kart," Steve said as Sam flew up in his winged suit and dropped Sitwell onto the roof. The Falcon. Sam approached Evelyn with a warm smile, presenting her with a chocolate muffin. She accepted it with delight and thanked him.

With a sense of purpose, Evelyn and Steve strode confidently towards Sitwell. "Zola's algorithm is a sophisticated program designed to identify potential insight targets," Sitwell quickly explained.

"What targets are you talking about?" Steve inquired, a hint of scepticism in his voice.

"You!" Sitwell replied, gesturing dramatically. "A TV anchor from Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defence, a high school valedictorian from Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Evelyn Parrish, Stephen Strange—anyone who could pose a threat to HYDRA, now or in the future."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, a mix of pride and unease flickering across her face. "I don't know whether to feel flattered or scared."

"But in the future? How could it possibly know?" Steve pressed, curiosity etched across his features.

Sitwell erupted into a laugh. "How could it not?" he exclaimed. "The 21st Century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."

"And then what?" Evelyn asked.

Sitwell looked around, terrified. "Oh, my god. Pierce is gonna kill me."

"What then?" Steve asked him.

"The Insight helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time," Sitwell said.

Evelyn hummed and glanced at Steve. "Called it."

Sitwell turned to her with an uneasy smile. "Of course you did. You were part of HYDRA for almost fifty years. You were aware of our patterns long before many of us even grasped what was unfolding around us."

Evelyn rolled her eyes, a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice. "It didn't take Einstein to figure out what was happening."

Sitwell tilted his head, a thoughtful furrow etching his brow. "But the Winter Soldier... he never truly synchronised with HYDRA," he mused. "He was merely a puppet, twisted and used for one relentless purpose: to kill."

Evelyn's jaw tightened, a fierce determination flickering in her eyes as she stepped forward, poised to deliver a punch that would land squarely on Sitwell's face. Just as she was about to unleash her fury, Steve sprang into action, his reflexes sharp and swift. He wrapped his hand around Evelyn's wrist, his grip both firm and calming, skillfully pulling her back just in time to prevent what could have been a regrettable act of violence.

"Alright, we'd better get moving," he said, his voice steady but urgent. "You're coming with us, Sitwell."