Steve's POV

I wake up in a dark, cold room and groan as I feel a headache coming on. I lift my hands to rub my head but realize that they're handcuffed and chained to the wall behind me. I pull on them but they don't seem to give. They must be made out of vibranium.

A door opens, allowing some light in as well as a person. The door slams shut and the light disappears before someone shines a light in my face.

"Ah. Captain Rogers." A familiar voice speaks. "How lovely to see you. And so soon! We weren't supposed to cross paths for another two weeks!"

"Zemo." I growl, pulling on my chains as he chuckles.

"I assume you're here about your dear friend and my beloved solider, Mr. Barnes?" He asks. "Such a shame to see so much talent wasted."

"So you're the one that tried to kill Bucky?" I ask.

"Tried? Is the job not done?" He asks with anger in his voice. "Damn girl." He mumbles to himself. "We're not finished here, Rogers." He speaks as he walks away.

The light shines into the room as he leaves and I hear him shout "bring me the girl" before the door closes. I'm left in the dark once again and hang my head. Maybe I should've taken backup with me.

Zemo's POV

I pace back and forth in my office of sorts until the door swings open. The girl is thrown into a seat with cuffs around her wrists and ankles.

"Would you like to explain to me how Sergeant Barnes is still alive?" I ask, not bothering to look at her.

"The streets were busy, I must've missed the right spot." She speaks.

"That's not an excuse. We've trained you for years, you should be able to do something as simple as this." I shout. "Get her out of my sight." I say, turning away as a few soldiers drag her away.

Maybe I should send another one of my soldiers to get the job done. Clearly this method isn't working out the way I'd hoped.

Alexandra's POV
(!surprise!)

I'm thrown into my cell and left in the dark as usual. I clench my jaw and my hands as I pace around the room and think about the past events of the month.

After my argument with James, I locked my door and window before laying in bed and crying myself to sleep. Or at least I thought I was asleep.

Apparently I died that night? I don't remember crashing my car on a bridge but it was all over the news so it must be true. I do remember coming to this cute little antique shop for some reason and since then I've been forced into doing Zemo's dirty work.

My guess: Zemo activated the chip in my head and had me fake my death before coming here. This way nobody would look for me and I'd be the perfect solider again.

Little does he know that the chip activation wears off. Every now and then I'll black out but after a few hours I'm my normal self again. That explains why James is still alive.

I was myself when Zemo gave me the order to kill James, so when I ran into him I punctured him in a spot where he wouldn't be hurt too much. He can handle a little bit of blood. But this way, at least the team would coming looking for who attacked one of them.

When I came back after that assignment, Zemo must've reactivated the chip because I don't remember anything from them until literally a few seconds ago. I sit on the floor of my cell and bang my head against the concrete wall.

If only I didn't have this stupid chip in my head. I could run away and not be tracked or controlled. Maybe if I bang my head hard enough it'll stop working.

Bucky's POV

I wake up the next morning with no word from Steve. Neither him nor his bike are back so I assume he's still on his stakeout.

After a quick breakfast, I decide to join Steve on his mission. I know he told me to stay in the compound but how could I when I know he's out there all alone. He would do the same thing for me.

I take my usual route to town and wander around as I look for any sign of Steve. I spot his old Harley in an alley and furrow my eyebrows. There's no way he'd just leave his Harley around like this. He'd at least cover it or something.

I cross the street and walk down the alley in search of Steve. I reach the end of the alley and sigh, no sign of him. I walk out of the alley and continue down the street. Where could he have gone?

Eventually I reach the sandwich shop and look around. I hear my stomach growl and look at my phone to see that it's almost noon. Realizing that the diner is across the street, I walk inside and sit down at the little bar to eat.

As I'm eating my chicken parmesan, I see a woman walk out in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar. I almost choke on my food as I look at her and realize that she's the woman that I bumped into yesterday. The long black coat, tucked in hair, and sunglasses could not be mistaken.

I leave more than enough money for my meal on the counter before running out of the diner to follow her.

"Hey!" I shout, picking up the pace as she turns down an alley.

I turn down the same alley and furrow my eyebrows. Did she just disappear into thin air? I'm pushed against the wall of one of the buildings with a knife held to my throat.

"Why did you try to kill me?" I ask, looking down at her.

"They can see everything that I see." She speaks quietly, pressing the knife closer to my neck.

I furrow my eyebrows at the sound of her voice. Why does she sound so familiar?

"But they can't hear anything." She speaks barely above a whisper.

"Ally?" I ask, my heart pounding in my chest.

"I don't have time to explain, they'll be here soon." She says. I feel tears forming in my eyes and blink repeatedly to hold them back and process what's going on. "I can't leave, they'll just follow me. Zemo is behind all of this. They're hiding out in that old antique store for now. You need to get the others and work quickly before they relocate."

"You.. I.. Everyone thinks you're dead!" I stare at her, despite most of her face being covered.

"Promise me you won't leave me there again." She says, clenching her jaw as if to fight back tears.

"I promise." I caress her face with one hand.

A small smile forms on her face before she speaks again. "I need you to knock me out."

I furrow my eyebrows. "What?"

"Now!" She rushes me. "Knock me out and then run. Run back to the compound as fast as you can. If they catch you they'll.." She stops herself. "James, we don't have much time."

I look at her and take a deep breath before knocking the knife out of her hand. The two of us put on a show of hand to hand combat until I knock her unconscious. It hurts my heart to leave her behind but I know it's my only option.

I do as she said and run back to the compound. I run by the alley where Steve's bike is and back up with a smirk on my face. I quickly hotwire the bike and ride it home to get the rest of the team.