Vienna, Austria

Spring 2016

It was actually quite a nice little cafe. Really, it reminded Nadine a bit of the one she and Nina used to go to when they'd lived in Vienna. The latte sitting in front of her was even almost as good.

Really, it was entirely possible that it was every bit as good, if she was being honest. There were just too many external factors tainting the experience, she supposed.

First was that Nina wasn't here to enjoy it with her...she was safe in Cambridge, thank God. They had been texting sporadically since the news had broken about Vienna, and it was a weight on her chest to realize her daughter was shaken enough that she could read it in her anxious messages. Though, some of it had thankfully eased when Nadine and Nina both had heard from Natasha. But seemingly reassured or not, a large part of Nadine wished she was home, so that she could pull her little girl close and reassure her...and herself.

Especially after the scare with Natasha. Nadine wanted to just hold her sister close too, come to think of it. To reassure herself in person that Natasha was safe and unhurt by the attack. She said she was okay and she had assured Nadine she would call again once she knew more. But that didn't assuage Nadine's worry for her little sister entirely. Capable and resilient as she knew Natasha to be, she did still worry, after all. People had died in that blast. People Natasha had been in the same room with. It hadn't been an unreasonable fear, whether Nadine had been compartmentalising it away or not.

But Natasha was safe. So, no matter the lingering worry that likely wouldn't completely dissipate until she saw Natasha again in person, it was a worry that was much more manageable now.

Then there was the threat of Agent Carter acting on the revelation she was The Ghost gnawing away at the back of her mind...why had she thought it would be a good idea to reveal that? 

Because it was pragmatic. It was arguably for the same reason she had told Sam about her history with Barnes; Carter was going to figure it out eventually. And telling her willingly? Well, it would hopefully create a sense of loyalty, even if only on a small, unconscious level, since Nadine had offered the knowledge, the secret. It was a calculated risk, sure, but one that Nadine was reasonably sure would serve its purpose given what little she had learned about Sharon Carter. Whether people consciously knew it or not, most were conditioned to treat secrets shared in confidence as contracts of trust, contracts to keep. Since Nadine had 'given' Sharon her secret, she would likely hesitate before sharing it, especially with the strong personal code she suspected Peggy Carter had instilled in her great-niece. And Nadine wasn't one to pass up any manner of advantage.

Add in Sharon Carter's loyalty to Steve and the fact that she was already prepared to break the rules to help him? Nadine wasn't too proud to admit she was tapping into that too. After all, Sharon knew she was helping Steve find Bucky. So that was in her favor too, which helped keep her worries on that front at bay as well.

And then there was the sheer stress of not knowing what was going on with Barnes weighing in on her on top of everything else. She simply didn't know. She tapped at her phone, refining the algorithm she was using; she was fairly confident that she had narrowed her list of potential safehouses Barnes might be using to just two on her list—one in Belgrade and the other in Bucharest—and was now in the process of tapping into each city's CCTV so she could start running some facial recognition. One of the windows on her phone blinked and she knew she had Bucharest; another few taps and the facial recognition program she'd cloned from Stark's servers began its search for Barnes. Yet, she couldn't quite manage more than a grim flash of satisfaction.

Everything about what had supposedly happened in Vienna felt wrong. There was undoubtedly more to what was going on than seemed apparent. That much was obvious. And that was what was bothering Nadine. They simply didn't know enough. And she hated flying into a situation blind. Had he been coerced? Had his programming been activated? If that was the case, was it likely he would still be trapped by its influence when they caught up to him—because they would find him, Nadine affirmed to herself, pushing aside her doubts—or will he have already managed to break himself free of its hold? It was a potentially deadly bit of intel not to have. There was no telling how Barnes' programming would manifest if he was still caught in its hold when they found him.

And if the JCTTF caught up to Steve and Sam as they tried to make contact? Or worse, if the JCTTF found Barnes first? Especially if he was still in the grip of his programming? Especially if he was the Winter Soldier and not Bucky Barnes when they did?

There would be bodies. She knew it in her gut. The Winter Soldier didn't care about collateral damage. Barnes did, but there was no guarantee Barnes would be able to temper the Soldier's brutality if the Winter Soldier was activated. She could hope. After all, Barnes had been out of cryo now for over two years, much of that free from his programming and any memory modifications. She couldn't remember her research pointing to him being awake for so long even once since the fifties. Certainly he'd never gone more than a couple weeks without being subjected to memory modification if she had interpreted some of it—and her own memories—right. Of course, she knew her research wasn't perfect, with a great deal being conjecture, but she stood by it regardless. It was what she'd been trained to do, after all. Given that he'd been capable of breaking through his programming temporarily the night she'd run after only weeks awake and again in DC with Steve's influence after only a couple days awake? Even with memory modifications thrown into the mix? With two years of his mind being his own again, it was possible he would be able to fight off the programming on his own. Certainly with Steve's help, if allowed the chance.

At once she was squashing down guilt at the thought. She had sworn to herself that she would find Barnes. That she would do whatever it took to help him escape as he had helped her. That she would do it for him and for Nina...for Steve too, if she was being honest...and as if that didn't threaten to lead to yet more conflicting and problematic lines of thought...

Once again, she pushed thought of Steve, their almost kiss and what she couldn't help but think it meant—that part of her wished it had been a real kiss and that she wished it meant what she wanted it to mean was entirely irrelevant...inconsequential...entirely foolish...what a futile hope—and the ridiculous way she kept trying to overthink it aside, firmly locking them away in the back of her mind. Now was not the time.

Getting to Barnes was the objective, right now. Everything else could wait.

And now she was preparing to sit out when they finally had a chance to find him? Her gut churned with shame and self-reproach. As much as she knew why she had to, she just couldn't stop questioning herself. She couldn't stop second-guessing her decision. Her emotions were far too conflicted and potent for her usual rationality in such situations to effectively counter.

Why did it have to be so complicated...

She knew why she had to sit back. Because of their position with the Avengers, even with their refusal to sign the Accords, Sam and Steve were protected. Tony would protect them. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said to Steve that, were they to get caught in their pursuit of Bucky, the two of them would likely walk free. Perhaps with a slap on the wrist or some sort of nominal punishment, but they would ultimately walk free.

Nadine knew that would not be the case for her. If she were to get caught? She knew what awaited her. What awaited The Ghost. She would be locked up at best. There was a chance she'd be able to slip away, to break free and find a way to disappear again if it happened, but there was no guarantee. Her reputation would decidedly work against her were she to be caught, her infamy something that would be impossible to ignore. She had to assume that she wouldn't be able to make a break for it. That whomever caught her would have contingencies that could counter her own.

The kind that left her with the feeling that the rumored floating super-max prison would have a cell with her name on it...

And when it got out that The Ghost had been caught? The more unsavoury of those who would undoubtedly like to get their hands on her would work to do just that. And she would likely end up dead. Whether outright for one reason or another or because she refused to do someone's bidding was irrelevant. The point was that she couldn't afford to get caught.

And that wasn't even accounting for the risk to Nina... Her chest clenched at the idea of what getting caught would do to her daughter. Nina would be devastated. Not to mention the risk that would come along with it. She knew Nina. Nina would fight. She would do anything she could to help Nadine. And she would expose herself in the process. That was something Nadine couldn't risk.

Not even for Barnes. If the man Steve had known, the man that she had caught a glimpse of, was still in there somewhere, he would understand.

But that didn't assuage the guilt.

"Having second thoughts about tagging along?" Sam asked under his breath. Nadine looked up to him where he sat on her right, taking up the second side of the counter corner they'd claimed. She lifted her latte to her lips, pausing just short of taking a drink.

"It's a little more complicated than that," she murmured back before sipping at her drink. It was just on the warmer side of lukewarm. She easily kept from making a face. Sam smiled sympathetically at her response, poking at the pastry in front of him with his fork as he subtly glanced out toward the front entrance of the cafe. A glance Nadine echoed.

Steve was still standing out front, the very picture of someone waiting patiently for a friend to appear. But Nadine knew better. She knew he was subtly watching the UN Response tents nearly a block away, looking for sign of Sharon Carter. Nadine took another sip of her quickly cooling latte.

Only to pause as she went to set the mug back on the counter, a frown threatening as she noticed he had his phone raised to his ear. Next to her Sam frowned, barely resisting the urge to turn around to see what had caught her attention.

"Sharon?" he asked under his breath. Nadine absently hummed a no instead of answering properly, focused as she was on Steve. Sam spared a glance out the corner of his eye, noticing the phone. "Who do you think it is?"

"Natasha," Nadine murmured back, still carefully watching Steve. At Sam's sharp look, even hampered by his dark sunglasses as it was, she explained her reasoning. "I think he's talking about Barnes, and she's the only one other than us he's that comfortable talking about him with." Sam paused, his fork hovering in front of him.

"What, you lip-read too?" he asked skeptically. She spared him a small smirk. Lip-reading had been a skill she never quite got the hang of much to her trainers' chagrin, but by virtue of getting to know Steve as well as she had, she was able to parse out enough.

Not that she was about to admit it.

"Enough," she said enigmatically as she looked back to her phone; another moment and...she was in; Belgrade's network of CCTV cameras was at her fingertips as well. "Natasha's much better at it than I am."

Sam huffed out a small chuckle. "Good to know," he said and took another bite of his pastry. Nadine couldn't help but grin.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nadine recognized Steve as he approached, coming to stand next on Sam's other side where his long cold coffee still sat, only half drunk. At that moment, her phone vibrated, her incoming call screen popping up over the second facial recognition search she was implementing. Nadine sent the call to voicemail after a moment of indecision as Sam spoke up.

"She tell you to stay out of it?" Sam asked quietly, looking up to Steve from the remainder of his pastry. Nadine spared the pair of them a glance as Sam continued. "Might have a point." Steve's chin lifted fractionally. Nadine drew in a slow calming breath. Sure enough, Steve's response was much as she anticipated.

"He'd do it for me," he countered firmly, sparing a quick glance around them.

"In 1945, maybe," Sam pointed out pragmatically. "I just want to make sure we considered all our options." It was said with the best intentions. Sam was just looking out for Steve. But she also knew Sam knew as well as she did that Steve was not going to sit back. Nor did he think he should. She could agree there. In her hand, her phone vibrated again, this time with a text. She didn't even have to look to know who it was from; she could guess exactly who it was...and what it was about. Just as she knew the silent buzzing wasn't going to stop anytime soon...it hadn't since shortly after she had deftly evaded her sister's plea for a promise that Nadine wouldn't do anything reckless about Barnes at the end of her sister's brief call back on the Quinjet.

Not that Natasha hadn't seen right through her, of course.

She slipped her phone into her pocket. There was little more to do with it now but wait for her searches to bear fruit.

"The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me," Sam added, a faint smirk tugging at his lip as he looked to Steve again. Nadine was tempted to roll her eyes behind her own sunglasses in fond exasperation at the former paratrooper's attempt to lighten the mood.

Not that there wasn't a thread of truth to what Sam said.

"Then we hope there's no shooting," Nadine broke in softly, not wholly in jest. Sam's wry grin turned to her and her shoulder hitched in a small half-shrug. Behind Sam, Steve spared her a quick look that she suspected was silent gratitude. Or admonishment. It was hard to tell with the sunglasses and cap.

She was spared trying to decipher the look though as, just then, Sharon slipped into the café, coming up to the counter not far from Steve.

At once the three of them were all business.

"Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public," Sharon said quietly without preamble, carefully not looking to any of them in an admittedly wise effort to keep their meeting as inconspicuous and unnoticed as possible. "Everybody thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym. Most of it's noise." She paused, and it was then that Nadine caught a glimpse of the file folder she held. Sparing Steve a discreet sideways glance, Sharon set it on the counter, sliding it toward him. "Except for this."

Steve glanced at the file before sliding it on past Sam to Nadine. A quick look was all it took. She closed the file, soberly meeting Steve's gaze.

"There's Real Estate close by," she confirmed quietly. The one at the top of her list, in fact, not that she bothered to say it. It was beside the point, now.

Assuming it was ultimately a viable tip.

Not that Nadine doubted. Deep in her gut she just knew. He was there.

Barnes was in Bucharest.

And deep in her pocket her phone pinged softly, signalling her one of her searches had zeroed in on a potential hit; quite likely a confirmation of Sharon's intel and her instinct that she didn't even need to look at.

Beside Steve, Sharon was subtly watching Nadine with guarded eyes, though her head was tilted slightly in what was undoubtedly curiosity. Something Sam noticed with a faint smirk.

"Yeah, we've been working on tracking him down, too. Ryker here worked up a list of potential places he could be hiding out. We were narrowed down to two. Now one, I guess." Nadine was once more tempted to roll her eyes at Sam's offhanded comments. Funny, it sounded suspiciously like something akin to boasting...about her...an odd little feeling fluttered in her stomach as the corner of Steve's lip quirked in what looked nearly like a proud expression.

"It's amazing how following the money really works," Nadine said under her breath, lifting her mug to her lips. She immediately regretted it, as her latte had since gone unpleasantly cold, but she refused to let it show. Sharon's brows lifted minutely even as she gestured absently toward the file Sam was now looking at.

"And there's one near this location on your list?" Nadine made a dismissive sound in the back of her throat, deliberately meeting Sharon's eye with an assessing look of her own, debating whether or not to elaborate. Sharon had, after all, proven her loyalty, hadn't she? She was helping them, and at definite personal risk too. Surely she could give a little back.

"It's an old KGB turned HYDRA safehouse," she said softly. "Its acquisition was hidden in a bunch of old financial records leaked along with the HYDRA Internet dump. It was listed as defunct elsewhere along with about a dozen others scattered across Europe I've been keeping tabs on." A faintly impressed look flickered across Sharon's face as she considered Nadine's explanation before she schooled her features to professionalism once more, turning her attention forward again.

"My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now..." she informed them, partially glancing their way once more after a quick look to her watch, "so that's all the head start you're gonna get."

"Thank you," Steve said under his breath, still careful not to make it obvious he was talking to Sharon. Next to Nadine, Sam was staring sightlessly at the counter before looking up to Sharon as she continued, caution plain in her tone.

"And you're gonna have to hurry." Sharon finally looked pointedly to Steve, her voice low and grave. "We have orders to shoot on sight."

With that, she edged back from the counter and, within moments, had slipped from the café. Steve's head bowed, his mouth drawn in a grim line.

Setting down his fork, Sam let out a sigh. "We better get moving then," he intoned, looking to Steve. Mutely, Steve nodded his agreement, backing away from the counter as Sam stood. Absently pushing her mug away, Nadine straightened, slipping from her stool to follow the two men from the café.

Exchanging looks of silent consensus, Nadine and the two former soldiers parted ways, Sam and Steve for the Quinjet and Nadine to circle back to her Workshop.

And as soon as they were out of sight, Nadine's gut was churning.

What was she doing?

She was running. The realization hit her like a punch in the gut. That's what she was really doing, no matter how she tried to rationalize it. They needed her...Steve needed her support, and not just from the sidelines. They needed her there, on the ground. Whether she admitted it readily or not, she was part of the Team, now. They saw her as one of them. Could she really turn her back on them?

Not just that, but they finally had a solid lead on Barnes and the world was about to drop on him unless they could get to him first. And what was she doing?

She was slinking back to her Workshop, running from the fight.

All at once she was angry with herself. Near furious, even. Was she really so selfish? This was Barnes' life they were talking about. The man who had saved her, who was her daughter's father. God, how could she even be considering not jumping in to help him...an innocent man! Nothing in his past as the Winter Soldier was his fault. She already had enough blood on her hands. She couldn't stomach the idea that anymore of his could further stain her conscience. He didn't deserve that. He had risked everything to help her; she couldn't even bear to think on how much he must have suffered for letting her go. How could she not be willing to risk the same? He deserved so much more from her. How could she even consider not fighting for him?

And it was Steve! As much as she might try to deny it, after Nina and Natasha, Steve was probably one of the people she cared about most. What kind of person was she that she cared more about her freedom than helping her friends? Her teammates?

Steve...

God, he'd understood when she'd said she couldn't risk getting arrested. Sure, not one of her reasons had been anything but true, but that was beside the point. She was The Ghost, for heaven's sake! She was one of the best covert operatives in the world. If anyone could elude whomever they sent after Barnes, she was certainly one of them. Compared to the skill and experience at her disposal? She was more than equipped to evade capture.

She was falling back on her old ways and she hadn't even realized it.

But she wasn't alone anymore.

She was part of a Team.

They needed her.

And Barnes needed her.

Her mind was made up before she'd even realized it was changing.

The instant she had keyed in her access code, she was flying through her Workshop and, one of her Ghost bags and her carefully packed rifle in hand, she was exiting just as quickly.

And then she was slipping down alleys to the abandoned car park where Steve had set down the Quinjet he and Sam had used to reach London for Peggy's funeral. She couldn't help the sigh of relief that shuddered through her at the distinctive sound of the engines spooling up.

She only needed to stand before where she knew the cloaked jet's cockpit was for a few heartbeats. With a flicker and a faint, hissing thunk, the boarding ramp opened. Her fingers tightening on the handles of her rifle case, Nadine circled around to the back of the jet and strode purposefully up the ramp.

"Ryker?" Sam questioned as she dropped her bag and hit the control to seal the boarding ramp. She shot him a sly smirk, carefully hiding the way her gut was knotting with unease and her meticulously–honed instincts wavered over whether or not she was making a mistake.

"I assume you two wouldn't be opposed to me tagging along?" Sam blinked at her casual, even impish remark.

"Nadine?" She finally looked to Steve as he stood from the pilot's seat, his bewilderment clear on his face. "What are you doing?" Her chin lifted fractionally even as her pulse fluttered at the concern in his eyes. She stepped further into the Quinjet, depositing her rifle case on the central bank of seats.

"I'm coming along," she said with an air of finality. "You said that together the three of us will have a better chance of getting Barnes out and I agree." Steve nearly gaped, alarm and relief suddenly warring across his features.

"I, what? Nadine, no. If you get—" She cut him off with a firm look, inhaling slowly.

"I know," she finally said sedately. She smiled wryly then, even if it didn't entirely hide just how serious she was. "But if they're sending in Special Forces after him? You're going to need all the help you can get." Steve huffed out a small laugh, nodding to her point even as Sam shot him a look that clearly said he agreed with her wholeheartedly.

"Then I guess we're on to Bucharest," he said, meeting Nadine's eye before sliding back into the pilot's seat. She fought not to inhale sharply at the intent look in his ocean-hued gaze. It was so much more than simple gratitude that she was backing them up.

"Glad to have you along, Ryker," Sam said as he and Nadine both took their seats. The Quinjet hummed and shuddered around them as it lifted off. Nadine smiled tightly back, switching off her phone, biting back a swell of guilt at the dozen unread texts and voicemails she hadn't listened to from her sister. She didn't have to read them or hear them to know what they said.

"It's the right thing to do," was all she could say back.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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