"This is the building." Steve pulls up an enlarged image of a building that appeared to sit in the middle of nowhere. Snow covered the ground around the building. "Tony managed to tap into the security cameras in the building. Here's the footage."

The blurry images scatter across the monitor before they clear up just enough to pick out minor details. Then the pictures are set in motion. Although they play in normal time, to me they play slowly. Every moment is more painful then the very last.

Zemo's figure appears on the screen. In his arms is a neatly wrapped bundle of blankets with a little pale face nuzzled into the thick layers.

Maggie.

My jaw clenches as I fight my urge to turn away. Suddenly, I feel Steve's hand enclose my shoulder. I would turn away and bury my face in his shoulder, but he's given me the strength to not turn away. Every detail in this recording is crucial. I don't want to miss a second of it.

"Where is she?" My voice barely rises above a whisper. I turn slowly towards Tony. The rest of the team stood silently in the background. Some had their arms crossed and others had their heads bowed. Although some were not watching, they listened intensely. I could see guilt eating them up, some showing more than others.

Tony passed a small handheld device to me. My eyes locked with Tony's as I fumbled with the device in my hand. As I glanced down at the device, a map flickered on the screen. A single white dot blinked slowly before coordinates appeared.

"Let's go." I turned abruptly and marched out of the room. Steve followed behind me.

"Alice, wait." Steve jogs to keep up with my fast pace. He knows exactly where I am heading.

The sooner I get on a jet, the sooner I get to Maggie.

"Alice, stop for just a second." His hand firmly grips my shoulder and I immediately stop. I turn back to him. "We can't rush into this headfirst. We need a plan of action."

"Wow, coming from a man who jumps out of planes without a parachute." I shoot back as I turn and try to walk away again, but Steve pulls me back again.

"Alice, this mission is dangerous. We can't go into this alone. We need a plan of action and more importantly, we need a team to back us up."

I stare deeply into Steve's eyes. "That so called 'team' knew about Maggie's location. You could see the guilt written all over their faces. If I can't trust them now, what makes you think that I can trust them on the battle field?"

"Alice, stop and think about what you're saying! These are your teammates! You've worked here for over three years now, and you've fought countless battles alongside them, and now when we need them most, you choose to distrust them?"

"Yes, Steve. I do." I pause and try to fight back tears. "They knew. They knew and they did nothing about it! They never said a word to either of us. They lied to us for days. I think I have a pretty good reason not to trust them."

"Going into this mission alone could kill us both." Steve spoke in a low tone.

"If death is the price to keep Maggie safe, then I'm willing to pay it."

"And what happens if we both don't make it out alive? What would happen to Maggie? We wouldn't have a team that would fight for Maggie if we both fell." Steve grows quiet all of the sudden. Both of his hands now rest on my shoulders. He tries to look me in the eyes, but I look away. "Alice, there is only one way we can all make it out of this alive. We need to fight together as a team one more time. We can bring Maggie home. One last fight, Alice."

One last fight.

One last fight, and then what?

"And then we can be done." Steve says simply. With those six words, he claims my full attention. My eyes finally meet his. "We can leave this all behind. We can move out of New York and we can go wherever we want. We can give Maggie a normal life and do what's best for her. If you want to live out in the Midwest and have a farm, we can do that! If you want to live on the sunny coast of Florida, we can do that! We can live our lives like normal people."

I swallow hard, "Could we ever be normal, Steve?"

"No one is ever completely normal, but we can try. For Maggie." He paused. "I love you, Alice."

Tears fall to my cheeks and throw myself into Steve's arms. His strong arms close around me, and just for a second, I find hope. "We'll find her." He whispers.

"One last time." I mumble.

I feel Steve's chin rest on the top of my head, "One last time."

-

This was long overdue, but I'm back. Thank you for sticking around and waiting for so long. I hope to update again soon :)