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Issue #20 by Steve Crosby
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“Those Left Behind"
Catherine Webster was in the front passenger seat, tapping at her phone, while Steve Rogers was transferring the last of the boxes from the car. He was out for a few more minutes, conversing with the head of the clinic and a few of the volunteers. Eventually, he opened the door and settled into the front driver’s seat, and she rolled her eyes.
“Isn’t that just how it always is?”
“What?” Steve started the car.
Catherine lifted her hand off the door handle. “Just when you’re tired of waiting, and moving to do something about it, what you’re waiting for happens. This was most of my childhood, except Rick never did ask me to prom.”
“It would have done you good to get out and engage. They do great work there.”
“Encouraging addicts to use?” Catherine, Free Spirit, sighed and put the phone done. “I know, that isn’t fair. I just…get antsy around all that, afraid it’ll turn out they run experiments and stuff. After all you’ve seen, can’t you help but wonder?”
“I have seen,” Steve, Captain America, agreed. “Enough to know that the hidden angles don’t even occur in point one percent of all that good that’s actually going on. What I’ve seen was a friend lose a relative to drug use, recovering only to die from what a dirty needle can bring.”
Catherine’s eyes widened. “Seriously? You know people like that?”
“We all know people like that. And while it seems easy to turn your back on them, living with what comes next may be the hardest weight to bear.” Steve’s phone, docked beside Catherine’s, pinged, signaling a new message. As Steve pulled over, Catherine groaned.
“You don’t have to do that every time. It’s hands-free or, hell, I could have just gotten it!”
“Speaking of, a matter I’ve been trying to arrange has just been approved.” Steve typed a quick response and put the phone back. “We need to go north, to Chicago.”
“Trips are usually in a straight line,” Catherine said. “But you’ve been driving us every which way, changing course at your every whim.” She raised her hands. “Which is fine, I suggested this knowing how you are. But after this, how about we go do something I want?”
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“No, you’re not interrupting,” Catherine said into the phone. “We’ve been getting jerked around from airport to airport all day. This is hopefully the end of the line, but I can talk while we wait.”
“Thanks,” said the voice at the other end, belonging to Congressman Jack Harrison. “It’s just I’ve been having this dream for the past few nights, and I really need to tell someone about it.”
“As long as it’s not a sex thing. I don’t want to be called before a committee and find out this was recorded.”
“No, nothing like that. Did you ever have one of those dreams when you were a kid, where you don’t know if you’re flying or falling?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t until college psych I learned what it was about.”
“Well, these dreams are similar to those, except that I’m definitely falling. Captain America pushes me out of a plane.
Free Spirit is quiet for a beat, then laughs. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope, we’re in a plane, cargo doors are open, and he shoves me through. But that’s not the weirdest part.”
“Weirder than Captain America pushing you out of a plane. Does he make out with Thor afterwards?”
“Be serious. No, it turns out he’s a HYDRA sleeper agent. Has been since he was a kid.”
Free Spirit withheld the laughter, but her smile was wide. “Really? And you know this how? Was Captain America monologuing as he was pushing you out of the plane?”
“No, I was getting flashes as I was falling. It took me a while to realize I was seeing things from his point of view. Him as a kid, getting taken in by a local outreach group that turned out to be HYDRA.”
“Wow, that, that’s about as weird as it gets. But you know it’s just a dream, right? That’s there’s no chance of, even setting aside that HYDRA didn’t exist until after World War II…”
“Oh, yeah, if he was a sleeper agent it’d be the dumbest plan ever.” Now it was Jack Flagg that laughed. “Recruit a kid, he turns into Captain America, you allow him to foil your plans over and over again. That’d be like discovering plutonium by accident and only using it to give yourself cancer. But there’s a reason I’m having these specific dreams.”
“You think someone’s messing with your head?”
“No, there’s no chance of that. After what happened to my former boss-slash-predecessor, I’ve been getting regular checks. The security here includes a solid brain guy.”
“Uh huh, I better check this guy out. He may be Doctor Faustus.”
“Congress did not hire Doctor Faustus to screen its members for mind control. No, I think Steve might be disappointed in me.”
Free Spirit nodded. “Okay, basic psych. Your anxiety about Captain America’s opinion projects into this dream where he’s really the bad guy trying to kill you. Come on though, he’s been nothing but supportive.”
“At first, yeah. But now I’m in the system, and he’s seen it take down a lot of people. Ask him about the Secret Empire sometime. There’s a reason he’s refused every opportunity to enter politics himself.”
“That’s because…” Free Spirit stopped herself. “Wow, the answer I was about to say kind of justifies your point. Compromises and slippery slopes. But look, as long as you keep your eyes open, avoid making any deals with AIM or some such, you’ll be fine. Both with yourself and with Steve.”
“You think so?”
“Oh, totally.” Free Spirit at the dated remark. “Ugh, I better go. Talk to you later.”
The phone entered Cathy’s pocked as Steve Rogers approached. “Who was that?”
“Jack. You need to talk to him. But how was the talk with…how many supervisors has that been?”
“The last. Her body’s being transported to the train.” Steve handed her a ticket. “It leaves in a few minutes, so we’d better hurry.”
“What?” Cathy jogged to catch up with Steve. “Why a train? Can’t we just rent a van or, don’t funeral parlors provide transport?”
“They’ll be meeting us at the station to take her to the cemetery. Between the time to arrange for pick up here and the traffic, this is just as fast.” Captain America’s face was serious. “And besides, I’d rather sit with her.”
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
It ranked among the top awkward moments of Cathy Webster’s life. She was with Captain America in the luggage car of a passenger train, standing over a closed shipping container which contained a casket, inside of which lay a dead woman she’d never met. The silence was only made worse by the sounds and motions of the train, and Cathy struggled for the words to fill it.
“When did you last see her?” she finally decided to ask.
“Shortly after the Avengers expelled her,” Captain America said. “She came to talk to me, to try and explain. But I…I sent her away. So instead she tried to atone by killing Baron Zemo.” Tears were trickling down his face. “I’m the reason Vagabond is dead.”
Free Spirit put a hand on Captain America’s shoulder. “From what I’ve read, she had a habit of getting into trouble, and finding her own way out of it. This thing with Zemo wasn’t the first time, right? She’d tried to deal with the Power Broker?”
Captain America nodded. “She’d done the right thing then, giving up a chance at the treatment to put the bad guys away. Baron Zemo found her at a low point, and she thought she could turn things before compromising herself too much. I’d like to think she would have, if Moon Knight hadn’t discovered her secret. But with Baron Zemo posing as Justin Hammer, bankrolling the Thunderbolts, running for President and having an Avenger on the inside…I fear the worst would have happened.
Cathy squeezed his shoulder and nodded her head toward the door. “Come on, get something to eat. Standing here, tormenting yourself over what ifs, this isn’t doing any good.”
But Steve shook his head. “You go on. I need to stay here, and remember Priscilla for the friend she was.”
Reluctantly, Cathy complied. She passed through a second luggage car to reach where the passengers were. She didn’t notice the lack of white faces until one bumped into her walking the other directions. Even then, she didn’t give it any thought. They were in Chicago, after all.
But as she was walking through the third passenger car, an odd noise caught Cathy’s attention. Glancing out the window, she noticed motorcycles on the road alongside, a lot of them. Some had two riders, and those passengers were carrying what looked like guns.
“This isn’t good.” Free Spirit turned and started back. Now she noticed her fellow passengers. They weren’t diverse they way city people would be. In fact they all looked to be from the country, from another country. Except for the man that’d bumped into her, moving in Captain America’s direction.
Free Spirit opened the door half-expecting to see a fight. Instead, Captain America was putting on his uniform, and glaring in disapproval at the man standing next to him. That sound she heard earlier was made again, a clang near the roof of the train.
“We have a problem, Cap. I think this train is full of refugees, and there are people alongside who are not happy about it. They may be trying to hijack us.”
“Yeah. That’s what Agent Pierce here was just explaining to me,” Captain America jerked his head toward the man. “Apparently we didn’t get on this train by accident.”
“When I received word about a possible attack, and that you were in the area, I arranged the precaution,” said Alexander Pierce, Agent of SHIELD.
“What kind of racist pricks are we dealing with?” Free Spirit asked as she grabbed her own gear. Captain America and Agent Pierce turned their backs.
“ULTIMATUM,” said Agent Pierce. “They want to call attention to the plight of refugees by killing every one aboard this train.”
“It fits with their sick mentality.” Captain America strapped the shield to his back. “Agent, you should go up front to the engineer. Spirit, try to keep the people calm and deal with anyone who gets aboard. I’ll be on the roof trying to keep that to a minimum.”
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The roar of the wind filled Captain America’s ears. It was a crisp, clear day, and from the roof of the train it was as though he could see for miles. His focus was from the nearby caboose to the distant engine, and the roads alongside the tracks.
Traffic was somewhat normal, save for the motorcycles weaving amongst the cars, firing grapples at the train. Already some men were making the dangerous climb up toward the roof. Captain America almost respected their bravery, except that it was in pursuit of murder and terrorism. One grabble was nearby, so Captain America ran up to it and slashed down with his shield.
The cable snapped, and a man screamed. Captain America saw him fall onto the grassy area between road and track, and hoped the worst he got was broken bones. He couldn’t allow himself to be preoccupied with that, however. Any hesitation could be exploited.
Three cars ahead, a man had made it onto the train. He was dressed in the ULTIMATUM uniform, though his black cap had blown off. Crouched low, Captain America rapidly climbed the train, making sure to always have a hand or foot anchored so that he wouldn’t be hurled backwards as the train sped along. He was still half-a-car’s length away when the terrorist noticed him and raised a pistol.
It takes a certain amount of skill and speed to throw an object faster than a train. Captain America did just that with his shield. smashing it against a white masked face so hard that it broke those dark glasses. With almost superhuman reflexes, Captain America grabbed his shield and his enemy in one smooth motion. A quick survey determined these ULTIMATUM agents had gear to tie themselves to the train, and so he used it to secure the man after disarming him.
Two more grapples were attached to the train, but Captain America didn’t see anyone attempting to board. He did however see a motorcycle where the passenger was preparing to fire something more dangerous than a grapple. Mental calculations took less a fraction of a second, and Captain America threw his shield.
The explosion reached Captain America’s ears in an incestous mix with the train’s roar. A ringing followed which drowned out all else, but Captain America was focused on using his eyes. He had to jump to catch the shield, and had to reach out his other hand to grab the side of the train. The calculations were off, Captain America thought as he swung himself back onto the train’s roof. The explosion was less than he figured.
Out of the corner of his eye, Captain America saw another pair of tracks. No, it’s the original track, what the train was riding on. They were on a divergent track now, moving away from the roads ULTIMATUM was traveling on. For the moment, they were safe, assuming nobody had boarded.
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Three man lay unconscious at Free Spirit’s feet. In her hand was the dark glasses one had worn, snapped almost in half. The only mark on Free Spirit was a cut on her left arm, the result of a knife one of her attackers had used. The important thing was that she’d kept them from opening fire with the guns that were now on the ground.
The door at the far end of the car opened, and Captain America rushed through. He barely glanced at the three before nodded to her in approval. “Any more?”
“No.” Free Spirit shook her head. “They were moving towards the engine, but when they saw me two drew their guns.”
On either side of them were frightened men, women and children. They were still huddled in their seats, afraid that any respite was fleeting.
“One had a knife out, so I went at him fast,” continued Free Spirit. “The others were pointing their guns at…I had to move. Threw the knife, did it…?”
Captain America was kneeling over one man, picked up the red knife, and shook his head. “It looks like you struck him with the handle, so this must be your blood. You need to treat that while I restrain these men and find Agent Pierce.”
“Nicely done, Captain.” Free Spirit jumped at the voice behind her and nearly decked Agent Pierce. “I had the engineer change our course. It’s lucky we were approaching a switch, but you kept us safe until then. That explosion could have derailed us.”
“No, it wasn’t strong enough.” A suspicion crept through Captain America’s skull. “Where are we heading now?”
“A full complement of SHIELD backup,” Agent Pierce said. “Along with alternate transport for everybody here. We’re already slowing, once we stop on the other side of the bridge-”
“They herded us.”
Captain America ran for the windows. He jumped out feet first, popping the reinforced glass from the frame. With one hand he pushed himself as far from he train as he could and landed in a roll alongside it. With no effort he was on his feet and running, gradually passing the train. He could hear Free Spirit running behind him and yelling, but he couldn’t hear over the train.
It wasn’t along before Captain America had the train at his back, and not much longer before the bridge was in sight. This caused him to run faster, because if his suspicions were correct than every second counted. He jumped from the track to get beneath the bridge, grabbing at supports to stay high, and began scanning with his eyes.
“What the hell is all this about?” Free Spirit was out of breath, and had nearly missed grabbing a support. Pulling herself into a sitting position several feet below Captain America, she moved her eyes to where he was looking. “What are you looking for?”
“Explosives,” said Captain America. “The attack was a distraction, meant to force the train onto this track. ULTIMATUM wants them passing over this bridge, so they must have wired it to blow.”
“Well, I don’t see anything.” But now Free Spirit was actively searching. “No sticks of dynamite or black spheres, no suspicious boxes or wires. And if it’s plastique would we even - oh.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I mean…” Free Spirit pointed at a massive concrete column with a long, wide open crack in it. “Well, it doesn’t look great, but it has to still be safe. These things are inspected all the time, right?”
“Yeah, it should be safe.” Captain America’s blood was running cold. “For trains zooming through at high speeds. But this train is slowing down, increasing the strain.”
“And you seriously think that ULTIMATUM planned for this? We’re talking some grandmaster level sh-” The roar of the approaching train drowned out her words, as did the shaking of the bridge. Sure enough, small pieces were breaking off.
“But they couldn’t have planned for us.” Captain America jumped, grabbing onto a support connected to that column. Positioning himself just under the crack, he braced his shield against the column. “We just need to make sure this holds for long enough.”
But while the train was passing overhead, the shaking was getting ever worse. Free Spirit thought she could see the crack widen, and definitely saw a small piece of concrete break from the column. A very small piece, maybe the size of her thumb, but telling all the same. Free Spirit jumped from her position, landing just below Captain America on the opposite side of the column. She pressed both arms against it and gasped at the pain, suddenly fearful they would shatter.
“I c-can’t hold-d-d on,” said Free Spirit through chattering teeth.
“Al-almost over.” The train had made it past, and the sound was starting to fade. But the shaking was just getting worst. The bridge was going to collapse. “Jump to me now!”
Free Spirit let go and leapt. Captain America leapt at her, and when they met in mid-air he embraced her, shield held above them. They crashed to the ground seconds before the bridge came tumbling down.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
It was the dead of night, and clouds limited visibility. They had been driving for hours, at unsafe speeds. Free Spirit looked at Captain America at the steering wheel, at the bandage on his head, and remembered the medic’s advice.
“I recommend a scan, but there may be a concussion. You should rest for a few days, avoid rigorous activity and anything that requires focused concentration.”
“Sure thing.” Captain America looked to Free Spirit. “We still need to move her. Can you handle that?”
“No problem.” Free Spirit had been given a clean bill of health.
When they boarded the stopped train, SHIELD agent Alexander Pierce had met them. “Terrific work, you too. Everybody’s fine, and I just received an update from the field office. Most of the terrorists involved have been swept up. maybe all of them.
“Were any of them killed?” Captain America walked into the compartment where Vagabond’s body was.
“Some had bumps and bruises for serious than yours, but nothing life-threatening.” Agent Pierce had followed close behind him, and bumped into Captain America.
The shipping box that contained Vagabond’s casket was open. After halting for a moment, Captain America rushed forward. The casket was also open, and in place of a body was a white scrap of paper. Captain America snatched it up and read the words scrawled upon it.
A second later, Free Spirit was at his side. “Did ULTIMATUM do this? What does it say?”
Captain America looked her in the eye and, his face deadly serious, said, “Hail HYDRA.”
And hours later they were in the car, Free Spirit only vaguely aware of their destination. Agent Pierce had offered help, all the resources at SHIELD’s disposal. But Captain America suspected who was responsible and why, and only wanted a vehicle. Free Spirit offered to drive, to give him a chance to rest, but Captain America hadn’t even bothered to refuse. He simply got in the car and drove off. Free Spirit was lucky to have jumped into the moving car.
They were out of the city when Free Spirit decided to get some answers. “Okay, so who do you think is behind this? And where are we going?”
“I don’t think he was behind the actual attack,” said Captain America. “But I think Nomad used it to take Vagabond’s body. And if I’m right our plans shouldn’t have changed at all.”
Free Spirit had known some of the history, but Captain America filled her in on the rest. Jack Monroe, then called Nomad, had met Priscilla Lyons and offered to help find her brother. That hadn’t gone too well, but luckily Priscilla had followed up with Captain America and he’d helped Nomad resolve things. She became Vagabond then, more of a hanger-on to Nomad than a partner, but with training she’d proved herself capable. The relationship ended, but that connection made Nomad the most likely suspect.
“You keep calling him Nomad,” said Free Spirit. “But we fought him not too long ago. He’s Viper now, HYDRA’s brainwashed lackey. You think he’s going to use their resources to bring Vagabond back, like they did with Crossbones?”
“That would have been outsourced to The Hand, and if that’s the case we may already be too late.” Captain America shook his head, though. “I don’t think that would be approved in Vagabond’s case, and I hope Jack has the clarity of mind not to pursue it.”
Minutes later, Free Spirit realized what Captain America had meant by unchanged plans. They had slowed upon entering a cemetery in Gary, Indiana. Soon they observed the figure of a man digging, apparently unconcerned by the approaching car. Captain America stopped the car a short distance away.
“Please stay here.” Captain America exited the vehicle and walked towards the digger, his shield left behind. He quickly saw that the man was Jack Monroe, dressed in normal clothes, and that he wasn’t digging. Dirt was being shoveled into the grave, and the task was nearly done.
“I’m glad you found the plot,” Captain America said. “The headstone was ordered, it should be placed in about a week. I also planned to inform her family, what ones I could find.”
Jack Monroe finished filling the grave, and planted the shovel into the ground. “That’s almost the least you could do. Does Dennis know?”
Dennis Dunphy, once known as Demolition Man, had also been close with Vagabond. “I sent a message, but haven’t heard back. I plan to see him in person, when-”
“No,” said Jack. “You should stay far away from Dennis. You should have stayed far away from Priscilla. None of this would have happened.”
“Baron Zemo had already approached her,” Captain America started to say.
“But had she accepted then?” Jack asked. “Or was it only after your offer that she felt she need to stay yes, to be worthy? And then there’s me. If you’d only left me to live my life in peace…”
“I’m sorry. I needed help and-”
“You abandoned me!” At last Jack turned to face Captain America. “HYDRA took me, and you went on to have other adventures. It wasn’t until some kid you’d never heard of was abducted that you went after HYDRA. For all you knew, my dead body had been thrown into the ocean.”
There was nothing Captain America could say in his defense. People came in and out of his life, often with no rhyme or reason, seemingly at the whim of greater forces. After their adventure, Nomad had been forgotten in favor of other matters, left unresolved.
“I’m here now, and willing to help,” Captain America said. “If you’ve beaten what HYDRA did, we can make sure that-”
With a savage roar, Jack Monroe was on him. Captain America was thrown to the ground, defenseless as the young man struck. At the first blow, Jack imagined his father, a Neo-Nazi he’d inadvertently turned in. Next was William Burnside, who he’d first known as a teacher named Steve Rogers, then soon after as Captain America to his Bucky. This was followed by the horrible visage of Baron Zemo, and the hateful face of Red Skull’s daughter Sin. What they had done to him then, it didn’t compare to what they’d recently taken from him. Taken with the help of Captain America, and so the last face was that of the true Steve Rogers.
“Get off him!”
Free Spirit had stayed in the car, but at sight of the attack had sprung into action. She slammed into Nomad, hurtling him towards a gravestone. At the instant before impact Jack managed to flip himself over the marker and land on his feet just behind. He then leapt forward at Free Sprit, who was ready and willing to meet him.
“Stop this, both of you!” Captain America was on his feet and between the two. “It’s okay, Free Spirit. He could have taken my head off with any of those blows. The truth is that I deserve it and more. But Jack, did that accomplish anything?”
His fists balled up, Jack Monroe appeared about to strike again. But he sighed, and the fists unclenched. “Beyond a brief pleasure, no. Beating you for human faults, but not living up to the idea everybody has of Captain America, that’s less than worthless.”
“It helped to remind me that I should always try,” said Captain America. “And not to turn my back on others for similar failings. I’ve let Vagabond, you, and so many others down. But the offer remains open, should you ever come to me again.”
Jack’s arms had fully relaxed, and he backed away. “I’ve made it this far on my own.”
Into the night Jack disappeared. The events of the day were allowed to catch up with Captain America, and he nearly collapsed. Free Spirit was there to catch him, however, and help him to the car.
“I’ll drive now, while you rest,” she told him. “We can start toward my thing.”
“Okay,” Captain America conceded. “But I have to make a call first.”
Lying in the backseat while Free Spirit navigated the vehicle, Captain America dialed a number. On the other end, a groggy Congressman Jack Harrison picked up. “Hello?”
“Hello, Jack? It’s Steve. I’m sorry it’s late, did I wake you?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine. Is there something wrong? Something you need my help with?”
“No, there’s nothing worth taking you out of D.C. You’re doing good work there, Jack. I just called you let you know, I’m proud of you.”
Next Issue: We get to Free Spirit’s thing!
“Isn’t that just how it always is?”
“What?” Steve started the car.
Catherine lifted her hand off the door handle. “Just when you’re tired of waiting, and moving to do something about it, what you’re waiting for happens. This was most of my childhood, except Rick never did ask me to prom.”
“It would have done you good to get out and engage. They do great work there.”
“Encouraging addicts to use?” Catherine, Free Spirit, sighed and put the phone done. “I know, that isn’t fair. I just…get antsy around all that, afraid it’ll turn out they run experiments and stuff. After all you’ve seen, can’t you help but wonder?”
“I have seen,” Steve, Captain America, agreed. “Enough to know that the hidden angles don’t even occur in point one percent of all that good that’s actually going on. What I’ve seen was a friend lose a relative to drug use, recovering only to die from what a dirty needle can bring.”
Catherine’s eyes widened. “Seriously? You know people like that?”
“We all know people like that. And while it seems easy to turn your back on them, living with what comes next may be the hardest weight to bear.” Steve’s phone, docked beside Catherine’s, pinged, signaling a new message. As Steve pulled over, Catherine groaned.
“You don’t have to do that every time. It’s hands-free or, hell, I could have just gotten it!”
“Speaking of, a matter I’ve been trying to arrange has just been approved.” Steve typed a quick response and put the phone back. “We need to go north, to Chicago.”
“Trips are usually in a straight line,” Catherine said. “But you’ve been driving us every which way, changing course at your every whim.” She raised her hands. “Which is fine, I suggested this knowing how you are. But after this, how about we go do something I want?”
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“No, you’re not interrupting,” Catherine said into the phone. “We’ve been getting jerked around from airport to airport all day. This is hopefully the end of the line, but I can talk while we wait.”
“Thanks,” said the voice at the other end, belonging to Congressman Jack Harrison. “It’s just I’ve been having this dream for the past few nights, and I really need to tell someone about it.”
“As long as it’s not a sex thing. I don’t want to be called before a committee and find out this was recorded.”
“No, nothing like that. Did you ever have one of those dreams when you were a kid, where you don’t know if you’re flying or falling?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t until college psych I learned what it was about.”
“Well, these dreams are similar to those, except that I’m definitely falling. Captain America pushes me out of a plane.
Free Spirit is quiet for a beat, then laughs. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope, we’re in a plane, cargo doors are open, and he shoves me through. But that’s not the weirdest part.”
“Weirder than Captain America pushing you out of a plane. Does he make out with Thor afterwards?”
“Be serious. No, it turns out he’s a HYDRA sleeper agent. Has been since he was a kid.”
Free Spirit withheld the laughter, but her smile was wide. “Really? And you know this how? Was Captain America monologuing as he was pushing you out of the plane?”
“No, I was getting flashes as I was falling. It took me a while to realize I was seeing things from his point of view. Him as a kid, getting taken in by a local outreach group that turned out to be HYDRA.”
“Wow, that, that’s about as weird as it gets. But you know it’s just a dream, right? That’s there’s no chance of, even setting aside that HYDRA didn’t exist until after World War II…”
“Oh, yeah, if he was a sleeper agent it’d be the dumbest plan ever.” Now it was Jack Flagg that laughed. “Recruit a kid, he turns into Captain America, you allow him to foil your plans over and over again. That’d be like discovering plutonium by accident and only using it to give yourself cancer. But there’s a reason I’m having these specific dreams.”
“You think someone’s messing with your head?”
“No, there’s no chance of that. After what happened to my former boss-slash-predecessor, I’ve been getting regular checks. The security here includes a solid brain guy.”
“Uh huh, I better check this guy out. He may be Doctor Faustus.”
“Congress did not hire Doctor Faustus to screen its members for mind control. No, I think Steve might be disappointed in me.”
Free Spirit nodded. “Okay, basic psych. Your anxiety about Captain America’s opinion projects into this dream where he’s really the bad guy trying to kill you. Come on though, he’s been nothing but supportive.”
“At first, yeah. But now I’m in the system, and he’s seen it take down a lot of people. Ask him about the Secret Empire sometime. There’s a reason he’s refused every opportunity to enter politics himself.”
“That’s because…” Free Spirit stopped herself. “Wow, the answer I was about to say kind of justifies your point. Compromises and slippery slopes. But look, as long as you keep your eyes open, avoid making any deals with AIM or some such, you’ll be fine. Both with yourself and with Steve.”
“You think so?”
“Oh, totally.” Free Spirit at the dated remark. “Ugh, I better go. Talk to you later.”
The phone entered Cathy’s pocked as Steve Rogers approached. “Who was that?”
“Jack. You need to talk to him. But how was the talk with…how many supervisors has that been?”
“The last. Her body’s being transported to the train.” Steve handed her a ticket. “It leaves in a few minutes, so we’d better hurry.”
“What?” Cathy jogged to catch up with Steve. “Why a train? Can’t we just rent a van or, don’t funeral parlors provide transport?”
“They’ll be meeting us at the station to take her to the cemetery. Between the time to arrange for pick up here and the traffic, this is just as fast.” Captain America’s face was serious. “And besides, I’d rather sit with her.”
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It ranked among the top awkward moments of Cathy Webster’s life. She was with Captain America in the luggage car of a passenger train, standing over a closed shipping container which contained a casket, inside of which lay a dead woman she’d never met. The silence was only made worse by the sounds and motions of the train, and Cathy struggled for the words to fill it.
“When did you last see her?” she finally decided to ask.
“Shortly after the Avengers expelled her,” Captain America said. “She came to talk to me, to try and explain. But I…I sent her away. So instead she tried to atone by killing Baron Zemo.” Tears were trickling down his face. “I’m the reason Vagabond is dead.”
Free Spirit put a hand on Captain America’s shoulder. “From what I’ve read, she had a habit of getting into trouble, and finding her own way out of it. This thing with Zemo wasn’t the first time, right? She’d tried to deal with the Power Broker?”
Captain America nodded. “She’d done the right thing then, giving up a chance at the treatment to put the bad guys away. Baron Zemo found her at a low point, and she thought she could turn things before compromising herself too much. I’d like to think she would have, if Moon Knight hadn’t discovered her secret. But with Baron Zemo posing as Justin Hammer, bankrolling the Thunderbolts, running for President and having an Avenger on the inside…I fear the worst would have happened.
Cathy squeezed his shoulder and nodded her head toward the door. “Come on, get something to eat. Standing here, tormenting yourself over what ifs, this isn’t doing any good.”
But Steve shook his head. “You go on. I need to stay here, and remember Priscilla for the friend she was.”
Reluctantly, Cathy complied. She passed through a second luggage car to reach where the passengers were. She didn’t notice the lack of white faces until one bumped into her walking the other directions. Even then, she didn’t give it any thought. They were in Chicago, after all.
But as she was walking through the third passenger car, an odd noise caught Cathy’s attention. Glancing out the window, she noticed motorcycles on the road alongside, a lot of them. Some had two riders, and those passengers were carrying what looked like guns.
“This isn’t good.” Free Spirit turned and started back. Now she noticed her fellow passengers. They weren’t diverse they way city people would be. In fact they all looked to be from the country, from another country. Except for the man that’d bumped into her, moving in Captain America’s direction.
Free Spirit opened the door half-expecting to see a fight. Instead, Captain America was putting on his uniform, and glaring in disapproval at the man standing next to him. That sound she heard earlier was made again, a clang near the roof of the train.
“We have a problem, Cap. I think this train is full of refugees, and there are people alongside who are not happy about it. They may be trying to hijack us.”
“Yeah. That’s what Agent Pierce here was just explaining to me,” Captain America jerked his head toward the man. “Apparently we didn’t get on this train by accident.”
“When I received word about a possible attack, and that you were in the area, I arranged the precaution,” said Alexander Pierce, Agent of SHIELD.
“What kind of racist pricks are we dealing with?” Free Spirit asked as she grabbed her own gear. Captain America and Agent Pierce turned their backs.
“ULTIMATUM,” said Agent Pierce. “They want to call attention to the plight of refugees by killing every one aboard this train.”
“It fits with their sick mentality.” Captain America strapped the shield to his back. “Agent, you should go up front to the engineer. Spirit, try to keep the people calm and deal with anyone who gets aboard. I’ll be on the roof trying to keep that to a minimum.”
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The roar of the wind filled Captain America’s ears. It was a crisp, clear day, and from the roof of the train it was as though he could see for miles. His focus was from the nearby caboose to the distant engine, and the roads alongside the tracks.
Traffic was somewhat normal, save for the motorcycles weaving amongst the cars, firing grapples at the train. Already some men were making the dangerous climb up toward the roof. Captain America almost respected their bravery, except that it was in pursuit of murder and terrorism. One grabble was nearby, so Captain America ran up to it and slashed down with his shield.
The cable snapped, and a man screamed. Captain America saw him fall onto the grassy area between road and track, and hoped the worst he got was broken bones. He couldn’t allow himself to be preoccupied with that, however. Any hesitation could be exploited.
Three cars ahead, a man had made it onto the train. He was dressed in the ULTIMATUM uniform, though his black cap had blown off. Crouched low, Captain America rapidly climbed the train, making sure to always have a hand or foot anchored so that he wouldn’t be hurled backwards as the train sped along. He was still half-a-car’s length away when the terrorist noticed him and raised a pistol.
It takes a certain amount of skill and speed to throw an object faster than a train. Captain America did just that with his shield. smashing it against a white masked face so hard that it broke those dark glasses. With almost superhuman reflexes, Captain America grabbed his shield and his enemy in one smooth motion. A quick survey determined these ULTIMATUM agents had gear to tie themselves to the train, and so he used it to secure the man after disarming him.
Two more grapples were attached to the train, but Captain America didn’t see anyone attempting to board. He did however see a motorcycle where the passenger was preparing to fire something more dangerous than a grapple. Mental calculations took less a fraction of a second, and Captain America threw his shield.
The explosion reached Captain America’s ears in an incestous mix with the train’s roar. A ringing followed which drowned out all else, but Captain America was focused on using his eyes. He had to jump to catch the shield, and had to reach out his other hand to grab the side of the train. The calculations were off, Captain America thought as he swung himself back onto the train’s roof. The explosion was less than he figured.
Out of the corner of his eye, Captain America saw another pair of tracks. No, it’s the original track, what the train was riding on. They were on a divergent track now, moving away from the roads ULTIMATUM was traveling on. For the moment, they were safe, assuming nobody had boarded.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Three man lay unconscious at Free Spirit’s feet. In her hand was the dark glasses one had worn, snapped almost in half. The only mark on Free Spirit was a cut on her left arm, the result of a knife one of her attackers had used. The important thing was that she’d kept them from opening fire with the guns that were now on the ground.
The door at the far end of the car opened, and Captain America rushed through. He barely glanced at the three before nodded to her in approval. “Any more?”
“No.” Free Spirit shook her head. “They were moving towards the engine, but when they saw me two drew their guns.”
On either side of them were frightened men, women and children. They were still huddled in their seats, afraid that any respite was fleeting.
“One had a knife out, so I went at him fast,” continued Free Spirit. “The others were pointing their guns at…I had to move. Threw the knife, did it…?”
Captain America was kneeling over one man, picked up the red knife, and shook his head. “It looks like you struck him with the handle, so this must be your blood. You need to treat that while I restrain these men and find Agent Pierce.”
“Nicely done, Captain.” Free Spirit jumped at the voice behind her and nearly decked Agent Pierce. “I had the engineer change our course. It’s lucky we were approaching a switch, but you kept us safe until then. That explosion could have derailed us.”
“No, it wasn’t strong enough.” A suspicion crept through Captain America’s skull. “Where are we heading now?”
“A full complement of SHIELD backup,” Agent Pierce said. “Along with alternate transport for everybody here. We’re already slowing, once we stop on the other side of the bridge-”
“They herded us.”
Captain America ran for the windows. He jumped out feet first, popping the reinforced glass from the frame. With one hand he pushed himself as far from he train as he could and landed in a roll alongside it. With no effort he was on his feet and running, gradually passing the train. He could hear Free Spirit running behind him and yelling, but he couldn’t hear over the train.
It wasn’t along before Captain America had the train at his back, and not much longer before the bridge was in sight. This caused him to run faster, because if his suspicions were correct than every second counted. He jumped from the track to get beneath the bridge, grabbing at supports to stay high, and began scanning with his eyes.
“What the hell is all this about?” Free Spirit was out of breath, and had nearly missed grabbing a support. Pulling herself into a sitting position several feet below Captain America, she moved her eyes to where he was looking. “What are you looking for?”
“Explosives,” said Captain America. “The attack was a distraction, meant to force the train onto this track. ULTIMATUM wants them passing over this bridge, so they must have wired it to blow.”
“Well, I don’t see anything.” But now Free Spirit was actively searching. “No sticks of dynamite or black spheres, no suspicious boxes or wires. And if it’s plastique would we even - oh.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I mean…” Free Spirit pointed at a massive concrete column with a long, wide open crack in it. “Well, it doesn’t look great, but it has to still be safe. These things are inspected all the time, right?”
“Yeah, it should be safe.” Captain America’s blood was running cold. “For trains zooming through at high speeds. But this train is slowing down, increasing the strain.”
“And you seriously think that ULTIMATUM planned for this? We’re talking some grandmaster level sh-” The roar of the approaching train drowned out her words, as did the shaking of the bridge. Sure enough, small pieces were breaking off.
“But they couldn’t have planned for us.” Captain America jumped, grabbing onto a support connected to that column. Positioning himself just under the crack, he braced his shield against the column. “We just need to make sure this holds for long enough.”
But while the train was passing overhead, the shaking was getting ever worse. Free Spirit thought she could see the crack widen, and definitely saw a small piece of concrete break from the column. A very small piece, maybe the size of her thumb, but telling all the same. Free Spirit jumped from her position, landing just below Captain America on the opposite side of the column. She pressed both arms against it and gasped at the pain, suddenly fearful they would shatter.
“I c-can’t hold-d-d on,” said Free Spirit through chattering teeth.
“Al-almost over.” The train had made it past, and the sound was starting to fade. But the shaking was just getting worst. The bridge was going to collapse. “Jump to me now!”
Free Spirit let go and leapt. Captain America leapt at her, and when they met in mid-air he embraced her, shield held above them. They crashed to the ground seconds before the bridge came tumbling down.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
It was the dead of night, and clouds limited visibility. They had been driving for hours, at unsafe speeds. Free Spirit looked at Captain America at the steering wheel, at the bandage on his head, and remembered the medic’s advice.
“I recommend a scan, but there may be a concussion. You should rest for a few days, avoid rigorous activity and anything that requires focused concentration.”
“Sure thing.” Captain America looked to Free Spirit. “We still need to move her. Can you handle that?”
“No problem.” Free Spirit had been given a clean bill of health.
When they boarded the stopped train, SHIELD agent Alexander Pierce had met them. “Terrific work, you too. Everybody’s fine, and I just received an update from the field office. Most of the terrorists involved have been swept up. maybe all of them.
“Were any of them killed?” Captain America walked into the compartment where Vagabond’s body was.
“Some had bumps and bruises for serious than yours, but nothing life-threatening.” Agent Pierce had followed close behind him, and bumped into Captain America.
The shipping box that contained Vagabond’s casket was open. After halting for a moment, Captain America rushed forward. The casket was also open, and in place of a body was a white scrap of paper. Captain America snatched it up and read the words scrawled upon it.
A second later, Free Spirit was at his side. “Did ULTIMATUM do this? What does it say?”
Captain America looked her in the eye and, his face deadly serious, said, “Hail HYDRA.”
And hours later they were in the car, Free Spirit only vaguely aware of their destination. Agent Pierce had offered help, all the resources at SHIELD’s disposal. But Captain America suspected who was responsible and why, and only wanted a vehicle. Free Spirit offered to drive, to give him a chance to rest, but Captain America hadn’t even bothered to refuse. He simply got in the car and drove off. Free Spirit was lucky to have jumped into the moving car.
They were out of the city when Free Spirit decided to get some answers. “Okay, so who do you think is behind this? And where are we going?”
“I don’t think he was behind the actual attack,” said Captain America. “But I think Nomad used it to take Vagabond’s body. And if I’m right our plans shouldn’t have changed at all.”
Free Spirit had known some of the history, but Captain America filled her in on the rest. Jack Monroe, then called Nomad, had met Priscilla Lyons and offered to help find her brother. That hadn’t gone too well, but luckily Priscilla had followed up with Captain America and he’d helped Nomad resolve things. She became Vagabond then, more of a hanger-on to Nomad than a partner, but with training she’d proved herself capable. The relationship ended, but that connection made Nomad the most likely suspect.
“You keep calling him Nomad,” said Free Spirit. “But we fought him not too long ago. He’s Viper now, HYDRA’s brainwashed lackey. You think he’s going to use their resources to bring Vagabond back, like they did with Crossbones?”
“That would have been outsourced to The Hand, and if that’s the case we may already be too late.” Captain America shook his head, though. “I don’t think that would be approved in Vagabond’s case, and I hope Jack has the clarity of mind not to pursue it.”
Minutes later, Free Spirit realized what Captain America had meant by unchanged plans. They had slowed upon entering a cemetery in Gary, Indiana. Soon they observed the figure of a man digging, apparently unconcerned by the approaching car. Captain America stopped the car a short distance away.
“Please stay here.” Captain America exited the vehicle and walked towards the digger, his shield left behind. He quickly saw that the man was Jack Monroe, dressed in normal clothes, and that he wasn’t digging. Dirt was being shoveled into the grave, and the task was nearly done.
“I’m glad you found the plot,” Captain America said. “The headstone was ordered, it should be placed in about a week. I also planned to inform her family, what ones I could find.”
Jack Monroe finished filling the grave, and planted the shovel into the ground. “That’s almost the least you could do. Does Dennis know?”
Dennis Dunphy, once known as Demolition Man, had also been close with Vagabond. “I sent a message, but haven’t heard back. I plan to see him in person, when-”
“No,” said Jack. “You should stay far away from Dennis. You should have stayed far away from Priscilla. None of this would have happened.”
“Baron Zemo had already approached her,” Captain America started to say.
“But had she accepted then?” Jack asked. “Or was it only after your offer that she felt she need to stay yes, to be worthy? And then there’s me. If you’d only left me to live my life in peace…”
“I’m sorry. I needed help and-”
“You abandoned me!” At last Jack turned to face Captain America. “HYDRA took me, and you went on to have other adventures. It wasn’t until some kid you’d never heard of was abducted that you went after HYDRA. For all you knew, my dead body had been thrown into the ocean.”
There was nothing Captain America could say in his defense. People came in and out of his life, often with no rhyme or reason, seemingly at the whim of greater forces. After their adventure, Nomad had been forgotten in favor of other matters, left unresolved.
“I’m here now, and willing to help,” Captain America said. “If you’ve beaten what HYDRA did, we can make sure that-”
With a savage roar, Jack Monroe was on him. Captain America was thrown to the ground, defenseless as the young man struck. At the first blow, Jack imagined his father, a Neo-Nazi he’d inadvertently turned in. Next was William Burnside, who he’d first known as a teacher named Steve Rogers, then soon after as Captain America to his Bucky. This was followed by the horrible visage of Baron Zemo, and the hateful face of Red Skull’s daughter Sin. What they had done to him then, it didn’t compare to what they’d recently taken from him. Taken with the help of Captain America, and so the last face was that of the true Steve Rogers.
“Get off him!”
Free Spirit had stayed in the car, but at sight of the attack had sprung into action. She slammed into Nomad, hurtling him towards a gravestone. At the instant before impact Jack managed to flip himself over the marker and land on his feet just behind. He then leapt forward at Free Sprit, who was ready and willing to meet him.
“Stop this, both of you!” Captain America was on his feet and between the two. “It’s okay, Free Spirit. He could have taken my head off with any of those blows. The truth is that I deserve it and more. But Jack, did that accomplish anything?”
His fists balled up, Jack Monroe appeared about to strike again. But he sighed, and the fists unclenched. “Beyond a brief pleasure, no. Beating you for human faults, but not living up to the idea everybody has of Captain America, that’s less than worthless.”
“It helped to remind me that I should always try,” said Captain America. “And not to turn my back on others for similar failings. I’ve let Vagabond, you, and so many others down. But the offer remains open, should you ever come to me again.”
Jack’s arms had fully relaxed, and he backed away. “I’ve made it this far on my own.”
Into the night Jack disappeared. The events of the day were allowed to catch up with Captain America, and he nearly collapsed. Free Spirit was there to catch him, however, and help him to the car.
“I’ll drive now, while you rest,” she told him. “We can start toward my thing.”
“Okay,” Captain America conceded. “But I have to make a call first.”
Lying in the backseat while Free Spirit navigated the vehicle, Captain America dialed a number. On the other end, a groggy Congressman Jack Harrison picked up. “Hello?”
“Hello, Jack? It’s Steve. I’m sorry it’s late, did I wake you?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine. Is there something wrong? Something you need my help with?”
“No, there’s nothing worth taking you out of D.C. You’re doing good work there, Jack. I just called you let you know, I’m proud of you.”
Next Issue: We get to Free Spirit’s thing!