Archive of Our Own

(First lines; Sam Wilson is jogging around Washington, D.C. when Steve quickly catches up to him and runs past him.)
Steve Rogers: On your left.
(As Sam continues to jog Steve comes around again quickly after doing another lap.)
Steve Rogers: On your left.
Sam Wilson: Uh-huh, on my left. Got it.
(As Sam is still jogging Steve comes around again from behind him from another lap.)
Sam Wilson: Don't say it! Don't you say it!
Steve Rogers: On your left!
Sam Wilson: Come on!
(Sam gets angry and tries to catch up to him but only after a few seconds he's unable to carry on and stops to rest.)
(As Sam is resting catching his breath sitting by a tree Steve walks over to him.)
Steve Rogers: Need a medic?
(Sam laughs.)
Sam Wilson: I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes.
Steve Rogers: I guess I got a late start.
Sam Wilson: Oh, really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap.
(He hesitates for a moment before saying sarcastically.)
Sam Wilson: Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it.
Steve Rogers: What unit you with?
Sam Wilson: 58, Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA.
(Sam lifts hand to shake)
Sam Wilson: Sam Wilson.
(Steve gives Sam a hand to rise.)
Steve Rogers: Steve Rogers.
Sam Wilson: Yeah, I kind of put that together. Must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing.
Steve Rogers: It takes some getting used to. It's good to meet you, Sam.
(as Steve turns to leave.)
Sam Wilson: It's your bed, right?
Steve Rogers: What's that?
Sam Wilson: Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I'd sleep on the ground and use rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like...
Steve Rogers: Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor.
(Sam smiles and nods his head.)
Steve Rogers: How long?
Sam Wilson: Two tours.
(Awkward silence)
Sam Wilson: You must miss the good old days, huh?
Steve Rogers: Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better; we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up.
(Sam looks up to think and raises finger)
Sam Wilson: Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble Man" soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed into one album.
Steve Rogers: I'll put it on the list.
(Steve gets his small notebook and pen out and notes it down on his list which also includes - in the American version of the movie - I Love Lucy (Television); Moon Landing; Berlin Wall (Up + Down) Steve Jobs (Apple); Disco; Thai Food; Star Wars/Trek (with Star Wars crossed out, indicating that he has seen it); Nirvana (Band); Rocky (Rocky II?)
(Steve gets a text message: "Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb. :)")
Steve Rogers: Alright, Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run. If that's what you wanna call running.
(They shake hands.)
Sam Wilson: Oh, that's how it is?
Steve Rogers: Oh, that's how it is.
Sam Wilson: (He laughs.) Okay. Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know.
Steve Rogers: I'll keep it in mind.
Sam Wilson: Okay.
(Just then Natasha pulls up in her car by the curb and rolls down the window.)
Natasha Romanoff: Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil.
Steve Rogers: That's hilarious.
(Steve walks over to her car and gets in, Sam gives Natasha and her car an appreciative look.)
Sam Wilson: How you doing?
Natasha Romanoff: Hey.
Steve Rogers: Can't run everywhere.
Sam Wilson: No, you can't.
(He watches as Natasha quickly pulls away and drives off.)

________________________________________
[SCENE 2: INDIAN OCEAN - THE LEMURIAN STAR]

(Night. A SHIELD Quinjet screams over the dark water. The rear ramp lowers, wind howling into the cabin.)
(Steve Rogers is suiting up, checking the straps on his shield. Brock Rumlow and the STRIKE team are locking and loading weapons.)
(Natasha Romanoff sits nearby, calmly checking the charge on her Widow’s Bite gauntlets. She looks at Steve, a playful smirk on her lips.)
Natasha Romanoff: You're doing anything fun Saturday night?
Steve Rogers: Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so... no, not really.
Natasha Romanoff: You know, if you ask Kristen from Statistics, she'd probably say yes.
Steve Rogers: That's why I don't ask.
Natasha Romanoff: Too shy, or too scared?
Steve Rogers: Too busy.
Natasha Romanoff: (She stands up, walking over to him.) You need to get out more, Rogers. You can't save the world if you don't have a world to live in.
Steve Rogers: Easy for you to say. You disappear every weekend. Where do you go, anyway?
Natasha Romanoff: (She touches the ring hidden under her tactical glove, smiling enigmatically.) I have a standing appointment. High maintenance, very loud, thinks he's a genius. But he makes good coffee.
Steve Rogers: Sounds exhausting.
Natasha Romanoff: It's the only thing that keeps me sane.
Brock Rumlow: (Interrupting) Target is the Lemurian Star. Launching satellite payloads. Pirates took the ship ninety minutes ago. They want a billion and a half.
Steve Rogers: Who's the buyer?
Brock Rumlow : Batroc.
Natasha Romanoff: He’s got a reputation.
Steve Rogers: How many hostages?
Brock Rumlow: Twenty-five. Top SHIELD brass. Including Jasper Sitwell.
Steve Rogers: Alright. I'll sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep the aft, find the hostages. Get them to the lifeboats, get them out. Let's move.
Brock Rumlow : STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up.
(Steve walks to the edge of the ramp. He looks down at the ocean churning below.)
Steve Rogers: Secure channel seven.
Natasha Romanoff: Seven is active.
Steve Rogers: (He glances at her.) And Nat? Don't do anything reckless. That standing appointment of yours would be upset if you didn't come home.
Natasha Romanoff: (Her eyes soften for a split second.) I always come home, Cap. Just make sure you leave some bad guys for me.
Brock Rumlow : You didn't wear a parachute.
Steve Rogers: No. No, I didn't.
(Steve dives out of the jet, plummeting into the darkness.)
(Rumlow looks at Natasha.)
Brock Rumlow : You think he knows?
Natasha Romanoff: About the jump? He likes the drama.
Brock Rumlow : About the side mission. Fury was specific. If Batroc has cracked the encryption on the guidance chips...
Natasha Romanoff: (Her voice drops, turning cold.) If Batroc cracked the encryption, then he's using Stark Tech to do it. And that makes it my problem. Stick to the hostages, Rumlow. The data is mine.
(She runs to the edge and dives after Captain America.) (Alternative Version).

[SCENE 2: THE LEMURIAN STAR]
(Flying over the Indian Ocean. The duo are with SHIELD agents, led by Brock Rumlow.)
Brock Rumlow : The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago.
Steve Rogers : Any demands?
Brock Rumlow : A billion and a half.
Steve Rogers : Why so steep?
Brock Rumlow : Because it SHIELD's.
Steve Rogers : So it's not off-course, it's trespassing.
Natasha Romanoff : I'm sure they have a good reason.
Steve Rogers : You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor.
Natasha Romanoff : Relax, it's not that complicated.
Steve Rogers : How many pirates?
Brock Rumlow : Twenty-five, top mercs, led by this guy. Georges Batroc. (He shows them a photo of Batroc on the monitor.) Brock Rumlow : Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties.
Steve Rogers : Hostages?
Brock Rumlow : Uh...mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell. (He pulls up Sitwell's photo on the monitor.) Brock Rumlow : They're in the galley.
Steve Rogers : What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship? Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get 'em out. Let's move.
Brock Rumlow : STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up.
(As they are getting ready to dive off the jet, checking parachutes and weapons.)
Steve Rogers : (Talking into his wrist communicator) Secure channel seven.
Natasha Romanoff : Seven secure. Did you do anything fun Saturday night?
Steve Rogers : Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so... No, not really.
Natasha Romanoff : Well, you should clear your schedule for tomorrow night. It's our anniversary party at the Tower.
Steve Rogers : Anniversary?
Natasha Romanoff : Three years since I walked into Stark Industries as "Natalie Rushman" to evaluate him for the Avengers Initiative. Tony says we have to celebrate the day I lied to his face and he fell for it anyway. He's throwing a massive gala.
Steve Rogers : He's celebrating the fact that you spied on him?
Natasha Romanoff : He calls it "The day he met his better half." He says if I don't show up, he's going to wear the Iron Man suit to dinner just to embarrass me. You should come. Find a date and come celebrate with us.
Steve Rogers : Too busy!
(Steve hits the ramp release button and jumps out of the jet without a word.)
STRIKE Agent : Was he wearing a parachute?
(Rumlow smiles)
Brock Rumlow : No. No, he wasn't.
(After jumping out the jet Steve dives into the ocean and then climbs onto the ship. He takes out the guards on the deck swiftly before anyone raises the alarm, but is interrupted by one of the pirates pointing his gun at him.)
French Pirate #1 : Bouge pas! Bouge pas. (Don't move! Don't move.)
(He's shot dead by Rumlow as he parachutes down onto the deck behind Steve.)
Steve Rogers : Thanks.
Brock Rumlow : Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me.
(Natasha and another agent parachute down onto the deck to join them.)
Natasha Romanoff : What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice.
Steve Rogers : Secure the engine room, then find me a date.
Natasha Romanoff : I'm multitasking.
(Natasha jumps down to the lower deck.)

(Int. Engine Room. Natasha drops from the railing, taking out two pirates with a fluid, spinning kick. She lands, draws her Glocks, and clears the room with precision shots.)
(Silence falls. She holsters her weapons and moves to the main computer terminal. She types rapidly, but the screen flashes ACCESS DENIED.)
Natasha Romanoff : (Sighs) SHIELD firewalls. Cute.
(She reaches into her belt and pulls out a small, sleek silver drive with a pulsing blue light—unmistakably Stark tech. She plugs it into the console.)
Natasha Romanoff : (Mutters to the device) Alright, Tones. You said this worm could crack the Pentagon in under a minute. Don't make me look bad.
(The screen flickers red, then instantly turns green. ENCRYPTION BYPASSED.)
Natasha Romanoff : (Smirking) Show-off.
(She begins the download. While the progress bar fills, she checks her wrist unit. A message from "The Mechanic" flashes: Don't be late. I'm actually wearing a tie.)
(Steve enters the room, shield raised. He sees the bodies, then spots Natasha at the computer.)
Steve Rogers: What are you doing?
Natasha Romanoff: Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into.
Steve Rogers: Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?
(Steve walks over, looking at the screen. He sees the massive file transfer.)
Steve Rogers: You're saving SHIELD Intel.
Natasha Romanoff: Whatever I can get my hands on.
Steve Rogers: Our mission is to rescue hostages.
Natasha Romanoff: No. That's your mission.
(She pulls the Stark drive out as the download finishes. She taps it against her palm before pocketing it.)
Natasha Romanoff: And you did it beautifully. But Tony was right about this ship.
Steve Rogers: Stark? What does he have to do with this?
Natasha Romanoff: He traced the launch signal. He said the encryptions didn't look like standard SHIELD protocols. He asked me to bring this home so he could take a look under the hood. I trust his paranoia more than I trust Fury's orders right now.
(Steve grabs her arm as she turns to leave.)
Steve Rogers: You just jeopardized this whole operation for a hunch?
Natasha Romanoff: I think that's overstating things.
(Suddenly, Batroc rises from behind a crate. He pulls the pin on a grenade and throws it at them.)
(Steve reacts instinctively, batting the grenade away with his shield. He grabs Natasha, diving through a glass window into a sub-office just as the grenade detonates.)
(They land hard. Steve covers her with the shield as debris rains down.)
Natasha Romanoff: Okay. That one's on me.
Steve Rogers : You're damn right.
________________________________________[SCENE 3: THE TRISKELION]
(Washington D.C. Steve and Natasha walk into the SHIELD headquarters. They are still in their strike gear, walking briskly down the hallway.)
Steve Rogers : You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?
Natasha Romanoff : I didn't lie. I just had a secondary objective.
Steve Rogers : Which was what? Courier service for Stark Industries?
Natasha Romanoff: It was a favor for Tony. There's a difference.
Steve Rogers: Not when you're on a SHIELD operation. I can't lead a team if the person watching my back is taking orders from the Avengers Tower.
Natasha Romanoff: Tony isn't giving me orders, Steve. He's giving me a backup plan. You saw the encryption on that ship. Something is wrong. Fury isn't telling us everything, and Tony is the only one paranoid enough to find out why.
(Natasha stops, trying to reason with him.)
Natasha Romanoff: I didn't want you to do anything you weren't comfortable with and I'm comfortable with whatever keeps us safe.
Steve Rogers: I can’t work like that.
Natasha Romanoff: (She sighs, frustrated.) You know, it's not personal, Steve. It's survival.
Steve Rogers: It feels personal when you're looking for a date for your anniversary party while downloading state secrets.
Natasha Romanoff: Look, I have a gala to organize. Three thousand guests, and Tony is currently threatening to replace the champagne fountain with 10W-30 motor oil just to see if anyone notices. I don't have time to argue ethics with you.
Steve Rogers: Is that why you're doing this? For him?
Natasha Romanoff: I'm doing it because I want a future where I can actually go to that party. Where I can go home to him without looking over my shoulder.
(She softens slightly, stepping closer.)
Natasha Romanoff: My loyalty is to the people who keep me alive, Steve. That used to be SHIELD. Now? It's the man waiting for me in New York.
(She turns to walk toward the locker rooms.)
Natasha Romanoff: Come tomorrow night. See for yourself. The offer for a dance still stands.
(Steve watches her go, frustrated and conflicted. He shakes his head and heads straight for Fury's office.)

________________________________________
[SCENE 4: DIRECTOR FURY'S OFFICE / PROJECT INSIGHT]
(Steve enters Fury's office. Fury is sitting behind his desk.)
Nick Fury : You just don't hold it, do you?
Steve Rogers : You authorized a private salvage mission on a secure ship.
Nick Fury : It was a SHIELD ship.
Steve Rogers : It was a SHIELD mission! And you sent Black Widow to steal data for... who exactly?
Nick Fury : For me. To keep it safe.
Steve Rogers : She said Stark was suspicious of it.
Nick Fury : (Chuckles) Stark is suspicious of his own toaster. But in this case, his curiosity aligns with my interests. I need to know who's whispering in the dark.
Steve Rogers : You know, for a guy whose spy secrets are being outsourced to a billionaire, you seem pretty calm.
Nick Fury : I'm a realist, Rogers. Stark has the best eyes in the world. If he sees something, I want to know about it.
(Fury stands up.)
Nick Fury : Come with me. I want to show you something.
(They ride the elevator down to the sub-basement. The bay doors open to reveal massive underground hangars.)
(Steve looks out. Three colossal Helicarriers are under construction.)
Nick Fury: Project Insight. Three next-generation Helicarriers. Synced to a network of targeting satellites.
Steve Rogers: Launched from the Lemurian Star.
Nick Fury: Once they're in the air, they never need to come down. Continuous sub-orbital flight, courtesy of our new repulsor engines.
Steve Rogers: Stark?
Nick Fury: He insisted. Said the old turbines were "so 2012" and destroying his carbon footprint. He gave the repulsor tech a massive upgrade. Even threw in a proximity dampener so they run silent.
Steve Rogers : I thought he got out of the weapons business.
Nick Fury : He did. He's in the protection business now. Just like us. These carriers can neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.
Steve Rogers : I thought the punishment usually came after the crime.
Nick Fury : We can't afford to wait that long.
Steve Rogers : Who's "we"?
Nick Fury : After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve.
Steve Rogers : By holding a gun to everyone on Earth and calling it protection.
Nick Fury : You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff.
Steve Rogers : Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free. This isn't freedom. This is fear.
Nick Fury : I'm gonna get these birds in the air, Captain. And Tony Stark's engines are going to keep them there.
Steve Rogers : Does he know what you're using them for? Targeting people before they've done anything wrong?
Nick Fury : (Fury pauses, his one eye narrowing slightly.) Stark provides the hardware. I provide the strategy. That's the arrangement.
Steve Rogers : You better hope he doesn't find out. Or that party of his tomorrow night is going to get very awkward.
(Steve turns and walks away.)
Nick Fury : (To himself) He's not wrong.
(Fury pulls out his phone. He looks at the data Natasha retrieved earlier. ACCESS DENIED. Even for him.)
Nick Fury : (Muttering) Damn it, Stark. You locked me out of my own data.
(Fury realizes he needs to decrypt the drive Natasha brought back, but if she used Stark tech to get it, Stark likely has a copy. And if Stark has a copy... things are about to get complicated.)
[Steve takes off on his motorcycle; in the Smithsonian Museum there is an exhibit dedicated to Captain America]
The Smithsonian Narrator: A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice.
[Steve, keeping his face hidden under a baseball cap, walks over to the exhibition]
Woman on PA: (faintly) Welcome to the Smithsonian. Visitor information booths are available on the second level.
Smithsonian Narrator: Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier.
[a boy recognizes him, Steve smiles puts his finger against his mouth to indicate for the boy to keep quiet and the boy nods, Steve then watches some old footage of himself]
Old Footage Recording: In this rare footage, everyone's favorite war hero, Captain America...
[Steve goes to the display where there are mannequins with costumes of Steve's old commando squad]
Smithsonian Narrator: Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division.
[Steve walks over to a display of his friend Bucky Barnes]
Smithsonian Narrator: Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country.
[Steve watches an older looking Peggy Carter being interviewed]
Peggy Carter: That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve...
(Peggy hesitates)
Peggy Carter: Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would later become my husband. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life.
[Steve looks at the photo of Peggy he'd kept in his old compass]
[Steve visits Peggy, who is now lying sick in bed]
Steve Rogers: You should be proud of yourself, Peggy.
[Steve looks at Peggy's family photos by her bedside table showing her with her children]
Peggy Carter: Mm. I have lived a life. My only regret is that you didn't get to live yours.
[Steve looks sad]
Peggy Carter: What is it?
Steve Rogers: For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore. And I thought I could throw myself back in and follow orders, serve. It's just not the same.
[Peggy chuckles]
Peggy Carter: You're always so dramatic. Look, you saved the world. We rather...mucked it up.
Steve Rogers: You didn't. Knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stayed.
[Peggy takes Steve's hand]
Peggy Carter: Hey. The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over.
[Peggy starts to cough, Steve turns to get her some water and goes to hand it to her]
Steve Rogers: Peggy.
[suddenly Peggy looks at Steve like she's seeing him for the first time since he was frozen]
Peggy Carter: Steve?
Steve Rogers: Yeah.
Peggy Carter: You're alive! You...you came, you came back.
Steve Rogers: Yeah, Peggy.
[Peggy begins to cry]
Peggy Carter: It's been so long. So long.
Steve Rogers: Well, I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owes me a dance.
[Fury is alone in his office; to his voice-controlled computer]
Nick Fury: Secure office.
[all the windows are blackened; Fury takes out the flash drive Natasha had downloaded all the files from the the Lemurian Star and places it in his computer]
Nick Fury: Open Lemurian Star's satellite launch file.
SHIELD Computer: Access denied.
Nick Fury: Run decryption.
SHIELD Computer: Decryption failed.
Nick Fury: Director override, Fury, Nicholas J.
SHIELD Computer: Override denied. All files sealed.
Nick Fury: On whose authority?
SHIELD Computer: Fury, Nicholas J.
[Fury looks confused and worried]
[Fury enters elevator]
Nick Fury: World Security Council.
SHIELD Computer: Confirmed.
[Alexander Pierce is holding a virtual meeting with the World Security Council]
Councilman Rockwell: If Nick Fury thinks he can get his costumed thugs and STRIKE commandos to mop-up his mess, he's sadly mistaken. This failure is unacceptable.
Councilman Singh: Well, considering this attack took place one mile from my country's sovereign waters, it's a bit more then that. I move for immediate hearing.
Councilwoman Hawley: We don't need hearings, we need action. It's this Council's duty to oversee SHIELD.
Councilman Yen: A breach like this raises serious questions.
Councilman Rockwell: Like how the hell did a French pirate manage to hijack a covert SHIELD vessel in broad daylight?
Alexander Pierce: For the record, councilman, he's Algerian. I can draw a map if it'll help.
Councilman Rockwell: I appreciate your wit, Secretary Pierce. But this Council take things like international piracy fairly seriously.
Alexander Pierce: Really? I don't. I don't care about one boat, I care about the fleet. If this Council is going to fall a rancor every time someone pushes us on the playing field, maybe we need someone to oversee us.
Councilman Yen: Mr. Secretary, nobody is suggesting...
[they are interrupted by Pierce's assistant walking in and whispering something to Pierce; to the council]
Alexander Pierce: Excuse me.
Councilman Rockwell: More trouble, Mr. Secretary?
Alexander Pierce: It depends on your definition.
[the meeting ends as Pierce leaves]
Alexander Pierce: I work forty floors away and it takes a hijacking for you to visit?
Nick Fury: A nuclear war would do it too.
[they shake hands; referring to Pierce's meeting with the World Security Council]
Nick Fury: Busy in there?
Alexander Pierce: Nothing some earmarks can't fix.
Nick Fury: I'm, uh...here to ask a favor. I want you to call for a vote. Project insight has to be delayed.
Alexander Pierce: Nick, that's not a favor, that's a subcommittee hearing. A long one.
Nick Fury: It could be nothing, probably is nothing. I just need time to make sure it's nothing.
Alexander Pierce: What if it's something?
Nick Fury: Then we'll both be damn glad those Helicarriers aren't in the air.
[Pierce hesitates a moment before replying]
Alexander Pierce: Fine. But you gotta get Iron Man to stop by my niece's birthday party.
[Nick shakes his hand]
Nick Fury: Thank you, sir.
Alexander Pierce: And not just a flyby, he's got to mingle.
[Pierce turns and leaves]
________________________________________
[Steve goes to a PTSD group meeting where Sam is counselling other veterans]
Female War Veteran: The thing is I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED.
Sam Wilson: Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase or in a little man-purse? It's up to you.
[after the meeting ends Steve waits for Sam as he finishes saying goodbye to the veterans]
Female War Veteran: I'll see you next week.
Sam Wilson: Yeah.
Female War Veteran: Yeah. [Sam walks over to Steve]
Sam Wilson: Look who it is. The running man.
Steve Rogers: Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense.
Sam Wilson: Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret.
Steve Rogers: You lose someone?
Sam Wilson: My wingman, Riley. Flying a night mission.Standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till RPG knock Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch.
Steve Rogers: I'm sorry.
Sam Wilson: After that, I had really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?
Steve Rogers: But you're happy now, back in the world?
Sam Wilson: Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?
Steve Rogers: No. I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did.
Sam Wilson: Ultimate fighting? [Steve laughs] It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?
Steve Rogers: I don't know.
________________________________________
[as Fury drives through the city he instructs his car computer to make a call]
Fury's Car: Activating communications encryption protocol.
Nick Fury: Open secure line zero-four-zero-five.
Fury's Car: Confirmed.
Maria Hill: This is Hill.
Nick Fury: I need you here in D.C. Deep shadow conditions.
Maria Hill: Give me four hours.
Nick Fury: You have three, over. [Fury stops at a red traffic light; he looks over to the next car and sees the two police officers in the car look at him with suspicion] Want to see my lease? [the policemen quickly sound their police horn once before they start to drive off, as Fury goes to drive off suddenly another police car smashes into his car, his car is then surrounded by several other police cars crashing into him; inside his car Fury is injured]
Fury's Car: Fracture detected. Recommend anesthetic injection. [as Fury is giving himself the injection a SWAT team truck pulls up] D.C. Metro Police dispatch shows no units in this area. [Fury is surrounded by the police and SWAT team; he quickly realizes they are all disguised mercenaries; to his car computer]
Nick Fury: Get me out of here! [the mercenaries suddenly start shooting at Fury's car]
Fury's Car: Propulsion systems offline.
Nick Fury: Then reboot, dammit! [the armor on Fury's vehicle starts to become weaker, the mercenaries bring out a battering ram to break in]
Fury's Car: Warning! Window integrity compromised.
Nick Fury: You think? How long to propulsion?
Fury's Car: Calculating. [the mercenaries start to use the battering ram on Fury's car window] Window Integrity thiry-one percent. Deploying countermeasures.
Nick Fury: Hold that order! [the battering ram is smashed against the car window again]
Fury's Car: Window Integrity nineteen percent. Offensive measures advised.
Nick Fury: Wait! [the battering ram is smashed against the window again]
Fury's Car: Window Integrity one percent.
Nick Fury: Now! [suddenly a minigun pulls up from inside the car and Fury uses it to return fire on the mercenaries causing the SWAT truck and some of the police cars to explode]
Fury's Car: Propulsion systems now online.
Nick Fury: Full acceleration, now! [as he continues to fire at the mercenaries Fury's car automatically backs up and drives off] Initiate vertical takeoff!
Fury's Car: Flight systems damaged.
Nick Fury: Then activate guidance cameras! [Fury goes over into the driver’s seat] Give me the wheel! [Fury takes over driving his car as the mercenaries chase after him in their police cars] Get me Agent Hill.
Fury's Car: Communications array damaged.
Nick Fury: Well, what's not damaged?
Fury's Car: Air conditioning is fully operational. [the police cars continue to chase after Fury as he weaves through the cars on the road] Traffic ahead.
Nick Fury: Give me an alternate route.
Fury's Car: Traffic alert on Roosevelt Bridge. All vehicles stopped. 17th Avenue clear in three blocks, directly ahead. [as Fury heads into the traffic he smashes into some cars causing a pile up which stops the police cars, the mercenaries get out and start shooting at Fury's car, Fury manages to kill two of the mercenaries by running them down before getting past the traffic, but the remaining mercenaries continue to chase after him and manage to sandwich Fury's vehicle between them] Warning, approaching intersection. [as they approach the intersection Fury manages to shake off the two police cars, killing off the mercenaries]
Nick Fury: GET ME. OFF. THE GRID.
Fury's Car: Calculating route to secure location.
[He sees a mysterious figure emerge ahead in the middle of the road.]
[It suddenly shoots a bomb that attaches itself to Fury's vehicle causing it to explode and flip over.]
[Trapped inside his car, Fury watches as the figure walks over to the car but he manages to escape just in time by using a laser weapon to burn a hole out.]

((Night. Steve Rogers walks up the stairs to his apartment building. He looks tired. The conversation with Peggy and the conflict with Natasha weigh heavily on him.)
(He reaches his floor and sees his neighbor, "Kate" (Sharon Carter), putting a basket of laundry into her apartment.)
Sharon Carter: Captain Rogers.
Steve Rogers: Neighbor.
Sharon Carter: You look like you've gone twelve rounds with a tank.
Steve Rogers: Just a long day.
Sharon Carter: My aunt called. She said I'm working too hard.
Steve Rogers: (He smiles faintly.) They tend to worry.
(Steve pauses at his door. He touches the invite to the gala in his pocket. He remembers Natasha's voice: "Find a date and come celebrate with us.")
(He looks back at Sharon. She’s pretty, kind, normal. Everything he isn't.)
Steve Rogers: Hey, Kate?
Sharon Carter: Yeah?
Steve Rogers: Do you... do you have plans for tomorrow night?
Sharon Carter: (She looks surprised, then apologetic.) Oh. Tomorrow? I'm pulling a double shift at the hospital. Infectious disease ward.
Steve Rogers: Right. Of course.
Sharon Carter: Why? Did you lose your keys again?
Steve Rogers: No. Just... checking if the noise from the gala across town was going to bother you. It's supposed to be loud.
Sharon Carter: I think I'll sleep through it. Goodnight, Steve.
Steve Rogers: Goodnight.)
[As Steve is walking to his apartment his hears his pretty neighbor talking on the phone as she goes to do her laundry]
Sharon Carter: That's so sweet. That is so nice. Hey. I gotta go, though. Okay, bye. [turning to Steve] My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac. [Steve smiles at her] Yeah.
Steve Rogers: Hey, if you want...if you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement.
Sharon Carter: Oh, yeah? What's it cost?
Steve Rogers: A cup of coffee?
Sharon Carter: Thank you, but um...I already have a load in downstairs, and, uh...you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I'm just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so.
Steve Rogers: Ah, well, I'll keep my distance.
Sharon Carter: Well hopefully not too far. [Steve nods and turns to go into his apartment] Oh, and I think you left your stereo on.
Steve Rogers: Oh. Right, thank you.
Sharon Carter: Yeah. [Steve watches her go down the stairs before turning in suspicion to his door]
[Steve hears music as he cautiously enters his apartment though the window, he grabs his shield for protection and finds Fury sitting on his couch in the dark]
Steve Rogers: I don't remember giving you a key.
Nick Fury: You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out.
Steve Rogers: Didn't know you were married.
Nick Fury: A lot of things you don't about me.
Steve Rogers: I know, Nick. That's the problem. [as Steve turns on the light he notices Fury's injuries for the first time, but Fury indicates for him to be silent, he turns off the light and writes something on his phone and shows it to Steve; "ears everywhere"]
Nick Fury: I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash. [he writes another text and shows it to Steve; "SHIELD compromised"]
Steve Rogers: Who else knows about your wife? [Fury shows him another text; "You and me"]
Nick Fury: Just...my friends.
Steve Rogers: Is that what we are?
Nick Fury: That's up to you.
[suddenly Fury is shot three times from through the wall and collapses, Steve looks out the window for the shooter then he quickly drags Fury to the next room, before he leaves Fury hands him the flash drive] Don't...trust anyone. [Fury passes out] [Steve hears someone breaking into his apartment and hears his neighbor calling out to him]
Sharon Carter: Captain Rogers? [Steve sees her walking in with her gun pointed] Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service.
Steve Rogers: Natasha?
Sharon Carter: I'm assigned to protect you.
Steve Rogers: On whose order? [She notices Fury lying injured on the ground]
Sharon Carter: His. [she goes to Fury then contacts SHIELD through her radio] Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs.
SHIELD Agent: Do you have a twenty on the shooter? [Steve notices the shooter though the window]
Steve Rogers: Tell him I'm in pursuit. [Steve smashes through his window and runs after the assassin, who is the same mysterious man that had exploded Fury's car, Steve chases him through an office building smashing through the walls, when he finally catches up with him on the roof he throws his shield at the assassin, but he catches it with one swift move, then throws it back to Steve and then jumps down the building and disappears.]
[SCENE 5: THE HOSPITAL]
(Doctors are rushing a gurney down the hallway. Maria Hill runs alongside it. Steve and Natasha run behind them, covered in grime from the chase.)
Doctor: Trauma! GSW! Three rounds to the chest!
Nurse: BP is dropping! 80 over 40!
Doctor: We need to intubate! Get him into Trauma One!
(They reach the operating theater. The doctors push the gurney inside and slam the doors. Steve and Natasha are left outside, watching through the observation glass.)
(Natasha stands close to the glass, her breath fogging it slightly. Her hands are shaking. She grips her left wrist, her thumb tracing the outline of her engagement ring under the tactical glove.)
Natasha Romanoff: Is he gonna make it?
Steve Rogers: I don't know.
(Natasha's phone buzzes in her pocket. It’s a harsh, jarring sound in the quiet hallway. She pulls it out. The screen flashes with a photo of Tony and the name "Stark.")
(She stares at it, her thumb hovering over the green answer button. She lets out a shaky breath.)
Steve Rogers: Are you going to answer that?
Natasha Romanoff: (Her voice is tight.) I can't.
Steve Rogers: He deserves to know, Nat.
Natasha Romanoff: If I answer, he'll hear it in my voice. He'll know something is wrong. And if I tell him Fury was shot... he'll be in the suit and in the air in thirty seconds.
(The phone stops ringing. Then immediately starts again. A text pops up: JARVIS says your heart rate just spiked. Talk to me.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Whispering) He'll come here, Steve. And whoever did this... the man with the metal arm... he's waiting for him. I can't let Tony walk into a trap. I have to protect him.
(She silences the phone and shoves it back into her pocket, turning her eyes back to the surgery. It physically pains her to cut Tony out, but she steels herself.)
Natasha Romanoff: Tell me about the shooter.
Steve Rogers: He's fast. Strong. Had a metal arm.
(Inside the operating room, alarms start blaring.)
Doctor: Ballistics report!
Nurse: Three slugs, no rifling!
Doctor: I can't get a heartbeat! He's going into arrest!
(Natasha presses her hand against the glass.)
Doctor: Get the crash cart! Charge to one hundred!
Nurse: Charging!
Doctor: Clear!
(They shock Fury's body. He jerks, but the monitor stays flat.)
Doctor: No pulse! Crank it to two hundred!
Nurse: Charged!
Doctor: Clear!
(Another shock. Natasha flinches as if she was the one being hit.)
Steve Rogers: (Softly) Come on, Nick.
Doctor: Still nothing! Give me epinephrine!
Nurse: Epinephrine in!
(Natasha closes her eyes, her hand drifting to her chest, clutching the hidden ring beneath her suit. She mutters a silent prayer, something she hasn't done in years.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Whispering) Don't do this to me, Nick Don't you do this. You promised. You said I could have a life. You said I could have him. Don't you dare leave me to handle this alone.
Doctor: We're losing him! Charge to three hundred!
Nurse: Charged!
Doctor: Clear!
(The body jumps again. The monitor lets out a long, high-pitched whine.)
(The doctors stop moving. They look at the monitor. Then at each other. The lead doctor sighs, pulling down his mask.)
Doctor: Time of death... 1:03 a.m.
(Steve lowers his head. Natasha stands frozen. The silence is deafening.)
(Maria Hill walks out of the operating room. She looks at Steve, shaking her head. Then she looks at Natasha.)
(Natasha pushes past Steve and enters the room. The air smells like ozone and antiseptic. She walks to the table where Fury lies, his one good eye stared blankly at the ceiling.)
(She stands over him. Tears spill over, hot and fast. She reaches out and gently closes his eye.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Her voice breaks, a whisper only the dead can hear.) You old bastard. Who's going to help me keep Tony alive now? You were the only one who could manage us.
(She touches his forehead, her hand trembling. She feels the weight of the engagement ring on her finger—a symbol of the future Fury helped her secure, a future that now feels terrifyingly fragile.)
Natasha Romanoff: I'm going to find them. And I'm going to make them regret the day they decided to take my family away.
(She leans down, kissing his forehead lightly.)
Natasha Romanoff: Clear the ledger.
(She turns sharply and walks out. Steve follows her into the hallway.)
Steve Rogers: Natasha.
(She doesn't stop. She feels like she's vibrating, the grief turning instantly into a cold, hard rage.)
Steve Rogers: Natasha!
(She stops, spinning around. Her eyes are red, her face streaked with tears, but her expression is lethal.)
[Natasha and Steve are in a room where Fury's dead body has been laid out, Natasha is looking at Fury's body with tears running down her face, Hill joins them]
Natasha Romanoff: Why was Fury in your apartment?
Steve Rogers: I don't know.
(She steps closer, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.)
Natasha Romanoff: Cap, don't lie to me. Not right now. My fiancé is blowing up my phone asking if I'm safe, and I can't answer him because I'm standing outside a morgue. Fury is dead. If you know something, you tell me.
Steve Rogers: I don't know why he was there. He told me not to trust anyone.
Natasha Romanoff: (She scoffs, bitter.) That's rich.
Steve Rogers: I need to get back to the apartment.
Natasha Romanoff: Be careful, Steve. Whoever killed him... they're not done. And if they come for Tony...
Steve Rogers: I won't let them get near Stark. You have my word.
(Natasha nods, once. She pulls out her phone again. Another text from Tony: I'm tracking your location to D.C. If you don't call me in five minutes, I'm sending the Legion.)
Natasha Romanoff: I have to go. I have to... I have to manage this.
(She walks away down the corridor, dialing the number. Steve watches her go, then turns to the vending machine. He looks around to ensure no one is watching, then hides the flash drive behind the packs of gum.)
[back at SHIELD, Steve is brought to Pierce who is talking to Agent 13]
Alexander Pierce: For whatever it's worth, you did your best.
Sharon Carter: Thank you, sir. [as she turns to leave, she sees Steve] Captain Rogers. [Steve replies coldly as he walks towards Pierce]
Steve Rogers: Neighbor.
Alexander Pierce: Ah, Captain. I'm Alexander Pierce.
Steve Rogers: Sir, it's an honor. [they shake hands]
Alexander Pierce: The honor is mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in. [they enter Pierce's office where he shows Steve an old photo of Fury with Pierce] That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at State Department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate." Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter.
Steve Rogers: So, you gave him a promotion.
Alexander Pierce: I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?
Steve Rogers: I don't know.
Alexander Pierce: You know it was bugged?
Steve Rogers: I did, because Nick told me.
Alexander Pierce: Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it? [Steve doesn't reply obviously not knowing this information] I want you to see something. [he brings up footage of Batroc being interrogated]
SHIELD Agent: Who hired you, Batroc?
Steve Rogers: Is that live?
Alexander Pierce: Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers.
Steve Rogers: Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line.
Alexander Pierce: No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech.
Steve Rogers: Am I supposed to know who that is? [he hands Steve the file]
Alexander Pierce: Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37.
Steve Rogers: Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?
Alexander Pierce: The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death.
Steve Rogers: If you really knew Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true.
Alexander Pierce: Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry. [he hesitates a moment] Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So, I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?
Steve Rogers: He told me not to trust anyone.
Alexander Pierce: I wonder if that included him. [Steve pauses a moment before replying]
Steve Rogers: I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me. [Steve picks up his shield, places it on his back and starts to make his out of the office]
Alexander Pierce: Captain. [Steve stops and looks at Pierce] Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone.
Steve Rogers: Understood. [Steve turns and leaves]
Steve Rogers: [after he leaves Pierce's office he steps into the elevator] Operations control.
SHIELD Computer: Confirmed. [just as the elevator doors are about too close Rumlow steps in with two STRIKE agents]
Brock Rumlow: Keep all STRIKE personnel on site.
STRIKE Agent #1: Understood.
STRIKE Agent #2: Yes, sir.
Brock Rumlow: Forensics.
SHIELD Computer: Confirmed.
Brock Rumlow: Cap.
Steve Rogers: Rumlow. [the elevator doors close and they start riding down]
Brock Rumlow: Evidence Response found some fibres on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?
Steve Rogers: No, let’s wait and see what it is first.
Brock Rumlow: Right. [Steve notices one of the agents touching his weapon suspiciously] [the elevator stops and more SHIELD and STRIKE agents enter]
SHIELD Agent #1: What's the status so far?
SHIELD Agent #2: Administrations level.
SHIELD Computer: Confirmed.
SHIELD Agent #2: [to Steve] Excuse me.
Brock Rumlow: [to Steve] I'm sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him.
Steve Rogers: Thank you. [feeling something is off, Steve looks at the agents in the elevator and notices one of them is sweating, then the elevator stops and more agents enter]
STRIKE Agent #3: Records.
SHIELD Computer: Confirmed. [as the elevator doors close Steve realizes he's been surrounded by agents]
Steve Rogers: Before we get started, does anyone want to get out? [there's a moment's pause before suddenly one of the agents turns and uses an electric rod to give Steve a shock, the others grab him and try to strap his wrists with magnetic cuffs, Steve manages to knock some of them down but one cuff remains, then Rumlow uses his rod to give Steve a shock] [as Steve is being attacked we see Sitwell in a controls room watching them from a monitor]
Jasper Sitwell: Mobilize STRIKE units, 25th floor. [Steve manages free himself from the magnetic cuff and knock all the agents down, he turns to Rumlow]
Brock Rumlow: Whoa, big guy. I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal. [Rumlow then goes to attack Steve with his electric rod but Steve manages to defend himself and eventually knocks Rumlow out]
Steve Rogers: It kind of feels personal. [Steve picks up his shield then opens the elevator doors, but he's faced by a team of STRIKE agents pointing their weapons at him]
25th Floor STRIKE Agent: Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air! [Steve uses his shield to break off the elevator wires which sends the elevator down, as he forces the doors open he sees more STRIKE agents approaching him, he closes the door and looks for a way out]
STRIKE Agent: Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go! [Steve breaks through the glass in the elevator and plummets down to finally hit the ground floor, from his monitor Sitwell watches in shock as Steve gets up and starts running off]
Jasper Sitwell: Are you kidding me? [ordering the STRIKE team] He's headed for the garage. Lock down the bridge! [Steve rides out of the SHIELD garage on his motorcycle, evading the obstacles laid out but then a Quinjet emerges ahead of him]
Quinjet Pilot: Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down. [the Quinjet lowers its machine gun] Repeat, stand down. [as Steve doesn't stop they start shooting at him, Steve throws his shield into the propellers to jam it, giving him an opportunity to hop onto it and do more damage to the jet with his shield before jumping off as the jet goes crashing down and he escapes]
Jasper Sitwell: [to the SHIELD agents] Eyes here. [everyone, including Agent 13, looks at Sitwell] Whatever your op is, bury it. This is Level One. Contact DOT. All traffic lights in the district go red. Shut all runways at BWI, IAD and Reagan. All security cameras in the city go through this monitor, right here. Scan all open sources. Phones, computers, PDAs, whatever. If someone tweets about this guy, I want to know about it.
Sharon Carter: With all due respect, If SHIELD is conducting a manhunt for Captain America, we deserve to know why.
Alexander Pierce: Because he lied to us. [Pierce enters the room] Captain Rogers has information regarding the death of Director Fury, he refused to share it. As difficult as this is to accept, Captain America is a fugitive from SHIELD.
(Steve walks to the vending machine where he hid the flash drive behind the gum packs. He looks through the glass.)
(The row is empty. The drive is gone.)
(He clenches his jaw, panic rising. He spins around.)
(Steve sees Natasha leaning against the wall. She is blowing a bubble with her gum, her arms crossed tight across her chest, holding herself together.)
Steve Rogers: Where is it?
Natasha Romanoff: Safe.
Steve Rogers: Do better!
Natasha Romanoff: Where did you get it?
Steve Rogers: Why would I tell you?
Natasha Romanoff: Fury gave it to you. Why?
Steve Rogers: What's on it?
Natasha Romanoff: I don't know.
Steve Rogers: Stop lying!
Natasha Romanoff: I only act like I know everything, Rogers.
Steve Rogers: I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?
Natasha Romanoff: Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you.
Steve Rogers: I'm not gonna ask you again.
Steve Rogers: Who's the guy?
Natasha Romanoff: I don't know.
Steve Rogers: Tell me about the shooter.
Natasha Romanoff: He's a ghost story. There are a lot of intelligence guys who don't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years.
Steve Rogers: So, he's a ghost.
Natasha Romanoff: He's a phantom. You won't find him.
Natasha Romanoff: Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me. [she pulls up her shirt to show him the scar on the side of her stomach] Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis.
Steve Rogers: Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now. [there's a hit of a smile from Natasha]
Natasha Romanoff: Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried. [Natasha holds up the flash drive] Like you said, he's a ghost story. [Steve takes the flash drive from her]
(Steve clenches his jaw, frustration radiating off him. He looks around the crowded hospital corridor, paranoid.)
Steve Rogers: Well, let's find out what the ghost wants.
Steve Rogers: We need to go.
Natasha Romanoff: Give me two minutes.
Steve Rogers: We don't have two minutes.
Natasha Romanoff: (Her voice cracks, just once. She drops the gum into a trash can, the spy mask slipping completely.) I have to call him, Steve. He's tracking my vitals. He knows my heart rate just hit 140. If I don't answer, he's going to see the news about Fury and he is going to fly straight into the same trap that killed Nick. I cannot let that happen.
(Steve looks at her really looks at her and sees the terror behind her eyes. He nods, turning his back to create a small barrier between her and the hallway.)
(Natasha pulls out her phone. Her thumb hovers over the contact photo a candid shot of Tony asleep in the lab. Her hand is shaking so badly she has to use her other hand to steady it. She hits call.)
(It rings once. He picks up.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Into phone, her voice barely a whisper) Tony...
(She listens. She squeezes her eyes shut, tears leaking out.)
Natasha Romanoff: I know. I know, baby. I was right there. ... 1:03 a.m. There was nothing we could do.
(She listens to Tony's frantic voice on the other line he's shouting, sounds of repulsors charging in the background. She pushes off the wall, turning away from Steve, hunching over the phone.)
Natasha Romanoff: No! No, listen to me! Turn the suit off! Tony, look at me listen to my voice! Do not come down here!
(She takes a ragged breath, her hand flying to her chest, clutching the ring hidden beneath her tactical suit.)
Natasha Romanoff: Because it’s a trap! Whoever killed him... it wasn't just a sniper. They have tech we haven't seen before. They have a soldier who caught a shield with one hand. If Iron Man shows up in D.C. right now, blindly... they won't hesitate. They will shoot you out of the sky.
(She starts crying, unable to stop it now.)
Natasha Romanoff: I just watched Nick die on a cold table, Tony. I watched the life go out of his eyes and I couldn't stop it. I can't... I can't do that with you. Please. I am begging you. Don't make me bury you too. Not today.
(There is a long silence on the other end. Natasha listens, her breathing hitching.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Softer, pleading) I'm safe. I promise. I'm with Rogers. We're going to find out who did this. But I need you to be safe. Go to the Tower. Lock it down. Initiate the House Party Protocol. Let the Legion patrol the perimeter, but you stay inside.
(She wipes her face with the back of her hand.)
Natasha Romanoff: I know. I want to burn it down too. But right now, you help me by staying alive. Do you understand?
(Pause. A faint smile touches her lips, though it's sad.)
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah. I love you too. More than anything. ... I'll come home. I promise.
(She hangs up. She stands there for a long moment, staring at the black screen, her chest heaving as she tries to box the fear back up.)
(She takes a deep, shuddering breath. She wipes her eyes, straightens her jacket, and turns back to Steve. The Black Widow is back, but her eyes are haunted.)
Natasha Romanoff: Okay. Now we go.
(Steve looks at her with a new respect. He nods, and they walk out of the hospital together.)
[Pierce is holding another virtual meeting with the World Security Council]
Alexander Pierce: Nick Fury was murdered in cold blood. To any reasonable person, that would make him a martyr, not a traitor.
Councilman Rockwell: You know what makes him a traitor? Hiring a mercenary to hijack his own ship.
Councilman Singh: Nick Fury used your friendship to coerce this council into delaying Project Insight. A project he knew would expose his own illegal operations. At best, he lied to you. At worst...
Alexander Pierce: Are you calling for my resignation? I've got a pen and paper right here.
Councilwoman Hawley: That discussion can be tabled for a later time.
Alexander Pierce: But you do want to have a discussion.90oʻ
Councilman Rockwell: We've already had it, Mr. Secretary. This council moves to immediately reactivate Project Insight. If you want to say something snappy, now would be a good time.

[SCENE 7: THE MALL]
(Steve and Natasha go to the mall disguised as a civilian couple.)
Natasha Romanoff: First rule of going on the run is, don't run, walk.
Steve Rogers: If I run in these shoes, they're gonna fall off.
(They go to a Mac store to use one of their computers.)
Natasha Romanoff: The drive has a Level Six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are.
Steve Rogers: How much time do we have?
Natasha Romanoff: Uh...about nine minutes from... (she pops the flash drive into a MacBook Pro) Now.
(We see several SHIELD vehicles heading their way.)
Natasha Romanoff: Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands.
Steve Rogers: Can you override it?
Natasha Romanoff: The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly.
(Natasha stares at the scrolling code. The chaotic red lines suddenly organize into a familiar, elegant blue fractal pattern. She lets out a sharp breath, her hands hovering over the keyboard.)
Natasha Romanoff: ...It's Tony.
Steve Rogers: Stark wrote this?
Natasha Romanoff: (Her voice drops, thick with emotion.) He wrote the base architecture. He calls it the "Valentine Protocol." He installed it in the Tower's servers after New York because he was terrified someone would try to track me or wipe my red ledger without his permission.
Steve Rogers: And SHIELD is using it?
Natasha Romanoff: HYDRA is using it. They corrupted his own love letter to hunt us down.
(She types furiously, her fingers moving with a rhythm she learned late at night in Tony's lab.)
Natasha Romanoff: He showed me the backdoor once. He said, "If you ever get locked out, Tasha, use the anniversary date." I told him he was being sentimental. He told me he was being practical.
(The screen flashes green: ACCESS GRANTED.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Whispering) Good boy, Tony. I knew you'd leave the door open for me.
Natasha Romanoff: I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from.
Apple Employee: Can I help you guys with anything?
Natasha Romanoff : Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations.
Steve Rogers : Right! We're getting married.
Natasha Romanoff : (Under her breath to Steve, shooting him a sharp, warning look) He will kill you if he hears you even thought about it. As if I would date or marry anyone but him.
Apple Employee : Congratulations. Where do you guys thinking about going?
(Steve looks at the monitor and sees the signal traced to somewhere in New Jersey.)
Steve Rogers : New Jersey.
Apple Employee : Oh. (The employee looks at Steve for a moment) I have the exact same glasses.
Natasha Romanoff : Wow, you two are practically twins.
Apple Employee : Yeah, I wish. Specimen. Uh...if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron.
Steve Rogers : Thank you.
(Rumlow and his team pull up outside the mall and head inside.)
Steve Rogers : You said nine minutes, come on.
Natasha Romanoff : Shh, relax. Got it. (They find the signal is coming from Wheaton, NJ) You know it?
Steve Rogers : I used to. Let's go.
(Steve pulls the flash drive from the computer and they walk out of the store.)
Steve Rogers : Standard tac-team. Two behind, two across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro.
(As two agents are coming straight towards them.)
Natasha Romanoff: Shut up and put your arm around me, laugh at something I said.
Steve Rogers: What?
Natasha Romanoff: Do it!
(Steve quickly puts his arm around Natasha and laughs. Inside the Mac store one of the agents looks around.)
Jack Rollins: Negative at the source.
Brock Rumlow: Give me a floor rundown.
SHIELD Agent #2 : Negative on three.
SHIELD Agent #3 : Negative on two.
Brock Rumlow : Snake the upper levels, work down to me.
(As they are going down the escalator Natasha spots Rumlow on the escalator next to them going up, she turns to Steve.)
Natasha Romanoff: Kiss me.
Steve Rogers: What?
Natasha Romanoff: Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable.
Steve Rogers: Yes, they do.
(Natasha hesitates for a split second, her hand twitching toward the ring hidden under her glove.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Whispering) Sorry, Tony. Mission protocols.
(She quickly pulls down Steve's head and kisses him making Rumlow look away as he goes past them on the escalator.)
(They break the kiss. Natasha wipes her mouth, looking genuinely guilty.)
Natasha Romanoff: You still uncomfortable?
Steve Rogers: It's not exactly the word I would use.
Natasha Romanoff: (Quietly) Let's just... never mention that part to Stark. He understands the job, but he's possessive. He'd probably try to invent a mouth-sanitizer laser.

[SCENE 8: THE DRIVE TO NEW JERSEY]
(Steve drives the stolen blue pickup truck. Natasha sits in the passenger seat, feet up on the dashboard, looking out the window.)
Natasha Romanoff: Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?
Steve Rogers : Nazi Germany.
Natasha Romanoff: Mm.
Steve Rogers: And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash.
Natasha Romanoff: (She laughs, a genuine, warm sound.) You sound exactly like him.
Steve Rogers: Like who?
Natasha Romanoff: My fiancé. Tony gets that same tone when I do something reckless. He acts annoyed, yells about safety protocols, but I know it just means he's scared I won't come home.
Steve Rogers: Stark? I didn't know you two were... official.
(Natasha pulls her left hand out of her pocket. She slowly peels off her black tactical glove.)
Natasha Romanoff: We don't broadcast it. It's safer that way.
(She holds up her hand. On her ring finger sits a stunning, intricate ring. It pulses with a faint, soft blue light from within the diamond.)
Steve Rogers: Is that...?
Natasha Romanoff: It's an Arc Reactor core, compressed into a diamond lattice. He made it himself.
Steve Rogers: How long, Nat?
Natasha Romanoff: (She stares at the ring, her expression softening.) Since New York. The attack.
Steve Rogers: That was two years ago.
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah. It was the night after the battle. The Tower was wrecked, there was glass everywhere, and we were sitting on the floor of the penthouse eating cold shawarma.
(She smiles at the memory, tracing the band of the ring.)
Natasha Romanoff: He looked at me covered in alien dust and bruises and he realized he almost died carrying that nuke. He grabbed a washer off the floor, slid it onto my finger, and told me he didn't want to rebuild any of it if he had to do it alone.
Steve Rogers: And you said yes.
Natasha Romanoff: I told him he was an idiot. Then I said yes. (She looks at Steve.) He made the real ring a week later. We decided to keep it quiet. The world needs Iron Man and the Black Widow to be invincible icons. They don't need to know we're just two people terrified of losing each other.
Steve Rogers: That's a heavy secret to carry for two years.
Natasha Romanoff: It’s not a burden, Steve. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane.
(She slides the glove back on, hiding the light, and settles back into the seat.)
Natasha Romanoff: You're actually the first person to know. Even Pepper doesn't know yet.
Steve Rogers: I'm honored.
Natasha Romanoff: Don't let it go to your head.
Natasha Romanoff: Alright, I have a question for you, oh, which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?
Steve Rogers: What?
Natasha Romanoff: Was that your first kiss since 1945?
Steve Rogers: That bad, huh?
Natasha Romanoff: I didn't say that.
Steve Rogers: Well, it kind of sounds like that's what you're saying.
Natasha Romanoff: No, I didn't. I just wondered how much practice you've had.
Steve Rogers: You don't need practice.
Natasha Romanoff: Everybody needs practice.
Steve Rogers: It was not my first kiss since 1945. I'm ninety-five, I'm not dead.
Natasha Romanoff: Nobody special, though?
(Steve chuckles, shaking his head.)
Steve Rogers: Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience.
Natasha Romanoff: You just need a push.
Steve Rogers: Easy for you to say. You found the one person on Earth as complicated as you are.
Natasha Romanoff: (Smirking) Luck of the draw, Rogers. Luck of the draw.
Natasha Romanoff: Well, that's alright, you just make something up.
Steve Rogers: What, like you?
Natasha Romanoff: I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances; it's not all things to all people all the time.
(She looks out the window, her voice dropping to a whisper.)
Natasha Romanoff: Tony knows who I am, Steve. He’s the only one who does. He doesn't want the Black Widow. He wants Natasha. When we're alone, when the armor is off... I don't have to lie. I can just be. That's what I'm fighting for. The chance to go back to that.
Steve Rogers: That's a tough way to live.
Natasha Romanoff: It's a good way not to die, though.
Steve Rogers: You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is.
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah. Who do you want me to be?
Steve Rogers: How about a friend?
(Natasha laughs softly, glancing at the glove covering her engagement ring.)
Natasha Romanoff: Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers.

(The two pull up to outside an abandoned military base where the signal led them to.)
Steve Rogers: This is it.
Natasha Romanoff: The file came from these coordinates.
Steve Rogers: So did I.
(Later that night as they walk around the base trying to pinpoint where the signal came from.)
Steve Rogers: This camp is where I was trained.
Natasha Romanoff: Changed much?
Steve Rogers: A little.
(Steve has a brief vision of his former, smaller self-running past him as he's getting trained with other soldiers.)
Sergeant Duffy: Pick up the pace, ladies! Let's go! Let's go! Double time! Come on Rogers, move it!
(His former self stops and stares at Steve as he is now.)
Sergeant Duffy: Come on! Fall in! Rogers! I said fall in!
(Present Steve watches nostalgically as the former Steve runs off.)
Natasha Romanoff: This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off.
(Steve notices a building ahead of them.)
Natasha Romanoff: What is it?
Steve Rogers: Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place.
(Steve opens the lock with his shield and they enter inside, when they turn on the lights, they notice it's a SHIELD office.)
Natasha Romanoff: This is SHIELD.
Steve Rogers: Maybe where it started.
(They enter a room where they find old framed portraits of Howard Stark, Peggy and Col. Chester Phillips.)
Natasha Romanoff: There's Stark's father.
Steve Rogers: Howard.
(Natasha walks slowly toward the portrait of Howard Stark. She takes off her glove, her engagement ring glinting in the dim light, and touches the frame.)
Natasha Romanoff: I've seen Tony stare at this face for hours... usually after a nightmare. He wonders if he was enough. If Howard would have loved him if he built the suit sooner.
Steve Rogers: Howard loved him.
Natasha Romanoff: Tony doesn't know that, Steve. He has his father's brain the genius, the burden. But fortunately, he didn't inherit the penchant for keeping secrets in dusty basements. Tony puts everything out in the open. It's his armor. And I love him for it.
Natasha Romanoff: Who's the girl?
(Steve doesn't reply and turns away to walk further down the room and stops by a massive book shelf.)
Steve Rogers: If you're already working in a secret office... (he pushes the books shelf and slides open to reveal an elevator behind it) Why do you need to hide the elevator?
(They go down the elevator which takes them to a room with old looking computers.)
Natasha Romanoff: This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient.
(Suddenly Natasha notices a small flash drive port, she places the flash drive in it which then activates the ancient computer in the room.)
Computer : Initiate system?
(Natasha types using the keyboard.)
Natasha Romanoff : Y-E-S, spells yes.
(Natasha smiles as the old computer starts to cranks up.)
Natasha Romanoff : "Shall we play a game?" It's from a movie that...
Steve Rogers : Yeah, I saw it.
(Suddenly they hear an accented voice speaking.)
Dr. Arnim Zola: Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984.
(They see an old camera moving above them as it analyzes them.)
Natasha Romanoff: It's some kind of a recording.
Dr. Arnim Zola: I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am.
(The computer screen shows an old photo of Dr. Arnim Zola.)
Natasha Romanoff: Do you know this thing?
Steve Rogers: Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years.
Dr. Arnim Zola: First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain.
Steve Rogers: How did you get here?
Dr. Arnim Zola: Invited.
Natasha Romanoff: It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value.
Dr. Arnim Zola: They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own.
Steve Rogers: HYDRA died with the Red Skull.
Dr. Arnim Zola: Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.
Steve Rogers: Prove it.
Dr. Arnim Zola: Accessing archive.
(The computer screen shows them old footage of Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, of the how the original SHIELD founders.)
Dr. Arnim Zola: HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly.
Dr. Arnim Zola: After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed.
Natasha Romanoff: That's impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you.
Dr. Arnim Zola: Accidents will happen.
(The computer screen shows them HYDRA had killed Howard and Maria Stark making it look like a car accident along with the recent death of Fury.)
(Natasha flinches violently. The grainy footage of the car crash reflects in her eyes. Her breath hitches, and she grabs the console for support.)
Natasha Romanoff: (A whisper of pure horror) Oh my god.
Dr. Arnim Zola: HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security.
Natasha Romanoff: (Her voice shaking with rage, tears welling up) They didn't just kill his parents... they assassinated them. They broke Tony's world before he was even old enough to understand it. All that pain... the guilt he carries every single day... it was them. It was us.
(She grips the console, her knuckles white, staring at Zola's face.)
Natasha Romanoff: I’m going to kill them all, Steve. I'm going to burn HYDRA to the ground for what they did to my fiancé. He spent his whole life thinking he was the reason they died. Thinking it was an accident he couldn't prevent. And you... you monsters orchestrated it.
Dr. Arnim Zola: Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum.
(In anger Steve suddenly smashes the computer screen.)
Dr. Arnim Zola: As I was saying...
Steve Rogers: What's on this drive?
Dr. Arnim Zola: Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm.
Natasha Romanoff: What kind of algorithm? What does it do?
Dr. Arnim Zola: The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.
(Suddenly the doors starts to close, Steve tries stops it by throwing his shield in between it but he's too late.)
Natasha Romanoff: Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops.
Steve Rogers: Who fired it?
Natasha Romanoff: S.H.I.E.L.D.
Dr. Arnim Zola: I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it's better this way. We're both of us...out of time.
(Natasha looks at Steve, panic and determination warring in her eyes. She instinctively grabs the ring on her finger through the glove.)
Natasha Romanoff: Steve, we have to survive this. I promised him I'd come home. I have to tell him the truth about his parents. I can't let him live with that lie one second longer.
(Steve notices a small opening on the ground, he throws the metal door aside and just as the place explodes he throws himself and Natasha into the hole and protects them with his shield.)

[at his home, Pierce goes to his kitchen to get a drink when he sees the Winter Soldier sat behind behind him with his gun on the table when his housekeeper calls out]
Renata: I'm going to go, Mr. Pierce. You need anything before I leave?
Alexander Pierce: No. Uh...it's fine, Renata, you can go home.
Renata: Okay, night-night.
Alexander Pierce: Good night. [Renata leaves] Want some milk? [the Winter Soldier doesn't reply] The timetable has moved. Our window is limited. Two targets, Level Six. [he pours himself a glass of milk and goes over to join the Winter Soldier at the table] They already cost me Zola. I want confirmed death in ten hours. [just then Renata interrupts them as she enters the kitchen]
Renata: Sorry, Mr. Pierce, I...I forgot my phone. [she notices the Winter Soldier]
Alexander Pierce: Oh, Renata. I wish you would have knocked. [Pierce picks up the gun from the table and shoots and kills her]

________________________________________
[SCENE 10: SAM WILSON'S HOUSE]
[Returning home from his morning run Sam hears a knock at his door, he opens the door to see Steve and Natasha. They are covered in dust and debris from the bunker explosion.]
Sam Wilson: Hey, man.
Steve Rogers: I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low.
Natasha Romanoff: Everyone we know is trying to kill us.
[Sam pauses a moment before replying]
Sam Wilson: Not everyone.
[Sam lets them enter. Later, Steve is washing up in the bathroom. Natasha is sitting in the guest room. She has a towel in her hand, but she isn't wiping her face yet. She is meticulously cleaning the gray dust off her left hand.]
[She dips the corner of the towel in water and gently scrubs the engagement ring until the Arc Reactor diamond sparks blue again. She lets out a shaky breath.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Softly) You’re gonna kill me for the dry-cleaning bill, Tones.
[Sam walks by the door, handing her a fresh towel.]
Sam Wilson: You, okay?
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah. Just... I promised my fiancé I'd stop coming home looking like I rolled down a mountain. He says it ruins the upholstery in the penthouse.
Sam Wilson: Fiancé? You guys keep full lives hidden pretty well.
Natasha Romanoff: (She slides her black tactical glove back on, hiding the ring.) In our line of work, privacy isn't a luxury, Sam. It's survival. If they know what you love, they know how to break you.
[Sam nods, understanding the weight of that. He walks into the hallway where Steve is approaching Natasha.]
[Steve notices Natasha looking sad and thoughtful.]
Steve Rogers: You, okay?
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah.
Steve Rogers: What's going on?
Natasha Romanoff: When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore.
Steve Rogers: There's a chance you might be in the wrong business.
[Natasha smiles faintly]
Natasha Romanoff: I owe you.
Steve Rogers: It's okay.
Natasha Romanoff: If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?
Steve Rogers: I would now. And I'm always honest.
Natasha Romanoff: Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing.
Steve Rogers: Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting.
Sam Wilson: [to Steve and Natasha] I made breakfast. If you guys...eat that sort of thing.
[Later as they are sat in Sam's kitchen]
Natasha Romanoff: So, the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?
Steve Rogers: Pierce.
Natasha Romanoff: Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world.
Steve Rogers: But he's not working alone, Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star.
Natasha Romanoff: So was Jasper Sitwell.
Natasha Romanoff: And that algorithm is the answer to the question: "Who do we kill next?"
Steve Rogers: What do you mean?
Natasha Romanoff: (Her expression darkens) It targets threats. People who can't be controlled. And based on what Zola showed us... Tony is at the top of that list. They want him dead, Steve. Because they know they can't make him kneel.
Steve Rogers: Then we have to move fast.
Steve Rogers: So, the real question is: how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?
Sam Wilson: The answer is: you don't.
[Sam drops a file in front of Steve]
Steve Rogers: What's this?
Sam Wilson: Call it a resume.
[Natasha picks up a photo of Sam with his para-rescue team]
Natasha Romanoff: Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you. [to Steve] You didn't say he was a para-rescue.
[looking at the photo of Sam with his colleague]
Steve Rogers: Is this Riley?
Sam Wilson: Yeah.
Natasha Romanoff: I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?
Sam Wilson: No. These.
[he hands Steve the file, Steve opens it and reads it]
Steve Rogers: I thought you said you were a pilot.
Sam Wilson: I never said pilot.
Steve Rogers: I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason.
Sam Wilson: Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in.
Steve Rogers: Where can we get our hands on one of these things?
Sam Wilson: The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall.
[Steve looks at Natasha who shrugs her shoulders]
Steve Rogers: Shouldn't be a problem.
[Steve throws down the file on the table and we see that it's a classified military project called Falcon]
[SCENE 11: THE INTERROGATION]
[After their meeting is over Sitwell walks out of the building with Senator Stern]
Senator Stern: Listen, I gotta fly home tonight, cause uh...I got some constituency problem, and I gotta press the flesh.
Jasper Sitwell: Any constituent in particular, Mr. Senator?
Senator Stern: Uh...no, not really. Twenty-three, kind of hot. Real hot. You know, wants to be a reporter, I think. I don't know, who listens at that point?
Jasper Sitwell: Doesn't sound much of a problem to me.
Senator Stern: Really? Cause she's killing my back. Look, this isn't the place to talk about it. [he touches Sitwell's pin on his jacket] This is a nice pin.
Jasper Sitwell: Thank you.
Senator Stern: Come here. [they embrace and as they do Stern whispers to Sitwell] Hail, HYDRA. [as Stern steps away he touches his back] See, it's right there...
Jasper Sitwell: I just saw that, yeah.
Senator Stern: Should I get it checked?
Jasper Sitwell: I think you should.
[Stern walks away. Sitwell gets a call from Pierce. Sitwell turns to his men]
Jasper Sitwell: I need a minute. Bring the car around. [his men leave and Sitwell answers the phone] Yes, sir?
Sam Wilson: Agent Sitwell, how was lunch? I hear the crab cakes here are delicious.
Jasper Sitwell: Who is this?
Sam Wilson: The good looking guy in the sunglasses, your ten o'clock. [Sitwell looks around but doesn't see him] Your other ten o'clock. [Sitwell turns the other way and sees Sam sitting a few feet away from him] There you go.
Jasper Sitwell: What do you want?
Sam Wilson: You're gonna go around the corner, to your right. There's a grey car, two spaces down. You and I are gonna take a ride.
Jasper Sitwell: And why would I do that?
Sam Wilson: Because that tie looks really expensive, and I'd hate to mess it up. [Sitwell looks down at his tie and sees a small red light from the gun being pointed at him]
[CUT TO: ROOFTOP]
[Steve throws Sitwell across a rooftop, Natasha follows behind him]
Steve Rogers: Tell me about Zola's algorithm.
Jasper Sitwell: Never heard of it.
Steve Rogers: What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?
Jasper Sitwell: I was throwing up, I get seasick. [Steve forces Sitwell to the edge of the rooftop, Sitwell just smiles] Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers.
Steve Rogers: You're right. It's not. It's hers.
[Steve steps aside. Natasha steps forward, looking unimpressed.]
Natasha Romanoff: You missed the gala, Sitwell. Tony was really looking forward to roasting you.
[Natasha kicks Sitwell off the roof. He plummets down, screaming.]
Natasha Romanoff: Oh, wait. What about that girl from accounting, Laura...?
Steve Rogers: Lillian. Lip piercing, right?
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah, she's cute.
Steve Rogers: Yeah, I'm not ready for that.
[But then, Sam, in his Falcon jet-pack suit with wings, flies up holding Sitwell and throws him down on the roof. Sitwell scrambles back, terrified, gasping for air.]
[Steve and Natasha walk towards Sitwell. Natasha looks lethal.]
Jasper Sitwell: Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets!
Steve Rogers: What targets?
Jasper Sitwell: You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange!
Natasha Romanoff: (She steps on his chest, pinning him.) Who else?
Jasper Sitwell: (Gasping) Anthony Stark! Anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future.
[Natasha freezes. Her face goes pale, then twists into pure rage. She leans down, grabbing Sitwell by the lapels and hauling him up.]
Natasha Romanoff: Say that again.
Jasper Sitwell: Stark is a variable we can't control! Zola predicted it! The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future.
Steve Rogers: And what then?
Jasper Sitwell: Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me.
Steve Rogers: What then?!
Jasper Sitwell: Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time.
[Natasha shoves Sitwell back down. She turns to Steve, panic warring with anger in her eyes.]
Natasha Romanoff: They're going to target the Tower first. They're going to try to wipe Tony off the map before he can even suit up.
Steve Rogers: We're not going to let that happen.
________________________________________
[SCENE 12: THE HIGHWAY BATTLE]
[As Sam drives them to Triskelion. Sitwell is in the back seat between Natasha and Sam.]
Jasper Sitwell: HYDRA doesn't like leaks.
Sam Wilson: So why don't you try sticking a cork in it.
Natasha Romanoff: Insight's launching in sixteen hours. We're cutting it a little bit close here.
Steve Rogers: I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly.
Jasper Sitwell: What?! Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea—
Natasha Romanoff: (Coldly) The terrible idea was putting Tony Stark on a hit list, Sitwell. If we don't shut those carriers down, the first shell lands on Avengers Tower. And I am not letting that happen.
[Suddenly the Winter Soldier lands on the car roof. A metal arm smashes through the window, grabs Sitwell, and throws him into the oncoming traffic, killing him. He then starts shooting at them through the roof.]
[Steve pulls the brake handle, making the car spin. The Winter Soldier drops down onto the street, his metal fingers gouging the asphalt to slow himself down.]
[As another car smashes into the trio's car and pushes them along, the Winter Soldier jumps back onto their car, smashes through the windscreen and pulls out the steering wheel.]
Sam Wilson: Shit!
[Natasha starts shooting at him, but the bullets spark harmlessly off his metal arm. The Winter Soldier jumps onto the vehicle behind them.]
[As the trio's car is being pulled off the road, Steve holds on to the car door.]
Steve Rogers: Hang on!
[He breaks open the door, holding onto Natasha and Sam. They slide on the car door through the streets, sparks flying as they skid to a halt.]
[The Winter Soldier is joined by HYDRA agents and they start shooting at them. The trio scatter.]
[The Winter Soldier ignores Steve and Sam. He locks eyes with Natasha. He raises his weapon.]
Winter Soldier: Она у меня. Найди его. (She's mine. Find him.)
[The Winter Soldier goes in pursuit of Natasha. He knows she is the one with the intel. He knows she is the link to Stark.]
[Natasha runs. She knows she can't win this fight head-on. She ducks behind cars, firing back with her dual Glocks to suppress him.]
[Steve and Sam manage to fend off the HYDRA agents. Steve then notices the Winter Soldier in pursuit of Natasha.]
Sam Wilson: Go, I got this!
[The Winter Soldier thinks he's found Natasha hiding behind a car as he can hear her voice.]
Natasha Romanoff (Recording): "I make an LZ, twenty-three hundred block of Virginia Avenue. Rendezvous two minutes. Taking fire above and below expressway. Civilians threatened. Repeat, civilians threatened."
[He rolls a bomb towards where he thinks she's hiding. As the bomb rolls behind the car we see that Natasha isn't actually there but a recording over her voice is being played back on a phone.]
Natasha Romanoff (Recording): "I make an LZ, twenty-three hundred block at Virginia Avenue. Rendezvous two minutes."
[The bomb explodes. Natasha jumps onto the Winter Soldier's back from the overpass above. She wraps her garrote wire around his neck, trying to strangle him.]
[He throws her off like a ragdoll. She hits a car, winded. She attempts to shoot him, but he knocks the gun from her hand. Desperate, Natasha throws a "Widow's Bite" disc which shocks his metal arm, causing it to malfunction briefly.]
[She runs. She needs distance.]
[The Winter Soldier removes the device and forcibly recalibrates his arm with a mechanical crunch.]
Natasha Romanoff: [to the civilians as she tries to get away] GET OUT OF THE WAY! STAY OUT OF THE WAY!
[She suddenly gets shot in the shoulder. The force spins her around and she falls hard onto the pavement.]
[She groans, clutching the wound. Blood seeps between her fingers. She looks up, her vision blurring.]
[The Winter Soldier walks toward her. He doesn't rush. He is death approaching.]
[Natasha looks at her left hand. The glove is torn, revealing the Arc Reactor ring. It pulses faintly. She thinks of the phone call in the hospital. I promised I'd come home.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Whispering through the pain) Dammit, Tony... don't you dare come looking for me.
[The Winter Soldier raises his gun to finish her.]
[Suddenly, Steve jumps in. He blocks the bullets with his shield, the impact ringing like a bell. He kicks the Winter Soldier away.]
[The Winter Soldier recovers instantly. He pulls a knife. He and Steve engage in a brutal, fast-paced fight Colt M4A1, Škorpion vz. 61, and SIG-Sauer P220ST vs. The Shield.]
[The Winter Soldier briefly takes Steve's shield and throws it at him. Steve avoids it. They lock in hand-to-hand combat.]
[Eventually, Steve manages to catch the Winter Soldier's metal arm in a lock. He twists it, and throws him away. The force rips the mask off the Winter Soldier's face.]
[The Winter Soldier rolls and stands up. He turns to face Steve.]
[Steve freezes. The color drains from his face. He stares at the ghost.]
Steve Rogers: Bucky...?
Bucky Barnes: Who the hell is Bucky?
[As Bucky aims his pistol at Steve, Sam flies in and kicks Bucky aside.]
[Bucky has a brief look of realization, a flicker of memory, but he quickly brushes it aside. He takes aim again at Steve.]
[Natasha, barely standing, spots the grenade launcher Bucky dropped earlier. She picks it up with her good arm, gritting her teeth against the pain.]
Natasha Romanoff: Steve, move!
[She fires. Bucky vanishes in the smoke of the explosion.]
[Silence falls for a moment. Steve stands there, staring at the empty space where his best friend just tried to kill him.]
[Siren’s wail. Rumlow and a heavy STRIKE team surround them.]
Brock Rumlow: Drop the shield, Cap! On your knees! Get on your knees! Now! Get down! Get down!
[Steve holds his hands up, still in shock. He kneels.]
Brock Rumlow: Don't move. [Rumlow looks at the helicopter flying above them and warns Rollins who's holding Steve at gunpoint] Put the gun down. Not here. Not here!
[Rollins lowers his gun. Agents move in to cuff them.]
[Natasha is forced to her knees. She is bleeding heavily. A medic checks her, but she pulls away.]
[She catches Steve's eye. She sees his devastation.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Quietly) It was him. The ghost... he's real.
[As they are shoved into the back of the armored van, Natasha closes her eyes. She twists the ring on her finger, activating the emergency distress beacon, hoping JARVIS is listening.]
________________________________________
[SCENE 13: THE ESCAPE]
[As the trio is being escorted in a van. They are handcuffed. Steve looks haunted, staring at the floor.]
Steve Rogers: It was him. He looked right at me like he didn't even know me.
Sam Wilson: How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago.
Steve Rogers: Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and...
Natasha Romanoff: None of that's your fault, Steve.
Steve Rogers: Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.
[Natasha looks at him, her heart aching. She instinctively touches the ring hidden under her torn glove. She thinks of Tony. She imagines looking at him and seeing a stranger—imagines him looking at her without recognition. The thought alone terrifies her more than the bullet in her shoulder.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Softly) I know. I know what it's like... to have one person who keeps you tethered to the ground.
[Sam notices Natasha is bleeding profusely from her shoulder. Her skin is clammy, gray.]
Sam Wilson: We need to get a doctor here. If we don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck.
[The guard opposite them doesn't move. He just stares forward.]
Sam Wilson: Hey! Are you listening to me? She needs help!
[Suddenly the guard pulls out an electric rod and jams it into the neck of the other guard, neutralizing him instantly. The guard then knocks the driver out through the partition.]
[The guard takes off the helmet, shaking out her hair. It's Maria Hill.]
Maria Hill: Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain.
[Sam looks at her in confusion, then at Steve.]
Sam Wilson: Who's this guy?
Maria Hill: (cutting his cuffs) We don't have a lot of time. Rumlow is three minutes out.
[She tosses a laser cutting device to Steve. He immediately starts cutting a hole in the floor of the van.]
Maria Hill: (Checking Natasha's wound) You holding up, Romanoff?
Natasha Romanoff: (Gritting her teeth) I've had worse. Just get us to the extraction point before I pass out. I need to send a signal.
Maria Hill: To who?
Natasha Romanoff: To the idiot in New York who's probably suiting up right now.
[EXT. ROADSIDE]
[Rumlow's crew stop their vehicles and get out. Rumlow walks toward the transport van, weapon drawn.]
Brock Rumlow: Three holes. Start digging.
[They go over to the van holding Steve, Sam, and Natasha. Rumlow bangs on the door, then rips it open.]
[The van is empty. One guard lies unconscious. In the center of the floor is a massive, smoking hole cut through the chassis.]
Brock Rumlow: (Into comms) They're in the wind. Close the grid.
[SCENE 10: SAM WILSON'S HOUSE]
(Morning. Sam Wilson opens the door to see Steve and Natasha standing there. They are covered in dust and debris from the bunker explosion.)
Sam Wilson : Everyone's dead.
Steve Rogers : Not everyone.
(Sam lets them in. A bit later, Steve is washing up in the bathroom. Natasha is sitting in the guest room, wiping the dust off her face with a towel. She looks down at her hands; the engagement ring is caked in gray dust. She meticulously cleans it until the diamond lattice glows blue again.)
Natasha Romanoff : (Softly) You're gonna kill me for the dry cleaning bill, Tones.
(Sam walks by the door, handing her a fresh towel.)
Sam Wilson : You okay?
Natasha Romanoff : Yeah. Just... I promised my fiancé I'd stop coming home looking like I rolled down a mountain. He says it ruins the upholstery in the penthouse.
Sam Wilson : Fiancé? You guys keep full lives hidden pretty well.
Natasha Romanoff : (She slides her glove back on, hiding the ring.) In our line of work, privacy isn't a luxury, Sam. It's survival. If they know what you love, they know how to break you.
(Sam nods, understanding. He walks into the kitchen where Steve is now standing.)
Sam Wilson: So, the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?
Steve Rogers: Pierce.
Natasha Romanoff: (Walking in) Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world.
Steve Rogers: He's not working alone; Zola's algorithm can calculate the future.
Sam Wilson: What was Zola's algorithm?
Natasha Romanoff: The answer to the question: "Who do we kill next?"
(Natasha leans against the counter, her expression darkening.)
Natasha Romanoff: It targets threats. People who can't be controlled. And based on what Zola showed us... Tony is at the top of that list. They want him dead, Steve. Because they know they can't make him kneel.
Steve Rogers: Then we have to move fast. We need to get to Pierce.
Sam Wilson: So, what's the plan?
Steve Rogers: I have to get a hold of Jasper Sitwell.
(Sam thinks for a moment.)
Sam Wilson: You guys have the most advanced technology in the world, and you're asking a guy who runs a VA support group for a tactical assist?
(Steve smiles.)
Steve Rogers: We're asking a guy who knows how to fly.
(Sam smiles, walks to a hidden file cabinet, and pulls out a file marked "FALCON".)
Sam Wilson: I didn't say I was a pilot. I said I was Pararescue.
________________________________________
[SCENE 11: THE INTERROGATION]
(Jasper Sitwell walks out of a building, talking on his phone to Alexander Pierce.)
Jasper Sitwell: The Insight launch is in sixteen hours, sir. We're scrubbing the assets now. Yes, sir.
(Sam Wilson, contacting Steve via earpiece.)
Sam Wilson: Target is on the move.
(Steve, Natasha, and Sam flank Sitwell. Sam grabs him and throws him off the roof. Sitwell screams as he falls, only to be caught by the Falcon—Sam in his winged jetpack suit—who flies him back up and drops him onto the roof.)
(Sitwell scrambles back, terrified. Natasha steps forward, her boot pinning his chest to the gravel.)
Steve Rogers: Tell me about Zola's algorithm.
Jasper Sitwell: Never.
(Steve steps to the edge.)
Steve Rogers: Did you hear that? He said never.
Natasha Romanoff: (She leans down, her voice cold and sharp.) You might want to rethink that. I just found out you people killed Howard Stark. You made it look like an accident.
Jasper Sitwell: (Panic rising) That was... that was necessary!
Natasha Romanoff: Necessary? You orphaned a child. You broke a family. And now you're hunting his son.
Jasper Sitwell: Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets!
Steve Rogers: What targets?
Jasper Sitwell: You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange!
Natasha Romanoff: (She presses her boot harder.) Who else?
Jasper Sitwell: (Gasping) Anthony Stark! Anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future. 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.
Steve Rogers: And what then?
Jasper Sitwell: Oh my god. Pierce is gonna kill me.
Steve Rogers: What then?!
Jasper Sitwell: Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time.
(Natasha turns away, her face pale with rage.)
Natasha Romanoff: (To Steve) They're going to target the Tower first. They're going to try to wipe Tony off the map before he can even suit up.
Steve Rogers: We're not going to let that happen.
________________________________________
[SCENE 12: THE HIGHWAY BATTLE]
(They are driving down the highway in Sam's car. Sitwell is in the back seat between Natasha and Sam.)
Steve Rogers: HYDRA doesn't like leaks.
Sam Wilson: So why don't you try sticking a cork in it.
Natasha Romanoff: Insight's launching in sixteen hours. We're cutting it close.
Steve Rogers: I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly.
Jasper Sitwell: Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea.
(Suddenly, the Winter Soldier lands on the roof of the car. A metal arm smashes through the window, grabs Sitwell, and throws him into oncoming traffic. A truck strikes him.)
Natasha Romanoff: Steve!
(The Winter Soldier starts shooting through the roof. Steve pulls the handbrake. The car spins, throwing the Winter Soldier off. He skids down the highway, using his metal arm to slow down.)
(A massive firefight ensues. The Winter Soldier blows up their car with a grenade launcher. Steve protects Natasha and Sam with his shield as they fly off the bridge onto the street below.)
(They are separated. The Winter Soldier targets Natasha. She runs, dodging bullets, firing back with her dual Glocks.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Panting, hiding behind a car) Civilians! Clear the area!
(She spots the Winter Soldier aiming a grenade launcher at her position. She moves, but the explosion knocks her off the overpass.)
(She lands hard on a car below. She groans, clutching her shoulder.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Whispering through the pain) I am not dying today. I am not leaving him alone.
(The Winter Soldier jumps down, landing silently. He stalks toward her. Natasha sets a trap, leaving a recording of her voice on a phone to distract him.)456
Natasha Romanoff (Recording) 7: "Sector 7 is clear."89
(The Winter Soldier shoots the phone. Natasha jumps on his back, wrapping her garrot10e wire around his neck. He slams her into a car, flips her11 over, and his metal arm descends to crush her windpipe.)
(Steve slams into the Winter Soldier, knocking him away.)
Steve Rogers: Nat! Go!
(The Winter Soldier fights Steve. His mask comes off. Steve freezes.)
Steve Rogers: Bucky...?
Bucky Barnes: Who the hell is Bucky?
(Bucky aims his gun. Sam flies in and kicks Bucky away. SHIELD/HYDRA agents surround them. Rumlow points a gun at Steve.)
Brock Rumlow: Drop the shield, Cap! On your knees!
(Natasha is bleeding from her shoulder. She looks at Steve, seeing the devastation on his face.)
Natasha Romanoff: (Quietly) Steve...
(They are handcuffed and loaded into a van.)
________________________________________
[SCENE 13: THE SAFE HOUSE]
(Inside the transport van. Steve, Sam, and Natasha are guarded by STRIKE agents.)
Steve Rogers: It was him. He looked right at me and he didn't even know me.
Sam Wilson: How is that even possible? It was like seventy years ago.
Steve Rogers: Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him.
Natasha Romanoff: None of that's your fault, Steve.
Steve Rogers: Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.
(Natasha looks at him with deep empathy. She thinks of Tony, of the nightmares he has about the wormhole, of how lost he would be if the roles were reversed.)
Natasha Romanoff: We're going to get him back. Just like I'm going to get Tony's life back from these people.
(Suddenly, the guards attack the other guards it's Maria Hill in disguise. She knocks out the loyal HYDRA agent.)
Maria Hill: That thing was squeezing my brain. (She looks at Steve) Who's this guy?
(Later. They arrive at a secret dam facility. Hill leads them inside.)
Maria Hill: GSW. She's lost about a pint.
(They walk into a room where a doctor is waiting. And lying in a bed... is Nick Fury. Alive.)
Nick Fury: (Looking at Natasha) lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache.
(Natasha freezes. She stares at Fury, her relief instantly curdling into anger.)
Nick Fury: Don't forget your meds.
Dr. Fine: It will hurt a little.
Nick Fury: It hurts already.
Natasha Romanoff: (Her voice trembling) You're alive.
Nick Fury: Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it.
(Natasha walks toward the bed. She stops, clenching her fists.)
Natasha Romanoff: You let me grieve. You let me think you were dead.
Nick Fury: I had to kill the leak.
Natasha Romanoff: I lied to Tony! (Her voice rises, cracking) I called him from the hospital. I told my fiancé that the Director of SHIELD was dead on the table. I heard the fear in his voice, Nick! He wanted to fly out here and burn the city down to find the shooter. I had to talk him down, lie to him, tell him to stay put... all while I was mourning you.
Nick Fury: It was necessary, Romanoff.
Natasha Romanoff: (She glares at him, tears of anger in her eyes.) Don't use that word. Sitwell used that word right before he told us he helped kill Howard Stark. Secrets aren't "necessary," Nick. They're poison. And I am done drinking it.
Steve Rogers: (Stepping in) Nat's right. This ends now.
Nick Fury: It's gone.
Steve Rogers: I know.
Nick Fury: No, I mean the data. It's on the drive, but it's encrypted.
Natasha Romanoff: (She pulls out the drive.) Not anymore. I used the Valentine Protocol. Tony's backdoor.
(Fury looks at the drive, then at Natasha. He manages a small, impressed nod.)
Nick Fury: Stark always did have trust issues. Guess they paid off.
Steve Rogers: We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick. We're taking down SHIELD.
Nick Fury: SHIELD had nothing to do with it.
Steve Rogers: You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed.
Natasha Romanoff: (Looking at Fury) We're doing this, Nick. I'm not hiding anymore. And neither are you.
Maria Hill: He's right.
(Fury looks at them. He sighs, realizing he's lost the argument.)
Nick Fury: Looks like it's you giving the orders now, Captain.
[inside a bank vault, the HYDRA agents fix Bucky's metal arm and as they do so he has a brief flashback to his old life after he was recovered by Zola and the HYDRA agents]
Dr. Arnim Zola: Sergeant Barnes... [he has to flashback to falling off the train at the edge of the mountain with Steve trying to save him]
Steve Rogers: Bucky, no! [he then has flashback to after he's picked up by Hydra agents]
Dr. Arnim Zola: The procedure has already started. [we see the Zola and the Hydra agent amputating his left arm and replacing with the metal arm] You are to be the new fist of HYDRA. [to his men] Put him on ice. [we see Bucky being frozen after which he comes back to the present and knocks over the HYDRA agent fixing his arm, Rollins points his gun at him to stop him attacking any further] [as Pierce enters the bank vault Bucky is being held in]
Scientist #1: Sir, he's...he's unstable. Erratic. [Pierce enters with Rumlow and some other HYDRA agents and goes over to Bucky]
Alexander Pierce: Mission report. [Bucky; looking blank, doesn't respond] Mission report, now. [Pierce moves closer to Bucky and suddenly strikes him hard in the face]
Bucky Barnes: The man on the bridge... [he has flashback to Steve calling him by his name] Who was he?
Alexander Pierce: You met him earlier this week on another assignment.
Bucky Barnes: I knew him. [Pierce sits in front of Bucky]
Alexander Pierce: Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves.
Bucky Barnes: But I knew him. [Pierce turns to the scientists]
Alexander Pierce: Prep him.
Scientist #1: He's been out of cryo-freeze too long.
Alexander Pierce: Then wipe him and start over. [the scientists strap Bucky in his chair and then place a teeth shield in his mouth as they begin the process of wiping his brain with Bucky screaming in pain]
([back at the secret facility]
Same Scene 2nd version
(Nick Fury: [looking at a photo of Pierce] This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues
Natasha Romanoff: We have to stop the launch.
Nick Fury: I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore. [Fury opens a case containing three chips]
Sam Wilson: What's that?
Maria Hill: Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized.
Nick Fury: We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own.
Maria Hill: One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die.
Nick Fury: We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left...
Steve Rogers: We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD.
Nick Fury: SHIELD had nothing to do with it.
Steve Rogers: You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed.
Nick Fury: Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed.
Steve Rogers: And how many paid the price before you did?
Nick Fury: Look, I didn't know about Barnes.
Steve Rogers: Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.
Maria Hill: He's right. [Fury looks at Natasha then Sam]
Sam Wilson: Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower.
Nick Fury: Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.)

[Steve stands on a bridge and has a flashback to the time he spent with Bucky after Steve's mother's funeral]
Bucky Barnes: We looked for you after. My folks wanted to give you a ride to the cemetery. [they walk towards Steve's apartment]
Steve Rogers: I know, I'm sorry. I just...kind of wanted to be alone.
Bucky Barnes: How was it?
Steve Rogers: It was okay. She's next to Dad.
Bucky Barnes: I was gonna ask...
Steve Rogers: I know what you're gonna say, Buck, I just...
Bucky Barnes: We can put the couch cushions on the floor like when we were kids. It'll be fun. All you gotta do is shine my shoes, maybe take out the trash. [as they get to the apartment door, Steve tries to find his keys, Bucky kicks a brick aside, picks up the apartment keys from under it and gives it to Steve] Come on.
Steve Rogers: Thank you, Buck, but I can get by on my own.
Bucky Barnes: The thing is, you don't have to. [Bucky gives Steve a friendly pat on the shoulder] I'm with you to the end of the line, pal.

[Steve's thoughts of Bucky are interrupted as Sam joins him on the bridge]
Sam Wilson: He's gonna be there, you know?
Steve Rogers: I know.
Sam Wilson: Look, whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop.
Steve Rogers: I don't know if I can do that.
Sam Wilson: Well, he might not give you a choice. He doesn't know you.
Steve Rogers: He will. Gear up, it's time. [Steve turns and starts to walk off]
Sam Wilson: You gonna wear that?
Steve Rogers: No. If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform. [later as a guard walks in the Smithsonian Museum when he looks over to the Captain America exhibit he notices the Captain America WWII uniform on that was on the dummy has been stolen]
Smithsonian Guard: Oh, man. I am so fired!
HYDRA Uprising
[at the Triskelion where the Helicarriers are being held]
Man on PA: We are in final launch sequence.
SHIELD Tech: We are go on guidance.
Woman on PA: All personnel to launch station.
[Pierce meets the World Security Council as they arrive at the Triskelion]
Alexander Pierce: And how was your flight?
Councilman Hawley: Lovely. The ride from the airport less so.
Alexander Pierce: Sadly, SHIELD can't control everything.
Councilman Rockwell: Including Captain America. [Pierce walks over to one of the guards who hands him a case containing four pins]
Alexander Pierce: This facility is biometrically controlled, and these will give you unrestricted access. [the council members each take a pin to wear]
[at the Project Insight headquarters]
Com Tech #1: I've been parking there for two months.
Com Tech #2: But it's his spot.
Com Tech #1: So where's he been?
Com Tech #2: I think Afghanistan.
Com Tech #1: [into his earpiece] Negative, DT-6. The pattern is full. [to his colleague] Well, he could have said something. [suddenly they hear a sharp noise through their earpiece] Ow!
Com Tech #2: Must be the dish.
Com Tech #1: I'll check it out.
Man on PA: Triskelion command request we clear the area for launch.
[as the Tech goes and opens the door he's faced with Steve, Sam and Hill on the other side of the door, Sam and Hill point their guns at him]
Steve Rogers: Excuse us. [the tech holds his hands up and steps aside to let them enter]
Alexander Pierce: [addressing the World Security Council members] I know the road hasn't exactly been smooth, and some of you would have gladly kicked me out of the car along the way. Finally we're here, and the world should be grateful. [as they start drinking to Pierce's toast suddenly they hear Steve over the SHIELD microphone that everyone in the building can hear]
Steve Rogers: Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not. [as Steve finishes his speech]
Sam Wilson: Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head? [to Pierce after learning the truth about him]
Councilman Rockwell: You smug son of a bitch.
Councilman Singh: [to the two HYDRA agents enter the room, thinking they are SHIELD agents] Arrest him. [the HYDRA agent points his gun at Singh]
Alexander Pierce: I guess I've got the floor.
[Rumlow and his men break into the control room, where Agent 13 also is, Rumlow walks over to one of the techs]
Brock Rumlow: Preempt the launch sequence. Send those ships up now. [The tech hesitates visibly.] Is there a problem?
SHIELD Tech: I'm... [the tech shakes his head nervously]
Brock Rumlow: Is there a problem?
SHIELD Tech: I'm sorry, sir. [the tech takes a few nervous breaths before replying] I'm not gonna launch those ships. Captain's orders. [Rumlow points his gun at the tech's head]
Brock Rumlow: Move away from your station. [Agent 13 walks over to Rumlow pointing her gun at him]
Sharon Carter: Like he said! [suddenly all the SHIELD agents draw their weapons and point them at Rumlow] Captain's orders.
Brock Rumlow: You picked the wrong side, Agent.
Sharon Carter: Depends on where you're standing. [Rumlow drops his gun, but as he does he grabs his knife and cuts Agent 13's arm, leading to the SHIELD agents firing their guns, amidst the bullets, Rumlow manages to release the Helicarriers and runs off]
[as the bay doors holding the Helicarriers are about to be opened]
SHIELD Agent: Close the bay door! Close the bay door now! Close the bay door! [the HYDRA agents enter and start shooting and killing the crew and techs; at the headquarters Hill watches on the monitor as the Helicarriers are being initiated]
Maria Hill: They're initiating launch.
[SCENE 14: THE BATTLE BEGINS]
[Steve and Sam make their way to the Helicarriers]
Sam Wilson: Hey, Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?
Steve Rogers: If they're shooting at you, they're bad.
[Sam, in his Falcon suit, flies off and Steve heads down. The HYDRA agents start shooting at them. Sam flies around avoiding getting shot.]
Sam Wilson: Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about.
Steve Rogers: You okay?
Sam Wilson: [flying off as the HYDRA agents continue to shoot at him] I'm not dead yet.
[SCENE 15: PIERCE'S OFFICE - THE REVEAL]
[Pierce watches from the window the commotion caused by Steve and Sam trying to stop the Helicarriers launching. He turns to Singh.]
Alexander Pierce: Let me ask you a question. What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow, and you knew that they were gonna drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution? [Pierce hands Singh a glass of champagne] And you could just stop it with a flick of the switch. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you all?
Councilman Singh: Not if it was your switch.
[Singh tosses the glass aside. One of the HYDRA agents hands Pierce his gun and Pierce points it at Singh. Suddenly Hawley kicks Singh away, then takes down the other HYDRA agents in the room with brutal efficiency. She disarms Pierce, pointing his own gun at him.]
[She reaches up and peels off the photostatic veil, shaking out her red hair to reveal it's Natasha.]
Natasha Romanoff: I'm sorry. Did I step on your moment?
Alexander Pierce: (Smiling smoothly) Agent Romanoff. I was wondering when you'd show up. I assume Mr. Stark is late as usual?
Natasha Romanoff: He's busy. I'm handling the cleanup.
Charlie Weapons Tech: [referring to the Helicarriers] Satellites in range at three thousand feet.
Maria Hill: Falcon, status?
Sam Wilson: Engaging.
[Sam manages to fly down to the Helicarrier bay taking down the HYDRA jets chasing him.]
Sam Wilson: Alright, Cap, I'm in. [Just then another HYDRA jet heads his way and starts shooting at him] Shit!
[Sam manages to fly off and avoid getting hit. Meanwhile, Steve is fighting off the HYDRA agents as he tries to get inside the Helicarrier.]
Maria Hill: Eight minutes, Cap.
Steve Rogers: Working on it.
[SCENE 16: THE DATA DUMP & THE THREAT]
[In Pierce's office. Natasha is typing rapidly at the main terminal.]
Councilman Rockwell: What are you doing?
Alexander Pierce: She's disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the Internet.
Natasha Romanoff: Including HYDRA's.
Alexander Pierce: And SHIELD's. If you do this, none of your past is gonna remain hidden.
[Natasha continues typing, her face set in stone.]
Alexander Pierce: And not just yours. Think about what you're doing, Natasha. You're opening the Valentine folder. You're releasing Stark Industries' proprietary data. The Arc Reactor schematics. The weakness in the Iron Man armor.
[Natasha pauses for a fraction of a second, her finger hovering over the enter key.]
Alexander Pierce: You think he'll forgive you? You're stripping him naked to the world. You're destroying his legacy to save your conscience.
Natasha Romanoff: (She looks at Pierce, her eyes cold.) I'm not saving my conscience. I'm saving his life.
Alexander Pierce: Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?
Natasha Romanoff: Are you?
[She hits ENTER. The upload begins.]
[Suddenly, the large monitors on the wall shift. The Insight Algorithm activates.]
Computer Voice: Target Acquisition Initiated.
[The screen fills with thousands of faces. But the main screen zooms in on one location: AVENGERS TOWER, NEW YORK.]
[A photo of Tony Stark appears in the crosshairs. Status: PRIMARY TARGET.]
Alexander Pierce: (Softly) You're too late. The guns are already moving.
[Natasha stares at the screen, seeing the red reticle over her fiancé’s face. Pure fear spikes through her, turning instantly into adrenaline.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Into comms, screaming) STEVE! They have a lock on the Tower! You have to kill those ships NOW!
[SCENE 17: THE HELICARRIERS]
[Control center of Helicarrier Alpha]
Steve Rogers: I see it! Alpha locked!
Maria Hill: Falcon, where are you now?
Sam Wilson: I had to take a detour!
[Sam is flying towards one of the Helicarriers when heat-seeking missiles are shot at him by HYDRA. He flies back towards the Helicarrier and manages to get the missiles that were aimed at him to hit the Helicarrier giving him entrance.]
Sam Wilson: Oh, yeah!
[Sam flies into the Helicarrier, dodging debris.]
Sam Wilson: [To Hill] I'm in. Bravo locked.
[Sam flies out of the carrier just as the bay doors begin to close.]
Maria Hill: Two down, one to go.
[Natasha watches the progress bar on the upload (60%) and the Targeting Countdown on the screen (30 seconds to fire).]
Natasha Romanoff: Come on, Steve... don't make me a widow before I'm even a wife.
[SCENE 18: THE OVERRIDE & THE TARGET]
[SHIELD Pilot: All SHIELD pilots, scramble. We're the only air support Captain Rogers has got. Suddenly Bucky appears and starts firing at the SHIELD pilots and agents killing them all after which he gets into one of the jets and flies off.]
[Back inside the building with Natasha, Pierce and the council members.]
Alexander Pierce: Disabling the encryption is an executive order, it takes two Alpha Level members.
Natasha Romanoff: Don't worry, company's coming.
[Just then a helicopter appears outside, lands and Fury steps out to enter the building to Pierce's surprise.]
Alexander Pierce: Did you get my flowers? [Fury looks at him coldly] I'm glad you're here, Nick.
Nick Fury: Really? Cause I thought you had me killed.
Alexander Pierce: You know how the game works.
Nick Fury: So why make me head of SHIELD?
Alexander Pierce: Cause you were the best and the most ruthless person I ever met.
Nick Fury: I did what I did to protect people.
Alexander Pierce: Our enemies are your enemies, Nick. Disorder, war. It's just a matter of time before a dirty bomb goes off in Moscow, or an EMP fries Chicago. Diplomacy? Holding action, a band-aid. And you know where I learned that; Bogota. You didn't ask, you just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing twenty million. It's the next step, Nick, if you have the courage to take it.
Nick Fury: No, I have the courage not to.
[Fury takes Pierce to the retinal scanner with Natasha pointing her gun at him.]
SHIELD Computer: Retinal scanner active.
Alexander Pierce: You don't you think we wiped your clearance from the system?
Nick Fury: I know you erased my password, probably deleted my retinal scan, but if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary... [Fury removes his eyepatch to reveal his scarred dead eye] You need to keep both eyes open.
[They both look into the retinal scanner with Fury using his dead eye.]
SHIELD Computer: Alpha Level confirmed. Encryption code accepted. Safeguards removed.
[Natasha immediately jumps onto the console. She types furiously, executing the command to dump all files to the internet.]
Natasha Romanoff: Uploading now.
[Suddenly, the massive wall of screens shifts red. An alarm blares.]
SHIELD Computer: Insight Link Established. Target Acquisition Complete. Firing Solution Calculated.
[On the main screen, a live satellite feed pops up. It is Avengers Tower in New York.]
[A digital crosshair locks onto the penthouse balcony.]
SHIELD Computer: Primary Target: Anthony Stark. Weapon Charge: 98%. Time to impact: 45 seconds.
[Natasha stares at the screen, her blood running cold. She sees the red dot hovering over the very place she calls home.]
Alexander Pierce: (Softly) You can't stop it, Natasha. Watch. Watch him die in high definition.
Natasha Romanoff: (Screaming into her comms) STEVE! They are locked on the Tower! You have forty seconds before Tony is ash! Do not let them fire!
________________________________________
[SCENE 19: THE HELICARRIER BATTLE]
[Back with Hill at the headquarters.]
Maria Hill: Charlie Carrier's forty-five degrees off the port bow. [she notices two HYDRA agents breaking into the headquarters, she shoots and kills them as they enter] Six minutes.
[Steve is trying to get away from the HYDRA agents shooting at him on the Helicarrier. He hears Natasha's desperate scream in his ear.]
Steve Rogers: I'm moving, Nat! Sam, I'm gonna need a ride!
Sam Wilson: Roger! Let me know when you're ready.
[Steve just manages to jump off the edge as a HYDRA agent shoots a missile at him.]
Steve Rogers: I just did!
[Sam flies in just in time to catch Steve. Sam flies himself and Steve onto the last Helicarrier.]
Sam Wilson: You know, you're a lot heavier than you look.
Steve Rogers: I had a big breakfast.
[They land. Steve sprints toward the targeting bay. He has to save millions, but right now, he's running to save his friend's fiancé.]
[Suddenly Bucky appears from the shadows. He doesn't shoot. He tackles Steve, pushing him off the edge.]
Sam Wilson: Steve!
[As Sam goes to fly off and help Steve, Bucky grabs one of his wings and throws him back onto the deck. Sam starts shooting at Bucky, but Bucky deflects the bullets with his metal arm.]
[As Sam goes to fly off, Bucky uses his weapon to grab the wing. With a brutal tear of metal, he rips off one of Sam's wings and kicks him off the Helicarrier.]
[Sam spins out of control.]
Sam Wilson: I'm hit! I'm hit!
[Sam manages to get his parachute out and lands hard on the roof of the Triskelion, rolling to a stop.]
Sam Wilson: Cap? Cap, come in. Are you okay?
[We see Steve is holding onto the side of the Helicarrier, dangling thousands of feet in the air. He looks up. Bucky is staring down at him, cold and emotionless.]
Steve Rogers: Yeah, I'm here! I'm still on the Helicarrier. [he pulls himself up, muscles straining] Where are you?
Sam Wilson: I'm grounded, the suit's down. Sorry, Cap.
Steve Rogers: Don't worry, I got it.
[Steve climbs over the railing. He stands opposite the Winter Soldier. The Insight guns are rotating, aiming toward New York.]
Steve Rogers: (To himself) Just like old times, Buck.
________________________________________
[SCENE 20: THE TRISKELION INTERIOR]
[As everyone at the Triskelion is rushing around trying to evacuate the building Rumlow fights and kills some SHIELD agents.]
SHIELD Agent: All SHIELD agents regroup at Rally Point Delta.
[Rumlow kills the speaker and another three agents.]
HYDRA Dispatch: [on radio] Sir, Council's been breached.
Brock Rumlow: Repeat, dispatch.
HYDRA Dispatch: Black Widow's up there.
Brock Rumlow: Headed up!
[Hill notices Rumlow on the monitor.]
Maria Hill: Falcon?
Sam Wilson: Yeah?
Maria Hill: Rumlow's headed for the Council.
Sam Wilson: I'm on it.
[inside the Helicarrier Steve is confronted by Bucky]
Steve Rogers: People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen.
[Bucky stares at him coldly]
Steve Rogers: Please, don't make me do this.
[Seeing Bucky won't back down Steve throws his shield at him and they start battling each other, as they fight Steve manages to bring up the targeting blade system, but as Bucky attacks him the chip falls from Steve's hand; back at the Council]
[SCENE 21: THE CLIMAX - "TARGET: STARK"]
Natasha Romanoff: Done. [she looks at her mobile device] And it's trending.
[Just then Pierce sets off the pins he gave the council members, causing them to burn deeply into their sternums. They scream and collapse. Natasha and Fury point their guns at Pierce.]
Alexander Pierce: [To Natasha] Unless you want a two-inch hole in your sternum, I'd put that gun down.
[Natasha doesn't back down. She stares him down, her finger tightening on the trigger.]
Alexander Pierce: That was armed the moment you pinned it on.
[Fury and Natasha reluctantly lower their weapons.]
[Back at the Helicarrier as they are battling it out, Bucky stabs Steve in the shoulder with his knife and then grabs the fallen chip. Steve roars in pain but manages to get the knife out. He grabs Bucky by the throat and throws him down, arm-locking him.]
Steve Rogers: Drop it! Drop it!
[As Bucky continues to hold the chip, Steve breaks his arm with a sickening crunch. Bucky screams but holds on. Steve chokes him until he passes out and lets go of the chip. Steve grabs the chip and rushes off, limping heavily.]
[Back at the Triskelion - An office in the SHIELD HQ]
Brock Rumlow: I'm on forty-one, headed towards the south-west stairwell.
[Just then Sam attacks Rumlow, flying in feet first. Rumlow manages to knock Sam down.]
Brock Rumlow: This is gonna hurt. There are no prisoners with HYDRA, just order. And order only comes through pain. You ready for yours?
Sam Wilson: Man, shut the hell up.
[They both go to attack each other.]
[SCENE 22: THE TARGETING LOCK]
Alexander Pierce: Lieutenant, how much longer?
Charlie XO: [on radio] Sixty-five seconds to satellite link. Targeting grid engaged. Lowering weapons array now.
Maria Hill: [to Steve as she watches from the monitor] One minute.
[Steve desperately tries to get back up to the Helicarriers to get to the targeting system when Bucky becomes conscious. He grabs a pistol and shoots at Steve in the left thigh and then the right shoulder. Steve stumbles but still manages to climb up.]
Maria Hill: Thirty seconds, Cap!
Steve Rogers: Stand by. [he gets the chip out, his vision blurring] Charlie...
[Bucky shoots Steve in the stomach. Steve falls, the chip sliding from his fingers.]
[On the helicarrier's bridge]
Charlie Weapons Tech: We've reached three thousand feet. Sat link coming online now.
Charlie XO: Deploy algorithm.
Charlie Weapons Tech: Algorithm deployed.
Alexander Pierce: [on radio] We are go to targets.
[Hill watches in horror as the weapons are being targeted at Washington, the White House, the Pentagon.]
[In Pierce's office, the main screen zooms in on New York City.]
[A red reticle locks onto the balcony of Avengers Tower.]
Charlie Weapons Tech: Primary Target Locked. Anthony Stark. Penthouse Level.
[Natasha stares at the screen. She sees the live feed of her home. The place where she found peace. The place where Tony is right now.]
Alexander Pierce: (Whispering to Natasha) Say goodbye to the fiancé, Agent Romanoff. The Iron Man won't even have time to put on the suit.
[Natasha's eyes fill with tears of pure rage. She looks at the comms.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Screaming) STEVE! DO IT! SAVE HIM!
Charlie Weapons Tech: Target saturation reached. All targets assigned.
Charlie XO: Fire when ready.
Charlie Weapons Tech: Firing in, three, two, one.
[At that moment, bleeding out, Steve manages to pull himself up. He slams the chip into the Helicarrier's targeting blade, overriding the system and locking it down.]
Steve Rogers: Charlie locked.
[The red reticle on Avengers Tower vanishes. The "TARGET ACQUIRED" text switches to "TARGET LOST." Natasha lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding, her knees almost buckling.]
Charlie XO: Where are the targets? Where are the targets?
Maria Hill: Okay, Cap, get out of there. [Hill then gets the Helicarriers weapon targets to open fire upon each other]
Steve Rogers: Fire now.
Maria Hill: But, Steve...
Steve Rogers: Do it! Do it now!
[Reluctantly Hill makes the Helicarriers open fire on each other. Explosions rip through the sky. Steve, still inside the Helicarrier, looks at Bucky trapped under debris below him.]
[Back at the Triskelion Pierce watches the Helicarriers as they are firing at each other. His grand vision burns.]
Alexander Pierce: What a waste.
Natasha Romanoff: Are you still on the fence about Rogers' chances?
Alexander Pierce: Time to go, Councilwoman. This way, come on. You're gonna fly me out of here.
[As Pierce starts to leave, dragging Natasha with him.]
Nick Fury: You know, there was a time I would have taken a bullet for you.
Alexander Pierce: You already did. You will again when it's useful.
[Natasha catches Fury's eye. She taps the engagement ring on her finger twice—a signal.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Softly) Tony sends his regards.
[She activates a small disc on her badge—a Stark-tech EMP burst. It emits a massive electric shock through her whole body, frying the biometric pin on her chest.]
[She collapses, convulsing.]
[The distraction gives Fury the split second he needs. He draws and shoots Pierce twice in the chest. Pierce falls.]
[Fury rushes over to Natasha, who is lying unconscious on the floor, smoke rising from the pin.]
Nick Fury: Romanoff! Natasha! Natasha, come on!
[He shakes her. After a terrifying moment, Natasha gasps, her eyes snapping open.]
Natasha Romanoff: Ow.
Nick Fury: You okay?
Natasha Romanoff: Those really do sting. Tony is going to kill me for frying the tracker in the ring.
Alexander Pierce: [as the Helicarriers continue to destroy each other Pierce lies on the floor and says with his last dying breath] Hail HYDRA.
[Just then one Helicarrier crashes into a dam beneath the Triskelion.]
[As the Helicarrier continues to fall with Cap and Winter Soldier inside, at the Triskelion Sam and Rumlow continue to fight each other as the building crumbles around them.]

________________________________________
[SCENE 23: THE TRISKELION COLLAPSE]
Brock Rumlow: You're out of your depth, kid.
[Suddenly the first Helicarrier crashes into the Triskelion, slicing through the building like a knife. The floor beneath Rumlow gives way, catching him in the destruction.]
Sam Wilson: [Sprinting away as the ceiling collapses] Not today!
[Sam dives through a glass partition as the building groans, tilting dangerously.]
Sam Wilson: [Into comms] Please, tell me you got that chopper in the air!
Natasha Romanoff: [Over radio, calm but strained] Sam, where are you?
Sam Wilson: 41st floor, north-west corner!
Natasha Romanoff: We're on it, stay where you are.
[Sam desperately tries to hold onto a railing as the floor tilts to a 45-degree angle. Debris slides past him, plummeting to the ground.]
Sam Wilson: Not an option!
[As the building wall shears off, Sam spots the helicopter hovering below. He takes a breath and jumps out into the freefall.]
[Natasha banks the helicopter hard, diving. Fury opens the side door.]
Sam Wilson: [Screaming] 41st floor! 41st!
Nick Fury: It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!
[Natasha pulls up at the last second. Sam crashes into the passenger cabin, rolling to a stop.]
Natasha Romanoff: [Looking back] You okay?
Sam Wilson: [Breathless] I need a vacation.
Natasha Romanoff: Hill, where's Steve? You got a location on Rogers?
Maria Hill: [Over radio] Negative. The carrier is going down. He's still inside.
________________________________________
[SCENE 24: THE END OF THE LINE]
[Back in the third Helicarrier, the structure is tearing itself apart. Fires rage. Steve lifts a massive steel beam, helping Bucky out from being trapped under the rubble.]
Steve Rogers: You know me.
Bucky Barnes: NO, I DON'T!
[Bucky lashes out at Steve, punching him in the face with his metal arm. Steve takes the hit, staggering back.]
Steve Rogers: Bucky... you've known me your whole life.
[Bucky hits Steve again, sending him crashing into a railing. Steve wipes blood from his mouth, but he lowers his hands. He chooses not to defend himself.]
Steve Rogers: Your name... is James Buchanan Barnes.
Bucky Barnes: SHUT UP!!!
[Bucky hits Steve once again, visibly leaving him weakened, his face swelling, his breath ragged.]
Steve Rogers: I'm not gonna fight you.
[Steve reaches up and unclasps his helmet. It falls into the river below. He unhooks his shield, letting it drop through the hole in the floor. He stands there, defenseless.]
Steve Rogers: You're my friend.
[After a brief moment of hesitation, the programming screams in Bucky's head. He screams in rage and tackles Steve into the ground.]
Bucky Barnes: You're my mission.
[He sits on Steve’s chest, repeatedly punching him across the face. Metal meets bone. Crunch. Crunch.]
Bucky Barnes: YOU'RE.
Bucky Barnes: MY.
Bucky Barnes: MISSION!
Steve Rogers: [Wheezing, barely conscious] Then finish it...
[Bucky hesitates, holding his metal fist up, trembling. The violence pauses.]
Steve Rogers: ...because I'm with you... to the end of the line.
[Bucky freezes. He looks at Steve. The rage in his eyes flickers, replaced by confusion, then recognition. Memories flash—a train, a laugh, a promise.]
[Just then, the Helicarrier structure fails completely. The floor drops out.]
[Steve falls. He tumbles through the air, unconscious, splashing into the Potomac River below.]
[Bucky watches him fall. He grabs a railing, hanging on as the ship crashes into the water.]
________________________________________
[SCENE 25: THE RIVER BANK]
[Underwater. Steve is sinking. The water is murky and cold. He is still. His war is over.]
[Suddenly, a hand reaches into the frame. A metal hand.]
[Bucky grabs Steve by the tactical vest and pulls.]
[EXT. RIVER BANK - DAY]
[Bucky drags Steve onto the mud. He checks Steve's breath. Steve coughs up water, groaning weakly.]
[Bucky stares at him for a long moment. He looks at his own metal hand. He looks at the burning wreckage of SHIELD.]
[He stands up. He turns and walks away into the trees, disappearing into the unknown.]
________________________________________
[SCENE 26: THE HOSPITAL - THE AFTERMATH]
[In a hospital room. Sunlight streams in. Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" plays softly from a phone.]
[Steve wakes up. He hurts everywhere. He blinks, adjusting to the light.]
Steve Rogers: On your left.
[Sam is sitting in a chair next to the bed, reading a magazine. He looks up and smiles.]
Sam Wilson: You finally woke up, Cap.
Steve Rogers: How long?
Sam Wilson: Three days.
[The door opens. Natasha walks in. She isn't wearing a SHIELD uniform or tactical gear. She’s wearing a soft sweater and jeans, looking like a normal person for the first time. Her arm is in a sling.]
Natasha Romanoff: Hey, sleepyhead.
Steve Rogers: Nat. You okay?
Natasha Romanoff: Better than you. Collapsed lung, three fractured ribs, and a concussion. You really know how to take a beating.
Steve Rogers: What happened?
Natasha Romanoff: We won. SHIELD is gone. HYDRA is exposed.
Steve Rogers: And the files?
Natasha Romanoff: All of it. On the internet. Every secret, every lie.
Steve Rogers: And Stark?
[Natasha smiles, sitting on the edge of the bed. She holds up her left hand. The engagement ring is there, shiny and clean.]
Natasha Romanoff: He's fine. The moment the files leaked, his lawyers hit every news outlet with cease-and-desists, but honestly? He didn't care.
Steve Rogers: He didn't?
Natasha Romanoff: He was too busy watching the live feed of you taking down the carriers. He called me. He said, "Tell Rogers he's forgiven for the property damage, but next time, invite me to the party."
Steve Rogers: Speaking of parties... we missed your anniversary.
Natasha Romanoff: (She laughs softly.) Yeah, we did. Tony spent the night hacking the NSA to cover our tracks instead of drinking champagne. He says I owe him a date. A real one.
Steve Rogers: You should go. Go home, Nat.
Natasha Romanoff: I will. But first, I had to make sure you weren't going to die on us. Tony sent his private medical team. They're the ones who patched you up.
[She stands up, placing a file on his bedside table.]
Natasha Romanoff: And I brought you this.
Steve Rogers: What is it?
Natasha Romanoff: Intel on the Winter Soldier. I pulled it from the encrypted drive before we dumped it. It's a ghost trail, but... it's a start.
Steve Rogers: You're not coming with us?
Natasha Romanoff: No. I have to go to Capitol Hill and explain why I just dismantled the US intelligence network. And then... I have a wedding to plan. And a fiancé who is probably driving JARVIS insane with worry.
[She leans down and kisses Steve on the cheek.]
Natasha Romanoff: Be careful, Steve. You might not like what you find.
[She walks to the door, stopping to look back at Sam.]
Natasha Romanoff: You coming, Sam?
Sam Wilson: [Looking at Steve] I think I'll stick around here for a bit.
[Natasha nods, smiling. She walks out, ready to go home to Tony.]
[Steve opens the file. He sees a photo of Bucky.]
Sam Wilson: You're going after him.
Steve Rogers: You don't have to come with me.
Sam Wilson: I know. When do we start?
[FADE TO BLACK]
2nd Edition
________________________________________
[SCENE 28: THE CEMETERY]
[A gray, overcast day. Nick Fury, wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, stands over his own gravestone. It reads: "The path of the righteous man..." Ezekiel 25:17.]
[Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson stand nearby.]
Nick Fury: So, you've experienced this sort of thing before?
Steve Rogers: You get used to it.
Nick Fury: We've been data-mining HYDRA's files. Looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship. I'm headed to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come.
Steve Rogers: There's something I gotta do first.
Nick Fury: How about you, Wilson? Could use a man with your abilities.
Sam Wilson: I'm more of a soldier than a spy.
Nick Fury: Alright then. [Sam and Steve shake Fury's hand] Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here.
[Fury looks to his gravestone, gives a nod, and walks away. Just then Natasha joins Steve and Sam from the tree line. She is dressed in civilian clothes, looking softer than usual.]
Natasha Romanoff: You should be honored, that's about as close as he gets to saying thank you.
Steve Rogers: Not going with him?
Natasha Romanoff: No.
Steve Rogers: Not staying here?
Natasha Romanoff: I blew all my covers. I gotta go figure out a new one.
Steve Rogers: That might take a while.
Natasha Romanoff: I'm counting on it.
Steve Rogers: You leaked everything, Nat. Even the Stark Industries files. The world knows everything about the Iron Man armor now.
[Natasha looks down, twisting the engagement ring on her finger. In the daylight, the blue diamond sparks vividly.]
Natasha Romanoff: I know. I thought he’d be furious. I thought... maybe he'd rethink the engagement. Secrets were our currency, and I just bankrupted us.
Steve Rogers: And?
Natasha Romanoff: (A soft, genuine smile breaks across her face.) And he texted me a blueprint for a new suit. He said, "If the world knows how to build the Mark 42, I guess I just have to build the Mark 50." He doesn't care about the tech, Steve. He cares that I came back.
Steve Rogers: He's a good man.
Natasha Romanoff: He tries very hard not to be. But yes. He is.
[She looks up at Steve, her expression open and vulnerable.]
Natasha Romanoff: I have a home to go back to, Steve. For the first time in my life, I'm not running away. I'm running toward something.
Steve Rogers: Does he know you're coming?
Natasha Romanoff: He's been texting me every ten minutes. He’s pretending it’s about the insurance premiums on the Tower, but... he’s making carbonara. It's the only thing he can cook without setting the kitchen on fire.
Steve Rogers: Go to him, Nat. Don't keep him waiting.
[She pulls a file from her jacket.]
Natasha Romanoff: Will you do me a favor? Call that nurse.
Steve Rogers: She's not a nurse.
Natasha Romanoff: And you're not a SHIELD agent.
[She hands him the file.]
Natasha Romanoff: Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread.
[She kisses Steve on the cheek. It’s a goodbye, but also a thank you.]
Natasha Romanoff: Come visit us in New York. Tony will pretend to be annoyed, but he'll secretly be glad to see you. He misses having someone around who can actually keep up with him.
[Natasha turns and walks away down the path. She pulls out her phone. Steve watches as she dials, her posture relaxing instantly as the call connects.]
Natasha Romanoff: (Into phone, her voice warm and carrying across the wind) Hey. ... Yes, I'm okay. I'm walking away right now. ... Tony, stop looking at the tracker. ... I know. I missed you too. ... Is the pasta ready? ... Good. Because I'm starving. I love you. I'm coming home.
[She hangs up and disappears into the trees, heading back to the life she fought to keep.]
[Sam walks up to Steve.]
Sam Wilson: You're going after him?
Steve Rogers: You don't have to come with me.
Sam Wilson: I know. When do we start?
[Steve looks at the file Natasha gave him. It's the dossier on Bucky Barnes.]
[FADE TO BLACK]
________________________________________
[SCENE 27: THE FALLOUT]
[we then see Agent 13 practicing shooting at a shooting range wearing a CIA t-shirt; she fires a tight grouping, moving on with her life.]
[we see Hill at Stark Industries about to undergo a lie detector test. She sits in a sleek glass office. An HR representative looks nervous holding a StarkPad.]
HR Rep: "Mr. Stark said we could skip this, but legal insists."
Maria Hill: (Smirking) "Ask away."
[then Senator Stern getting arrested by the FBI; he is shoved into a car, shouting about his rights.]
[then a badly burnt Rumlow being treated by doctors at the hospital; he winces in agony as they scrub his wounds. He is alive, but broken.]
[Natasha is then being sworn in at a committee hearing. The room is packed with press.]
Bailiff: Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Natasha Romanoff: I do.
Committee General: Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?
Natasha Romanoff: I don't know what there is left for him to say. I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently.
Committee General: Well, he could explain how this country's expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus.
Natasha Romanoff: HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence.
Committee General: Many of which you seem to have had a personal hand in telling.
Scudder: And let's not forget the collateral damage, Agent. You didn't just expose SHIELD. You released the Valentine folder. You exposed Stark Industries' proprietary data. The Arc Reactor schematics. The weakness in the Iron Man armor.
Natasha Romanoff: I released the data because HYDRA was using it to target us. Secrets are what allowed them to grow.
Scudder: Mr. Stark cannot be happy about his fiancée selling him out to the public.
Natasha Romanoff: Mr. Stark is a big boy. He can handle the public. What he couldn't handle was a knife in the back from the government he was trying to help.
Scudder: Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary, not mouthing off on Capitol Hill.
Natasha Romanoff: You're not gonna put me in a prison. You're not gonna put any of us in a prison. You know why?
Scudder: Do enlighten us.
Natasha Romanoff: Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it.
[She stands up, smoothing her jacket. She looks calm, untouchable.]
Natasha Romanoff: So, if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me.
Scudder: And where is that?
Natasha Romanoff: Home. With my fiancé.
[The press erupts. "Fiancé?!" "Did they get engaged?" "Is Iron Man engaged?"]
[she gets up and walks away, ignoring the shouting reporters. She pulls out her phone. A text from Tony is waiting: "Husband? I like the sound of that. Get home. I ordered Thai." She smiles.]
[meanwhile Fury gets rid of any trace of his existence, including his passports and eyepatch, burning them and his hiding place. He drinks from a flask, then walks away into the night.]

[SCENE 29: AVENGERS TOWER - PENTHOUSE]
[Night. New York City glows below. The private elevator opens with a soft chime.]
[Natasha steps out. She looks exhausted, the adrenaline of the Senate hearing and the battle finally fading, leaving her bone-tired. She drops her bag on the floor. The sound echoes in the quiet room.]
[Soft jazz plays quietly—Tony’s "thinking music."]
[Tony Stark stands by the kitchen island. He’s not in a suit. He’s wearing a worn Black Sabbath t-shirt and grease-stained sweatpants. He’s stirring a pot of pasta, but his eyes are glued to the elevator doors.]
Natasha Romanoff: I'm home.
[Tony freezes. He drops the wooden spoon. He moves around the counter, not with his usual swagger, but with a desperate urgency.]
[Natasha meets him halfway. Tony grabs her, pulling her into a crushing embrace. He buries his face in her neck, breathing her in, checking she’s real.]
Tony Stark: [Muffled against her hair] You’re late.
Natasha Romanoff: [Closing her eyes, melting into him] Traffic was a nightmare. And the Senate... they talk a lot.
Tony Stark: [He pulls back just enough to look at her. His eyes are red-rimmed; he hasn't slept in days.] I was watching the tracker. I saw the hearing. You looked...
Natasha Romanoff: Like a traitor?
Tony Stark: Like a queen.
[He takes her left hand, lifting it. He inspects the ring. The diamond is dark—the Arc Reactor core inside was fried when she used the EMP on herself.]
Tony Stark: You fried the tracker.
Natasha Romanoff: I had to short out the pin Pierce gave me. It was the only way.
Tony Stark: [He sighs, kissing her knuckles.] I'll build another one. Better range. Maybe a laser.
Natasha Romanoff: [She sighs, the guilt she’s been carrying finally bubbling up.] Tony... the files. I released everything. The Mark 1 through 42 specs. The Tower security protocols. I stripped you naked to the world.
Tony Stark: [He cups her face, his thumbs brushing away the exhaustion under her eyes.] Hey. Look at me.
[She looks at him.]
Tony Stark: I don't care.
Natasha Romanoff: You should. Every villain from here to Madripoor is going to be trying to build an Iron Man suit next week.
Tony Stark: Let them try. They don't have the one thing that makes it work.
Natasha Romanoff: Which is?
Tony Stark: [He grins, that familiar Stark spark returning.] Me. And now... us. Besides, I was getting bored with the Mark 42. It kept falling apart. This just gives me an excuse to build the Mark 50. Nanotech, Tasha. I'm thinking liquid metal.
[Natasha laughs, a wet, teary sound. She rests her forehead against his.]
Natasha Romanoff: You're impossible.
Tony Stark: I'm yours. Which reminds me... [He raises an eyebrow.] "Husband"?
[Natasha smirks, pulling back slightly.]
Natasha Romanoff: It shut them up, didn't it?
Tony Stark: It did. It also started a Twitter storm that crashed the servers. Pepper is having an aneurysm in PR. But... [He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a StarkPad.] ...I already updated your security clearance. "Mrs. Stark." Has a nice ring to it.
Natasha Romanoff: Don't push your luck, Stark. I still have to plan the wedding.
Tony Stark: Done. We'll do it on the roof. Small crowd. Open bar. And absolutely no SHIELD agents allowed.
[He kisses her soft, slow, and full of promises kept.]
Tony Stark: I made carbonara. It's probably cold.
Natasha Romanoff: I don't care.
[Tony wraps his arm around her waist, leading her toward the kitchen.]
Tony Stark: JARVIS?
JARVIS: Yes, sir?
Tony Stark: Lock it down. No calls. No Avengers business. The world can save itself for tonight.
JARVIS: Protocol "Honeymoon" engaged, sir. Welcome home, Agent Romanoff.
Natasha Romanoff: [Looking at Tony, smiling] It's just Natasha, JARVIS.
[She leans her head on Tony's shoulder as they walk away from the window, leaving the chaos of the world behind them.]

[mid-credits scene; at an underground HYDRA lab Baron Wolfgang von Strucker is talking with a HYDRA scientist]
List: It's over. Fury has released everything to the public.
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker: Everything he knows about.
List: Herr Strucker, if they get word of our work here, if they find out we serve HYDRA...
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker: HYDRA, SHIELD, two sides of a coin that's no longer currency. [they walk over to the corner of the lab where Loki's scepter is being kept] What we have is worth more than any of them ever knew. We've only scratched the surface and already... [they start walking out of the lab] There are other facilities doing HYDRA's good work around the world. We'll feed them to Captain America and his colorful friends. Keep them off our scent.
List: What about the volunteers?
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker: The dead will be buried so deep their own ghosts won't be able to find them.
List: And the survivors?
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker: The twins.
[we see the twins, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, aka Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, being kept in glass cells each exhibiting their powers, Pietro having superhuman speed and Wanda having telekinetic powers]
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker: Sooner or later they will meet the twins. It's not a world of spies anymore, not even a world of heroes. This is the age of miracles, doctor. There's nothing more horrifying than a miracle.