The Real Mission (April 1990)

SHIELD had given Steve Rogers a new suit and a new color scheme for his shield. He had a new team of 6 and a jet and pilot at their complete disposal. Steve was allowed to select the missions he thought were most important and his two analysts back at base had access to satellites and intelligence for any mission he wanted to do. Steve lived at the SHIELD base and he trained his team there as well.

This mission was supposed to be simple. Blastec Corp. was supposedly working for the SSB, The Soviet Special Branch, and Steve was required to get evidence with that. The mission entailed infiltrating a warehouse with minimal damage, zero casualties and get the evidence that was detailed in their mission packet. Steve alone was to handle the evidence and no one else in his team were to view any of it.

Hailey was an excellent scout. She was quick and silent and she used the short range dart pistol to great effect when she infiltrated any place. They all had throat mikes and ear jacks so they could talk to one another. Hailey was his second in command and her team was made up of 3 people. Herself, Jacob and Paul. Jacob was an excellent hacker and Paul’s specialties involved security systems. Haily handled the soft entries and takedowns, she was the most physical of the 3 and in the last 3 months she had trained often with Steve and they had developed a repore with one another. Steve’s team of 5 usually entered where Hailey had cleared and his team comprised of Alex who could drive anything and everything, the fiery haired Ginella (An undercover Hydra Agent) who was their long-ranged specialist, Rory who handled demolitions and Dimitri aka ‘Dutch’ who was their heavy weapons specialist.

“You’re all clear on the south entrance Cap,” Hailey whispered into her throat jack. “I even rolled out the red carpet for you,” she added in that confident way she spoke. Steve nodded as he touched his throat jack. “Team 2 moving in,” He said and they stepped from the alley toward the warehouse…


---------------------------------

2 months earlier.

Hailey sat in Nick Fury’s office. Since she had joined SHIELD she hadn’t really been fully utilized to her potential. She had been an excellent field agent for MI-6 but when Phil recruited her she felt as if her career was going nowhere. SHIELD had ‘opportunities’ that any mundane agency couldn't offer her and the pay and benefits were far greater as well.

“Chocolate?” Nick offered Hailey as he tipped forward a large glass bowl filled with different kinds of chocolates. His one eye studied her as she leaned forward and selected one. He was feeling her out for not only becoming part of a new team he had developed but for something even more important, agent retention. Normally he never asked this sort of thing of any agent but Hailey was fairly knew and he had kept her at a desk long enough for her to be more likely to jump at any chance to get back out into the field. He leaned back in his large, black leather chair casually.

“A new team I’ve thrown together is looking for someone of your unique abilities but to be honest, there are a few people who could fill this role. One of SHIELD’s new additions is somewhat of a...unique case and he’s had some difficulty getting close to the members of his team. I won’t beat around the bush here Agent Bradford, part of the reason you’re here right now is because you’re an attractive woman and you’ve worked in a capacity to attract men to you. If this bothers you in any way you can walk away from this interview without concern that it will be held against you in any way,” Nick said as he clasped his hands in front of him.

Hailey Bradford was a young and attractive woman. She was only 26 but had already worked at MI-6 before being recruited to SHIELD. She was strong and confident, sometimes in a way that bordered on cocky. She was an excellent scout and was also trained in munitions, field tactics, and espionage. She loved field work, but since coming to work for SHIELD she had been stuck behind a desk pushing paper. She hated that and was getting antsy. Phil Coulson had promised her that her skills would be fully utilized, unlike her time at MI-6. However, she had yet to experience that at SHIELD.

However, getting called into Nick Fury's office was at least a start in the right direction. She took a seat across from him and watched him as he eyed her. When he offered her a chocolate she carefully selected one. She could tell Nick was studying her. She unwrapped the chocolate and popped it into her mouth as Nick began to speak. She had no problem with using her appearance to manipulate men.

"It doesn't bother me at all. Who exactly is the man in question?"

“Steve Rogers...you know...Captain America?” he said simply though there was no simple about it.

Hailey just sat there in silence for a long moment as the name sank into her brain fully. Captain America. Only a very few number of people at SHIELD knew that Steve was alive, and Hailey had not been included in that memo. She had of course heard about Steve Rogers. Who hadn't? But everyone had assumed he was dead. This was quite the shock. However, at the same time it intrigued her.

"So, what exactly do you need me to do with Steve Rogers?"

Nick decided to just lay it all out for her since she didn’t appear to be using her imagination. “Steve is someone that plays by the book but he spends alot of time with his team on and off duty. I think he used to do that with fellow soldiers in the past. You know to bring solidarity and such. I want you to show interest in him but be subtle. Steve operates by the book in most things and he might consider having someone on his team as being romantic with him as a liability. But if you could create want in him or a deeper emotional link with you, he might set aside his principles for that as long as you did your duty. You are not to speak of Steve to anyone or write his name on anything. Consider his identity a secret as if you yourself have never heard of him...beyond the legend ofcourse. He is very much alive and in top shape,” Nick said as he picked up and set down a recent 5 by 7 photo of Steve bare to the waist. In the picture he had just been working out with a punching bag and sweat beaded on his clean, hairless well defined chest and 6 pack abs. Steve himself was what many women considered a ‘perfect’ specimen of the male form. His bright blue eyes alone have been known to make a woman’s heart beat begin to race.

“How you do this is up to you ofcourse and likewise, how far you take it is up to you. SHIELD needs Steve Rogers and as you know, being an agent isnt always black and white. Steve Rogers lives in a black and white world and he has expressed discontent with some of the more ‘gray’ endeavors that SHIELD employs to keep our country safe,” he said.

Hailey listened to Nick and nodded at what he said to her. When he showed her the picture of Steve she had to stop herself from drooling. He was...incredible to look at. He was perfect in every way imaginable. She was going to have no trouble showing subtle attraction towards him. Getting him to sleep with her would be a bonus.

"So, what's the name he's going by"

Steve still kept low as he moved about the fork trucks and trucks that were back into the loading dock. He hopped up onto the loading dock easily then paused to help other members of his team up. Once they were up and ready they headed into the warehouse. In the darkness they had to use night vision goggles and as Steve lowered his it read Stark Industries on the side. The warehouse brightened suddenly in his vision and by the satellite map he had memorized he knew where the elevators were to take him down to the basement offices and labs. “Another down,” Ginella whispered. “Another down,” Alex whispered. “I see the elevator, North East Corner,” Hailey whispered. When they all arrived at the elevator. “Paul popped open the elevator panel and began to work on it as the rest of them waited. Everyone moved out of the elevator and took up guard positions which left Steve and Hailey there alone save for Paul who was working on disabling the security that would stop them from going where they wanted. Steve flipped up his goggles and looked out into the darkness. He couldn’t see her but he felt Hailey’s eyes on him. He had been working with her for just under 2 months and the sensations he felt when he looked at her reminded of those that he felt when he looked at Peggy.

“You always seem as if you want to say something Hailey but you don’t. What’s on your mind?” He whispered though this time it was just his voice. He knew she was close enough to hear. He could smell her scent now that his eyesight was diminished. His other senses came alive.

Hailey had been working hard these past two months to discreetly gain Steve's attention. A subtle touch on the arm, an "accidental" brushing of her hand against his, a soft sigh near his ear, a glance to meet his gaze. These were all small, yet powerful gestures that overtime would build to catch Steve's attention. Hailey had also figured out what Steve's favorite color was and wore it in small ways. She had found a picture of Peggy and found a near match for the lipstick color she used to wear and would wear it around Steve.

Today, she finally felt as if she was breaking through that wall with him. She could barely see him in the darkness, but she saw him look over at her. She heard his question and she knew that she needed to answer it carefully. She wanted to draw him in further and not scare him away.

"I...I just...I feel..." she suddenly took on a look of embarrassment and she shook her head and looked away from him. "It's nothing Steve." When she spoke his name there was soft affection in her voice.

Steve could only see Hailey’s face in dark shades and hues. She was beautiful and fearless and strong. “There was a woman once, long ago...you remind of her. I mean...we were friends but there was this...thing between us. I trusted her with my life, with everything,” he whispered. His hand shifted but when he felt the softness of her hair he pulled his hand back. “She meant everything to me and...I lost her,” steve said softly and sadly as well.

“Ive got it,” Paul said and Steve snapped back into leader mode. He whistled and everyone found their way back. Once the doors closed the elvator begsn to move. Once it stopped it opened to pale dim light in a hallway. Steve knew where they had to go and he gave hand signals and people peeled off and took up positions up and down the hall away from one another. He gestured to Hailey to scout ahead.

Hailey listened to Steve and she knew that he was close to taking her bait. She needed to be patient though and continue to gain his trust. She had laid all the ground work. Now she just needed to wait for Steve to come to her. And he would. She was confident in that.

She didn't say anything in response to what he said, but she lightly brushed her hand against his. Her index finger even ever so slightly drew across his knuckles in a slightly intimate way. However, the moment was lost when Paul indicated that he had disabled the security on the elevator. In the elevator, Hailey stood next to Steve. Her shoulder lightly touched him, but she continued to look ahead. Once the doors opened, she waited until the others were in position and then nodded to Steve when he indicated quietly that he wanted her to scout ahead. She moved quickly, but quietly and she gave the all clear signal.

Steve moved up but this floor seemed completely empty for the night. It didn't take long for them to find the private offices, they had the nicer patterned wood doors. Paul had already disabled the hallway cameras and security and all alarms were rendered silent.

Paul stepped forward and began working on the doors and once again Steve gestured for everyone to expand out in all directions in the hall. Which left him and Hailey near enough to one another to talk soft enough so others couldn't hear.

“I really like you Hailey but...I dont know if it will work...you know,” he whispered to her. Steve wasnt afraid of women but this was hardly the olace to talk about this. But he had to at keast get that out. So she knew.

Hailey stood near to Steve. She stood close enough so he could smell her. Scent and touch were two incredibly powerful factors when it came to intimacy. Hailey's eyes were soft as she looked into his.

"I wouldn't want to do anything that would jeopardize our friendship...or the team..." she said softly. She knew that above everything else Steve was loyal and committed to his job. She had a feeling that playing this card would work to her advantage.

Inside the offices Steve had everyone fan out again in a defensive posture while he and Paul retrieved the data or whatever it was that was in the wall safe. Hailey saw Ginelle shift her position to get closer to the entrance to the office they were in but when she saw Hailey looking at her she turned her back to doorway that Steve and Paul went into. Ginelle was a gorgeous redhead that had a reputation. She had slept with several agents including some that were fairly high up in the organization. She stuck her tongue out in a childish manner to Hailey.

“Ok Paul...go take up position,” Steve said as Paul cracked the safe, Paul stepped out of the doors and GInelle shifted and craned her neck briefly but she wasn’t at a good angle to see what Steve was doing. What Steve found made his mouth go dry. There were several pages of notes, original note by Dr. Erskine The man who originally created the super soldier serum. Steve pulled out it micro camera and began to take pictures of the notes. Once he felt he had them all photographed he continued to pour through the rest of the materials that were here There were schematics as well, partial ones of Howard Stark’s chamber design. It was incomplete but he took photos of them anyway. After he thought he had everything he unstopped the acid vial and poured it all over the documents. The acid went to work immediately and he closed the safe once more.

In the jet Hailey noticed that Steve was...troubled. Extremely so and that was an emotion that Steve rarely had. Alex and Dutch looked very concerned but Ginelle had been able to sit next to Steve before Hailey was able to get there. Technically Hailey outranked GInelle but displacing her now would be far too obvious to everyone. Ginelle and Steve had their heads together and were talking in low tones, too low for her to hear. Steve nodded and then she nodded. Steve shook his head and then she chuckled and lightly touched his arm with her fingers.

Hailey didn't like or trust Ginelle, although she couldn't put her finger on exactly why that was. It didn't help either that Ginelle took her seat next to Steve on the jet. Hailey sat down in a seat back behind them so she could watch them without being noticed. She clenched her jaw when she saw Ginelle touch Steve's arm. This was the last thing she needed right now. Steve was so close to being reeled in. Something like this might spook him away.

After the jet landed the team were debriefed and then allowed to go to their quarters. Hailey walked down to her room and sat on her bed for a moment before sighing and standing up. She changed into some workout clothes and went to the gym. She wasn't physically tired enough to sleep and so she needed to do something to wear herself out.

To Hailey’s surprise Steve was running on a treadmill and not slowly. There were 2 other agents as well, one was lifting weights and the other was a woman doing some planking on the large matt in the corner. Steve looked deep in thought and deeply troubled at the same time. That and somewhat angry if she read his expression right. He didn’t know the full story yet but he had saw something about the SSB’s interest in the serum and an experiment that involved a young girl named Natalya. There was alot more there but that was all he had gleaned from his brief exposure to the information.

Steve was running far faster than Hailey could have and likely faster than anyone could have. When he finally saw her though he shifted his feet then turned off the machine. He was covered in sweat and breathing hard.

Hailey was surprised to see Steve already down in the gym. He was on a treadmill and running at full speed...even faster than full speed really as his legs seemed to move faster than the belt on the treadmill was going. She could see his face and could see he was upset and troubled. That likely had to do with what he saw in those files in the warehouse.

She didn't want to disturb him and so she waited there for a moment until he saw her. As he turned off the machine she picked up a towel and walked over and handed it to him. "I would say you are going to give yourself a heart attack, but I doubt that is very likely," she said in her British accent with the slight hint of a smile.

Steve took the towel gratefully but even as he dabbed at his face and neck his eyes seemed to glaze over as his mind saw legions of super soldiers marching across a battlefield. They were dominating the rest of the world’s forces and the battlefield was covered in blood. “Can I speak to you..in private?” Steve asked as he gave a sidelong glance to the others in the gym. “Maybe your room,” he suggested because he was certain his was likely being monitored.

Hailey nodded and kept her face neutral when Steve suggested that they go to her room to talk. This was more like it. A bedroom was a rather intimate space and they would certainly be alone. Steve was looking rather vulnerable and she would be there to listen and support him. He was falling right into her open trap.

She led him down to her room and they discreetly walked inside when no one was looking. She closed the door behind them and locked it. Hailey's room was rather nice and comfortable looking. She had the standard full sized bed, but she had a quilt on top that appeared to have been perhaps made by her mother or grandmother. There was a reading chair in one corner and a small stack of books on the floor beside it. There were several framed pictures of what Steve might assume were family members, and several framed art pieces on the wall. She also had a small table with a couple of chairs and a small kitchenette. "Would you like some tea?" she offered as she walked over to turn on her electric kettle. As she walked past him she very lightly brushed up against him.

Steve got right to the point and acted like he had not heard of her offer of tea. “Hailey, what we are dealing with makes a nuclear missile look like a child’s toy,” Steve said ominously. “And I’m pretty sure its my fault,” Steve said as he looked at the floor. "Tony was right," He said worriedly.

Hailey looked over at Steve and she turned off the kettle. She slowly walked over to him and stood in front of him. She reached out and gently touched the side of his face and then brought his chin up so he was looking into her eyes. "I'm not certain what you saw in those files Steve, but I am certain that it isn't your fault. But if it is then we'll fix it...you and me...together." She was standing close to him...so close in fact that her breasts were lightly pressed up against his chest.

Steve wasn’t really paying attention to the signals Hailey was throwing at him. His mind was going a mile a minute. He could be over-reacting but he didn’t think so. “They got it...somehow,” He murmured cryptically. “I should never have joined SHIELD Hailey...I should have listened...God I’m such a fool,” Steve said and felt his heart race in his chest.

Hailey could see that her plan was crumbling right before her eyes. She needed to make a move fast to salvage this. She couldn't screw this up. Nick was counting on her and she wanted to make a great impression on him. She wanted to move up in the SHIELD world and Steve was her ticket to do that. She suddenly just decided to go for it. She cupped her hands around his face and pulled it down towards hers and kissed him.

Before he knew what was happening her lips were on him. Her kiss began to ignite his flesh like a bonfire and he felt his mind begin to flout as if it were on a cloud. Hailey smelled...good and he felt her hands on his sides. She had strong hands for a woman he thought. And then the cloud he was on began to turn red. Blood red, his blood and what was happening finally made it to his head. Steve took hold of her arms and gently pulled her away. He caught her eyes, they were...determined. He had seen that look before.

Obviously what he said passed over Hailey like a high wind and she smelled of...ambition.

“So...did Nick put you up to this? I just don’t know why,” Steve said.

Hailey felt Steve begin to kiss her back and for a moment...a brief moment she thought she had won. Steve's lips were wonderful and everything she had imagined they would be. They were soft and yet firm and strong at the same time. His body was also firm and strong and she imagined what he might be like in bed. However, before she got the chance to go any further she felt him grab hold of her arms and pull her back away from him. She looked at him and could see that she had lost him.

"Bloody hell," she mumbled to herself as she began to think of how she was going to explain this to Nick. She didn't want to go back to a desk job and pushing paper.

She looked at Steve and drew herself up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Nick doesn't want you to leave. He wanted to give you a reason to stay. Hence me. I'm young, attractive, and was supposed to remind you of Peg...someone you knew," she quickly corrected as she remembered that she wasn't supposed to know who he really was.

Steve’s lips form an angry line and he shook his head slightly in deep disappointment. Now he felt like a complete fool. Once again he was manipulated and led around by the nose. It didn’t appear that he would ever just be able to do something for the good and not have someone trying to control him.

He was about to say something to her but he doubted anything he said would matter. She would have had him eating out of her hand. “I hope it was worth it,” He said bitterly and let her go. He wiped his face once more and left her there.

Steve packed up his things and put them into his duffel bag. Phil Coulson knocked on the door to his room and Steve answered it, saw who it was then let him come in.

“I want you to know I wasn’t involved in that. It was a pleasure to work with you Mr. Rogers,” Phil said and shook his hand. No one tried to stop Steve from leaving and as he got into a cab Nick looked out from the large windows in his office and watched him leave.

It was 5:30am when Steve hit the buzzer to Tony and Isabella’s front gate.