“Lucky you don’t have to bear the burden of making that decision then,” Steve said.
“I can see in your eyes that you’re disappointed with me, Steve.”
“No, I just think you’re wrong. I had this discussion with Jonah, though this conversation has been a bit more pleasant than that one was. Some things are bigger than national security. In fact, they’re bigger than any one nation. When Katherine first started telling me about this, I thought along the lines of what it would mean for the United States. But then I started, I mean, really started, to think about it.”
“And what conclusion did you arrive at?”
“I thought about what this country stands for, what I love about it. To me, at its very heart, the idea of America is freedom. When people first started coming here, they wanted a place where they could be free. That’s why people kept pushing west as things got more regulated—so they could continue to be free. Sometimes, I think we’ve lost sight of that idea.”
He stopped, aware that Maria was watching him strangely.
“What?”
“Nothing, keep going. Please.”
“And to me, that’s one of the things the war was about. I mean my war, World War Two.” Steve paused, shaking his head. “I still sometimes forget that I can’t just say ‘the war’ and expect people to know what I mean—but for me, that will always be the one. The one that changed my life. Changed everything, really.”
“Don’t worry, I knew what you meant.”
“Anyway, in my mind, that’s what we had more of than anyone—freedom. And there was a war going on, and all these countries at risk of losing what freedom they had to people bent on taking it away from them. And I thought to myself, if you have more of something that other people need, isn’t sharing it the right thing to do? I wasn’t much more than a kid, and it seemed to me that we had more freedom than anyone, and we needed to give it to the world.”
He shook his head ruefully.
“I’m probably not making much sense.”
“Don’t worry, Steve, you’re making plenty of sense.”
“I’ve given everything for this country because I believe in what we stand for. As sappy as it may sound, I believe that when we’re at our best, we’re a beacon of hope and freedom in the world. And what’s this thing that Katherine has created if not freedom itself? So many people around the world don’t have the freedom that we take for granted, but this tool would go a long way to changing that.”
He leaned forward, his eyes burning with his belief in what he was saying.
“What’s the point of this American dream of ours if we don’t want to share it with the rest of the world? When I realized that, that’s when I realized that keeping this a secret would be betraying that dream.”
“Wow, Steve, that was quite a speech.” Maria seemed genuinely moved, her face slightly flushed. “Makes me wish it were up to me, that I could release this into the world.”
“So do I, Maria.” He gave her a penetrating look. “In fact, I think that if you could have done anything about it, you already have would have, but I think you were worried that if you gave the order to let us go, it would have been disobeyed—that you might even have been relieved of command.”
“I can’t comment on that,” Maria said. “But one thing I can tell you, is that this has been preying on my mind a lot, Steve. Please believe that. In fact, I’ve been so distracted that I’ve started making silly mistakes.”
“What sort of mistakes?”
“Like coming into an interrogation room alone with one of the most dangerous men on the planet, who I had to arrest because of his very public attempt to defy my orders, and who has since told me that he isn’t going to leave without his friends, and I didn’t even make sure he was in restraints? Or, what about only posting three guards in the corridor—the same corridor that has two other interrogation rooms that are both occupied right now. Pretty careless stuff.”
Steve watched her very carefully, weighing her words.
“Yes, that is extremely careless,” he said. “Who knows what could happen as a result of poor decisions like that.”
“Exactly. I mean someone could leap over the table and take my gun, knock me out with it—hell, they could even take my pass—you know, the one that opens every door in this building.”
“Heaven forbid.”
“It’s embarrassing. The only reason I’m comfortable telling you about this is that we’ve known each other so long. Plus, the audio in this particular room isn’t working. There’s a video feed, but that’s all.”
“So, people can make sure there haven’t been any incidents, but can’t make out your conversation. Inconvenient.”
“Very. Of course, if such an escape like that were to happen, I would hope the escapee would make it as quick and painless as something like that could be.”
“Of course.”
Steve nodded to her and tried to look apologetic before he launched himself over the desk at her. He didn’t know whether it was professional pride, or if she was trying to make it convincing for the camera, but she got in a few good blows before he managed to wrestle her gun away from her. She landed one more punch before he rapped her on the temple with the butt of the pistol and she collapsed across the table. He looked down at her, wiping blood off his upper lip.
“Sorry about that.”
He threw the gun into the corner and grabbed Maria’s pass. A glimmer of red and blue in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he walked over to where his shield was propped up against the wall.
“How considerate!”
Steve collected his shield and opened the door. As he did so, alarms rang, a steady, deep klaxon note—obviously someone had been paying attention to the video feed. He ran down the corridor, slamming into the first of the guards as he tried to pull out his gun. Steve punched him in the jaw, and the guard fell to floor. The next man was far enough away that he got his gun out, so Steve simply sent his shield flying down the corridor, bouncing from wall to wall until it smacked into the guard.
Steve scanned the hallway, wondering where the third guard was. He got his answer a moment later when the man came out of one of the doors with an arm around Karl’s neck and a gun jammed into his temple.
“I’m sorry, Cap, but you have to put your hands up.” The guard’s voice was shaking. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, especially not you, but I can’t just let you go.”
Steve raised his hands, but before he could place them on his head, the guard toppled to the ground. Katherine stood over him, clutching a snapped-off chair arm.
“That’s both of you I’ve saved so far,” she crowed. “Idiots. They thought I didn’t need a guard. When I heard the commotion out here, I smashed up the chair and came running.”
“Good work,” Steve said. “But we don’t have much time to bask in your reflected glory. We have to get out of here.”
“How are we going to do that, Cap?” Karl asked. “This place must be locked down tight.”
Steve held up Maria’s pass.
“Let’s just say I had some help from a friend.”
Despite the alarms, it was surprisingly easy going. Maria’s pass that meant that they could enter any area of the building. Any time that they heard approaching footsteps, they would simply duck through another door. When they did encounter guards, they were generally so surprised to see them in restricted areas that Karl and Steve were able to deal with them quietly. Still, Steve breathed a sigh of relief when they made it to the elevator and rode it down to the car park. They’d managed to make it out without hurting anyone—which pleased Steve, as harming S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives simply doing what they thought was their job was something he would have found hard to live with.
It only took moments for Karl to jimmy his way into one of the vehicles and hot-wire it to life.
&n
bsp; “Where’d you learn to do that?” Katherine asked.
“Here and there.” Karl grinned. “Best thing about it is that it means that I get to drive.”
“Shotgun!” Katherine said.
Once she explained to Steve what that meant, they got going, rubber squealing as Karl floored the accelerator. Ahead, the roller door slowly descended.
“This is going to be close,” Karl yelled. “Buckle up and say your prayers.”
His hands were white on the wheel, and Steve and Katherine hurriedly fastened their seat belts and ducked down low. The rectangle of light grew narrower, and then they were under it with a terrible screeching as the roof of the car was scraped clean of paint, enamel, and a layer of metal. But they were through, hurtling down the street, with Karl handling the car like a pro.
They drove a few blocks before switching cars—Karl pulling up beside another motorist at a light and Steve hopping out, apologizing to the stunned occupant and explaining that they needed the car for official business. They used the same method twice more on the way out of the city—both times the surprised motorists seemed happy to lend Captain America a hand. The uniform was all the authorization they needed, and they’d even agreed to his request to keep it to themselves for a day or two.
They drove all night, stopping several times to steal parked cars to further throw off their pursuers. Steve felt a degree of guilt, but he didn’t see what choice they had. By lunchtime the next day, he had managed to get some guns and money from one of the supply caches that were scattered across the country, so he consoled himself by leaving a bundle of notes in the mailbox of the house that they took the next car from. He had chosen a cache that he had personally created, knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be monitoring the ones they knew about, searching for any sign of the fugitives. It had seemed paranoid at the time, but he had wanted to make sure that he had resources of his own, and that decision was now paying off.
Day bled into night, and the drive became a blur of rest stops, greasy food, and what seemed like gallons of coffee. They took turns driving, one at the wheel while the other two tried to sleep, but they were soon irritable and ready for the next step.
“So what happens now?” Katherine asked. “We can’t keep driving like this forever.”
“It already feels like forever,” Karl muttered under his breath.
“I heard that,” she snapped. “Can we be serious here for a moment?”
“It’s a fair question,” Steve said. “I’m not sure what to do. Every agency in the country, maybe in the world, will be after you. And there’s still the bounty. There are only so many daring escapes we can make before our luck runs out.”
“So what are the options?” she asked.
“I can try and get you fake documents, but we’ll have to leave the country, lay low for a while.”
“Cap, with all due respect, that’s not going to work.”
“Why?”
“You’re one of the most recognizable men in the world. It won’t matter where you go, someone would end recognizing you, and you’d be asked for your autograph.”
“So what are you saying?” Steve asked, even though he had a pretty good idea where the other man was going.
“I think maybe it’s time for us to say good-bye,” Karl said. “Katherine and I go one way, you go another.”
“I’m not going to just abandon you.”
“You’re not. Katherine and I can blend in anywhere. Do you know how many college girls go on an overseas holiday? As for me, Uncle Sam spent a whole lot of money on training me to look just like one of the locals anywhere I went. I wouldn’t have survived an hour in some of the places they sent me if I couldn’t. But you? You can’t blend in—it’s a simple as that,” Karl said. “Look, I know you want to help us, but you just make getting caught inevitable.”
Steve slammed his hand into the wheel, hard. He knew the other man was right, but he didn’t like it.
“He’s right, Steve,” Katherine said gently. “You’ve done so much for me, and I’ll never forget it, but you can’t do any more for us.”
“It’s okay, Cap. This is something I’m very good at. We did this thing all the time at the Foundation. Katherine and I will go off the grid, and when we reappear, it will be with brand new identities. Katherine can take the time to decide what she wants to do with her research.”
Katherine looked at Karl strangely. “We?”
“Yes, we. There is no way in the world that I’m going to let you go off on your own. I believe in this cause as much as you do.”
“Is that so? The cause, huh?” Katherine said, an odd note in her voice. “Interesting.”
Karl flushed. “That’s right. I have all the contacts we need, and if Cap can give us some seed money, we’ll be set.”
“Where will you—never mind, maybe it’s best that I don’t know,” Steve said. “Yes, it’s definitely for the best.”
“So, where do we say good-bye?” Katherine asked.
Steve looked at the road sign coming up in front of them, and smiled.
“I have an idea.”
They stood in the middle of a massive granite disk, looking down at the brass plate at its center.
“This is a nice touch, Cap,” Karl said.
Surrounding them was a large circle of darker stone divided into four segments by two crossing lines etched into the concrete. Each segment was labeled with a name of a state—Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada.
“This place has always fascinated me. It’s called a quadripoint, but it’s more than just the four states that meet here—there are two federally recognized Native American nations here as well,” Steve said. “It seems like fate that we’re here, don’t you think?”
The other two nodded.
“It feels full of possibilities, doesn’t it?” Katherine asked. “You could go anywhere from here.”
“I’m going to stay here awhile, and just . . . enjoy the setting. You two go, choose a direction, and disappear. I’ll do the same, head off to a random state for a few days before I go home, try and lay some false trails, make sure that any eyes are on me while you two disappear. And, if I don’t know where you are, no one can make me betray you.”
Katherine wrapped her arms around Steve, squeezing him so hard that his still-bruised ribs twinged.
“Thank you, Steve—for everything. But, most of all, thank you for trusting me.”
He looked down at her.
“I should be thanking you. You reminded me what it is I’m fighting for. Trusting you is easy—I know you’ll make the right choice.”
She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the corner of his mouth.
“Good-bye, Steve.” She walked toward the parking lot, not looking back even once, leaving him alone with Karl.
“I promise I’ll take good care of her, Cap,” the ex-Marine said. “I’ll die before I let anything happen to her.”
“I know you will,” Steve said. “I just wish I could come with you.”
Karl winked. “Same old story, the Marines having to finish the job that the Army started.”
“Karl, it’s been an honor.”
Karl snapped to attention and flashed Steve a salute.
“The honor has been mine, Captain.”
Steve returned his salute.
“You take care, Marine.”
Steve watched Karl walk away before turning back to the monument. He knelt and traced the brass plate with his fingers. He straightened and turned to read the inscription that encircled him.
“Here meet, in freedom, under God, four states.”
Steve took that as a sign that freedom had been served today. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the first coin that he found. He stared at it for a moment, and then flicked it up into the air. It glittered in the sun, hanging
at the zenith of its climb for a brief moment before plummeting back to the ground. The coin hit the concrete with a clink of metal and bounced a few times, rolling in ever-decreasing circles before toppling over and coming to a rest. Steve read the name of the state on the segment where the coin lay and smiled. It looked like he was going to Utah.
Epilogue
Steve Rogers’ Home: 1300 hours
Steve sat at his desk, putting the last few touches on the scale model of a Flying Fortress bomber that he’d been given for his last birthday. He’d been working on it for days, and it was almost perfect, right down to the decals that he was filling in with a tiny paintbrush. In the background, the soft sound of Vera Lynn flowed from his radio, the familiar lyrics of “We’ll Meet Again” bringing back bittersweet memories. He tried not to think about all the people he had had to say good-bye to over the years; some he had lost to the war, and some he had lost to the gulf of time. How many of his friends had died, or aged beyond recognition, while he had lain slumbering beneath the ice?
Those thoughts led to memories of his latest good-byes, and he wondered what Karl and Katherine were doing right now. He hoped they were lounging on a beach somewhere, drinking fruit-laden cocktails and making gentle fun of one another. That’s what he would be doing, if he were them. But, knowing their passions, he wouldn’t be surprised if they were doing volunteer work in a developing country instead, perhaps setting up internet access for some remote village. There was no shortage of places that they could be, but wherever they were, he simply hoped that they were happy—and safe.
Once they had gone their separate ways, Steve had rented a Ford Mustang and crisscrossed Utah, driving with the top down and the wind in his hair. After what he considered a suitable amount of time, he had driven back cross country. He’d made sure that he’d been seen at rest stops and gas stations, acting as if he were trying to keep a low profile, but making sure that enough people saw him that word would get back to the right ears. He’d actually enjoyed the time away checking out the state—the only issue had been the uncertainty, the not knowing where Karl and Katherine were going, and whether they were okay.
Marvel's Captain America: Sub Rosa Page 20