Falling in the Black

Over the next year Raylee worked closely with the STRIKE team, they had occupied a lot of her time. She had gone on a few missions she had clearance for and trained with Rollins and couple of the other guys when they were around. The other SHIELD agents began to find out about Raylee’s claim of being attacked by the Winter Soldier. She had no idea that Rollins had been the one to start spreading it but she felt the repercussions of his action.

A lot of the agents had mocked her to the point that she kept her distance from most because of it. Rumlow had been happy that his plan was working well and the more the SHIELD agents pissed her off the happier he got. Her trust in SHIELD was becoming nonexistent, the only three ties he was having a hard time severing was with the Black Widow, Captain Rogers and Director Fury. Rumlow had started interrupting her lunches with Steve in an attempt to put distance between them.

“Ray we got a situation and all hands are on deck.” Rollins said walking up to Raylee as she worked out in the gym.

“Alright.” She said stopping the machine she was on and grabbed a towel to wipe her sweat. “How long do I have?”

“Twenty then we are taking off.” He said walking away and she nodded.

Fifteen minutes later Raylee was walking down the hall with the STRIKE team to the jet in full tactical gear while Rumlow updated her on the situation. They loaded on and began preparing for takeoff when Steve and Natasha came aboard. Steve glanced around at everyone and his eyes stopped on Raylee as she stood there talking with Rollins and another agent. Rumlow watched as Steve stood looking at her and he decided to punch the knife in a little deeper.

“Ray you’re with me today.” He said walking up behind Steve and she glanced up, locking eyes with Steve for a moment before looking at Rumlow. “Where I go you go.”

“Got it.” She said nodding at him then looked back at Steve and Natasha but before she could say anything to them Rumlow got everyone’s attention on him.

“Target is a mobile satellite launch platform, the Lemurian Star.” Rumlow said as he tapped at the screen pulling up different images. “They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, ninety three minutes ago.”

“How many pirates?” Steve asked.

“Twenty five top mercs led by this guy… Georges Batroc.” Rumlow said as he looked over at Raylee to give the intel and she nodded at him as she stepped to his side.

“Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice.” She said looking between Steve and Natasha. “Before the French demobilized him he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties.”

“Hostages?” Steve asked looking between Raylee and Rumlow.

“Mostly techs, one officer… Jasper Sitwell.” Rumlow said.

“They're in the galley.” Raylee said as Steve looked back at her.

“What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?” Steve asked and no one answered him. “Any demands?”
“Billion and a half.” Rumlow answered.

“Why so steep?” Steve asked looking between Raylee and Rumlow wondering who was going to answer him this time.

“Because it's SHIELD's.” Rumlow said answering him.

“So it's not off course. It's trespassing.” Steve said shaking his head.

“I'm sure they have a good reason.” Natasha said glancing at him.

“You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor.” Steve said sounding agitated.

“Relax, it's not that complicated.” Natasha said calmly.

“All right, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc.” He said adjusting his gear. “Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep left, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get them out. Let's move.”

“STRIKE, you heard the Cap… gear up.” Rumlow called out and everyone did as they were told.

As Natasha talked to Steve he looked over at Raylee but Rumlow had her attention on him as he spoke to her in a low voice. Their lunch date the last few weeks had been canceled because Raylee was too busy and he wanted to see how she was doing. The last time he spoke to her she was upset about things that were being said about her around SHIELD. He tuned himself back to Natasha’s conversation when he saw Raylee look up at him and smile softly at him.

“Coming up on the drop zone, Cap.” The pilot said into the ear com.

Raylee smiled again when Steve jumped out the hatch and Rollins looked stunned. “Was he wearing a parachute?” Rollins asked in a shock voice.

“No… no he wasn't.” Rumlow said smirking and Raylee laughed.

They all jumped out and parachuted down to the ship as they watched Steve clear the deck all by himself. Raylee shook her head and mumbled show off as she floated down next to Rumlow. When he was down to the last guy Raylee saw he pulled a gun on Steve and Steve froze. Rumlow looked over at Raylee and smiled as he lifted his gun and pulled the trigger taking the guy out.

“Thanks.” Steve said turning to look at Rumlow.

“Yeah, you seemed pretty helpless without me.” Rumlow said smirking at him.

Raylee parted ways with the STRIKE team as Natasha and Steve went their own way. It felt weird for her to be on a mission with Natasha but yet not be by her side. If felt wrong and it had Raylee second guessing if she had made the right decision about being part of STRIKE. When Rumlow, Rollins and Raylee reached the galley she stepped to one side of Rollins while Rumlow stood on the other side.

“Targets acquired.” Steve said into the ear com.

“STRIKE in position.” Rumlow said next.

“Natasha, what's your status?” Steve asked and everyone waited for an answer but got silence instead. “Status, Natasha.”

“Hang on!” she called and Rumlow looked over at Raylee with a raised eyebrow and she just shrugged knowing Natasha was in the process of clearing her area still. “Engine room secure.” She called out and Raylee smirked.

“On my mark.” Steve said and Rumlow nodded at Rollins. “Three... two... one.”

Simultaneously they all hit their marks, Raylee rushed the room with Rumlow and Rollins clearing it quickly. She cut all the binds and freed the hostages as Rumlow spoke with Sitwell. Once they made sure everyone was accounted for and alive they made their way to the rendezvous point. When they arrived there Rumlow looked around for Natasha but she wasn’t there.

“Where the hell is Romanoff?” Rollins said looking around and they both looked over at Raylee.

“Where could she be?” Rumlow asked her.

“I have no idea.” Raylee said shaking her head, Raylee had a feeling that Fury had other reasons for having Natasha on this mission so she knew she needed to cover for her friend. “Let’s just get the hostages to the extraction point.”

Rumlow nodded his head as they began moving. “Hostages en route to extraction.” He said into the ear com. “Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play.”

Once the hostages were free they were on their way back to headquarters, Natasha sat there quiet while Steve looked upset. Raylee sat across from them and wondered what exactly happened between them but knew better than to ask while others were around. When they landed Raylee went with the rest of the STRIKE team to get debriefed while Steve and Natasha went their own ways. It had been a very long night and everyone was exhausted.

After changing back into her street clothes Raylee was walking back towards the team when Steve stepped in front of her. “Hey Steve.” She said with a smile and he nodded at her.

“Do you got time for a ride?” he asked in a low voice.

“Um… yeah I do.” Raylee said with smile and he finally smiled back at her. “I’m just going to let them know I’m taking off.” Steve nodded as Raylee jogged pass him and slipped her head in one of the doors. “Brock, I’m going to take off.”

“Alright Ray, we’re done for the day anyways.” He said smirking at her. “Get some rest I think the rest of the week is going to be a rough one.”

Raylee nodded her head and went back over by Steve and followed him out to his motorcycle. She climbed on behind him and they just rode away, it was relaxing after a long night. After sometime of just enjoying the wind Steve stopped near the Smithsonian and when he shut the motorcycle off he glanced over his shoulder at Raylee.

“Would you like to join me inside?” he asked softly as he nodded towards the building.

“I’d love to join you.” Raylee said as she slid off and waited for him to get off also. “I’ve been wanting to come check it out.”

Steve and Raylee walked towards the exhibit and he had tensed up slightly as they entered. Different videos could be heard telling stories as they walked through. One little boy noticed Steve and stood staring in shock. Raylee smiled at how adorable the kid looked and Steve lifted his finger to his mouth asking the kid to stay quiet and the kid slowly nodded at him. When they came to a stop in front of the memorial wall of Steve’s best friend they both stopped walking.

Raylee stood silent next to him as he stared at the wall with his friend’s picture etched on the glass. When she felt he bottled it up long enough Raylee decided to get him to open up to her. She eased him into talking to her and once he started Raylee got to see a whole other side of him. The stories he told her were amazing and when they went to see the video in the theater room he became a little more talkative with her. In the short time they were there she felt she knew Bucky Barnes as well as Steve did.

When they finally arrived back at her place Steve climbed off the motorcycle to properly say goodbye. They hugged each other and when she pulled back Steve looked down at her with a serious look on his face. “Ray, be careful.”

“I always am.” Raylee said with a small smile. “Let’s do lunch tomorrow.”

“Ok.” He said smiling at her as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Call me around noon.” Raylee nodded at him and walked away.

After making herself a small dinner Raylee decided to get some much needed sleep. The night before was long and rather than getting sleep when they returned she went out with Steve. About an hour after her head hit the pillow her phone was ringing and someone was banging on front door at the same time. She looked between where her phone was sitting on her dresser and her bedroom door. Shaking her head Raylee grabbed her gun and went to the front door. When she looked out the peephole she saw Rollins getting ready to put his fist to the door again.

She quickly opened the door and he looked at her in shock. “Ray get dressed.”

“Why… what is going on?” she asked in a concern voice.

“Director Fury has been attacked and he is in the hospital.”

“Oh my god.” Raylee said running to her room and just slid shoes on and grabbed a sweater, opting to stay in her yoga pants. “What happened?”

“I don’t have the details, Rumlow said to come get you and we should all be there.”

By the time they arrived at the hospital it was too late, Rumlow walked up to Raylee as Steve and Natasha came out a room. “Ray they did everything they could but he didn’t make it.” Rumlow said in a low voice, he could she was upset and he still needed her so he decided to comfort her. “I know you worked closely with Fury for years… I’m sorry.” He said pulling her into a hug.

Rumlow passed her over to Rollins and communicated silently for him to play along while he collected Captain Rogers. Raylee was too stunned to comprehend anything other than the fact she was just told her uncle died and they didn’t even know he was her uncle. He was all she had left of family and now she truly felt alone. When Steve joined them he noticed Rollins walking with Raylee tucked into his side. He was about to go to her but Rumlow ran interference knowing that this was his chance to drive the wedge between the two of them.

Once they were back at the Triskelion Rollins took Raylee to their area to clean up and get changed while Steve went to talk with Pierce. It wasn’t too long later that they were convincing Raylee that Steve knew something about the attack and refused to tell them. She was already emotionally unstable and their talks didn’t take long to set in. When they told her about needing to apprehend him she wanted to help because she needed answers he apparently knew and refused to tell.

When she stepped on the elevator with Rollins and a few other guys Steve was in shock. He had already figured out there was a problem and couldn’t believe Raylee was siding with them. “Before we get started… does anyone want to get out?” he asked calmly as he glanced at Raylee but she wouldn’t look at him.

Rollins was the first to attack and everything went by so fast, Raylee slammed her fist into the emergency stop bringing the elevator to a stop. She was knocked back by a couple of the guys when Steve was swinging around defending himself. When she got her bearings she went to advance on Steve but he swept her legs out from under her and she fell to the floor. In the process of falling to the floor Raylee kicked up at his hand causing it to magnetize to the metal bracket above him.

In such small confines it was hard to keep from hitting her and a few times Steve connected with Raylee but she didn’t give up. He ended up landing an unfortunate kick to the side of her head knocking her out of the fight. Steve couldn’t understand why she had sided with them and fight him like that. Once Rumlow was out cold Steve looked down at Raylee as she laid there unconscious, he bent down and slid the hair that covered her face out of the way.

“One day you’ll let me explain.” He said to her as he stood up and turned towards the door. “I’ll make sure of it.”

When Raylee began to wake up again she groaned in pain, her head felt like it had a jackhammer going crazy on it. She glanced around the infirmary and noticed the whole team was in there getting some kind of medical attention. She didn’t even get enough time to react or ask questions when Rumlow stepped in front of her.

“This isn’t over, we got a hit on where Rogers’ location.” He said looking down at her.

“I’m coming with.” Raylee said sitting up and Rumlow nodded at her.

With a nod to his head the team was filing into the SUVs and were on their way to the mall in search of Steve. Raylee took point with Rumlow and scouted around as they walked through. The place was crowed and it wasn’t ideal to take someone down in a place like this but they were given no choice. Rollins checked the source but came up empty so Rumlow called out the orders and they did another sweep of the place and still nothing.

Raylee had left all her mental training in the hospital where Nick died, she was moving on pure anger and hurt feelings. She knew Clint told her not to let her emotion cloud her judgement but even his words meant nothing to her at that moment. When the evening came around they were given another location but it also came up empty. As Raylee helped the guys comb through the wreckage she heard Rumlow call over the ear com that they needed to call in the asset. She had no idea what that was but she began to feel like things weren’t right.

After catching an hour’s worth of sleep at the Triskelion the team was given another hit but this time Rumlow made Raylee sit this out claiming she was too exhausted and needed to rest some more. The last few days had been extremely rough and she felt lost. Raylee spent the next couple of hours sitting then went down to the cafeteria and got a bite to eat. When she was down there she heard that there were rumors going around saying that the Winter Soldier was the one who killed Nick. After hearing that she went back to the STRIKE team’s area to see if she could find anything out.

Raylee didn’t leave the Triskelion for anything that night, when the team returned from looking for Steve she was told that Natasha was helping him. It was too much for her to take, Raylee couldn’t understand why Nat wouldn’t want to know the truth. The sun had risen and she laid on the couch in one of the offices with her eyes closed hoping to get a little more rest. Raylee began to fall asleep again but was woken up a little while later by few of the guys from the team.

“Matthews we need to go.”

“Where?” she asked sitting up.

“Rumlow wants us to meet up with him now.” He said with urgency and she nodded.

As they began to walk down the hall Steve’s voice was suddenly on the P.A. system. It was hard for Raylee to hear the truth he was saying. She had aided in the hunt for him not knowing that she was aiding HYDRA the whole time. When he said the STRIKE team was HYDRA Raylee froze and the three men walking with her turned on her. Suddenly Raylee was fighting against them, none of them pulled their weapons and that confused her but she wasn’t going to go down easy. When one of the guys kicked the side of her knee and she buckled to the ground Raylee pulled her gun and shot one of the guys. The other two tried to quickly pull their own guns but she shot each one before they could.

Raylee quickly got off the ground and despite the pain in her knee she pushed herself to get out of there. Not even realizing she was still in her STRIKE uniform until SHIELD agents fired on her, Raylee tried to escape from them without actually hurting anyone but it was becoming difficult. When she came upon an empty hall Raylee removed the STRIKE shirt she had on opting to just remain in her tank top and cargo pants.

Getting out of Triskelion was getting harder the closer she got to an exit. Agents from both sides were firing on her and she didn’t know who to trust because she didn’t know who was loyal to SHIELD and who was loyal to HYDRA. The only thought she had was to get out of there and get to her own safe house so she could pull herself together.

When Raylee exited the building she saw the three helicarriers firing upon each other. Raylee looked up in shock as two crashed into each before falling into the river and the third had looked like it was headed right for Triskelion. She was brought back from her shock when someone fired a shot at her just barely missing her head. Raylee looked over as she started to run to see three more STRIKE men chasing her. Raylee decided to run straight for the wooded area in hopes of losing the men or getting the cover she needed to take them out as she ran from them.