Chapter 23

Paradise Lost

Taryn woke to the feeling of his soft lips on hers. She blinked her eyes open and found him smiling down at her. "Good morning, Mrs. Rogers."

She loved the sound of that. "Good morning, Captain Rogers." She drew him down to kiss her again, slowly and luxuriously.

"Hungry?" he asked her.

She wiggled her eyebrows at him and he laughed. "I meant for food. I thought we could order room service."

"Sounds like a delightful idea."

He stood and made his way over to the phone and she noticed all the scratches on his back. "Oops…"

Steve looked back at her. "What?"

"Looks like I did a number on your back… sorry about that. You were just too damn intense for me," she winked.

He turned his back to a mirror on the wall and looked over his shoulder. "Wow… we did a number on each other last night, didn't we?"

"Mmmm," she said dreamily. "And I wouldn't have it any other way. It's that bond that we share. It really intensifies things."

And he grinned. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." He walked over to her and kissed her nose, sitting next to her with the menu. They decided on breakfast, ordered and lay in bed in each other's arms until room service arrived.

Steve rummaged through his bag and pulled out a pair of lounge pants. Pulling them on, he went to the door. Room service rolled the cart in and set up breakfast in the dining room and discreetly left with no comment. Steve called into the bed room and she came out wearing a lace and satin sheath.

"You look lovely," he smiled, kissing her and holding the chair out for her to sit.

"Well, since we got right down to business last night, I didn't have a chance to put it on and seduce you."

He poured some coffee for her. "How about you leave that on and you can seduce me all day?"

She laughed. "I may just take you up on that offer."

"Seriously though, is there anything you'd like to do today?"

"Outside of the suite? No, nothing really. I just want to enjoy my husband and all the wonders he has to offer," and she winked at him.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

She grinned. "We can update the plans at any time. But don't forget, we have our own private villa and beach waiting for us too."

"Ah, yes, the Honeymoon…"

Taryn raised a brown. "You're not still brooding about not picking our honeymoon spot, are you?"

He chuckled. "No, I'm not. I'm just looking forward to having you all to myself on an island paradise with no interruptions."

She smiled as his blue eyes sparkled with mischief and love. They had come a long way together. Finding each other amidst turmoil and chaos and the craziness of their Avenger lives. Here she was, now married to this man who was famous the world over. She couldn't be happier.

The two stayed at the hotel until late checkout, then made their way back to the cabin. Taryn's parents had moved all of their gifts, even though they told people not to bring any, into the cabin; the living room was filled with packages and cards. Steve swept her up in his arms and carried her across the threshold again and set her gently by the couch. Steve took their bags into the bedroom to unpack while Taryn started some pasta for a quick dinner. Then they sat and ate in the living room, while going through their gifts. Then they indulged in the details of the all-inclusive resort into the wee hours of the morning, then retired to the master bedroom.

The following day, they followed up with a few of their guests, and Taryn's parents before packing for their honeymoon to an all-inclusive resort. They made their way to the airport to Stark's private hangar, where Pepper had loaned them one of their jets to take them to their island destination. At ten in the morning, they boarded the plane and settled in for the four and a half hour flight. Pepper had set up some champagne and berries and light sandwiches for them so they helped themselves. They reviewed the brochures again, deciding what activities they would do while in Antigua.

About three hours into the flight, Taryn excused herself to the rest room. While fixing her hair, she suddenly had a flash of alarm. She saw the plane going down in flames… Taryn burst out of the bathroom and ran up the aisle to the cockpit. Steve jerked his head up and instantly knew something was seriously wrong.

"You need to deviate from this course. Now!" Taryn announced to the pilot and copilot. Before they had time to react, a series of proximity alarms began to go off.

"What the hell?" cursed Steve peering over Taryn's shoulder at the digital displays.

"Incoming objects…" read the co-pilot.

"How many parachutes is this plane equipped with?" asked Rogers.

"There should be six," the pilot responded, taking evasive action.

Rogers ran to retrieve them as he braced himself while the plane pulled to the left sharply. Stark's pilot was former Air Force, used to combat flying, so he maneuvered the plane around several missiles streaking their way toward the plane. Taryn traced the trail of smoke and spotted a tiny island to the west of their current position.

"They're coming from there!" she pointed.

The pilot radioed that they were taking fire and were looking for a place for an emergency landing. One missile came in a little too close and exploded behind the plane, causing it to lurch in the sky. The pilot regained the control moments later. "The radio is being jammed. We're about 60 miles out from the nearest landing strip."

Steve returned with four parachutes and Taryn nodded. "Okay. This is what we're going to do. Get the 'chutes on and get as close to that island as possible…"

The co-pilot stared at her. "You wanna go where they're shooting as us?!"

"Quiet, Sal," the pilot snapped. "It's our only chance for survival at this point. We get shot down here, we're literally dead in the water."

The pilots donned their parachutes then set the auto-pilot, then Taryn and Steve followed suit. The pilot managed to bring the plane within a half a mile of the coast of the small island and Taryn nodded. "Good. Let's get out of here. I feel they're about to send another volley our way."

"Roger that," stated the pilot and the four made their way to the door of the plane.

While the pilots readied themselves and checked the equipment, the proximity alarms sounded again and Steve pulled Taryn aside.

"Whatever happens…."

She smiled softly. "I love you too," and she kissed him soundly.

"We're ready Captain, Agent," shouted the pilot as the door was opened.

Taryn nodded. "Try to stay as close as possible!" Taryn strapped her backpack to the front of her that contained her cell phone and laptop among other things, and the company of four leaped from the plane. Taryn concentrated on trying to shield the moving group. All accounted for, she extended her shielding and held it, sweat beading on her face. Suddenly, missiles were fired from the far side of the island just as parachutes opened. The four managed to maneuver away from the path but this time they hit the plane full force. The craft went up in a fireball, and the blast pushed the chutes quickly toward the island.

The group was close to the beach now; the swim to shore wouldn't be so long. Hopefully, there were no sharks that close to land. Taryn saw the pilot and co-pilot land about a half a mile northward on the beach. Steve was next to land and she watched him look up at her, anticipating her arrival.

Rogers practically caught her as she landed, and they scrambled to remove the chutes and roll them up to hide them.

"Some honeymoon," Taryn griped. Checking her back pack, she grabbed her pistol first, and they headed off down the beach to meet the pilot and co-pilot.

By the time they got to them, Taryn noticed the pilot checking over the co-pilot's ankle. "He twisted it pretty badly during landing."

"Hurts like hell… think we ought to find some shelter?"

"Well," said Taryn, scanning the area. "Whoever was shooting at us most likely knows we bailed. We need to find shelter and get the hell off this island as soon as possible."

Steve combed the area looking for something for Sal to use as a crutch while Taryn tended to the ankle. It was slightly swollen, but no bruising yet and nothing seemed broken. She used his belt to secure a functional splint, then went with the pilot, Rick in search of someplace they could rest out of sight. Steve stayed back with Sal.

"Be careful," Steve said quietly.

"I will. You too. There's something odd about Sal…"

Rogers raised a brow and nodded. Kissing her, he smiled. "I'll see you soon."

Taryn and Rick made their way deeper into the island, hoping to find some rock formations or a cave they could settle into.

"Sorry your honeymoon was ruined, Agent," Rick spoke after moments of silence.

Taryn chuckled. "Par for the course in my line of work…"

"I had the opportunity to meet the Captain some time ago. He's quite the hero."

"He is," she smiled. "Must be interesting working for Stark."

Rick snickered. "You could say that. Though more often than not, it's Ms. Potts."

Pepper… God she spent so much on this gift for them… She'd have to find a way to pay her back…

Rick interrupted her thoughts. "Agent Rogers, look!"

"Please, it's Taryn." She followed his arm to where he pointed and saw a cave situated on a slight hill. They picked up the pace and Taryn drew her gun.

Steve helped Sal into the tree line so they were not so exposed. He searched Taryn's pack and found a water bottle. He cracked it open and handed Sale some pain medication and water.

"Thanks Captain. Helluva predicament we're in…"

Steve sat on a stump beside him, nodding his head. "Yeah, well, we're not sunk yet. We'll find a way off this island."

The two sat in silence for some time and Steve observed how nervous Sal seemed to be. Remembering Taryn's warning, he watched the co-pilot glance around at the interior of the island, then at the sky and sea. Rogers was sure he was looking for something, or someone…. Had the co-pilot known they would be shot at?

"Don't worry," Steve said out loud. "They'll be back soon."

"Huh? What? Oh… oh yeah… right… Maybe I'll try to close my eyes for a bit."

Steve nodded and didn't keep his eyes off him.

Taryn and Rick reached the mouth of the cave and Rick scanned the area with Taryn's flashlight. The cave wasn't deep but would offer some protection from the elements and it was off the main path.

"This looks like a good spot for the night. The height will offer us some vantage over the path below," stated Taryn.

Rick nodded. "I'll get this area cleaned up. Why don't you head back and bring the others."

"All right, but take the gun. I sense wildlife, but I'm not sure how dangerous or docile."

He tucked the gun in the back of his waistband and she made her way back to the beach.

The cave was warm and dry and on their way to it, they gathered fruits and fresh water from a stream Taryn had located. Rick and Sal settled by the back of the cave and Sal curled up under a thermal blanket. Taryn led Steve away to the cave entrance.

"Everything okay?" Steve asked concernedly.

She shrugged. "Considering I'm spending my honeymoon in a cave with two other people, I'm just swell."

Steve pulled her to him. "I'm sorry. Not what I had planned either. We'll get through this. Then we'll make sure to get a way for a while."

She chuckled. 'Well, the sooner we're off this island, the better."

They returned to the back of the cave and Taryn could see the outside getting dark. She pulled her flashlight from her bag and set it on the ground. Steve had learned to stop asking her why she carried all this stuff with her. It seemed like every time they needed something, she had it in the seemingly indestructible pack.

"I'm going to take first watch. I want to check out the area around this cave."

Steve raised a brow. "You sure?"

"I can sense things around here and I can bring up my shielding… I'll be fine."

Rogers walked her to the mouth of the cave. "You know I have to say it, right? Be careful."

She kissed him quickly with a smile. "I will. Keep an eye on things here. Something still doesn't feel right."

"You got it."

Taryn made her way down the slope to the original path. She scoured the area with her eyes, ears and her abilities. More so the latter once the sun set. She got about a quarter of a mile away from the cave when she sensed something approach. Not human, or animal… then she heard the buzz over the tree tops in a search pattern. A drone. Whoever else was on the island was looking for them.

Figuring they probably had some kind of thermal sensors, she crouched in the underbrush as compactly as possible. She then heard a drone drop below the tree line. Reaching out she pin pointed its location and followed it to within a few feet of where she crouched. She could just make its silhouette out against the bright night sky. Taryn heard some kind of animal in the tree above her and the drone turned toward it. It hovered momentarily, then fired a small laser and the animal yelped. Taryn quickly projected a field around the drone before it fired again. The laser ricocheted around the inside of the bubble, then hit the drone and it deactivated. She let it drop to the ground, and made sure the lights and sensors were off before she picked it up. Taryn placed it in her pack and took it back to the cave.

Taryn found Steve sitting just inside the cave entrance snacking on some jerky she had left him. "Find anything?" he asked.

She lowered her voice. "We're definitely not alone on this island. Take a look at this."

"A drone? Any ideas where it came from?"

She shook her head. "But I'm hoping I can at least hack into the camera to figure out its flight path."

They sat down and Taryn mentally moved some debris in front of the mouth of the cave to camouflage it even more. Now that she knew drones were out looking for them, they couldn't be too careful. Steve helped Taryn disassemble the robot and she found the camera memory card and placed it in the card reader. She hacked the card and an image appeared along with sound.

"These will find them if they're on the island," said one voice.

"Good, good… Keep me informed," said the second.

Then the image on the screen showed the drone lift off and toward an open window. Taryn could see about four other drones fly out at the same time and in different directions.

This little drone then stopped at about fifty feet in the air and slowly did a three hundred sixty degree turn. Steve and Taryn could nearly see the entire island.

"Look, there's the beach we landed on," said Taryn as she watched the screen. The drone flew to the beach, examined some things in the sand then flew high up again. The sun was just setting on the left of the drone as it headed back inland.

"So the drone came from somewhere north of our position," Steve observed.

Taryn nodded and scanned the video for more clues. The drone was now flying in the dark and her suspicions of the drone having night vision were confirmed as it switched. She could see that it had followed the path that led from the beach to the cave and beyond, but it hadn't stopped at the cave.

It flew up above the tress once again to get its bearings and as it did, the glow of lights to the north betrayed the position of the facility where the drone was launched from.

"It's a small compound by the looks of it. I'm thinking that is where the missiles were launched from," added Taryn.

"Unless they have some ships off shore?"

"Let's hope not."

The two watched more footage and Taryn noticed that it never saw her on the path. It captured seeing the little monkey in the tree. "I have an idea. If I can rig this up to control it from the laptop, maybe we can get a better view of that facility. Besides I would think they'd keep pretty close track of these."

Steve nodded and helped her as he could to rewire the drone to accept her commands. She put the memory card back in and they took it out to the path near the cave. Taryn sat down and Steve held the robot as she readied it for launch. She turned the camera on once it hit the tree line, not wanting it to give away their position.

They returned to the cave and she flew the drone across the tops of trees toward the facility, all the while mapping the progress. She guided it into a window and settled it onto a table near a few other drones. Moments later, someone approached it.

"Well, what are you doing back?" The drone was picked up and then the picture went upside down. "Ahh," the operator continued. "I see you've been scrapping with the simians again. Well, I'll fix you in the morning." The drone was set down, footsteps walked off and the lights were turned off.

Taryn waited for about ten minutes before she activated the drone again. She piloted it around the room scanning for any clue who these people were. She had her suspicions, but was looking for confirmation. Taryn then flew the robot out an opening above the door and explored the darkened rooms with night vision. She found an open office, and settled the drone above the desk and zoomed into review some papers on the desk top.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" she asked Steve.

"HYDRA. Damn it. Better get that drone out of the office." She nodded and sent it back to the room she had originally landed in. "I think we should see what kind of external security we're dealing with. How can we get into this facility?"

The pilot, overhearing the conversation, spoke up. "In? You want to get in?"

Steve stood. "We need to get off this island and chances are they have either boats or helicopter or some form of transportation to get us back to the main land."

"What about contacting Stark? You have a laptop… phone…"

"This phone is not a satellite phone – no service. My laptop, while state of the art is not connecting to a satellite due to, I believe, interference from the HYDRA facility. I did send an encrypted email to Tony, but it hasn't come back as being received."

Rick looked crestfallen. "Oh… okay… sorry…"

"It's okay, we're all anxious. We'll get out of here soon," Steve responded. He sat and chatted with him while Taryn flew the drone undetected around the building, trying to scout out security points. The base didn't seem to heavily fortified other than being on an out of the way island.

Taryn landed the drone back where it had been, and she shut down her laptop to conserve battery. She tucked it away and yawned.

"You should get some rest," Steve stated as he sat down beside her.

"I know… just anxious. We can't stay her long. Especially if they send more drones out."

Steve settled next to her, pulling her back to lean on him. "C'mon, try to rest for a bit. I'll stay awake." She nodded tiredly and curled up against him, feeling his warmth and felt him kiss the top of her head. As he felt her relax against him, he was thinking of things he'd much rather be doing on his honeymoon than sitting on a cold cave floor in the middle of the night. At least they were now safe, and no one had sabotaged the wedding… He smiled thinking of her walking down the aisle in that gown looking gorgeous. He just wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, for however long or short that might be. He imagined them living at the cabin, taking their kids to the part in town, eating apple pie at the diner… He had thought craving a simple life was behind him, but with Taryn, he was envisioning that again.

Those thoughts kept him going until morning. He woke Taryn. "We should get moving."

Taryn yawned and stretched, gathered her things and strode to the mouth of the cave. Letting her mind search, she could only detect animals – no humans… yet. "All clear right now," she announced.

Rick was helping Sal stand and they made their way out of the cave, following the path Taryn had mapped using the drone. Steve led the group and Taryn kept mentally scanning the area for any sign of HYDRA tech or agents. They arrived at the facility without incident and found a place for the pilots to hide until they found some way to get off this island.

Steve and Taryn approached the building and found a non-descript door at the back of the facility. Taryn scanned for anyone on the other side, as well as any conspicuous security measures. With neither found, she picked the lock. "We'll need to be quick and careful. We don't know if there is a silent alarm on this door.

Steve nodded and they made their way inside. Taryn pointed in the direction of the room that housed the drones. They entered the nearby office and began to search the desk and files. Taryn grabbed some papers and flash drives and stuffed them into her pack. "Damnit, someone's coming!"

They exited the office and she threw her shields up around her and her husband. Suddenly, three gunmen burst around the corner, firing at will. Their bullets ricocheted off her shield and with a push the three flew back into the wall and collapsed.

Steve and Taryn took off down the hall and Taryn noticed the pilot and co-pilot being dragged into the building at gunpoint. "Steve! We can't leave them here!"

He nodded and they raced down the stairs to a set of doors where HYDRA agents led the pilots. Taryn kept her shielding up on the two of them as they peered into the small windows inset in the doors. One armed guard knocked the pilot to his knees and the co-pilot stepped forward and raised a gun to the side of Rick's head.

Taryn instinctively threw a shield around Rick and she and Steve burst into the room. A firefight broke out and Taryn ran to the pilot. "It's okay, let's get you out of here."

Sal fired the gun but it could not penetrate Taryn's shielding. She spun around and stormed at him, waiving away bullets like flies. "You son of a bitch. I knew there was something off about you." She lashed out with a right hook and Sal dropped like a sack.

More HYDRA agents flooded the room with guns blazing. Steve, without his vibranium shield, picked up a desk and tossed it at four agents, knocking them over like bowling pins. Taryn kept her shielding around herself, Rick and Steve as they fought through the crowd. Unexpectedly, her watch beeped and it took her a moment to register what that meant.