sighing, he knew that this
wouldn’t be easy. this kid had dug his heels in and nothing he said
would change his mind. he was here as more of a courtesy than
anything else and if necessary he could bring this kid in by force.
it wouldn’t be the first time that he’d done such a thing. but any
time shield sent him out he did try not to use force. it never ended
up well and it left a sour taste in his mouth. unfortunately, steve
knew he’d been sent for a reason and that reason was standing there
in front of him. letting him go would mean a long lecture from hill
but it wouldn’t be the first time.

“can’t run forever,”
he pointed out, wondering if the agents he’d been sent with were
coming in or not. they hadn’t talked about how things would play out
if their target decided to run. he couldn’t let this kid go. there
was something about him that felt off and letting him go meant
opening up the city to whatever dangers this kid brought with him.
“and if you give shield what they want they’ll leave you be.”
it wasn’t the best choices in the world but what else could he do?
steve didn’t like the idea of force but his gut told him it was the
only left for him to do.

“wish it were that
simple,” steve told him. “had hoped to avoid all this but
you’ve given me no choice.”

_{“do you really believe that?” honestly, there was a slim chance in his mind that shield would even let him go, and he wasn’t going to take that risk. going to them or even talking to them was a major complication.} 

_{more to the point, they could keep him in a cell indefinitely, and that would just make matters far worse. therefore, the only option he had was to stay as far away from them as possible, and with any luck, one step ahead of them ( even if that was doubtful ).}

 _{“you’re right, i can’t run forever. i could take a stand and fight.” of course, doing so wasn’t what he wanted, but at the same time, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do so if he had to. he just didn’t want to deal with starting something he couldn’t finish, “i’m just not interested in having to deal with armed guards or torture.” or, in his case, getting captured, and possibly tortured.}

_{“either way, you’ll do what you have to, and i’ll…. do the same.” the words were dry, he didn’t want a fight, but as per-usual, he rarely managed to take the course of action that would avoid such things.}