Chase of Captain America

"Captain Rogers has information regarding the death of Director Fury, he refused to share it. As hard as this is to accept: Captain America is a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D.."

- Alexander Pierce

The Chase of Captain America was an attempt to capture Captain America branding him as a fugitive of S.H.I.E.L.D., to stop him from discovering the truth behind the assassination attempt of Nick Fury and the continuous existence of HYDRA, the supposed long-defeated terrorist organization, embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ranks.

Background
S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury was attacked by HYDRA operatives, disguised as Washington, D.C. police officers, and the Winter Soldier in an attempt to kill him. Before Fury's apparent death at the hands of the Winter Soldier, he gave Rogers a USB Drive, obtained by Black Widow at the retaking of the Lemurian Star, which Rogers hid in a vending machine at Fury's hospital. Alexander Pierce questioned Rogers in order to get information on the matter, but was unsuccessful.

Fight in the Triskelion Elevator
Leaving his meeting with Alexander Pierce, Captain America stepped into an elevator, which slowly filled with the members of STRIKE and other agents. One of the members, Jack Rollins, attacked Rogers, and all the others followed suit. However, Rogers quickly defeated all the agents except Brock Rumlow, an ally who helped him in retaking the Lemurian Star, who continued trying to stop Rogers but was also knocked out when he was thrown at the ceiling.

Escape from the Triskelion
Jasper Sitwell, who oversaw the battle via surveillance camera, sent a Quinjet to eliminate Captain America, who had escaped the elevator by smashing the glass wall and landing on the main floor of the building. Rogers took his motorcycle and escaped the Triskelion, dodging a titanium wall which rose to block his path. The ordered Quinjet appeared and attacked him. He evaded the aircraft and destroyed it before getting away. Alexander Pierce deemed him a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D. for hiding valuable information on Nick Fury's assassination.

The USB Drive
Captain America rushed to the hospital to get the USB Drive, but found it was gone. He found out that Natasha Romanoff had information regarding Nick Fury's death. Romanoff told Rogers about the Winter Soldier and their brief encounter in 2009.

The STRIKE team located Rogers and Romanoff at a shopping mall and started to pursue them. While finding out information on what was inside the USB in an internet cafe, Romanoff and Rogers failed to find anything. They were able to trace the location where the USB was written, leading them to New Jersey. Meanwhile, as Rogers and Romanoff left the mall, the STRIKE team struggled to find them, as the two discovered their pursuers and avoided them.

Attack on Camp Lehigh
Captain America and Natasha Romanoff stole a truck and drove to New Jersey, where they found the location of the USB Drive's writer. It was revealed to be Camp Lehigh, a training facility prior to Roger's dosage of the Super Soldier Serum. They encountered a vast room full of ancient computers. When Romanoff clipped the USB Drive to the old machines, a consciousness awoke and revealed itself to be Arnim Zola, who, in 1972 during Operation Paperclip received a terminal diagnosis and passed away. However, he had his mind transferred into a series of computers and stayed loyal to HYDRA. Zola noted that Rogers and Romanoff were standing in his brain. He explained how he was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. and also how he regrew the long-defeated organization HYDRA inside. Before revealing any more information, an airstrike was called by HYDRA, annihilating Zola. Rogers and Romanoff had barely enough time to find cover and barely escaped. Brock Rumlow searched the area to no avail and decided to call in the Winter Soldier.

Aftermath
Captain America and Natasha Romanoff looked up one reliable ally: Sam Wilson. He revealed his past as a USAF Special Operations Pararescueman and the three stole a mechanized suit from Fort Meade. The trio found Jasper Sitwell with Senator Stern and interrogated him atop a building, forcing him to reveal the secrets of Project Insight just minutes before his unexpected death.

The Battle of Washington, D.C. began as the Winter Soldier and HYDRA finally caught up to Rogers, who knew the truth about HYDRA within S.H.I.E.L.D. and would announce it during the Battle at the Triskelion.