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. . . an engagement & a kiss
ESME stood on the other side of Steve as the three walked in some mall they came across. Esme had used her shoplifting skills and got both Natasha and Steve new outfits to help them blend in, as well as grabbing a fake pair of reading glasses for herself ━━ Steve wasn't the happiest about the shoplifting but let it slide that once.
"First rule of going on the run is don't run, walk." Natasha told Steve, as he was the least calm out of the three. Natasha and Esme were used to having to blend in with the crowd to not get spotted, but Steve had a very recognisable face.
"If I run in these shoes they're gonna fall off." Steve said as they passed a fountain.
"Second rule about going on the run, try not to look like yourself." Esme shot back as she ran her fingers through her hair, deciding that it was best to use it to hide her face.
The trio walked toward the closest tech store, so they could use their laptops to see what was on the drive. Hence the mall.
"The drive has a Level Six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are." Natasha informed Steve as the two watched Esme type away on a laptop.
"Being in a shopping centre will help us the smallest bit." Esme added, not looking up from the laptop. Hoping that Natasha and Steve will keep a lookout for her.
"How much time will we have?" Steve asked the two as he looked around them, trying to keep an eye out for other agents.
"About nine minutes from now." Esme said once she plugged in the hard drive. It was quiet for a few minutes as Esme typed away, hoping to get some answers for them.
"Fury was right about that ship." Esme commented as she read some of the things that were on the screen. "Someone's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some kind of AI." She informed the two, as they watched the screen with her. "It keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."
"Can you override it?" Steve asked as he looked over her shoulder to look at the screen. Esme couldn't help but scoff at his question, instead of answering.
"She's one of the best." Natasha complemented the brunette as she kept working.
"The person who made this is only slightly better than me." Esme hummed. "Emphasis on slightly."
"Try running a tracer." Natasha suggested as they were running out of time. "This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't━" Natasha started to explain but Esme cut her off.
"If we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from. I like what you're thinking, Nat." Esme smiled as she did just as her friend suggested.
"Can I help you guys with anything?" A salesperson asked the trio, making them turn to him in surprise.
"Oh, no." Natasha said, getting straight into a lie. "My fiancée and our friend were just helping me with some honeymoon destinations." Natasha lied as she pulled Esme close to her.
"Right. They're getting married." Steve went along with it as Esme just shot the man a bright smile, before turning back to the laptop.
"Congratulations." The man said to Natasha and Esme. "Where are you guys thinking about going?" The man tried to look at the laptop, but Steve and Natasha blocked him.
"New Jersey." Steve said without thinking, as he saw it on the screen. Esme scrunched her face up at that thought. If she were to go on a real honeymoon it would be someone she hadn't been yet ━━ or a place she doesn't remember being to.
"Oh." The salesperson said surprised, as Steve just nodded along. "I have the exact same glasses." He added as looked closer at Steve.
"Wow, you two are practically twins." Natasha commented as she watched Esme type away on the laptop, looking at the screen every now and then.
"Yeah, I wish." He laughed. "Specimen." He added jokingly as he gestured to Steve's body.
Technically, not wrong. Esme thought as she watched the map zoom in closer.
"If you guys need anything, I've been Aaron." The salesperson said before he left.
"Bye, Aaron." Esme called out without taking her eyes off the laptop.
"We're almost out of time, Es." Natasha whispered to the girl, as she looked around.
"Relax, Nat, I've got it." Esme smiled to herself as their final location was shown on screen. Wheaton, New Jersey. "See." Esme said proudly as Natasha and Steve looked at the screen.
"You know it?" Natasha asked Steve as he looked at the location on the screen.
"I used to." Steve answered vaguely. "Let's go." Esme just nodded as she took out the hard drive and slid it into her bra, getting a strange look from Steve as she fixed her bra, so it was comfortable again.
"Now no one can get it, unless I want them to." Esme shrugged as they made their way out of the shop, with Steve being between them once again.
They weren't able to make it very far before they spotted agents, looking for them.
"Standard tac team. Two behind, two across, and two coming straight at us." Steve told the two agents as they walked towards the exit they came through. "If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro."
"Shut up and put your arm around us." Natasha told the Captain. "Laugh at something I said." After telling them to do so, Steve and Esme started to laugh ━━ Esme's coming off a little more genuine as she's had more practice in her life of laughing at things that weren't funny.
The three were able to slip past the two that were coming straight towards them, as they didn't even look at them.
The trio didn't run into anyone else until they hit the escalators going down, where they spotted Rumlow.
"Esme." Natasha said, getting the girls attention. "You need to kiss me." She added once she got the girls attention.
"What?" Steve asked, while Esme spotted Rumlow over Natasha's shoulder.
"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable." Natasha went to explain to Steve, but they were running out of time.
"Yes, they do." Steve nodded. "But Esme has a━" Steve wasn't able to finish his sentence as Rumlow was going to be right next to them, so Esme pulled her friend in for kiss.
Once Steve said Rumlow go pass the two woman pulled away from each other.
"Are you still uncomfortable?" Natasha teased Steve before she pulled Esme down the escalator.
"It's not exactly the word I would use." Steve replied as he followed the two women.
