Red Shadow~ Steve Rogers

Chapter 1: The Avalanche of Oh Shit

The freezing air blows through Elara's greasy hair as she bounds down the white frost ridden mountain path. Narrowly avoiding slipping for the second time, she ponders her decision to chase the burly man. "Why do they always run? Can't it ever just be easy?" This is the fourth time this week, five flights, three trains, and two stolen cars later the clean-up job is nearly finished. Within the next few minutes it will be done and Elara's mission will be complete, despite the minor slip-ups she had- the accidental voyeur to what should've been her last assassination- and the goat mishap, the mission pulled off without a hitch. Until she met Jokubas Bagdonus, the Secretary of transportation- which to Elara was ironic due to the fact he was a hundred pounds overweight and clearly relied on transportation too much (hence why he tried to escape from her via helicopter twice). But even so, he was able to outrun Elara for a bit, which she would claim was due to her excitement in 'the hunt', but the truth is she was exhausted and this was wasting her precious time.

Elara despite popular belief wasn't all powerful and did have her flaws- one of them being pushing herself too hard. Her father had given her over a month to complete the annihilation mission for the Gastonian Cabinet (after their refusal to join in hands with Hydra, her father thought it best to wipe the slate and start the proposal over with a brand new cabinet), but in a desperate attempt to impress her father and gain his praise she decided to complete the mission in a week, and despite the two mishaps she had done a good job with the assassinations, except for when the Secretary of Education saw her dispose of the chief of staff (without her prior knowledge).

Of course she hadn't told anyone of her mess-up and so her main objective was achieved but with it came the clean-up job. The Secretary of Education of course told his guards who in turn told other politicians and it snowballed into a big problem- or as Elara would call it an ' avalanche of oh shit. Eventually with the help of her 'BHBFL" (Best Hydra Brat For Life), Everett Eliard, she was able to find out just how far her avalanche had reached. Everett Eliard with his technology and computer expertise was able to trace all phone calls, emails, camera footage and the whole Digital footprint of the Secretary of Education with ease. Everett compiled a list, and the hunt began.

Everett was the eyes and ears of most of Elara's operations, as the son of a high ranking Hydra officer and being 2 years her senior the two basically grew up together and had very much in common. Growing up Elara often joked around about Everett's early obsession with computers and called him the "computer wiz kid", which was accurate when he was 5'3, scrawny and she could snap in half, but now at 5'10 with broad shoulders and a strong physique he began to resemble a "computer wiz man", but Elara wouldn't admit that, so in turn she decided to drop the kid part all together. Which left him as "The Computer Wiz" and that basically stuck with him.

Taking the throwing knife off her thigh, she spun it around a few times for added flair. Of course she could use a gun since they were far from civilization and nobody would hear the shot, but Elara, as many know, is a sucker for dramatics.

"Come on, if you let me kill you now instead of later I'll spare your kids!"

As the Burly man didn't come out of wherever he was hiding, Elara began to grow pissed. Her eyelashes now mini icicles fluttered and she huffed an angry hot breath into the air creating a cloud of vapor.

"Seriously it's only you I want, you're kids don't know about any of the mess I made, so let's keep them out of it. Don't make me hold them hostage so you get out of hiding! Stop being a coward and show your face!" Elara screams into the empty air, her voice falling upon seemingly deaf ears, until a figure begins to emerge. As the snow gives way to the presence of the man she lets out a sigh of relief, it's finally over.

"How will I know you will keep your word?" The short plump man demands.

"Well It's not like you'll be around to know if I keep it, but if it's any consolation I never lie," Elara states and she releases the throwing dagger in her right hand. The dagger cuts through the dense air and plants itself between the tie and the lapels of the man's chest. The White Shirt turns red, and just like that Elara's job is done. The only thing she regrets is lying to a dying man.