Outlaws

Chapter Eleven

Steve pulls the car up alongside the curb in front of my home, after looking out the window for a moment he glances over at me to confirm it's the right place. I turn my gaze to the building immediately feeling as though something isn't quite right. I meet Steve's gaze and he takes in my concerned expression, he nods knowingly. As he gets out of the car and retrieves his shield, I follow his lead. My fists clench by my sides after closing the door, discomfort fills me without anything on me other than my keys to get inside. We make our way towards the entrance, my eyes scanning the street to see if anything seems out of place; my unease grows when I see nothing out of the ordinary. I suspect that if anybody has broken in, they are long gone by now. Given the fact that I've been gone several days, they've had ample time to get in and get out.

As I turn the lock and open the door, Steve stops me from going in with a hand on my shoulder. He moves in front of me, bringing the shield up in front of his chest and swings the door wide open. There is no movement or sound from inside the apartment, but we pause for a moment to listen. There is a rustling from the wind in the curtain of an open window but nothing else. Steve steps in through the threshold and approaches the first room towards the end of the entryway. He doesn't have to say anything for me to know we are clearing the place. I press myself quietly up against the wall as he reaches the doorway, quickly looking in the room. He takes a step inside and pauses before he signals that it's clear. Relieved I enter the room and make my way to the desk where I pull out my old standard issue M9 handgun from the drawer. Some of the tension in my body seeps out as I quickly run through getting the gun loaded and ready before brushing past Steve to clear the rest of the place.

Together we clear the rest of the rooms finding no one, but somebody had definitely been here. I begin to notice a few things slightly out of place, but the biggest clue is the single window being left open. I watch the breeze rustling the curtains, the fact that it's left open leads me to reassess the intruders timetable. We might have just missed them, or they are just that sloppy.

"Do you think this was Hydra?" I ask Steve as I lower the gun clicking it into safety.

"I would say so," he sighs with a note of disappointment as though he should have predicted this would happen, "I wonder what they were looking for."

"My guess would be something to prove my connection to Barnes. They're out of luck though because I really only met him less than a week or so ago. Are Hydra always this obvious?" I ask as I look out of the open window to the street below.

"No, they aren't," Steve rests the shield on the kitchen table, "which is very strange. The operative they sent to the café wasn't some standalone hydra fanatic, they were ready with trained countermeasures. So why are they leaving such sloppy work behind?"

"Feels like a breadcrumb trail leading to a trap to me."

I feel the vibration of my phone ringing in my back pocket and reach to grab it. I look at the caller ID and then to Steve signalling I need to take it as I answer. He nods and leans against the table, losing himself in thought, no doubt trying to piece together the puzzle that is unfolding around us.

"Hey Mack, now's not a great time-"

"I know, can you wave at your clock for me please?"

"Uh yeah," I look up at my clock and wave awkwardly, "why?"

"I was just checking in on your place and noticed the footage was on a time loop right before you walked in."

"Wait, you have a camera in my clock?" I ask shocked; but honestly not surprised.

"Of course, somebody has to keep an eye on the time," Mackie half-heartedly jokes , "Not to mention keeping an eye on you as well, seeing as you are rubbish at staying in contact."