Finding Our Way

They Actually Make a Pretty Good Team

Jill lands with a thud on the mat for the fifth time that morning. What the hell was she thinking to tell Bucky to not take it easy on her? She lays there for a second trying to think about what Nat had trained her on. She knows she can take Bucky down. She just needs to come up with a plan.

Bucky extends his right arm to Jill to help her off the mat when the perfect plan comes to her. As Bucky lifts her up, she takes the opportunity to stand only a couple of inches away from him. She makes eye contact with him, slowly drops her eyes to his lips, lightly runs her tongue over her lower lip, and then when he is distracted, she kicks his legs out from under him. He lands with a thud on the mat. She just looks down at him with a smile.

"That was mean, doll."

"I would apologize but I am not sorry at all," she says with a smile on her face. "Come on, get up. I need shower and food before I have to be at the GRC."

"How about you shower while I fix lunch," he says.

"Perfect!"

Thirty minutes later she is freshly showered and comes out to the kitchen wearing black dress pants, burgundy silk shirt, black blazer, and the black ankle boots from Sharon. She and Bucky share a great lunch laughing and talking until it is time for her to finish getting ready. With her hair and makeup done, she walks to the living room where she puts a knife inside each of the boots, her guns in her harnesses on each hip. Bucky hands her the comms earpiece. She puts it in her ear.

"So Sam is on his way. We are going to find a coffee shop near the GRC to hang out in. If you get into any trouble, just call and we can be there in a couple of minutes," says Bucky.

Jill sees the look of uneasiness on Bucky's face. She reaches out and takes his right hand and squeezes it.

"Thank you for this morning. The training session has helped a lot."

"I'm glad. I don't like you being in there alone while Sam and I are outside. Just remember you aren't going to be able to distract Karli with your lips."

"I know. It's about knowing your opponent's weakness. Hers is definitely not my lips," she says with a smirk.

Bucky doesn't really have a response for that. Jill smiles at the look of shock on his face and tells him bye and leaves. After the door closes, Bucky runs his hand through his hair. She is definitely going to be the death of him. He locks up her apartment and goes across the hall to his to shower and get ready while he waits for Sam. Once Sam arrives the two head over to the coffee shop across the street from the GRC building.

Inside the GRC building, Jill checks in with Agent Hodge and takes her station. She stands in the meeting room watching the whole room as the members of the GRC argue about how to handle the hand Karli is forcing on them for the next few hours. Suddenly, the power goes out in the room. The red emergency lights come on and Jill can see all of the screens and computers are on the fritz. She presses on her comms calling out to Sam and Bucky but doesn't get a response. She pulls out her cell and sees that it is dead. Fuck, she thinks to herself. They must have fried all electronic devices.

She moves over to where the nearest group of officials are standing to be ready to protect them or move them at a moment's notice. She tries calling Sam and Bucky a few more times over the comms without any success.

Almost immediately after the GRC gets attacked, Sam and Bucky's phones light up with a message from an unknown number letting them know the Flag Smashers have cut power and taken out the electronics to the GRC. Sam gets up and heads to the skies in his new Captain America uniform from the Wakandans. Bucky gets up and walks to the GRC building past an NYPD checkpoint. He is surprised when he is let through with just a "Sergeant Barnes" and a nod.