Betrayal - A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Chapter 8

The next morning, Ava's alarm brought her out of her dream world. She squinted into the sunlight shining through her window. She still felt intoxicated from last night. She traced her lips with her fingertips in disbelief. She could still feel James' lips on hers, the heady sensation in her abdomen, her chest. For a moment she closed her eyes and sank into the memory. But why had he broken off the kiss so suddenly? Had he regretted kissing her? Or had he maybe not liked the kiss at all?

She opened her eyes again, ready to face reality once more. She reached for her phone and sat up with a thump. Natasha had tried to call her several times and had left quite a few messages. Panic spread through her and her mind immediately wandered to worst case scenarios.

With a shaky hand, she called Natasha back.

"God, Ava! Where have you been? I was so worried!" Natasha shouted at her through the receiver. She sounded visibly upset and tired.

"I had the date, remember? Did something happen?" Now Ava was less panicked and more confused.

"I thought you were going to get back to me after the date. And then I didn't hear from you all night. I thought something had happened to you."

"I was with James, what was supposed to happen to me?" Ava didn't understand anything anymore. It was only because of Natasha that she had met James in the first place. Where had this sudden dislike come from?

"That's what I was worried about. But I'm glad you're okay. I have to go now, sorry, work is calling. Love you sweetie." And with that Natasha hung up again.

Ava had to make herself a coffee first. It was still too early to worry about Natasha's strange behaviour. Besides, she had actually hoped that James had texted to her, but that wasn't the case. The disappointment she felt seemed silly to her, she felt like a 14 year old girl having her first crush again.

As part of her morning routine, Ava checked Twitter next. At least there was good news here, the person with the conspiracy account had replied to her direct message and agreed to meet up with Ava, later today. Ava couldn't believe her luck. Firstly, she now had a new lead and secondly, this way she didn't have to spend her day off thinking about James and the kiss.

She ate breakfast, got ready and then was out the door, on her way to the William Cullen Bryant statue in Bryant Park where she was going to meet the mysterious Twitter person. Ava was glad that the person had suggested a public place to meet, anything else seemed too frivolous.

She waited for half an hour on a bench by the statue and had almost given up hope when a man in his thirties walked purposefully towards her. She didn't know what she had expected, but not this. The man had brown, slightly wavy hair, wore glasses and was tall. He was certainly better looking than she had expected. Her idea of someone with a Twitter account about conspiracy theories was full of prejudice and she felt bad about that.

The man sat down next to her and kept his eyes forward. Maybe Ava had been mistaken and the man was just out here for a walk? Ava waited a moment and her wait was rewarded.

"I'm Bruce. I own the Twitter account." He continued to stare straight ahead.

"I'm Ava, nice to meet you," Ava put on a smile but he still didn't look at her.

"Why do you want to know more about the vans? Do you work for the government?", only now did he turn his gaze to Ava, his eyes had become slits.

"Um, no, I'm an intern at the New York Times. I'm working on an article about what is happening, since not a single newspaper seems to be interested in the story. I think there's more to it than a sudden popularity of black vans, though." Bruce's look unsettled Ava and now she was the one staring straight ahead.

"That's good. A journalist can blow the whole turd wide open. And I'm not surprised no one's reporting it either. The cops haven't released any statements yet – not even about the murder. Someone's trying to cover the whole thing up," Bruce mentioned this detail casually, as if talking about murder cases was the most normal thing in the world, "So what have you found out so far?"

Ava was starting to get bothered by this question. First James, now this Bruce. Ava looked at him again, "What murder?" She had been following the news closely, but not once had there been any mention of a murder.

Bruce looked at her aghast, "And she calls herself a journalist," he shook his head and Ava felt personally attacked by his statement, "Girl, what do you know so far?"

Bruce did seem a little loopy, but Ava didn't think he had bad intentions. Besides, he seemed to know more than she did, so she decided to lay out the few clues she could gather so far.

"I know that the black vans are taking deliveries of some kind to the warehouses a little outside of town. What they store in them, I don't know, but they seem to do it regularly, so they're always getting new deliveries or constantly manufacturing new stuff – maybe both. I was able to take a picture of one of the men, but the photo didn't turn out very well." Ava decided not to mention Steve and his attempts to improve the picture. If she told Bruce that one of the police knew about her research, he certainly wouldn't tell her anything he knew. If there was one thing she had learned from his Twitter account, it was that he didn't trust authority, especially not the police.

"Well, it's not much, but it's a start. Here," Bruce held out a small piece of paper with a number on it, "She'll be able to help you with the picture. She'll also tell you everything important about the murder case. Just tell her you got the number from Bruce. Bruce Banner." And with that, Bruce got up from the bench and left.

Weird guy, Ava thought to herself, but she was very grateful for his help. Or at least she hoped that the number really was a help to her. After all, Steve had already tried to improve the picture.

Back in her flat, Ava immediately sat down in front of her research wall. The number Bruce had given her now also found its place on the wall. Satisfied, Ava looked at her clues so far. The smile faded, however, when she noticed that the photo of her stranger, enhanced by Steve, was missing. She was sure that yesterday the picture had hung pinned in its usual place on the wall. Now only the pin hung there. Her stomach dropped and she felt sick. Could someone have been in her flat? Maybe the stranger from her photo? Maybe he had seen her when she had taken the photo after all. And now he had found out her address. Her mind raced.

She took a deep breath and sat down again. She concentrated solely on breathing in and out. After a few minutes, her heartbeat had calmed down and she was able to think clearly again. God, Ava, you're already losing your mind, surely the picture just fell down and tomorrow when you're cleaning up you'll find it in some corner and you'll be laughing at your insane paranoia, she laughed out loud once, feeling incredibly exhausted and in desperate need of a distraction.

Ava fumbled for her phone and looked at the clock. It was just eight o'clock, still early enough to do something. She wondered if Natasha was off work yet. It had been two days since her first day on the Taskforce and Ava had been so caught up thinking about James that she had completely forgotten to ask Natasha about it. Curiosity gripped her, maybe Natasha already had any insider tips to share with Ava? Ava pressed Natasha's number and waited.

"Hello?" a male voice answered. Ava froze.