Viper's Bite: The Other Rogers

7.

Viper had gotten tired of trying to avoid Rumlow for the last sixteen months. It was obvious he wanted something specific from her but that was the only thing that she had left of herself. The only thing she had a choice about in her life. She hadn't even been able to voice to him that she was inexperienced and didn't want anything to do with that with him. He hadn't been pushy or rude, but his puppy eyes were getting on her last nerve. Today was the day she was needed on the control room again. She had been instructed to arrive at noon for a potential new job. She wasn't sure what that meant but she decided if it meant going outside and possibly seeing real people, not just military robotic type people, it was a good thing.

Before entering the room, she found herself walking alongside Soldat. They both nodded to the other while still concealed and walked into the meeting. As soon as they closed the door behind them, Pierce spoke up. "We have a mission that we have been putting together for quite some time. This person has been a problematic person for a couple years now. I think it is time that we figure out which of you two is most capable at this point in time of handling this. It is a sensitive mission and we can't be tied to it. You will be going in and neutralizing the threat, period. No exfil and no assist. Find your own people and get it done. Do you think either of you could handle that?" Both Soldat and Viper nodded.

"Good because your first task to prove you are capable of taking out Captain America is to best the other in a fight, here and now."

Viper stood frozen, had he said Captain America? Wasn't he one of the good guys? She couldn't kill Steve. Then she realized she didn't know who Steve was. That was the worst part for her. Not knowing how she knew things she shouldn't know. What had happened to her mind. She was evading the blows that Soldat was leveling at her but she was too distracted to throw any of her own.

Suddenly she was on her back, looking up at him as he pressed a knife blade to her throat. He had won. He was going to kill Steve Rogers. Her eyes must have given something away because his seemed puzzled and confused as he looked at her again. He moved the blade from her throat and allowed his fingers to gently trace the red line that was left from the pressure applied to the area. His touch was gentle as his eyebrows scrunched and his pupils dilated when his fingers brushed the sensitive skin where she swallowed. 

Pierce and RUmlow shared a look before clearing their throats. Pierce smiled warmly at the pair. "I guess we have our answer. Also, you two are to be supervised any time you are around one another. We can't have you two distracting each other like this again. Was this the first time something like this has happened between you two?"

Viper knew she would have to be the one to speak due to the style of Soldat's mask. "We haven't fraternized if that is what you are referring to. We haven't even seen the other's face before." 

While Pierce was nodding and listening to Viper, Rumlow was watching the Winter Soldier. His head tilted when he heard Viper's voice. The way that his body tensed when she said fraternized, the hard stare he gave Rumlow when she said they hadn't seen the other's face. Rumlow recognized the problem with the behavior but needed to not have the two super soldiers in the room when he addressed it. 

When Pierce dismissed them, sending Soldat to the training area to ensure he was indeed ready for this mission and Viper to her room to shower and change before dinner; Rumlow alerted him to wait. Turning to face his most trusted soldier, Pierce eyed Rumlow carefully. "What is it?"

"He likes her Sir. I don't know when it happened but it wasn't just a heat of the moment thing for him. His body language read like an open book as she spoke to you."

Pierce nodded and decided it was a good idea to have an incentive to keep the Winter Soldier in check. "This is a good thing, means he won't just up and disappear if his feelings for her are genuine."

Rumlow and Pierce discuss the best way to handle the situation and how to keep Soldat under control when they watch the pair bump into each other on the security feed. Both are still covered  but it is obvious there is chemistry. Pierce, being the only one to know the identities of both assassins laughs at the situation. Rumlow simply cocks his head intrigued by the innocence of the interaction. "I don't think she has any experience Boss. Look at how she regards him. Reminds me of grade school flirting on the playground."