watch your back

chapter 13

natasha was pacing up and down the room where they usually had their meetings. now there wasn't a meeting, it was just nat, yelena and tony trying to figure out where florence could've gone.
"and that's really all you saw?", nat asked stark.
"i already told you twice. it's all i saw. a man and a woman and they were as fast as she was. faster, apparently, if they managed to catch her. and their flashes were blue, not orange like florences."
"do we even know what she was doing outside?", yelena asked.
natasha shook her head. "we don't know anything." she rubbed her eyes and leaned against the big glass wall from which you could look down into the big living room. this shouldn't have happened. she ought to have had a better eye on the girl. she didn't even know how to defend herself, how was she supposed to get out of wherever these people took her? who would even want to take her? wasn't there just one person that knew she existed and had a hint about where she could be?
"it has to be malum. he has to want her back."
"malum?", yelena asked, looking up. she had been staring at the ground, brows arched and a frown, thinking of a solution.
"the guy that held all these kids captive. the head of the operation."
„do we know how many kids there are?" that was tony, the wrinkles on his forehead showing more than usual.
„no we don't. why?"
„because why would he come for florence? there have to be others out there that are easier to get to."
„maybe he already has them.", yelena threw in.
„no, no, no.", nat said, suddenly remembering her talk with william. „it's something else."
what had he said again? something about florence being different? that he made an exception with her?
„what is it?", tony asked. his shirt was wrinkled  and he kept running his fingers through his hair. he was sitting on one of the office chairs that he had rolled over because he considered them more comfortable.
„william, the first boy that we caught, he told me that malum made an exception for florence. he apparently endangered his whole operation. but he wouldn't tell me any more. and she wouldn't either." nats voice got quieter to the end, in regret of not having insisted on an answer. but it was so hard to focus on anything with her. you were always so close to scaring her off.
„what do you mean?", yelena asked.
„i don't know what i mean. all i know is that there has to be something about florence that malum wants. something the others don't  have."
„we have to find out more about her background.", tony said, determined.
natasha nodded and with a queasy feeling in their stomach they all got to work.

„this is my home.", peter said, arms wide open, in a presenting matter, and a grin on his face.
jackson carefully stepped inside, scanning everything within his eyesight curiously. it smelled like a faint mixture rosemary and strawberry and the visitor had to be careful not to trip over a stack of shoes scattered over the hallway.
„we have the living room and the kitchen   here.", parker said, guiding his new friend through the apartment.
„this", he said, putting his hands on the back pillows of the couch as if he were to advertise it, „will be your new bed. if may allows it, of course."
jackson felt a little uncomfortable at this remark, remembering how much he was invading someone else's space. but then again he didn't have much of a choice. he needed somewhere to sleep. he couldn't stay on the streets any longer. so he followed peter wordlessly on his tour.
„here we have my room.", peter pointed into a messy room with a bunk bed and, oddly, a lot of lego.
„yeah, yeah, i build stuff with that.", the boy tried to play it off, getting a little awkward, as he realized his companions expression.
„no, it's cool.", jackson replied. his gaze roamed about the room, a sting of jealousy in his chest. peters clothes were lying around, there were posters on the wall of things he didn't recognize and there were traces of him living everywhere. his personality was scattered all over the room. jackson didn't even know what he liked or disliked.
but, not noticing jackson's envy, peter had already gone off to show him the bathroom and the door behind which mays room was and he hurried after him.
„so, may should be off work in about an hour.", peter was standing awkwardly in the hallway. „uh... do you want some food? or something to drink?"
jackson nodded diffidently. he didn't really expect peter to be so helpful when he had asked. really, he hadn't expected anything. in general. from anyone. life hadn't been exactly kind to him.
„i can make scrambled eggs, i think.", peter smiled apologetically and jackson wished he could've said something, anything, to tell him that really he was doing more than enough. but he just kept his mouth shut and leaned against the kitchen counter. it was a nice apartment, really. the kitchen was rather small but organized. there were only two bowls standing on the counter, probably from their breakfast and there were a few dishes in the sink but other than that it looked really clean. the wainscot, that was applied in the hallway and living room, was a worn off kinda brown and the wall above colored in a darker pastel green, which he thought made a homey combination. there were pictures of peter and other people hung up everywhere, mostly with another woman that must be his aunt may. the couch that he could look at from the counter he was leaning against, had a faded flower pattern and looked so comfortable, he wanted to sleep off the tiredness he had gathered the last ten years.