The Winter Wraith

Chapter 9

Adina scanned a few bookshelves before she went to talk with Mr. Lee. She hadn't planned on returning her books in order to borrow another book today, although she did have her books with her in her backpack that she always carried around with her.

As she went from section to section, she noticed that the man with the baseball cap appeared to be loosely following her. She wasn't sure if she was just being too paranoid, so she continued on her way to the librarian. While she greeted the elderly man, she discreetly checked her shoulder. The suspicious man was a couple of yards away and was pretending to check out the back cover of a book.

Adina felt that something wasn't right. This time, she would follow her gut instinct. She bid farewell to Mr. Lee and thanked him again for the comic. This may be the last time she sees him. It all depends on the outcome of this situation. Even if she makes it out, she knew she would have to leave this city and not draw any attention to Mr. Lee, lest he gets hurt by association with her.

She walked away from the wooden counter with her head ducked down. She did a quick scan of the library. There were a few civilians, but it was quieter than normal. Adina broke off her path and cut between two long bookshelves as she noticed a bulky white man with blonde hair.

It dawned on her. The man with the hat pulled low over his face was the same man who was flying with mechanical wings in her last fight. She only put this together after seeing the blonde man, since she had not gotten a good look at the bird-like man. It was blatantly obvious who the blond man was, so she could guess his accomplice's identity.

She had seen these two men fight, so she knew she had to get out of there fast. She could take them if she had to, but she would prefer to take the easy route out by escaping.

Adina gaged the distance between her, the door, and the two men. She slowly went down on one knee and pretended to tie her shoe. Instead, she grabbed her knife that was tucked into her combat boot, and slipped it into her coat pocket. She then walked at a normal pace to the door, with her hand in the coat pocket, tightly gripping the knife. She behaved normally, as to not let the men know she was on to them.

She opened one of the front doors and climbed back down the short steps. It was around lunchtime, so the sidewalks were busy, as well as the streets. Adina was easily able to blend into the crowd. She checked her shoulder as she turned the corner of the sidewalk. As expected, the two men were following her. She saw the blond one talk into what appeared to be a comm, and she knew she would soon have more company.

Adina's plan was to lose Captain America and his partner by taking many twists and turns and getting them confused by the mass amount of people. Then, she would take some shortcuts and probably go in areas she wasn't supposed to be in. Once she was sure they were gone, she would immediately get on a public transportation or carjack someone and get far away from this city. She would probably even get out of the country, and continent at that. She would not allow herself to be captured.

As Adina passed another corner, she saw that a red-headed woman in a leather jacket was also tailing her. After a few more minutes of walking, Adina realized she couldn't easily shake these annoying people. She would have to bring the fight to them, then.

She sped up. By this point, they would know she was on to them. There was no more hiding it. The red-head was gaining on her. Adina was done being hunted, and she was ready to take matters into her own hands. She abruptly ducked into an alley and walked further into it. She then channeled her powers and teleported midstride. Now on the rooftop of a tall building, Adina paused a moment before continuing with her plan.

"Cap, the Enhanced is gone. Wilson, we need you in the air."

She glanced over the edge to see the woman in the alley talking into her comm. Adina then walked to the other side of the building, a few yards from the edge. She took a running start and leaped to a shorter building, softening the fall with a summersault.