Sharp Edges

Chapter Fifteen

Steve sat at a large table as he looked over a few different house blueprints. He wanted to help James and Yelena rebuild, and even though they'd been there for about a week, he knew Yelena was getting restless.

Yelena walked from conference room to conference room, searching for Steve until she finally set her eyes on this. "This place is like a maze," she observed aloud as she walked into the room.

He glanced up at her and smiled. "Yeah. It can be a lot to get used to for a little bit." He slid the blueprints over towards her. "What do you think about these?" he asked her. "There's three different ones."

She leaned over the table and set each of the blueprints in a line to begin to look them over. "More bedrooms would be good," she mused, counting the rooms on the different pieces of paper. "With a master suite... it's so strange to think about these things."

"You can have whatever you want," Steve told her. "I have money put aside... and I found Buck's money he had too. It was in his sister's name. He just has to sign papers to get it back."

"We have money... I just wouldn't suggest you ask how we got it if you like to keep your nose clean, Captain," she replied with that sideways smirk of hers. "Thank you for your help with this, though. And I know James is happy to be close again."

"Yeah. I've missed him. It honestly feels weird... being down the hall."

"It's got to feel strange. You... thought he was dead for a long time." She could understand how odd this all must feel. "You're still his best friend. His brother. But he's still learning himself too."

Steve nodded as he sat in one of the chairs at the table. "I feel the same way. I still have a hard time with some things."

"Me too. That's going around a lot in this place," she observed candidly. Before her eyes returned to the blueprints, she turned them to her watch. "I'm not sure where James is but he should be here soon."

"Is he gone?" Steve asked. "Where's Cara?"

"With Barton," she answered, furrowing her brows in thought. "James went to the store to get a few things for Cara. She needs slightly different things than adults." She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, only to realize in that moment that James still didn't have a phone of his own. "He's been gone... a few hours now..."

Steve turned to Yelena, concerned. "Hours??"

Her jaw set as she felt her stomach sink. "I don't like this..." she murmured, standing up out of her chair. "He should be back. I have to go look for him."

"Yelena wait." Steve stood and quickly turned to one of the screens nearby and began pressing buttons. "Is he wearing anything I can track? Anything at all? Did he take something with him?"

She turned on her heel, focusing on his question like her life, or James's, depended on it. "Keys. He has the keys to one of your vehicles," she recalled quickly, swiftly making her way around the table to be closer to the screen. "I'm sure Stark tracks that."

Steve nodded. "Exactly. Do you know which vehicle he took?"

"It was a Range Rover," she recalled, crossing her arms tightly across her chest as she watched him work. James wouldn't do this, he wouldn't scare them like this. If he wasn't back, something had gotten in the way.

After pushing a few more buttons, a map showed up on the screen. "It's... sitting in a parking lot. Looks like a grocery store."

"Then I'm going to that parking lot," she announced as she turned on a dime to make her way out of the conference room. "Have Barton keep Cara safe until I get back. Don't let her out of anyone's sight. If this is what I think it is..."