Bruja

⠀↳⠀2.3

( N i n e )

Up above in the clouds of Munich, Germany, an alarm blared in the plane.

Torres passed by the uniformed trio after looking down at his wristwatch and warned there was a minute to drop off.

Sam was seated in his Falcon gear staring at the bionic-armed man across from him. Bucky stared back, his leather jacket being the center of attention of his dark attire. Maria sat a few seats over from the same bench, her uniform different from the photos seen earlier.

No longer in a red and black traditional dress, she opted for a pair of pants in the same satisfying shade of red. Holsters belted her hips and decorated her thighs, providing extra pockets for her smoke bombs and a red power she used to stun her opponents.

Keeping the tradition of black combat boots with the extra height she liked, she upgraded them by trading laces for gold zippers for easy slip-on.

Tying her uniform all together was her leather jacket, a two-toned statement piece. The black vest had a red lining that matched the sleeves, following the outline of the pockets, the collar, and the hem. Two more vertical lines ran from the chest pockets to the hem, and, like her shoes, a gold zipper was used while gold buttons decorated the tips of the collar.

The best part was the back of the vest: a gold embroidery of her signature sugar skull design with shading coming from behind that faded out into scattered dots. It gave the illusion of the skull being the sun shining its powerful rays. The thread used shined against the light, giving it a metallic look.

Zipping her jacket over her black cotton tank top, Maria looked between the two. Other than the humming of the engine, it was oddly quiet. She expected a plan to be spoken into the air by now, but no words were exchanged—only blue eyes staring intensely into dark brown ones, not once blinking.

She snapped her fingers to break their stare. "Híjole, if it's going to be like this the whole time then we need to reconsider a few things."

Sam broke his stare by blinking for the first time. His eyes moved to hers, her presence reminding him they were on a mission. Without a word, he went over to a crate that contained necessary items, such as his goggles and earpieces for listening and communicating.

Bucky followed to grab an earpiece for himself and decided to grab another for Maria. "So, what's our plan?" He went to give the small communication device to her. She thanked him with a small smile, placing it in her right ear.

Sam remained silent, only turning his body to face him while putting his in his left ear.

"Great," Bucky returned to his seat, "so no plan." He turned to Maria. "Unless you have one?"

Putting her hair behind her other ear, she cuffed it and asked Sam, "You want to keep it between us by telling me in my ear?" That managed to get a crooked grin out of him. She winked in return and leaned back against the bench.

"Thirty seconds!" Torres yelled out in warning by the opened door. He watched the ground sweep underneath him, the wind cooling his face and the clouds parting at their presence.

"Enjoy your ride, Buck."

The metal-armed man shook his head in disapproval. "No, you can't call me that."

"Why not? That's what Steve called you."

"Steve knew me longer, and Steve had a plan."

Torres warned, "Fifteen seconds to drop!"

Sam gave him an unamused look. "I have a plan."

"Really?" Irritated, Bucky stood up to put his hands on his hips. "What is it?"