Into the Snow || A Captain America Love Story

4

I groggily step into Director Fury's office. Steve and Bruce are already there, waiting patiently for the other Avengers. Tony is by my side, still practically snoring in his Iron Man suit. I snap my fingers in front of his face. He looks around startled.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Steve says playfully to Tony.
"Morning Spangles," Tony says, pointing at Steve's uniform.
I yawn and look down at my own uniform self-consciously. I am absolutely exhausted. I couldn't sleep last night. Steve seemed to notice.
"Are you alright?" he asks me, genuinely concerned.
"Yeah, just tired. I couldn't sleep." I respond.
"You and me both." he says.
Natasha and Clint arrive in their uniforms. Fury nods of approval and begins his usual lecture.
"Alright, try to not alarm civilians and do not, I repeat, do not draw attention to yourselves. The reason I want Miss Stark to join you, that is her specialty." he grins at me.
I laugh softly. "That's why I'm called what I am."
"Exactly. Now, I have the quinjet set up for you all. And don't destroy it." he says, eyeing Tony. "You may go."
We all leave to the quinjet. It is a beautiful autumn day. The leaves are red, the air is crisp, and the sun is shining. I sit down and Tony goes to pilot. Steve sits next to me and smiles. I smile back and wait for the other three to sit down. Bruce gets out a laptop and starts researching. Natasha and Clint chat while Tony navigates. Steve sets his shield beside him and I fiddle with a spare knife.
     "I wonder how hard this is going to be," I think aloud. 
     "I don't know," Steve says. "It must be difficult since Fury dislikes it more than the usual ones."
     "You have a point,"
     "How is everybody doing back there?" Tony shouts. 
     "Fine," everyone says in unison. 
     "Anyway," Steve says. "Do you know how long we're going to be there?"
     "Sadly, no," I sigh. "I hope not for long."
     "I kind of hope we are,"
     "Really?" I ask.
     "Yeah, I mean, it might be work but I enjoy it. Especially when I am with people I'm close to."
     "I'm not one of those people," I mumble jealously.
     "Yet," Steve says. "We are becoming friends, all of these people are."
     "You're the only person who's talked to me besides Tony and Bruce." I say, nodding in their directions.
     "You have a point,"
     I smile. "We're already using the same expressions."
     He laughs. "Yeah, I guess we are."
     We chat for a few minutes, telling jokes and whatnot. Every time I laugh, Steve smiles.
     "Guys," Bruce says. "I found something."
     Everyone except Tony huddles around Bruce, staring at his computer screen. It shows a map of London and newsfeed in that area.
     "This happened just last night," Bruce informs us, opening an article. "Men were found bartering technology by cameras near a subway. This can mean that the base is underground."
     Everyone looks puzzled.
     "Uh, okay. That's a start." I say.
     "Maybe we can trace anymore of these incidents in the past few weeks." Steve says.
     "Yeah, I'll look into that." Bruce says.
     Everyone sits back down and waits for the journey to end.

•••

     "Avengers and Tori, welcome to London." Tony announces.
     I press my face against the window to see the London Bridge, Big Ben, and the London Eye. I gaze at Steve is staring out the window as I am.  His eyes are excited like a child's, but nervous, as well.
     "This is amazing," Steve says grinning.
     "I hope we have extra time to explore." I say.
     "Yeah, I do too."
     The quinjet lands, Tony orders us to get out.
     "Out of my quinjet!" he barks.
     "I thought it was Fury's." I say.
     "It's mine for however long we're here."
     We all step out and onto the landing station in London. Bruce hands us all earpieces and we put them in. The wind howls in my other ear.
"Okay," Bruce says. "Go to this address and find the main office."
"Right," Steve nods. "Tony, Clint, and Natasha, get rid of the agents. Tori and I will both find the main office to cut off their communication with other bases."
I blush when he partners us together. We all agree to the plan and we head to the address. It is a few blocks away, so we travel underground. Of course, our only option because of Fury's list of rules is going through the sewers.
We duck through tunnels and make all sorts of noise along the way. The sewers smell awful.
"What died down here?" Clint asks, plugging his nose.
"What hasn't died down here," Natasha says, pointing to a dead rat.
Everyone gags and continues to walk. We find the address and open the door that is next to the number. There is a small set of stairs that go down, into a light room. There is a foyer and two hallways that branch from it.
"We have to split up," Tony says.
"You guys go to the right and Tori and I will go to the left." Steve says, pointing to the signs above the arches of each hallway, one saying Main Office.
"This couldn't get any easier," I say to myself.
We split up. Steve and I go down the left hallway. Its walls are brick and the floor is wooden. Steve stands in front of me protectively, having his shield ready. There are a few agents, which we both take out easily. There is a door that reads Office and we walk in.
There is a man in a black suit and another in a blue one. The man in black sits behind a desk and the other sits in a chair in front of him. The man in black has a cigar sticking out of his mouth, filling the room with smoke. They stare at us, cutting off their conversation.
"Captain America and Mystérieux," the man in blue says in a British accent.
Steve puts his shield in front of me. "Yes sir," he says politely. "I highly suggest that-"
"And Cap's got a girl," the man in black says in an American accent.
"That's not, w-we're not-" Steve stumbles, his face turning a bright red.
"Oh, yes they are," the other man says.
I aim my gun at the men, going back and forth between each. "Look, first of all, we are not together. All we want is the place were you contact other H.Y.D.R.A. bases. Now." I hiss.
"In here," the man in black says. "On that computer, sweetheart."
     I quickly dismiss the comment And suspiciously walk closer to the man. His expensively styled beard brushes against my gun as I press the barrel against his temple.
     "I said on the computer," he says.
     "I am perfectly aware of that." I respond.
     I pat him down with my free hand. I feel a small rectangular box in his jacket pocket. I dig it out, feeling the cool metal. I examine it. A walkie-talkie.