Coming Down ➢ Steve Rogers

twenty eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The steam from the coffee rose, lifting its alluring aroma to Delaney's nose. Delaney inhaled deeply and brought the white cup to her lips, taking a small sip of the brown, creamy liquid. She coughed, wishing for a glass of water as the coffee burned her throat.

Well, she'd received her wish for a scalding coffee, that was for sure.

Idly, she gazed at the newspaper in front of her. She skimmed the headlines. Boring, she thought, and took another sip. Her eyes lifted over the rim of the cup to study the scene before them.

The Wakandan street was relatively quiet. People milled around, though it wasn't crowded. Traffic was fairly light, too. If Delaney didn't know what the target of this operation was, she would have believed this was a peaceful area. It was definitely a nice place to sit back and enjoy a cuppa.

When we're not so busy saving the world, we should just do that sometime, Delaney thought to Steve.

She knew where he was: left alone in a room with a clear view of the street. This allowed him to keep a bird's eye view on their surrounds while remaining hidden from prying eyes.

She almost heard Steve roll his eyes. You're a coffee addict, Lane. Focus on the mission.

Ah, but you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?

There's a dangerous criminal out here we have to contain. A pause. But you're right. I wouldn't.

Delaney laughed under her breath and returned to surveying the little street.

After a while, Steve's voice crackled to life in the earpiece Delaney wore, making his words heard to the entirety of their assembled team, and not just the two of them.

"Alright, what do you see?"

"Standard beat cops," came Wanda's response. Though Delaney couldn't see her, she could feel the brunette's presence behind her. "Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target."

"Though, there is an ATM on the corner," Delaney input, stirring her coffee. "Which would mean _"

"Cameras."

"Both cross streets in one way?"

"So compromise the escape routes."

Delaney pursed her lips.

Ever since they had taken out Ultron, the Avengers had been preoccupied with their own missions. The most pressing, to Steve, was finding Rumlow – who had been part of the attack on S.H.I.E.L.D by H.Y.D.R.A. They'd thought Rumlow dead for some time – after all, it was difficult to survive having a building dropped on top of you. But he had been lucky, and that had caused problems for anyone when he took the persona Crossbones.

Delaney had been working closely with Steve as they followed every lead on Rumlow. Though it had been difficult – he was good at hiding his tracks, when he wasn't out in the open, creating chaos wherever he went.

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out," Steve said lowly. "You see that ranger over half way up the block?"

"You mean the red one?" Delaney asked. She squinted inconspicuously over her coffee, taking another long draught. She could handle the temperature better now.

"It's cute," Wanda quipped.

"It's also bullet proof," Natasha interjected. Delaney's eyes swept to the side to see the redhead, just within the outskirts of Delaney's vision. "Which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody, probably us."