Copper Feather

5

The limo pulled up in front of the restaurant. (Of course Tony had called his limo). The Prince was standing just inside the door, his sister nowhere to be seen. Michael shook Evie and Peter's hands, then turned to Tony. "I'm assuming Clint is on rotational surveillance?" Tony nodded and went off on a tangent about the tactics they had lined up. Evie followed along closely, making sure the instructions were cementing into her brain, as this was her briefing.

A few minutes later, Clint dropped behind Michael, Luci at his side. Luci took one look at Evie, then squealed. "EVIE!" Peter and Tony gave Evie a look like WHAT?! Evie just winked. Luci bounded into Evie's arms, wrapping her in a hug. The grin on Evie's face made it obvious she was struggling to keep her wings away.

It was a secret she didn't want to reveal yet. Luci did the French-cheek-kiss-thing, and Evie did it too. They walked away, chattering in French. "That's new..." said Peter, watching with a look of newfound respect for Evie.

"She should have told me," said Tony, "Anyway, Evie's on purely aerial surveillance, which we'll explain later, Peter and Clint provide our rooftop drop-team. Evie's best with aerial advantages, so she'll hang back until absolutely necessary. Her job is to get you out of danger. If worst comes to worst, find her. Or, she'll find you." Peter nodded along, this lining up with his briefing.

"Will someone please explain how they know each other?" said Peter, watching as Evie's Caesar Salad arrived. Tony led Peter, Clint, and Michael to the table, and Michael slid next to Luci. Peter was sat next to Evie, and Evie looked over at him, making a comment in French that Luci laughed at.

"Hey! Did you just make fun of me, Miss Romanoff?" Evie laughed, "Maybe?" Luci nodded. "Yeah... she did." Tony rolled his eyes. "I'll be on the ground with you two, and Jarvis will be scanning every two minutes for threats in addition to Clint's five-minute update." Evie and Luci's chatter had settled into a series of whispers and giggles. "I think an explanation is necessary here. How exactly do you two know each other?"

"We met last summer when Evie was on her pre-mission training here. We were both at the training academy at the same time. We roomed together, and it was funny because she didn't recognize me as the Princess of England immediately, so we became legitimate friends. It was cool to figure out we'd been put together because we both needed extensive security in our rooms. On the last day, we played a game where we had to guess where each other's sensors were, and I remember I lost, badly." explained Luci in English, finally.

Peter laughed, "Of course, it's the first thing Evie does when she walks into a room. I guarantee she'd known for weeks, and just didn't say anything. It's kind of funny, actually." Tony raised his eyebrows. "Evie, how many sensors are there in this room?" Evie didn't hesitate. "57. Seven of them were in the restaurant's original security, 25 are Jarvis' security, and the other 25 Britain's JIC's security systems." Tony nodded, and Michael muttered, "I just realized exactly how smart she is..."

Luci nodded across the table to Evie, then cut herself a slice of garlic bread. The waiter walked out with Tony's spaghetti, Michael's Fettuccine Alfredo in his other hand. "So, while we're in Paris, what are your personas?" Evie put down her fork, then reached up to her hair. It turned a darker red, bordering on red-brown, and straightened. The ponytail lengthened slightly, and a few hairs freed themselves to become wind-swept bangs.

"Hello, My name is Adrianna Bellerose, I'm the journalist covering the power transition for The Daily Telegraph. I'm honored to meet you, Mr. Harrington." Michael's face paled considerably. "How?" Evie smiled. "There's a reason I'm on the team, Mr. Harrington. Just wait till you see the full extent of my... gifts." Tony's smirk resurfaced, and his pride shone through his 'professional' attitude.