HUNTED ~ STEVE ROGERS [2]

Chapter Nine

"Negative at the source," Rollins said into my earpiece from the Apple store in the shopping mall. I strode through the mall with Rumlow at my side. He stepped in time with me, but always made sure he was a few inches ahead, just to throw me off.

"Give me a floor rundown," Rumlow said sternly into his earpiece. My eyes swept the mall, anxious for a sight of my friends. I had changed out of my suit and into standard SHIELD field operative gear. Black shirt and pants, black leather jacket. I kept my Doc Martens on, and my eyes were switched to brown, Civilian Mode.

"Negative on three."

"Negative on two." Both agents had no sightings of Steve yet, and only me had guessed he would probably be with Natasha. Only Tasha would know how long they would have had to get away after they plugged in the flash drive.

Rumlow looked at me for confirmation, hatred burned into his eyes. He hated being second in command, second to a freak and especially to a woman.

I nodded, and he proceeded with his instructions.

"Snake the upper levels, work down to us." I lead Rumlow towards the escalator, and we boarded it along with the crowd. As we went up, I spotted a tall, broad shouldered man and as shorter red-haired woman standing together on the opposite escalator, going down.

My heart almost missed a beat. He was safe. They were safe.

Cautious of Rumlow beside me, I scanned the crowd in the opposite direction, keeping them in the corners of my vision. Suddenly, Tasha leant upwards, and Steve leaned down, and without hesitation they kissed on the escalator.

I curled my hands into fists and narrowed my eyes. I knew, deep down, it was all a play. Tasha had taught me that public displays of affection made people very uncomfortable and were useful for hiding in plain sight.

Nevertheless, it made me angry, and I wasnt sure why.

We reached the top of the escalator, and I risked a look down on the ground floor. Tasha and Steve blended into the crowd, and soon I had lost sight of them.

"Any sign of them?" I asked into my earpiece.

"No ma'am," chorused the replies. I turned to Rumlow.

"They're not here. We missed them," I said, trying to sound angry, although my heart felt relieved. Rumlow swore loudly, earning us looks of disapproval from members of the mall crowd.

"Head back to the trucks. We lost them." I commanded. There was a bit of a thrill to being in control. It was almost like a drug, being able to tell others what to do and not worry about failing anyone.

Not like Spain.

But, we didnt talk about Spain.

When we arrived back at SHIELD HQ, I reported back to Sitwell. Apparently, Pierce was too busy to see me. I stood around a computer in the main control room. The analyst was a chubby boy with dark curly hair. He looked new, and I noticed sweat dripping down his temples while I watched him.

I didnt realize I had that big of an impact on people.

Although, I was back in my suit and mask, with my eyes returned to green, so I may have been a bit of an imposing figure to the newbie.

"Anything on the flash drive?" I asked him, leaning forward, closer to his screen. I watched him physically gulp.

"Nothing yet ma'am. I'm working on it, he said," and started typing faster. I sighed and waltzed over to Sitwell.