Bed of Roses [N. Romanoff]

Chapter 20

"All clear," Bailey informed, pressing a hand to her ear piece so that she could speak into her mic, and lifted herself up from her crouched position.

She averted her gaze from the lifeless body, and the building that had fallen on top of her, and blinked away the profound thoughts that clouded her head.

"South-east?" Steve asked her.

"Doesn't look like much, just some rubble if you ask me."

"Any standing buildings?"

Bailey drew in a breath. "No."

"Alright... take a fly back here then, we're rounding up the last boats."

Bax did as she was told, looking back down to the adult body that dripped its remaining blood to the ground, and shook her head to wake herself up. This whole fight had been a wake-up call on its own, and her story grew darker with each passing minute. She didn't like that.

Bailey made a sprint, running up the back of a car and jumping into the air. With eyes held shut, she rose in altitude and opened them when she was positive the scene she had left behind was small enough for her to try and ignore it. She flew over an area where an Audi tried to drive on a road covered with shambles of concrete.

Nat sat in the front seat next to Clint, looking up towards where the sun beamed down and watching the smallest figure zoom across the sky. She brought her focus back down to the dashboard, not bothering to mention Bax to Clint or even listen to what he was saying in the first place.

"I know what I need to do," Clint shook her from her thoughts, "The dining room." He cheerfully stated this as if it was a great break through to go down in history, Nat rolled her eyes and continued to play with the wind as they drove with her arm hanging out the window.

"If I knock out that East wall, it'd make a nice workspace for Laura, huh? Put up some baffling, so she can't hear the kids running around. What do you think?" he asked for her opinion.

Nat didn't face him, and put on a mask on her face that represented professionalism and not worry for a woman she had just met, "You guys always eat in the kitchen anyways," Nat replied, pretending she was listening the entire time.

"No one eats at a dining room," Clint scoffed at the absurdity of a normal and perfect family, which his was far from. Very far from indeed.

He looked to Nat to see if he had managed to get a smile out of her, but there was no emotion.

"I like my conversations to have two people participating," he teased her.

"I know, I'm sorry. This shouldn't be bothering me so much!" she sighed, and hit the back of her head against the chair behind her, turning her head as she leant back to look at him.