Woman Out of Time: A Maria Stark Story

Chapter 11

Over the next several days they relocated a few more times until they were somewhere in Spain. The first night, they all slept soundly with no one taking watch. Rare for them, but they needed the rest in order to plan their next move.

Maria now understood why Steve was so dead set against her remaining with them. She wasn't so weak she couldn't function on her own but the constant moving over the last week had really taken a toll on her. If she didn't have a more stable environment for a few days, her recovery from the chamber would likely take longer.

Unless whatever serum Hydra gave her was going to magically rejuvenate her. Yet another reason to get to Wakanda. Steve seemed certain they would be able to determine what exactly had happened.

But now, as tired as she was, she sat in a cafe with Steve. He was tense, trying so hard to not fidget and show his nervousness.

"Relax." She whispered, reaching out to hold his hand. He held his breath at the contact.

"Breathe," she smiled at him, pulling up his hand to kiss it. A quick wink from her had him smiling wryly.

"I forgot you used to do this sort of thing."

"Yep," she said. Her fingers kept gently stroking his. "Early on it was with Howard. Then after, Jarvis usually was with me...just not as my lover."

Steve raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked at her. "So is that what we're playing?"

She scoffed and took a sip of water. "Of course. Why else do you think I had to come along. Unless," she toyed with her straw and gave him a coy look, "you wanted Sam to play your boyfriend."

Steve shook his head grinning. "There's no good answer to that is there?"

"Are you saying I'm not good enough?" Sam asked through their comms.

A snort sounded on the comms--definitely Natasha's. Wanda was likely smiling quietly; Maria could just picture the girl's quiet yet wide grin that was starting to show more frequently now.

"I'm hurt, Steve." Sam continued. "I thought we had something special here."

Steve sighed and looked at her with fake exasperation. "You satisfied? I'll never hear the end of this."

"I'm satisfied." Maria gave him another wink. Then her eyes narrowed. "What does our contact look like?"

He leaned back putting an arm around her shoulders. "They'll be wearing a purple jacket with a gold pin on the lapel."

Maria nodded and leaned into him, pulling his arm closer to her. "I think I've spotted her. Two o'clock." She whispered into his ear."

Steve casually glanced over as he leaned down to whisper in Maria's ear. "I see her." His lips brushed her ear. "How am I doing?"

She pulled her head back. "Well your spy work is improving...as is your seduction." She gave him a sly wink.

His eyes met hers seriously. "Good."

"Man, I leave you alone with a beautiful woman for five minutes and you're dumping me?" Sam's teasing voice echoed in their earpieces.

"You got a lock on her, Nat?" Maria whispered.

"Got her." Natasha confirmed. "Wanda is also in place."

"Excuse me," Steve said to a nearby waiter. "Can we get a sangria for the lady, please?"

The waiter nodded and as expected, the woman in purple made her way over.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise," she said with a slight accent. "I'm glad to see you took my suggestion to stop by here. Isn't it lovely?" She took a seat while speaking.