They're all gathered in the situation room, which tells Wanda that something's up, that it's not a normal briefing. Natasha's all showered and refreshed. They dropped by the kitchen to grab some sort of breakfast and so they both have toasts and eggs with them. She has an orange juice, Natasha has her coffee. They get comfy as they sit on either side of Steve.
Bucky watches as Natasha sits down, munches her toast and puts down her coffee between her and Steve. Her hair still a bit wet, she's wearing an ordinary t-shirt and jeans. He must have been staring longer than he intended to because Natasha turns to him with her trademark flirty smile. "Want some toast, Barnes?"
Bucky silently panics and just shakes his head in response. He looks to his side and sees Sam trying to hide his smile. He kicks him underneath the table but Sam's smile turns into a soft laughter. Natasha too tries to hide her smile and simply pretends that she didn't notice so she goes on to read something from her phone.
Bucky sees Steve, who's browsing documents on a folder, notices the commotion and looks up to see what's going on. Sam and Wanda immediately cover their face with their hands and struggle to keep their giggles. Then Steve turns to Natasha who beautifully pretends to be oblivious to what's happening and concentrates on her phone while sipping her coffee at the same time. So when Steve turns to Bucky for answers, all the latter can do is smile a bit embarrassed and shrug his shoulders. Bucky only releases a sigh of relief when he sees Steve goes back reading.
But then he suddenly feels something weird in his stomach as he sees Steve casually picks up Natasha's cup and takes a sip. Bucky looks at Natasha expecting her to punch Steve in the face, but no, she doesn't react at all. Before he can process the weird knot in his stomach, Fury and Maria enter the room.
"All right, kids, here's what we know," Fury goes straight to business.
"Good morning to you too, boss," Natasha greets him with a sly grin.
"And they're technically waaaay older than you," Sam jokes while pointing to Steve and Bucky.
Fury only responds to their light mood with a curt nod. He brings out his tablet and soon the monitors on the walls flicker with surveillance photos. Some show one of the Big Boss Company leaders leaving a hotel and getting in a limo.
"When's this?" Natasha asks. Maria looks at Fury uncomfortably before replying.
"One and a half weeks ago," Maria responds.
Natasha shakes her head with a disappointed grin. It's Steve who speaks her mind, "And you waited until now to tell us this?"
"It was my decision, Cap. At least, if Romanoff here decides to disobey orders again, she has healed feet to run with," Fury says sarcastically.
"He's not wrong," Natasha says with a soft laugh.
Maria decides to continue the discussion and sends up on the monitor a series of other photos - the limo parked inside a compound, the mafia boss getting out of the limo and entering a huge wooden door, and a landscape shot that shows the whole premises --- a luxurious chateau in the center of the compound with a manicured courtyard boarded by high brick walls in four sides.
"That's so French," Wanda comments.
"He goes inside, stays there for an hour or two, then comes back out to leave the same way he entered," Maria finishes.
"No sighting of other persons of interest?" Sam asks, carefully choosing his words. He didn't want to use the word 'bitch' nor utter Anya's name.
"No," Fury quickly responds. "So no concrete evidence that the girls are there."
YOU ARE READING
Red Winter
FanfictionIt's been almost two years since the defeat of Thanos & the effects of the snap was successfully reversed. The world has slowly picked up the pieces & everyone worked hard to resume their lives right off where the Decimation left them hanging. Some...
