Finding love with the Captain #wattys2019

Chapter 11

As I sat on the couch the rest of the Avengers turned up at the front door. The only way they could come in was an eye scan and a handprint scan. There was also a new doorway that led from this condo into Tasha's condo so no one had to go outside to get in the other one. It was quite sophisticated but to me, it still seemed like it could be hacked into, all it would take was someone's eye and hand being removed.

However, Tony said there are some other security measures that we didn't know about so it would not let anyone into the house if we did not know them. Steve told me I could trust him with this but I was still unsure. Maybe it would be better if I just packed my things and left New York for good; run away from all the hit men who were paid to assassinate me on the whim of some secret employer that I did not know about. As I grasped the warm cup of coffee between my hands I sighed once the last Avenger came in the door,

"Lady Anna." Thor nodded in greeting before he took a seat across from me. Currently, we were all crowded in the living room of Tasha's condo. Steve was next to me on the couch his arm draped across the back where he could gently play with the curls of my hair that cascaded down my neck. Sighing I leaned back into the warm, calloused hands. I didn't think he realized he was doing it as he seemed to be focussed on what Tony was saying to the group.

"Well, we managed to find confirmation on the person who hired the hit men..." Tony said as he hit his watch to project a screen in the air, "I'm sorry Anna but Carl Jenkins is the one who took the hit out on you." Shaking, the hot coffee scolded my hands but I barely noticed as Steve picked the cup from my burned fingers and placed it on the table.

He took my hands and started to rub them to gently to ease the sting.

"Bucky told us he had approached him but because Carl denied it when asked so we needed to get actual proof." Tony swiped his hand on the screen so another one appeared next to it, "This is the dark web; he placed an "advert" for a better word on there looking for someone to do the job, payment on completion of the job." Once the window was closed by another flick of his hand he poured himself a shot of whiskey in the tumbler before he turned back to us, "Unfortunately it looks like the bowman and the Asian guy weren't the only people to accept the job; there are several comments on here from people who agreed on the job, we estimate about 20 people have replied to this advert."

"So what do we do Tony; we can't wait until these people turn up to do the job, we need to be prepared to find them," Clint remarked from behind me where he had been sitting quietly while he listened to the information that Tony had given us,

"JARVIS is currently working on the site to get the advert removed as well as tracking down all those would be assassins who have replied. It will take time as these people scrambled their IP addresses, bouncing them from one country to another to make it nearly impossible to find them. What we need is a solid money trail to work with but until Anna has been "dealt" with we will not see where the money trail is going as Carl Jenkins is now off the grid."

"So use me as bait?" I pulled myself away from Steve's hands and sat perched on the end of the couch, "He wants me, so use me as bait to catch these people." Suddenly, the room erupted as people inside told me what a bad idea this was and that there would be another way. Tony then held up his hand and the whole room went quiet.

"We will not use you as bait Anna; once we get the list from JARVIS we can find the people who are willing to do this and hide them away in a SHIELD prison for the rest of their lives." He sighed as I stood up from the couch to walk unsteadily towards the bathroom door,

"Well, when the assassins come knocking let me know. I'm going in the bath and then get some shut eye." I said closing the door firmly behind me. Letting myself sink to the floor as my legs finally gave way to the shaking, the tears flowed unabashedly into my cupped hands. I was so fucked.