A Bolt from the Blue

Chapter 19

On the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet flying somewhere above the Indian ocean, Rumlow pitched the team on the situation. A ship belonging to the organization had been taken by French pirates and crew on board, including a high-ranked S.H.I.E.L.D officer, were held hostage.

Steve sighed. It was not the first time he was sent to fix those types of situations where the big lines were blurred. Fury always gave a portion of the information only.

"I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor," he muttered softly, in which 'a little' actually meant 'a lot'.

"Isn't it more like, tired of Fury, period?" Bucky teased with a little grin in the corner of his mouth.

Was he still mad at Fury for blocking access to the lab tests? Most definitely. And was it the reason why he blurted out being tired of doing this type of job? For the most part. But not only, the fact remained he had a feeling he was being used like a puppet, sent wherever Fury needed him to be, to do his dirty work. And that was the other reason why he had complained aloud.

"Relax, " Natasha said casually, seeming to memorize every bit of data shown on the computer screen. "It's not that complicated."

Steve didn't argue for the simple reason he was driven by the need to save people, and the crew held hostage on that ship fell into that category. Regardless of the sketchy circumstances surrounding this attack and of Fury's secrets and eerie schemes and methods, he would go and be his janitor once again as he simply couldn't walk out knowing there were people out there putting up with bullies.

"Alright," Steve gave the instructions. "I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Buck in lead, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get them out. Rumlow in support. Let's move."

"S.T.R.I.K.E., you heard the Cap. Gear up," Rumlow commanded his team.

Steve, Bucky and Natasha made their way to the tail of the jet, getting prepared before reaching Drop Zone.

"Did you do anything fun, Saturday night?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

He understood her question actually meant 'Did you do anything fun Saturday night, without me?'

"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so no, not really."

He smiled back the same playful way she was. "I guess we could fix that next weekend," she commented implicitly. "Movie night?"

"Are you gonna be there Bucky, or do you have a date scheduled already?"

"Actually, I'll be in Europe," Bucky grinned smugly.

James was bound to fly in two days to meet his other brother's family who had emigrated to Scotland years ago. He was just as excited and nervous as the day Steve had accompanied to visit his living brother and nieces and nephews.

"Means you two will get the apartment all for yourselves," Bucky trailed off with a teasing undertone. Steve rolled his eyes but with an amused grin on. "What could you possibly do with all that free space?"

"I'm sure we'll figure out something without you there. As we always do." Natasha replied mischievously, thrown into a game she was always pleased to play along. She turned to Steve. "I'm open to suggestions."

She looked him in the eye long enough to know when it would make him shy away; just as he was well aware she didn't expect a proper answer to her question.

"I guess we'll see," he said, stepping away, both literally and metaphorically.

Natasha and Bucky glanced at each other and smiled.