Chapter 2: JFK to IAD

Just like the itinerary said, a black town car pulled up in front of her apartment building at precisely 5AM. She was waiting in the stairwell for it, sitting on the 4th step with her bags at her feet. She should have been exhausted this early in the morning but she wasn't. In fact, she'd never felt more awake.

Packing was easy. After arranging her apartment bills, rent, and utilities with Pepper over a quick phone call, she packed her camera bag tightly with everything she thought she'd need- extra battery packs, her favourite lenses, some filters and her mobile flash. It was harder for her to pack her equipment that it was for her to pack her clothes- she threw some jeans, shorts, dresses, undergarments and a pile of t-shirts into a suitcase and zipped it shut without giving it a second thought, knowing in the back of her head that she could just buy clothes if she needed them. She packed and repacked her camera bag a half dozen times before heading to bed, struggling to fall asleep as the clock chimed midnight.

How could she sleep? She was about to embark on the single greatest adventure of her 27 year old life. She'd lived in New York her entire life, leaving the state only a half dozen times to travel to see family or visit sights in neighbouring states. She'd never left the country let alone the continent, and now she was about to head to Cambodia, Bali and Thailand for a month to take photos and travel. She knew she should have been more nervous than she felt but all she could think of was how lucky she was, and how incredible the trip was going to be. She couldn't wait.

She'd sent her parents a lengthy email with all the details of what had happened over the past 12 hours- the contract she'd signed, where she'd be going, where she'd be staying, but glossing over what she'd be doing. Pepper in their phone call had impressed upon her an air of confidentiality, asking for Eva to keep the projects close to her chest. If the media caught wind of a photographer travelling with the Avengers they'd have a field day, since press requests for interviews with the team members were routinely denied. This only added to the intrigue of the project and amplified her excitement, knowing how exclusive of access she was going to have. But it was also nerve wrecking: she really had no base knowledge of any of the Avengers to go on, because they were so secretive. She really had no idea what to expect from them.

The car pulled up and a neatly dressed driver stepped out of the car, waving to her through the glass window. She perked up immediately and rose, hitching her camera bag over one shoulder and her purse over the other. He walked over and pulled the door open for her as she stepped down from the stairs, her suitcase gliding silently behind her.

"Good morning Ms. James. I'm your driver, Edward. I'll be with you for the next 6 months" he greeted as he shook her hand, giving her a friendly smile.

She met his hand warmly, returning the smile with equal openness. He was a middle aged man, if she had to guess probably in his mid 40's, with salt and pepper hair and a friendly face. He was one of those men who, even though she didn't know him, put her at ease. He didn't give off any bad or wanton vibes- he just seemed friendly.

She liked him immediately.

"May I take your bag?" he asked as he gestured to the suitcase she was pulling. She offered it to him and he accepted the handle instantly, motioning for her to follow as he led her to the car. He deposited her suitcase in the trunk next to his own, a smaller navy blue case with the embossed logo of Stark Industries, before opening the passenger side door for her.

"I take it you also work for Ms. Potts?" she asked once he was seated beside her, his hand turning the key as the engine turned over almost silently. She watched him smile and nod once as he checked his mirrors, pulling them out onto the empty street as they headed towards the airport.

"I do. I was a concierge in Budapest before she hired me. Now I accompany Stark Industry employees when they travel to help make the experience more enjoyable. I arrange trips, excursions, can make you restaurant reservations, and drive you wherever you need to go" he offered with another warm smile.

She smiled back as she pushed some hair out of her face, giving him a nod.

"Wow that sounds incredible. Do you enjoy it?" she inquired, watching as he smiled and chuckled to himself.

"While I love helping people experience new cultures, it's not the part of the job I love or enjoy the most" he said with another chuckle.

"While I'm travelling I also do some liaison work with the Stark Relief Foundation- I'll help set up work projects for the foundation in areas that need assistance or source out new charities that could use some aid from the SRF. Because I get to travel so much I have quite a few contacts around the globe which makes it easier for the SRF to get on the ground. I get to help people every time I get on a plane, which I think is the most rewarding job of all" he finished, his voice strong and proud.

She could tell by the way he spoke how proud he was of what he got to do for a living and she had to smile because of it, knowing he probably he had hundreds of amazing stories to tell. She filed away that information for later and a comfortable silence fell between them, the black town car gliding silently across the streets of Manhattan as he navigated them towards JFK.

They were at the check in gates for their 6:50AM flight to Washington just after 5:30AM, the two of them being one of only a handful of other travelers at the gate. She was fishing her drivers license out of her wallet when she heard a voice call her name, her dark brown eyes flashing up to a friendly flight attendant waving at her from one of the check in counters.

"Ms James, we've been waiting for you" the woman chirped pleasantly, a hesitant smile playing across Eva's lips as she approached her. How did this woman know who she was? It became clear a moment later as the woman slid a passport and a thin laptop bag across the counter towards her, along with her travel documentation.

"Morning Amanda. Any news on the weather in Washington today?" Edward greeted pleasantly as he saddled up beside her, his passport out and ready in his hand.

Eva watched as the woman, apparently named Amanda, smiled at Edward as she took his passport, scanning it quickly before sliding it back with his boarding pass pressed between his passport's pages.

"Sunny with a high of 65" Amanda responded brightly, Edward giving a chuckle.

"You all set, Ms. James?" Amanda asked as her attention returned to Eva who was only now thumbing through her passport. There were already visa stamps for the different countries she'd be travelling to on many of the pages, her mind giving Pepper yet another stamp of approval for how efficient she must be. She slipped her passport and boarding pass into her purse as she wrapped a hand around the laptop bag, unsure of its contents.

"Yes, thank you so much" she said with a smile, Amanda returning it with a grin and a nod. The flight attendant took both of their suitcases and put bag tags on both of them before they disappeared on the conveyor belt behind her, Amanda directing them to the security entrance just a few desks down before wishing them a great trip. She followed Edward as he lead her through the maze of belts to security, both of them breezing through and arriving at their gate a few moments later. He asked if he could get her anything before disappearing, leaving Eva alone with her thoughts for the first time all morning.

She slipped her camera bag and purse off her shoulders and onto the seat beside her as she pulled the laptop bag onto her lap, unzipping it for the first time. A smart phone tumbled out, a large touchscreen phone with a silver backing and the Stark Industries logo in black. She powered it on and waited for it to boot up as she pulled out the next item, a thin Apple laptop that powered up instantly. She was thrilled to see it had all the latest editing software loaded onto it as she search through the control bar, noticing eventually that there was only one file on her desktop- a folder marked READ ME.

She opened up the folder and found 7 folders and a word document entitled 'READ ME FIRST'. She did as ordered.

Eva-

In each of these files is some of the personal histories of each of your subjects- Dr. Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Thor Odinson, and Steve Rogers. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the Avengers but these files should get you up to speed regarding who they are and what they bring to the table. You've been granted temporary access to these files by SHIELD so please keep this information to yourself. I share this information with you in hopes that it gives you insight into who these individuals are and what their stories are like- hopefully it will help you take the best portraits possible.

I've also included a 7th folder filled with all the press coverage the Avengers have received. Hopefully by going through it you'll get a better sense of what we're up against.

Good luck,

Pepper.

She exited from the document and went back to the folder page, reading the titles.

Banner/Hulk.

Thor.

Romanoff/Black Widow.

Stark/Iron Man.

Barton/Hawkeye.

Rogers/Captain America.

Truth was, she knew more about the Avengers than Pepper probably thought. It was hard to live in New York City in 2014 and not know who the Avengers were- you either loved them for saving you or hated them for ruining your city after the alien attack two years ago. But not her- she was in that grey zone in between, neither admiring nor condemning them for what they did. She'd been in the city the day the sky opened up, taking shelter in a library close to her apartment as she watched the streets she walked everyday turn into a war zone. She remembered the days after the attack and the news stories that came out- citizens extolling how amazing the Avengers had been while politicians criticized them for having ruined most of Manhattan. But no matter what she heard, she stayed neutral to all of it, knowing that she'd need some time to process what she'd seen. The photographs she'd taken in the days after the attack were some of her favourite shots, but also some of the more painful ones to look at- a juxtaposition she knew mirrored her own feelings about it all.

She scanned through the list again, knowing that once she learned more about these people that there'd be no turning back. She knew that the more she learned about them, the more invested she'd be in them which, as she thought about it, was likely exactly what Pepper wanted. The more interested Eva was in her subjects, the better photos she'd take- it was something Eva had told Pepper about her style of photography during that first meeting they'd had in the coffee shop. She had to hand it yet again to Ms. Potts. The woman was thorough.

She settled on the last name in the list, double clicking the name Rogers as she opened it up, diving in after giving one last deep breath.

(A/n: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter. Reviews are always welcome :) )