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Coffee Girl:

Chapter Four: Extraction

Black Widow ducked behind a car as bullets whizzed by her head. Hawkeye crouched next to her, firing an arrow over their meager shelter. He was rewarded with a pained cry, yet more gunmen just took their place.

"There's too many of them," Hawkeye growled.

Black Widow said nothing, but she knew they were seriously outgunned.

SHIELD had discovered, quite by accident, a secret nest of Hydra agents still in the city, doing their best to hang onto what few measly strings they could within SHIELD. They were still listening in and plotting with SHIELD intel. Fury ordered the enemy's last stronghold wiped out.

Unfortunately, the attack had been too rash. There were far more Hydra agents than expected. And those agents had a much larger amount of fire power than SHIELD brought with them. Thus, leading to Hawkeye and Black Widow's particular situation.

"I only have two arrows left," Hawkeye admitted. "We need to get out of here and regroup."

The pained sound of a man being punched in the gut momentarily paused the gunfire. A few metal clangs of flesh hitting steel and then the barrage started up again. This time, punctuated by bullets bouncing off an impenetrable shield. Natasha glanced above the car just in time to see Captain America dive over it and land next to her.

"There is a lot more manpower out there than we were briefed," he stated, slightly out of breath.

"Tell me about it," Natasha responded as she slid another round of bullets into her weapon.

She glanced over again to fire at the enemy when she saw they had pulled out something new. The point of a missile launcher was aimed right for the car they were hiding behind.

"Start running boys!" she called as she took off.

The two men glanced back, saw the danger, and quickly sprinted after her.

Bullets rained around them before the heat of an explosion blew them all off their feet. Hawkeye coughed as his back smacked on the cement, cutting through skin and knocking the wind out of him. His vision spun as he felt a large hand grab the front of his uniform and jerk him to his feet. Hawkeye stumbled after the captain as they found refuge behind a flimsy shed. That wouldn't protect them for long.

"This is Black Widow," her voice cut through the heavy sound of machine guns. "Hawkeye, Captain America and I are pinned down and out gunned. Any teams in the area? We could use some assistance."

"This is Gamma Team," a voice replied, the connection full of static. "We had to pull back. Nowhere near your position. Waiting for back up to arrive."

A second voice came on, but the connection was so bad, it was hard to make out any words. The tone seemed to suggest help would not be coming from that direction. The lines to the other teams remained dead.

"Looks like we're on our own," Natasha said.

Hawkeye stared at her, his eyes intense on her face. "If we don't make it out of this..."

A voice suddenly came through the radio, the connection crystal clear.

"This is Agent Gray. I read you, Black Widow. Stand by for extraction in thirty seconds."

Black Widow glanced around the shed, the enemy agents were loading another missile. "I don't know if we have that long."

The missile was loaded. The three Avengers prepared themselves for another explosion when a large, black SUV barged out of nowhere. It thundered through the group of gunmen, scattering and wounding them, before racing toward the three awed agents.

Marcy poked her head out of the driver's side window. "Get in."

She didn't have to tell them twice. There seemed to be another agent sitting in the front passenger side so all three piled into the back. Steve sat in the middle with Hawkeye and Black Widow on either side. They slammed the doors shut behind them and the vehicle tore off, tires squealing.

"Nice save, Marcy," Hawkeye said. "I didn't know you were put on this mission."

"I wasn't," she replied. "I happened to be in the area when I caught your distress signal. I was on the way home from picking my mom up at the airport."

Captain America leaned forward, concerned he did not hear that correctly. "I'm sorry?"

From the front passenger seat, a woman who appeared to be in her early 50's turned to them, her smile bright when she saw Hawkeye.

"Clint! So lovely to see you, darling!"

The corners of Hawkeye's mouth suddenly ticked up into a surprised smile. "Claudia. It's been a while."

"Oh, too long, dear. Far too long." Marcy's mother then turned her attention to Black Widow. "And Natasha, you look lovely as ever."

She shrugged. "Well, considering what we just went through."

The older woman waved a well manicured hand. "Oh, this is nothing. You should have seen us when we were in Istanbul and-"

"Not right now, mother," Marcy cut her off in a tight voice. "We're not out of this yet."

Behind them, three military-grade jeeps raced after them, each carrying several fully armed Hydra agents. Marcy stepped on the gas. Black Widow rolled down the window as bullets ricocheted off the back window of the vehicle behind them. She fired at the closest car, knocking one man off the top. But the bullets kept coming.

Hawkeye rolled down his window and fired the last of his arrows. It hit the tire of the first jeep and the vehicle went careening out of control, flipping over on its hood.

"That's one down, but I'm out," he announced.

Natasha wordlessly reached over Captain America and handed Hawkeye one of her guns. The two continued to fire out of the windows.

Then, the older woman's eyes finally fell on the middle passenger in the back seat. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Claudia Shepherd, Marcy's mom."

Sitting there, shield at his knees with nothing else to do, the captain nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Claudia clutched her chest, looking at her daughter. "Oh, he's so polite, this one. Where did you find him?"

Marcy's eyes were glued to the traffic as she skirted around the cars. "In the ice near the north pole."

"Beg pardon?" her mother asked.

"Captain Steve Rogers, ma'am," he answered for her.

The older woman suddenly looked at him as if seeing him for the first time all over again. "Oh, Captain America, of course." She laughed at herself. "The uniform should have given it away, what was I thinking?" She turned to address her daughter, a hand on her knee. "I must say, Marcy, he is far more handsome in person. Bigger, too. Do you see all the muscles he has?"

"He can hear you, mother," Marcy cut in with a tight voice. "And I'm trying to drive."

"Oh goodness me, Captain Rogers, where are my manners?" Claudia continued, ignoring her daughter. "It's such a tight fit back there, you should have the front seat. Here, I'll switch with you. Just let me get my purse."

Marcy glanced to the side just in time to see her mother's back end thrust in her face as she attempted to climb into the back.

"Mom! Now is not the time!" she barked. "We're in the middle of a fight!"

"I was just trying to-"

"Sit down and put your seat belt on!" Marcy glanced in the back, fire in her eyes. "All of you! Put your seat belts on!"

Click. Click. Click.

All seat belts were on. All Avengers sat stiff and silent. Marcy gunned the engine.

The SUV lurched forward, the two pursuing jeeps at its bumper. The radio came on. Marcy glanced at her rear view mirror, locking eyes with Captain America before assessing the two vehicles behind them.

They sped off onto the busier roads of the city, bullets chasing after them.

"You know, Marcy," her mother began. "if you take the exit onto center street and then..."

The rest of what she said was drowned out as Marcy pointedly turned up the radio so loud no normal speech could be heard. Her mother huffed in surrender and let it be.

In the back, Captain America couldn't help but feel the situation had become a bit surreal. They were all strapped in the back like good little children, radio blaring some song he never heard before. Black Widow sat calmly to his right, looking like they were out on a family vacation. To his left, Hawkeye nodded his head to the beat of The Bangels' "Walk Like an Egyptian", fingers tapping on his knee.

"Shouldn't we be doing something?" the captain asked above the noise.

"Take it easy and let her work," Clint said. "She's very good at this."

"I thought she just made the coffee!" Steve protested.

The SUV raced through traffic, dodging cars right and left. The base of the music thrummed all around them, the hail of bullets unable to break the thick glass of the SHIELD issue vehicle at their backs. It was a Sunday and the traffic was sparse. The SUV, though heavy for protection, was slower than the military vehicles tearing after them.

"Stupid, heavy boat," Marcy muttered to herself.

Hydra caught up on either side of her, bombarding the vehicle on both sides with heavy rapid fire.

"We need to lose them fast," Natasha said. "This car isn't going to take too much more abuse."

One of the Jeeps jerked toward them, intent on running them off the road. Marcy slammed on the breaks. The jeep swerved, nearly hitting its partner as they both raced far ahead of the stopped SHIELD vehicle.

Marcy instantly put them in reverse, pulling the car even further away from the enemy. She turned her head, one arm grabbing the back of her seat.

"Duck your head, Captain."

Captain America bent forward, allowing her to see out the back window as the SUV now raced in reverse through incoming traffic. Captain America felt assured they were going to die in a head on collision as they dodged one honking car after another. Marcy remained calm, even mouthing the words of the song as they drove.

If you want to find all the cops
They're hanging out in the doughnut shop
They sing and dance
(Oh whey oh)
They spin the clubs cruise down the block.

By then, the two jeeps had turned around and were racing back toward them, also fighting their way through the oncoming traffic. The three opposite-driving vehicles raced onto a freeway bridge and Marcy slammed on the breaks once more. This time, however, she didn't move forward. A car quickly swerved, narrowly missing the stalled vehicle.

"Um, there's two semis coming," Captain America noticed with a quick glance out the back. We need to move."

Marcy faced forward. "Activate front cannons," she told the vehicle's computer. "Fire."

Two large automatic barrels appeared out of the hood of the SUV and completely obliterated the concrete safety blockade on the bridge.

"Semi's coming!" Captain America reminded.

The two jeeps were closing in from the front as well.

Marcy gunned the engines. The SUV lurched forward, tires squealing. It launched itself off the bridge and into the open air. Down below, a second freeway ran perpendicular to the bridge. As they soared through the air, a massive trailer carrying a nearly full load of brand new cars appeared below them.

As if placed there by the hand of God Himself, the SUV landed in the last slot of the trailer, which just happened to be the only empty one. Above, one jeep swerved to get out of the way of the incoming semis, colliding with its partner. The two vehicles totaled themselves in a ball of fire.

Captain America glanced back at the explosion before letting out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

Hawkeye smiled at him, cool as a cucumber. "I told you she was good at this."

Marcy glanced through her rear view mirror, lowering the volume of the radio. "Natasha, do you want to let us down?"

"Can't," she replied, holding up her empty clip. "I'm out."

"Mother, there's a gun in the glove box."

Claudia reached for the weapon. But instead of handing it back to Natasha, she rolled down the window herself. Leaning out, it took two shots before the lock was broken and the SUV was allowed to slide off the ramp and onto the street. They took off down the road, eager to put more distance between them and the attack site.

Black Widow climbed over the captain, grabbing the radio receiver on the dashboard. "HQ, this is Alpha Team, Black Widow speaking. Extraction was successful. If we can get more ammo we're ready to go back in."

Nicholas Fury himself responded on the other line. "No need. The situation has been contained. Return home Alpha Team."

Black Widow furrowed her brow. "Are you sure you don't need us?"

"You're not the only competent agents I have, you know," Fury shot back. "We sent in a second wave and just the mere threat of unleashing Bruce Banner on them sent most of their guys out in surrender. Situation is under control. Return home, Alpha Team."

The car was quiet for a moment.

"Well, that was fun," Claudia announced. "It made me feel like a young agent again. How about we all go out to lunch after this? My treat."

"I'm in," Clint immediately said.

Marcy just sighed. She had no idea how her mother managed to survive an entire career as a field agent when she was this oblivious.

"So, you were a SHIELD agent yourself," Steve surmised as he walked outside the parameter of SHIELD HQ. The older woman at his side had one hand resting on his arm as he guided her around.

"Yes, I was. As was my father, in fact," Claudia Shepherd confirmed. "He was in the US Marines before that and was one of the first agents invited to SHIELD after it was founded. His specialty was extraction- much like Marcy's, as you saw. He liked making sure he got his men out safely."

"But you weren't extraction?" Steve then asked.

"Me? No, I wasn't too good at the waiting part. I was in espionage. I liked thrill of the mission, the secrecy, the excitement. I could never sit still too long back in those days. Too much to see, too much to do."

"I'm sorry if this is a rude question, ma'am. But you and Agent Gray don't have the same last name. Was she adopted?"

Claudia patted his arm with a laugh. "No, no. She's mine. Her father and I never married, God rest his soul. Times were different when I was young." She smiled with sweet nostalgia. "I had been separated from my team, hunted by the enemy, trekking through backwoods and forest lands. I was hurt and exhausted when I stumbled upon her father's farm. He found me passed out in his barn and took care of me. We fell in love."

"That's terribly romantic, ma'am."

"It was," Claudia agreed with stars in her eyes. "He was such a rugged, serious man. I loved it. We couldn't get enough of each other. I would take any opportunity to visit him, but he wanted me to quit SHIELD. We had Marcy, but he wouldn't marry me as long as I continued working. He said his heart couldn't take letting go of me time after time, not knowing if that would be the time I wouldn't come back."

"I can understand that," Steve said softly.

Claudia gave him a thoughtful look. "Have you known my daughter long, Captain?"

Steve took a moment to think about it. "I believe we've been working together for the past several months. But there are a lot of people in that building, so I'm afraid I didn't notice her right away. Even though, apparently, she would greet me every morning." He admitted the last part apologetically.

Claudia didn't seem to hold that against him. "Yes, well, Marcy has always been very good at fading into the background. It's very helpful to her job, however, not so helpful at making friends. But that's who she has always been. You see, Captain, my Marcy is one of those girls you don't notice unless you slow down and take the time to look. Like a flower in a blooming garden. You can't fully appreciate its individual beauty until you stop and take the time to really see what you're looking at."

Steve took a moment to think about that. He was about to respond when a female voice cut him off.

"Mom, there you are," Agent Gray called as she approached them. "They issued us a new car. I've already transferred your bags."

"Oh, lovely dear." Claudia turned from her daughter to the man on her arm. "Captain, have you ever considered asking Marcy on a date?"

Steve's jaw fell open. Marcy's dropped twice as far, her eyes wide in horror.

"I think you two would be just a splendid match," the older woman continued.

"Well, I uh..." Steve floundered.

"Mom, please. I'm sure Captain Rogers has more important things to do."

"Even captains have downtime. Captain Rogers, you don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

"Uh, no ma'am, but-"

"See? Why not take my daughter out? She's such a homebody. She could use a boyfriend."

"Well, I..."

Marcy's face was bright red by now. "Mom, I'm sure he is quite capable of getting his own-"

"Oh come now, you two should go out and have a little fun."

"Please, Mom, you're being rude."

"Come now, Marcy, you're a beautiful girl. You could get any man you want if you just did a little more with... this." She gestured to Marcy's appearance in general. "Don't you think I have a beautiful daughter, Captain?"

"I, uh..."

"Please, just drop it," Marcy pleaded in a low tone, her face turning red.

"Don't be so dramatic, Marcy, it won't hurt to ask him to take you out for just one—"

"HE DOESN'T WANT TO!" Marcy barked out, finally silencing her mother.

Claudia blinked several times at her daughter, her mouth struggling to find the words.

"The car is waiting," Marcy then said in a more gentle voice. "Let's get you home, it's been a long day."

Marcy silently mouthed "I am so sorry," to Steve before Claudia allowed her daughter to silently lead her away.

Steve watched them go, secretly amused more than he had been uncomfortable with the propositions. He remembered when he was a young teen and had a crush on a girl at school. His own mother had embarrassed him to death in front of this girl—he couldn't even remember her face now—trying to get him to ask her out. His mother had died only a few years after.

Even though mothers could be aggravating, he hoped Agent Gray appreciated the fact that she still had one to aggravate her. The side of his mouth ticked up as he watched them go, the murmur from the two woman clear that they were still arguing. He shook his head and walked back into the SHIELD central building.