Chapter 7
Sitting in the back corner booth of a sports bar in Georgetown, Kelsey tried not to let her nerves get to her as they waited for Sharon to arrive with any information she might have been able to dig up. The whole night before and most of the flight she had been trying not to dwell on the possibility that even with a name it was possible Sharon wouldn't be able to produce anything useful. She was impatient for answers, knowing her life on hold as long as this continued. She hated feeling like she was in limbo, and she looked at the burner phone Sam had given her, checking the time for what felt like the millionth time since the plane landed.
"Relax, Kels," Bucky said next to her, his voice quiet in her ear. "She'll be here."
Leaning back against the cushion of the booth, she fought the urge to let out a sigh before she took a sip of the drink she had ordered at the bar. Sharon had been someone she loved visiting as a kid, as they got older though it hadn't escaped Kelsey's notice that Sharon had always had her grandmother's complete support when pursuing her career, while Kelsey had been encouraged to venture down a much safer path. That had led to a certain amount of jealousy that Kelsey wasn't particularly proud of, and when she'd heard of Sharon's pardon and reinstatement with the C.I.A. she hadn't exactly been in a hurry to catch up. The fact that her cousin had been working on a case outside of the country when her grandfather passed had also made it easy to avoid an awkward reunion, especially as the whole truth began to leak out to the rest of the world.
"When was the last time you two saw each other?" Sam asked, breaking the silence that had descended upon the table once more.
"I think it was right after my grandmother's service in London," she told him. "It's been a while."
"She really didn't have any idea about Steve?" Sam asked, and Kelsey shook her head.
"By the time Sharon and I were born they'd been married for forty years. They had their cover story established and they were always careful with what photos they had out around the house," she told them. "She never gave it a second thought."
She noticed Sam and Bucky exchange a look, and she raised an eyebrow looking between them. However, before she could ask about it, the door opened and she spotted Sharon walking through into the restaurant. She met Sharon's eyes and the blonde gave her a small smile, which Kelsey returned, a little of the tension leaving her shoulders.
"Gentlemen," Sharon said when she reached the booth. "Kelsey, it's good to see you in one piece."
Kelsey watched as Sharon handed Sam a USB drive before she said, "Thanks, Sharon...and thank you for the help."
"I'd love to know how you managed to attract the attention of Jared Hughes," Sharon told her, and Kelsey felt the color drain from her face as she stared across the table at her cousin. "That's who the guy who attacked you is working for."
"What the hell does he have to do with this?" Kelsey asked, doing her best to keep her breathing steady.
"You know him?" she heard Bucky ask next to her and she glanced over at him as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"I used to." she answered. "We went to college together. We got paired up on a project my freshman year and he convinced me to help him on this program he had been working on. Well...more like, I spent hours in front of the screen trying to fix all of the bugs in his code while he got drunk."
"Well, whatever you two were working on, apparently it left quite the impression," Sharon quipped from across the table and Kelsey couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "I met this guy in Madripoor. He's eager to move up the food chain, and it looks like he needs you to do that."
"Damn it," Kelsey said, shaking her head as she leaned back against the back of the booth cushion once more. "Good to know some people never change."
"That doesn't explain why he's after you now," Sam said from across the table.
Taking a breath she answered, "Jared always seemed to believe that the person who came out on top would be the person who knew everyone else's secrets. He wanted to be the one with all the power, so he could be the one able to manipulate and blackmail everyone else. Unfortunately digging up that sort of thing that requires a higher level of skill than he possesses. He wasn't exactly good at being discrete nor did he have any sort of real talent with coding and algorithms."
"Which is why he needed you to fix the code he had written," Sam said, and Kelsey nodded.
"Yep," she told him, "and at first I was naive enough to help him. When I realized I was about to hand him something that could potentially give him the power to gather private data from supposedly secure sources...I destroyed it. The original, the backups. I killed it before he ever got a chance to take it for even a test drive."
"I'm guessing that didn't go over well," Sam responded and she shook her head.
"No, not really...maybe he's trying to recreate his work," Kelsey said, closing her eyes for a moment. "He probably figures if I could get it working once I might be able to do it again...or that I can somehow magically fix whatever he's working on now."
"Either way, this guy is trying to set himself up to be a major player," Sharon told them, looking at Kelsey. "Apparently he's come a long way from your college booty call and this time he's not wasting time on charm to persuade you into helping him."
Kelsey felt her eyes narrow as a wave of anger washed over her as she looked at Sharon. She took a steadying breath before sitting up and leaning forward so her forearms were resting on the edge of the table, regarding her cousin for a moment.
"Do you really want to go down this road?" Kelsey asked. "We could be here all day hashing out all of the stupid things we did growing up and I'd rather focus my energy on finding Jared and putting my life back together."
"You're the one who needed my help, remember?" her cousin asked. "It's been what, almost eight years now since we last spoke?"
"I had my reasons, good ones in fact," Kelsey told her. "Can we please do this another time?"
"Fine, I have to get back anyway," Sharon said, getting up from the booth. "The drive should give you all the information you need."
"Sharon," Kelsey said, taking a deep breath as she saw her cousin's eyes meet her own, "I really do appreciate your help...I'm glad things have worked out for you."
She saw Sharon nod before she turned to Sam and asked, "Could I get a moment of your time outside? I have something else for you to take a look at." Sam nodded, getting up from the table as Sharon looked back across the way and added, "Bucky, good to see you. Kelsey, good luck."
Kelsey let out a long, slow breath as Sharon made her way to the door, Sam following close behind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bucky shift next to her and she leaned back again, her arms falling to her sides as she looked over at him. He had been mostly quiet during the exchange, his expression unreadable, and she hated not having any clue what he was thinking.
"I'm guessing you two didn't spend a ton of time braiding each other's hair and playing dress up," Bucky said finally, causing her to laugh in spite of herself.
"That's one way to put it," she said. "We got on well as girls, but the older we got the more we just drifted apart. We both had something from my grandmother the other one wanted. Sharon had her support to pursue the career she did and I had the undivided attention of the one person Sharon looked up to." With a sigh, she added, "I guess at least now we have an answer as to who's behind this."
"Seems that way," he told her, and under the table she felt his right hand brush up against her left, her skin tingling at the touch. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Kelsey said with a shrug. "I'm just surprised, I guess...he wasn't exactly someone I thought would ever succeed. At least not without a lot of help along the way."
"Apparently he still needs your help at least."
"I don't know, I could think of people who are more qualified than me. I think he assumes he can still manipulate me...because my judgement when it came to him was not the best."
Jared had been one of those mistakes she knew she would always regret. Everyone had tried to warn her about him, that he was only going to use her, but she hadn't listened. Instead she had allowed herself to become a pawn in his plan, making excuses for helping him and letting herself be blinded by the fact that he was the first guy to not be intimidated by her. She had been an easy target for him in the past and clearly he thought she still would be.
"No one has good judgement at that age," he told her, and Kelsey smirked appreciatively.
"I'd like to think mine has improved in the last decade," she replied, looking up at him and meeting his eyes.
His hand was still resting on the seat against hers, and tentatively she reached out to place hers on top of it, her fingers intertwining with his. His hand was warm under hers, and she noticed he made no attempt to pull it away. She felt his thumb trace a path on the bottom of her hand, and she gave him a small smile as she kept her eyes fixed on his blue orbs. When his thumb brushed over the sensitive skin on her wrist, she felt a shiver go down her spine and she bit her lip as she tried not to think about how much just a simple touch was affecting her senses.
He started to lean forward, and Kelsey felt her breath catch in her throat, sure he was about to kiss her. However, the sound of Sam's voice shattered the moment, and Bucky pulled back instantly as they both watched Sam approach the booth. A wave of disappointment washed over her, but she did her best to hide it.
"Are you two ready to head out and see what Sharon put on that drive?" he asked, and Kelsey slowly pulled her hand away from Bucky's, finishing the drink she had ordered.
"Sure," she told him, as Bucky rose from the seat next to and she slid to the edge of the booth. "The sooner we find Jared the better as far as I'm concerned."
They left cash on the table before heading to the door and as they walked, she felt Bucky's hand come to rest on the small of her back. Looking over at him, she gave him a small smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She noticed he returned the smile and as they reached the door he held it for her. If Sam was aware of what was going on, he didn't say a word and the trio made their way through the D.C. streets and towards the apartment they would be staying at for a few days.
When they arrived at the apartment Sam had arranged for them to stay at, Kelsey had wasted no time disappearing into one of the bedrooms to start sorting through the information Sharon had provided. Bucky hadn't been surprised, knowing how strongly she felt about finding Hughes and putting an end to his desire to use her for whatever he had planned. She wanted her life back, and he didn't hold that against her. Yet, in the back of his mind he couldn't help wondering what that would mean for them and the connection he felt to her that seemed to grow with each passing day. He had almost given into the desire to kiss her in the restaurants, and his mind wouldn't stop replaying that moment he saw her shiver from his touch.
In the kitchen he poured himself a glass of whiskey, watching as Sam emerged from one of the other bedrooms ready to go for a run. Bucky took a sip of the drink, glancing over at Sam. The other man was watching him as he stretched, and Bucky gave him a questioning look before setting the glass down on the counter. When the silence dragged on he sighed, narrowing his eyes slightly in Sam's direction.
"What?" he asked finally. "Staring is my thing, it doesn't suit you."
"You know you're not fooling me, right?" Sam asked. "I saw how cozy you two looked when I came back from talking to Sharon."
"Sam, don't," Bucky said, shaking his head in annoyance.
"It's not surprising," Sam plowed on, and Bucky let out a groan, "you two have been doing this weird flirting thing for weeks...long before she showed up at your house."
"You just don't stop, do you?" Bucky asked, picking up the drink from the counter.
He moved to stand by the large windows that overlooked the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. There was little he could do to escape Sam's torture, but part of him kept hoping the other man would take the hint and drop the current topic of conversation and go for his run.
"I was almost sorry I interrupted," Bucky heard Sam continue on, and he took a long sip of his drink.
Bucky didn't respond, Sam was looking to get a rise out of him and he wasn't about to give his friend any more ammunition. He has seen this coming from the moment he heard Sam's voice as he approached the booth. The feel of Kelsey's hand, the softness of her skin against his own had all drawn him in and he had wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them and feel his lips brush against hers. However, Sam had brought them both crashing back to reality.
"How long has it been for you anyway?" Sam asked and Bucky shook his head before turning back around.
"I swear to God, Sam, if you don't drop it…"
"Relax, Bucky," Sam said, laughing. "I'm dropping it. I just wanted to see that vein in your forehead pop out."
"You are such an asshole," Bucky muttered, turning back to the window as Sam laughed harder.
"I'll be back in a bit," Sam said, heading towards the door.
Turning his attention back to the window, he heard Sam close the apartment door and he let out a sigh of relief. He would have at least an hour of peace without the obnoxious questions and comments. His plan was to enjoy his drink and let Kelsey have the space she needed to work through the files on Sharon's drive. However, when he heard the bedroom door at the end of the hallway open, he looked over questioningly as Kelsey appeared at the entrance to the hall.
"Hey," he said, giving her a small smile. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," she said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Did Sam go for a run?"
"Yep, finally. Do you want a drink?" he asked, not missing the tell that there was clearly something on her mind that had her feeling uncertain.
When she nodded, he made his way back towards the kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring some of the whiskey into it before refreshing his own drink. She had followed him into the kitchen, and took the drink from him before leaning back against the counter.
"Thanks," she said, and she took a sip of the drink before continuing. "I...I could hear the two of you out here. The walls are a little thin in this apartment."
"Ah," Bucky responded, after taking a sip of his own drink, wishing she hadn't heard all of that. "Sam was just trying to get to me."
"I figured," Kelsey told him, "and I was sitting in there debating whether or not I should pretend I didn't hear him. Only thing is that he wasn't actually wrong….and I think we both know it."
"Kels, we don't have to do this now if you don't want to," Bucky replied, part of him wanting to murder Sam for his antics. "Sam just can't help himself sometimes."
"I guess the smart thing would be to wait until things settle down," she said with a shrug, placing the drink on the counter next to her as she turned in his direction. "It's just..it was a lot easier to ignore how I felt when I was in New Jersey and you were in Louisiana."
"I know the feeling. Especially since you seem to thoroughly enjoy testing my self control."
He saw her blush, a small laugh escaping her lips. Bucky took a sip of his drink before setting it on the counter next to hers. Turning so they were facing each other he saw her reach up and tuck her hair behind her ear once more, the familiar action causing a satisfied grin to spread across his features.
"Well, I enjoy a challenge," she told him. "It's fun to see if I can get you to stop brooding for a few minutes."
"I do not brood," he retorted, mocking offence.
She scrunched her nose as she made a non-committal sound before saying, "You do sometimes. In all seriousness though, my feelings for you...it's more than just friendship. I think it has been for a while and I was just afraid to admit it to even myself because it all seemed like it would be so complicated from a thousand miles away."
They had started down this path long before she showed up at his door on Monday night, however the excuse of distance had always made their flirtation seem safe. Being physically in the same location changed everything and the stress of the situation they found themselves had amplified everything about their feelings. Every smile, every time she tucked her hair behind her ear, and every touch made ignoring how he felt about her increasingly more difficult.
"And as far as your self control...I'm not sure if you noticed, but I wasn't exactly stopping you at the restaurant," she added, a small smirk forming on her lips.
He returned it with one of his own and told her, "I'm pretty sure you instigated what almost happened at the restaurant."
With a shrug she said, "Maybe I did." She paused for a second, biting her lip before adding, "So...I guess if we're going to do the smart thing I should get back to work then?"
Her tone had made it clear she was challenging him to make a move and keep her there, her eyes watching him closely. Before he could convince himself not to, he raised his right hand and brushed the hair back from her face, his fingers trailing down the side of her face and along her jaw. A soft smile had formed on her lips as he gently tilted her chin up a bit and then brushed his lips over hers. Her lips were soft against his, and he felt her hand come to rest on his chest, her fingers latched onto the fabric of his shirt to pull him closer. His hand moved from her chin to cup her cheek as he deepened the kiss, reveling in the feel of her mouth against his.
The sound of the phone vibrating in her pocket drew them back to reality, and he heard a soft groan of disappointment escape her lips as he pulled away. He chuckled as he leaned his forehead against hers for a moment.
"That's got to be Sam," she said, "you two are the only ones who have that number."
"I may have to kill him," Bucky retorted with a smirk, causing her to chuckle as she pulled away.
He turned and picked up his drink from where he had placed it on the counter as she retrieved the phone from her pocket. Taking a sip, he noticed the smile on her lips faded the moment she read the message, her eyes growing wide.
"What's wrong?" he asked, setting the drink down once more before taking a step closer to her.
"It's from Jared," she said, looking up at him. "He knows I'm here."