Chapter Twenty-Five
You played your hand,
I played the fool
By taking a chance.
You held my hands—
Takes two to dance—
Now you're playing it cool…
—'Let You Let Me Down,' Donna Missal
The ringing of her phone startled Lina, and she practically vaulted over the sofa to reach it by the second ring. Her heart pounded as she ached to hear James's voice on the other end. It had been almost two days without any word from the team and she couldn't help but worry.
"Hello?" she asked, heart pounding in her throat. It was a miracle she managed to eke the question out around the organ threatening to choke her.
'Lina, hi—it's Pepper Potts,' the refined voice on the other end of the line said. 'Do you have a minute to chat?'
Disappointment welled in her breast, but Lina did her best to tamp it down. "Pepper, hi! Yeah, I can talk."
She had nothing but time, after all.
'I actually have a favor to ask—I need you to start earlier than planned. I know you were supposed to be based in the New York office, but I could use your help in L.A.' Tapping keys and shuffling papers could be heard on the other end of the line, and Lina could almost picture the chic redhead multi-tasking at a sleek desk in some West Coast high rise.
"What do you need help with? I'm happy to translate any documents, though that's probably easier done by e-mail—"
Hesitation gnawed at her stomach, tugging and heavy. She wanted to stay. James could be back any day with the team and news, and Lina wanted nothing more than to crash into his arms the moment the elevator doors opened. As much as the waiting killed her, the thought of leaving was somehow worse.
'It's a last-minute meeting with some Russian tech investors. They're providing a translator for me, but something about this situation is off. I need someone I can trust.' The sounds of typing stopped then as Pepper turned her full attention to the call. 'I need you to come to L.A. Please, Lina.'
Her shoulders slumped as her eyes trailed to the stainless-steel elevator doors. They stayed disappointingly, stubbornly closed. "Okay, I'll be there. When is the meeting?"
'Tomorrow. Pack for a few days, and I'll have Happy share the itinerary.' A deep breath shuddered over the call. 'Thank you. I really appreciate you doing this.'
She was struck by Pepper's vulnerability in that moment. How had she been so self-absorbed to think that the poised woman on the other end of the line wasn't just as affected by Tony's part of this mission? Mentally berating herself, Lina shrugged before realizing Pepper couldn't see it.
"I think staying busy right now is exactly what I need, so you're really doing me a favor." She tried to play it off as a wry joke, uncertain how to respond to this virtual stranger.
'You're sweet,' the other woman said. The flurry of activity resumed on the other end of the call, rustling papers and the sounds of rapid typing breaking the spell cast by their shared worry. 'Your flight should leave in a couple hours, and—I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll see you later.'
Three quick beeps hung in the quiet stretching before her. There was nothing to do but pack. Her limbs were filled with lead so heavy that she couldn't bring herself to move. The last time she'd gone off on her own, she'd been cornered and attacked by one of Hydra's payroll psychos. Sure, it sounded like the team had cut the knees off the organization but that didn't mean that Eric Williams had lost interest.
Lina's mouth filled with a bitter taste at the name. She tried not to think about the way his eyes gleamed with a sick excitement as he'd pinned her over the bathroom sink—it was easier to avoid those memories when James and the team surrounded her. But now she didn't have them. She was on her own again. Her heart started racing at the thought of him finding her somewhere between the Tower and the Los Angeles office. She couldn't stop the torrent; it was all too easy to picture the ways he could hurt her, especially knowing there would be no help.
Someone jostled her shoulder then making Lina jump out of her skin.
"Whoa!" Maria held her hands up as if to say 'down girl, I'm unarmed.' "You okay?"
She nodded emphatically, pretending (and failing) to act like nothing was amiss. Like she wasn't scaring herself senseless imagining what a professional murderer could do to her. "Yeah, sorry. You surprised me."
Hill shot her a look like she'd grown a second head. "I called your name."
"I was thinking, sorry." The blonde smiled apologetically. "Pepper needs me in L.A., so I was planning what to pack."
"Okay." Pink lips pursed as the former agent leveled her with a skeptical look. "I thought you'd want to know that the team arrived in South Africa a few minutes ago. They're preparing to engage with Klaue."
Relief flooded through her then, though it was quickly replaced with concern. She hated the thought of her friends walking into danger, especially with a murder bot on the loose. Shaking herself out of it, Lina said, "Thank you. I didn't think it would take that long to get there."
Hill shrugged, her blue eyes bright as she looked down at the tablet glowing quietly in her hands. "It's a long flight, and then they had to convince a few people to give up Klaue's exact location."
Lina nodded, not entirely interested in knowing what was involved in 'convincing' the locals. "I'm leaving soon—would it be too much to ask if… Would you mind letting me know when this is all over? And maybe feed Ziggy?"
"Sure, I could use the company." Something must have given away her trepidation because the cool woman shot her a small smile. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but they're all pros."
"Thanks, Maria." With that, they parted ways and Lina went to pack with a renewed sense of calm.
She arrived on the West Coast just as the sun was setting over the city. It was her first time in the state, but the sleek silver car waiting on the tarmac told her there was no time for lollygagging or sightseeing. Lina departed the company's private jet and waved shyly at the hulking figure of Tony and Pepper's righthand man. He hustled her into the car, getting them on the road with little pomp.
Before she knew it, the city was flying by. Lights of passing cars flashed through the tinted windows, the only noise from the tires on pavement. Sleek, modern buildings glittered at her from afar, surrounded by the bright stucco of the Spanish colonials that pervaded the state. Happy Hogan stole the occasional glance at his quiet passenger through the rearview mirror, his frown deepening with every moment that passed without a word.
Lina saw none of it. She was busy, frantically scrolling through a news story about explosions along the South African coast and a downtown area being decimated by Iron Man and the Hulk. Her eyes devoured every word on the screen as she searched for any whiff of him—any flash of him in a cellphone video or picture.
There was nothing.
Her stomach sank, though she supposed it was good news. No one wanted the authorities to know the whereabouts of the Winter Soldier. It was really the last thing he needed. With a heavy sigh, she locked the phone and dropped her head back against the plush seat.
"You okay back there?"
Her eyes met Happy's in the mirror, easily noting the question written in the worry lines on his forehead. "Yeah, just… worried."
"About the team?"
"Yeah." Another weighty sigh escaped her. "The Hulk went off; he and Tony basically leveled part of a city."
He nodded, expertly maneuvering them through the city's infamous traffic. "That's not entirely surprising, is it?"
"The Hulk is volatile, but it's seemed like Banner had a tight grip on him lately." She shrugged, not entirely sure about the innerworkings of the scientist's relationship with The Other Guy. "They're okay, though the locals can't all say the same."
A motorcycle cut their car off and the bulky driver laid on the horn with a curse. Lina started at the outburst and forced herself to relax before he noticed. Shaking his head, Happy turned his attention back to her. "Sorry about that; bikers in this city are crazier than any of the Avengers."
She snorted before she could stop herself. "I sincerely doubt that."
"You're with Barnes, right?" There was no judgment in his eyes or voice as he peered at her through the mirror. "What's the wildest thing he's done?"
"Do you mean in the '40s, with Hydra, or since I've known him?"
"I'll take one of each."
Lina leaned forward to rest her cheek on the headrest, thinking through all the stories she'd heard of her lover's antics. "Well… He went on a rampage a while ago and tore through several Hydra hideouts alone. During the war, he did a few night jumps over enemy lines with the Commandos—no parachute release until they were almost on the ground. And…. Hydra had him assassinate Kennedy."
The driver clearly wasn't expecting that last and nearly swerved into the next lane. Horns blared around them, and several drivers shot him the finger. "You have got to be kidding."
She shook her head, messy bun wobbling with the motion. "Dead serious."
"No shit."
"Your turn, what's the stupidest thing Tony's done? Besides creating Ultron, I mean."
The ice was officially broken and they talked freely, scarcely stopping for the rest of the drive to the office. The towering building, all glass and chrome, dwarfed the car as Happy maneuvered them into the underground garage. He escorted her through the maze of hallways and elevators, chatting easily the entire way to Pepper's door.
The redhead was standing over a printer, reading through the pages in her hands when they arrived. A frown creased her delicate brows, though her expression smoothed into a smile when she saw them.
"Lina, hi!" She padded over on bare feet, standing just a few inches taller than the blonde without her usual sky-high heels. "Thank you for coming out on such short notice."
She smiled easily at her new boss—her nerves ebbed during the drive in, making thing much easier than she'd anticipated. "Not a problem! Thank you for the accommodations."
"There was no trouble on the drive?" The question was directed at Happy, some unspoken message pinging through the air.
"No, it was about as uneventful as it can be." He nodded towards the papers in the CEOs hands. "Are you almost finished for the night?"
Pepper nodded, moving back into her office and talking as she went about gathering her things. "I'm not done, but the rest can happen at home. I still have some files to review before tomorrow's meeting, and then I have a call with the Seoul R&D team in a few hours."
Lina hovered in the reception area where a couple of desks sat across from each other—for Pepper's assistants, she assumed—while the driver-slash-bodyguard followed the redhead into her office. She was staring down at the sprawling city, mesmerized by the lights and palm trees lining the street when Happy cleared his throat. A quick jerk of his head had her scurrying away from the floor-to-ceiling windows and into Pepper's office.
He closed the door behind her with a quiet click and Lina took a beat to look around the room. It was large, lined on two sides by expansive windows. A pristine glass desk sat facing the door, a state-of-the-art laptop tucked to one side and tidy stacks of folders and papers on the other. A large screen dominated the wall opposite the desk, presumably for video conferences and presentations, and a seating area was tucked near a bar.
Pepper led the way to the plush chairs arranged to take advantage of the glittering cityscape. Soft, feminine creams and blues took the edge off the spartan modernity of the room. She gestured for the pair to sit even as the statuesque redhead folded herself into one of the seats. With the press of a finger, a strange black device lit up, the blue circle atop it matching a thin blue line on the floor around the seating area.
"No one can overhear or record us now," Pepper told them. She looked tired for the first time, her face going slack as the pressure of keeping up appearances vanished. "I'm not going to waste anyone's time. Lina, the meeting is tomorrow morning and I need you in there with me."
The shorter woman nodded, leaning forward in her seat. "What do you need me to do?"
"Act as my assistant. Take notes on the meeting, hand me the necessary files, and—most importantly—let me know what they say that doesn't get interpreted. I don't care if it's paraphrased, insulting, or talking about their lunch order." Something gleamed in the redhead's eyes then, something sharp and knowing. "Something about this isn't right. I need you to listen to everything and ferret out what that is."
"I can do that," Lina nodded. "Will these papers will be labeled? I'm not familiar enough with this deal to be anything but a bumbling idiot without neon signs."
Pepper cracked a tiny smile at the joke and even Happy huffed in amusement. Everything was so serious that she couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable—making stupid jokes was her preferred method of coping. She breathed a sigh of relief when the redhead gestured to her desk.
"I had a dossier prepared for you, complete with tabs. James was kind enough to let me know you prefer a color-coded system." Pepper smiled softly at the flush that spread over the younger woman's cheeks. "Just take a look at it all tonight to familiarize yourself."
"I can do that." Lina hesitated before asking the question nagging at the back of her mind. "Pepper… what do you think is really going on?"
She and Happy exchanged a look that contained a full-blown conversation the other woman couldn't translate. As much as she understood their caution, Lina couldn't help but be frustrated by it. How was she supposed to eavesdrop and give Pepper the necessary information if she had no idea what she was listening for?
Lina said as much, trying not to let her exasperation show. "I won't know what's important without context. I need you to trust me if I'm going to do my job."
"Look, Ms. Balitiu," Happy started, his tone firm but not unkind. "Part of the job is working with limited—"
"Happy." Pepper cut him short with that single word, her gentle voice carrying all the weight of her authority. "She's right. The Russians approached us about new, proprietary facial recognition technology. It's the most accurate I've seen. Someone using it on their cellphone can have a total stranger's address, social media, employment history, contact information, online accounts—everything, even medical records, pulled up in seconds."
The blonde blanched at the implications of such technology being widely available. "That's one of the creepiest things I've ever heard."
"Just wait, it gets worse," Happy told her with a heavy sigh.
"I think they're trying to start a bidding war between us and the Russian military. Not only would this drive the asking price up, but the media coverage would drive their stock prices up and, possibly, let them go public and sell the tech in app stores." Pepper rubbed the bridge of her nose as the exhaustion hit her all over again. She just looked tired, like she'd been running an endless marathon for weeks.
"And you… what? Want to make them an offer they can't refuse and stop this technology from getting to Russian intelligence agencies?" Lina asked with a frown. She didn't even realize she was chewing her lip as she imagined someone using this on any of the Avengers or—heaven forbid—on James.
"Pretty much, except I think they already have it."
Her blood ran cold. "So what does that mean?"
It was Happy that spoke up then, his expression serious. "It means we acquire the rights to it and cut their contract. Stop them from getting new versions, extensions—whatever, and suing them to hell and back for patent infringement when they try making their own version."
She nodded, determination setting in. If she could play even the tiniest role in something that would protect her friends and… whatever James was to her, she would do it in a heartbeat. All the better if her job could also protect women just going about living their lives from creeps with the app. Lina was resolute. It was the first time in months she'd felt like she had a purpose. Living in the Tower had given her a sense of security, but what was she really doing with herself? She wasn't productive or contributing in any meaningful way. But this… this was a chance to give back, to help people who'd never realize there had been a problem in the first place. Hope buoyed within her, making her feel light enough to walk on air. She didn't want to give this feeling up for anything.
The conference room in the Los Angeles office was as modern as the rest of the building, all polished metal and glass, clean lines and sharp edges. The large triangular table sat in the middle of a room Lina was convinced took up half of this particular floor. The floor to ceiling glass windows looked out over the city below, but no one paid the view any mind. Everyone's attention was on the Russian delegation.
Lina shifted uncomfortably in her rolling chair. The meeting had been droning on for hours at this point without a break. She desperately needed to move, but she couldn't get up and leave. A good assistant would tough it out, and she had to play the part.
The Russian translator was talking in time with his CEO, their accents blending together and making it hard to hear what he was saying. Lucky for her, she didn't need the translator but she didn't imagine it was a pleasant experience for Pepper or the rest. It seemed like they were reaching a stopping point when two of the foreign underlings began talking quietly to one another near the refreshments table.
Pepper noticed and leaned in to the blonde at her left. "Could you get me some coffee? Two sugars, no cream."
She nodded silently and barely suppressed a satisfied groan when she stood. Taking care to moderate the click of her heels on the polished floors, Lina made her way over. The two men shot her a curious look and paused their conversation when she neared. Lina shot them both a polite smile and grabbed a mug from the neat stack.
"Do you think we'll break for lunch soon?" she asked softly so as not to interrupt the ongoing monologue.
They simply shrugged at her and resumed talking. Good—let them think her nothing more than Pepper's gofer. She took her time making the drink as she listened in.
'Do you think it will work?' the tall blond man asked his counterpart.
The shorter, dark haired man shrugged. 'Sergei is confident it will.'
'I've heard the Stark company is ruthless against its competitors. It would be years of our lives fighting them in court.' The lighter haired man's voice was concerned though his face remained studiously stoic.
Lina stirred the sugar in slowly as she tried to wait them out. She needed to hear whatever they were saying—she had to drag this out somehow. She perused the fruit selection as she waited. The pair paused again to watch her as she worked, but she pasted on her best absent expression. She just hoped it was convincing.
'Yes, but twice the profit.' The darker man turned to his coworker, easily ignoring Lina as she began working on a second mug of coffee—this one for her. 'The ministry has deep pockets for spyware, and Stark Industries is nothing if not wealthy—it will be worth it. You can buy that home in the Crimea once we get paid.'
They started talking about vacation homes then, and Lina scurried back to her seat. She set the coffees down and immediately began typing in the interoffice messaging system.
Her fingers flew as she relayed what she'd heard to Pepper, heart racing at a mile a minute. The tremor in her hands only became apparent when they stilled. She saw the chat window flashing on Pepper's screen and waited with baited breath for her to read it. Her suspicions were confirmed, now it was just a matter of figuring out what came next.
Pepper simply nodded before standing. The sudden motion cut off the older man droning on and on, surprising him into silence. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we should regroup after lunch. The café on the fifteenth floor is pretty good. Excuse me."
With that, she swept from the room with a tone of finality in each click of her heels. The Russians were agog at Pepper's sudden departure, muttering amongst themselves about the unpredictability of Western women. Lina listened to it all and fought back a smirk as she packed her boss's belongings alongside her own, following at a more sedate pace.
The room was bustling with activity. The foreign representatives were milling about while interns rushed in to tidy up the space for the next session. She was almost out the door when a heavy hand landed on her arm. Startled, Lina looked up at the craggy, bearded face of one of the Russian businessmen.
"Girl, can you show us to the elevators?" he asked in a thick accent. Icy blue eyes peered curiously down at her.
"Huh? Oh, sure—" she was cut off when he began speaking to his coworkers in rapid Russian. Lina pursed her lips before leading the entourage towards the stainless-steel doors of the elevator bank.
"I do not know why you worried, Alexei," he said with a laugh. "The girl barely understood when I spoke in English. Here." He quickly switched back to English, his beefy fingers squeezing her shoulder. "What is your name, girl?"
She let her eyebrows quirk as she paused over his question. "Lina, sir. Lina Balitiu."
"Balitiu?" His bushy brows flew up in surprise at her unusual surname. "You are Slavic?"
Lina let out a little titter at that. "My dad's family is Romanian, but I was born and raised in the U.S."
"Do you speak any?" The men trailing behind them were far too quiet to be doing anything but listening.
Awareness prickled at the back of her neck as she felt all eyes upon her. Lina ducked her head a bit, hoping it was taken for bashfulness instead of preparing to lie. "A little—just the basics, really. My family tells me all the time that my accent is atrocious."
"I would like to judge for myself," beefy fingers said, his jovial tone a stark contrast to the cold glitter in his eyes.
"Salut," she said, forcing herself to speak in her normal tone. She even threw in a little Texas twang for good measure. "Ce mai faceti?"
The man laughed at her butchering of the language and turned to the others following behind him. "See? There is nothing to worry about. It's like we've heard—Stark Industries only hires women for their pretty faces."
She fought to keep her expression one of polite confusion, certain it was another test. The man's eyes stayed trained on her, his laughter not reaching them as he watched for any sign of understanding. Forcing a sunny smile, she turned to the troupe of Russians once they reached elevators. Only the knowledge that Pepper was working to undermine him kept her calm enough to put on the vapid, perky front he expected.
"Here we are!" Lina chirped, readjusting her grip on the files. "Have a nice lunch—Ms. Potts should be ready to start in an hour."
A sigh of relief escaped her once the Russians all squeezed into the elevator car and were whisked away to the cafeteria. She wasn't an actress and, as James took great pleasure in reminding her, a terrible liar. It was definitely something to work on if her future assignments involved corporate intrigue. She couldn't help wondering how the team was faring against Ultron—what could espionage, marksmanship, and a metal arm really hope to do against a vibranium robot army?
The rest of the meetings flew by, providing Lina with the perfect white noise. She handed Pepper the files as needed and spent the rest of the time combing every news site she could think of to find any peep about the team or Ultron. It was impossible to tell if she felt relief or disappointment when each search came up empty. For days there was nothing.
Her despair mounted, rising higher as the sun sank over Los Angeles until, finally, her phone vibrated. And vibrated. It buzzed so hard and so continuously that it fell off the conference table and landed with a loud clatter on the polished floors.
Several pairs of eyes flew to her as she scrambled to recover her wayward phone and gasped. The slew of news notifications about a floating city and the Avengers descending on Sokovia had her heart in her throat. Shaky images taken by cellphones showed the heart of the city flying further away. She could only hope the dots in the air were falling debris though some instinct told her otherwise.
James was somewhere in the thick of it fighting a killer robot army, and all she could do was stare at her phone waiting on some word about him and the rest of the team. Nearly sick with fear and worry, Lina tore herself out of the fog of panic to shove the phone at Pepper. She needed to know too.
She watched the realization dawn quickly over her boss's face before the redhead shot to her feet. "Excuse us, gentleman. Let's take ten."
With that, Pepper grabbed the younger woman's hand and led the way out back to her office. The only sound was the click of their heels on the gleaming floors though Lina struggled to focus on it over the roaring in her ears. Her lover? Boyfriend? Partner? Whatever the title, James was in Sokovia, a city floating away from the earth and fighting for his life. Her stomach rolled so violently that she scrambled for a trash bin.
The acrid taste of bile filled her mouth while tears filled her eyes. Whether they were from vomiting or the overwhelming surge of emotions, Lina couldn't say. Regardless, she was a shaking, puking mess.
"Can you take this to the trash chute? Thanks," Pepper was saying to someone nearby as she deftly tied the garbage bag off. "Lina, we're almost there. Come on."
She stood and continued the trek to Pepper's office, so dazed that she honestly couldn't remember arriving or when she sank down in the plush chair.
"It was hard for me at first, too," the other woman said, her kind voice breaking through Lina's fog. "Every time Tony went out on some mission or flew through a tear in space, my heart would stop. I felt like I couldn't breathe until I saw him again, touched him again."
"And now?" Lina asked, voice rough as she dashed the tears away from her eyes.
"Now… I won't lie to you, it's still hard. But they know what they're doing, and you just have to trust that." Pepper passed her a water bottle and a disposable toothbrush. "That's the hardest part, but it's also the only thing we can really do."
She swished the water gratefully around her mouth, happy to wash away the bitter taste of her embarrassing display. "Do you ever get used to it?"
Pepper barked out a wry laugh. "Watching someone you love go out to risk life and limb against fantastical enemies? No. But it does become a sort of routine—you'll get used to saying goodbye and constantly checking every news source for information. Soon, you'll even know the best times to check for updates on international news and who reports on it best."
The frown that marred her brow was involuntary, but Lina didn't care if she scowled. "That's not a great way to live."
"No, but it's just one facet of having a superhero in your life. They have to constantly make impossible decisions and sacrifices, and we do too." With that, Pepper picked up a sleek remote and turned on a television hidden in one of her wall panels. Sound filled the room as she flipped from a financial reporter to a 24-hour news station for more information on Sokovia.
"—being propelled skyward, the work of a machine created by billionaire inventor Tony Stark," the reporter was saying from the street outside Avengers Tower in New York. "Reports are saying the Avengers are on the scene to combat the machines and evacuate civilians, though there is no word on what is being done to lower the city. Back to you, Chase."
The station cut to another reporter behind a desk. "Thanks, Donna. On the line now is NASA expert Dr. Parvati Mandalapu to discuss the various consequences of the flying city. Parvati?"
"Thank you. As footage shows, a portion of Sokovia—Novi Grad—is elevating thanks to several boosters spaced throughout the land beneath it. It is unclear at this time if the city is going to continue elevating or if the boosters are set to turn off, but it is a fatal result either way."
"What will happen if it continues rising?" the anchor asked, shuffling his notes as he spoke with the expert on the phone.
"The city and anyone in it will burn up in the atmosphere, though, I hate to say it, the people will be deceased or at least unconscious from oxygen deprivation." The disbelief was clear in her voice, though the woman did her best to keep her tone neutral and professional.
"And if the boosters fail?"
A long pause filled the air, the only noise a quiet crackle from the connection. "After a certain level of elevation is reached, the earth faces an extinction-level event. It will be comparable to the asteroid that struck the earth and filled the sky with ash and debris, killing off vegetation and, eventually, the dinosaurs."
Lina and Pepper watched the color drain from the anchor's face at her words, the notes in his hand trembling. "Can we cut it? I need to call my family."
With that, the broadcast cut to commercials and Pepper quickly turned off the television. The silence in the room was thick and palpable. It weighed on Lina's shoulders like a lead blanket. If the team didn't succeed, they'd die and so would everyone else. And they wouldn't even get to say goodbye.
It was a cruel joke—while the rest of the world could seek solace in their loved ones, be it through phone calls or embraces, the two women in this room whose lovers were fighting to save everyone wouldn't even get that much. She could only hope she'd be able to find a way back to New York so she could say scoop up her cat before fleeing to her parents' house—where she might not even be welcome. Maybe it was just her fate to die alone. Lina couldn't even cry at the melancholy thought. She just felt numb.
Pepper broke the silence. "Want to tell these Russians to go home and get drunk with me?"
She almost missed the exhaustion rimming the redhead's eyes, so good was she at hiding it. "Yeah, that sounds good."
The night wore on and the news blared in Pepper's Malibu home. The large television cast the open living room in flickering blue, competing with the inky night blanketing the city. It was quiet and only Pepper's company kept Lina from feeling oppressively alone.
The redhead stared silently at the screen, scotch forgotten in her hand. Sokovia had fallen before shattering into massive boulders that crashed back to earth. Most had escaped, but there were still dozens of fatalities already reported with more certain to roll in.
News crews were showing nearly endless footage of the crater.
Lina couldn't stop toying with her necklace. Rough edges bit into her soft skin as she watched, helpless against the sheer size of the robot's hatred for humanity. The scarred earth was a jarring reminder.
A phone buzzed loudly against the glass coffee table. It jolted both women out of their quiet shock and Pepper snatched it up. Her face fell slack with relief upon reading the new message.
"He's okay. Tony's okay. You should check your phone—Maria's giving updates." Pepper nudged Lina with her toes before focusing on the slew of messages crowding her inbox.
Lina moved to pick up her own phone, feeling like she was swimming through molasses to get there. Her heart was beating a harsh staccato against her throat. All she wanted was news of James's safety—any hint that he'd made it out alright. Her hopes fell flat when she saw no new messages.
"I—I've got nothing." The words sounded so distant it was like someone else had said them. "They'll be heading back to New York—I should be there. Pepper…"
"I've already texted Happy and he's getting the jet ready now." The older woman placed a steadying hand on Lina's shoulder. "The Russians can deal with a phone call; we've got more important places to be."
The next few hours were a whirl of action and waiting in parts. She and Pepper handled the remainder of the purchase talks on the plane, eventually coming to favorable terms and stopping the intended sale to foreign governments. Pepper settled the dispute in her usual cool, cutting way. She told Lina later that she'd been channeling Tony when she leveraged her way into buying all the intellectual property and schematics rights.
Before Lina knew it, they were back in Avengers Tower in the heart of Manhattan right as the rest of the team was disembarking their quinjet. Maria Hill held them back while the team was sent to the medical unit for examination before a debriefing.
Lina didn't know how, but she fell asleep in the bed she shared with James sometime after four in the morning. She awoke a few hours later, Ziggy nestled comfortably between her splayed legs, and reached for James. The other side of the bed was cold and untouched. Suddenly alert, Lina gently disentangled herself from the cat's blanket nest and went in search of her lover.
The common area was eerily silent, and there was still no sign of James. Thinking the debrief had run long, she moved as quietly as possible to start coffee. Every noise was like a crack of thunder in the still suite. At least if someone was around, they'd know exactly where to find her.
The coffee pot gurgled merrily away when Lina resumed her pursuit. The couch was empty, and the other rooms all stood with doors ajar. She tiptoed up to each and carefully peered through, finding each room empty. She was utterly alone.
"Jarvis, where's Sergeant Barnes?" she asked before remembering the A.I.'s demise. "Dammit."
A cool, accented voice piped in then. "I'm Friday, Ms. Balitiu. How may I assist you?"
"Oh crap!" Lina jumped at the new disembodied voice and hit her elbow against the wall. "Hi, Friday… Are you the new Jarvis?"
"Of a sort. Do you require assistance?" the lilting Irish voice asked.
Lina decided to figure out if the voice was soothing or unnerving later. Right now, she needed information. "Yes, can you tell me where Sergeant Barnes is?"
"I'm sorry, I don't have that information."
She fought to suppress a growl of frustration. "Do you know where Captain Rogers is?"
"Curls!" a familiar voice called from near the elevator bank.
"Thanks, Friday!" Lina breathed before rushing to find Clint Barton standing in the large living space with a young, dark-haired woman hiding behind him.
"Clint!" she cried, launching herself at him in relief. She knew they weren't close, but Lina didn't care. In that moment, she was just glad to know he was alright.
He returned the embrace a little awkwardly, patting her back and extricating himself from the hug as gracefully as he could. Hands on her shoulders, he gave her a gentle smile. "Hey, kid. You okay?"
"You're joking, right? I was safe and sound in California—you were the one on a giant, floating city. I should be asking if you're okay!" She stared him down, her sternness giving way to a grin.
"I'm good, Curls. I came down here looking for Steve. Have you seen him?" His eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of life other than the exuberant blonde before him.
"No, I haven't seen anyone except you and—I'm sorry! I'm so rude," she said, truly noticing the woman hiding behind Clint for the first time. Lina gave her the friendliest smile she could muster and held out a hand in greeting. "I'm Lina Balitiu, resident normal person."
"Wanda Maximoff," the young woman said softly before curling back into herself.
Lina heard the accent and looked closer. She could see the dark circles under the newcomer's eyes, the redness housed there and at the tip of her nose. She'd been crying—grieving, if her guess was right. Lina knew then and there this girl was Sokovian.
"It's nice to meet you, Wanda. I've got a pot of coffee going. Would you like some?" She kept her tone gentle and welcoming as she spoke. When she'd been cut off from her family, the last thing she'd wanted was pity. It seemed wise to abstain from heaping something so generally unwelcome on this girl right off the bat.
"Yes, thank you. The kitchen is…?"
Lina pointed with a smile. "Cups are out, and I've laid out milk and sugar too. Help yourself."
Wanda gave a nod and shuffled away without another word. The two Americans watched her go, one frowning and the other simply observing. Sagging, hunched shoulders and a head hung low completed the picture of sadness. The young woman was weighed down to the point that Lina half-expected her to collapse.
"She's Sokovian?" she asked quietly, pitching her voice so it wouldn't carry.
"Yeah, she lost her brother in the fight." Clint's gaze never strayed from the kitchen door.
"In the—you mean she was on the ground with y'all?"
He shot her a questioning glance, his brow furrowing further. "Yeah—she and her brother turned on Ultron and fought with us."
Lina looked between Clint and the kitchen where she could hear a spoon clinking gently against ceramic. "Is she the one from—?"
"She was there, but it was her brother that got me hit." He shook his head, weariness written into every line on his face. "They're just kids. Misguided, angry kids who realized they'd been lied to and helped us. Just… try, okay? She needs support now more than ever."
Lina nodded slowly, feeling bad for the alarm that crept up her spine as she realized who Wanda was. The girl hadn't done anything to her, but she couldn't help the sense of protectiveness that rose within her. This girl had contributed to Ultron's plan, Hyda's plans, and now wanted a place in the Tower? But, Lina realized, she'd been in the same boat. She'd been friends with Selma, helped her with meetings that had likely been recruitment efforts for Hydra. She was also in love with Hydra's former agent and assassin, another person who'd been used and abused by them. What right did she have to judge or hold Wanda's past against her?
"I'm happy to help," she said eventually, standing straighter as she did. "Have you seen James? He hasn't been down yet—"
The elevator doors swept open before she could finish her thought, distracting her from the flash of guilt that crossed Clint's face. Steve stepped out, the same bags under his eyes that lined Wanda's face. Blue eyes widened in surprise to see her before his worry lines grew deeper.
"Lina, you're up," the soldier said, gaze darting to Clint.
She saw the archer shake his head from the corner of her eye and noted the responding heavy slump to Steve's shoulders. Something was going on, and it set the hairs on the back of her neck on end.
"Steve, I'm glad you're okay," she said, wrapping him in a hug. He stiffened under her touch, sending a tendril of dread shooting into her stomach. "How's the rest of the team?"
"Nat and Thor made it out with some minimal scrapes and bruises. Tony has a minor concussion and sprained shoulder from some rubble." He scratched the back of his neck and couldn't quite meet her eye. "Banner is AWOL. Last we knew, the Hulk was in a quinjet and cut off all communications. We can't track him."
"The DOD isn't going to like that," Lina said wryly, crossing her arms as her blood ran cold. He hadn't mentioned James. It felt like someone else was speaking through her as she asked, "What about James?"
Time stretched on forever before Steve began to answer. She watched his lips open like they were in slow motion, the silence dragging into an eternity before he spoke.
"He… he's gone too."
TRANSLATION:
Ce mai faceti: How do you do/how are you? (Rom.)
CHAPTER PLAYLIST:
Donna Missal, "Let You Let Me Down"
Marvin Gaye, "Life is a Gamble"
Elle King, "Runaway"
Chris Cornell, "Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart"
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I am SO sorry for the delay in this. It's just been an incredibly difficult year for everyone and living in a tiny apartment, working a stressful job has sapped pretty much all my creativity. I'm pleased to say that loosening restrictions in my area + being fully vaccinated as of last week is bringing back a lot of my energy and desire to write. I hope you're all safe, healthy, and getting through this to the best of your abilities.
I just want to say, for the sake of everyone's mental health and wellbeing, I think you're all brilliant and wonderful. Just getting by is okay. This is about surviving; thriving can come later. Take care and be well!