A.N: Buckle up folks, this one's a bit of a longer one (I couldn't decide where I wanted to cut it so 11600 word chapter it is).
Hope you enjoy this one!
March 19th 2012
Those first few days back in New York were rather dull. Ryan never left her apartment, catching up on sleep in her overly comfortable bed. It sure has hell beat one of the pod bunks on the helicarrier. It was also nice to use her fancy steam shower again, another luxury that she hadn't had access to over the last 2 months. Then, she lounged around her apartment watching bad reality TV and ordering takeout from her favourite places. Coulson had come over the night before, glad to see that she was still in one piece after everything.
Then, she'd received a text from Rumlow earlier this afternoon stating that he had a job lined up for them, and that he would pick her up at her apartment once the sun set. He also told her to dress in plainclothes, because SHIELD couldn't be associated to this. So, she'd taken her time getting ready for the evening ahead, changing into some high waisted black jeans and a simple blouse, ordering more of her favourite takeout for dinner.
When the time came, she threw on a worn leather jacket and some heeled boots, bringing her phone and a small handbag with her as she made her way down to the lobby to meet Rumlow. He was waiting at the curb in his blacked-out SUV. She quietly got into the car, not saying anything as they took off for wherever they were heading. They didn't go very far, heading directly into Midtown.
"A club show?" Ryan asked, when their car pulled up in front of a well-known smaller concert venue. "The fuck are we doing here?"
"Meeting an asset." Rumlow explained. "I need you to bring him out into the alley."
"Me?"
"I can't go in there." He said, almost bitterly.
Ryan had to ask, feeling like there was a story there. She couldn't help the smirk that rose onto her lips. "Why not?" She asked, almost mockingly.
"Got caught sleeping with the owner's wife." He muttered. Ryan raised her brow, feeling like there was more to it than that. She was right. "The owner's my brother."
"God, you really are an ass." Ryan shook her head at him, but wasn't entirely surprised by the admission. "Who's the mark?" The then asked, slipping into her work mindset. She scanned the building outside of the car window, eyeing the line of people still waiting to get in. Whoever it was, it should be relatively easy to sneak in and out of the packed building and blend in, unseen.
Rumlow showed her his phone screen, which had a photo of the mark on it. Ryan took a good look at his, memorizing the face before she started to get ready. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail, running her fingers and shaking it out as Rumlow gave her more details on the mark. "His name's Robert Dennings. Goes by Bobby. He's one of the roadies. He also doubles as a low-level smuggler. I need to ask him about a lost package. Odds are you'll find him backstage. He likes to flash his access pass around to pick up…" Rumlow trailed off, distracted when Ryan started changing in her seat.
She'd unbuttoned her blouse, shrugging out of it. It was a good thing she'd worn one of her nicer bralettes, because it could easily double as a very revealing top that was prefect for a dark musty nightclub. Her high wasted black jeans would have to do, Ryan reaching into her purse and pulling out a tube of red lipstick and some eyeliner. She quickly applied both using the mirror in the sun visor.
Rumlow finally managed to tear his eyes away from her chest, glancing at her outstretched hand. "What?"
"I need cash to bribe the bouncer."
Rumlow grunted, scowling as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and tossed her a couple of hundred-dollar bills. Ryan smirked, tucking them into her bra for the time being before she shrugged back into her leather jacket, leaving it open.
"I'll text you when I'm on my way out to the alley with the asset." She said, before pulling open the car door and stepping out of the car. You could hear the bass spilling through the closed doors, the concert already well underway. Ryan kept her head held high, heeled boots clicking on the pavement as she walked right past the line over to the bouncer who didn't bother to hide the fact that he was checking her out.
"There's a line." He pointed out, amused.
Ryan pouted. "But it's cold out."
"Can't help you, unless you're on the list."
So, she slowly brought her hand up to her chest, pulling the hundred dollar bills from her bra, watching the bouncer tracking her movements. "I really wanna meet the band. Are you sure I'm not on that nifty little backstage list?" Ryan drawled, holding the bills up for him.
The bouncer's eyes widened. "What was your name again, Miss…"
"Rebecca Smith." Ryan lied.
"My mistake Miss Smith. Here you are." He said, pointing to a random spot on the list. He pressed the button on the side of his earpiece before stating that they were going to need another backstage pass. Ryan smiled, handing him the money as he gave her a lanyard, stepping into the club a moment later.
It was rather easy to disappear in the mess of sweaty bodies and loud music, Ryan working her way through the crowd until she made it to the front, where she flashed her pass and was let into the back. The backstage area was probably just as crowded as the club floor, only half the people seemed to be the crew and the rest were lucky fans who seemed to be drooling over the band.
Bobby was easy to spot, talking to a couple of girls by the liquor table. He was going around, refilling drinks and keeping the party going, bottle of whiskey in hand half empty. So, Ryan grabbed an empty red solo cup and placed herself in his sightline. When his gaze inevitably wandered, she smiled coyly and turned over her empty cup.
He wandered over a moment later, like a moth to the flame.
He made some sleazy comment, asking what a pretty girl like herself was doing alone backstage with an empty cup, before pouring far too much whiskey for a single drink into her cup and urging her to drink with him. Ryan pretended to enjoy the attention, laughing and playing along. She asked him about what he did for the band, pretending to be impressed when he talked about all the perks that came with touring for a relatively successful band. After a couple of drink and her pretending to be increasingly intoxicated, he asked her if she wanted a private tour of their equipment van.
Ryan smirked and nodded, leading him towards the alley. When he stopped for a moment to grab a new bottle of whiskey, Ryan discreetly texted Rumlow to let him know they were on their way out. She then followed Bobby out of a back door and into the alley, walking towards the van. She laughed at a stupid joke he made while pulling open the back doors of the dingy vehicle, welcoming her to his home away from home.
"How much longer do I have to do this?" Ryan asked, hearing Rumlow rounding the van. He stepped out a moment later, dangerous smirk playing on his lips.
Bobby's brow furrowed, showing his confusing before he turned around, going stiff when he spotted Rumlow standing behind him. Ryan stepped out of the way, going to stand by the door and block Bobby's only possible exit strategy. In those few seconds, Bobby seemed to have realized that he was in big trouble and had backed up towards his van with his hands held up.
"Good work, Stone." Rumlow acknowledged as he took a step towards Bobby, causing Bobby to flinch in response.
"Mhm." Ryan hummed, curiously watching the interaction unfolding in front of her.
"You lost a package, missed a drop." Rumlow said, attention solely focused on Bobby. "Did you think we wouldn't find out?"
Bobby blanched. "There was nothing I could do man. Someone on the crew caught on to what I was doing so I had to ditch the package and go dark. I followed protocol."
Rumlow shook his head. "Where did you leave the package?"
"The safety deposit box, in Zurich. Like I was supposed to if this happened."
"Don't lie to me Bobby, I'm not in the mood." Rumlow sighed, rubbing at his temples.
"I'm not lying!" Bobby exclaimed.
Rumlow simply shook his head in disappointment. "We sent someone to the safety deposit box to retrieve the package, it was empty."
If Ryan thought Bobby had gone pale before, it was nothing compared to how he looked now. The blood completely drained from his face, when he realized what Rumlow was saying. "I'm telling you the truth." He said, almost desperately. "Someone must have stolen it."
"How would they know? Were you followed?" Rumlow quickly questioned.
"I don't know…"
"I'm trying to help you here Bobby. The boss ain't too happy right now. This causes problems for him, and he doesn't like problems. We need to know what happened to this package. Did you notice anyone hanging around? Someone that's disappeared since."
Bobby shook his head. "I don't… I-" He paused, a look of realization drawing on his face. "Miles."
"Who's Miles, Bobby?" Rumlow asked, and Ryan could tell by the tone of his voice that he was getting impatient.
"My roommate on the last leg." Bobby quickly explained. "He was new, acting weird. I was training him, so we spent most of that leg together. After I dropped the package at the security box, the crew all went out that night. He quit the next morning. He must have stolen the key and gotten into the security box."
"That's awfully convenient to remember just now Bobby."
"It's the only thing that makes sense!"
Ryan pulled her phone out of her back pocket. "What's the name and address for this bank in Zurich? I'll hack into the security cameras and see if this story checks out." Ryan suggested.
"Vontobel, in the city center." Bobby answered quietly.
"You can do that?" Rumlow asked, a note of surprise slipping into his voice.
Ryan nodded, already putting the information into the program. "I'm level 10, remember. We get the best toys. I could probably take down a third world country with this thing if I wanted." Ryan said offhandedly, before turning her attention back to Bobby. "I need a date and time."
He gave her what she asked for, and Ryan quickly scrubbed through the footage from the lobby of the bank on that date and time. True to his word, Bobby had walked in with a stack of sealed manila folders and walked out 15 minutes later walked out empty handed. She then sped through the footage for the rest of the day, pausing when she found another man walking out of the bank with the stack of folders in his arms, hours later.
"Is this Miles?" Ryan asked, moving from the door to hold her phone out for both of them to see.
"Yes!" Bobby exclaimed.
However, Rumlow was just as quick to grunt out a "No."
Ryan raised a brow at Rumlow, but he simply shot her a look that said they would talk about it later.
"Alright Bobby, I believe you." Rumlow said.
"Oh thank god." Bobby quaked, letting out a relieved breath.
"Don't thank me yet." Rumlow interjected, taking a step towards Bobby. "We've still got to clean this mess up, and you need to make up for this mistake. Prove to the boss that you're still valuable."
"Yeah, no, of co-course." Bobby stuttered. "What can I do to make this right?"
"Someone will reach out when we decide." Rumlow shrugged. "Don't fuck up again."
"I won't."
Rumlow nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. Bobby flinched again at the contact, earning a chuckle from Rumlow. "Better not, or the next time you see me will end very differently."
Ryan wanted to be surprised that Rumlow was actively threatening someone in front of her, but she wasn't. Especially considering that this wasn't even an official SHIELD operation. But, if he didn't want her to know about this, he wouldn't have involved her. Regardless, they left that conversation at that, Ryan taking the silent cue from Rumlow and following him out of the alley back over to the street.
"What's so important about this package?" Ryan asked, as they slipped back into Rumlow's car.
He shrugged nonchalantly, like the last half hour hadn't even happened. "Couldn't tell you, I've got no clue what's actually in the envelopes. I just know that it's important to…our employer that we get it back as soon as possible."
"Alright, so what's next?"
Rumlow turned his head, eyeing her for a while. "How would you feel about helping me hunt down a ghost." He eventually asked, after deciding that he liked what he saw.
"A ghost?"
"The guy who stole the package." Rumlow clarified. "His name isn't Miles. It's Andrew Morgan, we were in the same squad back in the military and were recruited for SHIELD at the same time. He was Strike but died in a mission gone wrong back in 2005. Or well, was assumed dead until about 5 minutes ago."
Ryan could tell that there was more to the story, but she didn't press. Asking questions would only close him off. "Alright, so we find the ghost and find the package. Easy."
Rumlow scoffed, shaking his head. "Easier said than done, Stone. You sure you still want in?"
"Oddly enough, it's not my first time dealing with someone coming back from the dead." She said lightly, earning a half smirk from Rumlow. "I'll never say no to a good hunt. It beats sitting in my apartment doing nothing." She added more seriously.
The smirk turned into a genuine smile, though he tried to hide it. "Well then, let's go hunting."
March 23rd 2012
It took 2 days before they were able to come up with a location for Andrew Morgan. It was longer than either Rumlow or Ryan would have liked, but this guy was good at covering his tracks. Once they'd uncovered his latest alias, it had only taken a few hours to find his property out in the boonies of Canada. They'd quickly booked a flight out to Alberta and spent most of the last night driving through the Rockies to get to Jasper.
It was a little resort town in one of the National Parks, filled to the brim with tourists trying to make the most out of the end of the ski/snowboarding season. It was remote, with absolutely no cell service the minute you left the town. Perfect place to hide away, unnoticed, and undisturbed for years. They drove through the town, turning down one of the back roads just outside of the town limits. They followed its curved path for a while, before pulling up to a nearly hidden driveway. They turned, driving for another minute before they found a little cottage hidden away on the mountain side, smoke rising from a chimney.
They immediately spotted Andrew, who was shoveling a path from his hidden cottage to the shed, as a few inches had fallen over the course of the previous night. He glanced at the car the moment it came into view, pausing his movements as he assessed them. Rumlow came to a stop about 10 feet away, cutting the ignition.
"He's gonna pull a gun when he realizes it's me. Be ready to engage." Rumlow muttered, before stepping out of the car.
He wasn't wrong, Ryan watching from the passenger seat as Andrew dropped his shovel and raised a shotgun that had been slinged around his back and pointed it directly at Rumlow's head. Ryan sighed, getting out of the passenger side and drawing Andrew's attention. His gunned turned to her for a split second, giving Rumlow enough time to draw his own gun.
Ryan rolled her eyes. "Boys, do we really have to do this?" They wouldn't get very far in finding that missing package if they shot each other before even speaking.
"How'd you find me?" Andrew asked, ignoring Ryan's question as he redirected his gun towards Rumlow.
"Why didn't you stay dead?" Rumlow countered. "You got away with it for seven years. Why get involved again?"
"Like hell I'd want anything to do with your people after they took my life. I'm not involved in shit." Andrew scoffed.
Ryan cocked her head, watching Andrew's finger twitch over his trigger. So, she tried to de-escalate the situation again. "Why don't we drop the guns and talk about this like adults?"
Morgan turned his gun towards Ryan after she'd spoken as though remembering that she was there as well, but his gaze never left Rumlow. "Who's she?"
"My girl." Rumlow said, unflinchingly. Ryan resisted the urge to roll her eyes for a second time. If he would have called her that it private, she would have punched him in the face. He was well aware that things between them would never be anything more that purely physical. She was nobody's girl, but didn't have much choice but to go along with it for the sake of the operation. She'd get him back for this another time.
Andrew coughed out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Brock Rumlow, in a relationship? I know it's been a while but we both know you're not the monogamous type."
"Things change." Rumlow shrugged, turning his head slightly to shoot Ryan a wink. She made sure her face showed just how unamused she was. "You were the one who always said the right person changes everything. Always setting me up on blind double dates and shit. Thought you'd be happy."
"Bullshit." Andrew shook his head in disbelief.
This time, Ryan cut in before they could veer even more off topic. "Can we focus please? We're not here to catch up on our love lives." She kept her tone light, slowly edging forward. It was clear that this guy didn't see her as much of a threat, keeping his weapon trained on Rumlow for the time being. His mistake.
The scowl reappeared on Andrew's face. "What are you doing here?" He asked.
Ryan answered before Rumlow could say something else that was stupid and would only irritate the guy. "Look, we're just here to talk. He's not going to shoot you, and you're not going to shoot him."
"I ought to." Andrew drawled, keeping the shotgun firmly in place. "Would serve him right."
"I'm sure it would." Ryan shrugged. "Lord knows I've wanted to shoot him for some of the crap he's pulled."
"Hey!" Rumlow muttered.
Ryan sent him a quick glare, silently telling him to shut the fuck up before he actually wound up getting shot. "But you see, that probably wouldn't be the best idea because you'd have to get through me first." She said, taking a step to stand between the two of them. "And you'll find that I'm harder to kill than expected. It'll only piss me off, and trust me when I say you don't want that to happen. Right, babe?" Ryan added, glancing back at Rumlow.
He was smiling widely at her now, clearly impressed. "Yeah, I learned that one the hard way."
"I'm not dropping the gun." Andrew said stubbornly.
Ryan let out a drawn-out breath. "Hard way it is."
She kicked some snow up at Andrew's face, stunning him for a split second. In that second, she'd already closed the gap between them, grabbing hold of the barrel of the gun and pointing it away from Rumlow as Andrew instinctively pulled the trigger. Her ears rang for the next few seconds, as she tightened her grasp on the barrel, enough to crush the metal so that it couldn't be fired again.
Then, she swiftly brought her elbow down on his supporting arm, his grip on the gun slackening. She ripped it from his hands, before kicking his legs out from under him. As he fell to the ground, she tossed the useless shotgun into the snow. She stood above him, casting an unimpressed glance his way. Then, she grabbed him by the arm and hauled him back onto his feet, twisting the arm uncomfortably behind his back and locking it in place.
"What the hell?" He groaned, wide eye as he looked at his distorted gun. He tried struggled, trying to break out of her hold but barely budged no matter how hard he tried.
"I told you that you weren't going to shoot him." Ryan stated. "Now, be a gentleman and invite your old friend inside for a talk. I fucking hate the cold."
Rumlow laughed to himself, finally lowering his gun and strapping it back into its holster. He walked around them towards the house, clearly amused by what had just happened, muttering about how 'Morgan was still the same suborn asshole as before.'
"Are you going to be stupid if I let go of your arm?" Ryan asked quietly as Rumlow disappeared into the house.
Andrew slowly shook his head. "I don't think I could even if I wanted to."
Ryan hummed in agreement, carefully releasing her grip on his arm. She stayed close, just in case. But, he seemed to have heeded her advice, huffing out a breath before following Rumlow into the house. She stayed a few steps behind, closing the door to the cottage behind her once inside.
She wasn't that surprised to see that Rumlow had already found the scotch stash, pouring out three generous glasses even though it was still quite early. He set them on the table, nodding the others over for a drink. She watched as Andrew shrugged out of his coat, hanging it in the closet before making his way to the table, taking a seat and downing most of the drink in one go. Rumlow followed his lead, before refilling their glasses.
Ryan raised a brow when those ones disappeared just as quickly, followed by a third. "Guess that means I'm driving us back."
"Sucks to suck." Rumlow quipped, pouring out two more.
She walked over to the table, grabbing her own glass and taking a sip. They also seemed to take a bit more time to drink this one, sitting in silence for a few minutes. Ryan glanced between the two of them, watching both their minds racing a mile a minute at the unexpected turn in events.
"How are Michelle and the kids?" Andrew eventually broke the silence, a faraway contemplative look on his face.
"You sure you wanna go down that road?" Rumlow asked, genuinely sounding apprehensive. When Andrew nodded, Rumlow sighed and answered the original question. "They're doing good. Michelle remarried a couple of years ago, financial adviser. Moved out of Queens into the suburbs of Connecticut. Kids are doing great in school. Janie's starting to date and breaking all the boys hearts like we thought she would, Matt's beating all his school track and field records. I-" Rumlow paused, gaze flashing to Ryan for a split second. "I looked out for them like I said I would."
Ryan watched Andrew's grip tightening around his glass. She focused on that, because she felt like she just discovered this whole other side to Rumlow that she wasn't supposed to know existed. These two were clearly close, and Rumlow was apparently still playing an active role in his former partner's life. In all her research, she'd never come across any mention of this. She figured that it was likely that no one else knew about it either. She couldn't believe that he was trusting her with this. He really thought that she was on his side.
She hated that it made Rumlow seem a little bit more human, and slightly less like the 'shoot first, think later' puppet she'd been building him up to be in her mind.
"Why are you here?" Andrew asked again, though this time his tone was far less hostile than before.
Rumlow refilled their glasses again. "We need the files you stole in Zurich."
Andrew's shoulders sank further, if that was even possible. "How'd you know about that?"
"They were ours." Rumlow answered.
Andrew's gaze widened again, colour draining from his face. "So, they know? They know that I survived?"
Rumlow shook his head. "No."
That clearly surprised Andrew, all types of emotions playing across his face. It was obvious that the more he drank, the looser he got. She suspected that at this rate, it wouldn't be long before he revealed all of his secrets.
"You were sloppy." Rumlow critiqued, leaning back in his seat. "Didn't wipe the security feeds. She's the one who found the feed, and I'm the only person she showed it to."
"Why?"
Rumlow didn't answer. Instead, he took another sip from his drink. "Who hired you to steal the files?"
"Advanced Idea Mechanics."
Rumlow cursed under his breath, clearly recognizing the name. Ryan thought about it for a moment, nothing big coming to mind. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint it. She'd have to look into it later. "Did you read them?"
Andrew shook his head. "I'm not a complete idiot... I know that's far above my pay grade."
"How long have A.I.M had the files?"
"They don't." Andrew answered. "I was going to mail them tomorrow. Post office is closed on weekends."
Both Ryan and Rumlow straightened up at that. "Why didn't you start with that?!" Rumlow exclaimed.
"You didn't ask…" Andrew mumbled.
"Wait, let me get this straight." Ryan said, holding a hand up for emphasis. "You went through all the trouble of going undercover with a band, crossing a number of international borders, stealing a package from a secure bank, smuggling it back into Canada, only to Fedex the package to your buyer? You're joking right?"
At least Andrew had the decency to look mildly embarrassed by the final stages of his plan. "It's not like I can go into the States to drop it off myself. Besides, Fedex has gotten pretty good with their package tracking."
"Get me the damn files right now and no one has to find out that we were ever here." Rumlow said, getting them back on topic.
"I can't not deliver anything." Andrew pointed out.
"Yes, you can." Ryan answered. "Give us the paper files and fill the folders with blank pages. Bluff."
"And when they call my bluff?"
Ryan shrugged her shoulder calmly. "How would they know? It's an old spy trick. Back in the day, we'd fill suitcases with phonebooks to make it look like it was full of important documents. It's a risk, when making a deal. You would never know if what you're going to receive is real. It was annoying as fuck but worked like a charm."
"Back in the day." Andrew mocked. "Why are you talking about it like you were there?"
"She was." Rumlow deadpanned.
"Plastic surgery." Ryan explained when Andrew looked at her sideways, before turning to shoot another glare at Rumlow. He clicked his tongue, unbothered.
"Go get the files and a case. We'll switch out the documents." Rumlow instructed, focusing again.
Andrew looked about ready to argue that it wasn't a good idea, but kept his mouth shut at the pointed look he received. He stood from the table, swaying slightly on his feet as the alcohol hit him. Then, he took slow steps out of the room towards the den by the entrance, where Ryan assumed there was a safe. She listened closely, making sure that he wasn't going to do anything stupid.
While he was away, Rumlow turned to look at her. "You know, you've still got it for someone who's 94… or is it 95?" He said, voice slightly slurred. It was clear that the back-to-back doubles of whiskey were starting to hit him as well. This would be interesting.
Ryan smirked. "I'm not answering that."
"What's your secret?" He asked jokingly anyways.
Ryan rolled her eyes, but a smile crept onto her face. "Oh, you know, just a couple of months of torture mixed in with some involuntary human experimentation and interaction with a magical stone. I wouldn't recommend it."
"That… sucks." He pointed out.
"It sure did." Ryan agreed, because it had sucked.
"But… It's pretty cool, the things you can do."
Ryan laughed. "You're not wrong."
"M' never wrong." He said proudly, New Yorker accent thick. It was almost… charming.
Ryan shook her head at him, fighting back another real smile.
Andrew reappeared at the perfect time, carrying the files they were here to collect and everything they needed to create a fake set. He passed everything over to Ryan, figuring that it was probably best to let the sober person handle this.
So, Ryan settled at the other end of the table while Rumlow and Andrew got to talking about some of their first operations when they'd been recruited by SHIELD, over 10 years ago now. Ryan was only half listening, but it was still enough to learn more about Rumlow. Things she never would have guessed, or thought he was capable of. Things that she would definitely remind him of in the near future, once he sobered up because it was just too funny to let him forget. Things that made him a person, just like anyone else.
"Why'd you do it?" Andrew asked him, just as Ryan was resealing the fake file envelopes. Their documents were already put away in a briefcase, ready to be returned to their owner. The atmosphere in the room shifted significantly, from a fond reminiscence to a tense anxiousness.
Rumlow sighed, hanging his head. "I didn't have a choice."
But Andrew shook his head. "Yes, you did. You could've done the right thing. Instead, you sent your best friend to be slaughtered. You chose empty promises and power, instead of everything we grew up believing in. You sold out. You sold me out."
Rumlow's hand tightened around his glass, knuckles turning white. "That's not the whole fucking story."
"Was it worth it? Did you get all the goddamned power they promised you? Or are you still their lackey, hiding in the shadows."
"Watch it, Morgan." Rumlow warned, gaze wandering over to meet Ryan's. It was evident that Rumlow was getting frustrated. He knew that they were getting into dangerous territory. Territory that he'd hadn't mentioned to Ryan yet. He almost looked worried, like he didn't want to lose her or scare her away.
Andrew followed his gaze over to Ryan and he rolled his eyes. "She doesn't know?"
"No."
Andrew startled them both when he burst out laughing. "God, it's just the same thing over and over again with you." He continued to laugh, before fully turning to face Ryan as his laughter died down. "If I were you, I'd get the hell out of dodge before he really lets you in. There's nothing good under there. Anything decent inside this one died when he sold his soul to the devil."
From there, things just went from bad to worse. Brock lost his temper, the alcohol affecting his rational thinking. He threw his glass by Andrew's head (missing by quite a bit). Ryan barely made it to him in time to stop him from lunging after Andrew, holding him back.
"Hey!" Ryan called loudly, snapping him out of his rage. "Calm down. That's not what we're here for."
"If they knew he was alive, we'd be here to kill him." Brock said coldly, anger clear across his face.
"They don't, so we are not." Ryan said firmly. "You're better than this. He was your friend at one point. Your partner on the field. Whatever happened, we can't fucking change it but you can make up for it by backing the fuck down."
"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Rumlow yelled, turning his anger onto her. Better her, than his equally drunk friend.
"Excuse me?!" Ryan yelled back, tone sharp. "If it wasn't for me, your ass would be dead in the snow right now so how about we show a little bit of gratitude. If I hadn't helped you on this stupid job, you would've killed your little messenger back in New York and come up empty for your Boss. How do you think that would've gone? Also, if you wanna get technical about it all, I outrank you by a longshot. Sit down, shut up, and stop acting like a little fucking drama queen!"
Rumlow was stunned into silence because Ryan had never yelled at him like that.
"And you," Ryan turned her attention to Andrew who seemed just as shocked. "Stop antagonizing him for whatever the fuck happened 7 years ago. We can't change the past, believe me. He thought you were dead. He obviously still gives a shit if he looked after your family this entire time without anyone finding out. Hell, I'd like to think he would've found a way to help you too if he'd known you were alive. I saw his face when you showed up on that security footage. I get that you're pissed, but there's no point in throwing it in his face when he's already beating himself up about it. Understood?"
Andrew audibly gulped, nodding once.
Ryan let out a tired breath, glad that she seemed to have talked (yelled) them both off a ledge.
"Goddamn." Rumlow mumbled, looking at her weirdly again.
"I believe you now." Andrew added quietly.
"About what?"
"You've found someone who can put up with your shit. Don't let her go." Andrew mused.
She made sure she didn't look at Rumlow to catch his reaction to what his old friend had just said. Instead, she grabbed the file that they'd come to retrieve, tucking it under her arm. "Don't get caught again." Ryan warned, before turning on her heel and leaving the boys in the cabin.
She made her way into the SUV, settling in the driver's side seeing as Rumlow was in no condition to drive. Her head was spinning, trying to process everything that had unfolded in the last few hours. Thankfully, she had a few minutes to herself to regain her bearings before Rumlow made his own way out of the cabin, stumbling towards the car with whatever was left in that bottle of scotch.
He quietly got into the passenger side of the car, letting out his own exhausted breath. He turned his head a few inches so he could see her as he spoke. "I'm sure you have some questions."
"Not right now." She sighed.
He rose a brow.
"You're drunk. It's not a conversation we should be having when you aren't sober." She reasoned.
"Really? You're not going to take advantage of my loose lips? A good spy would." He pointed out.
"A good friend wouldn't." She countered, starting up the car.
That weird look was back on his face. "Is that what we are? Friends?" He said, emphasizing the word.
Ryan turned her face to look at him. For years, she'd been working him. He'd been her way in, a mark. A means to an end. But now… it was all getting messy. He wasn't just a brainless Hydra Operative. He had a whole history that she was only just learning about. He was human, just like her. He was good at his job, ambitious, like her. He thrived in this environment, playing the game. He was far more like her than she wanted to admit. Some deep, twisted part inside her was starting to care for this person, when she knew she shouldn't. The line between her operation and her life was getting so damn blurred. He was becoming a friend.
She knew that he cared about her too, that much becoming clear in the way he treated her compared to other people that they worked with. Maybe… if she played her cards right she'd be able to get him to turn, become a real ally. He hadn't always been a tool at HYDRA's disposal. He had a history.
Realizing that she'd been looking at him a little bit too long, she answered the question. "Yes. We're friends."
"…with benefits."
Ryan smacked his arm, before putting the car in drive. "Don't ruin it, asshole."
Rumlow fell asleep minutes later, as she drove back down the windy road towards the town of Jasper. Knowing that Rumlow was bound to feel like crap when he woke up, she decided that they would grab a hotel room in town and let him sleep off his inevitable hangover before heading back to New York.
It was a good thing that she did, because Rumlow made a beeline for the washroom the minute they got into the room, the scotch he drank on an empty stomach catching up to him in the worst way. She sure as hell was never going to let him live this one down.
She was far too exhausted to think about her next move as she settled in the double bed closest to the window. She'd have to take whatever came next, because she had no idea what would happen once the hangover wore off.
Only time would tell.
March 25th 2012
Ryan and Rumlow had wound up spending a second day in Jasper, never leaving the hotel room.
Rumlow was a pretty healthy guy. Took care of his body, trained a lot and all that. He was focused on his job, not really one for drinking more than a couple of beers. It's safe to say that drinking all that scotch on an empty stomach two days prior had done a number on him, keeping him bedridden for almost 48 hours. Ryan had been immensely entertained by the entire situation. She hadn't had a hangover in 68 years, not that she'd had many before that.
Once it was decided this morning that Rumlow would be fit to travel back to the States, they hit the road. They were on the road for about 5 hours to get Calgary, where they caught a flight back to New York. They kept quiet for most of the drive, Rumlow still dealing with a headache. Ryan didn't mind the silence.
It was a different story once they were actually on the plane, sitting in a nearly empty business class.
"No one can find out about this weekend. Not even Barton and Romanoff, especially not Fury."
Ryan narrowed her gaze. "No shit."
"And if anything happens to Michelle or her kids, I will find a way to kill you." He added, just as seriously.
"I know how to keep a secret Brock." Ryan rolled her eyes. "You can trust me." She added, more seriously.
He nodded. "I know."
Ryan thought that that would be the end of that conversation, but that wasn't the case. "You have until the flight lands in New York to ask questions. After that, they don't exist and I go back to my usual asshole self."
"Just… tell me about him. He obviously meant a lot to you."
"He was like a brother." Rumlow confirmed, before launching into the story of how they'd met. Their parents had been friends, therefore the two families had always been close. Andrew and Brock were the same age, so they went through school together and became easy friends. They played on all the same sports team, took the same classes, were basically inseparable. When the time came, they went to the same college, enrolled in the army together, made the same team, went on the same tours, were recruited together. The other was always there, through all the highs and the lows.
He told her about Michelle and Andrew, how they'd met in college, gotten pregnant young. Andrew shouldered more responsibility, working to provide for his family instead of just himself. They treated Rumlow like he was part of the family, Rumlow even revealing that Andrew had asked him to be a godparent should anything ever happen to him. It was one of the reasons that Rumlow had always supported that family after everything had happened.
"What happened? It's obviously more than just a mission gone wrong…" Ryan asked quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was listening to them. There was no one even close enough to hear them talking over the steady hum of the plane's engine.
"An opportunity presented itself. The kind of opportunity that you can't turn down even if you want to, because once you know, there's no way not to know. We had a choice to make, to either go along with the opportunity or not. He had a whole family to consider, and didn't think he could take the risk. He tried to get out. They wouldn't let him." Rumlow said darkly. "I chose the other option."
Ryan wished that he would just be upfront about it and tell her that it was HYDRA, but she knew he wouldn't. Not yet. He might trust her, but he also had to be careful. Rumlow watched her carefully. "Why are you doing this? Don't tell me it's the money, cause we both know you don't need it."
"Doing what?"
"Risking everything you have going on at SHIELD to help me with these side jobs. You spent years building up this alias. If you were to get caught, you'd lose it all." He clarified.
Ryan took a moment to think about it before answering, because she knew this answer could make or break everything. "Do you remember that human trafficker in 2006 in Montreal?"
Rumlow shook his head no.
"How about the Sinaloa massacre of 08'?"
When he once again shook his head, Ryan went on to list several other incidents over the last few years. "They're all things or people that I could've stopped, except there was too much red tape." She took a long breath, glancing out the plane window. "I'm sick of playing by someone else's agenda. There's so much fucked up shit happening in the world right now, and they'd rather I babysit a grown man than try to fix some of it. I just want some fucking order, and the freedom to do that in the way that I think would be best. No more red tape or political bullshit."
She turned her head back towards Rumlow, to find him hanging on to her every word. "Fury and I used to be on the same page, but then he got careful. He's swayed by politics, other opinions. I don't agree with his vision of SHIELD anymore, but there's nothing I can do about it. I voted to put him in that spot."
"You helped found SHIELD. Surely you still stand by it."
"I don't know." Ryan bit at her lip, looking down at her lap. She knew she needed to give him something real if he was going to vouch for her. She needed to make him think that she could be turned. "I was drowning after the war. I'd lost my friends, and everything was different. What was the point in winning when the people you were supposed to see at the end weren't there anymore? Peggy brought me in because she could see that I needed something. She gave me a new purpose when I was lost."
"But, that doesn't mean that I agree with everything. I used SHIELD to start over, become something better. Someone who could stand up for themselves, change the world, get things done. I put everything into becoming the best, taking every single mission that would come my way. And I did. But, things changed. I changed. I found something that I was really good at. No one wanted to say it out loud, but I became a the best weapon in SHIELD's arsenal in no time at all. I figured out that feelings and morals only hold you back. Getting the job done was the only thing that mattered. I enjoy the job, and I'm good at it. Why would they get in my way with all these restrictions and red tape… There's still so much more that we could be doing. SHIELD is just… holding me back."
"You want power. You want to change the world."
Ryan contemplated her answer again. "I don't need power. But, I wouldn't mind getting rid of the bad people we aren't allowed to because it's not in our best interest." She let out another breath. "But, it's not like there's anything I could do. Switching organizations wouldn't help because the CIA or the FBI have even more restrictions. I don't have a choice but to comply."
"There's always a choice." Rumlow said, hinting towards what she'd been working him towards.
She eyed him skeptically. "What would that be? No one has the same global reach and network as SHIELD."
"You wouldn't have to leave SHIELD. At least, not yet."
She almost had him. "What is it?"
"You could-" A ding sounded through the cabin, the captain alerting passengers that the plane was starting its final descent into New York city. Rumlow straightened, something shifting. "Just keep doing what you're doing. You never know when opportunities will present themselves."
Ryan was incredibly frustrated that he hadn't mentioned HYDRA by name, but she couldn't show it. Instead, she kept her face neutral and nodded. By the sound of things, she didn't doubt that this opportunity would present itself soon, once Rumlow relayed everything she'd just revealed to the people who gave him his orders.
She turned her gaze back out to the window, watching New York appearing into view.
It wouldn't be long now. It couldn't.
Ryan had gone straight to her apartment from the airport. Rumlow had left to catch another flight to Washington, where he was going to drop the file they'd been sent to retrieve. She wanted a nice warm shower, before heading out to the cabin to update her files. She had a few days to spare before her next little side job with Rumlow, and she fully intended to use it by going over every single detail from the past week and adding as much information as she could to her file.
After her shower, she packed a duffle bag to bring with her to the cabin. Then, she made her way down to the parking garage and got her car, quickly sweeping to make sure no trackers had been put on it while she'd been away. Once it came up clean, she started up the car and made her way upstate. The drive went by quickly, though it helped that she was distracted.
She parked in front of her cabin, throwing her bag over her shoulder and making her way inside. She was so distracted, that she hadn't noticed the puff of smoke coming from the chimney, or heard the music softly playing from the radio inside. It wasn't until she stepped inside and closed the door behind her that she realized she wasn't alone. She dropped her bag and drew her gun in the same movement, sparing a glimpse towards her office door and feeling relieved that it hadn't been opened. She took two steps forward, enough to spot the intruder sitting in the armchair by the fire, glass of whiskey in his hand.
"What the hell are you doing here Fury?" She hissed, dropping her gun. "You aren't supposed to come here."
He didn't answer her question, posing one instead. "Mind telling me what you were doing in Calgary with Agent Rumlow?"
"I'm doing my job."
"You'd think when I'd forced you to take two weeks of vacation that you'd use it to track down leads. Not go on a ski getaway with your boyfriend." He said, unimpressed.
Ryan smirked. "You bought that?"
Fury cocked his head to the side, gaze narrowing. "It wasn't a ski getaway, was it?"
"God no. I hate the snow."
"Then I repeat my earlier question."
Ryan thought about it for a while. She'd been good about keeping the details of her mission to herself, in order ensure plausible deniability. She hadn't even told him that she'd figured out who ran Hydra. She needed to give him something, before he started to think she was wasting her time chasing dead ends. "Rumlow is one of them. That's why I've been spending all this time getting him to trust me. Why do you think I requested the switch to his team? He essentially confirmed it for me this weekend."
Fury scowled, cursing under his breath. "So, what do we do with him?"
"Nothing." Ryan said quickly, eyes wide. "I haven't been working on this for 6 years to bust the first person I confirm is part of HYDRA and blow my cover. No, I'm going to let him recruit me instead. It's going to happen any day now."
Fury raised his brow. "You're that close?"
Ryan nodded. "I'm almost in. Once they induct me, give me a few months to pull together as much as I can and then we'll take them down, once and for all."
Fury nodded, now looking impressed. "I assume you want me to turn a blind eye towards him and his team."
Ryan nodded. "You'd give me away if you suddenly started questioning them."
"Fine." Fury sighed. "Anything else you'd like to share?"
Ryan shook her head. "Not until it's time to cut off all the heads." She wrapped up that conversation, because there wasn't anything more to say at the moment.
Fury took a little bit of time to update her on some of the higher level threats that SHIELD were currently monitoring, giving her a brief overview of everything they were working on. He gave her an update on the anomalies that were starting to pop up with the Tesseract, and how they were sending Barton in to watch the lead scientist to make sure they were following the script. Coulson was working closely with Natasha right now, handling some corruption they'd uncovered in the Russian government. She stopped him when he went to give her an update on Steve, because she'd been watching his file whenever she got the chance.
After that, he left her alone to do whatever she'd come out here to do. He'd reminded her that she could call whenever she needed help with anything. Then, she spent the rest of the night in her cabin office, drinking far too much coffee and updating her personal files on everything she'd uncovered the last few months.
April 3rd 2012
"This is a bad plan…" Ryan muttered, double checking to make sure her gun was fully loaded. It was loaded with tranquilizer darts, because they couldn't cause a scene and leave a trail of dead bodies. It would draw far too much attention to what they were about to do. Over the last week, Ryan had been flying around the country with Rumlow, completing a bunch of smaller jobs that ranged from working a security detail to checking in on more assets to some slightly more illegal activities when you didn't have the support of a government organization.
Tonight, they were doing one of those slightly illegal jobs basically going into a heavily guarded facility to steal some files. The problem was, this place was a maze, and they had absolutely no backup. They were going in blind, and Ryan didn't like it. Usually, she could put up with these assignments when she was on her own, but tonight she also had to make sure that Rumlow didn't get killed in the chaos they were bound to face.
They were good agents and should be able to pull this off, but Ryan didn't like that they were winging this. There was too much room for things to go wrong…
Rumlow laughed to himself. "Come on Stone, that's what makes it fun."
"Covering your ass when you do stupid shit isn't what I call fun." She groaned but carrying on following him through the research facility campus.
"Well, if everything goes according to the plan, you wont have to cover anything." Rumlow shrugged.
"When does anything ever go as planned?"
Getting into the building had been rather easy, Ryan having lifted a janitor's security pass earlier in the day. They slipped in through a side door, making their way over to the staircase on their left. They climbed up the stairs, up to the 7th floor, only pausing for a moment to make sure there was no one right on the other side of the door before making their way through on the floor.
There might not have been someone at the door, but there was a guard at the end of the hall watching the staircase. In other words, it had only taken about 5 minutes for everything to turn to shit.
"Split, go to Plan B." Rumlow called out, charging the guard.
Ryan sighed, before slipping down a hallway and following the order. Plan be was more of a divide and conquer tactic, Rumlow distracting the guards by the door while Ryan slipped through the floor and found the files that they were stealing. It worked, to a certain extent. Most of the guards left their post to deal with Rumlow.
She followed the path that they'd mapped out earlier with the blueprints they'd managed to obtain on short notice, working her way over to the server room. The door was unattended, Ryan using some decryption software on her phone to figure out the passcode to unlock the door and slip inside. It worked like a charm, the door hissing slightly as a seal was broken and she was allowed inside.
She immediately made her way over to the computer at the middle of the room surrounded in data banks, using the same hacking software to log into their systems. From there, it was a quick file lookup and upload to the USB she'd fished out from her pocket. As she was searching through the files, there was one that caught her by surprise. It was a file on replication attempts for the super soldier serum. She didn't have time to make a copy for herself, uploading everything to the USB drive and trying to be as quick as possible.
As she watched the upload percentage slowly climb, Ryan wondered why a tech software company would have a file on the serum. She had flags out in various places, that were supposed to alert both herself and Fury so that they could shut down any efforts to replicate the serum. The last thing they needed were more failed experiments and Hulks in the world. People didn't understand that it was better to leave the serum alone.
She realized that she wasn't alone in the server room about half a second before a guard jumped at her. She'd turned just in time, catching the punch that was aimed for her head in her hand, sending one right into his gut along with a knee to the groin. He predictably collapsed onto his knees for a moment, but recovered quickly than Ryan had expected, twisting to kick out her legs from under her.
Ryan gaped at the guard, not expecting that. They jumped onto their feet at the same time, but this time Ryan attacked first. She quickly gained the upper hand, knocking the wind out of him and delivering a blow that sent him staggering back. It should have been enough to knock him out.
Except, it wasn't.
He jumped back up, pulling a knife from somewhere in his uniform. Ryan's gaze narrowed, because those were not standard issue. The guards were meant to be armed with tasers at the most, supposed to disarm and contain threats for local law enforcement to deal with. Then he came at her once again, swinging the blade with far more technique and accuracy than she'd been prepared for. He was stronger than he looked, and quick. It took longer than it should have for Ryan to put the pieces together.
The serum.
This wasn't a regular guard, after all. And he seemed set making sure that she would not walk out of here alive. Well, that sucked for him, considering she was a little bit harder to kill than the average person with her enhancements and all that.
He picked up on that, when he swiped at her face, Ryan throwing her arm up to catch the blow and getting a fucking good slice through her forearm, big enough that it would take a few minutes before it closed up. Her arm burned, the gash bleeding profusely at the moment. "Fucking hell." She hissed through her teeth, compartmentalizing the pain and kicking the knife out of the guard's hand sending it clattering to the floor.
"You good, Stone?" Rumlow asked through their comms link.
"Peachy." Ryan responded, favoring the arm that wasn't making a mess when she countered with an attack of her own.
She barely heard Rumlow saying that he was on his way over, having finished dealing with most of the guards. She was too focused on dealing with this asshole, who managed to get a good grip on her injured arm and twist, sending a whole new wave of pain through her. It pissed her off, and she reacted.
She grabbed the arm and forced it back, before using it as a vice to throw herself up and around his shoulders, dragging him to the ground. She wasn't thinking, using strength to hold him on the ground, locking her good arm under his chin and restricting his breath. He flailed, grabbing at her arm to try and pull her off of him. She dipped further into her strength, applying enough pressure to keep his head still. In his desperation, he managed to get ahold of his knife on the ground, sending it into her thigh and attempting to pull away from her hold. This time, she reacted by applying too much pressure to his neck, snapping it.
The guard's body went limp in her hold.
Ryan's brain caught up to what she'd just done, just as Rumlow rushed into the room. "Fuck."
The computer chimed, signaling that the file upload was now completed.
Ryan took a breath, shoving the dead guard's body off of her. She made a move to stand, hissing out another breath when the knife in her thigh protested. She bit her lip, pulling it out. She used the back of her hand to apply pressure for a moment before she could feel the wound starting to close. When she was sure she could handle it, she stood.
"He was enhanced." She explained, walking around Rumlow to pull the USB drive from where it had been plugged in. "Or juicing on something. Stronger than he should've been." She handed the drive to Rumlow. "We weren't here for tech files, were we?"
"No." He confirmed, cocking his head to the side. "You saw it, didn't you?"
Ryan could answer his question one of two ways. She could deny it and pretend to be stupid. However, Rumlow knew that she wasn't stupid. "The last person who tried to replicate the serum got pretty fucked up, but I'm sure you know that already."
"This guy didn't."
She scoffed. "And look what happened to him." She was getting angry all over again, slightly off kilter because of the unexpected ending to this operation. She needed to make sure to say the right thing, to keep his trust. So, she took another long breath and met Rumlow's gaze one more time. "Look, I don't care why you want those files. Just… next time give me all the information so I know what I'm walking into. You need to trust that I have your back. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
She knew that he believed every word she'd just said, watching his face soften slightly. "Good to know. We should probably get out of here before the reinforcements show up."
Ryan nodded, checking her arm again. The cut had stopped bleeding, showing up as an angry pink scar. She grabbed the cloth that Rumlow held out, cleaning up any of her blood that would've dripped onto the floor. Then, she eyed the body. "What do we do with him?" They didn't have a clean-up crew coming to deal with the body. They were on their own for this one.
Rumlow sighed. "Should probably get rid of it. Grab his feet."
She sighed, but listened. Together, they carried the body back down to the truck they had waiting in the alley. Once they were clear, Ryan hacked used her phone to re-activate the building's security. They drove off into the night, looking for a good spot to dump a body where no one would find it.
All things considered; this Tuesday night could've gone worse.
April 4th 2012
She and Rumlow had arrived back in New York just as the sun was starting to rise.
He'd offered to buy breakfast, to thank her for helping him out over the last few weeks because they were set to return to active duty starting again tomorrow. So, they'd gone to a dinner near Rumlow's apartment. Ryan inhaled her food and coffee, the pair too pre-occupied by the food in front of them to stir up much of a conversation. Ryan raised a brow when Rumlow asked the waitress to pour them each another cup, even after they'd finished eating. Clearly, he had something he wanted to talk about.
He didn't keep her guessing for very long. "Remember when we talked about opportunities?"
Ryan nodded once, stirring the slightest bit of creamer into her coffee. She forced her face to remain neutral, even as her mind started racing as she figured out where this was heading.
"I trust you." He then stated dryly.
"Oh, do you now? You'd think after the amount of times I've saved your ass over the last 6 years I would've earned that sooner." She said, tone slightly teasing as a way to draw out even more information from him. It worked like a charm.
"You know that's not what I meant." He said, sounding drained all of the sudden. "The last couple of weeks, I've been watching you."
Ryan narrowed her gaze. It's not like she hadn't figured that out, but she still needed to appear irritated. "You mean testing me, right?" She said, with a little bit more bite than usual.
He shrugged a shoulder, not denying it. "I had to be sure."
"For what?" She asked cautiously, holding her mug with both hands to keep her hands and mind steady. She was so close, she could taste it.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table between them. "That you'd say yes if an opportunity presented itself to you." He said quietly, to make sure that no one would interfere.
Ryan leaned back in her seat, working hard to keep her expression neutral. "And what makes you so sure that I will say yes."
Rumlow let out a dry chuckle. "Because you're just like me."
It's a good thing that Ryan had been in the game for as long as she had, because she managed to hold back the chill that wanted so desperately to break out over her whole body. "How so?"
"SHIELD's not enough for you anymore. You want more. More control, more power, more everything. You want to call the shots. You want to change the world." He said, tone just as quiet as before. "I can give you the chance to do that."
Ryan crossed her arms across her chest, gaze narrowing skeptically. "How?"
"I can't tell you that yet." Rumlow said, almost sounding bitter about it. "But, I can arrange a meeting with someone who will. You'd have to trust me."
She watched him for a long time, knowing that she couldn't just say yes right away because that would be suspicious. Instead, she finished what was left in her mug, before gently placing it back down on the table. She examined Rumlow, catching how worried he actually looked that she would turn him down. He wanted this to work, and he wanted to be the one to bring her in. "What happens if I don't?"
His face fell slightly, surprising Ryan again with the genuine display of emotion. "They already have their eye on you Ryan. You saw what happened to Andrew. If you don't trust me, we're both as good as dead."
A frown formed on her face that matched his. She took another moment to process what he'd just revealed. Not only was he taking a risk by trying to bring her in, but if it didn't work he would be the one taking the fall for it. Ryan almost felt bad for the situation he found himself in. Instead of lingering on that, she focused on her response. "They can't kill me."
"There are worse things than dying." Rumlow responded cryptically. "They could go after the people you care about."
"Good thing that's a spectacularly short list." She muttered sarcastically. "From the sounds of it, it seems like I don't have much choice but to accept this meeting."
Rumlow watched her for a long time again, something clearly processing in his own mind. But, when he did speak, he said something that completely caught Ryan off guard. "Yes, you do." He let out a long breath. "If you tell me right now that you want out, I'll forget this conversation and leave you the fuck alone. I'll get them to back off, because you don't actually know yet."
She couldn't understand why her heart felt like it was in her throat at that. Her frown became a real one. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Brock Rumlow had a conscience, at least when it came to her. He cared.
To a certain extent, her next words weren't complete lies. "I trust you." His brows rose slightly at her statement, but he remained quiet, waiting to see what she would say next.
She took a breath, making sure to catch his gaze once again so he could see she meant what she was about to say. "You're right. This… isn't enough anymore. Things need to change. I want more." She paused, siting up straighter. "So, I'm in. Set it up."
Her heart sank further into her stomach at the smile that lit up Rumlow's face. "Consider it done."
She let a small smile creep onto her face, but it was for an entirely different reason than what Rumlow probably thought it was for. She smiled, because she was one step closer to being done with this entire thing. One step closer to finding the soldier, one step closer to bringing an end to HYDRA once and for all.
Things were finally looking up.
A.N. Humanizing Brock Rumlow, who would've thought. Something tells me that's going to cause a few issues for Ryan down the line. She sure loves making things complicated. Also, don't worry! We're getting some more Steve content soon. As I'm sure you already know, timeline wise, Avengers is only a few weeks away now.
I hope you guys enjoyed this update! Let me know what you thought about it in the reviews. As always, I look forward to reading them :)
See you soon with the next one!