"Let's go over it again," Jared prompted me.
"And close your eyes," Clint added, his voice slightly distorted by the eyeliner pencil stuck in his mouth.
I shut my eyes and let out a small breath before speaking. I winced as Natasha snagged a knot in my hair as she curled it around my GHD.
"You're Jakob Lindarson, small time arms dealer from Keflavik, Iceland," I repeated for what felt the 100th time today. "I'm your sister Asta, along for the business trip. I don't speak much English so I'm just there for show."
"Because you wanted to see Vegas," Jared corrected. "And because I'm an awesome brother."
"All I need to do is mingle, preferably within the circle where Tony Stark is," I ignored Jared and continued with my cover story. "If not Stark, try to get near his associates. Obadiah Stane is an important one, so is James Rhodes. Rhodey is less important and be careful around him because of my Air Force career. I might be noticed."
I tried not to flinch as I felt eyeshadow being brushed over my eyelids.
"Don't forget to flirt a little in your terrible English," Jared added. "Stark loves tall blondes. Not being able to speak English will probably make you a perfect target for him."
From the corner of my bathroom, I heard a noise of annoyance coming from Riley.
"And bug Stark if I get close enough," I ignored Riley's grumble. "I can slip something in his drink and take him back to his room so SHIELD can try and get some kind of tech onto him to see what the idiot is really up to."
My stomach fluttered with nerves as I completed the mission brief I'd been over and over again today. It was really simple. All I had to do was look good and flitter around the gala. The second part was only going to come into play if it was rock solid and there was no chance of me being found out. Jared referred to it as Plan H, because it was that far down on the list of priorities for me to worry about. For reasons beyond my level four security clearance SHIELD had their sights currently set on Stark Industries. A weapons manufacturer conference was being held in Vegas this weekend. All the big players were there. Hammer Industries, Oscorp, Advanced Idea Mechanics and according to the file notes a lot of private dealers. Jared was being sent in with his cover of being a small time arms dealer, dealing both on and off book, from Iceland. Why the person who had picked his cover story thought Iceland was a good idea I will never know. As soon as Jared found out he needed a second set of eyes he convinced Hill that it'd be easier if I came along. I was his sister, so that wasn't even something we had to make up, and my fluent Icelandic pushed my favour even more. I was beginning to think my linguistic knowledge was only going to keep getting me into more and more trouble here at SHIELD. Hill had agreed straight away, but it came with strict warnings to not let me in engage in anything beyond what a normal level four would do. Eyes and ears only. I'd wear an earpiece so SHIELD could listen in to the conversation going on around me. One of the decorations on my dress served as a camera.
Right now I was sitting in the bathroom while Clint did my make up for tonight. Natasha was doing my hair and helping me run through everything with Jared. Riley was sitting in the corner nursing his hangover but still there for silent encouragement. I had a feeling he wanted to see me all dressed up.
This was crazy. My third mission in and I was being thrown into essentially an undercover mission. While I didn't have to do anything of importance I was really worried about stuffing it up. What if someone saw right through me? What if I forgot something really important and we got compromised? Clint and Natasha would be listening on in the mission and be in my ear in case they were needed. They'd set up in one of the hotel rooms and be there just in case I needed them. Or Jared, but I was pretty sure it was more for my benefit than Jared's.
It felt completely ridiculous sending me in there. If I hadn't of been in the meeting with Hill and her firm reassurances that I could do this, I would have thought Jared was just being a shit and taking me along on something boring he didn't want to do.
"Open," Clint instructed. "And look up."
I opened my eyes and looked up, flinching as I felt the eyeliner trace under my bottom lashes. I tried to stop my eyes watering as Clint carefully applied the last of the eyeliner and mascara. From the brief glances, I caught in the mirror even I was impressed at the makeup job he'd done. Natasha was putting a few pins in my hair and coating the curls in hairspray to make them stay in.
After this, I'd get changed into the evening gown I had to wear. I didn't even know what it looked like, I just hoped it wasn't too revealing. From there Jared would teleport us one at a time straight to the hotel room, having already checked in this morning. Then we would make our way down to the function, do our thing and check out tomorrow morning like normal people. We had a two room suite, making it enough space for all of us in there tonight.
"I'm going to get changed." Jared pushed himself off the wall. "Nat, can you do my bow tie?"
"Don't I always?" Natasha said smartly as she shot a smirk at Jared. His didn't bother to respond, he grinned back and walked out of the room.
"How are you feeling?" Clint asked turning away from me to rummage around in my make up bag. I took that as the hint I could finally look down, blinking a few times.
"Like I'm going to screw it up and the whole building will blow up," I admitted dryly. "Who goes fucking undercover for their third mission?"
"You really aren't undercover, so ease up there Bond," Natasha teased me gently. "All you have to do is walk around and mingle. You're going to look amazing so you aren't going to need any help in attracting attention from the people you need to."
"This is probably a really good mission to ease you into this sort of thing though," Clint added helpfully. He produced a tube of lipstick from my makeup bag, along with lip liner. "These formal functions can be fun. Good food, lots of booze. You get to dress up and look pretty. It won't be too hard of a night. Think of us poor suckers sitting up in the room doing nothing but listening to you."
"At least you have a mini bar to keep you occupied," I pointed out. I'd much rather be sitting in the room with them. "If you ask me nicely I might even order room service for you."
"I'm jealous you get to go to Vegas for the night." Riley put in from the corner. "I'd offer to come along, but somehow I think security might get upset with me walking around with my CheyTac."
"You can always come in run surveillance with us," Natasha offered. "I have this funny feeling if someone tried to flirt with Kari you'd be down there beating the shit out of them."
"Maybe," Riley tried to look innocent but he failed. I had no doubt Riley could get very jealous and overprotective if the mood struck him.
"Seriously Maria?" Jared wandered back into the bathroom in suit pants and his shirt hanging open. His phone was tucked between his shoulder and ear. "No, I don't need another set of eyes in this it's…"
Jared was cut off. He grunted angrily into the phone, a frown pulling on his face. I watched his face for any clue what was going on. It didn't stop my eyes being drawn to his exposed body. I had never seen my twin so buff in all our lives. He used to be skinny like me and now he actually had muscles. It was almost enough to detract from the nasty scar running across his defined stomach ending just below the rib cage. It ran diagonally from his left hip all the way across his stomach. In my very limited experience, it looked like a nasty knife wound. Or sword considering the length of it. The scar was white and faded now, but it must have been one hell of an injury when it happened. Jared had never mentioned it and I hadn't seen him in a long time without clothes on.
"Don't move again, lip liner is not my strong point," Clint instructed as he uncapped the lip pencil. I pulled my attention back to Clint and did as I was told.
"But I don't like him." The way Jared whined I expected an angry foot stomp right after it. I was disappointed when Jared was able to contain his inner two year old tantrum. "No one fucking likes him. I don't want him on my mission."
Jared snapped his mouth shut irritability as there as a blast from the other end of the phone. It was too muffled to hear but Hill didn't sound happy at all with Jared's attitude.
"Bobbi? May? Trip? Someone, I actually like enough not to shoot them in the face?" Jared argued. "Fuck me Hill, anyone but him. Please, I am begging you."
"Who's he talking about?" Riley asked quietly.
"Who are you talking about?" Natasha asked louder looking at Jared.
Riley rolled his eyes. We were all just one big ball of sass this afternoon. It'd been a long day for a Saturday that we were all meant to have off. It was going to be an even longer night with this function. I tried not to grin as Clint was still working on my lips. There was no such thing as discreet with Natasha around.
"Ward." Jared didn't bother to cover the mouthpiece of the phone. "Hill hates me. This is payback of some kind I'm sure of it."
"If you stopped being such a fucking asshole about everything I'm sure she wouldn't have a reason to." Clint let out an unamused snort. "He's good at what he does Jared, so shut up about it."
Jared scowled at Clint and changed the phone over to speaker.
"I'm trusting you to make sure Ward comes back alive Barton," Hill's voice came over the phone.
"I don't really like him so I wouldn't be trusting me to bring him back alive," Clint said flatly. "None of us like him Hill. Jared is right about that."
From the other side of the bathroom, Riley choked back his laughter. It was quiet but from the silence on the other end of the phone, I had no doubt Hill heard it.
"And that's who in the room with you?" Hill didn't sound very happy about hearing Riley's muted laughter.
"Riley, Kari's boyfriend," Jared filled in quickly before Riley could speak up. "He's STRIKE Team Bravo."
"Oh Agent Hunterton, I've heard about you." The smirk in Hill's voice could be heard clearly. "Tell me Agent Hunterton, do you know Agent Grant Ward?"
"No Ma'am," Riley said swiftly. "First I've heard of him."
"Good, Agent Evans is your STRIKE leader isn't he?" Hill asked.
"Yes, Ma'am." Riley suddenly looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Jared looked back at Riley with his own smug expression. Natasha covered her mouth to try and wipe the smile off her face. Poor Riley, he should have tried a little harder to cover that laugh.
"Then you've just been roped into surveillance duty with Barton and Romanoff,"" Hill said briskly. "You can be the responsible one to make sure Agent Ward comes back in one piece, alive and breathing. He'll be there in 20 minutes with your equipment. Debrief in my office first thing Monday morning."
Hill hung up without another word.
"My life used to be normal." Riley sighed dramatically looking around the room at the rest of us. "And somehow I just managed to get roped into a mission by simply being in the same room as you troublemakers."
"Look on the bright side." Clint shot a grin over his shoulder. "Now you're here, Kari will definitely order us room service. Ever run surveillance before?"
Riley nodded in confirmation. Jared grumbled under his breath in a language I couldn't pick walking out of the room again. Clint gave my lips a quick coat of lipstick before holding it up to me.
"Put it in your purse, don't lose it." He instructed. "Go get dressed."
I didn't need to be told twice. The last thing I wanted to be doing is walking around still in a bathrobe when Agent Ward showed up. I jumped down from the sink where I'd been perched while Clint painted a face on me. I couldn't resist a quick look in the mirror to see what kind of job he'd done.
"Wow." I blinked a few times at my reflection in the mirror. Clint had gone for a really bold look for me. Smokey eyes, bright lipstick. It looked amazing without being over the top. I never would have picked this for myself. I always went for muted shades and subtle. The way Clint had done it really brought up the blue in my eyes and made my lips look even fuller than before.
"Where did you learn to do that?" I turned back to Clint who was throwing everything back in my makeup bag. I'd have to send Mom a thank you for indulging me last Christmas with the nice makeup I currently had. It was coming in handy today.
"I can learn anything when I pay attention." Clint cheekily dodged the question. By his absence of an answer, my guess would have been it and something to do with his time in the circus. Not something he was willing to bring up around Riley.
"Dress, let's go." Natasha gave me a shove away from the mirror. "You can gawk at yourself when you're fully dressed."
"You helping?" I asked Natasha. I was getting more nervous now. My stomach knotted uncomfortably and all I could think of was a million ways I was going to screw this up.
"Sure, I haven't seen you naked yet," Natasha's teasing tone was back. "Can I pick out your underwear? Or lack of since I know what kind of dress you're wearing."
"So, I should skip the underwear tonight?" I was grateful for Natasha's teasing. It gave me something else to focus on besides my nerves. Right now I needed as much refocusing as possible so I didn't throw up from nerves.
Riley looked like he was having a hard time squashing down the mental image he must have been having. He shifted uncomfortably against the wall, crossing one leg in front of the other. I knew how he felt. Last night had done nothing to take the edge off me. I was looking forward to spending the day in bed with him tomorrow. Providing everything went to plan tonight.
"Down boy," Natasha smirked as she noticed his reaction too. "Wait until you see her in this dress."
Riley didn't say anything. He cleared his throat and looked intently at the wall. I didn't miss the unmistakable flash of embarrassment cross his face.
"Now I'm worried about what this dress is going to look like," I muttered under my breath. Natasha shoved me out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. The garment bag was hanging up on my cupboard door, with four inch stiletto heels underneath it. The heels were silver, just plain one's nothing special giving me no clue to what I was actually wearing.
"I hope it fits," I said rather unnecessarily. I had no doubt everything would fit perfectly. How SHIELD managed to get all these things needed for a mission on such short notice was beyond me. Especially in such specifics, like a size eight shoe and a size four dress. "First drawer over there."
"It'll fit." Natasha walked over to my underwear drawer and started to rummage through it. "Damn Kari, you have some seriously nice stuff in here. I didn't pick you for having an underwear fetish."
Natasha pulled out a red lace thong that left nothing to the imagination. If she went a little further into the draw there was probably a matching bra somewhere for it.
"I like nice underwear sets." I eyed off the skimpy thong. Riley was going to have fun taking that off with his teeth later on. "Keeps my shoe fetish in check. Are those real Louis Vuitton heels?"
I'd only just noticed the brand on the shoe. They looked very authentic if it was a fake.
"Of course they are," Natasha said, quickly adding an explanation before I could feel stupid for asking. "You're going to a gala where it's a $1500 a head just to get in. This is all part of blending in. Everything had to be authentic. You aren't going to get away with a pair of knock off shoes because guaranteed some snotty diva will call you out on it. Please tell me you have one of those stick on bras super push up bras? Your dress is very revealing and you'll need the cleavage boost."
"I wear an A cup, of course, I have multiple bras to give me extra boobs," I laughed, relieved at Natasha's explanation. It was one less thing I had to worry about. "Bras are in the drawer underneath."
I noticed Natasha still had the red thong still hooked around her fingers. It seems my underwear choice was that for tonight. Considering the amount she had to choose from, it just had to be something as revealing at that. Why did I get a sneaking suspicion I was going to end up falling over in those tall heels and everyone getting a good look up my dress? I should have gone and gotten that Brazillian wax I'd been putting off for the last month. She quickly went through my bra drawer and pulled out the only stick on bra I had that actually made me look like I had boobs. She handed both of them to me.
"I'm still not sure the on why I'm going in and not you," I confessed quietly to Natasha as I pulled the thong on under my robe. "This isn't what I thought I signed up for."
"We have a side mission." Natasha turned her back and unzipped the garment bag while I pulled the robe off and got my bra on. "Our mission is above your clearance level and only coming into play if a certain person is there. Clint and I might split without notice if that's the case. So it's not the whole language thing if I was in there and the player we have eyes on spots me then it's all over."
I was very grateful for Natasha's honestly. She didn't have to tell me. Even if she couldn't give me any details at least I knew what was going on behind the scenes. It made the whole situation fall into place easier.
"If we leave, it will be a few days or few weeks before we get back," Natasha continued. "Jared will be sticking around as part of the cover."
"Any hints?" I turned around to look at my dress which Natasha now held over her arms.
"Arms up," Natasha instructed. I eyed what seemed to be no more than a scrap of material in her arms. A very pretty and shiny silver scrap of material though. "Just play up the whole not speaking English and walk around. Drink some champagne, eat the expensive food and have a good time. That's all you need to do."
"Right," I murmured putting my arms over my head. Natasha dropped the skimpy dress over my head, taking care not to touch my face of hair.
Natasha gave it a few tugs as it settled over my body. She then moved around to do the zip up while I held the front of it up. Looking in my full length mirror I didn't recognise myself. The dress was simple but gorgeous. It was a shimmery silver fabric, the bodice was covered in sequins that definitely didn't look cheap. It was strapless and dipped down at the back, leaving a lot of skin exposed. A crystal decoration sat just above my left breast, which I assumed was my camera for tonight. A slit ran right up to my thigh on the left hand side gave a clear view of my legs. Combined with the smokey makeup and gentle curls farming my face it created a stunning look.
"See? You look amazing." Natasha smiled behind me. "Have fun tonight, I love these types of missions. Any excuse to dress up and drink expensive champagne."
"Then you can do it next time while I run surveillance." I stopped myself wiping my sweaty palms on the dress. Seeing everything all put together now had just made everything seem very real.
"Ready to go?" Jared barged in without knocking. He stopped dead in his tracks, eyebrows raised at my appearance. He opened his mouth and then shut it again, whatever comment he was going to say died on his lips.
"What?" I frowned at him putting my hands on my hips. Any shred of confidence I felt looking in the mirror was going to be gone if Jared thought I looked ridiculous. He'd be the first to call me out on it too.
"You look fucking amazing," Jared said with a breathless chuckle. "Wow. I'm so impressed. Nat?"
I smiled in return. Inwardly I was sagging in relief. Jared's brutal honestly could have made things so much worse if he didn't think I looked good. He didn't need to gesture to his untied bowtie. Natasha stepped up and gave the untied black piece of fabric a yank to bring Jared more down to her level. Jared was 6'1, tall enough even without his chunky formal dress shoes on.
Natasha's well practised fingers had his bowtie done in a few seconds. Even I had to admit that Jared looked very good in the obviously expensive suit. Even without the jacket on.
"Shoes." Jared prompted me breaking me out of my staring at his suit. "Ward should be here any second."
"Be nice," Natasha warned Jared. "None of us likes him but be professional. We're only all just getting back to having missions again. I'll kill you if you're the one to fuck that up."
"I'm always professional." Jared flashing a charming smile. He was only met with a deadpan stare from Natasha as she gave the bowtie a yank. Jared winced before straightening up. "Let's go."
I grabbed my shoes and then realised I was missing something pretty important.
"I need a handbag." I had a rush of panic. "And I have nothing nice enough to match these shoes."
"Handbag is in the lounge room." Natasha was quick to reassure me. "Stop being nervous and just relax."
Easy enough for Natasha to say. A mission like this would be a quiet day at work for her. Without another word, she walked out of the room and I was left alone in front of the mirror. I took another look at the mirror, still not believing what was looking back at me. Natasha was right, as always. Her honestly was something I always wanted even when I didn't think I'd want it. I needed to relax and just go with the flow of this. I wasn't doing myself much good getting worked up over something that should be simple and enjoyable.
"Kari," Jared called out in a sing song voice. "Let's get the fuck moving. It's Vegas on a Saturday night with free food and booze."
"Coming," I called back giving myself one last look in the mirror. I still wasn't believing that it was me staring back in the reflection. I finally dragged myself away from the mirror and made my way out to the lounge room. It had a plus one in it already. I hadn't heard the knock on the door or Agent Ward even announcing he was here.
"Kari, Ward," Jared introduced me straight away to the tall, dark haired guy already there. "Ward, my sister Kari. Let's go."
Jared grabbed my hand and the next second we were in a very fancy hotel room.
"Welcome to Caesars Palace." Jared looked around with a carefree grin on his face. He was enjoying the mission before it started. "Back soon. Put your shoes on, for the 10th fucking time, so we can go."
I sipped on my 3rd glass of champagne, berating myself to slow down a little bit. We were an hour into the function and none of the key players we needed to see were around. I was hanging close to Jared like he'd told me to do at the start. He was currently conversing with a small group of men in his fake and very heavy accent. As fake as it was, it was a very good accent.
It was frustrating having to stand there pretending like I had no idea what they were talking about. Currently, the conversation was about the new line of missiles Stark Industries were going to unveil tomorrow. The Jericho missiles were meant to be months away from being released on the market. But in usual Tony Stark fashion, he'd called a conference for tomorrow to unveil them. Right before he took them out on the open market for military use. The rumour was Stark was unveiling them to the US military as of next week.
Natasha had been right. I should never doubt her. This was very straightforward and even a little boring. But at least the booze was flowing freely.
"Kari," Natasha's voice came alive in my ear. "Stark just walked in, he's hanging by the bar. Go excuse yourself and get another drink. Flirt and then walk away."
"Jakob." I turned to Jared with a small smile. I switched to Icelandic, the words as natural to me as English. "I'm going to go flirt and act drunk."
Jared nodded. I smiled at the group of men and walked away, teetering in the tall heels a little bit. I didn't need to act slightly tipsy, I was there already. I'd barely eaten all day and the champagne was very good. The small pieces of food they dared to call appetisers barely touched the sides of my empty stomach.
I made it to the bar just in time to see Tony Stark himself turn away with a drink in his hand. It couldn't have been better timing for me. I had turned like I was looking over my shoulder, and walked straight into him. His scotch sloshed in his glass but didn't actually spill on me.
"Fuck." Tony looked drunk already. He staggered as he took a step back out of my way. "Sorry."
"Oh, I…" I let out a breathy giggle. It was hard to maintain the thick accent. "Sorry."
I really rolled the R's around in my mouth like I could barely pronounce the word. It worked perfectly. Tony was staring at me like a kid finding a new toy. The look he was giving me was that I was currently about to be his new want in the world. Even if it was only going to be for five minutes.
"I don't believe we've met," Tony stuck his hand out. His cocky smirk appeared on face his wiping away any traces of drunkenness. "Tony Stark."
As much as I wanted to roll my eyes and slap his hand away I had a part to play. I giggling again, pulling a wide smile onto my lips.
"My English, sorry," I stuttered through the sentence in a heavy accent. "Asta."
I held my hand out what I hoped to be delicately. Stark didn't disappoint, he took my limp hand and placed a kiss on it. It took a lot of self control not to pull it away in disgust as his goatee tickled the skin on my hand. Some women might like facial hair but I was definitely not one of them. His lips lingered a lot longer than necessary. I decided if he was going to do something disgusting, like lick my hand I'd quite happily break cover and punch him in the nose. I was really confident I could hit hard enough to do some damage as well.
"I love women who don't speak English." Tony smiled at me, obviously flirting "Drink? Of course, you want a drink. Actually, I want you to drink."
Tony gestured towards my nearly empty champagne glass. With an impatient snap of his fingers, he gestured towards the bartender. He took my nearly empty glass from my other hand and set it down on the bar.
"There you are!" Jared's voice carried over the noise of the crowd around the bar. I was grateful for his quick intervention. I don't know how I could have kept up the whole flirting thing with very limited English. "My apologies Mr Stark, my sister doesn't speak much English."
"No apologies necessary." Tony looked at me up and down with obvious attraction. "And you are with the funky European accent?
"Jakob Lindarson." Unlike everyone else, Jared made no move to shake Tony's hand. "We haven't met before, the pleasure is all mine."
I looked between them trying to look like I wasn't following the conversation. I kept a fake smile plastered on my face. I kept glancing up at Tony from under my eyelashes. I had his full attention still. He was barely paying attention to Jared.
"Flutter them a bit Kari," Natasha murmured in my ear. "Don't look at him like you want to pounce on him and beat the shit out of him. You need to do a different type of pouncing."
It took every fibre of my self control not to burst out laughing at Natasha's unhelpful piece of advice. Well, it was a little bit helpful. I let a silly pout fall onto my lips.
"Better," Natasha snickered. "Flash a bit of leg and walk away."
I casually took my now full champagne glass and purposely let my leg slid from out underneath the dress. I smiled at both of the men and walked away, making sure I walked enough to let my hips wiggle slightly. It was really hard to maintain. Any type of sexy walk was smacked out of me a long time ago in Officer training. But the enormous heels helped a little.
"Your ass looks fantastic. Keep wiggling it like that," Clint's voice spoke up in my ear this time. It was followed by a muffled thump and a loud ow coming from Clint. There was no doubt in my mind that either Riley or Natasha had just smacked him for that comment.
I walked past Ward who was doing the exact same thing as Jared was doing. He was in a circle of men, currently speaking rapidly in Russian. He wasn't the only stare that followed me across the room. So far I hadn't spoken to him at all to find out why no one liked him. At least he was good looking. He could have been butt ugly with an attitude to match.
"See? Even Ward is checking her out and I thought he was gay," Clint spoke up again. I was very glad I wasn't with anyone at the moment. I had to bite my lip to stifle the laugh that bubbled up in my throat. I drowned the rest of it out by taking a large swig of champagne.
"Obadiah Stane is talking to someone who looks familiar near the buffet table," Natasha said. "Swing around and have a look. At the end of the table near the chocolate fountain. Your 10 o'clock."
Buffet table? I didn't know there was a buffet table. Here I was starving eating tiny little servings of food and I could have been pigging out at a buffet instead. Though if I found the waiter that had those tiny little spoons of seared scallops on parsnip cream I was going to take the entire tray for myself.
"Don't scoff everything down at the buffet table," Natasha said quickly as I found the said table across the room. "Though if you can sneak some chocolate mousse up I will love you forever."
"And no sticking your hand in the chocolate fountain." Clint was being really unhelpful tonight. He sounded so bored. The laugh in the background came from Riley. He'd barely said two words to me the minute I walked into this room. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling at that comment though. It really was something I'd do if I could get away with it.
The buffet table looked far too tempting for me not to gorge myself. I settled on some kind of shrimp on a small round disc. I had no idea what it was but it tasted divine. I took a few other small morsels on a napkin and walked past where Natasha had directed me. I walked past a middle aged balding man who was talking too quietly for me to catch anything. He was speaking to another bald man, middle eastern judging by my quick glance at his appearance. Neither of them paid a speck of attention to me as I walked past.
"I need you to try and get a good look at that guy Kari," Clint prompted. "Be discreet. Do a couple of circles, go flirt with Stark a bit more."
I tried not to sigh. This was getting tedious very quickly. No wonder everyone was so quick to send me in. So much for don't worry it'll be fun. The only fun thing about this was the food I'd just found.
I did as I was told. I hung around with Jared who was making his way around various circles. I managed to find the waiter who had the seared scallops on spoons again much to my delight. Another two glasses of champagne and I was really starting to feel the effects of the expensive alcohol. I'd managed to get a clear view of the man Obadiah had been speaking to earlier. The sound of disappointment coming from Clint told me it wasn't the target that they had their eyes on. I'd made another circle of the room when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"Excuse me?"
My hand twitched from wanting to smack the strangers hand off my shoulder. Instead, I turned with a smile plastered on my face. I was getting sick of smiling tonight. My cheeks were starting to hurt and it felt like I couldn't keep it genuine anymore.
Seeing the face of James Rhodes made a flash of panic go through me. It was bad enough I had to stop myself saluting him from sheer habit. He was dressed in his formal Air Force uniform, hat tucked under his arm. He was looking at me intently as if he was trying to place my face. I'd only met him while I'd been in a crowd. It was never enough for him to be able to get a good look at my face. My hair was going to be what gave me away.
"First Lieutenant Lyngley?" He questioned looking puzzled.
"Don't panic," Natasha instructed me quickly. "Just play cool, don't speak English remember."
I had to stop myself from jumping in surprise every time one of them did that. There could be radio silence for ages then Natasha or Clint would come back into my ear instructing me to do something.
"Pardon?" I asked in Icelandic and then forced myself to giggle and switch back to English. "Ah sorry, My English…"
I trailed off with an apologetic shrug. To my relief Rhodes instantly started to apologise.
"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else." Rhodes looked slightly embarrassed. "Excuse me."
Rhodes turned on his heel and walked away. I let out a very quiet sigh of relief. That had been very close. I could have just fucked everything up in an instant.
"Well played," Clint praised me. "Just keep clear of him and stop walking like you're still in the military, shake that ass baby."
I ignored Clint and his new level of obnoxious. My earpiece went silent so I had no doubt the conversation in the room had just taken a turn for the worse. Or better. Depending on how you see it.
Out of boredom, I found myself back at the buffet table. I spied a large pile of strawberries sitting right by the enormous chocolate fountain. I couldn't help myself. Even if I had the willpower to resist chocolate dipped strawberries, well who was I kidding? I never had the willpower to resist two of my favourite things put together. I had no doubt with the luxury being thrown around that the chocolate wasn't your cheap kind that came from the supermarket.
"If you're heading to what I can see," I could hear the pout in Natasha's voice. "Please smuggle me some up later. And don't spill it all over your dress."
Great I didn't think of that. Now I was going to be really paranoid about spilling chocolate everywhere. It wasn't going to deter me though. I took a skewer and put one strawberry on it. I rolled it around in the cascading waterfall of chocolate, willing myself not to drool as I did it. Satisfied it was smothered in enough chocolate I slowly bit into it. The first taste of it on my tongue made me close my eyes. Nope, definitely no cheap stuff here. The chocolate was amazing and the strawberry was the best I had ever tasted. The other half was gone just as quickly. A quick glance around showed no one was paying any attention to me so I quickly shoved a few more on the skewer and ate them just as quickly.
"Hey Kari," Clint's voice interrupted my little pig out session. "Do me a favour and turn to your 2 o'clock, very slowly. Make it look like you're scanning the room."
I did as I was instructed. Faking a yawn, I covered my mouth and turned around looking for Jared. I couldn't see him anywhere so it wasn't hard to make it look authentic that I was looking for him.
"Stop," Clint instructed.
There was a group of men standing around. It looked like every other circle of men around this function. A few had other women hanging off their arms wearing the same expression as me. Bored but trying to look like they're having a good time. From this distance, I could barely pick out the individual details of each person. Let alone be able to find the target in the dimmed atmosphere.
"That's us." Natasha sounded excited. "Get your ass back up here. Tell Jared you're tired or something. He's in the corner with Stark."
I didn't argue. I drained the last of my champagne and made my way to where I'd finally spotted Jared. He was hanging near the bar and still talking to Stark. It didn't actually look like they'd moved since I left earlier. I don't know how Jared did it. He could talk for hours, whether he knew what he was talking about or not. He certainly had the gift of the gab.
"Jakob." I walked up with a smile on my face.
He tore himself away from the conversation enough to shoot me a questioning look.
"I'm heading back up to the room," I said in Icelandic. "Apparently I'm done for the night."
"So I heard." Jared leant over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek replying in the same language. "I won't be far behind you. I have what I need as well."
Tony couldn't keep his eyes off me during the brief conversation between Jared and I. He just stood there watching me intently until I turned back to him.
"Good night," I stuttered through the English in a terrible accent. I was very grateful I didn't have to plaster that fake smile on my face anymore.
"It's still early." Tony looked disappointed. He suddenly remembered my lack of English and turned back to Jared. "There's an after party starting at midnight. Perhaps your sister would like to catch a quick sleep before that?"
"I'm going to talk at you because he has no idea what I'm saying," Jared spoke in his smooth Icelandic. "But I strongly recommend you don't go to the after party. Someone is watching you very carefully."
Jared gave a barely noticeable incline of his head towards his left. My eyes shifted to where he had motioned and landed on Rhodes. Jared was right, he was staring at me very intently. It wasn't just out of attraction either.
"I'm going to fucking kill someone if I don't get out of these shoes," I said through gritted teeth trying to keep smiling. I had to be careful with my pronunciation because fucking quite literally translated to fuck in Icelandic. "What if I'm followed?"
"You won't be," Jared reassured me before turning back to Tony switching back to English. "Sorry, my sister said she's too tired to attend. Perhaps next time?"
"Turn your body left a bit, Kari," Clint instructed in my ear suddenly. I didn't catch what Tony said to me. I was spared from any more attention as Jared launched into another conversation with Tony. I turned, doing as Clint told me as I walked off.
"Perfect, see you in a minute." The line went dead in my ear again. I had to stop myself ripping the damn thing out in front of everyone. It was very small and discreet. You'd have to be looking very hard to actually see it sitting in my ear canal. But it was also very uncomfortable. I made my way out of the room and walked down the vast corridor towards the elevator. All I could think of right now as the utter relief of getting my shoes off. Jared's idea of ordering room service sounded like a spectacular idea. I was going to go for some wings and beer. Anything I didn't have to eat delicately.
The elevator ride was quiet. It was only me in the elevator as I absently picked at my nails. The nail polish I'd quickly thrown on was already chipping. No doubt from me unintentionally fidgeting with it all night. Once the elevator opened on the floor of my room I quickly checked the hallway. It was completely clear so I happily ripped my shoes off. Padding barefoot down the hallway, Natasha already had the door opened before I got there. She was still dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie. I actually had a feeling it was my hoodie. The one I thought I'd left in my locker at work.
"I already ordered food," Natasha said as soon as I stepped into the door. "Hope you're hungry."
"As long as you ordered wings and beer." I nodded in confirmation. "When you are leaving?'
"As soon as Ward confirms the guy we've got eyes on is leaving." Natasha took my purse and shoes off me. "As I said earlier, we could be gone a few days or a few weeks. Keep your phone on and we'll call for pick up once it's done."
I felt a pang of sadness at those words. I'd been glued to Natasha or Clint's side as soon as I'd gotten assigned to them. I didn't know what I was going to do, or who was going to keep sparring with me of a morning with them gone. If Riley got called away on a mission as well I'd feel completely abandoned.
"We're going to have to eat on the run," Clint said coming into the front room. "He's leaving. Let's go Nat."
"Fucker." Natasha pulled a face. She turned on her heel and stormed back into the room where everything was set up.
"If you need anything, ask Coulson," Clint quickly started filling me in on details. "Until we get back I asked Riley to help you train in the mornings. Remember its sparring, not seeing if you can fuck each other on the mats."
I laughed despite feeling upset that they were both leaving for an undisclosed amount of time without me.
"Look after Laura and the kids for me," Clint dropped his voice. "She knows I'm gone but if you can drop in there a few times a week. I'd really appreciate it."
"Sure." I gave Clint a small smile. "Anything else?"
"No, just," Clint didn't finish his sentence. He pulled me into a brief hug. "Just be careful. There's a lot going on in the world right now and I have this awful feeling something big is about to happen."
"You're telling me to be careful, yet you and Nat are the ones leaving to chase someone down." My laugh came out shakier than I wanted it to. I was going to miss them both so much. I couldn't wait to get to their clearance levels so I could be on these type of missions with them.
"Nothing we haven't done a million times," Clint smiled, giving one of my curls a gentle tug. "See you soon."
He picked up a bag he'd had at his feet and walked out the door. Natasha came back out of the other room with her own bag. She pulled me into a long hug.
"We expect you to create lots of mischief while we're away." Natasha's voice was slightly muffled against my dress. "Do lots of sparring. Spend some time at the range if you can. If I get my way we'll be back in a week."
"Stay safe."
"Half the fun is to not be safe." Natasha pulled away with a grin. "I expect you to show me how much you can kick your boyfriend's ass when I get back."
"Here's hoping." I tried not to grimace thinking back to when I last saw Riley knock Sam on his ass in a few moves. He was just as quick as Clint was.
"You never disappoint," Natasha gave me another quick hug. "Be good."
Just like Clint, she hiked a bag up over her shoulder and she was gone as well. The door closing with a quiet click behind her.
What the hell was I going to do with myself for the next few weeks without them? Heres hoping something interesting would happen at work to keep me occupied.
Authors Note.
I'm so sorry everyone. I tried to upload this earlier this morning before I went to work and for some reason it completely shit itself.
So here we are. Ready to step into Iron Man! Thanks for being patient and sticking through all the lead up through it.
Thank you so much to all the reviews from my last chapter! Its the most I've gotten before so I was really excited waking up to read them all. You guys are the best.
This is my second last update before Christmas. I'll be having a break over Christmas and New Year trying to catch up with most of my family. I was actually meant to be in Europe in a few weeks, but sadly that didn't pan out!
Until next chapter.
Edited and updated 5th of November 2018