Freya, Steve and Natasha are currently on a quinjet over the Indian Ocean on the way to their recently assigned mission. A few members of the S.T.R.I.K.E. team are talking to each other in hushed voices throughout the jet while Freya tightens up one of her boots. Feeling someone step up to her right, she turns her head and sends a smile to Brock Rumlow.
"Hey, Brock."
"Hey, Merc," he beams, obviously happy to see her. "How ya doin'?"
"Eh, can't complain. Would rather be flying outside of the jet right now, though," she shrugs after tightening the last buckle on her boot and stands to face him. "But, sometimes life's a bitch that way."
Rumlow lets out a loud laugh, which gets Steve's attention. Steve discreetly turns his head to watch them and listens in on their conversation. Unaware that Natasha is now watching him, too.
"You'll get to jump out of the jet in a few minutes, I promise," Rumlow flashes a grin at Freya. Nodding at him, Freya returns the grin and starts working on her other boot. "So, did you and Cap go see that one movie you were telling me about?"
"Yeah, it was really good," Freya replies. "I thought it was a pretty great adaptation from the book, too. I was thoroughly impressed."
"That's good. You guys have plans again next weekend?" Rumlow asks.
"Hmm," Freya stands up straight again and thinks for a few seconds. "Nothing at the moment, no. The weekend looks pretty open so far."
"There's a hockey game and I was thinking about possibly going. Did you wanna come with?"
"Yeah, sure!" she says excitedly. "That sounds like fun! It's been a while since I've been to a game."
"Sounds like a plan," Rumlow grins. "I'll snag some decent seats when we get back in town."
Steve's grip on the storage locker next to him is causing the metal to bend. His blood is boiling with jealously as he watches Rumlow and Freya joke around with each other. Both of them are wearing big smiles on their faces. He knows Freya's just an easily likable person and everyone's always instantly drawn to her. She's clearly comfortable around Rumlow and is at complete ease. And she's never shown any interest in him as anything more than friends and teammates. But he still glares daggers at Rumlow's back, who's shamelessly and openly flirting with an oblivious Freya.
"Watch out, Cap," Natasha teases with a smirk while she watches him. "It looks like someone's tryin' to steal your girl."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he snaps at her with narrowed eyes.
Natasha just hums in amusement as a response. Jack Rollins, another high-ranking S.T.R.I.K.E. team member, approaches Rumlow and pats him on the shoulder.
"Time to debrief the team," Rollins tells him before shooting Freya a friendly grin. Who immediately returns it with one of her own.
Rumlow nods at him and motions for Freya to follow. She trails behind him and steps up to his right when he activates one of the monitors and pushes a few buttons. A schematic of the ship they're currently flying toward pops up on the screen while the rest of S.T.R.I.K.E. circles up. Natasha steps up to Freya's right while Steve stands on Natasha's. His height causes him to easily tower over the two women.
"Target is a mobile satellite launch platform, the Lemurian Star," Rumlow explains. "They were sending up their last payload when pirates took 'em... 93 minutes ago."
"Any demands?" Steve asks.
Freya can't help but look over at him when she hears his smooth, deep voice. He glances at her, but quickly looks away when she sends him a smile. Her eyebrows slightly furrow in confusion at his response, but she forces herself to turn her attention back to the debriefing.
"Billion and a half," Rumlow answers.
"Why so steep?" Steve questions. Rumlow hesitantly looks over at Freya. She's with Steve on this since she doesn't know anything about the ship either. Raising a curious eyebrow she nods, encouraging him to answer.
"Because it's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s," Rumlow admits.
Steve sighs at the information and looks down at the two women next to him. Freya briefly pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. She had no idea the vessel is S.H.I.E.L.D. property. Natasha remains silent as she stands between them.
"So it's not off-course. It's trespassing," Steve says, his tone heavy with annoyance.
"I'm sure they have a good reason," Natasha hums.
"You know, I'm gettin' a little tired of being Fury's janitor," Steve snaps in return.
Freya keeps her mouth shut. Easily seeing, and feeling through their link, that Steve is highly annoyed with the situation. His uncharacteristically sour mood hasn't gone unnoticed either.
"Relax. It's not that complicated," Natasha waves him off, completely nonchalant.
How she responds instantly makes Freya suspicious of her. Watching her closely, she realizes Natasha won't look at her. There's more to this mission than the redhead is letting on. Freya refrains from digging through her thoughts and turns back to the debriefing.
"How many pirates?" Steve asks.
"25. Top mercs led by this guy," Rumlow says and displays a picture of a man on the screen.
"Georges Batroc," Freya sighs when she instantly recognizes him. "Ex-DGSE, Action Division." Everyone's attention turns to her, including Steve's. She briefly makes eye contact with him before averting her eyes back to the monitor. Rumlow proudly grins at her and lets her continue. "He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties. Earned himself the name 'Batroc the Leaper'. The guy has a mad case of the hops," Freya rolls her eyes, earning a chuckle from all of S.T.R.I.K.E. "He's a pretty slippery bastard."
"Hostages?" Steve questions Rumlow as he hesitantly looks away from her.
"Uh, mostly techs. One officer," Rumlow replies. He hits a few buttons on the monitor to bring up pictures of the crew. He enlarges one, which turns out to be a familiar face. "Jasper Sitwell. They're in the galley."
"Jas?" Freya asks in surprise. Her head snaps over to the monitor and she studies Sitwell's picture. "He's on the ship?" she asks worriedly. Rumlow sends her a grim nod.
"What's Sitwell doin' on a launch ship?" Steve wonders out loud. Now slightly suspicious of the situation at hand. Still concerned for the crew's safety, he looks up at everyone else and starts dishing out orders. "All right, Frey and I will sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get 'em to the life-pods, get 'em out. Let's move."
"S.T.R.I.K.E., you heard the Cap. Gear up," Rumlow orders his team while the three Avengers group up at the back of the jet to get the rest of their gear ready.
"Secure channel seven," Steve speaks into the mic on his wrist.
"Seven secure," Natasha and Freya echo. They look at each other and smirk.
"Jinx," Freya teases the other woman.
"Did you two do anything fun Saturday night?" Natasha asks with a small grin while she focuses back on her gear
"Uh," Steve glances down at Freya before turning his gaze on Natasha. "Dinner and a movie." Natasha just silently nods her head in reply as the pilot makes an announcement over the intercom.
"Comin' up on the drop zone, Cap, Merc."
"You know," Natasha begins as she looks past Freya at Steve. "Since you won't have Frey around on Saturday evening, you should ask Kristen out from statistics, she'd probably say yes."
Freya's head whips to her left to look at Natasha, who has an amused look on her face. She narrows her eyes at the redhead in annoyance. Steve sighs and hits the button to open the jet's ramp. Now exposed to the outside atmosphere, the cabin is immediately filled with a loud, nonstop roar.
"That's why I don't ask!" he yells over the wind while he buckles his helmet.
"Too shy, or too scared?!" Natasha asks.
"Neither!" he replies after stopping halfway down the ramp to look back at her. "She's not my type."
"And what would your type be?!" the redhead raises an eyebrow at him. Unable to stop himself, Steve quickly glances at Freya before turning and wordlessly jumping out of the jet. Freya instantly spins around to face the redhead.
"What are you playing at, Red?!" Freya questions.
"Don't pretend like something isn't going on between you two!" she smirks back at Freya.
"Was he wearing a parachute?!" Rollins asks Rumlow with a look of disbelief.
"No!" Rumlow shakes his head and grins. "No, he wasn't!"
"And that, lady and gentlemen!" Freya begins. She walks backwards out of the jet while pointing finger guns at them. "Would be my cue!"
She winks before turning and swan diving out of the jet. She free falls through the air as her ponytail flies wildly behind her. Initiating flight, she closes the distance between her and Steve and barely catches up with him in time. Reaching out, she uses her powers to take hold of him right before he hits the water. Keeping him next to her, she starts to float over to the ship.
"Cuttin' it a little close there, don't ya think? What, you too busy makin' another date with Rumlow?"
She looks at him with her eyebrows furrowed in total confusion.
"'Another date'? We've never even gone on a date in the first place. I'd never date Rumlow. He's definitely not my type."
"Then what's with Saturday's plans?"
Floating up to the side of the ship near the anchor, she tilts her head in question.
"Steve, that's not a date. It's just an outing with a friend I haven't spent time with in a while. Honestly, it's nothing."
They float over the railing of the ship and silently land behind a patrol that had just walked by. Steve sneaks up behind him and puts him in a choke hold. Quickly knocking him unconscious. After he quietly lays him on the deck, they both take off running to the right and go around the bow of the ship.
They soundlessly sprint around an overhang and go after two pirates that are posted in that area. Steve throws his shield at the left one and slides under a cable. His shield hits him square in the face, instantly knocking him out cold. Popping up from his slide, he smoothly catches his shield and turns to watch Freya. She takes a running leap at the guy on the right. She uses her powers to pull him toward her to clothesline him mid-air. As soon as she lands, she spins around and catches him before he hits the ground. Pulling him toward her again, she spins and solidly kicks him. Sending him flying over the edge and into the water.
"I don't think your Saturday plans are just 'nothing' to Rumlow."
"Do you want me to cancel my plans with him?"
Her facial expression is serious and her tone is completely genuine as she turns to face him.
"You would really do that?"
His question carries a clear tone of relief.
"Of course I would. I'd rather spend time with you instead."
Visibly fighting a smile, he jerks his head to the side, motioning they should go. They round the last part of the corner and come up on three more guys. Steve runs at one and sends a powerful kick to his chest. Sending the man careening off the side of the ship. At the same time, Freya approaches one of the other men. Lowering herself and kicking a leg around, she effectively sweeps his legs out from under him. Quickly standing back up, she kicks the guy in the midsection while he's trying to get up. There's more than enough power in the kick to send him overboard as well. Steve turns to the third guy and throws him over his shoulder to the ground. As soon as the guard hits the deck, Freya walks up to him and punches him in the face. Knocking him out cold.
Making brief eye contact, Steve and Freya share a quick smile before silently taking off running again. This time down the side of the ship. When Freya sees a guard patrolling up ahead, she leaps off the ship and flies underneath the railing out of view. As she flies past him, she reaches up and yanks him overboard. When she flies back over the railing, she sees a man sneaking up behind Steve, who's already fighting someone else. Running up on the second pirate, she Sparta kicks him into the wall. He starts to eye the fire alarm. So she reaches a hand out to the man that Steve is fighting and plucks the knife out of his hands with her powers. Turning back to the man she had kicked, she chucks the knife. It impales his hand and attaches it to the wall as he screams. Using her powers again, she bashes his head against the wall, knocking him out. Having dealt with his guy, Steve walks up beside her and admires her handiwork.
"Let's keep moving."
Freya nods in silent reply. Moving out to the open upper deck of the ship, they both run to the other end. They vault over the railing and land on the deck below in the middle of four guys. Steve turns to the one behind them and smashes him in the face with his shield, knocking him out. Freya kicks the guy that's directly in front of them in the gut. Causing him to go soaring across the deck into storage tanks. Hearing Steve's shield hit something hard, she turns and watches him smash another guy in the face. Noticing the guy behind Steve, she raises a hand and picks him up with her powers. Turning around, she throws him into a pole before flicking her wrist, sending yet another pirate into the water.
Catching movement to the right, Freya looks up and sees another pirate. This one has a hand gun pointed at her. She knows these guys are using armor piercing rounds. She's ran into Batroc before, so he knows normal ammo won't hurt her. Before she can throw up a barrier, she watches his eyes go wide as Steve's shield flies past her. It knocks the guy on his ass. She smirks when his gun goes flying from his hand as he falls. Another guard tries to run up on Steve's right while another runs up the stairs in front of her. As Steve handles his guy, Freya approaches the other one. She blocks his attempted left and slips his right past her. Using that as leverage, she brings her legs up around his neck. Flipping backwards, she throws the guy through the doors near the first pirate they had dispatched. Who's laying there still unconscious. One of the pirates they had previously taken down starts to climb to his feet. She simply walks up to him and knocks him out with a hard left. The sound of a weapon cocking makes her freeze. Slowly turning toward it, she sees a guard pointing a rifle at Steve's head. When she starts to raise her hands he screams at both of them in French.
"Ne bouge pas! l'un de vous!" (Don't move! Either of you!)
Steve looks over at Freya as she slowly puts her hands down. She recognizes that the risk is too high to try anything. They make eye contact and he gives her a small, reassuring smile. Movement behind the gunman makes Freya grin and she replies to the pirate in French.
"Tu devrais vraiment apprendre à surveiller ton dos, chérie." (You should really learn to watch your back, sweetheart.)
With wide eyes, the gunman starts to turn, but is quickly dispatched by Rumlow. Who's floating in by parachute.
"Thanks," Steve nods at Rumlow when he lands.
"Yeah," Rumlow grins as he looks between the two Avengers. "You two seemed pretty helpless without me."
Freya grins and gives Rumlow a playful shove. He laughs and reaches out to her for a fist bump. She happily returns it with a chuckle before walking away with Steve toward their next task. The rest of S.T.R.I.K.E. and Natasha parachute in behind them. The redhead falls in step with her two friends after she discards her chute. Looking past Freya over to Steve, she continues the conversation from the jet.
"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you two?" Natasha asks. "She seems kinda nice."
Freya's head whips over to Natasha and she sends her a hard glare. The redhead's smirk gets bigger at her reaction. Steve places his shield on his back while he walks.
"Still not my type, Romanoff," he sighs. "How 'bout you secure the engine room and stop concerning yourself with my love life."
"I'm multi-tasking," Natasha rolls her eyes. She falls behind and vaults over a nearby railing.
"Go find someone else to multi-task for," Freya mutters. She isn't intending for Steve to hear her, but he does.
He looks down at her with a grin and gives her a teasing nudge. Freya shakes her head at him and tries not to grin back. They come to a dead end and look up at the bridge where Batroc is. Their goal is to get a bug on the window that will enable them to hear what he's saying.
"Do you wanna do the honors?" Steve asks.
"No, you do it this time," Freya declines. "I always enjoy watching you do parkour."
He chuckles before taking off in a sprint. He climbs and leaps off the sides of the buildings until he gets close enough to plant the bug. Reaching up, he shoots it at the window, hitting his mark. He retreats behind a corner and crouches while she flies up to meet him. He has the only earpiece that provides audio from the bug, so Freya crouches too and leans against him to listen in. Steve is fairly fluent in French now that Freya's taught him over the years. She knows he won't have any issues translating, but she does it anyway. Unable to repress the urge to be close to him. Surprised by her sudden close proximity, Steve's eyes go wide at her actions. Using it as an excuse to be close to her, he wraps an arm around her waist to steady her. Not realizing she's doing the exact same thing as him. Even though they stay completely serious and professional, both Avengers are blushing like crazy. Freya tries to refocus and listens as Steve starts to translate.
"He says he doesn't like waiting and ordered one of his guards to call someone named Durand. They're gonna start the engines so they can be ready to move when the ransom comes in. And it looks like Durand is stationed in the engine room since they just ordered him to start the engines. The other guy just told Batroc that there's nothing but radio silence from S.H.I.E.L.D."
Freya silently nods in reply at the information and shifts on the balls of her feet restlessly.
"Targets acquired," Keller from S.T.R.I.K.E. whispers over comms.
"S.T.R.I.K.E. in position," Rumlow quietly confirms.
"Natasha, what's your status?" Steve whispers into the mic on his wrist. He only receives silence. The two Avengers glance at each other in silent question. Steve's arm tightens around Freya as she leans into him. "Status, Natasha," he presses.
"Hang on!" Natasha yells over the channel, causing both Steve and Freya to jump in surprise. After a few moments, her voice flows over comms again. "Engine room secure."
"Atta girl, Red," Freya whispers.
"On my mark," Steve whispers into the mic to S.T.R.I.K.E. this time. "Three... two... one..."
When he reaches the bottom of the countdown, Freya and Steve hear the distant gunshots of S.T.R.I.K.E. as they infiltrate the galley to rescue the hostages.
"We need to move in on Batroc, now," Freya insists.
Steve nods and removes his arm from her. They both stand and quietly move up on the bridge. Watching through the windows, Freya can see the pirates staring at the phone in confusion. They had finally realized they're under attack.
"Steve..." Freya says in warning.
"Yep," he acknowledges.
He takes his shield off and grunts as he throws it. The shield crashes through the window and Batroc barely ducks in time. It sails over his head and hits his henchman before wedging itself in the wall. Steve, followed by Freya, leaps through the broken window. Batroc surprises them by hiding on the floor and sending out a kick when they land in front of him. He connects a solid foot to Steve's chest, who's knocked back into Freya. They both go down in a heap while Batroc runs away. Rolling off of Freya, Steve stands and helps her up. Turning, he runs after Batroc while retrieving his shield on the way out. Freya is right on his heels.
"Hostages en route to extraction. Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap, Merc," Rumlow announces over comms. "Hostiles are still in play."
Steve and Freya stop at the top of a small flight of stairs and look at each other with a shared expression of confusion.
"Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages," Steve orders. He receives only silence again. "Natasha."
"Nat? Nat, are you okay?" Freya calls out to the redhead into her wrist mic as well. She receives silence as well. She looks up at Steve with an expression of slight worry and mentally reaches out to him.
"I'll go check on the hostages and make sure they get to the life-pods safely. I'll come right back when I'm done. You go after Batroc."
He gives her a reluctant nod as he looks down at her.
"Okay. Be safe, please."
"You, too."
She stares up at him for a moment longer before taking off into the air above the ship to get a better viewpoint. Looking at her surroundings, she spots S.T.R.I.K.E. on the port side as they head toward the stern. Flying over to them and dropping down to the group, she smoothly transitions into a jog to keep pace with the group.
"Good evening," Freya greets them. "I'll be your substitute assassin for the evening as I escort you to your designated life-pods."
She looks around at the hostages with a slight smile. Hoping to cut through their nervousness. Rumlow snorts and looks over at her with a grin. The rest of S.T.R.I.K.E. nods at her in acknowledgement while wearing grins similar to Rumlow's.
"It's so good to see you again, Frey," Sitwell says happily as he pulls her into a brief hug.
"You too, Jas," she smiles warmly.
Arriving at the life-pods, she makes sure everyone is secure before flying back over to where she had last seen Steve. When she lands, she spots Steve's helmet on the ground while Batroc is out cold on a door that had been ripped off its hinges. Briskly making her way over to it, she peeks her head into the room. She finds Steve hovering over Natasha's shoulder while she works at a computer. Freya steps over Batroc's body, not caring that she totally steps on his hand in the process.
"You're saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel," Steve says in disbelief.
"Whatever I can get my hands on," comes Natasha's breezy reply.
"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Freya asks. Steve and Natasha's heads snap up to look at her.
"Did the hostages get out okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," she nods at Steve. "Everyone's accounted for."
He sighs in relief and nods before glaring at Natasha again. Freya walks over to the computers and stands on Steve's left while she watches the other two. As she stands there, she begins to get a sickening feeling in her stomach. A feeling she hasn't felt in a while. Something is about to happen. Steve's voice pulls her from her thoughts.
"Our mission is to rescue hostages," he snaps.
"No that mission was for you and Frey," Natasha replies to Steve before removing a S.H.I.E.L.D. thumb drive from the computer. Freya instantly puts the pieces together. "And you two have done beautifully," the redhead finishes.
When Natasha tries to walk past him, he grabs her by the arm and yanks her back. Freya takes a few big steps backwards to create some space for them. Not wanting to get in the middle of their argument since she empathizes with both of them.
"You just jeopardized this whole operation," Steve growls in the Natasha's face.
"I think that's overstating things," Natasha rolls her eyes.
Suddenly, there's movement by the door. The three of them turn to see Batroc leap to his feet. He tosses a grenade at them before he quickly bolts out the door and escapes. Steve whirls around and swats the grenade away with his shield. It hits the wall at the end of the row they're in, but doesn't land far from Freya. Running through all of the scenarios in her head, she realizes the three of them together won't be able to clear the blast radius in time. She knows she can still help Natasha and Steve though. Turning to the other two, she sees Steve reaching out to grab Natasha, who's closest to him. Freya is already raising her hands toward the other two when he turns to her. Meeting his eyes, she gives him a sad smile. His go wide in return when he discovers her intentions.
"Freya, no!!!" he screams.
Natasha's eyes go wide as her mind registers what her best friend is about to do. From beginning to end, the entire situation unfolds in a matter of seconds. Freya uses her powers to grab a hold of Steve and Natasha and throws them toward one of the windows behind them. The redhead shoots out the glass, allowing them to easily fly through it. Freya turns back to the grenade, attempting to create a barrier in front of her as quickly as possible. She raises her hands and starts to produce one. Unfortunately, she isn't quick enough.
The grenade goes off and the blast quickly shreds the weak barrier. Causing it to evaporate instantly. Most of the initial blaze of the explosion is blocked, but the force of it violently throws Freya across the room. There's a sickening crack when her head collides with one of the computer monitors in the process. Her back is finally slammed against the wall and she gets peppered with debris. She falls and collapses face first on the ground. The last thing she hears before the world around her goes dark is Steve's panicked voice screaming out to her.
