"Daddy, when's Mom coming home?" Sarah asked at the breakfast table on Tuesday morning. She twirled her spoon around in her cereal as she rested her cheek against her fist. "I miss Mom."
"I miss her too. She'll be back soon. Another week or so." Steve admitted, rubbing Sarah's back comfortingly as James sat on his other side, inhaling his breakfast at the speed of light. "Hey, slow down Kiddo, you're gonna get sick."
"Is Mom going to be okay?" Sarah asked, pulling her father's attention away from her brother. She lifted her head, meeting her father's blue eyes with her own matching set. "You seem worried."
"I'm not worried." Steve lied terribly as he smiled down at his little girl, "She's away on business. She's probably bored... missing you two."
"What does Mom do for a living? Does she build things like you?" James asked as she swallowed the last bit of his cereal.
"She, uh, she works to make sure people are safe. Security business." Steve explained to his son. The boy nodded, seeming to understand as he reached across the table to try and grab his sister's bowl. Steve grabbed his wrist, turning his head to stare at the boy, "That's not yours."
"I'm still hungry," James mumbled as he leaned back into the chair, crossing his arms. "Mom would give me more food."
"No, she wouldn't. Mom doesn't want you to be chubby." Sarah taunted, her sly smile causing James to snarl back at her.
"At least they don't have to worry about me getting sick and dying."
"That's enough!" Steve yelled at them both, causing both children to cower in their seats. "Go get your shoes on." He simmered, looking from James to Sarah, "We need to leave for school."
Sarah's lower lip quivered as she fought back tears, terrified of the fire in her father's normally soft eyes. "I'm sorry Daddy." She whimpered as she slid off her chair, scurrying up the stairs to her room to get her tennis shoes.
With Sarah gone, Steve turned to James, who sat with his head down, ashamed of what he'd said, "I'm sorry Dad, I-"
"Don't ever talk about your sister like that again," Steve warned under his breath, his eyes unable to fully meet James's. "You don't understand what it's like for her. Maybe it would do you some good."
James didn't understand what his father meant, but he didn't want to find out, so he quickly sprinted up the stairs to get ready for school, leaving Steve with his head in his palm, feeling the sting of tears and the weight of his part in his daughter's sickness.
Natasha led Kayla through the back alleys of San Fransisco to where the Hydra group was meeting. Natasha was disguised as the chubby blonde and Kayla wore a face-framing bob around her angular face. Her southern drawl hid any trace of her voice as she muttered to herself, playing with her wedding ring on Steve's dog tags anxiously. "I don't know if I'm ready for this."
"Just stand by me and don't say anything unless you are spoken to. You're a sharpshooter. You want in. We just have to smooth out the details so we both get on that plane Friday morning." Natasha growled as she opened a back door to a restaurant. "Eyes up. Stay sharp. We're in the viper's nest now."
Kayla's eyes shifted around as she followed Natasha into the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant. Kayla could feel her heart pounding, knowing one wrong move could be the end of her. Even a super-soldier can bleed, and she was in too deep. Natasha was confident. Kayla was scared. But her friend needed her, so here she was.
"What's your business?" A massive, gruff man with square shoulders asked through a thick beard. He guarded another door and crossed his arms as the women approached.
Natasha smiled sweetly beneath her mask, forcing nervousness into her normally confident voice, "We're here to see Mac."
"Is he expecting you two?"
"He should be. He said he'd be in for dinner around five. Lots of errands to run by the bay today." Natasha explained nonchalantly as Kayla tapped her heel nervously against the cracking floor of the restaurant.
The guard grunted and moved to the side, gesturing toward the door with his thumb, "Make it snappy. The boss is in a mood today."
Nat led Kayla through the door toward a staircase. They descended into the darkness before arriving in a damp, dark meeting space with several men and women sitting around a poker table, sipping whiskey. One of the men looked up and grinned as the women walked in the door, "Look what the cat dragged in. Miss Jacobs. I see you brought a friend?"
"Samantha Turner," Kayla answered quietly with her heavy drawl.
"And what do you bring to the table, Turner?" The man at the front of the room asked menacingly. Kayla's eyes narrowed in on him, then slid down to the table, seeing a gun in the center of the table. Kayla lunged toward the gun and raised it confidently, hitting the bullseye of the dartboard with ease. She sat the gun back down and stared at the man who'd questioned her. He nodded approvingly, "I see. Welcome to the team."
"I'd like to bring her to Seattle. Samantha is good at what she does. We could use her." Natasha informed the group, and they looked between the two women expectantly. Natasha groaned and added, "I'm not in the best of shape to fight off any attackers right now. You know I'm just a computer nerd."
"Fine. Flight leaves at five AM on Friday. Pack light. Expect a fight. Schmidt's having us send the invite out over unsecured channels. He's hoping the Avengers will be there." The man Kayla understood to be Mac directed, then waved his hands away, telling the women to leave. Nat pulled Kayla's arm, leading her away from the table back toward the stairs.
The women were silent as they walked, neither having anything to say about the situation. Once they were several blocks away from the restaurant, Natasha finally spoke under her breath, "This is it. We're going to kill Schmidt."
"You're going to kill Schmidt. I can't get anywhere near that monster." Kayla murmured as she stared at the ground. "I'm terrified. I wish it was Steve instead of me, I should be home with the kids... I'm too old for this Nat."
Natasha stopped and grabbed Kayla's arms, squeezing them comfortingly, "Listen listen... one last mission, okay?"
"I've heard that before," Kayla grumbled, gnawing her teeth as she rolled her eyes "This is it Nat. No more. Not after this. And you too-"
"Deal. This is it. With Schmidt gone, you and Steve can come into the light. Your parents can spend time with your kids. I can get to know them..." Natasha trailed off. She turned away from Kayla and continued walking down the street, "We're going to fix this. Kay. It's almost over."
Natasha and Kayla's plane landed at seven am on Friday morning, and they met up with other members of Natasha's Hydra faction before being swept away to a hotel in downtown Seattle. Kayla's angular jaw was tight as she followed the group into the hotel's convention space.
A tall blonde man addressed the group as they filed in, motioning for the massive doors to be closed behind them. "Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming. I know some of you have come very far for this. The Red Skull will be in attendance this evening. Get settled. Get prepared. It should be quite a show."
Kayla and Natasha shared a nervous glance as everyone was allowed to file out of the room. Was all of this just for the Avengers?
"Just heard from the inside. They know we're coming." Sam warned the team as they packed up their suits and weapons into the quinjet. They'd been setting up shop several hours away in Washington, biding their time until they were ready to move over to Seattle. "There's a chance this whole thing is just for us. We have to bring our A-game."
"We will." Kate Bishop said confidently as she set down two quivers full of arrows in the jet. Cassie came jogging into the jet in her Stature uniform, ready to go when Sam made the call. Peter Parker walked confidently toward the jet with MJ on his arm to see him off.
"I'll be back before you know it," Peter assured his wife, kneeling down to press a kiss to her rounded stomach. "You two be safe while I'm gone."
Michelle pushed back her dark curly hair, crunching her eyes at her man knowingly, "You think we are the ones who'll be in danger? I think Spiderman is the one who needs to be worried about." She pressed a loving kiss to Peter's lips, "I'll be here when you return." They shared their goodbyes and Peter looked over his slim shoulder back at the woman. The only ones left were Bucky and Sam.
Sam approached his partner, watching him expectantly, "Something on your mind Barnes?"
"Kayla called Steve to tell him she'd be gone a few more weeks. Is she with Nat?"
Sam looked startled at this revelation, answering Bucky's question without words. "She hasn't said anything about Kay. But if she's not with Steve, where else would she be?"
"I need to get a hold of Steve before we go-"
"We don't have time for that, Buck. We've got to go now." Sam motioned toward the jet with his shield. "We have to go. Text him in the air." Sam turned and took his place in the pilot's seat, setting his shield to his left as he prepared to take them into the air. Bucky followed him begrudgingly, pulling out his cell to send a message to his best friend.
The Avengers are being dispatched to Seattle. Schmidt knows we're coming. Nat's there. Kayla might be too.
Steve got the text while he was at work. He was sitting at his desk in the construction office working on permits when his phone rang, stealing his mind away from work. His girl was in danger, and there was nothing he could do but sit and dwell and worry. He imagined it was what Kayla felt sitting in Wakanda, praying he'd make it home alive.
But Kayla was only supposed to make deliveries to Natasha. She wasn't supposed to help the assassin infiltrate Hydra. She was supposed to drop off her serum and come home to her family. If anything happened to her- Steve would never forgive himself. He jumped up from his chair and grabbed his light jacket, holding it as he sprinted out of the office to his truck. He threw the truck into drive and sped toward the Brewhouse. "Call Tony." He snapped at the truck, and nothing happened so he yelled louder, "Call Tony Stark dammit!"
"Yes, Sir," Friday replied sheepishly, getting Tony on the line for Steve.
"What's up, Cap?" Tony asked casually as his face appeared on the windshield.
"Stark, have you had any contact with Romanoff this week?"
"No, why? Is everything alright?" Tony asked as his brow began to furrow, realizing something was happening. The super soldier was panting and driving like a maniac, "Rogers what's wrong?"
"Kayla's still with Natasha." He gasped out, pulling into a parking spot across from the shop, "Kay's with Nat and the Avengers are being sent out there. I think it's a trap for the team. Do you have the equipment to run the operation from your cabin?"
Tony rubbed his face harshly, "Yeah, your wife has a necklace, a black choker, it has a microscopic camera inside. It can pick up audio and video. If she wears one of the mini-comms I sent with Romanoff you can talk in her ear. You just have to get her to wear them."
Steve nodded fiercely as he turned off his truck, "Thank you, Tony." He jumped out of the cab and took off sprinting toward the Brewhouse, pushing through the revolving door with too much strength, causing one of the hinges to crack. Once inside, he looked up to see Tessa behind the counter, her jaw hung open as she stared at him. He came running toward the counter, politely pushing his way past all the customers until he stood in front of the owner, "I'm sorry- I'm sorry, I'll pay for that... but I need you. I need your help, Tess, please..."
"Steve, what's wrong?" Tessa asked calmly, waving over one of her employees to take over while she pulled the blonde man aside. Once away from the crowd, she studied him a little closer, seeing how tight his jaw was and how worried his eyes looked. "Steve?"
He swallowed hard, trying to figure out how to admit his greatest fear, "Kayla's in danger. I need help with the kids. Can you pick them up from school? I'll send you the address... I have nobody else, Tess."
"Is... is that where Bucky's gone?" Tessa whispered to Steve, then shook her head violently, "No- yes. Yes, I'll help, go, text me. You still have my number?"
"Yes!" Steve yelled as he took off running, jumping over a table that was in his path. Tessa watched with wide eyes as he easily cleared it, pushing the already broken door so hard the glass shattered as he took off back toward his pickup truck.
Once back in the cab, Steve took off toward Tony's cabin, "Friday- call Kayla's cell phone, please." Steve requested as he sped through a yellow light, merging onto the highway toward the lake.
"Hello?"
"Kay! Kay, tell me you aren't in Seattle-"
"Steve." Kayla interrupted in a hushed voice as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror in the hotel restaurant, "Steve, I can't do this now."
"I'm worried about you. Did Natasha tell you the Avengers are coming?"
"Steve. Baby, I'm fine. Everything is fine. I promise... please stop worrying." Kayla sighed into the phone as she held it closer to her face when the bathroom door opened. "I have to go."
"Wear the choker. The one Stark made with the camera. Please. I'm on my way to Tony's. I'll help you. I'll look out for you." Steve pleaded, slowing down just a little when he saw a police cruiser in the distance.
Kayla gave a courteous smile to another woman who walked by before answering her husband, "Sure honey. I'll wear it just for you. I know how you like it."
"I love you, Kay. So much. Please be careful."
"I love you too, darling. See you later. Bye."
As Kayla hung up, Steve's mind was racing. He hoped Natasha knew what she was doing.
"You okay Sam?" Nat asked through clenched teeth when Kayla arrived back at their table, sitting down and smiling at their fellow Hydra agents. Natasha sent the woman a dirty look, telling her she'd been gone too long.
"Oh, I'm fine!" Kayla explained in her thick Southern drawl, "I just had to, uh, deal... with some stuff. Lady stuff, you know?"
The men at the table hummed awkwardly, looking away from the women as they shared a knowing, frustrated glance. Kayla shrugged stiffly, baring her teeth in a grimace.
"So what time are we all convening this evening? I'd love to powder my nose, change the old outfit. You know, be prepared to meet the big boss." Kayla drawled toward the men as she rested her chin on her hand. She bat her thick eyelashes and puckered her lips, leaning into her Southern Belle persona with everything she had.
"Six o'clock in the main ballroom. Dress... functional black tie." One of the men snickered, taking a drink of his bourbon. "You're a pretty little thing. I'd love to see how you clean up."
"Thanks." Kayla cooed, winking at the man before side-eyeing Natasha, seeing the Black Widow wasn't laughing beneath her mask. Kayla grinned up at the waiter as he delivered their food, "Let's eat. I'm starving."