Their plane starts the slow descent over a small, snowy airfield and the other SHIELD agent walks back to his seat; Mary and Steve discreetly untangle their hands from each other. Out the window they can see the small town sitting on the edge of their landing space. There's a large river flowing to the west and the town is surrounded by forest. Mary gently rub Steve's arm. "Ready?" She asks him. He turns to look at her with sad eyes, "No. I doubt he's here. Something tells me we're always one step behind him for a reason."
"Maybe he's not ready to be found yet." Steve nods his head solemnly and turns back to the window.
The SHIELD agent that traveled with them is their only current contact. The pilot has to make another flight and they will be left in the northern town until the weekend or longer. There's only one hotel in the town and it's a homey lodge called Moose Inn. Mary and Steve part ways from the airfield and get settled in at the hotel. Once they feel set up, Mary makes her way down to the front desk to make inquiries with the owner. No one is at the desk when she arrives; she rings the small bell for service and waits. As Mary waits she takes a moment to take in her surroundings. The Moose Inn is made of logs and has two levels, there are no elevators and only a total of twelve rooms. The lobby area has a large fireplace with a roaring fire that warms up the whole space. There are animal heads on the walls and old, yellow light bulbs give the sitting area a warm glow. As Mary admires the room, she can hear the soft shuffle of feet coming to the desk.
"Hello dear. How can I help you?" An old woman has placed herself on the stool behind the desk and waits for Mary to answer.
"We're here to investigate the missing people. We understand there may be a man here who drew attention to himself and may have a connection."
The old woman takes a moment to answer, "Right to the point. Yes, the man with the metal arm you mean?"
"That's right. What do you know of him?"
"I know he had nothing to do with any missing persons. A lost soul yes. But not a killer. Now the livestock he might have. To eat, you know?" Mary nods excitedly.
"Thank you. This was very helpful." She turns to leave and the woman calls to her.
"Wait. I think he was renting a cabin in the woods." She pauses for a moment. "I think it was Jack Sharp's. Let me find his number." She shuffles off her stool to a cupboard and digs through a large book. She makes a little aha noise and writes on a piece of paper. Shuffling back to Mary, she hands her the paper with a phone number scrawled across.
"Thank you very much, Mrs-"
"It's Ms. Johnson. I'm a widower. Ten years."
"You run this place on your own?" Mary asks surprised.
"Mostly. I have a son in law who comes round to help me with the heavy lifting." She gives a little chuckle at her private joke. "Let me know if there's anything you need Hun."
"I will. Thanks again!" Mary hurries up the stairs to share the new information with Steve.
"That's great." Steve says after Mary fills him in. "Let's call the number and see what we can find."
"Do you think anyone will recognize you here?" Mary asks him. His eyebrows crinkle together as he considers her question.
"I don't know. I'll let you do most of the talking though." Mary grabs her cell phone and dials the number. The man, Jack Sharp, picks up after the second ring and they arrange a time the next day to meet with him.
"Well it's only two in the afternoon. Should we check out the rest of the town?"
"Let's do it." Steve replies.
The snow crunches under their boots as they walk down the small street in the center of the town. Steve wears a hood and glasses to cover his face, Mary is not infamous and approaches the townspeople freely. They see an older man sitting outside a building, labelled the Post Office and they make their way over to him.
"Afternoon." he calls by way of invitation.
"Hello." Mary replies, taking off her glove to shake his hand and Steve does the same, keeping his face hidden. "Aren't you cold sitting out here?"
"Oh no, this is a warm day." he chuckles. "Not from 'round here are ya?"
"No sir, we're not. We're investigating the missing people and livestock. I'm Agent Mary and this is Agent Roger." They had decided back at the hotel to use his last name as his alias. "Do you know anything about that?"
"Well...I know the sheriff is trying to blame it on that young man out in the woods." Mary feels Steve stiffen beside her. "But I don't think he dun it. I actually went out with Jack when he handed the keys off. You know just in case he was a serial killer or something. Quiet fellow though, didn't seem like a killer to me."
"Did you notice anything unusual about him?" Steve asks. The older man turns to Steve, "Oh it talks. What's with the get up son?" Steve pulls his hood down and removes the sunglasses so the man can see his face. "Steve." Mary says quietly, nudging his arm.
"It's ok." he replies. The old man stares in surprise up at Steve, "oh my." he sighs out and slowly pulls himself up to stand.
"Captain America?" he asks and Steve nods. "It's an honor. My brother fought in the war and came home with stories about the American super soldier. Even said he caught a glimpse of you once." he laughs quietly to himself at an old memory. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone you're under that facade. It's a little creepy, but I understand." Steve and Mary both laugh at his excitement and honesty, as he sets his body back down.
"Now what did you ask? Oh yes, anything unusual. Do you mean the giant silver arm he had? Yes we all noticed it. I don't think he intended us to, but he didn't have much for warm clothes when he trotted into town."
"That probably means he was in Mexico." Mary says to Steve.
"I can get you Jack Sharp's number to drive you out to the cabin."
"Thank you but Ms. Johnson already supplied us with it. This has been very helpful."
"Right, good. Well you two be careful. There's something strange going on in those woods this winter." Mary and Steve shake his hand again, nodding their thanks and continue back to the Moose Inn. "My toes are freezing." Mary says. "We better find him quickly or I won't last long." she teases. Steve smiles down at her but she sees the worry in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"I don't think he's here. And if he's not here, but people and animals are going missing; what does that mean?"
"I don't know. But we'll look into it. Right now, I just need a warm shower and a good meal."
Steam fills the bathroom as Mary shuts the water off and wraps herself in a large, fluffy towel. She combs her dark hair out as it drips on the floor and realizes she forgot her clothes on the table. She opens the door a crack and sees Steve sitting on the bed, watching tv. Opening the door wider she steps over to the little table holding her garments and Steve notices her.
"I forgot my clothes out here." she says meekly. Steve blushes and scoots to the edge of the bed so he faces away. "I'll give you some privacy."
"Thanks." Mary replies, slightly disappointed but she doesn't know why. What did that moment on the plane mean?
"You can turn around. I'm dressed." she says and walks over to the other side of the bed, sitting with her back against the pillows and her legs stretched out long. Steve turns and settles his body back into the bed the same. He lets his fingers brush hers and she turns to look at his face, trying to read him. She shifts her body so she's lying on her side facing him.
"So we'll go to the cabin in the morning. 10 am Jack Sharp will meet us."
"We don't have to talk about the mission right now." Steve cuts her off.
"Okay… what do you want to talk about then?" she asks.
"I don't really want to talk at all." Steve says shyly. Mary gets the cue and smiling she slides her body closer to his, places her hand on his cheek and pulls him in for a deep kiss.
To be continued...