Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. Well, I feel like it took me forever but I always find writing chapters about Emma's parents to be hard because I'm so used to writing the relationship between Emma and Peter instead.
Also I just want to inform you guys of the correct pronunciation of one of the names in this chapter since the character's going to be coming up a lot more. Ugalde(Ooh-gull-day).
xForeverInspiredx: I wasn't sure what the engraving would be at first. I read Wuthering Heights a long time ago and didn't even remember that quote when I came across the quote online. I thought it would be perfect for Emma and Peter so I'm glad I remembered.
peoplers: It was so hard picking the song they dance to because it's actually something I've been thinking about since I started writing the story. I originally wanted it to be 'Today' by Jefferson Airplane but it made more sense for that to be Emma's parent's song. 'Tomorrow Never Came' ended up being a better choice. I can listen to that song a million times and it never becomes boring. It's such an incredibly beautiful song. It makes me think of the Summer of Love...not that I was around back then but it makes me imagine what it was like. It's just such a timeless song.
artemis7448: Technically Emma and Peter as a couple told Ned and Michelle. They separately told Darcy and May while all the others just kind of figured they were together. I thought it would be ironic for Tony to be the last to know.
Shuri and M'Baku were definitely my favorites although I loved basically every character. There was definitely a lot of good characters in that movie. I'm so proud of Marvel. Black Panther was also different because it almost didn't feel like a Marvel movie...I don't know. It was different but I loved it because it was different. I really want to go see it again. I might go see it again tomorrow.
roxasduelwielder: I'm not that familiar with Black Cat but from what I've read she sounds really cool and bad ass. I don't think I'll have her be in this fanfiction because I feel like one more potential love interest for Peter would drive Emma crazy. I don't know. I just feel like I wouldn't really have a part for her in 'Some Things Never Sleep'. There's going to be other girls that will make Emma jealous over Peter but I don't think Felicia will be one of those girls. There's also a lot of similarities between Emma and Felicia so I don't see the point in bringing her into the story.
Winchestergirl123: I love 'Neon Demon'. A lot of people hate it but I think it's awesome because it's a horror movie about the modeling industry. It's really weird but all the best things are. I'm just a fan of the color used in the film. I think the director who directed it is the same one who directed 'Drive' but don't quote me on that. I'm glad you're loving the story and thank you because I think you're the first person who reviewed it. I also can't wait for you to update your Spider-Man fanfic but no rush or anything.
nvnightrider9: I hate fifty shades of grey so much. It's not just what's in the movie either because I might've even been able to bear it if it had been different actors because the guy in it played this serial killer in this one show I watched so he really creeps me out. In fifty shades of grey he seems almost the same as he was when he was the serial killer. The serial killer he played would draw pictures of murdering and chopping up his victims and he'd break into women's houses and steal their panties. So creepy. I also don't like the actress in the movie because her voice is really high pitched. I don't know...I think I saw the first movie with my mom which sounds weird but we just made fun of it the whole time and questioned everything. We had a long debate over who Christian Grey got to build his play room.
I just love movies in general. I used to not like old movies but now that I'm older I kind of see how magical and beautiful they are. There's no CGI and everything was way more romantic back then. To me there's just something more special about old movies.
Spawn Hades: I think it's good for him to get off his high horse. I just wanted it to be ironic that he was the last one to know since he introduced them and everything.
Mcduffie145: Wow...even my mom knows the difference between the Winter Soldier and Captain America. Lol. I would go see Marvel movies with my friends but none of them really like Marvel. One of my friends was really into Pitch Perfect which is fine because I like Pitch Perfect too but she was super obsessed with it. One of them texted through the entirety of Iron Man 3 and I know not a lot of people like Iron Man 3 but it was my first time seeing it and I actually liked it although not as much anymore. After that I never went to another Marvel movie with a friend because I knew they'd only ruin it. I consider myself a lapsed Catholic. I was baptized Catholic but never received Holy Communion and I don't go to church anymore but I still believe in everything I guess. I don't know...religion's confusing but I just like believing in something and having faith. My dad hates the idea of belonging to any kind of church but I like identifying as something at least. Emma and Peter will never break up but they will have some fights every now and then as most couples do. Emma's not the most open person and Peter wears his heart on his sleeve. Emma's also really mature for her age and Peter's still has some growing up to do. Those are definitely some obstacles that are going to come up eventually.
Unknown: Wakanda is definitely going to come up soon. There's going to be a small cliffhanger at the end of the chapter that will indicate that. I'm already pretty sure that I'll be introducing T'Challa and Shuri to the story but I really want to find a way to introduce other Black Panther characters like M'Baku because I love M'Baku. We'll see though. It depends on where the story goes.
Radioactive88: I actually thought of a scenario with Bucky walking in on them. Not Steve because I feel like Steve would just be awkward about it but I think Bucky's reaction would be the funniest.
Thanks for all the reviews and let me know what you think of the chapter. I know some of you hate these flashback chapters but they do have relevance into what's going on in current times with Emma and Peter. I wasn't just randomly making chapters about Emma's parents for no reason. As we see more of the flashback chapters you'll see how everything connects.
Juarez, Mexico
1998
Margot never imagined herself ever liking Mexico. It was just so much different from home and she immensely missed the others at headquarters but it was a place that Margot could pretend to at least have a somewhat normal life. And by a somewhat normal life she meant the being married to Steven thing. Things had been nice between them lately after spending the past six months on their mission together. Definitely not as weird as Margot originally thought it would be. Margot even considered them to be friends rather than just being partners.
At times it felt odd not being in contact with the outside world but in all honesty this wasn't the longest she had been undercover. Margot had been undercover once for over a year so this should've been nothing. However, she knew it wasn't. She feared when she and Steven would be forced to go back home because it was going to be weird not spending every day with him. Although Margot was kind of sure that things were going to be weird between her and Steve when they did go back home anyways. Mostly because Margot had broken the promise she made to herself to never sleep with Steven again. Well, she had actually broken that promise so many times that she had lost count and it didn't help that the bastard with so smug about it anyways. Margot wished that she could start using her head around that man but it was impossible. She just couldn't seem to stay away from him. He was the single most intriguing person she had ever met.
"You look really beautiful tonight, Pierce." Steven told Margot as he drove them to Santiago Salazar's mansion. Margot was wearing a beautiful emerald green dress that matched the color of her eyes. It was definitely a tighter dress than she was used to wearing but if it made Santiago and his idiot friends think she was just another dumb trophy wife of a common criminal then so be it. There was a big gala that Santiago was hosting that night and both Steven and Margot were finally hoping to learn who Santiago's supplier was. Six months and Steven had worked his way into becoming Santiago's business partner who the Mexican drug dealer was only starting to trust but Margot was sure tonight was the night they accomplished the mission.
"You clean up well too, Rogers." Margot remarked shortly. It was true that Steven cleaned up well because he looked incredibly handsome in the suit he was wearing. He could've easily passed as the next James Bond. Pierce Brosnan be damned and Steven was half British anyways, wasn't he?
There was still something that bothered her about Steven and that was the fact that she didn't really know what they were. She supposed they were technically friends with benefits and that was weird to Margot because she never had to deal with that before. Usually she only slept with the men she was in a completely committed relationship with so she had no clue as to how to go about this weird relationship she shared with Steven. Did this mean that they were going to stop sleeping together the second they got back to New York? Would they continue to sleep together? Would Steven see other women at the same time as he was sleeping with her? Margot discovered that she really didn't like the thought of Steven seeing other women. God, she couldn't believe how much she sounded like a love struck teenage girl. This was exactly why there was a no dating policy at Shield. It just made everything so complicated and messy. Her mind should be on the mission and not on Steven dating other women. This thought shouldn't even concern her.
They arrived at the mansion in no time, Steven driving the car up to the wrap around driveway where the valet was waiting. He parked the car before getting out, not even allowing the valet the chance to open her door before he opened the door for her and helped her out. Margot smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around her and walked towards the party. Even though she knew this whole being married thing was just an act she couldn't help but beam at his gentlemanly behavior. It didn't help that all the other men she had dated were borderline assholes. In all fairness none of them had ever even owned a car.
"Wow, it's super crowded here. I guess Santiago's a real popular guy, huh? He's even got himself a little fan club." Margot joked but her smile fell when she saw the serious look on Steven's face. Sometimes that guy took himself way too seriously. She knew they were entering a possibly life threatening situation here but that didn't mean they had to be grumpy the whole time. Clint totally would've laughed at her lame joke. Margot didn't know why Steven was so tightly wound especially considering all the sex they had the night before. She thought that would surely loosen him up.
"Just keep a look out for anyone we haven't yet identified." Steven said seriously and Margot nodded. She understood what he meant by that. They had both attended numerous networking events so they were fairly familiar with Santiago's associates. Anyone that they didn't recognize was immediately going to be a suspect as the possible supplier.
"Of course." Margot replied as he led her into the mansion that was already packed with people. She noticed prominent Mexican politicians, cops, judges, and even a few celebrities. There was a difference between America and Mexico and that was the fact that America was way less obvious about corruption while Mexico could care less.
Margot glanced around the mansion and observed how regal the place looked, even more so than usual. She knew this was Rosa's doing since all her and Rosa had been doing was talking about the party for the past month. Usually something like that would make her lose her mind but Margot had actually acquired a lot of useful information. Like the guest list which allowed her and Steven to have backgrounds check done on everyone who was going to be at the party. So Margot knew that anyone who crashed the party was definitely going to be the supplier. There was a good chance the supplier didn't even show up tonight but there was also just as good of a chance that the supplier would. Steven said that Santiago was having an important meeting with associates tonight behind close doors while the party was going on. Rosa's party was only a diversion while the men discussed business. Margot wondered when the day would come that there would be some badass female drug dealer also joining in on the meeting. Margot might even root for her in that case.
"Julia!" Rosa squealed as she saw her and Margot wanted to roll her eyes at the Latina. The way Rosa squealed like that reminded Margot of nails on a chalk board. Okay, so maybe she really was ready for this mission to end if she had to spend one more week pretending to be Rosa's best friend. Margot faked an excited smile as she left Steven's side and approached Rosa.
"Rosa!" Margot exclaimed. "The party looks so amazing! You've really outdone yourself."
"Oh please, Julia, I couldn't have done it without you." Rosa then glanced over at Steven, sending him a welcoming smile. "You have such a talented wife, Ethan. She's a keeper." Margot really didn't know if she was talented just because she gave the woman a couple of stupid ideas for a party. Then again Rosa's didn't have much else to do in her life anyways. Steven smiled at Rosa but Margot knew that he was dying to finally be finished with these people once and for all just like she was.
"Don't I know it." Steven told her and Rosa just nodded.
"Speaking of lucky men married to amazing women I believe my own husband would love it if you would join him in the dining room. I think a certain meeting is about to start." Rosa gave him a wink and it would take an absolute idiot to not know about the shady meeting that was about to take place.
"Of course. You two ladies have fun without me." Steven told them before looking at Margot with a hidden message in his eyes that she instantly recognized. In the time she spent with him she learned to recognize certain signals from him and this being one of many. This particular signal was telling her to be ready for anything and she was. She had a Glock pistol resting safely under her dress in her thigh holster. "I love you." Steven said to her before pressing a chaste kiss against her cheek.
"I love you too." Margot responded but she realized only a little too soon that she responded to that quickly…almost as if it were completely natural for her to do so. She swallowed those surprised feelings down and Steven didn't seem to notice anything amiss as he smiled at her one last time before walking away.
A question rested in Margot's mind as she watched him and that was the question of whether or not she loved him. Could she really love Steven Rogers? That thought seemed crazy to her because she barely knew him…well, that wasn't exactly true because they had been spending every waking moment of the day in each other's company for the past six months. When you lived with someone you definitely knew that person very well.
Margot knew all about Steven's mother who he talked about all the time. She normally distanced herself from guys that talked about their mothers that much but Steven wasn't creepy about it. He genuinely respected and admired his mother. He told her a lot about his childhood and described his fears of somehow dishonoring his father's memory. If Margot was being honest she also shared a lot of personal problems with Steven as well. He knew the extent of her relationship with her father and was so sympathetic that he actually tried to come up with ways that she could bond with her father. Margot knew none of those ideas would ever work but Margot loved him for it anyways. Loved? Margot knew it wasn't hard to love Steven. He was probably the first guy she could actually hold an intelligent conversation with. She loved Clint but that guy was an idiot sometimes. She was sure Steven was so easy to talk to because he was probably the most mature guy she had ever lived with. It was no secret that Margot usually had a terrible taste in men. Her last boyfriend dumped her because he thought she wanted a baby when they saw a baby at a restaurant and she called the baby cute. Well, she did want a baby but definitely not with him. Yeah, Margot was aware that she didn't have a great history with boyfriends.
Steven was way different and that was probably because he was considerably older than her. Margot didn't think their age difference was weird or anything because it wasn't like he was a college professor and she was his student. She was a grown ass woman and Margot didn't mind the fact that he was older. So now that she had gotten through the cons, which was really only the age thing which she turned out to not mind, she had to decide whether or not she loved him. If you had to question if you loved someone than you might not love that person but this was confusing to Margot. Margot had spent so long pretending to be in love with Steven that maybe she confused what was real with what wasn't real. They told one and other that they loved each other all the time but that was only because they had to because they were undercover. So did she love Steven because of the mission or because she really loved him?
Well, Steven was ridiculously good looking in that rugged, all American older guy way which turned out to be something Margot was really into. It was true that he was probably too serious for his own good sometimes but he amused her when he was like that and she liked trying to make him laugh when his jaw was clenched like that. She loved that he had gotten so comfortable around her that he acted arrogant and smug after they had sex and she told him it would never happen again. Margot also loved those pretty ocean blue eyes of his that also had green in them if you looked hard enough. She had never seen eyes like his and as corny as it sounded his eyes were the prettiest eyes in the world. Margot knew Steven would probably grumble uncomfortably if she ever made that remark aloud because he hated compliments. He rarely smiled genuinely but when he did he looked so youthful and Margot was glad she got to see a real smile from him when it was just him and her alone.
There was also the way he made her feel. She felt like a teenager again when she was with him and she forgot about her life back in New York. Margot knew she was going to be sad to return if tonight was the end of the mission because it meant having to not be married to him anymore. She liked being married to him. It wasn't just the sex either. No, it was all the late night conversations, making dinner and him giving her that charming appreciative smile, telling her that she looked beautiful in the dress she was wearing even though it was just them alone, and even the way they woke up together in the morning. Now Margot definitely knew. She was definitely in love with Steven Rogers.
She now knew why Fury made a policy about no dating in the workplace because this was a mess.
"We need to discuss the weapons, Santiago." Jorge Alvarez told the famous drug dealer in a serious tone. Alvarez was a prominent politician in Mexico and an old friend of Santiago's apparently. He was a rather balding, overweight man with a constant look of disdain on his face which Steven was slowly realizing was just his face. "Let's stop all this party nonsense and be serious. The president is wondering when the military will get the shipment of weapons you promised us." One of the other men, sitting at the table inside the dining room, rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Give us a break, Jorge. We all know you're the president's little lap dog which means that you don't need to name drop him every chance you get." Diego Ugalde added as he glanced around the room, waiting to hear words of agreement from the other men. However, he received none as all the other men within the room gave him similar looks of disdain. Steven noticed that Tanaka and Okada were missing but he hadn't expected them to be there anyways. They returned home months ago after working out a deal with Salazar.
"Why are you even here, Ugalde? You're a telenovela star. What's your purpose here exactly?" Jorge questioned bitterly and it was true. Diego was a very famous telenovela star who brought attention where ever he went. His telenovela had the highest ratings and not to mention the very handsome Mexican actor had a charming smile to go along with it. Diego just leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on the table in a relaxed position. Steven raised his eyebrows because he also didn't really understand what an actor had to contribute to all of this. He honesty thought Santiago was talking about a different Diego Ugalde when he mentioned the meeting.
"If you're asking if I'm an artist who's also interested in a business proposition then I think your question is already answered." Diego said arrogantly while smirking at the politician who looked like he was struggling not to strangle the life out of Diego. Jorge instead took a puff from his cigar and sulked.
"Okay, gentlemen, we're all friends here so let's get back to business." Santiago said he went back to the task at hand. "Now, Jorge, I know I've been stalling but those weapons are on the way. I promise you. I'm a man of honor and I never break a promise. My supplier is finally coming through. There's been some minor set backs but they've assured me that we're back on track. You can tell President Estevez that we're back on track." Jorge seemed satisfied with that answer.
"Who exactly is this supplier that you seem so fond of, Santiago?" One of the other men asked. Steven recognized him as a colonel. "We must thank them for their generous contribution to the Mexican military."
"My friends…if I told you that then I'd have to kill you." Santiago joked and all the men erupted in laughter even though Steven could see the sincerity in Santiago's dark eyes. Diego then took his legs off the table before leaning forward in his seat, looking very interested all of a sudden.
"Seriously, Santiago, who's giving you these weapons?" Diego asked, a teasing smile on his face. "Is it that Gringo Stark? That other Gringo named Hammer? Pym? Wow…I only just realized that all of those men are white boys. It's 1998 and still no diversity. Well, I guess science is for nerdy white boys after all and we strong and good looking Latin men will profit off their success. Oh, how the tables have turned. But I still wouldn't say no to seeing a Gringo like Stark working the fields. That would be a sight to see."
"Can you ever stop talking?" Jorge asked in annoyance but Diego just smiled charmingly at the politician.
"I'm just making some conversation, Jorge. There's nothing wrong going here." Diego defended, obviously amused by Jorge's overreaction.
"Seriously, gentlemen, I can't say who the supplier is but I think we can all agree that we're all grateful for their generosity." Santiago said before turning to look at Steven. "Ethan, my friend, you've been awfully quiet. Don't you have anything to say?" Steven smiled softly.
"I'm just in awe of your group of friends, Santiago, but I'm also entirely grateful for the weapons. You have no idea how much this will change the face of my business. I can't express how thankful I am." Steven said and Santiago grinned at him.
"Don't mention it, Ethan, you're a friend and a partner. Name anything you want and you shall have it. Except my wife." All the men laughed at Santiago's lame joke again and even Steven faked a convincing laugh. "I'm just kidding you can have her if you want. Everyone else has." The men laughed again and Diego smirked at him.
"I'll have your wife if you're making an offer." Santiago laughed at his famous friend.
"Diego, you're such a comedian." The drug dealer then looked around at all the men in the dining room. "Well, men, I think this meeting has come to an end now that I've made my announcement about the impending shipments. I thank you for being patient and Ethan and I have a lot to do if we want to have those shipments ready by next week." All the men took that as their cue to leave the meeting and enjoy the rest of the party with their mistresses. Their wives were in bed at home after all. Jorge stopped by Santiago and firmly shook his hand.
"Thank you, Santiago. The Mexican government appreciates your contribution. We'll be able to do a great many things with this weapons shipment." Jorge said and Santiago grinned at him.
"Hey, I don't do charity cases. You're still paying me." He said, half joking but he must've forgot that Jorge wasn't the joking type. The older man just nodded before leaving the room with the other men but not before Diego came up to him. The actor smiled widely at the drug dealer and Steven noted that the man's teeth were an alarming shade of white. So white that it nearly blinded his eyes.
"I'm looking forward to hearing more about your business proposition." Diego said and Santiago patted his friend on the back.
"I guarantee you will be very happy with my proposition." He promised and Diego nodded briefly before heading for the door. Steven curiously observed the way the man looked back at them one last time before leaving the room, his eyes narrowing when his eyes rested on Steven. Before Steven had time to think about the obvious change in demeanor of the actor, Diego was already gone and Santiago had his attention on him.
"Good, now that we're alone we can talk about the important stuff. Like how the hell we're supposed to get those weapons to the Mexican government." Santiago said and Steven gave him a confused look.
"I thought you just promised Jorge the weapons?" Steven questioned and Santiago laughed at him.
"Oh, Ethan, my very blonde friend. You really are naïve for an American." Santiago said as he patted his partner on the back. "We can't get the Mexican government those weapons. I'm just stalling them like before." Steven tried not to look too surprised or disappointed at this news.
"What's wrong then? Where are the weapons?" Steven questioned and Santiago sighed as he poured himself a drink.
"I have no idea. Those Gringos have been acting odd lately. They've been keeping an abnormally tight grip on their precious weapons. It's only been the past few months that they've started to become skimpy with the weapons." Santiago admitted as he took a sip of his drink. So the suppliers were white then? Steven decided to store that information for later and not bother questioning Santiago about it. There was no reason to raise suspicions.
"How do they expect us to sell their weapons if they don't actually give us their weapons to sell?" Steven asked him and Santiago shrugged.
"It's not like it matters to them anyways. They're not making any money out of this." The drug dealer said calmly and Steven stared at him in surprise, not expecting to hear that information.
"What do you mean they're not making money from this?" Steven questioned as discreetly as he could. Santiago seemed unbothered by Steven's question as if it never occurred to him how weird it was that his supplier just gave him weapons to sell without expecting any profits.
"They said they were very concerned with the state of the Mexican military and that they wanted to help." Santiago explained. "They said that they couldn't risk supplying another country with weapons because they're well-respected business men back in their country so they gave the weapons for me to sell. Hey, I thought it was too good to be true too but they kept the shipments coming and the money just keeps flowing into my back account so who am I to complain?"
"Santiago, do you even know who our suppliers are?" Steven asked as he stared at the man in disbelief. He was slowly realizing that Santiago wasn't a criminal mastermind after all. Santiago didn't care who's money it was as long as he got a lot of it. He probably didn't even know who the suppliers were which meant that Steven and Margot's mission was wasted.
"I know that they're very generous and very rich. Look, Ethan, it doesn't matter to me who my supplier is as long as they make me money." Santiago told his friend. "They've made me a lot of money but lately they've been very stingy with the shipments. It's funny because it wasn't until you showed up that…"
Santiago immediately trailed off as he looked back over at Steven. He looked incredibly confused and bewildered as he looked at the blonde man. Steven maintained a calm composure but knew he was close to being found out. He was really screwed now because his cover was about to be blown. Steven was currently facing one of the world's most dangerous and notorious drug dealers. Some said that Santiago Salazar was even more dangerous than Pablo Escobar or the Cali Cartel had been. Was Steven scared? Not really because he knew he could take Santiago and Santiago's lackeys but it was Margot that he was worried about. He was deathly scared of the fallout considering Margot was still upstairs. Steven wasn't up there to protect her or even give her a warning. Anything could happen between now and then.
"What is it?" Steven asked him, playing dumb. Santiago just stared at Steven wide eyed.
"It wasn't until you showed up that they started withholding shipments." Santiago finally uttered but before he could spend anymore time on the subject something even more puzzling happened. The glass of one of the dining room windows suddenly shattered and a second later the sound of two bullets slicing through flesh sounded through the air. One bullet coming after the other. The bullets zipped through the air so fast that when they finally hit Santiago Steven could only watch in surprise as the blood splattered everywhere including Steven's face.
Santiago grunted from the impact as he immediately dropped to the floor and Steven quickly ducked down, taking cover from behind the table. There was a sniper shooter out there, most likely with a silencer on his sniper rifle judging by how quiet those bullets had been, and there was no telling whether his actual target was Santiago or Steven. Steven immediately crawled over to where the Mexican drug dealer was lying on the ground, immediately checking his wounds. There was one bullet wound in Santiago's shoulder and one just above his heart. He noticed how the blood was rapidly pouring out of the wounds and immediately began to put some pressure on the wound to try and slow down some of the bleeding. Santiago coughed weakly, blood spilling out of his mouth and suddenly the man no longer looked like a fearsome drug dealer. He just looked incredibly weak.
"Stay with me, Salazar." Steven said as he tried to keep the man calm but he knew it was all pointless. Santiago wasn't going to last long with a wound like that. It was just a matter of seconds before Santiago's heart would give out. Steven's enhanced hearing then picked up on a gentle rustling coming from outside. Carefully, while still keeping his hand on Santiago's wound, he poked his head up from the table and looked out the broken glass window into the night sky. It was difficult for Steven to see through the darkness but he shockingly enough managed to catch a flash of something from under the bright moonlight.
It was a full moon that night and the light shone over what Steven could clearly see as mysterious figure standing on the roof of the pool house. The figure just stood there, seemingly staring in Steven's direction. Steven couldn't pick out any facial features since it was so dark but he could clearly see the mysterious figure's odd looking arm. It was a silver arm that glinted under the moonlight with a red star emblazoned near the shoulder of the figure. Steven's eyes widened because he recognized that arm. Not from his own memory but from a familiar story he had heard since he was a young Shield agent.
Steven's attention was then taken away from the figure as he heard Santiago gasp. The blonde man tore his gaze from the mysterious figure to look back at the drug dealer. He watched as the dying man took his last breath before then stilling as the life left his eyes. Steven reached over to check Santiago's pulse but his suspicion was already confirmed because there was no pulse left to be felt. The only emotion Steven felt was confusion as he stared at Santiago Salazar's dead body. Confusion because he didn't understand why this happened and why it happened now of all times. Steven then glanced back over to the window to get another glimpse at the mysterious figure only to find no one there. All that stared back at Steven was the moon that almost seemed to mock him.
What happened and what did it all mean?
"So you're telling me that we still know nothing of Salazar's weapon suppliers?" Fury questioned in annoyance. It was two days later and both Margot and Steven were already back in New York after leaving Mexico. Two days since Santiago's death and Steven was still at a lost over what he had seen that night. After Santiago's death Mexican authorities that had been at the party had taken over the investigation. They had ruled Steven out since the bullets obviously came from a vantage point outside the window. He had stayed tight lipped about Santiago's death even though he knew Margot wanted to know what was going on. He had been quiet on the plane ride back from Mexico and he could tell she had a million questions. Now the two were finally in Fury's office for the debriefing and Steven could finally get everything off his chest…well, mostly everything.
"Sir, I don't think Salazar even knew who his suppliers were." Steven told Fury and the director gave him a surprised look.
"You really expect me to believe that the most notorious drug dealer in the world didn't even know who was giving him weapons?" Fury questioned and Steven shook his head.
"He didn't know because he didn't care." Steven replied and Margot gave him a questioning look.
"Why wouldn't he care?" She asked him and Steven sighed before responding.
"Because they were giving him the weapons for free." Steven finally told them and both Margot and Fury looked shocked. Steven couldn't exactly blame them because he had been shocked when he found out too.
"You mean to say that Salazar's weapons supplier was giving him advanced weaponry free of charge?" Fury questioned in disbelief.
"I know. I was surprised too but I don't think Salazar was lying when he told me that. He was reckless at times and his only goal was making money. He didn't care where the weapons came from as long as he made money." Steven explained. Fury nodded as he took in this information and even Margot felt a bit stumped by what Steven was saying. None of it made sense. What kind of weapons supplier would supply someone with weapons and not expect anything in return? Margot had a feeling that this whole thing was a lot bigger than finding out who was making the weapons. The bigger question was finding out who was supplying these weapons for free and what did they want in return?
"I have a feeling this doesn't end with Salazar. We need to find out who these suppliers are more than ever." Fury said seriously. "Do either one of you have any other information on these mysterious suppliers?"
"I know Salazar's wife mentioned that he had been having these secretive meetings with a bunch of white men. He wouldn't tell her who they were so I'm assuming that they were probably the suppliers." Margot said, giving her input.
"Salazar also mentioned something about his suppliers being white." Steven added and Fury glanced back at Margot.
"Did Salazar's wife say anything else?" Fury asked and Margot nodded.
"She said that some of the men weren't Americans. Some were Russian and German." Margot told him which made Fury more infuriated because he knew this wasn't going to be any sort of intelligence agency like the CIA or NSA because then it would just be a case of corruption. It wasn't even likely the KGB either. Fury was guessing that this was probably a more private organization which would make them harder to track down.
"So we're dealing with Americans, Russians, and Germans." Steven said and tried to make sense of it all but there wasn't much information to go by.
"And that's all the intel we have on these suppliers?" Fury asked, sounding tired.
"I'm afraid so, Sir." Steven said but Fury didn't seem that annoyed.
"No, no. You two did a great job. This mission just got messier than we could've ever predicted." Fury said, referring to Salazar's death before looking at Steven. "And you have no idea who killed Salazar?" Steven stared back at the director, trying to decide whether or not to divulge his suspicion but ultimately deciding that it was better not to. Fury would just probably laugh in his face and it's not like Steven had any evidence to back up his theory anyways. Steven even thought he was kind of going crazy.
"No. Just those two Soviet slugs." Steven answered and Fury nodded. It would appear that the debriefing was about to end since they covered all the main points of Margot and Steven's mission.
"Well, if that's all then I guess you two are dismissed. Agent Rogers, we'll have a meeting in my office on Monday." Fury told Steven before glancing over at Margot. "Agent Barton's back in the field so I'll assign you back with him soon but I'm sure you'd appreciate a two week vacation beforehand." Margot smiled at the director.
"Of course, Sir." Margot said, trying to seem appreciative but in all honesty she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by how fast this was all ending. At first she had been hesitant in working with Steven because of how much she liked working with Clint. Clint was the partner to have on missions and he was one of the few people in Shield that actually liked her and took her seriously. However, these past few months with Steven had been different. She felt that Steven genuinely liked and respected her but at the same time he told her when she needed to step up and be serious. Margot liked that about him but she also hated thinking that she might never see him again after this. She doubted he felt the same way. It was all a mission to him probably. Margot didn't want to think everything on the mission meant nothing to him but that was just how it was. Clearly Steven was more of a professional than she was because Margot's feelings got in the way. They always seemed to get in the way.
As soon as Margot and Steven were outside Fury's office after he dismissed them, Steven turned to Margot. A million thoughts were racing through his mind but he knew one thing. He knew that he could absolutely trust Margot. She was someone that didn't hide who they were. There was probably no one he could trust more than Margot right now in Shield. Steven thought he even trusted her more than Fury. He had known Fury a lot longer but that man had quite a bit of secrets. Margot didn't really have secrets. She was an open book and Steven admired her for that. He was starting to think this might just be his heart talking rather than his brain but logic suddenly didn't matter when it came to Margot. Steven feared that he was even beginning to fall in love with Margot. He didn't want to because he knew she deserved a lot better than him but he couldn't help it.
It was true that she was ditzy and talked too much at times but she was also the kindest and most honest human being he had ever met. Maybe he even liked how scatter brained and talkative she was. Margot had a knack for filling up long and dreadful silences. She also never lied to him or pretended to be anything other than who she was. Steven knew she probably shouldn't be a Shield agent since she was a bit emotional at times but maybe that's what made her a better agent than others. She was able to emphasize with people. Not to mention Steven thought she was beautiful...too beautiful to want to be with him. All this fooling around was just a phase she was going through in her life and she probably wouldn't want anything to do with him now. Steven wouldn't blame her. She was too good for him. Still...Steven knew that he could absolutely trust her. She was the only person he knew that wore her heart on her sleeve. Steven stopped Margot outside Fury's office and the redhead gave him a confused look.
"Do you wanna go grab some coffee?" Steven asked her and Margot just stared at him, a bit dumbfounded. She wondered what this was about. A more wild and irrational part of her wanted to believe that this meant that Steven was about to declare his love for her but the more rational part of her knew that this was something else.
"Um…sure. I'm not doing anything." Margot told him and Steven just nodded before he began walking in the opposite direction. She took that as a signal that they were going to the coffee shop right this second. Margot just sighed as she followed him. She could already tell that it was going to be difficult to keep up with this man.
"Why are we here, Steven?" Margot asked him as they were seated in the small coffee shop. The barista had just dropped off their coffee at the table and the two were left in silence. Although Margot secretly wanted this to be the part where Steven was the man of her teenage dreams and declared his undying love her, she also didn't want that at the same time. She knew that both she and Steven could lose their jobs if that happened. Margot's career was her whole life as pathetic as that sounded. However, she soon grew concerned as she stared back at Steve. Steven was staring at the table top but his mind was elsewhere. He slowly glanced back up at Margot and she suddenly felt like this might have nothing to do with them. There was definitely something on his mind as he stared at her with those ocean blue eyes. Something was troubling him.
"Can I trust you, Margot?" Steven asked her. He already knew he could trust her but he wanted to hear it from her. Margot gave him a confused look. It wasn't often that he called her by her first name instead of just Pierce.
"What is this about, Steven?"
"Can I trust you?" He asked her again and she nodded, still unsure of why he was asking her that now of all times.
"Of course." Margot said sincerely, her green eyes filled with promise and Steven instantly believed her. "What is this all about?" Steven just sighed before answering.
"I didn't tell Fury something about the other night when Salazar was killed." Steven said, locking eyes with her. Margot furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean? We were just at the debriefing." Steven could only marvel at how loyal and innocent she was. She truly was the best agent at Shield because she was the most trust worthy. Margot Pierce had the purest of souls which was a rarity in their line of work. It made him a bit hesitant in telling her any of this but ultimately he knew that there was no one else he could trust with this. Of course, he could always trust his mother but his mother had long since been retired from Shield and he didn't want to trouble her with any of this.
"I saw Salazar's killer." Steven finally admitted and Margot gave him a shocked look. "It was dark but I know I saw him on the roof of the pool house."
"Him?" Margot questioned before shaking her head furiously. "Wait…if you saw the killer then why didn't you tell Fury?"
"I didn't tell him because it sounds insane. I even think that I might be going crazy." Steven said before elaborating. "The other night I looked out the window after the shots had been fired and I saw someone standing on top of the pool house. He was just standing there staring back at me."
"You know it was a man?" Margot questioned and the look on Steven's face was very grave. He was frightening Margot because she had never seen him like that before. It almost seemed like he was very haunted by whoever Salazar's killer was.
"Tell me, Margot, what do you know about the Winter Soldier?" Steven asked her, uttering the name aloud for the first time. Margot gave the older man an odd look, not understanding where he was going with this. She laughed nervously.
"The Winter Soldier? He's just some legend amongst intelligence agencies...a ghost story." Margot told him as she recollected everything she had heard about the Winter Soldier. "Superior agents tell rookie agents about the big, bad Winter Soldier to scare them. Coulson told me about the Winter Soldier and I was so convinced that he was real that I couldn't sleep for a week. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that…that makes me sound kind of pathetic." Steven, however, ignored her last comment and moved on.
"He killed Salazar." Steven told Margot and she gave him a look of disbelief. "I know it sounds insane but it was him. Everything I've heard in the past about him...it's all true. I never thought any of it could've been anything more than a myth but he was right there staring back at me."
"Are you sure it was him? You said it was dark after all." Steven nodded.
"I'm sure. His arm was metal with a-"
"Red star on it." Margot finished, a distant look in her eyes. "I remember from the stories. I'm really starting to feel like a conspiracy theorist right now."
"The only thing is that I don't know why he stopped with Salazar. He knew I was alive yet he did nothing. I would've gone after the bastard but he was already gone." Steven said more to himself than Margot. He was beating himself up over everything and mostly because he didn't even try to chase after the Winter Soldier. He saw him there but he was in such a state of shock that he couldn't even move.
"Okay…hypothetically speaking, if this Winter Soldier guy is real then maybe he didn't kill you because he didn't want you dead." Margot told Steven, still not really sure if she could believe any of this. She knew Steven wasn't lying but she just wasn't positive if what he saw really was the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier was a legend that was decades upon decades old. How would it even be humanly possible for the Winter Soldier to exist?
"That doesn't make any sense." Steven said, sounding perplexed by everything.
"He's probably working for whoever the suppliers are. Maybe the suppliers don't want you dead." Margot said and Steven had to admit that she made a really good point. Of course the Winter Soldier and the suppliers were connected. It was just too much of a coincidence that Salazar would be killed the instant he started suspecting Steven was up to something. There was also too much of a coincidence that Salazar's supplier had been withholding their shipment of weapons ever since Steven and Margot arrived in Mexico. No, his suppliers definitely had something to do with it.
"Okay, if the suppliers sent the Winter Soldier then they must've wanted Salazar dead because of us. They knew who we were but for some reason they wanted Salazar dead instead of us." Steven said as he tried to get to the bottom of all of this.
"Well, two dead Shield agents would surely bring a lot of unwanted attention." Margot replied as she agreed with Steven. "What about those men in the meeting. You told Fury about Jorge Alvarez but you mentioned that some movie star was down there too."
"Diego Ugalde. Mexico's most famous telenovela star." He answered and Margot furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What was an actor doing in the meeting?" Margot questioned and Steven shrugged.
"He claimed to be some kind of entrepreneur." Steven informed her before moving on. "Fury said that the police let Ugalde and Alvarez go after questioning but even if they had something to do with all this the police would still let them go. We saw just about the entire police department at that party."
"So there's even more unanswered questions." Margot said as she seemed slightly overwhelmed by everything. "I don't want to believe that the Winter Soldier's real, Steven. That just makes the world an even more terrifying place."
"I know what I saw, Margot. It was him." Steven told her seriously. "I've heard stories about him for years but I never believed in them. I thought they were all just stories and nothing more."
"Do you understand what you're saying? If it's really him than everything we know is false. Not to mention the guy would have to be in his eighties by now. He's been assassinating people longer than I've been alive." Margot rambled on but stopped when she saw the sincere look in Steven's eyes.
"It was him. I'm sure." Steven said with a definite tone. There was something in those incredibly blue eyes of his that told Margot that he really did see the Winter Soldier. How could she not believe him when he looked so vulnerable and even a bit scared? Margot didn't want him to look like that.
"I believe you." Margot said after a moment of silence. Steven gave her a surprised look before Margot explained what she meant. "I don't want to believe you but I do. If you say you saw him then it means he's out there somewhere. The world just became a darker and scarier place."
"Thank you." Steven told her before a more grim look came over his face. "We know that the Winter Soldier is probably working for whoever the suppliers are so we're still left with the question of who the suppliers are." Margot nodded but had a thoughtful look on her face because she knew that wasn't going to be a question either of them would be able to answer anytime soon. Whoever the suppliers are, they were incredibly good at hiding their tracks. They weren't going to be the kind of people to be found unless they wanted to be found.
"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"
Two Months later…
"So you know that girl I told you about? Vera?" Clint asked Margot who was barely paying attention to what he was saying. Clint was currently at her apartment telling her the details of his dating life while Margot read a book on the couch. The infamous archer was nursing a beer as Margot occasionally took a sip from her glass of wine. She didn't really care for beer herself but always kept a six pack in the fridge for Clint who frequently barged into her apartment. Apparently he had a roommate who was also in a really bad rock band…a band that was always rehearsing in their apartment so sometimes Clint needed to get away.
"Mmmhmm…" Margot flipped a page in her book but in all honesty she wasn't really even paying attention to her book either. Her mind was on a certain blonde and blue eyed man. It had been two months since she had last heard from Steven. To be fair she had been assigned on a mission not long after they arrived home. Her and Clint had just gotten back from Shanghai but Margot had to admit that she had been really distracted on the mission. Steven Rogers had completely encompassed her thoughts since the mission in Mexico. Even more so considering that she was now worried about him after they discussed the Winter Soldier ordeal. She felt like they probably should've told Fury about the Winter Soldier but what good would that have done anyways? Fury would either tell that they were insane or he just wouldn't believe them. They didn't have any evidence to back up their theory and Steven was the only one to officially see the Winter Soldier.
"Well, I took Vera out for dinner the other night and she just sat there the entire evening completely ignoring me then she ordered the most expensive dinner on the menu. I tried to make conversation but she just sat there. Who even does that?" Clint told Margot but the redhead didn't answer as her eyes remained glued to the book. He noticed the troubled expression on her face and felt concerned. Margot was usually so bubbly and positive but lately she seemed kind of down. "Is that book really that interesting that you can't even listen to what I'm saying? That's one of those sappy English novels, isn't it? Emma? Sounds lame to me." Margot glared at her best friend before setting down her Jane Austen novel.
"Emma is not lame. Emma is one of Jane Austen's best works…aside from Pride and Prejudice of course." Margot said, defending one of her favorite books of all time. Clint gave her a doubtful look.
"Isn't Emma a snobby bitch who does all that match making just to make herself feel better? That's kind of pathetic. It's like she got off from match making or something." Clint said insultingly but she knew deep down he was only teasing her. Margot huffed.
"Emma isn't perfect but who is? She doesn't start out as a great person but by the end of the book she overcomes her faults and becomes a better person. This book is about more than romance. It's about character development." Margot explained while Clint just watched the redhead in amusement. "Emma is a great book, Clint. You don't know what you're missing out on even though I'm kind of impressed that you even know what Emma's about." Clint shrugged as he took a seat next to her on the couch.
"I saw the movie." Clint told her before giving her a more serious look. "What's going on with you anyways?" Margot laughed nervously.
"What are you talking about?" Clint just raised his eyebrows at her.
"Come on, Go. You've been acting weird lately and I haven't pushed for answers but I'm starting to get a little worried." Clint said worriedly and Margot felt guilty for making him worried. "What is it? Was it Mexico? Did something happen there?" Margot sighed because she realized that she really needed to talk to someone about what was going on. Clint was the only one she could really do that with. They normally didn't get all heart felt with each other but Margot wasn't really good at keeping everything bottle up inside. She bit her lip nervously before replying.
"It's about Steven." Margot said quietly and Clint gave her a confused look.
"Who? Rogers?" Clint questioned. "Did that old man do something to you, Margot? Because I don't care if he's Captain America's son. I'll still kick that old man's ass." Margot smiled softly before the smile vanished as soon as it had come.
"No, things just got complicated down in Mexico. We got close…real close." Clint gave her a curious look.
"How close?" Clint asked her and Margot blushed almost as red as her hair.
"We slept together." Clint's eyes widened as his jaw dropped in shock. Margot quickly looked away from him, embarrassed from his staring.
"But he's so old." Clint said, still shocked by what Margot had just told him. Margot glared at her friend.
"He's seventeen years older than me but believe me he more than makes up for it." Margot said defensively and Clint gave her a disgusted look before calming down from his shocked state.
"Okay, so you two slept together once. It happens. You two probably wouldn't be the first two agents to ever sleep together." Clint said nonchalantly, trying to comfort his friend but the redhead gave him a somewhat guilty look.
"Well, it wasn't really a one time thing." Margot said nervously.
"What do you mean it wasn't a one time thing?" Clint questioned.
"I actually lost count of the times we-" Margot started to say but Clint immediately stopped her.
"Oh, gross. Don't tell me how many times you and Rogers Jr. boned. That's disgusting." Margot just ignored his immature statement as she moved the conversation along.
"I think I'm in love with him, Clint." Margot finally told Clint which caused the archer to really sit back and stare at his best friend. He could tell by the way she was staring at him that whatever feelings she had for Rogers Jr. were really troubling her. She seemed more torn than he had ever seen her be before.
"Oh…" Clint trailed off, not know what else to say to her.
"I know it's against all the rules at Shield and especially now that he's become deputy director. We'd probably both lose our jobs and not to mention Fury would murder us." Margot said as she looked unusually crestfallen. Clint frowned because she never looked that lost or sad before. "He probably doesn't even feel the same. Oh God…look at me. I sound like a teenage girl."
"Hey, it's going to be alright, Margot. These things happen." Clint said, trying to reassure her. "If Rogers doesn't feel the same way then he's an idiot. He'd be lucky to get a woman like you. You're the complete package." Margot scoffed.
"Don't be ridiculous, Clint." Margot told him but Clint didn't stop there.
"No, it's true. You're funny, nice, and a complete bad ass. You can knit really nice hats too because that knitting class you took really paid off. That hat you knitted me is really warm." Clint said before smirking at her. "Not to mention you're hot. I'd marry you right now if you wanted me too but I guess you're not into younger guys…obviously." Margot shook her head in disbelief because she was slowly starting to believe that she was best friends with an insane person.
"You're not funny, Barton." Margot told him but Clint just continued to grin at her. "And you should be telling me how stupid I am for getting involved with a coworker. You shouldn't be encouraging me."
"If you wanted the kind of best friend that shames you for sleeping with a coworker then you should've become best friends with Coulson instead." Clint said smugly and sometimes Margot really wondered why she was friends with him. He was a real nuisance when he wanted to be. Margot always used to wonder what having a little brother would be like but now she knew it was probably a nightmare.
"You're an idiot." Margot muttered but a more sincere look came over Clint's face as he looked at her. She had never seen him look that serious before and that surprised her about him.
"No, Rogers is the idiot for not seeing how wonderful you are. Next time I see him, deputy director or not, I'll kick his ass. If he thinks he can just come along and use you for sex then he has another thing coming." Clint said bitterly as he ranted about Steven Rogers. "Just because he's Captain America's son he thinks he can just skate by and break your heart? Yeah, right. I'll teach daddy's boy a little lesson." Margot rolled her eyes. Sometimes she thought she'd never truly understand men.
"Of course, Clint. Thanks for being my knight shining armor." Margot said sarcastically but Clint smiled nonetheless. The amused look on her face then faded as she looked at her friend, a more troubled look returning to her face. "Clint?"
"What?" Margot sighed.
"Promise that if we're both old, lonely, and single people that we'll get married. Just to get everything over with and not die alone. I don't want to die alone." Margot said sadly and Clint gave her a look of disbelief.
"Margot, don't be so dramatic. You're only thirty five. You're not going to die alone." Clint told her but the redhead didn't look reassured.
"Come on, Clint. I'm thirty five without a boyfriend." Margot told him seriously as she started to ramble on about her future. "If I want to get married and have kids then I'm going to have to find some guy right this instant to completely make me forget about the fact that I'm in love with Steven. Then I'm going to have to fall in love with that man instead. He probably wouldn't propose for a couple years and then there's another year to actually plan the wedding. Not to mention another two years before he wants to start trying for kids and by then I'll probably be too old to have kids. My window will already be closed." Clint just stared at her.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Who even thinks like that? You sound like a sociopath." Clint told her but Margot didn't even have it in her to glare at him.
"Women my age think like this, Clint. Dating around is really fun when you're in your twenties but when you're thirty five and still single you realize that you completely wasted ten years of your life. Ten years you'll never get back." Margot told him, tears brimming her eyes. Clint just snorted before shaking his head. He thought Margot was being utterly insane and ridiculous.
"Who says you even need to get married and have kids? That's something society tells you to do but there's already enough kids in the world. Does the world really need another snot nosed brat?" Clint questioned, trying to make her feel better but Margot sighed sadly.
"But I want a little snot nosed brat, Clint." Margot whined before elaborating. "I'm just like any other woman because all I want is a little snot nosed brat. I see all those diaper commercials on TV and I cry because I realize how much I want a baby. They're so cute, Clint, and I even debated over kidnapping a baby in the grocery store the other day before realizing how insane that is."
"That is kind of insane, Margot. I'm trying to decide whether or not I should suggest to Fury that you need a psychological evaluation." Clint said, half joking and half not. Margot just shook her head, clearly in despair over this.
"Ten years ago I used to pity those women with babies but now it's all I want. I'm scared because in a couple years my window will probably be closed and I won't ever have one." Margot said, sounding more scared than Clint had ever heard her be. "I'm not going to be a Shield agent forever, Clint. I don't want Shield to be the only legacy I leave behind." Clint grasped one of Margot's hands in his, giving her hand a firm squeeze.
"You're too young to be worrying about that, Margot. You're not going to die alone." Clint told her seriously before taking a deep breath. "Look, if you're that worried about it then you can have my kids. We can try for kids in a couple years if you're still single." Margot wrinkled her nose in disgust, not believing what he just said.
"Clint, I love you but not like that. I'm not attracted enough to you to want to have sex." Margot told him and Clint glared at her.
"Not like that. I meant that I could jack off into a vial or whatever at some clinic and you could have my kids." Clint told her and Margot seemed relieved.
"Oh, you mean artificial insemination!" Margot exclaimed brightly, sounding very relieved that Clint wasn't talking about them having sex. Margot didn't think she could ever do that with Clint. He was too much like a little brother to her. "Good. You really had me worried there for a second, Clint."
"Nice to know how repulsive you find me." Clint muttered but Margot shook her head.
"You know how much I love you." Margot told him before giving him a soft smile. "Thank you for that, Clint." Clint just shrugged.
"Sure…what are friends for anyways?" Clint said before giving Margot a teasing smile. "It's really not that big of a deal. I already do that once a day anyways. As long as they've got a couple Victoria Secret catalogues in that clinic I'll be good to go." Margot gave him a disgusted look before playfully shoving him away. Clint snickered.
"You're disgusting, Barton."
Margot had just gotten finished reading Emma for the twelfth time. Margot had never been one for classic English literature but she had always loved Jane Austen. She liked to think that Jane Austen had written some of the first Rom-Coms. Emma just so happened to be one of her favorite Jane Austen novels and even more so because her mother gave her the book for her sixteenth birthday. At the time Margot had been disappointed by the book for not being the pair of earrings she wanted, being the spoiled brat that she was, but when her mother started getting sick she realized how much more a book meant to her than some stupid pair of earrings. Emma was the first Jane Austen book she had ever read and the last gift her mother had given her before she started getting sick and for that it would always have a special place in her heart.
Margot set down the book on her coffee table just when she heard a knock at the door. Clint had left her house not that long before so Margot wondered who it could be. There wasn't many other people who came to her apartment aside from her father and Margot wasn't prepared for that. She shuddered at the thought of her father showing up to her apartment. He was always the last person she ever wanted to see. Margot didn't feel like dealing with him tonight. Without thinking anymore of it, Margot peeked through the peephole in the door only to see a very familiar face outside her door. She pulled away from the peephole with an unsure look on her face because she wasn't sure what she was going to say. However, she still knew that he was most likely aware of the fact that she was home. He wasn't a super soldier for nothing now, was he? Margot finally opened the door and plastered a smile across her face.
"Hi, Steven." She politely greeted but frowned when she noticed how tired he looked. She supposed his new job as deputy director was more exhausting than she originally would've thought. He had shadows under his eyes and his hair looked slightly messy like he had spent hours running his fingers through it. "Steven what's wrong-" Margot started to say but never finished as Steven's lips descended onto hers.
He cupped her face with his hands and pulled her closer to him, causing her to moan in response. As their kiss become more passionate Steven lifted her up and she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her back into the apartment and he closed the door behind them. However, after a couple minutes of making out like teenagers Margot pulled away from him and demanded to be put back down on the ground. Steven gave her a confused look as they parted and he was even more confused when Margot glared at him. She immediately slapped him across the face, not even caring how much it hurt her hand. Steven just stared at the redhead in bewilderment as he soothingly rubbed his cheek. He wasn't going to lie…there wasn't a lot that hurt him but that slap caused him a little pain.
"What the hell was that for?" Steven asked and Margot just continued to glare at him.
"That was for being an asshole, Rogers. Six months together in Mexico and you never even called?" Margot said, sounding pissed at him and Steven couldn't help but feel reverted back to being a small boy in trouble with his mother. "I know you're this big time legend at Shield but I'm not. Okay? You might be used to sleeping with your coworkers but I'm not. It's not something I can just be normal about so you can't just come over here and kiss me like it's nothing. This friends with benefits relationship isn't for me so if that's all you want then you can just leave. I'm too old for this." Steven stared at her wide eyed. He was left speechless for a moment or two as he stared at her. Margot was actually a little bit terrifying when she was pissed off.
"You think that I was just using you?" Steven asked her quietly and Margot nodded as she crossed her arms.
"Isn't that what you were doing?" Margot questioned and Steven sighed.
"Look, Margot, I don't have the best experience with these kinds of things. There's probably quite a few women out there that want me dead." Steven said and Margot raised an eyebrows.
"Are you going somewhere with this because if you are then you're miserably failing." Margot told him and Steven took a deep breath.
"I'm not good at talking about my feelings. I'm not good at relationships but I never for one second thought that this was just a casual thing…because it's not to me." Steven told her honestly and Margot looked back up at him with a more hopeful look in her emerald green eyes. "This is important to me. You're important to me. I never wanted to hurt you and I'm sorry that you thought that I didn't care because damn it...you've been driving me crazy these past couple months. All I've been doing is thinking about you. What you're doing, how you are...whether or not you're seeing anyone. I can't even get any work done."
"Then why haven't you called or tried to see me?" Margot asked him, beyond confused by what went on in Steven's head. She supposed he was one of those complex kinds of people that you always tried to solve but never did. Like a never ending puzzle.
"Because I'm an old man and you deserve more. I'm a really cynical person and eventually you'll tire of me. You're young and you're full of life…I lost those things a long time ago. I'm worn down, Margot. You need someone with more life in them like Barton. Someone younger." Steven told her but Margot just shook her head.
"You don't get to tell me how I feel or what's good for me. I'm not so young either but I know what I want Steven and that's you." Margot told him and Steven gave her a surprised look.
"Are you sure?" He asked and Margot scoffed.
"Yes, I'm sure. I don't want someone younger like Clint. Clint's an amazing guy but he's just a friend." Margot said sincerely as she locked eyes with Steven. "I just want you. Even though we'll both probably get fired from this or something even worse…like being transferred to the CIA." Margot said but Steven only smirked at her.
"Well, I figure we'll both safe as long as we remain professional at work." Steven told her and Margot gave him a surprised look, hardly believing that Steven was actually agreeing to this. Steven was surprised himself but he was too selfish to reject Margot. He never wanted anything more than he wanted her and Steven had spent a long time on this planet. He still thought she was too good for him but he didn't want to walk away and wonder what would've happened had he stayed. No, he'd have her as long as she would have him...if that's what she really wanted.
"And outside work?" She inquired and Steven just continued to give her that smug smirk.
"I'll let you decide that for yourself." He said and Margot nodded before giving him a curious look.
"So it's official then. We're dating…or going steady as they called it in your time." Margot teased and Steven just shook his head at the small redhead.
"Pierce, you're a real piece of work, you know that?" Steven said jokingly before becoming more serious. "I guess I should go then." Margot gave him a confused look.
"What? Why?" She questioned and Steven shrugged.
"Well, we're dating now. I'm guessing you want to take it slow." Steven said and Margot rolled her eyes at him.
"Rogers, get your ass in that bedroom right now." Margot demanded and Steven started heading down the hallway but she could see the smug smirk on his face. That smug bastard, Margot thought to herself. "And stop smirking. I'm not at all turned on by that stupid little smirk of yours."
However, both Margot and Steven knew that was the furthest thing from the truth.
In Mexico City Diego Ugalde was returning home after a long day at set. Well, it wasn't particularly the work that was difficult but rather the fact that his costar's husband showed up and punched him in the face for no reason. He actually supposed that his costar's husband wasn't completely unjustified in punching him since Diego had been sleeping with his costar for the past three months. The Mexican actor had a massive headache and was nursing a black eye. All he wanted to do was finish off his bottle of tequila and sleep it off.
Diego's large mansion was completely dark and empty as he walked in and started heading straight for the kitchen. Wife number three left him six months before and took the kids with her. All his wives tended to leave and take the children with them since all three wives had at one point walked in on him with another woman. Funnily enough, wife number two actually walked in on him with wife number three. Diego couldn't really complain about how empty the mansion was because at least he had peace and quiet from a nagging wife and a bunch of screaming brats. Although, all that child support wasn't so great either.
"I see you've finally come home, Mr. Ugalde." Diego jumped a foot in the air in surprise at the voice and turned to look through the darkness of his own kitchen. The handsome actor saw that it was only Alexander Pierce and rested a hand against his heart, trying to calm himself down.
"Jesus Christ…don't you Hydra people wear a bell around your neck or something?" Diego asked sarcastically with his thick Mexican accent as he glared at Pierce before also noticing another figure leaning against the fridge. He groaned in frustration at the sight. "And you brought your creepy little pet too? Why'd you bring him? The guy sucks all the fun out of the room. So much doom and gloom."
"Relax, Diego, he's just here for my protection. Isn't that right, Asset?" Pierce inquired as he looked over at the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier only gave him a small nod before his eyes returned to Diego. The actor wrinkled his nose in disgust and fought the urge to shudder at how creepy the Winter Soldier was. Diego thought of him as a sort of grim reaper type figure.
"Well, he's fucking creepy. He's really killing my mood right now too." Diego said bitterly as he went around the Winter Soldier to grab his bottle of tequila off the counter. Pierce raised an eyebrow at the man.
"Your mood? What mood is that?" Pierce questioned. "You look like shit. I don't think that's a good look for an actor. Isn't all the money in your face anyways?"
"I slept with my costar…who may or may not have a husband who's also a heavy weight boxing champion." Diego admitted as he took a swig from the tequila bottle. "It wasn't my smartest move."
"No, it doesn't sound like it was." Pierce said in amusement before moving on. "I bet you're wondering why we're here."
"Not really. I kind of figured that it had something to do with Salazar and the weapons." Diego told him and Pierce just smiled.
"Well, you're right. So let's get down to business." A more serious expression then crossed Pierce's face. "Do you think Rogers knows?"
"About Hydra?" Diego questioned before scoffing. "No. He's fucking clueless. He was very quiet during the meeting but I don't think he knew. Salazar didn't even know about Hydra. The idiot."
"Good. Then our secret is safe and we all get to live another day." Pierce told him, seeming very happy with this news. Diego gave the older man a confused look.
"Why did you kill Salazar and not him? Salazar was a fool…he never would've figured out who we were." Pierce sighed.
"Salazar never asked any questions which made him useful but I couldn't risk Shield finding out and especially not Rogers. Rogers would've figured it out eventually." Pierce told the actor. "I have a feeling that Rogers is going to be very useful to us in the future and Hydra absolutely doesn't want him dead…not yet at least."
"And not the pretty redheaded one either?" Diego questioned which caused the look on Pierce's face to darken.
"Excuse me?" Pierce inquired.
"That sexy partner of Rogers. You know…the one with the nice tits." Diego said and Pierce glared at him. In all honesty he kept his daughter out of Hydra's agenda since she didn't know about Hydra. Pierce knew he couldn't tell her about Hydra either because she'd turn him in the first chance she got. She was too naive and innocent to want anything to do with Hydra...she was just like her mother. Margot was definitely another reason why he shut down Salazar's operation. His daughter was getting a little too close to the truth for his liking. For her own safety he wanted her to be as far away from what was really going on. If she didn't then she'd end up dead just like all the others that wanted to expose Hydra.
"You mind your own God damn business, Ugalde." Pierce told him and Diego felt that it would be wise to listen to Pierce. The dark look on his face was full of promise but not the kind of promise Diego would like. There was also the fact that the Winter Soldier was there with them. Diego knew that it would be stupid to make any smart ass comments with the Winter Soldier there.
"Okay. Fine." Diego relented before Pierce brought the conversation to a more important matter at hand.
"Unfortunately now that Salazar's been eliminated we've lost a lot of connections." Pierce said seriously as Diego listened to him intently. "We need Mexico to have these weapons but I've been made aware that you also have a lot of connections. Some that go beyond Mexico."
"That's all very true." Diego said hesitantly and Pierce grinned at him.
"Good. You can take over the deal we had with Salazar then." Pierce said and Diego gave him a surprised look. He knew almost better than anyone else how much money that deal Salazar had was. Diego would be making even more money than all the movie and television studios in Mexico could pay him. That was very appealing to Diego. He loved big mansions, fancy cars, and beautiful women more than anyone.
"Yeah, sure. No problem." Diego said quickly and Pierce just smirked at the eager actor. He had to admit he was a bit hesitant over recruiting Diego into Hydra at first. The man was an actor after all but as he got to know he saw how valuable Diego could be to their cause. Diego was incredibly charming and nearly everyone that met him adored him. Maybe a charismatic actor could be one of Hydra's more valuable assets. With Diego on their side no one would even believe the weapons were being sold by him. Not like how Shield found out the weapons were being sold by Salazar. A drug dealer was suspicious but Mexico's favorite actor? No…Diego was hiding in plain sight and Pierce knew that's just where Hydra needed to be in this day and age.
"Good." Diego took another sip from his bottle of tequila before giving the older man a curious look.
"I've always wondered why you gave Salazar the weapons free of charge. That's a lot of money you're losing especially since you've been giving Salazar Stark Industries designed weapons." Diego said as he debated over the reasoning behind some of Hydra's decisions. "That bald Gringo must charge a lot for those weapons." Pierce only chuckled at the actor before answering.
"Let's just say Obadiah and I have a fair deal, Diego. We'll leave it at that." Pierce told him before he smiled at Diego. "Besides…giving these weapons away is just a means of Hydra getting to where we need to go and I believe Mexico having these weapons will get us there. Mexico's president has heard word of El Dorado and he wants El Dorado more than anyone. We have that in common. There's more valuable things than money, you know." Pierce then paused as he glanced back over to a very curious looking Diego Ugalde.
"Tell me, Diego…what do you know about Vibranium?"