The motel room was nearly pitch black even after the thin door slammed open, Steve realized. The light in the parking lot had been shot out. The falling glass had probably woken him.
Steve pivoted, bringing a straight arm as hard and heavy as a tree branch across the doorway. He was perfectly timed to clothes-line their first assailant, dressed in black with night vision goggles that Steve could barely make out. The man went down on his back with a grunt. He sprawled against the door jamb and tripped up two men behind him. Steve struggled with a second man, knocking a pistol and silencer combo from his grip. Unfortunately, the third simply stepped over the man lying on the floor, turned his head to the right, and went directly for Darcy.
"Darcy, watch out!" Steve yelled, his voice loud in his own ears as he cut the silence of the room.
He tried to reach her, but the second man ripped a baton from a holster at his leg, extended it, and landed a solid hit near Steve's ear. His vision exploded with stars, but he kept his feet. The man raised the baton again. This time Steve used his speed to get ahold of it while bringing a poorly-aimed punch in under the man's guard. His chest was padded and protected and Steve didn't make much headway.
Darcy kicked out as the third man held on to one of her ankles. Steve saw her yank her purse off the nightstand. There was a bright flash from the side of the bed where the man was kneeling, then a scream of pain. Her assailant reared back and clawed off his night vision goggles. Darcy savagely kicked again, this time connecting with the man's bare face.
Flashlight held high, Darcy got her feet under her and took off with the frightened grace of a doe, leaping high over grabby arms and out the door. Steve clocked his opponent right in the goggles with a satisfying crunch, then lifted the man fully over his head and slammed him down on top of Darcy's assailant. He snagged his duffel and followed Darcy's lead. Their un-hijackable ride beeped comfortingly as Steve pressed the key fob.
Darcy threw herself into the passenger seat and slammed the door. Steve gave her a cursory glance before throwing the car in reverse and peeling out of the potholed parking lot, gravel spraying behind them.
"Lucky you paid in cash," she quipped, sounding out of breath.
"Yeah. You alright?"
"Yup. Let's just go." Darcy yanked her seatbelt strap down and clipped in.
One of the men ran after them, attempting to get a line on the car with his pistol, but he lowered it without firing a shot. Steve watched in the rearview as the other two scrambled to join him, then he turned the car and they were lost from view.
They drove east until the sky grew light. Steve caught himself fidgeting his thumbs against the steering wheel several times and willed himself to be still.
"What are you thinking about?" Darcy asked from the shadows beside him.
Steve almost jumped. He thought she'd gone back to sleep, her breathing deep and even. But no, her bright eyes glittered from behind her glasses. She watched pointedly as Steve's thumbs drummed a new staccato rhythm on the wheel.
"Just trying to figure this out. Why are they still following us? How did they track us? We know about the LMD, so it's no use trying to infiltrate the Facility anymore."
Steve stopped tapping, again, as they came to a stoplight.
"True. And we know this car is untraceable. So, that's kinda freaky, how they found us at the motel."
Darcy sat up straight and rummaged through her purse, retrieving a hair tie. She finger-combed her thick locks into a ponytail. "Hey, are you hungry?"
Steve's stomach rumbled in response and Darcy laughed. The small town they were passing through had a diner at the next intersection; they pulled into the mostly-empty parking lot and stopped the car.
Darcy took a deep sniff as they got out. "I love the early-morning smell of an all night diner, don't you?"
The free-standing building was light brightly from within. There were only about three patrons - a couple of older men on their way to work, and one blond woman sipping coffee at the counter. The comforting odor of bacon and pancakes that hung in the air brought back memories for Steve - good ones.
"Yeah," he agreed.
A bell jingled when Steve opened the door for Darcy, motioning her ahead of him. At the waitress's cheerful direction, they seated themselves in a booth. Menus, mugs and coffee were quickly provided, along with an extra smile for Steve. He caught Darcy's amused grin as he made some polite small talk with the waitress. In turn, he watched as she added creamer after creamer to her coffee. Its original dark brown became a pale, tawny caramel when she was finished. He made a face when she picked up the sugar and simply held it, upside down, over the mug and let a stream of white crystals pour in.
"What?" she smirked, stirring the concoction with her spoon. "Oh, god, you drink it black, don't you? You're such an old man."
Steve lifted his cup in confirmation and took a sip. It wasn't very strong, but it tasted fine.
"Older and wiser. Coffee is definitely better this way. You should listen to your elders, you might learn something," he teased.
Darcy narrowed her eyes and he chuckled. She stilled, her gaze on something behind him. Steve's instincts kept him from turning, but he was on alert, still amped up from their pre-dawn encounter at the motel.
"What is it?" he muttered, all humor draining from his face.
Darcy's expression turned confused.
"What? Oh! It's fine, Steve. I noticed payphones - over there? By the restrooms?"
She pointed and Steve relaxed. He looked over his shoulder at the public phones, a technological bygone that had all but phased out while he was under the ice.
"I'm not sure we should trust the comm link in the car, until we figure out how those dudes found us. I was thinking… maybe you could check in? See what Nat's found out? They're public lines, so you have to know the number you want to call...and hope the person you're calling doesn't ignore you, nowadays." Darcy sipped her vile coffee, both hands wrapped around the mug.
"I know, Darcy. We had payphones in the '40's."
"Whatever. I'm not a payphone historian. You need like, 50 cents, though. Do you have change?"
Before Steve could pat his pockets, Darcy unzipped a coin purse and deposited a dollar in quarters into his palm. "In fact, just call collect. Tony can afford it, right?"
Steve glanced at the menu as he got up. "Order numbers 14, 15, 16, and a glass of orange juice for me, would you?"
"You got it," Darcy replied without batting an eyelash.
Steve went to the back of the diner, his sneaker soles squeaking on ancient tile. Putting the change in his pocket, he dialed a number string about the length of a phone number, but with a few extra digits. Nat picked up on the second ring.
"Steve?" her voice sounded tinny through the old receiver.
"Hey," he replied.
"Knew it was you. You know Tony almost gutted this old system when he did upgrades last month?"
Steve could hear the smile in Nat's voice. Good. It was a sure bet she hand some news.
"I do know that. I talked him out of it. I really don't want to go to the trouble of memorizing a new set of numbers if I can help it."
Steve leaned against the alcove he stood in and looked back at Darcy. She was drinking coffee and staring off into space.
"Don't be lazy," Natasha teased. "Anyway, you guys are okay? Do you need anything?"
"Just answers, if you have them. I felt certain we'd shaken off our tail yesterday, but they found us again last night. How are they getting information? A mole?"
"You've got it in one. Martin Dreak, in the IT department. He did a pretty good job of covering his tracks, but I caught a transmission about thirty minutes after you two left. I've been listening in for the past twelve hours as he's tracked you through Tony's system and reported to the cell. Hope you don't mind that I left him in play; I needed intel on who we're dealing with. So far, it sounds like ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, if you can believe it." There was a bit of crackle on the old line as Natasha finished.
Steve nodded. "I thought I recognized Billy and Little Johnny in the initial attack. I never would have pegged them for this kind of operation, though."
"Maybe Bil-ly and John-ny got sick of diminutive nicknames," Nat suggested. "Could turn any of us rogue."
Steve laughed. "Little Johnny has three inches and fifty pounds on me. He's not threatened."
"Oh. Anyway, my best guess is it's a group of mercs trying to get off the ground with stolen tech. Make a name for themselves by infiltrating the New Avengers Facility. It doesn't quite fit, though. I can't figure out why they're still targeting Darcy. You obviously foiled Plan A when you found the LMD," Natasha said.
"Keep listening for now. You can feed them false coordinates through Martin, keep them off our trail. When we know Plan B, neutralize the mole," Steve replied.
He glanced back at the table and saw the waitress had delivered his three breakfast plates.
"Check and check, Cap. Widow out." The line went dead.
Steve hung up and returned to the booth. Darcy smiled up at him as she unrolled a napkin and removed silverware.
"Everything okay? Did you reach anyone?" she asked.
Steve sat down and picked up his own napkin roll. "Yep, everything's fine. Nat's taking care of things at home."
"Great, so we can go back?" Darcy pressed.
"Not quite yet. I'll tell you more in the car. Is that okay?" He glanced pointedly at the other patrons as he spoke and Darcy nodded, picking up the hint.
"Sure," she agreed, cutting into her eggs with her fork.
Steve set to work putting a serious hurt on some eggs and bacon. When he looked up at Darcy's plate a few minutes later, he noticed she'd barely touched her food.
"Darcy? What's up?" he asked, concern furrowing his brow.
She looked at him, eyes wide and face a little green. Then her hands shook so much she had to set down her knife and fork on the table top. She brought trembling fingers to her mouth as a loud sob escaped.
Steve set his own silverware down with a clatter and came around to her side of the booth. He put one arm around her shoulders; her whole body shook as she tried to stifle her weeping.
"It's okay, it'll be alright," he murmured, rubbing her back. "Just let it out."
"I-I thought I was going to throw up, b-but I started crying instead. I'm s-sorry," Darcy sobbed.
"Don't be sorry, Doll. You've been through a lot."
Darcy reached for the napkin holder with a shaky hand, but Steve beat her to it and yanked out several thin pieces. Darcy pressed them to her eyes and cheeks, folding and refolding the corners to dab at her eyes.
After a few minutes the shaking eased, then stopped. Darcy gulped down large breaths of air, her tears exhausted. Steve scooted away, not quite sure whether he'd crossed a boundary with a 21st century girl.
"I'm sorry," Darcy repeated, her face blotched with red. "God, a couple of kidnapping attempts and I fall apart."
"Normal reaction to trauma. Don't judge yourself. It's unavoidable, even if some people can manage to put it off for a while."
Steve returned to his side of the booth and picked up his fork.
"I don't see you crying into your toast, Steve," she countered, taking a sip of water.
"It's the super soldier serum. It doesn't inhibit my emotions, but it blunts the physiological reactions. Training helps with it, too. A lot."
Darcy shook her head. "You're so completely different from me. All of you Avengers, I mean. You know what to do and you're totally capable and have a million different skills, and I'm just... helpless."
Steve reached out with one hand, but stopped short of brushing Darcy's fingers. "Needing help doesn't mean you're helpless, Darcy."
"It kinda does, Steve."
"No, listen, things yesterday could have gone very differently if not for you. You're like... a good luck charm?"
Steve frowned. That wasn't quite right.
"I don't see how that relates to general functional competence in any way," Darcy shot back.
Steve leaned forward, speaking softly as the waitress passed by. "I'm saying it wrong. These guys, Nat identified a couple of them. They know me - well enough to get the drop on me twice. You threw the spanner in the works. You hit a guy with a fire extinguisher!"
"That stunt nearly killed you, Steve. And I didn't know what the hell I was doing." Darcy fiddled with a napkin, refusing to meet Steve's eyes.
"Yes, you did. Don't sell yourself short, Doll. You flashed a professionally trained mercenary right in his night vision goggles."
Darcy finally looked up. Steve was relieved to see a wobbly smile emerge.
"That was half accident."
"Regardless, it worked. They were foolish not to expect trouble from you, and it backfired on them both times. Trust yourself, Darcy. I trust you."
He sat back and caught the waitress' eye for the check.
Darcy stared at him, her lips pursed. "Good pep talk, Coach. I'm probably gonna cry again before the day's over, though."
"Well, you never know how these kinds of things will affect you," he replied, shrugging.
She nodded decisively and packed up extra creamers in her bag as the check arrived. Steve didn't ask. They exited into bright morning sunshine. The parking lot was filling up with hungry locals as the pair walked across cracked pavement back to the car.
"Nat found a mole. Now that we've made contact, she'll be feeding him false information on our location. We're in the clear as long as we keep moving," Steve explained as they approached their ride.
"Can't she just like, torture him for information or something?" Darcy swiped a strand of hair out of her eyes and looked at Steve over the top of the car.
"Uh, technically, sure, she could, but it's kind of against the law, Darcy."
She laughed at his look of consternation. "I'm just joking, Steve. Remember, I make jokes when I'm nervous."
Steve didn't dignify with a response and yanked open the driver's side door. He had one leg in the car when something moved out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around to the left, just as a man in plain clothes approached the front of the car.
"Hey, do you have change for a twenty?" the man asked, holding up a bill.
"Sure, let me get my-" Steve reached into the back for his shield just as the man raced forward and shoved the open door against Steve.
Steve shoved it back, knocking the man flat and possibly damaging the door hinges. Darcy shrieked on his other side; he twisted to see her in the grip of two more plain-clothes men, faces he didn't recognize from S.H.I.E.L.D. The first man came at him again; Steve brought his left elbow up over the door into the man's face and sent him sprawling. A strong arm wrapped around his neck from behind.
Wedged between the driver's side door and the car body, Steve had barely any room to maneuver out of the headlock. He threw himself backward, intending to smash his attacker against another car, but a sharp sting in his neck made his arms go numb. His vision swam and the strength left his legs. Steve heard Darcy cry out as he descended into darkness.