Chapter Twenty-eight: the Masked Man
After a much needed conversation with Peggy, they went to the VA to see Sam. Steve said that she didn't need to hang out with him if she had other things to do but Emma wasn't going to leave him hanging in the middle of an existential crisis. He couldn't get rid of her that easily. Sam might not have helped him figure things out but he did get Steve thinking about what he wanted in life. Hopefully it was a step towards Natasha.
After all of that, they had dinner together and then went their separate ways. Steve always made sure she got into her apartment safely before he took off which Emma thought was very sweet. Once she cleared the place, she relaxed and threw herself on the couch as she put her feet up. She pulled out her phone and saw that she had received a text from Sharon asking Emma to call her.
Sharon had been on assignment since before New York so Emma hadn't been able to see her. It comes with being an agent though. She couldn't even tell her own cousin what she was doing or where she was going. Emma missed her something fierce. She looked up to Sharon like a big sister and at times, they had fought like sisters. Though they could not see each other at the moment Sharon always made sure to keep in touch like she was doing now.
"Hey, Sharon," Emma greeted when her cousin answered the phone.
"Hey, Emmy, I just wanted to check in. I haven't heard from you in a while. I wanted to make sure you were doing alright," Sharon said.
"I spent the day with Steve today. I also made a new friend the other day," Emma said.
"Oh, is he cute?" Sharon asked.
"How do you know that he is he?" Emma asked.
"It was a guess and I was right," Sharon said.
"I did not say you were right," Emma said. "But you're right and yes, he is very cute. You'd like him. Remind me to introduce you two."
"Can't wait," Sharon said. "OH, I have to go. I'm sorry. Talk later, though?"
"Of course, stay safe," Emma said. "Love you."
Emma sighed as she got off the phone. At least she got to hear her voice today. Emma sank back onto the couch and closed her eyes, falling asleep enveloped in the darkness of her apartment. She woke up moments later to the ringing of her cell phone. Just as she was about to pick it up she noticed a shadow of a person in her kitchen.
Emma held her breath and let her phone ring as she pulled her gun from its hiding place. She made sure to keep a weapon hidden in every room of her apartment, she also kept one on her body at all times. Today she wore a knife on her ankle and so she pulled a gun from under her couch cushion. The phone stopped ringing as she entered the kitchen.
No sooner did she enter then her phone started to ring again. The light from her kitchen stove hood was still on. Oops, she kept forgetting to turn that off. A man stood by an open window of her kitchen, a silhouette against the light from the moon. He wore a mask and stood tall, menacing. He took a step towards her and she gripped her gun tightly in her hand, pointing it in his direction. He saw her appearance when the light from the stove hit her face. He gasped.
"Penelope," he said, calling her by her mother's face and suddenly he was gone.
She rushed to the window and saw him slipping down the fire escape. Her phone rang once again and she had no choice but to answer it. She had several missed calls from her grandfather. His voice sounded urgent and frightened when she called him back.
"Are you alright?" Steve asked.
"I'm fine, Pops, I'm sorry I didn't answer. There was a man in my apartment -," Emma said and was cut off by Steve.
"Did he have a mask and a metal arm?" he asked.
"Yes, he did," Emma said, growing concerned. "Pops, what's going on?"
The next words that Steve said chilled Emma to her bones.
"That was the same man who killed Fury in my apartment tonight. Stay where you are, I am going to get you," Steve said.
"We're coming to get you," Natasha's voice came over the phone. "Stay on the line."