On that Thursday morning, Riley Combs mysteriously vanished. The only thing that she took with her was her laptop. Her neighbors haven't seen her for a week. By the management's authority, the police broke down the front door, only to reveal that she had disappeared. A small stack of money was laying on the kitchen counter with a simple note, "Thanks for the room." The introverted, homeless feeding, cyber hacking Riley Combs had strangely ran away throughout the night, never to be seen again. A missing person's case was shortly opened to locate her; the police had suspected foul play and a kidnapping. However, with Erin's talents to make shadow portals and trained skills to easily disappear, they couldn't find any trail to track her. Riley had vanished off the face of the earth.
Erin didn't waste any time picking a new safe house. She had decided to secure a closed property on the south side of D.C. It used to be a doughnut shop in the back corner of a large shopping center. Because of the surrounding retail and specialty stores, it was hidden in plain sight. The windows were painted black from the inside, heavy locks and chains ensured no intruder an easy entrance. The access to the roof was also on lockdown, padlock on the hatch to use the ladder to descend. A border of the walls lined the roof, giving a ledge and providing a cover to install solar panels. She brainstormed how to better prevent anyone from coming through the obvious ways; she would add a thick level of wood over the windows and roof latch from the inside and three tiers of metal clasps on the front door. More black paint to cover the minor scrapes and holes; so no one who happens to look inside won't get suspicious about the covering wood. That was the easy part. Then she used her shadows to get a better look inside.
Barely any light littered the interior, a white service counter in the shape of an "L" was separating the bakery and the designated eating area, and a few built in tables lined the walls. The tiny kitchen was stricken of all machinery, vents to the roof were shut and padlocked, and the wall-in freezer was empty. Out of the corner of her eye, Erin saw a metal latch in the further angle. Her curiosity got the better of her, so she yanked it upward. It revealed a narrow step ladder going down. "How could I resist?" she asked herself as she eased into the opening.
Dust fell from the support beams as she stepped into the darkness. Keeping a hand on the wall to assume how far she was descending, Erin strained her eyes to examine the secret level. To her surprise, her foot tapped onto the solid ground and it echoed outward. She felt the base and, rather than expecting dirt and gravel under her touch, she found thick concrete. With a raised eyebrow, Erin determined that further exploration of this level would have to wait until she had a flashlight. She reentered the doughnut shop and placed the latch back, careful to blend it with the neighboring grime.
It was a process; she created a new alias of Kiara Burkitt and a corresponding, convincing fake ID. Opened a legitimate bank account and credit card, signed a 3-month lease at an apartment complex across town and a nearby Home Depot, and resumed her cyber hacking income. She was tempted to simply get an actual job for fear of SHIELD using their technology to find her again. Her newest location was incredibly too close for her liking, but Winter needed her by the capital. Essentially being right under SHIELD's nose was risky. She promised to help him, after she got her book back; how was she suppose to break into the most secure building in the world and steal the tome? One problem at a time, and she had to gain a steady source of money before she could even worry about SHIELD.
Days turned into months as she continued to wire money from civilians under a fake deposit ticket to assume the false company she was "employed" at. She had set a various of payments around six hundred and fifty dollars to be automatically deposited every two weeks. She pooled around twenty accounts together for each electronic check, just in case SHIELD noticed her activity, it would be hard to pinpoint her whereabouts. Erin set the automatic pay period for the next seven months, so all she had to do was budget her money out every fortnight and she would be fine.
Her new safe house kept her quite busy. Repainting her large windows with numerous shades of black, buying a surplus of nails and lumber to shave down evenly. More often than not, Erin resorted to her shadow abilities to hold up the wood and hastily using a power drill to tack it against the walls. To avoid suspicion, she left a small portal open from inside the doughnut shop to her temporary apartment in order to use the electricity she was paying for. Using the power tools during the day was too risky; the customers in the retail stores could hear her renovations. She had accustomed a nocturnal habit in order to completely lock down the ground level. Once the windows were painted and boarded, and the front door had tight metal clasps on, Erin returned to the hidden passage to the underground.
With an industrial sized flashlight with fresh batteries, she yanked open the latch and carefully stepped downward. She found the lightswitch, but it didn't help. Erin decided to leave one flashlight by the ladder and take the other with her in order to fully explore this darkened basement. Along the wall, she ran into a handful of hanging portraits of serious men in suits. Desks with rust ridden chairs formed a triangle at the far end of the room. A solid grime level laid on top of the desks. She circled the room, following the wall and maneuvering around the small office area and being led back to the ladder. She passed an old fashion workbench, free weights, and a hanging punching bag. They were all wore and used past their expiration date. Erin returned to the surface level and back to her apartment across town. She researched the doughnut shop and about store basements. After a while of surfing the internet about her safe house, she believed that she found the answer she was looking for. Apparently, in 1966, Vito Genovese, or "Don Vito", mobster, had spent two years in the basement of a local D.C. doughnut shop, interviewing for potential new recruits. He then moved to Springfield and later passed away. It's been a rumor that the police had the basement locked up, for "investigative purposes," however the location of the mob boss' lair was never mentioned, so the public assumed they had never found it. With another glance at the stone-faced portraits on the walls, Erin was convinced that she had found it.
Renovations became harder as she realized that she could funnel solar power into the lights in the underground. A lot more work was to be done. Her plan was to have her actual "house" in the basement, and keep the latch covered with food shelves in the freezer. She fed wires through the walls, from the solar panels to the basement, changed the light bulbs, cleaned the entirety of the basement, and began making it more homely. Of course, she couldn't take down the photo of Don Vito, it was his secret she was keeping after all. She kept the middle desk, for her own personal use, and added a comfy couch, rugs, a bed behind the desk, and a TV. Erin refurbished the dark basement to her own home.
By the time she had finally settled in, seven months had past. She was never good with tools or hands-on work. The outside appearance wasn't altered, the ground level was bare and only hold her food in the freezer. Her basement was just livable; she didn't want to stay in D.C. after she helped Winter break away from HYDRA.
It ended up being an entire year before their paths crossed again. She spent the majority of that time reading novels and gaining as much creative ways to break into government facilities. There's wasn't a "Dummies Way to Break Into SHIELD Headquarters," but she stocked up on criminal novels and made mental notes of the protagonists faults and mistakes. She kept her money flow constant, and allowed her face to pop up on security cameras all over the capital. Her shadow portals were incredibly useful in avoiding detection; however, she still had to get her book back before she could assist The Winter Soldier. From what she could gather from the news and online articles, she had an astonishingly vague understanding of how SHIELD operated. There was no easy way in and no easy way out. This break in would need absolute precision and concentration. She entertained the idea of getting caught again and getting the book out that way, although, if she did break out again, they would increase the precautions around her tome. Erin did not like this challenge.
Upon one of her spontaneous shopping trips, Kiara held her head up high as she walked down the moderately busy street. With short black waves swaying behind her, Kiara took her usual "shortcut" into a narrow street between two tall buildings. She followed the one way street until she turned a corner, where she would open a shadow portal back to her safe house without security cameras witnessing. Before she could lay her delicate hand on the wall, someone snuck up on her and jerked her away. Gasping in surprise was all she had time to do before a strong hand covered her mouth. She struggled for a moment before a muscular leg kept her knees in place, so she couldn't kick her attacker.
"Stop, stop!" he whispered into her ear, "It's me!"
She stopped struggling and darted her eyes in order to see any facial features of her attacker. Rather than him revealing himself, he used his free hand to slid his sleeve up; his left arm was leveled up with metal coils with thin grooves in between. Erin immediately knew who it was. She dropped her shoulders in relaxation; he eased his grip off of her and stepped away.
"I'm going to put a damn bell on you," the black haired girl turned to find Winter and pointed furiously at him. "Nearly gave me a damn heart attack."
"I was trailing you for a while; you didn't see me?"
"See my heaving chest? That's a definite 'no,'" she exhaled sharply and took deep breaths, attempting to calm her racing heart.
"You noticed me last time," he defended.
"Only because you were staring me down on the train," she retorted. "Jesus Christ," she muttered.
"I went to all of the safe houses you mentioned last time, you weren't at any of them," his tone was annoyed, with a hint of hurt, "What the hell is that about?"
"Yes I am," she gathered her dropped bags and glanced back at him, "The abandoned store on Rampart and Concord-"
"Signs of your involvement were present, however you weren't there."
"You didn't break in, did you?" The Winter Soldier raised his eyebrows; giving her a silent confirmation. "You know how long it took to get that place as good as it was?" He tilted his head a little, showing little concern for her hard work on the doughnut shop. "Dammit," Erin sighed and gathered her plastic bags. She turned back to the wall and pressed her hand against it. Manipulating the surrounding shadows, she opened a portal into her basement. "C'mon, you'll be fine," she offered a hand to him. Of course, Winter was hesitant to accept her hand, but he eventually took it. She led him easily through the portal and emerged into the basement under the doughnut shop. A tiny lamp was left on so Erin could walk around without bumping into her furniture. Once Winter was fully through the portal, it closed behind him. Erin released his hand and flipped on the power switch, causing the twisty bulbs to flicker on. "Home sweet home," she kicked her shoes off and tossed her plastic bags on her desk. In the corner of the ceiling, where the latch was in the freezer, Erin saw that it was broken in. She silently pouted at the apparent waste of time and effort to secure her shop.
Winter seemed underwhelmed by the basement. He studied all corners and finally allowed his eyes to rest on Erin. "Did you get the book?"
She signed sharply and shook her head, "I have no idea how to get it," she watched as The Winter Soldier narrowed his eyes in a dark demeanor, "What did you expect? It's in the most secure building in the world; planning such an upscale robbery takes time."
He picked up a paperback novel and held it up to her, "You call Helter Skelter planning a robbery?" To further illustrate his frustration, he slammed the paperback on the concrete.
Erin flinched when it echoed. Biting her lip, and going against her better judgment to remain silent, she replied, "You're right; I should just go in there, guns blazing, and get it back. Killing everyone in my way-"
"I don't understand why you need this damn book!" he snapped.
"There's something in there that can help you!" she shouted back.
"You're suppose to help me!" he stepped to her, threatening.
"I'm trying!" Erin used every fiber in her being to stay calm in front of him; she wasn't going to show how absolutely terrified he made her. They took a moment to breath together, to relax and center themselves. Erin kept her eyes fixed on his, presenting a strong front against him, but preparing for the worse in the back of her head. At that moment, she feared that he would actually hurt her. There was never a definite guarantee that he wouldn't.
He eased a step away from her, keeping his hands down and his face blank. She couldn't read what he was thinking.
"I really am," she continued, weakly, "I've had that book for years, read it front to back. There's a technique mentioned about memories. If I get it back, I can try it on you." Her explanation didn't seem to appease him. "I've been procrastinating; stalling. Neglecting to realize how much I need to get it." Her gaze fell onto the ground, "I'm sorry." The Winter Soldier still didn't answer The Shadow Stranger. He remained motionless as Erin fidgeted for a moment. She collected her nerves and forced herself to look up at him.
"Tomorrow," he finally said.
"What?"
"You'll have your chance to get it tomorrow. Be ready; once I'm done, I'll meet you back here at 4 in the afternoon."
"Wait, I don't understand. What's happening tomorrow?"
"Think of it as a distraction."
Erin searched his statue-like face for any signs or hints as to what he was inferring to. Only his lips moved when he spoke. "What do you plan to do?"
"My mission."
She knew what that meant; he was going to assassinate someone. The unlucky soul had to be someone fairly important, either in SHIELD, or a great asset to them. Hopefully with The Winter Soldier's "distraction," she could retrieve her book. It wasn't sitting well with her; knowing that Winter was going to kill someone. Erin had to get her book back, one way or another. Maybe, this would be the last person who had to die. After she helps Winter to escape HYDRA, she would bring the book back to the previous owner; the burden it causes can rest on his shoulders. Regardless, she had to get it back first.
"How when I know to get it?"
"Sometime in the afternoon."
"Okay then," she muttered to herself. "I'll just improvise getting in and out."
"How can I be sure you'll be back?"
"Well, despite my best attempts to hide, you always seem to find me. So, if I try to run, I'm sure you'll eventually catch up to me." Again, he was clearing not pleased with her honesty. "And, I want to get you away from HYDRA."
"Why do you want to?"
"You know about Mountain Pass; you read about what happened. Seven hundred and eighty eight people were brutally murdered. If I can save just one person, it'll be someone who really needs it."