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"Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides."
Andre Malraux
Chapter Two
Since leaving the hospital, the three of them had changed clothes, Clara having some of hers in the car, along with various SHIELD technology and some cash in case of emergency. Her clothes were practical, filled with pockets and other places to hide weapons and gadgets.
The three of them were now making their way through a mall, to an Apple Store, in hopes of finding out the content of the USB. Steve was not as adept as either her or Natasha, at blending in. His body was too stiff, too on edge. Paranoia was seeping from his pores. He hadn't learnt to internalize his emotions quite like they had, though, he was well on his way.
Clara was scanning every person that walked past them, every shop-goer, every employee. All while keeping a calm face, collected body language, steady heartbeat and breathing. It was what she had been trained to do.
"The drive has a level six homing program" said Natasha standing in front of the computer, Clara was leaning against the bench next to her, watching out for the appearance of any SHIELD agents, "So, as soon as we boot up, SHIELD will now exactly where we are"
"How much time will we have?" Asked Steve
"About, nine minutes from..." She said, plugging the USB into the computer, "Now"
"Fury was right about the ship, somebody's tryna hide something" said Natasha, "This drive is protected by some kind of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands"
"Can you override it?" Asked Steve
"The person who created this is slightly smarter then me" said Natasha, "Slightly"
"I'm gonna try a tracer" said Natasha, "This is a software SHIELD designed to track hostile malware, so, if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from"
"Can I help you guys with anything?" Asked one of the assistants
"Oh no" said Natasha, putting on the sweetest voice she could muster, "My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations"
"Right" said Steve, not in quite the convincing tone as Natasha, "We're getting married"
Clara began to smirk, keeping her eyes on the entrance but her ears listening to the conversation next to her. She knew how terrible of a liar Steve was, she just hoped he could pull this off.
"Congratulations" said the assistant, "Where you guys thinking about going?"
"Uh" said Steve, looking down at the computer, "New Jersey"
Clara stifled her laugh, keeping her facial expression controlled as to not give them away. But what he said was just absurd. Not that she really expected Steve to have a wealth of knowledge in regards to the popular honeymoon destinations of modern times. Or past times for that matter.
The assistant stared at Steve intently, furrowing his brow, trying to figure something out. Steve's eyes widening as he thought that they'd been found out. Glasses, after all, we're not the best disguise. Clark Kenting rarely worked in real life.
"I have the exact same glasses" said the assistant,
"Wow, you two are practically twins" dead panned Natasha, as she continued to click away
"Yeah, I wish, specimen" said the assistant, gesturing to Steve's body, causing Steve to shrink inward, shying away, "If you guys need anything, I've been errand"
Clara would have found the situation funny, had it not been for Steve's body language, and her knowledge of him. She knew that Steve hadnt been comfortable with his self pre-serum, and that even after he became Captain America, underneath it all, he was still scrawny Steve Rogers. Being the pinnacle of human perfection did nothing to stop Steve's self deprecating nature.
"Thank you" mumbled Steve, as the assistant walked away
"Steve ignored her comment, instead looking down at his watch, "You said nine minutes, come on"
"Relax" urged Natasha, sounding as if she was a yoga instructor, "Got it"
Clara pushed her elbows off of the table, straightening up as she looked at the screen. Steve's eyes widened, as realization crossed his face. She frowned, not knowing what he'd just figured out.
"You know it?" Natasha asked Steve, her eyes scanning his face
"I used to" said Steve, "Come on, let's go"
Natasha pulled the drive out of the computer, and the three of them strode out of the store. So far, Clara hadn't seen any SHIELD agents, but knew it was only a matter of time before they made an appearance.
"They'll be here by now" she said, "We need to get out of here without causing a scene"
"And how do we do that exactly?" Asked Steve,
"You two go ahead and get out" said Clara, "Find a car, I'll meet you out front"
"And what are you gonna do?" Asked Steve, his expression softening with concern
"Create a distraction" she shrugged, grinning at Steve before heading off in the opposite direction of the exit
Clara had found herself at a cafe, next to the fire exit, taking a seat, she opened up the magazine from the stack in front of her face. But she didn't read a single word. Instead, her eyes flew around the room, constantly searching for SHIELD agents. When she spotted them, she flicked out her fingers, causing the glass of the shop window beside them to shatter. The civilians around them screamed, all looking around to find what had caused it. She used this chaos to move through the crowd towards the fire exit. Just before she reached the door, she flicked her fingers down, bringing the handle of the fire alarm down with them, the alarm going off, causing even more chaos to outbreak.
By the time Clara made it to the front of the mall, Steve and Natasha were waiting in a car for her. She didn't question how they had attained it, just climbed in the back seat, and told Steve to step on the gas.
Clara was on edge for much of the trip, constantly thinking over the ways that SHIELD could be tracking them. Even after hours from the incident in the mall, she couldn't shake off her fears.
"I'm going to take a little nap" she announced, lying her back on the door, her legs outstretched on the seats next to her, "Might as well try"
Steve nodded, and Clara closed her eyes, trying to push away her concerns, and allow sleep to take over. But her attempt was futile, when Natasha spoke up, peaking Clara's interest.
"Where did Captain America learn to steal a car?" Asked Natasha
"Nazi Germany" he replied, "And we're borrowing, take your feet off the dash"
"Okay, I have a question to ask you" said Natasha, "Which you do not have to answer, but, I feel like if you don't answer it, you're kinda answering it"
"What?" Asked Steve
"Was that your fist kiss since 1945?" Asked Natasha
Clara ears spiked up, and she began listening more intently to their conversation. When did they kiss?, she asked herself, wondering what events had transpired that lead to them locking lips. Ignoring the feelings bubbling away inside her. After all, she could barely call Steve a friend at the moment, progression to anything else was unlikely.
"That bad, huh?" Asked Steve, and Clara could practically hear his insecurity dripping from his voice
"I didn't say that" defended Natasha, but the attempt wasn't very convincing
"Well, it kinda sounds like that's what you're saying"
"No, I didn't, I just, wondered, how much practice you'd had" said Natasha
"You don't need practice" said Steve
"Everybody needs practice" said Natasha
"It was not my first kiss since 1945" he exclaimed, "I'm 95, not dead"
Who had Steve been kissing?, she wondered. Steve was a honest person, brutally and inherently so, but she couldn't help but think he might have been telling a fib. Or, at least, that's what she told herself.
"So, nobody special, though?" Asked Natasha
"Huh, believe it or not, it's kinda hard to find someone with shared life experiences" he scoffed
"Well, that's alright, you just make something up" she countered
"What, like you?" Steve asked
"I dunno, the truth is a matter of circumstance" Natasha explained, "It's not all things, to all people, all the time. And neither am I"
"That's a tough way to live" said Steve
"It's a good way not to die though"
Clara strained to keep her face expressionless, as to not give away her state of consciousness. She understood how Natasha felt, probably better then most. Few people knew everything about her, she knew what it was like, to put on a facade, play a certain part around certain people. Trust was hard to come by. Hard to give, and just as hard to receive. Especially when you were in the business of lies, as they both were.
"You know" said Steve, "It's kinda hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is"
"Yeah. Who do you want me to be?"
"How 'bout a friend?" Steve suggested
"Huh" said Natasha, "Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business Rogers"
A moment of silence passed before Natasha spoke again, "What happened between you two?" she asked him, "One minute, you're practically about to start dating, the next you barely even speak to her"
Clara's body stiffened, she could feel her body aching for sleep, but she fought off exhaustion. She needed to hear where this conversation was going.
"She wasn't being truthful" explained Steve, not at all denying what Natasha was implying about their relationship status
"About what?"
"Her past, SHIELD, lots of things" said Steve, "She's, just a lot different then when I knew her"
"Well, yeah, of course she is" said Natasha, and Clara had to stop the smile coming to her face as she heard her friend defending her, "Seventy years have passed for her, you didn't expect she would have changed in all that time"
"Not as much as she did"
With the dejection she was now feeling, sleep was all that she wanted. She knew that Steve has issues with her, and she wanted nothing more than to fix things between them. But to hear it, first hand, was different then knowing, far more difficult to face. Or in this case, hear.
Short chapter, but the next ones long. Hope you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear from you.