Mallory woke to darkness with a pain in her neck. A little dazed, Mallory raised herself to a standing position and looked in the mirror before realizing that this was not her bathroom in her apartment, she was freezing and Rumlow was a lying bastard. Waves of emotion crashed over her and she felt as if she was drowning under the force of knowledge; ignorance really was bliss.
She gripped the sink and bent over, breathing in through her nose deeply and out through her mouth. The events of the previous day flooded in. She tried desperately to banish it but Rumlow seemed to be everywhere. A tattoo, on her skin and on her heart.
But where was the Soldier? He seemed at the moment the only one of the three men in her life who was dependable which was saying something as he was an amnesiac assassin; her father had clearly known something about Rumlow's betrayal and of course, Rumlow wasn't trustworthy. The Soldier had stayed with her through the night even if his sympathies were silent as ever, she appreciated it. And now he was gone. She padded from the bathroom into the bedroom, where a scrawled note was atop his untouched bed:
Pierce needed me
Simple and straight to the point. His handwriting was half scrawled, and half neat as if he couldn't quite decide how to write it. Yet he had left her a note. How civil. The thought made her smile. She sat on the Soldier's bed and covered her forearms with her hands, feeling the chill of the morning. Although metal shutters covered the windows, Mallory felt like she could taste the fresh air of the morning and she knew it was somewhere between 4 am and five. The Soldier had sat with her, as she lay on the bathroom floor and vomited and cried like a little baby in her underwear and he never said a word. He seemed at present an anchor, keeping her still and steady.
Sighing, Mallory wiped her eyes and slid under his covers. There seemed something too imitate, too private about sleeping in his bed but that didn't stop her. She burrowed her face into his pillow, leaving mascara stains and tear tracks and the remnants of her runny nose and she inhaled so hard she almost breathed in the fabric. His smell filtered too her amongst the saltwater, and she couldn't quite describe the scent he had left behind. As she tried to decipher it, her eyelids grew heavy and she fell asleep for the second time that day with his scent circling in her head.
Dreams. Cold eyes staring at her softly, a weight against her waist and the taste of metal in her mouth.
The alarm clock had been set unknowingly, and it startled her awake at nine am with a constant bleeping that only stopped when she grabbed the clock and threw it against the wall. Mallory sat up and found herself wishing for sleep, her vision blurred as her eyelids seemed to glue themselves together with gummed up tears. But her head was clearer then ever and somehow, she had a plan detailed in her mind. She had to know if her father had known. Despite the Soldier's warning, she needed to know. If she had her mobile, she would've called Natasha for advice. But they had taken it off her, limiting her freedom to stilted conversations with the Soldier and the guards and a few of her favourite books. She slid out of bed, the moment of weakness where she had craved the Soldier's scent between herself and the bed.
Her suitcase was still in the living room. Unzipping the case, she searched through her bag for some appropriate outfit to wear to a lunch with her father. Somewhere casual she reckoned, but tucked away. That wouldn't arouse suspicions with HYDRA or S.H.I.E.L.D but private enough to warrant a conversation that would be unheard by both factions. She decided on blue jeans, a green t-shirt and left them on the bed as she showered, washed her hair and got rid of any evidence of the night before.
An hour later, she emerged from her shared bathroom smelling of strawberry shampoo and body spray, feeling better with her face made up and concealer caked under her eyes to hide the dark circles. She dressed and waited in the living room, pacing the creaking floorboards to work up the courage to call her father even though the guard from yesterday had assured her he would know. Did it matter? She mused to herself. She'd have to get clearance from them either way if she was leaving; they might not even let her go.
"This is ridiculous." She muttered to herself, walking over the phone and dialling her parents landline off by heart. It rang twice, her heart thudding in case the guard burst the door open and asked what the hell she was doing.
"Hello?" Her father's gruff voice answered, thankfully. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to stop herself from bursting into tears if her mother answered.
"Dad? It's Mallory." She waited tensely for his reaction.
"Mallory, sweetheart how are you phoning me? I thought you were in a safehouse-"
"They hooked me up to the landline." She had to control herself from blurting it out over the phone. "Can we meet? Somewhere for brunch?"
"Sweetie, I don't think-"
"I need to talk to you. About something. It's important." Her tone must've been urgent, as her father paused.
"Oh okay. Yes of course. Um whereabouts?"
Mallory had already located the perfect place in her mind; a pretty little French themed coffee shop next to park in the heart of D.C. It was private but not too private. Rumlow had taken her a few weeks ago which was ironic considering he would become the topic of conversation. She relayed the address to her dad. "You know where that is?"
"No but I have the satnav. I'll meet you there in half an hour." Her father was about to hang up but Mallory cleared her throat and addressed the agents.
"And to the agents listening, I'll expect you can escort me there and watch over me? That's if Pierce doesn't mind."
She seemed to wait an age before the voice of the agent who had been listening spoke.
"He said it's fine." It said, almost bored and sounding hurried. Then he hung up for them and Mallory stood in the cold apartment listening to the dialling tone.
Mallory was there first, entering the small store front that overlooked the park across the road, with two bulky agents in their versions of civilian clothing behind her. The coffee shop had waitresses but Mallory ordered at the register, watching as the two agents made themselves comfortable in a booth that overlooked the shop. But Mallory wasn't planning on sitting inside the shop – they had lovely outdoor seating on those beautiful but uncomfortable white chairs and tables outside. She ordered a black coffee for her father, and a hot chocolate for herself, her stomach having been empty for almost two days but she felt no need of hunger. As she carried the two white cups outside, the agents paled and realized they'd been fooled. But they couldn't move as the shop was jammed with people and it would look suspicious, and the only spaces were the tables outside. Mallory offered them an apologetic smile, pretending that it had been a misunderstanding that she was going to sit inside the shop and telling them they could still see her from inside.
She took her seat and put the coffee across from her, purposely seating herself with her back to the agents. Despite her sombre mood she couldn't help but smile as she had lost her tail, allowing her a certain amount of privacy to interrogate her father. She took a sip of the hot chocolate but it was too hot, burning her tongue and mouth so she settled it back onto her saucer and watched the sidewalk, eyes peeled for her father's car pulling in. She counted the minutes. One, two, three..
Her father's silver Jag pulled onto the sidewalk. He got out, locked the car and went to the parking meter. Once he had applied the ticket to the windshield, he raised his fist in a wave to her looking nervous. She waved back but steadied her gaze, her chair scraping back as she stood to greet him as he approached her. Must look normal. She wrapped her arms around her father. But her inner Soldier desperately wanted to punch his face in because it had been more than likely that he had known. They took their seats.
"I didn't think he'd let out of the apartment. Do you have security?"
Mallory turned and promptly fixed her gaze obviously onto the two agents in the booth inside. "They're a bit dull but hey, they do their job."
Her father laughed, taking a sip of coffee and running a hand through his black hair. "It's a lovely place." He looked around, at the maroon painted storefront with the stereotypical curly French script and the waitresses that navigated the tables holding plates of croissants, pain au chocolate and all sorts of pastries.
"Rumlow brought me here." She had tried to keep her tone light and airy, but there was a certain steel creeping in. "You remember Rumlow, right?"
Her father's smile became a tad fixed as he sipped his coffee.
"Of course. He's a good man..." He said vaguely, and Mallory bit back the urge to throw her hot chocolate in his face.
"A good man maybe." Her heart was thudding in her chest against her ribcage with excitement and nerves, as her opening had come. She placed her hands casually on the table and tried to keep calm. "But not a great boyfriend. Tell me, what type of man would put a bug in his girlfriends plant?"
Her father froze promptly, swallowing the coffee in his mouth and looking downright terrified. He shifted in his seat and ran a hand through his hair.
"Mallory-"
"You knew didn't you?" His silence was enough. "Of course you knew. Did you know the entire time or did Pierce spring it on you?"
His voice was low but he was panicking. "It was Pierce's idea. But I chose Rumlow-"
She laughed hollowly, feeling herself getting more and more overwhelmed as he began to drip feed her information. "I bet you did. Tell me everything."
"Sweetheart, please, I can't."
Mallory shook her head, leaning back in the chair. "I have a right to know. Please just tell me Dad. I want to know."
Her father bit his lip and looked away from her. He looked upset; the guilt overtaking him or the fact that she had found out? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure who he was anymore. That man that had lied to her about Rumlow and god knows what else certainly wasn't the man who had raised her.
"Answer my question first."
Mallory couldn't believe him. "What?" Her voice crackled horribly.
Her father reached forward and took her hands in his comfortingly, but she tore them away. He looked hurt but he didn't raise a question."How did you find out? Did Rumlow tell you or...?"
Her lower lip wobbled. "Nobody told me. It was by accident. I smashed the plant pot by mistake and found the broken bug. He didn't betray you."
Her father was shaking. She was shaking. She needed comfort, a hug or a touch but from the right person. If her father had have tried to hug her properly to apologize for his mistakes Mallory was afraid she'd do something uncharacteristically violent. All she wanted, oddly, was the Soldier. His cool eyes would steady her nerves and he wouldn't even need to touch her. Despite her current confusion at their relationship – she was still so angry at him for Kohl but most of that anger was directed at Pierce – she did like him and she was ninety percent sure he did care for her in his own silent way. She just needed to talk to him, get his judgment of the situation.
"You want to know everything?"
Mallory nodded.
"If Pierce finds out I've told you-"
"He won't." She spoke calmer now, the mention of Pierce cooling her rage at her father and switching it to hatred of Pierce. "I won't tell him and neither will you and those guards can't hear us."
Her father nodded, nodding to himself. "Okay, okay. Just don't react and don't say anything until I'm finished."
He took a sip of coffee to steady his nerves then took a breath before speaking.
"Look it wasn't my idea. It was Pierce's. I was the one who suggested he hire you and when you started asking questions – about why Pierce had hired the Soldier to Reznak – well Pierce didn't like that. He asked me if your loyalty was unquestionable and when I replied it needed to be earned, he thought of a solution. He knew you were single through me and thought if maybe he created the perfect man who believed in HYDRA with no doubts, then maybe you would as well."
"At first, he wanted to make the Soldier love you. He thought maybe your caring nature and the amount of time you'd spend with him and how you're a lot younger then his last doctor might appeal to him and allow Pierce some leverage over him if he suddenly started remembering his past life. But the guy is totally unlovable, a monster, incapable of feelings except rage that it didn't work. And we couldn't force the feelings from you- they had to be genuine. We were watching you the first time you two met, and we saw how he took practically no notice of you apart from a professional interest."
"So we brainstormed. I told them all about Liam and how much you loved him. And then Rumlow-" Mallory's fists tightened at his name. "-came into our office with news about some trivial thing and I just saw Pierce's eyes light up. And he asks Rumlow if he's single and when he says he is, Pierce outlines the plan and Rumlow agrees to it. We put him in position driving you to and from work, and I just knew you'd like him. He's a good guy."
Mallory couldn't help herself, her tone laced with sarcasm and venom. "Oh he's swell. Really great guy."
"Sweetie-"
Mallory held up a hand to silence him. "Don't even bother."
"So we got you both together. Some of the Rumlow you saw was a little faked – the plastic lily, the idea for the carnival but everything else was genuine I swear. And then once I knew you really did like him, I let Rumlow take over and you two progressed so naturally. There was sometimes I believed that Rumlow did genuinely love you – he spoke of you highly enough and God, the man was weighed down with his guilt at how you two had met. He does wish it was in different circumstances." Her father's gaze hardened on her. "He told me that night at dinner when we were in the kitchen. He loves you."
She was unforgiving. "He doesn't. He can't."
Her father was using a let's-be-reasonable tone she recognized so horribly from her childhood. "Sweetie you can't spend six months with someone and not grow to be fond of them. He used to report to Pierce and tell him of all your encounters together in the early days, but after a while he started keeping your encounters private, telling us only what we needed to know. He used to always smile when you texted him, and when we saw you at that dinner I saw how worried he was when you had that panic attack. At dinner, he begged me not to say anything when the mission was officially over, that he was going to tell you in his own time."
All she could hear was more reasons to hate him."When was the mission supposed to end?"
"In a few weeks. Pierce believed that after your month absence, you had taken HYDRA into your heart. The mission would end and Pierce would issue orders for Rumlow to break up with you or act so terrible you would break up with him. But he told me he was going to keep things going and tell you the truth, and see how you'd react then go from there." Her father took her hands again and this time she didn't snatch them away, needing comfort even if it was from the wrong person. "HYDRA was everything to Brock before he met you."
Mallory had started crying softly during his speech, her vision blurring. She'd had the sense to put on waterproof mascara before she left the house. "I thought he loved me."
"He does."
Mallory wanted to believe that but she couldn't; a small nagging doubt in her mind that Rumlow didn't even like her was winning. "Please don't tell him anything. I need to see him, and talk to him. When he gets back from the hunt."
Her father dropped her hands. "Hunt? What do you know about that?"
Mallory wiped her eyes with her now free hands and eyed her father, realizing she'd slipped up. "Nothing-"
"Sweetie... do you know what's been going on?" Her father had stopped trying to convince her of Rumlow's love and now sounded worried.
"No." Since she was being honest, she decided to add. "I know that Rumlow's looking for Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. I don't know why though, and neither did Nat when I called her."
"You've been in contact with them? Since when did you know Natasha Romanoff? What did you speak about? Did she tell you were they were?" Her father was shocked, shaking again but with nerves. Why was he nervous?
Mallory found herself laughing, still wiping her eyes. "God, Dad chill with the questions. I met her a few days ago by chance. We hit it off, and I called her yesterday and she just said that I should get out of S.H.I.E.L.D."
It did nothing to soothe his nerves. "So she doesn't know? You didn't say anything did you? About the Soldier or HYDRA?"
"No... I signed an injunction, remember? I can't say a damn thing even if I wanted too."
Her father lent back in his chair, sighing. It was clear that Mallory had information that if she wished to reveal to Natasha, it would ruin him. But what? He couldn't actually believe she'd tell Natasha about HYDRA and the Winter Soldier project? And even if she did what would be the big deal about it? HYDRA was just a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Winter Soldier project, if she excluded the business with Kohl and Oswick, was doing good so she was told.
"I think you should get back." Her father amended, his tone leaving no room for her to argue. "Those guards are getting restless."
They both stood and her father took her hands again.
"I'm sorry Mallory. I should've told you."
Mallory shrugged, drained emotionally. "Yeah you should. But you are my dad, and I can't hate you forever. This doesn't mean I forgive you right now, or I've forgotten."
He laughed once, and pulled her into a hug; despite every nerve crying out for her to slam him into the table like the Soldier had taught her, she found herself dumbly hugging him back. He took the close proximity to almost hiss in her ear.
"Don't contact Natasha again; let Rumlow do his job. They won't be killed, just taken into custody I swear. And give Rumlow a chance, eh?" Her father laughed once then took a breath before saying. "Hail HYDRA, sweetie."
Mallory froze, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, her voice stuck into her throat. She wasn't sure if it was a question, or a statement, or a command. All she knew was that the admission that had came from her father's mouth terrified her, and she knew she had to respond somehow.
It seemed like an age, but only a moment's hesitation had passed before she shakily said. "Hail HYDRA."
She stepped back and grinned at her father, feeling as if she had sold herself out.
As Mallory stepped back into the apartment, something was different. Two of Rumlow's STRIKE agents stood at the door and for a moment Mallory almost thought Rumlow was standing in the back ready to tackle her over her conversation with her father. Then she relaxed as she noticed the Soldier sitting calmly on the sofa.
Then she tensed again as Pierce was sitting on the opposite side of the sofa to him.
"Ah Mallory you're here. We've been waiting for you." He patted the space that was left between him and the Soldier. "How is your father?"
Mallory swallowed, trying not to feel nervous as she took her seat and kicked her shoes off attempting to be casual. "He's very well, thank you sir."
She glanced over at the Soldier, eyes wild with alarm but he merely turned his head to glance at her, and shrug ever so slightly. Mallory turned her head back to Pierce and smiled as friendly as she could manage in these troubling times.
"Has the threat you spoke of been dissolved yet?"
Pierce's smile became a little fixed. "Not yet, but we're close. Your boyfriend-" Mallory's body tightened at the mention of Rumlow's relationship with her and she felt the Soldier shifting behind her. The thought of him comforted her, and her smile became more relaxed and genuine and to Pierce she hoped she looked every inch of the lovesick women she was supposed to be.
"- is very good at his job but this one will take him some time. But I didn't come here for that." His shark-like eyes narrowed on her and he smiled in a grandfatherly way. "I came to ask if you'd be prepared to go out in the field again."
Mallory's heart stopped. She had believed she was done for the day with emotions but instead the deep depression that had been plaguing her for days, fear struck her heart and sent it galloping like a wild horse. Her throat tightened as she tried to swallow down the lump that had so horribly formed, and somewhere she believed she was back in the prison again, the cool drought blowing across her skin and the sound of Ariadne's birthing screams masking the silence. No no please don't make me go back there please no.
As if sensing her panic, the Soldier moved. Her coping mechanism, she thought as she felt a hand press against her back as her body began to shake a little. Shockwaves sent through her skin and she could feel a dog's leg clamping onto her calf, although she noted he was using his human hand not his cybernetic one. He squeezed her flesh gently, not hard enough to leave a mark but hard enough to sting. She knew what he was doing; giving her pain to remind her she was here, not in the past. He had given her her most quiet need; not to come undone in front of Pierce or show weakness and as much as she could dislike him she was intensely grateful. The pressure of his hand left her and she felt herself relax a little.
The entire thing lasted merely seconds, but not for the first time today it had felt like an age. Pierce had no registered either of the movements but he had sensed her panic as he became a little alarmed. "Now I know last time was hard for you. But this time, I swear, there will be teams to protect you. There is no way you will be harmed."
"But what about the no-fieldwork clause in my contract?" Her voice was trembling, and just above a whisper. Pierce smiled.
"I never got around to writing it in the first place, Miss Smith. I swear once you've done this little thing for me, I won't ask you to go in the field again."
Mallory's head was swirling. Despite being grounded back to the present by the Soldier, she still could feel a million questions. What was she doing? Why couldn't he send someone else, why her? Why did Pierce need her with the Soldier out in the field?
"What... what do you need me to do sir?"
"Rumlow has called in the asset." He nodded his head towards the Soldier, who looked away. "And our targets have kidnapped Sitwell, so we need a response team out there ASAP."
Mallory shook her head. "But why do you need me? I'm just a doctor."
"There's going to be causalities." It was a vague explanation.
There was something in his tone that suggested she didn't have a choice. So she tried to keep calm, fearing that if she opened her mouth to say yes she would fall short of words and hit him, or cry again. She nodded once, and Pierce looked delighted and Mallory suddenly felt as if she was becoming the HYDRA agent they'd always wanted her to be.
They dressed her in black combats, the same boots she'd worn in the Russian prison and a simple black camisole with a black jacket not unlike the one the Soldier was wearing. They weaved in and out of cars on the highway, Mallory feeling uncomfortable in her seat in the back surrounded by large men with big rifles. A black bag filled with useful and expensive items was beside her, filled with everything to prolong treatment from everything to a heart attack to a simple laceration yet on her thigh was strapped a small handgun. The Soldier had done it, quietly assuring her that the recoil was steady enough for her and despite it's size, the firepower was marvellous. She still protested, with him ignoring her and insisting it was for her own protection as he wouldn't be able to keep her safe when they were out there. She still wasn't sure even if in a life or death situation she'd be able to shoot someone.
The Soldier rode beside her, strapped to the teeth with guns of all shapes and sizes and makes, and knives hidden in every space he could fit them. He rode in silence as always, his mask and glasses obscuring his face and any chance of identification with the men. He looked terrifying when he was suited, a truly faceless assassin. It was easier to convince herself that he was human when he was wearing his sweatpants or looking pale or when he'd been asleep in the prison. However, when he wore that armour which displayed his cybernetic arm and hid his sometimes calm, sometimes menacing stare he seemed every bit of the robot he could be.
The men had made eyes at her, a little confused to why a small and soft looking woman was coming along for the ride to capture Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers. They didn't say anything to her – she knew they could speak English as Pierce had exchanged words with them – but she saw them watching her and she heard a few words in Russian which just felt like they were talking about her. The Soldier's fist clenched and unclenched as they spoke amongst themselves and when the biggest dirtiest looking man looked at her and said something, the Soldier stood and walked over to him. There was a moment silence, where Mallory jumped up. The Soldier turned his head to her, gaze unreadable under the glasses and Mallory pleaded with him.
"Don't."
He ignored her. The man was lifted with his cybernetic arm, and he smashed him against the wall of the van, denting it with the weight of his body.
"Вы называете ее шлюха когда-либо снова, и я буду копировать ваши чертовы зубы из вашего черепа. Понять?" The Soldier hissed, and the man whimpered something back as his arm strangled him out. Eventually, the Soldier let go and returned back to his seat, acting as if he couldn't hear the man coughing and spluttering on the floor. Mallory sighed and toyed with the catch that prevented the handgun from falling out of her thigh holster, flicking it up and down to pass the time. She glanced at the Soldier, who acted as if none of what had just happened had come to pass and stared ahead determinedly.
"I see the car." The driver at the front yelled, his words practically hidden by his heavy Russian accent. The Soldier nodded, then stood and opened the door.
Wind entered as the car whistled past from the highway, and the air stung her eyes. She held her arm up as if she was being attacked by an invisible being and found herself yelling over the wind.
"Are you crazy?" She yelled at him, as he seemed to ready himself to throw himself onto the highway out of a moving vehicle. "You'll die!"
The Soldier turned to look at her, than proved her wrong by jumping onto the roof. Mallory stood for a moment, hands tightening around a metal bar to keep her balance upright in the wind, stunned, then she leapt forwards to slam the door shut.
She staggered down the causeway between the men, and peered out of the windshield where she watched the Soldier's footsteps cross across the front of the car and leap onto the car in front.
"What is he doing?!" She didn't realized she'd said it allowed when the driver, a short stocky man with burns all across his knuckles, laughed.
"He's a crazy motherfucker." The man seemed to find it hilarious, taking one hand of the wheel to get rid of the building ash on his cigarette.
Mallory climbed into the passenger seat beside him to watch as the Soldier used the rushing cars on the highway as lily pads, leaping from car to car like a frog. Then, he steadied himself on a silver car, full of what Mallory could make out to be a family who were screaming at the sight of the Soldier on top of their bonnet and jumped on top of another car. She squinted again and made out the colour and make – a blue Chevrolet. Mallory assumed he'd jump to another car but instead he smashed his cybernetic fist through the window and pulled a man wearing a suit out, who had a short moment to scream for mercy before the Soldier tossed him into traffic.
Mallory's mouth had fallen open. The callous way he'd just disposed of the man as if he was nothing reminded her completely of the way he'd shot Kohl. She and the driver exchanged shocked looks – apparently he had never seen this coming either and had to quickly put his fallen cigarette in his mouth in case it burnt his pants – and watched with a muted horror as the Soldier pulled out a gun and began firing on the Chevrolet to kill the passengers within. She squinted. She could make out three figures in the car, a driver, a passenger, and someone in the back seat. She had assumed the people in the car were Romanoff and Rogers but if so, who was the third man? And the man whom the Soldier had just killed? Mallory remembered Pierce mentioning that they had kidnapped someone called Sitwell. If so, was that the man who had been tossed out of the car? Or was that the man who was still in the car?
The questions were piling up and she had no answers for them. Mallory shook her head and focused on the action in front of her. The Soldier was still shooting but the people in the blue car had the sense to jam the brakes to get him off their roof and maybe even kill him. With any normal human it would've worked but as this was the Soldier, he merely adjusted his stance and flipped in the air, landing on his feet and using his cybernetic arm to absorb the shock and slow him down. Despite their distance, the screech of the metal against tarmac was deafening, and Mallory winced as the sound reverberated through their vehicle.
The driver jolted as if he'd been asleep. "BRACE YOURSELVES!" He yelled to the men in the back, then repeated the command in Russian in case anybody hadn't learnt English. He turned his head to her.
"You better put your seat belt on." He threw the cigarette he'd been smoking out of the window and placed both hands on the wheel.
Mallory was still shocked but found the strength to glare at him. "What?"
He didn't answer, merely revving the engine and speeding up considerably. If he didn't slow down they were going to ram the back of the blue car. That's the point. The realization dawned on her and she took his advice, hurriedly attaching her seat belt and bracing herself for the impact as their vehicle zoomed its way across the highway.
The impact came and the vehicle jolted forwards horribly and Mallory had a horrible moment where she believed the van was going to flip. Instead, the blue car in front anchored the van in place and before she knew it the driver was using the vehicle to take control of the car and drive the now slightly crumpled blue car as well.
Now that she was closer she could see the passengers vaguely; the driver was a young black man who seemed to be panicking as his head was flipping side to side, and the two people in the passenger seat were Romanoff and Rogers, identified by their hair. It seemed the redhead was perched in his lap for protection. Mallory gripped the dashboard and pushed herself back into the seat, as the Russian driver picked up speed. She wanted to tell him to stop, that they'd perhaps hurt the people when they were only supposed to take them into custody when she saw the Soldier standing in the road almost calmly. He was standing tall, in full view of the two cars and if the driver didn't stop they were going to hit him.
"You have to stop." Mallory pleaded, as the figure of the Soldier grew larger and larger through the window.
"No can do." He revved the engine harder, and half of his mouth curled into an unpleasant grin.
"You're going to hit him!"
The moment had arrived. He didn't stop. Mallory was about to unclasp her belt and take the wheel from him when she watched the Soldier jump with perfect timing. Relief coursed through her veins, and she returned her hands to her lap. Then he lay on the roof of the blue car in front, and their driver attempted to do something about it by braking. It didn't work – her driver merely revved harder and made the blue car go even faster.
The Soldier clambered across the front and punched the windshield in, and before she knew it he was tossing a large circular thing across the highway. The steering wheel? Mallory then heard gunshots coming from the blue car; she peered into the window and witnessed Natasha firing towards the roof. The Soldier heard them too, as he leapt from the blue car to Mallory's van to get out of the way.
She lent forwards and knocked on the windshield, mouthing are you alright? – he nodded to say he was then gripped the roof of the van. The vehicle containing their targets managed to gain some speed but the van driver, a talented man who was aching for a cigarette quickly managed to ram the blue into the side of the road. Mallory was so glad he'd had the sense to warn her and strap herself in. She peered into the car as the blue car driver tried to stay balanced, trying to assess if anybody was hurt. Then to her horror, the driver of the Chevrolet lost total control and the car flipped.
It was like slow motion, watching the blue car tumble and flip across the highway. Mallory's heart jumped up through her throat and stopped dead; were they dead? Had the Soldier fulfilled his target? As it turned on it's side, the passenger door opened and the three skidded away on the door across the highway. A surreal moment, but one that made Mallory slump in her seat with relief and make her glad that someone in the car had been quick thinking enough to get somewhere safe before it capsized.
The blue car was totaled but the survivors were safe, the driver rolling on the highway and Romanoff and Rogers coming to a calm stop in the middle of the road.
"What now?" Mallory questioned her driver, as he screeched to a stop near the edge of the highway. The Soldier was only sent on missions to execute people but surely he wouldn't do it in full view of civilians on a highway? And surely Pierce wouldn't make her watch?
The driver merely shrugged and ignored her question. "Get your bag. You'll need it."
A bang on the windshield indicated the Soldier had gotten down, and the men were moving in the back, the door opening and a huge grenade launcher being passed to the Soldier. Mallory staggered down the causeway and grabbed her bag, opening the door and jumping out just in time to watch the Soldier steady his arm and fire. Her heart slowed as did time, and Mallory could hear nothing of the cars whizzing past to get free of the blast zone nor the men yelling commands behind her in an unrecognizable tongue. She could hear her own swallow and a short, sharp intake of her own breath as the Soldier calmly watched as the projectile flew towards the Widow and the Captain with deadly intent.
A/N: This chapter was so easy to write. Things I've been planning for a while are beginning to come to fruition. Big thanks to everyone who faves, follows and reviews. You guys really inspire me
Also the chapter title – I just couldn't help myself