Ch. 3
"Did you not hear the marshmallow comment? No, I most certainly won't help you. Find your own information." She walked briskly by them to head out of the alleyway, but Steve caught her upper arm as she passed him.
"We need some answers and we're not going anywhere until we find them," Steve said earnestly.
"Let go of my arm," Alma said in a low and deadly tone, staring daggers at him. "Don't ever touch me, Rogers. I know I could never take you in a fair fight, but you touch me again and the next time you sleep, I'll slit your throat."
He quickly let go of her.
"Look, I've got to go. I've got a meet. I can't have you guys hanging around me," she insisted.
"We're not leaving until we get the information we need," Sam said, blocking her exit.
"If you are seen anywhere near me, it'll blow my cover. Thanks to your little information dump, I've got a lot of old enemies gunning for me," she said.
"We're not going anywhere," Steve said firmly.
Alma took a moment, quickly going through her options. "Fine, fine. Look, hang back from a distance. Try to look inconspicuous. I've got to finish up this business and get paid. Afterwards, we can talk."
Alright," Steve relented. He'd rather have her be at least a tiny bit cooperative. Working with ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives was proving to be much more difficult than he had anticipated.
She nodded. "It's a bit of a walk and I'm late," she said, and began to hurry towards her destination.
Sam shrugged his shoulders and he and Steve began to follow her from a discreet distance. After a little over a half mile, they came upon a beautiful park with large grassy areas and a playground. Steve looked down at his phone to find the name of it, Lezama Park.
He and Sam strolled leisurely down the tree-lined paved walkways inside the park, trying to blend in as best they could as Alma scurried towards a sculpture garden. They stopped near a large tree next to the garden where they were able to observe Alma. They both took out their phones and began to fiddle with them, faking an enthusiastic conversation while keeping an eye on Alma.
In the middle of the sculpture garden, seated on a bench made of wood and metal, near a large white gazebo was an attractive middle-aged woman. Her reddish-brown hair was piled up in a soft bun and she was sporting a crisp white blouse and a long red A-line skirt. She was tapping her heels nervously and looking around, smiling widely when she finally saw Alma.
She opened a red clutch purse and handed a small white envelope to Alma when she sat down next to her. Alma opened the envelope, smiled at the contents and stuffed it in her backpack. Alma took a large manila envelope out of the backpack and handed it over. The older woman opened the manila envelope and began to shake and cry when she looked inside.
Alma patted her back awkwardly and spoke to the woman, who nodded at her words. After a moment, the older woman straightened and dried her tears, giving Alma a curt nod. Alma gave her a wan smile and the older woman stood to leave, still clutching the manila envelope.
For a few moments after the woman left, Alma sat on the bench looking a bit tired and forlorn. Finally, she squared her shoulders and stood up, heading back out of the park. Steve jogged over to her to catch up.
"What part of hang back and don't look conspicuous is hard for you to understand, Rogers?" she bit out.
"You said we'd talk after the meet," Steve said.
"Look, we need to get off the streets. I told you that having you around puts me in danger. Just tail me back to my place and we can talk in private," she countered.
Steve clenched his hands in frustration. He was so tired of this pointless cloak and dagger posturing.
"Fine, but no more putting it off," he said curtly and motioned over to Sam to follow him.
"I wouldn't dream of it," she said sarcastically, hoisting the dirty backpack onto her shoulders and once again, heading out of the park.
Author's Note- Thank you once again for all of the review, follows and favorites!
For those of you reading my post-Avengers Captain America story, "The Captain's Bride", Chapter 23 is posted!