Ch. 4
True to her word, Alma led Sam and Steve back to her apartment in a quiet, older building on a narrow street lined with trees whose leaves were just beginning to turn colors*. They walked the five flights of stairs up to her place, waiting impatiently as she searched her backpack for her keys.
"Hola, Señora Castro," Alma said deferentially as an elderly lady poked her head out of the apartment next door while Alma fiddled with her lock.
The woman looked at Alma, Sam and Steve through narrowed eyes. "Mi edificio no es un burdel," she hissed and began to mutter viciously under her breath before retreating back into her apartment and slamming the door shut.
"What did she say?" Steve asked.
"Two attractive unmarried men coming to my apartment. What do you think she called me?" she asked as she opened the door and ushered them in.
"Attractive?" Sam asked with a suggestive grin.
Alma looked over at Steve and rolled her eyes at his confused expression before she explained.
"She thinks I'm a streetwalker. Joke's on her. I don't make that much money. She'll regret it when the rent comes due," Alma said as she placed her backpack on the small coffee table in front of the couch.
Steve looked around the tiny one bedroom apartment. It had all the bland personality of a standard hotel room. In the living room, there was a small white couch facing an entertainment system with a TV and a desk with a wooden chair. He could see a tiny kitchen that was similarly barren of any of the little touches people use to make a house a home. From the open door to the bedroom, he saw only a twin bed and a night stand.
"Are you done checking out the place?" Alma snapped.
Steve colored at being caught out. He wished he could be as relaxed about this part of their mission as Sam seemed to be. He was already lounging on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table.
"You know, Rogers, I busted my butt for nearly ten years for S.H.I.E.L.D. and I just barely made level six. You show up with some engineered muscles and they start you off at level eight. Hardly seems fair, " she said.
"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" Sam pointed out with an arched eyebrow.
"I guess you're right," Alma conceded ruefully. "It must have hit Agent Coulson hard to have his hero destroy the only family Coulson's ever known. I mean, he was a lifer. No wife, no kids. He was completely devoted to S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Phil Coulson died before the Battle of New York," Steve said stiffly.
"They really kept you in the dark. Compartmentalized knowledge and all that," she smirked.
"He's alive? How did you find out?" Steve asked urgently.
"I have a friend who worked at the Hub. He walked in one day, a few months ago, with his whole team. She sent me a photo. Here," and with that, Alma took out her phone. A few moments later, she showed him a photo of Phil Coulson with a contingent of men and women walking through the Hub.
"Huh," Steve said, completely nonplussed.
"I guess there were a few extra secrets you still hadn't uncovered," she said with a slight smile.
"They lied to me. They said he was dead," he said slowly.
"Well, martyrdom does tend to rally the troops," she said lightly as she returned her phone to her backpack.
"And you wonder why I leaked all that information on the internet? How many lies, how much manipulation does it takes before you say enough is enough?" Steve spat out.
"Don't become a part of a spy organization if you can't handle a few secrets," she retorted as she took the white envelope out of her backpack and began to count the money inside.
"What did you get paid for? Why was that lady crying?" Sam asked her.
"I had to take a P.I. job. Because of my association with S.H.I.E.L.D., I've been branded a terrorist by the US government. There aren't many legal jobs for people with my expertise and guess what? The CIA isn't hiring at the moment**."
"P.I.?" Steve asked.
"Yep. Seems my handy, dandy S.H.I.E.L.D. credit card no longer works and all my fun S.H.I.E.L.D. bank accounts have been frozen. Which means I am in a foreign country with no access to my funds. So, I scrounged around and found a little P.I. job to tide me over. Girl's gotta eat. And, thanks to you, every single enemy that I've ever made while working for S.H.I.E.L.D. is gunning for me since they now know all my S.H.I.E.L.D. approved travel plans. It's only a matter of time before I wake up dead," she said, flashing him a sarcastic smile.
"What kind of P.I. work?" Sam asked.
"Uggh. My least favorite kind. Honey trap," she shuddered.
"Honey trap?" Steve asked.
"Well, isn't he the innocent?" she said to Sam. She looked over to Steve. "A honey trap is when you get someone to seduce the spouse you think might be unfaithful. If they take the bait, voila!"
Steve curled his lip in disgust. "Seems like a horrible way to make a living."
"Says the man who got me fired," she snarled. "Look, I needed the money. If the guy buys me the drink and I can get him on tape offering me a sleepover, there you go. The wife finally knows if her husband is a lying, cheating son of a . . . . well, you get the picture. I could have done the whole exchange wirelessly, but some people like to do it old school; they want to actually hold the evidence in their hands. Anyhow, it's not a permanent job choice. It's just until I can scrape up enough money to get away."
Alma paused a moment. "As much as I would love to continue this conversation, I need to hop in the shower. Since you guys blew my cover, there's no need to keep up the pretense of being homeless."
"We need to talk," Steve said.
"And we will. But I haven't had a shower in three days and I've smeared these clothes with rotting food and other vile things I'd rather not mention. Your eyes are beginning to water from the stench and your friend over there looks like he's about to pass out."
"Please, please let the poor woman take a shower," Sam pled with a mocking grin, as he looked over at Steve.
"Alright," Steve relented.
"And burn those clothes," Sam added.
"Fine," Alma agreed with a laugh as she headed into the bathroom.
Author's Note-
*Even though it's April, the seasons are switched in Argentina from what they would be in the U.S. It is fall in Argentina.
** Yes, I saw the end credits of CA:TWS and I know that Sharon AKA Agent 13 becomes a part of the C.I.A. I suspect however, that all ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would have to be thoroughly vetted before being allowed in and that the process would take some time. Additionally, there might be a glut of ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents scrambling for jobs, making it difficult to obtain one.
Rough Spanish translation-
Hello, Mrs. Castro
My building is not a brothel.