Chapter 14- The Lemurian Star
"Secure channel 7," Steve said through his wrist mike as he stood next to Natasha and Yelizaveta as the jet hovered over the area where the Lemurian Star was.
"Seven secure," Natasha said at her computer terminal.
"Did you do anything fun Saturday night?" Yelizaveta asked. Since Steve had woken up from the ice. she and Natasha had been trying to set him up on blind dates; an activity that Yelizaveta laughed about when she talked with Clint and Laura on the phone. (A/N: I know that in the movie, Natasha is the one always setting Steve up, but since Yelizaveta is Bucky's daughter and Bucky was always trying to set him up in "Captain America: The First Avenger," it would make sense for Yelizaveta to follow in her father's footsteps with the same tactics. Natasha will do it too in my story, but Yelizaveta doing it will be a genetic thing that she has no knowledge of right now.)
"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so no, not really," Steve said, putting an earwig on.
"Coming up on the drop zone, Cap, "the pilot said over the earwigs.
"You know, if you ask Kristen out from Statistics, she'd probably say yes," Yelizaveta said as the hatch opened and Steve put on his helmet.
"That's why I don't ask," Steve said.
"Too shy or too scared?" Natasha asked.
"Too busy!" Steve flung over his shoulder as he went to the ramp and jumped.
"Was he wearing a parachute?" One of the men asked Rumlow.
"No. No, he wasn't," Rumlow said with a slight laugh as Yelizaveta prepared for her jump and followed Steve out, also not wearing a parachute due to her serum. They both landed in the water, with hardly any sound as the motors of the frigate was loud. They both climbed without a sound up to the deck as a pirate paced the deck. Yelizaveta pulled out her sword as Steve grabbed the man from behind and, pressing his arm to his windpipe, knocked him unconscious. Running across the deck, Steve and Yelizaveta knocked out men with their weapons and in hand-to hand combat.
"Hey!" A man said behind Yelizaveta by a set of steps and Yelizaveta aimed her feet directly at his stomach, knocking him flat on his back as he wheezed painfully. Another man pulled out a knife and Yelizaveta dodged and deflected with her own knife. She threw her knife directly at the man she kicked first and the blade went into his hand as he was preparing to sound the alarm. He screamed in pain. Steve then punched and kicked him unconscious.
"Good aim," Steve said as they went up these steps.
"Thanks. He won't die. He'll just wake up with a bad headache and a knife wound," Yelizaveta said. The ran to a ledge and jumped down into a group of pirates, knocking them out.
Yelizaveta heard a gun cock. "Don't move," a voice ordered in French and Yelizaveta turned with Steve to face a gun pointed directly at her face.
The man exclaimed in French and fell as Rumlow came out of the sky and stunned him. "Thanks," Steve said, breathing hard.
"Yeah. You and the Winter Soldier seemed pretty helpless without me," Rumlow said, removing his parachute as the rest of the team and Natasha landed on the deck.
"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice," Natasha said as they walked.
"Secure the engine room, then find me a date," Steve said briskly.
"I'm multi-tasking," Natasha said as she went in the direction of the engine room, Yelizaveta with Steve as they went to the galley. Yelizaveta pulled out what looked like a gun with a listening device installed in it. She shot at the Captain's window and Batroc's voice came clearly over hers and Steve's earwigs.
"I don't like waiting," someone complained in French.
"Call Durand. I want this ship ready to move when the ransom comes," Batroc's voice said calmly. A little too calmly.
"Oui, Batroc. Jerome, Start the engines," the first voice said over what was a transceiver.
"Radio silence from S.H.I.E.L.D., Batroc," a voice said over the radio a few pregnant minutes later.
"Targets acquired," a voice said.
"S.T.R.I.K.E. in position," Rumlow said
"Natasha, what's your status?" Steve asked.
"Status, Natasha!" Yelizaveta said sharply when they didn't hear an answer.
"Hang on!" Natasha yelled and the sounds of a fight filled the earwig. "Engine room secure," Natasha said a few minutes later.
"On my mark," Steve said as Yelizaveta pulled the listening device from the window. "Three...Two...One," Steve counted down and Rumlow and his men fired into the galley.
Steve and Yelizaveta went to the Captain's quarters and Steve threw his shield at the window and it went into the locker on the far wall. Steve and Yelizaveta jumped in as one of the men kicked Steve squarely in the chest and ran out of the room. Steve yanked his shield out of the locker and he and Yelizaveta took off after him. "Hostages on route to extraction. Romanoff missed the rendezvous point captain. Hostiles are still in play," Rumlow said over their earwigs as the came to a short flight of steps that led to the deck.
"Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages," Yelizaveta said in a soft whisper as she touched her earwig.
"Natasha," Steve repeated when neither one of them got an answer. Then a leg came out and kicked at Steve's shield. Yelizaveta whipped her sword out, wondering if she was going to have to step in and break up this fight. Batroc was a good fighter, almost Steve's equal, but Steve was better. He stopped and looked at Steve and Yelizaveta.
"I thought you were more than just a shield and sword," Batroc said in French. Steve looked at Yelizaveta and both sheathed their weapons and Steve removed his helmet.
"Ya veremos. (Let's see)" Yelizaveta answered back in flawless French. Batroc moved forward, attacking them both. Steve aimed for his legs while Yelizaveta kicked at his solar plexus. Steve then flipped and knocked the man down with a blow to the head. He moved to get up and both Steve and Yelizaveta knocked him back and out in a computer room.
"Liz, you okay?" Steve asked, breathing hard.
"I guess. Are you?" Yelizaveta asked as she stood.
"Yeah. You speak pretty good French," Steve said.
"Yeah, well, courtesy of HYDRA and the Red Room," Yelizaveta said, rolling her eyes.
"At least you learned it well," Natasha's voice got their attention. She was typing away furiously at a computer terminal.
"What are you doing?" Steve asked as the both of them came to the computer where she was.
"Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into," Natasha said.
"Rumlow needed your help. What are you doing here?" Steve asked harshly.
"You're saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel," Yelizaveta said as she watched the files moving on the screen.
"Whatever I can get my hands on, Vet," Natasha said, her eyes on the screen.
"Our mission is to rescue hostages," Steve said.
"No, that's yours and Yelizaveta's mission, and the two of you have done it beautifully," Natasha flirted with Steve as she pulled the flash drive out of the computer.
"You just jeopardized this whole operation," Steve said, gripping Natasha by her arm.
"I think that's overstating things," Natasha said as Batroc stood and running, tossed something at them. Steve, Natasha, and Yelizaveta jumped through a glass window and into an office as it exploded.
"Okay. That one's on me," Natasha said as they looked over the window and at the burning computer room, Batroc nowhere in sight.
"You're darn right," Steve said as he stood, Yelizaveta following.