Chapter Nine

Walking into a mall, Zoë scanned the area for a computer store. She spotted one and lead the way towards it.
"The drive has a Level Six homing program," Natasha said. "So, as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are." She handed the drive to Zoë, who stepped up to a computer.
"How much time do we have?" Steve questioned.
"Uh… about nine minutes from now," Zoë answered, plugging into the flash drive int a MacBook. She stepped aside, letting Natasha take over.

The red-headed frowned as she scrolled through the tap.
"Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."
"Can you override it?" Zoë asked.
"The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me." She gave Zoë a smirk. "Slightly. I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed 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?"

Zoë lifted her head to see an Apple Employee standing across the table. She smiled at him.
"Oh, no thanks. We're just helping our friend with some engagement photo destinations." Steve blinked down at her, and she kicked his shin.
"Right! I'm engaged!"
"Congratulations," the employee said. "Where are you thinking about going?"
"New Jersey."

Playing along, Zoë looked up at him.
"Jersey, really? Don't you think Maggie would like something local?"
"She's from Jersey," Steve lied. The employee looked back and forth between them, nodding slowly.
"Uh, if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron."
"Thanks," Zoë grinned before hissing at Natasha. "You said nine minutes."
"Shh, relax… Got it. Signals coming from Wheaton. You know it, Rogers?"
"I used to. Let's go."

The super-soldier pulled the flash drive from the computer, and they walked out of the store.
"Standard tac-team," Steve murmured. "Two behind, to across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro." Zoë rolled her eyes, leaning up against him.
"Shut up and put your arm around Natasha. Laugh at something we said."
"What?"
"Do it!"

Quickly, Steve put his arm around Natasha, laughing as Zoë feigned a grin. She looked to Natasha, who gave her a nod. She broke away from them, walking into a clothing store. She ducked behind clothing shelves as a STRIKE officer walked inside. An employee eyed her, and Zoë pointed at the bruises on her arms, relating her injuries to the man.

As soon as the STRIKE officer was gone, Zoë crept out of the store and ran smack into Rumlow. He grabbed her wrist.
"Agent Aetos," he greeted.
"Rumlow."
"Don't sound so upset, sweetheart," he chided. He maneuvered their bodies to where his arm was around her waist making them seem like a happy couple out on a date. "After all, wasn't this our first date?"
"That's not quite how I remember it, Brock."
"What do you remember then?"
"Being stood up." She slowly began to raise her voice as she spoke. "Being told I wasn't pretty enough. Being let down by a man who I thought was going to treat me right! Instead, I find him in the arms of a blonde chick."
"Shut your mouth, Aetos." She gave him a small smile.
"I thought you liked it when I was sassy." He glared down at her.
"Z…"
"You never could take a joke."

A second later, she had him flipped over her shoulder, pinning him down. She managed to get his gun, holding it against his forehead as people around them began panicking.
"You've always been my friend, Brock," she hissed. "But I'll kill you if you follow me. And you know I keep my word." With that, she darted off.

She caught up to Steve and Natasha, who were trying to hot-wire a car. She got into the backseat just as they started the vehicle.
"So, where did Captain American learn to steal a car?" she asked. Her voice startled them, and she grabbed Natasha's fist before it slammed into her face. "Hey guys!"
"We thought Rumlow had you," Steve said.
"He did, now he doesn't. Answer the question, Rogers."
"Nazi Germany."
"Mm."
"And we're borrowing." He glared over at Natasha.
"Take your feet off the dash."

Nodding, Natasha did as he asked.
"Alright, I have a question for you, oh which you don't have to answer. It feels like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know."
"What?"
"Was that only your second kiss since 1945?"
"Excuse me?" Zoë gasped. "You kissed her?"
"That bad, huh?" Steve asked.
"I didn't say that."
"That's kinda what it sounds like, Tasha."
"No. I just wondered how much practice you've had… from the way Maggie responded it seems like that was the first time you've kissed her."
"Steve, you don't need practice and that's none of your business, Nat."
"Everybody needs practice," Nat shrugged.
Steve sighed, "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Fine. That kiss with Maggie was our first one, but it was not my first kiss since 1945. I'm ninety-five, I'm not dead."
"Hmmm."
"Believe it or not, it's kind of hard-to-find someone with shared life experience."
"Well, that's all right, you just make something up."
"What? Like you?"
"I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I."
"That's a tough way to live."
"It's a good way not to die, though."
"You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone is."
"Yeah. Who do you want me to be?"
"How about a friend?"
"Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers."
"What about Maggie?" Zoë asked.

Steve glanced at her through the rear-view mirror.
"What about her?"
"What makes her different?"
"Oh, don't you know, Z?" Natasha asked. "Know what?"
"She's Peggy Carter's granddaughter."
"That's messed up."
"I know!" Nat exclaimed. Steve groaned, shaking his head.
"She's different, that's all," Steve snapped. "She's special. She doesn't care that I'm some hero. She likes Steve Rogers, not Captain America. And she's fine with taking things slow… unlike most of the women in this era." Zoë leaned forward to squeeze his shoulder.
"You're in a tough spot, Steve. We all end up in those spots sooner or later. It's okay."

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