DEMONS.
( chapter fourteen. )

▹

Edited 12/25/2015 @3:24 PM
Edited 11/23/2017 @9:46 PM

  UPON ARRIVING AT THE hospital, Andrea found herself staring down a long corridor. She turned, watching as Steve— accompanied by Natasha— disappeared into a room. Out of sight. It meant that they were safe.

  She sighed, relieved to find that her friends were fine. Andy closed her eyes and let herself collapse against a nearby wall. Every muscle in her body ached, but she would find no rest here.

  "Are you alright?"

  She cut a glance over her shoulder, looking at the nurse who spoke. He watched her carefully. It was obvious that he found her appearance concerning, or threatening. Depending on how bad the assassin's damage was.

  Andrea attempted a nod, but the action itself was enough to say that she was anything but fine. Her body was still working to heal her bruises. It was going to take hours before she could fully recover.

  "I'm good" she forced out, "this is like a daily thing now. No biggie." Her reassurance was clearly lost on him. The nurse narrowed his eyes, studying her more closely.

Andy stood upright, suddenly nervous as she abandoned the support of the wall. "See, I'm completely fine," she continued, trying to back away.

  "You're bleeding," the nurse stated, staring at her face.

  Andrea frowned. Hesitantly, she felt for the cut at her lip and realized that the wound had reopened. She sucked in a sharp breath as it stung, eyes darting back to the man as he slowly approached.

  With every step closer, Andy took one step back. "Really, I'm fine," she said quickly, drawing nearer to the door that hid Steve.

"I've already been checked out by another nurse." The lie came smoothly. Andy had no qualms when it came to misleading civilians. 

  The man rose a brow, challenging her. "Oh? What's their name?" He pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and bandages from his scrubs.

It was Andrea's turn to raise her brow. She finally stopped running. At this point, it was safe to assume there was no getting out of this. At least, not without suspicion or fists, and the latter didn't seem too appropriate.

  "I, uh, I see you've prepared for this situation," she stuttered, avoiding the question.

The man said nothing, pointing to the only chair within vicinity. He gestured for her to sit. The strict look in his eyes said there was no room for arguing.

Andy scoffed, "I'm not getting in a wheelchair." The man drew closer, spraying the wound on her lip and causing the brunette to fall back in surprise.

  She collapsed onto the wheelchair with a defeated huff, "You do know who I am, right? I'm sure you know I have more important things—" The nurse held up his disinfectant spray with the promise of threat.

Andy pursed her lips, glaring as she finally let the man set to work. She winced as he sprayed a few more times, his hands cleaning the surrounding blood.

The nurse smiled humorously, "I wouldn't recommend licking your lips, I heard this stuff doesn't taste very good." He furrowed his brow in concentration as he bandaged her wound.

As he did, Andy took to examining his features. "I take it this happens often?" She asked, just as he finished with the bandage. He took the opportunity to disinfect the other scrapes among her features.

When he was done, he gave a crooked sort-of smile. "You'd be surprised," he replied, putting the disinfectant cloth in a nearby trash bin.

  He was young— but, older than Andrea. At least, in appearance anyway. His features held age, but his brown eyes were youthful in a way that spoke of newfound adulthood. He was clearly responsible, too.

"For the record, I do know who you are," he said, "I figure, if you've got a world to save you might as well do it in good health. Right?"

  Andy shrugged as the man finally stepped back, shoving the spray back into his pockets. She quickly followed, grimacing as her muscles protested. A disinfectant wasn't going to ease everything.

"Well, that might be asking too much," she replied, trying to smile as she met his eyes.

  The man pulled out another item from his pocket, flipping the silver packet at her as though it were some kind of coin.

Andrea caught it, eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What are you, some kind of walking medical dispensary?"

The man laughed— and it was an older man's laugh; a chuckle more than anything. "I guess you could say that. Take it for any pain— hey, hold on a second." He held up a finger as he stepped towards a door.

When he disappeared behind it, Andy was quick to make her escape. "Idiot," she muttered, hiding in the expanse of an empty room.

  Still, she found herself peering from behind a window when he returned. His lips moved as if to speak. When he looked up, he seemed surprised to find her gone. Andy felt a smile curl on her features, until her split lip smarted at the action.

  The nurse glanced around once more before he spoke, "Well, it's here if you need it." He winced, embarrassed by the realization that he was speaking into empty air.

He set a smaller bottle of spray on the wheelchair and took off at an almost-reluctant pace. When she was sure that he was gone, Andy tentatively exited the room. Her eyes peered down each hall before figuring the coast was clear.

Andy approached the bottle and, at the words printed on it, she smiled softly. "I guess there's still good people out there," she mused, gratefully stuffing the pain-relief spray into her backpack.

  However, when Andy entered the room hiding her friends, the sight of them both set off red flags. Steve was backing Nat into a corner, forceful and angry. What the hell had happened?

  Andy let the door slam shut behind her and Steve immediately whirled. He relaxed upon seeing it was just her, but Andrea found herself less-inclined to do the same. The tension in the room was palpable.

It shouldn't have been like this.

  But, it was, and Andrea had no idea how to fix it. She doubted a remedy for this even existed. And what were you supposed to do when every move you made held unimaginable consequence?

  However, Andrea also knew that if there was anyone they could trust, it was Natasha. After all, they'd both had their fair-share of second chances. Nick had given it to them himself— and if it meant using that chance to avenge him, then Andrea knew Natasha would be all in.

With or without the support of S.H.I.E.L.D.

  "What's going on?" She cut in, her gaze flickering between the two. Andy cautiously stepped closer, in the offhand chance that she would need to intervene.

Steve's expression hardened and he turned on Natasha. As he did, Andy couldn't help the way her muscles tensed. She hated how much this left her on edge.

They were supposed to be teammates— hell, they were more than that. Andrea thought of them as family and, yet, here they were; treating each other like enemies. It made her feel sick.

  There was a bout of silence, where Steve seemed to be waiting for Nat to explain herself. When she didn't, the blond curled his lip in frustration.

"She has the hard drive," Steve finally spoke, his glare never straying from the red-head.

Andy rose a brow, though she was nowhere near surprised. It wasn't as if the hard drive had been very secure to begin with. There were better ways for him to handle the situation.

Still, with a tsk of annoyance, Andy realized that rational thoughts were likely the last thing going through Steve's head. Where it concerned him, they rarely ever were.

"I told you that hiding it in a vending machine was stupid." The taunt slipped out so easily. Andrea was hardly phased when the Rogers man turned his glare on her.

  Though, it wasn't like he could blame her. It was his own idiocy that lost the hard-drive. They were wasting time and it was no one's fault but his own.

Andy wasn't worried about Natasha joining them either. Their main concern should've been finding out what was on the drive. The only issue was that they were cornering the person best suited to the task.

  "Where is it?" Steve pressed, stepping threateningly close to Natasha.

Andy was quick to react. She shouldered Steve to the side and scowled at the heated look in his eyes. If anything, it was her who'd taught him about being inflexible. That stubborn expression on his face was a mirror image of her own, taught and learned.

He could never hope to win against Andrea.

"I'm sorry, but since when did this call for intimidation tactics?" She seethed, annoyed by his reaction. "Nat is family— maybe not to you, but she is to me."

  "Look," she huffed, "we all have different ties to S.H.I.E.L.D, but the one thing we have in common right now is Nick." As she spoke, Andy met Natasha's gaze with intent.

  The red-head seemed struck as her eyes flickered to Andy's, frozen by the sudden attention.

  "I know I'm not the only one who'll risk everything to avenge him," Andy continued, her voice soft and imploring Nat to join them. A second that felt like minutes seemed to pass and the spell was broken as Andrea looked away.

  "Even at the expense of S.H.I.E.L.D," she added, now challenging Steve. There was no telling what he thought of the entire situation. The truth of the matter was this; the rot had set and there was nothing they could save. Not with someone like Pierce at the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.

  Steve glanced between the pair, waiting on Natasha's reply. Andy would have no part in making the decision for the Romanoff woman either, even as Natasha seemed to hesitate. It had to be her choice— and hers alone.

  Finally, Nat shook her head. Her laughter came out rushed as she leaned in close. "You give one hell of a speech, I'll give you that."

There was a pause, then Andy felt something small being placed into her hand. She looked down, finding the drive now clutched in her grasp. Natasha pulled away with a smirk.

  Andy grinned, taunting as she met Steve's eyes. "See? All it takes is some sucking-up," she teased, laughing when Natasha gave her a rough shove.

  With the tension ebbing, Andrea stuffed the hard-drive into the pocket of her jeans. The realization that her and Steve were no longer alone was calming. Knowing Nat was on their side made their next move easier to visualize.

When everything seemed settled, Steve spoke. "You knew about the pirates, didn't you?" His tone was accusing.

  Natasha pursed her lips, giving a shrug of admittance. "It makes sense. The ship was dirty and Fury needed a way in. So do you."

Andy knew she was trying to help, but Nat's words were quick to earn her a sharp look from Steve. "I'm not going to ask again," he warned. Andrea rolled her eyes at the attempt to intimidate.

  "I know who killed Fury," Nat cut in, just before Steve could further the argument.

  Andrea bristled. She already knew who the shooter was, but she knew him on the field. In the arena. Anything beyond that was a mystery, especially regarding the man who remained anonymous behind the mask.

"Most of the intelligence committee doesn't believe he exists," Nat continued. "The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's been credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

  Andy felt as if she'd been hollowed out. Fifty years. What kind of assassin survives that long? Her own reputation under HYDRA hadn't garnered that much traction. Andrea looked nervously to Steve, watching his expression.

"So, he's a ghost story," the blond deadpanned, less-than-amused by the information.

  Natasha shrugged, an easy smile on her lips. "Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran. Someone shot my tires out near Odessa."

  Clearly he was much more than a ghost. Andy couldn't help her interest. She was curious about this figure. After all their odd encounters, it was hard not to be.

  "I lost control and we went over a cliff. I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering the engineer, so, he shot him. Straight through me." Natasha pulled up her shirt, revealing a nasty scar on her stomach.

  Andy tried not to wince for the sake of politeness.

  "Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis," Nat finished, her smile turned bitter.

  Andrea couldn't help her nervous chuckle. Her mind went back the assassin and his metal arm. More specifically, the Soviet red star that adorned it. It didn't seem entirely plausible for the Russian government alone to be behind this. The level of infiltration it required was too deep. Too personal.

  "Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now." Andy lifted her head, brought back to the conversation by Steve's smart-ass remark. She elbowed him in the ribs.

  "Don't be an ass," she warned, earning an annoyed look in reply.

  "Trying to go after him is a dead end. I know because I've tried. Like you said, he's a ghost story." Natasha shrugged and that seemed to be the end of it.

  Andy bit down hard on her lip. Her thoughts drifted back to her most recent encounter with the soldier. He was searching for something. She'd been too stunned by his appearance to note it then, but it was the only explanation for his presence at their apartment.

  Steve immediately noticed Andrea's reaction. "What is it?" He asked, watching her carefully.

  "He was at the apartment when I went back," she confessed, too stunned by his attention to rethink the words.

  When Steve's expression twisted into concern and anger, she continued, "He was either looking for us or something else. Whatever he wanted, he didn't get it, but they obviously know we're onto them."

  Steve frowned. "Then let's find out what the ghost wants," he replied, his gaze expectant on Andrea.

  She huffed. If they expected another display of power from her, they were sorely mistaken. Andy had been battered enough that day. Pushing her abilities past their limit wasn't a risk she was willing to take.

  "Don't look at me," she insisted. "Unless you want to tear your molecular structure to pieces, I'm not teleporting anyone, anytime soon." She crossed her arms over her chest as if to emphasize her defiance.

Steve grimaced and Andy gave a daunting smile, "Come on, Rogers. I'm sure we can put those Grand Theft Auto skills to good use."

  "I regret ever letting you show me that game."

▹

  Andrea fiddled with the zipper on her sweater, feeling uncomfortable in the stiff, new clothing. It wasn't that she was bothered by the prospect of stealing (after all, the crowded mall made it easy enough to shoplift.) It was the fact that nothing felt right. Not the clothes, not the shoes. Definitely not the environment.

  It made her anxious to imagine being hunted, given that it was usually the other way around. Now, Andrea was stuck with the ridiculous urge to look over her shoulder every five minutes. The fact that she even could refrain at all was a miracle, in and of itself.

"The hard-drive has a level six hunting program," Nat informed them. "So, as soon as we boot it up, S.H.I.E.L.D will know exactly where we are."

  Andy looked to Natasha, listening closely with only mild concern. If they couldn't pull this off, then they were doomed to follow Nick's fate. S.H.I.E.L.D. would never let them live with what they knew.

  The group entered the electronics store, quickly making their way towards one of the computers on display. It was the most accessible place they could find. They couldn't use one of their own, because no one could afford to have their personal devices infiltrated. Not that they had access to them, either. S.H.I.E.L.D. would have confiscated all of their belongings by now.

  Andrea took a cautionary glance around them, "How many minutes do we have?" She crossed her arms and then uncrossed them as she studied the surrounding people. It seemed unusually crowded today, with shoppers idling everywhere.

Though, that easily could've been her paranoia speaking.

  "Nine minutes," Nat spoke up as she plugged the drive into the USB port. "Starting now." Andy peered closer, leaving her position of look-out for Steve to take over.

"Fury was right about that ship. Someone was trying to hide something." Nat's expression was focused as the files began to load. Andy understood little of what she was seeing.

  However, when Nat furrowed her brow, Andrea felt concern spark through her. "This drive has some sort of AI. It keeps re-writing itself to override my commands," she said, her tone clearly annoyed by the issue.

Steve glanced back at them. "Can you override it?"

  Andy hoped that Natasha could. At the very least, something had to be done. Otherwise they were risking their safety for nothing— and Andrea wasn't exactly keen on seeing Rumlow again. Something told her he wasn't exactly ecstatic about being the guinea pig for her newfound ability.

  "The person who designed this is only slightly smarter than me," Natasha replied. "Note how I said slightly. I'm going to try and run a tracer. S.H.I.E.L.D developed this to track hostile malwares, so if we can't read the file, the least we can do is figure out where it came from." 

Andy looked to Steve then, who turned to her in panic as an employee walked over. He looked easy-going; a man just doing his job. But, his approaching presence was a distraction they couldn't afford.

"Um, Nat. We've got an issue," Andrea spoke quickly, hoping her urgent tone would catch the red-head's attention.

  Natasha gave a brief glance over her shoulder, before looking back to the computer. "Distract him," was her simple reply.

Andy bit back a retort. She turned to Steve and and the employee, hearing the latter ask if he could help with anything. Andrea plastered on a fake smile, wrapping her arm around Steve's waist.

"Oh, no. My friend and I were just looking at some honeymoon destinations for me and my fiancé here," she said, her tone sickeningly obnoxious.

  Andy looked up at Steve, expectant in her expression. The Rogers man seemed stunned by her lie, but he was fairly quick to catch on. Fast enough to save him from a kick to the shin.

  Not that it saved him from sounding absolutely ridiculous. "Uh, right, we're getting married," he stuttered out, a dumb smile on his lips.

  At his reaction, it took everything within Andrea not to burst out laughing. She didn't know whether to mock his lying skills or scold him for them later.

  "Oh, congratulations! Where were you thinking of going?" The man tried to peer over Andy's shoulder, but she shifted to block his view.

  Steve glanced at the computer. He must have caught sight of a name, because he turned back to the employee. "Um, New Jersey," he replied.

  Once again, Andrea was left with the intense urge to kick his shin. She was thankful that his bad lying skills weren't a result of her own. Some things just couldn't be taught.

  The employee nodded, but before he left, he took one closer look at Steve. Andrea felt her breath catch. Any recognition of the Rogers man would set this whole thing up in flames.

  The man gave a small huff of surprise. "I have the exact same glasses," he said.

  Andy let out a quiet breath. Before she could respond, Natasha cut in. "Wow, you guys are like, twins," she told him, tone dripping with sarcasm.

  Andy held back her laughter and the guy quickly shook his head. "I wish. Specimen." He gestured to Steve's body and Andrea had to bite her tongue. Steve shifted uncomfortably next to her.

  "Well, if you need anything, I've been Aaron." The man pointed to the name tag on his shirt and Andy nodded, thanking him before he left.

  The Jones woman glanced at her disposable cell. "You said nine minutes. We have about two before they get here— if they aren't already." She cut a concerned glance to the door.

  Natasha's eyes never left the computer as she replied, "Hold on a sec." There was a hesitant moment as Andy felt her fingers twitch.

  "Got it. Let's go."

  Andrea let go of the hold she still had on Steve's waist. Instead, she took his hand as the group quickly left. She took a slow glance around the building, skilled eyes quick to pick out two agents. They weren't very subtle, uniformed from head to toe. Had it been her leading this team, she wouldn't have let this happen.

  Nonetheless, she was thankful that they were so blatantly obvious.

  "Standard track team," Andy spoke up, taking another look around the mall. With each face she recognized, she made note of their strategy and the best way to break through it.

  "Two behind us, two across, and two coming straight at us. If they don't engage, we can l make an escape on the escalator. If they do, we're out of luck." Andrea lead them towards their only chance of escape.

  They were nearing the agents coming directly towards them and, although they hadn't noticed yet, Andy felt panic wash over her.

  Natasha turned to Steve. "Wrap your arms around me and laugh at something I said," she whispered. Her only response a disturbed expression from the Rogers man.

  "Just do it," Andy hissed, refusing to put up with his attitude. They didn't have time to argue, not when their safety was at risk.

  Steve gave her a scalding look before doing as told. In the span of a few seconds, the agents had passed without sparing a glance. Amateurs.

  Andrea grinned as they stepped onto the escalator, but the emotion lasted only a moment. She spotted Rumlow, accompanied by another S.T.R.I.K.E. agent. They were on the opposite escalator. Rumlow's expression was sour as he cut glances around him, oblivious to the group dead-ahead.

  Andy turned to Steve and Natasha, "Incoming." She gestured with her shoulder, discreet as she directed their eyes to the two agents.

  Natasha had a plan. "Kiss me," she said to Steve.

  He looked down at her, eyes wide. "What, why?" He was sputtering over his words. Andrea struggled to keep from laughing.

  "Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable," Natasha explained, to which Steve furiously nodded his agreement.

  "Yes, yes they do," he replied.

Andy rolled her eyes. "Fine, kiss me."

  Before Steve could protest, Andrea pulled him over to her and placed her lips on his. He didn't pull away and neither did she, despite how uncomfortable the situation was. It wasn't exactly the greatest feeling to kiss someone you only cared for platonically.

  They pulled away when Natasha informed them that they were clear of the threat. Andy grinned up at Steve. She couldn't lie and say she wasn't amused by the expression on his face.

"Still uncomfortable?" She asked, teasing as they walked away from the escalator. It was better to poke fun about the whole ordeal than be bothered by it. They were both adults.

  Steve looked down at her, only mildly irritated by her nonchalance. "Not exactly the word I would use," he replied. Andy finally laughed as they exited the mall.

▹

So many people said Andy and Nat should have kissed and I totally agree!! Except that it would've drawn so much more attention. No one cares abt two heterosexuals !!! That's why I made it Steve and Andy. I also added it to make it clear that they aren't comfortable being together like that at all... they are strictly platonic besties !!! I get too many comments about them and it weirds me out... sorry!