Chào các bạn! Vì nhiều lý do từ nay Truyen2U chính thức đổi tên là Truyen247.Pro. Mong các bạn tiếp tục ủng hộ truy cập tên miền mới này nhé! Mãi yêu... ♥

twenty-two

.22 | Party's Over


Steve turned out to catch on more quickly than she had anticipated.

It was as if he were reading her thoughts as they flowed in tandem on the dance floor. They were lost in their own little world and soon the onlookers got swallowed up by the conversation that continued between them.

She soon forgot about everyone else in the room and time seemed to stop for only them.

He took gentle care with her.

She felt his hands slightly quiver near the beginning when they had first started,  but as they got moving his grip shifted to something more grounded and stable.

It had made two of them because Merida's knees had threatened to buckle the moment he first touched her, but she had swallowed back the odd sensations and kept a calm composure.

Merida secretly relished the time she spent on the dance floor with Steve.

There was a moment when she actually prayed that the music wouldn't stop and that this moment would forever last.

It was such a contrast from her time at the circus and with Killian. She knew she would probably have to stop comparing that part of her life to Steve and the Avengers' hospitality, but it was still too fresh and raw. She was still too entangled with the memory of the darkness that Killian had brought to her life.

And yet here with Steve, it was different.

The beast within purred in cozy contentment.

Here she felt light on her feet, a trembling in her veins that wasn't from fear but from the sheer amount of energy that magnetized her to Steve. She took a small sneaking glimpse of his aura; it was an array of swirling red and pink. The burning sensation in her cheeks that followed made her look down at their feet as they moved on the dancefloor.

She hadn't wanted him to see the crimson that stained her cheeks; she was still a little shy and unsure. It was all new to her and she was still jumping through hoops with her self-worth and the trauma that was still evident in the depths of her eyes.

Merida was about to comment on his ability to pick up quickly with dancing, but the lights in the banquet room dimmed slightly and the large flat screens that were stationed on all the walls no longer had the banquet information and rolling banner at the bottom.

Each screen morphed into a black and white fuzziness before a picture started to come through. She felt the breath knocked out of her as a ghastly face appeared right in front of the screen; their eyes were so close to the screen, the face not fully showing, but it didn't take Merida more than a second to recognize those crazed eyes.

Killian.

"Steve..." She breathed in pure horror as her body impulsively crumpled at the mere sight of her tormentor. Her insides flipped and her heart took off like a runaway train.

The beast within flared its anger as white-hot energy permeated from her veins.

Steve's right arm instinctively wrapped around her as his eyes narrowed at Killian on the screen.

"Hoo-Ha-hoo-ha, ladies and gentle-man,"

Merida stilled and the entire room went silent; the music fell away and everyone's attention was glued to the screens.

Some people looked around quizzically as if trying to figure out if it were a prank and others were horrified as they stared at the maniac who was cackling and staring almost eerily calm out to everyone as if he were looking right at them.

Steve turned to look around the room and nodded at Natasha who was already putting her finger to her earpiece and communicating with someone.

Steve looked down Merida with knitted brows; the Brooklyn boy disappeared and was now replaced with the patriotic hero.
Merida returned her attention to the screen nearest them with wide doe-like eyes.

"I will require your attention for a few, uh, moments," Killian cackled as he moved closer to the camera.

She noticed he was wearing a security uniform. There was a dried latch of blood on the outfit near the shoulders, along with blood on his face, but there were no open words on his face.

It wasn't his blood.

She blanched at the gruesome evidence that someone had been hurt as he commandeered the outfit.

"I want to play a game of tik-tok until the bomb goes off,"

The eerie maniacal laughter cut through her blood and she went rigid.

"What the hell is this?" An older gentleman guffawed with a mixture of irritation and fear. A whispered hush fell through the crowd as people watched with rapt attention and horror realizing the crazed man on the screen was not a joking situation.

Steve bristled against her, his jawline clenched as the muscle in his neck twitched.

"You see I'm here to put on a show,"

Killian smirked.

"And for my first act,"

He stepped back to reveal a lone figure strapped with explosives against a metal chair. Their feet were dirty and bare, resting on the floor beneath them.

Merida couldn't make out if it were a man or woman since there was a dark black sack over their head.

However, as her eyes moved up and down the figure on the grainy film, she gasped in horror as her heart fell deeply into the pit of her stomach.

It was Fran.

She recognized the gold jewelry on her slender hands, specifically the gold pair of wings she wore on the ring finger on her right hand, and the large pearl ring that was on the pointer finger of her left hand.

Each piece was symbolic to Fran.

Who else could it be?

Now that she knew it was Fran she could really see the slender and feminine form, the closer peered at the video the more she could see that it did resemble Fran, despite the dark sack over her head. Those locks of hair were a dead giveaway now that she knew those were her rings.

"Fran," Merida whimpered in shock as she took a small involuntary step forward.

Steve glanced down at Merida's horrified face of realization.

"I will make this woman disappear,"

Merida felt the tears in her eyes well as the beast within stirred with hot fury.

No...no...this couldn't be happening.

A deep guttural growl in the background of the video caught Killian's attention to something off screen. He grimaced with an eye roll, "Bring the mongrel over here,"

There was a loud whipping sound and a crashing sound of what sounded like chains.
Merida almost crumbled, but Steve caught her quickly.

Ansem appeared on the screen.

Blaze and Blair each held a long chain that was attached to an awfully tight leather collar that was wrapped around Ansem's neck.

"Ansem," Merida choked out as the tears fell down her cheeks.

Killian knew she was here at this event. He knew she would see this.

Her stomach churned as her heart ached from her inability to be there for either of them.

Blaze used the whip to force Ansem into an obedient position, finally getting the gentle king of the jungle down to the ground as he whipped him into submission. He lay on the cold hard ground as the two twins smiled gleefully from their dominant stance above.

They were truly awful; absolutely horrible people to be treating Ansem in such a way.
She knew they were callous and cruel, but this was a whole other level.

The crowd around Steve and Merida gasped.

"Actually, for my first act, I'll make the woman and this unruly beast disappear,"

Killian snickered as the woman behind him writhed slightly, a muffled cry came from behind the sack which meant he had her mouth covered.

Natasha appeared beside Steve and shook her head whispering, "I can't get a location on where this is being streamed from. The agents at the tower are working on it now," Steve looked to her and then back at Merida who was gazing up at them with a not so silent begging in her eyes.

She wanted to make it stop.

Wanted it all to stop.

The beast within twitched with the desire to shift and tear Killian limb from limb.

Killian spoke directly into the camera, but she got the distinct feeling he was looking right at her, making her feel small and fragile at that moment as if she were back at the circus and he was standing right in front of her.

She trembled uncontrollably.

"However, I would like to play a li-ttle game with the Avengers,"

He cackled again, shoving his face into the camera so far that only the top half of his face could be seen, "You have until midnight to find us," He pulled back from the camera grinning with a smile that only a true mad man could deliver.

He was all for the theatrics and chaotic madness, and right now he was delivering just as he would want to as she noticed the crowd's horrified expressions. It made the hair on her neck stand on end.

"It'll be a fun game of hide and seek,"

"But I like to play this game with explosives. Ups the ante, don't ya' think?"

He laughed hysterically as Blaze and Blair cackled along with him.

"Come and join the circus of madness," Killian beckoned with wide arms as if inviting them with chaotic glee, his lips pulled into a crazed smile that didn't seem all human either.

He then frowned, his demeanor flipping so violently like many of his mood swings back when she was at the circus with him. He narrowed his eyes and his voice dropped to guttural darkness, "You have until midnight or I blow them into oblivion," 

Killian backed from the camera and smirked, his chaotic delight coming back as the darkness of his previous mood dissolved, "And what a show that will be!"

He bowed dramatically, flipping his hand out as the pearly whites of teeth glistened when he raised his face back up to stare at the camera, "Happy searching, A-veng-ers,"

He paused and then winked, "Toodles!"

The screen went black.

Merida felt her world collapsing.

"Party's over Cinderella. Time to go," Tony was behind them now, his face twisted into fury and determination as he looked down at Merida before glancing up at Steve.

"Tony's right, we have to go. Now," Steve nodded as Tony gave Steve an odd look.

"I never thought I'd hear the day you say I'm right," Tony sassed with a sarcastic smirk before snaking his way through the crowd as all of the Avengers made their way to the elevators.

Natasha and Sam followed behind them, taking in the banquet and giving it one last sweep for any trouble or odd characters that could be following them.

"We only have about three hours until midnight," Sam mentioned as he gazed at Natasha.

"Which means we have to work fast," Natasha responded.

Tony leaned over and whispered something into the security guard's ear, motioning with his hand as he looked out at the people who were attending the benefit. Pepper was standing near him as he placed a hand on her lower back to usher her out and onto the elevator.

"Shouldn't I go-?" Pepper started in and Tony shook his head.

"No, you're leaving with everyone else. Work can wait, Pep," He gazed at her intensely and she looked like she might argue, but thought better of it and nodded.

The security guard started to clear everyone out of the banquet hall.

Merida hopped onto the elevator with everyone, leaning against the railing as it sailed down the building, her eyes holding a haunted expression as she glanced at everyone. Tony and Steve talked amongst themselves. They were planning as Natasha was flipping open her phone to make a call, no doubt to Fury or someone else in charge.

"He has them," Her words tumbled out of her mouth, so weak and helpless as she felt her bottom lip tremble. The Avengers, who were doing their best to get a game plan together, couldn't help but look at her upon hearing her hollow voice.

"He has my friends," Her eyes brimmed with tears as she returned her gaze to the numbers counting down on the elevator.

The others fell silent, no doubt feeling the heavy implication behind her words and understanding the stakes were higher than ever now.

"We're going to find them," Sam nodded with a determined look to his own eyes and though she wanted to believe him she was still spiraling on the inside from fear and anxiety.

Not a second later she felt the reassuring grip of Steve's hand as he gently touched her elbow, a silent and supportive indication that he was here and she wasn't alone. She looked down at his touch and then up at him as he glanced down at her. His lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something, but instead, he fell silent.

Without saying anything, he said everything. He was here. She wasn't alone.

And she knew, deep within her heart, that he'd do everything in his power to bring her friends home safe.


***


"Zoom in on that part," Tony was standing with his arms crossed in the Avengers tower.

Fury, among other agents, stood in the room. "Time is of the essence here," Fury ground out as eyed the Avengers.

He was in a long black trench coat, black boots, and a black shirt. The man still intimidated Merida and she shrunk beneath his fierce gaze.

"Really? I thought we had all day," Tony mused aloud with an air of sass.

"Merida says he has Francesa and her, uh, lion. Both friends from the circus. I would bet my last dollar he's using them as bait to get to her," Sam added aloud as Fury gazed over at Merida with his one good eye.

"He's definitely using them to lure her out and into a trap," Steve mentioned as his eyebrows knitted together with worry.

Tony's sports coat was off, but he was still in his white button-down. He had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows as everyone gathered around the video that repeated on a loop for the past fifteen minutes.

Steve stood near him as Tony blew up the video and zoomed further on what appeared to be a sliver of a broken wooden crate with some kind of symbol or writing on it, but it was only partially in the video so it couldn't be made out.

"What is that?" Steve knitted his eyes as he looked closely at the symbol or lettering on the crate.

Merida sat in a chair, her wedges were off and on the tile floor, her dress and everything still on as they went straight to work at the tower without changing.

The air was different as the intensity of what was at stake bore down on everyone's shoulders. She felt her heart hammering in her chest as she gazed with scrutiny at the video that kept repeating on a loop.

"It looks like they are in a warehouse," Merida mumbled aloud as she peered closely at the floor they stood on. It was concrete and it looked like wherever they were at was barren.

"Jarvis, cross-reference the orange part on the crate with recent symbols, brands, or lettering in the New York area with warehouses that either occupied or abandoned," Tony gazed at the screen.

The AI went to work.

A few moments later Jarvis came back and brought up a screen of three possible matches.

"Sir, out of the three possible matches one is actually a ninety-two percent match," The AI added before falling silent.

Merida stood up from her chair, walking over to the list on the screen. The top one had ninety-two percent match next to it. She gazed at the other two on the list, but something in her intuition kept her eyes trained on the top match.

"J&J Brewing," Steve remarked as both Tony and Steve gazed at one another.

"They had a huge place over in the warehouse district," Sam noted as he looked at everyone in the room. Fury perked up at this as Sam continued,

"They were an up and coming micro brewery, but they got shut down due to license and legal issues here in New York. Rumor had it they also had some really shady dealings with the inner city gangs in the Bronx. After they shut down they started operating under a new name and took their business to New Jersey,"

Natasha raised a brow as Sam looked at them all with a smug smile.

"What? I keep up with local breweries," Sam added with a smile.

"Are we betting everything on this warehouse or are we splitting up and investigating the other two?" Steve asked as he turned around to look at the team. 

"Do we really have that kind of time?" Natasha asked as Merida bit her bottom lip from anxiety.

"Statistically, if the team is split up you have time, but by my calculations, it would be cutting it close," Jarvis chimed in from the intercom system.

"Not to mention we'd be going in blind. We have no idea how many people will be waiting for us inside this place and if we're split up at different locations..." Sam added as he crossed his arms and shook his head in frustration.

Merida looked at top choice again and said aloud, "Go to J&J Brewing,"

Everyone in the room looked at her wide-eyed, but she averted their looks and kept her gaze on Steve. "Every bone in my body says that's the place and I rather like Jarvis' odds about it being a ninety-two percent match," She added as the room grew quiet and pensive.

"Are we ready to make that kind of decision? Based on intuition?" Fury cut in quickly. Though he wasn't judging Merida's input, he was in charge and the fallout would be resting heavily on his shoulders and the Avengers if things went south. 

Tony stared at Merida before returning to the screen, "Jarvis, pull up the last known location where J&J Brewery was at including all footage of the inside if you can,"

Images pulled up of the warehouse on the screen and soon Tony started to get to work, his fingers on the images to push them around, throwing some images off-screen completely as he continued swiping. It seemed to take forever as he kept swiping, but he finally landed on something as the room grew tense with the curiosity about what he was doing.

"Here we go," Tony remarked with a smirk.

"How's this for more certainty?" Tony added as he pulled a crystal clear image of the inside of the warehouse onto the screen. He pulled up the video footage from Killian's threat and then moved the warehouse image to overlay with the video image.

"That is a hundred percent match," Jarvis called out before adding, "Well done, sir."

"See!" Merida added with her own elated smile as Fury gazed at the screen quietly.

Steve nodded as he looked at both Merida and Tony with a growing relief. His shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, "That's enough for me. Let's suit up,"

The Avengers wasted no time suiting up as Fury called in some reinforcement agents to aid in their mission. Clint was joining them as well.

Clint and Natasha would be responsible for clearing the warehouse, Sam and Steve would be responsible for rounding up any henchman and also securing their main target, Killian. Tony would be responsible for working with Jarvis on disarming the bomb that was attached to Fran and getting her out as quickly as possible.

Bruce was staying behind while Thor was on Asgard for a situation regarding dark elves that had tried to breach their walls. He was indisposed so he wouldn't be able to lend a hand on this mission.

Fury had made it perfectly clear that while Merida was here assisting the team to apprehend Killian she was not cleared for groundwork and being on the front lines with the Avengers; she had no authorization. Not to mention it was as if Killian was expecting her to be there and they didn't want to give in to the bait.

Merida looked down and bit her lower lip as she felt her inner beast protest.

"Do you not trust me out there?" Merida asked quietly as Steve approached her.

He looked torn between his own thoughts about her being left behind at the tower versus being with him on the frontlines, "I trust you, I do," He smiled earnestly as she looked up at him with relief in her eyes. "It's Fury's orders though," He added with emphasis on it being Fury's orders and not his own.

She looked down, feeling disheartened, and nodded, "I understand,"

Steve sighed and she looked up at his suit; the dark blue and white contrast made his beautiful bold eyes stand out amongst the features on his face. He held his helmet loosely in his right hand as a stood before her.

"I can't decide if I'd be more worried if you were with us, or if I'm more worried about you being here while we're out there," He gave a sheepish smile that revealed the boyish Brooklyn boy, a hue of red appearing on his chiseled cheeks.

It made Merida realize the worry he held for her was not from lack of trust or from feeling that she was too small and fragile to take care of herself.

It was because he cared.

"I think he's expecting you to be there tonight. I just-I don't want to give him what he wants," Steve added with a raw honesty as he looked down at her.

She swallowed back the lump in her throat; that odd feeling returning when she realized just how much the person before her cared for her wellbeing.

She let out a nervous breath before changing the subject.

"What about Ansem?" Merida asked with wide eyes.

Sam put his hands up as he walked near them, now suited up and ready to roll, "Not it!"

Steve looked at Merida with a promise in his steely blue eyes, "I'll get him and make sure he's secure. We won't let anyone hurt him,"

Merida had a feeling that if Ansem smelled her scent on Steve he would be more willing to obey and would see Steve as a friend and not a foe. She pulled the ribbons off her wrists from the outfit, untying them slowly as she gave them to Steve with a small, nervous smile, despite her whole heart aching and the fear that coursed through her veins.

"Here. Take these. Ansem will smell them and he'll know you're my friend," She remarked as Steve took them and stuffed them into one of the hidden pockets of his suit.

He gave her one long last look and smiled as best he could, a reassuring smile that spoke volume without him having to say much. 

"I promise I'll do whatever I can to bring them back to you. I know they both mean a lot to you," Steve mentioned as she nodded, a tear slipping past her cheek and rolling down her face.

Her worst fears were coming to life; people she loved might get hurt because of her.

The dreams she had of people dying because she ran away...subconscious fears were now becoming a reality and there was an awful pit in her stomach that felt a lot like guilt.

Merida swallowed past the nervous lump in her throat before throwing her arms around Steve in the heat of the moment, pulling him close as fear, anxiety, and worry threatened to consume her. She was trembling and she knew he could feel it, even through his suit she was quivering from head to toe.

He relaxed into her warm embrace as she whispered, "Thank you,"

It was all she could get out.

Ten minutes later, the Avengers were gone and on their way to the warehouse leaving Merida alone in the tower.

Her legs now curled up against her chest, her chin resting on her knees while her body still quivered almost violently from the pent up adrenaline, guilt, and trauma that wracked her body.

Sitting and waiting was worse than being on the frontlines and facing Killian.

Though she had put on a brave front for Steve, it had pained her in every way imaginable that she couldn't do anything to help.

All she could do now was wait.

Author's Note:

Whew. Okay so I'm so sorry this took forever to update. I got sidetracked with another story I'm writing, an original called Falling in Cashmere. However, I'm back with a normal update schedule for this one so I'll be updating more regularly again. :)

This story is about I'd say halfway complete, maybe a little over halfway complete at the moment. There is still plenty more to come from our heroes and Merida!!!

I swear though this girl can't seem to catch a break and I'm so scared for Fran and Ansem!

I can't even imagine how horrible it must feel for her to feel so helpless and know that Killian is out there threatening two very special people she loves. And then Fury saying she can't fight and has to sit out...I know that drives her crazy because she wants to help! I can't imagine being told to wait. I'd be so stressed and anxious!

I absolutely adore the small moments between her and Steve though. They are the small moments that add up over time for me that make these two so darn remarkable and just so OTP!!!! <3

Feeling so bad for Fran and Ansem right now though..UGH Blaze and Blair are the WORST EVER!!

So is Killian. X.X

Now this story is no where near done so let's sit back and see how it all unfolds...because he still is in search for that treasure! :/









Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro