Remorseless

The wisp of smoke coming from the barrel of the gun caught her eye as her focus went from the perfect chest shot, to taking the perfect head shot. *BANG* Right between the eyes.
Her hands didn't tremble holding a gun anymore. Many hours alone at the shooting range had seen her confidence come back, just like Bucky had said it would. She removed her earmuffs and pressed the button to her left, the paper target whizzing towards her, pegged to the cable. She took it off, replacing it with a fresh one before she left, as per the range rules. Zara glanced at her phone, her chest tightening when she saw the time, realizing she was going to be late, yet again. She holstered her gun under her suit jacket as she made her way out to the hallway, her heels click-clacking on the polished concrete floor.

"Coulson, I'm so sorry. I was downstairs and I lost track of time-" She said, worry in her voice.
"--It's fine, it's fine... Just don't make a habit of it, okay?" He smiled, "You'll be ready to go back out in the field soon at this rate"

Zara cocked a brow, not really sure to answer, instead letting out an awkward chuckle, looking away as she played with her fingernails.
"You know what, don't worry about it. When you're ready, the job's yours. You're wasted in here running office errands."
Zara's mind ran at a million miles an hour and she was sure her face would give her away. If only they knew she'd been running her own little missions... She swallowed hard, shaking her thoughts off, now wasn't the time to spill the beans.
"Thanks Coulson," She said "Can I get you a latte?"
"Sure, thanks" He answered, still finding it weird that one of his best agents was now doing the coffee run, rather than the usual death defying field work.
"I don't have much for you to do today, I just need you could run these files to the upstairs office and shut the computers down for me... Why not take the afternoon off?"
"Really? Oh wow, thanks that'd be great!"



Zara shoved her Smartphone into her pocket as she strode as quickly as she could across the foyer, looking over her shoulder like she always did. She gripped the car keys as she stepped out the glass doors, dragging in a breath of fresh air as she did. She stifled a grin, once again she hadn't been seen, nor had she been questioned.

Excellent...

She gasped with fright when something, or someone, came rushing up beside her, only for her to roll her eyes and fling her hand out to slap him.

God damn it...

"Where are you off to in such a hurry, princess?" Came the thick Eastern European accent that she'd grown to both love and hate at the same time.
"None of your damn business" She said, pulling her wrist from his grip. "And it's not fair to use your speed with me. If you sneak up on me, Pietro, I am entitled to slap you." She said, mock-stern.
"I think I'd like very much for you to slap me"
"I think I'd rather punch you" She sassed, cocking her head as she stepped around him and continued to where the cars were parked, and pressing the button on the keychain.
"Better you than the boyfriend..." Pietro said, stepping back in front of her, blocking her path again.
"Well I'm sure he'd like to do much worse than just punch you, Speedy. Now get out of my way or I'm going to be late" She said, annoyance in her voice now.
"You didn't answer me, princess, where are you running off to?"
"Call me princess one more time, and I swear to god-"
"You'd what? ... You'd never catch me." He teased, Zara rolling her eyes as she glanced at her watch impatiently.
"Ugh, you're a pest. Go find someone else to annoy."

Pietro cocked his head at her, mock-hurt with his hand over his heart.

"Look, I'm just running an errand, I'll be back in a few hours." She said, putting an arm out to push him aside.
"You've been running a lot of those lately. I wonder if Barnes knows?" He asked, making her stop short and turn to face him, drawing in a sharp breath.
"I'll take that as a no, then... Secretly running off in leather pants and heels-"
"I hope you're not insinuating that I'm cheating or something!" She snapped, genuinely angry now as she stepped towards him.
"I'm not insinuating anything... I just want to know where you're going. I overheard Coulson tell someone you were training this afternoon, so imagine my surprise when I find you hurrying out the lobby..." He said with an accusing tone.
"You're fucking spying on me!?" She snapped, shoving him in the chest hard enough to make him stumble back. "I thought you were a creep, Pietro but this takes it to a whole new level."
"A creep? A CREEP!?" He argued, getting angry himself. "I just want to make sure you're safe, Zara. That's all! We look out for each other here in case you haven't noticed-"
"There's a big difference between looking out for each other and following each other in secret, Maximoff." She seethed through gritted teeth.
"We all have secrets, Jones. Apparently some more than others." He said, gesturing at her. She stood her ground, crossing her arms and setting her jaw.
"Okay, fine, you've made your point. What are you going to do about it? Taddle on me?" She said condescendingly, cocking her head. Pietro let out a frustrated breath, running a hand through his silvery hair.
"You tell me where you're going, or I tell Barnes. If something happens to you, and I knew all along, then that's on me." He said with a shrug.

Zara looked away, letting out a breath. There was no way she could argue with that. If something happened to her, the first thing Barnes would do was to blame someone, and the responsible person would ultimately pay the price. Despite her love/hate relationship with Pietro - more leaning in the less favourable direction at the best of times - she didn't want him in trouble. Especially the angry super soldier kind of trouble... But then again there was that magical little thing called plausible deniability...

"Okay fine..." She said, cocking her head. "I have a waxing appointment. There, are you happy now?"
"Is that it?" He said, his cheeks dusting pink.
"Bucky's due back this week, and I wanted to pick him up a surprise, and stop by the salon. As I said, what I do in my personal time is none of your business, but by all means call him and feel free to ruin everything" She said, letting anger creep into her tone.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's fine, just don't be so quick to make assumptions about people. It's rude." She said, cocking a brow. "I'll be back later."




The city was busy, with lots of traffic. Usually this would have bothered her but not today. Maybe that's why Bucky had offered her use of his car as opposed to one of the Shield SUV's. She managed a smile, thinking of his sweet gesture. Nobody was allowed to even TOUCH his car and he'd just thrown her the keys like it was no big deal. She ran her thumb over the stainless steel plate of the gear shift, closing her eyes for a moment and taking in the smell of the leather seats, it sure was a beautiful car to drive.
She shifted back to third, slowing to read a sign as she looked for somewhere to park. Out of all the trips she'd made out here, the one thing that was a constant pain in the ass was parking, she couldn't fathom how anyone could live in the heart of the city comfortably. There was certainly something claustrophobic about it, and she had been thrilled when they'd moved to the new Avengers base in Upstate NY. Well, thrilled once they'd settled after all the drama of course.

Zara stepped out of the car, having found a spot near the entrance of the parking lot. Her shoes crunched in the fresh snow, and she suddenly missed her Doc Martens. It's all for a reason' she told herself, swinging a delicate looking handbag over her shoulder, holding her head high and making her way to the building she was after.
She gave her hair a fluff as she slowed, remembering the way from the last half a dozen times she'd been here. She looked up at the big stainless steel letters on the otherwise plain wall as she stepped through the glass doors, popping the top button of her jacket as she did. She stepped over to the guy behind the desk, relieved it was the usual one, the one she had wrapped around her little finger. She shot him a flirtatious smile as she made her way over to the desk, leaning over it to sign in on the clipboard.

"Hi there Felix..." She purred, giving him a wink. His cheeks dusted pink as they always did, making her chuckle a little. Romanov's lessons had obviously paid off, she made a mental note to pick her up an expensive bottle of vodka to say thank you.
"H-Hi there Miss Morgan..." The 40-something stuttered as he pushed his glasses up, cocking his head in obvious mock-confidence. She gave him another smile, suddenly feeling bad for him as she fished her lanyard and fake ID from her handbag, putting it on around her neck.
"Thanks so much for the call, I really appreciate it" She said as she fixed her hair, untucking it from the lanyard cord. "Is he ready for me or shall I wait here?"
"No, I booked you straight in. I-I don't like to keep a lady waiting..." He said, blushing furiously now as he reached over to the wall beside him, pressing the downstairs buzzer. "Special Agent Morgan is here from the FBI, ID verified" He said into the speaker, releasing the button with a smile.
"Thanks Felix, I won't forget this" She smiled back.



Zara crossed her arms and gave a shiver as she stepped in to the cold, sterile room. Her eyes scanned the stainless steel fridge doors, the thought of what was behind them making her feel a little uneasy. She had the urge to hold her breath, finding the smell of bleach in the room a little overpowering. Still, she guessed it was better than the obvious alternative. She forced herself to relax and refocused as she followed the man in the white coat as he walked her over to the gurney, stopping in front of it.

The toe tag on the body caught her eye, her stomach tightening again making her feel like she was either going to throw up or faint. Name: Unknown. Male. Caucasian. 30-35 years of age. Cause of death - trauma. Notes - high tech prosthetic arm. To be identified.

Zara swallowed, letting out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding as she looked over to the man in the lab coat. His hand hovered over the white sheet, pausing before he lifted it to ask if she was ready to proceed. She nodded, just wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible.

"God damn it..." She muttered under her breath as he pulled the sheet back. She clenched her jaw and shook her head, the urge to punch something rising up within her. Her eyes scanned over the body in front of her, stopping at his arm. She'd seen more prosthetic arms over the last couple of months than she cared to think about, not to mention bodies, too.

THAT's not a high tech prosthetic arm, that's a- huh?

"Special Agent?" Came the voice of the man across from her, snapping her back into reality.
"Sorry, no. No it's not him, thank you for your time" She said quickly, forcing a polite smile as she gave him a nod and turned to leave.

Zara stepped out into the chilly January air, zipping her jacket up as she pulled the last cigarette from the box in her pocket. She cupped her hand around the end to shield it from the wind, taking several attempts to light the damn thing, only irritating her that much more. She dragged in the first breath with an air of desperation, her eyes closing as she slowly let the smoke out.
Another trip to yet another morgue. For the amount of security in the building, she was both shocked and relieved how easy it was to gain entry to the examination room itself - just by flirting with the guy at the front counter. This was something Natasha had divulged one night after a few too many vodka shots. 'Never underestimate the power of stilettos and boobs' she had said. Zara had run out to buy a push up bra the very next day, being not as genetically blessed as the curvaceous red head, and wouldn't you know it, the woman was right.

Bucky wouldn't like that she'd gone to the examiner's office, and she didn't have plans to tell him, but if he asked she'd decided it was better to be honest. Hell, all going well, it would all come out at some point anyway. Shield would find Grant Ward sooner or later, probably leaning towards the later at this rate. Her and Bucky had chased him for months, every lead turning out to be cold, and they were always one, if not ten steps behind him.
If Bucky Barnes, former assassin and ghost story himself couldn't find someone, then they clearly didn't want to be found.
It had gotten to the point where Coulson had just had to throw his hands up and tell them that enough was enough and put a stop to the whole thing, which had infuriated them both. The consensus being that if they took a step back, looked at the bigger picture and worked on taking Hydra down on a grander scale, Ward would come out of the woodwork sooner or later.
Of course this had caused upset at Shield, and Bucky had been especially moody, the younger recruits once again giving him a wide berth. Nothing Zara couldn't handle of course, but it had been stressful all the same.

That was around the same time Zara had volunteered herself for the office job which had opened up, taking her off the field while she worked on her skills back at the building. The extra spare time she'd had up her sleeve had been a godsend, and she'd used it wisely to run her own secret missions. Screw it, she wasn't about to give up on Grant Ward, not after all he'd done to them. She wanted to be the one to put the bullet between his eyes personally.

She finished her cigarette, butting it out with her toe on the snowy sidewalk, picking the butt up to throw in the trash can. That was another secret habit she'd taken up without even realizing. One terrible night she'd had a nightmare and gone out to the balcony on the upper level for some air. One of the rookies had seen that she'd been crying, and being the kind of guy he was, had offered her a cigarette when he couldn't offer solace. It had been hard with Bucky being away, she'd had to cope with the stress of the Ward case alone, and not only that, but she'd had to keep it quiet. When Bucky had been home he'd been moody and stressed, and although he was fine with Zara, it still made an impact on her, and sneaking off for a smoke had been the one thing to keep her tethered. It took her back to a simpler time, a time where she didn't have to care. She felt like she could almost remember what that was like, not that she'd trade her relationship or her family at Shield for anything, but it was nice to forget about her problems for 5 minutes a couple of times a day. It was something she knew she'd have to give up eventually, but for now she figured she had bigger things to worry about.




She crossed her arms, pulling the lanyard off and shoving it back into her bag and buttoning her suit jacket back up. She needed a coffee. A big one. Zara glanced at her watch, it was getting late in the afternoon and the shops were going to be closing up soon. She still had time to pick up a few things so she didn't go back to the base empty handed, no doubt a certain silver-haired 'concerned friend' would be waiting for her return.

"Shopping, then coffee..." She said to herself with a nod as she opened a pack of chewing gum.




Zara pulled into the empty parking spot out the front of the quiet bar. They certainly weren't a coffee shop, but she'd gotten to know the owner and he was always happy to put the kettle on for her.
She spritzed on some perfume, stepping out into the cold air, locking the car behind her as she stepped into the bar, a familiar face giving her a smile which she returned.
"Hey, Zee" He said, his face lighting up as if a friendly face was the best thing he'd seen all day.
"Hey Luke," She said tiredly as she sat at one of the bar stools, a scowly looking black haired girl catching her eye at the table in the corner. She almost smiled at Zara, well perhaps going from the scowl to neutral for a moment, but the gesture wasn't lost on Zara who politely returned the favour.
"Rough day?" She asked, turning back to the well built, African American bartender, noticing his expression was one of exhaustion. He nodded in answer, giving a shrug at the same time.
"You have no idea..." He said, a bitter chuckle escaping him as he wiped a mug clean with a tea towel. Zara nodded, her lips pursed. "What brings you down this way?" He asked, scooping the coffee into the mug as the kettle let out a ding.
"Another body..." She said, letting out an annoyed breath. "Wasn't who I was hoping it'd be though"
"Always the way..." He said, putting the mug in front of her. "Nerd boy asked you to marry him yet?" He joked, lightening the mood, making her laugh. She shook her head.
"No, not yet. Maybe next time" She joked back, taking a sip of her coffee, letting out a satisfied sigh. "I might just marry YOU if you keep making me coffee like this!"

The woman in the corner shifted uncomfortably, now not bothering to hide her annoyance. Zara mouthed a 'sorry' to the bartender, only for him to smile and wave his hand.
"Ignore her..." He said, loudly enough for Scowly to hear, who turned to shoot both him and Zara a nasty look. Zara raised a brow, unintimidated and not up for taking shit off anyone today.
"You won't be ignoring me when I put your face through that lovely bar of yours, will you, Cage?" She sassed from her corner of the bar. Zara looked back and forth between the two, obvious tension rippling between them as he slammed the tea towel back down on the bar top.
"You know you can't hurt me, Jessica-"
"Oh I think I could..."
"Do I need to get the angle grinder out to prove my point again? Or maybe step out into traffic and wreck a few cars for you?"
"Fucking hell! Is there anything ELSE you want to blurt out!?" She snapped, striding over to the bar, gesturing over to Zara angrily.
"She already knows, it's fine." He said, not backing down, Zara suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. It was becoming obvious that there was bad blood between him and this crazy woman.

"What, did she bat her eyes at you, huh?"
"Excuse me?" Zara snapped, putting her mug down harder than she meant to, rising to her feet to challenge the other woman.
"Back off, Jones!" Came the voice of the bartender as he stepped over to them.
"Don't tell me-" Both women started at the same time, stopping short to look at each other with a look of breathless shock.

Zara closed her mouth, picking up her bag as she slapped a couple of dollars on the bartop. She didn't have time for this, not today.

"Not you, Zee, I meant HER" He said, gesturing over at the other black haired woman. "And you know the coffee is on me, get that money outta here."
Zara let out a breath, looking the other woman up and down for a moment as she took the notes back, folding them in half and tucking them back into her purse.
"Jessica, this is Zara Jones. She's a FRIEND, and yes, she knows about us both. We met a couple of months ago and she helped me take down some troublemakers. She's trying to track down a couple of criminals with abilities."

Jessica looked back and forth between the two of them, letting out a breath through gritted teeth.
"What do you know about people with abilities?" Jessica asked Zara, cocking her head as if assessing her.
"I know plenty about them, I'm close to a few... What I WANT to know is why so many of them are working for Hydra." Zara said, standing her ground confidently.
"Because they're being controlled, obviously" Jessica said, her tone both sarcastic and condescending.
"No shit" Zara said, matching her tone. "I know they have mind controllers out there keeping the others in check, I want to know who they are, and why they're helping Hydra."
"Yeah, well we're working on that..." Jessica said, cocking her head slightly as she shot Luke a look. "So where do you come into all this? You a spy or something?"
"No, I'm actually from Shield-"
"Oh that's just great-"
"I'm not an agent. I'm still listed as deceased on their files." She said, Jessica suddenly closing her mouth, choosing to listen rather than argue. "I was killed in action last year when Shield went to war with them. I was taken by Hydra, revived somehow, and my memory wiped. I was experimented on, and sent out on assassinations until Shield found me, and I was rescued..."

Jessica nodded, her face going from the aggressive scowl to one of sympathy.

"Like that guy that went nuts in D.C a couple of years ago, when the helicarriers went down..."
"Kinda, I was only gone for 6 months though. Bucky went through it for 70 years, and he was brainwashed, wiped and frozen in cryo over and over again... Hard to believe he came out of that as well as he did..." She said, her voice trailing off as she spoke.
"You speak like you know him..."
"I do, he's my boyfriend." Zara said, Jessica's expression still soft.
"Okay, now things are starting to make sense. It's personal..."

Zara nodded, the ghost of a smile crossing her face, Jessica even returning it. Luke was visibly more relaxed now that the two women looked less like they were about to kill each other. He decided to leave them to it, turning to continue setting the bar up to open for the night. Zara glanced at her watch, it was getting late and she had a long drive ahead of her as it was. She fished her car keys from her purse, playing with them in her hands for a few moments.

"They had mind controllers out on the field when D.C was attacked a few months ago..."
"I thought that was terrorists?"
"Nope... We were down there fighting, and the things that they were making these inhumans do... Civilians wouldn't have stood a chance." Zara began, still looking down at her keys, "I think the thing that scares me the most, is if the mind controllers got in range of the people I care about... A few of them would be pretty fucking scary on the wrong side of the fence... And I just can't let that happen." She said, looking up and Luke and Jessica, who both nodded in agreement.

"I've had experience with a mind controller, myself..." Jessica admitted, her voice quiet, "So I know where you're coming from"

Zara nodded, sympathy in her expression, "We need to take them out, or free them from whatever control Hydra has them under. I have ears and eyes everywhere, but no solid leads yet"
"Funny you say that, because I'm actually a private investigator and chasing a few leads myself..." Jessica said, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and unlocking it. "If you like, I can call you if I come across anything that may help"
"Oh wow, that'd be great..." Zara said, pulling her phone out, "Thanks so much"

"Thanks for the coffee, Luke." Zara said as she rubbed her hands together, ready to brave the cold outside for the long drive home.
"You got it, kid" He said with a friendly wink as he wiped the last glasses with a hand towel.
"Nice meeting you, Jessica." She added, giving a wave which was returned with a smile as well.

"Stay in touch, little Jones!" Luke called out after her as she left the bar, "And drive safe"
"Will do, later guys!" Zara called back.

The cold air hit her like a slap in the face, making her grateful that she'd gotten a park right out front of the bar. She started the heater up as soon as the engine was running, letting it warm up while she set her handbag down on the seat beside her and clipped her phone into the cradle.
It conveniently started ringing when she'd pulled out onto the freeway, a smile crossing her lips when she saw who's photo come up on the screen.
"Why hello there..." She said with a giggle as she answered it.
"How's my girl?" Came Bucky's confident voice over the loudspeaker.
"She's tired, but good." Zara said, "How's my guy?"
"He's good too," Bucky said with a throaty chuckle. "Where are you, sounds like you're driving?"
"I'm on my way home from the city. I had the afternoon off so I came down to do a little shopping, got us a few things"
"Sounds like you had fun, did you take the GTO?"
"I did, thank you so much for trusting me with it. It's so nice to drive... How's the mission going?"
"Anything for my girl..." He said, his chuckle coming back, "Well that's actually why I was calling..."
"Don't tell me you're going to be away even longer?" Zara complained, sadness creeping into her voice, "I miss you so much..."
"I miss you too, baby. More than you realize" he said, making her heart melt a little. "But we won't have to miss each other for much longer, because I'm on my way home as we speak."
"Seriously!?" She said, unable to contain her excitement, "When will you be back, how far away are you?"
"Later tonight, I'm about 5 hours away right now, give or take..."
"Oh my god, that's the best news I've heard in weeks. I'll wait up for you!"

"I'm counting on it."