Partners

After two days of not seeing her “partner,” Bobbi gets a call for a mission. She walks up the ramp to the jet to find 88 already waiting for her. The woman was in a full tactical suit, and her hair was intricately braided behind her. At Bobbi’s entrance, she looked up and grinned. 

“What up partner, ready to kick some ass?” 

Bobbi scoffed, “Hey Rockstar…” She looked the woman up and down. “Nice hair.” If she were a worse agent, she would have missed the tiny blush on the other woman's face, and the way her hand twitched toward her head.  

“Thank you.” She replied, glancing away. 

Bobbi chuckled. “Yeah, I’m ready.” 

Clearing her throat the other woman replied, “Well too bad. You’re stuck with pilot duty today. I get to do all the fun stuff.” 

“Really? What's the mission?” Bobbi asked, confused.

“It’s easy. You fly… you can fly right? Cause that's pretty important.”

Bobbi smirked. “I can fly.”

“Cool. Anyway –  you fly and I jump down to the base, pick up a little file, and bring the place down. Then you come back down for extraction” 88 said nonchalantly, patting the bag to her side. 

“That’s it huh?” 

“Yup.” 88 shrugged. 

“Alright let’s go.” With that, Bobbi walked into the jet. 

***

Bobbi glanced to her right, towards the woman next to her. 88’s feet were up in her chair, and her head was moving minutely to the beat of whatever song was in her head. She was about to jump, alone, into an enemy base and there wasn’t even a micro-expression of nerves on her. Bobbi was beginning to get desperate to figure this woman out. “Hey. I was looking for you yesterday at the training room. Was looking for another rematch.”

The other woman glanced over at Bobbi, more tense than before. “Yeah well I have meetings all day on Thursdays, so you wouldn’t have found me.” She chuckled falsely, “but if you’re a glutton for punishment we can meet up tomorrow.” 

Bobbi furrowed her brow, well that created more questions than answers. She was seriously considering taking people reading expert off of her resume. “Sounds good, Rockstar. I’ll figure out how you’re cheating eventually.” 

Another, more real, laugh. “Don’t think too hard on it. Wouldn’t want frown lines to ruin that pretty face.”

Bobbi turned to find the other woman adorning the most exaggerated pouty face possible. She grinned. “Pretty, huh?”

88’s face froze. Clearing her throat, she leaned closer to the screen in front of them in mock seriousness. “Wow, would you look at that? We’re almost there. Looks like it's time for me to, you know… jump.” She popped up, scrambling to pick up her bag. She reached the hanger button and pressed it, opening it. She yelled over the noise. “I’ll contact you when I’m ready for extraction. Meet me on the east side of the building.”

“Got it. Oh and 88… aren’t you forgetting something?”

“What?’ The agent asked, head tilting in confusion.

“The parachute.” Bobbi responded. 

88 twitched, “Oh right of course. I forgot you – I forgot I put it over by the chair.” The woman grabbed the parachute, slinging it over one shoulder. She turned around to face Bobbi, feet just at the edge of the hanger. “Well… I’ll see ya in a jiffy.” She cringed. “Jiffy?” A shrug. “Whatever, bye.” With a two fingered salute, she fell backwards and out of the plane. 

The second she was gone, Bobbi rushed to move the jet to a safe distance before putting on autopilot to hover. She picked up her laptop, plugging in one of the devices she smuggled in from SHIELD, allowing her access to nearby security systems. She pulled up the camera feed for the base below her, almost desperate for anything that would help her figure out the walking enigma that is her new “partner.” 

Sure enough, there was 88, striding in with all the confidence in the world. She stepped in just behind the door before reaching into the pocket of her vest. Bobbi zoomed the camera in forward, hungry for any new information. 

At the minute movement, the 88 looked up, making eye contact with the camera. Bobbi’s breath hitched. The agent smirked knowingly. She held up two fingers, pointing at her own eyes, and then at the camera. I see you. 

With a wink, every camera in the building shut off. 

Shit. 

***

Bobbi had no choice but to wait. Her mind was reeling with everything she had learned about the other woman so far. She was obviously hiding an abundance of secrets, and she was certifiably dangerous. But she was also… adorable? Bobbi had no clue. But she was Hydra, and Hydra was evil. They had imploded the only place she ever felt like she belonged. They were the enemy, and this woman should be no different. But still… she was, and Bobbi couldn’t stop herself from being intrigued anymore. 

Before she could continue her thought process, her comm. crackled and the voice of Agent 88 came through. 

“Ready whenever you are, I’m about to take this place down.”

“Copy that.” 

Bobbi landed the jet on the east side of the building, lowering the ramp for the woman. All of a sudden the entire ground began to shake, and a loud rumbling overtook her senses. She turned around just in time to see the entire building crumble in on itself, leaving only a gigantic plume of dust in the air, and a pile of rubble where a building once was. 

Bobbi’s eyes frantically surveyed the scene, looking for 88. A cough to her right made her jump. The woman was somehow right next to her. She looked a lot worse for wear. She was covered in grime and blood, and her breathing was shallower than before. Her nose was bleeding, and she was cradling both arms to her chest. 

“Ready to go?” The woman asked, swaying a little. 

Bobbi lurched forward to grab her before she fell. She practically carried the woman inside the jet, dropping her in one of the chairs. “Wait right here.” she stated, before running to fly away. After they were a safe distance she put on autopilot, and walked back to the woman sitting heavily. “Are you ok?” She asked, concerned. 

Agent 88 glanced up at her, confused. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. Go tell them we got what we needed.” She said wincing, reaching up to feel a large cut on her forehead. “Fuck.” 

Bobbi shook her head. “Let me take a look at that.” She said, sitting down in front of the woman, reaching for the med kit under the seat next to her. 

88 furrowed her brow. “I said I’m fine.” 

Bobbi, holding cotton swabs and butterfly bandages, responded, “Let me help.” She sat there patiently, waiting for permission from the other woman.

Slowly, 88 nodded. 

Bobbi learned forward and began cleaning the wound, ignoring the intense stare from the agent in front of her. “You know… you should get your arms checked out when we get back.”

The woman sniffed, pulling her arms closer to her. “I’ll be fine.” 

“Maybe. Still…” 88 didn’t respond. 

Bobbi, letting the subject drop, said, “What kind of bomb was that? The one that took down the building? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The other woman looked away finally, clearing her throat. “You like that huh? It’s a… a new design from the labs. It simulates an earthquake, or something.” 

Bobbi hummed. “Interesting.” She reached forward to gently place the bandage over the wound, before gently settling her hand on the other woman’s knee. “There. All better.” 

If Bobbi didn’t know any better, she would have thought she saw tears prickling in the corners of Agent 88’s eyes. “Thank you.” The woman said. 

Bobbi smiled warmly, genuinely. “Anytime, Rockstar.”