4.Odessa
“I look ridiculous.” I said to him , pulling on my skirt. It was too tight and too damn short. Half of my ass was showing. Not to mention the lack of a shirt that was covering my upper body. ”Is this really necessary? Can’t I just go in like, normal clothes?” I asked, looking at Tyson.
“What, like in your uniform? We can’t afford suspicions. Him calling a hooker isn’t that suspicious, everybody needs to get laid sometimes. Do you see that red car?” ,he asked, pointing in the direction of a car parked a few spots away from us .
“Yeah.” I said.
“The guy in the driver's seat tried to hijack one of our ships a few years ago. He recently got out of prison. Why would he choose to chill outside of a crappy hotel in Iran to pass the time?”
“Alright , I got it. I have to play hooker….But still... Why don’t we just take the bad guys out, then get our guy out of here.“
“Is this your first mission Harrison ?!“ ,he exclaimed looking at me annoyed. ”Do you know what the word undercover means ? We have to lay low and get the job done. That guy is probably one of the few that are watching this hotel right now, and they are most likely expecting us , since our guy said he was in danger and being watched. Now. I want you to get your pretty ass out of this car, pull up a smile, walk up to that reception and say that you came for a client named Hamid. Sell them your lies and act like a damn professional!! Am I clear, Agent? “He shouted in my face , making me nod in silence. “You are going to take him out through the back door, a car is waiting for you there , but remember , make sure you are clear before exiting the building. The coordinates to the safe location are already in the car's GPS. I’m going to be right behind you. “
Easier said than done. I slowly opened the car door, stepping out . How the hell am I supposed to run in these heels if I get caught? Good job Amelia, take a crappy suspicious mission that involves you walking around almost naked. I wish I was fighting one of those ugly aliens right now. At least they would have let me fight them in my uniform . I made my way towards the hotel, entering the building , walking up to the reception. Looking around I already spotted two guys looking at me , wearing black outfits. Why are the bad guys always wearing black clothes ? I mean it’s cool, but still.
“Hi handsome, I’m here for Mr. Hamid, he requested my services, for a good time.” I said in a low, seductive tone, giving my best “ hooker” smile. The guy looked me up and down smirking a little before handing me a piece of paper.
“Floor 5, room 67 “
“Thanks baby, maybe after I’m done, you can take a break…” I said loud enough for those two to hear, making sure I was selling my lies just as I was told to. He just smiled , looking back on his papers , making me turn around. One of the guys in black was now next to the elevator, probably having in mind to follow me. Great.
I made my way over there , stopping next to him, pushing the buttons , making sure I brushed my fingers against his arm , trying to...I don’t know what I was trying to do. The doors immediately opened , making us step inside. As soon as they closed I found myself trapped between the big guy and one of the walls .
“Excuse me , what are you doing?” I asked, trying to hide the panic in my voice. My heart started to race when I felt him trace his fingers up my thigh, knowing damn well I had a gun strapped to it.
I put my hand on his, giving him the best smirk I could, before moving it up to my breast , and leaning closer to his ear. ”I have an appointment, I need the money baby, but what do you say? You wait for me in the lobby , and I can give you a private show as soon as I’m done.” I whispered , placing a kiss just below his ear. I feel like I am going to throw up.
“What if I warm you up a little bit right now ?”, he asked, tightening his grip on my breast, his other hand trapping my wrists above my head. He looked deep into my eyes, smirking. Don’t cry Amelia, play your part. And I did play my part. Or tried…. I lifted my knee , kicking him where it hurt the most, making him scream out in pain and let go of my hands.
“You bitch!” He yelled, taking a step back , putting his hand on his little friend that was probably hurting like hell .
“I told you , I have an appointment.” I said as I pushed one of the buttons making the elevator finally move.” I offered you a free show after, don’t be so greedy. - I told him, stepping a little closer , trying to calm him down. “ I won't take too long.” I added when I heard the doors open, giving him one last kiss on the cheek before exiting. Or trying to . He grabbed my arm , yanking me back looking at me with anger .
“You don’t get to walk away like that sweetheart.” ,he told me ,pulling me closer to him. Alright . I have two options.
1.Grab my gun and put a hole between his eyes, possibly jeopardizing the mission. Or option 2 , give him what he wants. Option one seems just fine.
As I was about to reach for my gun , his phone started to ring, making me let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
He answered it quickly, letting me go, making me take a few steps back.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby, big guy.” I said with a smile, blowing him a kiss before walking away, trying to find my engineer's room.
S.H.I.E.L.D did not prepare me for this crap.
I finally reached room 67, knocking twice before hearing someone approach the door.
“Mr. Hamid, I’m Lucy..I’m here to entertain you for the next hour.” I said hoping he’d get the hint. He did. The door slowly opened , allowing me to step inside. As soon as I did he closed the door behind me , locking it. I looked at him watching his every move. He was a mess. He was around 40-45 years old, about 5’8 , slightly taller than me .” I am Agent Harrison, on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D , I’m here to get you out.” I whispered to him looking around the room .
“It’s clear, I already checked, like a 1000 times.” his voice made me turn around.
“Alright Mr, Hamid, do you have any idea who those people are out there watching you?” I asked, stepping closer to him.Damn he must think I’m crazy , an agent dressed like a cheap whore .
“I don’t know, I am not really sure. I was working in a laboratory a few weeks ago, we were developing a new reactor for God knows what. They said we didn’t need to know. You see, I speak Russian, and a few days ago I overheard a conversation between a guard and one of the scientist’s we were working for. They were talking about a project named Insight, that your division developed, but they were saying it would kill millions of people, they were talking about an algorithm. I can’t say anymore, we must go, I need to talk to Nick Fury.”, he said, starting to panic again.
“I am going to get you out of here I promise. Stay here.” I told him, kicking my heels off my feet. I walked towards the door slowly opening it, taking a look. It was clear. “Ok, I want you to stay right behind me , and do as I say.” I told him, moving my hand towards my thigh , pulling out my gun . I slowly stepped out of the room, checking the hall before gesturing for him to follow. He did , walking closely behind me as we reached the staff staircase. We quickly made our way down, entering an empty hallway. At the end of it was a door with a huge EXIT sign above it. I suppose that is our way out.
The way out was easy , too easy , but who am I to question my luck ? As we exited I spotted the black Audy waiting for us . We rushed towards it, hopping in. As I started the engine the screen on the board lit up , greeting me with a map. I put my gun on the passenger's seat while Hamid was catching his breath on the backseat. I opened the glovebox, grabbing the earpiece that was waiting for me there .
“We are out. Tyson, do you copy?” I said as soon as I put it in.
“What the hell took you so long?” He asked , anger present in his voice.
“You sent me in as a hooker, had to do my job right?” I replied sarcastically as I started driving , pulling up on the road.
“Amelia , don’t start this with me . Keep focus on the road. I’ll meet you at the jet. “
The mission so far was going great. If we exclude the elevator incident. I drove in silence, keeping my eyes on the road.
This was my second undercover mission…
**Flashback**
“Are you ready Mrs Myers? “ Tom asked, smiling at me . I checked myself in the mirror once again, adjusting my red gown , then turned around smiling at him. He was so handsome. We were currently undercover on a stealth mission. We had to get our hands on some nuclear codes that were stolen from the White House a few weeks ago. We tracked the thief's down, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
We were at a black market auction, the codes would be sold here.
We are going in as a wealthy couple from the UK, Amanda and Jacob Myers. Isn’t that lovely now.
“I think I am , this is just nerve wracking.” I said, walking next to him as we exited our hotel .
Not long after we arrived at our location, making our way into the building.
“Names? “ a big scary guy asked as we got to the door.
“Myers .” ,Tom simply responded , looking at the man.
“Have a wonderful evening .” ,the guy told us, opening the door.
** End Flashback**
“Harrison I said slow the damn car down !” I heard a voice shouting in my ear , pulling me back to reality. Shit! I stepped foot on the breaks making the car stop with a loud squeaking noise.
“Sorry, I got distracted.” I said .
“Try, and focus, agent.” Tyson replied firmly. That was close to a disaster.
After about another half an hour drive we made it to the “ safe zone” Tyson was talking about. Mike was already there waiting for us .
“About damn time .” , he said, stepping closer to me as I got out of the car. “New outfit? A bit revealing if you ask me. “,he said, letting out a laugh.
“Don’t make me shoot you.” I told him having trouble finding his intended joke funny.
“Oh, what’s the matter? I personally think it looks good.” ,he continued smirking.
“Davis I swear to god if you don’t shut up I’m going to cut your arms off and shove them up your ass.” I told him , making my way towards Tyson’s car , getting my uniform .
“What the hell did you do to her? “ Mike asked Tyson as he walked closer to us .
“Me ? Not a damn thing.” ,he responded, throwing his hands in the air.
I just shot them an annoying glare then made my way towards the jet, getting on board, changing back into my uniform. My uniform was pretty simple. It was a dark blue long sleeve skin tight bodysuit with a zipper in the front and the S.H.I.E.L.D logo on the shoulder. Strapped to it were a drop leg gun and an ankle knife holster.
“Come on, you said 48 hours Davis. We have to get this guy to Odessa .” I said, walking back to the door.
“Good luck with her buddy,” Tyson told him as he walked on board with the engineer.
“I can hear you!!” I shouted, turning my head towards him watching him smile.
“Take care Harrison, It was good to see you.”, he said before turning around, walking back to his car.” Don’t forget to let me know when you reach the base.”
“Mr. Hamid, strap in, we are preparing for take-off,” Mike said, taking his seat next to me.
“So, I assume the extraction went well.”, he started, looking at me.
“There is something that’s bugging me about this whole situation Mike. It was too easy. There were two gorillas in the lobby, one guy who apparently just got out of prison for trying to hijack one of our ships and who knows how many more outside, watching the hotel.” I said as we took off.
“I think you are just overthinking it.”, he told me, switching to autopilot. “Now, let's talk about what happened for a bit.”
“Mike I really don’t want to…”
“Look, Amelia, he was my friend too, my best friend, and losing him has left a hole inside of me that is actually eating me alive. I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling, and by not talking about it you are just making it harder for yourself. “, he said, looking into my eyes. He was right. I haven’t let myself feel the actual pain of losing him. I just cried a little and pushed the thought away, not really dealing with his loss.
I don’t think I’m ready for that pain ….
“I don’t know how to deal with this Mike….I miss him so much. There is not one moment that passes without me thinking of him, everywhere I go, everything I see is reminding me of him. Whenever I’m alone, memories of us pop up in my head, sucking me in, taking me back to those wonderful moments. I can’t ….I won’t deal with it.” I finally said, pushing back the tears that were threatening to fall.
“Talk to Fury, take some days off. You have to deal with it, or at least talk about it. I’m always here if you need me, just like Clint or Romanoff.”, he said, putting a hand on my knee.
“Thank you, Davis, I really appreciate it,” I said slowly, removing his hand making my way towards the back.
“And here we go again….you shut me out.”, he said, letting out a sigh.
I just ignored him. We are on a mission, I’m not going to sit here and talk about feelings.
I pulled out my phone looking at my lock screen. It was a photo of us, me having a frown on my face, covered in blue paint, while he was pressing a kiss to my cheek smiling.
**Flashback**
“No! Stay there! “ I warned him, lifting my finger, taking a few steps back.
“Come on baby, you are afraid of a little bit of paint? “ he asked giggling, walking towards me.
“No, as long as it goes on the walls,” I said watching as he reached out his arm grabbing me by the waist and pulling me up to his chest.
“ Well I think it will look great on you, darling.”, he said, moving the brush towards my face, creasing my cheeks, covering them in blue paint.” Now that’s what I would call a work of art.”, he said proudly.
“I am going to dip your head in that bucket of paint Thomas! “ I exclaimed, giving him a frown.
He laughed at my comment, his laugh echoing through our empty apartment.
“Just imagine us living here together, cooking together, watching movies on the sofa, sleeping “, he said while moving his lips towards my neck, leaving kisses all the way down to my collar bones.
“Well if you keep distracting me, we won’t do that any time soon.” I giggled, pecking his lips.
“Hold on, I want to remember this.”, he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, making me frown again. He quickly moved his lips to my cheek taking a picture.-I am the luckiest guy in the universe. -he said again, capturing my lips into a hungry kiss.
**End Flashback**
I wiped the tear that made its way down my cheek and looked at the engineer. He was studying his hands, nervously moving his leg.
“Is everything alright?” I asked him, moving closer.
“This doesn’t feel right. They left a note at my desk telling me to keep my mouth shut, that I was being watched. I feel like it was almost too easy to leave .”, he told me, confirming my suspicions. Something was definitely wrong with this whole situation.
“Aircraft 1607 asking for permission to land. “ I heard Mike’s voice making me realize we arrived in Ukraine.
“Aircraft 1607, permission granted, prepare for landing .” Someone responded. I made my way back to my seat next to Mike, helping with the landing.
“Agent Davis, nice to have you back with us.”, a man said as we exited the jet.
“General Kovalenko, it’s a pleasure to be back,” Mike said, shaking hands. ”This is Agent Harrison and Mr. Hamid. He is the engineer we were talking about on the phone.”
“Yes, I remember. We have the car ready for you. My man and your STRIKE team are already in Odessa waiting for him.” he said, starting to walk, making us follow him.
“STRIKE?” I was confused. This mission started to get more and more cloudy for me. “I have been meaning to ask, why do we need to escort Mr.Hamid all the way to Odessa? Why can’t the team just get him from here? “ I asked Davis.
“Above your paygrade, remember? “ he said, hushing me . Fuck my paygrade. What’s the point of being the Secretary’s granddaughter if I never get access to anything?
I walked behind the general and Mike as we made our way towards the car. Something felt so off.
“Always trust your guts baby, no matter what.” Tom’s words popped into my head. I pulled my phone out, searching through my contacts, finally finding Nat.
“What do you know about the mission the director gave me ?” I wrote then pressed send.
A few moments later my phone started to buzz, making me look at the screen.
“Extraction. Get the engineer back to D.C. Why? “ she replied, making me frown. I was supposed to get him back?
“Everything alright Amelia ?” Mike asked once we got into the car. I decided to sit next to Hamid on the backseat, you know, trusting my gut.
“Yeah, I’m just tired, I can relax a little better back here,” I said, forcing out a smile. He just shrugged and started the car.
Fury never mentioned that we had to take him to Odessa. He never mentioned STRIKE.
“Nat I don’t know if I’m right, but I feel like I’m not going to make it back to D.C.” I wrote looking up from my phone meeting Mike’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Who are you texting?” He asked once he noticed me looking.
“Nat, trying to let it all out…” I said, referring to the advice he gave me on the jet.
“Say hi to her from me .”I nodded, moving my gaze back to the screen.
“Where are you?”
“On my way to Odessa,” I wrote. Before I could have written anything else I felt the phone being yanked from my hands.
The car wasn’t moving anymore and Mike was looking at me with his eyes full of anger, reading through my messages.
“You just couldn’t help yourself, right? You had to figure it all out…” he started, throwing my phone out the window. I felt the man next to me shift when Mike lifted his gun pointing it towards me.
“What are you doing?” I asked him, my voice breaking a little.
“Give me your gun, Amelia, and step out of the car. If you pull anything, he dies.”, he said pointing the gun towards the engineer. I swallowed the lump in my throat and pulled out my gun, handing it to him. He put it on the board, motioning towards the door. I slowly opened it, stepping out. ”Hands on the roof, and standstill.” I did as I was told once again, waiting for his next move. Come on Amelia, think. You have to get yourself out of this situation.
He got out of the car, pointing his gun in my direction once again, walking towards me.
“Why are you doing this Mike? Who are you working for?” I asked as I felt him behind me. I was facing the car with my hands on the roof.
“I hate to break it to you darling, but that is also above your paygrade.” He mocked, pressing the gun to my head from behind. “Come on, I don’t want your brain all over this car, I still need it.”, he said, grabbing my arm, making me take a few steps backward. Oh, so this is the part where I die, awesome. Once we stopped, he turned me over, taking a step back, holding the gun up to my forehead.
“Any last words darling ?” he asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
“You are disgusting. Just a few hours ago you were telling me how you were there for me, and now you hold a gun to my head ?”I snapped.
“That is still true. If you would have listened to me, and did what you were told to do without asking questions….well, the only person dying today would have been the guy in the car.” He said, motioning towards the engineer. And that’s when I decided to move. I quickly brought my hand up to his wrist, yanking it downwards, making him pull the trigger. The bullet hit the ground, and I moved my leg up, kicking him in the face, taking him by surprise, watching the gun fly out of his hands. I pulled my knife out from my ankle holster and proceeded to stab him, only to be blocked by his arm. He punched me in the stomach, making me stumble backward, giving him the time to try and recover his gun from the ground. Once I saw him bend down for It, I gathered all my strength and jumped on his back, locking my legs around his neck from behind. He managed to straighten himself, moving backward, towards the car, trying to throw me on it, only to fail and give me a more comfortable position. He put his hands on my thighs trying to free himself from my grip. Bending over a bit I managed to reach his belt, pulling out his other gun, lifting it up to his head.
“Hand’s down Mike, it’s over,” I told him, making him lower his hands.
I slowly unlocked my legs from around his head, freeing him, but holding the gun still. “Take a few steps forward.” He did, but unfortunately, he managed to grab his gun from the ground. Seeing this I pulled the trigger without hesitation, shooting him in the shoulder making him collapse on the ground. -Drop it! -I shouted, moving closer to him, picking up the gun.
“I get why he adored you so much. You got fire,” he said, a stupid smirk playing on his lips.
“Why did you need to kill us? Who gave you the orders ?” I asked fuming.
He didn’t respond, he just smiled and kept staring at me. I moved my gun towards his leg, putting a bullet through it, making him scream out in pain once again. “Stay put,” I said before turning around and getting into the car putting my gun back into my holster.
What the hell just happened? I started the engine, stepping on the gas. Where am I even going? How am I supposed to contact anyone?
I couldn't believe it. I felt my heart threatening to jump out of my chest.
“Mr. Hamid, you have to tell me everything you can about this whole thing. Why does everybody want you dead? “ I asked him, trying to calm down a little. The GPS was showing only a few miles until we reached Odessa and I had to figure out what to do next.
Two loud bangs filled my ears before he could have answered, and I felt the car slip off the road. I tried to steer the wheel in order to regain control over it, but somebody shot my tires out.
I finally let go of the wheel, looking back at Hamid, quickly getting up, jumping on the backseat, grabbing him tightly then opening the door and jumping out before the car rolled over.
I felt every muscle in my body ache, my head was banging and my vision was clouded. I looked over to my side why Hamid played, slowly crawling towards him.
“Come on Mr. Hamid, you have to get up, we have to move,” I told him, my voice barely audible. He opened his eyes, blood covering his forehead. He slowly got up followed by me. As I turned around my breath got caught in my throat. He was there. The man that broke into our house and killed my parents , the man I presumed dead, was now standing just a few feet away from me. I couldn’t see his face. It was covered by a mask, his hair hiding the rest of his visible features. But he had the arm. The metal arm with the red star on it made it clear who he was. The Winter Soldier.
I moved in front of the engineer, covering him, reaching for my gun, but unfortunately, he was quicker. He pulled the trigger just as I was about to pull my gun out. then I felt it. The unbearable pain taking over my body, making me look down, seeing the blood already covering my lower abdomen. As I looked back, I saw Hamid collapse on the ground, my feet giving out soon after. He shot him right through me…. I hit the ground letting out a scream, watching as he got closer and closer to us. As I saw him standing in front of me, I closed my eyes waiting for the final moment. I heard the gunshot, but I felt nothing. I waited a few seconds before opening my eyes, only to be greeted by a pair of blue orbs piercing into my soul.
“V sleduyushchiy raz begi. ( Next time, run.)”he said in a deep voice before turning around and walking away.
I slightly turned my head to my other side, seeing Hamid dead, with blood pouring out of his head and lower abdomen.