Chapter 6
Steve looked at Peggy, she looked at him with a softly and smiled, but he noticed that it didn't reach her eyes. She was sad, he knew that, and he hated that it was him who made her feel that way, but he couldn't change that. For now he would have to deal with telling her about his new mission.
“Peggy?” He asked.
“Yes?” Her smile disappeared. She looked worried. Of course she did, he did look at her seriously.
“Is something wrong?” She asked.
“I need to tell you something." Steve announced. He scratched at his neck nervously. She frowned at him. “I know you can't promise me this, but will you try not to get angry at me?”
Peggy's eyes flashed darkly. “What are you on about, Steve?”
“I'm going on a mission”, he said, forcing himself to look at her.
For a moment, Peggy's face went completely blank before she glared at him. “What? We just talked about this whole thing, that it's gonna need to come to a stop, and now you tell me that you're going away again?” Steve sighed and lowered his head. He wanted to say something, but Peggy beat him to it.
“When? And how long?”
He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Okay, yes, let me explain, Peggy, alright?” He said. She looked a little bit confused because he suddenly sounded exasperated and even annoyed, which was unusual enough for him.
“I'll leave in five days. I didn't know until yesterday evening. It's a major mission, really important, you know? It needs more planning than I have time for, but I hope it'll work out, one way or another. I can't miss this operation out”, he explained, trying not to tell her too much. It was risky enough for her and the kids to know about his missions at all, they couldn't know all the details.
Peggy stared at him with wide eyes. “See?” She exclaimed. “This is what I'm talking about. It's dangerous for you and your team not to have enough time to plan this out, right?”
“Yes, but-”
“No, Steve, it is dangerous, I can finish the puzzle by myself, don't tell me it's not that dangerous because you're good at what you're doing." She interrupted, glaring at him.
Steve looked away and shrugged. “Relax, Pegs. It's not that hard. I'll manage.”
They sat in silence for a while, neither of them willing to admit defeat, until Peggy finally let out a deep breath and nodded, closing her eyes. “Alright. You do what you have to do.” She looked up at him with sad watery eyes. “Just try not to get yourself killed, alright?”
He nodded and a smile tugged at his lips. He grabbed her hands. “There won't be a single scratch on my body, I promise.” And he knew that this would be true, because no wound stayed on his body for a long time, but that was just another secret to keep from her.
Peggy smiled and nodded. “I'll remember that”, she said with a playful smile.
Steve felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. A confused expression crossed his face. Peggy frowned.
“What?” She asked.
“Just got a message from her”, he answered and held up his phone. Peggy read the message.
Can you pick me up at the train station?
“Why is she at the train station? I thought you told her to walk home”, Peggy said. She looked about as confused as Steve was.
He shrugged. “Let's ask her”, he murmured and texted back.
What are you doing at the train station?
She replied instantly: Waiting for you.
Peggy snorted. “Wow.”
Steve was about to text back when Natalia sent another message:
I'm fine, just needed a few things from the store at the train station, okay? Can you pls pick me up or are you still busy?
“You should go." Peggy sighed. He nodded, stood up and kissed her on the cheek.
“You looked like you were about to say something before she texted me." He said. Peggy looked up at him. She looked like she was debating whether or not to tell him what she had wanted to say.
“Well, I was just wondering what you and Natasha were doing today?”
“Oh. We went to Whip & Fiddle”, he replied truthfully. She didn't look completely convinced, but technically it wasn't his job to make it clear to her that he and Nat were just friends – he knew how jealous she could be.
“Really, Peggy. I'm not lying. We were just talking.”
Peggy arched her eyebrow at him. She was about to say something, but then closed her mouth and shook her head. “Okay, well, never mind. You should pick Rae up. We can talk about this another time.”
He frowned at her, but didn't try to argue with her and nodded. “See you later.” He grabbed his keys and jacket and left. Only a few minutes after getting into the truck and starting the engine, he received another message – it wasn't from Rae, but from an unknown number. He frowned. This was not the phone he used for work – the one that was bugged and where the numbers and names weren't stored.
The message said:
We've got something you want and vice versa. Don't come to the train station. Come to the northern exit of the city, to the gas station. If you don't, or you tell anyone about it, the girl dies.
Steve felt his blood freeze, his breath left in a rush. He stared at the screen, pale and scared with wide eyes. Hostage situations weren't uncommon to him, but no one had ever laid a hand on his family.
But even though panic and anger were building up inside him, he forced himself to think clearly and logically. He was trained to do exactly that, and he could be using that training now.
It was obvious that he was being watched – how would they know he would be telling someone else, or how would the know he was alone now?
They had Natalia's phone, and they had her, that much was clear. There was many things they could want from him, his cover was probably blown now. Great. They had probably told him to come to the train station because Peggy had been reading the messages, and for some reason she was supposed to be left out of this.
Steve drew in a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel. He forced himself to focus on helping his daughter, who could be in great danger.