Along came a Hacker
By: Hogwartswonderland
A/N: This takes place during season one of AoS, the episode where the team is at the Triskelion. CA: TWS has not happened yet nor will it come to pass. HYDRA will remain defeated back in the 1940s so Rumlow is still a loyal SHIELD agent. Also, I am taking a few liberties with events that happened throughout AoS. Miles and Skye never slept together in 1.05 The Girl in the Flower Dress. Please feel free to leave a comment. Happy reading!
“Hey, Brock!” Agent Jack Rollins called out to the STRIKE commander. Agent Brock Rumlow looked up from his cell phone to see his second in command jogging up to him. He hastily turned off his phone and pocketed it just as Rollins caught up to him.
“What do you need, Rollins?” Rumlow asked in an even tone, hiding his exasperation from the other agent. He has been trying to find information on his missing girlfriend, but something was always interrupting him.
“The team and I wanted to know if you were joining us for poker night tonight? Rogers finally agreed to come so we want everyone there.”
The fact that Captain America agreed to join surprised the STRIKE force agent. In the 3 months STRIKE team has been working with the legendary super-soldier, he always declined their invitations to various team building events. “Huh. How did you guys manage that?”
“Romanoff was trying to set him up on a blind date with that girl from accounting. You know, the one that constantly talks in text lingo,” Jack informed him with an ear-splitting grin. Everyone on the team-possibly even all of SHIELD- knew that Romanoff has been trying to find Rogers a girlfriend since the Battle of New York and has had little success. At first, Rogers indulged her and made an effort, since he wanted to be more open to living in the 21st century, but he has apparently reached his limit.
“Poor guy, The Widow can be persistent,” Brock commented with a shake of his head as he started to walk away. He hoped Jack would forget the reason for the conversation but apparently luck wasn’t on the senior agent’s side.
“Hold up,” Jack said as he grabbed his commander’s shoulder to keep him from walking further away. Rumlow glared at his friend but Jack shrugged it off. The two have been friends and partners since they were cadets at the academy, so Brock’s rough demeanor didn’t bother him. What did bother the agent was that Brock was hiding something from him, which they promised in their early days of the academy to never do. “What is going on with you?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“One, you never turn down a chance to hand out with the team. Two, you have been angry and distracted for a few weeks now. What are you keeping from us?”
Knowing that Rollins would continue to press the issue until he received answers, Rumlow decided to clue him on the situation. He jerked his head to signal that Jack should follow him. Together, the two men navigated the sea of agents until they came across an empty briefing room. Brock ushered Rollins inside, locked the door, then swept the room for bugs before finally turning to face his friend. Rollins stood there with his arms crossed sternly as he stared expectedly at his commander. It was obvious that Jack wasn’t going to let the issue go.
“Do you remember the last undercover operation I had before Cap joined the team?”
Jack nodded slowly, unsure where Brock was going with this. “Yeah. It has something to do with an A.I.M weapons testing facility, right?”
“Correct. I was ordered to dismantle it from the inside while collecting any useful information that SHIELD can utilize. Unfortunately, during the mission, a civilian was caught and I nearly blew my cover to rescue her.”
The news caused Jack to frown. He knew that according to the paperwork that Rumlow filled out the mission went well, so what exactly happened between the time he rescued the civilian to the end of the operation?
Realizing that the other agent wasn’t catching on, Brock pressed on with his explanation. “The civilian that I rescued is a hacktivist for this group called the Rising Tide. At that point in the mission I had trouble hacking into their mainframe in order to gather intel, recognized that she would be a good asset, so I got her out of hot water and had her help me in return.”
“How exactly did you manage to do that?”
At that question Brock smiled. “I pretended that she was my ditzy girlfriend that was trying to surprise me at work. She played along really well but gave me hell for it later on.”
Suddenly it all made sense to the other agent. “While pretending to be in a relationship you guys ended up dating for real. Are you still seeing her?”
“I was,” Brock muttered darkly, his happy mood turning sour. “But she disappeared a couple weeks ago without a trace. Normally she is always available to talk by either texting or emailing but there has been complete radio silence. I’m worried that A.I.M tracked her down for her part in taking down that facility.”
“You really like this girl, huh?” The level 7 agent commented upon picking up just how worried Rumlow was. For as long as he has known Brock, he has only lived for the job. He would occasionally have a fling but they never lasted long.
Brock sighed and ran his hand through his thick, dark hair. “I do, but she is a handful. I’m constantly worried that she’ll get into trouble and that I won’t be there to help her get out of it.”
Jack laid his hand comfortingly on the slightly shorter agents’ shoulder. “I’ll help you look for her, but you have to start acting normal, man. Everyone is starting to notice your behavior, especially Black Widow.”
The STRIKE commander grimaced at the last comment. She was the last person that Brock wanted to become involved in the situation. But it wasn’t going to be easy for the seasoned agent to hide his worry; Skye happened to easily get under his skin and make him feel emotions he hasn’t felt in years. “I hear you.” He suddenly grinned at his friend. “So, are you guys ready to have your asses handed to you?” Rumlow asked his friend as the two began walking back towards the agent’s quarters where poker night was taking place.
Rollins gave Brock a questioning gaze. The STRIKE commander was great at many things but poker was not one of them. “You can dream, Rumlow,” he then said with a grin.
“Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve thanks to Skye. She happens to be an excellent poker player and even better teacher.”
A few weeks late, neither Brock nor Jack’ s search for Skye’s whereabouts has brought forth any results. Both agents have appalling hacking skills so that limited their options. Even their contacts on both sides of the law weren’t able to dig up anything. At this point Brock was wondering if he should be looking for a corpse.
Currently, he is laying down in his bunk scrolling through his contacts wondering if there was anyone else he could reach out to when someone knocking on the door pulls attention away. He sits up in his bunk, moving to get up and answer the door when Agent Romanoff strolls in like she owns the place. She doesn’t say anything as she beelines for his small closet and begins rifling through his clothing. Brock watches her for a minute as she assesses each piece of clothing critically, sometimes humming in approval or shaking her head in rejection, before speaking up.
“I know we are SHIELD agents but don’t you know how to wait for permission to enter before being let in?”
“Where is the fun in that?” she says salaciously as she lays out a navy button up top that Skye bought for him (she loves him in blue) and a pair of dark slacks. “You need to started getting cleaned up. You’re a mess.” Widow eyed his unkempt hair, dirt streaked face, and dusty tactical gear.
“Is this for a mission?” Brock asks, knowing very well that it couldn’t be. Their team just returned form a mission only a few hours ago, and according the Recuperation Clause (If uninjured, agents must have a 48-rest period before dispatched for a new mission) he still has 46 hours before he can be dispatched again. This could only mean that Romanoff was up to something, which didn’t bode well for the STRIKE agent.
“Why don’t you change and find out for yourself?”
“How about you tell me what you’re up to, Romanoff,” Brock growls at her, ready to fight is she refuses to leave him alone. “I’m not in the mood for games.”
To Brock’s surprise, the red head simply nods and takes a step away from his closet. It is rare for the extremely guarded agent to allow someone else have power in a situation. This is a cause to be wary for it is most likely that she has something up her sleeve that could be used against Brock. “I have noticed that you have been more distracted lately. Would this have to do with your secret hacker girlfriend that you have been hiding for months?”
In the space of a second, Rumlow is off the bed and pushing Romanoff up against the wall by her throat. Despite being attacked by the senior SHIELD agent Natasha appears oddly calm. “How the hell do you know about her?”
Natasha simply raises an eyebrow and glances down at Brock’s hand, then stares him right in the eye, indicating that she won’t say anything until he releases her. Immediately Rumlow let go, letting her fall to her feet and adjust herself, before gesturing her to start talking.
“I thought you would see things my way. It wasn’t hard to figure out once I had done my research on you. Before we joined the team, you were known for being not technology inclined, disgustingly bad at poker, and for only drinking Black Americano. When I started working with STRIKE, I noticed that your hacking skills improve- most likely due to increases time spent on your phone, you weren’t as bad at poker as I was led to believe and have now started using sweetener in your coffee. All that screams to the influence with a woman. After some more digging I realized it must have met her on your last solo mission. From there it wasn’t hard to find out who she is.”
“Damn it, Skye.” Brock mutters under his breath. He recognizes that he has picked up a few things since dating the young hacker, but not that much- especially the coffee. What do you want in return for not sharing this information with anyone?” he asks, focusing back on Romanoff.
“I thought you would see things my way,” the former Russian spy says while grinning like the Cheshire cat. “Cap was supposed to go on a date tonight, but he will be joining me for dinner with Agents May and Coulson instead. I need you to keep her entertained in his place.”
“Hold up.” Brock closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. The older man could feel a headache coming on from the stress of the situation. Why did crazy shit like thing always happen when he was off shift? “Coulson is alive? It thought he died in New York?”
“That is what we all thought,” Natasha laughs mirthlessly. “Rogers and I went to talk to Agent Hand about something from our last mission and found her running an op with Agent Coulson and Agent May- who is a part of his new mobile team.” It is obvious that the news of her former handler being alive is a sore spot for the red head.
Despite Widow’s earlier demand Rumlow grins at the news. He had met Coulson a handful of times before and each time was astounded to see how badass the unassuming man actually was- or is in this case. “Damn, I knew he was too badass to stay dead. And did you say that he managed to recruit the Cavalry away from desk duty?”
“Don’t call her that,” Romanoff snaps at the STRIKE agent.
With that, Rumlow’s temporary good mood dissipates. Despite the good news he can’t forget that the former Red Room operative is trying to force him on a blind date when she knows that he has a girlfriend. It doesn’t matter if said girlfriend has disappeared off the face of the earth; Rumlow would never do anything to be unfaithful. Mamma Rumlow didn’t raise him to be that way. “None of this explains why you came to me to cover this blind date. As you pointed out, I have a girlfriend, even if she is a secret.”
“Yes, but where is she now? Based on your increased temper the past two months it appears that there is trouble in paradise.”
Brock feel the anger build up within him at her biting words. It takes all his self-control to not attack her as he would like to. “That isn’t any of your goddamn business. You can always find someone else. Namely someone who is actually single.”
“I overheard your conversation with Agents Rollins a few days ago. Skye- that’s her name, right?- is missing and you haven’t had any luck finding her. If you do this one thing for her I will do what I can to find her- discreetly, of course.” She turns around to head for the door, knowing that she just won the fight. But before she exits, Romanoff turns back to Rumlow for a few parting words. “You are to meet her at the little Italian restaurant on 3rd street at 7 o’clock sharp. If you are late, I will know.”
Underlying her last words are the threat that Rumlow will be in for a world of hurt if he doesn’t show up. Resigned to his fate Brock gathers the clothes she laid out for him to take with him into the bathroom. He needs to start washing up now if he doesn’t want to be late.
A few hours later Brock is freshly showered and dressed for the evening out with a complete stranger. He is walking down the street to the restaurant when he realizes that he knows nothing about the woman he is supposed to be meeting. What does she look like? Is she aware that she is no longer meeting with Captain America? Letting out a frustrated sigh Brock whips out his phone to text Romanoff for more information. It is unlikely that she will answer, since she is also out to dinner, but one can hope.
After of waiting a few moments for an answer and not receiving anything, Brock pockets his phone and continues on to the restaurant. The moment he arrives Rumlow knows that he must take Skye here- if he ever finds her. She loves going to mom and pop establishments because of how friendly and special the staff makes people feel when they walk in, and this restaurant just screams family owned. It is a small space but it feels cozy due to the butter-yellow walls, dim ceiling lighting, round tables covered in red and white checked table clothes, and a mixed collection of family photographs, prints of Italy, and what are most likely polaroid’s of past customers.
At the wooden podium situated by the door stands a lanky teenaged girl with dark blonde hair, braces, and a bright smile. She is wearing a dark green shirt with the name of the establishment printed on the top right corner. Her name- Stella- is printed on the opposite side.
“Welcome! Do you have a reservation?”
“Uh-“ Brock responds, completely blanking. Natasha said she originally set this up for Rogers, so would it be under his name? Or did she put it under her own name? Although she could have easily changed it to be under his or even the girl he was supposed to meet.
“Sir?” Stella asks with concern. Confusion is written all over the young girl’s face.
“Sorry,” says Brock once he has collected his thoughts. “I’m afraid I’m not sure. My friend,” he grits out the word. Black Widow is not someone he would ever consider a friend. “set me up on a blind date but didn’t give me any information. I just know it is for 7 o’clock.”
“Oh, you must be referring to the red-headed lady that came in here about an hour ago. She said that you might be a little confused. Everything is taken care of, so I can lead you to your table if you are ready.” The girl happily informs him. A young girl like her must think of the situation romantic. If only she knew the truth.
“That would be great. Thank you.” Stella grabs two leather bound menus and proceeds to lead the older man up a set of wide stairs that is hidden around the corner of the dining area. It leads up to a second story dining area that is filled lined by green leather booths, elegant wooden tables and chairs sets that are each set with tea lights and a single rose in a vase. The walks have a dark green damask wallpaper covering the top half and dark wooden paneling on the bottom, while there are 3 large brass chandeliers handing to provide more lighting. Overall, it is much more sophisticated than the lower level and must be used to those with reservations or wish for a finer dining experience.
“Your table is this way; it is in front of the window. Is that alright?”
“That is fine. Do you know if my date is here yet?” Brock asks hoping that the answer is no. It would be nice to try and contact Romanoff again to try and glean more information.
“Not yet,” Stella says softly with a smile. She has seen a few first dates since she started working in her families restaurant last year, and it has gotten easy to tell when someone is nervous, overconfident, or even dreading the first meeting. It is always worse when it is a blind date, too. In this case, Stella could tell he was a mixture of nervous and irritated. He most likely pushed into doing this. “But don’t worry too much. It gives you a chance to have a glass of wine before they arrive. It may help settle your nerves a bit.”
“That obvious, kid?”
“Only a little,” the teenager teases as she hands him the menus once he his seated. “I am also pretty good at reading people. It comes in handy pretty often.”
“That is a good skill to have. Always trust your gut when it comes to your feelings about people. It won’t ever steer your wrong.”
“Well, my gut feeling is saying that you and your date are going to hit it off. Hopefully that proves true in this case. Enjoy your dinner,” Stella then walks away leaving Brock to peruse the wine selection. Only a few moments later the waiter- a tall, well-built boy that bears a striking resemblance to Stella- stops by to take his drink order. The SHIELD agent decides to take the girls advice and orders a sweet merlot that he and Skye discovered that they liked.
While he waits, Brock decides to peruse the menu. If he had decided to watch the window instead, he would have seen his missing girlfriend walking on the street below, swiveling her head from a piece of paper she was holding to the window the establishment he was currently in before deciding to walk in.
Less then a minute later, from behind the menu Brock hears the click of heels on the hardwood floors and the low voice of the waiter giving the mystery woman directions to his table. It was show time. Once she is a little closer Rumlow sets the menu down and moves to stand up to greet his blind date. When he first sets his eyes on her everything he planned to say is quickly forgotten, for before him is his unaccounted-for girlfriend, Skye, who looks equally surprised to see him.
She is wearing her short sleeved pink dress that she wore on their first official date all those months ago and is looking good for someone that has been missing for 2 months. She in return is gaping at the site of her boyfriend standing before her. Despite having a good reason for joining Coulson’s team, she has missed her tall, dark, and well-built boyfriend. She was planning to keep in contact but when she messed up by meeting her old friend Miles and therefore loosing the teams trust (and her electronic privileges) it made keeping in contact with him impossible.
“Brock?” “Skye?” The two of them whisper at the same time. Brock is the first to break out their mutually shocked state in order to gesture Skye to seat. She cautiously does so but doesn’t break eye contact with the older male.
“What are you doing here, Skye? I haven’t heard from you in two months and suddenly you know up for a blind date set up by the Black Widow for Captain America?”
That information knocks the young hacktivist out of her reverie. “Wait, Black Widow set this up for Captain America? I only came here as a favor for my friend Jemma, who said that it was set up by Agent M-“ Before she can say any more, Skye realizes something important.
“How exactly do you know the Black Widow? Or Captain America for that matter?”
Shit, Brock thinks to himself. Despite taking down A.I.M together, the SHIELD agent led his girlfriend to believe that he did so as a mercenary for hire. He never told her of his affiliation with SHIELD since he knew of her dislike for big government agencies. He is formulating a quick lie when Skye leans over the table with a mischievous smile on her face a recognizable sparkle in her eye. Brock gulps. He knows what that twinkle means. She knows something he doesn’t and plans to use it against him.
“Do you work for SHIELD?” Skye whispers excitedly. “And don’t try denying it. It all fits together to perfectly. You personally knowing, like, a quarter of the Avengers and infiltrating at that A.I.M facility says it all.”
He doesn’t even need to say anything to confirm it. Skye knows she is right and nothing Brock can say will dissuade her from forgetting the information. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. I actually work for them now, too,” she supplies casually as she relaxes back in her seat.
At that moment the waiter returns with the wine and proceeds to pour it in their glasses. Dumbstruck, Brock reaches for it and finishes it in a single gulp. The waiter goes to pour him more but Brock just asks him to leave the bottle and to give them some time before asking for their orders. It was obvious that Brock was going to need a lot of wine and time to get to the bottom of whatever is happening. Never had he thought that Skye- the woman who detests the idea of keeping information secret- would be working for the most secretive government spy agency there is. She has always had a way of keeping him on his toes but this was next level.
“What do you mean you work for them?” he asks, taking another sip of his wine.
“They kinda kidnapped me originally for some information I had on a case they are working on, but I ended up staying on with them at the request of AC.” Suddenly she looks remorseful. “I swear that I was going to keep in contact, but then something happened and my access to the internet was disabled.” For proof she held up her wrist to jingle what Brock recognized as an access bracelet. It was usually reserved for consultants or for agents that were on probation and restricted their access to not just communication systems and internet, but their ability to gain entrance to certain places on bases.
“Fuck, Skye” Brock groans as he rubs his hands over his face in frustration. “What exactly did you do to get that?”
“I lied to my team about where I was going,” Skye hesitates before continuing on. “I went to meet Miles in order to delay him from escaping before we could question him.”
At the sound of Miles name Brock’s vision goes red from fury. Miles is Skye’s ex-boyfriend and the one that abandoned her to take the fall for their botched attempt to sneak into the A.I.M facility in the first place. He is a piece of work that not only looks after his own ass but would sell out a friend or information for money. “You got to be fucking kidding me, Skye. You went and saw Miles fucking Lydon?”
“I had to do something! He was going to skip town before my team could get to him and a man’s life was in danger!”
Skye’s passionate defense almost convinced Brock to let it go. Almost. “Did you sleep with him?”
“Are you seriously asking me that, Brock?” Skye hisses. “You are the one here on a blind date. I only came here to cover for my friend, Jemma, who didn’t want to come. I intended to come and here and tell the poor guy that she wasn’t interested. Only I find that my boyfriend is here and that he has been lying this entire time.”
Regrettably, Brock couldn’t find fault in her response. Skye was loyal to those she cares about, and if she cares as much as it sounds about this team she joined, then she would do anything to help them up. Even if it meant going on a blind date she didn’t want to go on.
“I’m sorry Skye. I have been worrying not stop about you and seeing you here dressed the same way you were for our first date caught me off guard.”
“Aw, I had the big, bad, tough field agent worried about me?” his girlfriend teases in a sing-song voice. With that, the tension that surrounded them has burnt out. Now the two can enjoy the first date they have had in months.
“You know you are my girl,” Rumlow tells her in a low gravely voice, laying on the charm. “Of course, I worry about you. Especially since you are a magnet for trouble.”
“More like I am trouble,” Skye retorts with a wide smile. It is the same one she gave him while she was being man-held by the two A.I.M foot soldiers and ultimately what convinced him to help her.
“I’ll drink to that.” Together the two clink their glasses and take a sip of their wine, giving their significant other hooded glances. Regardless of the unanswered questions they have for each other they decide to focus on more lighthearted matters. They finally order their food and proceed to enjoy their time together before having to go back; for him the Triskelion, and her the BUS which her team travels on.
Later, once dinner is over, the two are walking into the lobby of the Triskelion, laughing at the story of Skye’s first mission, when they are met by the bewildered faces of Agent May, Agent Coulson, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers. They too had just returned from their dinner and did not expect the intense STRIKE commander and the go with the flow former Hacktivist to being laughing and hanging all over each other like teenagers. Coulson is the first of the four to gather his wits and address the pair.
“What is going on here, Skye? Why are you not on the BUS like you are supposed to?”
Met with her superior officer Skye sobers up a bit. “AC-“ she begins but is cut off by her boyfriend.
“Wait, you are a part of Agent Coulson and May’s traveling team?”
“Yes, she is Agent Rumlow,” Phil Coulson confirms with a glare at the dark-haired man, lingering on where his hand rests possessively around Skye’s waist. “And I would appreciate you let go of my consultant and let her go to where she is supposed to be.”
“Sorry to inform you sir, but Skye isn’t going back to the BUS tonight.” Skye nearly giggles at the look of horror on AC’s face when he realizes what the other agent means. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) Melinda May AND the Black Widow decide to step in. Captain Rogers remains behind looking confounded by the events unfolding.
“As one of her S.O’s, I say that she is coming back with us,” May says icily at Brock before turning to the rookie. “What are you doing on the BUS to begin with? And how did you meet Agent Rumlow?”
“That is a funny story,” Skye begins, hoping to diffuse the situation. “I filled in for Jemma on the blind date you coordinated for her. It just happens that Brock and I have met before and were actually dating before you guys found me, so we decided to catch up and spend time together.”
From the background Steve Rogers could be heard asking if this was the blind date he was supposed to go on, but no one payed much attention to it. Instead, Romanoff inserts herself into the conversation. “So, you are the girl he has been moping over?” she rhetorically asks Skye before turning to Rumlow. “I see why you were mooning over her. She is pretty.”
“Wait, Natasha. You knew about this?” Coulson asks bewildered by the turn of events. This situation just keeps getting weirder, he thinks to himself. Natasha just smiles coyly and turns to drag the lost and confused Captain away. All that can be heard is a faint ‘ you owe me’ being called out before it is just the two senior agents, the STIKE commander, and the consultant standing there awkwardly.
“Look, I know this is a surprise you both but Skye really were dating before she joined your team. You must have a lot of questions, which is understandable, but Skye and I have been separated for months and I would like to spend as much time with her as I can. We will answer any questions you have tomorrow.” With that brief statement, Brock proceeds to sweep Skye up bridal statement and make their way to the elevators. Skye lets out a shriek but it is obvious that there is nowhere she would rather be than in the handsome agents’ arms. She gives a cheerful wave to them before the elevator doors close, leaving Coulson and May at a loss for words.
“Did that really just happen?” May just purses her lips in response. It is an odd situation but it is obvious that there is something between the two. Their body language and demeanor were too familiar for it to be a first meeting, so May figured there must be truth in what was said.
“Appears so. I guess we will just have to wait until tomorrow for answers.”
“What do you think is going on? Shouldn’t we get answers?” The revived agent sputters, worried about the wellbeing of his young consultant. He hasn’t voiced it to anyone but he has begun to see the snarky hacktivist as a daughter and worries about Rumlow’s intention.
All May does is give him a withering look. “Do you really want to go interrupt them?”
Grimacing at the mental picture Coulson shakes his head fervently. “Point there. Tomorrow then. It better be a good story, though.”
“Oh, I think it will be,” May snorts. “It always seems to be when our resident hacker is involved.”
It does prove to be a good story when the couple tells it to not just Agent May and Coulson, but the rest of the team on the BUS, Black Widow, Captain America, and the entire STRIKE team. It goes without saying that it doesn’t take long for the story to spread and to transform into rumors of them eloping during a joint mission. If it is true, they neither conform nor deny. But that is a story for other time.