✓ | Porcelain.

chapter eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE BOMB

Lagos.

The team was on a mission, led by Steve, as usual. I sat at a table with Wanda by my side as I pretended to mindlessly stir my tea while Wanda added sugar to hers.

I took a sip of my tea-it burned my tongue-as I looked over my shoulder discreetly. "All right, what do you see?" Steve asked on comms. He was testing Wanda because she was new to the job, but Wanda was a quick learner, so she got the hang of it almost immediately.

The girl was usually paired up with me on missions; we got along pretty well. But, these past few months have been pretty interesting for the two of us. I felt annoyance dancing around in my bones when I was around her.

She hasn't done anything wrong, though. Not a thing. Whenever I was around the girl, I tended to stutter more, I was noticeably more clumsy and awkward, and my heart pounded in my chest. I was annoyed with myself just thinking about it.

Although, I still felt fascinated by her. My fascination seemed to grow as I got to know her. And like I promised myself, I've been helping her heal. Losing Pietro was hard-she often cried on my shoulder late at night. She trusted me with that side of her; vulnerable, and weak. I felt my cheeks warm at the thought of gaining her trust so quickly.

"Standard beat cops. small station. Quiet street. It's a good target." Wanda mumbled quietly as she looked around the the area. I took a moment to admire how her eyes seemed to shine in the sunlight.

"There's an atm on the south corner, which means?"

"Cameras." Wanda answered confidently, scratching above her lip as she did so.

"Both cross streets are one-way."

"So, compromised escape routes."

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen. He isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that range rover halfway up the block?"

"Yeah, the red one? It's cute." Wanda and I glanced over at the car.

"It's also bulletproof, which means private security... which means more guns... which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us." Natasha added on, she sat a few tables over from us as she sipped at her tea. Large sunglasses were on her face, but she still had her eyes narrowed.

"You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?" Wanda said, her eyes slightly squinted. I smirked at the comment before looking down.

"Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature." Natasha informed.

"Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?" Sam joked.

"Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?"

"Eyes on target, folks." Steve interrupted their conversation before it got too sidetracked, "this is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't wanna lose him."

Sam chuckled on the other side of the comms bitterly, "if he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kinda hates us."