Shared POV:
Iran, Tehran 07/16/2009
The evening sun burned down onto the dry concrete. The white stripes, which highlight each plane's path, brittled from the pure heat that surrounded them like a cushion the face it suffocates. Not a single breeze dared to fight against nature's fever, so naturally, the locks hanging out of Natasha's loosely bound Hijab were standing still as she scanned her environment. The boxes of equipment inside the hangar didn't spark her interest but something outside did. A black car SUV with tinted windows. The car was too far away for her to read the license plate but by the looks of it, it was local. A feeling she knew well settled in. Eyes watching her every move.
"Are you ready?", Kate called out from behind closing the trunk after loading fancy suitcases inside their grey Mercedes-Benz C-class limousine.
Nat turned towards the car but still felt the eyes burning into her back while she walked towards their car. "Yeah. You?", she returned the favor not letting her know about the tensity she felt.
"As ready as I'll ever be.", Kate said, not hiding her nervousness. She opened the back door for her partner and closed it behind her. She got in the driver's seat and adjusted the seat and mirrors.
Nat looked up into the back mirror and looked at Kate whose hair was strictly bound away in black fabric. The lengthy black suit jacket gave her broad shoulders and a confident posture. The light eyes looked back at hers and they nodded at each other in an understanding that it was this was the very final moment where they could not turn back. They left their own lives behind and the moment they would step out of that car, they would take on somebody else's life. Audrey Nyssa Astor, a young, upcoming, and ruthless businesswoman driven around by her bodyguard. A woman recruited for her skills who doesn't use her name just a number. 114.
The motor hummed to life and they drove off towards the city. And though they were trying very hard to stay undetected, Natasha never lost the trace of those who followed them all the way back to the city.
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"Turn to the right.", Nat called through the opened glass window shielding her from the front row just as the tires crossed the white line of the intersection.
Rapidly but confused Kate did as she was told and turned the wheel while giving the signal. "You couldn't have told me that a little- oooh never mind.", she started to complain but stopped as soon as she saw.
"So, you finally got it?", Nat asked not impressed that it took her this long.
"How long did you know?", Kate wanted to know. While she set the signal to the left. She had memorized most of the city's streets and paths just in case, so finding her own way to their designated location wasn't a challenge for her.
"I saw the car parked across the airfield by another hangar. Wasn't a surprise that they followed us.", Nat explained her surface-level observations, keeping an inconspicuous eye on their persecutor's car.
"You could've just told me.", Kate replied, thinking none of the embarrassment she felt for missing them, had slipped out. She had had the car on her radar the whole time but never suspected anything after all it changed lanes and even passed them one time. Since many people travel from the airport to the city none of it seemed like odd behavior at all. But coming to think of it that might've been exactly what they wanted them to believe. And she had been stupid enough to buy it.
"Don't blame yourself for not making them earlier. Their technique is very good. If they didn't want you to know they wouldn't have followed us around the corner so clearly."
"Wow. Thanks. You really built up my confidence there, Rogers."
"That's not how I meant it."
"It's okay. Still... if they didn't want to be seen, how'd you know?", Kate asked rather curiously.
Nat thought about it for a few seconds, nodded, and answered: "I just listened to my gut. Rationally I didn't have a reason to suspect them but it felt wrong to dismiss them, too. For most agents, it's a good indicator. As long as you're not in an unusual amount of emotional distress, that is.", she tilted her head slightly in thought and put on a daring smile. "Not that I would know anything about that last part."
"I'm sure you don't.", Kate replied jokingly.
Kate appreciated the way Nat had handled her insecurity by giving her advice and joking, ignoring the situation and they both smiled happy that they could still joke around. But those smiles only lasted so long. The car behind them flashed its headlights, then skipped past them and pulled up in front of them. And even though they tried to make out anyone inside the car the dark, tinted windows made it impossible to look inside.
"What the hell?!", Kate cussed as she watched the whole thing play out and had to slow down quickly not to crash with their persecutors. While Nat blamed herself for letting herself get as distracted by Kate as she did. She had a job to do and even that she couldn't do properly.
The car upfront set its indicator for the next opportunity to go right.
"So, what do we do?", Kate asked already knowing where the car was going.
"We'll follow them."
"That does not sound like a good idea.", Kate shook her head while increasingly slowing down.
"And why's that?", Nat wanted to follow them. Keep up with them. Not lose them. As the leader in this operation, she could easily force Kate to follow her order. But her stomach told her differently.
"'Cause that street doesn't lead anywhere. It's a dead end.", she answered looking up into the rear-view mirror back into narrowed, calculating eyes.
"We go after them.". She had calculated the risks and logically it was a terrible decision. She could ruin the whole mission, and blow their covers immediately. Let a family and an agent die. She couldn't pin it down but if it came to it, they could simply not leave anyone to tell the story. She was good at that. Maybe even excellent. It would all work out. She had to believe that for now.
She could feel the jolt as the car started to drive around the corner down a maybe 50 meters long street. The high concrete walls of the houses surrounding them blocked most of the sun from shining onto the street. The black SUV was waiting at the end of the street. An older man in his mid-forties leaned against the engine's hood with his arms crossed. His eyes were covered by gratuitous sunglasses and his rolled-up sleeves revealed his darker skin covered with tattoos. He looked relaxed and way too cool for this situation. At least they both thought so. Nat's jaw clenched as she knew that the next step would be for Kate to stop the car and step outside. She didn't want her to be the first to step out but she knew that Kate had to fulfill her role as her bodyguard. Yet another, softer jolt went through the car as it stopped.
Kate got out of her seat belt, and let her hand slide to her side where she pushed the lid off her gun's holster, while she stared at the man awaiting them. She closed her eyes for just a second, swallowed and looked up again as she pulled the door's handle.
Her voice was stern and loud as she called across the street.
_____________________________________
Oh boy...what can I say?
Life was just a bit too much lately
So sorry to keep you waiting this long
I'm hoping to be able to write one chapter a week from now on
If it works out you might get two this week, we'll see
~1260~
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