CHASING GHOSTS | BUCKY BARNES

14

A/N: dedicated to ororotchalla for her brilliant mind (ugh, powerful) and for inspiring the concept of this chapter. Also thank you sm for being my soul sister, and for agreeing that Steve Rogers is a freak in bed

ENJOY LMAO

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"I am not perfect.
I am sometimes selfish.
Occasionally self-destructive,
Prone to very brief, yet severe spells of sadness.
But I would fight until every bone of my body is broken to protect you.
That's a promise."

NADINE

Nadine slept for eighteen hours straight. She didn't even remember how she ended up in her room, with her covers over her form. One thing's for sure, though, it was like her body had been recharged, and she felt better, calmer.

After she woke up, Nadine quickly took a cold shower from head to toe so she could feel energized. When she returned to her room, her laptop started to beep, and one look at the ID and she knew it was Selene Mebarak, hacker extraordinaire and current MI6 agent. Nadine pressed the enter key to answer the call, and went to her vanity to grab a comb for her hair. "What d'you got for me, Selene?"

"I'm sending you a picture and the coordinates of a Triad member." Selene's peculiar accent was as clear as ever. It was a mix between a common British accent and the Arabic atmosphere she grew up in because of her Egyptian roots. "She's in Madeira. I'm not sure if she's a lead to the sphere, but considering she's so close to you guys I wouldn't consider it as a coincidence."

"Are they ever?" Nadine drawled as she continued untangling her locks, and stepped into her friend's view to give her a smile.  "Thank you, I know you've got a shit ton to do."

"It's fi-why are you wearing a towel?"

Nadine snorted at her question. "I'd just gotten out of the shower when you called, because, well, hygiene."

Selene rolled her eyes, smiling slightly, her fingers gracefully working to untie her hijab from her head. "Anyway, just because I joined MI6 doesn't mean I won't help you. We're still ex-SHIELD allies."

Ah, yes, ex-SHIELD. When Nadine met Selene, she'd already been an established agent, but her time with the organization went way before that. Selene Mebarak was on SHIELD's watchlist the moment she tried to take down an influential businessman with just her keyboard and computer. The man had fired her father because of his religion, and Selene reacted in the most rebellious teenage way: hacking his bank accounts. Needless to say, she appeared on their radar soon enough, but Fury, never one to pass up an opportunity, decided to recruit her instead of arresting her.

When SHIELD fell, she'd served for almost a decade in combating cyberterrorism. She stayed with the group for a year, but after she'd been accepted at MI6, she decided to leave the fugitive life behind in order to reconnect with her family and faith. Nadine respected that, even if she missed having Selene's hacking skills at her reach.

"Thanks. I'll see you around, Selene." She ended the call, and proceeded to braid her damp, wavy locks.

"Hey, Nadine-oh." Bucky stood at the doorframe, the look on his face priceless as he took in her frozen form. He stared at her, eyes drifting up and down, but after realizing his actions he was looking anywhere except the woman in the towel, cheeks turning into a pale shade of pink in embarrassment. "Shit, never mind, I can... I'll be downstairs."

He bolted out before Nadine could even form a reply. Okay then.

After closing the door and changing into some clothes, she decided to appease the super soldier and see what he needed as well as get some breakfast for her empty stomach. She passed Dante's room, and noticed he was sitting on his bed with Kaia across from him. Nadine couldn't tell what they were talking about, nor did she want to know, but it seemed to be pretty intense, judging by the way Dante crossed his arms in a protective stance and his hazel eyes looked at anything except the French woman in front of him. Whatever it was, it wasn't her business.