Hands Too Cold, but Heart of Gold *Avengers* Daredevil*

3) The mission

"Alright, guys. We're clear about everything? I'm coming in first, opening the door for you. Natasha, you're with Clint, you're going after Vasiliev and intel. Frosty and Daredevil are onto the girls and their guards. Tony, try to get to the basement level, I'll join you as soon as possible. Questions?"

"Won't Secretary Davis be pissed about Frostbite coming to save his daughter instead of Captain America?" you noted, a bit annoyed that you actually had to ask that question. You couldn't care less and you were actually fine with your task, but... sadly, this was politics too, not just a rescue mission.

Steve sighed. "I'm the leader of the mission. I'll be everywhere, that has to be enough."

"What's in the basement?" Clint questioned and you could see a shadow of worry covering Steve's face as he put on his helmet.

"I don't know. And I don't like it. That's why I'm sending the least vulnerable people here."

You gulped, chill running down your spine. You didn't like they should be going there just the two of them. "You should wait for us."

Steve shook his head. "Can't do. If there are weapons the guards can use against you, we need to secure them."

"Goddammit, Steve! You told me-"

"You have your orders, Frosty. Follow them. You know this distribution of resources makes sense as it is," he shut you down, his blue eyes piercing yours in a warning. You knew he had told you something he didn't want to tell the others and you shouldn't have pulled it out. But you trusted his instincts and you felt like this was the source of his concerns and the others should know that.

You raised your chin, crossing the short distance between you and the Captain.

"You don't go there alone. You stay with Tony." He escaped you gaze and you grabbed his forearm. "Steve."

He looked back at you, his eyes burning with honesty. "Same goes to you, Snowflake. Everyone. Don't do anything on your own. We're a team. Don't forget that."

As if someone could ever forget being a teammate to any of you – you were all a bit too special for that. But you could see what he meant. The team nodded in agreement, gradually leaving the jet. They 'parked' it about a mile from the building Tony had located the girls in, nothing but woods around you. You kinda envied Tony his suit – what you wouldn't give for a flying suit to avoid the running right now. Or any time, really.

Alright, stop whining. Let's do this.

---

You hated Steve sneaking in alone, but he was your best shot – he could be the most subtle apart from Natasha, who lacked the super-strength needed for breaking the locks. You could have frozen the locks, made them fragile and broken them easily, but Steve was better at hand-to-hand combat, which allowed him to get rid of the guards. Also, his body was less vulnerable. You agreed with Steve being the best choice; however, that didn't mean you liked it.

When he opened the back entrance for you, you couldn't supress the wave of relief; he seemed unharmed. It was ridiculous, because the mission barely started, but you hoped that from now on, he wouldn't be alone.

"The hostages are in the west wing of the building," Tony's voice sounded in your ear and you nodded, glancing at Steve one more time. He smiled at you warmly before taking off.

"Stay safe," you murmured as if he could hear you.

"Let's go," the Devil encouraged you softly and you both broke into a jog. Time to save some sorry asses.

The Devil turned out to be a good partner in crime – he always stopped you before taking a turn, warning you when someone was close, which gave you enough time to prepare yourself and won you the element of surprise. Also, he totally kicked ass; so far you had had the opportunity to see him in action once, because your own opponent had already been knocked out, and if you would say you hadn't forgotten how to breathe when seeing his quick sharp blows, you would be lying through your teeth.