COBRA | B. BARNES

I. THE MAN WHO STARED

"Yes, Pepper, I just arrived at the subway."

"Wonderful, I hope Happy didn't bother you-"

"He would never, Happy is a wonderful man and a friend of mine."

"You are friends? That's nice, it's good to know I bring people together."

Aiyla couldn't help but smile as she got down the stairs, readjusting her bag on her shoulder as she jogged so that she wouldn't lose her ride. "Yeah, I suppose you are good at that."

"Thank you," she could hear Pepper's smile through the phone, "when are you going to visit again? Or should I visit instead after leaving Morgan at school?"

"I do have work in the mornings, Pepper," she pointed out as she got in the metro and sat down at a seat opposite a man who was wearing a hood. "It's better if I am the one to visit, not to mention that your house is at a way better location than mine."

"That doesn't mean anything. Tell me when your morning is free so I can come over. I could even have a word with Fury-"

"No, don't contact Fury, Pepper," Aiyla hissed, ignoring the way the man's head shot up. "Pepper, he is my boss, I can't-"

"Morgan sends you her love, see you Aiyla!"

"Tell Morgan I love her too - no wait, don't do anything-" The line went dead. "Pepper? Pepper!"

Aiyla rolled her eyes as she took her phone away from her ear and looked at the screen, only to realise that Pepper had hung up. With a shake of her head, she put the phone in her bag and looked outside at the window, even though there was nothing for her to see, completely ignoring the man sitting opposite her that didn't seem to be able to stop staring at her.

Some minutes passed, and the man still didn't look away from her for long. He would stare, then look away for a while and then stare again, and it made her uncomfortable, nervous and annoyed at the same time.

Aiyla was a woman that was aware of her beauty, but never again in her life had she experienced something like that. Men usually stared, sometimes muttered compliments or did other things that probably thought would get her attention, but never stared for that long. It seemed like she had found a new type of man; the one who couldn't keep himself from staring.

She tried being patient, hoping that he would stop staring or even better, leave before she did, but they passed a couple of stops and he didn't leave. He still hadn't stopped staring either. Aiyla still tried to be patient, however, patience had never been one of her virtues. And so, after another stop, she finally turned to him, her lips pursed and an eyebrow raised as she assessed him.

"Can I help you, sir?"

He said nothing for a short while before shaking his head. Finally, he looked away. "No, you can't, most probably."

"I see," she smiled tightly, "if you don't want me anything, please refrain from staring at me again. I'm sure you've been told before that it's extremely rude, not to mention unsettling. People might even get the wrong idea."

Usually, at this point, the man she would talk to would get offended, but this time, it was different. The man opposite her instead chuckled, as if amused at her temper, but that only made things worse for him in her mind. Poor, ignorant man, having no clue that she had a gun in her bag she was more than capable of using. She could always claim it was self-defence if things got out of hand.