Race to Redemption (BuckyBarnes x OC)

7; Conversation is Key

    We raced back to the Tower, me barely keeping up with Steve's enthusiastic walk as we strolled across the streets which were now visibly more crowded. Still, not many people seemed to give a damn with Captain America rushing the streets with some random girl on his side. Back in our day, Steve would get surrounded by admirers and pretty dames whenever we had a moment of time to get a beer with the Commandos. Times have changed, though he was still a good looking man. It surprised me to hear not more girls tried to approach him in these past years of him living in the 21st century. Well, I did see him get ogled by old ladies in the retirement home, but I otherwise never saw him leave the Tower except for going on a run at 5 AM when no one was around to see it. 

    The lounge area was now occupied with pretty much everyone except Thor, knowing he probably had work to do in all the other realms he was the protector of. I found it funny when he explained to me that there was a man in Asgard who could see every living soul across the Nine Realms and only by saying we needed Thor on Earth out loud would bring him here. It was like a weird telepathic call to the universe and I was mesmerised by it, though I've never actually seen it in action. 

    Steve and I barged in, disturbing the peaceful coffee talk Tony, Clint, Sam and Natasha had by the bar counter, each with their own drink in hand. Upon seeing us, Tony called out, "Isn't it a little early for rush hour in this place?" 

    "Isn't it a little early to drink scotch?" I raised my eyebrow, referring to all of them, most of all, Sam, who assured me he rarely drank and yet, there he was.

    As expected, the latter immediately raised his hands. "Chill out, I'm only having a soda in a fancy cup because someone didn't do the dishes," he not-so-subtly rolled his eyes at Clint, gesturing towards the sink full of cups, glasses and plates. 

    "I'll get to it, alright?" Clint groaned, "Besides, why do you care, you don't even live here!" 

    Natasha, the only one able to be perceptive at an early hour, saw that Steve was obviously in a rush because of something important. She ignored the banter of the men around her and stepped closer to the pair of us, asking, "What's up?" 

    Steve shot me a look before answering, "Willow claims she could recognize Vasily Karpov amongst the pictures we have in our database. Maybe then we can get a better lead through Stark's facial recognition network." 

    She nodded in approval, gesturing for us to follow her as she started towards the Avengers office. I glanced over my shoulder before exiting the room, seeing the men still arguing intensely, pointing repeatedly to the dirty sink until finally noticing we've left the room and then arguing again for not paying enough attention. Just a classic scene with men whom early morning banters didn't exactly answer to. 

    I followed Natasha and Steve into a room separated from the hallway with a glass wall, the inside heavily furnished with computers and file boxes. I guessed browsing through the latter was mostly Steve's work considering he still couldn't even start a computer, let along operate it so it could provide him with the data he needed. There were two giant television screens mounted on each of the opposite walls, though I've never seen them being used when I walked past the room during their Avenger meetings. At a desk in the near back, we noticed Bruce was already inside, typing away at a computer furiously, not even noticing Natasha, Steve and I walk in. 

    "Morning, Bruce," Steve greeted as we proceeded further in the room, effectively startling Banner so he almost bounced off his desk chair. 

    "Oh, morning, guys," he fixed his glasses, "What are you doing in here so early?" 

    "We may have a way to a lead," Natasha answered quickly, stepping behind the nearest computer until a blue light flashed from the projector next to it, creating a hologram that she could then operate by hand without needing the computer from this point on. It resembled the one my wristwatch projected, so I guess Stark updated every bit of the Tower computer technology for easier use.