Rule Number One
Title: Rule Number One, Part One
Fandom: something like the Marvel Universe, leaning mostly toward the Movie!Avengers branch
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: language. sex. possible violence. pregnancy. eventual baby cuteness. Alex's family. anything else can throw in to the story
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel and whoever the hell else owns them.. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, dazzledfirestar and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
~*~
"I'm going to miss you, baby," Clint murmured in her ear. His body was snugged up against hers, his chest to her back while his arms held her close. It did nothing to hamper her ability to pack her bag, something for which she was grateful. Going off to where ever the fuck she was going was hard enough without Clint making some kind of scene. She really didn't want to go. Especially since she could feel just how much he was going to miss her.
"I'm going to miss you, too, sexy," she replied quietly. She glanced up from folding her underwear into a small bag and caught his gaze in the mirror. He was watching her with eyes gone dark and fathomless from a mix of emotions. That wasn't really all that surprising. She'd found, since they'd officially started seeing each other, he could put quite a bit of emotion into his gaze even when it didn't touch his face. What was surprising was that she could see a hint of fear in their blue depths.
Blinking, she set the underwear down and turned in his hold so that she was facing him. "Clint? Is something the matter?"
He stared at her for a few moments, obviously weighing his words. That was something of a shock because he was usually so blunt about everything. Finally, he sighed and hugged her closer so that he could again deliver his words straight into her ear. "I have a bad feeling about this, Lexi. I don't want you to go."
"You're the one who goes out and throws himself off buildings on a regular basis and I have to be okay with that, but you don't want me to go on this mission because you have a bad feeling? Isn't that a little unfair? It isn't like I'm going to be doing anything dangerous. No giant robots or monsters or anything like that. No megalomaniacs. Nothing but a bit of diplomatic recon. I'll be back before the week's out." She gave him a smile and leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. "I can't not go, Clint. Fury handed out the orders on this one. He isn't going to accept that you have a bad feeling and cancel the mission. Trust me. Everything will be okay."
He didn't look convinced. "Why is Fury sending you and not someone else?"
"Because I've got mad skills gorgeous," she teased. It earned her a faint smile, but not enough to wipe the fear away. Sighing, Alex nudged him toward the bed. He took the hint and allowed her to push him back until he was sitting on the edge of the mattress. Alex considered standing between his legs, but decided that closer was better. She crawled into his lap, forcing him to shift further back so that she wouldn't fall to the floor. When she was settled, she wrapped her arms and legs around him. "Things will be fine, baby. Miri and I will be gone for a week, tops. Miri is in charge of the operation. I'm just going along as her backup. You know. Her muscle."
That saw him chuckling. "You? Muscle? I love it when you're so self-deluding. Its really funny."
"The people Miri is meeting with can speak English, but Fury figures there will be some chatter in German. He's sending me with to listen in. My job is to act bored and not let on that I'm paying attention."
"You've got the not paying attention part down pat," he teased. Alex glared at him, one fist jarring his shoulder in retaliation for the jibe.
"Just for that, I'm cooking when I get home," she warned. He groaned. While her skills in the kitchen had improved under his tutelage, they'd both come to the conclusion that she would never be a gourmet chef. Or even a passable cook. "And yes. I'm the muscle."
In response to her words, he took hold of her and rolled them, pinning her body to the bed with his own. The grin he gave her suggested that her muscle wasn't muscle-y enough. She tightened her legs around his waist and used her arms to tug him down so that she could press a kiss to his lips. When her hands migrated around so that she could cup his face between them, he curled his fingers around her wrists and tugged them away. Pinned them down to the mattress and held them there. She found she couldn't tug them free of his hold. One eyebrow went up. "Muscle?"
"I have my uses." she retorted. "I get to play the big dumb muscle to Miri's cool intelligence."
Clint frowned at her. "I hate it when you do that."
"What? Its truth. Miri is the smart one. I'm cool with that," Alex shrugged.
"You are just as smart as Miri is, idiot," he charged. She grinned at him.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. And much as I'd love to stay here and debate my intelligence with you, Miri will be by soon to pick me up. We have to be at the airport in an hour. Kindly let me up so I can finish my packing."
He regarded her for a while, eyes dark and intense as he seemingly gave consideration to her request. Then he grinned and smirked at her, leaning in until his mouth was a scant inch from her own. "Maybe I'll tie you to the bed and then tell Miri when she arrives that you're already gone."
"And maybe she'll sic Coulson on your ass," Alex replied. His response was a blink before he released his hold on her wrists and slowly sat up. She grinned at him. "Did I forget to mention that Coulson is taking us to the airport?"
"That is completely unfair, Lexi," he groaned and slid off of her. Alex sat up and watched as he crossed the floor to slouch into the chair in the corner. His legs flopped open, as if he had no muscle control over them, drawing her attention to the way the denim strained over his crotch.
She smiled at him. "Don't blame your eagerness on me, baby. You know how easy it is to get you going. If I had my choice, I'd stay here with you. But I don't have that luxury. Not all of us are members of the most elite team of heroes on the planet. Fury tells me to go, I go. I swear I'll be back soon."
He made a noise at the back of his throat, letting her know what he thought of her promise. She smiled and slid off the bed to go finish her packing. She was almost done, just needed to collect a few items from the bathroom to tuck into her bag. She was only supposed to be gone for maybe a week, but experience had taught her to pack for more than the allotted time. Practicality, or her mother's voice in her head, told her that she should always have extra underwear in case she got stuck on a plane or something. "You're packing plain panties," he observed sullenly.
"Of course. Seeing as you aren't going to be there, I see no reason to pack the sexy panties."
"Aw. You do still love me. You refuse to show anyone but me the sexy panties."
"Of course I still love you," she said as she tucked the last bit of underwear into the bag. Then she turned and headed for the bathroom to collect her toiletries. She waited until she was actually in the bathroom before she spoke again. "Besides, Miri's already seen all the sexy panties."
His reply was a long, low groan.
Alex laughed and returned to the bedroom. Clint looked at her with an expression filled with pain. "God, Lexi. Why are you being such a tease?"
"Save it, big boy. I think the chances of us having a threesome with Miri are about as good as the chances of me climbing into bed with Coulson," she told him.
"That will never happen," he asserted knowingly.
"Of course it won't. Coulson isn't into me," she said as she packed her travel sized toiletries into a water proof case.
"I wouldn't let it happen," he returned smoothly. She just rolled her eyes at him in the mirror. They both knew that Coulson hadn't ever looked at her twice and he never would. He was that into Miri. She pulled the zipper closed on her bag before turning to face him. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he had nothing to worry about when there was a sharp knock at the door. She watched as Clint got to his feet and made a show of tugging his t-shirt down to disguise the way his crotch was tented. He took the bag wordlessly and followed Alex from the bedroom.
The door of the apartment opened to reveal Miri in business casual. Coulson was behind her in his typical suit and tie, looking very unintimidating and non-frightening. Alex smiled at them both and motioned them in. "I'm almost ready. I just have to grab my coat and my weapons suitcase."
"Miri," Clint nodded at her friend. "Coulson, sir."
The two of them entered the apartment wordlessly. Miri smiled at Clint and gave him a hug, dropping a friendly kiss on his cheek. Clint and Coulson did some silent, male bonding type thing but otherwise didn't touch. "Barton," the man nodded.
Alex headed back into her bedroom long enough to grab from the closet the silver weapons case she used for travel. She dialed in the combination for the locks and checked on her weapons before closing the case and locking it again. Returning to the living room, she set it next to her bag of clothes. "There. I'm ready to play the muscle."
Clint snorted, Miri coughed, and Coulson's lips twitched. Alex shot them a glare.
"That's enough from the peanut gallery, thank you very much," she told them before heading to the closet to fetch her winter coat. She tugged the coat off the hanger and tossed it over her arm. Coulson and Miri were just waiting for her. Clint was watching her with that look. She sighed and crossed to him, wrapped her arms around him so that she could hug him close. "Nothing is going to go wrong. I'll be fine and I'll be home before you know it. I'm sure Agent Coulson can find ways to keep you occupied while I'm gone."
"I really hope you don't mean that the way it sounds, Agent Quinn," Coulson said behind her, voice as bland as ever. But she'd gotten better at reading his meanings since he and Miri had openly admitted they were a couple. She knew he was teasing her. She shot him a look over her shoulder and grinned.
"Of course not. Not unless I'm here to watch," she replied cheekily. The man rolled his eyes at her, bringing a laugh up her throat. Alex turned her attention back to Clint. "Be good while I'm gone. No scaring the junior agents or I'll take away your Nerf bow when I get home. And no jerking off in my bed. Because, really... Ew."
"That was something I could have gone all of my life without hearing. Now I'm going to have to scrub that image from my brain." Coulson's voice was dry. Alex shook her head at him before tossing a grin his way.
"I bet I can get that image out of your head," she teased before going up on tiptoes so that she could give Clint one last kiss before walking out the door. He held her tight for a moment or two, as if he was seriously considering not letting her go. But his hands eventually slid away, albeit reluctantly, and allowed her to draw away from him. Alex went over and dragged her bag up onto her shoulder. Picked up her weapons case. On her way to the door, she snagged her purse and settled that on her shoulder, too.
Coulson was at the door, holding it open for Miri and herself. She shot Clint a look before turning her attention back to the other man. "How about Miri and I naked and in bed together? Does that get rid of the other images?"
She thought she heard Coulson choke ever so slightly, but it was impossible to tell for sure because Clint's groan covered it up. "God, Lexi. You're killing me." They heard the words before Coulson shut the door.
Miri grinned at her. "You know there will be different sheets on the bed when you get home, right?"
"I expect there to be different sheets on the bed before we even get on the plane," Alex replied with a chuckle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Coulson reach up and pinch the bridge of his nose.
"That is something I really didn't need to hear."
Her laughter followed them into the elevator.
~*~
It wasn't until their flight was in the air that Miri asked her about something she'd said hours ago in the apartment. "Why is Clint worried?"
Alex looked up from her book, puzzled about the question. She'd been lost in the pages laid open before her and had a hard time catching up with the topic at hand. "What?"
Miri gave her a smile. "You said earlier that nothing was going to go wrong. What is Clint worried about?"
"Oh," Alex said, realization hitting her. She closed the book after tucking a length of ribbon between the pages to mark her place. "That. He told me he didn't want me to go because he had a bad feeling about our mission."
Miri boggled at her. "He has a bad feeling? Isn't he the man who throws himself off of really tall buildings on a regular basis?"
"Right? I mentioned that and told him I thought he was being a little unfair about it all. It isn't like we're part of some team of superheroes or anything. And this is an intelligence mission. Not a shoot everything until its bleeding and dead mission. I told him he was overreacting." Alex sighed and put her book back in her bag. "I was trying not to think about it too much. I figure if I give his worries credence, then they're bound to interfere in our mission."
"Its so cute how he worries about you," Miri grinned at her. Alex flipped her off and went for the headphones. Miri chuckled and reached out a hand to lay over hers. "I'm teasing you, of course. Though it is good to see him worried when you leave on a mission."
"He's going to miss my cooking," Alex said, face completely straight and empty. Miri stared at her for all of two seconds before she broke out into near hysterical laughter.
"My god, Alex. How can you say that with a straight face?" Miri asked when she finally stopped laughing.
Alex just grinned at her. "I've been taking lessons from Coulson. Maybe one day I'll be as good at bland as he is." Miri shook her head, soft chuckles bubbling up her throat. Alex reached for the manila file she had tucked away in her bag, figuring they could go over some mission parameters while they had the chance. Given the length of the flight, they'd likely be settling in for a nap at some point. For now, though, they had time to talk shop.
After tugging the file from her bag, she opened it and started looking at pictures. They were supposed to be meeting a trio of Germans who were supposed to have information that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted. Information about HYDRA's next big strike. As Miri was the big HYDRA expert, it was naturally a job that had fallen to her. Alex was going with because she was fluent in German and, as she'd told Clint, was going to listen in on idle chatter to see if they were being played. The ultimate hope was that Alex and Miri could pick up enough intel to keep such an event from happening.
Alex had heard that Coulson had argued long and hard that the two of them needed more backup, but Fury had shot the idea down. He'd said point blank that it was an intelligence gathering mission, which wouldn't require more than a couple of people. Too many guns might make people suspicious. Fury had also told Coulson that Alex and Miri were trained agents and they could handle whatever came their way. It hadn't sat well with Miri's boyfriend, but he'd eventually let it go. Fury was the boss and what he said was law.
"When are we meeting these guys again?" she asked, eyes taking in the names listed in the report.
"The meet is set up for three hours after we land. We'll have enough time to check into our hotel and grab a shower or a meal or both. Then we have to go," Miri told her, tugging a map from her own file. Alex studied the pictures as her friend refolded the map to show the area they'd be in. "We'll pick up a rental car and head out of Berlin. We'll make contact with him," Miri pointed to one of the pictures.
Klaus Mueller. The man had a scar on his neck, running from his jaw down under the collar of his shirt. The picture showed he was blonde with intense brown eyes and a frown that could frighten small dogs and children. Alex had already pegged him as the leader.
Miri's finger touched a small dot on the map. "From here, we'll head this way," she said and traced a road. "We'll meet up with his two friends here." She touched another dot on the map. Alex turned her attention back to the two remaining photos. Stephan Zimmer and Fritz Hauer. A brooding brunette and a brooding redhead. Great. They could form a really good Emo band together with those looks. Zimmer had a large mole on his face, just under his eye and to the side. Hauer's eyes were hazel and absolutely blank. There was something very wrong with that and Alex felt a faint hint of unease trickle down her spine.
"And we're going to them, why?" Alex asked. Miri turned a look on her.
"Something wrong, Alex?"
"Not sure, actually," Alex shook her head. "Just... These three do not look like happy men and I don't know if I like that."
Miri took a hard look at the photos and frowned. "They're definitely not happy boys. But I'm sure you're just imagining shit after Clint's warning of gloom and doom."
Alex hummed under her breath and considered it. Her eyes followed the path that Miri's finger had traced on the map only moments ago. They were going quite some distance for this intel, which seemed kind of odd. But these men were supposed to be well known contacts that their superiors had dealt with before. She shrugged and glanced up to find Miri watching her. A single brow went up in a silent question. "This is your mission. I'll go with what you say. But I just want you to consider that maybe there's some funky shit going on here."
"I'll keep that in mind," Miri said dryly, then turned back to her map. "We'll stay here for a night, then return to the city the next day."
Alex nodded and once more stared at the pictures. She again had that sensation of something being off, but immediately pushed it aside. She was just letting Clint's worries bother her. A stupid move because she needed to be alert for their mission. So for the next hour, she and Miri went over the mission again and again until her disquiet had calmed and the flight attendants started serving the first meal of the trip.
After that, Alex let herself fall back into book. And when the words blurred, she closed her eyes and slept.
~*~
She wasn't sure just when the mission had gone tits up, but there it was. They'd gotten to Berlin with no troubles, had gone from the airport to their hotel so easily that it seemed the rest of their time in Germany was going to be a breeze. Naturally, checking in to the hotel had been used to check in with their superiors. While Alex had taken a hurried shower, Miri had used the sat phone they'd been given to place a call straight to Coulson. Then it had been Miri's turn in the shower before they'd gone down to snag a meal.
After finishing their meal, they'd picked up their rental and taken it out of the city on the route Miri had pointed out on the map, They'd stopped and picked up Mueller, who had sat stone faced in the back of the car as Miri had navigated their way toward the next meet. It had turned out to be a small village in that didn't even have a bed and breakfast or motel. And it wasn't until they'd met up with Mueller's friends that Alex had started to get that feeling. That was the last thing that had gone right.
An ambush had seen Mueller, Zimmer and Hauer dead, each shot through the head once by a sniper who hadn't been as good as Clint. Alex had learned a lot from him since they'd started dating, including how to spot places that would make good sniper nests. From behind the safety of their rental, Alex had managed to spot the sniper and take him out. But that had been the last of their good luck. Shortly after that, the village had been overrun by HYDRA agents and she and Miri had found themselves forced to take to the trees for shelter.
HYDRA. Why was it always fucking HYDRA?
That had been hours ago. It was growing dark and it was getting cold. Snow had started falling shortly after they'd left the city. It hadn't let up yet. Which meant that the temperature was going to keep dropping until it was so cold that they'd freeze unless they found some kind of shelter from the elements.
Miri led them through the forest. Alex was careful to put her feet in Miri's foot prints so as to give the appearance of their only being one set of tracks in the snow. It wasn't foolproof, but maybe it would throw the HYDRA agents tailing them just long enough to Alex and Miri to find someplace to hole up. Alex had emptied her weapons case, every single gun and round of ammunition tucked into her pockets before leaving the shiny silver case behind. Miri had done likewise with her own silver suitcase so they were at least well armed. But that was all they had in their favor.
There was no talking as they cut through the trees, just the steady crunch crunch of their feet in the freshly fallen snow to break the eerie silence that followed them. Talking would give them away faster than their footsteps. Talking would prevent them from hearing anyone trying to sneak up on them until it was too late. Talking was pointless when there was nothing to say.
It was just before dark that they stumbled upon a small cabin hidden in amongst the trees. Using hand signals, Miri directed Alex to cover her while she checked out the cabin. Alex nodded and put her back to the wall, gun in her hand at her side. Miri stared at her for a few seconds, then turned the knob and stepped inside. It didn't take her long to come back out and motion Alex to follow her inside the small building.
Closing the door left them in darkness. Miri put her hand on Alex's arm and tugged her toward the far wall. It was away from the door and the window. "Careful. There's a table and chair between us and the cot on the other side," she whispered. Alex said nothing, simply holstered her gun and used her hand to feel for the mentioned furniture. When they found the cot, they sat down on it, shoulders touching lightly.
Miri sighed and, a moment later, Alex heard the distinctive sound of her weapon being worked. Alex reached for one of her Glocks, unholstered it. She felt better with the reassuring weight of the gun cradled in her hand. "How long do we have before we're missed?" she asked softly, ears straining to listen for anything that might be coming their way.
"We're not supposed to check in until tomorrow night. So about twenty four hours," Miri replied.
"How long do you think it'll be until they figure out which direction we went?" They'd been lucky. At some point during their flight through the woods, they'd come across a patch of land that had no snow covering it. They'd taken the opportunity to scoop up a pine bough with long needles on it. When they'd hit snow again, Alex had used it to sweep away evidence of their footprints. Between that and the snow drifting down from the sky, they'd felt that their footprints would be covered up well enough to hide them. The hope was that both things would make it harder for HYDRA to pick up their trail.
"I have no idea," Miri admitted softly. There was a soft sigh in her voice. "The good news is that the cabin is easy to defend because it has one door and one window. The bad news is that the cabin only has one door and one window."
Alex nodded. They wouldn't be able to see anything that came at them from the three sides that didn't have the door.and window in them. They were, for lack of better terminology, royally fucked. "Shifts, then. You sleep. I'll take first watch."
Miri sighed, her voice harsh in the darkness. "Alex. I can't let you do that."
"Rest, Miri. I'm going to turn over what we can do to protect ourselves. Come the morning light, we'll take a look around and see if there's anything we can use." Alex made sure her tone was hard and firm.
"I'm senior officer on this mission. I could order you to take first sleep." There was a hint of amusement in Miri's voice when she spoke.
Alex gave a snort before replying and letting Miri know what she thought of that. "And I would be insubordinate. Completely ignore your orders. Just sleep, Miri. I'll be okay. I'll let you sleep for a couple of hours, then I'll wake you and you can take the next watch."
"Are you sure, Alex?" She heard the hesitance in her friend's voice. Alex leaned into her, pressed more of her shoulder against the other woman's. A silent promise that she would be there for Miri, no matter what happened.
"I'm sure, Miri. Sleep. I'll wake you when its your turn to take watch." She slipped off the cot so that Miri had room to lay down in it. There was a noise of complaint from behind her as Alex settled on the floor, but she ignored it. She ignored everything except the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and the soft calls of nocturnal animals. She ignored the bitter cold that curled around her and trained her eyes on the window. If anything came, it would come through the door and she'd have a moment of warning in which to prepare herself.
If she and Miri were going down, they weren't going to go down without a fight.
~*~
Time stretched long and silent as the night wore on. Alex huddled into her coat, Glock gripped loosely in her hands. She could hear the soft breathing of Miri behind her, a reassuring sound that helped her keep her mind away from just how badly she wished she was cuddled in bed with Clint instead of sitting on her ass on a cold floor somewhere in the German wilderness. She let her mind focus on the sounds of the night that crowded the cabin, seeking out the sounds of approaching enemy agents under the wind.
It was going to be a long twenty four hours. She knew that no one would realize they were missing until they failed to check in with their superiors. Even when they did figure it out, it would take time to find them. Any rescue wouldn't come for probably two days. They had to maintain their position, stay alive for at least forty eight hours. That meant overcoming not only the HYDRA agents who were sure to find them eventually, but the cold and the lack of food. Not that they couldn't survive without food. But if they froze to death before anyone arrived to pull their asses out of the fire, food wouldn't matter one fucking bit.
To distract herself from the cold, from the fact that she was exhausted and that she missed Clint, Alex let her mind wander over the plethora of useless information floating around her head. She'd been studying texts on ways to make pipe bombs and other do-it-yourself explosives. She wasn't sure if there was anything in this tiny cabin that would allow her to do just that come the morning light, but she could hope. Maybe, if she found the right supplies, she could make a few small bombs some distance from the cabin that could be triggered by a person's passing. It might not kill every single one of the enemy, but it would give them some warning. Time to prepare. Maybe even time to say goodbye.
Miri woke when the first rays of light speared through the window. Her head came up off the pillow so quickly that Alex might have thought she'd never been asleep, one hand curled around her weapon as she took in their surroundings. Alex fought back a yawn and turned a wry grin on her friend. "Not much to look at, is it?"
"You were supposed to wake me for my watch before now," Miri accused tartly, her gaze coming to rest on Alex's face. No doubt she saw the exhaustion there.
"I have no idea how much time passed between the time you went to sleep and now," Alex remarked. It was as close to the truth as anything else she could have said. Miri frowned and slid from the bed, unable to hide the shiver that rolled up and down her frame when the cold air took place of her warm nest. She motioned toward the bed with one hand.
"Get in there and get some sleep. Don't argue with me, Agent Quinn. That's an order," Miri ordered. She offered Alex her hand. Alex took it thankfully. She'd been on the floor so long that her muscles were cramped and refused to work. The cold didn't help, but she wasn't about to let Miri know that she was freezing her ass off. The other woman likely already knew.
Slipping her hand into Miri's, Alex holstered her Glock so that she could wrap her gun hand around Miri's wrist. Together, they pulled her to her feet. Alex took a few minutes to stretch and work the kinks from her muscles. The dim light of dawn showed them that the cabin was one room and came equipped with a cot, a floor to ceiling cupboard covered by a plaid curtain, a wood burning stove, a table with one chair, and a hurricane lamp with no oil in it.
Alex shot Miri a look before crossing to the window, put her back to the wall on the side so that she could look out through the glass pane without actually exposing herself. Miri made a disgusted noise but said nothing else. After scanning the horizon, Alex sighed and crossed to the cupboard to see what, if anything, was hidden behind the curtain. She found nothing edible except a single package of something she assumed to be jerky. A few empty jars that might have served as glasses. Nothing that would really nourish their bodies. But there were cans of Sterno and other things that could be used for protection.
"We'll have to drink or eat snow. After I get some sleep, I'll see if I can't put my brain to use and come up with some kind of explosives with the things in the cupboard," she picked up the package of jerky and tossed it to Miri. At the bottom of the cupboard was a stack of linens, including a pair of blankets and a sleeping bag. Alex dragged them out and brought them over to the bed. Without another word, Alex climbed into the cot and bedded down. It didn't take her long at all to drift off.
~*~
She woke to find Miri sitting on the floor, in the same spot she'd been in all night. In the same position she'd been in all night. The only difference was that Miri had a blanket wrapped around her to help cut the chill. She didn't move when Alex rose and tugged her weapons out from under the pillow so that she could holster them. "There's an outhouse a few yards from the back of the cabin. I'd make a run for it if I were you. Its fucking cold as shit out there."
Alex nodded, crossed to the cupboard and picked up a couple of the jars. Miri didn't even lift an eyebrow at that, no doubt knowing without being told what Alex was going to do with them. After a cursory glance out the window, Alex tucked the glass jars into her pockets and drew a weapon, then headed out into the cold without another word.
Holy fucking shit! It was freezing like mad outside. Alex hadn't realized just how much of the chill the cabin's walls cut until she stepped out the door. Her eyes moved constantly as she followed Miri's footsteps around the cabin toward the back. The outhouse was a good distance from the cabin, kept the stench of shit and piss from wafting toward it. She ran as best she could in snow that was ankle deep and getting deeper. A glance at the sky showed her thick, heavy iron grey clouds pressing down on them. Winter sky. Snow. Possibly a blizzard. Fucking perfect. That meant if she was going to lay any kind of trap for the coming HYDRA agents, and they would come because that was just the type of persistent mother fuckers that they were, she had to do it really god damn soon.
Surprisingly, the cold cut some of the stench from the outhouse. Alex had to wonder if the person who owned and used the cabin dumped dirt down the hole after the season was done so that it kept the smell from getting really bad. It would make sense but she couldn't be sure. And she didn't have time to really linger on the question because the moment she dropped her pants, her ass damn near froze up and shattered off. She made the trip go as quickly as possible, insanely grateful for the roll of toilet paper that had been threaded onto an old, misshapen metal hanger and hung from a nail in the wall. Once she was dressed again, she headed out the door and took the opportunity to take a good look at their surroundings.
She had no idea how far into the woods she and Miri had come last night. But there was an obvious absence of city sounds, letting her know they were far enough in that they needn't worry about innocents getting caught in the crossfire. They'd headed into the forest because going back to the car had been a very bad idea. There was no way they'd have gotten out of the village if they'd done that. HYDRA had stationed agents everywhere, leaving them boxed in with little options. Better to freeze to death in the wilderness than be taken prisoner and tortured.
She sought out vantage points, made note of them. Made note of weak spots. The fortunate thing was they were on top of a hill. That meant it would be easier to defend their position from a ground assault. But it also left them open to air attacks. There was no tree cover surrounding the cabin, leaving it open and exposed to any planes flying overhead. There would be no fire in the wood burning stove to keep them warm so it was a good thing there were extra blankets. Once she had the area mentally mapped out, she returned to the cabin, stopping only long enough to scoop snow into the jars. Then she retraced her steps and returned to the minutely warmer interior of the cabin.
She smiled when she saw Miri sitting at the table with many of the supplies from the cupboard. The redhead was in the process of making some of those do-it-yourself explosives Alex had thought about. When the door was shut, she set the jars of snow down on the table and began inspecting the work Miri had already managed. "Damn it, woman. If you weren't seeing Coulson and I wasn't with Clint, I would totally marry you right now."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Miri looked up at her and grinned. "What would your mother think?"
"She'd be pleased that I finally settled down and got married. It might take her at least a day to come off that high and start bitching about the sanctity of marriage and how its supposed to be a man and a woman and... Whatever." Alex shook her head and reviewed her mental map, then reached out and touched her hand to one of the finished bombs that Miri had before her. "There are several good stands of trees where these little babies would be good."
"I know. Those stands decided me on how I was going to make these. It isn't fool proof, but it will give us some warning. And it'll take some of those fuckers out for us," she replied, then bent to her task again. "I tried making a call to the German authorities. We are apparently well out of reception range because I don't know that anyone got my message. All I got was static and garbled, German accented English. I don't know if even you could have understood it."
"Well, there goes hopes that the cavalry will arrive before we find ourselves eyeballs deep in HYDRA and shit," Alex sighed. She tapped the finished bomb with a finger. "I take it this is ready to go?"
"All ready. I take it you know how to arm it and place it properly for the most damage possible?" Miri asked in return.
"You know it, baby." Alex shot for a grin but figured it came out as nothing more than a pained grimace. "How many of these do you think we'll be able to build?"
"Maybe eight. Not enough to stop everyone. But enough to make a dent in their ranks. Because you know HYDRA is going to bring the heat." Miri paused in her bomb building to look up at Alex. Her eyes were dark and serious. Alex nodded, not saying a word.
"Then I'd better place them where they can do the most damage. A circular pattern. Hundred feet back from the cabin?" This time, Miri was the one who nodded and said nothing. Alex scooped up the finished bombs and headed for the door. Before stepping outside, she looked back at her friend. "If you hear an explosion, get ready to shoot whatever comes through that door."
"Rule number one, Alex." That was all Miri said. The words followed her out into the chill afternoon air.
~*~
click the link to read more: Rule Number One, Part Two
Fandom: something like the Marvel Universe, leaning mostly toward the Movie!Avengers branch
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: language. sex. possible violence. pregnancy. eventual baby cuteness. Alex's family. anything else can throw in to the story
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel and whoever the hell else owns them.. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, dazzledfirestar and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
~*~
"I'm going to miss you, baby," Clint murmured in her ear. His body was snugged up against hers, his chest to her back while his arms held her close. It did nothing to hamper her ability to pack her bag, something for which she was grateful. Going off to where ever the fuck she was going was hard enough without Clint making some kind of scene. She really didn't want to go. Especially since she could feel just how much he was going to miss her.
"I'm going to miss you, too, sexy," she replied quietly. She glanced up from folding her underwear into a small bag and caught his gaze in the mirror. He was watching her with eyes gone dark and fathomless from a mix of emotions. That wasn't really all that surprising. She'd found, since they'd officially started seeing each other, he could put quite a bit of emotion into his gaze even when it didn't touch his face. What was surprising was that she could see a hint of fear in their blue depths.
Blinking, she set the underwear down and turned in his hold so that she was facing him. "Clint? Is something the matter?"
He stared at her for a few moments, obviously weighing his words. That was something of a shock because he was usually so blunt about everything. Finally, he sighed and hugged her closer so that he could again deliver his words straight into her ear. "I have a bad feeling about this, Lexi. I don't want you to go."
"You're the one who goes out and throws himself off buildings on a regular basis and I have to be okay with that, but you don't want me to go on this mission because you have a bad feeling? Isn't that a little unfair? It isn't like I'm going to be doing anything dangerous. No giant robots or monsters or anything like that. No megalomaniacs. Nothing but a bit of diplomatic recon. I'll be back before the week's out." She gave him a smile and leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. "I can't not go, Clint. Fury handed out the orders on this one. He isn't going to accept that you have a bad feeling and cancel the mission. Trust me. Everything will be okay."
He didn't look convinced. "Why is Fury sending you and not someone else?"
"Because I've got mad skills gorgeous," she teased. It earned her a faint smile, but not enough to wipe the fear away. Sighing, Alex nudged him toward the bed. He took the hint and allowed her to push him back until he was sitting on the edge of the mattress. Alex considered standing between his legs, but decided that closer was better. She crawled into his lap, forcing him to shift further back so that she wouldn't fall to the floor. When she was settled, she wrapped her arms and legs around him. "Things will be fine, baby. Miri and I will be gone for a week, tops. Miri is in charge of the operation. I'm just going along as her backup. You know. Her muscle."
That saw him chuckling. "You? Muscle? I love it when you're so self-deluding. Its really funny."
"The people Miri is meeting with can speak English, but Fury figures there will be some chatter in German. He's sending me with to listen in. My job is to act bored and not let on that I'm paying attention."
"You've got the not paying attention part down pat," he teased. Alex glared at him, one fist jarring his shoulder in retaliation for the jibe.
"Just for that, I'm cooking when I get home," she warned. He groaned. While her skills in the kitchen had improved under his tutelage, they'd both come to the conclusion that she would never be a gourmet chef. Or even a passable cook. "And yes. I'm the muscle."
In response to her words, he took hold of her and rolled them, pinning her body to the bed with his own. The grin he gave her suggested that her muscle wasn't muscle-y enough. She tightened her legs around his waist and used her arms to tug him down so that she could press a kiss to his lips. When her hands migrated around so that she could cup his face between them, he curled his fingers around her wrists and tugged them away. Pinned them down to the mattress and held them there. She found she couldn't tug them free of his hold. One eyebrow went up. "Muscle?"
"I have my uses." she retorted. "I get to play the big dumb muscle to Miri's cool intelligence."
Clint frowned at her. "I hate it when you do that."
"What? Its truth. Miri is the smart one. I'm cool with that," Alex shrugged.
"You are just as smart as Miri is, idiot," he charged. She grinned at him.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. And much as I'd love to stay here and debate my intelligence with you, Miri will be by soon to pick me up. We have to be at the airport in an hour. Kindly let me up so I can finish my packing."
He regarded her for a while, eyes dark and intense as he seemingly gave consideration to her request. Then he grinned and smirked at her, leaning in until his mouth was a scant inch from her own. "Maybe I'll tie you to the bed and then tell Miri when she arrives that you're already gone."
"And maybe she'll sic Coulson on your ass," Alex replied. His response was a blink before he released his hold on her wrists and slowly sat up. She grinned at him. "Did I forget to mention that Coulson is taking us to the airport?"
"That is completely unfair, Lexi," he groaned and slid off of her. Alex sat up and watched as he crossed the floor to slouch into the chair in the corner. His legs flopped open, as if he had no muscle control over them, drawing her attention to the way the denim strained over his crotch.
She smiled at him. "Don't blame your eagerness on me, baby. You know how easy it is to get you going. If I had my choice, I'd stay here with you. But I don't have that luxury. Not all of us are members of the most elite team of heroes on the planet. Fury tells me to go, I go. I swear I'll be back soon."
He made a noise at the back of his throat, letting her know what he thought of her promise. She smiled and slid off the bed to go finish her packing. She was almost done, just needed to collect a few items from the bathroom to tuck into her bag. She was only supposed to be gone for maybe a week, but experience had taught her to pack for more than the allotted time. Practicality, or her mother's voice in her head, told her that she should always have extra underwear in case she got stuck on a plane or something. "You're packing plain panties," he observed sullenly.
"Of course. Seeing as you aren't going to be there, I see no reason to pack the sexy panties."
"Aw. You do still love me. You refuse to show anyone but me the sexy panties."
"Of course I still love you," she said as she tucked the last bit of underwear into the bag. Then she turned and headed for the bathroom to collect her toiletries. She waited until she was actually in the bathroom before she spoke again. "Besides, Miri's already seen all the sexy panties."
His reply was a long, low groan.
Alex laughed and returned to the bedroom. Clint looked at her with an expression filled with pain. "God, Lexi. Why are you being such a tease?"
"Save it, big boy. I think the chances of us having a threesome with Miri are about as good as the chances of me climbing into bed with Coulson," she told him.
"That will never happen," he asserted knowingly.
"Of course it won't. Coulson isn't into me," she said as she packed her travel sized toiletries into a water proof case.
"I wouldn't let it happen," he returned smoothly. She just rolled her eyes at him in the mirror. They both knew that Coulson hadn't ever looked at her twice and he never would. He was that into Miri. She pulled the zipper closed on her bag before turning to face him. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he had nothing to worry about when there was a sharp knock at the door. She watched as Clint got to his feet and made a show of tugging his t-shirt down to disguise the way his crotch was tented. He took the bag wordlessly and followed Alex from the bedroom.
The door of the apartment opened to reveal Miri in business casual. Coulson was behind her in his typical suit and tie, looking very unintimidating and non-frightening. Alex smiled at them both and motioned them in. "I'm almost ready. I just have to grab my coat and my weapons suitcase."
"Miri," Clint nodded at her friend. "Coulson, sir."
The two of them entered the apartment wordlessly. Miri smiled at Clint and gave him a hug, dropping a friendly kiss on his cheek. Clint and Coulson did some silent, male bonding type thing but otherwise didn't touch. "Barton," the man nodded.
Alex headed back into her bedroom long enough to grab from the closet the silver weapons case she used for travel. She dialed in the combination for the locks and checked on her weapons before closing the case and locking it again. Returning to the living room, she set it next to her bag of clothes. "There. I'm ready to play the muscle."
Clint snorted, Miri coughed, and Coulson's lips twitched. Alex shot them a glare.
"That's enough from the peanut gallery, thank you very much," she told them before heading to the closet to fetch her winter coat. She tugged the coat off the hanger and tossed it over her arm. Coulson and Miri were just waiting for her. Clint was watching her with that look. She sighed and crossed to him, wrapped her arms around him so that she could hug him close. "Nothing is going to go wrong. I'll be fine and I'll be home before you know it. I'm sure Agent Coulson can find ways to keep you occupied while I'm gone."
"I really hope you don't mean that the way it sounds, Agent Quinn," Coulson said behind her, voice as bland as ever. But she'd gotten better at reading his meanings since he and Miri had openly admitted they were a couple. She knew he was teasing her. She shot him a look over her shoulder and grinned.
"Of course not. Not unless I'm here to watch," she replied cheekily. The man rolled his eyes at her, bringing a laugh up her throat. Alex turned her attention back to Clint. "Be good while I'm gone. No scaring the junior agents or I'll take away your Nerf bow when I get home. And no jerking off in my bed. Because, really... Ew."
"That was something I could have gone all of my life without hearing. Now I'm going to have to scrub that image from my brain." Coulson's voice was dry. Alex shook her head at him before tossing a grin his way.
"I bet I can get that image out of your head," she teased before going up on tiptoes so that she could give Clint one last kiss before walking out the door. He held her tight for a moment or two, as if he was seriously considering not letting her go. But his hands eventually slid away, albeit reluctantly, and allowed her to draw away from him. Alex went over and dragged her bag up onto her shoulder. Picked up her weapons case. On her way to the door, she snagged her purse and settled that on her shoulder, too.
Coulson was at the door, holding it open for Miri and herself. She shot Clint a look before turning her attention back to the other man. "How about Miri and I naked and in bed together? Does that get rid of the other images?"
She thought she heard Coulson choke ever so slightly, but it was impossible to tell for sure because Clint's groan covered it up. "God, Lexi. You're killing me." They heard the words before Coulson shut the door.
Miri grinned at her. "You know there will be different sheets on the bed when you get home, right?"
"I expect there to be different sheets on the bed before we even get on the plane," Alex replied with a chuckle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Coulson reach up and pinch the bridge of his nose.
"That is something I really didn't need to hear."
Her laughter followed them into the elevator.
~*~
It wasn't until their flight was in the air that Miri asked her about something she'd said hours ago in the apartment. "Why is Clint worried?"
Alex looked up from her book, puzzled about the question. She'd been lost in the pages laid open before her and had a hard time catching up with the topic at hand. "What?"
Miri gave her a smile. "You said earlier that nothing was going to go wrong. What is Clint worried about?"
"Oh," Alex said, realization hitting her. She closed the book after tucking a length of ribbon between the pages to mark her place. "That. He told me he didn't want me to go because he had a bad feeling about our mission."
Miri boggled at her. "He has a bad feeling? Isn't he the man who throws himself off of really tall buildings on a regular basis?"
"Right? I mentioned that and told him I thought he was being a little unfair about it all. It isn't like we're part of some team of superheroes or anything. And this is an intelligence mission. Not a shoot everything until its bleeding and dead mission. I told him he was overreacting." Alex sighed and put her book back in her bag. "I was trying not to think about it too much. I figure if I give his worries credence, then they're bound to interfere in our mission."
"Its so cute how he worries about you," Miri grinned at her. Alex flipped her off and went for the headphones. Miri chuckled and reached out a hand to lay over hers. "I'm teasing you, of course. Though it is good to see him worried when you leave on a mission."
"He's going to miss my cooking," Alex said, face completely straight and empty. Miri stared at her for all of two seconds before she broke out into near hysterical laughter.
"My god, Alex. How can you say that with a straight face?" Miri asked when she finally stopped laughing.
Alex just grinned at her. "I've been taking lessons from Coulson. Maybe one day I'll be as good at bland as he is." Miri shook her head, soft chuckles bubbling up her throat. Alex reached for the manila file she had tucked away in her bag, figuring they could go over some mission parameters while they had the chance. Given the length of the flight, they'd likely be settling in for a nap at some point. For now, though, they had time to talk shop.
After tugging the file from her bag, she opened it and started looking at pictures. They were supposed to be meeting a trio of Germans who were supposed to have information that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted. Information about HYDRA's next big strike. As Miri was the big HYDRA expert, it was naturally a job that had fallen to her. Alex was going with because she was fluent in German and, as she'd told Clint, was going to listen in on idle chatter to see if they were being played. The ultimate hope was that Alex and Miri could pick up enough intel to keep such an event from happening.
Alex had heard that Coulson had argued long and hard that the two of them needed more backup, but Fury had shot the idea down. He'd said point blank that it was an intelligence gathering mission, which wouldn't require more than a couple of people. Too many guns might make people suspicious. Fury had also told Coulson that Alex and Miri were trained agents and they could handle whatever came their way. It hadn't sat well with Miri's boyfriend, but he'd eventually let it go. Fury was the boss and what he said was law.
"When are we meeting these guys again?" she asked, eyes taking in the names listed in the report.
"The meet is set up for three hours after we land. We'll have enough time to check into our hotel and grab a shower or a meal or both. Then we have to go," Miri told her, tugging a map from her own file. Alex studied the pictures as her friend refolded the map to show the area they'd be in. "We'll pick up a rental car and head out of Berlin. We'll make contact with him," Miri pointed to one of the pictures.
Klaus Mueller. The man had a scar on his neck, running from his jaw down under the collar of his shirt. The picture showed he was blonde with intense brown eyes and a frown that could frighten small dogs and children. Alex had already pegged him as the leader.
Miri's finger touched a small dot on the map. "From here, we'll head this way," she said and traced a road. "We'll meet up with his two friends here." She touched another dot on the map. Alex turned her attention back to the two remaining photos. Stephan Zimmer and Fritz Hauer. A brooding brunette and a brooding redhead. Great. They could form a really good Emo band together with those looks. Zimmer had a large mole on his face, just under his eye and to the side. Hauer's eyes were hazel and absolutely blank. There was something very wrong with that and Alex felt a faint hint of unease trickle down her spine.
"And we're going to them, why?" Alex asked. Miri turned a look on her.
"Something wrong, Alex?"
"Not sure, actually," Alex shook her head. "Just... These three do not look like happy men and I don't know if I like that."
Miri took a hard look at the photos and frowned. "They're definitely not happy boys. But I'm sure you're just imagining shit after Clint's warning of gloom and doom."
Alex hummed under her breath and considered it. Her eyes followed the path that Miri's finger had traced on the map only moments ago. They were going quite some distance for this intel, which seemed kind of odd. But these men were supposed to be well known contacts that their superiors had dealt with before. She shrugged and glanced up to find Miri watching her. A single brow went up in a silent question. "This is your mission. I'll go with what you say. But I just want you to consider that maybe there's some funky shit going on here."
"I'll keep that in mind," Miri said dryly, then turned back to her map. "We'll stay here for a night, then return to the city the next day."
Alex nodded and once more stared at the pictures. She again had that sensation of something being off, but immediately pushed it aside. She was just letting Clint's worries bother her. A stupid move because she needed to be alert for their mission. So for the next hour, she and Miri went over the mission again and again until her disquiet had calmed and the flight attendants started serving the first meal of the trip.
After that, Alex let herself fall back into book. And when the words blurred, she closed her eyes and slept.
~*~
She wasn't sure just when the mission had gone tits up, but there it was. They'd gotten to Berlin with no troubles, had gone from the airport to their hotel so easily that it seemed the rest of their time in Germany was going to be a breeze. Naturally, checking in to the hotel had been used to check in with their superiors. While Alex had taken a hurried shower, Miri had used the sat phone they'd been given to place a call straight to Coulson. Then it had been Miri's turn in the shower before they'd gone down to snag a meal.
After finishing their meal, they'd picked up their rental and taken it out of the city on the route Miri had pointed out on the map, They'd stopped and picked up Mueller, who had sat stone faced in the back of the car as Miri had navigated their way toward the next meet. It had turned out to be a small village in that didn't even have a bed and breakfast or motel. And it wasn't until they'd met up with Mueller's friends that Alex had started to get that feeling. That was the last thing that had gone right.
An ambush had seen Mueller, Zimmer and Hauer dead, each shot through the head once by a sniper who hadn't been as good as Clint. Alex had learned a lot from him since they'd started dating, including how to spot places that would make good sniper nests. From behind the safety of their rental, Alex had managed to spot the sniper and take him out. But that had been the last of their good luck. Shortly after that, the village had been overrun by HYDRA agents and she and Miri had found themselves forced to take to the trees for shelter.
HYDRA. Why was it always fucking HYDRA?
That had been hours ago. It was growing dark and it was getting cold. Snow had started falling shortly after they'd left the city. It hadn't let up yet. Which meant that the temperature was going to keep dropping until it was so cold that they'd freeze unless they found some kind of shelter from the elements.
Miri led them through the forest. Alex was careful to put her feet in Miri's foot prints so as to give the appearance of their only being one set of tracks in the snow. It wasn't foolproof, but maybe it would throw the HYDRA agents tailing them just long enough to Alex and Miri to find someplace to hole up. Alex had emptied her weapons case, every single gun and round of ammunition tucked into her pockets before leaving the shiny silver case behind. Miri had done likewise with her own silver suitcase so they were at least well armed. But that was all they had in their favor.
There was no talking as they cut through the trees, just the steady crunch crunch of their feet in the freshly fallen snow to break the eerie silence that followed them. Talking would give them away faster than their footsteps. Talking would prevent them from hearing anyone trying to sneak up on them until it was too late. Talking was pointless when there was nothing to say.
It was just before dark that they stumbled upon a small cabin hidden in amongst the trees. Using hand signals, Miri directed Alex to cover her while she checked out the cabin. Alex nodded and put her back to the wall, gun in her hand at her side. Miri stared at her for a few seconds, then turned the knob and stepped inside. It didn't take her long to come back out and motion Alex to follow her inside the small building.
Closing the door left them in darkness. Miri put her hand on Alex's arm and tugged her toward the far wall. It was away from the door and the window. "Careful. There's a table and chair between us and the cot on the other side," she whispered. Alex said nothing, simply holstered her gun and used her hand to feel for the mentioned furniture. When they found the cot, they sat down on it, shoulders touching lightly.
Miri sighed and, a moment later, Alex heard the distinctive sound of her weapon being worked. Alex reached for one of her Glocks, unholstered it. She felt better with the reassuring weight of the gun cradled in her hand. "How long do we have before we're missed?" she asked softly, ears straining to listen for anything that might be coming their way.
"We're not supposed to check in until tomorrow night. So about twenty four hours," Miri replied.
"How long do you think it'll be until they figure out which direction we went?" They'd been lucky. At some point during their flight through the woods, they'd come across a patch of land that had no snow covering it. They'd taken the opportunity to scoop up a pine bough with long needles on it. When they'd hit snow again, Alex had used it to sweep away evidence of their footprints. Between that and the snow drifting down from the sky, they'd felt that their footprints would be covered up well enough to hide them. The hope was that both things would make it harder for HYDRA to pick up their trail.
"I have no idea," Miri admitted softly. There was a soft sigh in her voice. "The good news is that the cabin is easy to defend because it has one door and one window. The bad news is that the cabin only has one door and one window."
Alex nodded. They wouldn't be able to see anything that came at them from the three sides that didn't have the door.and window in them. They were, for lack of better terminology, royally fucked. "Shifts, then. You sleep. I'll take first watch."
Miri sighed, her voice harsh in the darkness. "Alex. I can't let you do that."
"Rest, Miri. I'm going to turn over what we can do to protect ourselves. Come the morning light, we'll take a look around and see if there's anything we can use." Alex made sure her tone was hard and firm.
"I'm senior officer on this mission. I could order you to take first sleep." There was a hint of amusement in Miri's voice when she spoke.
Alex gave a snort before replying and letting Miri know what she thought of that. "And I would be insubordinate. Completely ignore your orders. Just sleep, Miri. I'll be okay. I'll let you sleep for a couple of hours, then I'll wake you and you can take the next watch."
"Are you sure, Alex?" She heard the hesitance in her friend's voice. Alex leaned into her, pressed more of her shoulder against the other woman's. A silent promise that she would be there for Miri, no matter what happened.
"I'm sure, Miri. Sleep. I'll wake you when its your turn to take watch." She slipped off the cot so that Miri had room to lay down in it. There was a noise of complaint from behind her as Alex settled on the floor, but she ignored it. She ignored everything except the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and the soft calls of nocturnal animals. She ignored the bitter cold that curled around her and trained her eyes on the window. If anything came, it would come through the door and she'd have a moment of warning in which to prepare herself.
If she and Miri were going down, they weren't going to go down without a fight.
~*~
Time stretched long and silent as the night wore on. Alex huddled into her coat, Glock gripped loosely in her hands. She could hear the soft breathing of Miri behind her, a reassuring sound that helped her keep her mind away from just how badly she wished she was cuddled in bed with Clint instead of sitting on her ass on a cold floor somewhere in the German wilderness. She let her mind focus on the sounds of the night that crowded the cabin, seeking out the sounds of approaching enemy agents under the wind.
It was going to be a long twenty four hours. She knew that no one would realize they were missing until they failed to check in with their superiors. Even when they did figure it out, it would take time to find them. Any rescue wouldn't come for probably two days. They had to maintain their position, stay alive for at least forty eight hours. That meant overcoming not only the HYDRA agents who were sure to find them eventually, but the cold and the lack of food. Not that they couldn't survive without food. But if they froze to death before anyone arrived to pull their asses out of the fire, food wouldn't matter one fucking bit.
To distract herself from the cold, from the fact that she was exhausted and that she missed Clint, Alex let her mind wander over the plethora of useless information floating around her head. She'd been studying texts on ways to make pipe bombs and other do-it-yourself explosives. She wasn't sure if there was anything in this tiny cabin that would allow her to do just that come the morning light, but she could hope. Maybe, if she found the right supplies, she could make a few small bombs some distance from the cabin that could be triggered by a person's passing. It might not kill every single one of the enemy, but it would give them some warning. Time to prepare. Maybe even time to say goodbye.
Miri woke when the first rays of light speared through the window. Her head came up off the pillow so quickly that Alex might have thought she'd never been asleep, one hand curled around her weapon as she took in their surroundings. Alex fought back a yawn and turned a wry grin on her friend. "Not much to look at, is it?"
"You were supposed to wake me for my watch before now," Miri accused tartly, her gaze coming to rest on Alex's face. No doubt she saw the exhaustion there.
"I have no idea how much time passed between the time you went to sleep and now," Alex remarked. It was as close to the truth as anything else she could have said. Miri frowned and slid from the bed, unable to hide the shiver that rolled up and down her frame when the cold air took place of her warm nest. She motioned toward the bed with one hand.
"Get in there and get some sleep. Don't argue with me, Agent Quinn. That's an order," Miri ordered. She offered Alex her hand. Alex took it thankfully. She'd been on the floor so long that her muscles were cramped and refused to work. The cold didn't help, but she wasn't about to let Miri know that she was freezing her ass off. The other woman likely already knew.
Slipping her hand into Miri's, Alex holstered her Glock so that she could wrap her gun hand around Miri's wrist. Together, they pulled her to her feet. Alex took a few minutes to stretch and work the kinks from her muscles. The dim light of dawn showed them that the cabin was one room and came equipped with a cot, a floor to ceiling cupboard covered by a plaid curtain, a wood burning stove, a table with one chair, and a hurricane lamp with no oil in it.
Alex shot Miri a look before crossing to the window, put her back to the wall on the side so that she could look out through the glass pane without actually exposing herself. Miri made a disgusted noise but said nothing else. After scanning the horizon, Alex sighed and crossed to the cupboard to see what, if anything, was hidden behind the curtain. She found nothing edible except a single package of something she assumed to be jerky. A few empty jars that might have served as glasses. Nothing that would really nourish their bodies. But there were cans of Sterno and other things that could be used for protection.
"We'll have to drink or eat snow. After I get some sleep, I'll see if I can't put my brain to use and come up with some kind of explosives with the things in the cupboard," she picked up the package of jerky and tossed it to Miri. At the bottom of the cupboard was a stack of linens, including a pair of blankets and a sleeping bag. Alex dragged them out and brought them over to the bed. Without another word, Alex climbed into the cot and bedded down. It didn't take her long at all to drift off.
~*~
She woke to find Miri sitting on the floor, in the same spot she'd been in all night. In the same position she'd been in all night. The only difference was that Miri had a blanket wrapped around her to help cut the chill. She didn't move when Alex rose and tugged her weapons out from under the pillow so that she could holster them. "There's an outhouse a few yards from the back of the cabin. I'd make a run for it if I were you. Its fucking cold as shit out there."
Alex nodded, crossed to the cupboard and picked up a couple of the jars. Miri didn't even lift an eyebrow at that, no doubt knowing without being told what Alex was going to do with them. After a cursory glance out the window, Alex tucked the glass jars into her pockets and drew a weapon, then headed out into the cold without another word.
Holy fucking shit! It was freezing like mad outside. Alex hadn't realized just how much of the chill the cabin's walls cut until she stepped out the door. Her eyes moved constantly as she followed Miri's footsteps around the cabin toward the back. The outhouse was a good distance from the cabin, kept the stench of shit and piss from wafting toward it. She ran as best she could in snow that was ankle deep and getting deeper. A glance at the sky showed her thick, heavy iron grey clouds pressing down on them. Winter sky. Snow. Possibly a blizzard. Fucking perfect. That meant if she was going to lay any kind of trap for the coming HYDRA agents, and they would come because that was just the type of persistent mother fuckers that they were, she had to do it really god damn soon.
Surprisingly, the cold cut some of the stench from the outhouse. Alex had to wonder if the person who owned and used the cabin dumped dirt down the hole after the season was done so that it kept the smell from getting really bad. It would make sense but she couldn't be sure. And she didn't have time to really linger on the question because the moment she dropped her pants, her ass damn near froze up and shattered off. She made the trip go as quickly as possible, insanely grateful for the roll of toilet paper that had been threaded onto an old, misshapen metal hanger and hung from a nail in the wall. Once she was dressed again, she headed out the door and took the opportunity to take a good look at their surroundings.
She had no idea how far into the woods she and Miri had come last night. But there was an obvious absence of city sounds, letting her know they were far enough in that they needn't worry about innocents getting caught in the crossfire. They'd headed into the forest because going back to the car had been a very bad idea. There was no way they'd have gotten out of the village if they'd done that. HYDRA had stationed agents everywhere, leaving them boxed in with little options. Better to freeze to death in the wilderness than be taken prisoner and tortured.
She sought out vantage points, made note of them. Made note of weak spots. The fortunate thing was they were on top of a hill. That meant it would be easier to defend their position from a ground assault. But it also left them open to air attacks. There was no tree cover surrounding the cabin, leaving it open and exposed to any planes flying overhead. There would be no fire in the wood burning stove to keep them warm so it was a good thing there were extra blankets. Once she had the area mentally mapped out, she returned to the cabin, stopping only long enough to scoop snow into the jars. Then she retraced her steps and returned to the minutely warmer interior of the cabin.
She smiled when she saw Miri sitting at the table with many of the supplies from the cupboard. The redhead was in the process of making some of those do-it-yourself explosives Alex had thought about. When the door was shut, she set the jars of snow down on the table and began inspecting the work Miri had already managed. "Damn it, woman. If you weren't seeing Coulson and I wasn't with Clint, I would totally marry you right now."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Miri looked up at her and grinned. "What would your mother think?"
"She'd be pleased that I finally settled down and got married. It might take her at least a day to come off that high and start bitching about the sanctity of marriage and how its supposed to be a man and a woman and... Whatever." Alex shook her head and reviewed her mental map, then reached out and touched her hand to one of the finished bombs that Miri had before her. "There are several good stands of trees where these little babies would be good."
"I know. Those stands decided me on how I was going to make these. It isn't fool proof, but it will give us some warning. And it'll take some of those fuckers out for us," she replied, then bent to her task again. "I tried making a call to the German authorities. We are apparently well out of reception range because I don't know that anyone got my message. All I got was static and garbled, German accented English. I don't know if even you could have understood it."
"Well, there goes hopes that the cavalry will arrive before we find ourselves eyeballs deep in HYDRA and shit," Alex sighed. She tapped the finished bomb with a finger. "I take it this is ready to go?"
"All ready. I take it you know how to arm it and place it properly for the most damage possible?" Miri asked in return.
"You know it, baby." Alex shot for a grin but figured it came out as nothing more than a pained grimace. "How many of these do you think we'll be able to build?"
"Maybe eight. Not enough to stop everyone. But enough to make a dent in their ranks. Because you know HYDRA is going to bring the heat." Miri paused in her bomb building to look up at Alex. Her eyes were dark and serious. Alex nodded, not saying a word.
"Then I'd better place them where they can do the most damage. A circular pattern. Hundred feet back from the cabin?" This time, Miri was the one who nodded and said nothing. Alex scooped up the finished bombs and headed for the door. Before stepping outside, she looked back at her friend. "If you hear an explosion, get ready to shoot whatever comes through that door."
"Rule number one, Alex." That was all Miri said. The words followed her out into the chill afternoon air.
~*~
click the link to read more: Rule Number One, Part Two