Hailey Potter: Summer Adventures (harry potter x marvel)

28//the ronin

Hailey's 14th birthday came faster than she realized. She was too caught up in a web of lies and problems to enjoy it properly and so she kept it simple. Hermione had gotten an internship this summer and Ron was on a family trip. Peter had not responded in months and sometimes Hailey caught herself watching clips of him on YouTube over and over again. Bloody hell, he was getting much better but his suit was still a bit of a problem.

Either way, he couldn't come either so it was just Kate and her.

Mr. Barton and Yelena dropped by frequently and then all the adults would lock themselves into the basement which was obviously out of bounds to Hailey. She of course attempted to listen in once or twice when curiosity got the best of her and she repeatedly heard a  name: The Ronin.

After cutting the cake, Hailey and Kate locked themselves up in their room to do research on both Jack and The Winter Soldier because that name had been brought up in this house more than once. 

They found nothing on the internet about the Winter Soldier except for a Russian movie under the same name so they moved on to Jack.

Apparently, Jack's uncle had been found dead a few days ago after Kate had heard him threatening her mom. And can you guess what he was killed by? A sword, precisely the kind Jack had shown interest in buying at the auction. Kate had also found a buttercup in Jack's possession that his uncle kept in his study.

That was evidence enough for both of them but not for Kate's mom so they needed to gather more evidence.

And for that, they needed another plan.

"His Office," Kate said after pacing around for a hot minute.

"Come on Kate, it's not possible for us to break into his office. It's probably secured in many ways," Hailey reasoned as she petted Lucky on her lap.

"You're right. YOU'RE RIGHT!" Kate exclaimed. "Not his office, we need to get into my mother's office. She has all the security data. He couldn't be doing all of this alone, he has to have allies, workers."

"I'm sure if we go through everyone he is affiliated with, we will find someone. The lower they are the easier expose and track. This is bloody brilliant," Hailey said.

"My mom is leaving in three days for a business trip and she won't be back for well over a week," Kate said. "I can get her ID card too and we sneak in just like last time. My penthouse has too much security. We'll use my aunt's apartment again to avoid any questions,"

"And you can take Lucky from there on," Hailey said in relief. She had been sneaking out under her cloak, many times a week to take Lucky out to pee and poop. Every time, her heart pounded against her chest as she rushed to make it back in time.

"Yes, yes," Kate agreed immediately.

"It's a miracle I haven't gotten caught yet and I am not willing to risk it any further," Hailey said and Kate nodded sympathetically. 

Their conversation shifted entirely as they talked about other topics which unfortunately included Kate's 'lessons' with Mr. Barton. It was annoying to hear how much fun they had together. Kate even got to visit the countryside where Mr. Barton stayed with his family.

"I don't know why but he's being a little distant right now. Training has kind of stopped and even though he's here so often we never talk about upcoming missions." Kate complained.

"I know, he has not been very friendly for the past few days. It's not like Mr. Barton to resist passing sarcastic remarks and now that I think about it, everyone has been a little off," Hailey added.

"It's probably about S.H.I.E.L.D. That's where all of them used to work and now without S.H.I.E.L.D, they're working on reforming a new agency," Kate said sounding more like Hermione than ever.