Vertigo: Hydra's Greatest Weapon

Chapter 26

By the time I get home, it's late. I had a meeting in D.C. with Pierce about some paperwork for a mission I went on a bit ago that I had to finish. The stack of work wasn't nearly as tall as the one I had when I first got my office. After I finished everything in DC, I had my friends over at my apartment for the sole purpose of hanging out. I haven't seen them in a while due to work.

At the "meeting", I was given an official SHIELD earpiece. It's wireless and extremely small. I barely feel it. It's connected to my work phone, which I was also given. The work phone has numbers and information on everyone that's important to SHIELD. If work needs to contact me, they're only supposed to reach me through the work phone. I'm not supposed to take my earpiece out pretty much ever. It's weatherproof and practically indestructible.

The earpiece only connects me to others if I tap right behind my ear where there's a small sensor. Other than that, I can hear when I get a call or if someone directly contacts me (where they just talk instead of me having to answer a call).

Now, I'm out at a bar with Nat and Wanda, just as Wanda promised this morning. I'm holding a beer and talking with Wanda while Nat mingles with someone she claimed to know.

"So how's it going with June?" Wanda asks.

I smile and look away. "I think we're coming to an end."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. I guess just some things come to an end. Then again, we weren't ever really dating in the first place."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm just expecting it to happen. It's sad, but maybe we're just better off just friends."

"You're in a good mindset."

I glance over to make sure Nat is still across the bar. Looking back at Wanda, I admit, "She doesn't like my friendship with Nat."

Wanda seems to take a moment to think of something to say. "Can I ask you something?" I raise my eyebrows in response so she asks, "Are you sure you and Nat are just friends?"

I take a swig of beer. "Honestly? I don't know."

"Do you think you're gonna explore that?"

"I think it's a bit too early to tell."

"Do you like her?"

"What is this? I feel like I'm being interrogated."

"No, I'm just curious. You and Nat seem like you get along well. So, I don't know. I guess maybe I'm hoping you two get together."

I sigh a little. Not an angry or sad sigh, though. "Fine. Yeah, I guess I do like Nat a little. That's it. That's all I'm saying."

Luckily, Nat comes back now. I smirk playfully at her. "So who was your mystery lover over there?"

She scoffs. "Mystery lover, my ass. It was just an... old friend."

"Right."

"Anyway, how was your meeting this morning?"

"Good change of subject," I chuckle. "But it was good. Long, boring."

"What was it about?"

"They wanted to talk about a mission we went on a little bit ago."

"Yeah? What mission?" Wanda asks.

"Remember the one in Russia?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific than that," Nat chuckles.

"Surgut?"

"Oh, yeah! The one you nearly got us killed on."

"Nat, I told you. I saw something."