Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 51 - The Beginning Of The End

Waiting for Sam to get Redwing, his little drone, to scan the truck, Keira once again glanced at the police. They were still happily chatting, and no suspicious activity could be seen. What if... they weren't the target?

"That truck is loaded for max weight. And the driver's armed." Sam informed the team.

Keira saw the realization dawn on Natasha's face and they both spoke in unison. "It's a battering ram."

"Go now." Steve ordered.

Wanda's face turned into a frown, not understanding the sudden change in the atmosphere which caused a wave of panic to wash over her. "What?"

"He's not hitting the police." Keira breathed, already up on her feet, dragging Wanda with her and sprinting down the street. She could see the old, rusty garbage truck speeding against the Institute For Infectious Diseases in the distance, and she swore loudly under her breath.

Biological warfare was something she had witnessed in the past, and it wasn't pretty. Not pretty at all.

Someone tumbled out of the speeding vehicle, but the truck kept going and as it hit the roadblocks, the truck flipped over and crushed the archway that marked the entrance to the Institute.

Two yellow trucks drove in after it, now having a free access to the building, and guys dressed in black, bulletproof armor jumped out, and immediately started to fire in Keira and Wanda's direction.

Without thinking, Keira grabbed Wanda and pressed her against a wall, her body shielding Wanda's slightly smaller frame. The bullets bounced off her transformed skin and she closed her eyes, waiting for the fire to seize.

When nothing no longer hit her, Keira turned her head to the side to watch the scene unravel. Some of the agents were firing gas bombs into the building, clearly intending to knock the staff out. "We need to move." She breathed, grabbing ahold of Wanda's hand. But a squeal of surprise left her throat as she was picked up, encircled by red mist as Wanda flew them over to the building.

It turned out that Steve had gotten there first, already knocking some of the agents out. "Body armor, AR-15s. I make seven hostiles." He informed them, glancing up at the building.

Sam came flying, knocking out two agents. "I make five." He replied smugly.

Keira barely managed to find her footing before Wanda called her name, throwing an agent in her direction. But the blonde quickly got the memo and punched the man to the ground. "Four." She said, straightening up. They had a brief pause while Redwing used its x-ray to scan the building and Keira turned to Wanda. "Be careful, okay?"

"That's my line." Wanda chuckled, shaking her head. "But I promise." She added, reciting the words that they had started to say before every mission. It had become a bit of a tradition, and while they may not always come out of the fight unharmed, none of them had died yet.

"Rumlow's on the third floor." Sam informed them, having received the information from his drone.

"Wanda, just like we practiced." Steve said, gesturing to the woman in question.                                                                                                                                                                         

The brunette threw an uneasy glance at the building. "What about the gas?" She questioned, worry lacing her voice.

"Get it out."

While Wanda focused her energy on Steve, levitating the supersoldier through one of the upper windows, Keira pulled out her gun and fired at the glass covering the entrance. Unnecessary damage, perhaps, but it would be easier to get the gas out without limited space.