𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚝 | 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟷

𝙴𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝙴𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎

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They thought he was gone, disappeared into the night.

They were wrong, so very wrong. The only one who seemed to know that was the one who caused all the chaos. But he didn't want her anymore, no, he didn't even want to see her crumble. You see, the blonde girl impressed him, with her wit, creativity for escape, for how she rose to power without blinking an eye. He was impressed with how she could turn the world upside down in a blink of an eye.

So no, he didn't want to work against her, no, he didn't want to rip her away from his friend, he wanted to work with her, but he knew that was impossible if he didn't get her on his side first, so he played on her one weakness, curiosity.

Storm clouds rolled in, it was a rare summer rainstorm in Sunbury City, and he had holed up in an abandoned warehouse by the river.

The location was prime, he was able to know their comings and goings because he had memorized their cars, they'd drive by the warehouse to go to the college or back to Jade Lake. Today he watched as Sofia's black Jeep raced past the building, the thundering rattling the bones of the structure with its vicious clap. She had always been one for an adrenaline rush, yet she seemed content with the calvary her husband placed on her, to protect her from him he supposed.

Keys jingled as he picked them up, tossing up the hood of his black sweatshirt, the black vinyl that read Phantom with his mask design only visible under the light. The building groaned when he pushed open the door, looking at his slick BMW XM, the one he bought to replace the one he had since his sixteenth birthday seven years ago in order to stay under the radar. Not even his father knew where he was.

The wipers flew on as he started the ignition, racing after the calvary of Rogers incorporated.

See, what most people don't realize was that Steve Rogers wasn't the brain behind the company, in fact, he knew that Steve really didn't know what the hell was happening in his own company. His wife was the mastermind, the puppeteer of the company, of the man himself. This shadow of a man could appreciate that for what it was, she was quick, conniving, and smart, but she loved so deeply that she would never take advantage.

Once upon a time, he wished to be on the receiving end of that love,

The shadow fell in line with the calvary, watching as they parked surrounding the queen's car, her blonde hair apparent as she threw her sweatshirt over her head, and ran into the lecture hall. This is where he had to be careful, he was a big name, the one who kidnapped the princess of America, the son of a wealthy Fortune 500 genius, a mastermind of the press. He was easily spotted, and people wanted him, for better or for worse.

He threw his hood up again, pulling on some gloves to not give away his metal arm, and climbed out of his car. His hood covered the majority of his face, allowing him to slip into the lecture hall without a second glance, he wouldn't be staying long anyway, just long enough to slip an item into her bag. She was never the most aware of his presence, he knew her skin would prickle when he got too close, but she never questioned it, he also knew she was sort of comfortable with him.

He scanned the hall, finding his target sitting in the back row, a friend, a brown-haired boy laughing with her. The open backpack sat to her left, away from her friend. She made this too easy.

His fingers wrapped around the card, no bigger than a business card, but it held an address and if nothing had changed, she would let her curiosity win and come to it, hopefully alone.

See, the shadow had learned some valuable information, their families were poisoning the town of Jade Lake, mysterious accidents, more cops were being paid off, and something was going awry, but he couldn't place what it was. He was smart, could sniff out betrayal a mile away, he would know his friends betrayed him, for the very girl he needed help from. He would start small, earn her trust slowly, and let her start to convince their friends, sorry, her friends that something was going on, he had already planted that seed in her, and then the two could figure out the plan for what to do. And hopefully, the rest of their group would be in on it.

The shadow was light on his feet, walking across the back of the hall, dropping the card into her bag, and exiting through the door on the opposite side.

All he had to do was wait.

He had learned her schedule, a class at nine am, another one at noon, then she was done for the day. When her second class of the day ended at two forty-five, it was already basically dark, lightning flashed across the sky and rain made it nearly impossible to see what rested in front of you. If her husband knew she was driving, the shadow knew he would lose his mind, he was overprotective of his little angel. No doubt because of what he did to her. 

The shadow slipped back into his car, making sure the phone sat securely in its box, he had this planned, not the rain, that was just a benefit, it would make it difficult for the blonde to make out who was standing in front of her, while also keeping the device safe from water damage.

So, the shadow drove to the edge of the city, parked his car in an alcove of trees, got out, and walked to the middle of the abandoned bridge, it was once used to transport coal across the river to the city when there was an active mine. Now it was a ghost town. The city only kept the street lamps working because they knew people liked to cross at night to explore the curiosity of ghosts existing.

The lamp was flickering, lightening the shadow up every few seconds.

And then the shadow smiled, watching headlights approach, just one set, parking in the middle of the street. He'd be able to make out that blonde hair anywhere. She hadn't bothered throwing her hood up, her body stiffening when she saw a body before she carefully walked forward. The shadow could tell she was apprehensive but stopped just three inches in front of him. Her face was blurry, with blonde hair sticking to her face, and mascara running down her cheeks. "I can't see you," she spoke, but her voice sounded distant with the sound of water pounding against metal.

"You don't need to," she startled back when she heard a man's voice, but stood straight, puffing out her chest to act like she wasn't intimidated. He always admired how she hid her fear. "Keep this on you at all times," he held out the box, her hands curling around it, "don't let your husband know."

The shadow walked around her, leaving her standing in the rain under the flickering street lamp, and god he would've loved to kiss her, but she was no longer a want, she was a necessary means to an end, "who are you?"

"Someone you're going to need," he knew she couldn't see him, or make out his voice, and that made him smile more, his white teeth showing in the darkness around her and he did his best not to chuckle at her gasp. "We have similar interests."

The shadow stood at the edge of the forest, the blonde was barely visible, "I look forward to working with you." The shadow called, dropping into his car, starting the engine, and leaving the blonde standing in the rain on an abandoned bridge.

This was just the beginning.

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