Code Name: Untraceable

Chapter Seven: Ghost in the Booth

"Hey-"

Yelena stepped toward the corner booth, finger pointed, eyes wide.

But it was already empty.

Just a half-full glass. No coaster. No name. No trace.

She blinked. "She was right there."

John leaned over. "Who was?"

Yelena turned to him, frustrated. "Her. The girl. The one from the missions. Frankie-something."

Alexei squinted at the table. "Ahhh yes. The assassin ghost with the excellent gun control and the emotional damage. I like her."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Are we sure she's real? Because the way she disappears is starting to feel illegal."

Bob stood awkwardly near the booth, glancing at the glass. "She laughed."

Bucky's head turned toward him.

Bob nodded. "I heard it. Just for a second. She laughed at us."

Yelena smirked. "Well... we are hilarious."

Bucky stepped up to the booth, eyes scanning the floor, the chairs, the drink.

No footprints. No prints. No scent.

She really was that good.

"She wanted us to see her," he said quietly.

Yelena crossed her arms. "Why?"

"Maybe she's messing with us," Ava said. "Maybe she thinks we're amateurs."

"Maybe she's bored," John added. "I would be."

Alexei downed his drink. "Maybe she is lonely."

Everyone turned to look at him.

He shrugged. "What? All ghosts are lonely. That's why they haunt."

No one had a good comeback for that.

Bob still stared at the drink.

"She looked... different up close. Less scary."

"She kicked a guy through a window last week," Ava said flatly.

"Yeah," Bob mumbled. "But this time she smiled."

Bucky finally stepped back.

"She's watching us. Tracking us. She has intel, access, and resources we don't. Question is... why keep helping?"

Yelena narrowed her eyes. "Maybe next time she won't vanish before we ask."

A beat passed.

Then John raised his glass.

"To the mystery girl. Wherever she went."

They all clinked glasses.

But Bucky didn't drink. He was already looking at the exit.

Wondering if she was still out there.

Watching.