Remnants of Time

Chapter 3

They parked the car in an underground garage and left it there. The Russian spy got to her plan right away, spreading a map of the building on her car's trunk.
"We're here for a couple of files. Files that are dripping with details on Barnes, medical details as well as mission details." Steve and Sam exchanged a look, but stayed quiet. Were these the files that came from the Wakandan mole? Natasha continued.
"I believe they could be an important contributor to his recovery. They're in Russian, but you've got Clint and probably a few other smart people over there." Her hand played with her little arrow necklace.
"Okay, so how do we get in?", Sam asked, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Did you bring your wings?"
"What kind of question is that?", he grinned.
She explained her plan that needed little to no correction. The only thing bothering Steve was the outfit she threw at him, not because of the size, but because his uniform wouldn't fit underneath.
"Okay, sure, leave the white shirt off. Close the blazer though", she said while tying the little scarf that made her look like a stewardess, but apparently was usual wear for the hotel next to Hydra's office building.
Steve turned towards Sam, still struggling with his clothes. He passed him a small phone.
"Call Lomawu. If we haven't called him in three hours from now, he'll know we're in trouble. It's a secure line."

The building Natasha had marked as target location wasn't far from the train station and looked like a regular office building, with a couple of stories and hundreds of windows. They wouldn't be able to walk in through the front door. That was the main reason she'd chosen to enter it over the roof, coming from the neighboring hotel, posing as staff.
Sam had already left the underground garage to take a look at the location. That left Steve and Nat to themselves.
It took a lot from Steve to not grab her arm and push her against a wall again.
"Really? Are we doing this again? What are you not telling us, Tasha? Who shot at us at the station?"
"The CIA. You don't watch the news much in Wakanda, huh? It was all over there."
"What was?"
She looked to both sides, making sure no civilians were listening.
"Last week, someone shot CIA agents during a classified file exchange in London. Took the files and the money. Apparently, they found my fingerprints. Funny part? I was with Pepper that week, in Miami. Figured out they were looking for me when I sat in a café and someone threw a grenade into my latte."
"Someone framed you. And now the CIA is hot on your heels."
"More so than usual. But we'll be fine. We're dealing with Hydra now."
"As if the face behind the gun makes the whole thing less complicated", Steve huffed and mustered Natasha's face. If she was hiding something else, he couldn't tell. But her eyes always held more secrets than he could think of and he was glad she was the one keeping them. Anyone else and there was a bunch of things to end in disaster. Although, with him, things always ended in disaster.

Their plan went well, for about twenty minutes. Steve and Nat had slipped into the hotel through the staff entrance in the back. Nat quickly disappeared, trying to get to the roof as quickly as possible over the west wing, which was further away from the Hydra office building. Steve ran up staircase after staircase but stayed in the east wing of the hotel. The difficulty in this task was not in staying undetected by the guests, however, but by the other staff.
Steve's heart hammered in his chest when a hotel guest stopped him. But the shock was groundless because the lady just wanted to know about room service.
"Oui", he answered, with the kindest smile he could offer in such a tense situation. "I will inform the hotel maids. Your room number, madame?"
She nodded gratefully and left, her hand gliding over the marble balustrades lining the edges of the hallways that provided an overview onto the main forum downstairs. Steve walked away but started running as soon as the lady was out of his sight. Luckily, she hadn't noticed his pants that really weren't appropriate for any concierge or other hotel employees.
Let's just hope no one else does, he thought.

Natasha had more luck in staying unnoticed and getting up to the roof. There had been another room maid that had tried to start a conversation with her, but she'd put her off with a few hushed excuses and a strict gaze that made the blonde incline her head in subordination.
So, without any big distractions, Natasha reached the roof first and met Sam there, already waiting for them with his wings on.
Grabbing her hand, he flew her over to Hydra's building.
"Where's Steve?", he asked.
"He should be here any moment now", she replied, but couldn't give him any more information than that. Goodness, she really hoped Steve didn't stop to catch a hotel thief or help a stumbling old lady to her room or something. Her hand shot up to her ear.
"Rogers? Where are you right now?"
"Go in without me", his voice replied. "I'll be right behind."