(Book 3 of Series / Continuation of The Perfect Assassin / Can be read as a stand-alone) *mature content* It all started as a game. Elizabeth Rausch was an idol admired by all. She was one of Europe's most famous performers, both in music and dancin...
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Angela Castens played by Alexandra Daddario
"Damn, that's fucked up, Nat." Nat had explained as much as she could to Liz while still making sense. But it was hard because there were still so many minor details that brought more common sense to the situation and explained key parts of the story. Overall, she'd managed to get the main point across, knowing that if Liz still had questions she could always do her own research. In fact, Nat had no doubt in her mind that she had already started digging.
"The world is a fucked up place with fucked up situations," Nat added. "I'm just doing my best to help my friend. He doesn't deserve any of this. No one does."
"And that's this James Barnes guy?" Liz asked as she watched his S.H.E.I.L.D. file pull up on her computer screen.
"Bucky, yeah."
"Also known as the Winter Soldier, huh?" She commented from the passenger seat. They were traveling in Nat's jet, both of them strapped to their seats by the crisscrossing harness of their seatbelts. Nat had insisted on flying, even though Liz had greatly rebelled against it. Between the two of them, Nat had always been the better pilot, but that didn't keep Liz from at least trying. "Cool."
"No Liz, not cool," Nat rejected with a high pitched voice. Liz smiled to herself like a little kid as she watched her computer screen, a film showing Bucky in his Winter Soldier rage against Captain America.
She muttered quietly to herself. "Cool." Nat listened as she clicked away at her keyboard some more. "Ooh, this Steve guy is pretty cute, don't you think?" Nat shook her head, keeping her eyes in front of her.
"I don't think about my colleagues that way."
"Well that sucks," Liz announced without remorse. "More for me I guess." Nat eyed her in the passenger seat.
"Could we please stay on task?" With a funny face meant to mock her friend, Liz complied and pulled up the case files of Angela Castens. Liz's eyes roamed the facial features of the beautiful woman, her case file jampacked with loads of information; much more than any of the other Avengers she'd recently researched.
"Jesus," She whispered to herself as she continued digging into the different tabs of her past, each paragraph drawing her in as she continued reading about her. "So this girl is practically superhuman?" Her eyes lifted to look at Nat who remained forward, her hands gripping the steering wheel just tight enough to keep the jet balanced and controlled.
"I told you it's extremely important that we find this girl," Nat repeated. "Because if we don't and she ends up in the wrong hands, we're in serious trouble." Liz chewed and nibbled on the sliver of wood between her lips as her focus levitated back to her screen.
"And we're headed where, exactly?" Nat sighed, wishing that she would stop asking questions and let her have her peace of mind.
"Egypt."
"Because..." She trailed off, waiting expectantly for Nat to finish her explanation.
"Because I was assigned a mission by Director Fury that requires me to work in Egypt. This," Nat motioned her hand to the computer rested on Liz's lap. "Is a secondary assignment I've taken upon myself to complete, but it is every bit as important as my original."
"You're still leaving out big parts that don't make sense, Nat." Nat blinked slowly, her patience running thin as she realized that Liz was right. Again.
"There are suspicions by Fury that suggest HYDRA has relocated to Egypt. I'm supposed to dig in deeper with this theory, which is why I asked for your help," Nat admitted. "None of this is to be taken lightly. We need to figure out HYDRA's plans and find Angela. Because if she's back into HYDRA's custody, they'll stop at nothing to abuse her power again."
"So you think Angela could be somewhere in Egypt?"
"It's not confirmed," Nat replied. "But there's no reason that we shouldn't consider it an option. At this point, any information you're able to find is appreciated. We'll be grateful if we find anything at all."
"This is Cheshire you're talking about," Liz reminded her smoothly. "Now I'll leave you to your thoughts. You're doing that scowl thing again." Nat blinked to herself at Liz's words. It was one of Nat's ticks that signified Nat wanted silence; to be alone. And Liz was the only one who had ever picked up on it.
Liz worked away at her job, files popping up one after another as she hacked into databases and control centers. Anything that could be found relatable to the case would be helpful, Nat had said, so that's what she was going to do. After scraping up things that might fit in with the situation, she would narrow it down and pinpoint each similarity. This was what she did best. Anything and everything that had to do with a computer was considered to be within Liz's range of specialty. It was practically her superpower. She got bored after a while, her mind slipping away from her work as her thoughts turned to the team Nat had been asked to join. So she began looking up Nat's teammates and searching their history. The hacker nearly snorted to herself as she pulled up all of their files. She was a low key stalker, she thought to herself. And this was all way too easy. If this was a top-secret organization, why didn't they do a better job at keeping their stuff protected? Oh well, not her problem. Liz glazed over each person, reading about their history and what made them part of the Avengers team. She found the variety of each person interesting. This team had people with powers, like Wanda Maximoff, Peter Parker, and Vision. Then there were natural human beings with things that made them dangerous, like Tony Stark, Clint Barton, and Sam Wilson. She grew interested in one particular member with extraterrestrial powers; A man who identified as the God of Thunder, Thor Odinson. She found him greatly intriguing. His file was the only one he had fully read. She noticed a photo of him and another man. They differentiated in their physical figure, Thor more muscular and the other more toned. She realized it was his brother, another extraterrestrial being named Loki Laufeyson, who identified as the God of Mischief. Seeming as she had nothing better to do, she did her research on Loki as well, her curiosity peaking. This man was an outlaw of Earth. The more she read, the more she remembered. It had seemed like so long ago that Earth was invaded by the Chitauri. She hadn't realized that Loki had been responsible for it. She studies his facial features, wanting to know the features of the man who tried to destroy their planet. His jaw and cheekbones were sharp, his nose defined and lips thin with determination. He had bold, green eyes and raven black hair that slipped just above his shoulders. His skin was pale, yet in an attractive way. She forced her eyes away, not allowing herself to grow distracted as she dragged herself back to her work. Liz paused before beginning to type again, her eyes carefully moving to look up at her old friend while warily keeping her chin lowered at her screen. She hadn't caught a real glimpse of Nat since they parted ways, and she was just now realizing how mature Nat's facial features had grown. Her cheekbones were high and defined, as well as her jawline was sharp and hair beautifully curled in simple little twists. The sight caused Liz to smile as she drew her attention away and shook her head gently to herself.
It brought her comfort and thankfulness to think that, even after all these years and how much they've both changed, there was still something that could bring them together.
