Steve's Diary

May 6, 2016

Dear Diary,

It started out just like any other mission, this one today in Lagos, Nigeria. Though, after, things started to go crazy and I think we may, now, have an issue beyond what I can even imagine.

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After a few weeks of hearing and reading about robberies at police stations by a masked man going by the name of Crossbones, we decided to stake out the area. Oh, and, it's actually Rumlow in disguise, so, there's that.

Today in particular, Wanda was down on patrol in street clothes - stealth mode - hooked up with a radio.

"All right, what do you see?" I asked through said radio, looking down at the street from above, trying to get things started.

"Standard beat cops," she replied. "Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target."

"There's an ATM on the south corner, which means?"

"Cameras," she answered.

"Both cross streets are one-way," I added.

"So, compromised escape routes," she concluded.

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen. He isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that Range Rover half way up the block?" I asked.

"Yeah, the red one? It's cute," she confirmed.

"It's also bulletproof," Natasha jumped in on the radio. "Which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody- probably us."

She had been stationed down in street clothes near Wanda, too. We had to have extra coverage at times like this.

"You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?" Wanda added.

"Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature," Nat told her.

"Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?" Sam joined in, too. He was stationed on the roofs.

"Not to my face, no. Why?" Nat answered jokingly. "Did you hear something?"

"Eyes on target, folks," I focused everyone in like I always do. "This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. We don't wanna lose him."

"If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem," Sam answered with a scoff. "He kinda hates us."

"Sam..." I started. "See that garbage truck? Tag it."

"Give me X-Ray," he said, talking into his command system for the bird he just sent out. "That truck's loaded for max weight- and the driver's armed."

"It's a battering ram," Nat concluded.

"Go now," I said.

"What?" Wanda questioned.

"He's not hitting the police," I relayed and made my way after the truck- towards the Institute for Infectious Diseases. I beat through a few of the guards outside the place before telling everyone else what was going on. "Body armor, AR-15s. I make seven hostiles."

"I make five," Sam replied after a moment.

"Sam!" Wanda yelled across the way as I watched her throw a man into the air... with her mind. That still amazes me and I've been training with her for months now.

"Four," Sam added. "Rumlow's on the third floor," he said, approaching me with Wanda at his side.

"Wanda, just like we practiced," I called to her, going towards the building.