Connie stood in between Natasha and Steve on the quinjet. Her attention was focused on the computer monitor Agent Rumlow stood in front of as she awaited the mission details.
Her job working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was quite possibly the best thing to happen to her since being rescued by Agent Coulson, aside from Steve's return, of course. Her job served her as a distraction from the torturous memories of her time with the Soviet Union.
Rather than executing people as she had been forced to do all those years ago, Connie now helped those who were in need of it. Human life was meant to be protected, in her opinion, not taken away, and knowing that she now helped apprehend those who threatened human life made her feel much better about the acts she had committed in the past. It was the reason she welcomed any mission S.H.I.E.L.D. offered her with open arms. Connie would pass up no opportunity to help or defend those in need.
"The target is a mobile satellite launch platform, the Lemurian Star," Rumlow informed the group. "They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago."
"Any demands?" Steve inquired.
"A billion and a half."
"Why so steep?"
"Because it's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s," Rumlow answered him.
Steve sighed and tilted his head at the monitor. "So, it's not off-course. It's trespassing."
"I'm sure they have a good reason," Natasha assured him.
Steve glanced over at her. "You know, I'm gettin' a little tired of being Fury's janitor."
"Relax," Connie said with a slight roll of her eyes. "It's not that complicated."
Steve sent his little sister a look before turning his attention back to Rumlow. "How many pirates?"
"25. Top mercs led by this guy—George Batroc." Rumlow tapped away on the monitor and in seconds a photo of Batroc was being displayed on the screen. "Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."
"How about the hostages?" Connie then spoke up, her concentration on the screen in front of her.
Rumlow tapped away on the monitor again, revealing another dozen pictures. "Mostly techs. One officer: Jasper Sitwell. They're in the galley."
"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Steve muttered to himself as he pulled his gloves tighter onto his hands. "Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc; Con and Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instruction; Rumlow, you sweep aft and find the hostages, get 'em to the life pods, get them out. Let's move."
Connie moved away from the group to gather her weapons from her weapons station. She grabbed two pistols, equipped with silencers, and placed either one of them into their respective holsters on either hip. She then grabbed two of her electroshock batons, her preferred weapons, and placed them into the holsters on her back. After pulling her fingerless gloves onto her hands, she was locked and ready to go.
"Secure channel eight," Steve's voice sounded in Connie's ear.
Connie brought her hand to her face. "Eight secure."
"Secure channel seven?"
"Seven secure," Natasha answered as she approached the two super-soldiers. "So, did you two do anything fun Saturday night?"
"Well," Steve started as he placed his earpiece in his ear. "All the guys from my barber shop quartet are dead, and Connie here doesn't like the idea of fun anymore, so, no, not really."
Natasha laughed, while Connie grinned and shook her head. Connie couldn't begin to express just how grateful she was to have Steve in her life, and he felt very much the same about her. Everything from their past lives had been ripped away from them; everything and everyone they ever knew was gone, so it was a relief knowing that they still had each other.
"Coming up on the drop zone, Cap," the pilot informed Steve, and he quickly opened the back hatch.
"You know who likes the idea of fun?" Connie asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Kristen from statistics."
Natasha's eyes lit up immediately and she looked at Steve. "If you asked her out, she'd probably say yes."
Steve shrugged and began making his way towards the back of the jet. "That's why I don't ask."
"Why?" Natasha chuckled. "Too shy, or too scared?"
"Too busy!" Steve called out before jumping from the jet.
Connie shook her head at her friend and looked at Natasha. "We've got to get that man a proper date, Nat."
"I could say the same for you," Natasha smirked as she continued readying her weapons.
"I don't date," Connie told her.
And it was true. Connie didn't date at all. Not only did her busy schedule working with S.H.I.E.L.D. prevent her from dating, but the feelings she kept buried deep down inside for a certain blue-eyed World War II Sergeant prevented her from doing so as well. She spent sixteen years of her life with Bucky, four of which were spent romantically, so it was just difficult for Connie to move on from him. Not only that, but it was hard for her to find someone with shared life experience. She had Steve, but since Steve's mom had practically adopted her when she was younger, she would only ever see him as her older brother. Their relationship was strictly platonic, so the probability of Constance Jones ever becoming Constance Rogers was virtually nonexistent.
"I've noticed that," Natasha replied as the two women grabbed a parachute. "Truth be told, it kind of worries me."
Connie clipped her parachute over her shoulders, tightening it to prevent it from falling off. "Why does that worry you?"
Natasha only shrugged and neared the back of the jet, leaving Connie and the rest of the S.T.R.I.K.E. team to follow after her. "I wonder if it's the reason why you've been so down lately."
"Not at all," Connie snorted as the S.T.R.I.K.E. team members began jumping from the aircraft. "Let's not forget that you don't date either."
"Love is for children, sweetheart."
Natasha winked at Connie before jumping, and Connie followed shortly. She landed on the deck of the ship a few feet behind Natasha, not at all shocked to find that her friend was once again teasing Steve about a date.
"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kinda nice," Natasha said to Steve.
Connie shook her head and discarded her parachute, working her way over towards the railing in order to get to the engine room.
"Secure the engine room and then find me a date," Steve ordered her.
"I'm multitasking," Natasha exclaimed as she followed Connie over the railing.
"He's a tough nut to crack, Nat," Connie said with a chuckle as the two women began the trek to the engine room. "He's always been awkward when it comes to girls; take it from someone who knew him before he was Captain America."
"We'll break him sooner or later," Natasha said as the two approached the engine room.
Connie placed her hand on the knob, turning to face Natasha before opening it. "I'll take the east side and you take the west and then we meet in the access room."
Natasha only nodded in response and the two of them took off in their separate directions.
As Connie ran through the corridor, she approached two men. They were very unaware of her presence, which gave her the upper-hand, though she likely would've had it regardless. She removed her batons from their holsters and switched them on, and in seconds she was plunging the glowing blue instruments into the sides of the men. One of the men collapsed immediately due to the amount of electricity coursing through his body, but the other was much bigger and much more muscular, which meant it would be harder to put him down. Luckily for Connie, she didn't have a worry in the world about whether or not she'd be able to apprehend him.
Connie quickly placed her batons back in their holsters and grabbed the man by the arm. She swung her leg up to deliver a swift kick to his face, earning a pained groan from the ship worker. She then slammed his head into the wall, effectively knocking him unconscious. It wasn't long before she was moving on to her next targets.
She entered a room full of men; it looked to be about six or seven but that was definitely no challenge for Connie. She got to work immediately, ridding the room of the men with blow after blow and kick after kick.
"Status, Connie," Steve's voice sounded in her ear, though she ignored him.
Connie lunged at one of the remaining men, using the body of one of the downed men to propel herself onto his shoulders. With a sharp twist of her body, the man was collapsing to the ground, while Connie landed gracefully back on her feet.
"Connie, what's your status?"
Connie's face contorted in annoyance with Steve as she dealt with the final engine room worker. He aimed his gun at her, though she kicked it out of his hands before he had the chance to fire it. She grabbed his outstretched hand with her own and twisted it around, earning a pained cry from the man. She grabbed him by the neck and slammed the side of his head into her knee several times before kicking the unconscious man into a wall, finally completing the beginning of her mission.
"East wing of the engine room secure," Connie breathed into the mic on her wrist.
She cut off her communication link without waiting for a response and took off for the access room. She knew Steve would need either her or Natasha again before the night was over, but she didn't necessarily feel like listening to him hound in her ear. She and Natasha had their own mission to take care of, and she didn't need Steve as a distraction.
Connie entered the ship's access room fairly easily, and when she did, Natasha was already inside booting up one of the computers.
"Took you long enough," Natasha teased as she typed away on the keyboard.
"We were on two completely opposite sides of the engine room," Connie said as she approached Natasha. "Just be glad I'm here in the first place."
Natasha glanced back at Connie as she continued typing. "I'm sensing a bit of hostility. Worried Steve's gonna be mad at you for ditching?"
"Not at all; I can deal with Steve if I need to. I'm annoyed because one of those engineers bit me on the arm," Connie grumbled.
"Of all the things that could possibly annoy a super-soldier, being bitten is one of them," Natasha chuckled and shook her head. "Cover me, please."
"Got it." Connie took out one of her guns and held it down in front of her, more than prepared to use it if need be.
Things were quiet for about three minutes before someone burst through the door at the opposite side of the room. Connie raised her gun immediately, ready to shoot, only to lower it as she took notice of who had barged in on all the fun.
"Well, this is awkward," Natasha stated as Connie let out a snicker.
Steve looked up at the two women, confusion and slight annoyance on his face as he stood up. "What are you two doing?" he asked as he made his way over to them.
Natasha looked over at him for the briefest of seconds. "Backing up the hard drive; it's a good habit to get into."
"Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?" Steve looked at the monitor in front of Natasha and glanced up at Connie. "You're saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel?"
"Whatever we can get our hands on," Natasha answered him.
"Our mission is to rescue hostages," Steve chastised the two of them.
"No, that's your mission," Connie told him.
Natasha finally stood up and removed the USB from its drive. "And you've done it beautifully."
Steve grabbed Natasha as she moved to walk away, while Connie remained in her spot beside Steve. "You both have jeopardized this whole operation."
Natasha gave him a look. "I think that's overstating things."
A click caught the trio's attention and they turned their heads to see Batroc getting up from his spot on the floor. Steve grabbed Connie and pulled her behind him with Natasha as Batroc pulled out a grenade, launching it towards the three of them. Steve quickly batted it away with the shield, and in seconds the three were jumping into action. Steve picked up Natasha and ran, while Connie ran alone. She hopped onto one of the desks and used her gun to shoot through the window of a separate room, just as Natasha did behind her. The three of them dove through the shattered glass just as the grenade exploded, very narrowly missing a direct blow from the explosion.
Connie groaned as she pulled herself into a sitting position against the wall below the window, and she rested her head back.
"Alright," Connie breathed out as she looked over at Steve. "That one's on us."
Steve didn't even bother to look at the two of them as he stood up. "You're damn right," he exclaimed before disappearing through the door.
Natasha cursed under her breath as she watched him leave and she looked over at Connie. "Remember earlier when you said this wasn't that complicated?"
Connie nodded and brushed her hair out of her face.
"It's pretty damn complicated."
"Tell me about it."