(Winter's P.O.V.)
Since we have been back at the tower the mood has been set as tense and sad. With Steve's birthday coming up I have asked Tony to plan a small party. By small I mean just the team, I think he is planning on taking us to the fireworks at his Miami house. Well mansion.
Thinking of Tony I wander to the lab hopping he has something on where Jess is now. When I get to the lab he is on a computer with his back to me. In the search bar there is what I assume is a postal code, 606730. The arrow pointing to the region that has this code is in a large tree growth and has two towns near it. Both large and somewhere that Jess would not go.
"What's the code from?"
"A box came. It's for Steve."
"What's in it?"
"I don't know. I don't want to open it but get him and he might."
"Okay. Be right back."
I run to Steve's room getting lost after missing a turn twice. "FRIDAY?"
A computerized voice sounds from the speaker closest to me "yes Sargent Barnes?"
"How do I get to Steve's room?"
A small pause. "Take a right up ahead. Mr. Stark has the door labeled with a picture of the Captain's sheild."
"Thank you FRIDAY."
"You're welcome Mr. Barnes."
Running to the door that has Steve's sheild on it I knock.
"Who is it?"
"It's Buck." The door opens revealing a worried Steve "There's something in the lab that Tony and I need your help with."
Halfway back to the lab
"What am I helping with?"
"A box."
"What's in it?"
"We don't know. The seal has your name on it though."
"The seal?"
"When we get there you'll understand."
He looked to me with a raised eyebrow but says nothing.
When we make it back to the lab or I guess it would be to the lab for Steve, the computer is still on but the area on the screen is also being projected as a hologram above a table. "What is that for?"
"Something Steve. There's a box on the table." Steve looks around at the multiple tables but doesn't see anything. "Which table?"
"Oh right, the one closest to my computer."
He goes over to the table and opens the cardboard box that has a paper seal holding it closed. Instead of ripping it open like Tony or I would he grabs a pen off of the table and cuts the paper seal as best as he can. Once the seal has been broken and the box opened, he starts to pull out tissues paper, and lots of it. After pulling out about ten sheets he pulls out a smaller box that has string wrapped around it being held by a wax seal that was common in the 1800's. "Tony what kind of joke is this?"
"What, that box came this morning. From somewhere in Russia."
"Russia?"
"Yah. I'm guessing someone sent it for your birthday."
"Who?"
"The only person we don't know where is."
"Meaning what Tony?" I can hear the edge in Steve's voice as he says this.
"What he means punk, is that he thinks Jess sent you a present for your birthday."
"Can you find her based on where the package came from?"
"That's what I'm trying to do dumbbutt."
"Then why do you have a hologram of Central Park?"
Since Tony and I had both moved to stand beside Steve we hadn't noticed the hologram change from a Russian forest to the main park of New York.
"FRIDAY what happened to my hologram?"
The same computerized voice from earlier comes over the speaker "I said not to look for me Tony. I would have hoped you would have respected my wishes. Say sorry to FRIDAY for me, I didn't want to override her. Oh and Steve? Have fun on your birthday."
"Jess can you hear us?"
Silence.
"Tony can you track where that came from?"
"No. The signal is bouncing anywhere. It's impossible to trace."
After a few somber moments of quiet
"Okay. Should I open this now or later?"
"It's for your birthday Steve. Open it then. And yes Jamesy I can hear you."
"How?"
"I have my ways Jamesy."
"Jess. You should be here. We all think that."
"Ask Natalia about the voice she keeps hearing. I can tell that's it's starting to bother her."
"How the hell-are you in my security cameras?"
"Yes. I am Stark. You need a better firewall. Yours only took five minutes to crack. I have to go now. Love you all."
A static goes through the speakers she was speaking through and FRIDAY comes back on. "Sir's we- are you all okay?"
"Yes FRIDAY. We had a issue but if someone from that IP address try's to fit through again let them. But try to locate the server. Please."
"Yes sir. Anything else?"
"No. Thank you."
FRIDAY is probably still here but is keeping quiet and listening. "We should go talk to Nat."
"Yah. Tony you coming?"
"No Steve. I'm going to keep trying to find your girlfriend."
"Tony she's not-"
"Shut up Capsicle. I don't want to hear you say anything about her not being anything to you. She wanted to be with you, she said so."
"When?"
"In her goodbye video. Remember?"
"Yah. Com'on Buck, let's go find Nat."
We wonder down the hall to the elevator that will take us up to the girls floor. Stepping out of the elevator we see Wanda sitting on the couch with Natasha's head in her lap. She's asleep.
Wanda looks to us and asks "why are you two here?"
"Um. Buck you want to explain?"
"Um, well Tony got hacked again."
"Well boys it wasn't Nat. She's been with me, here for the last three hours."
"We know it wasn't Nat. It was Jess, she hacked him and ended up telling us 'ask Natalia about the voice she keeps hearing' she said it was bothering her."
"How does Silver now about the voice?"
"She's in Tony's security cameras."
"How?"
"She hacked him."
"Hmm."
"Wand when do you think Nat will wake up?"
"Soon. She wakes up every three and a half hours, goes to the gym, eats, showers, then lays back down. Rather routine so the voice stays away."
"Okay um, Wanda how long until-" halfway through my sentence an alarm goes off, waking Natasha who sits up and looks surprised when she sees us.
"Was I screaming again?"
"No Hun. They just came to talk to you."
"Whatever it is, I didn't do it."
"No Jess did." That got her attention.
"What she do?"
"She hacked Stark."
"Don't forget to say again Buck."
"Right. She hacked Stark again"
"For what?"
"To talk and watch to us. And she told us to ask you about a voice you keep hearing."
"How does she know?"
"She hacked him. In under five minutes. And she managed to have a conversation with us, even though we don't know how she was able to hear us."
"If she's in the security cameras she could have also hacked the speakers that we use to get FRIDAY's help."
"Makes sense since that's where her voice was coming from."
"Has Tony narrowed down where she is yet?"
"Well we know she's in Russia. And since she sent Steve a package the area has been reduced by a lot."
"Specific town?"
"No, Jess doesn't live in towns, she's to scared to hurt people if she lights herself on fire by accident again."
"What do you mean by again Buck?"
"Well Steve when she was little she was covered in oil and gas while helping fix something at a HYDRA base and sneezed. Lit herself on fire and the person beside her."
"Such a poor kid."
"Yah that she was Wanda. She hasn't liked being near people when she needs to sneeze since."
"Anyway Nat, Buck and I want to know about the voice you keep hearing."
"Was Jessica watching me?"
"She's probably been watching all of us."
"Disturbing but good. It's just in my room, haven't been in there to do anything but shower and change since I started hearing it."
"What is it?"
"It's probably my imagination."
"Do you want us to take a look Nat?"
"Sure. Follow me you two."
We walk down the hall following Nat to her room, making it there she opens the door revealing a spotless space. "Is this how your room is normally?"
"No, the voice has just been bothering me. I can't find it."
"Buck and I will take a look. You go sleep, you still look like you could drop at any second."
"Thanks Cap. Good luck."
"Thanks Natasha."
After a few minutes of looking with only out eyes we start to open drawers and move things around. "Hey Steve if I lean this dresser forward can you check if there's anything behind it?"
"Sure." Letting him cross the room to me I lean the dresser away from the wall and Steve grabs something from behind it. A picture frame that has a battery attached to the back. It's has multiple pictures on it, rotating. After a few have gone through a video of a brunette, and a red head sparring come on 'hit her harder Hannah!'
'Arrgh!'
'Sorry Nat. I didn't mean to hurt you.'
'Don't apologize you stupid brat! Your lucky HYDRA wants you back in one piece!'
The video cuts off and changes to a picture of the two girls standing at attention beside each other. In ballet outfits.
Pointing to the brunette Steve asks "Who's that do you think?"
"Not sure. Let's ask Natasha."
We leave her bedroom to find her in the kitchen making bacon. "What did you two find?"
"A moving picture frame."
"A what?"
Handing her the frame I watch her eyes fill with tears, but before I could do anything Steve cuts in. "What's wrong Nat?"
"The people in Red-Room called Jess Hannah."
"So that's you and Jess?"
Nodding she sets the frame on the counter beside her. "I remember her. Well, Hannah."
"What was she like?"
"To caring. She was able to hit harder that anyone else and yet she always kept her hits light unless it was judgement day."
"Judgement day?"
"Where we got assessed and where it was decided who would be killed."
"That's messed up Nat."
"Yah, but when she disappeared I had missed a judgment day being out with a mission, I had assumed that she had been voted out. I was wrong."
"How did you get the pictures though?"
"I don't know Bucky, I don't even have a picture frame like that."
Steve and I make eye contact and he asks "was someone else in you room?"
"I guess. But I don't know who could have been."
Over the speakers comes a static and then Jess's voice "dummy the fire extinguisher was in her room. There was a second package come a few days ago. I hacked dummy and made him take Natalia a picture frame. I was supposed to put it on the dresser but I kind of messed up and knocked it behind." Static.
"Jess get you ass back here."
Static "that's not polite Natalia." Static
"I don't give a dam." Static "well I do. I have work now I have to go. Bye" static.
After a few minutes of Nat yelling at the roof she calms down. "Yup she's gone."
"Yah." Turning to Steve "Do you think Tony tracked the signal this time?"
"I don't know. Wanna go check?"
"Let's go punk. See you dolls later."
We leave the room and one again head to the lab.
(Updates are kinda all over the place currently. I will try and update every 4 days. Have a good day.)