( the intrepid sister )
★
STAKEOUTS.
CHLOE ABSOLUTELY hated them.
She was a woman of action. Sure, some missions required the element of surprise, especially to get the jump on a target, but patience was definitely not a virtue she possessed― in and out was her preferred method of execution.
But staking out an ex-scientist for seven hours on top of a seemingly harmless rooftop with another woman who was made for waiting was not how Chloe wanted to spend her time.
At that moment, the twenty-one-year-old loathed how Evie Frye could stay at the edge of the building― standing, kneeling, sitting, didn't matter― and not move a single muscle. The woman herself was statuesque, a sight to behold. No wonder they weren't caught yet― even if Evie found herself in someone's line of sight, they probably just assumed they saw another London statue overlooking the cobblestone streets.
The afternoon sun was beating down on the duo, and Chloe questioned the purpose of their mission for the tenth time in the last hour.
God, she wanted to chase something.
"Is he―?"
"―No."
"Not even―?"
"―Not yet."
The Assassin groaned, throwing a small pebble against the wall. "'m bored."
"Watch the clouds."
"It's supposed to be clear all day!"
No response.
Chloe felt the urge to groan louder but imagined Evie banishing her back to Henry's curio shop, which was worse. Never again.
"Will you at least come down from the edge? You're making me antsy."
"How will we know where to find him if we can't see him? We need to stay vigilant."
She allowed a beat to pass, then hauled herself to her feet. "Alrighty. If this guy went into his job about four hours ago, then we still have three hours for a traditional workday. Is anything important happening today?"
"Not particularly."
Chloe beamed, walking up to Evie's side. "So, then there's no particular reason to be scaring civvies down below. Unless, that's what you've been doing this whole time, to which I can't really blame you―"
The eldest twin sighed, finally moving her head. A second passed before the woman nodded to herself and strode past Chloe to where the latter had been sitting for the past day. As Evie leaned back against the side of the ledge, Chloe leaned back against the ledge the former had been perching off of, lowering herself down.
Too many beats passed for the time traveler's liking. She started to fidget again― now for an entirely different reason― and debated on whether or not to start any conversation.
Ah, screw it. "So."
She practically heard the confusion before she saw it on Evie's face. "Did you grow up in London?"
Evie seemed particularly confused― weirded out? not relevant― before recognizing the evidence of small talk. "No, my brother and I were born and raised in Crawley."
"Fun," she muttered, mentally kicking herself in the backside. Not much for small talk, great. "What made you move out here?"
Of course, she already knew this (thank you, animus training), but Evie didn't know that. "We wanted more, I guess."
Chloe shrugged, feeling her spine loosen. "I get that. Never been a fan of waiting myself."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, part of the reason I―" she caught herself at the end, almost gasping for air as all oxygen left her lungs. "―nevermind."
Evie hummed, looking at Chloe as if she couldn't be trusted. She could. "Henry informed me you tended to do that, dodge questions."
A rough swallow, followed by a sigh. "I'm not here to make friends, Ms. Frye."
"Then it seemed we're on the same page, Ms. Rogers."
Chloe nodded sharply, reigning in her emotions, before standing swiftly, taking up Evie's position from moments before. Observing the river of cobblestone and creatures it inhabited, the young woman became lost in her own raging mind.
Stakeouts were, in fact, the worst.
★
Three hours of tense and apprehensive silence later, and one Peter Kane exited the factory from where he worked. In Chloe's opinion, wasting a mind like his in a sweatshop seemed wasteful. The Assassins, at the very least, should've recognized his potential.
Careful, a voice whispered. Remember how SHIELD fell?
Shush, she retaliated. "I have eyes on Kane."
Feeling rather than seeing her approaching, Evie leaned out far enough over the building to where Chloe was tempted to hold out an arm. "Where are you going, Mr. Kane?"
The two leaped from building to building, keeping his golden figure in their peripherals at all times, lest they lose him. Turning corners, leaping across the street, using Evie's handy-dandy zip-line as a backup, the two women tailed the unexpecting man easily, never drawing even the slightest gaze.
Finally, as he rounded another corner, the youngest of the two paused, feeling a wave of caution travel up her spine. "Evie, something's―"
"―wrong!" her mind filled, watching as a wave of red overwhelmed the scientist under their watch.
Guarded by the looming shadows of the night, Chloe flexed her wrist, diving in on goons trying to― hurt? maim? kill?― capture the unknown scientist, not even registering the cry of her alias from her ally.
Duck, parry, stab, repeat― her body ran on autopilot as she tried to reach Peter, choosing to ignore the fits of pain each fist brought upon her. A blow to the head, a jab at the back of her knee, a hit to her arms, none of it mattered. She couldn't― wouldn't― let this potential key to getting back home leave her sight.
But the bodies kept coming. Despite every blow she gave, despite every man she downed, two would replace the incapacitated until Chloe was well, and truly, outnumbered.
Finally, a third blow to the head knocked the Assassin to the ground. Lifting her head slightly, she could see one already unconscious Peter Kane, his forehead bloody and nails dirty. However, despite the bodies littering the dirty alley, none matched the description of the woman she had been working with all day.
A cold feeling washed over her as a man strode up to her, reeling his foot back and making stars and black erupt as it made contact with her nose.
She was well and truly, alone.
★
"Mr. Kane's been captured."
"And Rebecca?"
"Her as well."
A crash, a curse. "Where?"
"Abandoned factory on the outskirts of town."
A beat.
"Are you sure you're prepared for this, brother?"
"We promised to help her, sister."
A nod. "Let's go, then."
★
next chapter's gonna be lit as fuck lmao
good luck to everyone with the new school year!
peace,
aidan.