CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE —
( The Joker freaks me out a little. )

────────────────

        The Strike team was en route to a ship in the Indian Ocean, traveling on a quinjet. Gemini was geared up in a sleek black skintight catsuit with a striking blue X emblazoned across her chest. Her thighs were strapped with guns, her back adorned with katanas, and her utility belt equipped with throwing knives.

"Target is a mobile satellite launch platform, the Lemurian Star," Brock Rumlow informed the group. "They were sending their last payload when pirates took them 93 minutes ago."

"Any demands?" Steve asked.

"Billion and a half."

"Why so steep?"

"It's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s," Evelyn told Steve.

"So, it's not off-course. It's trespassing," Steve mumbled.

"I'm sure they have a good reason," Natasha told him.

Steve let out a sigh. "You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor."

"It's our job, Steve. There are S.H.I.E.L.D. employees in there, so we're gonna save them," Evelyn told him before turning back to Rumlow. "How many pirates?"

"25. Top mercs led by this guy." Rumlow showed a photo of a bald man. "Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilised him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."

"Hostages?" Steve asked.

"Oh, mostly techs. One officer. Jasper Sitwell," Rumlow pulled up a photo of Sitwell. "They're in the gallery."

"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Steve mumbled. "Alright, I will sweep the deck with Evelyn and find Batroc. Nat, kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get them out. Let's move."

"Strike, you heard the Cap. Gear up," Rumlow ordered.

The pilot opened the back of the quinjet as everyone began putting on their parachutes. "Secure channel seven," Steve said, testing his earpiece.

"Seven secure," Natasha replied. Natasha then turned to Evelyn and Steve with a small smile. "Did you do anything fun Saturday night?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"We had a DC movie marathon," Steve replied as he placed in his ear piece.

"I introduced him to the Dark Knight trilogy," Evelyn told Natasha, followed by a small chuckle.

"The Joker freaks me out a little," Steve mumbled.

"Coming up on the drop zone, Cap and Gemini," the pilot said over the radio.

"You guys should try that little cafe down the street from your apartment. I heard there's a lot of good sweets there," Natasha told them.

"The one that has the best doughnuts in town?" Evelyn asked as Steve put on his helmet.

"Yeah, that one."

"We've already tried it out," Evelyn told her as she made her way to the edge of the back. "And they do have the best doughnuts!" She smiled before saluting and jumping out of the back of the quinjet with Steve.

"Were they wearing parachutes?"

"No, no, they weren't."

Evelyn had her arms spread out when she saw the ship come into sight. The wind brushed through her hair, making Evelyn smile in glee before straightening herself up and landing in the ocean. She swam to the anchor and began to climb up its chain with Steve just ahead of her. Steve jumped on deck first, and by the time Evelyn jumped on board, Steve had already taken someone out.

They hurried to the next area of the ship, and Steve threw his shield at some of the incoming men. Evelyn threw a knife at a guy's foot, causing him to scream out in pain, so she kicked his midsection to bring him down to his knees before Steve threw his shield at him, knocking him unconscious. Evelyn took her knife out of the man's foot and continued.

They ran around the ship's edge and came across three more men. Steve quickly kicked the first one overboard, and Evelyn quickly grabbed a man's fist while he tried to swing a punch at her and flipped him over onto the ground. She punched his head, and he went unconscious. Then, she threw her knife at the last, and Steve smacked his face with the shield.

Steve and Evelyn continued running, throwing anyone near the edge overboard. Steve dove and rolled and punched a man, then turned around and kicked the other. The one in front of Evelyn brought out a knife and tried to slice her, but she blocked him, punched him in the face and brought him to the floor before knocking him out. Evelyn looked to her right and saw a man about to hit the fire alarm. She threw the man's knife at his hand, plastering it to the wall, and Steve knocked him out.

Steve and Evelyn made it to the centre of the ship. They jumped over a railing to get down to the level bellow them. Steve swung his shield at some men, Evelyn kicked one back over to some of the containers.

"Hey, Honey. What do you want for dinner?" Evelyn suddenly asked as she flipped a man onto the ground.

"I'm actually really feeling pasta at the moment," Steve replied before jumping into the air, throwing his shield in the process and knocking him out.

"Bolognese?" She asked, uppercutting a man and flipping him onto his back.

"As always," Steve replied before they heard a gun cock from behind them.

"Ne bougez pas!" There was a gunshot from behind them, and Rumlow gracefully landed on the ground.

"Thanks," Steve and Evelyn instantly said.

"Yeah. You two seemed pretty helpless without me," Rumlow sarcastically spoke as he took off his parachute.

Everyone else landed, and Natasha walked towards Evelyn. "Have you tried roller skating? I heard that's a thing couples do nowadays," she asked.

"Secure the engine room," Steve told her with a tired sigh, "then find Eve and me a destination for our next date."

Natasha grinned cheekily. "I'm multi-tasking," she told him. Evelyn followed Natasha and jumped over a railing onto the lower deck.

Natasha and Evelyn crept towards the engine room, both on high alert. "Have you gone ice skating?" Natasha hushed towards the older female.

"Last time I went ice skating, I twisted my ankle," Evelyn replied.

"You twisted your ankle?" Natasha chuckled. "Considering you're a frost giant, that surprises me."

"That's why I thought I would be good at it. Just because of my genes," Evelyn grinned before they spotted a man on his phone.

The man mumbled a quick 'okay' to the person on the other line and hung up. He turned towards Natasha and Evelyn, who were leaning against the rails and smirking lightly at him.

"Hey, sailor," Natasha said in a sweet voice. Evelyn quickly kicked his knee and heard a crack. Natasha pulled out her grappling hook and tied it around his neck, then kicked him and jumped over the railing, using the grappling hook to make a safe landing. Evelyn leapt down and landed on another man, knocking him out instantly.

Evelyn brought out her pistols, and without looking, she shot the men through the gaps in the floor below where Natasha landed. Evelyn then jumped over the railing and landed beside her. Then, she walked through the rest of the engine room.

"Evelyn, Natasha, what's your status?" Steve asked over the comms. Evelyn was about to respond to him when she noticed two men just in front of them. "Status, Evelyn and Natasha," Steve urgently spoke.

Evelyn held her wrist up to her mouth. "Hang on!"

Evelyn pulled out a katana and stabbed one of the men in his stomach, then pulled it out and side-kicked him onto the ground while Natasha took care of the other man.

Two men came around the corner, Natasha taking one and Evelyn taking the other. He swung at Evelyn, but she grabbed his arm and twisted it, hearing his arm break. She kicked his stomach and then bent down to use her leg to trip him over. A man came up behind her and grabbed a hold of her neck. Evelyn jumped into the air and flipped him over herself, then rolled backwards and flipped herself onto her feet, looking towards Natasha, who just got up.

"Engine room secure," Evelyn told Steve. Natasha picked up a pole from beside her and swung it at the man's head, knocking him out.

They then began walking towards the control room to extract stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. files that Steve didn't know about.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'll take all the blame," Natasha told her.

Evelyn knew Steve would be angry that she had an extra mission inside his own without him knowing. But her boss gave her this mission, and she had to follow him first before her team leader.

"It's a mission, Nat. I can't say no to the boss," Evelyn responded.

Natasha nodded before she turned around, and they continued into the control room. She walked up to one of the computers and stuck her USB into the slot to extract files.

"Natasha, Evelyn, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages," Steve said over the comms. "Evelyn. Natasha."

Evelyn looked at Natasha, who gave her a nod. "Go, we're just about finished up here."

Evelyn nodded and quietly left the room. Her footsteps barely made a sound as she hurried to where the hostages were being held captive. By the time she reached the room, the Strike team were working swiftly to untie the hostages, their relief evident as they were freed from their restraints.

Evelyn positioned herself near the door, her senses on high alert as she watched for any sign of Batroc's imminent arrival. Every passing moment felt like an eternity as she braced herself for the inevitable confrontation. However, to her surprise, Batroc was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed through the boat, causing the entire ship to tremble. Evelyn's heart raced as she scanned her surroundings, her eyes darting from one end of the room to the other. Without hesitation, she swiftly made her way out of the room, following the scent of smoke that hung heavy in the air.

As she turned a corner, Evelyn collided with a stern-faced Steve, his expression etched with anger and concern. He relaxed slightly in Evelyn's presence, then pulled himself quickly together.

"What's going on?" Evelyn asked urgently.

"Batroc," he muttered and continued to walk past Evelyn.

Evelyn arched her eyebrows and stepped into the room that had been blasted. Inside, she discovered Natasha coughing as she made her way out. "You made the right call leaving. He's not in a good mood," Natasha wheezed.

Evelyn let out a soft chuckle as she assisted her friend in exiting the room. "No shit. I bumped into him on the way here," she said. "Glad it's not our problem now. Fury will have to deal with Steve's wrath." That made Natasha smile, and the two made their way back to their team.