❛ I'm in position ❜ 

Day six of living with the Avengers had an impact on the life Andy wanted to stray from. Being a hacker wasn't all about the technology and remote intel, it was about putting yourself where no one else would go, electronically or not. Which explained simply why Andy Dubois was decked head to toe in all black, a simple ball cap on her head to disguise herself, because apparently, it works. She had a camera hooped around her neck, dangling out as she leaned from a large cement post on a run-down bridge. Her ear piece rumbled to life with noise, the one Steve Rogers on the other end monitoring her progress from a counter upstate. When Andy signed up for this, she thought she would be attending school and spying on the weapons dealer in her school, but what Steve had failed to mention was her spy skills needed to be active -even though they always are- and had to spy on the dealer outside of school, too. Hence why it was eleven at night and Andy was hanging by one arm to observe a weapons exchange below her. Half of her wanted the crooks to look behind them and notice her, but of course, they didn't because they were too busy breaking the law in several different ways.

Right as Andy had gotten home that afternoon and sat down to research more probable suspects, Steve had told her that he -of all people- had interfered with her job and intercepted a possible deal tonight at eleven sharp on the corner of East Grove and Fuller. Still upset about not telling Steve off and to let her do her own work, Andy was forced to gear up and ship out. Why not send -just a thought- the world renown spy and assassin to spy on the criminals? Andy was still trying to understand that, and Nat didn't make it so much better when she gave Andy a gun and told her to engage only when necessary. Training with the Avengers was going well -more than expected- since Andy had kept up the extreme regimen at a gym in Queens, but beating a boxing bag was much different than beating a person, especially when armed.

Hearing a static repetition in her comms., Andy pressed a finger to her ear and let the person through, hearing a very interested Steve. "I'm in position, Rogers. Am I moving in?" she asked, her annoyed tongue slipping out more than she would have liked. She made sure to keep her voice low so she wouldn't give herself away, even though it would have made matters more interesting. "Don't engage before my call, we went over this earlier," he responded. She rolled her eyes and crooked her head to glance over the black van for a better visual. "We went over this for five minutes," she muttered, knowing very well he could hear everything she was saying.

Steve ignored the comment and went on to ask, "Alright, what do you see?"

"The van is bulletproof, no signs of dents or scratches. Whoever runs this organization is well kept and keeps everything in order. Doesn't look like this vehicle has been in any recent run ins with the police," she replied, lifting her eyes to catch a glimpse of the license plate. She moved the camera to get a clear shot and snapped a quick picture so she could do more research later. "There are four people here, it's private, no one knows about the meeting. Two thugs, I've seen them on the streets before. They're armed with .44 Magnums, holsters on their thighs."

"How have you seen them on the streets?" Steve interrupted, clearly intrigued by her knowledge of the city. "Not everyone is fortunate enough to live under a roof, Rogers. Might I remind you I spent a year off the grid before even S.H.I.E.L.D. found me? Where do you think I spent that year?" she rhetorically snapped. Before Steve could respond she continued her observations, "Only one of the thugs is buying, the other seems there for protection. Uh, the..." she trailed off, squinting her eyes to see the other two men. "The other two are the sellers, both wearing suits. I need to run facial on them to be able to tell who they are, but the dealer from school isn't here, and I'm assuming by the lack of security, the head isn't either. This was a low-grade deal, they didn't put much effort into it."

"Armed?"

"The body armor is, Colt M1911. They don't look interested in using the weapons they're selling, but even from here I can't see what it is exactly that they're making profit of," she replied, snapping pictures of the dealers and the weapons in the back of the van. "Command route, don't let them sell those guns," Steve announced. Andy pulled the camera strap over her head and stuffed it into her school backpack, then shoving the entirety behind a large slab of concrete. "Do I get the weapons?" she asked, trying to focus on the exchange. "No, that's too dangerous. Just stop the sale," he responded.

She pressed down on her ear and took a breath before saying, "Got it," and climbing down the side of the bridge. She heard Steve call out a 'be careful' before she disconnected her comms. and hopped down onto the ground, creating a soft thud as he feet hit the dirt. Thankfully, no one saw her yet. 

Andy pulled the gun from her holster on her left thigh and ducked behind the van. She unlocked the gun and went to cock it when there was no movement. Raising an eyebrow, Andy tried emptying the chamber but nothing came out, and the only conclusion she came to was that Nat had given her an unloaded gun. "Damn," she whispered, still keeping the gun in her hand to use to strengthen her punches. 

Finally, Andy let out a deep breath and slammed her hand against the hood of the van, then quickly ducking into the bushes while the four men exchanged worries and confusion. "Who did you tell about this?" the dealer demanded to the two disappointments to society. They both ranted in fear and pulled their loaded weapons before searching the perimeter. 

Andy took this opportunity and leaped out, swinging her body with full force into a gangbanger decked in bright yellow and blue. She quickly scrambled off of him and ducked to the leg, kicking his legs out from under him to avoid being hit with a bullet from his guard. "Go, go!" the bodyguard of the dealer shouted, slamming the van doors shut before hopping into the driver's   seat of the car. 

Andy was too invested in her fight with the two street thugs to try to go after the other two. Besides, she couldn't outrun four wheels. Andy let out grunts and forced breaths as her battle between two weapons to zero continued. 

She kicked her foot out, coming in contact with the handgun in the thug's hand. He dove out of the way to go fetch it so Andy took her chance to grab her opponent's arm and flip him. He dragged her down with him and punched her repeatedly in the face, leaving a spreading bruise on her right eye. Andy groaned and tried to roll out but he grabbed a silver blade from his back pocket and sliced her in the arm, making her let out a clenching snarl in pain. "You shouldn't invest in matters that aren't yours, kid," he growled, raising his knife to strike again. She brought her leg up, catching him by surprise, and rolled away, grabbing her gun from the ground. With a swift move, she slammed the barrel against his forehead and knocked him cold, his body slumping to the ground. 

Andy spun on her heel, shocked that she wasn't hearing any gun shots. But when she turned, she noticed that the man was already running, his gun tucked into the waistband of his belt. Andy sighed and ignored the pain in her arm and face and grabbed her cap that had fallen off during her fight and began running after the man. There was no need to shout or call after him because giving her identity away wouldn't help in the slightest. She was already going to have to explain going to school with a cut up cheek and black eye, she couldn't have a rumor starting about being involved as a street vigilante. Especially when she needed to scope out someone at her school. 

The guy that Andy was chasing didn't hesitate to leave barriers in the way. She chased him down a street that neared the back alley and he had shoved multiple trash cans and metal bins in her way. She hopped over them all with ease, nothing being too complicated for her to dodge. As Andy passed a corner, she noticed that she lost the man, and she held onto the brick wall in defeat. She knew this part of town. She was in the Bronx, and not a good part of the Bronx. 

She was about to turn around and start heading back to Albany when she heard a clanking noise behind her in the alley she had just passed. She turned around as fast as she possibly could only to see the man she was chasing back up slowly. She narrowed her eyes and stalked forwards, watching the man pull his gun from his holster. 

Refusing to give him the chance to shoot, Andy dropped down and swept her leg under his, her hands planted firmly on the ground. The man was thrown onto his back and coughed for the air being knocked out of him. Andy reached down and grabbed the collar of his shirt, hoisting him up and shoving him into the wall. "Tell me who your dealer is!" she demanded, holding an arm underneath his chin and pressing the arm harder. "Tell me now!" 

"I-I don't know his name! They don't tell us anything!" he cried out, clearly fearing his life in the hands of the fourteen-year-old girl. "You're lying!" she yelled, slamming his back into the wall again. "I'm not! Girl, I swear I'm not! I wanted the weapon to sell to someone else! Make some cash! I ain't got nothing else to tell you!"

"What weapon were they selling?!" she inquired, her stern glare hardening. "Uh, uh, something about electricity! Lightning! Yeah! Lightning! They got a strange thing with that stuff, says it's easy access!" he spilled, his voice giving that he was telling the whole truth. "Lightning..." Andy mumbled, looking down to think. 

"So, uh, we cool? You gon' let me go now?" the man asked, pulling Andy out of her trance. She narrowed her eyes and dropped the man, letting him scramble to his feet. She then drew her right arm back and slammed her fist into his cheek. He whipped around and fell to the ground in an unconscious state, letting Andy shake out her wrist and look down at him. "You're going to jail," she said, knowing very well he couldn't hear her. 

At just the perfect timing, Andy heard a cackling in her ear meaning that Steve was trying to contact her. She pressed her comms. and waited, letting his voice spread through. "What's your situation?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the computer screen set in front of him as he scrolled through the tracker on the gun. "I lost the dealers," she responded.

"And the buyers?"

"Apprehended."

"It's time to come home, you're work for the night it done," he said. She bit her bottom lip and looked around the street corner, wondering wat the best route was for finding the other two. "I can get them, I--"

"You're done, Andy. Come home."

•••

Andy sat on a stool at the kitchen counter, allowing Steve to grab several rolls of bandages and roll her sleeve up to start wrapping her wound on her arm. She sat in an annoyed silence as he worked, listening only to the sound of the clock ticking back and forth in a mocking tone. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.  Finally, after several moments, Steve huffed a short breath and rolled her sleeve back down, "It's not deep, it won't need stitches," he informed her, walking back to the sink to wash his hands. 

She bit her bottom lip and scoffed, "Yeah, I know," she snapped, her tongue most likely about to get her into trouble. "You're mad," Steve sighed, turnig the tap water off and drying his hand on the towel. "Yeah, I'm mad! Those two dealers got away! I could've gotten them!" she protested. Steve shook his head and looked her in her soft brown eyes. "That wasn't your call to make," he objected.

She let out an airy chuckle and looked at the counter, "You're right, Steve. It wasn't my call. It's never going to be my call. You know, just now I figured out why you needed my help, why you couldn't just leave me alone and get someone else to do this mission. You needed my help because I'm disposable. I've got nothing to lose, right? I mean, that's why you had to come get me two hours away! Not because of my skills and how they're an asset to the team! Hell, not because you care about me and want to keep me safe! I've got nothing left, so if I die, nothing is on your conscious!" she called out, pointing her finger at the man in front of her. 

"That's not true, Mel," he argued, shaking his head once more and looking down at his hands. "You can't even look me in the eye, Steve. You don't care about me, you never did! If you ever cared about me and didn't want me to be alone, if that's the real reason you brought me here, then you wouldn't have a schedule on whose turn it is to visit me once a month! It wouldn't be such a burden to talk to me and hang out with me! You wouldn't feel obligated to see me! You know the worst part? Out of all of you, you're the one that I least expected to use me. You're the man with a plan, the man who's survived the worst of life! Well, guess what, Steve? I have, too! Everyone that I ever loved is gone, so you're right, I am disposable! So heaven forbid, stop lying to yourself and admit that I'm a burden to everyone in this building. I'll do this mission because it's what my parents would want me to do. I'll search through the entire damn school and city to find the one person who is making this state a hell to come. I will stay here in this building and search through facial recognition and license registry in every damn database I can. But I will not sit here and be your ticking time bomb," she growled, then reaching down to pull the gun from her holster. 

"If you want to keep me safe so much, maybe give me a gun that's loaded," she concluded, sliding the gun across the counter to him. He stopped it with his hand and watched as Andy slid off the stool and headed for the stairs, not looking back once. "Andy! Andy, wait!" he shouted, running to the staircase to get her to stop. But by the time he reached her, she was already gone. 

•••

"Mel, you're going to have to talk to me at some point," Steve told Andy as she stamped around the kitchen in a rush to start her morning. She didn't look back at him but instead leaped onto the counter and balanced on her knees to grab a bottle of Advil. She hopped back down and grabbed the bottle, unscrewing the lid and shaking two pills into the palm of her hand. "Cut the girl some slack, Rogers. She's hurt enough as is," Natasha remarked, watching the teenage gulp down the pills and down the water she had poured.

She turned around and faced the American Solider, a blank expression on her face. Her left eye was bruised and more purple then tan and her cheek had a small cut from the blade she had struggled against from the thug last night. "Can you let Wanda know that I can't help her make dinner tonight? I have a friend I need to stay with today, it's his birthday and I look forward to it," she inquired, looking at Nat and Steve. 

"Sure, Melly. That works anyways because Rhodes and Sam will be out," Nat shrugged, taking a sip of the hot coffee in the white mug held between her fingers. "Mel, can we talk about this? About last night?" Steve called after her when she started heading towards the door. "We can talk about it when I get back tonight. Though, I'm not sure what you could say."