My mom stole a car. It was actually a very nice one. She usually stole nice cars because that told her that whoever it belonged to could go buy another one. My dad didn't have the same mindset as my mom when it came to things like that.
This was the most relaxing ride we'd had since we got here. I hated this place and I was glad that we were getting closer to leaving. I could almost fall asleep right now, and sleep was definitely well needed and earned by the three of us.
I felt my head begin to nod. My eyes were starting to get heavy. Sleep sounded so nice right now. It was so quiet, we were cruising so comfortably, I might as well have just taken advantage of this while I could. I don't think we would be getting any sleep for a long time from now.
Just when I shut my eyes, I heard Yelena say, "You know this is the first piece of clothing I ever bought for myself?" She sounded quite proud. I opened my eyes to look for a second. It was a green vest with a bunch of small compartments all over it. It was cool for missions, but I couldn't see myself wearing something like that any other time.
My mom flashed her a look of confusion as she took a small glance up and down the vest. "That?" She questioned almost disgusted. The wrinkles showed on her face as she frowned at the poor selection, and I was sure wrinkles were showing in mine when I noticed that she was chewing gum.
"Yeah. You don't like it?" Yelena asked quietly, turning to look at my mom.
I glared at her because she was chewing gum that she didn't want to buy for me. I scanned the front seat for it so that I could snatch it away.
"Is that like a..." she trailed on as she tried to find the words to explain it. "An army surplus, or-"
"Okay, it has a lot of pockets," Yelena bites back defensively. My mom laughed at her. "I use them all the time, and I made some of my own modifications," she informed, feeling like she needed to put it out there and defend herself further.
My mom couldn't get the smile off of her face. "Oh yeah?"
"Whatever," Yelena dismisses bitterly.
I found the gum sitting with Yelena so I didn't mind it being in the front anymore. As long as my mom didn't try to confiscate it and pretend that it was hers.
She heard my mom laugh again and she got frustrated. I would have laughed too. "Shut up, the point is I've never- ...I've never had control over my own life and now I do," she says somewhat proud. "I want to do things," she turned to look at my mom as if she was asking with her eyes whether or not that should be okay.
My mom flashed her one more glance with her eyes slightly narrowed before she hummed in response. "I like your vest," she admits for the heck of it, smiling at Yelena's quick response.
Before she could take another breath, Yelena cheered almost desperately, "I knew it. I knew you did. It's so cool, right?" She pumped her fists excitedly and looked up again at my mom as if she needed her confirmation. My mom couldn't shake the smile that Yelena was putting on her face.
I nod my head. "Very cool."
"It's good. Yes. I like it," my mom says, nodding slowly and giving the confirmation that she needed.
"And you can put so much stuff in there," she goes on excitedly. "You wouldn't even know," she finished, sitting back proud and sitting up straight. She was very proud of her vest, and I think it was actually a very nice thing to be proud of. I knew that that was part of the reason why my mom just couldn't get that smile off of her face.
"I really don't know where the Red Room is, though," she reminded when she felt that it had gotten too quiet. "I'm sorry," she finished. She talked a lot but it didn't bother me. It made things feel more normal. It settled the tension a little. Usually there was so much of it on harsh missions like this. It felt good when things were different sometimes.
"I know." My mom didn't blame her and she seemed to be understanding about it. I saw through the rear view mirror as her expression settled into a harsh one. I stared up at her curiously when I saw the sudden shift in her expression. I saw Yelena do the same. "But I think I know someone who does."
I chimed in. "Yeah? Who?" My mom flashed me a small glance from the rear view mirror.
"We're gonna need a jet," she said instead of answering. I wasn't expecting an answer from her anyway.
....
The jet was not much like a jet at all. We went to pick it up from my mom's private contractor. We were in it and we had been for a while. It was nothing like the jets from back at home. This was much more like a helicopter. It was a lot more conspicuous, which I figured would be a problem in the long run.
My mom was flying. She didn't seem very happy at all. Not just from the glare on her face but also just because of the tension in her body. She wore a skin-tight white suit that mirrored her black widow one. It portrayed her tension a lot clearer. Her posture wasn't just straight but it was rigid. She moved stiffly. She seemed heavily discontent or afraid of whatever we were about to do. I observed her for a few more moments before I decided tp part my lips. I didn't know how to approach her so I tried to start off easy by making sure that we were even taking care of a mission right now. She was suited up, so we had to be, but I needed to be sure.
"I thought you said hair has to be out of your face?" I question, staring at her fiery red hair that hung straight over her shoulders. She was always getting on me about my hair being in my face but hers was all over the place right now. She needed to brush it and braid it. At least the headphones from the helicopter laid down the top of it a little bit.
"I second, you did say that." I turn to see Yelena nod her head slowly with a hand of agreement raised in the air. She was also suited up with her vest over a white suit that was almost like my mom's. Of course, I was left with my mother's leftovers. The old black suit that she used to wear. It was mine now since I always got her hand-me-downs. I had never had my own distinct look and sometimes I wished that that was different. Everyone knew my mom for her work and for the suits she wore while doing it. It wasn't the same for me. I wanted a look sometimes.
My mom narrowed her eyes into a slight grimace before she scoffed. "It's braided out of the way," she retorts as if it was obvious. Yelena shakes her head in response.
"Bull shit, it is in your face."
"Very in your face," I added, nodding my head just to instigate. My mom scoffed again and shook her head slightly. She was feeling a bit defensive.
"That isn't even proper English," Mama muttered, messing with some of the controls at the front of the jet. I watched from behind carefully as a structure a few miles ahead came into view. It was a few distances away but I could make out that it was a series of buildings.
It was freezing outside. I could feel the cold, snowy winter air bleeding through the creaks and cracks of this old "jet". I wrapped my arms around myself to try and keep warm even if I knew it wouldn't help.
"What's that?" I asked my mom finally, feeling that enough build-up was done before leading into the real question. Her eyes didn't waive from the set of buildings as she responded.
"Prison," she said vaguely, glancing at Yelena shortly after she said so. I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward in my seat.
"Why the-" I paused, glaring, "when were you going to tell me that we were walking into a prison? In the middle of the mountains?" I questioned, somewhat agitated with the news. It would have been nice to know where we were going sometimes or know what I was supposed to do more than two seconds before I was expected to do it. My mom expected a lot from me just because of who she was and I wish it was easier for me to live up to that expectation.
My mom's glare became more intense and she looked over her shoulder to make sure that I could see it. I flinched at the sudden turn and the stare of anger on her face.
"I am not arguing with you right now, Zola Audrey," her green irises that were swimming with anger didn't fall from my own brown ones. I was angry at the sudden announcement, but I could easily tell that she was angrier. She wasn't having it right now. Something else had to have been on her mind for her to act out like she was. "I'm going to tell you what to do when we get down there, and you are going to shut up and do it," she snapped before she turned her head, focusing her eyes that were wide with anger away from me. It felt like I sunk in my seat at hearing the bite in her tone. "Do you understand?"
I didn't answer her. I was sure that she got the message.
Yelena tried to stay silent but I could practically see the silence eating away at her agonizingly. She couldn't handle long silences.
"Why didn't you just tell the girl where we were going?" She butts in, trying to mumble so that I couldn't hear. It was hard not to since we all had connected headsets. I rolled my eyes when my mom scoffed in response. "That was like, completely unnecessary," she added, shrugging slowly as she turned away. My mom shook her head.
"You try having four kids," my mom mumbled under her breath, pressing another one of the buttons as her focus slowly shifted away from Yelena again. I saw the tension building in her body again.
"Four?" Yelena questioned in shock, leaning forward with her green eyes completely widened in surprise. She turned to face my mom, losing almost all composure as she waited for my mom to give some kind of indication that she had heard incorrectly.
I rolled my eyes. "There are three of us," I reminded with a curt, sarcastic nod."Ilona, Ivessa and myself."
"You're forgetting your father," My mom reminded in a matter-of-fact tone. I couldn't argue, she made a fair point. My dad off the field was far from a mature grown man. He was more like another one of us that she had to take care of. When I didn't answer, she sarcastically added, "Yeah, that's what I thought." She said it almost in a sing-song voice. I could hear Yelena chuckle slightly.
I crossed my arms and turned to look out of my window. "That's because he is not my father," I mumble bitterly, staring out of the window just because I was afraid of how she would react. I could hear her take a deep breath through the headset. I could see Yelena's eyes flashing between my mom and myself nosily.
"Really makes you wonder," my mom paused dramatically and sarcastically for a moment. She knew what she wanted to say. "Where was James all your life, huh?" She asked rhetorically. I knew that she wasn't expecting a response but I wasn't going to give in to her intimidation. I turned my head to grimace directly at the back of hers.
"He tried!" I shouted in response, digging my hands into the armrests of the chair that I was sitting in. My mom didn't take another breath before she matched my volume with a response.
"And Clint tried harder!" She counter-attacks.
I threw my body back in my seat in pure frustration. No matter how much I tried to speak it out of existence, this pain wasn't going anywhere. It felt like this situation was never getting better. It felt like my heart was caught in my chest when I sat back. The amount of anger I felt caused eager, disruptive sensations in my body that I wished I could rid. This anger was different than any kind I had ever felt before.
"His name is Bucky," I mumbled suddenly, almost on the verge of tears. I could feel them as I got quieter and quieter.
"And somehow that is the one part of him that it took nineteen years for you to see," my mom bites back in an equally quiet tone. Hers was more intimidating, and she was more sure of herself. I didn't want to let my pride go, but I had run out of things to say. I knew that Clint was my dad. I couldn't ever see him as anything else. But I felt like maybe if I kept screaming about how he really wasn't, maybe I would make myself feel more and more like he wasn't. Maybe I could make myself feel like Bucky was around all my life. Maybe I could make myself believe that he didn't hurt my mom or me with the things that he did. And maybe it would be easier to abandon the terrible memories I have of him in my head. Maybe it would be easier to just pretend. But I couldn't. And even though I knew that being bitter and angry about it didn't make things better, I knew that that wasn't going to make me stop.
No one talked again until we made it to the prison. My mom gave a set of directions before holding out three comms out for us to grab. This wasn't going to be easy and I knew that just because of where we were. It was snowing, prisons meant the perimeter would be secured with guards, and there would be dozens of other prisoners trying to also break free. I tried to brace myself for what was coming.
My mom started talking before I could get the comm fully into my ear. "Today is your luck day, Alexei," she said in a bored monotone, staring at a pad that Yelena held up to view momentarily. I tried to get a glance of what it was. It had to be a map of the prison.
"Alexei?" I muttered, not recognizing the name.
"Move to the door on the South wall, my mom instructed after glancing at the small device. I knew that none of this was any good once I heard the sound of breaking glass from the other end of the comms. It wasn't near us, it was coming from the man named Alexei.
There were a series of grunts and hits against metal. I flinched as I listened.
"Go left," my mom instructs further. The thing that we there into the mail had to have a tracker in it. She was able to see where in the building he was located. She multi-tasked, tracking him and taking constant glances at the map as she flew the vehicle. I hated her sometimes but I always gave hr credit where it was due. She was amazing at the things that she did and as angry as I was with her, I had to at least acknowledge that. "Just don't make a scene," my mom added desperately.
I rolled my eyes when she said it. It was going to spark something and I feel like if she hadn't said it at all, things might have went as smoothly as we would have hoped.
Immediately, I could hear alarms begin to blare loudly before I heard the surrounding inmates begin to shout in protest. I heard grunting and swift movements of wind along with harsh breathing. It didn't even take a minute for hell to break loose after my mom had said something.
"Mama!" I shout in annoyance, slamming my legs against my thighs for emphasis.
I heard a huff of slight distaste from the other end. "Mama?" He questioned in a disgusted and utterly baffled tone.
After that, it was hard to hear anything but yelling and screaming and shoving and grunting and punching. We waited patiently until there was even room for us to speak or give any more direction. I didn't know who this man was but it sounded like he was taking on a whole prison on his own, and that sounded incredible. Those shouts and screams and punches were hopefully shouts and screams and punches of victory. On our side, of course.
"You made a scene, didn't you?" My mom asked, annoyed. She clearly understood the answer. He didn't need to share.
I peaked from my seat to get a better look at the map. I could see him sprinting through what seemed to be an open space outside that we could reach him from.
"There," I commented, pointing my finger through the front window at a small figure standing confused on some kid of pathway.
"What now?" He asked in exasperation, longing for an answer immediately. I could her the desperate plea in his voice.
My mom lowered the copter as she responded. "We're getting you out of here," she told him. I could barely see him from this angle. The vehicle slowly swayed and I was able to catch a glimpse of him briefly. He was quite chubby and I could tell that he had long hair that was matted and undone. How did my mom know this man and why was she so keen on breaking him out of here?
We spent too much time in one place. Before we could do anything else, a hoard of inmates was already charging toward Alexei on the bridged pathway. I stood to my feet, coming over to get a better view from behind my mom. We needed to do something quick. Because before we could react to the first stampede of inmates, a second stampeded followed from the other side, and the other, and the fourth. He was cornered, all four ways with no way out. He had no choice but to run into one of the crowds.
Then came the guards, opening fire.
"Go to the upper level," my mom instructed calmly. Clearly she wasn't as afraid as I was. I felt myself starting to calm down because of that. If she knew that we could handle it then I had no reason to be afraid. the tension in her body had settled.
"Move your ass, Super Soldier," my mom rushed, moving us over. That comment piqued my interest. He was a super soldier too. I hadn't met many of them, especially not many that were on our side.
That meant that he could do things that nobody else here could. Maybe that was why my mom wasn't stressing about any of this.
"He's never going to make it," Yelena finally says, crushing the small ounce of hope that I had. They both seemed to know this man, but they both seemed to have very different perceptions of him. He had to be someone that they knew when they were younger. Natasha seemed to be more mature with his presence while Yelena seemed to be naive with it, almost as if she had something against him. A grudge, maybe.
"Get me closer," my mom tells her sister quickly. I didn't realize up until now that they were handling the helicopter together. It made a lot more sense. I had never really traveled in one of these before.
Yelena flashed my mom a grimace, clearly letting her know that it wasn't a smart road to take.
"What, you got a better idea?"
"No, Mama," I protested, "Do not go," I interject, scared. Her jumping from this thing meant that I was going to have to hop into the front and take control and I didn't think I could. Especially not for as long as I was anticipating that I would have to. And not under this level of stress.
"I'm going," she shouted just before she threw open the helicopter's door, grabbed hold onto a rope, and jumped down from the vehicle. I knew that she wouldn't hesitate. But I panicked and got angrier when I saw her fly from the entrance of the helicopter. I stared down at her for a couple of moments as she dropped, still gripping the rope.
I groaned in annoyance and I almost slammed the door shut. Now the cold air was coming in even stronger.
"I could use your help," Yelena reminds me from the front seat with a bit of anxiety bleeding into her tone. I rushed over. I had gotten distracted by my mom and her consistent stupidity.
Yelena was staring down at my mom from the side window so I knew that my attention had to be on the controls. I had never been behind the controls on one of these, so I stared down at the panels in bewilderment. There were so many but so little, and it felt impossible to tell which button was supposed to be for what.
"Just steer, just steer," Yelena instructs, trying to stay calm so that I would too. There were two almost joysticks on my side, so I figured that she was telling me to stick to using those. If something else needed to be adjusted I would wait for her command.
I glanced out of the window to check on my mom even if I wasn't sure where Yelena had placed her focus at this point. I could see her throw herself from the rope, swinging forward and out of a backflip before she landed with one leg out-stretched, one bent away from her body, and one hand touching the ground. Yelena had just talked to her about that pose. I shook my head and scoffed as I lifted my eyes back to the set of utterly confusing controls.
"Such a poser," the two of us said at the same time. I know that my mom heard, too.
...