If he thought he had been surprised before, Steve was in for a treat when Astrid pulled off her hood to reveal voluminous blue locks framing her tanned face. He had little time to react when the seemingly petite woman pulled him down into the booth with astonishing strength. Without missing a beat, she pulled his sunglasses off only to replace it with another pair before holding him uncomfortably close. It took everything in his power to stop his cheeks from lighting up like a Christmas tree but her sweet, warm perfume made it hard to concentrate.
”Word of the day, Poughkeepsie.”Steve was shaken out of his trance when Astrid muttered those words and snuck an earpiece into his ear in the form of a loving touch. Yeah, he felt chills go down his spine as her fingers brushed up against his cheek but he mentally shook them away for the sake of the mission. This was all an act after all; who knows what HYDRA agent had been tracking his movements. It was better to be seen as a ladies’ man than him actually doing his job. So to calm his now erratic heart rate thanks to the eccentric woman’s suave touches, he took in a deep breath. Finally, he let out a small smile and brought his arm behind Astrid, allowing it to rest on top of the booth seat.
“What do you think about visiting Poughkeepsie next month? I heard the weather's lovely around this time of the year.” Steve asked in a low, rumbling voice. He knew he sounded stupid but he had to keep up the charade.
Amelia was riddled with disgust as she wiped away whatever that little disease-carrying brat threw at her while she took away that last table’s dishes. She didn't even want to hypothesize what could have been that substance. Drying her hands on her apron, the brunette looked over to Astrid’s table to see how she was doing. The poor girl had to order another round of food while waiting for her blind date. Any man who would just stand up a woman should rot in hel-
Oh.Seems like Astrid wasn't alone anymore. She had gotten real cozy with what looked like a broad-shouldered blond man in a baseball cap. She obviously didn't waste any time…
As much as she wanted to talk to Astrid a bit more, her shift had ended and Amelia needed to prepare for tonight’s activities. She quickly punched out and ran out of the cramped diner to avoid her boss yelling at her to stay much longer than she was paid to do.
It took one subway, two bus rides and five blocks until Amelia finally reached her destination. Completely ignoring the ‘No Trespassing’ sign, the brunette opened the rusty, metal chain-link fence as quickly as possible without causing an unbearable screech. After making sure the gate looked exactly as it did when she first arrived, Amelia walked along the side of large building a few moments before reaching a certain wall behind the building. She looked over both her shoulders then slid open the panel and made her way inside, hurriedly shutting the panel behind her.
The warehouse was dark and dreary with only a few rays of pale sunlight streaming through the dirt-streaked windows. Yet the minimum light was more than enough to illuminate the small space Amelia begrudgingly called her home. Everything she owned or made was covered in a thin layer of dust. There was a tiny futon and a ragged old dark green blanket resting in one corner of her living space. Surrounding her bed were dozens upon dozens of books. Most were from local libraries around the city since she could never go back to the same library thanks to her huge library fines. How she wasn't banned yet was still a mystery. There was also a bunch of plastic bags a few feet away from her bed, one holding her clothes while the other held her trash. She hated to admit that she had mixed up both bags on several different occasions.
On the opposite side of the space was her work area. Smack dab in the middle of the much messier half of her home was her make shift work station made from a couple of cinder blocks and two plywood boards. Piles of scrap metal and other materials stood on both sides and within arm's reach. Underneath the table was what looked like a cardboard box covered with a blanket similar to her sleeping blanket but with less holes.
Amelia first made her way to the plastic bags, stripping off her gaudy waitress uniform along the way and pushing it to a pile of dirty clothes sitting way off on the side of her living space. She pulled out a white tank top, some tight green cargo pants, and an over-sized black hoodie. She slipped on the new clothes while walking over to her work desk. On it was several different devices but Amelia’s focus was on the box under her desk. Pulling off the blanket revealed the empty top of the large cardboard box where a set of black boots with it’s feet covered in bulky metal wiring and black finger less gloves lined with the same metal wires. She gingerly took one glove and turned it over where a thin, circular device was stitched onto the palm. Amelia grabbed the other glove as well and placed them onto the table before pulling on the boots. Even though her left boot’s calibration was a bit tricky thanks to her last escapade, they would last the night if she got all the stuff she needed. The gloves, however, would need to be worked on before she left.
~ Amelia ~