CHAPTER FIVE: 'Sam, my best friend'

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MALCOLM LAWRENCE KNOCKED ON THE DOOR OF HIS BEST FRIEND'S HOUSE.

"You're middle name is Salvatore?" Natasha asked, teasing. "How came I never knew this?"

"Because I didn't want you to know." Malcolm replied, not liking at her. "Sam should be back from his run. Just about now." He knocked again, a few seconds later the door opened.

"I'm sorry about this." Steve immediately started. "We need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Natasha continues.

Sam glanced at the two, then looking at his best friend as jerking his head to the side at Malcolm. "Not everyone." He said, moving out of the way to let the three in.
Then he glanced outside before closing gone door.

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"Made a fool of yourself in front of Captain America?" Sam teased, leaning on the door way as Malcolm tugged off his ruined shirt.

"I liked this shirt." Malcolm spoke, looking at the shirt as though it had his full attention.

"Oh, so, your just gonna ignore me now? That's fine. It's not like I'm harboring your fugitive ass."

"Hey, jerk," Malcom fake snapped, knowing his best friend was joking. "I'm not a fugitive. Anyways, I was gonna pay you back."

"Like if I ever am on the run and need to hide at your place?" Sam continued to joke.

"Or make you dinner or breakfast."

"Oh, no, no, no." Sam immediately said, the joking tone now gone. "You are not gonna go anywhere near my kitchen."

Malcolm frowned. "That was over a year ago, you need to get over it. It was basically two years ago."

"You set the stove on fire." Sam said, hands gesturing to nothing in particular.

"It was over two years ago."

"You were making hot dogs!" Sam yelled, Malcom lifting his hand and ironing his mouth to explain how it was that he had gotten distracted, and didn't notice the water boiling over. Or extreme amount of steam. But, shut his mouth closed.

Sam was right. But, like hell Malcom was going to tell him that. He already looked at Malcolm twenty-four/seven with several different kinds of  teasing looks. Which most had to do with how much of an idiot Malcolm would become if he came across a man he had feelings for. Or just simply one he had thought was attractive.
And Sam looked at Malcolm like he was an idiot if he was ever see in the kitchen.

He was banned from the kitchen.

"Why do you always bring that up? I said sorry, and brought you replacement hot dogs. Even brought you more food that I didn't even ruin."

"Stay out of my kitchen." Sam plainly said. "Don't even look in the direction of my kitchen. It'll probably burst into flames."

Malcolm made an offense noise, unable to reply as Sam rolled his eyes. "Get dressed. Put a shirt on. And stay away from the kitchen."

Malcolm lifted his hand, middle finger up. Sam again, rolled his eyes, then muttered insults on how childish Malcolm was as he left the room.

"I can hear you!" Malcolm called to him.

"I know!"

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"So, the question is, who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha asked.

"Pierce." Steve immediately said, barely a second had passed before he answered.

"Who happened to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the word."

"But he's not working alone." Steve continues. "Zola's algorithm was in the Lemurian Star."

Malcom took a bite of his breakfast. "So was Jasper Sitwell." Both he and Natasha spoke.

Steve looked at them both, glancing back at Malcolm when he had downed the bottle next to him. Sam rolled his eyes at Malcolm. Steve looked back at Natasha. "So, the real question is, how does two of most wanted people in Washington kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is, you don't." Sam said, dropping a folder on the table. Malcolm leaned in slightly, taking another bit of food.

"What's this?" Steve asked.

"Call it a resume."

Natasha grabbed one of the photos. "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?" Natasha asked Sam. "You didn't say he was a Pararescue." She spoke to Steve and Malcolm.

"Why would it matter?"

"Is this Riley?" Steve asked.

"Yeah."

"I head they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use? A stealth chute?"

"No." Sam answered, lifting up the folder. "These."

Malcolm smiled, looking up at his best friend proudly when he had seen the look on Captain America's face. "I thought you said you were a pilot."

"I never said pilot."

"Don't boost his ego. It's already as big as his head." Malcolm said, making the three look at him. Both Steve and Natasha snickers or chuckled. While Sam gave a fake laugh.
"Okay, have fun starving for this week."

"Oh, come on, you now I love ya."

"Love the food I make you." Sam said, as if correcting him.

Steve have another laugh at the two best friends, then looked back at the papers. "I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason."

"Dude, Captain America needs my help. And even if you weren't Captain America, my best friend needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."

"Where can we get our hands in one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade. Behind three guarded gates and twelve inch steel wall."

Stave looked at Natasha, who shrugged. Then they both turned to Malcolm, who had finished his breakfast, and smiled up at them, then giving a thumbs up.  "Shouldn't be a problem." Steve spoke, dropping the folder back into the table.

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Malcolm kept an eye Sam, and one eye on Agent Sitwell. Because, like hell he was gonna let his best friend be there alone.
He knew that Sam could take care of himself. But, that's didn't mean he was going to leave him alone and have the odd chance that something goes sideways and Sam gets in the cross fire.

"Yes, sir?"

"Agent Sitwell, how was lunch? I head the crab cakes here are delicious."

Malcolm smiled, lifting his cup and taking a sip from it. He had sat a few tables away from Sam, enough that no one would think the two even knew each other but close enough that Malcolm could easily reach Sam if he needed to.

"Who is this?"

"The good-looking guy in the sunglasses, your ten o'clock."

Malcolm chuckled at his best friends words, laughing a bit more when Sitwell looked off into the wrong direction. "You're other ten o'clock." Sitwell turned his body to the opposite direction of what he was looking at, spotting Sam. "There you go."
Sam lifted his drink.

"What do you want?"

"You're gonna go around the corner to your right. There's a gray car two space down. You and I,". Sam glanced at Malcolm. "along with a buddy of mine, are gonna take a ride."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because that tie looks really expensive, and I'd hate to mess it up."
When Sitwell looked down at his tie, he was the red dot. He immediately looked up towards the buildings.

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{1237}

I swear, I'm working on making the chapters longer