Maybe going out wasn't for the best, it wasn't until being around people, on a still bustling street, that Bucky realised just how bad Emmeline was in a crowd. Anyone who drifted near, she flinched. A loud noise from down the road, she almost flew in the air, literally. It was the sad price to pay for someone who had been used and shut away and then given the freedom they never had but didn't know what to do with it. Not only that, but she also lived in perpetual fear that if someone surprised her and bumped into her, she'd set them alight.

Truthfully, Bucky never knew if Emmeline always had these sorts of powers, or if Hydra made them somehow and implanted them in her. He never asked, because even he could see that was something she would rather not talk about. She'd perhaps rather stick pins in her eyes.

The gelato place was steady, not packed, but enough people in to make it seem busier than it was. There was a television playing in a corner, the volume down but still high enough to hear the news being broadcasted. Having dark glasses on when it was clearly night had some looking at her strangely, but Emmeline just slid into a booth seat and leaned back in the creaking leather. Her attention was on the television set though, even from behind the lenses, Bucky saw her eyes narrow.

Having the set behind him, he had to turn to see it, the broadcaster was talking about the impeachment trial of one Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, that spectacle had been everywhere over the last few months. Bucky's eyes narrowed and Emmeline clicked her tongue, "She is a snake." Bucky turned back to Emmeline, she leaned hesitantly against the table, looking over the rim of her glasses at him. "Wiggly, wormy, little snake in an expensive suit. I reckon she is very flammable."

"Do you know her?" Bucky wasn't sure how he felt about that. He had sat in on some of the meetings and hearings, nothing he heard was particularly good. There was something off with the dark-haired woman, her confidence was something that bordered on annoying but also the cynicism of shooting people down when they asked her questions was an interesting defence, as well as offence. She was very good at speaking, very good.

Emmeline blanched, her head flicking back to budge her glasses back up her nose when she spotted a waitress come over for their order. Having glanced very quickly at the menu, Emmeline made a beeline for strawberry and a soft drink. Smiling brightly at the waitress when she left, she looked back over her glasses. "She approached me once."

"When?" Bucky's voice dropped an octave there, turning serious in a way which had Emmeline sitting up straight, someone looked like they were about to punch a wall. She was glad to see it wasn't just her that thought Valentina was shady, of course she was shady, she was being impeached. But Emmeline knew Bucky, so it was nice to see someone she knew shared a similar opinion.

"I went out for coffee...like, there I am in Starbucks, in the queue, and I thought it was someone cutting in. I was about to comment, that is rude! So rude, why do people do that?"

"Emmy, you're going off on a tangent." Bucky tilted his head and kept his hands under the table, maybe clenched a little tighter than usual now knowing the woman before him had crossed paths with the woman all over the news.

Emmeline inhaled, "Right," exhaling and leaning against her palm, she looked surely his way. "Starbucks, wanted a coffee, thought she was cutting in, only for her to intercept my path before I could even order, and I was so annoyed! She introduced herself, I said I didn't care. I didn't. She is nothing to me, some stupid woman in the way of me getting a coffee. Honestly, she's lucky I didn't just..." Emmeline made a weird gesture with her hands while ranting, Bucky wasn't sure if she meant burn her, blow her up, or, shove out the way.

He wasn't even going to tell her he didn't care about the backstory, but apparently to Emmeline it was very important, or more important to let Bucky know how annoyed she was she couldn't get to her coffee. Maybe she was hinting at him to never, ever get in the way of the coffee back at the apartment, he didn't know. Bucky decided not to contradict her, someone like Valentina, to get to the positions in companies that she had, was anything but stupid. 

Emmeline blew a stray lock from her face and nodded, "She laughed, I was not joking. Think she made some joke about blunt German humour, I don't know...she allowed me to order, while waiting she then decided to say that she has potential jobs for me. Sorry, who is hiring me for anything? I'm a walking extinction event; it's like she's read stuff about me and has blanked that it takes a lot not to burn everything to a crisp. No one wants me for anything, let alone a job, ja?"

Bucky didn't like her self-deprecation but looked over her shoulder when he saw their drinks being bought over. Emmeline slipped her glasses back, went silent and decided to play with the napkin dispenser on the table, apparently it was suddenly very interesting. "Did she say what sort of jobs?" Bucky dreaded to think, information was hard to come by, bits and pieces were known but nothing hugely specific had come to light, unless it had in a meeting, he hadn't been in.

Emmeline shook her head, "Nein." Pausing and drinking some of her soda, she waved a hand gently in the air. Bucky eyed the slightly glowing fingers, and she laughed nervously and then decided sitting on her hands was the answer to this, in fact all it did was warm the seat under her. "It wasn't just the offering of a job, though. It was how she looked at me. Like I am a potential for something. I know snakes, she is a snake. She is someone who twists, turns and uses then throws away. Very unreliable and wasteful."

Bucky sat and processed this for a moment, "If she was using offering you a job as a ruse. Why did she approach you?"

"I am very unapproachable, so I thought it was weird too." Emmeline agreed, freeing one of her hands to reach for the glass, she eyed it and her hand for several moments before grasping onto it and drinking.

Bucky looked at her for a long silent minute, half wondering if she could be allowed to speak at this impeachment, but then also thought that would've probably been a terrible idea. Emmeline couldn't deal with the crowd outside, even in this little place she was always side eyeing, putting her on a stand to recount anything, let alone something that was flaky without much merit would be a disaster.

Emmeline sniffed, Bucky didn't like how awkward she suddenly looked. "I have a confession."

"What have you done?" Emmeline looked a little offended before shrugging off his words. Bucky was sure the poor waitress who delivered their gelato sensed some bad tension because she ran off as soon as she could.

"Joaquin Torres." Emmeline said slowly, Bucky tilted his head the spoon he picked up forgotten just like the treat on the table as she said the young man's name. "His computer is interesting. Very insightful."

"Emmeline, what have you done?" Bucky's eyes widened slowly, he hoped beyond hope she hadn't left a virus in the man's computer as a final screw you to Sam's new team.

"I snooped." Emmeline scooped up her strawberry gelato with an absolute look of glee. Bucky wasn't sure if she was happy about the treat, or proud of what she did and didn't get caught.

"What did you find?" He hated to ask, honestly, but clearly, she wished to share.

"Shady snake lady...loves a shell corporation, offshore things which bounce around proxies like a fly constantly head-butting a window. Her tech is good at hiding, but she isn't Torres level of good, or me." Emmeline smiled, Torres hadn't physically given her permission to go on his computer, but while him and Sam were out, she essentially did a smash and grab of information.

Bucky tiled his head warily, "Why are you looking into her?"

"Because when someone approaches me the way she did, looking at me like a viable tool, I do not trust it. There is something wrong with her, brother. Something terribly wrong."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Bucky didn't know what to do with this. Valentina was being impeached, she was in court being questioned by Mr Gary and whoever else almost daily. Emmeline and her, whatever this was, would surely complicate things or screw things up. "Stop. Just stop."

Emmeline pressed her lips into a thin line and ate a spoonful of strawberry gelato with the slow precision of someone trying to solve a quantum mechanics question. "Sure." She replied simply with a nod, the look Bucky gave her was one knowing full well she was lying, and she wouldn't drop it.

Unfortunately, sometimes Emmeline could be like a dog with a bone. She also liked to know things, questions and mysteries did her head in, she didn't like not knowing. She understood why Bucky was taking a back seat, telling her to stop, but she had managed to find a list of employees and other stuff in her endeavour to hack and find information.

Did she mention she found John Walker listed somewhere? No. Emmeline knew they had a past and the guy full on murdered someone and honestly, Emmeline was happy to leave well alone there. Not that she thought Bucky would even be remotely interested if she had mentioned Walker. Yelena Belova though? Emmeline had researched well enough there, why were these people hidden in some deep dark roster on a payroll? Who and why does someone employ a former Captain America, and an assassin from the Red Room?

Trying to find Yelena was a no go, even if Bucky told her to drop it, Emmeline had the distinct feeling that these people employed by this woman were either in danger or being used for some unknown gain. It was for that reason, come the next day when she saw Bucky leave the apartment to go sit in on one of these trials that she too wound up leaving for the day.

People like Yelena, like Bucky and herself, they all needed to get interviewed, cleared, given permission to exist and stay, not get locked back up and forgotten about. They all had to prove in some way they could be upstanding citizens, Emmeline had been with Sam, that allowed her some leeway and Bucky was now a congressman. Yelena though? Nothing. It wasn't at all hard though to research into background information and wind up finding that apparently her dad was around.

Emmeline looked up at the white ceiling for inspiration. Was it wise to go hunting out a Cold War super soldier? Perhaps not. Did he have the right to know that his daughter was caught up with Valentina? To Emmeline, yes. Especially seems something was seriously off with that woman, and it caused Emmeline to wince. She was calculating to a new level and honestly, Emmeline just didn't trust that Valentina was a good person; and she should know, she spent most of her life around bad people.

Not only that, if any more information could be found out, perhaps it could help with the impeachment? Emmeline didn't know, she knew she was bored, she had no cause and no job and wound up leaving the apartment with a quiet huff. Luckily with it being sunny she didn't look so odd walking around in her dark glasses, headphones over her ears and blocking out the noise around her, she inhaled the polluted air of the street and took off walking.

Her scuffed up boots kicked at the ground quietly, well the sound to her was muffled because of her music playing over her headphones. She put her hands in her jean pockets, she felt a hole in one pocket and frowned, these jeans did look wrecked, one knee was forever peeking out whenever she walked, and the colour had severely faded to a wish-washy grey. Having a bottle green long sleeved top on at least brightened the outfit a little...ignoring the almost unnatural gold colour of her hair, that is.

She hadn't got a plan, not really. Alexei Shostakov was easy enough to research into online, a lot of glorified clippings and articles that dated way back and nothing particularly recent other than him registering a limo company, under his own Red Guardian name, and that said a lot to Emmeline already. She didn't know how to deal with narcissists, perhaps with the same way she dealt with most people; which wasn't well at all.

=

The air was a thick mixture of exhaust fumes, the smell of pretzels from somewhere, even a hint of garbage and that ozone like aroma that always seemed to be lurking over cities; the strange assault on the senses of the smells that undeniably make a city, a city, was topped off simply with being stuck in traffic on a Tuesday. Was this like any other Tuesday for Alexei though? No. He had just dropped a small group off and was more than happy to be done with those clients, one of the group was loudly shouting down a phone which seemed to always be on loudspeaker. Who uses loudspeaker in public? Who? Anyway, it had taken a lot of patience to get to the destination, but the job was done which meant unless anyone else had booked him, he could go home and stay there...maybe get out of the black suit he was currently wearing, he did believe his dressing gown and some old news footage from his past was calling his name.

Alexei almost let out a dreamy sigh, imagining being at home already, comfy and without a care in the world and that all came to a quick shattering end when he heard his passenger door open and someone slink into the seat. He was at a red light, who did this too? Who? He went to turn and give a piece of his mind only to pause and stare at the woman sitting there. Dark green top, golden hair, dark glasses and she was turned looking at him while lifting what seemed to be a very pink coloured bubble tea up to her lips to sip at the straw.

That sound seemed almost deafening in the quiet space, Alexei had got so hung up on imagining being back at home, he hadn't even put the radio on. The woman smiled suddenly, "Guten Morgen! Sie sind, Alexei, ja?"

Alexei sat absolutely baffled for the moment, "This isn't a taxi service." He said firstly, brushing off rusty German in his head before slowly nodding. The woman across from him smiled again, with her glasses on it was hard to determine her age, but she looked early to mid-thirties at best. "What do you want?" He asked, his own accent clipping his words, making his voice sound serious. He was being serious, he didn't know this woman, she had just got into his limo and asked for him, personally.

As far as Tuesdays went, this was the weirdest one yet. "The light has changed," she nodded sidelong, Alexei heard the blaring of horns behind him now and muttered under his breath before driving off.

"You get in my car, and tell me when to drive? Who are you, and how do you know me?" Alexei shot her a look, she was sipping at her drink and looking out the window casually.

"I don't know you." She replied simply, Alexei let out an annoyed sigh. Well, he knew that well enough already. "I Googled you," she waved a hand before pulling it back to her and sitting on it. The action was weird, and he looked at her strangely for it. "Can you park somewhere? I'll tell all then."

"I am driver, what if I want to continue driving?" Alexei didn't do back seat drivers, even if they were in the passenger seat.

She let out a scoff, "You look like you'd rather be doing anything but driving."

He scrunched his nose up at that, well, she had sort of caught him out, but she didn't need to know that. Arguably, perhaps parking somewhere would be beneficial. It was hard to concentrate driving and trying to listen to anything she would say, especially if it was important. He didn't reply to her words, he glanced over to her a few times to see her awkwardly trying to figure out whether she could lean against the window or not. To Alexei, so far, she was perhaps the strangest person he'd have in his limo, not the most annoying, yet the one earlier with the loudspeaker was on the top of that ladder currently.

So, the pair lapsed into silence, a weird silence that wasn't totally uncomfortable. He wasn't returning home; he didn't want this strange woman to know where he lived. So instead, he did the next best thing and parked up near a fast-food place. Looking at the building, he tilted his head, now that he thought about it...he had missed breakfast...

Killing the engine though, Alexei looked rather proud of himself, which had her raising an eyebrow from over her glasses. "We are parked up, safe and sound. See, the Red Guardian delivers." He even did a small bow of his head.

She clicked her tongue, "You parked the car. A monkey could probably do that, maybe with more grace...I think you hit the bollard behind us." She distinctly felt something bump at the back of the car, hoping it wasn't another car.

Alexei let out a puff of air and waved his hand in the air, the action had her eyeing him warily, he could just about see her eyes from behind the lenses. The action of his hand in the air had her almost leaning back as far as she could against the window, the same one she wasn't sure about leaning against moments ago. Lowering his hand, Alexei turned in his seat and looked at her with his full attention.

"Ah, but the monkey would not have the experience or the flair to get us here!" Another dramatic hand gesture to the parking lot and another proud smile had her still leaning away. How someone easily got into his car from he didn't know where and was now avoiding him like the plague was confusing. Even exclaiming this sentence had her tilting her head with a frown, Alexei either didn't notice or didn't much care that his actions were unnerving to her.

Alexei was, by all accounts, an absolute supernova of character, he sure as sure could be was not toning that down for a stranger who got into his limo. "I think your daughter might be in trouble." The sentence hung in the limo for a moment, the blonde woman looking awkward that she just cut to the chase.

Alexei leaned back, the leather of the driver's seat groaning loudly at the action. He reached up and placed a hand to his chin, the digits getting lost in his beard. A thoughtful expression flitted onto his face, his hand even mimicking the thoughtfulness by stroking his beard. "Yelena? My little girl? Ah, she is the best, my Yelena. Strong, smart. A killer with a heart of...well, a killer with a heart." Alexei sounded wistful thinking of the spirited blonde, a smile even appeared on his face as he sighed heavily.

"I think she's been hired by someone bad, and she could be in danger."

Alexei laughed, the sound so sudden and loud the woman physically flinched beside him, he saw her eyes narrow at him in a glare from behind her glasses. "Yelena does not get in trouble. Yelena is the trouble. If she is working with bad person, then it is them who should be worried. My Yelena will turn whatever mission they throw at her, back on them if they screw her over. If they are rich, then for good measure she will make a mess of their expensive shoes."

The exasperated sound that came from his passenger had Alexei tiling his head on the headrest and looking at her. She buried her face in her hands, seemingly doubling over herself before gripping onto her glasses and taking them off. With effort, she inhaled and exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of her nose. Slowly, so slowly it was almost painful, she opened her eyes and looked sidelong at him.

That had him tilting head, either those were some fancy lenses, or her eyes were legitimately like that. Dark pools of inky black with burning molten gold, they were like a little universe, something cosmic trapped in the dark and glaring right at him. Sitting up straight, the woman turned and clenched her hands in her lap, Alexei just raised an eyebrow, were her hands glowing? "Listen to me, this isn't some back-alley thing. This is professional, organised. Your daughter may be a professional, but even professionals get caught in webs they don't see."

Alexei sat staring at her for a few moments, the woman frowned and looked almost sulkily out of the window just so she couldn't see his face. She was unlike anyone he had seen before, otherworldly almost. He didn't mean to stare and make her feel awkward, he easily imagined people did that plenty enough.

With a sigh, Alexei waved a hand dismissively, the action less frantic than earlier, and for that he didn't get glared at. "You talk of webs like there is a spider waiting to pounce. Let me tell you, Yelena is no fly in no web, if so then she will probably wind up eating the spider, and the web. Which I wouldn't put it past her doing both for breakfast. So, you come find me, tell me she is in danger to...what? Get Red Guardian back in the game? Is that it? Because if so, I am in! I will find suit, shield, get out of this ridiculous driver's uniform." Alexei said it all so enthusiastically he got owlishly looked at, especially when he seemed genuinely very disgruntled by the uniform he wore, he tugged at it with such a disdainful look.

Still blinking large eyes, the woman just sat there utterly baffled. He was undoubtedly a walking talking monument of ego, completely insulated from any sense of reason by a thick layer of self-confidence that was through the roof. The look which drifted onto her face was one of almost defeat, she felt she wasn't being taking seriously, none of this was being listened to earnestly and sensibly. This wasn't a personal invitation to anything, least of all come out of retirement.

"What is your name? I must thank the woman who...why are you looking at me like that for?" Alexei tilted his head, very confused why the woman was looking at him so dryly.

"Emmeline, my name is Emmeline. And you...you are impossible." She decided, this was a dead end, a very large, very loud, very irritating dead end. She had hoped by finding Yelena's father, somehow, he could maybe get in touch with the woman to get her away from Valentina. Emmeline hoped she was smart, to have survived all she had she had to be smart, to wake up to Valentina and get away from her but now...Emmeline was sure she should've stayed clear, like Bucky said. Because now, right now she was looking at an almost excitable former Russian super soldier who seemed very up for doing anything but continue being a limo driver.

Running a hand down her face, Emmeline sighed. She glanced at Alexei one more time before hesitantly reaching to open the door. "Where are you going? We have not finished our talk! I will tell you stories of Yelena as a child. Once, she replaced the ammunition in my training course with live rounds to test my reflexes! She was eight! Such spirit..."

"I think I'd rather wrestle a bear." Emmeline shook her head, having swung the door open she stood up and out and shut the door after herself. Hearing the window wind down, Emmeline slipped her glasses on confused, Alexei was leaning over the seat with a very sure expression, she inhaled, what was he going to come out with now?

"A bear? Hah! I could defeat a bear. I am Red Guardian!" Emmeline didn't know what to make of that assurance and just waved a hand, her other readjusting her hold on her cup. She turned and walked off silently.

Alexei sat there still chuckling to himself before sighing heavily, he watched the golden-haired female almost stomp off. He raised an eyebrow when she took a very large step away from someone who seemed to be walking just a little too close to her. She was strange, held way too much tension, but seemed like a bit of a firecracker. Alexei had known many like that in his life, not totally a bad thing but it could sometimes end in disaster.

With a shake of his head, and one last longing look at the drive-thru nearby, he put the car in gear and pulled away. He wanted to go home, even with this detour he still wanted to go home. Although he didn't expect to be going home with a soft frown on his face and thinking of this weird interaction. The thought of Yelena being in actual trouble was laughable. She was so good at what she did, so well trained and precise, she held that ability to look utterly harmless one moment and then snap someone's neck the next. He was very proud of her.

But what this Emmeline said, the vagueness of it just didn't sit with him. Obviously, she perceived a threat, even though he was still clueless over who she was, or what she was, even. But she had found him, Google or not, she had said whatever Yelena was doing was being pulled by someone who was organised. Did that also subtly mean political? Alexei had known many like that, and it made him suck his teeth with a disgusted look on his face. Those types of people used others like chess pieces, they were truly the most dangerous kind.

Stopping at a red light, Alexei narrowed his eyes at the offensive thing and just glared at it like it was causing him a personal hurt. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, a mindless rhythm while looking out of the window at people passing by without a care in the world. Rolling his eyes back at the red light, he had to resign himself to the fact that Emmeline seemed so sure, so certain. Yes, he didn't know how, she could be a brilliant liar...but why go through the effort of finding him just to lie? Unless she was part of it, and using him for some ploy...

Shaking his head, Alexei drove when the light changed. She didn't seem like that. Flinching over any loud noise which came from him and gestures, yes, not using him seems she appeared scared of her own shadow. It wasn't just that, when she looked at him with those startling black eyes, he saw sincerity there, a desperate conviction even. She didn't come across as busybody. If anything, she had the same lingering haunted look that looked startling familiar to operatives, Alexei could be slightly categorised, but he knew and accepted what had happened to him, he may not have liked it, but what happened, happened.

"Ah, damn it." He grumbled to the empty car and hit his head back against the headrest. He didn't believe Yelena was in trouble, but what if whoever had hired her was trying to use her? What if his daughter really was caught in a web spun by some political snake? Emmeline was perhaps sketchy on details on purpose, but the lack of knowing was now making his head spin and him come up with his own conclusions.

If this one conclusion was right, they'd get her to do their dirty work and then cut her loose. It wasn't like he didn't have experience there, right? He didn't want to think of someone using his daughter like that, without any regard or care, she deserved respect. Driving his limo seemed like a moot point now, thanks to his surprise passenger. He never did well at sitting on the sidelines, heck, the Red Guardian didn't sit on the sidelines, especially if there was a chance for heroism to be had. This was his moment, his comeback. Emmeline had just been the herald of that, whether she knew it or not.