At Home with Clark and Jim

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

They'd fallen into a routine pretty easily.

Clark had managed to write up something about the church bust without incriminating either of them, which meant that his Perry had been pleased enough with his work for the day and had only yelled at him for five minutes about his failure to show up in the office the whole day. Lois had ribbed him a little, which had been remarked upon as she usually gave the new guy hell if he did anything remotely out of the line, and then she'd ribbed him a lot. He hadn't minded too terribly much since he had visited her afterwards at her apartment and she'd done plenty of kissing to make it better.

With a second person in the apartment, he'd started to fix it up a little, bringing home new linens, keeping the fridge stocked more regularly, and he'd even managed to find a new couch for them through a very kindly older woman and Craigslist.

True to his word, he'd gotten some rudimentary identification for Jim and he walked through the door with a spring in his step, closing the door behind him and plopping it down on the kitchen table with a smile.

Comments

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim nodded once, accepting the directive-- and then he gave a faint smile. "I wasn't frightened. I've seen worse."

But as he was standing, he headed back to his bedroom and started changing into his tac suit. It was a garment he was very used to, and he pulled it on with knowing hands. Boots, pants covered in holsters, the one-sleeved that left his metal arm bare except for a fingerless glove. Once it was on, he went about arming himself, putting blades in their sheathes, guns in their holsters, and then strapped on the makeshift mask and goggles he'd put together while he'd been on the run.

His hair was just enough too clean to make him convincing, but it did look like a completely different man stepped out of the room that Jim Rogers had entered.

[stands_for_hope]

Lois leaned back but it wasn't exactly fear that made her do it so much as deep surprise.

"Well, then. I'm making coffee."

She looked over to Clark, who was now sporting nothing but his 'Superman' outfit, complete with the cape. Jim's not the only one who wants to make a statement. He hadn't had a chance to tangle with HYDRA yet officially, but he has no problem with making it clear that he is nothing less than their absolute enemy.

And that Superman stands with the Winter Soldier.

"Keep the door locked."

Lois nodded as Clark walked over to Jim.

"I figured we'd fly there, come down from the top of the building. Lois is on one of the higher floors."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim nodded once, but then - even with his mask and goggles in place - he looked to Lois and pulled one gun out of its holster, offering it to her grip-first. "This is not a normal gun. The ammunition in this gun is charged. Electrical, like a stun gun, but with a projectile. You will cause no lasting harm with it. There are eight rounds. If anyone comes for you, shoot them with this, then tape them, hands and feet. They will be unconscious for around an hour. We'll deal with them when we return."

It was Hydra tech, but it was being used for the right reasons at last. "And I will try to keep collateral damage minimal."

[stands_for_hope]

"If I can figure out Kryptonian weapons, this will be a snap."

Lois took the gun without hesitation before looking at both sides of it thoughtfully and putting it on the table.

"Worry about yourselves and not my knick nacks," Lois said firmly with a sideways glance at Clark. She knew he was pretty tough, but she also knew he'd put himself out to take care of everyone but himself. And that if anything happened to Jim, Clark would be a mess.

Clark nodded and gestured to the window of the apartment, holding out an arm.

"I'm following their heartbeats so we should be able to time this," he said as he stared out the window, eyes picking through the city until he found the little crew traveling towards Lois's apartment.

[kolodnoykovki]

"If you can get me into the apartment before they enter, I may be able to convince them not to look further into her actions," Jim said, but took hold of Clark's arm with his left. That grip would be secure. What wasn't secure was exactly what Jim meant by 'convince.'

He was ever so slightly out of practice. But so long as he retreated into instinct, he knew he would be fine. "I'm ready," he said, shoulders straightening, waiting for Clark to move.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark shared a look with Lois, who nodded.

Then Clark didn't so much jump as suddenly shift towards the window, floating until they were out of the building before heading up. The manner in which he flew was odd, almost like a hover craft of some sort, and the weight distribution Jim should have felt was odd, as if Clark was affecting how gravity worked in their tiny corner of the city.

As soon as they were at a good altitude...

"They want to torture her. See how many other names she knows, including but not limited to the name of the alien 'Kal-el'," he finally explained as they started heading towards Lois's apartment.

[kolodnoykovki]

His goggles and mask kept the speed from bothering him - though the oddness of the flight didn't escape him. There were more important things at hand, though. "I can convince them that she's one of them," Jim said, "just a higher branch that isn't included in their orders. If that doesn't work, I'll take care of them."

He may have been short on ammo, but knives didn't require ammunition, and he did have his share of knives. The tac suit was armoured so he'd have more of a chance against bullets, but he was aware that walking into this might be the end.

He wasn't as blase about that as he had been before. He had reasons to live now.

[stands_for_hope]

"We can try it," he said, though it sounded like he wasn't entirely comfortable with this plan.

"Anything I should know about their usual weapons? I'm assuming they use bullets like anyone else..."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Normal guns. I don't know how far into SHIELD's weapons they've gotten. They may have some of those charged rounds. If they do, I can only absorb two. One in my arm, one in my body. A third would knock me out." But that was still more than a human could take.

[stands_for_hope]

"Then I need you to promise you won't do anything stupid trying to protect me."

Clark's eyes were on the ground as they flew, going far faster than a car over a greater distance with the added benefit of a bird's eye view.

"If we'd had the time, I would have told you more but the fact of the matter is, there isn't much that can hurt me. Bullets included. I can take as many of them as needed, and unless they're more powerful than an actual lightning bolt, the same is true of the charged kind."

He looked over at Jim.

"Use me as a shield if you need to."

[kolodnoykovki]

"You're more durable than I am," Jim agreed. The only problem came if his arm was disabled -- that, he couldn't fix so easily. "The windows on her apartment. Do they open or are they panels?"

He could deal with just about anything, but having a little forewarning with layout would help. Just so he'd be able to see what obstacles he'd have.

[stands_for_hope]

"They're swinging panels, large, in the living room. Only the kitchen and the bathroom have stationary panes. There's also a skylight that she usually leaves open for me which we should be able to use."

He started flying down towards the building.

"The space is mostly the living room, with a small kitchen in one corner, and a bathroom and bedroom tucked away in the same small hub down a hallway from the living room. The skylight is directly above the living room near the kitchen."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Understood." Dropping in from a skylight was easy. He could do that practically in his sleep. "How many men?" That was the only question left before he walked into this. He would first give the cover story. Then, if that wouldn't work, he would take them all down. ...With Clark's help.

This was going to be the challenge. He wasn't used to having someone else fight alongside him this way. He was used to having other agents that would generally let him do as he saw fit, but who wouldn't really consider him a partner.

[stands_for_hope]

"Group of five. Two are significantly larger, one smaller who's carrying what I think is a lockpick set, one has computer equipment, and the last seems to be coordinating the whole thing. He's the one I heard at first."

Clark floated down until they were only a few feet from the skylight.

"They're about a block away, traveling in a car. It'll take them at least three minutes to find parking on this street and another two even if they take the stairs to get up here."

He looked at Jim.

"I'm going to put you down on the roof. I'll wait up here."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim nodded and, once he was near enough, he dropped onto the roof, catching himself with a practiced grace. "I'll probably be speaking to them in Russian unless they don't understand it. Keep listening. You'll know when to come in."

His only regret was that he didn't have a silencer. But once he'd spoken, he opened the skylight, dropped himself mostly through, then closed it behind him. He had enough time to choose a place at the kitchen table to seat himself, leaving the lighting as it was. He placed one of his handguns on the table's surface, casually in sight. The message would be plain.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark nodded and settled gently on the roof, keeping himself well out of sight of the ground or the sky light. He could watch through the ceiling as easily as anything else.

Around ten minutes later, the door to the apartment clicked open and swung inwards and the sound of footsteps started on their way into the apartment. Two large figures came in first, followed by the obvious leader with a shorter looking gentleman and a cranky looking woman doing something or other with a rather advanced-looking tablet.

The thugs noticed him first, drawing their guns, and the leader stepped up a moment later.

He merely cocked an eyebrow, because of all the things they'd expected, this was not one of them. But it didn't do to make a mistake that would end his career or his life.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Vy pereshagnuli ser'yezno." He didn't move. Not yet. He knew what he needed to do, and he needed to act like he was still programmed. That he was still under orders. So telling this man that he had overstepped his bounds was simple. It made it seem that the Winter Soldier was under orders. Higher orders.

[stands_for_hope]

The man in the front of the group stepped one step further into the living room.

"YA ser'yezno somnevayus' , chto. Nashi zakazy prikhodyat iz vysshego dolzhnostnogo litsa v etom regione." I seriously doubt that. Our orders come from the highest official in this region. He winced, obviously not a fan of the Russian.

"It would be better if you spoke a proper language. Was machst du hier, Soldat der Winter?"

Because there was no reason why the Winter Soldier should be here, after all. The woman required interrogation, not murder. She had valuable information, namely the human name and location of the alien being known at Kal-El, not to mention her investigations into their organization.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Meine Bestellungen kommen von Pierce. Sie ist eine von ihm." Pierce was dead. Nobody would deny that, and he knew enough to know that, unlike Nick Fury, Pierce wouldn't come back from the dead. There had been no friend nearby for him - nobody to spirit him off and covertly bring him back to life.

But this was Hydra. Cut off one head, two more grow back. Secrets within a secret organisation were normal. Pierce's orders would have been his final act - and orders telling the Winter Soldier to protect someone if he fell? Those would be unremarkable, really. If they would believe it.

"Ich werde meine Befehle," he finished. His orders would be carried out - and that was part promise and part threat.

[stands_for_hope]

The man looked back to the woman with the tablet, who shrugged.

He bristled as he looked down at the Soldier.

"Ich habe gehört, dass du Schelm gegangen. Dass Sie Ihren Handler entkommen und haben diese Agenten, die Sie erlebt haben getötet. Wie kann ich wissen, dass Sie die Wahrheit sagen?" How did he know the Soldier was telling the truth.

This one wanted glory.

[kolodnoykovki]

He tamped down the part of himself that was amused at the other man's arrogance. He had to keep his voice without expression, even if he was smiling under the mask. "Ich weiß nicht, Ihnen zu antworten. Meine Bestellungen kommen von Pierce." He didn't, and had never, answered to the man who was so angry at him. And then, leaning forward, he placed his hand on his gun. "Ich werde meine Befehle."

That time, it was a threat. Unmistakeably so. The Winter Soldier was not in the practice of giving extra chances.

[stands_for_hope]

The man looked back at his hired thugs, then at his lock pick and the woman with the tablet. She smiled just a little. He nodded.

"We will wait to talk to her, then," and he spoke in English.

"If that does not bother you."

[kolodnoykovki]

"She will not be coming," he said. "I am protecting her."

And that was their last chance. With his superhuman speed, he stood, gun in hand, and aimed swiftly at their heads. Two shots cracked off quickly before one even tried to shoot at him and the bullet plinked harmlessly off of his left arm. It didn't stop him.

[stands_for_hope]

The larger of the two did not move in time, but the second, the one who got the shot off, was able dodge and duck behind the couch and the wall that separated the kitchen and the living room. The leader ducked back the other direction and the tech and the sneak slipped out the door and closed it behind them.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Two outside," he whispered, knowing Clark would hear him, but he kept his attention on the two targets he had left. The one behind the couch was easiest, but the leader was more vital. He moved, slipped into his own pool of shadow, and kept his gun at the ready, listening.