Anastasia Romanoff always looked up to her older sister, Natasha. Ever since they had left the Red Room and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. with the help of their good friend and partner, Clint Barton. Though, the two troubled young women never expected to join...
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*****
I walk across the bridge in Madripoor in between James and Sam. The purple, tight, spaghetti strap, satin dress accentuates the subtle curves of my body, my silver heels giving my short stature a little more height. My red hair remains loose around my shoulders and the only jewelry that I'm wearing is diamond earing and the red garnet and diamond necklace Steve had given me.
"I hate heels," I mutter to myself, hating how painful they already are.
"We have to do something about this," Sam complains about his disguise. His suit is yellow and red, very vibrant. "I'm the only one who looks like a pimp."
"Then, I look like one of your whores," I scoff, catching James look me up and down through the corner of my eye.
"Only an American would assume a fashion-forward Black man looks like a pimp," Zemo says. "You look exactly like the man you're to be playing. The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger," He hands the photo of the man to Sam.
"He even has a bad nickname," Sam comments. "Hell, he does look like me, though."
"Swipe to the right and you'll see a picture of Sapphire Styx, who Agent-Ana will be portraying tonight," Zemo says.
I take the phone from Sam, looking over the picture of the woman. Her eyes are grey and her red hair is short, unlike mine. However other than that, we look a lot alike. I zoom in on her face.
"I'm hotter," I state, making Sam make a face of non-disagreement, Zemo chuckle, and James stare at me like always. But when I look at his face closer, I can see a hint of the left side of his lips curling up.
"You smell this?" Zemo asks.
"Yeah, what is that?" Sam asks. "Acid?"
"Madripoor," Zemo corrects. "No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There's no margin for error."
~~~~~
I stare at the graffiti wall that reads POWER BROKER IS WATCHING. I think hard, wondering why someone would refer to themselves as that. A power broker is usually someone who affects the distribution of political or economic power by exerting influence. It's mainly for their own best interests. Is this town run by this power broker?
"Anastasia," James's voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I turn and walk up to him and the others, following Zemo toward a bar. "Stay in front of me and stay close."
"Why?" I turn my head back to look at him. "Because I'm a woman wearing a revealing outfit?" He looks at me flabbergasted, not expecting me to be so blunt. "Relax. I know, it doesn't matter. Men all suck," I catch him smiling a little. "There's that killer smile."
