"Incerteza (portuguese): uncertainty."

NADINE

No one calmed down until the plane was up in the air.

Nadine stood in front of the bathroom mirror, studying the purple-ish bruise that's formed on her side. She'd removed the purple wig and fake piercings the moment she figured it was safe (which, in all honesty, she should've ditched long ago), and was now analyzing the aftermath of what she'd escaped from. She only seemed to have the one bruise, which was good in her opinion, but she'd still have to get herself checked out just in case she had fractured a rib. After washing her face to clear it of makeup, she placed a camisole over herself to cover up, immediately reaching for her jacket because of the cold of the plane. Her midnight colored hair was still braided in two and in a bun at the nape of her neck, but she decided to just keep it that way until they reached the safe house. When she finally opened the door, all eyes were on her, any conversations they had ceasing to exist.

Well, this is awkward.

"Er, I guess, proper introductions are due?" Dante said, but it sounded more like an uncertain question than anything else.

"Right." Natasha agreed, but Nadine wished she hadn't.

She didn't want to deal with this. All she wanted right now was to sleep for the rest of the ride, really. Nevertheless, she relented. "Fine, okay." She set herself across from Dante, and rubbed her eyes in a tired state, a clear sign that her body was asking her to sleep. "My name's Nadine Madaki, and whatever Natasha has told you guys about me is most likely a lie."

"Hilarious," Natasha drawled, rolling her eyes in playful annoyance.

Nadine grinned. "In all seriousness, I don't know what she's told you, but I used to be a SHIELD agent, you know, before it went to shit. Now I work on my own."

"Excuse me? On your own?" Dante scoffed, grabbing a pillow and throwing at her, which landed on her face.

"Dante!"

"Well deserved," Taj retorted, shaking his head in mock disapproval as he made his way to them. "Anyway, I'm Taj Naudé, not a SHIELD agent, never interested in being one, currently have the plane on autopilot so we could talk."

"And I'm Dante Villanueva Toledo, assassin for hire." Dante saluted everyone, especially at Captain America. "It's an honor to meet you especially, Captain America."

"Thank you, but I'm no longer Captain America." He seemed dejected, which was something to behold in itself, and actually kind of heartbreaking, really. Nadine couldn't help slightly pity him, because it was a part of who he was. Well, that's what it seemed.

"That's so fucking depressing," Dante muttered, and you could hear the disappointment in his words as he said them.

"Okay." Natasha waved a dismissive hand, which clearly meant she wanted to change the subject from Captain America's figurative demise. "You've clearly read up on them."

Nadine tried not to be too smug. "Hard not to when you're on the news how many times?"

"Well, for your infor-"

"-I have a question. What are you?" Bucky asked, gaze pointed straight at Nadine, but there was no malice in his words, just curiosity. "I mean, are you an organization, or?"

"Not officially." Nadine stood to check the plane's fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and some aspirin, while trying to ignore his constant gaze on her form. "We're a team, but we're not affiliated with anyone."

"Because the government hates us," Dante muttered, his sarcasm hiding the bitterness that Nadine knew he possessed.

"Surprise surprise, same here," Sam quipped, and he extended his fist towards Dante, a smirk evident on his face as they bumped fists.

Natasha gaped at the two of them. "You two being friends worries me."

Taj ignored them, his pensive gaze instead focused on Bucky. "To answer your question, Winter Soldier, we're just people who do not work for anyone but ourselves."

"FBI has a cute pet name for people like us. Mercenaries." Nadine finished, giving him a small shrug. "We're hired to do things that people normally wouldn't do."

"Like killing people?"

The trio looked at each other in silence, wondering who was going to answer Steve's question first. "Uh, yeah, at times."

That's one way to put it.

Suddenly Nadine was more interested in swallowing her aspirin than anything else. "Alright, that's enough questions. This is around a 10 hour flight, and I wanna get some rest before we reach our destination."

"What's our destination?" She gave Sam a pointed look for blatantly doing the exact opposite of what she said, and he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry."

"We're going to Maricota."

• • •

Maricota was a small island that belonged to the archipelago that composed Madeira, a region that belonged to Portugal. It had a decent population for the chunk of land, but also small enough that no one asked questions. And with it's Mediterranean climate, scenic flora and fauna, and mountainous landscape, it made for the perfect place to have a safe house away from prying eyes.

And a tremendous one did they have.

On the outside, it seemed like some fancy rich guy's mansion, what with all the glass doors, the ornate earthy colored tiles that decorated the cement-like columns and walls, and the decent swimming pool in the backyard. On the inside, it also looked pretty elaborate, with the exception of the secret underground level where all their stuff was stored, including a training room. As for the plane, well, they had just the place to set it, underground, a mile away from the house.

Nadine almost laughed when Sam stared at it with his jaw dropped, and she did laugh when they tensed up as a man stepped outside to greet them. "Welcome to Maricota," he said, his kind smile not doing anything to ease their guests of their tension. "My name is Nathaniel Fong, and I'm pleased to meet all of you."

"Nathan's a doctor," Taj explained when the trio looked at them for answers. "He's also our cover and our eyes and ears."

"And the one who takes care of the house," Nadine added.

"And the one who makes sure we don't kill each other," Dante quipped, making Fong chuckle at the younger man's teasing.

"What is this place?" Steve asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"This used to be a SHIELD safe house," Fong explained, and Nadine could hear the slight Chinese accent as he spoke. "To the outside world, this is a rehab center. To them, it's a place to regroup before and after a mission. And sometimes, at very rare times, they'll bring people here."

Sam raised an eyebrow as they headed inside, and if he twisted his neck any more to stare, he'd probably snap it. "Like criminals?"

"Victims," Fong replied. "Or criminals, too. Anyone who's ever been wronged in their life by corrupt organizations is welcome here."

She didn't miss the way his black eyes wandered towards Taj. Out of their group, he was probably the one who felt betrayed the most, but he didn't show it.

"Jesus, you guys are fucking loaded."

"Yeah, killing people pays pretty well," Taj joked as he walked towards the stairs, and he was gone before anyone could react, obviously remembering things thanks to what Fong said. Unlike Nadine, who chose to cut ties with the US after SHIELD collapsed, Taj didn't have a choice. He'd been extradited from his own country. An exile.

And he took it to heart every time.

"I'm going to check on him, but please, make yourselves at home," Fong's gaze centered on Nadine, a dark eyebrow rising in concern. "And I'll check your injury later, young lady."

She said nothing, just a crooked smirk that reassured him that she'd comply. After being satisfied, Fong headed upstairs, most likely to berate the young Taj to talk to him.

"He was joking when he said that," Dante promised, but the cheekiness in his eyes made it hard to take him seriously. "We don't kill that much. Anyway, this was fun and all, but I have to get our money transferred."

"Dante-" and he was gone as well, leaving Nadine to deal with her guests alone.

Oh boy.

"So, uh, any of you hungry? Just place your stuff over there, if you'd like."

Only Sam and Natasha actually seemed unbothered by everything. Natasha was in no place to judge considering her past and her loyalty to Nadine, so she was the first one to head into the immaculate kitchen without even so much as a sound. As for Sam, he clearly didn't care about anything, or at least, he didn't show it, seeing as he was too busy staring in wonder at the bronze-colored shiplap range hood that was placed over the brown cabinetry of the kitchen, and the white marble countertop of the kitchen island.

"So, Nadine, where do I sign up for this mercenary thing? Because this shit's clearly got some perks," he questioned, masking his smile with a cough when Steve looked at him in a chagrined state.

"I'll get you the sign-up sheet later," Nadine joked as she placed a frozen pizza in the oven. Grabbing a bottle of wine and some glasses, she sat down at the dining table that stood across from the kitchen, beckoning everyone else to come over as well. The only ones who accepted some wine were Sam and Natasha, Bucky opting instead for some water (not to mention sitting alone at the island, brooding) while Steve flat out refused anything. "Is there something bothering you, Steve?"

"Nothing, it's just, what Dante and Taj said..."

Oh, that. "Right. Well, we don't just do kill missions. We've done other things."

His eyes narrowed the slightest and his thick brows pinched together, the sharpness in his irises reminding her of a storm raging at sea. "But you still kill people." That wasn't a question.

"Yeah, we do," Nadine agreed, her gaze trailed on the table instead of the man before her. Being scrutinized by Steve was a bit harder to take than by Bucky. "But we don't kill innocents. The people we take out, they're the worst of the worst."

She could feel his eyes on her like a flashlight being pointed at her face. "So the money you earn is blood money."

"It's still money. And no offense, Mr. America, but I don't need to explain myself to you and I won't be shamed for the things I do. It may not be the right thing to do by your idealistic and ethical standards, but we get the job done, one dirty organization at a time."

The barbed undertone in her voice made it clear she wasn't at all amused by his judging, and that she wouldn't think twice about calling him out on it. By the way he mimicked her determined stare, though, this was one thing he wasn't planning on backing down from. Unfortunately for him, Nadine wasn't easy to intimidate.

Because despite what Steve probably thought, being a mercenary wasn't her favorite thing in the world. She didn't actually enjoy killing, but she did enjoy the justice behind her actions. After all, Nadine only dealt with the guilty and the ones with no remorse. It was only fair they get punished for their actions, especially if they didn't regret it.

An eye for an eye, right?

"Well, as entertaining as this standoff is," Natasha drawled, her hand slyly reaching for the wine bottle that sat casually on top of the table. "Can we stay here?"

Nadine froze mid gulp. "I'm sorry, what?"

"We need to lay low for a few days," Natasha explained, only slightly apologetic as she noticed her former student's dumbfounded look. "And despite Steve's moral compass, I know he's thinking the same thing. Right, Steve?"

If Steve's jaw clenched any tighter he'd need it wired shut. "Yeah, it crossed my mind. We really do need to lay low."

"And you also don't want to leave me alone," Bucky muttered from his corner in the room. It took everyone a second to even understand what he meant because of how low he spoke.

"It's not like that, Buck." Total lie, even she knew that and she hadn't known them for long.

"It's not like that, my ass." Sam rolled his eyes, comfortably propping his feet up on the table before him. "Steve's afraid Metalhead will implode on him."

"I'm not afraid of him," he countered, scoffing when he received an incredulous look from Sam, which he responded with an eye roll. "I'm not, and put your feet down, Sam."

"But you're afraid of what could happen if I'm left alone," Bucky retaliated, but by the way he talked it wasn't like he was accusing him of anything. Instead, he just seemed guilty. "And because I'm considered a high profile criminal, he doesn't want me going around doing that hero shit with him. Bad enough he lets Wilson parade around with him-"

"Excuse you?!"

Bucky ignored his outburst. "If I do the same, well..."

"Okay." Nadine placed her hands up in surrender. She needed a moment to process this crap. This was definitely one of those days that she wished for a time out button just so she could freeze everything where it was and give her time to think. "I get it. You've all got bad reputations with the public, and even being in the same room puts you at risk."

"No shit," Sam muttered into his glass, and Natasha shoved him in annoyance. "Hey!"

"Look, maybe it's better if I just go on my own for a while, Steve."

"Buck, come on..."

The man didn't let his friend speak, he simply ran a hand through his long, dark hair, and trudged outside, his clenched metal hand catching the sunlight that was coming through the glass door that led to the backyard. She still had yet to fully see it, and she didn't know what to expect of it. Well, if she ever got the chance, that is.

"I'm going to go talk to him." Steve stood abruptly and disappeared outside before anyone could stop him.

Sam was the third to stand. "And I'm gonna go ask that hotshot partner of yours to give me a tour of the place," he replied, and as he made his way to the hallway, Nadine could hear him calling Dante, and rather loudly. "Yo, Dante! How about that pool of yours...!"

And then there were two.

Natasha seemed unbothered by everything that just transpired. Her only reaction was to simply prop her feet up on the edge of the table, her asymmetrical locks whooshing with the movement. "Steve means well," she said, finger delicately tracing the edge of the empty glass in her hand. "He's just afraid HYDRA's programming will reactivate and the Winter Soldier will reappear."

"Aren't they the same person?"

"They're not." She smirked, her green eyes twinkling with amusement as she glanced at Nadine. "Remember when I brought you to SHIELD?"

"How can I forget when you remind me every time you need a favor?" Nadine retorted.

"Well, Bucky's situation is like that, only ten times worse. He's a, as Steve would put it, a victim."

Nadine's brows furrowed. It wasn't hard to notice how she chose her words so carefully, but she didn't understand why. "And you don't agree?"

Natasha hummed in thought, taking her time to pour a second drink. "I think he's got some blood on his hands that's hard to erase," she considered, her tone level and cautious. "And trauma that won't go away that easily."

"When does it ever?"

"True," she chuckled, but she didn't seem convinced. Either she thought Bucky was too much of a danger because of his trauma, or she simply didn't think that made his actions non-accountable. Nadine could never tell what the Black Widow truly thought. "Will you at least think about it?"

At this point, did she even have a choice? "Fine. I'll think about it, but right now, I'm starving."

_______________________________

A/N: THE INFINITY WAR TRAILER I CANNOT DEAL WITH MY EMOTIONS I-

Anyway, Maricota is a fictional island, but Madeira isn't. It's gorgeous and I highkey wish I could live there.

Also I really hate filler chapters but unfortunately they're necessary and I wanna apologize for this one being so LONG

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it:)