A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE? YES, SIR

To celebrate 1.5K reads, I decided to re-release this chapter. Buckle up, this one's almost 3000 words.

Enjoy!
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"Si lo tocas, responderás a mi. If you touch him, you'll answer to me."

NADINE

They headed out to the central patio. Like the ballroom, the concrete mansion had wooden arches and the walls were painted in a cream color. The floor was made of some type of marble instead of the mahogany wood that defined the ballroom, but it was elaborate still. She expected nothing less when it came to François Gauthier.

They sat at one of the wooden tables, watching the various guests that moved freely around the area and the caterers that offered drinks and food. Kaia was the first to break the silence, "I expected you and Emilia to be alone."

Nadine hadn't realized that Kaia's gaze had settled on Bucky. The French woman raised a perfectly trimmed brow in suspicion at the man beside her. "He's a friend," Nadine assured, giving her a smile.

"I know who he is," Kaia replied sharply, which made Bucky tense in apprehension. She felt his hand circle around hers under the table, as if worried that she'd reveal his identity any minute. "Relax, joli garçon, I don't care about what you've done. I do care, however, about someone recognizing you and ruining everything."

"Says the woman who looks like she could topple Troy," she retorted in the same forceful tone, her eyes narrowing at her jab towards Bucky. "Why are you here, Kaia? If you slipped up, you should be on the first train out of France, not parading around François's face while threatening to reveal his secrets."

"Did you not notice the people here, Dina?" Kaia asked, her accent more noticeable with her urgent tone. "This is more important than my life. You should understand that."

Nadine sighed in an exasperated state. What the hell did she get herself into? "Then help me understand. What are we doing here?"

"François's art gala is a facade, as you already figured. The real product he's selling is a gem."

"A gem?" Bucky questioned, confused. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, it's true." Kaia kept her gaze neutral when addressing him. Better than the territorial look she had before. "It's said to be powerful. Some type of, eh, how do you say, um... extraterrestre."

Alien. "You mean it's alien?" Nadine asked in disbelief. Really? It couldn't be something human, like a nuclear weapon, perhaps? No, it had to be alien.

"Yes, alien." Kaia confirmed, tapping her temple in annoyance for having forgotten the translation. "It's alien technology. I don't know what it does, but if François is going to sell it to one of these people, it can't be good."

She sorted through the different faces she had memorized from the gala, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she did so. "Who've you confirmed to be here?"

"The Bratva, the Triad, some private parties..."

"The Hand?" Please, not the Hand.

"I don't know about the Hand," she confessed, and Nadine could hear the frustrated tone she had because of it. Kaia didn't like it when she didn't know things. "But the Mussolini gang is here."

"Mussolini?!" Bucky half-shouted, and Nadine squeezed his hand as a warning to keep his voice down. She hadn't noticed that they hadn't let go yet, but she didn't move to change that. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just... I'm not caught up on history, but please tell me he's not alive somehow."

"Why would he be alive?"

"Well, let's see, a man removed his face, once," Bucky retorted, and she almost laughed if it wasn't for the seriousness in his gaze. "And I should've died in the forties. Logic's been out the window for a long time, Nadine."

"Mussolini's not alive," Kaia reassured, beckoning one of the caterers over. "But his views still are."

Ah, the Mussolini gang. Named in honor of the infamous Benito Mussolini, the organization was slightly smaller than others like the Bratva or the Triad, but Nadine knew that underestimating them was not an option either. Most of their crimes were inspired by the original Mussolini's fascist views, so if any of them ever got a hand at this alien technology...

"Do you know where the thing is?"

"I have my suspicions, but I haven't been able to confirm them." Again, she was frustrated for not knowing things. "François likes putting on a show, so he'd definitely have it in the mansion. The trick is knowing where."

"He doesn't strike me as the type to flaunt his prized possession in front of everyone," Bucky muttered, his gaze stuck on the caterer who was eyeing them. Before Nadine could react, he draped an arm around her shoulders, and he forced a laugh. "Pretend to laugh at something I said."

"No, no," Kaia agreed, her and Nadine laughing along with him. The caterer seemed to ease up a bit. "He may want a show, but he wouldn't risk someone creating a scene. Besides, there are people who are actually here for the art, as boring as it is."

Well, there's only one, non violent way to find out where this mysterious "gem" is. Nadine touched her earpiece to activate it. "Emilia, do you see François?"

"I've got eyes on him, yeah," she replied, and Nadine could already hear the suspicious tone in her voice. "What do you want me to do?"

"See if you can pick up on something while we look at the blueprint again," Nadine replied, already pulling out her phone to search for the images she managed to get of the rooms and spaces in the house. "If he's planning on selling this alien gem thing, he'd have it somewhere accessible enough to take people to see it."

If Emilia thought she was crazy for saying "alien gem", she didn't show it. "I'll do you one better. Approaching him now."

"How are we going to avoid the cameras?" Kaia asked as they studied the blueprint. Nadine was looking at the guest house in the backyard garden. "I doubt it's in the guest house."

"Taj is handling it," Bucky replied. "Nadine told him to."

She snorted. "Then we're doomed."

"Last floor, upper east side," Emilia answered immediately, so quiet it took Nadine a second before she scrolled towards the third floor of the mansion. "There's a room where he's stored all the merchandise. Apparently the alien tech is the highest bid."

"How the fuck did she do that so fast?"

"Appealing to men's weaknesses," Kaia drawled, and Nadine didn't miss the way she looked between them, but ignored it. "Which are many."

"Okay, enough dawdling." After putting on some gloves, Nadine smoothed her tulle skirt, pointing an accusing finger at Kaia's direction. "If we die, when we're in hell, I'm going to kill you."

"You'll have to get in line," Kaia quipped, giving her a taunting smirk that said everything. Try me.

Before she stood up, she felt Bucky's hand circle around her bicep. "Act drunk," he muttered into her ear, and when she looked at him incredulously, he merely nodded once, his gaze as stoic as ever. "Just trust me."

Well, what could go wrong?

Nadine did as she was told, and when she stood, she stumbled a bit, making it look like she'd lost balance. "S-Sorry," she forcefully slurred, giving him a lazy grin. "I-I think the champagne's getting t'my head..."

Kaia looked bewildered, but said nothing, whereas Bucky simply stood and grabbed her hand, steering her towards the staircase. She continued the act of fake tripping over her dress, and laughing every time she did so, Bucky shooting her a look that said he was amused by her behavior. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, the guard stopped them from continuing. "Zone réglementée, monsieur."

Not for long. "Right, right," Bucky nodded in understanding, and she resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow incredulously in his direction. Did he understand French? "But, listen..."

Bucky leaned forward towards the man, whispering something in his ear, and she figured exactly what it was when the guy smirked in her direction, eyeing her from head to toe. She simply giggled and waved whilst swaying on her feet, forcing herself not to punch his teeth out. When Bucky finally finished, she leaned towards him, and from the corner of her eye, she saw the guy motion for them to continue. When she shuffled forward, she quickly reached towards the man and pressed a pressure point at his neck, another one in the back of his shoulder, and one at his spine. He was down. Thank you, Dante.

They made their way up, and Bucky steered her towards the wall on their right, pressing her against it, and she pulled out the gun from her thigh holster. He pulled out a silencer from the inside of his jacket. "Don't miss," he teased as he screwed it to the barrel of the gun, the close proximity meaning she could feel his warm breath on her face as he spoke. She eyed the guard from the other side of the room, noticing how he was looking in their direction. They needed a distraction.

"Kiss my neck," Nadine said, her gaze locked on his as she tried to ignore the weight of her words.

"What?" He was completely floored by her demand, but there wasn't any time for hesitation. The guard was starting to approach. They needed to do something.

"Do it, and make it good."

Bucky swallowed hard and grasped her neck with his hand. He leaned in, kissing her cheek first, before lowering down her jaw, the scruff of his facial hair and the softness of his lips making a breath choke in her throat, but she forced herself to pay no attention to it. The gun was pressed between them, pointed at the guard's direction. She licked her lips as she stared right at him, as if she was silently enticing him. And it worked, the guy was turned on. Gross.

When the one down the hall turned their back on them, she shot her approacher, once to bring him to his knees, another to shut him up. Pushing Bucky back, she quickly pointed towards the last guard, and shot twice again, bullets finding their mark. She felt a presence behind her, and when she turned, she noticed it was Kaia. "What the fuck took you so long?"

When Nadine's eyes met Henri Delacroix's green-eyed gaze, she had to resist the urge to scoff. Of course Kaia would be waiting for this dolt. "Henri, of course."

"Hey, I cleaned up your mess downstairs," Henri retaliated, the mutual dislike for each other creating thick tension in the air, so thick you could probably cut it with a knife. This French prick loved pretending like he was above her. "So you should be thanking me."

Nadine scoffed this time. His attitude was the most annoying thing to ever grace the planet. She really couldn't stand him, and sometimes she wondered how Kaia could work with him and not want to rip his head off. Then again, he did grant her a lot of access when it came to French politicians, so maybe that was the reason she kept him wrapped around her finger. "I'd rather throw myself down the stairs than thank-"

"-Enough," Kaia hissed, waving a dismissive hand at their attitudes. "Go, Henri and I will take care of the bodies."

Nadine wasn't convinced. She stood still for a second, her glare never faltering, and before any of them could say anything, she had her gun under Henri's chin. "You betray us, and I will kill you, Delacroix. And I'll make it look like an accident. D'accord?"

Henri shrank back, his gaze averting to anywhere except the woman threatening him. He may act bold and like he enjoyed the rush of these types of things, but he was still weak, especially under threats. Which was why Nadine could never trust him to keep his word. People like him always tended to save their own skins first.

She felt a hand circle around hers, and pull her towards the staircase. By the way she noticed Bucky studying Henri with hardened eyes, it was clear that the soldier didn't like him. It seemingly became a reoccurring thing with their new friendship: if Nadine didn't trust someone, Bucky didn't either. And Henri was clearly on the "Don't trust" list.

Leaving Kaia and Henri to deal with the men, they reached upstairs, and Nadine shot down the last two guards before they even noticed the duo. Bucky grabbed one of his key cards, and followed Nadine towards the right, the east side of the mansion. "What are we looking for?"

"A door with a different lock," she said absentmindedly as she passed door after door. "Nothing grand, just-"

Nadine stopped at the last one. The lock required a key card, an eye scan, and blood. Pretty intense lock for a door so plain. "That's it," she said as she kneeled in front of it and pulled out the panel, looking at the wires underneath. She pressed her comms once again. "Taj?"

"About time, Rafiki. The green one will deactivate it."

She did as she was told, and sure enough, the door opened. "Please tell me you have all the alarms deactivated," Bucky muttered, and she heard Taj scoff, clearly offended.

"No, I decided to leave them so you'd get caught, because you all left me behind. What do you think?"

Ignoring his quips, Nadine pulled Bucky inside the room, noticing it'd been turned into a makeshift storage for François's toys. Her eyes locking immediately with the thing that stood right in the middle, she knew it was exactly what they were looking for. It was hard to miss, even if you knew nothing about alien technology. Sitting in a glass case with an encrypted lock, the small sphere reminded her of a crystal ball. But it was much more captivating than that. She'd like to say it was orange, but that was such a boring way of describing it. It was like capturing the jacinth rays of a sunset, like a sphere made of pure amber that's been stuck in it's own personal sun. She could feel the pull it had inside of her, like it was calling out to her for some reason, almost as if it were alive.

Though, that's impossible, wasn't it?

"It's... beautiful." Bucky leaned forward to study it, his eyebrows raised and mouth agape in wonder. She knew she must've had a similar look on her face.

"It is," she agreed, pulling out her cellphone, already typing in the codification she needed to find the decrypting application on it. "Let's take it."

Bucky didn't disagree, just simply placed himself between her and the door in case anyone came in. She connected the phone to the lock, watching silently as it worked to figure out the encryption that kept the thing closed. "I never asked what you planned on doing with it."

She considered his words for a second, eyes never leaving the sphere. Despite the energy it clearly possessed, Nadine had already made up her mind once she heard the terms "alien technology". It couldn't, and shouldn't, be saved. "After we figure out how it works, we're destroying it. It's better no one has access to whatever power it holds."

"I think I know who can help us with figuring out what it is."

Nadine had a feeling she knew who he was talking about, and she immediately didn't like the idea. "If you're talking about your Wakandan friends, then the answer is no. I don't trust government officials."

Bucky looked like he wanted to argue, but the phone made a beeping sound before he could utter a word. The case opened, and the energy flowing from the little sphere increased. When she grabbed it, slowly in case an alarm was triggered, she could've sworn that the glowing tendrils of whatever was trapped inside were moving; even worse, she swore she could feel it creeping up her arm, as if it was connecting to her.

What the hell was this?

She quickly placed it in her purse to get rid of the feeling, thankful that Emilia had decided on a baggy one instead of a clutch. But the energy still lingered, like a ghost hovering over her, reminding her of the amount of power at her grasp.

"Am I the only one who feels this is too easy?" Bucky pointed out as they made their way out of the room.

"Well, we're not out of here yet," she replied, stopping to check how many rounds her gun had. "So stay alert."

They quickly made their way back, but as they reached the bottom of the first set of stairs, she quickly noticed a blond head on the floor. Oh, no. Please, no.

They spoke too soon.

Reaching the bottom, her eyes widened at the body. Henri Delacroix was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, dead, and before she could even fathom what happened, she heard guns being cocked. She looked up, and there were a dozen men, weapons pointed in their direction.

Shit.

"I knew Miss Labonair was not working alone," an accented, baritone voice said from within the ranks, but Nadine didn't need to see him to know who it was. "But I didn't think they'd be stupid enough to try and steal from me, in my own home, no less."

A man stepped forward. His dark hair was starting to grey, and wrinkles were starting to set around his eyes. Despite that, François was as arrogant as ever, and even more so now that he'd caught the people trying to undermine him. It'd been a trap all along to catch Kaia, and they played right into it. And now, they were surrounded.
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WORD TRANSLATION:
1) joli garçon (french)- pretty boy
2) extraterrestre (french)- alien
3) Zone réglementée, monsieur (french)- Restricted area, mister.
4) D'accord? (french)- Okay?
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A/N: That moment Bucky pressed her against the wall, dayum

Oh, and note: the Mussolini gang is complete fiction, as far as I know.

Anyway! I hope you liked the chapter, and the alien tech :)

Thanks for reading!