The son of Hydra

Valerie leans into his hand, enjoying the excitement of the con. "How do you want to do this?" She asks, looking up at Carlos. "Want me to go and suck up to him, then you storm over and play the jealous boyfriend, or something else in mind?"

“Oh I like that one.” Carlos grins and pushes off from Valerie gently, flexing his hands out, he gives Valerie a quick kiss on her cheek. “Go suck up to him darling.”

Valerie grins, and slips away from Carlos. She sits down beside the man, orders a drink and starts softly chatting to him, her tone light and flirty in a way they never see through.

Carlos smiles as he watches, sipping a glass of water, waiting for his time to slip in, he loves doing this with Valerie…

Valerie eventually convinces the guy to take her up to his room, and shoots Carlos a smirk over his shoulder as they move towards the elevator. Its so easy.

Carlos smirks and follows, slipping into the elevator after her, people really are too easy… He grabs the man’s shoulder and shoves him into the wall. “What do you think you’re doing with my girlfriend?!”

Valerie pretends to be panicked. "Jason, get off him!" She yells, distress obvious in her tone but not her gaze. The man shoves Carlos off him. "What the hell, man! I didn't know she was your girl!"

“No Julie! This guy has to know who you belong to!” Carlos shoves at the man again, grabbing at his shirt. “Oh yeah? You think I’m gonna believe that?”

"I don't belong to you!" The man shoves Carlos right back while Valerie fake cowers. The man has a wedding ring on. "She didn't tell me shit!" He glares at Valerie.

Carlos grins when he sees the ring. He grabs the man’s hand, twisting it up painfully into the air. “Oh? Well looks like you’re the one who’s also lying.”

"That's not important--" He protests, and Valerie breaks, laughing to herself. "Mm, I dont think you'd want your wife to find out about this..."

“No I don’t think she would…” Carlos chuckles and digs into the man’s pocket, pulling out his wallet. “We can make a little deal…”

The man's eyes widen. "What the hell are you doing? Is this a con?" Valerie laughs and moves to stand beside Carlos. "Cmon, you didn't think I would really be interested in you, did you?"

Carlos chuckles and wraps his arm around Valerie’s waist, his free hand plucking things off the man. “She’s far superior to you, out of your league. Now, your room key.”

Valerie kisses Carlos' neck tauntingly. "I'm not giving you my room key!" He protests instantly, and Valerie glares. "Really? I thought you wanted to keep this from your wife..."

“Mm, we’ll tell your wife if you don’t.” Carlos kisses Valerie’s cheek, holding his hand out. “Come on, be good and give it to us.”

The man falters, but hands over his room key. "There we go!" Valerie says, grinning. She blows a kiss at the man as the elevator doors open. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" "Bitch," he mutters.

Carlos turns around and hits the man hard in the face. “Goodbye.” He snaps at him and pulls Valerie down the hall, laughing happily. “That was easy-”

Valerie laughs too. "So easy! I don't think they're ever gonna not fall for it," she says with a giggle. She takes the card and uses it to unlock the mans very fancy suite.

Carlos looks around the suite with a grin. “Amazing… they’re so stupid.” He runs his hand over the bed frame.

"And now we get this place to ourselves for the night." She flops down on the bed happily. "This is fun."

Carlos flops down next to her, sprawling his arms out. “It is fun… we can have everything.”

"Good... assume doesnt deserve it." She rolls over and cuddled against him.

Carlos hums and curls up against her. “They deserve to be robbed like this…”

"They do," Valerie agreed. She runs her hand over his spine.

“You did amazing…” Carlos mumbles, leaning into her touch, he loves this life they’ve built, yeah it’s dishonest, but they deserve jt.

"Mm, so did you." She kisses his head. "You scared the shit out of him when you came in there." She laughs.

Carlos smirks and laughs. “I did… he was so scared… it was amazing.” He shakes his head, amused.

Valerie snickers and then sighs, settling down against him. "Yeah... it was. And now we get this kickass suite... and how much did you get from his wallet?"

Carlos opens the wallet and digs through it. “Three credit cards… a few hundred dollar bills, his ID…” Carlos grins at Valerie, tugging her closer.

"Hell yes. Who has three credit cars?" She shakes her head with a bark of laughter. "Askinf ro be robbed.'

“What an idiot.” Carlos mumbles as he shifts through the cards, he tosses them down and laughs, snuggling further into Valerie. Kissing her neck gently.

Valerie grins and pulls him close, tilting her head up to get him better access. There was a certain thrill to making out in a stolen room.

Carlos hums in approval, burying his face into her neck as he kisses it, he loves this… being able to do whatever they want, the freedom of it

They have no one in charge of them now that Hydra has fallen...they can do whatver they wat, whenever they want and no one can stop them. It's amazing.

It’s truly amazing… being able to do whatever they want, use their skills to benefit themselves… Carlos tugs Valerie closer happily.

Valerie leans down and kisses Carlos properly. "You're hot when you get possessive like that, even if it's fake," sh admits to him.

Carlos hums and runs his hand through her hair. “Oh yeah? Well… part of it is real.” He smiles at her.

"Mm, that's true," Valerie agrees, leaning into his hand slightly. She smiles back.

Carlos smiles and kisses her cheek, his hand still gently carding through her hair. “I love you…”

"I love you too," Valerie murmurs. She pulls back and looks at him warmly. "I'm glad we get to do this."

Carlos sits up a bit, looking at Valerie with equal warmth. “Me too… it feels right.”

"It really does. Even now, we still get ot hurt people who used to be intertwined with Hydra." She grins.

Carlos grins at that. “It’s perfect, we’ll make sure they always suffer. And get some nice things for ourselves as we do.” He gestures around the room.

"Exactly." Valerie grins. "Mm, there's this gala coming up soon... one of those fake charity things that assholes go to to make themsleves feel better... I bet theres easy pickings there."

“Oh we can definitely con some people there.” Carlos grins and stretches his arms out. “They’re such idiots at those things.”

"Mmhm, they think everyone is therre to fawn over them for being so good," she laughs and shakes her head.

Carlos rolls his eyes and laughs. “They’ll be getting quite a surprise from us then.”

"And it'll be fantastic. You want to research before hand or wing it?" She asks, grinning.

Carlos grins and grabs his phone. “We can do a little research then wing the rest.”

"Hell yes!" She grins, and she enjoys the winging it part of their... missions.

Carlos grins and scrolls through his phone, seeing who’s going to be at the party. “This is going to be a fun one…”

"Who have we got?" Valerie asks, flopping down beside him to look at the phone.

Carlos wraps his arm around her. “Bunch of rich idiots. Some definitely benefited from Hydra, recognize him?” He clicks on a picture and shows it to her. “One of our biggest clients.”

Valerie looks at the photo and glowers. "Oh, I remember him," she says with disdain clear in her tone. "I would love to ruin him, actually...." She kisses his cheek.

Carlos nods and glares before smirking. “So would I…” He kisses her forehead in return.

"How do you want to do it?" She asks. "He was a dick... you have anything in mind?"

Carlos leans back as he thinks. “It’d be fun to con him out of everything he owns… be a bit cruel to him.”

"He definitely deserves it... he's horrible to his children, apparently," she tells him.

Carlos makes a face. “Well the we’ll definitely scare him… take all his money, everything.”

"Good. You know he almost gave Hydra his son, in return for the position he has now? We found another way, but... I could've killed hi." She shakes her head.

“That’s disgusting.” Carlos spits out angrily. “We’ll make him suffer…” He shakes his head angrily.

Valerie nods her agreement. "We should drag it out," she decides. "Make him hurt.'

Carlos smirks and gently plays with a strand of Valerie’s hair. “I like the sound of that.”

"Good." Valerie smirks right back at him then pulls him against her to kiss him.

Carlos hums happily into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her firmly.

"Want to completely defoul this assholes bed?" Valerie asks breathlessly.

Carlos grins against her lips and nods, breathing heavily as he rolls them over.

Valerie laughs happily and presses their lips together, laughing when Carlos rolls them

Carlos reins and laughs happily, kissing her deeply

Valerie happily melts into the kiss, loving their life togehter.

Carlos hums happily, he adores their life…

The gala comes up in a little under a month. It's not hard to get in, especially with the newly stolen money, and Valerie is admittedly... excited. "Ready?"

Carlos smiles and takes her arm, he’s dressed up for the gala, looking forward to it. “Ready.”

"You should approach him first," Valerie decides. She's equally dressed up, and leans into his side.

“I will… I have an idea already.” Carlos grins and spins Valerie quickly to admire her outfit before tugging her to his side again.

"Mm, yeah?" Valerie happily pressed against Carlos. "What did you have in mind, handsome?"

“Going to go up and have a friendly little chat… tell him I have a great opportunity for him.” Carlos tilts his head and grins.

Valerie grins at that. "Oh, that's perfect. when do you want me to come over?"

Carlos thinks for a moment. “As I’m guiding him to a private room to talk about this wonderful opportunity I’m giving him.” He grins.

Valerie grins. "Maybe I should already be in the room... I could hav my knives out to scare him...'

“Oh I like that.” Carlos smirks and nods, running a hand down her side.

"Perfect." She leans in to kiss him deeply. "Lets get out of here."

Carlos groans into the kiss then pulls back. “I’ll see you soon…” He grins and slips into the crowd.

"I'll see you soon," Valerie echoes. She slips away into a spare room and slips some of her knives out.

Carlos grins and waves. He slides up to the man, ordering a drink at the bar, eyeing him carefully, it doesn’t take long to start a conversation

The man is very eager to talk to Carlos, though he's suspicious of him at first. But he does lose that suspicion after a few careful compliments.

Carlos slings his arm over the man’s shoulder with an easy smile. “How about we head upstairs? I could give you that offer…”

The man gives Carlos a slimy smile. "That sounds wonderful. Lead the way, my friend,"he says.

Carlos smirks to himself as he leads him up. “I’m sure you’ll be very pleased…”

"I'm sure I will." The man follows him to the room. Valerie waits in the shadows.

Carlos laughs and nods, slipping behind the man to quietly lock the door. “Oh I know you’re in for a surprise…”

Valerie slips out of the shadows. "Boo," she says, grinning. The man jumps. "What the hell?You didn't tell me someone else was involved in this!"

Carlos smirks and goes over to Valerie, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Oh, my bad… we have something special planned for you.”

Valerie spins one of her knives in her hand as she leans into Carlos' side. "What's going on?" The man eyes the knife.

Carlos plays with her hair. “Oh just a little conning… a little revenge.” He smirks at him.

"See, you did some bad things while Hydra was still around," Valerie taunts. He flounders. "Hydra?I didn't have anything to do with them!"

Carlos smirks and nods. “And we… like to give Hydra men what they deserve.” The man frowns and shakes his head. “I didn’t have anything! Let me go-” He turns and grabs at the door, panicked when it’s locked.

"See, I don't think thats true," Valerie says with pursed lips. "I mean, don't you remember me? I guess you didn't spend much time looking at my face." She snickers when his eyes widen in recognition. "That wasnt-- that had nothing to do with Hydra!' "How do you think they knew to trust you?"

Carlos tilts his head with a dangerous look in his eyes. “Nothing to do with Hydra hm? Oh… guess what, I was an officer and I remember talking to you.” He cracks his knuckles at the man. The man pales further and splutters. “It was one mistake okay!”

"It was more than one mistake," Valerie counters. "I remember meeting your son." Thr man's eyes widen. "Thats not-- that-no!"

Carlos frowns and moves towards the man, grabbing his wrist and tanking him away from the door. “You almost sold him to us.” The man fights against Carlos. “No! You both are confused!”

Valerie steps forward as well. "We're not confused. I never forget a face, and I definitely remember yours." "No! Please, whay do you want?"

Carlos grabs his wrist and flings it back, snapping it before slipping the watch off he’s wearing. The man cries out in pain. “What do you want?!” Carlos slips back to Valerie. “To give you what you deserve…”

"You know how many lives you ruined with your little one time deal with Hydra?" Valerie mocks, sliding her hands down his chest tauntingly until she reaches his wallet. "No one's!' "bullshit!"

“So many lives.” Carlos spits out, running his hand down the man’s, slipping off a few of his wings. The man’s starting to look terrified.

"Also, you're really bad in bed," Valerie adds, cause its fun to taunt him. She thumbs through his wallet, snatching everything.

Carlos snorts at that, patting the man down as he searches him for anything. “You look like you’d be bad in bed.” The man sputters in shock. “You can’t do this!”

"Actually, we can," Valerie replies, chucking the now-empty wallet on a table nearby. "You cant stop us."

The man looks between them terrified. “You have to want something else-” Carlos shakes his head, flicking a knife out. “No… there’s nothing else.”

"We just think you deserve this,"Valerie says gleefully. "What are you, bloody sadists!" She just laughs, spinning her own knife then trailing it down his chest.

Carlos rolls his eyes and slashes the knife up the man’s arm. He cries out in pain and shock. “Stop talking, it’s annoying.” Carlos snaps.

"You're not gonna get out of this." Valerie snags his phone and unlocks it. "We're taking all your money, by tbe way."

Carlos looks down at the phone over Valerie’s shoulder. The man shakes his head. “No! Please-”

"Mm, no, you don't need it." Valerie laughs at his obvious distress. "Maybe we'll give some of it to your son."

Anger flashes on the man’s face. “You can’t give it to him!” Carlos snarls and backhands the man hard, father son things, touchy subject for Carlos… “We will, bastard.”

"Why not?Don't love him? Tough." Valerie enjoys watching Carlos let lose, he deserves it "He doesn't deserve that money!"

“Oh? He doesn’t?” Carlos grabs the man’s throat, slamming him into the wall.

"No! He's nothing!" God, this guy was an idiot. Valerie sits back to watch.

“You’re the scum of the earth.” Carlos spits out and hits the man hard in the face. He cries out and collpases to the ground.

Valerie laughs. "You deserve so much worse than this," she tells him easily.

Carlos steps back and chuckles. “You really do.” He pulls out a gun and tosses it to Valerie. “Want to shoot him in the leg?” The man pales further. “No!”

Valerie catches the gun easily and beams. "Yes!" She shoots him quickly. He cries out in pain.

Carlos grins as he watches, he wraps his arm around Valerie’s waist. “You deserve it.” He spits out at the crying man.

Valerie pulls Carlos into a deep kiss. She presses the gun to him. "Wanna shoot him as well, sweetheart?"

Carlos groans into the kiss, pushing up against Valerie before taking the gun. He grins. “Gladly.” He fires the gun into the man’s arm, making him scream.

Carlos blinks a few times, clearing his throat and softening his tone. “I’m fine. I’m ready.” He gives Valerie an incredibly tight smile as he tugs a jacket on, at least he gets to be with Valerie now. “Katrina’s house is in New York, shouldn’t take long to get to it.” He mumbles, glancing around for his things

Valerie doesn't beelieve him, but she also knows that now is hardly the time to push him on the matter, so she simply nods. "Yeah, okay. How do you want me to act?" She asks, offering a smile in return, but also trying to plan out what she'll need to do. Katrina is tricky.

Carlos thinks for a moment, tucking a gun into his belt. “Like I have full control over you, look to me for what you should do, but also fight back a little, Katrina will believe that the most.” His voice is flat as he speaks. He takes Valerie’s hand and leads her towards the door, eyes softening for a second when he looks at her. “Are you alright?”

Valerie nods. "Can do." That isn't too hard. And she'll enjoy the little bits of rebellion that she'll be allowed by Carlos. She hates the falt tone he's speaking him, it's son unlike her and she doesn't know what to do with it. "I'm fine. Just worried about you."

Carlos gives Val a tight smile. “I’m alright, love. Just a long mission.” He takes a slow breath and guides her out of the base and to a car, sliding into the drivers seat. His shoulders are tense. “It’ll be fine…” He mumbles to himself.

"Pierce wasn't exactly forethcoming with the details... where did he send you?" She's glad that they avoided any other agents on their way to the car and out of the compound. "We'll be fine. We know how to handle Katrina."

Carlos stares out the window for a long moment. “To Germany.” He replies shortly, starting to drive, he’s also incredibly relieved they didn’t run into anyone. He nods and gives her a real smile finally. “We can handler her, I have a feeling she’s going to try to get information out of me about my mission.”

Valerie frowns at the short answer. "Right." Why the hell did he need to go to Germany? That was bizarre... She smiles back at him. "Well, she can try. I'm sure you'll be fine to dodge some questions if you need to. I can always make a scene if you need a quick exit."

Carlos reaches out and takes one of her hands, he’d missed her so much. “You’ve helped me out a lot of situations…” He leans over and kisses her cheek. “Thank you.” He leans back and sighs, staring out the window as he continues to drive.

Valerie leans over and returns the kiss. "Whatever you need," she promises. Softer, she murmurs, "I missed you." She stares out the window as she admits to it.

“I missed you too, so much.” Carlos blinks rapidly to stop his tears, clearing his throat and focusing out the window, one hand staying firmly in hers. “I did not want to leave you… I’m sorry I did.”

Valerie smiles and squeezes his hand when he echoes the sentiment. "It's alright," she says quickly. "I know you didn't have a choice. I survived. It wasn't even that bad," she adds, a lie.

“Mm, I know that’s a lie.” Carlos eyes flick to Valerie and he looks… haunted, his eyes hollow. He blinks and stops the car, clearing his throat quickly. “Let’s get through this, then we can be together alone for a while.”

Valerie looks sheepish at being caught in the lie, at least. But she's not exactly going to tell him why it sucked, knowing that would only make him feel more guilty about leaving. She nods. "That sounds good. I'll stay with you." She follows him inside.

Carlos nods sharply. Katrina opens the door with a fake smile on her face. “Carlos… it’s so good to have toy back.” Carlos smiles tightly. “Katrina…” He walks inside, tensed up, he wraps an arm around Valerie’s waist. Katrina glances to Valerie. “Oh, you brought your pet.”

Valerie leans into Carlos' side when he wraps an arm around her waist, trying to offer him silent support as she does so. "Ma'am." She nods slightly at Katrina in greeting, glancing around the room for anything that might be off.

Carlos eyes Katrina carefully, trying to figure out exactly what Katrina wants, they’re not exactly known for being a close family. Katrina smirks at the two of them and gestures to the table. “Please sit, I hope your mission went well… Carlos. And I’m sure you missed your favorite agent, Valerie.”

Valerie sits beside Carlos,not wanting to cause any trouble for him. She was certian Katrina was going to try to pull something, she just wasn't sure what it was. She nods slightly. "I prefer when I'm with one of my handlers," she agrees softly, endlessly glad that she'd been able to snag Carlos as technically a second handler to give her an excuse to be with him.

Katrina hums and snaps her fingers, pointing to the floor. “Assets don’t sit in chairs with me, girl.” Carlos frowns but quickly masks it. “Valerie, floor. And my mission went perfectly fine.” He crosses his arms over his chest. Katrina glares. “Nothing to tell me?” Carlos shakes his head slowly.

"Yes, sir." Valerie slips off the chair and kneels beside Carlos' chair. She's not going to stir the pot even if she hates this. She lets herself half zone out, listening to their conversation as she learns against Carlos' leg. What did Katrina want? She doesn't trust her.

Carlos talks quietly with Katrina, one hand gently on Valerie’s back to steady himself. He’s feeling incredibly awful after his mission and trying to keep it together. “Katrina! That is enough, if father wanted you to know what the mission is he would have told you!” Carlos snaps after a few minutes. Katrina huffs and sits back. “Yelling? How very unlike you, isn’t him yelling new Asset?”

Valerie looks up in surprise when he yells. That was unlike him. In fact, she's not sure she's seen him yell before, but she's not going to let Katrina think something is wrong, so she shrugs slightly. "He yells at me when I need discipline," she lies.

Carlos takes a deep breath, control. He needs control. He shoots Katrina an annoyed look. “I merely think you’re being ridiculous trying to get information out of me.” Katrina eyes Carlos and smiles, her gaze flicking to Valerie, she looks… amused. “Mm, well I understand yelling at assets to make them behave… but at me? No.”

Valerie leans more heavily against Carlos' leg, tying to give him a silent show of support. She looks up at him, and doesn't respond to Katrina. She doesn't like the amusement; never likes anything about her, but this feels particularly off.

Valerie watches the interaction with increasing concern. She tries to keep her face neutral, but she cant help but glare a little when Katrina dared to touch him. She stands when instructed, following after Carlos. Something was wrong, though. This was too easy--

“Carlos!” Katrina grabs his arm and yanks him back, shoving him down into the chair. Carlos stares up at Katrina in shock. “Katrina, what are you doing?” He snaps. Katrina frowns and glares towards Valerie. “Sit asset.” She points to in front of her. Carlos blinks slowly, he looks like he’s going to pass out anytime now.

Valerie starts forward to defend him but manages to hold herself back. "Don't touch him," she snarls, and kneels by his feet instead of hers, eyes protective.

Katrina grabs Valerie’s jaw. “Don’t tell me what to do, I thought you were trained better than that. And Carlos, I invited you for dinner. You stay.” Carlos frowns and shoves Katrina’s hand away from Valerie. “Don’t touch her.” He snaps, swaying in his seat. He feels awful- He wants to get out of here, something’s off.

"I'm trained to ensure the safety of my handlers," Valerie replies cooly, not outwardly reacting to the grip on her haw. She looks up at Carlos with obvious concern, he hadn't even eaten anything. She looks around the room. Sniffs, maybe something in the air? Something was definitely wrong.

“And you are trained not to touch my assets.” Carlos snaps to Katrina. She frowns and sits down in a chair. “Hm, whatever. Carlos, why don’t you tell me about your mission?” She reaches out and pets Valerie’s hair. Carlos frowns and reaches to stop Katrina but his hands just… flop uselessly at his sides. “Katrina…?”

Valerie looks up, tensing all over at the action. Part of her wants to lean into it, but mostly she just hates it, especially from Katrina. "Ca- sir?" She asks Carlos softly, thing to figure out what was wrong with him.

Valerie looks at him, there must be poison in thr air or something, but something g zhe was immune too. She hates that he's suffering so much, and immediately stands. "Yes, sir," she replies instantly, and lunges at Katrina visciously. She's unarmed, annoying, but still dangerous.

Katrina lets out a small sound of surprise, she fights back, but she’s nothing compared to Valerie. Carlos head rolls to the side, he can’t… “Valerie, home-” He chokes out, he doesn’t want to have to explain why is this is happening… but he knows he probably going to have to.

Valerie subdues Katrina easily. "Yes, sir," she says, just in case she's still listening, which knowing her, she is. She scoops Carlos into her arms and rushes for the car. sliding herself into the driver's seat.

Carlos chokes on his breath and falls back into the seat, taking in gulp fulls of the clean air. “I’m sorry-” Is the first thing he says, and tears prick at his eyes, Carlos never cries, only very occasionally and somewhere incredibly private. “Pierce would’ve killed me if I told-”

Valerie knows something is deeply wrong when she sees that he's almost crying. "You don't need to apologise to me. You did what you had to do. I'd rather you stay alive, personally," she said as she drives back to base.

“I needed to keep you safe, she was going to take you away, I’m sorry.” Carlos covers his face to hide that he’s crying, he looks like he’s… breaking down, which has never happened truly like this.

"I know. I know. Its okay." She drives as fast as she can, hating more than anything that he's hurting so much. "We'll go home," she tells him, though she loths to call Hydra home.

Carlos flinches at calling the base home. He drops back in his seat, tears in his eyes, but his face is slowly blanking over, though Valerie can still see his chest hitching with each breath. The shake of his hands, and well… the all over body stiffness from being poisoned.

"Is it getting any better?" Valerie asks of the poisoning. If it's improving then they wouldnt need treatment, but if it kept getting worse... she wasn't sure what she would do. She knows Carlos would refuse med Bay.

“Mhm…” Carlos hums, which is an also a very unlike him answer. He tips his head against the window, tears still in his eyes. He just wants to be alone… with Valerie.

"Carlos, I gotta know," Valerie insists. They're rapidly approaching the Hydra base and she needs to know what to do.

“I am fine.” Carlos snaps a little, wiping his eyes quickly, wincing slightly and dropping his head down against the dashboard of the car. “Just need some meds… I’m fine.”

"I'm assuming you've got the meds in your rooms," Valerie says, her tone carefully level. She doesn't want to start snapping back at him.

“Yes.” Carlos replies shortly, he swallows thickly, his chest hitching, he’s obviously trying to hold back sobs, hardly anything rattles Carlos this much.

Valerie assumes something else is going on. Nothing bothers him this much... she'll ask him when she's in less pain. "Can you walk? Otherwise I need you to pretend to be drunk so we can get to your room."

Carlos shakes his head, his legs feel like jello. He grabs onto Valerie’s shoulder, dragging himself out of the car. “Be fast.” He whispers as he glances around at other agents, and he has no doubt Katrina will be coming here as soon as she can.

Valerie nods and wraps an arm around him, trying to make it looking like they're both stumbling off to his room for reasons that aren't 'he was poisoned.' She move quickly, hoping no one stops them.

Carlos gags and covers his mouth as they move, he feels awful, so many thoughts running through his head, and he feels awful for doing this to Valerie. “Off in a hurry aren’t you?” White’s voice rings out.

Valerie stills when she hears White's voice. Of all the people who could have found them... fuck. She makes herself sound a little ditzy and drunk too, like it's her and not Carlos who's drugged. "Mm, we are... did y'need something, sir?"

Carlos tries his best to straighten up, huh the world’s spinning- White raises an eyebrow with an amused smirk. “Fun night…” He reaches out and cups Carlos cheek. “You don’t look so well… did he drink as well, asset?” Carlos winces at the touch.

Valerie stumbles a little so that they're out of his reach. "Mm," she nods easily. It's so much easier to just slip into playing a role when its to protect Carlos. Its basically a mission. "When i did..."

“I see.” White chuckles. “I’m sure he’ll have fun with you tonight. Poor girl…” He steps closer and brushes a hand through her hair. Carlos winces and tugs on Valerie. “Goodnight White…” He mumbles, stumbling down the hallway. He hates Katrina so much for doing this to him-

Valerie just smiles blithely, and lets Carlos tug her away. She stumbles after him, though she straightens up as soon as they're out of sight, and hurries them to his room. She gently leads him to his bed and sits him down. "Where are the meds?"

Carlos leans back against the wall, breathing heavily. He’s incredibly glad they got away that easily. He closes his eyes for a moment. “Third drawer in the desk.” He shakily points to it, a few silent tears slipping down his face

Valerie immediately grabs the medicine and a bottle of water, bringing it over to Carlos. "Here, take these." She sits down next to him, watching him with worry clear on her face.

Carlos take the pills with a quiet thanks. He downs them and shifts, laying down in the bed with a small groan. A few minutes pass before he speaks. “I apologize… for all of that.”

Valerie shifts to start gently running her fingers through his hair. She shakes her head. "I just need you to tell me what happened... why is she so desperate to know? Where were you?"

Carlos lets out a broken sound. “They died Valerie.” He whispers, looking away, he can’t make himself meet her eye. “It was… it…” He trails off, looking away, tears streaming down his face. “In Germany there’s a base that tricks people into giving themselves into Hydra’s none enhanced assets program , Katrina’s… program.” He sounds like he feels sick.

Valerie pulls him into her arms. "And none of them made it?" She whispered, devastated for him and them. "Why were you there?" She asks cautiously.

“It’s worse.” Carlos chokes out, hiding his face in her chest. “Father’s tired of Katrina just experimenting on normal people, and the base was getting too much attention from outsiders, he sent me there to… to see how it was doing, if it was worth keeping. I reported back to him and he ordered my to… to kill all of them… all those innocent people Val-”

"Oh, Carlos..." Valerie runs a hand through his hair, absolutely devastated for him. "I'm so sorry. You didn't have a choice. No wonder Katrina was furious."

Carlos lets out a muffled sob. “They were innocent- they didn’t know what was happening. I saw a child- he asked me for help and I watched them shoot him.” Carlos voice shakes as he speaks. “It was all my fault Val.”

Valerie shakes her head. "Its Pierce's fault. He did this, Carlos, not you. You didn't have a choice." She holds him tighter.

Carlos clings to her. “There were so many Valerie- it was awful and I ordered it.” He bursts into full on sobs, something he never does, hiding against Valerie as he sobs. “There were children!”

"You didn't have a choice," Valerie repeats, because she has nothing else to say. She's killed children too. Knows that pain. So she just holds him and lets him sob.

Carlos can’t speak anymore, he just dissolves into horrible sobs, he’s done things like this before… but it never stops hurting like this, never stops feeling this awful, how could he do all of this… He sobs for a long time before they slow.

Valerie holds him through all of it. She'll stay here all night holding him if thats what he needs. "Im so sorry," she whispered when he's finished.

Carlos lifts his head shakily, his face tears stained, face raw with all his emotions, his carefully built control completely gone. He shakes his head a bit, he just feels… devastated. “Katrina…” He takes a shuddering breath. “Katrina suspects… that’s what I did.”

"Can she get you in trouble for it? Your father ordered you to do it," Valerie says cautiously. She isn't sure what to say, other than keeping him close.

Carlos shudders, he feels so open and vulnerable right now, and he hates it. He takes a deep breath. “No, Pierce ordered it. He doesn’t want her doing that anymore, but she can my life hell, and she’ll try to hurt you because she knows I like you.”

"Well, I can handle whatever she decides to do to me," Valerie says resolutely. And she will, of it means making Carlos even slightly less of a target himself.

“I don’t want you to have to handle it.” Carlos whispers. He slowly sits up, wiping at his eyes and staring at the wall, he feels empty. “I don’t know if I’m doing any good anymore Val… I’m just like Hydra now.” His words are bitter.

"Tough." Valerie sits up with him and immediately rushes to deny that. "No. Carlos, you are still doing good. I know this is... a setback, and a tragedy, but you've still helped so many. How many assets have you saved hm?"

Carlos eyes flick to Valerie, he takes a slow breath. “I have saved many assets. But Hydra still stands and… and I’ve killed so many, Val, I just murdered so many innocent people, and it isn’t the first time. I have killed so many people-”

Valerie looks at him carefully. "I've killed lots of innocent people too, Carlos. It doesn't negate what we're doing here, okay?'

Carlos tucks his hands together, staring down at the bed, he shudders a bit. “I just don’t know if I’ve gone too far… in doing bad for something good.” He shakes his head and lays down. “I’m tired…”

"I don't know either," Valerie admits softly. She starts stroking his hair again. "Try to get some rest, sweetheart. I'll be here in the morning."

Carlos nods shakily and closes his eyes, trying to just escape for a while, he doesn’t want to think.

Valerie doesn't sleep, but she stays and holds him the entire time that he does, enjoying finally having him close again.

Carlos wakes up slowly a few hours later, he blinks a few times, slightly distressed. He looks up at Valerie and his eyes brighten. “Val! You’re here-” He wraps his arms around her quickly, he missed her-

"Course I'm here." Valerie hugs him back, glad to see him brighten so much even if it does amplify the concern that she has for him. "Always."

Carlos buries his face into her shoulder. “I missed you so much…” He whispers shakily, tears pricking at his eyes.

"I missed you too," Valerie breathes, tucking her face into his hair. She holds him close against her.

Carlos stays tucked against Valerie for a long moment. “I don’t know what to do.” He whispers, he never feels like that.

"We do what we have been doing," Valerie tells him. "Slowly dismantle everything, fly under the radar."

“And kill more innocent people? Let Hydra kill them? My hands kill them?” Carlos stares at the wall.

"And save people," Valerie corrects. "We'll get more assets out. Sabotage missions. We can do more."

Carlos let’s out a slow breath. “Right… I’m sorry. It’s been a long… twenty years undercover.” He whispers, shaking his head.

"I know it has." She leans down and gently kisses Carlos, slow and hopefully comforting. She smiles softly.

Carlos melts into the kiss, letting himself get lost in the comfort of it for a moment, gently wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you," Valerie murmurs when she finally pulls away. "And we're going to be okay, alright?"

“I love you too.” Carlos whispers, sitting back in the bed, he nods once and brushes his hair back. He looks… still filled with horror at what he’s done. “I’m sure Katrina is talking to Pierce…”

Valerie knows only time will dull that horror, but she'll stay close while it does. "Probably," she agreed. "But Pierce will be on your side..."

“For once that makes me happy.” Carlos grumbles, picking at his fingers, he glances towards the door before shaking his head. “Were you alright while I was gone?”

"Yeah..." Valerie shakes her head, and leans against Carlos' side. She shrugs a little. "I was fine. Nothing that hadn't happened before."

“I’m sorry.” Carlos says quietly, resting his head on Valerie’s shoulder. He blinks a few times and looks down.

"It's not your fault. You can't always be here," she says, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Williams was in a better mood with you gone anyway, so it wasnt too bad."

“Still…” Carlos shakes his head and leans further into Valerie. “At least we’re together again.” He doesn’t want to leave again.

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Valerie kisses his head. "We're together and now they can leave me alone."

Carlos hums and nods, he slowly sits up, letting out a slow breath. “I should get dressed.” He mumbles.

Valerie nods. "Probably.... I should head to training, but.. visit me later?" She smiles at him gently.

Carlos nods and tries to smile back, though it’s more of a grimace. He quickly changes, preparing himself to face his father and probably Katrina.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Valerie offers. "I won't get in trouble, I dont have orders for today..."

“You said you needed to head to training. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” Carlos mumbles out in his British accent, he frowns and clears his throat, tucking a few guns into his belt.

"I should, but I wasnt ordered to, so if you need me, I can be there." She squeezes his hand reassuringly.

Carlos looks down, taking a deep breath, trying to put his mask back on, it’s harder than usual. “Maybe just for a little bit…”

"Can do." Valerie nods. "Let's get this over with then, how about that?" She slips her own mask on. Its easier.

“Yes… let’s do that.” Carlos walks out of his room, his eyes grow cold as he stalks through Hydra halls.

Valerie stays a step behind him as they walk, glad that he's there and so many are terrified of him. They arrive at Pierces office quickly.

Carlos lets out a slow breath, resting his hand on the handle of the door, hesitating. “You don’t have to stay…” He glances to her, he still feels too open, vulnerable.

"And let you deal with them alone when youre like this? No way." She gives him a steady look, eyes dull like they have to be.

Carlos meets her eyes, giving her a small grateful nod, though it hurts to see her dulled eyes, though he’s sure his are the same. He knocks on the door and pushes it open. “Father…” Pierce looks up with a smirk. “Carlos my boy…”

Valerie follows, standing behind Carlos. Her eyes flick to Pierce and then to the floor. She hates him for what he's done to Carlos and those children.

Carlos looks like he’s struggling to keep it together, only Valerie would be able to notice though. “I heard you did well Carlos.” Carlos looks away. “Yes father…”

The obvious struggle is exactly why Valerie pushed to come with him. she hated this so much. She wishes she could hold him...

Carlos slowly sits down at Pierce’s desk. Pierce looks to Valerie with interest. “You brought your pet… missed her him?” Carlos nods once, finding words hard.

Valerie looks up at him, worried byhow much difficulty he seems to be having speaking. She gives Pierce a terse nod when he looks at her, not really wanting to say more.

Carlos ducks his head down, and slams up his wall as much as he can, eyes growing cold and distant. “And I trust the missions was a success… I saw some of the footage.” Pierce smirks cruelly, reaching out and petting Carlos hair.

Valerie has to bite back a snarl when Pierce touches Carlos. She hates when he touches him, because she knows it's nothing but bullshit manipulation to make him dependant. But she can't stop him, and just glares at the floor.

Carlos hates himself for it, but he leans into the touch, he can never resist it, and Pierce knows that. “I saw you shot a lot of them yourself, well done.” Carlos swallows thickly, not able to stop himself from glancing to Valerie, which makes Pierce angry, he backhands Carlos hard. “Look at me boy! Not her.”

Valerie winces slightly when he slaps him. She knows that Pierce is just doing this to make him think about all the death, knows it's purposefully making Carlos feel worse. She hates him for it.

Carlos touches his cheek and quickly straightens up. “Sorry father.” He meets Pierce’s eyes briefly before looking down. “That was a big mission… you must be exhausted. But I’m sure you don’t feel badly about killing them, that would be betraying Hydra.” Pierce wraps his arm around Carlos shoulders. Carlos blinks and shakes his head. “I don’t feel bad.”

Valerie bristles. Fucking asshole. She can't wait to killl him one day, if Carlos doesn't get to it first. God. She hates how easily he gets Carlos under his wing. She straightens her shoulders and stares straight ahead.

Pierce kisses the side of Carlos’ head, where the augment is. Carlos fights hard not to flinch. “The mission is done Father. I expect to be staying in base for a while, making Valerie properly mine again.” He feels sick to say the words. But it pleases Pierce…

Valerie looks away for a moment, she hates seeing Pierce touching and talking to Carlos lie that. She pretends to look up at the words Carlos says, even if she knows that he doesn't mean them. She's just glad that he's going to be around her instead of her handler.

Pierce chuckles and squeezes Carlos shoulders. “I suppose that’s true… I’ll send Katrina off somewhere, she’s going to be pissed at you.” He ruffles Carlos hair. Carlos hums and looks to Valerie again, he’s barely holding it together.

Valerie presses herself into Carlos' side. She doesn't have an excuse to do it... but she'll come up with one if Pierce pushes her for an explanation. She just needs to steady Carlos.

Pierce eyes Valerie. “Missed him hm?” He reaches out and cups Valerie’s jaw. That seems to snap something in Carlos, he shoves Pierce away violently. “Don’t touch her!”

Valerie nods, letting her eyes go a little hazy, like she's still drunk or drugged. "Yes, sir," she murmurs, then pulls back, startled, when Carlos shoves Pierce.

Carlos looks equally startled. Pierce looks furious. “You little brat!” He slaps Carlos hard then grabs a painful handful of his hair, Carlos cries out in pain. “You don’t own her! She’s not yours you brat!”

Valerie fights herself not to attack Pierce, because why she can justify it with Katrina, Pierce outranks Carlos and her both. Stilll, she does rush to Carlos to comfort him.

Pierce frowns and shoves Valerie back. “Down!” He snaps to her as he drops his hand from Carlos hair, instantly pulling him into a hug, cupping the back of his head. “You know better… don’t you?” Carlos nods jerkily. He wants Val-

Valerie stumbles back, but biting back a snarl at the shove. But at leat he's back to being fake kind insteadof cruel.... Even if he thinks that's deplorable too. She shuffles closer-- she wants Carlos, she's been with Pierce too much in his absence--

Carlos leans into Pierce, shaking, he feels like an utter mess. Pierce smirks and kisses his forehead. “You know better…” He runs a hand through Carlos hair and down the left side of his face. “Now, get out of my sight.” He kisses his cheek then shoves Carlos to Valerie.

Valerie catches him when he's shoved towards her. She nods at Pierce, "sir," in farewell, and then all but drags Carlos out of his room. "Are you alright?"

Carlos shakes his head very slightly, stumbling along with Valerie, his cheek is bright red from being slapped. “I can’t think-” He chokes out, he hates losing control, he’s not supposed to!

"We're going to your room." She leads him there in a hurry, praying they don't run into anyone. She needs to help him, but she doesn't know how to do that.

Carlos hurries along with her, trying to focus, he tucks down so no one will see his face. Happily they get to his room unnoticed.

Valerie pullls him into her arms once they get to his room. "What do you need from me?" SHe asks, tucking her face into his hair.

Carlos clings to her tightly, shuddering as he hides his face in her neck. “I don’t know- I just need you.” He lets out a broken sound. “Why am I doing this- I’m better than this.”

"I've got you," Valerie promises. "You're hurt, and you went through something real hard, so you''re shaken by it. You'll be fine." She kisses his head.

Carlos nods shakily, lifting his head a little, his lips bleeding a little from biting it when Pierce hit him. “I’m trained to not react.” He whispers brokenly, sounding ashamed of himself.

"Mm, so am I, that doesn't mean I never do." She gently wipes the blood off his lip, furious that Pierce did this to him. "I'm sorry he did this to you," she murmurs.

Carlos nods slowly, he winces as she wipes the blood. “He always does this.” He whispers sadly, he shifts and sits on the edge of his bed, staring at the wall. “Valerie… how can I be good when that man’s my father?”

"I know. I'm still sorry." She comes and sits down ebside him, refusing to leave him alone for even a second. "Carlos, don't. You're nothing like him. Your mother was good. You're not your blood."

Carlos wipes at his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. He shakes his head a little. “I suppose… but what am I even doing anymore Val? Hydra still hasn’t fallen, I’m killing people… Val, no one in Shield even knows I’m here besides Fury, I’m no one, I’m just a Hydra officer- I’m no better.” He lets out a broken sob, covering his face. “I killed a child!”

Valerie grbas him, gentle but firm, by the jaw to make sure he looks at her as she speaks. "Carlos Thatcher. Shut the fuck up. You are not just a hydra officer, no more than I am. I know, what you did last week... it hurts. It's going to for a while. BUt don't let it ruin all the good you are doing."

Carlos eyes are wide and full of tears, and so much pain that nothing can heal. He lets out a broken sob at her words, collapsing against Valerie, clinging to her tightly. “I’m sorry-”

"Don't be sorry. I have you." She holds him tight, running a hand through his hair in gentle, soothing motions, hoping against hope it comforts him.

Carlos immediately leans into her touch, letting it comfort him. “It’s just a bad week… I’m not… I’ll be okay.” He chokes out.

"I know you will," she murmurs, continuing to hold him tightly despite it. "You'll survive this."

Carlos nods shakily, letting Valerie hold him. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. “I will… oh… Father’s furious at me, and Katrina I’m sure is too.”

"Katrina can fuck righ off," Valerie snaps. "She can't do anything to you, not when you were following Pierce's orders... and I'll help you if she tries to hurt you."

Carlos nods slowly, leaning back in his bed. “She’s never tried anything physical before, but this was her main thing I just stopped.” He glances to Valerie. “Val…” He trails off and looks away.

"I know, and she'll be mad, but we'll handle it." She squeezes his hand and then frowns. "What is it? Tell me wht you're thinking."

Carlos runs his thumb over her knuckles, taking a deep breath. “I’m just tired. I’m tired and I hate my family.”

"Why don't you try to sleep?" Valerie suggests. "All this bullshit will still be here after you rest."

Carlos nods shakily, he curls up against Valerie. And it’s not long before he’s asleep. A few minutes later a knock rings out on the door.

Valerie kisses Carlos' head, hoping he remains asleep. She dishevels her own appearance then hurries over to the door and opens it.

Katrina’s at the door, glaring. “Let me in asset. I need to speak to Carlos.” She takes in Valerie’s appearance with a smirk.

Valerie doesn't move. Maybe this time she actually can protect Carlos. "He's asleep, ma'am. He needs rest."

“He was on a month long mission, he had plenty of time to rest during it.” Katrina tries to shove by Valerie.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Valerie lies, blocking Katrina with her body. "Commander Pierce's orders."

Katrina frowns and narrows her eyes at Valerie. “My father sometimes makes poor choices. This affects me. Let me in.”

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Valerie repeats. "I can't disobey a direct order from a commanding officer."

Katrina lets out a frustrated breath. “Well, then…” She snaps her fingers and Xavier scurries out from a corner. “Don’t try to get in my way, girl.” She snaps.

Valerie's eyes immediately land on Xavier, she hates that he’s here. "I won't, ma'am, so long as Handler Carlos is safe."

Katrina shakes her head angrily. “You’re in my way now, let me see Carlos! Xavier-” She nods towards Valerie, Xavier pulls out a knife.

Valerie snarls at Xavier, slipping into a protective stance. "Don't make me fight you, Xavier, I'm still better than you."

“Oh he doesn’t have a choice.” Katrina reaches out and pats his head. “Let me inside to speak to Carlos, Valerie, and I’ll call off Xavier.” Xavier spins his knife around, eyes blank.

Valerie shakes her head, getting ready to fight. "I have my orders. He isn't to be disturbed." She can beat Xavier.

“He’ll want to see me.” Katrina points at Valerie. Xavier snarls and flings himself at Valerie.

"I have orders," Valerie growls back, and attacks Carlos with equal rigor.

Xavier cries out in pain at the first hit, he’s not a match for Valerie, sure he’s good… but not like her. Katrina tries to slip by.

Valerie manages to trip Katrina by swinging her leg out, praying the commotion doesnt wake Carlos. "Back off,"she snaps at Xavier.

Katrina cries out in frustration. “Xavier! Don’t.” She snarls at him. Xavier’s eyes flick to Valerie then away before he flings himself at her again. Valerie can hear Carlos getting up in the room.

Valerie grimaces but keeps defending herself against Xavier. She's trying not to hurt him too much jf she can avoid it.

“What is going on?” Carlos shoves the door open, Katrina freezes and glares at him. “Your asset won’t let me in.” Xavier scurries away from Val, coughing.

"I had orders to make sure you rested!" Valerie tries to make it sound like she's defending herself, but really she's just filling Carlos in on her excuse.

Carlos blinks then nods, shooting Katrina a glare. “She did. If you want to talk, set up a meeting. I want nothing to do with you right now.” He grabs Valerie’s wrist and slams the door shut, leaving an angry Katrina outside.

Valerie slumps in relief when they get inside, and locks the door behind them. "I didnt mean to wake you--"

Carlos drops onto the bed, shaking his head and taking a few shaky breaths. “It’s alright… I’m glad I did. I’m sorry Katrina came here.”

"It's alright. She didn't hurt me.. I'm more worried for Xavier, frankly." She drops onto the bed beside him.

“I’m always worried about him.” Carlos mumbles, he shifts and rests his head on Valerie’s shoulder. “I do feel a bit better…”

"Yeah? I'm glad." She kisses his head. "I always worry for him too," Valerie admits with a grown.

Carlos nods slowly, frowning deeply. “He’s half dead whenever I see him.” He shakes his head and looks away. “Val… we need to burn this place-”

"I try to look out for him, but..." She shrugs helplessly. There isnt much she can do. "I know. I know we do."

Carlos leans back in the bed, tears pricking at his eyes. He’s silent for a long time before speaking. “What if we kill Katrina.”

Valerie considers. "Who takes over if she dies?" She asks after a moment. its not a bad option.

Carlos frowns and grabs his tablet, scrolling a bit before shaking his head. “No one important. Katrina’s been the main person behind nine enhanced assets, she… she has special formulas, she doesn’t share her work so…”

Valerie. "So the program gets discarded most likely... what does that mean for Xavier? They're not going to free him."

Carlos leans back against the wall, thinking deeply. “Mhm… Xavier, Mauve might get him, but he has no interest in his son so maybe not… besides Father I’d be the most likely person to get him… he’s not enhanced, so he can’t get thrown into those programs.”

"If you got him, thay would be ideal. I don't want him with Mauve." She shudders at the thought. "Can you swing it with Pierce?"

“Neither do I, sick man.” Carlos shakes his head, he tugs at a strand of hair lightly. “I might be able to… the hardest thing is we won’t know until after we kill Jatrina.”

Valerie hums in agreement. "That's true... what if you traded for me?" Valerie asks. "Give me to Pierce or back to Williams so you can take on Xavier.."

“No.” Carlos says immediately, shaking his head. “Absolutely not. I’m not giving you back, I just came back here.” He shakes his head again, tears pricking at his eyes. “No-”

"Hey, breathe," Valerie says quickly, cupping his cheeks. "I didn't mean immediately. It's just... an option."

Carlos’ eyes snap up to her, he takes a short breath, wrapping his arm around her waist. “We’ll figure it out.” He whispers shakily. “I’m not letting you go-”

"I survived 23 years here without you," Valerie points out. She kisses his head. "But we can find a different solution."

“But I don’t want you to have to again.” Carlos whispers, kissing her shoulder. He nods and tucks into her, taking a few deep breaths. “I just know we need Katrina gone.”

"We'll get rid of her." Valerie smiles at him cautiously, and transport into him. "I have to go, soon.'

Carlos smiles weakly, brushing her hair back, he just feels… awful. He nods and sits back reluctantly. “Training?”

Val nods. "Yeah, then I've got a mission briefing," she says, clearly not thrilled about the fact.

“Oh…” Carlos sighs and pushes himself to his feet. “I should get to meetings…” He wishes she could stay.

Valerie shrugs. "It won't be too bad. Some guy is pulling out of some deal, so I gotta go and get him to cheat on his wife for blackmail. Worst part will be Rumlow running point." She leans in to kiss him. "I'll come back as soon as I can."

Carlos makes a face at the mention of Rumlow. “I’m sorry… I’ll be here when you get back.” He kisses her gently, when he pulls back he just looks… empty again. He clears his throat and looks away.

Valerie hates seeing the emptiness in his gaze. They need to get out of this place. "I'll see you then... I love you."

Carlos glances towards her. “I love you too…” He needs to get them out- He shoves the door open and heads out for his meetings.

Valerie slips out to go train. She doesn't mind training so much. It's easy to lose herself in the motions.

Carlos is glad his first meeting isn’t with Pierce, he’s dreading seeing his father again

But the meeting comes eventually, and Pierce.... is in a bad mood.

Valerie leans into his hand, enjoying the excitement of the con. "How do you want to do this?" She asks, looking up at Carlos. "Want me to go and suck up to him, then you storm over and play the jealous boyfriend, or something else in mind?"

“Oh I like that one.” Carlos grins and pushes off from Valerie gently, flexing his hands out, he gives Valerie a quick kiss on her cheek. “Go suck up to him darling.”

Valerie grins, and slips away from Carlos. She sits down beside the man, orders a drink and starts softly chatting to him, her tone light and flirty in a way they never see through.

Carlos smiles as he watches, sipping a glass of water, waiting for his time to slip in, he loves doing this with Valerie…

Valerie eventually convinces the guy to take her up to his room, and shoots Carlos a smirk over his shoulder as they move towards the elevator. Its so easy.

Carlos smirks and follows, slipping into the elevator after her, people really are too easy… He grabs the man’s shoulder and shoves him into the wall. “What do you think you’re doing with my girlfriend?!”

Valerie pretends to be panicked. "Jason, get off him!" She yells, distress obvious in her tone but not her gaze. The man shoves Carlos off him. "What the hell, man! I didn't know she was your girl!"

“No Julie! This guy has to know who you belong to!” Carlos shoves at the man again, grabbing at his shirt. “Oh yeah? You think I’m gonna believe that?”

"I don't belong to you!" The man shoves Carlos right back while Valerie fake cowers. The man has a wedding ring on. "She didn't tell me shit!" He glares at Valerie.

Carlos grins when he sees the ring. He grabs the man’s hand, twisting it up painfully into the air. “Oh? Well looks like you’re the one who’s also lying.”

"That's not important--" He protests, and Valerie breaks, laughing to herself. "Mm, I dont think you'd want your wife to find out about this..."

“No I don’t think she would…” Carlos chuckles and digs into the man’s pocket, pulling out his wallet. “We can make a little deal…”

The man's eyes widen. "What the hell are you doing? Is this a con?" Valerie laughs and moves to stand beside Carlos. "Cmon, you didn't think I would really be interested in you, did you?"

Carlos chuckles and wraps his arm around Valerie’s waist, his free hand plucking things off the man. “She’s far superior to you, out of your league. Now, your room key.”

Valerie kisses Carlos' neck tauntingly. "I'm not giving you my room key!" He protests instantly, and Valerie glares. "Really? I thought you wanted to keep this from your wife..."

“Mm, we’ll tell your wife if you don’t.” Carlos kisses Valerie’s cheek, holding his hand out. “Come on, be good and give it to us.”

The man falters, but hands over his room key. "There we go!" Valerie says, grinning. She blows a kiss at the man as the elevator doors open. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" "Bitch," he mutters.

Carlos turns around and hits the man hard in the face. “Goodbye.” He snaps at him and pulls Valerie down the hall, laughing happily. “That was easy-”

Valerie laughs too. "So easy! I don't think they're ever gonna not fall for it," she says with a giggle. She takes the card and uses it to unlock the mans very fancy suite.

Carlos looks around the suite with a grin. “Amazing… they’re so stupid.” He runs his hand over the bed frame.

"And now we get this place to ourselves for the night." She flops down on the bed happily. "This is fun."

Carlos flops down next to her, sprawling his arms out. “It is fun… we can have everything.”

"Good... assume doesnt deserve it." She rolls over and cuddled against him.

Carlos hums and curls up against her. “They deserve to be robbed like this…”

"They do," Valerie agreed. She runs her hand over his spine.

“You did amazing…” Carlos mumbles, leaning into her touch, he loves this life they’ve built, yeah it’s dishonest, but they deserve jt.

"Mm, so did you." She kisses his head. "You scared the shit out of him when you came in there." She laughs.

Carlos smirks and laughs. “I did… he was so scared… it was amazing.” He shakes his head, amused.

Valerie snickers and then sighs, settling down against him. "Yeah... it was. And now we get this kickass suite... and how much did you get from his wallet?"

Carlos opens the wallet and digs through it. “Three credit cards… a few hundred dollar bills, his ID…” Carlos grins at Valerie, tugging her closer.

"Hell yes. Who has three credit cars?" She shakes her head with a bark of laughter. "Askinf ro be robbed.'

“What an idiot.” Carlos mumbles as he shifts through the cards, he tosses them down and laughs, snuggling further into Valerie. Kissing her neck gently.

Valerie grins and pulls him close, tilting her head up to get him better access. There was a certain thrill to making out in a stolen room.

Carlos hums in approval, burying his face into her neck as he kisses it, he loves this… being able to do whatever they want, the freedom of it

They have no one in charge of them now that Hydra has fallen...they can do whatver they wat, whenever they want and no one can stop them. It's amazing.

It’s truly amazing… being able to do whatever they want, use their skills to benefit themselves… Carlos tugs Valerie closer happily.

Valerie leans down and kisses Carlos properly. "You're hot when you get possessive like that, even if it's fake," sh admits to him.

Carlos hums and runs his hand through her hair. “Oh yeah? Well… part of it is real.” He smiles at her.

"Mm, that's true," Valerie agrees, leaning into his hand slightly. She smiles back.

Carlos smiles and kisses her cheek, his hand still gently carding through her hair. “I love you…”

"I love you too," Valerie murmurs. She pulls back and looks at him warmly. "I'm glad we get to do this."

Carlos sits up a bit, looking at Valerie with equal warmth. “Me too… it feels right.”

"It really does. Even now, we still get ot hurt people who used to be intertwined with Hydra." She grins.

Carlos grins at that. “It’s perfect, we’ll make sure they always suffer. And get some nice things for ourselves as we do.” He gestures around the room.

"Exactly." Valerie grins. "Mm, there's this gala coming up soon... one of those fake charity things that assholes go to to make themsleves feel better... I bet theres easy pickings there."

“Oh we can definitely con some people there.” Carlos grins and stretches his arms out. “They’re such idiots at those things.”

"Mmhm, they think everyone is therre to fawn over them for being so good," she laughs and shakes her head.

Carlos rolls his eyes and laughs. “They’ll be getting quite a surprise from us then.”

"And it'll be fantastic. You want to research before hand or wing it?" She asks, grinning.

Carlos grins and grabs his phone. “We can do a little research then wing the rest.”

"Hell yes!" She grins, and she enjoys the winging it part of their... missions.

Carlos grins and scrolls through his phone, seeing who’s going to be at the party. “This is going to be a fun one…”

"Who have we got?" Valerie asks, flopping down beside him to look at the phone.

Carlos wraps his arm around her. “Bunch of rich idiots. Some definitely benefited from Hydra, recognize him?” He clicks on a picture and shows it to her. “One of our biggest clients.”

Valerie looks at the photo and glowers. "Oh, I remember him," she says with disdain clear in her tone. "I would love to ruin him, actually...." She kisses his cheek.

Carlos nods and glares before smirking. “So would I…” He kisses her forehead in return.

"How do you want to do it?" She asks. "He was a dick... you have anything in mind?"

Carlos leans back as he thinks. “It’d be fun to con him out of everything he owns… be a bit cruel to him.”

"He definitely deserves it... he's horrible to his children, apparently," she tells him.

Carlos makes a face. “Well the we’ll definitely scare him… take all his money, everything.”

"Good. You know he almost gave Hydra his son, in return for the position he has now? We found another way, but... I could've killed hi." She shakes her head.

“That’s disgusting.” Carlos spits out angrily. “We’ll make him suffer…” He shakes his head angrily.

Valerie nods her agreement. "We should drag it out," she decides. "Make him hurt.'

Carlos smirks and gently plays with a strand of Valerie’s hair. “I like the sound of that.”

"Good." Valerie smirks right back at him then pulls him against her to kiss him.

Carlos hums happily into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her firmly.

"Want to completely defoul this assholes bed?" Valerie asks breathlessly.

Carlos grins against her lips and nods, breathing heavily as he rolls them over.

Valerie laughs happily and presses their lips together, laughing when Carlos rolls them

Carlos reins and laughs happily, kissing her deeply

Valerie happily melts into the kiss, loving their life togehter.

Carlos hums happily, he adores their life…

The gala comes up in a little under a month. It's not hard to get in, especially with the newly stolen money, and Valerie is admittedly... excited. "Ready?"

Carlos smiles and takes her arm, he’s dressed up for the gala, looking forward to it. “Ready.”

"You should approach him first," Valerie decides. She's equally dressed up, and leans into his side.

“I will… I have an idea already.” Carlos grins and spins Valerie quickly to admire her outfit before tugging her to his side again.

"Mm, yeah?" Valerie happily pressed against Carlos. "What did you have in mind, handsome?"

“Going to go up and have a friendly little chat… tell him I have a great opportunity for him.” Carlos tilts his head and grins.

Valerie grins at that. "Oh, that's perfect. when do you want me to come over?"

Carlos thinks for a moment. “As I’m guiding him to a private room to talk about this wonderful opportunity I’m giving him.” He grins.

Valerie grins. "Maybe I should already be in the room... I could hav my knives out to scare him...'

“Oh I like that.” Carlos smirks and nods, running a hand down her side.

"Perfect." She leans in to kiss him deeply. "Lets get out of here."

Carlos groans into the kiss then pulls back. “I’ll see you soon…” He grins and slips into the crowd.

"I'll see you soon," Valerie echoes. She slips away into a spare room and slips some of her knives out.

Carlos grins and waves. He slides up to the man, ordering a drink at the bar, eyeing him carefully, it doesn’t take long to start a conversation

The man is very eager to talk to Carlos, though he's suspicious of him at first. But he does lose that suspicion after a few careful compliments.

Carlos slings his arm over the man’s shoulder with an easy smile. “How about we head upstairs? I could give you that offer…”

The man gives Carlos a slimy smile. "That sounds wonderful. Lead the way, my friend,"he says.

Carlos smirks to himself as he leads him up. “I’m sure you’ll be very pleased…”

"I'm sure I will." The man follows him to the room. Valerie waits in the shadows.

Carlos laughs and nods, slipping behind the man to quietly lock the door. “Oh I know you’re in for a surprise…”

Valerie slips out of the shadows. "Boo," she says, grinning. The man jumps. "What the hell?You didn't tell me someone else was involved in this!"

Carlos smirks and goes over to Valerie, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Oh, my bad… we have something special planned for you.”

Valerie spins one of her knives in her hand as she leans into Carlos' side. "What's going on?" The man eyes the knife.

Carlos plays with her hair. “Oh just a little conning… a little revenge.” He smirks at him.

"See, you did some bad things while Hydra was still around," Valerie taunts. He flounders. "Hydra?I didn't have anything to do with them!"

Carlos smirks and nods. “And we… like to give Hydra men what they deserve.” The man frowns and shakes his head. “I didn’t have anything! Let me go-” He turns and grabs at the door, panicked when it’s locked.

"See, I don't think thats true," Valerie says with pursed lips. "I mean, don't you remember me? I guess you didn't spend much time looking at my face." She snickers when his eyes widen in recognition. "That wasnt-- that had nothing to do with Hydra!' "How do you think they knew to trust you?"

Carlos tilts his head with a dangerous look in his eyes. “Nothing to do with Hydra hm? Oh… guess what, I was an officer and I remember talking to you.” He cracks his knuckles at the man. The man pales further and splutters. “It was one mistake okay!”

"It was more than one mistake," Valerie counters. "I remember meeting your son." Thr man's eyes widen. "Thats not-- that-no!"

Carlos frowns and moves towards the man, grabbing his wrist and tanking him away from the door. “You almost sold him to us.” The man fights against Carlos. “No! You both are confused!”

Valerie steps forward as well. "We're not confused. I never forget a face, and I definitely remember yours." "No! Please, whay do you want?"

Carlos grabs his wrist and flings it back, snapping it before slipping the watch off he’s wearing. The man cries out in pain. “What do you want?!” Carlos slips back to Valerie. “To give you what you deserve…”

"You know how many lives you ruined with your little one time deal with Hydra?" Valerie mocks, sliding her hands down his chest tauntingly until she reaches his wallet. "No one's!' "bullshit!"

“So many lives.” Carlos spits out, running his hand down the man’s, slipping off a few of his wings. The man’s starting to look terrified.

"Also, you're really bad in bed," Valerie adds, cause its fun to taunt him. She thumbs through his wallet, snatching everything.

Carlos snorts at that, patting the man down as he searches him for anything. “You look like you’d be bad in bed.” The man sputters in shock. “You can’t do this!”

"Actually, we can," Valerie replies, chucking the now-empty wallet on a table nearby. "You cant stop us."

The man looks between them terrified. “You have to want something else-” Carlos shakes his head, flicking a knife out. “No… there’s nothing else.”

"We just think you deserve this,"Valerie says gleefully. "What are you, bloody sadists!" She just laughs, spinning her own knife then trailing it down his chest.

Carlos rolls his eyes and slashes the knife up the man’s arm. He cries out in pain and shock. “Stop talking, it’s annoying.” Carlos snaps.

"You're not gonna get out of this." Valerie snags his phone and unlocks it. "We're taking all your money, by tbe way."

Carlos looks down at the phone over Valerie’s shoulder. The man shakes his head. “No! Please-”

"Mm, no, you don't need it." Valerie laughs at his obvious distress. "Maybe we'll give some of it to your son."

Anger flashes on the man’s face. “You can’t give it to him!” Carlos snarls and backhands the man hard, father son things, touchy subject for Carlos… “We will, bastard.”

"Why not?Don't love him? Tough." Valerie enjoys watching Carlos let lose, he deserves it "He doesn't deserve that money!"

“Oh? He doesn’t?” Carlos grabs the man’s throat, slamming him into the wall.

"No! He's nothing!" God, this guy was an idiot. Valerie sits back to watch.

“You’re the scum of the earth.” Carlos spits out and hits the man hard in the face. He cries out and collpases to the ground.

Valerie laughs. "You deserve so much worse than this," she tells him easily.

Carlos steps back and chuckles. “You really do.” He pulls out a gun and tosses it to Valerie. “Want to shoot him in the leg?” The man pales further. “No!”

Valerie catches the gun easily and beams. "Yes!" She shoots him quickly. He cries out in pain.

Carlos grins as he watches, he wraps his arm around Valerie’s waist. “You deserve it.” He spits out at the crying man.

Carlos blinks a few times, clearing his throat and softening his tone. “I’m fine. I’m ready.” He gives Valerie an incredibly tight smile as he tugs a jacket on, at least he gets to be with Valerie now. “Katrina’s house is in New York, shouldn’t take long to get to it.” He mumbles, glancing around for his things

Valerie doesn't beelieve him, but she also knows that now is hardly the time to push him on the matter, so she simply nods. "Yeah, okay. How do you want me to act?" She asks, offering a smile in return, but also trying to plan out what she'll need to do. Katrina is tricky.

Carlos thinks for a moment, tucking a gun into his belt. “Like I have full control over you, look to me for what you should do, but also fight back a little, Katrina will believe that the most.” His voice is flat as he speaks. He takes Valerie’s hand and leads her towards the door, eyes softening for a second when he looks at her. “Are you alright?”

Valerie nods. "Can do." That isn't too hard. And she'll enjoy the little bits of rebellion that she'll be allowed by Carlos. She hates the falt tone he's speaking him, it's son unlike her and she doesn't know what to do with it. "I'm fine. Just worried about you."

Carlos gives Val a tight smile. “I’m alright, love. Just a long mission.” He takes a slow breath and guides her out of the base and to a car, sliding into the drivers seat. His shoulders are tense. “It’ll be fine…” He mumbles to himself.

"Pierce wasn't exactly forethcoming with the details... where did he send you?" She's glad that they avoided any other agents on their way to the car and out of the compound. "We'll be fine. We know how to handle Katrina."