My Name Is Natalie

By Happytide

Chapter 1: Rescue Mission

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 21:16

It would be the last time she did this. She was through with the covert operations that kept her from obtaining a healthy sleeping schedule and the double, often triple, crossing missions that sometimes confused even her. And to be honest, her body just didn't fit into these crammed, little spaces like it used to. She was no longer the Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and former Soviet spy.

Now she was Natasha. Just Natasha.

Except for tonight. Tonight was the one exception.

Natasha dropped silently from the vent and landed on the tech's shoulders. With a sharp twist of her thighs, the guy was out cold. She caught his fall as he went limp. Natasha disentangled herself from his body as her eyes flickered up to the rotating cameras in the dark room. She pulled out the cryptographic sequencer from her belt and disabled their recording functions.

Natasha had approximately eighty seconds before the two remaining techs in the room would receive a phone call in regards to the security breach. It only took ten for her to knock out the two men and rifle through their pockets for a security card. She pulled her auburn hair up into a high ponytail as she approached the operation desk.

As the phone began to ring, Natasha was slipping a thumb drive into the computer. She picked up the head piece and wrapped it around her ear before she continued typing. She didn't expect to hear Agent Hill's voice on the other end.

"There's been a situation. We're going to need you to wrap things up. Now."

Natasha's eyes flashed as she came across a file labeled Barton, Clint. Bingo.

"I'm almost done here."

The file was locked. At least it was supposed to be. With just a few encryptions she would be able to view it. As Natasha hacked into file, she glanced to the side to see the documents had finished downloading onto the thumb drive. Well, her job here was done but she wasn't leaving until Clint's file was opened.

"We have our intel. It's time for you to go."

A beep came from the headset and Natasha smirked. They were twenty seconds late.

"Hold on there's someone on the other line."

"No, Agent Roman-"

Beep. A man with a Russian accent replaced Agent Hill's voice.

"Your area is no longer secure-"

"I'll say."

"Who is this?"

"You called me, remember?"

There was a pause on the other end before his tone quickly turned threatening. "As we speak, our security teams is working to-"

The line suddenly went dead and Natasha squinted in confusion as the sound of gun fire filtered into the dark room. As the extraction program began on Clint's file, Natasha switched the screen to the surveillance cameras and swiped through the live feed.

The footage revealed the base to be on high alert. Natasha watched in apprehension as Hydra security teams spilled into the corridors, heavily armed and fire arms raised. Hydra agents were scattering through the building, rushing behind closed doors and barricading themselves into rooms.

This wasn't because of her. Was there another agent here? Who the hell was jeopardizing her operation? She continued to browse through the surveillance feed in bewilderment.

Then she stopped when she came across the feed from the south corridor. The threat was a man. Even with black mask and the eye wear she recognized him.

James Buchanan Barnes.

Or, at least that's who he used to be. Well, what the hell was he doing here? Natasha hadn't seen him since the Helicarrier incident from nearly a year ago and after that, he'd fell off the grid and virtually disappeared.

From the looks of it, he certainly hadn't been invited. She watched as the former terrorist ripped his way through the Gydra gunmen like they were just weeds in his way. Barnes yanked a small man in a lab coat right off his feet and slammed him into the wall. The poor man's feet dangled off the ground as Barnes held him by neck and shoved his hand gun up against the man's temple.

Natasha turned her attention back to the other screen; the file was opened. Natasha quickly read the short line with an exhale of anger and disappointment.

Barton Clint: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division: Former Operative.

Deceased.

And that was it. Another dead end. Damn it!

As she erased the file she looked back to the surveillance footage. The feed didn't pick up on audio so she didn't know what Barnes was saying to the man in the lab coat. The terrified man was shaking his head vigorously though as he squirmed in Barnes's metal grip. Natasha clicked closer into the frame so she could read the man's lips.

"I don't know! Please, I don't know where he is-"

The man suddenly went limp and Natasha realized that Barnes had pulled the trigger. Alright, it was time to go. Natasha plucked the thumb drive from the computer before quickly activating the software destruction program. That would set these assholes back for months.

She glanced at the feed one last time as she pulled her twin Glock 26s from their dual holsters. Damn. He was headed down this corridor. As much as she would like to thank him for the distraction he was providing, she'd already had enough interactions with that man to last her a lifetime.

Natasha stepped from the dark room and looked both ways before proceeding down the bright corridor in the opposite direction of Barnes. She sprinted through several hallways before coming to an abrupt stop upon finding a blockade of Hydra agents straight ahead. She ducked out of the way and around the corner, narrowly missing the immediate spray of bullets.

As Natasha pressed her back against the wall, she took in a deep breath and started thinking. Across from here was a vent but she would need to cross into the line of fire to get to it. She wouldn't make it two steps without becoming Swiss cheese...but maybe...

Barnes was headed this way; she could wait for him and let him receive the welcoming party. It was his fault anyways. Natasha crouched down and awaited for his arrival.

After just a few more long moments of patience, the sound of gun fire broke out across the corridor again. He'd arrived. Natasha didn't dare stick her head out to look around the corner and see if he was still alive. The gun fire hadn't ceased so she could only assume he was still standing. From the startled shouts coming from the blockaded end of the hallway, Natasha guessed he was packing some fire power of his own. He finally passed by her hiding place and Natasha's jaw dropped.

...he had an RPG-7.

Dark chunks of hair fell across his forehead as he slowly stalked past Natasha and hefted the powerful weapon over his shoulder. In here?! Was he out of his mind?

Barnes passed Natasha without even seeing her. She curled closer to her own body and wrapped her arms around her head, muffling her ears. Without warning, a heavy thunkkk came from around the corner and Natasha barred her teeth. The explosion quickly followed and the entire building shook from the impact.

After that, all gun fire stopped.

Natasha stood shakily as her ears began to ring and her eyes locked onto the vent opposite of her. She stepped from around the corner and looked down the desecrated corridor.

Barnes stood like a dark agent of chaos amongst the debris. He tossed the empty RPG down as he surveyed the littered bodies and scorched floor around him. Natasha moved towards the vent but froze when he slowly raised head. She couldn't see his eyes beyond the dark lenses of his goggles but she knew he was looking directly at her.

Natasha raised her handgun in his direction immediately and placed her finger on the trigger. She didn't pull; Steve would never forgive her if she did. This was a grey area.

They were frozen like that for however many moments before he slowly turned his head at her the way a dog titled his head in curiosity. When a dog got rabies you put him down because he was dangerous. Kill or be killed, right?

That's when a dart hit his neck. And then another, followed by three more. Natasha's eyes widened and he dropped to his knees. Behind him she could see several agents coming their way. Without hesitation, Natasha quickly slipped into the vent before they could see her.

What the hell had ever happened to traveling to Barcelona? A new country, a new name, a new face and a new cover; that had been the plan. Natasha had imagined owning a small loft, spending her mornings at some local coffee house and evenings strolling along the Spanish beaches. She had planned to do some of that soul searching she'd heard so much about. That's what normal people did right?

Normal people didn't do this, that was for sure. Well, once she was out of here she would just have to settle for a long, hot bath. One step at a time, right?

As Natasha traveled through the ventilation system the small communicator on her belt vibrated. She put it to her ear as she crawled along the dark space.

"Agent Romanoff, there's been a change of plans."

"What?" Natasha hissed at Agent Hill. "No, I got you your intel. I'm leaving."

"I'm afraid it won't be so simple. My sources say the entire base's security level is on FPCON Delta. You're not going to make it out of there without over riding their security system."

"Is there any possibility that you could over ride it yourself?" Fat chance.

"No. Not from where I'm at."

Nothing was ever easy.

"It's good to have you home soldier."

The doctor's weathered voice echoed through the one way glass behind Natasha. It had taken her some time to reach the security room but only because the base was on high alert. She'd had to be careful, unseen and untraceable. Which all, regrettably, surmounted to being slow.

Although the base was on high alert, Natasha found the small pocket of Hydra resistance to be one of the lesser developed ones she had came across. Their systems were outdated and their men didn't have the best combative training. The unconscious security officer slumped in the chair to her right was a testament of that.

Natasha glanced over her shoulder at the small laboratory chamber beyond the one-way glass wall. Several armed agents stood by as the doctor strapped Barnes to the operating table and an assistant slipped an IV into his forearm.

They had removed his black vest along with his mask and eyewear leaving him seeming, oddly, vulnerable. His eyes fluttered open and even from here Natasha could see the guy was out of it. What had they put in his IV?

The doctor motioned for the assistant to begin attaching a machine around Barnes's head. These crazy bastards still used shock therapy.

"We're going to start this off slow, with just a few simple questions."

Natasha turned her attention back to unlocking the security systems. With a bit of digging she found their signal program and changed the alarm setting to code black. Soon the entire base would believe the attack was over. The system would activate any second now and a steady siren would come on the speakers.

Any second now...God, their systems were outdated. She looked back through the window at the doctor as he leaned over Barnes. Natasha really didn't feel like sticking around for this.

"Now, who sent you here?"

Barnes's head lolled in the head rest as his eyes rolled back in his head. Natasha's moral compass didn't always point exactly due North but even she could see what was happening here was wrong. However unethical it may be, this still wasn't a rescue mission, Barnes had sort of put himself in this situation and Natasha had places to be. On good conscience she would be sure to tip off the CIA as soon as she made it out of this place. Steve would want to know about this, too.

The doctor gave a curt nod to the assistant the machine was activated. Shock therapy wasn't made to be an interrogation method. It was a crude form of cleansing the brain. The sick doctor didn't seem to care about that though.

Barnes's body quaked with convulsions as volts of electricity shot through his body. The doctor was wasting his time. It was obvious that Barnes had gone rogue. They had created a monster and now it was pissed and looking for it's Doctor Frankenstein. They wouldn't be able to contain the animal for long and once he broke free, Natasha kind of hoped he would finish what he'd started. That's what these dumb bastards get.

"How did you find this place?"

Natasha sighed as she glanced at her watch. Where were those damn sirens already?

"A-agent..."

Natasha looked back through window in surprise. He speaks.

"Agent...B-Bar..." Natasha stilled as Barnes's deep voice wavered. "Barton."

...Barton? He'd said Barton.

"You're lying. Agent Barton is dead. Again." He motioned to the technician and waves of electricity shocked Barnes's body.

Natasha curled her fists. Idiot! She watched in anger as waves of electricity shocked his body. She had to do something. Who knew what this trauma was doing to that man's memory. As his body spasmed she could see her answers slipping further and further away from her. This wasn't a rescue mission, damn it.

But he'd said Barton.

Natasha wasn't usually impulsive but as she raised her gun and aimed for the doctor's head she knew she had to do this.

The bullet pierced the glass window and flew into the doctor's skull. He crumpled to the ground and the sweaty assistant flew out the room with a shriek. Natasha ducked as the gunmen opened fire into the one way glass wall. The window shattered, sending shards of glass raining down as Natasha took cover beneath the desk in front of her.

Natasha could hear footsteps approaching from the left side of the desk. She kicked the filing cabinet forward and down upon the the gunman. Who still used filling cabinets anyways? As he struggled beneath the weight of the cabinet she sent several bullets through his head. She glanced around the desk as the two remaining agents continued to empty their M16s in her direction.

Natasha raised her gun and pointed at the ceiling light. It went out with one shot. She quickly shot out the operating table's light, too, and soon they were covered in darkness.

As the two men muttered nervously to each other and split up, Natasha silently crept around the desk. The only light came from the waves of electricity that continued to rack Barnes's body. She needed to switch off that machine and soon before the man's brain was entirely fried.

Natasha caught a movement to her left and pulled her trigger. His body thumped to the ground, leaving just one more to go. Natasha listened for the sound of crunching glass but he was quiet like her.

It was then that the siren system finally went into effect and the alarm in the ceiling of the small laboratory room illuminated the room in flashes of red light. She saw him before he saw her and she was quick to pull her trigger.

As his body hit the floor, Natasha tucked her guns back into their holsters and approached the operating table. She kicked at the tubes at the base of the table until they came loose and the electic pulses died away in crackles.

"Mr. Barnes, can you hear me?"

He wasn't looking too good. The skin of his heaving chest was glossed over with sweat and his dark hair stuck to his pale cheeks. She quickly checked his pulse as his eyes fluttered open and closed. His skin was clammy but his pulse was strong. It was surprising considering how many amps they had given him.

"Mr. Barnes," Natasha repeated as she moved the machine away from his head and went to unlatch the straps at his wrist.

Once she undid the first one she hesitated as she gave his shining bionic arm a look of doubt. She glanced up at his face; he looked severely drugged and didn't seem to be an immediate threat. Natasha was willing to risk unleashing his arm, at least for the moment.

Without further hesitation she undid the straps holding down the metal arm then moved down to his legs. She peeked up at him and watched with uncertainty as he raised the bionic arm and curled his fingers. He looked light-headed and confused as he observed the movements of his metallic fingers with half-lidded, bloodshot eyes. Natasha was beginning to worry she'd made a mistake in freeing that arm but it was too late for that now.

Flashing red lights danced across Natasha's hands as she quickly unstrapped his legs from the table. She glanced over her shoulder at the door just as she finished freeing him completely. They couldn't leave the way Natasha had came; Barnes most certainly was too large to squeeze into the ventilation system. They would have to find the underground tunnels that led to the sewer system.

With that decision made, Natasha reached into her pocket to retrieve her palm sized tablet and keyed through the navigation routes that would get them out of the building the fastest. The small screen indicated that there was an exit in the next lab over; no hostiles in that area. Thank God.

When she looked back to Barnes she found him pushing away from the table. He looked about ready to puke. Natasha caught him before he could topple over the operating table and hooked his arm over her shoulders. And the guy was heavy.

"We have to move now, Mr. Barnes. And you're going to have to help me."

She, of course, received no reply.

"Alright then, let's go.

"Did you receive the drive?" Natasha murmured into the phone at her ear as she swirled her glass of bourbon. Outside she could hear rain coming down hard on the small hill country roof. She'd used this safe house only once before tonight. It was best not to come to the same place more than once really but she didn't have too many options at this point.

"Yes...did you find what you were looking for?"

"This line isn't secure."

It was secure actually. Natasha wouldn't have made the call if it wasn't. But Agent Hill didn't know that Natasha was harboring a terrorist who at that moment was laying unconscious in the master bedroom of the three bed, two bath country house. So it was better to keep things brief.

"We will be in touch."

It hadn't been easy lugging that big guy through the sewer system. He weighed a lot. And getting him in out of the car had been a challenge. But despite all of that, Natasha was pretty sure she had yet to face the hard part.

As she ended the call a loud thump echoed from the back of the house. Natasha placed the cell phone on the table and reached for the sawed off shot gun. It was the only weapon she could find in the dusty place. Sure, she had her glocks but there was something threatening about a shot gun. The heavy metal of the gun dragged across the wooden table as she pushed her chair back and stood.

More noise came from the master bedroom as Natasha quietly left the parlor and made her way to the back of the small house with the shotty thrown over her shoulder. It sounded like he was breaking something.

When she reached the door she pulled the gun into a firing position, took a deep breath and listened for any sound on the other side of the door. The racket had stopped and was replaced with a deathly silence. She could only hear the rain from outside.

Natasha nudged the door open with the barrel of the shotgun. The room was dark and the bed was rumpled and empty. She flipped the light switch by the door but the bedroom remained shrouded in shadows. It was safe to say the electricity was out. It was the damn storm.

She didn't see his large figure crowding the bathroom doorway to the right of the bed until a burst of lightning flashed through the curtains at the window. Her heart jumped in her chest as the flare of light washed over his features. His dark eyes were entirely focused on Natasha with a look of calculating distrust. He looked nothing like the delirious man from the operating table. The man in the room with her now was awake and alert. One word echoed through her mind in that moment;

Predator.

Natasha's skin crawled as the room was once again cloaked in darkness and he resumed the form of a looming shadow in the bathroom doorway. Her instincts told her to get out of there. Her training told her the same thing.

This man was a dangerous threat and even worse he was unpredictable. If Barnes chose to react to her presence with hostility and aggression, she was sorely outmatched. Barnes was capable of hurting her without hesitation; she had the bullet holes to prove it. Sure, she had a few tricks up her sleeve but if this man wanted to, her could crush her skull with a single flex of his arm. And she wasn't even referring to the metal one.

Natasha partially worried she was wasting her time with Barnes. His memory hadn't been the best before tonight and after all the electricity she'd seen injected through his skull, she wouldn't be surprised if didn't remember his own name. She really didn't know what she would be dealing with here. He was a wild card.

But Natasha needed something that was in that brain of his. He'd said Barton. She would need to play this carefully. In order to gain his cooperation she would need to earn his trust. And the first step in earning trust was displaying trust.

So Natasha lowered the shotgun to her side carefully. Hell no, she didn't trust this guy. But she could pretend.

"My name is Natalie Rushman. Would you like a drink?"