She should have known.
Natasha was trained to be the best. Trust few and be cautious around the rest. Never let the wrong ones in.
She liked to believe that she didn't let anybody in, but that was proven wrong with Clint, and even further proven wrong with Loki. Sort of.
She would never admit it -even though she didn't really trust him- she hoped, honestly hoped that he was different and not so hell-bent on ruling the world the second time around. She found that they had civil conversations and that he was more than capable of telling a joke. In the end…
Wishful thinking was still wishful thinking.
Natasha was sent the order to kill him that morning. She read over the file and found that there were records of him controlling people, yet again and wreaking havoc in minor countries.
How had she not noticed?
Orders were orders. She only had an hour left on her mission's self-given time limit.
She waited on the roof of a tall building. Her gun was mounted and the silencer was in place. The wind meter was set in front of her, it's numbers flashed a dull green. Any second now.
Loki walked out of the front doors of the building. He glanced to the left and to the right before he turned and began to walk. That walk with the damned confident step that she knew.
Natasha followed his moving figure with the cross-hare.
He made a turn into an alley-way.
She pulled the safety and aimed a bit to the right of him. The wind was blowing westward of her.
Her heart beat fast and her finger tensed. "I thought you changed," she said under her breath before she pulled the trigger. The bullet hit it's target. Hell, she never missed.
There was a silencer, but the sound was deafening. Her arms fell loose to her sides. Natasha could have sworn that he had heard her whisper because he turned…
No point in mourning the dead, Natasha.
She pursed her lips and dialed in to report her kill.
Just another mission complete.