-1-

"You know Steve," Natasha Romonov purred as she answered the ringing phone, "there have to be other people you feel compelled to check up on every day." She could almost hear the smile on the super solider as well she could hear his measured breathing as he completed his morning run. Nat almost regretted giving him her number, because now she became his daily running companion. For someone who had preferred, and to be honest conditioned, to be alone the past few years had thawed that feeling down. Her time, first with Barton and his family, and then with the Avengers before ...before... everything happened, had been the first time she could clearly remember being in a family. A messed up, highly dysfunctional family, but a family all the same.

The time difference between Wakanada and her New York safe house made it such that while Steve is up too early running, Natalie was just completing her light lunch.

"Yeah, but most of them are here, where you should be." The light push again was ignored by Natalie, which seemed to come at least once a week. "Besides," the super soldier continued, "I don't think Tony is taking my calls yet." While his voice was light and humorous, the pain was still there in his speech. The months following ... the disaster, was the best way Natalie could think to describe what had happened to the Avengers, had been hard on many of the so called "Team Cap", who were now holed up in Wakanada with Steve.

Tony Stark spent most of his time now supporting the remaining Avengers who had signed the Accords, and helping the newly re-established SHIELD, although Natalie felt that was more to make sure he knew what the reborn agency was up to than for political reasons. She wasn't for certain what all had gone down between Stark and Ross, but Tony was definitely not in a good place with the Secretary, although it was not being played out in the press, where both presented a muted but solid front.

"Yeah, well I won't be looking for any gifts under the tree from Santa Stark this year, either," Natalie smirked as she replied to Steve, who laughed as he continued to jog.

-2-

Senator Eldon Smith walked quickly down the hall, his aides handing him briefs and papers as the trailed behind. The senator was talking on the phone animatedly, while trying to keep track of the materials he was being handed to him.

"No, no no no. You listen to me, Secretary Ross. I think we've seen all to well what havoc these programs have wrought over the last few years. I don't care how vital you think they might be, we don't need more of these people running around, we already have lost any sense of control over them, thanks in no small part to you!" The senator ended the call with a forceful, if uselessly dramatic, poke at the phone he held.

"I don't care how many times he calls, I don't want to talk to that man the rest of the week," Senator Smith says as he hands the phone to the nearest aide, a tall brunette. "For that matter ... " his voice trails off as the senator watches his aide and the phone he had just passed off along with the remaining papers in her hands goes flying away from him, a flash of bright red hair and black tactical suit behind her the only clue his spinning mind had as to what had happened. The aide landed with a sickening crunch against the closest wall, the body sliding down at an unnatural angle as her head laid in such a position that it was obvious that her neck had snapped in contact with the wall.

The Capitol security guards sprang to action as his remaining two aides grabbed the Senator, trying to get him away and to safety. The three guards ran at the small woman, her hair spinning in the bright lights of the hallway as she moved quickly, breaking the arm of the closest guard, then spinning around and using her momentum to pull his body into the second guard, knocking them both over. The third guard slowed down and reached for his sidearm, but was too late as the dark clad woman had already drawn hers, the hall echoing with the muzzled sound of her weapon firing, the third guard dropping to the ground, blood gushing from the neck and shoulder wounds he had taken the shots. The bright red blood quickly made a wide pool around his head, already a ghostly grey as the blood loss slowed.

Getting up quickly, the second security guard moved to stop the woman, but she was already moving towards him. With quick succession, she snapped the neck of the second guard while he was still on his knees, and then used the pistol in his hand to shoot the first guard in the head. Both men flopped to the floor as the woman turned around and stalked towards the remaining people in the hall, the Senator and his aides, cowering between a column and the adjoining wall.

Smoothly and quietly, the woman raised her weapon at the senator, one would think calmly if they could see her face; however the attackers face was hidden behind a face mask that obscured her face, leaving only the neck and hair exposed. Not that it was needed, the Senator thought as the bullet launched towards him.

Anyone could tell from the curve of the suit and the way she had killed those men, that the redhead could only be one person: the Black Widow.

-3-

Steve had finished his run and was getting done telling Natalie about the recent news regarding Sam's attempt to pick up ladies in Wakanada as he entered the common room of the communal house the hiding Avengers had been given. He slowed his talking as he watched the news program that had been left on, his attention distracted as he watched Natalie on his TV, and then realizing it was a setting he had not seen her at before. Finally seeing the headline "Black Widow Kills US Senator", the blood drained from his face.

"Nat, turn on the TV," he said after she had said his name twice, snapping him back into the phone call.

The silence on the phone was negated by the audio from the TV as Steve turned up the volume. The video played again from the security cameras as the woman on the screen, ("could it be Nat?", Steve wondered) quickly moved with the usual grace and lethal efficiency of the Black Widow to kill the six victims before moving off screen. News reports were saying that the Capital grounds, as well as much of Washington D.C. And surrounding areas were on lockdown as the dragnet began for the assassin.

"Nat?" Steven said into the phone while watching the news, "are you seeing this?" His question got no reply, which he was only slightly surprised by. "Nat?" He asked again, this time pulling the phone away from his head and seeing that the call had already ended.

Watching the news, Steven could only hope his friend wasn't going to do anything rash, even though he knew all too well he wouldn't be able to not do something if it was him. Raising his phone again, he made another phone call.

"Hey, it's me. I need a flight."