Romanoff Affair

"Agent Romanoff, we have a mission that requires your immediate attention." Agent Romanoff was sat down at a conference table in a shield base and debriefed on the situation. She flipped through the folder slowly, skimming over details. She had a target.

"Your job is to get close to the target. We are unsure of whether or not we want her taken out yet. She has information, and is able to acquire more. We may be able to use her." Natasha flipped a page that was basic family background information. The next page held basic personal information on the target and held a picture. The woman was 5'1", had long, kinky curly brown hair past her shoulders, dark, dark, brown eyes and a warm smile.

"She has the ability to access every secure network of any government building in any country. We need to find out how. Your job is to get to know her, get close, and keep her under the radar. She has made some pretty nasty enemies in the past decade. We need you to learn everything you can on her. And if needed, we need you to take her out. She is extremely smart. Make sure she does not figure out why you are there. To avoid you being compromised, we cannot be in contact with you. If something goes wrong, you have to get out on your own. For now, just make sure she trusts you."

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Natasha asked, skimming over the woman's latest illegal activities. She seemed to have picked up a habit of drag racing with a gang in downtown Washington D.C.

"We picked you specifically for your skills that got you on S.H.E.I.L.D.S. radar in the first place." Natasha furrowed her eyebrows.

"So she's gay?" It was unusual but not unheard of. Natasha has had experience in this area, but nearly as much experience as she had with men. Female targets could prove trickier.

"Not exactly. As far as we can tell, the target does not discriminate her sexual partners by gender. As long as there is attraction, there is no issue." Natasha's lip quirked and she leaned back in her chair.

"And what if she isn't attracted to me?" Natasha questioned with a smirk.

"Then make her attracted to you. This target is of upmost importance. The level of intelligence she holds is extremely dangerous. Add that to her skills in combat, she is one of the most lethal people on the planet. If she was on our side, she could easily be one of the best agents here. Shame she turned down the offer." The man trailed off. Nick Fury looked down at the woman's picture. The name read Lucy (Code Name Furia) King. Years ago, before she had fallen off everyone's radar, he had proposed an offer. He had asked King to join Sheild and become an agent. She had turned him down. However, she was surprisingly willing to help them when she could. It was a compromise Fury could accept at the time. When she fell off the radar, the agency had to assume she was hiding. She was marked a threat. King had returned to the world of the living two years ago. They were just now able to get someone on the case.

"So this is in D.C? Isn't that a bit too close to the President for comfort?" Natahsa asked, curious as to why no one has gone in and removed her yet.

"She is not a threat to The United States as far as we can tell. I am trying to keep her as an ally to shield, but the board directors want something done. This is the best option I have at the moment. Agent Romanoff, can I count on you to handle this?" Nick eyed her with his one eye. She nodded and stood, grabbing the file, she planned on reading it on her flight to D.C. Director Fury dismiss her and she made for the exit. The doors swooshed open and she was about to step out.

"One more thing, Agent. Be careful of how close you let her get to you. She has a habit of getting too close." Natasha nodded, not completely understanding the warning, and left.

Once on the plane, Natasha sat down with a glass of wine and began to read the woman's file.

Lucy King had gone missing at the age of thirteen and was never reunited with her family. Her mother was killed in what appeared to be a domestic violence dispute between the mother and older son of twenty three. This happened after her disappearance, leaving her younger sister in a foster care system. The father was killed in the line of duty. He was a detective. Lucy's father had died when she was eleven.

It was speculated that Lucy was kidnapped by a drug cartel her father and his team had been digging into. She was found at the age of seventeen when she was trying to cross the border between Mexico and Texas. She had a gun with two bullets left and wore baggy cargo pants and a tank top. She collapsed to due malnutrition and dehydration. She asked that her sister remained ignorant of her existence. Lucy King was then placed into witness protection program until she was eighteen. At eighteen she became a ghost.

She still was on Sheild's radar, but no one else's. She had become some sort of vigilante without drawing attention to herself. She would show up every now and again. Every time she disappeared, she was last seen in Montana.

At the age of 23, she joined the CIA and was trained in the art of being an agent in the field. She was trained in interrogation, basic hacking, infiltration (her specialty), and assassination. Her aim was excellent, her IQ was high, and her reports say she is quick at adapting and learning. She was one of their main agents who worked abroad, so she is probably multilingual. When Lucy was 25, she was double crossed by a partner that nearly cost her (and many other agents along with civilians) their lives. The man fled to Russia. Lucy had finished the job and tracked him down for months, learning, watching and observing, until she made her move. She interrogated him, tortured him (it is speculated most of it was fueled off of rage and not a necessary course of action), and killed him after she acquired all the information she could. She had forced him to swallow gasoline before dumping the rest on him. The man burned to death inside and out.

This streak of violence was so unlike her usual laid back, fun loving personality that she had been given the nick name Furia. Spanish for fury.

The following year was not good for her. In January, she was assigned a mission in North Korea. Something went wrong. No one knows how it happened but information was leaked and she was compromised. She was taken captive by the North Korean government and she was presumed dead.

Natasha found it interesting that people were so quick to right her off as deceased.

She returned a few years later in South Korea, before fleeing to Japan. She returned to America and made her way to Montana where she stayed off radar for a few months. Since then she has been carefully watched, people were worried she had joined with North Korea. It had been about a year since she has returned and she has not been doing nearly as much.

Lucy King was located in Washington D.C. and had sources in the major gangs. It looked like she helped in keeping the local crime rate down. Natasha contemplated why she would stoop to something as mundane as drug crimes compared to everything else she had done.

Perhaps she had her fill and was looking to settle down. Maybe this was her way of adjusting to normal, civilian life. Normal was not something King had since she was twelve or thirteen.

Natasha closed the file and leaned back in her seat and sipped the wine. Shield had given her a first class seat with no one next to her. She had to arrive by plane to avoid suspicion. She would be arriving in Dullas airport before taking a taxi to her new, temporary apartment. Natasha sat and thought about her target. She was completely normal before she was kidnapped. After Mexico, she was able to become a vigilante and join the CIA. She never was formally trained so she must have had something of value for them. Then there was Korea. What happened there? If she wasn't dead, what was she doing? Most likely being tortured. Lucy King has had quite a busy life, Natasha almost felt bad for her because now another government agency was about to send her life into a whirlwind of chaos again. She was either going to become an asset or a target. Lucy didn't seem like the type to go quietly.

Natasha had successfully settled in and sat on the black leather love seat in her new apartment. She opened a bottle of wine Agent Coulson had sent to her new place. A "welcome home" gift, the note said. She looked around. It was small and simple. The love seat was pushed against a wall in the living room. On the rigt wall were two windows. THey had soft, beige curtains that were drawn shut. Between them was a small bookstand. On top was a small digital clock that also acted as a radio. Next to it were two picture frames. They were of her and her fake parents at what looked like was a graduation ceremony. Coulson had stood in for the dad part. The other was a picture of her and Maria Hill in civilian clothes at what looked like a coffee shop. The pictures were to make it look like she had brought something personal with her. People had pictures of friends and family.

THe books that stocked her book shelf were varied in subject. There was the dictionary, the bible, a thesaurus, a Spanish teaching book, several popular fictional series (Harry Potter included of course) and a few classics including Poe and Arthur Connan Doyle. Above NAtasha was the pop of color her apartment needed. The majority of the place was neutral colors but the painting above her was a pop of color to break the monotony. It was a large painting of what looked like a peacock feather. It you ran your hand across it, it would actually feel like there was a feather underneath of it. THe picture was of the close up of the eye of the feathers. It wasn't the usual blues and greens, but had reds, oranges and browns. It was beautiful, Natasha had to admit. In front of her was a dark brown coffee table that she had a spare gun strapped underneath. Across the room from her was a small tv stand that held an assortment of movies and TV standing proudly.

To the right of the living room was a kitchen with a small table for two pushed against the wall. It had all the standard kitchen requirements. Down the hall was the bathroom and across from that was her bedroom. It had a queen sized bed with cream sheets and a white comforter. On the nightstand was a small black lamp and an alarm clock. In the drawer was a gun. On the dresser was a large mirror and three more pictures. One was actually a real picture of her and Clint.

Under the bed was a lock box that held all of the information on the target along with emergency objects such as a passport, foreign money and plane tickets issued from sheild which would get her a seat on any plane going any where at any time. Natasha sat and thought about what she should do. She could go out to the bar where her target spent most of her time and get a head start, or she could take the time to relax.

Head start it was.

Natasha pulled out a simple yet very appealing outfit. SHe threw on black pantyhose and a pair of grey ankle boots that had modest heels. Her skirt was simple black and stopped a few inches above the knee. It was high waisted so she put on a white, short sleeved button up shirt and left the buttons above her chest open. SHe stuck with very natural shades of makeup. Nothing bold. SHe kept her short hair with it's natural curl. Over it all she wore a short black peat coat. THe inside pockets held a small hand gun and she had a knife sheathed under her skirt. She wasn't expecting anything to happen, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Natasha grabbed a small black coach purse and made her way out.

The bar was not upscale, nor was it a dump. It was a small hole in the wall. A loud small hole in the wall. The lights wer kinda dim but light enough to provide a clear view. There was a pool table people were at and the walls held booths. THe long bar stretched from wall to wall and there were tall tables to stand at around the room. THe bar stools were mostly unoccupied because everyone else was walking around the tables and chatting or at the booths. THe music was loud but not deaffaning and the crowd was a bit rowdy. Natasha didn't see her target.

She hopped onto one of the stools and hung her jacket on the back of the chair. Her purse was on a hook under the bar itself.

"WHat can I get for ya?" The bar tender asked. He appeared to be in his early 60's, average height, plenty of muscle though. He had some stubble on his face. Not bad looking. He had a tattoo on his right bicep.

"Brooklyn. Thank you." She stated with a small smile.

"Sure thing." He went off to make the drink. Natasha kept an eye out on the door by the mirror behind the bar. It gave her a perfect veiw without being to obvious she was waiting for someone. THe bartender set the drink down. She thanked him and took a sip. She looked around the bar and noticed something was missing.

"Where are the bouncers?" She asked. The bartender chuckled and began wiping the counter.

"Well, the one on shift tonight is late. She's always late. We don't keep them outside either. Usually, i just have one in here to keep an eye out for trouble. They step in if anyone gets too rowdy. They aren't even official employees, they started off as volunteers. just a couple of regulars." HE said chuckling to himself.

"The one on shift tonight is real nut. She's the only girl bouncer I got but she's the best. She just can't ever be bothered to show up." He shook his head. Natasha nodded in understanding. "Well, if ya need anything, holler." He said and walked away.

Natasha spent some time sipping her drink, watching the door, watching the crowd and texting. She had to act like a civilian so she had to text friends. In reality it was either Pepper or Maria. It was Maria's personal phone so nothing can be traced back to Shield. At the moment she was texting Pepper. Stark was up to his usual antics and Pepper finally got a break. Their evening was winding down. She felt bad for Pepper. The two women have gotten closer over the years.

"Hello, beautiful." A man said as he leaned on the bar next to her. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and wrinkled her nose. SHe barely spared him a glance hoping he would get the idea that she wasn't interested.

"Haven't seen you here before. First time?" He asked. Natasha hummed and sipped her drink and put her attention back to her phone. THe man leaned closer. "You look bored. Why odn't you come with me back to my place, we can have lots of fun." THe man grinned and looked her up and down. Natasha hated these creeps.

"No."

"What why not? C'mon, don't be so cold, baby." He said and rested his hand on her knee. Natasha pinned him with a glare, hoping it would scare him off. She did not want to make a scene but she was two seconds from stabbing him with the fork on the bar. He didn't seem fazed. "Get your hand off my knee." She threatened quietly and forcefully, her glare hardening. He was too drunk to notice or too arrogant.

He leaned in closer, so close she had to lean back a bit and smiled. "Make me."

NAtasha was going to. She was going to stab the fork through his hand. But she never got the chance. Someone slammed his head into the bar so hard it broke the man's nose. His arm was ripped off her knee and was twisted behind him. The person who stepped in was between them. She couldn't see her face. She grabbed his hair and pulled him back up only to slam his face back down before tossing him backwards.

"Get him outta here!" SHe yelled and a couple of men grabbed his arms and tossed him out the door. The woman turned and sat on the stool next to Natasha.

"Three shots of the hardest shit you got!" She yelled at the bartender who rolled his eyes. She sat back down and leaned on the table and smiled at Natasha. She was very pretty. Her brown hair fell over her shoulder. "Sorry about that, hope he didn't give you too much trouble. But I bet you could handle him on your own." The bartender gave her her order and she thanked him before taking a shot.

Natasha furrowed her eyes at what she said. "What do you mean by that?"

"You look like the type who can handle herself." She said with a wink. Natasha eyed her before giving a small smile.

"Lucy." She said and stuck her hand out. Natasha took it and shook. "Nat." This was Lucy King.

"So what brings you to D.C.?" Lucy asked. "Work, I take it?" She smirked and Natasha kept her face neutral but civil. "Yeah. I'm down from New York for business. How did you guess?"

"Well, your clothes for starters. Plus you seem too classy to show up in a bar like this. Looking for someone?" She asked and smiled sweetly. Natasha was wondering if her cover had already been blown. She was going to role with whatever Lucy already had.

"Just some company. Kinda not used to being so alone." She said with a smile. Lucy pursed her lips and rested her head on her hand. She reminded Natasha of a cat.

"I'm sorry about that. But you can go home soon and see them." She offered with a shrug before taking another shot. Her movements were so smooth like water. "Honestly, you aren't gonna want anyone that shows up here. Unless you wanna take home Nick the bartender." She said with a wink.

Natasha put on a small mischievous smile. "Who said I was taking home a man?" Her eyelids dropped a it. Lucy was intrigued by the woman and her eyes flashed in amusement.

"That would be even harder. Most girls here are taken. Good luck finding someone." She offered.

"What if I already have?" Natasha offered, smile still in place. Lucy took a shot while smiling and watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"are you flirting with me?" She asked and there was a pause before both girls broke into a fit of quiet giggles.

"Why, is it working?" Natasha asked grinning. She was thankful Lucy was being so receptive. It would have been a pain if she had to seduce her slower. At this rate Natasha might be going home with her. She was very good looking if Natasha had to admit. She was wearing a black undershirt and what looked to be a jumpsuit but the top was tied around her waist like a jacket. It was dark green. She had it tucked into men's work boots. Lucy saw her eyeing the clothes and grimaced.

"I promise i dress better. I just got off work. I work at a car repair shop." Natasha shook her head slightly.

"No it's ok. It looks good actually." Natasha said, trying to sound sheepish. Lucy smiled.

"Hey, Bitch!" Lucy snapped around, demeanor completely changed. She stood and stood straight and attentive. It was the man from earlier. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"A bouncer who is doing her job. Go home." SHe said before she started to walk forward.

"Yeah right! you think you're so big and bad but that was a cheap shot!" He yelled.

"You are drunk and concussed. Go home." SHe said, standing only a few feet in front of him.

"Make me." He said. That seemed to be his favorite line. Lucy did make him leave. But he wouldn't know it until the next day.

Lucy swung as hard as she could. It sent him reeling back. She followed and kicked hard at his knee, sending him down. She kneeled down on his chest and punched him twice in the face. He was out. After that she dragged him outside the door. SHe came back and hopped back in the bar, an unhappy look on her face. Natasha reached out and touched her arm, fake concern over her face."You ok?" She asked. Lucy nodded before breathing deeply. Her smile returned. "Yeah. Just hate idiots." Natasha smiled.

The two sat for a while just chatting. Occasionally Lucy had to ask a patron to leave but nothing got too out of hand. It was nice and Natasha was actually enjoying her company. if she wasn't a target, Natasha could actually see herself being friends with her. Tony would love her. But Natasha had a feeling that once Lucy found out what was going on, she wouldn't trust her and any bridge built would be burned. It happens. It's part of the job.

"It's getting late. I should probably go." Natasha said while checking her phone.

"I'll take you home." Lucy offered. Natasha waved her off. "I'm fine. I live just a few blocks away." She said with a smile. She really would be fine, she's an assassin. But Lucy didn't know that. Lucy watched her worriedly, worried for the safety of her new friend. "In case you haven't noticed, this isn't exactly the safest part of town."

"You're working. I don't want you to get in trouble."Natasha tried as an excuse. She didn't think it was a good idea for Lucy to see where she lived.

"It won't be a problem. I got it covered. People seemed to have calmed down." Nick offered.

"Just let me take you home." Lucy stated and began walking out the door, tugging Natasha with her gently. "You are gonna wanna put on your jacket." Lucy stated.

Lucy walked over to a motorcycle parked outside the bar. It was a small black Kawasaki Ninja. Natasha was not expecting that. Lucy walked over and grabbed a helmet before turning to Natasha. "Put this on." Natasha obeyed. Lucy made sure the strap was tight under Natasha's chin. She tied her hair into a quick braid before hopping on and Kicking the kickstand up. She looked and saw Natasha standing there. "Well, hop on." Natasha mounted it and gripped the jumpsuit around Lucy's waist. Lucy laughed. "Ha. Yeah right." She took Natasha's hands and gently wrapped them around her middle. Natasha had to set her head on Lucy's strong back. She relaxed into her. Well, as much as one could in her position. Lucy started the bike and drove off. Luckily, the topic had come up earlier so Lucy had a generally good idea of where Natasha lived. When they neared the right building, Natasha tapped her side and pointed to it. Lucy pulled up and stopped. She set the kickstand down and helped her off before removing the helmet.

"So, welcome to D.C." Lucy said as she helped Natasha remove her helmet. Natasha thanked her for the lift. "Good luck with whatever you are in town for."

"Thanks." Natasha replied with a small smile. She stepped forward boldly and slowly kissed Lucy's cheek. She leaned back and smirked. Lucy's eyebrows and shot up and Natasha smirked. Lucy blinked before a mischievous smile danced across her face. "Well, if I get that as a thanks, I may take to escorting you home every night." Lucy teased as she got on her bike. Natasha put a hand on her hip.

"What makes you think I'm going to the bar again?" She said with a smirk. Lucy leaned on the handle bars and grinned like a cat.

"Because I'm your next target." Natasha froze and her smile fell. She covered her slip up by looking confused. "When women like you get a target, you make sure you get them." Lucy winked before starting the bike. "See you later! Good luck with work!" She called before zipping off down the street, leaving Natasha perplexed,concerned, confused, and (oddly enough) excited. It was rare that Natasha had such a challenge reading her targets. Was her cover blown? Did Lucy know? What would Lucy do?

Natasha didn't know the answer to any of these questions. However, Lucy seemed content playing along if she actually knew. If things went south Natasha could handle it. Natasha figured she could play along for a while as well.

thanks for reading, what do you guys think so far? any suggestions?