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Mission Incomplete
When Veronika finally made it to Zach's house, it took her a few minutes longer than usual to break her way in through the front door. He had increased his security since the last time she had been here. Judging by that and the fact that his living room was littered with packing boxes, she thought that he must have realized how badly he fucked up.
The only thing he had left sitting out was his self-constructed laptop resting on the circular wooden table beside the small couch. It looked like something out of a B-rated sci-fi movie, with all the duct tape and wires attached to it. Veronika had never cared for the dingy thing. It did prove her suspicions, however, that Zach was still sleeping. If he had been awake, he would be sitting in front of it.
Veronika pushed the ridiculously uncomfortable sitting chair away, opting for crouching in front of the screen.
PIN CODE REQUIRED
Six glaring white boxes were lined beneath the demand, daring Veronika to attempt to crack the code. If she was here for information that could be found on his computer, she might have tried a few times before simply forcing Zach to type in the code. She wanted paper, though. So she straightened her back with a sigh before making her way towards the bedroom, slipping her weapon out of the waistband of her jeans. She highly doubted she would need it, but she also really wanted to terrify him.
Zach's snores grated against her ears as she moved to stand at his bedside, glaring down at the man that had kept information from her – information that she had paid him for, nonetheless. Moving the barrel of the gun to rest between his eyes, she fixed her face into its usual grin before kicking his bedframe.
Zach awoke to a cold pressure against his forehead, his eyes fluttering open to a sight that made his heart flutter in an all too unpleasant way.
"Good morning, sunshine!"
"V – "
"Uh-uh," Veronika tutted with a click of her tongue, cocking the gun. "Only friends get to call me that, I'm afraid. And you haven't been very friendly. Have you, Zach?"
His heart felt like it might burst out of his chest if it beat any faster. He had to diffuse the situation – preferably before his highly valuable brains ended up splattered against these cheap pillows. This was most definitely not how he intended to die.
"We can talk about this. Come on, V…eronika," he finished when she quirked an eyebrow, holding his hands defensively in front of his chest. "Veronika. Be logical about this! Killing me will only give you momentary satisfaction, while keeping me alive promises you much more information for a significantly lower price! It's a win-win for all parties involved, right?"
Veronika remained quiet for a moment, seeming to consider his offer before slowly removing the gun from his head. He let out a sigh of relief far too soon, only sitting up an inch before the butt of the pistol collided with his temple. She hadn't swung with enough force to knock him out, just enough to make it really hurt.
Zach clutched his now pounding head as he curled in on himself, cursing the bitch in front of him. "God dammit, Veronika! I'm trying to make a deal!"
"Problem is, I generally only deal with people who don't stab me in the back."
A rough hand latched onto the back of Zach's shirt, dragging him from the bed and pulling him into the living room. The bright light from the windows blinded him as his head screamed in protest, feeling like he had the worst hangover of his life. The legs of the chair scraped against the hardwood floors as Veronika returned it to its position in front of the computer before dropping Zach in the seat. Her grip was firm on his shoulders as the room slowly stopped spinning, his eyes refocusing on the anger smoldering behind the mirth in her features.
"I didn't stab you in the back," he argued quietly, feeling as if speaking to loudly would cause him to lose the day old pizza he had eaten before passing out. "I just… withheld information – I admit that."
"Why?" The question sounded more like a demand than a request coming from her.
"Why else? Somebody else paid more for it."
A frustrated sigh slipped through Veronika's lips, her fingers digging into Zach's shoulders with every word that left his mouth. "Who?"
"Come on, V," Zach scoffed. "You know I can't give out any names. It's bad for business."
He barely managed to finish the sentence before the pistol had found its way back to his forehead, the barrel digging deep into the same indent that had been left earlier. "So is being dead," she said nonchalantly, as if he should have thought of that sooner. "You don't seem to have any problems with that, however – despite it being the more immediate threat."
"Okay, okay!" His eyes clenched shut as his hands flew in front of his face. "I'll give you the stupid file!"
That surprised her – enough so that she actually lowered the gun. "You mean you still have it? I thought you sold it to somebody else!"
"I did," he explained. "But they haven't come to pick it up yet. Just asked me to hold onto it for them until they could get here. That's all I know."
Veronika nodded a few times before taking a step away from Zach and motioning around the small house. "All right then, Z. Go fetch."
He rolled his eyes at being treated like a dog, but knew better than to say anything as he stood from the seat. Careful to keep his hands in plain sight as to not give her any ideas, he moved towards the coffee table in front of the broken TV. Taped to the bottom was the file that Veronika quickly snatched from his hands, causing him to flinch at her sudden movement.
"Relax," she chuckled lightheartedly, almost like she didn't still have a gun pulled on him. "It's not like I'm going to shoot you… Probably."
"You'll forgive me if that doesn't make me feel any better."
"Will I?"
The two went quiet as Veronika pulled the file open, her eyes immediately finding the word ASSET in capitalized bold letters across the top of the front page. Below that was an amalgamation of information she knew she would have to memorize later on, but for now all she needed to know was that this was the file she wanted.
Snapping the file closed, Veronika offered Zach her brightest smile before stuffing it inside her jacket for later use. "Perfect. You always deliver, Z – well, usually."
He nodded slowly, his fingers tapping nervously against the sides of his legs. "Right, right. I always deliver… So you – you'll be expecting me to deliver more in the future. Yeah?"
Truthfully, Veronika hadn't decided whether or not to kill Zach. For the last four months he had been a steady and reliable source of information, but in her line of business it was best not to trust anyone who lied to you – even once. That may be hypocritical of her, but that was beside the point. The point was that –
Veronika heard the bullet before she saw it, the shattering of the window followed by the distinct whistle before it found its target – the back of Zach's head. The sound of breaking glass had thankfully sent Veronika to the floor, so when the bullet went through the back of his skull and out through his forehead before embedding itself in the wall she was left more surprised than injured. If she had hesitated only a moment longer…
"Motherfucker," Veronika hissed, tightening her hand around her gun before inspecting the room to make sure no armies were attempting to break down the doors. It was unlikely, as they most likely wouldn't have started with a sniper, but if she had learned anything it was being safe was almost always better than being sorry.
When no one came shouting through the doors, Veronika used her elbows to crawl underneath Zach's desk before ensuring her pistol wouldn't jam. The chances of Zach being the target with her merely a bystander were slim to none, meaning whoever had just killed him would be coming for her next. And there was only one person that was coming for her now, as far as she knew.
The front door slammed open, splinters of wood sinking themselves into the floor and wall from the force of the kick. Veronika pulled herself further back until she was behind the couch, moving slowly and silently as she focused her hearing on the deliberate footsteps of the intruder.
"I know you're in here," the deep voice taunted, sending an involuntary shiver down Veronika's back. For as long as she lived – which may not be very long at all, at this rate – she would never grow used to the subtle threat all his words held, or the way they rumbled through his chest filled with hidden meanings. "выйти, выйти, где вы находитесь." Come out, come out wherever you are.
She watched her right, waiting for his feet to come into view. The second she saw him she would shoot his ankles, immobilizing him. Once he was down, she would pin him to the floor and plant her remaining seven bullets so deep in his brain even he couldn't possibly survive. Then it would be over. She would be safe – Natasha would be safe. All she had to do was wait for him to come into view…
His fingers tangled in her hair, dragging her out from behind the couch on the side she hadn't anticipated he would attack from. Immediately she wrapped a hand around his wrist, holding his hand closer to her head in an attempt to stop him from ripping the roots out of her skull. She had intended to dig her fingernails into his skin, to pry herself away from him. Unfortunately, there was no skin to break. Shit.
Veronika was confident that if the Winter Soldier hadn't fisted his metal hand in her hair, she would have been able to free herself. Either way she was released, though much less gently thanks to him.
A pained groan rose out of Veronika's chest when she collided with the wall, but when fighting the Soldier there was little time to recuperate after an attack. So, ignoring the throbbing in the back of her head, she pushed herself away from the wall and back onto her feet. The moment she was standing their eyes met, a smirk plain on his lips. "I believe you have something that belongs to me."
"Actually, it originally belonged to me," she argued, using this precious time to stretch out her muscles in preparation for the impending fight. "You're just upset that your plan to steal it out from under me before I could get here failed. Zach always liked me best."
"Then it's a good thing he won't be a problem anymore." The Soldier stepped forward, holding a hand towards Veronika before wiggling his fingers. "Since I'm in a hurry, I'll give you an option. Hand the file over, and I'll leave."
Perhaps if Veronika was running from the Winter Soldier instead of trying to kill him, she might have taken his offer. In fact, she was positive that she would have. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. "Afraid not," she sighed theatrically. "I really want this file. Guess you'll just have to be late."
If he was surprised she hadn't accepted his offer, it didn't show in his features as his hand previously held out waiting curled into a fist and swung at her.
Having anticipated the attack, Veronika dodged to the left and flew right past him, running for the gun she had dropped behind the couch when he grabbed her. He was quick, but not quick enough. Knowing there would be no way for her to pick the gun up and properly aim at him before he could stop her, she settled instead for snatching the gun off the ground and simply firing in his general direction. That was enough to distract him until she could get further away.
Seven bullets left. Make them count.
The Soldier had left his sniper rifle by the door, realizing that it wouldn't be of much use in close quarters. This, however, left him in a precarious situation – one where his enemy was armed, but he was not. His only option would be to make sure she didn't have a gun either, whether that involved him taking it form her or simply disarming her. Either way, he would regain the upper hand.
Once she reached the kitchen she stopped running, turning and pointing the gun at the man chasing after her. He had come too close for comfort, so yet again she fired twice more at him without being positive either bullet would hit.
Five.
Both bullets left smoking holes in the wall just over his shoulder as he tried to land a punch to her gut. She managed to avoid the brunt of the blow, though his knuckles managed to glance off her ribs. Expecting her to make this move, he held his other arm straight out to block her path. As she tried to duck beneath his arm, he latched onto the wrist of the arm holding the gun. His fingers squeezed the inside of her wrist, jamming his thumb on her pressure point with inhuman strength.
Against her will her fingers uncurled, dropping the weapon against the tile floor with a resounding clang. In retaliation, she twisted her body to face his until she was able to jerk her knee up and land a solid blow to his abdomen. His hold on her wrist remained strong as he doubled over, which managed to being her to the floor with him as she hooked her foot around his ankle to trip him.
With both assassins in a pile on the floor, it became a mad scramble for the gun that had landed just out of reach. Veronika stretched her free arm towards the weapon, growling when her fingers brushed the metal only moments before the Soldier shoved his palm out and knocked it further away.
"Just let me kill you already," she grunted when he prevented her from grabbing the gun. "I'm sure we'll both be much happier once you're gone."
"I can't let you do that," he responded, sounding as exasperated as she felt. "I haven't completed my mission."
She kicked her legs free from his, clawing her way closer to the gun. "Who gives a shit about your mission? Nobody important, I'll tell you that."
He grabbed her shoulder, glad that the tiles provided no friction making it almost too easy for him to continue to slide her back and away from her only chance of actually hurting him. "I can't stop until I get that file back."
Realizing that trying to get her weapon back was a lost cause, Veronika decided on a different approach. Reaching inside her jacket, she produced the file he wanted so badly and slid it across the floor. He told her already that he hadn't come for her, so why should he choose to continue fighting her now that what he truly wanted was a mere few feet away?
As she intended, the moment the Soldier saw the papers scatter out of folder and slide across the tiles he had pushed himself away from her to snatch it up. Once he was distracted, she disentangled her leg from his and pulled it up to her side, grasping the blade inside her boot. It was short and thin like a letter opener – not enough to kill him, but definitely enough to hurt like a bitch.
The Soldier had managed to cram most of the sensitive information back into its casing before he felt it. His cybernetic arm sparked and tensed when the blade was shoved into the shoulder, sending painful electric currents surging through his chest. "Сука," he snarled, grasping the blade she had abandoned in his shoulder in favor of stealing the file back from him. Bitch.
She hadn't been able to grab every scrap of paper, but she knew that staying any longer would be pushing her luck. The Soldier was already moving to stand, having just yanked the blade from his arm – now the one out of the two of them to be wielding a weapon.
Though she wasn't happy with it, Veronika knew that taking out the Winter Soldier was a mission would take time and patience rather than guts and strength. She hated leaving him, knowing that the next time they met he was going to hold even more of a grudge against her. But he'd had the upper hand – even more so than usual – and she certainly wasn't ready to die yet.
So she ran.
The Soldier watched as she ran from the house, her blade in his hand and his file in hers. Anger at being unable to stop her yet again boiled in his blood, but he knew he couldn't follow her. He had already been gone long enough – his superiors were surely going to ask questions. Without permission from them, he wouldn't have the time needed to properly track her down again tonight. He would have to wait – again. An unpleasant tingle vibrated from his metal arm, reminding him of the damage she had cause. Now not only would he have to come up with a convincing lie for his whereabouts, but also for the injury to his arm that the specialized mechanics would spend the next few hours rewiring.
Let her follow him, then. He had a new mission in a new part of the country waiting for him. His fight with this woman could wait until he was finished taking out his newest target. Until then, he would be forced to let her know all she could learn from that file. It didn't make him happy, but there was nothing he could do to go against his orders. And for now, those orders would lead him to Washington, D.C.
Chapter 3 Preview
She looked over the name once more to ensure she hadn't misread – that she hadn't imagined the words on the page in front of her. When they refused to change into a different name, Veronika could only sigh, resigning herself to her fate.
Steven G. Rogers
