Natasha frowned as she kicked some snow aside, irritated with the cold and the man following her. She wasn't sure what to think about him,but she didn't like him. What agents in their right mind gave their real name to the enemy? Maybe he was just stupid. Yes,that was it she decided as she bent down to pull the trap door open. To her surprise he had yet to stare at her or gawk like most men-it was a nice change,but also a bit annoying;he was breaking all the rules.
Natasha ducked into the tunnel and the man followed,quietly pulling the door shut behind him. For a moment she considered knocking him over the head,but where would that get her? All she had to go back to was Ianvitch and his cruel followers, and if he ever caught wind of her attempted escape she would be severely punished in unspeakable ways. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine and if the foreign agent noticed he didn't speak on it. Instead he notched an arrow on that crazy contraption he called a weapon and scanned the tunnel ahead.
"Will there be guards?"
"Of course," she rolled her eyes. "Why wouldn't there be? There are two stationed at the end of this tunnel. It let's out a few miles from Moscow. Where is your extraction point?"
"Outside the De Grand hotel in Moscow."
"I know where that is."
"So you know the area?"
Natasha gave him an icy glare."Stop trying to pry information out of me. We should be getting close to the end so for God sakes SHUT UP," she hissed. Clint just sighed and shook his head as they neared the bend in the tunnel.
Both agents were startled to find a group of 4 men waiting for them,guns aimed straight at them. "Freeze!"
"Damn!"Clint yanked her out of the line of fire and she shot daggers at him.
"Get your hands off me!" She shoved him,resisting the urge to punch him.
"Excuse me for trying to save your life," Clint muttered as they retreated back to the bend in the tunnel to hold a better vantage point. Somewhere from above ground a siren wailed and Clint watched the woman as she Drew her pistol,flicking the safety off and detaching the silencer in one fluid motion. Clint replaced the stunning arrow he had notched with a regular one and the two agents faced opposite directs. Footsteps and Russian cries came from both ends of the tunnel. As the first two men rounded both ends an unspoken agreement passed between them and they fired simultaneously, both men dropping to the ground at the same time. They repeated this several more times until Clint's side became too crowded for his bow. Without speaking or signaling to one another they swapped sides without missing a beat, the sharp bang and dull thud of their weapons syncing in harmony.
Twice more the agents swapped sides before the rush of men turned to a trickle,then to a stop. Silence stretched throughout the tunnel and Clint replaced the unused arrow in his quiver. His brow creased as he thought about what had just happened: two unacquainted agents had just worked together like they had spent hours training together. It took partners years of practice to figure out each others ways,to achieve complete synchronization and they had done it in seconds; it had came naturally.
"Wow," Clint mumbled under his breath. The woman raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she turned her back to him. Her thoughts were on the same track and she was disturbed that someone could match her like that. This Hawkeye fellow was going to need further watching.
"Ianvitch is sure to send more reinforcements, we need to keep moving," she stated as she stepped over a dead body, the body of a former comrade. She felt no remorse or pity for the man. These people had taken her whole life from her and turned her into a mindless killing machine. And now a foreign agent was offering her a way out of this hellish cycle. She shook her head at the absurdity of it all and sighed; her life would never be normal.
"Barton!" Coulson breathed a sigh of relief as he answered his phone. "Where in the hell have you been? You haven't made contact in 2 hours!"
"Busy,no time to explain,"Clint huffed as he ran alongside the Russian spy. "I have an agent with me. We cannot make it to the extraction point. We need emergency extraction!"
"Another agent? What did you do this time Barton? Who is she?"
Clint noticed the slight smirk on the woman's face and he knew she had heard Coulson. "Just get me a damn extraction!" Clint barked before hanging up,firing several rounds at the pursuers behind them. He had picked up a gun from a dead man. Although it wasn't his weapon of choice it was better suited for close range combat.
"Here comes our ride," the spy said as a chopper flew into view,hovering over their heads. A titanium ladder slid down and the agents grabbed out,climbing as the chopper gained height. They reached the empty passenger hold and the ladder pulled up,then the chopper was gone,leaving the Russian compound behind.
"Nice work," Clint finally said after he caught his breath. He broke his bow down and stored it before pulling off his gloves and quiver,tucking them beside his chair. The woman ignored him,pulling out her gun and cleaning the barrel.
Clint shrugged before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He was unused to the woman's stony silence; he was a loner,but he enjoyed the occasional conversation. He finally shrugged to himself yawning. And then he heard it. It was barely audible,but she had said it.
"Romanoff. You can call me Romanoff."
"It is nice to meet you, Agent Romanoff."
