A/N: Wrapping up this chapter took longer than I expected. BUUUUT, here it is! Yay…?

First things first, of course. THANK YOU, so very much, for your AMAZING reviews and support! It means A LOT that you've all joined this twisted, insane ride. (HUGS)

Awkay, because I've already kept you waiting… Let's go! I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

Pawns of a Chess Game

Natasha didn't scream, of course. Neither did Steve. But after dropping the mockery of a gift she threw something quite heavy at a wall, hard. Which caught the others' attention.

"What's wro…?" Wanda didn't scream, either. But a strangled gasp erupted through her lips, and a lot of color faded from her face.

Tony cursed. Loudly and colorfully, his pallor a curious mix of green and deathly pale. Even Steve had no objections to the foul language.

Natasha slammed the box closed like it burned her fingers. Futilely trying to ignore how much her hands trembled. She swallowed several times but it did nothing to erase the bitter tasted flooding into her mouth. She didn't think she'd ever felt the kind of rage she did at that very moment.

Simply killing Ronja wouldn't do, she'd make Sparrow suffer and beg for mercy first.

They all shivered when Natasha's phone started ringing. Her eyes narrowed and sharpened threateningly before she picked up. The caller was faster to speak out. "Did you like my little gift?"

Natasha's blood boiled and she balled her free fist like she could've actually struck Ronja. "They have nothing to do with this. Let them go and I'll come alone to meet you."

Ronja chuckled. "What makes you imagine that you're in any position to make demands? You want to play, little spider? We'll do it by my rules." There was a brief, frosty pause. "Stop glaring at the wall and tell Scarlet Witch that it's never a good idea to stand in front of a window when you're trying to catch a sniper."

Natasha shivered, her blood ablaze by then. "Wanda, get down, now!" She hissed through her teeth. "If you hurt them…"

"A bit too late for that, don't you think?" Ronja sighed theatrically. "Poor little Lila. How is such a lovely young thing going to recover from this?"

Finally, with a great deal of effort, Natasha found some of her composure. The look on her face hardened significantly, and the cold, calculated look of a seasoned killer took over her eyes. She switched to Russian. "I know something you don't. Something that means more to you than this stupid little game of revenge. What would you say about a trade?"

Natasha only said one word. It had an instant impact. Less than thirty seconds later the phone call was over. Steve didn't like the look on Natasha's face. She seemed scared, and in their current situation that wasn't good news.

"Now what?" Tony demanded with his usual level of patience.

Natasha breathed once. Twice. In a few seconds she finally made eye-contact with the rest of them. "How does walking into a trap sound?"

Tony nodded with an unhealthy amount of eagerness. Steve surprised the rest of them by nodding as well. "Do you have a plan?"

Figuring out Ronja's chosen location wasn't a magic trick. The last time they met on Russian soil was in Jaroslavl, and it cost the life of someone Natasha truly cared about. She still remembered, even without closing her eyes, how the blood all over a park's bench and on the ground looked in moonlight. After the box it was a very small comfort that there was no blood staining the park in New York.

Sitting down slowly, Natasha arched an eyebrow while a subtle glance scanned her surroundings. There were no traces of a threat, aside the obvious presence beside her, but she knew better than to let her guard down. "You made it too easy to find you."

Ronja shrugged with a smile that shouldn't be trusted. "You've gotten rusty with S.H.I.E.L.D. I had to make it easy to ensure that you'd understand." Their eyes met. "I should kill you right now for that little stunt you pulled on the phone."

Natasha smiled sweetly. Suddenly she remembered far too well the days when she was still Natalia. "I thought you'd be pleased that I made the game more interesting for you."

"I hate surprises."

"So do I." Natasha really wished that they wouldn't have been at such a public location. Because the other woman's jaw seemed like the perfect fit for her fist. "Almost as much as the lives of my friend and his child being threatened."

Ronja chuckled. It had a chilling edge to it. "Do you really want to start a competition over which one has made the other suffer more? You've developed a sense of humor since we last met. Now…" Something changed, so swiftly and subtly that an untrained eye would've missed it. "I have something you want, and you have something I need. What are we going to do about it?"

Calmly, subtly and without a breath of hesitation, Natasha revealed a sharp knife and pressed it against where she knew the other's femoral artery to be.

Ronja huffed. "Violence has always been your first response to everything." The woman shrugged. "Not that I'd blame you. We're the same."

"Your sister was different." It was a low blow, but the mental image of what she saw in the box sharpened Natasha's tongue. "The likes of us last longer."

"True." Ronja's tone was smoother than velvet and a snake's hiss all at once. The eyes turning to meet hers were pure venom. "That friend of yours, the little bird… He was different, too. So much like my sister that it's almost a pity what I had to do to him."

Cold that easily rivaled the harsh winters of northern Russia filled Natasha. Maintaining her composure was a war. "So that was why you agreed to meet me already? Because he's dead?" Her stomach kept growing tighter and tighter with dread.

Ronja smiled as sweetly as a wild beast after a successful kill. "That's the beauty of having two pawns to play with. You can sacrifice one if you get… upset." The woman lit a cigarette, like the knife still threatening her didn't exist. "They may still both stand a chance, though. Hard to tell. It depends on how strong they are."

Natasha gritted her teeth. "Tell me where they are… And you'll get what you want."

Ronja tilted her head. There was a curious expression on the woman's face while she blew smoke at the redhead's face. "And what, exactly, do you imagine I want?"

"Only two things." Natasha fought the urge to press her weapon harder. "And my life is one of them."

Ronja frowned. "Why would I want to kill you? It'd be an easy way out, and I don't want you to get such a thing." The woman leaned closer, until their noses almost touched, eyes on hers. "I want you to live a long life… wishing every single moment of it that you'd die. That someone would put an end to your misery." The shorter one shook her head. "No, Natalia. You won't die. I've spent years wiping away those who wanted to murder you for all the things you did before becoming Natasha. I've spilled actual blood to ensure that you'll make it to this very moment, that you'll get to experience what comes next." Ronja kissed her cheek. "Fifteen. That's how many times I've saved your life. It would've been sixteen if Clint didn't make a different call." The killer smiled. "No need to thank me, Natalia. To have you here is my pleasure." Ronja pursed her lips. "So, you asked me what I want… There's only one thing. And you see, that's a problem for you. For one thing from you… I'll only give one thing of yours. That's how fair trade goes. So, spider… You have a decision to make."

Waiting around on an ear-comm was pure torture for the others. Especially when they couldn't understand a thing of that passed between the women. The words eventually aimed their way did little to soothe them. "I've got a location."

Watching Tony and Steve take off, Natasha still felt unnaturally cold and tense. The weight sitting in the pit of her stomach refused to lessen. No matter how much she tried to tell herself that she did the right thing…

Two elderly women cast entirely too curious looks towards Ronja, who'd slumped with her head falling against the redhead's shoulder. Natasha did her best to appear sad. "She drank too much. I'm waiting for her to sober up."

The women shook their heads with judgemental eyes and started whispering, but at least they walked away.

In a few moments Wanda hurried to the scene. The younger woman's eyes widened a fraction. "Is she…?"

"Of course not", Natasha snapped. Even though she knew full well that none of this Wanda's fault. "We need her." Because there had to be a reason why Ronja let herself get caught this early on. Something bad was about to happen, something during which Sparrow wanted to be near her to see her reaction. Whatever it was, Natasha wasn't looking forward to finding out. She got up, receiving a hint of satisfaction from how hard Ronja's head hit the bench. "I sedated her, but I doubt the affect will last long. Let's get her wrapped up before she's conscious."

They started the work deep in thought. Wanda seemed to gather herself for a while before finally asking. "Clint, and Lila… Are they…?" She trailed off.

Natasha had no idea, just that if they were, they were running out of time.

This was all her fault. Now she made her choice. And somehow she'd have to figure out a way to live with it for the rest of her life.

The second Steve and Tony entered the location Ronja handed over, they decided that it was one of the most chilling places they'd ever seen. "Great…", the billionaire groaned. "Just great. This is starting to feel way too much like a bad horror movie." The fact that they were monitored by at least fifty security cameras only added to that feel. He felt tempted to wonder if someone they didn't know about yet was watching.

"Keep your suit on and eyes open." Steve's voice was atypically clipped while the Captain's eyes swept across their surroundings. "The faster we can get away from here the better."

Tony couldn't have agreed more.

Five trap-wires later they faced a heavy-looking metallic door. It felt like a good idea to just smash it. Until they noticed the one more wire above it. One neither felt like cutting by accident.

Tony pursed his lips. Then nodded firmly. "Let me handle this", he suggested while starting to work on the door's lock. Seeing his friend's surprise, he shrugged. "Of course I can pick locks. Once upon a time I was a bored genius billionaire. And a huge as… brat of a teenager."

Under different circumstances Steve might've judged, but as it was they were out of alternative options.

The work was infuriatingly slow. But eventually there was a sound that made Tony smirk like a proper mad scientist. "Here we go!"

Gingerly, mindful of the ominous wire, they pushed the door open. It was so dark inside that at first they couldn't see a thing. The stench slapping them across the face… That was something indescribable, bad enough to make Tony gag.

And then they were able to distinguish the tiny, motionless figure lay close to the wall.

Steve was almost certain that his heart stopped for several moments. "Lila?" No reaction. "It's Tony and Steve. Can you hear me?" Still nothing, and it was starting to terrify both men. Especially when the smell of blood was clear in the air.

Lila appeared horribly small, and far too lifeless. Something dark, without a doubt blood, covered big parts of her. She was also blindfolded, so they had no way of knowing whether her eyes were open or closed. Was she breathing? As much as they would've wanted to run they knew better. They advanced painfully slowly, much too aware of all the traps that might be hiding. On the way Steve's foot hit something and he froze instantly.

Tony, on the other hand, grabbed the item and eyed it critically. "This transmits sound, probably both ways." The billionaire seemed pale, and sick. "Jesus… She probably thought that Clint's here."

"Daddy?" The tiny, feeble whimper made the men shudder. Tears ran down Lila's deathly pale cheeks, and now that she was waking up she was starting tremble. "Daddy, please…!"

"Shh, shh…" Finally closing the distance between them, Tony took off the blindfold. He tried to offer a comforting smile and failed horribly. "It's okay. You're safe now."

Lila's eyes were only halfway open and so dazed that he knew she wouldn't stay awake long. Her skin felt alarmingly warm when he touched her. Still she nodded, trying so hard to be brave that it was painful to watch. "Daddy… Where's daddy?"

"We… don't know yet", Steve admitted reluctantly. "But… We'll find him. I promise." They both hoped it wasn't a promise they couldn't keep.

Lila nodded again, her eyelids drooping worryingly. Her shivers were starting to grow weaker. Which couldn't possibly be a good sign. Despite being barely lucid, she clung to Tony incredibly tightly when he picked her up. "I want daddy", she whispered, her voice breaking.

"I know." Tony wished, from the bottom of his heart, that there were words that would've made even the slightest difference. "Now let's get out of here."

With what was probably the last of her strength, Lila lifted her head to look at Steve. Instead, however, her eyes found something else entirely. And she screamed from sheer terror.

/ The pain… The complete, utter agony… It almost drove Clint out of his mind, or at least out of consciousness. And he couldn't move, or even scream. There was nothing he could do to ease the discomfort. The feel of his own blood running down his skin made him tremble.

Ronja sighed happily. "That… made me feel so much better." A hand tapped at his cheek. "You haven't fallen asleep on me, have you?"

Somehow, impossibly, he managed to growl viciously. This monster just harmed him. Harmed his little girl…!

"Good." Ronja sounded genuinely pleased. "We have a limited amount of time and I want to have as much fun with you as possible. And I want you to be conscious for what comes next. You may want to stay awake, too. Because it may be the last thing you'll ever experience." /

TBC

A/N: Oh boy… Things don't seem promising at all…! What happened to Clint, and is Lila going to be okay? And… WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!

SOOOO… Any good? Back to the drawing board? PLEASE, do let me hear from you! It ALWAYS makes my day.

Awkay, I REALLY need to hurry on now. Until next time! I REALLY hope that you'll all be there.

Take care!

theflyingpenguin: A quite chilling chapter, wasn't it? And I think it'll only go downhill from here… (gulps) Awww, I REALLY hope that you'll find the insanity to come every bit as captivating!

Colossal thank yous for the review! Until next time?

Guest: I'm SO HAPPY that you've enjoyed the story thus far! (BEAMS) We'll see what's to come. Let's just hope that Natasha and the others manage to find Clint and Lila before it's too late…

Massive thank yous for the review!

Carry692: WELCOME ABOARD TO THE INSANITY TRAIN! (GRINS) I'm SUPER happy that you've enjoyed the tale thus far AND Sparrow so much! We'll see just what comes before this story ends, and who will make it through alive…

Gigantic thank yous for the review! Until next time.