Chapter 4!

Sorry it took so long! Busy life time!

Reviewers:

CottonCandy; Sure wouldn't be fun if it wasn't an adventure! Hope you enjoy this one :)

DISCLAIMER; I OWN NOTHING! NADA! NIENTE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOTHING!


Over the years, she had forgotten just how beautiful her home country could be. It wasn't the extreme of a season, wasn't the height of summer nor the dead of Winter, though it was February so a light snow was still falling across the capitol city.

Natasha knew the dark secrets hiding behind the beauty though. It was always the same, no matter if she was talking about a city or a person or a flower in the Springtime. Nothing beautiful was perfect. People had egos and dark sides, flowers had thorns and poisons, and this place? This place that was covered in a soft fluffy blanket hid more sharp edges than anywhere else her career has ever taken her.

Maybe it's because she spent so much time working these streets, maybe it's because she worked for the lowest of the low in the city, but even the beautiful orange sky as the sun slowly set couldn't make her appreciate the place like the others around her were.

With a huff of a breath she pulled her coat closer around her body, slowly making her way down the empty street to avoid any attention that may be drawn towards her. Not that there should be much. Even the most hardiest of criminals wouldn't know she was around. She was an Avenger, and being one of the only two on the team who just popped up from obscurity she was highly known now. No one would think twice on her, no one would expect her to be here alone while the others were still fighting the good fight, no one would doubt that she was just another passer-by trying to make her way home from work.

She gave a slight smile to an old couple who passed her on the sidewalk, slightly side stepping so she stepped on the ice patch instead of them. She really didn't want the pair slipping on what looked like a nice evening stroll for them. So there might have been a soft spot remaining for the people, just not the place. So sue her!

She watched them walk away for a moment before turning down an alleyway to her left, pulling her hood down when in the sheltered area between the two buildings.

Her contact - Maxim Belov - is probably the only one left in this god forsaken place she can completely trust.

When finally free from the Red Room, and making a name for herself within different organisations, he was her partner. Not in the Clint Barton kind of way - put together because they were the best of the best and could only be stronger as a team. Nor the bound together by faith kind of way that seemed to be the case for her new team. They were partners because they had to be, because in the situation they were in you had to find someone you could trust and cling onto them for dear life, because at the end of the day, they would end up being the difference between life and death for you one day.

This area was familiar to her. Throughout the country - throughout the world actually - she had a number of safe houses. Not known to SHIELD nor any organisation, all hidden under aliases that only a handful of people would know. They were used if a mission went wrong, if herself and Clint needed to lay low for a few days, if he was hurt and she couldn't think of anywhere else to go, or to escape the life of the Avengers for a while. They were safe houses in every single sense of the word, and this was no different.

It was down an alley in the outskirts of Moscow, and down in the basement of the right hand side building. Not a pent house level of luxury, but it was a nice apartment for her nonetheless.

The ones around Russia were used by both herself and her contact. She knew that Maxim would have kept them in good shape, since he was still on the run but refused to leave Russia incase he could be of service. He had always come in handy when Natasha needed him, and this seemed no different.

After climbing down the metal staircase, she opened the door to the sound of a creak. It was colder inside than out, but she knew that there would be central heating in the little place that she could fire up in no time at all.

While they may have been her "I'm on the run and need somewhere to lay low for a while" places, she was always taught to look after herself and take pride in wherever she was staying. For that reason, it was actually a pretty nice set up she had.

It opened up into a large living area, albeit a little dusty and out of use, but beautiful none the less. A large fireplace sat on one wall with a sofa and two arm chairs positioned around it. Clearly it was originally meant for aesthetics, she wasn't even sure if there was a chimney to this place, but on more than one occasion she managed to get a fire working in the thing. The kitchen was small enough on the other side of the open plan area, and the hallway next to it led to three bedrooms and a nice enough bathroom complete with bath for those missions when she'd need a soak.

Since technically underground, the only light to the place came from the lights hanging from the ceiling, and she surprised herself by finding they were working just fine when she flicked the switch. High up there were little slivers of windows, but it was dark out right now so none of them let anymore than barely a little street light in.

Look after yourself, but look after those you bring home even more.

She sighed to herself and shook her head before throwing the little bag she brought full of clothes onto the table in the kitchen. She went to let the water run in the taps then, just to shake the cobwebs from the place.

She was 3 hours early to meet Maxim, and while he would probably arrive here in 2, she wanted to take a little time to relax and get her head around the task she was about to undertake.

It was a suicide mission. That's the conclusion she came to each and every time she thought about it. She might be able to kill Volkov, might be able to get rid of him, but after that she'll no doubt have to take on an entire Hydra/Red Room base all by herself. There was no way she was bringing Maxim back into fighting, after all! He got out of that business years ago, years before she was hunted by SHIELD. He got out and swore he'd never get back in, so she'd be damned if she'd be the one to drag his sorry ass back into things.

Without thinking of it, she was over on the sofa; head resting on one arm with her feet propped up on the opposite one. It was a long journey, so she'd be grateful for any little bit of rest she could get.

Natasha had just shut her eyes when the sound of a latch caught her attention. He shouldn't be this early, couldn't be this early. It wasn't like him to be anywhere any longer than he needed to be.

She had just slid off the sofa and had her glock in hand when a familiar gruff voice made her smile.

"Don't put a hole in me, don't put a hole in me!"

She gave a slight laugh at the greeting, shaking her head a little as she stood from her crouched position.

"Gee.. Shoot a guy one time.."

"It was three."

"Three bullets, one time!" She countered with a smirk, walking around to go meet Maxim halfway in the house.

He looked just like she remembered, making her wonder how good the years have been to him compared to her! He had a beard now, that was the only difference. Still her height, actually she may be a little taller than him now, and that would be something he'd hate! His dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail, but what she really noticed besides the greasy hair and crooked nose was the blue eyes still shining with the childish curiosity that never seemed to leave him, even though older than her by 4 years he was still the child between the pair.

She could see the laugh in those eyes before she could hear it, and a half second later the duffel bag he was carrying was dropped to the floor and she was scooped up into a tight hug and spun around. She let it happen, because she'd never fight him. She couldn't fight him! Long story, but he would probably kill her if ever in a battle and she grew to respect that about him!

"Natalia! It's been too long!" He said through his laughs, finally setting her on her feet after three more spins. He left his hands on her shoulders before giving her cheek a big kiss.

"Since when does Maxim Belov speak English?" She asked with an eyebrow raised, finally swatting his hands away to grab his bag and bring it to join hers. "I thought it was the language of the murderers?"

"Unfortunately have to change with the times to survive." He sighed. He had gone near 20 years of his life without any English, and who knows how long after they stopped speaking, so his accent was still as thick as if he were speaking Russian to her.

"Oh don't I know it." She sighed, setting about boiling some water for some coffee for the pair. As soon as she told him the mission they'd probably be up all night. If anyone would want Volkov dead more than herself, it would be Belov.

"I don't know if you are finding it as much a struggle, my dearest вдова ." He shrugged, sitting at the table with his arms behind his head as he watched her. "If what I see on the news is true, you and your little group are doing just fine over West."

"Feeling sentimental, Belov?" She snickered as she made the coffee, instant stuff, as strong as she could make.

"Well possibly after seeing you fighting against aliens in New York." He chuckled in response. Natasha knew it as his 'Shit, you caught me!' chuckle. "We might have been keeping eye on The Avengers."

"We..?" She asked with an eyebrow raised, turning to look at him with both mugs in her hands. She didn't know he was working with someone else, it made her nervous. The less people that knew she was here and looking for Volkov, the better. And he was a blabber mouth!

"I am in black market, my Widow." He chuckled with a wave of his hand, but Natasha was still a little curious. Regardless, she set the coffee infront of him and sat opposite her friend with her own. "Your team have busted a lot of us over in the States, and we were worried that it would travel."

"International really isn't our job." She shrugged, watching the hot drink swirl around the mug in her hands.

"What's ours?" He asked without a moment hesitation. She was impressed at how long it took him to question it though!

She smiled a little and reached into her bag. She watched his eyes grow slightly confused as she pulled out a folder.

"I think it'll interest you actually.." She said softly, carefully sliding the folder across the table to him. "An old friend of ours tried take out a member of my team, and is threatening the rest of them. I need to take him out."

"Who-" The question died on his lips when he opened the folder to view it's contents, his eyes slightly widening. In the dim light he seemed to be able to read it just fine. "You're mistaken, Natalia.."

"I saw him myself, Maxim." She whispered, leaning on her forearms to get a little closer to him. "It was Volkov, I'd know him anywhere. He was in a Hydra base, I don't know why, but I'd bet anything that it wasn't good."

"Shit.." He muttered, slipping back into Russian for the profanity made her wonder how shocked he actually was. "Why was he in America? Why would he be where Avengers were? What was he thinking?"

"I was kind of thinking more why is he alive.." She frowned curiously, watching his reaction carefully. He seemed way too comfortable with the fact that someone they presumed dead all these years suddenly popped up again.

"We never found his body." He sighed, shaking his head a little as he ran his hands over his face. "There was always the chance he survived. None of us ever wanted to admit it, Natalia. But surely now you can see that deep down you doubted it.."

"I never thought of my old live." She replied quickly, casually, adding in a shrug as he went back to reading the file. "Not until he popped up in the middle of a mission. If he's working with Hydra that could only mean bad things in the future. I can't let that happen, I can't let him hurt anyone again.."

"He's threatened your team?" He asked with an eyebrow raised, and she nodded. She passed him over the two polaroids she had kept in her jacket pocket and he frowned at them.

"Blew my partner sky high. I put them all in hiding, they'll be fine once Hawkeye is better, they'll protect eachother like they always do."

"You sound like you are not part of them, Widow."

"I'm not anymore." She shrugged. She wasn't an Avenger anymore, she had left them, so she couldn't talk about them like she was still there.

"What do you want from me?" A silence had fallen upon them and he only broke it with those words when the file was fully read through and he had sat back with his coffee.

"Information." She stated simply, quietly, almost afraid to ask for it incase she didn't actually want to know. "You're the best of the best at that, Maxim. I need to track him down, I need to end his operation, and I need him dead."

"A lot to do." He sighed, but he wasn't objecting, and he was actually smiling. He reached over to his duffel and took out a laptop, always one for starting as soon as he could! "Let me see what I can find out. Don't worry, Natalia. We'll get you back to those Yanks in no time!"

A small grin began to spread across her face and a nod soon followed. She didn't say anything, she didn't need to. This was just another job, another thing they do for eachother, there was never any need for gratitude or words between them, just actions. So she stood, grabbed their two mugs, and went to make more coffee for the long night they had ahead of them, and no doubt long few weeks that would follow.

She never thought of her past, never liked it, never appreciated what she went through. But dammit, she was so glad now that he was part of it for moments like this!


'Also present at the awards were New York's saviours - The Avengers. But, has there been some tension within the group? Our sources reveal that two of their member known as Hawkeye and Black Widow haven't made any appearances with the group in the past month..'

She knew why she wasn't making any appearances, because in the past month she's been holed up in this little house with Maxim looking for ways to get to Volkov. The only reason they left was to get supplies and for Belov to touch ground with some contacts he had helping them. He trusted them, so she would too.

But why wasn't Clint with them?

Every night in the past month she huddled herself infront of the little heater with her laptop and turned on the entertainment news. The Avengers were always a major topic, even with just the little things they did like charity events or tribunals, and there was always a major spread if they got themselves into a fight. These entertainment shows and the news sources online were the only sources to her team that she had.

She had to remain off radar, not even just remaining under it would do for this mission. If under it, if letting limited contact out, the chances of Volkov finding out she was here were increased and she couldn't have that.

The others were looking well. That's all she could say about what she was seeing. They were looking just like they had before she left, the odd time looking a little haggard, obviously after a mission or something going wrong with them, but that's about it.

The only difference was that the two assassins were missing.

But why was Clint missing? Didn't she leave strict instructions to stay by eachother at all times!?

Unless he isn't out yet, maybe he's still in hospital and the news isn't reporting on it. After all, Stark would cover up everything so no one knows one of them are compromised in any way. It was always the case. Avengers never got hurt, even when lying on life support they were never hurt, not to the public's knowledge at least.

It helped keep up their image, and it was always welcomed by Natasha, but now she wished more than anything that they'd give some sort of statement on Clint and herself just so she knew what the hell was going on.

With a sigh she slammed the laptop shut just as the reporter started going on about what Pepper was wearing at the event. That's something she really couldn't care less about!

A month she's been trapped in here, looking up locations she never even knew existed, tapping phone lines, doing what SHIELD couldn't with their resources with less than basic internet connection, and still there were no leads.

No leads on where Volkov was, no leads on what the hell he was doing or why, no clue how her team was, no proper idea if her leaving even managed to keep them safe. What if they already had to fend off an attack and they couldn't get in touch with her to find out? Why didn't she think to leave a burner phone name for Clint to find? Maybe then she wouldn't have to worry like this!

"Easy Natasha.." She murmured to herself. She held her face in her hands with her elbows resting on her knees, deep steady breaths being drawn in and out to centre herself once more.

She was over thinking all of this. They were fine, she was fine, she made the right call in leaving and there was no other way of thinking.

"Natasha.." She froze at the voice before letting out a breathless laugh. He was testing it, rolling it around his tongue like he couldn't believe it was muttered. It was late, or early, depending on how you viewed 3:47am, so she wasn't expecting him up and was pretty shocked that he could still sneak up on her!

"Well, Yanks don't like Natalia." She shrugged, moving to sit back against the sofa like nothing was wrong just a moment before. Maxim crossed over to her with his laptop held in hand.

"I don't like it." He shrugged as he casually sat next to Natasha. "Too personal. You letting people get close to you, Natalia?"

"Had to survive, Maxim." She sighed, finally looking at him to see him pulling something up on his laptop rather than focusing on her.

"You miss them."

It wasn't a statement, nor was it a question. It seemed more like Maxim was saying the words carefully and slowly to test them like he just did her name, either to answer a question he's been asking himself or a major one she's been asking herself she couldn't tell.

Of course she missed them. That was expected, right? Over the past while she can safely say they had become her partners, her team, her confidents. They had become people to protect, people she knew would protect her in return. They had become her friends, and it sickened her to say.

So, yes, she missed them. She missed Tony's stupid jokes, Clint's horrible pranks. She really missed Banner and Thor talk about science and magic like they were one in the same, or Pepper trying to bake with Sam on the team meal days. She missed Steve being her big brother, missed being a family. She missed them.

But she'd be damned if she'd say it out loud, to even herself. Instead, Natasha just shrugged, but the silence must have answered everything for him because a chuckle escaped Maxim as he turned the screen towards her.

"Good to know." He smirked, and if he wasn't a good friend of hers then she'd find the tone of voice pretty threatening. It's just Maxim though, he doesn't actually know how to speak softly to anyone. "Take a peek."

Honestly, Natasha hadn't a clue what she was looking at. It was a Google Maps image, showing a top view of a small warehouse. She couldn't figure out why he was showing her this. It was showing co-ordinates just outside of Baja in Hungary, just along the Serbian border with the country.

The people they were hunting would never be so far out of their comfort zone. They wouldn't dare travel and operate in such a zone.

But then again, the people they were hunting were now working with Hydra, so who knows what they're capable of.

"It's just a small arms facility from what my leads tell me." He said after giving Natasha a moment to memorise the map infront of her on the screen. It was turned away from her as he spoke. "I don't think there's many in there, but there should be someone who can give us some information on the bigger places."

"So we work our way up?" She asked as she stood, planning to leave right away. She knew he'd expect that though as soon as he told her.

"We work our way up." He confirmed with a nod and a smile. "We'll get you home to those little friends of yours within the week!"

She rolled her eyes and punched his arm playfully which resulted in a hearty laugh.

Start with small bases, they'd have info on other small bases until one spills on medium bases, then the same with the medium until one spills about the big ones, and the big ones will spill about the main one, and the main one is where she'd find her man.

She was missing SHIELDs way of getting the small and medium ones out of the way before sending in STRIKE Team Delta, but she was her own now, and she'd have to do the grunt work!

She turned her back on Maxim and sauntered off towards her room. "The sooner I get away from your ugly mug, the better. Let's get started."