Title: Five Times James Bond encountered Natasha Romanoff (and one time he didn't)
Warnings/General Notes: A Five plus one format fan fiction. Exactly what it says on the tin. Language. Cannon level violence. Un-beta'd and not Brit-picked. Author's notes will appear after the chapter.
Parings: None except an implied Clintasha eventually if you want to squint.
Standard Disclaimer: The characters and settings belong to their respective owners. I'm just borrowing them for fun. I claim no rights. I make no profit.
Four: Lake Constance, Austria.
The flight from Port Au Prince, complete with layover in Miami, had allowed Bond to sleep. He picked up a reserve car and a tux in Vienna then managed to make it to the theatre in Lake Constance just before the start of the performance. A quick look around identified his target. An opera aficionado with one of the special headsets. He followed him into the loo. The resulting fight and demise of the target was uneventful and he now had a working headset with the Quantum frequency active. Now he had to decide where to get the best view of the audience. Once he flushed the members of Quantum out he'd need a clear line of sight to get a good set of pictures. Somewhere in the fly space or rigging would be adequate.
As he paused momentarily straightening his tie and consulting his mental map of the theatre he noticed a late arrival by the door of the gentleman's loo. A perfectly proportioned redhead, hair piled high in a knot with tendrils cascading down had paused to use a nearby mirror to adjust her hair. Gorgeous. She looked slightly familiar then his brain kicked into gear. She had changed a bit over the years. The most obvious difference was that she appeared more relaxed, less on edge, centered even. The latest name in the file he recalled was Natasha Romanoff. There had also been a note that she was now associated with a special secret agency with the absurdly long name that was commonly referred to as SHIELD. They had acquired her services and apparently her loyalty several years ago MI6 had no information just how exactly that had happened.
She met his eyes in the mirror and nodded slightly. She turned and casually approached just as she would a stranger. When she passed him she murmured exactly loud enough for him to hear, "Imagine my surprise to find my task already complete."
"Does this mean you owe me a favor then?" Bond inquired.
She looked back over her shoulder at him and said simply, "Yes."
He watched her go and wondered if retrieving that favor would in any way compensate for the extra paperwork.
Author's Note: This is the shortest one of the bunch.
