Chapter: 6

It was the weird smell that woke her up first. When she opened her dark brown eyes they immediately began to sting. Looking around, she could see a haze in the darkness of her bedroom. The fright had her gasping inward out of instinct which in turn switched the scream she would have let out into a harsh coughing fit. Tears began to roll as she got up and ran towards her bedroom. She wanted her mommy and daddy, they would know what to do.

She was just about to reach out for the door when it burst inwards and a woman stood before her. The two of them froze for a second and stared at each other. The woman was tall and had blonde hair that was tied back into a tight ponytail. The look in her eyes was cold and made the small child before her nervous.

"Mommy!" She cried out when the woman tried to grab her. She ran back towards her bed as if it would offer any protection as she began to cry and holler louder for her parents to rescue her from the evil looking lady. "Daddy!" She heard a yell and screaming in return and guessed that it was her parents in the other room. This only made her panic more but when she tried to run away from the woman's second attempt she didn't find herself getting too far. In one easy motion she was lifted off her feet and thrown over the woman's shoulder.

She was carried out the door into the hallway where she saw the flames for the first time. They were big and hot. From their new positions she could hear her mother and father's voice clearly screaming for her coming from their bedroom. She screamed and cried but the woman ignored her. She begged for the lady to not leave her mommy and daddy but the woman continued to walk towards the back entrance to the house.

"Liliya!" She heard her mother cry out and she cried as well before finally getting the courage to start hitting the lady in the back. Her little fist pounded away and she heard the lady use the words her mama said were bad. She then felt a pinch in her side that made her whimper. A moment later she began to feel sleepy even though she didn't want to be. The last thing she saw were the flames reaching out towards the sky as she was taken from her home, then everything went dark.

"Nat!" Clint called out as he was slammed down onto the hard floor of the training room. "I swear you aimed for the floor, the mat was inches away!" He got up and rubbed at the sore spot on his shoulder.

"Stop being a child." She said back to him and he glanced at her.

"Oh, I'm a child now huh?" He lunged and after dodging a few hits he managed to pick her up and slam her down in the exact spot he had landed moments before.

"Enough." Coulson's voice broke through the quiet of the training room, startling the few onlookers, and both agents looked up to see him approaching. He stopped and just shook his head at their antics. "It was a few days. A few days and you are already back here killing each other. Did you guys not have enough stuff to do at the apartment."

"Finished it," Clint replied.

"I don't require a lot." Natasha chimed in as she got up from her position on the floor effortlessly.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that you've got a mission." He turned and began to walk back towards the entrance. "The two of you stay on the mats!" Coulson snapped at a few newbies "just because these two like to try and kill each other doesn't mean I want the trend picking up." Clint chuckled despite himself and Coulson shot a glare at him. "We've had two agents come into the infirmary for concussions thanks to the two of you.

"Tis not our fault if they want to try something without knowing their limits," Clint said in reply.

"It sounds like they need to learn to land better so that they don't injure themselves." Natasha chimed in.

"Hmm, that's a great idea agent Romanoff," Coulson said with a glance at her. "I'll let Fury know that you've volunteered to teach them." To her credit Natasha barely reacted to the obvious empty-threat.

"Your agents would not like to learn from me," was all that she offered in response and neither Clint nor Coulson commented. It was true, while the agents were more accepting of her being there to stay, they weren't exactly going to be lining up to go a few rounds on the mats with her. They had seen her and Clint enough times to know better than that.

Fury was in the seat behind a large table when they arrived in the conference room. They took their seats after the polite exchange of greetings and Fury wasted no time in getting down to business. The mission? Some top-class scientists have been reported missing, five in total, and four of them have turned up dead. The fifth was a top biochemist by the name of Richard Helms, his family had reported him missing a month prior. He was gone without a trace, just didn't show up for work one day. After the bodies of the other scientists showed up, three days prior, a room full of people attending some banquet gets attacked and causes the death of twenty-six people in total.

"Witnesses say that there were some containers that were thrown into the room that burst open." Fury said as Coulson passed out the information they had on the mission. "They said that the room filled with some sort of smoke and that people started acting crazy, some even attacking others."

"When the ambulances arrived the people that breathed in the most just started dropping." Coulson picked up "the responders said that they were dying faster than they could get to them so they focused on people who were still standing."

"We've tracked the kidnappings back to a man named Robert Jamison. He's wanted for terrorist associations but no one could ever prove that he has done anything more than know a few known terrorists. This guy is good at what he does. He always has someone else do his dirty work and he's very good at cleaning up after himself and making sure nothing can be conclusively pointed back at him." Fury said and looked pointedly at both Clint than Natasha. "I'm sending the two of you in to figure out what in the hell we are dealing with preferably before we have a worldwide crisis on our hands. You're going to be undercover, Romanoff you will be attending his next banquet," Natasha gave him a pointed look "he will be in attendance so I wouldn't think that they will try another demonstration. With that said, you still be on your guard at all times." She nodded and he turned his attention to Clint. "You are going to be the main eyes Barton. We're going to need you to make sure that everything isn't going to head south while Romanoff tries to get information."

"When do we leave?" Clint asked.

"You head for New York immediately," Fury replied. "Also, such short notice means that you won't be on the list this time. You'll have to get creative but we need you on the inside. Get into that party." The two agents responded their affirmatives and Fury continued. "Finding out their plan is good. Getting Jamison, alive or dead, would be great. Finding the weapon is the best-case scenario."

"Yes sir," the two agents echoed each other and Fury gave them a nod.

"Saving the scientist that Jamison is holding hostage would be a plus," Coulson added and Fury nodded in agreement.

"Alright then" Fury said, "get going, and good luck agents."