Clint took his spot on the roof after setting some special bugs that were created by Stark Industries. He took everything he needed – he was prepared to observe. Even thought he seemed to be calm and self-controlled, deep down he was pissed and was ready to Hulk out like Bruce.

The first thing that he was angry about was that Fury had forbidden him to take his bow. He was an archer, for God's sake! What was he supposed to do without it? The order was concrete – kill no one. Just observe and follow. That`s all. And that was the second reason he was angry – why couldn`t he kill the Red Room`s bitch?

The third one was Natasha. He couldn`t figure her out. He looked back at the mess that she had left behind, and he just couldn`t. He didn`t know what to think. He had a feeling that she was alive. That was good. But what about her betrayal? Was it true or not? Every cell in his body screamed that she hadn't betrayed them, only because he was afraid of it the most. His instincts didn't know for sure, but his mind (and the facts) suggested strongly that she had. There was a struggle in him. He felt lost and confused.

The warehouse was surrounded by Kratovich's bodyguards. There were about 20 outside: settled on the perimeter, in front of the doors and down the road. The message was clear – Kratovich was important.

A black car parked towards the entrance and a man, about sixty years old, stepped out. He wore a posh suit and he held a briefcase in his right hand. Money, Clint thought, or a device that could transfer it.

As he entered the wooden building (Clint thought it was a dumb location to have a deal) and seven guards followed him inside (the extra seven, those twenty were still outside), Clint heard the roar of the motorcycle. When it parked, he saw a small woman dismount. She was wearing black jeans, big boots, a white shirt, and a jacket that she decided to leave on the motorcycle. As she removed her helmet, long black hair covered her shoulders.

Clint was speechless. He had been expecting that, but hadn't been sure before.

Gladly, Allyson was alone.

Clint was surprised by her choice of clothes and transportation. It seemed to be an important deal and she showed up like that. It reminded him how similarly naughty Natasha could be. He smiled. But then he cleared his head quickly. He shouldn`t like this agent, or look for the similarities between two.

She grabbed a black briefcase, which was supposed to contain a certain technology. It was said in the file that Shield had found out that the tech wasn`t real – they just had to sell it and get huge pile of money. Enough money to buy an island or something, easy. To convince buyers that that tech worked, Red Room created a program that would imitate what the thing was supposed to do. But it would last only for two hours. And that was enough.

She entered the warehouse with a pleasant smile on her face. Even in that outfit she looked gorgeous. As Clint looked closer at her neck and arms, he saw a few almost unnoticeable bruises and scratches. She could have been on a mission recently, he thought. But he hadn`t seen any of that yesterday.

Volkoff greeted the man in Russian, and in a few minutes the deal was made. Kratovich himself checked to see if the program was properly working. He was paranoid. Then he nodded to her, but it seemed like it was also a signal to guards that the woman hadn`t fooled him. He passed the briefcase to one of his men and took out a small device that would transfer the money.

"The final destination had changed, Mr. Kratovich", she said with pleased smile and gave him a small sheet of paper. He seemed to be surprised, but obeyed and typed new numbers.

Clint knew nothing about the change. And he didn`t really bothered himself with it, as the money would go to the one of Red Rooms accounts, anyway.

As he finished and she got the money, Eliza looked around. It was about time to start a party. The doors of the warehouse were closed and it would take about two minutes for a guard to be able to enter, because she had left a little surprise there.

She was ready.

Clint prepared himself for an action movie. He thought that this was a suicide mission, because she was alone. It seemed impossible even for a Red Room`s agent.

As they said goodbye to each other, Kratovich started to walk away from Eliza and his guards, which was a huge mistake. She exploited the situation. She pulled her gun from nowhere (it seemed to be the Rooms thing!) and shot the two biggest guards in the head, then killed the entrepreneur. There was no doubt that they hadn`t expected that.

They quickly took out their guns and started shooting at her. She jumped left with a flip, and then again, so that bullets couldn`t reach her. She started doing some acrobatic moves to buy her some time. When the guards were out of bullets, they started moving towards her. She shot two more, so that only three of them remained.

They attacked her at once. She ducked, avoiding a blow. She kicked one of them in the stomach, making him bend and step out. Now she cleared enough space for other two. A punch caught her in the face, but she only grinned. With her every move, Clint became more impressed with her training. As two of the guards passed out, the third came at her from behind. He lifted her and started choking her.

The door exploded, setting fire to two of the guards outside. The explosion was so strong that Eliza and her attacker were thrown deeper into the warehouse. She took the advantage and stabbed him in the heart.

As she put those seven down, more guards came at her. They were going to gather in here little by little, not all at once, but still quickly enough.

Three forced their way through a back entrance, and three came from the front. She wasn`t going to give up. She was ready to fight.

Gun shots were heard, and three guards fell with bullets in their heads.

Suddenly, red hair rushed into the building, covering her back, shooting the guard following her. Eliza smirked and defended herself from the one which had been left behind. The two who were close to Natasha spotted her and decided to deal with her first. Out of ammo, Natasha dropped her guns on the floor. She smirked at the two men heading towards her. In a minute, they were dead.

As Clint was staring at the fight and the situation around them, he thought that Allyson wouldn't make it. That was until he saw Black Widow entering the warehouse with a boom, killing a few of Volkoff's adversaries. He was stunned. He couldn`t believe his eyes. Half of him sighed with relief that she was alive, but the other half wasn't feeling any better, because she was helping her enemy to kill her enemy`s enemies. What the hell? He couldn`t believe she betrayed them…him.

As they finished with the ones that had entered, more were coming. While waiting and preparing, Eliza looked considerably alarmed.

"Why are you here, Tasha?"

"Decided to help you out", she grinned. But that wasn't the whole reason.

"Why did you come? It`s an act of betrayal to SHIELD to help their enemy."

More guards appeared, and so they were busy for a moment. The fight was tougher this time. Natasha felt a bone crack in her leg. leg which made her furious. Two guards were on the floor in a few seconds. Eliza bested her foes as well.

"Because that sounded like a goodbye," Natasha said, facing the entrance so that Eliza could only see her back.

"Which it is," she said blankly. She knew that Natasha wouldn`t like it.

"Why?" Natasha choked.

"Because it is my last mission today".

Three more guards entered from both sides, heading towards them. They had guns and were trying to shoot them. Both agents, following one technique, used those guns as an advantage, and with their help shot the others, while using the body of one as a live shield.

"Why?" Natasha asked again. "Where are they going to send you?"

"Not them." She shook her head. They were still facing the entrances, waiting for the last guards. "Not them. Myself". Tasha looked over her shoulder and gave her a questioned look. "I`m tired of Red Room".

Natasha knew too well how one left the Red Room. She couldn`t believe Eliza's words. 'This can't be happening,' she thought.

Natasha turned around, headed to Eliza and then stopped herself halfway, leaving her back uncovered. "So I was right. It was a goodbye. But why right now? Why here? Why the fuck would you come to me?!" She was screaming now. Screaming out of desperation and hurt, which she was trying to suppress.

"I wanted to see you…before I ended it." She turned to Natasha. The remaining guards were about to step in, so both agents grabbed the guns from the floor from the dead guards and started shooting, covering each others' backs. The guards hid behind the wall, waiting.

Romanoff and Volkoff were facing each other now. "If I knew this was our the "goodbye sex", I would`ve done more." She smirked, making herself not to fall apart from her real feelings. Eliza started laughing hysterically while waiting the guard to come out.

They turned serious again. "Why?" Tasha asked quietly, concerned.

"Because I can`t do this anymore. You were right when you left the Room. I thought you were crazy at first. But now I realize that I was the one who was nuts." She was silent for a second. "At the time, I couldn`t believe you sold us out."

"To be honest, you were the only secret I kept. I told them everything about Rooms, everything I knew. Everything, but you."

She felt a huge lump in her throat.

"Why?" She questioned again in bewilderment.

"Because you`re my partner. You were and you`ll always be. And I would`ve never let you down".

They shot two out of four approaching guards. Then, out of bullets, they were ready for another hand to hand fight.

While watching all of this – the fight, Natasha, their confessions – Clint felt like he was falling apart. He realized that she wasn`t a traitor. No. She just wanted to help her friend. Her lover. And her partner.

He never knew that Natasha had a partner before him. She never told anyone. Even him, her current partner. He also hadn`t expected that they were lovers. He couldn`t believe she exchanged him on her. It was like someone had stabbed him in the back.

The guard that Natasha was fighting had a knife in his hand. She dodged it, but he was a tricky son of a bitch, so he cut her cheek deeply, and pretty badly. She broke his arm for that. She felt a deep cut in her leg too but she wasn`t going to pay any attention.

As Eliza finished with the other guard, they met in the center.

"There`s a bomb exploding in five, so you`d better leave, while no one else is coming to take us down," Eliza said.

"Wait, are you staying?" Natasha looked at her with bewildered eyes. That made sense. She was prepared for her death. She had done everything she wanted in her life in one day. She met her partner after they were separated when they were eighteen; she'd had the night of her life, lusting her old lover; she had a mission on her last day and killed a few bad guys; she shared a fight with her partner; she finally got rid of the Rooms—well, actually she would get rid of them when she died gracefully in the fire while on the mission. It was a perfect plan, a perfect day to die for an assassin.

But not in Natasha`s watch.

"Come with me", she begged now.

"Where? To SHIELD? Very funny," she gestured with a smile. "It`s not gonna work for me like it worked for you."

Natasha started thinking frantically. She had to find a way out.

"There`s a world besides these two agencies. Not other ones. I mean, we could`ve run away together. I would`ve looked after you. And you would live." There was a fire in her eyes. For at that moment she was ready to say anything, that would have persuaded Volkoff not to eliminate herself

"And what about your partner? You want to leave him?"

"He is a big boy. He can take care of himself."

Agent Barton heard the whole conversation. And he couldn`t believe Tasha`s words. She sounded like a completely different person now. First of all, she was trying to do the same thing that he had once done for her – save someone and give them a new life in Shield. Then she was offering to run away. How could she? He couldn`t understand. And then they talked about him. She was ready to leave him for her, for her enemy, for the Red Room's agent. She was a traitor in some way. Clint felt crushed. The woman who was with him for so many years, turned her back on him. She was ready to leave her only friend.

Eliza found this idea really tempting. She wanted that more than anything else. But if she ran away from Red Room, they would never stop looking for her and Natasha. While Tasha was with SHIELD, she was safe. And if she leaves…No. Eliza couldn`t do it. She had to end it today.

"No," she answered, insisting that her decision couldn't be changed.

Tasha was furious about that. She was holding up, she tried to live while paying a price, so why couldn`t Eliza? Why would she take the easy way out? Like it was said before, it wasn`t going to happen in her watch.

Tasha grabbed her hand, just like she wanted to take her with her. But Eliza struggled and pushed her off. They looked at each other with bewilderment and anger.

In Tasha`s mind, the only way to get Eliza out of the warehouse was through force. But not to kill her, not to put her in a coma. Just enough so she wouldn`t be able to struggle. Natasha's aim was Eliza's legs, so she won`t be able to walk by herself, arm so she won`t be able to fight back, and also a few weak points to push.

In Eliza`s mind, she had to defend herself and do enough damage so Natasha wouldn`t be able to take her out of the warehouse, but would still be able to get to hell out by herself before everything exploded. Her aim was Natasha's other leg – one was already cut - so it will take all the strength from her, her arm, so she won`t be able to drag her body, and put a few bruises to the general picture.

So their goals were pretty similar, but for a different cause.

As the realization of their plans began, Clint couldn`t take his eyes from them. They were moving carefully towards each other looking for a blind spot. It was a truly amazing view.

In two minutes they separated again, moving back in different directions, waiting. Natasha` leg was already broken, so was Eliza`s arm. More bruises decorated Tasha's already bruised body. Eliza was breathing hard. That`s when another two guards appeared from nowhere, which was totally unexpected. They weren`t around so where the fuck did they came from?

Natasha reacted quickly, but the other man snuck up on Eliza and hit in the head, hard. She fell on the floor and in the next second moment she was chained with handcuffs to the dead body of the biggest guard. The guard who had done that smirked and kicked her in her face with his foot. He took his gun out.

For Natasha, this fight was really hard. It was almost impossible to move with her legs injured that much. The agent managed to break her arm, from which she screamed in pain. He punched her in her chest and in her back. She was an easy target right now but the big guy had also got his reward with her fists. When he started choking her from her behind, she sneakily pulled her knife out and stabbed him a few times. His arms released her throat and he fell on the floor.

Natasha wasn`t far from Eliza, just a few steps. She saw a gun in the man's hands, which was now pointed at her. Eliza took her knife from her boot and threw it at him. But it wasn`t quick enough. He pulled the trigger a split second faster. He fell on the ground, dropping his gun.

Natasha`s face looked momentarily shocked, but it calmed again. Her hands were placed on her stomach. The blood leaked through her hands. She stared at Eliza and collapsed on her knees, still trying to make it through. She was looking at her trembling bloody hands.

She was too tough to end like this.

When Clint was watching the women fight, he didn`t know what to think or do. He heard about the bomb and he wanted Tasha immediately to get out. Then the two guards came and another fight started. He wanted to go there and help and then get the hell out of there. But he had his orders – not to interfere. He was holding himself against his will.

But then the shot was made. He saw Natasha falling on her knees with a blood all over. He couldn`t stay there anymore. He took off.

Natasha was breathing heavily, like something was impeding her. She leaned against her one hand on the floor, while other was holding the wound.

"One minute, twenty seconds". Eliza announced as she looked at her watch. She looked disturbed while gazing at her bleeding partner. "You`ve got to get out of here, now!" She was worried.

"Can`t you come with me?" She asked quietly, almost pleadingly, raising her head so her yes could meet her black haired partner.

She rose her hand, showing that she`s been chained. "Break them".

"I can`t, these are special. Can`t be broken or cracked. Or if they can, I still hadn't figured out how."

"I can carry you out, even chained to a bad guy", she said confidently.

"Tasha." Eliza chuckled. "You can`t. In your best form, you could`ve do it in about five minutes. But now…Let`s be honest, you can`t even take care of yourself…" She turned upset. "Forty seconds."

"I`m…" Natasha coughed blood, spitting the rest of it on the floor. "I`m not leaving you".

"Thirty two." Eliza was praying now. She hoped her lover would survive.

Natasha bent her head again. She wasn`t able to continue struggling. A normal person would`ve passed out already. Even thought she wasn't a normal person, black spots started to appear in her eyes, and her vision was failing. She prepared to death.

When Clint ran into the warehouse, Tasha was bending her head down. She had betrayed him, but he wasn`t a pouting child, he couldn`t let his partner die. Not her, not today. As he reached her, Eliza, fully conscious said "Twenty five. Run". He nodded, feeling badly that he couldn`t take her with him. It showed in his eyes, and Volkoff told them to run one more time. When he lifted Natasha in his arms, her skin was a little bit colder than usual. She was already unconscious, and her hand fell from her bloody stomach. Horror filled his eyes as he realized that his partner, his Natasha, could die any minute, if she hadn`t done so already.

He ran towards the exit. When he was only a few dozen steps away from the building, it exploded. Red flames were eating it alive.

Not a scream was heard.