Hey everyone! Yeah, it took me a while to update again, but here is chapter 7! Feel free to review and tell me what you liked/did not like. Have fun reading it!

"What do you want?"

He did not say anything. Instead, he turned around and examined something on his tablet. Natasha could see the tip of a vine-like tattoo on the back of Kav's neck. The rest was covered under his white jacket. He stood perfectly straight, his heels aligned side by side and his shoulders square. She suspected that had some sort of military background.

"What I want? Well. I've thought about this for a while. Certainly there is a limit to what I can ask you. There are things that I certainly cannot ask of you. For example some secret SHIELD files or so. Heck, I bet you'd even have to let Barton die for those. But I know that you want Barton alive, do you? He better not be so annoying. We both know that he is the only asset I have as of right now. You're trained to withstand… other techniques that I could use," he said with a chuckle. She really hated his laughing breaks.

"No. What I want is simple. What I said about the President? Forget that. Too hard. Besides, Barton doesn't have much longer to live. I cannot ask you of time-consuming things. No. I've changed my mind. I don't need you. I don't need the archer. I need someone else. You happen to know him, which is fantastic! You are of use now."

He changed the hand that he was holding the tablet with. With his now free hand he fished for something in the right pocket of his jacket- a phone.

"Alright, sweetheart. Now, listen carefully. I will tell you what to do. You will give me the number of one of your close buddies," he said. He crouched down in front of her and he looked her right in the eye.

"A close buddy? He's in a well right now," she said dryly, mimicking his tone.

Kav narrowed his eyes and the corners of his lips curled into a snarl. "Don't be like that, sweetheart, or he'll never leave that well."

Natasha bit her lip. She hated being this submissive, but she nodded. Her goal right now was to bring back Clint- alive.

"Alright. Who am I supposed to call?"

"Now we're talking," he said and grinned. "Yes. This is a bit cheesy. I am not creative, you know. I want you to call your buddy Stark. Tony Stark. Got it?"

She sighed. Stark. Of course. People like Kav always wanted to mess with the big guys like him.

"Yes. And what am I supposed to tell him?"

"Right. Business. I want him to transfer a humble sum of a couple million dollars to a Swiss bank account."

"A couple?"

"Just 50 of 'em."

"Very humble."

"I know, right?" Kav winked at her. It was disgusting. "Now, tell me the number."

She hesitated for a moment, then she dictated him the number. He punched the digits into the phone and then he pressed the 'call' button. As the number was dialed, he put the phone on loudspeaker and put it face up on her lap.

"Remember," he said, "I will be able to hear you. Don't do anything stupid, or the archer will end up-"

Kav was cut off by a static sound as someone picked up on the other side of the call.

"Stark. Who is this?"

Natasha took a deep breath. "Stark. It's me."

"Romanoff?"

"Yeah. Yeah… Listen. I need your help…"

"Are you okay? You don't sound-"

"Mr. Stark," Kav interrupted their conversation. He shuffled a bit closer to the phone. "What Miss Romanoff here is trying to say is that you have the chance to save her life. Also, that of Mr. Barton. A limited offer!"

"Wait, what? Who are you?"

"My name is unimportant, Mr. Stark. You see, sir, I need the money. You happen to have it!" Kav said gleefully. He licked his lips as if the thought of receiving 50 million dollars was as enticing as a delicious meal.

"What the hell- Natasha, are you okay?"

Kav looked at her with a playful smile as if to say, go on, you can tell him. She hesitated. "Yes. I'm okay. The mission in Alaska went wrong. You- if you want to do it, please hurry. He's got Clint as well. Clint is going to die. That's his leverage."

There was a pause. "Okay. How much does he want?"

"50 million dollars to a Swiss bank account," she said. If Kav hadn't listened she would have urged him to look for another option, but then there was the subject of Clint on the verge of death.

"50? Sir, what do you need to finance? A crystal palace? A 365-day AC/DC concert? Now that I think about it, that does seem like a good idea-"

"The clock is ticking Mr. Stark," Kav interrupted him once again. "I will text you the account number. And don't even try to trace it. You have fifteen minutes. If you fail to transfer the sum in time, the archer and the spy die. Do you understand?"

Another pause. "Yes. I do. I'll transfer the money as soon as I receive the account number."

"Perfect," Kav purred. Then he took the phone from Natasha's lap and ended the call without a word of farewell. He typed something on the phone and Natasha could hear a sound that indicated that a message was sent. She assumed that it was the number of Kav's bank account. When he was done, Kav looked up at her. He caught her glance and smirked.

"Perfect," he repeated. "How fortunate that you two got caught in my little net. In a few minutes I'll be 50 mil richer." He did a little bow as if to mock her. Natasha looked away. She did not want him to get the maximum level of enjoyment out of his little celebration by speaking to her directly. Still, she knew that this wouldn't do anything to dampen his enthusiasm.

"You have what you want, Kav. Now get Clint out of there," she hissed, her gaze still fixed to the floor.

"Oh, no, not yet," he said cheerfully and waved a finger at her. "I need the money first. Not that I have to throw him in there again, eh? Stark knows that he has a time limit and he knows what happens if he doesn't behave. He'll have two friends less. A surprise that that man has any friends at all."

"Oh, how many friends do you have?" she mocked him.

"A handful. Less friends mean less money that you have to spend on birthday gifts," he scoffed back, but it still seemed like she hit him in a weak spot. Did you know that the average American plans to spend about 830 dollars on Christmas?"

She rolled her eyes and shifted in the uncomfortable chair. Her wrists were aching and her muscles got stiff from being stuck in the same position for so long. Natasha hated being this helpless. If she tried, she could escape Kav and his men, but that would take time and time was something that she did not have. As soon as Stark transferred the money to the bank account, Kav would release them, so she just had to wait a little longer. Still, there was a small part in the back of her brain that questioned Kav's promise. She wasn't sure if he'd let them go in one piece.

A soft ringing ripped her out of her thoughts. Even Kav flinched. He took the phone back into his hands and checked the notification he had received. A smile spread across his face. He got up and triumphantly held up his phone.

"The transfer is complete. Congratulations, Miss Romanoff. You made me rich," Kav purred.

She scowled. "There, you have your wish. Now, let Barton and me go."

He tilted his head to the side, as if he wouldn't understand her. "Yes? Ah, right. My promise," he said thoughtfully and he turned his back to her. "I did promise, didn't I…"

"Yes," Natasha sighed. He was testing her patience. Clint could die any second and he was enjoying playing games with her. She hated every minute that she had to spend with him.

"Right," he said. He looked back at his phone and dialed a number. As he held the phone to his ear he looked at her, waiting for the person he called to pick up. A click. Then Natasha could hear a muffled voice answering the call.

"Yes," Kav said in response. "It's me." He studied Natasha for a moment, then he took a deep breath and gave a command. "Seal the well."