Chapter Seven
"Used to think You didn't care, I, was just a pawn in the game You were playin' Puttin' walls up everywhere Never thought You heard a word I was prayin'..." Disaster, Newsboys
"Run the files through me again." Natasha let out a sigh of frustration as Clint rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"We know that not everything is as it seems," she explained. "Valerie has one surviving family member; her twin sister Annie Hirsch. Annie is currently living with a new family in Malibu, California. She doesn't know that Valerie is alive, and Valerie doesn't know that she is alive." Clint looked like he was trying to put together a puzzle. "Don't hurt yourself," Natasha muttered with a roll of her eyes.
"So let me get this straight," he began as they started heading for her new room. Valerie had been moved the other day to a separate room since she gave away her name. It was the least SHIELD could do for her at the moment. "They can't find out that the other is alive, or it'll cause some kind of fight between the two?" Natasha raised an eyebrow as he finally understood the mission. "I wonder what they'd do if they did find out," he said thoughtfully.
"Fury's afraid that it would end in disaster," she replied. "Something about the two were always fighting when they were younger. Valerie never got over those fights I'd assume, and neither did Annie. It's best to keep this a secret." She folded her arms when the door swung open, revealing an empty room. "Wonderful." Even Clint looked around in surprise, until he glanced up.
But by than it was too late. Valerie swung down from her hiding place, knocking Clint over and leaving Natasha little time to recover from the shock. She was on the run in an instant, picking up speed as she ran through the maze of halls. Natasha grabbed her stun gun and was ready to fire when something stopped her. There was something about her determination that caught Natasha's attention. No one escaped their prison here so often, unless they had a death wish. She held back a sigh and grabbed her other gun; this time she would not miss.
. . .
How stupid were these SHIELD agents? After I found a weak point in the wall I climbed the bed and clutched on to the air vent for dear life, waiting for the perfect moment. Once both Natasha and Clint were inside, I struck them down. That was when I started running. I wasn't going to let them catch me, not this time.
"Stop!" I rolled my eyes at whoever shouted that. They really expected me to stop now? I wasn't planning on stopping until I got away.
More and more agents were starting to run after me, until something or someone shoved them out of the way. I didn't need to look over my shoulder to see who it was. I figured Natasha would give chase once she and Clint recovered from the shock.
Don't stop running now. Don't let them take me. Silently my mind was begging to break free from this prison. I could feel my heart racing as I reached for another door, only to find myself in what looked like a communication center. Computer monitors were spread throughout the room, and what looked like a lookout dock opened up above the computers in the middle of the room. Above me I could see a panel of windows overlooking me. A few agents up there were watching with interest as Natasha and Clint finally caught up.
With quick reflexes I managed to dodge a knife thrown in my direction from Natasha. Clint had already grabbed his weapon of choice, what looked like a bow and arrow. As SHIELD agents I'm sure they needed to have numerous skills compared to any normal citizen.
"Fire now!" I didn't miss what they were planning. Natasha was trying to distract me while Clint fired an arrow from the other side. The agents up above us had already made a run for it the moment they saw what their comrades were up to. But by the time Clint fired an arrow it was already too late.
Someone else had fired a gun while I was distracted. I felt my heart stop for just a moment until the pain exploded in my chest. Both Natasha and Clint had frozen in midstep when they realized what just happened. I looked at them once before making a break for it again, ignoring the throbbing pain.
To my amazement I was still on my feet, running at full speed. By now Natasha and Clint were probably too stunned to give chase, and the rest of this hellhole were probably still trying to catch up. So far it seemed like those two were the only good agents I have met, and that wasn't saying much.
I didn't stop running until the pain became too much. By that time I was already outside, relishing in the fresh air that brushed past my face. Unfortunately for me the moment didn't last long. The pain was starting to make me dizzy, and I couldn't see straight.
"You're not going anywhere with wounds like that." A blurry image appeared in front of me, familiar and yet too distant for me to make out. The voice sounded like Master's, but I wasn't sure. I couldn't be sure at this point as he grabs me before I could fall. "You're in good hands, Avaria," the voice whispered.
. . .
Natasha slammed a fist into the wall when they received the news. Despite all of Fury's best efforts they still got away, with Valerie in tow as well.
"What do you mean someone infiltrated the system?" Fury was beyond pissed as one of his agents reported back to him, catching the one agent that had shot Valerie in the heart. It was amazing that she hadn't died almost instantly, and even more so when she started running again.
"Sir, it appears as though this one was working for the enemy," the agent explained. Anger was evident in his tone, though he kept on a straight face as Fury glared at the said agent they were holding up by the collar of his suit. "They must have contacted them once the girl was in our custody."
"Wait, who is them, exactly?" Clint demanded.
"We believe that it is a secret division working under Hydra, but we're not entirely sure," the agent replied. Natasha instinctively stiffened at the mention of Hydra. Clint couldn't blame her for her reaction.
Hydra was well known throughout the world as an organization originally created by the Red Skull. But when he was defeated they branched off into different parts of the world. The worst part of Hydra was the Red Room, a place in Russia where young children were trained to kill. The Red Room not only trained these people but also controlled them. Natasha was one of the few agents to ever escape their clutches alive and turn against them.
"So the girl was training under a secret Hydra division; that would explain why her family was killed," Natasha murmured. Fury ordered the agent that infiltrated them to be thrown into prison, and the room suddenly became eerily quiet. "What do we do now, sir?" she asked.
"We need to find her before Hydra gets their hands on her," Fury replied. "Natasha, Clint, you're my best agents. But for this we're gonna need someone who knows Hydra better than anyone." Natasha nodded in understanding while Clint folded his arms in annoyance. So much for working together again.
AN: So there's chapter seven. And yes, Hydra will be involved in this story, along with numerous other enemies I have planned for it ;) Apologies if I made any mistakes in this chapter, with the storms last night I had to write this in a hurry before shutting down. Big thanks to ellothwen of lothlorien and AmeliaRoseOswald for reviewing! You guys are awesome!
ellothwen of lothlorien - I'm glad you're enjoying it. Adding lyrics to the story always seems to make it more suitable for each chapter and what the character is portraying.
