Chapter 7 – Going South

They were all on the plane heading towards the meeting compound. The plan was to land and let Radim and Natasha off, before taking off again. A second plane would be left, which Radim and Natasha had to burn in order to make Novyye think that was how they got there. They would burn the plane, with the excuse to prevent them from being tracked, before walking about a mile or so towards the compounds until the base's radars picked them up and guards came to get them.

"Alright, we're going down to land" Clint called from the front. "Are you two ready?" He asked. They both nodded.

The quinjet landed and the back door opened, allowing them to leave. The second plane followed, shutting off and the pilot exited and boarded the other jet.

"We'll be back for you in two days." Steve said, shouting over the propellers.

"Right" Radim nodded. Clint followed them off the jet, walking up to Natasha.

"Clint you need to go, we can't risk being spotted." Natasha said.

"I know, there was just something I had to do first. In case you didn't come back" And before she could question him, he pulled her into a kiss. She kissed him back and after a moment he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers, his hand resting gently on the back of her neck, while her hands rested on his chest.

"Clint, you need to go" She said again, wishing at the same time he didn't have to.

"I know" He said, finally pulling away and walking towards Steve and the jet.

"Keep her safe kid" He said to Radim.

"I will, keep Mila safe" He replied.

"I owe you that much" Clint said, before the doors began closing and the jet rose back into the air.

Radim pulled the lighter out, throwing it into the second quinjet, which had been prepared with fuel so it would burn.

"The compound is that way, we shouldn't have to walk much more than a mile before they'll catch us on their radar." He said. "We should get moving, before the fire reaches the gas tank." He said.

"You should put the cuffs on now, I can manage to walk with them and we don't know when they will spot us. There's no point in risking blowing everything by waiting until we get closer." Natasha said. He nodded once, pulling the cuffs out of his backpack and putting them on her. He turned her, holding her elbow and walking towards the compound.

They walked quickly at first, so as to put distance between them and the burning quinjet. They heard an explosion behind them and figured the fire had caught the gas tank, and decided it was safe to slow down.

"When they spot us I'm going to have to act completely loyal to them, and even then I'll be lucky if they trust me. I'm sorry, but I may have to hurt you" He said as they walked through the trees.

"I'd be surprised if you didn't" She said, assuring him that she understood.

"Just promise that you'll trust me, I am acting as a double agent, and in order to try and be successful I'm going to have to betray SHIELD a little." He warned further.

"I've been in your shoes kid, just do what you need to to get us both in and out alive." She said.

"We're close to the radar range now, it shouldn't be too much longer before someone comes out to investigate." He said, looking around at the trees.

"How can you tell?" She asked, looking for the markers he could be using to identify the area. To her the unfamiliar landscape looked still the same as the spot they had landed the quinjet in, and it made her realize what a good spot this was for their compound, if you didn't know the area it would be easy to get lost.

"In the trees, look at the largest branch on each tree. Notice anything consistent?" He asked. She looked, finding the largest branch on each nearby tree. She almost laughed when she saw it, the difference between the trees in front and behind them were so subtle if she hadn't been told to look for it, she would have never noticed.

"There's a fake leaf on each branch" She said. He nodded.

"As we get closer the color will change. There, see that one ahead. That's were the radar field starts. We'll be spotted soon. And keep in mind the walls and trees have eyes and ears." He said. She nodded, heeding the warning and looked ahead to find a single red fake leaf on the largest branch of the tree he pointed at. She noticed the trees next to that one also had a single leaf, but not the ones further in and assumed they must mark the perimeter of the radar. They would be able to walk around the entire perimeter without being spotted if they didn't step past that tree.

"Be very careful of what you say from this point forward." He said, stopping before passing the red marked tree. "Don't give them cracks in the story, its better to say nothing then to reveal a lie by saying the wrong thing." And with that he pulled her past the tree.

It didn't take long for them to be spotted and within five minutes they could hear motors coming in their direction.

Two ATV's stopped in front of them, carrying one man each. They jumped off and strained their guns on both of them.

"We've been given orders to take you in dead or alive if we saw your face again, and not necessarily in one piece." One sneered.

"It is better to live among wolves, then to allow them to consume you" Radim said, both men looked at each other before holstering their weapons.

"Ignatiy will want to see you" One said. "And you've brought the SHIELD bitch just in time for the council meeting." He added. The other came forward and put a mask over her face. She felt Radim release her and another set of hands propelled her forward.

"Have you collected any information?" The one holding her asked.

"SHIELD is very tight lipped, I couldn't gain information without risking the trust I gained. I convinced them that the meeting would be occurring in three days, and they are coming in to do a rescue mission. They are expecting to save us both, too bad she will be dead and we will all be gone by the time they get here. They aren't expecting any security either." He said.

"I wonder if the widow has anything to say about this little revelation" The one said, pulling off her mask. She looked at Radim with sadness and anger.

"How could you, we trusted you." She hissed, trying to pull away from the one holding her. "By lying about the guards you'll get them all killed" She said.

"Good, SHIELD deserves to rot in the hole it crawled from" Radim said. The man put the mask back on and put her on the ATV in front of him. They started up and drove to the compound that was about another mile in.

"Take these two inside, Ignatiy will want to see them" He said, transferring Natasha to another guard who walked her inside.

"Be careful undoing the handcuffs, she will look for any reason to fight. She only came quietly because she thought I was playing along." Radim told the guard as he tied her up.

"And how am I to know that you aren't still playing along?" A new voice asked. "Giving her warnings and commands and making us think they are directed towards us?"

"It is better to live among wolves, then to allow them to consume you." He repeated the line from earlier.

"Yes, the line that I taught you, that would allow me to know that you can still be trusted when I shouldn't trust you." He said. "But that does not answer my doubts of the possibility that you may be double crossing me. I did not build an empire to have it crumble at the hands of a thirteen-year-old." He said.

"I would like to see her face." He said, and the guard pulled off his mask. He regarded her up and down, then after a moment turned to leave. "See to it that my nephew is made comfortable and fed." He said.

"And the widow, sir?" He asked.

"I have no need for her, dispose of her." He said. "She's too dangerous"

He walked towards the door and Natasha watched the guard pull out his gun, and wondered if Radim had truly double-crossed SHIELD. The guard raised it up and aimed it directly between her eyes. Before he could fire, Radim grabbed him and threw him to the ground, obtaining his gain and putting a bullet swiftly into the man's head, he then turned to aim at Ignatiy but the man had been prepared and with one swift hit Radim was unconscious on the floor.

"I will always find where your true loyalties lye" He called for another guard. "Be sure she is secure and put him up next to her. Notify me when he is awake." He said.

"Sir" The man said, picking Radim up and tying him.

Radim woke slowly, his head pounding. His stomach sank when he realized the situation he was in. He had failed, he had fallen for his uncle's trick. He should have known they would not have killed her, she was far too important, but his friendship had caused him to act before thinking.

He woke fully and looked up to take in his room. He saw that he was in the same room as Natasha. She met his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I screwed it up." He said. "He can't speak English. We are for the most part safe to talk in languages other than Russian." He answered her unspoken question.

"Still watch what you say, just in case." He cautioned.

"You did what you could." She said.

"I fell for it, he was not going to kill you. You are far too important, we have been trying to catch you for years, but I didn't think." He said.

"What should we do?" She asked.

"Wait for SHIELD and hope that I live through this." He replied, watching as the door handle began to turn.


AN - I have all of chapter 8 completed, and I just have to edit it before posting that one and I also have half of chapter 9 done and the rest of the story (so the other half of chapter 9 and 10) completely outlines, so hopefully it won't take too long to write and post those.

I am hoping to get this story completely written and posted by January 14th when I go back to classes since I might not really get time to write after that.

Thanks for reading, and if you'd be so kind let me know what you thought! Constructive criticism is also welcome!