A few notes on the story: each chapter begins with a flashback, it is almost completely written so updates should come every day, and I will put additional warnings at the top of each chapter as they apply.
This story is rated M for violence, mentions of past abuse, torture scenes, and later sexual content.
Please don't hesitate to review! I would love to hear what people think.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any characters/organizations/plotlines related to them. If I did, we'd have a lot more Black Widow and Hawkeye.
Chechnya, Russia—1998
The shed stood in the middle of the clearing, ringed by the trees Natalia and her fellow recruit Alina sat in. They had been sent out on a training mission together: destroy the shed and the insurgents plotting inside of it. The Red Room and the Russian government didn't want the Chechen insurgents to attack any of the surrounding area, which could spark a stronger separatist movement.
Natalia understood the political reasons behind the request and didn't resist taking the job. She didn't know what Alina thought of it, but based on the other girl's track record during their training together so far, she was ruthless and could care less what happened on this mission.
The girls watched two people leave the shed and get in the last vehicle, an old Volkswagen with chipped paint and rust. Alina looked to Natalia, "That's everyone gone."
Natalia nodded and slithered down from her perch onto the forest floor. It was a warm mid-July day and the girls wore thin layers that covered almost all of their skin. Natalia had on a dark green baseball hat to hide her vibrant red hair. Their boots were almost silent against the dirt as they approached the building warily. They had been watching the site all day and had seen a total of eight people filter through. The last two to leave were also the first to arrive. Alina had heard a trio talking about the meeting with all the conspirators later that evening as they left the shed for a while. Now was the best chance the girl's would have to complete their mission.
Slinking into the shed the girls both grinned when they saw the supplies they had to work with. This wasn't just the meeting place for the insurgency group, it was also their storage area. A couple of bricks of C-4 lay on the table in the center of the room, and one corner had nine tanks of gasoline. There were spools of wire packed tightly together on a shelf.
"Blow it?" Alina asked.
Natalia nodded again and began grabbing the wire, "We'll need a trigger."
Alina dug around and found a broken radio tossed in a heap of garbage against the back wall. She began dismantling it and working to create a trigger and a receiver for the pulse. Meanwhile, Natalia stretched the wire over to the gas tanks. She made sure it was touching three of them then pulled the hose attached to one over to the far side of the building. She trickled just a bit of gas along the edge of the wall, hoping the smell wouldn't be too noticeable.
Twenty minutes later Alina had finished what she had been working on. She brought the receiver over to Natalia and handed it to her. The device would produce a small electric bolt that would run down the wire it was attached to and into the gas tank. The resulting spark at the end of the wire would theoretically ignite the gas.
Natalia and Alina had completed their preparations and left the shed in less than thirty minutes. They scrambled back to the trees and into their posts outside, knowing the insurgents could return at any minute.
The radio perched on the branch next to Natalia crackled to life an hour into the girls waiting for the arrival of their targets. A deep voice spoke, "Natalia report."
Natalia picked the radio up and pressed the button on the side, "Sir, we've rigged the warehouse, we're just waiting for the insurgents to arrive."
"How long?"
Natalia closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep her voice even, "We don't know sir. They're supposed to have a meeting with everyone tonight. We should see movement in the next hour I expect."
"Hurry up," the man commanded before shutting off the radio on his end.
Natalia sighed and set the radio down.
Alina watched the other girl from two trees over. She loathed Natalia, the favorite of all the instructors at the Red Room. Even the guards liked her best, just because she was pretty. Without Natalia, Alina would be at the top of the organization in terms of promise. What a shame it would be if precious Natalia died on this mission… Alina fantasized for a moment about killing her fellow recruit before stopping herself. Natalia was the favorite, killing her outright wouldn't help Alina much. It needed to be an accident, and that was unlikely to happen on this mission.
Three hours after Natalia and Alina had left the shed the meeting was well underway. The girls had waited thirty minutes after the start to ensure that no late stragglers ruined their plan. They both climbed down from the trees again, remaining against the edge of the clearing, ready to disappear behind the tree line if necessary.
Natalia darted towards the shed and quietly slid the outer lock into place, ensuring that no one could escape the building. She returned to her previous position and looked at Alina, "Ready?"
The other girl scoffed and withdrew the trigger from her bag.
Natalia raised her hand, three fingers raised. She lowered them steadily, and when they were all down Alina pressed a couple of buttons on the trigger.
Nothing happened and Natalia wondered if their plan had failed.
Then a loud boom shattered the almost silent night. Alina and Natalia both winced as a wall of heat hit them. The gasoline had ignited. Screams pierced the night and the door shook as the people inside tried to escape from the inferno.
Forty three seconds later a stronger explosion ripped through the warehouse. The screaming and coughing lasted only a few seconds longer before going silent.
Natalia sniffed the air, rank with an odor she couldn't quite identify but that was familiar.
Alina grinned cruelly, "The smell of burning flesh is delicious, don't you think?"
Natalia fought the rising bile in her throat. She would not vomit, she would not show that weakness, especially not in front of Alina. Now she remembered when she'd smelled the scent last: the day her parents died in the hospital fire.
She'd smelled the burning corpses in the building as Ivan carried her away.
León, Mexico—2007
Clint and Natasha entered the bar together, her dangling off his arm and giggling. They were a young couple on vacation together for the first time, at least Cary and Jenna were. They grabbed a couple of seats at the bar and Clint flashed a crooked grin at the bartender.
"Dos cervezas por favor," he said in heavily accented Spanish. He grinned proudly at Natasha who gave an obliging giggle. They looked the part of two inane Americans enjoying some time in Mexico. Easy targets for thieves and men looking for a good time with a naïve woman.
Two beers later for each of them, Lozano walked in. He gave Natasha an appreciative glance before taking his usual table along with his security team.
Some American country song came on over the old radio playing, Natasha grabbed Clint's hand and dragged him onto the area of the bar for dancing (no one had used it yet). "I love this song," she slurred as she began to move against him.
Clint played along, dancing with her and fighting to keep his body under control. He didn't have feelings for Natasha beyond friends, but that didn't mean he was immune to her beauty. The smirk she shot him revealed that she knew exactly what he was feeling. Phil was right, Clint decided. She was evil.
After a few songs Clint pulled her back to the bar, ordering some tequila for them. Lozano had started watching. Natasha moved closer to Clint, standing between his legs at the bar. "He's watching," she whispered before downing a shot.
Clint nodded, "How do you want to play it?"
"Give it a few minutes then go to the bathroom, we'll see if he makes his move then," she said with a flirty laugh and a kiss to the corner of Clint's mouth.
He nearly shivered at the touch of her lips against his cheek. She was trying to kill him and he knew it. They continued drinking and laughing, talking about the sites they'd seen earlier that day.
"I gotta hit the head," Clint announced to her a few minutes later, his words starting to slur as part of the act. The alcohol was starting to work its way through his system, though he wasn't drunk yet. But if he didn't slow down soon, he would be.
Natasha sat down on the stool and fiddled with the shot glass in front of her. She noticed Lozano watching and gave him a flirty smile. She dipped one of the limes they'd been given into the salt and sucked on it pensively. Lozano rose and approached her.
"Hola señorita," he purred, invading her personal space.
"Hola," she laughed, using a clear American accent.
"American, eh?"
"Sí!"
Lozano chuckled, "My name is Andre. What about you, señorita?"
Natasha let out another giggle, "I'm Jenna."
"Is this your first time in Mexico, Jenna?"
She nodded, "Uh-huh, my boyfriend and I are here on vacation!"
Andre frowned for a moment before recovering and smiling at her again, "How do you like it?"
"It's amazing, maybe a little hot though..." she replied, thinking for a moment before smiling brightly at him.
Lozano frowned and looked at something behind Natasha, "It looks like your friend isn't as interested in you as you are in him."
Natasha turned to see what he was talking about. Clint had stopped to flirt with a table of young women on his way back from the restroom when he saw Lozano talking with Natasha. He knew she wouldn't be going back with the man tonight, they weren't ready to eliminate him yet but he figured he could get the man to doubt their relationship a bit.
Natasha frowned. "Cary's just being friendly," she said stubbornly. "He won't do anything bad."
Lozano patted her knee, "I hope you're right my dear."
Clint chose that moment to return to where Natasha was sitting at the bar, "Hey Jen, babe." He planted a wet kiss on her cheek, which Natasha forced herself to smile at. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Andre," Natasha replied. "Andre, this is my boyfriend Cary."
Andre nodded at the man, his smile had hardened slightly, "A pleasure, señor. If you'll excuse me I must return to my group, though I hope I'll see you here tomorrow night."
They nodded enthusiastically, as though that was the best idea they'd heard all day.
Lozano turned and walked away after throwing one more glance at Natasha.
"How'd it go?" Clint asked in a hushed voice.
She shrugged and nodded when the bartender offered them more tequila, "Well enough, he's interested, but he didn't say anything overtly. He thinks I'm at risk of having you cheat on me."
Clint nodded, "Good. Tomorrow night we can use that to our advantage."
They finished their shots then Natasha moved to stand between Clint's legs once more. She let her hands drift down the front of his torso and pulled slightly at his shirt. Then she leaned up and whispered in his ear, "Let's get out of here."
Clint chuckled and took her hand. He threw some money down on the bar and gave the bartender a cocky wink before leading the way out of the building. They'd gotten Lozano's attention, the night had been a success.
After changing into more appropriate attire for surveillance, Clint and Natasha went out to keep an eye on Lozano's activities. Meanwhile, Phil worked to acquire the accelerant Natasha had requested for destroying the warehouse.
For the first time since arriving in León, Phil left the safe house for an extended period of time. He would be monitoring Lozano while Natasha and Clint destroyed the supply of cocaine in the warehouse. Unlike his agents, he didn't have an affinity for rooftops, so he chose to do his surveillance on the ground. He sat outside of a small café a block away from Lozano's after dropping a few bugs around the house's perimeter. Clint had placed some in and around the house the night before, noticing the distinct lack of electronic security.
From the little bit of chatter he'd heard, the security team was bored. They had nothing to do but stay at the house with Lozano while he amused himself. Lozano did tell one of the men that he intended to bring a young American woman home that night and he expected the man to help if he required the woman's boyfriend out of the picture.
Phil smirked to himself, sounds like his agents had managed to catch Lozano's attention last night.
Around one thirty in the afternoon, Phil managed to overhear parts of the phone call Lozano received. From what he could gather, someone called from the fire department to inform him that his warehouse had burned to the ground.
Lozano wasn't happy if his cursing was anything to go by. The security team kept their distance while he yelled for them to get him to the warehouse as quickly as possible.
"Hawkeye, Black Widow," Phil said into the mostly silent comms unit he wore. "Lozano's on his way to inspect the warehouse. Get out of there and rendezvous at the safe house."
"Copy," Clint's voice replied, satisfaction dripping from that one word.
"I take it the warehouse burned as well as you'd hoped?" Phil asked.
Clint chuckled, "Even better. The thing was gone by the time the fire department arrived."
Phil smirked and picked up his bag. He headed back to the safe house with the knowledge that his agents had dealt a hard blow to the cartel and to Lozano personally. Tonight, the mission would be over.
Clint and Natasha rose soon after dawn. They'd taken turns watching Lozano until the early hours of the morning before going to bed. He wouldn't be moving until later in the day. They planned how they would destroy the warehouse over the breakfast Phil had prepared. The newly acquired accelerant sat in the corner of the safe house living room.
"If we get the walls and the crates coated with the accelerant," Natasha said. "We'll be able to light it and watch as it comes crashing to the ground."
Clint nodded, "Do we need to get the ceiling?"
She shrugged, "If we can it'll help ensure there isn't anything for the fire department to try to save when they arrive. But if we don't have enough accelerant or can't get up there it won't be a problem."
"How are you going to carry all of the accelerant over to the warehouse?" Phil asked curiously. There was twenty gallons of the stuff contained in two ten gallon tanks. They couldn't exactly carry those through the city without looking suspicious.
Natasha frowned, she hadn't figured that part out yet.
"We can take the SUV, or you can drive us," Clint said. "I can go ahead and get the warehouse unlocked, make it appear that you two are bringing a scheduled delivery."
Phil nodded, "I'll drive and then bring the car back here before going to sit on Lozano. I think Romanoff should accompany you in opening the warehouse. The two of you should be able to handle any guards without problem."
The agents nodded and rose from the table to begin packing their gear. They only had one shot at destroying the cocaine supply or Lozano would realize he was being targeted and move it.
Natasha and Clint left the safe house an hour before Phil in order to ensure that everything be ready by the time he arrived. They sat on the same roof they had occupied the day before in order to see if the safe house was empty or not. There was still no movement after ten minutes of watching, so they decided their plan would go ahead.
Natasha approached the warehouse casually, she would watch the perimeter while Clint took care of the lock. He had needed to ditch his bow and quiver in the shadows of a neighboring warehouse or risk being caught.
Clint made quick work of the lock and retrieved his weapons quietly. He beckoned Natasha to follow him into the warehouse. The two assassins darted around the darkened space, checking for any guards. They found none. Lozano was a fool if he thought he could leave a supply of cocaine unguarded and not have anyone tamper with it. How exactly he posed a threat to SHIELD, Clint didn't know. But he would do as ordered because Lozano was clearly not a good guy.
Their ear pieces crackled to life with Phil's voice, "I'm on my way. Everything going as planned?"
Clint nodded as he replied, "Warehouse is clear. We'll be ready when you arrive to move the tanks."
"Copy, see you in a bit."
Natasha looked at Clint, "Think we can get up into the rafters if we have enough accelerant?"
Clint looked up for a long moment, "The trick will be bringing the accelerant up with us. We may just want to coat the fabric hanging from it and call that good."
Natasha nodded. He was the sniper and much more accustomed to having to get into hard to reach places than she was.
They moved to wait outside of the warehouse for Phil to show up, knowing that they would draw less attention to themselves the quicker they were able to finish up with the job.
Phil pulled up in front of them twenty-two minutes later, he stepped out of the SUV casually and nodded at the agents. He then opened the trunk of the car to allow them to haul the containers of accelerant out. They were too heavy for one person to carry so Clint and Natasha each grabbed and end of the first one and toted it into the warehouse. Clint returned to grab the second one with Phil. Meanwhile, Natasha began attaching the hose they would use to spread the accelerant.
Phil returned once more to the vehicle in order to grab the last bag of gear they had, inside were gloves and gas masks to protect the agents while they worked.
"Do you need anything else from me?" Phil asked.
Natasha shook her head, "We're good."
"Alright, I'm going to go sit on Lozano. I'll let you know if he leaves the house," Phil replied.
Clint clapped the man on the back, "Have fun watching the most boring target I've ever watched.
Phil rolled his eyes and headed back to the car. He jumped in and drove back to the safe house before going to the cafe across from Lozano's.
Natasha handed Clint a gas mask and pair of gloves, having already donned hers. The gas mask sat loosely around her neck, ready to be pulled up when needed. She and Clint grabbed the hose attached to the first tank and began coating the crates of cocaine thickly. They moved around the warehouse slowly, coating as much as they could, even getting some on the ends of the fabric hanging off the ceiling before running out.
"Where should we put the tanks?" Natasha asked, voice muffled by the mask.
Clint shrugged, "We can just leave them. We aren't trying to keep it a secret that someone set the place on fire, are we?"
"Works for me," Natasha replied.
Clint withdrew a lighter from one of his pockets and bent down to the pile of rags they'd made from random scraps they'd found. It had been doused in accelerant and had a line of the liquid connecting it to each of the three stacks.
"Get ready to run," he instructed Natasha.
She nodded and he touched the flame to the pile. The rags caught immediately and a few moments later the yellow and blue fire rushed along the lines to reach the crates. The assassins waited only long enough to make sure the crates caught before fleeing the building.
"Should we close the door?" Clint asked once they were outside, stripping off his mask.
"No," Natasha replied, mimicking his movements. "It'll potentially run out of oxygen. The open door will help it burn faster."
They retreated a few buildings away and crawled onto the rooftops, lugging the bag of supplies they had. Smoke had started to billow from Lozano's warehouse when they turned to watch. No one had raised the alarm yet.
Three minutes later they could see the flames racing up the walls. Within five minutes the flames were licking out of the open warehouse door and someone had noticed. A group ran from another building, yelling to each other about the fire. One was on the phone to the fire department while a couple others began looking for a way to put the fire out. Around minute eight a small explosion occurred, Natasha assumed it was from the cocaine. By ten minutes in the roof had caught in the blaze and the men had backed away, darting forward occasionally to put out any sparks that landed in the tufts of grass around the warehouse.
It took until twenty minutes into the fire for the fire department to appear. They surveyed the scene and attached their hose. A few moments after they finished the roof caved in, taking a wall with it. The assassins saw the fire chief wave for his men to use the hose. The stream of water did little to stop the roaring flames. They could feel the heat all the way to the building they were perched on.
One of the men who had reported the blaze pulled out his phone and made another call.
"He's calling someone to let Lozano know," Clint reported, reading the man's lips through his binoculars.
Natasha nodded.
Five minutes later their ear pieces crackled to life with Phil's voice, "Hawkeye, Black Widow, Lozano's on his way to inspect the warehouse. Get out of there and rendezvous at the safe house."
"Copy," Clint replied.
"I take it the warehouse burned as well as you'd hoped?" Phil asked.
Clint chuckled, "Even better. The thing was gone by the time the fire department arrived."
He and Natasha both rose and climbed down from the warehouse they perched on unnoticed. The men present were too enthralled by the raging inferno to pay attention to their surroundings.
They spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for the elimination of Lozano. Clint headed to stake out a spot to get a shot at Lozano, leaving his bow and quiver stashed there. He would go to the bar with Natasha then follow her back to Lozano's. Once she had the man alone, she'd give the signal and he'd take the shot.
Natasha checked nearly a dozen times to make sure the knife she'd hidden against her thigh didn't show through the thin skirt she wore. Tonight, she needed to get Lozano's attention and hold it until he brought her home. She spent a while on her make up, making sure it wasn't too heavy but still accented her features.
Close to seven, the two assassins returned to the bar with Phil wishing them luck through the comms. Lozano was already there when the two arrived.
Clint pulled her over to the bar, ordering a couple of beers again. They weren't as affectionate this time, playing it that "Cary" was getting tired of "Jenna." After a while, Clint rose and headed to the bathroom.
Natasha made herself look upset after he left, knowing Lozano was watching. The man himself appeared beside her less than a minute later.
"Señorita Jenna, you've returned," he said happily. His voice lowered to a more serious note, "But señorita, you appear to be upset."
Natasha shrugged and faked a smile, "I just couldn't stay away. Cary wasn't sure we should come back but I knew it would be fun."
Just then Clint made his reappearance. He seated himself at the table of young women he'd flirted with the night before, pretending to ignore the forlorn glance Natasha sent his way.
"Señorita," Lozano purred. "Your friend does not deserve you."
She shrugged, "He's just being friendly."
Lozano turned to the bartender, "Dos disparos de tequila." (Two shots of tequila.)
He raised the glass to Natasha who mimicked his actions with the one he had pushed towards her, they downed the drinks.
"Señor," she smiled. "You're too kind to me."
Lozano shook his head, "No, and call me Andre. I insist."
"Then you should call me Jenna," she replied.
He laughed, "Well Jenna, will you join me at my table I'd love to learn more about you?"
Natasha sent a glance at Clint, then jumped off the barstool and moved to Lozano's table with him.
The man poured her a drink from the bottle already on the table, some mediocre rum. "Tell me Jenna, what do you do for a living?"
She shrugged, "Well right now I'm just waitressing in a diner. I'm taking time off from school right now to try being an actress."
Lozano smiled again, "An actress? You must be brilliant!"
Natasha shrugged, "Thanks but no one else seems to think so… But enough about me, what do you do?"
"I'm a businessman," he said.
"Are you important? Like a CEO or something?"
"Or something, I run my business."
Natasha giggled, "That's great!"
"Yes, although it does make things tough when business doesn't always go as planned," he mused.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
He shrugged, "I suffered a big business setback today. Nothing that I can't fix with some drinks and good company."
Clint let out a roar of laughter from the other side of the room, causing Natasha and Lozano to look over. One of the girls was in his lap while another refilled the glass in his hand.
Natasha allowed a frown to grace her face.
Lozano reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Perhaps we should get out of here," he offered.
"I don't want to leave Cary here," she said.
Another roar of laughter caused them to look over at Clint's table again.
"Señorita, I'm sorry to say it but, I don't think your friend much cares what you do," he said quietly.
Natasha gulped and nodded, watching as one of the women with Clint gave him a filthy kiss.
"Okay," she said.
Lozano grinned and rose to his feet, giving her a hand up.
"I will have my associate inform your friend that you are leaving and will see him tomorrow, is that acceptable?"
Natasha nodded as Lozano gestured one of his guards over and whispered to him in rapid Spanish. The man moved over to Clint's table as Natasha and Lozano walked out of the bar. Natasha sent one glance over her shoulder then returned her attention to Lozano.
The man led her to a white SUV and pulled her into the back seat. Two of his security team climbed into the front.
"Why do you have so many security people with you?" Natasha asked with a giggle.
Lozano smirked, "Mexico is not as safe as we like it to appear. I must take precautions."
She nodded as though the vague answer explained everything. With a small smile she moved across the back seat to climb into Lozano's lap. "I like you," she whispered.
Lozano grinned, "I like you too Jenna. Very much so."
He captured her lips in a kiss, forcing his tongue into her mouth. Natasha returned the kiss despite her desire to turn away. He tasted too strongly of alcohol and she nearly gagged, but if there was one thing she'd learned from the Red Room it was how to ignore her own desire and please someone else.
Clint waited for a few minutes after Natasha left with Lozano before extracting himself from the young women, claiming he needed to step outside and make a call to the hotel for them. They were more than happy to let him go when he made it clear he was getting them something nice at the hotel. Too bad he wasn't going to return.
Clint dashed through the city to beat Lozano home. They may have a head start but he could take a more direct path. He had just reached his perch when the SUV pulled up in front of the house.
"Coulson," he said. "I'm in position. Target is entering the house along with the Widow."
"Take the shot when she gives the signal," Coulson said. "Widow, get out of there as quickly as you can."
She didn't respond, engaged in entertaining Lozano. Clint assumed she knew what was going on.
He nearly gagged when he watched Lozano press her against a wall and force his tongue into her mouth again. He didn't envy Natasha at all, having that asshat force himself on her.
Lozano led the woman up the stairs and into his room, where the curtains had been closed.
"Widow," Clint said. "I need you to get those curtains open."
He couldn't see what happened, he only heard Natasha's voice exclaim, "I bet you have a beautiful view of the city!"
A moment later she was pulling the coverings out of the way and smiling back at Lozano who hadn't taken his eyes off of her since getting her into the room. Lozano reached up and unbuttoned a few of the buttons on his shirt. He stalked towards Natasha predatorily and pulled her to him again. This time he grabbed her ass as he kissed her before tugging at the hem of her tank top. Natasha stepped back and helped him pull the shirt off.
Clint frowned, he didn't like where this was going. "Widow, give the signal and get out of the way," he commanded.
She ignored him, allowing Lozano to pull her to the bed.
"Coulson, she's in the way. I can't get a kill shot on Lozano and she's not giving the signal," Clint reported, worry tingeing his voice.
"Do you know why she hasn't given the signal?"
Clint shook his head, "No. All I know is that things are getting a little bit too hot and heavy down there. Should I take a shot? I can hit him, but it won't necessarily be a kill."
There was a pause, "Hawk, if she's betraying us you know what you need to do."
"I don't think she is though."
"Do what you see fit."
Clint nocked an arrow and drew back the bowstring. He sighted for a moment before releasing the projectile with a hiss.
Natasha had ignored the chatter between Clint and Phil once she'd arrived at Lozano's house. She knew she needed to get him into the bedroom and then give Clint the signal. Lozano clearly wanted to get to the bedroom too, pushing her against the wall before leading the way upstairs.
The curtains were closed. It was the first things she noticed about the room, she didn't need Barton telling her to open them, she already intended to. But she also didn't need him to do her job. She could finish Lozano herself.
It was just like any other assignment where she'd needed to seduce the target. The Red Room had made it clear to her that since her targets were about to die, the least she could do was give them some pleasure. Ignoring Clint's attempts to get her to give the signal she let Lozano pull her into the bed. Moving to straddle him with a mischievous smile.
Lozano didn't seem too upset by the change in position. Natasha knew this would give her the best leverage to eliminate him. She could hear Clint and Phil talking through the comm link they'd established, but she didn't pay any attention to what they were saying. The line went silent and a few seconds later she heard glass shatter and felt a breath of air against her neck. An arrow sprouted from Lozano's right shoulder and he let out a shout of pain, throwing her off of him as he wrenched himself off the bed.
"¡Ayúdeme! ¡Ayúdeme!" he yelled, moving towards his door. (Help me! Help me!)
Natasha cursed under her breath and drew her knife. She could hear the security team thumping up the stairs.
Lozano had barely pulled the door open when another arrow sprouted in him, this time through the left side of his back. Judging by the sudden collapse, it had hit his heart.
Natasha darted towards the door, wondering how to play this. The guards had seen her. She chose to see if she could talk her way out of it. "Oh god help him!" she cried to the first guard who appeared.
The man dropped to the ground next to Lozano and began trying to give him CPR, made difficult by the arrowhead jutting out from his heart. Natasha stepped forward and drew her knife across the man's neck.
Two more men appeared in the doorway. Another arrow took care of one while she jumped and wrapped her legs around the other, snapping his neck as she pulled him to the ground.
"Hawkeye, how many more of them are there," she snarled.
"I see four. I've picked off three outside. That leaves two unaccounted for," he reported.
She nodded and grabbed one of the dead men's Glocks. She stood and left the room, moving through the house. The first guard went down with a bullet through his brain before he'd even registered the woman holding the weapon. The other three drew their weapons and pointed them at her. Clint downed another before calling to Natasha, "You're on your own for a moment, I've got movement outside."
She ducked behind a wall as the men fired at her, waiting until they'd emptied their cartridges before ducking out and getting off two rounds. One of the men went down while the other swung around to fire at her. Natasha checked the gun she'd grabbed, only four rounds left. What kind of idiot didn't keep their weapon fully loaded?
"I'm coming out," she called.
"Hold the gun where I can see it," the man commanded.
Natasha did as he requested holding the gun out in her right hand as she stepped out from behind the wall with her hands in the air, knife concealed in her left hand. The man took a step forward to disarm her, dropping his own weapon slightly. Natasha took advantage of the movement and lunged at him, knocking the gun away and getting her knife into his side.
He kicked her off of him and ripped the knife out, snarling at her. Natasha smirked and leveled the gun she still held at his head. He froze and opened his mouth to speak. The bullet ripped through his skull and dropped him to the ground before he could draw breath to form the words.
"Anyone left?" she asked Clint.
"No, we're clear."
"Should I grab your arrows?" she offered, knowing they couldn't be as easily replaced as bullets.
"Please."
His shortness with her was confusing, Natasha didn't think she'd done anything to warrant the curt treatment.
"Coulson, we're done," Clint said.
"Return to the safe house," Phil replied. "Is Romanoff grabbing your arrows?"
"She is. We'll meet you back there."
Natasha had returned to the lower level after picking up Clint's arrows.
"Romanoff, do you need me to stay or can I head back?" Clint asked.
"Go, I'm right behind you," she replied, moving outside to grab the one's he'd used on the exterior guards.
Clint slung his bow over his back and grabbed the bag he had on the roof with him. He then turned and sprinted across the rooftops, taking a slightly longer route back to the house in the hopes of giving himself enough time to cool off. He was furious to say the least.
Natasha arrived back at the safe house with a handful of Clint's arrows about fifteen minutes after leaving Lozano's. She'd jogged most of the way before slowing to a walk a block away from the house. She knew Clint was mad a her, she just didn't know why or how he would treat her when she arrived.
She pushed the door open and nodded at Coulson who was sitting at the table, picking up the map they'd had and the information in the files they'd brought. He'd written down some notes it looked like. Natasha held up the arrows she had in question.
"Just set them next to the sink," Phil said. "He'll want to clean them."
She nodded and did as he'd said, washing the blood off of her own hands.
The door to the safe house burst open and in stomped an angry Clint. He dropped his bag to the ground and rounded on Natasha, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"
Natasha opened her mouth to respond.
"Shut up!" he commanded. "You don't get to talk right now. Why the hell didn't you give me the signal? Why didn't you get out of the way? I thought maybe, there was something wrong with the comms, but clearly there wasn't since you replied to everything after things went to hell. So why would you compromise a simple mission?"
Natasha glared at him for a moment before she was certain he was done yelling, "You're the one that compromised it. If you'd waited until I gave the signal and got out of the way he wouldn't have raised the alarm and we wouldn't have had to kill the guards."
"And when were you going to give the signal?" he asked, voice scathing. "After you'd fucked him?"
Natasha tried to respond again but he stalked over to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him. She turned to Phil, furious at her partner's behavior.
Phil just shrugged in the direction of the bathroom.
"You agree with him," she said quietly, the rage leaving her as quickly as it had appeared.
Phil shrugged again, "You should have given the signal as soon as you got him into the room with the curtains open. Why didn't you? You knew Clint was prepared to take the shot."
She frowned, "I—I needed Lozano in a position where he would be easily over powered."
Phil shook his head, "You still don't trust Clint enough to believe that he'll take care of the target if you leave yourself vulnerable. He will."
She didn't say anything, thinking about his words.
"And you're right, his actions could have compromised the mission just as easily as yours. But he shouldn't have to watch you sleep with a target before killing," Phil finished speaking and returned to packing up their gear.
AN: Thank you for reading, please take the time to review.
Preview of Next Chapter: "Yellowstone?" Natasha asked.
"It's a national park. I don't know if you have those in Russia," Clint informed her.
She rolled her eyes, "I'm aware. I just don't know what could possibly happening in Yellowstone that requires our...skills."
