A/N: let the fun begin! i want a lot of reviews before i post the next chapter!
Chapter 7
(3 Days Later)
Natasha had a bad feeling. The pain in her back had not gone away. Instead it had spread around her belly and up her spine. It hurt to move. The baby rarely stayed still for more than an hour, meaning she barely got to sleep.
But today everything was worse. Natasha had woken up suddenly in a cold sweat. Her back clenched with pain causing her to groan. She looked up at the window, hoping to tell what time of day it was, but the snow had covered it up.
Anya quietly crept in and sat at the foot of the bed.
"You're awake," she said softly.
"What time is it?" Natasha asked her voice groggy.
"It's about noon," Anya answered.
Natasha groaned and tried to curl up more, but her belly prevented her.
"Are you okay?" Anya asked.
"I'm not sure anymore," Natasha admitted.
There was a silence between the two.
"I can't stay. Petrovitch is on edge today," Anya spoke up.
"Okay, I don't want you to get in trouble," Natasha answered nudging the girl with her leg.
Anya took the hint and got up. "Just try to rest," she said as she touched the door handle.
"Don't worry about me," Natasha whispered, giving her a small smile.
Anya exited the room and closed the door softly. Natasha heard the familiar click of the lock on the outside; reminding her there was no escape. She sighed and sat up slowly, wincing as her body protested the movement. She decided to stand after a moment and walked over to the sink. She splashed some cold water on her face and paused over the sink.
She let the water drip off her face as she gripped the metal sides she had to get her mind together.
In all these long months, she had lost sight of her mission. There was no way she could take down Petrovitch now, not in her condition.
And if Clint came and if he rescued her, she still would have failed the mission. S.H.I.E.L.D. would have her neck. There was no happy ending to this.
One hand drifted to her stomach, while the other supported her weight as she leaned over the sink.
Petrovitch had been right. She was a horrible mother. Either she would lose the baby to him and die or bring her home to chaos and no job. She had failed from the beginning. Assassins were not parents; they were killers which is what she was doing to her baby.
There was a sharp kick under her hand.
"I'm sorry, my little bird," Natasha whispered.
There was another hard kick followed by a surge of pain in her lower back. Natasha gritted her teeth and gripped the sink hard, turning her knuckled white. The pain died off letting her breathe. And then it was back again.
However, this time the pain was followed by a gush of fluid between her legs. Natasha's heart stopped. She didn't need a doctor to know what was happening. Her water had broken. She bowed her head and closed her eyes.
"Clint, please hurry," she whispered. "I need you."
The hum of the Quinjet's motors were the only noise he heard. Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Phil sat quietly; they had nothing to say. They had tried 12 locations in the last three days, each one having a note waiting for the archer…egging him on.
Bruce had decided to test another theory. Maybe the tracker's signal was bouncing off of other things. Petrovitch most likely was still oblivious to the tracker.
They had been going to supposed Red Room locations, which was what Petrovitch was playing off of. Either way, he knew they were looking.
These new coordinates were different from the other. These were less obvious and off in the middle of nowhere.
Phil lowered the jet near a thicket of trees. With the engines off the silence was deafening.
Clint unbuckled himself and walked over to the storage rack where his bow sat. Tony joined him and grabbed the case that held his suit. Steve slide on his mask and picked up his shield. Clint could hear the mechanical whirs of Tony's as he slipped on his glove and arm guard.
"I have a good feeling about this one," Phil said breaking the silence. He handed Tony, Steve, and Clint an earwig.
"It better be. I don't know how much more I can take of not finding her," Clint said.
"Let's head out," Steve said pressing the button that opened up the back doors.
Clint shivered as the cold air rushed in. His S.H.I.E. L.D. issued jacket did little to protect him. The three men reluctantly headed out in the cold wind and snow.
"It's literally straight ahead," Tony said through the earwig. The wind was howling, whipping up the fresh snow and flinging it against their bodies like frozen knives.
Once they reached the frozen metal door to the massive complex, there was hesitation.
Clint nodded to Steve, taking a deep breath and nocking an arrow. Steve brought his shield down on the lock, shattering it. He kicked open the door and quickly entered with Clint on his heels. Tony reacted quicker than the other two men. He charged his hand stabilizers and blasted the two guards that stood shocked. They flew back against the cinder block wall; their heads connecting with the wall with a sickening crack.
A loud alarm began to sound. Clint let a smile creep onto his face. This was it.
Natasha gasped as another contraction wracked her body. She had managed to make it to the bed finally. She buried her face in her pillow and tangled her hands in the blanket. The contractions were roughly 10 minutes apart. Once it passed, she groaned in frustration. This couldn't be happening…not now. She needed sleep, she needed strength; neither of which she had. She felt incredibly weak.
Suddenly the alarm began to blare, alerting them of an intruder. Her heart leapt; it was Clint.
Clint barreled his way through the guards with ease. He was glad that none of the girls had made an appearance.
"Cap, we need to find her room!" Clint yelled over the alarm.
"Cap go left, Hawk go right. I'll hold these guys off," Tony said blasting another guard down.
Steve nodded and headed off down the right hall. He paused, observing his surroundings.
"Why do all the doors look the same?" he sighed.
"Russia sucks, Cap," Clint said.
Clint headed to the left and began his search. By the fifth door he was beginning to get frustrated. However, the sixth door produced better results. He shattered the lock with one of his arrows and burst in.
A group of seven girls stood against the wall. Clint lowered his bow and took a step closer. The girl's pressed themselves closer to the wall as if they were trying to melt into it. Clint was appalled by the age range. None of them had to be older than 11 or 12.
"Easy, I'm not here to hurt you," Clint said calmly. He heard a string of Russian curse behind him causing him to whirl around and send an arrow flying into the chest of a guard. He heard the girls gasp in surprise.
"Are you Hawkeye?" a brunette girl asked cautiously taking a step forward.
Clint was shocked that a) the girl spoke English and b) she knew who he was.
"Yes," He answered keeping his guard up. Just because they were young didn't mean they couldn't kill him.
A small blonde girl no taller than his hip burst forward and wrapped her arms around his leg.
"I knew you would come," the girl said looking up at him. Clint couldn't help but melt in the girl's beautiful blue eyes.
"How do you know who I am?" he asked the brunette.
"Natalia has told us about you," she replied.
Clint's heart leapt at the mention of Natasha.
"Where is she?" he breathed.
"The next hall over, sixth door on the right," the brunette said.
"Cap, did you hear that?" Clint asked touching his ear.
"Sixth door on the right, got it," Steve answered.
"You're not alone?" the blonde asked.
"No, my team is helping rescue you all," he said remembering Natasha's request to bring the girls as well.
"Thank you," the brunette said smiling.
"Do you know where Petrovitch is?" he asked as the blonde let go of his leg.
"Yes, I'll take you to him. He will be heavily guarded," the brunette replied.
"Okay. Are there more of you?" Clint asked.
"There were, but we are all that is left," the brunette said softly.
Clint frowned, he didn't want to even think of what had happened to the others.
"Hey Hawk, you better get moving. These guys just keep coming," Tony said sounding out of breath.
"Oh come on, Stark. You getting sleepy?" Clint mocked.
"We'd better go," the brunette said.
Clint reached into his pocket and pulled out his GPS that led back to the jet.
"Have them follow this. It will lead them to my jet where they'll be safe," he said handing the girl the device.
"Coulson, what's the status on the second jet?" Clint asked.
"Already here, I called it when you guys didn't come back. Fury was conveniently in the area," Phil replied.
"I'm sending a group of six out to you," Clint said.
"Roger," Phil replied.
Clint nodded to the brunette who turned to the other girls. She relayed the instructions then joined Clint.
"Shall we?" she asked reaching down and pulling a knife out of her boot.
Clint chuckled; it was like being with a mini Natasha.
"We shall," he replied before nocking another arrow and following the girl out into the hallway.
