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The Hunter Becomes The Hunted


"All I'm saying-"

"Nobody cares what you're saying, Stark."

"We already have a plan!"

"No, we don't!"

"This is going nowhere."

"We shouldn't even be involved in this."

"We don't know anything about this girl."

"Veronika isn't the only one in danger here- this guy is after Natasha too!"

The Avengers bickered amongst themselves, shouting over each other and waving their arms theatrically as if this would help to prove their points. Pepper had excused herself long ago, making some excuse about a board meeting for Stark Industries. Veronika stood in front of the window that covered an entire wall, tuning out the petty arguments while she thought of her own plan.

After her brief tiff with Natasha, the two women had separated to opposite sides of the room with the other Avengers casting cautious glances her way every few minutes. They didn't know what Veronika had said to Natasha as none of them spoke Russian and neither of the girls was willing to translate for them, but whatever it was had clearly angered Natasha to the point of having silenced her.

Veronika knew that she had taken her game too far. Her only ally among the Avengers was angry with her- whether she acknowledged it or not- and the rest were as distrusting of her as ever. If she was going to get back into their good graces, she was going to have to take charge of the situation.

Rejoining the group, Veronika pushed her way into the center of them all and shoved them away from each other, dropping her cool exterior for the first time in a long time. "Shut up!" Stunned into silence, the Avengers all stared at Veronika as she took in a deep breath and brushed non-existent wrinkles out of her shirt. "Sit down."

Once everyone was sitting in their own seats, Veronika nodded to herself. "Arguing will get us nowhere," she started, looking over every member of the group. "We need a plan, and we need it now. There is going to be a plan, and it is going to be one that won't get us all killed. Any objections?"

Without waiting for an answer, she continued as she walked over to the last empty chair and sat down. "Good. Now, since nobody else seems to have any suggestions that fit those criteria, I'll go first. Step one is getting our gear together. I assume you're the one in charge of that, Stark."

Tony nodded, lounging against the back of the couch. "Anything we don't already have will only take me a day or two to get together."

"Okay, then it's everyone else's job to make up a list of anything you need and get it to Tony. Other than battle gear, we'll need a way in and out."

"In and out of where exactly?" Clint asked, looking from Veronika to Natasha.

"Their main base is located in Moscow," Natasha answered, speaking for the first time since her argument with Veronika. "It won't be easy to get into, but not impossible."

"They relocated out of Moscow years ago," Veronika corrected Natasha with a small shake of her head. "Luckily, I know where they've gone- and we're going to follow them."


It took a while to catch everyone up to speed, but after another few hours, the plan was finished. All that was left now was to actually set it in motion. Everyone separated for a late lunch and to get their list of necessities ready for Tony.

With everybody separating to do their own things, nobody even noticed Veronika slipping into the elevator and pressing the button for the lobby.

She had no problem staying in enemy territory when she was working undercover for a job, but Veronika was almost positive that if she had to spend another minute with the Avengers she might actually kill one of them. So while they weren't paying attention, she made her way out of the Tower and down the streets of New York.

It was a twenty minute walk to her own temporary home, and the entire time she was looking over her shoulder. No matter how much she hated staying in Stark Tower, she couldn't argue the fact that it was the safest place for her while she was running from Ivan.

When she made it inside her apartment, she locked the door behind herself and walked into the living room, dropping onto the couch with a large sigh before burying her face in her hands. There was rarely a moment for Veronika to drop her character and simply relax, and that slowly ate away at a person. Deciding to throw caution to the wind for five minutes, Veronika allowed herself to unwind completely.

Standing from her couch, she made her way into the bathroom and turned her shower on, undressing while the water slowly heated up. However, she only had her t-shirt off when she felt a lump in her pants pocket that she knew hadn't been there before she left the Tower.

Veronika was automatically back on high alert as she pulled what was revealed to be an old flip phone out of her pocket. She set it down on the sink counter to pull her shirt back on when it start vibrating against the ceramic. The pace of her heart picked up at the sudden buzzing sound, and she walked over to shut the shower off before flipping the phone open and pressing it to her ear.

"Вы сделали новых друзей, так как я в последний раз видел вас." You've made new friends since I last saw you.

Veronika's heart dropped low into the pit of her stomach at sound of the familiar voice, and every muscle in her body tensed. "Alexei."

"So you do remember me, малышка," the man chuckled. "I'm flattered." Baby girl.

Veronika remained silent as she pushed her bathroom door open and examined her hallway, carefully stepping out and looking over every crevice in the apartment for intruders. She searched every room while Alexei continued speaking over the phone, amusement clear in his voice.

"I must admit, Nika, I never took you as the type to go to anyone for help- especially not the Avengers. Tell me, how many times have you lied to them so far? How many have you played for fools?"

"The Avengers turned me down," Veronika lied smoothly as she pulled her bedroom door open and walked inside, sparing no effort in assuring herself that she was alone. "Even Lia refused me. She claimed that time has changed her- has changed the both of us. She told me that I'm not her sister, and that I should leave while they would still let me."

Alexei laughed loudly, and Veronika closed her eyes, biting her lip and internally cursing. "Oh, Nika. You never could lie to me, could you? No." As if a switch had been flipped, his voice instantly became dark and menacing. "Do you take me for a fool, Veronika? I know exactly what you are doing. I always know what you are doing. If you ever thought for one second that I wasn't watching you, then you have lost every skill that once made you valuable. I am going to give you one chance, for old times' sake. If you agree to work with me, then I promise not to be angry with you for lying."

Veronika was practically shaking, she was so terrified. Alexei was right- she was a fool. She should have known from the very beginning that Ivan would be keeping a permanent eye on her, and especially she should have known that he would send Alexei to be that eye. He was the only person besides Natasha that she ever showed any semblance of care for.

When she offered no answer, Alexei sighed and reverted back to his loving persona. "I understand that you are afraid, малышка. I am nothing if not patient. I'll give you until tomorrow morning to give me your answer. Sleep well, Nika. I'm sure we'll see each other very soon."

The phone beeped twice to signal that the connection had been lost. Veronika slumped against her wall and slid to the floor with the phone cradled against her chest, breathing shakily as she ran through the conversation over and over in her head.

She was going to have to make a choice, and either way she was going to be in a world of trouble. "ебать." Fuck.


Chapter 10 Preview

"I didn't realize I was your hostage," Veronika shot back as she brushed past Tony on her way to the bar. "You'll have to excuse my ignorance. I had more important matters to think of than your craving to be in constant control."