A/N: Thanks for reviewing! ClicheMelancholy: Thank you so much! That's really sweet! I mean, we do know how this situation is going to end, so I'm glad you're still looking forward to it!
It's all you need to fight a blow
"Perhaps you should not have sent a second agent if you wanted me to be successful," Natalia pointed out to Madame B. The Soldier was sitting silently beside her, as expressionless as the first day she saw him. It wouldn't be helpful to think about how expressive he can be.
"I did not send him," the older woman growled, glancing toward the door, as if the actual culprit could hear her annoyance.
Natalia sat back, folding her arms over her chest. "Well, I don't know what you expected us to do. My cover might have been blown and, after he finished his mission, it wasn't safe to be out on the street. We waited until the coast was clear before we left and came back here."
Madame B turned her attention back to her pupil and sighed. "I'm sorry, dear, that this little mix-up made things difficult for you. We will have to work on our communication better in the future."
They were dismissed soon after and Natalia returned to her quarters. She did not turn to look back at the Soldier when they parted ways, or even walk with him during the short distance they covered in the same direction. Pleasantries were never something she'd done with the other Widows, so she certainly wasn't going to start with him. Once she was back in her drab cell, she wished she could see him again. It would at least lessen the pain of leaving her comfortable little apartment and the pleasant life of her cover.
Pushing the thoughts aside, she got some rest and then did a bit of training. Days in the Red Room were different now than they had been for most of her life. They were no longer rigidly scheduled, for one thing. For another, her only assigned training tended to relate to specific covers and be the study of a single afternoon. She filled her time with working out and practicing her abilities in the make-shift gymnasium or reading up on topics that hadn't made it into her education. Well, the topics that were still deemed appropriate enough to have available in the facility.
It was difficult to focus the first day after she returned from the mission that the Soldier had interrupted. Her mind kept conjuring all sorts of scenarios where they would see each other again. And, more than that, where maybe they could share an apartment like the one she'd created for her cover, but not to have to leave it. For it to really be a home to them.
The idea was irrational, not to mention dangerous. If the Red Room discovered what they'd done, they wouldn't just be fired to go retire somewhere. People did not retire from Department X. Natalia didn't know exactly what happened to them, but she could come up with all kinds of situations that Madame B could create that would be extremely unpleasant.
No, she would just have to hold onto the evening they spent together as a bright spot of companionship in her otherwise isolated life. No one to talk to who understood; anytime she did speak to someone was either lying to complete a mission or debriefing to Madame B. Even though her relationship with the other Widows had been highly competitive, she did miss them. At least she'd spent her childhood and adolescence surrounded by people who, if not trustworthy, were going through the same things.
Madame B sent her on a few short missions, as if testing her out again. They required little infiltration and she completed each one after only a day or so. She did them efficiently but without the same finesse she'd had before. Maybe her heart just wasn't in it. Madame B had nothing to complain about, and Natalia waited patiently to be trusted with something more substantial.
Finally, her wishes came true when she was called in for a briefing and found the Soldier already there and standing stiffly before Madame B's desk. Bleach was behind her, leaning against the wall, keeping an eye on the Soldier.
"Natalia, come in," Madame B said, waving her to the chair where she always sat.
The Soldier remained standing, perhaps because no one had told him to do otherwise. He made no indication that her presence had any effect on him and she endeavored to do the same.
"We have an assignment for you," Bleach said, clearly dubious about the whole thing. "If you think you can work together."
Natalia looked at the Soldier briefly and saw no indication that he was going to reply to the statement. The silence of their superiors made the expectation of a reply obvious and she looked back toward them when she spoke. "I believe we have sufficient training in common to be an effective team," she answered emotionlessly.
"Excellent," Madame B said, though neither she nor Bleach looked very happy with the situation. "The target is a high-level businessman. He is a paranoid agoraphobe and the house was modified to have advanced security, so the usual methods will not apply. However, he has a number of staff who have free access to the majority of his home. You, Natalia, will infiltrate his people as a new technician, Nadia Rush."
She handed over identification and Natalia took it, briefly glancing over the cover story.
"You've worked for many such people before and will be assisting in the set-up of cameras all over his property. That should enable you to move freely," Madame B continued.
"And to erase the evidence when we're done," Bleach cut in sharply.
Madame B gave him an annoyed glance. "Yes, that too. You will smuggle in the Soldier when your target has minimal security on his person and assist him as needed to eliminate the target and disappear."
"Make it look messy," Bleach cut in again. "We're sending a message here."
Natalia nodded, apprehensive about doing something new. Not that she doubted her own or her new partner's abilities, but there were a lot more variables than usual. And she wasn't sure how she felt about sending such a message – people like her tended to be called in for precision, not shock and horror.
Whatever her misgivings, she accepted the mission and all the information they could give her. Still the Soldier had not looked at her or acknowledged her presence. Or anyone's, really. He answered direct questions but otherwise just listened. When they were finished, she was transported alone to the target's home and was told the Soldier would be brought in when she reported it time for him to be on hand.
It took her a week. She was allowed inside easily enough but did not see the owner of the house right away. Even if she was granted quite a bit of access as a result of her cover's job. She did not press her luck by trying to go into places that Nadia was not allowed. There was too much at stake to risk failing at such an early stage.
After seven depressing days, she finally met the target. It was only natural that she be as charming as possible, and he seemed quite taken with her. That was a relief – at last something was going well. The target kept a fairly regular schedule and she took careful notes on it before telling her superiors that it was time to send the Soldier to her.
Seeing him again was an unexpected shock. They met in the apartment where she had been staying near their target's home. It was not a particularly warm space, since she did not need to occupy it for long. But he still looked around curiously when he arrived and she felt oddly self-conscious about how he felt about it.
"Natalia," he said, then, and kissed her. She sank happily against him and tried to remember why falling into bed with him right now was not the best idea. They were alone, but his handlers would not have gone far.
"We have to get to work," she told him insistently, though she didn't move. A laugh rumbled through his chest against her cheek and she let out a sigh.
"Do we? You don't seem ready," he teased.
No one else teased her – not the real her, anyway. Plenty of people teased her covers. "I'm not," she admitted. "But we must." She didn't need to explain why. She did explain their target's schedule and movements, as well as all exits and entrances to the house. He listened thoughtfully and suggested a mode of attack that she had not considered. It was enjoyable to actually be working on something with him. He knew what he was doing and had valuable insight into the situation. She hoped they would do well enough to get to do this again.
It was early in the evening when they approached the house, him dressed as a civilian and with a cover as a tech repair person. Earlier, she had breached the security on the house from the apartment, and came claiming that he was here to fix the problem. Not that technology was exactly his forte, so that was a potential weak point in their plan. Fortunately, no one pressed either of them and they were able to move unhindered through the building.
Their target was most paranoid after dark – hardly surprising, considering what he had done to accumulate so much wealth – so they would have to attack before then. They stumbled across him when he was at dinner, something he preferred to do alone while his guards waited outside.
"What are you doing in here?" he snapped, reaching for the alarm.
"So sorry," she purred. "There's been a breach and we are here to fix it," she explained, motioning toward the camera she had installed in that room. It was blinking, faulty, as intended.
"Fine," he hissed and returned to his meal, no longer charmed by her, apparently. Still, that didn't much matter.
She glanced at the Soldier, who nodded. Then she climbed on a chair to deal with the camera while he completed the mission. She tried not to listen, but the door was soon kicked down by their target's guards. They were too late, of course, to do anything, so it was unclear why they bothered to attack anyway. Loyalty, maybe.
The chair she'd been using made a great initial weapon. They had not been able to bring anything resembling a weapon inside, except for the Soldier's left arm, of course. He made good use of it while she used what he'd trained her to do in taking down her fair share of guards. He hardly seemed out of breath when they were finished and he smiled at her before they hurried out of the room. There were more guards on the way, but they successfully escaped the building with minimal harm to their persons. The trip back to her apartment was significantly more stressful than when they had done this after her botched mission, but no less enjoyable.
As soon as she locked the door behind them, she flung herself at him and they enjoyed their success.
