Chapter 9: Natasha

Natasha slowly opened her eyes. She smiled and stretched, feeling like she'd had the best sleep in ages. Letting out a happy sigh, she marveled at how well the sleeping pills she got from her father's-

Natasha gasped and sat up, the events of last night suddenly rushing back to her. The phone call from her father, his empty housing, the computer, those mysterious files, Operation Mayflower…

Her highlighted DNA.

And then, the computer suddenly shutting down.

Natasha shivered; suddenly her flat didn't seem safe. She quickly glanced around room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Natasha shook her head.You're being paranoid, she thought. Just get something in your system and think about this calmly and logically. "Flat," She called out.

"Yes, Natasha?" The automated voice sounded.

"I need caffeine. Pour me some coffee, please."

"Yes, Natasha."

Natasha sighed and got out of bed. She snapped her fingers and the windows depolarized, flooding her room with light. She blinked. "Flat? What time is it?"

"It is 2:34 in the afternoon."

Natasha nodded. "Flat, could you be a dear and place 'sleeping pills' on my grocery list?" She requested as she put a robe on over her nightclothes.

"Yes, Natasha."

"Thank you!"

Natasha exited her bedroom and made her way to her kitchen. Operation Mayflower, she thought. Mayflower… it's some sort of military operation obviously, but why would it include me?

As she walked into the kitchen the coffee maker finished filling up a mug. Natasha picked it up,feeling the warmth rising from the top of the mug and inhaled the steam.

"Ah," she sighed. Coffee. Beautiful, pure, coffee. Natasha took a sip and shivered, feeling the effects almost instantly. It was her usual, a Turkish blend, strong and as thick as mud. Not that it was from Turkey, Turkey didn't exist anymore. It was just a title, left over from the Old World. Natasha took another sip and felt her mind clear. Okay, she thought. First, Father's call; he mentioned that he now had a new position. This new position must deal with this mysterious Mayflower thing.

Natasha left the kitchen and made her way back towards her studio, taking the life-giving coffee with her. Mayflower…what could that be? And why does it include me? She snapped her fingers and alerted her A.I. "Flat, boot up my computer. I have some research to do." The flat responded with its usual "Yes, Natasha", and complied. By the time she opened the door to her studio, the computer was on and whirring softly in the corner.

Her computer wasn't like the one her father had; it was smaller for one. It barely occupied any space, seeing as it had the smallest monitor she could find. She didn't use it often, most of the time it remained shut down, as she used her Datapad for almost everything, but it did have one thing that her Datapad lacked. Her computer, like every other desktop computer and the high powered, "pro" variants of the Datapad, was directly linked into the Infi-Net.

The Infi-Net held all the information Utopia had ever gathered. Every bit of knowledge, of data, Utopia had was stored underneath, in the third layer, known collectively as the Underdark. Miles of servers and databases were stored in it, and in those was stored the entire collection of knowledge of humanity. Utopia had taken an Old World creation, the Internet, and made improvements to it, building and expanding it into something everyone could use cleanly and efficiently.

Natasha sat down in her desk chair and opened up her browser. She typed "Mayflower" into the search bar and tapped enter, the search results appearing before she could blink an eye.

:.:.:

Natasha grew increasingly frustrated over the next hour. Mayflower didn't seem to have any real meaning. All she could glean from her searches was that "Mayflower" was a boat that brought people to America in the 1620's. Unless there was some sort of secret operation to build a boat, then this was getting her nowhere. She tried "Mayflower DNA" and got a few hits on a genealogy study on the descendents who rode to America on the Mayflower. She tried again and again and all she could get was about a stupid boat!

Natasha gritted her teeth. "Why did I think this was a good idea? Ugh!" She stood up, pushing her chair away in the process, nearly knocking it over.

She began pacing back and forth through her studio, thinking back and trying to pick out as many details as she could. Father's call, bubble bath, then going to Loyalty, the empty rooms, the computer, my name, my DNA, Mayflower. "What does it mean?" She whispered to herself. "Why am I included?" Father's call, bubble bath, another call, going to Loyalty-

Natasha froze in front of her drafting table. "Another call?" She said out loud. "Another call!"

She whipped her head up and stared at the ceiling. "Flat! Did I receive another call last night, after Father's?"

"I do not understand. Would you like to call 'Father'?" the flat replied, not understanding the request.

Natasha sighed and rephrased the question. "Could you please recite the list of calls I received last night?"

"Yes, Natasha. You received two calls last night, one from 'Father' and another from 'Unknown'. The call from 'Father' was at-"

"Yes!" Natasha shouted! "Unknown! That's right!" She hurried back over to her desk and picked up her phone, which she only used for calls with potential buyers, as talking over her flat's speaker system seemed unprofessional. Natasha found the number in her caller I.D. and checked the district code. It was the one for Loyalty.

Before she knew what exactly she was doing, she selected the number and pressed the call button.

She brought the phone up to her ear and listened as the call started. There was a ring, then another, then another, and then-

"Uh…hello?" A male voice sounded from the other end of the call.

"Hi!" Natasha practically shouted into in speaker. She coughed and reeled it in a bit. "Oh, I meant hello. Yes, you called me last night?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "…yes. Okay, so you are the person the Colonel wanted me to contact, right?"

Natasha blinked. "Am I?"

"I guess so then, since this is the number he gave me…look. I have no idea what is going on, but Colonel Statnik came to me yesterday and gave me something…?" He trailed off. "He gave me orders to call you an hour after he left. He said that you should have it…that it dealt with whatever he has been reassigned to do?"

Natasha smiled. Finally, she thought. Now I'm getting somewhere! "What is it?" She asked. "The thing he gave you?"

"Uh…" the man on the other side of the line said. Natasha heard some noise on the other end of the line, like he was getting up and moving to another part of the room. "I'm not really sure," He continued. "It's in a box, and Colonel Statnik said that if I opened it I would be discharged so..."

Discharged, that means he is an Enforcer like Father. "So you didn't, right?"

"Of course not!" The guy on the other end said loudly. "I just got outta boot! There is no way in all of Equestria that I would want to get kicked out!"

Natasha nodded to herself. "I see…where are you?"

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "I obviously was meant to have whatever is in that box, so I assume that Fa-, I mean, Colonel Statnik wants you to either bring this box to me or have me come to you. I would prefer that I come to you, seeing as you probably are not allowed to leave whatever complex you are stationed at unless under orders from a commanding officer."

"Oh," he said. "Right, yeah. I'm at the same base the Colonel was at before he got reassigned.

Natasha smiled. "Perfect. Meet me at the front gate; you'll know who I am."

"What? How?"

Natasha's grin grew even wider. "I know bragging is beneath a lady like me, but I am very hard to miss." And she promptly hung up. "Flat!" She called. "I seem to be going out again. Could you be a dear and bring outfit number thirty-two to the front of the wardrobe? I think it will be quite fitting for what I am about to do."

The A.I. responded and went to do Natasha's bidding.

:.:.:

Natasha rounded the corner and there it was, the compound. It looked much different during the day, the ominous walls and massive steel gate now brightly lit and the sounds of activity on the other side. Now where is…ah! She saw a man, more of a boy really, leaning by the gate, chomping on his thumbnail. She sighed and rolled her shoulders back, standing up straighter.

"Hello!" She called, and walked over to him.

He looked up and blinked. "Uh…" He looked her up and down. "What's with the…everything?"

Natasha smiled. "You like it?" She gestured to her outfit. She was wearing a large, tan, trench coat and a deerstalker hat. Underneath she had a white sweater and jeans, and some sleek and stylish ankle boots with four inch heels. "A bit drab, I know, and incredibly cliché. But, I do believe it is suiting for this kind of endeavor. I mean, I have had this outfit in my wardrobe for a while, I was almost afraid that it wouldn't fit me anymore, as I have…developed a bit more since I bought it. As I was saying, I feel that this classic 'Holmes' look would be perfect for this, seeing as I am doing some sleuthing of my own!"

"Right…" the man looked a little confused. "Whatever, anyway, do you want this thing or not?" He reached behind him and pulled out a small, square package wrapped in cloth from his back pocket. "Cuz I think they're clearing out the Colonel's housing now and-"

"Wait," Natasha's eyes widened. "They're doing what?" She pushed past him and walked up to the gate, hand reaching for the number-pad.

"Hey wait, you can't just-"

"Hush," Natasha dialed in the code and the gates opened with a clank and hiss. "She stormed into the compound, anger already rising. "They think they can just go and take away all of his things? As if he isn't going to be back? Not if I have anything to say about it!"

The guy ran caught up with her, "Wait! The guys doing it are all in suits and drove up in black cars and stuff. They have the city symbol on them. It's something to do with the city, they have to be-"

Natasha stopped. "What? As in city officials? Why would they possibly come all the way from Central Towers to clear out my father's housing?"

"Wait, your father? You're the Colonel's daughter?"

"Yes, but why would city officials be here?"

"Well…" The man rubbed the back of his neck. "They aren't quite city officials…it's like they are Enforcers, but in suits instead of uniforms."

Natasha's eyes widened and she took a step back. "You mean…the Princesses' secret service?"

"Yeah, that seems to be the assumption that all of us are making, they won't let us get close to the Colonel's housing, and they're taking everything out of it and putting it into these vans and…" He trailed off.

Natasha looked off towards her father's housing, and saw people moving in and out of it, carrying things towards black vans. "This is bigger than I thought…huh?"

"I guess…there is a rumor going around that the Colonel was a double agent or something, and the government is imprisoning him for treason. People are saying that he's going to be executed."

"That's impossible!" Natasha whirled on him. "My father would never be a traitor!"

"Hey!" He raised his arms defensively. "It's just what people are saying…I don't believe it, if it helps."

Natasha glared at him for a few more seconds before hanging her head. "Just give me the thing."

"What's your name, by the way?"

"My name? Oh, it's Scott."

"Where are your quarters, Scott?"

Scott blinked. "Uh, over there, why?"

"So we can see whether or not my father is a traitor."