Chapter 10: Hydra's Strike

September 16

Hydra's Main Base

The Red Skull was pacing as soon as Viper came out of the little lab she kept in his compound with a frown on her face. She hadn't exactly recovered from her encounter with the Surfer yet, and it had him somewhat upset. "What's our next move?" she asked as she found a comfortable seat to rest and watched him pace.

He spun the slightest bit to face her, eyes flashing. "The next move should be the throne, my dear," he all but hissed. He looked furious. "We need to end their leadership. I was not expecting those children to follow Fury after all he did to them."

"True," she agreed. "We could easily remedy that little situation." She'd turned her head in time to watch Bobbi lead Logan through the room — and when they weren't two steps into the room, Schmitt paused and watched them with a scowl as they passed.

As soon as they were gone again, he turned to face her, frowning. "I had warned you not to place such faith in that little pet of yours," he told her. "I've allowed you to entertain yourself with him for quite long enough, I think."

"Oh, you're not jealous, are you?" she replied lazily, unwilling to admit that he might have been right. "I'm only keeping SHIELD from using him themselves. And … testing Whitehall's boundaries, of course." She narrowed her eyes as she thought it over. "He was one of Fury's favorites—"

"I will not be put in a position to simply hand him over to them. Alive or dead," he shouted, resuming his pacing a bit as he too seemed to be thinking it over. "It's too much of a risk. We should have simply disposed of him after that little stunt he pulled in Two. Bury him alive and send Fury the feed to watch him die slowly."

"Come now; there must be a better use for him," she said softly as she got to her feet and glided over into his path.

"Other than as your assassin?" He sneered. "Unlikely."

"We could test the boundaries of Whitehall's work, see if he's truly fixed the issues that came up in Two," she purred. "See if we can trust him to do as he's told further outside of our grasp — where temptation is strong."

"You put too much faith in him," Schmitt replied, without looking her way.

"Not at all," she replied with a wide grin. "I have faith that there is a weakness there to be exploited."

Schmitt paused in his pacing and turned to face her, a glare on his features that showed his interest level was piqued. "How so?"

She shrugged one shoulder up and let out a dramatic sigh. "It's just a thought … but if you wanted him dead anyhow, there are limits to what they'll do for their program."

He smiled and took her hand to pull her closer to him. "My dear, you must tell me what wicked thing you have brewing in that pretty head of yours. Whatever it is, already it sounds like a delightful plot."

She grinned and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, pressing herself against him. "We know that he will do as he's told. He hasn't failed yet when we've been explicit in our instructions." She pressed in tighter to him until she was mere millimeters away from his lips as she spoke. "Whitehall wanted to put in another trigger... something … something that would cause him to massacre anyone within sight. All I need is for you to pick the trigger. Something that we're sure that Fury or Hill or that irritating Coulson would say on seeing him doing his job." She looked up to meet his eyes for an instant before she leaned in for a kiss.

When the kiss broke, he smirked at her for a moment. "I have just the thing," he said. "Have your little Mockingbird bring your lapdog to Whitehall. I'd like to be rid of the director sooner rather than later."

"Wonderful," she purred. "They'll put him down themselves when they see what he does to their precious leaders."

He smirked at her for a moment. "Be that as it may, I want additional insurance that the job is done properly."

Bobbi had waited for Viper to finish up her impromptu meeting with the Red Skull. She'd been feeling incredibly out of sorts as far as what to do with herself now that she'd gone and helped Viper and Whitehall work Logan over.

After the last session, Logan barely spoke, which was probably for Viper's benefit since … if he ever did finally speak his mind … she was sure he'd have plenty to say. Particularly since when Viper was near him — which was often enough — she was treating him like an honest to God pet.

Viper made him stay at her side, and she seemed to relax as she ran one hand through his hair almost absently. And he simply… took it.

Which was exactly what Viper was doing when she finally called for Bobbi shortly after she'd taken her seat next to Logan. His jaw was clearly locked down tight as she insisted on screwing with him. Viper was running a hand through Logan's hair and sliding her other hand across his neck and shoulders. Bobbi could only describe the action as petting, even if it had a more malicious feeling to it.

"Bobbi, darling, we haven't had much to do since we had our little trip to Three, though the sushi was fantastic, wasn't it?" Viper said.

"Much better with him handling the locals for us," Bobbi agreed, though she was watching Logan carefully as Viper continued to treat him like an animal.

"Yes, it was our best trip there," she mused as she reached for a pen and scribbled out her instructions and very carefully handed the paper to Bobbi. "Why don't you go make sure this happens quickly. We don't want Herr Schmidt to be left waiting."

Bobbi looked at the message and nodded before Viper sent Logan off with her, still silent and looking so frustrated and confused that Bobbi was ready to grab him and run. Especially with what the latest orders were.

But she had no exit strategy at all at this point for how deep she was in Hydra. And Von Strucker was watching her like a hawk. So all she could do was follow Viper's orders, even if it made her sick when she caught Logan watching her strap him down to the device so she and Whitehall could make this whole experience a little bit worse for him.

Naturally, as soon as she'd gotten him halfway ready for Whitehall, Von Strucker stepped into the room as well, apparently with nothing better to do with his time than follow her around.

"Still playing babysitter for Lady Hydra's pet project, I see," he observed with a casually cruel sneer in Logan's general direction.

"Still insulting science too complex for you to understand," Bobbi replied without missing a beat.

"As I'm sure you've guessed … I simply find it hard to believe that one of the Captiol's darlings would be so forward thinking as to join Hydra so easily," he replied in a measured tone. "The fact that those in SHIELD simply do not talk about you with the same animosity that they do our dear Lady …"

Bobbi waved her hand irritably. "I could say the same of you and our Great Leader. He inspires far more fear than you, Baron."

"As well it should be," Von Strucker replied. "But at least I'm on their radar." He turned and walked to take a seat in a chair near the wall. "It's just lucky for our Lady she has someone to care for her pets while she attends to more important matters."

"A temporary assignment," Bobbi said, not bothering to hide her irritation. "Like you said: people don't believe my loyalties."

"No, they certainly don't."

"It's the blonde hair," she said with a small smirk. "And how young I am. That's why the Capitol and SHIELD underestimated me too. I hope you're not making the same mistake."

"I disagree," he replied easily as he poured himself a glass of wine from Whitehall's stash. "I can only speak for myself, of course, but for me, it's the occasional look of pity you let slip while dealing with the little beast. As if there was a reason to feel guilty."

Bobbi paused and turned to face him a little more fully before she let out a small sigh. "Fair enough," she decided at last. "I admit, I get more attached than our Lady does. I haven't been doing this as long as she has."

He smiled a bit wider. "Then I can think of no better time to take a more active role, considering how this mission should end."

"Yes, once it ends, I'm sure I'll be freed up to do just that, all things considered."

"No, my dear — you should help with this last session. Take a more prominent role in assisting the good doctor." He gestured to the equipment nearby. "It should be a bit more grueling of an order than Whitehall is used to handling alone. I'm sure he can use the help this time."

"Baron," she said in a low tone, "are you in charge of this operation?"

"I am not," he admitted. "But this message comes from a bit higher up than myself."

Bobbi considered this for a moment before she smirked and shook her head. "Really, now. Whitehall does good work. There's no need to put him on the spot like that."

"If you'd like to argue with our Supreme Leader …"

"No, that's not what I meant," Bobbi said quickly.

Before there could be more argument, Whitehall came in with that usual falsely pleasant smile that he always seemed to wear when it was time to work. "So you'll be taking the lead on this one after all?" he asked, almost proudly smiling Bobbi's way.

The only sign Bobbi allowed herself that she was surprised by how it seemed everyone was already in on that decision was a single raised eyebrow before she let out a breath. "Yes, I am," she said with a little nod as she took up Whitehall's usual position. For just a moment, she met Logan's gaze as his breathing picked up and she could see the unspoken plea for help. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a moment, sure to open them once she'd turned away from Logan. "Shall we?"

September 18

Charles Xavier's Office

Natasha had asked to be kept in the loop about how things were going, and she was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Maria Hill had already radioed in that the Triskellion had been retaken and that they were working on unearthing everything they could from the palace before they demolished it.

The loss of the entire royal family as well as Quill's message and SHIELD's speedy response on top of everything else ... it had come together nicely, and SHIELD had taken over the Capitol before Hydra even knew it was ripe for the taking. Which Natasha was feeling pretty smug about, if she was honest. It hadn't been entirely her doing, but she played enough of a role that she was going to go ahead and claim it as a good mark in her ledger anyone. A big, fat one.

She was still smirking to herself when she arrived at Charles' office, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands as it was finally cooling off. Fury was being exceedingly nice to her since her return and had given her the rations for an entire container of cocoa mix.

"You know, I may have been gone for a few months, but I have caught up on as much gossip as Clint's been able to cram into the past few days, and I do know you have better things to do with your time right now. When is your wife due — isn't it two weeks from now?" she asked Charles as she gently closed the door with the back of her heel.

"Somewhere around there," Charles agreed with a little smirk. "But I really did want to hear how you're doing, my dear."

"Much better," she promised him, matching his smirk. "I'm out of the Capitol — and I've got a good sparring partner. What more could I want?"

"I'd imagine a bit of rest," Charles replied. "After the frightful work conditions you were subjected to." He let a little smile slip past as he waited for her reaction.

"Well, I can't sleep all the time, or I would," she said with a smirk. "And I think Clint would appreciate it if I didn't hold him hostage in one room for that long."

"The boy lives to serve in such times," he replied.

She let an honest smile slip past and shook her head. "I just asked him to stay until my waking mind and my sleeping mind catch up to each other on where exactly I am." She leaned forward as the smile widened. "There are no Hawkeyes in the Capitol."

"And I'm sure they're pleased with that revelation as well," Charles said. "All things considered."

Natasha paused and had to nod her agreement. "All things considered," she agreed as she gently sipped the cocoa. "Neither of them are cut out for the way the Capitol was — as much as Clint says he would have liked to help me stab Ronan."

"He would have liked to stab Ronan — not a word about any of the lead up," Charles pointed out.

"He's a worrier," she said, waving her hand. "And as I keep reminding him, he did get to shoot Thanos, so he can't really complain. As horrendous as Ronan was, he was much easier to manipulate than Thanos was."

"At any rate, it's good to see them both well behind us."

"Now, we just focus on doing the same for Hydra," Natasha agreed. "And get Bobbi back — and Logan, of course. You'll have your work cut out for you."

"Yes, well. At least Bobbi would speak to me," Charles said.

"You were able to clear the Red Room from my mind without knowing everything. Bobbi's sent you step-by-step instructions; Logan should be… well. At least as straightforward as it's possible for him to be."

"Yes, but I'll still need him to cooperate," Charles pointed out.

"If you need a hand…:"

"I'm sure I will," he admitted. "We were supposed to have regular sessions before the Capitol ever fell, but he … is not as easy to deal with as I'd hoped. And I thought I was already prepared for worst case scenarios."

"If he's anything like me, he'll want to work with you once he realizes his mind isn't his own," she said.

"I can only hope," Charles replied.

"Well, you have me if you need me. I don't plan to leave the base anytime soon."

"Then I can only hope we can get them both back quickly."

For as well-adjusted and easy-going as Natasha was able to be while she talked with Charles, however, it was an entirely different story when she dropped her guard to sleep.

In the moments when she was only just waking up, when she was still groggy, she would forget sometimes where she was, and waking up away from her tiny living quarters, waking up to anything but an alarm or Ronan pounding on her door with some new errand … it had her panicking every time.

And every time, she would hold her breath, trying to calm down, and the intensity of her reaction would wake Clint. And every time, he'd just shift slightly beside her and pull her into a hug. It was always a shock to have him there, and most of the time, it would break her out of her panic.

Sometimes, it took a little longer.

She was half curled into herself under Clint's chin in the middle of the night when he finally had to ask, "Was it like this for you every night before?"

"What?"

"Never seen you this scared, Tasha," Clint murmured.

Natasha frowned and then let her shoulders drop, hiding her face in his shirt to keep him from seeing that she was, in fact, worked up. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, that's a lie."

Natasha frowned a little deeper before she shook her head lightly. "What do you want me to say, Clint? It was the hardest assignment I've had. I'm glad to be done. I just want to put it behind me, alright?"

For a long moment, Clint was quiet, and Natasha wasn't sure if she'd gotten through to him… until he let out a long breath and nodded. "Alright," he said. "But Tasha… you know if you need anything…"

"I know," she said softly, then simply closed her eyes and breathed deep, pushing the memories aside for the moment in favor of the smell of his shirt.

September 20

District Twelve

Viper had been in a good mood for the past day or so. Though she wouldn't admit it, it was a relief to have sent Logan away on a solo endeavor for his test. But after she'd settled into her office, she finally had to roll her eyes at the message that had managed to make its way to her desk.

An old contact of Silver Fox claimed he had information on SHIELD's base. Not that she needed it — or … more appropriately, not that she would need it soon. But instead of humoring the fool, she'd elected instead to send Bobbi out in her place to handle the situation.

"I do not care to keep any of Fox's contacts," Viper had told the bubbly blonde. "Find out whatever he thinks is so valuable, then do with him as you wish."

For Bobbi, it was just the excuse she needed to get away from Hydra's base for a while. Even with the contingent of Hydra soldiers that went with anyone as high up in the organization as she was, it was the first time in a while that she had the chance to get out from under Hydra's leaders and have a little breathing room.

And, to be honest, it was the perfect excuse to transmit to Fury. Her last transmission had been a while ago, but she knew that Von Strucker was monitoring her closely. If she tried to contact Fury now, she would just be driving the nails into her own coffin.

But this meeting was just the excuse she needed, and she informed the soldiers that she would be meeting with the contact alone.

She already planned to at the very least incapacitate whoever it was, see just how valuable he was and maybe pass him along to SHIELD — but when she recognized Kate Bishop's father striding through the doors like he owned the whole district, she couldn't help but raise both eyebrows at him.

"And what can you offer Hydra?" she asked, not even faking the incredulity in her voice as Derek Bishop looked almost offended.

"I already told you: information. I've been living in SHIELD's base for months now. I could take you there myself."

She gave him a clear once-over and shook her head. "You'll have to do better than that," she said, fishing for more so she could tell Fury how bad the leak had been after she killed him. And she would, too. For as close as he was to Tahiti… even if Coulson's instincts had been right on not letting him in…. He had to at least know what he'd heard from his daughters.

He leaned forward with a spark of excitement in his expression. "How much would information on the Tahiti program be worth?" he asked.

"You do know who you're talking to, right? I was in SHIELD's highest confidences for some time. What can you possibly tell Hydra that I haven't already?"

"I know every name," Derek said, though he seemed put out as he realized that Bobbi, out of all the Hydra leaders he could have met with, was the one who could best call his bluff. "I know where the entrance to the Tahiti Wing is."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "You mean you haven't been past the entrance?"

"I'm not interested in dying to get to the other side."

Bobbi narrowed her eyes at him as she weighed out her options. "And you know all this how? Your daughter?"

He nodded, some of the earlier spark coming back.

"But you haven't been allowed past the entrance. So all you have for me is hearsay."

Derek looked flustered as he stammered at her, but she'd already heard enough. With an almost lazy flick of her wrist, she tossed the knife that Viper had coated for her in blowfish toxin, and as Derek hit the floor in obvious pain, she stepped around him and pulled the comm from her boot to call Fury. The Hydra soldiers outside would have heard Derek's muffled cry when the knife hit, so they'd give her some space. She was, after all, Viper's protege.

September 20

Fury's Office

Repeat… this is an urgent message… Bobbi's voice crackled over the comm that was Fury's direct line to her.

"Go ahead," Fury answered, not expecting to catch her like this.

Logan's headed your way — should be there within 48 hours. He has orders to kill you — and Whitehall worked in a trigger phrase to get him to massacre anyone around him to boot. It's supposed to be a crippling blow. Not that it will be. He could almost hear her smirking. The phrase is 'stand down.'

"Anything else we need to know?" Fury asked.

Well, if you could send my condolences to Kate, I did just murder her father. Turns out he was a Hydra informant. He was trying to sell me information on the Tahiti program and the location of your base.

"Roger that," Fury replied. "You ready to come out? We just got Romanoff back after she killed Ronan."

Which I appreciate. But … There was a pause for a long time on the other end of the comm. If Logan manages to slip past you, I'm still his best shot at escape. And you don't have anyone else this deep in Hydra. But if you could maybe step up the radio chatter on my name… Strucker's suspicious.

"One bounty coming up," Fury said easily. "Try not to get caught."

Try not to catch me. Viper might come after me.

"We've got a whole line of people wanting a shot at her right now," Fury said. "Even without knowing the whole story. Stay frosty, Mockingbird."