A/N: Another look into the life of Natasha Romanoff before she became the Black Widow. Many thanks to ladygris for her Beta services.
Enjoy,
~Sandy
The Little Red-Haired Girl
Chapter 10
It was the middle of the night. Snow fell gently, the softness belying Mother Nature's ruthless plans for the area. Darkness oozed through the hallways of the secluded building, creeping over, under, and around the forms of the young women. They slept on, heedless of the horrors that lurked at the edges of perception known as dreams.
Even the caretaker and his wife rested, settled under the blankets and comforted by the warmth of each other's embrace.
But all was not peaceful in this place. The labs bustled with activity during the day and lay eerily silent at night. Except for tonight.
Natalia lay on the cold metal table wearing nothing but her pajama top, ankles and wrists shackled. The only thing that penetrated her drugged mind was the voice that fed her information. Cookies for the human brain.
Eventually, the voice stopped speaking and her dreams settled as well. That is until she heard another familiar voice. One that she trusted not knowing that her trust had been betrayed from the beginning.
"His old life lay behind in the mists, dark adventure lay in front."
Coming fully awake, Natalia jerked free of the hands that tried to hold her. She broke one man's nose before slamming him head first into the soundproof concrete wall. His skull fractured, and he'd likely not survive.
The second man made the mistake of staying to fight instead of running for his life. A life that ended with a quick twist of his head, breaking his neck and severing his spinal cord.
Her feet hit the cold floor, but she barely felt it as she removed a pair of handguns from under the table and headed for her next target: Petrovitch and his disciples. The man himself cowered in the far corner of the observation room behind a file cabinet watching as she took out the others one at a time.
When Natalia stopped shooting, her breaths rasped in and out as if she'd run a great distance. And with merciless glee, she let him think he'd escaped her wrath. At the last possible moment, she dragged him out so that he could see what she'd done, and what he'd turned her into. Then, without one ounce of remorse or shame, and ignoring his pleas for mercy, she put the gun against his temple. "See you in hell!"
And pulled the trigger over and over until the hammer clicked on an empty chamber.
Blood, bone and brain matter sprayed over the room and on her, soaking her clothing and turning her red hair dark with the blood of the man who had unmade the innocent little girl she'd once been. A moan came from the pile of bodies, but Natalia didn't even pause as she left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
At the end of the hall, she let herself out of the lab wing, her feet dragging as she returned to her room and got into the shower, letting the hot water pound on the back of her head. Turning so the water would hit her in the face, she realized she was still wearing her pajama top. Stripping it off, she let it fall into the tub then reached for the shampoo. It took two washings to get all the blood out. Looking down, she saw the water running red as if it were her blood.
Blinking, her eyes focused again, but she still saw the red. It dripped and gushed over her hands. She closed her eyes and shook the vision loose, and when her eyelids lifted again, the water ran clear.
She twisted the knob to the off position with an angry flick of her wrist, climbed out and methodically dried every inch of her body then started on her hair. That done, she dressed as if for one of her sniper missions in her black jumpsuit and boots, pulling on a pair of gloves that had been made just for her.
After killing Petrovitch, Natalia had taken the key ring he kept clipped to his belt. As quietly as possible, she went to the storage shed squatting fifty yards from the main building, stuffing her backpack full. Hooking it over her shoulder, she returned.
~~O~~
Pain greater than any she'd ever known kept Anna still as Natalia methodically killed the others, saving Petrovitch for last. As the young woman turned to go, Anna closed her eyes and held her breath so she wouldn't get a bullet between the eyes. She hadn't anticipated that Natalia would kill everyone, not just Petrovitch.
When the door closed behind Natalia, Anna summoned all her strength to roll Prochazka off of her legs so she could scoot close enough to the desk to call for help. Then she remembered that Natalia had yanked the phone from the wall.
Using the desk chair for support, Anna got to her feet, holding on when a wave of dizziness and nausea caused her to stumble. Catching herself on the edge of the table beside the door, she opened it enough to listen for movement. There was none, so she yanked on the door slamming it against the feet of female doctor, another of Petrovitch's protégés.
Supporting herself with one hand on the wall, she made her way slowly to the hidden exit at the far end. But before she could reach it, she fell, landing on her stomach. Rolling onto her side, she looked back and saw the trail of blood drops on the floor. The wall was smeared with it as well, interspersed with the occasional bloody handprint.
Reaching up, Anna managed to get her fingers on the doorknob, but the blood made her grip slippery. The last of her strength faded as her vision grew cloudy and darkness every bit as black as the night settled over her like a blanket. She'd been cold before, but felt warm now, and somewhere inside her stuttering brain she knew that wasn't a good sign.
~~O~~
Leading the other young women to the parking lot, Natalia put them into several of the cars. "We're free now. We can do as we please. Go, and try to forget this place ever existed."
With Zoya, Marya and Elena driving, she sent them on their way just as the sun began to glow at the edge of the horizon.
Once she knew they were far enough away, Natalia removed a device from the pocket of her jacket, flipped the guard up, muttered, "Fire in the hole" and hit the button, turning her back as a series of explosions ripped the building to shreds.
Without looking back, Natalia got behind the wheel of Anna's car rationalizing that it couldn't be called stealing if the owner was no longer alive.
At the end of the drive, she finally looked back watching the flames leap into the air. Turning in the direction opposite to that taken by the others, Natalia left behind the only home she remembered for a world she barely knew.
The Beginning