A/N Happy Easter everyone! Though a holiday is no reason to postpone another chapter so I hope you like it.

MaRiA.Z.A: Thank you very much. Yes, I think this little hint towards her mother threw Natasha quite off balance. Though I plan on writing more about Natasha's heritage.

WidowInBlack: Thank you very much! I figured that the last one-shot only played shortly after Clint brought her with him and she was cleared for field work. If you remember, Clint took out some of the guys that were after Natasha, so the Red Room (and KGB) knew that she'd been taking in by someone. With defecting she posed a danger to the secrets of the Red Room, so they were quite eager to A) find her and B) get everything into safety. I'd say the Red Room is still going, only in a different location.

Invader Johnny: You're definitely right with that one.

Title: Last Hope (#94)

Characters: Natasha, Peggy Carter, Fury

Word count: ~1345

„You better have a good reason for bringing me here, Nicholas," Peggy said when she entered the Triskelion. Her hair had the same length it had for ages, only now it was more grey than brown. Her face was wrinkled but still held the same authority that had brought her her place in World War Two and then as a co-founder of SHIELD.

"Peggy. You're looking good," Fury greeted his former SO with one of his rare smiles. "It won't take long, I hope. I just need your professional opinion."

"Professional opinion?" Peggy raised an eyebrow but followed Fury nevertheless deeper into the many corridors of the Triskelion. "What did you do this time?"

"For once, I didn't to a thing. Yet." Fury pressed the button for the elevator and turned to look at her. "You know Barton was sent to kill the Black Widow?"

Peggy rolled her eyes. "Nothing officially but yes, I knew of his mission. Sent to kill the Black Widow, alumnus of the program of the same name by the KGB. A program already active in my time. I had the doubtful honour of meeting Dorothy Underwood, also a Black Widow. At least that was the name she went by in the States. We never learned more of her. I presume Barton has met his orders?"

"That's just the point. For whatever reason he made a different call, not only letting her live but bringing her here. As an asset." He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for a floor way below the surface of the earth.

"And you want to know whether you can trust his judgement. There was a time you wouldn't need me for that Nicholas."

"I need a second opinion. I know it's fruitless sending some of those psychologists to her; she'll play them, telling and acting just the right way to get her goal across."

Peggy arched an eyebrow. "And what makes you think she won't try the same with me?"

"Oh, she probably will," Fury chuckled. His eye gleamed in challenge. "But you dealt with those before. I just need to know whether she's worth the trouble. And afterwards there are shortbread and a teapot of Earl Grey waiting in my office for you."

"The imported one, I hope? Not some bloody cheap knock-off from here."

Fury allowed himself a smile. "Everything for my favourite former agent." They stepped into another corridor that only had one door, guarded by four heavily armoured men. All of them stood attention, when the Director and the Founder of their agency approached. "Good luck in there. I don't think she'll attack you but if so, these guys here will be in there in a matter of seconds. I would like Barton to be right. Makes dealing with the Council a little easier."

"I'll meet you later, Nicholas." Peggy nodded at the men what one took as his cue to open the door. Once she was inside, the door was pushed shut again. The room was not too small but still small enough to indicate that the woman inside was seen as a danger. The bed seemed comfortable enough although its metal frame was welded to the floor. A small table and a chair stood near it, likewise welded to the floor, and an untouched dinner tray was placed on the table. In a discrete corner she caught glimpse of a toilette and a shower. Aside from that, the room was bare.

"Another evaluation?" the redhead sitting on the bed asked, the annoyance in her voice just slightly clearer than her Russian accent.

Peggy stepped forward and sat on the chair, her attention focused on the girl. She couldn't be older than twenty, slightly thinner than it was probably healthy. Dark rings were under her green eyes and her hair hadn't quite the shimmer it could have had. "I am just here to talk to you."

"Yeah, sure," she scoffed. "You're the fourth in here, you know that? Seems they couldn't find any proofs for the lies I should be telling so of course they keep looking for it."

"Are you lying?" Peggy asked, keeping her voice neutral but not necessarily hostile.

The redhead arched an eyebrow. "In general or towards the people of this agency?"

"Either."

"I have lied in my life and I probably will continue to do so. Not only has it kept me alive but helped to accomplish my missions," the redhead answered. "Concerning this agency, I haven't lied since I stepped inside. But I'm probably wasting my breath. Why should anyone believe a Russian spy, right?" Anger laced her words and Peggy suspected a hint of fear.

"I think you are being quite honest with me now," Peggy answered. "My name is Margaret Carter, by the way. How shall I call you?"

The redhead seemed somewhat taken aback by her reaction. "Natasha." She eyed the older woman carefully. "The Margaret Carter? As in member of the Strategic Scientific Research and founder of SHIELD?"

"The one and only," Peggy answered with a little smile.

"Somehow I thought you were taller," Natasha remarked, shrugging her delicate shoulders.

Peggy decided to not answer to that. "How comes you know that much about me?"

Natasha shrugged her shoulders again. "One of the graduates from the forties was sent to kill you so of course there is intel about you."

"Dorothy Underwood." Peggy nodded. "Can't say it was a pleasurable acquaintance."

"Well, she had been the youngest to ever graduate the Red Room. She wasn't supposed to be a pleasurable acquaintance."

"Had been the youngest?"

"Until I graduated, yes." Pride was evident in Natasha's voice.

Peggy felt a cold shiver running down her spine. She didn't even want to know how young this girl had been when graduating this awful program. "Director Fury told me Agent Barton brought you with him. Against his orders, but still. Why did you agree to come with him?"

Natasha met her gaze. It surprised her that Peggy seemingly didn't assumed she had seduced Barton to bring her into the agency but it was a nice change. "I'm aware of the red in my ledger. I want to go straight. Besides, after leaving the KGB I was fair game; SHIELD's my best option."

"Not want to burst your bubble, but even in the service of SHIELD you might have to kill people. To hurt them. We're not just cuddling sad little puppies here."

"I am aware of that," Natasha scoffed. She looked down at her hands for a moment and for once Peggy got a glimpse of the girl behind the strong façade. "But I hope to do something good with my skills instead of causing mayhem and destruction. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

Peggy decided to prod further now that Natasha seemed to open up and show something of her real self. "Is that why you decided to go under another name here? I know Natasha is not the name in your file."

Natasha's eyes grew hard. "Barton found a less Russian name would do me some good here. And Natalia died when he was sent to kill her."

"Do you really think you can leave behind your past that easily?"

"No." She gave a mirthless laugh. "I know it will continue to haunt me. Literally. You don't defect the KGB and just live your life. But I'm willing to deal with it if your agency gives me the chance to."

Peggy nodded at her with the slightest hint of a smile and stood up again. "I can't promise you anything but I will talk to Director Fury and tell him what I think."

"And what do you think?" If Peggy had known Natasha just better, she might have caught on to the uncertainness in her voice.

Peggy took the tray and placed it beside Natasha on the bed. She simply ignored the fact that the redhead shrunk back slightly from her proximity. "I think you should eat. Otherwise you won't be much help to Agent Barton in the field once you're cleared."