The next chapter. I would appreciate comments. Tell me, how you like the story.
Chapter 3
Shana showed Laura her room and helped her with carrying the bags, while Laura had Nathaniel in her arms. Her room was connected to Nathaniel's room via a connecting door. To Laura's surprise, Nathaniel's room was fully equipped with everything she needed.
"How could you get all this in just a few hours?" asked Laura amazed. For the moment she couldn't notice anything that was missing.
"Elijah contacted me as soon as the Sokovia Accords hit the news. He instructed me to prepare everything for a family with three children and he also told me the age of the children", Shana explained willingly.
"He said, it is likely that the family could get suddenly in danger and I should prepare the rooms with the assumption that they would arrive here with only the bare essentials."
"Do you also find it scary how Elijah could know all of this beforehand?" Laura was genuinely curious about Shana's answer.
"Not really. He is usually five steps ahead of everyone, I am used to it." Shana shrugged.
"How long have you been living here, Shana? And how long have you known Elijah? And since when it is called Sunnydale Manor?" Laura asked curiously. This wasn't a quick-buy property that had only recently come into Elijah's possession.
Shana laughed. "Since a few years! Elijah has a sense of humour, although many do not want to believe it. From time to time the name of the property and its owner has to be changed so that nobody becomes suspicious. And Elijah found the series hilarious, so he chose Sunnydale Manor.
I have been living here almost my whole life and my mother and grandmother grew up here too. My family has served Elijah for 200 years, he was always loyal to us and looked after us.
Elijah comes by from time to time to rest and relax a little. He inspects the estate to see if things are going well or is there something that needs his attention and involvement." Shana shrugged again. "You are the first visitors he has ever brought here. This place always had a special meaning for him. It is a great honour!"
Laura looked thoughtful. "Thanks for this information. Have you ever met his siblings?"
"No, he always kept this place a secret from his siblings." Shana sighed. "I don't think his siblings know about my family either. This place has been his retreat for many years when the constant family drama becomes too much for him."
"I understand!" Laura swallowed. She would talk to her children that they were not allowed to tell anyone about this place. "Here live certainly other people in the house and on the property besides you, right? Won't they tell anyone about us?"
"Elijah ordered me to inform all the staff on the property that no one is allowed to find out about you and that everything must be done to ensure your safety."
Shana looked at her seriously. "Everyone who lives here is loyal to Elijah. You are his honoured guests, nobody will betray you and everyone will do their best to make you feel comfortable and safe."
Laura was relieved to hear that. The two women went downstairs together, where servants had already set the table. For Laura it was a whole new feeling not to have to cook for her family.
"I can help wash up afterwards", she offered uncomfortably. She wasn't used to being served.
"I think that won't be necessary", Elijah replied for Shana, who grinned slightly. "Just think of it as a well-deserved vacation and relax for a couple of weeks."
Now the children arrived downstairs too and the Bartons, Elijah and Shana sat together at the table and ate the meal that had been prepared.
Laura listened attentively as Cooper and Lila enthusiastically told her about the size of their rooms and that each of them had their own bathroom.
"If you still need things for your room, just let Shana know. She'll get everything for you", said Elijah.
Laura, who knew her children better than Elijah, decided to intervene and fixated them admonishingly. "In moderation, if you please. We don't want to misuse Elijah's hospitality."
"Yes, Mom", Cooper and Lila replied together, looking a little disappointed.
Elijah raised his hand and hid behind it the slight grin that this little exchange between mother and children had evoked. "You can move freely around the property, everyone here knows of your presence. There are other children living here too, so you have someone to play with." Then Elijah turned to Laura. "There is also a school on the property with a certified teacher."
Laura watched in amusement as the previous enthusiasm on her children's faces faded at this news. "This is good news so you two won't miss out too much at school."
"The only thing I would ask of each of you is that you do not leave the property." Elijah looked serious now. "And that you do not enter my personal rooms. These are in a separate wing and usually locked when I'm not here. Shana is the only one allowed to enter the wing in my absence."
"Of course, Elijah", Laura promised. She would made sure that her children would obey these rules.
"Thank you." Elijah was pleased with Laura's answer. However, he would tell Shana to be extra careful, if she entered his personal rooms. Children were curious and adventurous, especially when they weren't allowed to be somewhere.
After dinner, Laura saw Cooper and Lila shift impatiently in their seats. They had built up a lot of energy during the drive and they couldn't wait to explore the property. "You are excused. Please stay together and be back before it gets dark!"
"Yes, Mom", Cooper and Lila answered obediently before getting up and ran outdoors.
"I'm afraid, it will be some time before we see them back again", said Elijah amused.
"I think so too", Laura agreed, equally amused, before getting serious. "Let's talk about getting my husband and Wanda out of jail. Where are they exactly?"
Elijah dabbed the corners of his mouth before placing the napkin on the plate. "It's called The Raft and it's in the middle of the ocean. What will make their liberation difficult is the fact that it is usually underwater. They only bring The Raft to the surface upon the arrival of new prisoners or when they are await official visitors."
"But how are we supposed to get there?" Laura asked in dismay.
"That's where you come in. Do you have a way to get in touch with Steve Rogers? I know the location of the Raft and I can make sure we can enter it. But to get there we need a military aircraft with stealth capabilities and that is even beyond my capabilities." Elijah grinned at the statement. "At least on such short notice."
"And you think Steve can help us with that?" Laura was amazed.
"According to my sources, yes", Elijah replied firmly.
Laura thought for a moment, then picked up her handbag. Before Clint had joined Steve, he had given her a burnerphone with Steve's number on it, if Laura ever needed to contact Steve. Laura had carried it with her the whole time, so that it wouldn't get into the wrong hands. "What should I tell him?"
"What you want, but don't say my name or where you are, just that you are all safe", Elijah replied calmly.
Laura nodded in agreement and dialled the number. She was not surprised that someone picked up after just a few rings.
"Yes", she heard a cautious male voice that Laura immediately recognized as Steve's.
"It's me, Steve, Laura", she said in a calm voice.
"Laura? Thank God! Natasha, I have Laura on the phone."
Laura could hear Steve grunt in surprise, as if someone had tackled him, and she smiled when she heard a brief struggle.
"Laura, is it really you? The whole house was trashed and the first floor was covered in blood, but no bodies were found. We feared the worst. Are you safe?" Natasha asked one question after another before she put Laura on the speaker.
Laura could clearly hear how worried Natasha had been for her and the children. To reassure her, she used a Russian phrase that Natasha had taught her as a sign that everything was fine with her and the children, that they were not under pressure or blackmailed, and that they were safe.
"I'm so glad to hear this sentence from you! You're now on speaker so that everyone can hear you. How did you escape?" Natasha asked next, reassured by the answer for now.
"A friend of Clint's came and rescued us. It was Hydra, Natasha! Tony Stark revealed to everyone that Clint has a family." Laura couldn't suppress the unbridled anger in her voice.
At first everything was quiet, then Laura heard Natasha swearing angrily in Russian. "This friend of Clint, how well do you know him?"
"Do you remember the blow, the government struck against Hydra a few months ago? The information came from him. His sources also told him that Hydra wanted to get their hands on us, and he came just in time to prevent it." Laura smiled gratefully at Elijah.
"But more importantly, he knows where the other Avengers are being held and he can get us inside the prison. We just need the means to get there."
Natasha took a deep breath. "This is the best news we've heard so far. Until now we hadn't found any clues of where they are being illegally detained."
"It's called The Raft", answered Laura. Again the line was longer silent. "You heard about this place, Natasha?"
"Yes, but nothing good", Natasha replied grimly. "I'll hand you back to Steve, but I have one more question. What do you think of Clint's friend?"
"I like him and I trust him", Laura replied without hesitation.
"That's enough for me." Natasha handed the phone back to Steve.
"Where are you?" Steve asked calmly.
"I can't tell you that, but nobody will be looking for us here or can find us here." Laura laughed softly.
"Is some of the blood from you or one of the children?" Steve asked next.
"No, we haven't gotten the slightest scratch, the blood comes completely from the dead Hydra soldiers", answered Laura patiently.
"How many were there? There was a lot of blood." Steve was still worried.
Laura looked at Elijah, who nodded in agreement. "There were twenty and he was alone!"
"He alone killed twenty Hydra soldiers?" Steve sounded a little incredulous.
"He's a 084, Steve", Laura replied calmly.
"I understand. Can I talk to him?" Steve asked polite.
Elijah held out his open hand to Laura and she handed him the phone. "Hello, Captain Rogers, a pleasure to finally talk to you! How can I be of service?"
xxxxx
Steve watched with concern as Natasha paced back and forth. He had never before seen her so frantic. Natasha had been in this condition ever since they got the news about Clint's farm. "Sit down, Natasha! You're of no use to anyone if you exhaust yourself."
Natasha reluctantly sat down on the couch next to Steve. "Clint will kill me if anything happens to his family. I just don't understand how anyone could find out about them."
"I don't understand it either but there is nothing we can do right now until T'Challa comes back." Steve was as frustrated as Natasha. "And we still have no clues as to where Sam, Clint, Wanda and Scott are being held either."
T'Challa came into the apartment where Natasha and Steve lived together. After the news of the attack on Clint's Farm got in, the King of Wakanda had tapped his government sources to find out more. "I'm sorry, but the Bartons have vanished for good. Nobody has taken responsibility for their kidnapping."
Steve rubbed his face tiredly. "If the government had the Bartons, it would be all over the news. So that leaves only Hydra or one of Clint's other enemies."
"Couldn't they have escaped before the attack?" T'Challa asked reasonably.
"It is possible, but then is Laura on the run with three children, completely on her own. How is she supposed to do that? Clint taught Laura a lot over the years, but she has no way of disappearing without a trace", replied Natasha sadly.
"Does Clint have friends, who could have been there in time?" Steve asked, as unwilling as T'Challa to assume the worst.
Natasha snorted. "You two are sickeningly optimistic. Does Clint have friends, who would fight for his family? Yes, but none of them could have found the Bartons so soon. To forestall especially Hydra, these friends would have to have known about the farm beforehand and there is no one."
"Maybe someone you don't know about?" T'Challa asked hopefully. The look he got from Natasha made him shudder, but then she sighed.
"It is possible, yes, but then Clint is far more talented at keeping secrets from me than I ever thought possible."
There was silence for a few minutes, but then suddenly one of the burnerphones rang.
Steve immediately jumped up and saw the name Laura on the display. "It's the burnerphone that Clint gave Laura."
Immediately there was hope in Natasha's face. "Answer it, but be careful!"
Steve nodded and answered cautiously. "Yes?" And then his face changed and he was beaming. "Laura? Thank God! Natasha, I have Laura on the phone."
In retrospect, Natasha's reaction shouldn't have surprised him. She tackled him and snatched the phone from him before he knew what was happening to him. He listened with amusement as Natasha brought out all the questions that had preoccupied them all. However, he was still a little worried that they didn't know what Laura's current circumstances were. At first he was alarmed when Laura replied in Russian, but the way Natasha relaxed at these words calmed him down again.
Now everyone had assembled around the phone and listened as Natasha asked the question that interested them the most. "How did you escape?"
After Laura's answer Steve wanted to be shocked by Stark's betrayal, but if he was honest with himself, it didn't surprise him in the least. And in Natasha's face he saw other than disgust and contempt the same nonsurprise, before she swore at length in her native language.
When Natasha than asked after Clint's friend, and Laura then told them that it had been his information that had helped them against Hydra, everyone relaxed a little.
Steve noticed, however, that Natasha frowned. There was still the question, how this unknown friend had known about Barton Farm, but he, like Natasha, noticed that Laura remained very evasive.
When Laura then announced that this unknown friend knew too, where Clint and the others were and that he could get them inside the prison, he and Natasha shared alarmed looks. Who was this friend that even Natasha had never heard of before?
However, when Laura told them where the other true Avengers were being held, their unease over this friend increased even further.
It was only when Laura immediately and positively answered Natasha's question, how she thought about this friend, that Natasha clearly relaxed again. Steve looked at Natasha and she nodded in confirmation that this was good news before saying the same thing out loud.
However, Laura continued to avoid questions about her whereabouts and her rescuer, but suddenly that changed when she said that there had been twenty Hydra soldiers and her rescuer had been all alone. She responded to Steve's disbelief by stating that he was a 084, which surprised and startled everyone.
After that Steve asked to speak with him and his wish was immediately granted. The man greeted him friendly and then asked politely how he could be of service.
"Firstly, you helped us already immensely be helping and rescuing Clint's family. Thank you for that, we owe you a debt", answered Steve equally as polite as the nameless man on the phone.
The man sounded young on the phone but his controlled voice suggested an older man. Steve could hear a faint accent too but he couldn't pinpoint from which country, it sounded like a blend of at least three countries.
However when Natasha first heard the voice of Clint's friend, she frowned and tilted her head. She knew that voice. "Elijah Smith?" she asked incredulously.
"Ah, Natasha, I'm not surprised that you recognize my voice. How are you?" came the polite question.
Natasha remembered asking Phil if Elijah Smith might be another identity from Niklaus Mikaelson. Now, that she knew that he was a 084, she had to ask that question. "Are you Niklaus Mikaelson and Elijah Smith is just an alias?"
Steve looked at Natasha questioningly, but she shook her head and mouthed the word 'later'. He nodded.
"No, I'm not my brother, but certain talents run in my family", Elijah replied kindly. "I apologise for my deception back then but you can certainly understand why I didn't want you to know about it. Especially in retrospect it would have been a very bad idea if Hydra had found out about me."
"So your brother is a 084, too? Well, that answers that question. And you are right, it would have been a bad idea", replied Natasha. "I tell you what, you continue to keep Laura and her children safe und I forgive you."
"It would be an honour for me. I assume, the good Captain Rogers as a lot of questions he wants to ask you. I give you a number, where you can call me back. We shouldn't use this phone any longer."
"I agree. We call you back in one hour", answered Natasha. Elijah gave her his number and then hang up.
"Well, that was interesting", T'Challa said thoughtfully.
"Yes that was it." Steve looked at Natasha. "Tell me everything that happened back then and your impression of Elijah Smith."
Natasha shrugged, and then complied with Steve's request at length.