A/N Hello. You may be thinking; Some_CroCanadian is posting another one-shot instead of updating their long-fic again, really? And yes, well, I started university and you can imagine how much work that is. I wanted to finish this one because I am on a John Wick craze right now, or was when I started it. (I'm very excited for the 4th one to come out!) I want it to be known that I'm not giving up on it I just have to find the time to work on it. Other than that please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I've only really seen the MCU and I'm even behind on that so that universe is a bit AU, I wrote who I thought would fit best into this story of mine. I also own none of the characters.

"Hey, have you guys heard about all of the shootings recently?" Peter said, walking into the Avengers common room.

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific, kid," Tony said, groaning over his now empty cup of coffee.

"It started with that one night club getting shot up," Peter said.

"There hasn't been anything on the news," Bucky said, not moving from his cross legged position on the couch.

"Or in the paper," Steve added.

"No one reads the paper any more, Rodgers," Tony said, pouring himself his 4th coffee of the morning.

"This has only been spreading by word of mouth. I was doing my rounds a few nights ago when I saw a club empty out and people were screaming. Apparently there was a guy shooting up the place."

"Did you do anything about it?"

"No the cops were already there," Tony glared at him, "Besides the shooter was already gone. I did hear some people talking about it. It seems like only the guards were the target. But I went looking for a police file, all I could find is this. Uh, give me a sec," Peter said.

"It's not worth it," Tony grumbled.

Peter just continued putting his backpack down and pulling a file from it. There was a red stamp on it that read CASE CLOSED.

"It looks like they closed the case, kid," Tony said, not even bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"That's what I thought too, but look at what's in the file. Or rather what's not there," Peter said, putting the file on the kitchen island. Bruce was the first one to pick it up. Tony rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee leaning against the counter top behind him. Steve had gotten up and was now standing at the far side of the island.

"Peter is right," Bruce said, "Save for the basic details and a ton of photos there's nothing else. No suspect or culprit or names of victims."

"What's the name of the club?" Steve asked.

"The police have this one, Rogers. You don't have to be a hero all the time," Tony said, taking another sip of his coffee.

"It's called the Red Circle."

Natasha almost choked on her peanut butter sandwich; "Can I see that?"

Bruce handed her the file as Bucky got up to join everyone circling the island. Steve looked at Nat with a puzzled look but she just ignored it.

"You don't have to be a hero too, Nat," Tony said.

But Natasha didn't quip back, she was studying the file intently.

"The Red Circle," Bucky muttered, "Where have I heard that one before?"

Steve looked at him with a quizzical look; Where could he have heard that?

"Peter is right. There is barely anything here aside from the photo's of the victims. How could this case be closed?"

Natasha passed the folder to Steve but keeping the photo's to herself, she began to study each one carefully. Most of them were photo's of the deceased and a few were of the locations of the bodies and some broken glass.

"Time, date, location, responding officers, head officer, Ballistics report… That's it. There were a few witness statements but the notes on it said that the witnesses were most likely intoxicated at the time. And they just closed the case?"

"By the looks of it, yeah," Peter said.

"From the handful of bullets tested it looks like they were all from the same gun," Steve said, "But they only tested 4 so far."

"Let me see that," Tony said, taking the file from Steve, "FRIDAY, who owns The Red Circle?"

"The Red Circle is owned by Viggo Tarasov, the leader of the Tarasov mob," The AI spoke from above

"That's a Russian mob in New York," Bucky said, "Who would want to shoot up the place?"

"It looks like whoever did only went after the mobsters, not the actual partiers," Bruce said, looking over Natasha's shoulder.

Natasha was only listening to their conversation with one ear. She was busy putting all of the photos in order of how the night presumably passed. She had the three dead bodies from the locker room first, they looked to be done stealthily with a knife or a broken neck in one guy's case.

Steve, noticing how focused Nat was, decided to question Peter further; "What did you mean by all of the shootings, Peter?"

"Apparently, just after the club incident there were shots heard from a Russian church and the priest is rumored to be dead."

"Is there a police file?"

"I couldn't find one when I grabbed the Red Circle one."

"Friday, are there any recent reports on Russian churches being shot at?" Tony asked.

"The only recent report is of a Russian church in New York getting a new priest."

"That's not suspicious," Tony said, and no one was sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

"A Russian club then a Russian church," Bruce said, "There has to be some sort of connection."

"The police are also reporting a sudden drop in Russian mob activities Mr. Banner," FRIDAY said.

"What the hell happened?" Bucky said.

"I think it's who happened," Natasha said, having concocted some sort of timeline, "There is only one assailant.."

"You're telling me one guy took out 30 Russian mobsters?" Bruce said.

"28," Natasha said.

"Like that makes it any easier."

"It does," Tony said, sipping his coffee.

"The assailant got in through the locker rooms killing the two people in there silently. Then made his way to the bathhouse killing two more without causing a disturbance," Natasha said gesturing to the photos as she went along.

"What you're saying is this guy's a professional," Steve said.

"Yes."

"And it looks like he had a target," Bucky said, pointing to a photo showing multiple glass panes being shot at, "The glass must have deflected the bullets enough that they missed their intended target."

"And from what I overheard," Peter said, "It sounds like there was only one person responsible. The few people that were describing the man said he wore a black suit and tie with a white shirt. He had long hair and a closely shaven beard too but the colour wasn't consistent, neither was his height."

"That matches what is in the notes here," Steve said.

This had Natasha worried; "I have to make a phone call," She said, getting up from the counter.

"Do you know who it is?" Steve asked.

"I have a hunch, but I hope it's wrong." Then Natasha left the room.

"Anything else, Peter?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, the art gallery we were supposed to go on a field trip to today got canceled. From what I found out, it was attacked by one man and lots of shots were fired."

"Now that's unrelated," Tony said, sipping his coffee.

"I thought so too but I didn't find a police report."

Natasha went back to her room and pulled out a small bag from beneath her dresser. She shook off the dust before spilling its contents on her dresser. There was an old flip phone and charger along with a few gold coins. She plugged the phone in and sat on the edge of her bed as she waited for it to charge up enough to turn on.

What am I doing? She thought. She swore that she would never turn on that phone again, never touch that bag again, yet here she was.

A light on the phone turned on then the whole screen. She stared at the keypad for a long time, she didn't have to look at her contacts to get the number she needed. She had it memorized for a long time. She couldn't forget it if she tried. With a sigh she dialed the number and an all too familiar voice picked up the call.

"This is the New York Continental. How may I be of service?"

"Is the manager in?"

"Ah, Miss. Romanoff, the manager does not deal with matters over the phone, however he will be free in about an hour."

"I'll be there in an hour then."

"Very well, I shall let him know that you will be coming. Is there anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"Very well, safe travels Miss. Romanoff."

She heard the clank of the phone hanging up then nothing. She took a deep breath in and let it out. She had the feeling someone, probably Steve, was waiting outside of her door. She wished there was another exit from her room but the window was too high up and the air vents were dirty and would make more noise than it was worth. She put the coins back in her bag and plugged her phone into a portable charger and put that in the bag too. She put on her tough guy face before leaving her room. Lo and behold, it was Steve.

"Who did you call?"

"An old acquaintance of mine, he'll know what is going on."

"We discussed a few things after you left, there was another shooting at an Italian art gallery that has no police file."

"Russians, then Itallians," She said. It's more proof. She thought.

"You know something, Nat," Steve said, "We're a team but we can't work as one if you're hiding information. People have died and if the police won't bring them justice, then we will."

Nat thought for a moment, Damn Steve and his justice attitude. She sighed, "Fine, but I should tell the whole team then."

"They're in the common room."

Nat and Steve walked back in silence, which Nat was grateful for, she could figure out the best way to tell the team her suspicions. They wouldn't like what she had to say, she was sure of that.

As they walked into the common room Tony called out; "How was your phone call? Was it more important than unsolved mass shootings?"

Nat didn't give him an answer. She walked up to the counter where the rest of the avengers were around looking at the file and comparing similarities with Peter's stories.

"I think I know who might be behind the shootings."

All eyes turned towards Nat, sentences stopping unfinished.

"I made the phone call to get in contact with someone who will know who did them for sure."

"How come you only think?" Tony asked, cutting off Bruce.

"Because I know him to be retired."

"Who do you think did them?" Bruce asked.

"John Wick, also known as the Baba Yaga-"

"The Boogeyman," Bucky said, "Or the one you send to kill the Boogeyman."

"You know him, Buck?" Steve asked.

"I've never met him but HYDRA knew of him. They told me to steer clear of him."

"Who is this guy?" Peter asked.

"The best hitman and assassin of the underworld. But I'm not 100% certain that it's him."

"How certain are you?" Bruce asked.

"Pretty certain, but I hope it's not him."

"Why? Did you have a fling with him?" Tony asked.

"Because he got out of the assassin world and got married. It's not an easy world to leave if you don't leave in a casket."

The room went silent, everyone was trying to avoid eye contact.

"You got out," Steve said.

"Not really, I was recruited to another organization that required my skill set. John got out, out. No more contracts or debts to be repaid, nothing. There wasn't a single person in the underworld who hadn't heard of his skill set and what he could do. Then one day he left after completing an impossible task and everyone knew not to mess with him after that."

"But you think someone did," Steve said.

"Yeah, and I'm going to go talk to someone who would know exactly what's going on."

"You're not going alone, Nat," Steve said, "We're a team."

"I'll go!" Peter said.

"No you're not," Tony said, pouring another cup of coffee.

"What, why?"

"It's too dangerous," Nat said, "And where I'm going you can't go in costume."

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked.

"A hotel for hitmen, assassins, and anyone else in the underworld."

"That place must be a bloodbath," Peter said, "I mean having multiple assassins under one roof must be deadly."

"No, there's a strict rule; no business is to be conducted on Continental grounds. It's punishable by death. I also can't take any of you with me, none of you are connected with the underworld."

"Nat are you sure?" Steve said, "I don't feel comfortable with one of our team members going into a hotel of hitmen without a little back up."

"Steve, I'll be fine."

"I could go," Bucky said.

"Buck-"

"I am, or was, an assassin. According to the rules, I could go."

Steve liked this idea even less; If only Clint were here, he thought.

"Buck are you sure you won't-"

"I'll be fine Steve."

"Fine, put something nice on, we leave in 10 mins," Nat said, walking out of the common room. She would have to do some explaining to Winston now, hopefully he wouldn't mind.

The drive to the hotel was uneventful, but finding parking was a hot mess. They found some though, with some cursing involved. Nat wrote a quick note before getting out of the car and leading them up the Continental steps.

It wasn't exactly how Natasha remembered it but she still felt that little bit more on edge when she walked in. As soon as they neared the counter Charon greeted them.

"Greetings, Miss. Romanoff. I wasn't aware that you were bringing a plus one."

"Steve wouldn't let me come alone," She said, sliding Charon a note.

The note read; Mr. Barnes is an ex-assassin. Nat did this not only to not have to admit Bucky's past to him again but so the few assassins in the lobby wouldn't overhear them.

"Ah, forgive my rudeness Mr. Barnes."

Bucky gave a nod back, he just wanted to die inside.

"Management is waiting for you in the lounge. Do you remember where it is?"

"I do. Thank you," Nat said, sliding over a gold coin.

"It's a pleasure seeing you again, Miss. Romanoff."

Natasha nodded her head and made her way to the lounge with Bucky in tow.

"This place is not what I expected," He muttered, once they were out of earshot of the lobby.

"The underworld has a lot of class, Bucky. And most of its members have money to spend."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Soon enough they reached the lounge and Winston was waiting for them on a black sofa.

"Natasha," Winstion said, remaining seated on the sofa, "I must say, I was not expecting to ever hear from you again after you made it clear that you wanted no part of the underworld any more."

"I don't recall ever making that clear."

"Your actions speak volumes, Natasha. The high table would not be pleased with you doing business under them," He said, taking a sip of a martini.

"I'm not here looking for business. I'm looking for answers."

"Oh. Your new team couldn't help you?"

"This is something that has this world written all over it. I just need to make sure. One of our members couldn't find a police report on the Red Circle shooting nor on the shooting at an Italian art gallery. Who's responsible?"

"I see your friend Peter has been busy."

"How do you know?" Bucky asked.

"There is little I do not know, Mr. Barnes. Or should I say Winter Soldier," He said, taking another sip.

Bucky went through the emotions of shock, anger, awe, and fear all relatively quickly. That wasn't a secret that was public knowledge.

"You should know who is behind all of this, Natasha," Winstion said, directing his focus back to Nat.

"I thought John was retired."

"Well he was until his wife died-"

"Who killed her?"

"No one. She was terminally ill. But only a few days after she had died Iosef Tarasov stole his car and killed his dog."

"Oh," Was all Natasha could say.

"So John shot up a Russian Nightclub because the owner's son stole his car and killed his dog?" Bucky said, trying to get this to make sense.

"Not just the nightclub. He took out all of the heavy hitters the mob had. The Tarasov mob is no more."

"Isn't that a bit overkill?"

"Overkill was John's style. You don't become famous for your sympathy in this world," Winstion said, taking another sip of his martini.

"That explains all of the Russian incidents. What about the art gallery?"

"Santino D'Antonio called in his marker with John then double crossed him."

"I take it everything ended poorly for Santino."

"Oh yes, John did kill him along with his top bodyguards."

"Where's John now?"

"I believe he went back to his home. Charon is on his way to fetch him."

"Why?"

"I have no choice but to declare John excommunicado."

Natasha paused for a moment; "He killed Santino on hotel grounds."

"Precisely. Though I will give John a warning before it takes effect. A small favour for an old friend."

"How much?"

"14 million to start. Double what Santino put out on him."

14 million, Bucky thought, What do you have to do to get a 14 million bounty placed on your head?

"Thank you, Winston."

"My pleasure, Natasha."

Natasha and Bucky left in silence. They were both mulling over what Winston had just said; Natasha was thinking about the consequences that all this would unleash, Bucky was just confused, there was too much unsaid for him. He may have been an assassin but he knew nothing of this world.

Once they got in the car Bucky spoke up; "Is this John guy the person you hoped it wasn't?"

"Yeah. And now that he's excommunicado, no assassin is safe."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain it when everyone is present."

"Okay, wait," Peter said, "How do you know this John guy? I thought the Black Widow worked alone until you joined our side."

Natasha had only just begun her explanation and was already cut off; "We worked a few jobs together, way back. But I can confirm that John is a force of nature, and he is not someone you want to mess with."

"And the assassin underworld has decided to mess with him now?" Steve said.

"It was a coincidence that he came back. Wrong place at the wrong time."

"Can you continue this story," Tony said, looking bored out of his mind.

"After he finished with the Russians someone called in a favour from him. John wasn't happy with it and he ended up getting stabbed in the back-"

"Literally or contextually?" Peter asked.

"Contextually. But John killed him, on continental grounds."

"You're not supposed to do that," Bucky said, all eyes turned to him, "I picked up something."

"Long story short," Natasha said, "Every assassin is going to try and kill John for the $14 million bounty on his head."

"So someone is going to kill him," Tony said.

"They're going to try to kill him. New York will have a pile of dead assassins before the day is over."

"You're serious," Bruce said, "So many people will get caught in the crossfire."

"John won't let that happen. He has a code, most assassin's do. He won't let any civilians get caught in the crossfire."

"John won't, that doesn't mean the others will," Tony said.

"There is no way one man can take down hordes of assassins gunning for him, it's just not possible," Peter said, "Right?"

"You haven't seen John in action, he most certainly can."

"Then we have to stop him, keeping him alive puts the rest of New York in danger."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Natasha said, giving each man in the room a death glare one by one, "None of you are willing to kill. If you try to fight him like that you're already dead."

"We have to do something!" Peter said, "We're the Avengers."

"We deal with extraterrestrial threats," Tony said, "Not the problems of the underworld."

"But we can't just back away," Steve said, "Not when lives are at stake."

"From what Natasha said, there isn't much we can do," Bruce said.

"We could always launch a missile at him," Tony said sarcastically, "That ought to do the trick."

"Yeah, and take out half of New York in the process," Bruce said.

"Is there any way to foster a peaceful solution?" Steve asked, "Maybe we could talk to him."

"No way you're agreeing to let me do that," Tony said, "Peter's not going to do it and neither is Bruce. We all know that sending Bucky to a negotiation is like sending a bomb," Steve had to hold a jaw clenched Bucky back from Tony at that comment, "So that just leaves you and Nat. And that's if we can even find the guy."

"I think I know where he is headed, but it's not necessary to talk to him or to try and stop him," Nat said.

"But I can't sit back and just let this happen, Nat."

"You know, Steve, you have a big, stubborn heart," Nat said, "I'll go find him."

"I'm coming with you."

Nat smiled, "I appreciate you wanting to have my back, Steve, but you don't know how this world works. Plus I know John from way back. I can handle myself."

Steve looked like he was about to protest but decided against it; "Fine, but keep your coms open."

John ran into an alleyway, he had three assassins on his tail. He was not having a good week. He just had to make it to the theater then he could rest, he was only a few blocks away. He ran past an overflowing dumpster, grabbed an empty sack of potatoes and twisted the bag into more of a strip.

John turned around as the first assassin pounced at him. He caught the assassin's arm with the bag causing him to drop the knife. He spun the nameless assassin around, breaking his arm over his shoulder. Another assassin tried to jump onto him by running and jumping off of a dumpster but John used the man he was holding as a human shield. He spun the man around causing his buddies knife to plunge into his neck.

Two more left.

The third guy tried to catch John off guard by charging at him while he was dropping the dead body. But John was quick enough to dodge to the side and grab his knife arm. He spun him around, slamming him into a dumpster and letting go to deal with the other assassin lunging at him.

He didn't have much time to think, he just had to do. That's why he felt someone's presence watching he didn't pay attention to who it was.

"Holy shit," Tony said, watching through a camera on Natasha's suit, "He's really not messing around."

"Those are professionals that he's fighting," Natasha commented, as John slammed one guy's head into a dumpster while simultaneously avoiding a knife thrust.

"They're nothing compared to him," Bucky said.

John let go of the guy he rammed into the dumpster and turned his focus on the last guy with a knife. The knife guy charged at John but John was ready, this assassin was very readable, he only appeared to have one attack: charge with knife. John stepped to the side, grabbing the assassin's arm, spinning him around and breaking his arm over his shoulder. John managed to get the knife and sliced the assassin's arm then his throat.

"Shit," Peter said.

"He's not holding back at all," Steve said, doing his best to not physically cringe.

"I wouldn't if I had 14 million dollars on my head," Tony said.

John was now facing off against the guy who probably has a concussion, who was now holding a broken beer bottle. Too bad he wouldn't live long enough to see how serious the concussion would be.

The assassin ran up towards John, slashing at his stomach. John jumped backwards then ducked down to the side as a punch came his way. Then he quickly sliced the assassin's side but the assassin managed to stumble out of the way enough that John's cut was only a flesh wound.

"He got lucky," Tony muttered.

The assassin charged at John again and this time when John dodged the assassin grabbed his arm and went to stab him with the beer bottle. John then grabbed his other arm, locking them into a stalemate. They started pushing each other, each trying to break free.

John quickly gained the upper hand with a quick turn, hand lock, flip, and a knife wound to the chest.

He stood up and took a moment to catch his breath and reacquaint himself with his surroundings, particularly a certain redhead who watched the whole thing.

Natasha took her cue and jumped down from the rooftop and landed right in front of him.

"John."

"Natalia."

Natalia, Steve thought, He knows her from back then? Not. Good.

"I'm sorry about your wife."

"Thank you."

"Also, It's Natasha now."

John nodded, "Did your new friends send you?"

"That's one way to refer to the Avengers," Peter grumbed. Steve narrowed his eyes, Even though he wasn't there he saw something in John's eyes in a way that made him squirm. What would that be like if I was there? He couldn't help but think of worst case scenarios.

"Yeah. You've caused a big ruckus, John. Winston told me that it's not unfounded, but my friends wanted to make sure that it was contained. No civilians are to be hurt."

"It's just the assassins who come," But John did look at her. It was with a look of caution.

"You've got what you needed Nat," Steve said, "Get out of there."

"I can tell where you're heading, John," Nat said, ignoring Steve, "Are you sure they'll be any better than what's out here?"

"It's a chance I'm willing to take."

"Natasha, you're good," Steve said, "You proved it enough."

"Is it worth it?"

John looked at her with a hint of confusion, not saying a word.

"Is all this trouble worth delaying the inevitable?" Natasha clarified, gesturing to the carnage around them.

John furrowed his brow, thinking deeply for a moment before replying; "Yeah," he said, absentmindedly rubbing his wedding ring, "It's worth the trouble."

Natasha nodded in thanks. John turned to walk out of the alley.

"Be seeing you, John."

He stopped walking for a moment, "Be seeing you," Then he rounded the corner of the alleyway out of sight.

"You guys alright?" Nat asked into her comms.

"We're all good," Tony said.

"I believe him," Steve said, "Thank you Nat. Sorry for making you watch that."

"It was pretty cool though!" Peter said, "Really actual assassins going at it!" Tony glared at him, "Not that people killing people is a good thing…" Peter said, scratching the back of his neck, "It's just not something you see everyday."

Natasha smiled, They are worth it. They're worth everything.

A/N So, what did you think? I'd love to know how I can improve!

Thank you for taking the time to read this!