"Phone."
Natasha clicked her fingers the second we walked into my apartment. I handed mine over straight away, Clint a second after me, his hearing aids came out of his ears as well. I stared at the tiny devices in his hands.
"They can be tracked," Clint explained, his voice a little louder than normal. "It's a nightmare to do, but your Dad has it as a failsafe because I kept doing stupid shit."
"Like what we're about to do," nerves suddenly hit me. Crazy didn't quite cover what was about to happen. I looked between Natasha and Clint. "You guys don't have to come with me. Just tell me what to do so I don't get caught."
"Yeah right," Clint laughed shortly. "I can't wait to tease him for being a damsel in distress for the rest of his life."
I looked to Natasha. She was still dressed and armed. Coulson hadn't made any move to take weapons off her. Not that Coulson would ever get them all off her. Natasha was the ultimate Tetris player. I was constantly amazed at how many weapons she could fit under that skin tight suit.
"Please, like you have to ask," Natasha snorted. "He's our friend too. He'd do the same for us."
Natasha threw Clint's and my phone on the coffee table. She motioned for me to follow her into Jared's bedroom. It looked like a dirty clothes bomb had hit it, as usual. Jared's bed was a crumpled mess. It was like any ordinary day. Nothing out of the normal. It was a little surreal. Natasha walked to his closet, flinging the doors open and started tapping her foot along the bottom of it.
"What are you…" my question was cut off by a dull thunk. Peering into the closet further a piece of the floor had come up, revealing a hidden compartment.
Cheesy, Jared. Very cheesy and cliched for a spy to have a hidden compartment in your wardrobe. Natasha bent down and pulled out 2 bags. She unzipped the first one, then tossed it to me a second later. I caught it and peer down into the contents. What I saw made my drop the bag in surprise.
The bag was packed with tightly wadded up money in a few different currencies. On top of the money were several passports. The passports were held together with a rubber band. I pulled the EU passport out that was on top, and opened it. Out fell a French drivers license with my photo on it. I picked it up and stared at the piece of plastic. I had a different name and birthday, but it was definitely me. Along with the drivers license sat 2 credit cards in the same name.
"We all have go to bags like this," Natasha explained before I could ask. "Enough cash and ID to get out of the country undetected if we need to."
"Is that money real?"
I couldn't help but gape at the open bag. There was a lot of money in there. More money than I'd ever seen in my life. Where the hell had it all come from?
"Yep," Natasha opened the other bag and rummaged through it. She pulled out several wads of money along with the first passport on top of the pile. "A lot of it is from Clint's time before SHIELD. We just divided it up between us to keep it hidden. Not even Coulson or Laura know about it."
It was easy to forget that Clint was already an assassin long before he joined SHIELD. When I was 16 I was worrying about good grades. When Clint was 16, he was a wanted fugitive and very skilled killer. Though why he put this money aside, and not used it for his wife and kids was a bit of a mystery. I didn't have time to puzzle over it. Natasha threw the money into the bag with my fake IDs in it. I couldn't stop staring at it.
"Jared made sure there was a bag for you, even before you were SHIELD," Natasha gave me a wavering smile. "When we became friends he showed Clint and I where he'd stashed a few of them."
"A few of them?" I frowned. How much damn money where there stashed over this country with fake ID?
"He's a spy Kari," Natasha shrugged looking unapologetic. "He's naturally suspicious and careful. This entire apartment has a failsafe on it. If needed he can blow it to hell without damaging the rest of the building to get rid of any evidence of him being here."
Holy shit. I couldn't think of anything to say to that. Jared had never told me about any of this. But I wasn't too surprised. Jared took his role of big brother fairly seriously and always tried to keep me shielded from the nitty gritty parts of his world. Even now as a fully fledged agent I barely knew what Jared actually did for his job. All I knew of was his reputation at work and he could hold his own against Natasha on the rare occasion he sparred with us.
"Riley had one too," Natasha's next words knocked the breath out of me. It was such a casual reference to Riley, something I hadn't heard in a long time. Just having someone say his name out of the blue was a surprise. "He told Clint where it was, just in case. Laura has bags packed for her and the kids if ever needed. Coulson as well. We always plan for the worse case scenario."
This was definitely looking like it qualified at one of those scenarios.
"So where are we going?" Natasha asked. The question made me refocus back into the game. I needed to be here, right now. Not thinking about Riley or why my friends had a lot of very illegal cash and fake documents all set up ready to disappear off the Earth.
"Upstate New York, North Salem to be exact," I bit my lip. This is where the small plan I had could all fall apart. Just because we were going there, didn't mean I'd get the help I wanted. "To our old school."
"Smart move," Natasha nodded. "So I'm guessing Cerebro isn't just a myth."
I nearly sagged in relief as Natasha caught onto my plan straight away.
"Nope it's very real," I sighed quietly. "But that doesn't mean the Professor will help us."
"It's a good start though," Natasha reached over and gave me a hug. It was a nice feeling. Natasha's hugs were so rare. I felt a lot stronger after the brief hug. "Come on, lets get moving before someone finds us."
I nodded and picked up the bag, zipping it up as we walked out the door. Coulson would give us as much time as he humanely could. But I'd put good money on no one else in SHIELD trusting us. Clint was on my laptop reading something. He had over the ear hearing aids on which he was rubbing uncomfortably.
"Found a car, only 2 blocks away to grab," Clint didn't look up from what he was doing. "Where are we heading Kari?"
"Upstate New York," Natasha and I said together.
"Why?" Clint looked up from the screen frowning at us.
"My old school," I explained. "Cerebro isn't a myth. Professor might help us, or he might not. But I don't know where else to start."
"Works for me," Clint slammed the laptop shut. I winced at how much force he put behind it. If he broke it, he was buying me a new one. "Natasha, at least throw something on over your work clothes. In broad daylight you look like a dominatrix."
"Right," Natasha glanced down as if seeing herself for the first time. "I'm stealing some clothes."
Like she actually had to announce that. Natasha and I swapped clothes enough that I didn't really know what was mine or hers anymore. There were only a few things that were off limits to each other. Natasha quickly went into my room, half closing the door behind her.
"How you holding up?" Clint asked.
"I'm eerily calm," I fell onto the couch with a heavy sigh. The go to bag dropped on the ground with a heavy thump. "I just want to get going and find him."
I massaged my temples, closing my eyes. The headache from before was starting to niggle at my forehead yet again. But other than that, I just wanted to focus on getting Jared home alive and in one piece. If I couldn't do that, we could all be dead in a few hours. It was an uneasy thought.
"We're going," Clint sat down next to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "Just focus on the next step for now. We're going to bring him home."
"Did you ring Laura?" I hugged Clint back. I really hoped Laura wouldn't be too mad at me dragging her husband away. It was Cooper's birthday in 2 days time. Clint had jokingly said a few days ago that this year would be the first time he'd actually be home for Cooper's birthday. I just hoped we'd be able to get back in time for it.
"No," Clint shook his head. "The less anyone knows the better. She'll understand."
"You don't have to do this," I felt my stomach churn again. This time it was from Clint's words. It was always on my mind that out of all of us he had the most to lose. While Laura was incredible about Clint having to leave on extended periods for work, I wasn't sure how she'd take him going off grid to help me.
"You aren't leaving me out of this," Clint chuckled, though it was strained. He tightened his hold on me momentarily. "We'll get him back Kari. Just take this one step at a time. Car and then upstate New York. Pick out what ID you want to use."
Clint let go of me, tapping the bag at my feet with his foot. My gaze dropped down to see a similar bag sitting at Clint's feet as well as the one Natasha gave me. A passport, drivers license and 2 different American Express credit cards were sitting on top of his. I did as I was told, reaching in and grabbing the first American passport in the bag. I flicked it open to see the photo used on my old Air Force ID staring back at me. Gone was Kari Anastasia Lyngley. According to this passport I was now Kaitlyn Anna Litterford. At least the initials were right, it wouldn't be hard to remember.
"Lets go," Natasha walked out of my room. My eyes dragged up to meet hers. She'd thrown jeans and a light long sleeve shirt over the top of her jumpsuit. I could still see the edges of it peeking out from underneath the sleeves of the shirt. I'd seen Natasha be a lot of things. Playful, terrifying, cold to name a few. But I'd never, ever seen her look so worried like she was now.
"Going," Clint echoed the statement of how much we needed to get moving.
It didn't take long for us to stuff what we needed into one bag. It felt so odd seeing Clint walking around with an old gym bag that was full of money. I almost felt like we were running from a bank robbery. It was so cliched it was almost laughable. Natasha and I hung back out of sight while Clint went and brought the car he'd found. Natasha muttered under her breath about how much easier it would have been to steal something from a long term parking lot. I began to agree with her after 20 minutes of Clint standing there talking to the gentleman he was buying the car off. It seems we'd made the car sellers day by showing up with cash and driving away with it.
The car Clint found for us was older, but serviceable and most importantly didn't stand out. The grey Camry melted into the mid morning DC traffic without a second glance. It didn't stop any of us glancing over our shoulders every 5 seconds. Any time a black SUV went past, we'd all sink down into the seats a little lower until we were sure it wasn't looking for us. Thankfully the car had come with a full tank of gas, so we didn't need to make any pit stops on the way. The 5 hour car trip left me in a knot of tension by the time we were pulling into the small road that lead to the school. A few directions later and we were on the gravel driveway leading down the expansive estate. The huge grey building came up far too quickly for me to make any sort of a plan to put into place. Not that it would have helped. In the 5 hours I still had no idea what to do when we got here. Begging seemed to be about the only option I could think of.
"Do you want us to wait outside?" Natasha asked.
"No, just…" I scratched the side of my head trying to find the right words to say. "Come in, just mind the craziness that comes with it."
It was 1533. School hadn't long been out for those people who didn't board. The grounds were fairly quiet, as was normal for early afternoon. Inside would be quiet as well. This time of afternoon was always set aside for study.
"Do you have a plan?" Clint asked. He looked at me in the rearview mirror looking tired. He'd refused both Natasha and I to drive, insisting he was fine. We hadn't even stopped for coffee, mostly for fear of getting spotted.
"Nope, I…" I started before trailing off. As I started speaking, the front door of the mansion opened. Out came a very familiar wheelchair with a bald man in a suit. Professor Xavier didn't look like he'd aged a day since last time I saw him about 8 years ago.
"Please come in," Professor Xavier looked amused at us still sitting in the car. "I've been expecting you."
Of course he had. I fought back my sigh of irritation, more at myself than anything else. I was dealing with one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet. I also had very little doubt that Mom would have phoned ahead long before now. Whether it was to warn him about us arriving, or asking for help. It was a flip of the coin either way.
"Kari, you can come into my office," Professor Xavier turned around before any of us could reply. "Natasha and Clint, you are both welcome to the kitchen and anywhere else you may need. Ororo will show you around."
There was never any arguing with the Professor. On tired and cramped legs I managed to stumble my way through the building and into the office. I was ushered through too quickly to say hello to Ororo. I only managed to give her a quick smile. It'd been so many years since I'd been here. But like the Professor himself, nothing much had changed. It was the same mahogany desk in sat across from. I sank into the same well worn leather chairs, though my feet could easily touch the ground now. I was tall enough to slump into it comfortably these days.
Professor Xavier settled himself in behind the desk. Nothing was said for the longest minute. It felt like an eternity stretched out before he spoke.
"You have certainly grown up since I saw your last," Professor Xavier gave me a gentle smile. "What an amazing young woman now sitting in front of me. Before you ask, no it wasn't your Mother who rang me. It was Hazel. I know the full situation."
"Then even without your powers you know why I'm here," it wasn't a question. I had to fight the urge to pick at my nails at the sudden appearance of my nerves. Here is where everything could fall apart very quickly. If Professor Xavier refused to help I had no idea what to do next. Even with Grams' help this could all be stopped right here.
"I do," Professor Xavier lent on the desk. His fingers came together to form a steeple in front of him as he watched me. "Tell me Kari, why do you think this is the right thing to do? You're breaking a lot of rules right now. SHIELD doesn't take too kindly to its agents disobeying direct orders."
"No, they don't," the headache which had been quiet for the last few hours started to make itself known again. I reached up and rubbed my temples, willing it to stay in control for now. "What else am I supposed to do? Sit back and let my brother be tortured and killed?"
I hadn't meant for the question to come out so harsh. But I couldn't help but the bitterness to creep into my voice. After everything I'd been through these last few months, I couldn't lose Jared as well. I'd only just started moving on in my life from Riley. Even that was more burying my grief than actually dealing with it. If I lost Jared, I don't think I'd ever recover from that. I don't think I'd want to recover from that. There was only so many times I could pick up the pieces of my life and put it back together.
"I never said that," Professor Xavier said gently. "Jared would know the consequences of his actions. I dare say he wouldn't want you to get pulled into this mess."
"Jared doesn't think of the consequences," my head started to ache even further. "He never has. He just thinks he's 10 foot tall and bulletproof. It would have never occurred to him he wouldn't come out of this unscathed. His arrogance knows no boundaries."
"So not much has changed over the years," Professor Xavier gave me a small smile. The smile quickly fell away from his face. "That still doesn't change that Jared wouldn't want you to be dragged into a mess he created."
"Then he shouldn't do stupid shit," I scoffed. I rubbed my temples harder, feeling the headache more and more with every passing second. "I'm not leaving him. I've lost too much to lose him too. I'm going to do this with or without help."
For the first time in my life, I felt as strong as the words coming out of my mouth. I wasn't scared of what was about to come. The only thing making me nervous is if Professor Xavier wouldn't help.
"Have you thought about the consequences of your actions?" Professor Xavier asked.
"Consequences I will gladly take on myself," I said instantly.
"What about the consequences of you coming here?"
My bravery wavered at that. I hadn't thought of anything beyond my own need right now. The school didn't have the best record with government agencies. Me coming here could very easily bring SHIELD raining down on this place.
"Yes it could," Professor Xavier answered what had been in my mind. "Last time we had government officials storm this place, it didn't end well for anyone involved."
I was nearly smart and asked which time, but held my tongue. The amusement flicking across Professor's Xavier face let me know that I didn't keep that thought to myself either. I was very out of practice at that.
"Yes Hazel would be most disappointed," Professor Xavier still looked amused as he watched my face. "Actually, no, I take that back. Your Grandmother is never disappointed in you Kari."
I felt my cheeks grow warm at the rare praise.
"She is very proud of the strong and incredibly brave woman you've grown into" Professor Xavier continued. "Especially over this last year. You don't need to come and beg for my help. It's already given."
It took me a few seconds to process the last piece of information. Utter relief washed over me as soon as it really sunk in. I closed my eyes briefly and sent a mental thank you to Grams. If it wasn't for her this might not have gone so well.
"Once I find Jared, Storm will fly you to where you need to go," Professor Xavier looked at me as I scrunched my nose up. "You may fly the jet. I believe you'll find a care package was dropped off not long before you arrived to make your life a little easier."
"Care package?" I finally found my voice. There were just no words for how grateful I was right now.
"Yes, there may have been something dropped on the doorstep," Professor Xavier looked so amused as he brought his wheelchair around to me. He reached over and briefly squeezed my hand. "You have so much strength in you. Use that, channel it. You've earned everything you have in life by your own will. Never ever forget that. Now head to the kitchen and get something to eat."
I didn't even have time to say thank you before Professor Xavier was gone from the room. Just like that, within minutes I had my answer and help. It was surreal. Once this was all over I'd have to really be creative in the ways to thanks Grams for doing this. The headache was gone again, leaving me with a feeling of determination.
"Hang on Jared, I'm coming," I closed my eyes and took in a few deep, shuddering breaths. "I'm coming."
I really hoped with whatever link we had, he could hear me. He must be hurt so badly to not be able to teleport. Or he was being drugged. He told me it took a lot of concentration to do, just like my own powers. Just because it looked easy, didn't mean it was. I rubbed my eyes, ignoring the stinging sensation in them. Little bits of adrenaline were starting to wear thin. I really needed some coffee and food to keep me going. Professor Xavier could be 5 minutes or 5 hours. Either way I needed to be ready to go. I'd be no good to Jared dead on my feet from exhaustion or lack of food.
The halls were quiet as I walked through them. Like Professor Xavier himself, not much had changed around here. The kitchen was equally as quiet. I only saw one student duck out and down the hall just as I reached the massive room. The kitchen was always open for when you wanted anything on a serve yourself basis outside of mealtimes. It wasn't hard to find enough food to fill my stomach. And coffee. After 2 cups of far too strong black coffee, I was ready to go. Just as I was setting my cup in the sink Clint walked into the room.
"Found him," Clint announced. His lips were pulled in a tight line looking stressed. A second later I spotted a very new looking bow and quiver peeking out from behind his shoulders. Clint had gotten changed into basic tactical gear sometime during my absence. He had a bundle of clothes in his hands.
"Where is he?" I asked. My heart lurched at those 2 words. This was it. We were going to get him.
"Pripyat," Clint threw the bundle of clothes at me.
"Sorry?" I dropped the clothes in my surprise. I really hope I'd just heard Clint wrong. There's no way Jared could be in the Ukraine.
"He's in Pripyat," Clint rubbed a hand over his face, muffling his voice slightly. "As in the Ukraine, within the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Middle School 3 to be exact, right near the pool."
Of course he was. This couldn't be a simple job where he was only a few miles from somewhere populated. He had to get himself captured within a fucking old abandoned town within a radioactive zone. I picked up my dropped clothes from the floor. Unrolling the bundle revealed a pair of black combat pants, boots and plain black t-shirt. It was basically the same thing Clint was wearing. I still hadn't gotten my bodysuit like Natasha wore. Not that I really wanted one. It'd look ridiculous on me.
"The jet it fuelled and waiting for us," Clint continued. "I've already stowed your P30's and AWSM in there."
"Where the hell did the weapons come from?" I pulled my old shirt off and quickly replaced it. Clint turned his back as I started to undo my belt.
"Your Dad," Clint laughed quietly. "Well, a copy of him anyway. Dr McCoy caught sight of it dropping it off and disappearing just as quickly. Seems Jared isn't the only one in the family who is sneaky."
I smiled and sent Dad a mental thanks. I got a good look at the new bow and quiver on Clint's back. I had no doubt it was the massive draw weight one Clint had been aching to get for months. His quiver was stuffed full of arrows, along with the collapsable ones he kept in a cartridge on his long boots, specially designed just for that purpose. They were like normal combat boots but came up to mid calf. On the other boot were an assortment of arrowheads.
I finished getting dressed quickly and led Clint out to the hanger. Natasha was already there, speaking quietly with Ororo. But otherwise the hanger was empty. It was a little disappointing not seeing anyone else. But the less people who knew about this the better.
"Kari," Ororo smiled as we walked in. She opened her arms, which I happily fell into. She was one of my favourite teachers here at school. Her hug was brief, but warm and welcoming. It was good to see her.
"Professor said you'd be flying," the smile on her face grew as she pulled back from our embrace. "Lets get moving."
It didn't take long for us to all be on the jet. Clint sat next to me as my co-pilot, while Natasha and Ororo sat in the back. I'd been wanting to fly the jet since I first laid eyes on it when I was 6. Granted, this wasn't the same jet as it was back then. But the desire still hadn't diminished. It was like a Quinjet on steroids. Despite everything going on around me, I couldn't help but bounce in the seat in excitement as I started to power up. The technology was unreal. Based on a SR-71 Blackbird, it outclassed the old spy plane years before its time. I dare say it was even better than the Quinjet's used at SHIELD. The airspeed and mach indicator was well beyond the Quinjet. If I climbed to 50,000 feet, I could sit on Mach 3 nearly the entire way comfortably. Meaning we could be over Ukraine airspace in a little under 3 hours.
The roof opened, letting a basketball drop in and bounce off the roof.
"How many fucking times…" Ororo muttered behind me. I snickered as we lifted up and out of the hanger. It seems some things never change. That was a rule back when I was in school. Don't leave balls lying around on the court. It wasn't pretty when they got sucked into the jet engine.
The flight passed by in a blur. There wasn't a lot of planning we could do. From what Professor Xavier was able to see in Cerebro didn't give us much to go on. A dozen guards were with Yelena. As far as the Professor could see Jared was right in the middle. He was in bad shape. The school would be a maze of unused room and easy to guard. It would be a nightmare getting in undetected. We would just have to go in blind, observe and plan from there.
There was also the hope that none of us managed to find a bad pocket of radiation and die in the next 36 hours from radiation poisoning. That would really fuck my week up.
I handed the controls over to Ororo once we started the descent. We'd land cloaked about half a mile from the school. It was nighttime here. So we could jog there in the cover of darkness. That was about as far as our plan went. I strapped the pair of P30's onto my thighs and slung the AWSM over my back. I shoved as much ammo as I could into the deep pockets of my pants. The rest I handed to Natasha who stowed them in her belt. It wasn't going to be much, but it'd have to do. A wicked looking standard issue knife was tucked into my boot. It was heavy compared to the throwing knives I'd been using. But it'd come in handy if we had to stay silent. There was no silencers for the sidearms, so the knife may just get a workout.
The jet landed with a soft lump before I knew it and the ramp opened, sending in a blast of cold air. My stomach twisted into a knot of nerves seeing the black of the landscape in front of us. This was it. The nerves were gone as quickly as they came. It was replaced with the steely determination from earlier.
"Be safe," Ororo called back to us. She didn't give us a chance to reply. As soon as I stepped off, the ramp was already closing. The jet lifted into the air quickly and melted into the night within half a minute.
There was nothing to say, even if she'd given us time to say it. Thank you seemed far too insignificant to say for what had just been done. Professor Xavier had just risked a lot to help us out here. From here on, we were on our own.
"Lets go," Natasha pulled one of her Glock's from the holster. "Barton you lead. You can see better than either of us in the dark."
"And I know where we're going thanks to Call of Duty," Clint's smart reply made me smile. Trust Clint to know about something because of a video game. Natasha's quiet chuckle was the only answer we got before Clint turned and started to jog silently into the night. Natasha and I were only a second after him.
Pripyat was beyond creepy. The abandoned buildings stood out in the darkness like ghosts. It was impossible to move silently through the heavy growth crawling through the once urban centre. The occasional unseen wildlife scampered away in the darkness. Any time there was movement in the dark, we'd all pause and hold our breath, scanning the area for any potential hostiles. But it was just nocturnal animals going about their night routine.
"Here," Clint stopped abruptly.
I managed to step out of the way to avoid crashing into him. Natasha had to do the same thing to avoid my sudden stop as well. I peered into the darkness looking for what Clint was pointing at. It was like everything else around here. A deserted building that was 3 stories high, as far as I could tell in the darkness. The windows were broken leaving an open view into the building. There was nothing about it that stood out. It looked like every other building around the town. Overgrown with trees everywhere and in a state of rotting decay.
"That's the old swimming pool. We need to get up on the rooftop," Clint said quietly. He pointed to the far right corner of the building. "If they have any sort of training, thats where the sniper will be. There's a ladder right there."
I could just made out the ladder in the darkness. If looked rusted but it should easily hold my weight.
"I'll go," I said right away. "I can go invisible, do we have a silencer?"
"No," Natasha shook her head. "Knives or garrotte for this. Have I taught you how to garrotte someone?"
"I seemed to have missed that part of my assassin training 101," I couldn't stop the sass creeping into my voice. Besides me, Clint made a gurgling sound like he was trying not to laugh.
"You get the knife then," Natasha didn't sound very amused. She had slipped into work mode already. "If I hang onto you, can you keep us both invisible?"
"Yeah I can," I sobered up immediately. "And after?"
"Then we need to move," Clint sounded as serious as Natasha this time. "We don't know how long between radio calls they're doing. We need to hit the entrance and start sweeping the building for Jared."
"Lets go," I hitched the AWSM up a little higher so it wouldn't bang against my legs as I climbed.
"Be careful," Clint said softly.
"We will," Natasha and I said at the same time.
Natasha grabbed my hand first. I closed my eyes in took in a deep breath, concentrating on going invisible. It really had gotten easier with time and practice. Clint still rode my ass nearly every day about doing something with my powers. It took very little effort for it to happen and I wasn't struggling to maintain it. Even with Natasha holding onto me.
It was a short run from the cover of the tree to the side of the building. There was a quick moment where I had to go visible again to get on the ladder. Natasha was holding onto my leg lightly as we went up the ladder. I was 2 rungs up from the top when footsteps made me stop instantly.
"Still no activity," the male voice in Russian came close to the edge. "What's the bitch doing with him now?"
Natasha's fingers dug into my leg. Out of the black came a shadow, right to the edge. Even though I knew he couldn't see us but it still made sweat break out all over me. Boots stopped crunching about a foot away from the ladder. I dared to glance up, trying to keep my breathing even.
"Playing with her food," the guy scoffed with a short laugh still in Russian. "That sounds about right. All clear here. Check in again in 15 minutes."
The sound of a zipper being undone made me instantly cringe. Why did guys always piss in the most random places? I held back a gag as a steady stream came right next to us. I shifted away as much as I could. Fucking gross. The zipper was closed and heavy footsteps walked away. They obviously weren't worried about being found. There was nothing stealthy about them.
"Go," Natasha's grip loosened on my leg. I didn't need to be told twice. I scrambled up the ladder with Natasha clinging onto me. There was a brief second once we first hit the roof where Natasha was exposed. She had to let go of my leg for me to get over the edge and then quickly scramble over and grab me again. We didn't have to worry too much. The sniper and his spotter were facing away from us. Both were talking quietly in Russian not paying attention to what was behind them. Natasha let go of my hand again. I quickly grabbed the knife out of my boot and went visible.
"Go," Natasha whispered.
On silent feet we covered the distance. I threw myself on the spotters back, grabbing his chin. Before he could draw another breath, I plunged the knife into his neck and in one smooth motion yanked it across the delicate skin. Blood coated my hands in an instant. A muted gargle and choke was all the sound he managed to get out before slumping lifelessly against the concrete. Next to me, Natasha gave the sniper's head a brutal yank backwards. His limbs jerked erratically for another second before falling limp.
"Check the other building for a sniper," Natasha climbed off the now dead sniper.
I scrambled off the spotter, pulling the AWSM around as quickly as I could. I didn't bother to set up the stand. I just looked through the scope, checking every building in sight. It was hard to see through the thick foliage cover even with the night vision on. I switched to IR and did another scan. There was 2 guards at the entrance of the school, but the rooftops were clear.
"Clear," I pulled my face away from the scope. "2 guards at the entrance. I can't see anything else. They must be too far in the school."
"Lets get back down to Barton," Natasha bent down and wiped off the garrotte on the snipers jacket. "Clean your knife off."
I copied Natasha's movement, wiping the blade down and sticking it back into my boot. It only took us half a minute before we were back on the ground and next to Clint.
"You all good?" Clint asked as soon as we came into view. I looked down to see my hands and shirt with dark patches on them. I didn't want to think of the mess I just made up there.
"2 guards," I ignored his question. I was fine right now. I could freak out about slitting someone's throat later. "At the entrance, no other snipers. 15 minute check in. We should get moving."
"If we split up, we'll cover more ground," Natasha suggested. "If you take left, Kari takes middle and I'll go right. We should roughly meet up at the same place. We meet back at the pool once we find Jared."
"Lets go," Clint didn't argue with the plan.
Like shadows, we slunk through the landscape until we had full sight of the school entrance. Both of the guards were on either side of the door, lounging around not paying attention. It would have been early morning here. About 0200. It was that time of night where you were struggling to stay awake. Things were quiet with little promise of any action. The rest of the men would probably be asleep, cleaning weapons or some other meaningless job. It should make sweeping the building easy for us.
"Ready to go on my mark," Clint said quietly. He pulled 2 arrows from his quiver, notching the first one. "And, mark."
In the blink of an eye, Clint sent both arrows flying. The bodies hit the ground with a muffled thud. Without waiting for anything else, we all ran for the entrance, weapons drawn. All was quiet. Nothing stirred in the darkness of the old building. It was eerily silent. Clint knelt down and yanked the arrows out of the dead guards.
"Stay safe," Natasha said before melting into shadows once more. She was gone before I could say the same thing back.
"Don't die, your Mom will kill me," Clint gave my shoulder a quick smack. "Stay safe."
"You too," I pulled both of my P30's out. I rolled my shoulders and blew out a breath. Closing my eyes, I went invisible yet again and stepped into deserted corridor. I didn't look back.
I hugged the walls, mindful of the debris that would make noise if I stepped on it. Everything was so quiet. It felt like every footstep I made echoed loudly enough to wake the dead. The first few rooms had nothing in them except for scattered debris. As I made my way further into the school, there was more and more rubbish strewn everywhere. Trees were growing through the floors where it wasn't concrete.
I came around the corner and looked into one room. What I saw made me lose my invisibility in surprise. For a second I thought it was human remains. But it was old fashioned gas masks. Hundreds of them littering the floor. It just added to the macabre of the building even more. I shuddered involuntarily surveying the scene.
"Creepy," I muttered before turning around. I'd nearly made it back out of the doorway when a scream cut through the air. It was a scream of utter pain and agony. And very male. It wasn't far away.
"Jared," I breathed out. My legs took over before my brain could as I sprinted down the hallway. It only took half a minute and plenty of twists and turns before I found a half closed door. A weak light shone through the gap in the doorway. The room was far away enough from any eyes so you couldn't see the light from the outside until you were right on top of it.
"Oh that looks like a terrible break," a soft Russian accent voice of a woman came from the room. She clucked in sympathy that almost sounded real. "It'd be a shame if I had to do it to your other ankle. Now lets try this again Pet."
My body took over before my mind could. I went invisible and walked into the room, P30 held high. Yelena had her back to me, she was standing over Jared who was tied to a chair. He was a mess. Even in the dim lighting I could see where he'd been bleeding. His blue shirt was stained with various patches of blood. His face was one big swollen bruise, so badly that I doubted he could even see out of his right eye. His left ankle was set at an unnatural angle. But it was his hands what made me halt in my stride. Underneath his nails were on both hands, were hypodermic needles of various sizes. All inserted under the nail bed right down to the cuticle. Blood was still dripping from his fingers where some of the larger needles had been inserted. There was so much blood pooled around him. The sight of it made my steps falter as I stared in horror at the scene in front of me.
"The employer is very impressed at how quickly you found me," Yelena reached forward and stroked her hand against Jared's cheek. Jared flinched away violently from her touch, straining against the bonds of the chair. His movements were off, like he couldn't properly control his body. The eye that wasn't swollen shut could barely focus on Yelena in front of him.
"You should join me," Yelena reached forward and whispered close to his ear. "You think your good now. I can make you even better. The employer will give you anything and everything you want. Forget about SHIELD, Natalia and everything you have. No one is coming for you. They don't care. Join me."
"I'd rather die," Jared's words were slurred. "You may as well kill me now. I'm not going to join you no matter how much you torture me."
"Oh but that's where you're wrong," Yelena chuckled. "My employer has, well lets just say ways of making you comply. You were always coming with me. This was just a bit of fun to see if you'd come willingly."
My horror turned in rage as her words. I was willing to die to save Jared. She knew nothing of me or anyone else who was friends with Jared. Just for saying that, I wanted to kill her. I came behind Yelena, still invisible and pointed the P30 at the back of her head. Her words infuriated me. I was so angry I could feel my control slipping. The temperature in the room dropped slightly. Not enough for a normal person to notice. But Jared's head suddenly snapped up, looking more focused than before. His gaze met mine, even though I was still invisible, it was he was looking right at me. Then he laughed and a serene smile crept onto his broken face.
"You're fucked now bitch," Jared spat out. Blood dribbled from his mouth as he spoke.
I pressed the P30 into the back of Yelena's head before she could turn around. She stilled instantly at the touch. I couldn't maintain being invisible any longer, so I let it go.
"Not too many people can sneak up on me," Yelena actually sounded impressed. Nothing in her body language faltered, even with a gun pressed into her head. "Very clever girl. You forgot one thing."
Faster than I could move, Yelena spun around and slashed a knife across my arm that was holding the P30 to her head. Shock, more than pain made me drop both of my sidearms as I clutched at the now bleeding limb. Blood poured freely from the wound and between my fingers. Fuck she was quick. My arm was instantly on fire. That was going to definitely need stitches.
"Never hesitate to pull the trigger," Yelena smiled at me. It was cold, chilling and calculating the way she looked so calm. She casually flicked the knife into her other hand and tiled her head as she looked at me. "Hmmm, well this is interesting. Twins I'm guessing."
Yelena began to circle around me like a predator. She certainly looked the part. Hair as blonde as mine, ice cold blue eyes with a slim figure. She moved with the grace of a dancer, her feet making no sound as she moved around me. I never took my eyes off her. She reminded me so much of Natasha in her movement. If she moved like Natasha, then she'd fight like her too. I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
"Pretty just like your brother," Yelena purred. "What can you do Kotyonok?"
Kitten. Ugh. I'd kill her just for calling me that.
"This," I took a chance and focused on the knife in her hand. It frozen over quickly before shattering in her hands. Yelena looked at her bare hand before laughing. In her second of inattention I looked to the floor to try and find one of my P30's. Both were out of reach. But I still had a knife in my boot. I just needed her distracted enough to reach it. There was no way I could win in hand to hand if I engaged her. I needed to use my wits here instead of muscle. Or just stall for time. The guard had said something about her playing with her food. I had no doubt she liked to talk. I could use that to my advantage.
"Oh this is wonderful," she turned back to me with a wide smile on her face. "My employer will be most pleased to have both of you."
"Shame you're going to be too dead to have us," I smiled back. Her face was so unnerving. Even though she had a smile on her face, her eyes were just dead. There was no emotion in them at all.
"Now that's where you're wrong," Yelena took a step towards me. I didn't move from my spot, muscles tense and waiting for her next move. "Because if you value your twins life, you're going to tell me everything I want to know."
My vision suddenly started to swim. I shook my head rapidly trying to clear it. The entire room felt like it was spinning around me. I staggered, squeezing my eyes shut to stop the sensation. This wasn't good.
"Nasty little poison isn't it," Yelena cooed at me. "I do love coating my knives in it. Don't worry it's only temporary. Oh, mind your body when you fall down."
No sooner had the words left her mouth, I crashed to the ground. The AWSM dug into my back, no doubt giving me some impressive bruises. All my muscles were twitching uncontrollably. I had no control over anything. While my body was twitching my brain just didn't want to focus. I felt like my mind put on overdrive and everything was too vivid. Too bright. It just hurt to keep my eyes open. But I couldn't keep them shut either. The blackness was a swirling vortex, threatening to drag me under.
"Kari!" Jared's panicked voice sounded so far away. I couldn't focus enough to call back to him.
"Now Kotyonok," Yelena's outline was a blurred mess of colours. She was suddenly standing over me. At least I think she was. "We're going to play nicely here for the moment. Are you alone?"
"Yes," I lied, gasping for air. My chest felt like it was being squeeze in a vice when I tried to speak. What the hell had she given me?
"Why?" Yelena's face got a little clearer as she lent down. I could feel the weight of her body as she straddled my stomach.
"Because he's my brother," I wheezed through my gasping breath. "I couldn't leave him here to die."
"How sweet," Yelena laughed coldly. "And now because of your incompetence you're going to join him. But not in death, though you may wish for it soon. Funny how I know nothing of you. How did you get here?"
"I'm a fighter pilot," I was surprising myself how easily the lies were rolling off my tongue. "I went to SHIELD and stole a jet and weapons."
"Clever girl."
That almost sounded like a compliment. Yelena tilted her head looking at me closely. She had another knife in her hand, caressing the blade down my cheek. A cold shiver went down my spine at the feel of the metal on my face. She dug the tip in lightly, causing a sharp sting and a small trickle of blood to run down my cheek. She didn't know I was SHIELD. Even better she had no idea I had Natasha with me. I just had to keep cool until Clint or Natasha found me. I could do this.
"I shouldn't make that pretty face," the knife was suddenly gone from my face. "Even if you don't cooperate, plenty of people pay good money for women like you."
The knife slid from my face down the front of my shirt. The tip of it unexpectedly slid between my ribs just belong my breast, only just enough to piece the skin. I gritted my teeth, forcing my eyes to stay open and glaring at her. Even if I was seeing about 3 copies of her in different colours. My fingers were tingling with cold. I could feel ice forming on them as I struggled to gain any sort of control over my body.
"Brave one aren't you?" Yelena's eyes never left mine. "A little too brave to be just a fighter pilot."
The knife dug in further. This time leaving my gasping in pain. I felt like I could barely breath as it was. It was gone as quickly as it slipped in. I could feel the blood trickling down my body. She had surgical precision with that knife. Enough to hurt, but not enough to cause any serious damage.
"None the less," Yelena's knife slid further down my body. "He will be most pleased. Maybe he might even let me have a little play with you. Time go Kotyonok."
I dreaded to think what Yelena's idea of playing was. If it was anything like what she'd done to Jared, I wasn't going to enjoy it. She reached up and touched her ear, speaking in rapid Russian. In my blurry mind I could barely put the words together. But I did get the last thing she spoke.
"What do you mean no one else is answering?"
Yelena yanked me into a sitting position. Her face only inches from mine. Gone was the chilling smile. Now she just looked ready to murder me.
"You said you were alone," she hissed.
"You need better mercenaries," I had no idea where this bravado was coming from as I stared right back at her. "Because I just kicked your cronies asses with nothing but a knife."
"Oh really?" Yelena's lips turned up in a snarl. "Where did you stash your bow then?"
I guess Clint had forgotten to grab his arrows out of someone. Or he didn't have time to.
"In a hall somewhere," I lied again. "Ran out of arrows."
"There's only one archer I know of clever enough to sneak around like this," Yelena was furious. "And that's the great Hawkeye."
Fuck, I was busted. There was no lying to get out of this now. I was impressed my lies had stuck for this long.
"You're a bit slow Yelena," I blame the poison for my mouth running off. There was no way I was this cocky in front of someone who could kill me with her pinky. "This is why you never got the mantle of Black Widow."
The smack across my face echoed around the room. My brain rattled around in my skull at the sheer force behind it. Ouch. That was going to leave a mark. Yelena hit me hard enough to make my head now be facing sideways and I was back lying on the floor. I could just make out the blurry outline of Jared still tied in his chair. By his slumped position, it looked like he'd passed out.
Gunshots echoed down the hallway. I could hear the heavy thump of someone heavy coming down the hallway. It had to be Clint.
"You're fucked now bitch," I echoed Jared's earlier words with a pained laugh.
"See that's where you're wrong Kotyonok," Yelena gripped my chin and forced my head back around to face her. "This place is rigged to blow once I leave. See that dart sticking out of your brother's neck?"
She pushed my head around so I could see what she was talking about. My neck muscles fought against the strain of being man handled. Even with my swimming vision I could see the red dart poking out of his neck. Damn she was quick to be able to get that dart without me noticing. Then again, I was pretty high on drugs.
"That's a paralytic agent which will kill him in 5 minutes if he doesn't get help," Yelena pulled my head back to face her. I winced as it hit the floor, adding to the list of injuries I'd just accumulated. "And you have 3 minutes before this place blows up."
Yelena dangled what looked to be a keychain in front of my eyes. She pressed a kiss on my cheek before whispering in my ear.
"This has been fun. I can't wait to find you again if you manage to get out of here alive. And believe me, I will find you. Good luck Kotyonok."
Blinding pain shot through my leg a second later. My thigh burned like it'd been set on fire. I couldn't stop the scream that ripped through my body. As I screamed I felt my hands clench into fists. My bare skin brushed up against something cold and metallic. I desperately scrambled for it willing my fingers to work. The pain in my leg was making it nearly impossible to concentrate. But my fingers finally curled around it. My arm barely moved as I tried to raise it. My efforts were stopped by a gunshot ringing out across the room. I couldn't move my head enough to see what happened.
"Nice try lover boy," Yelena laughed. She was to my right, sounding like she was heading towards the window. I struggled wildly, fighting against the paralysis. My neck finally decided to cooperate and I could turn it enough to see where Yelena had gone. She was heading right for the only window in the room. My fingers tightened a little tighter on the grip of the P30. It was sheer luck I'd landed right near my sidearm. Yelena's cockiness had meant she hadn't kicked it away. This time I didn't hesitate. I pulled the trigger.
Yelena moved out of the way just in time to not get hit in the head. But it did connect with her shoulder. It was a grim satisfaction hearing her yelp of pain before she jumped out the window. Fuck. Not what I wanted. Pins and needles started to take over my body. It only intensified the pain I was feeling. But it meant I was getting feeling back. My vision started to clear a little, enough that I could keep my eyes open. I found out very quickly what the pain in my thigh was. Yelena had stuck her knife into it, thankfully on the outside. It was bleeding heavily, but thankfully it was in the wrong place for an artery to be nicked.
"Clint!" Natasha's panicked voice reached my ears. "Oh fucking jesus."
"Nat," I craned my head around to the sound of her voice. What I saw froze my breath. Clint was lying flat out on the floor in a pool of blood. Natasha was leaning over him, gripping her own side. I could see a gash on her forehead with a line of now dried blood running down it.
"It went through, I'm fine," Clint's breath came out in short gasps. "Kari?"
"Still alive," I struggled against my useless body. "She has the place rigged. Jared…"
I turned to face Jared. He was still slumped in the chair looking like he was barely breathing. His face had turned an unnatural shade of red.
"Fuck," Natasha swore again. She got up and ran to where Jared was still slumped in his chair. "No, no, no. Come on Jared, we didn't come all this way for you to clock out now. Wake up you asshole."
The slap Natasha delivered across his face echoed around the now quiet room. For a second it didn't look like it had any effect. Then Jared groaned, his head lolling back as he blinked rapidly with one good eye.
"Come on Jared, come back to us," Natasha held his head upright in her hands. "We need you here."
"Hi," Jared's broken face smiled. "I must be dead. You look like an angel."
"Flirt later," Natasha knelt down and started to cut his bonds. "Come on, we need you with us."
"Tasha," Jared breathed out her name. "I…"
"Kari," Clint blocked my line of view to Jared. He'd dragged himself over to where I was still lying. "Hey come on, what can you move? We need to get out….Oh fuck."
Clint's eyes found the knife still stuck in my thigh. I'd be actively avoiding looking at it. Thankfully shock and adrenaline had kicked in now. I wasn't feeling the intense pain like before. Actually, I couldn't feel much of anything. I was also shivering like crazy. Whether it was from blood loss or coming down from the drug, I didn't know.
"Can't feel it," I said shortly. I had to stop my teeth from chattering. "This place is rigged to blow. She stuck Jared with something. If we aren't blown up, he's going to die in about 3 minutes."
"Come on," Clint dragged me into an upright position. All emotion had gone from his face. Even injured he managed to easily carry me over to where Jared and Natasha were on the floor. Natasha was leaning over him, cradling his face in her hands. He was looking up at her like he wanted her face to be the last thing he saw on this Earth. It nearly broke my heart seeing him look like that. It was the same look Riley gave me before he died. If our situation wasn't so dire, I would have broken down right there.
"Hey," I lent against Clint for support. "Hey come on we need to get out of here."
"I can't," Jared squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry, so sorry. I didn't want anyone to come after me."
"Yes you can," I half fell off Clint and onto Jared. "Come on, you're the one always telling me to use my powers. We need you."
An explosion sounded outside. It shook the entire room, sending down bits of plaster and debris raining down on us. Clint pushed me down and covered me with his body. A few more explosions followed in quick succession. Each getting louder and closer to our position.
"Jared," I could move my arm enough to grab his hand, mindful of all the needles still stuck under his fingernails. "Please. Come on, please don't let it end like this."
Jared didn't respond. From his ragged breathing it sounded like he'd fallen unconscious again. The explosions kept coming. The entire room started to shake with every blast going off. The heat coming in now was stifling. The air was getting harder and harder to breathe in. Clint's grip on me tightened. I looked up to see Natasha staring at me. Wide eyed and resigned to our fate. She reached over and grabbed my hand that was holding Jared's and shifted her body so she was covering him as much as possible. Clint's hand came on top of ours. His chin tucked into the crook of my shoulder.
A blast came right next to us. I closed my eyes in defeat. I suppose there were worst ways to go. I'd die with the people I love most in the world right here with me. Each of us holding onto each other. The last thing I'd see and feel in this world were my friends.
The room next to us went up in flames. I could feel the heat of the blast on my exposed skin. Clint pushed both of us down, right onto Jared's chest. He reached over and grabbed onto Natasha as much as he could. Between him and Natasha, Jared and I were shielded as much as humanly possible.
"See you on the other side," Clint's voice cracked at the last word.
It felt like time slowed down. A click rang throughout the room and a glow bathed the walls. The heat was incredible. It felt like every hair on my body was getting singed off. I slammed my eyelids shut, not wanting to see what was going to happen next. I hoped it'd be quick.
The entire world dropped out from underneath us. I couldn't move or breathe. It felt like I'd just been thrown in a spin cycle in the dryer. A few seconds later we were all deposited onto a hard, cold floor. I forced my eyes open, only to close them again when the harsh and over bright light gave me an instant headache. It was only realisation that I wasn't blown into nothing but a pile of ash made me open my eyes again and looked around feeling wildly disorientated.
We were in a waiting room of a hospital. Every person in the room was staring at us, wide eyed and open mouthed in shock. My own mouth dropped open in surprise. He'd done it. At the very last second, Jared had saved all of us.
"Jared," I gripped his hand, shaking it.
"Jared," Clint repeated his name. He pulled me away from my twin, pushing me onto the floor. I didn't have enough control over my body to stop myself hitting the ground with a thud. "Fuck, no."
"Someone help!" Natasha screamed at the top of her lungs.
It took me a second to realise what was happening.
Jared wasn't breathing. He was slumped lifelessly against the floor. Pale and cold.
Authors Note
Sorry!
Okay, not really sorry. But this was going to end up at least 18K if I didn't break it down.
Thank you so much to everyone who reviews! I love them so much, it just makes my day knowing people are enjoying this story.
Until next time.