It was a busy night at the local bar on Knowhere. Music played loudly on the overhead speakers, making the floor tremble beneath the patrons' feet as they threw back one shot after the other. The weary bartender poured out another round of drinks and slid them across the greasy bartop. Groups of mercenaries, pirates, and the rest of the galaxy's lowlifes gathered around small tables to gamble, the dice clattering as they chased the thrill of a win.
At one end of the bar, Yondu Udonta sat alone, nursing a glass of whiskey. He let the noise wash over him as he stared into his cup, ignoring the shouts of his crewmates as they lost yet another round of the dice.
Swirling the amber liquid in his glass, he heard someone take the seat next to him. The bartender hurried over, wiping her hands on a worn towel.
"Can I getcha somethin'?"
"Shot of vodka, please."
The raspy voice was a woman's, with a slight accent Yondu couldn't place. He looked up from his drink as the bartender slid a shot glass over to the newcomer. She was a human woman with long red hair, and wore a black utility suit with a gun holster on her hip. Likely a Terran woman, then. Interesting.
Raising her glass towards him, the woman downed the shot and placed the glass back on the bar.
"Drinking alone?" She asked, nodding towards his half empty glass.
Yondu took a slow sip and raised an eyebrow.
"You offerin' company?"
The woman smirked. "Not in the way you're thinking."
Yondu shrugged. "Ah well. Then best you leave the small talk, girl."
She didn't seem phased, and leaned in closer to him.
"I know who you are, Yondu Udonta."
"Most folk do." He said, finishing his drink and signaling the bartender for another.
"Yes, I'm sure they do."
Her gaze drifted to the back of the bar, where Yondu's drunken crewmates were searching their pockets, hoping in vain they'd find more units to bet.
"It's been difficult getting a job these days, hasn't it? Difficult to be a Ravager when you aren't even part of the clan."
Yondu's grip on his glass tightened as he turned to her with a snarl.
"Is that a threat?" He growled.
"A proposition." She replied evenly. "I have a job for you, Yondu."
"What kinda job?" He eyed her suspiciously.
The woman pulled a disc out of her pocket and slid it across the bartop.
"An extraction on Terra. There is a human trafficking syndicate known as the Red Room that operates out of Russia. If you take out their leader, Ivan Dreykov, and free the kids he stole, I'll pay you 30,000 units. You'll find the details on this disc."
She leaned back in an attempt to look casual, flipping her hair over one shoulder, but her clenched jaw and tense posture gave her away. For whatever reason, this job was personal for her.
Yondu picked up the disc and activated it, studying the location coordinates for a moment. The extraction time was set for two days later, at a warehouse not far from Novosibirsk. Deactivating the disc, he took a swig of his drink and turned back towards the Terran woman.
"Pay me half in advance and you got yourself a deal."
…
The job in Russia was by far one of the easiest Yondu and his crew had done in some time. They landed one of the M-ships near the warehouse, and easily shot down Dreykov and his soldiers with the ship's weapons.
Several transport trucks were parked near the warehouse, their doors kept locked with massive chains. Kraglin blasted open the large doors, and Yondu watched in grim silence as dozens of girls clambered out of the truck, staring at the newcomers fearfully.
Yondu put his gun in his holster and signaled to the others to do the same. He raised his hands and took a step back.
"We're not here to hurt you." He said, looking at the sea of scared faces.
"We'll take you to Moscow, and y'all can go back to your families from there."
After some further convincing on Kraglin's part, most of the girls walked onto the ship, watching the Ravagers warily.
Two girls remained standing in front of the truck, refusing to move. A little blonde girl cowered behind an older blue-haired girl, trembling with fear.
The older girl grabbed a gun from the dead soldier at her feet and aimed it at Yondu, pushing the younger girl behind her protectively.
"Who are you?" She demanded, her arm steady despite the trembling in her voice.
Yondu was almost impressed that the kid knew her way around a weapon like that.
"The name's Yondu Udonta." He gave her a lopsided smirk and took a step closer to her, keeping his hands raised.
"What do you want? Why are you here?"
"I was hired to kill Dreykov and free y'all from the Red Room."
"I don't believe you." The girl snapped, moving her finger closer to the trigger. "You try anything, I'll shoot!"
"I believe you, girl." He took another step closer and whistled, his arrow knocking the gun from her hands.
He tilted his head and looked at her consideringly. Something about her reminded him a bit of himself as a kid. Maybe it was the way she eyed him distrustfully, with the look of a kid who knew better than to trust adults. Maybe it was the fact that this whole rescue operation reminded him a little too much of being a Kree slave, shoved in the back of a crowded transport ship. Maybe it was the way the little girl clung to her, like they only trusted each other. Whatever it was, he had a strange urge to keep these kids safe. He hadn't been able to keep Ego's kids safe, not until he decided not to deliver Peter to his psychopath of a father, but maybe he could help these two.
"You got spirit, kid. Tell you what. I'll let you keep the weapon if you promise to not shoot anyone until we get to Moscow."
He picked up the gun and offered it to her, one eyebrow raised.
"We got a deal?"
She took the gun back and clicked the safety on with narrowed eyes.
"Okay. But any of you try to hurt us, I'll shoot!"
"Sure, sure." Yondu agreed, putting his arrow back in its holster.
"So, you got a name, girl?"
She looked at him distrustfully, the cautious expression not leaving her face.
"Natasha. Natasha Romanova."