Двадцать (Twenty)

Russian Translations:

Великолепный - Magnificent

Принцесса - Princess

Маленькая принцесса - Little Princess

The plan was complicated.

"Think we can pull it off?" Nat mumbled.

Sascha shrugged. "I've done worse. With a lot less."

Melina led them to her secret weapons vault behind her bookcase.

"Oooooo..." Sascha stepped inside. "Beautiful! Великолепный!"

It was a simple act of deception - they would use Melina's high ranking status within the Room to get inside and from there-

Well from there all hell would break lose.

Would surely break lose.

But it would all be planned.

A simple act of deception, yet a complicated plan.

"So once we're inside I'll activate my tracker and Ross will come running," Nat said as they suited up.

"You are aware that you are still a global fugitive, yes?"

"You know the facility, there must be some way to land it."

"Instruct them to confine us on level zero," Melina explained. "Once I'm out I can activate the landing protocol and we can descend within the hour. Ah - problem. I only have one earpiece set."

Nat took the case. "I'll give it to Yelena."

"Very well. Now, even if you locate the database and get him to show you the key, you won't be able to take it from him," Melina carried on. "For years, Dreykov has implemented a pheromonal lock in all Widows, even me."

Sascha scrunched up her nose. "Eww."

"So as long as we can smell him, then we won't be able to hurt him."

"Eww. I don't have lock."

"You can do it."

"No." Sascha nodded to Nat. "As much as I want to, I don't have the same ties to Dreykov as you do - the stakes aren't as high. You should be the one who goes in for the kill. If anyone should, it's you."

Nat gave her a thankful smile - she knew how much Nat wanted to be the one to do this, and she also knew how much she deserved to be the one to do this, so it was only right, only fair, if she was the one. She was the one for the job. "Okay, I'll just hold my breath."

"No, not enough," Melina told her with a shake of her head. "This is basic science. Natasha, to block receptors in olfactory centre, you have to sever the nerve." She traced her finger down the bridge of Natasha's nose.

Well, enough said.

Sascha scrunched up her own nose. "Oh, honey..."

But Nat only smirked. "I can handle that."

"I don't have to sever any nerves, do I?" Sascha asked. "Well, my own I mean. Once we're in, I'll sever as many other nerves as I can."

Nat's smirk grew. "There's or original Black Widow talking."

"You bet, Baby."

"Sascha, you stow away in the jet, then sneak inside once we leave," Melina instructed.

"Works for me."

"Dreykov has guards patrolling the whole place."

Again, enough said. She rubbed her hands together. "Patrol guards - sounds like fun."

The plan in place, the three women continued to get ready, add the finishing touches to their combat attire - the Red Room was on their way and would be arriving soon.

"You know, Yelena told me," Nat said softly to Sascha who was checking the various gadgets in her utility belt. "About what happens when you see things."

Sascha appeared genuinely surprised at this new and sudden information. Finally she said in a forced sort of calmness, "And?"

"And I'm sorry Sascha."

"Yeah." The strawberry blonde shrugged. "It is what it is."

"No, it's invasive and frightening, and strange. And I'm sorry, I really am. I know we've all suffered."

"Yeah. So let's go get this son of a bitch."

Nat smirked again. "I like the way you think."

"We have more than our suffering in common."

Nat nodded. "I'm hoping maybe we can make peace, you and I."

"There might be time for that later, but for now we have this."

"Okay, thanks Sascha."

"Good luck - Natasha."

"Well my friend really wants to meet you, and she doesn't have a lock-"

SMASH!

Melina was right, Dreykov did have a lot of patrol guards. And that was on top of his vast army of Widows.

She followed them - taking them down as she went - and the groups grew larger and larger the closer she got to Dreykov in his office - they led her right to him.

There she found Nat beating up the man, a trickle of blood trailing down from her nose which was bent at an odd angle - Sascha could only imagine what that meant.

An alarm blared around them, a dark red light staining everything it touched.

The original Widow approached the man. "So you're this Dreykov character, huh? You're the one who corrupted the Red Room and turned it red with blood."

He smirked at her, and said something strange that wasn't the reaction she had expected. "Принцесса."

"Stop talking." She swung a punch, sending him flying across the room and smashing into the wall, crumbling to the floor with a groan, the lenses of his glasses now cracked. "Hey, guess what? You failed. Your chemical Widows are nothing compared to me. And you want to know something else? I'm still standing!" This time she kicked him across the room, pinning him to the floor with her foot. "Do it, Nat!"

Nat took up one of her batons with the spiked blade on the end. "You're not going to hurt anyone ever again - AH!"

She had been struck from behind-

The Widows had arrived.

They surrounded Dreykov and made sure he could exit the room before addressing his attackers.

"Go after him!" Nat cried.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Sascha go!"

"Damn it, Natalia!" she cursed, but fled after him.

The lights flashed shadows then strikingly bright throughout the vast halls.

Dreykov was being escorted out of the Room by a troop of his male guards - a troop progressively getting smaller thanks to a figure in the shadows...

"Efficient," he commented when his escort lay disarmed and broken around him, at the feet of the red-suited Widow. "Маленькая Принцесса."

"Stop calling me that, creep." Sascha approached him.

"But it's true, your title-"

"Enough-"

Then he said it and she froze - locked. A name she hadn't heard in a long, long time - in forever, in a lifetime:

Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova.

I think that's a good place to end for now... ;) I do love a good cliffhanger!

Thanks again to the reader for your suggestions of Nat learning more about Sascha's past!

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)