Chapter 27

New York City, USA

Spring 2015

Nothing. Nadine had nothing. Three days of searching and digging and 'resting'—as she'd been ordered by Natasha, Steve and even Banner and Dr. Cho once they'd been brought in on the battle of wills—and she was no closer to finding Nina. She was seriously beginning to regret allowing the Avengers to insist that best option for her was to return to New York—and stay in New York—to regroup.

She should have listened to her instincts and stayed in Sokovia, or at least ignored all protests and returned to the small country once she'd gotten over her initial shock, both from her injury and her scare that Nina had been… She had more options, more avenues she could explore if she had boots on the ground. She could question people, see the lay of the land, get a feel for the environment her targets were hiding in… There was only so much she could do sitting in front of a computer in New York, even with J.A.R.V.I.S.'s help; she could only stare at screen for so long. And while it was incredible what she could find when she set to it, there was still only so much computer programs could do.

Strucker's Enhanced Twins were good at staying off the radar. There was no digital trail that she could find beyond a few vague records for past addresses, most for foster families the twins had cut all ties to, or buildings that were either long gone or condemned. They had next to no relationships that could be traced digitally.

Her last and best hope had been scouring surveillance video, security feeds, CCTV networks, the whole bit in an attempt to track them down. Nadine had even delved into one of the programs Stark had 'acquired' from S.H.I.E.L.D. for tapping into any WiFi-connected camera to try and locate Nina or the Maximoff twins through facial recognition. It certainly didn't help that one of the Twins—Pietro—could move faster than many of Sokovia's old cameras could pick up. She'd found a few feeds from the odd store—one a pharmacy—where the cameras picked up distortions that could possibly be a result of his movements. But she couldn't be certain. It definitely didn't help that Novi Grad's system of surveillance cameras was sparse…and of a less than desired quality for what she was after. It was a by-product of the constant uncertainty and upheaval many of the poorer, turbulent Eastern European countries faced.

It was making Nadine wish all the more than she was on the ground rather than stuck in New York.

All the advanced tech in the world was incredible and invaluable…until it wasn't.

But she was growing fairly certain that the Twins hadn't left Novi Grad as Stark and even Rogers had suspected they would three days into their flight from Strucker's base. Perhaps it was only a gut feeling, but from what she'd gleaned from what little J.A.R.V.I.S. had been able to save of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff's files after List had attempted to wipe them, she couldn't help but think they'd stay in their home city. And the surveillance videos with the distortions? Again, her instincts said it was no coincidence.

She was beginning to grope for anything she could use to help her search. She was seriously debating abandoning the Avengers altogether, no matter that a peculiar little feeling in the back of her mind rebelled against the idea. But the urge to do whatever it took to find her daughter overrode almost every other instinct, inherent or taught.

She was beginning to truly understand why the Red Room Graduation Ceremony consisted of the steps that it did.

There was nothing more important to her just now than finding Nina.

Nothing.

Which was why she had finally approached Rogers earlier that day about the only step short of returning to Sokovia that she had yet to explore. She hadn't even opened with a friendly greeting, getting right to the point when she'd found him reading over reports or some other such on the far side of the Tower's communal area.

"I need access to Strucker." Steve had turned to Nadine, faintly startled by her abruptness as he took in the hard set of her features and the heated determination in her eyes. He'd frowned before setting down the tablet, fixing her with a searching look.

"And if you get access? We can't just let you kill him, Ryker, tempting as that may be. He has to face justice for his crimes." Nadine had only scoffed, earning a surprised expression from the Captain.

"I don't want him dead. Not yet." It was then that her tone had changed from impatient to detachedly relating the facts of the situation as she saw it: "I need whatever he knows about Nina. I need to find her, Captain, and he might have the key. Some detail that will help me track the Maximoffs. Some way to contact them, even to track them. I've gone through everything I can here and I can't wait for J.A.R.V.I.S. to finish combing through what's left of the data Stark got from the base." Steve's eyes had narrowed at her cool assessment, but after a moment he'd sighed, standing to look sympathetically at her even as his ocean-hued eyes grew thoughtful.

"I'll see what I can do, Ryker. But I can't promise anything," he'd fixed her with a stern look then, "they're not about to let a Russian ballet mistress from Vienna in to question one of the last remaining heads of HYDRA. Certainly not considering everything that the UN's charging him with. Even if you were to risk going in as The Ghost? They wouldn't let you within a hundred yards of him." Nadine had nearly growled in frustration. She'd realized instantly what he'd been doing. Oddly enough, she didn't doubt that he'd be true to his word and try, but he'd obviously believed there wasn't even a chance that it would happen. She hadn't been able to help the way her entire demeanour had shifted then, unconsciously closing herself off from him, letting her detached, emotionless mask overtake her features.

"Five minutes and I'll have what I need to find Nina. Ten and he'll spill every secret he has; I promise you." His eyebrows had risen with an expression bordering on disbelief, but he'd mastered it quickly, arms crossing over his chest.

"I'd be a fool to say I doubted that," he'd countered carefully, "but there is more at play here than just Nina, Nadine." Rationally, she'd known that. She still knew it. She knew who Strucker was, what sorts of things he'd done; she'd be willing to bet she knew far more than Rogers ever would. He deserved to be exactly where he was and probably deserved more besides for things the UN and the Avengers didn't know about. But when it came to Nina? Nadine wasn't rational. Not entirely.

"I don't want to have to break in to talk to him, Rogers. I don't have the time or the patience right now for that." With a last, level glare, she'd turned from him then, only pausing in her fuming exit to leave him with a final thought.

"But I will if I have to."

Even hours later, she was still irritated that she'd effectively gotten nowhere by turning to Steve. Although, her temper had cooled since then and she was now able to admit to herself that blaming Steve as she'd done earlier that day hadn't been justified or fair. And she was apparently not hiding it well.

"You know, you still get the same look on your face when something hasn't gone your way that you used to get when we were girls, right?" Nadine met Natasha's eyes in the mirror the redhead had the blonde sitting in front of, nearly scowling at the teasing glint in her sister's green eyes. Natasha merely smirked before turning back to her task, her face growing serious as she did so. "What's going on?" She held up a hand in peace as Nadine geared up to make a snippy comment, knowing full well what it was likely to be, "I mean, beside the fact that Nina's still missing. You're hung up on something else." Nadine let a sigh slip through, not feeling the overwhelming need to hide everything she felt from the younger woman. It was a comforting feeling, really.

"I asked Rogers to help get me in to question Strucker," Nadine revealed in a low, bitter tone. Behind her Natasha let out a faintly aggravated sound, fixing the blonde with an incredulous look.

"Let me guess, he said he'd do his best but that it's beyond his level of influence, didn't he. I warned you that it would probably play out like that when you first started talking about the idea," she pointed out baldly. It was true, and Nadine couldn't deny it. Natasha had been there when Nadine had first considered that Strucker might be useful in tracking down the Twins. And the redhead had voiced her doubts then too. But she was also perfectly aware that Nadine was growing more unsettled and desperate the longer she went without any viable leads or significant avenues to explore. It was part of why the redhead had insisted on taking over Nadine's preparation for the party that Stark was throwing.

And just as had been the case when they were girls, Nadine found herself bending to Natasha's indomitable will almost before she'd realized what her little sister was up to. That was why she now found herself seated in Natasha's private quarters in the Tower, dressed in a chic, forest-green cocktail dress with her makeup done and Natasha putting the finishing touches on her hair. Needless to say, Nadine was not at all into the idea of a party. But Natasha had insisted.

And it was very hard to say no to Natasha when she had her mind set on something.

Especially when one has a long-ingrained soft spot for her…

Although, if Nadine was being honest…it was nice, letting Natasha fuss over her dress and her makeup and her hair and asking Nadine for opinions on her own attire for the evening. It felt almost, well, normal. It felt like it had when they were girls and they would sit and talk and laugh and play with each other's hair. It felt like those few precious moments where they had been able to pretend they were normal teenage girls, like they were real sisters. It must have shown on her face, because soon Natasha was grinning at her in the mirror, the expression soft and nostalgic.

"You're thinking of it too, aren't you," she finally said softly as she paused in shaking the bottle of hairspray in her hand. Nadine looked up at her, a small, almost sad smile of her own appearing in response to Natasha's.

"Of those few times when we were allowed to be just girls together, instead of spies-in-training? Yeah, lisichka, I do. I missed it." Nodding, Natasha resumed her work, strategically spritzing Nadine's blonde locks with a thoughtful focus, though she periodically glanced up to meet her sister's gaze.

"So did I," the redhead finally added softly as she replaced the cap on the can, setting it purposefully down on the vanity as she leaned against it next to where Nadine sat, her fingers idly fiddling with the tie on her amber-coloured dressing gown. It took her another moment before she looked away from Nadine, her arms crossing almost unconsciously, as though hugging herself for a measure of reassurance. "I missed you after you left," she admitted softly, her gaze unfocused and bright as she stared straight ahead, "more than I have words to describe. I even hated you for a short time for leaving me alone in that place. But more than anything I missed having someone to talk to. Someone who actually looked out for me."

There was a no-nonsense quality to her tone that immediately had Nadine reaching out a hand to clasp at Natasha's in solidarity, pulling her down to sit next to her on the narrow vanity stool. It was the tone her sister used when she was feeling the most hurt, a tone intended to hide just how much pain she felt that Nadine had always been able to see through. Immediately and instinctively, Natasha was leaning her head on Nadine's shoulder, her arm wrapping around Nadine's stomach even as Nadine wrapped her own around Natasha's, leaning her own head against her little sister's fox-red hair. For a few moments, the two women lapsed into silence, each offering the other silent comfort as they leaned against each other.

"The only thing I regretted about leaving that place was leaving you behind, Natalia," Nadine finally murmured, her voice wavering with emotion and regret which, oddly enough, didn't bother her in the slightest. It felt good to let her emotions show around Natasha. And after a long moment she decided to let one more secret free into her sister's care: "I even thought about taking you with me." It was nearly silent, so Nadine felt more than heard her little sister's shuddering inhale.

"Why didn't you?" It was nearly a little girl's voice that asked, Natasha sounding like her younger self again in a rare moment of vulnerability. Nadine was suddenly blinking back tears, hating the desperate hurt woven through Natasha's voice.

"Because I honestly didn't think I was going to make it once I decide to run," she admitted, perfectly candid right down to the grief in her voice, "I was sure I'd never make it out alive but…but I had to try anyway…" she shifted, placing a faint kiss into her little sister's hair before continuing, using the pause to attempt to recompose herself. "As much as I hated myself for it, I figured your best chance to survive was in that place. Even then, I knew you'd be one of the few to prove unbreakable. But if I'd taken you with me? I'd figured we'd be shot and buried in the woods before we got more than fifty miles out. At least if you made it through the Red Room, you would have at least some chance at a life once you were free of the program.

"And when I realized I was wrong? That I had actually made it out…" Nadine faltered then, unable to continue with what she wanted to say next; one of her most closely guarded secrets and one of her most deeply held regrets.

And that was saying something.

She'd considered going back, considered breaking Natasha out. Only one thing had stopped her…

…the little baby girl that had been her reason for running in the first place.

With a heavy sigh Natasha pulled away, turning to look at Nadine with a sad, thoughtful and—bewilderingly—understanding look on her face.

"But by the time you realized you'd made it, you had someone else who depended on you." Nadine felt her heart break at the sad acceptance in Natasha's voice.

"I wanted to come back for you…" she tried to say, her whispered words cracking and catching in her throat. Even more bewildering than the understanding in her voice was the reserved but surprisingly genuine smile that Natasha gave her as she reached out to brush back a few wayward blonde strands from Nadine's face.

"And then we both might be dead. If you'd taken me with in the first place, we might both be dead," she sighed heavily, eyes flicking around the room as she sorted through her thoughts before looking back to Nadine, "we can never know what might have happened, Nadya. It might have worked out. It might not have. But it can't be changed now. I've learned to leave the past where it belongs. It's the only way to live with some of the things I've seen, things I've done. It's okay, really." Natasha's voice was resigned with the slightest trace of bitterness. But it was still, somehow, accepting, and Nadine could easily read in her sister's uncharacteristically open expression that she meant what she said even if it still smarted all these years later.

That she didn't hold it against her.

The beginnings of a sob caught in Nadine's throat as she nodded in agreement with her little sister, grateful beyond words for the silent and unasked for forgiveness woven through the subtext of the redhead's words. Still fighting back the tears that were stubbornly trying to gather in her eyes, Nadine reached out to tidy one of Natasha's coppery-red curls, a hesitant, relieved smile of her own tugging at her lips.

Then, with a soft, pointed clearing of her throat, Natasha stood, turning back to the vanity Nadine sat at to poke through the jewellery box waiting off to the side. "Earrings or necklace." Unable to help but smile for real at the return to what could almost pass for normalcy, Nadine simply sat back as she recomposed herself, allowing Natasha to consider the merits of one piece of jewellery over another before finally deciding on a multi-strand gold necklace. But as she was fastening the piece around Nadine's neck and arranging the strands across the high neckline of the green dress, her hand's assured movement faltered for a split-second as Natasha once again glanced at Nadine in the mirror. And the hesitation in her eyes indicated that the look wasn't just to check her handiwork. But this time, Nadine didn't even have to prompt Natasha to come out and say what she was thinking.

"You know, I saw him again." Nadine looked up at Natasha's deceptively conversational tone. That alone had her eying the redhead warily. At the look the blonde gave her, Natasha didn't hesitate to clarify and continue, "the Winter Soldier. I saw him again, after I started working for S.H.I.E.L.D.; he…well, he was sent after a scientist I was assigned to protect." Nadine frowned, though there was no hiding the way her expression immediately grew guarded.

"What happened?" It was only then that Natasha hesitated. Nadine picked up on it at once, letting out a frustrated noise, "you don't have to walk on eggshells about him around me lisichka. It was a long time ago," she said sharply. Natasha only raised a suspicious eyebrow at her adoptive sister.

"He succeeded in his mission; I didn't," she answered briskly before switching tracks to respond to Nadine's assertion. "Can you really blame me? I hadn't seen you in how long? I haven't had time to figure out yet how…sensitive the topic is to you. And it obviously still is. There's something there, but I can't quite put my finger on what." Another frustrated sound escaped Nadine.

"Nothing. There's nothing, at least, nothing of what you're alluding to. Yes, there's a—connection. We have a history. That much is obvious. But I don't love him if that's what you're getting at—and that's not a denial, before you go reading in any such things. It's a statement of fact." She paused, organizing how she needed to explain, knowing full well she was going to have to, considering the stubborn look in her sister's eyes.

"I'm—I'm grateful to him. I feel horrible and guilty for the way I—I used him…I feel like I owe him…" Her voice had gone from exasperated to coolly matter-of-fact to trailing off as the guilt she so detachedly named leached into her voice. She glanced up to Natasha, meeting her little sister's worried gaze.

"I owe him my life, lisichka…almost as much as I owe him for Nina's. He let me go, the night I ran. He caught me…and he let me go." There was no hiding the shock and disbelief that spread across Natasha's features, her lips parting and green eyes wide and oddly bright. It took a great deal of effort for Nadine to keep her voice from wavering at the emotion written so clearly on her little sister's face. "He should have killed me, but he didn't." Natasha didn't say a word as Nadine fell silent, the blonde's gaze falling to where her hands were wringing together in her lap.

"So you do care for him?" Nadine sighed at the redhead's murmured question. Though, there was very little in the way of questioning to her tone.

"Of course I do," she answered tiredly, looking up at Natasha, "I'm not heartless, lisichka, no matter how hard I try to be. But I'm not in love with him." Natasha nodded slowly, her green eyes firm but accepting as they met Nadine's. She believed her. With a small, grateful smile, Nadine stood, taking a last look at herself in the mirror of the vanity before turning to Natasha with a wide smile replacing the grateful one.

"Well, you've made sure I look great, but I think it's time you finished getting dressed, lisichka. It's a nice look, but not really Party-appropriate." Natasha snickered, looking down to her dressing gown.

"It would draw some attention," she joked as Nadine retrieved the black and cream dress she and Natasha had picked out earlier, "but I'm not in the mood for that much attention, tonight." Nadine couldn't help but raise a speculative eyebrow at the comment. Natasha smirked secretively as she shed the dressing gown, reaching for her dress as Nadine held it out to her. The blonde let out a playful huff when the redhead didn't elaborate.

"Fine. Keep your secrets," she declared as Natasha turned to allow her sister to help straighten the pleats and folds on the dress that had been displaced as the fastenings had been done up. Natasha's smirk grew pleased.

But as Nadine stepped back to run a discerning eye over her sister's appearance, looking for any last minute adjustments needing to be made, Natasha's smirk faltered. Again, Nadine sensed there was something the redhead was debating to ask, especially when her gaze grew distant as she ran a gentle hand over her hair, making sure she hadn't mussed it. It wasn't until Nadine turned a moment later to retrieve the earrings Natasha had picked out that she finally spoke.

"Nadine," Natasha hesitated, though she looked to Nadine entreatingly as the blonde turned back to her, "Nadya, about Nina and her…why Strucker wanted her. I think you should tell—" but she didn't get to finish.

"Who?" Nadine's voice had turned instinctively defensive, though she quickly adjusted to an almost apologetic tone laced with bitterness and guilt. "Who else needs to know? No one. It's not important to anyone but me. It's because of what happened between him and me that my daughter was targeted, Natalia. It's why I've been running, hiding for eighteen years. There are still people after me, lisichka. And that getting out would only add fuel to the fire." She shook her head, her grey eyes determined and insistent as they met Natasha's. The redhead sighed, visibly unhappy with what she was hearing. But she didn't interrupt as Nadine glanced down to the silver and gold earrings in her hand, forcing herself to get her small flare of panicked temper back under control before stepping forward, handing Natasha the jewellery.

"No. It's nobody's business but my own." Her lips pursing slightly as she looked down to the proffered earrings, Natasha took them. The younger woman could easily tell it was an argument she wouldn't win.

"Okay," she capitulated softly before looking up to Nadine with an expression full of warning, "it's your decision, Nadya, your secret. But I think you're making a mistake."

"If I am? It's my mistake to make."

A/N: Whew…heavy chat. A little levity next week, perhaps? How about a Party? Who's up for a Party?! Say, this time next week? ;)

Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to Review! I survive off reviews! :P Also, you know...we're starting to creep up on 200...the quicker we get there...the quicker we get to celebrate! :D *hint hint*

See you next time!

Guest Reviews:

Jag: Hmmm…would that be spoiling? Probably not :P Well….since we've entered the events of Age of Ultron… ;) lol! Thanks!

Jenny: Hahaha!Yes…with a missing Nina, Nadine's patience is not at optimal levels! Lol! Thanks for reviewing!