UPDATE: 07-16-2017

Sorry it's a short one!

Chapter 5 — Romanoff

Toni awoke to the unpleasant and slightly fuzzy image of Agent Phil Coulson, stretched out comfortably on her armchair and yet impossibly straight-backed like he had no concept of the word 'slouch' and was actually living proof that you could go your entire life with a stick up your—

"What do you know about Agent Romanoff?" Coulson asked abruptly, noticing she was awake.

Toni blinked up at him from her pillow pile on the couch. It was a good couch. "Everything on Romanoff was redacted, even the medical file," she said slowly. Toni had considered bypassing SHIELD's firewall to read it, but it hadn't been the most important thing to get done, and she'd fallen asleep after getting through most of Selvig's work.

"She came by earlier and requested your assistance in her current assignment—"

Toni lurched up from her pillows, bewildered. "Wait, Romanoff was here?"

"—we've put together a file for you to look over should you agree to cooperate—"

"But she's Barton's partner. Part-time partner. By the way, why are they both fluent in Hungarian as of 2006?" Toni asked quickly, hoping that Coulson let something slip.

"That's classified."

Obviously. "It has something to do with Budapest—"

"You don't have enough access to know about that—"

Toni waved away his concerned tone. "I read between the lines." Clint mentioned it. She still didn't know what was so important about that mission though. "When do I meet the Widow, Coulson?"

He checked his watch. "In five minutes. The suit has already been packed." Coulson pointed to the paper file on the coffee table. The words 'Top Secret' were stamped in red on it, because Coulson wasn't just old-school, he was also a nerd. "That's your mission file. It's important that you're briefed on this one, so take your time reading it over."

—

1900 HOURS—LOCATION: CALCUTTA, INDIA

Toni didn't read over the file.

"So," Toni drawled, taking her feet off of Natasha's chair. "How am I supposed to help you recruit Dr. Banner? I mean, we're a hell of a tag-team, but I'm not sure he's into threesomes," Toni joked, just to break the silence between them.

Romanoff eyed her, clearly unamused. "It's in the file, Stark."

Toni rolled her eyes. "Do you know how long it takes to teach yourself thermonuclear physics? I got sick of reading all the files you people hand out." And Banner's file was the dryest by far. There was nothing about Bruce Banner in that file that Toni didn't already know, especially since SHIELD had sent her to 'recruit' Blonsky, that fucker, about a month ago, and had given her ample reason to botch the invitation.

Wasn't it obvious by now that Banner was on the run from the US government after Ross tried to claim him as government property and instigated the fight in Harlem that destroyed most of it? And Toni had known of Bruce even before his accident, for his papers on molecular biology. It was no surprise that he was working as a physician now.

The look Romanoff was giving her was unsettling. "We'll need Banner's full cooperation. I can be persuasive, but you know Banner's type better than me."

Toni picked up her head. "Oh my, was that a compliment? From Bonnie herself?" Toni chuckled at her own joke while Romanoff shot her an impatient look.

"I don't have time for your antics, Stark," she said after a moment, clearly electing to ignore Toni. "Don't test me."

Toni hummed. "Oh, that's bull. If you're really Clyde's partner, you can handle me," Toni protested. "Speaking of your partnership, what are you thoughts on the capital city of Hungary?"

Natasha Romanoff shot her a cold look, but Toni was unfazed. "That's classified. Look Stark, you're here because you speak this guy's language, and you can help convince him to join us. We need his level of expertise in gamma radiation."

Pouting, Toni leaned back in her hard wooden chair, propping her feet up on Natasha's. They had been sitting in the warehouse for over an hour now, waiting for Romanoff's trap to be sprung.

"Banner's work is—is unparalleled, but I'm not one for clandestine, black ops missions to third-world countries seeking out a man that's been running from the US government for years." Toni explained in a rush. "And that's what this is, Romanoff. Despite what you say, you're better at this sorta thing than me."

Romanoff looked at her, expressionlessly, and then tilted her head in acquiescence. "Yes, I am."

The genius huffed. "Clint's told me about you," she said suddenly.

"And he's told me about you." Romanoff sounded distinctly unimpressed.

Toni moved her feet from Natasha's chair to the edge of the table, disgruntled. So Romanoff was doing all this to test her. To see if Toni was up to snuff. "You don't trust Barton's assessment?" She pressed.

The redhead stared at her. "I trust Barton. But I'd rather make my own assessment."

Toni's eyes narrowed. "I'm beginning to suspect you don't always say what you mean," she stated, but the assassin didn't answer. Instead, Romanoff's eyebrow arched up elegantly, as if to say You'll have to figure it out yourself, then.

The silence stretched, pressing on Toni until she was sure she was going to explode within a minute or so—

A voice crackled through Toni's left ear. "Banner is in the vicinity. ETA two minutes."

Neither of them moved from their positions at the rickety wooden table. It wasn't in the direct line of sight from the door, but they were still unhidden. They'd already established that they'd approach Banner from here.

Toni flashed a smirk towards Natasha when their eyes met again.

"Remind me, who's seducing the good doctor? Or was it both of us?"