Author's note:

Hello, here is the next chapter!


Natasha idly flicked through the selection of children they were given. After much deliberation, she thought it would be best to either choose a child too young to really comprehend what was going on or a child who was old enough that, when it was explained, they would understand. She wasn't sure about the former option- the younger the child, the more care they needed, and she didn't want them to get close and then be moved again.

She sighed; displacing children was always hard- however, after talking to Agent Coulson, it appeared that they would need to go through the short 'trial' period with one of the children before signing off- including being visited by a 'social worker'. She didn't see what the point was, though- surely after they got their money, they'd just leave? Why would they bother hanging around longer? They obviously didn't care about children, otherwise they wouldn't kidnap them.

Natasha found herself flicking back to a little boy, age five, tanned skin, dark brown hair and honey brown eyes. There was something about him that made her want to scoop him up and hold him. Logically, she put it down to the contrast between his bright smile and his sad eyes.

"Any luck?" Clint asked solemnly as he trumped into the room. He still hadn't gone to see his wife and children, and Lila was still in the hospital- she was alright, thankfully, but had to stay there for a little longer because she was refusing to eat.

She looked up at him, wanting to tell him to just leave, to go and see his children, but she knew that he wouldn't. They were in too deep now. "How about Julio?" She suggested, turning the folder around to show him the boy she just couldn't stop looking at.

Clint stepped over to her and took the folder from her. "Julio Smith, five years old- he'll be six this July." He looked at her, "hence his name, I suppose." And then back to the folder. "Energetic, just looking for a loving and supportive family."

Natasha licked her lips, waiting impatiently for his answer- she knew this wasn't a real adoption, but she felt like this was a big decision. "Well?"

"Yeah, he's perfect. I'll call and set up a meet." Clint replied with a smile- this was one step closer to finishing the mission.


"Yeah, we saw his picture and something just… sparked." Clint said with as much enthusiasm as he could, reclined in the office chair and idly flipping through the folder of profiles. "He fits our age preferences, he seems like a beautiful little boy…"

"I'm glad to hear it- Julio comes from a neglectful background, so parents such as yourselves would be his saving grace." Ventura drawled through the phone, sounding utterly pleased. "So you've looked through all the others already? We always advise parents to consider every child before choosing one to adopt to avoid hasty decisions."

"Oh yeah- we barely slept, we couldn't put the folder down." Clint said, lazily flipping a page. He'd basically memorised every child in there, so he only had to look at the picture to know who it was and what their supposed background was. Maye Lillian, two years old. Red hair, face plastered with freckles, dimpled cheeks, green eyes. A good-looking kid who was sure to be snatched up within a month by unsuspecting 'adoptive' parents.

Ventura's voice had taken on a lightly suspicious tone. "And you definitely want Julio?" He clarified. "The thing is… most adoptive parents look for children who look like themselves- skin colour, eye colour, stuff like that. Most of our adoptive parents are caucasian, so that's why it's taken Julio so long to be considered. That you and your wife are interested… it's out of the ordinary, to say the least."

Clint raised a brow. "Is it a problem?" He asked, allowing a slightly challenging tone into his voice. Ventura was quick to reassure.

"Oh, it's the opposite! We're thrilled that he'll get a home." Yeah, that's what I thought. Clint returned his attention to the file, now open to a page further back, as he'd flipped past a few while speaking. Julia Carlson, one year old. Pale skin, freckled face, ginger hair… dimpled cheeks… green eyes. Frowning and tuning out Ventura's long-winded explanation of the importance of adopting children for features besides their appearances, Clint closely studied the picture, then flipped back to Maye's. The two girls were practically identical, and to him, there was no way they even unrelated children, what really made up his mind were the subtle similarities: jaw shape, the presence of a widow's peak, eye shape, nose size, earlobes, lip shapes, and general facial proportions. They definitely shared at least one parent. Clint's blood ran cold and he quickly interrupted Ventura. "Uh-huh, true. Listen, I gotta go- there's a commotion outside. I'll call you back." Then he hung up. "Nat!" He called.

Natasha wandered into the room, slightly alert, but it was obvious she didn't rush. "What's going on? What did Ventura say?"

Clint sprung from his chair and showed her the files. "These two girls… they're related. Their files say they don't have any living family members, but these two share even the most minute genetic traits." He pointed out several. "I'd be willing to bet anything that most of these children share parents with at least one other child."

Natasha took the folder from him and examined it. "So what? They kidnapped two sisters. Why's that got you freaked?" She questioned before reminding him, "They'll be returned to their mother or father or both soon- we have S.H.I.E.L.D looking into every single child; they've already matched a quarter of them and it's been one night."

Still, Clint couldn't shake the feeling that there was something even more wrong lying under the surface. "I dunno… there's something off about this. Let's look into these two girls specifically." He advised, determined. "There's something deeper going on here- I can feel it."

"Clint. We don't have time for that. I mean, if you're that concerned, why don't we ask to adopt both of them? They look like me, anyway- it would make sense." Natasha advised.

He supposed that would work. "Still, I'm sending Coulson their files so he can look into it. This doesn't sit right with me. Not once during the mission briefings did they ever mention more than one child being taken at once- certainly not siblings, either. That would be important information to help us analyse the kidnapper's MO, so it's illogical and just plain irresponsible to leave something like that out."

She nodded. "Alright. But tell me which kids we're getting. I don't want to get S.H.I.E.L.D to get us a bunch of furniture and clothes for a five-year-old boy and then get two girls- that wouldn't work." She advised.

"Okay." Clint agreed, already heading to get the laptop.


Natasha double checked that her vest top was tucked in under her shirt- she was advised that it would be more professional and practical. She glanced at Clint as they pulled up, still slightly annoyed that in the end, he had asked for them to see a total of nine children. It appeared that he couldn't get the idea of siblings out of his mind and any that could be related to another, he wanted to see. This included a three-week-old baby- which they were definitely not adopting. "I still think it's suspicious that you asked to see children who you thought were siblings- if they're related, you could spook the kidnappers."

"It's fine. I told them we are considering more than one child, as we want to have a family and don't want to go through the process again. I also mentioned that I have an inheritance coming in in a month and would definitely be able to afford it."

She frowned; she hated this idea even more. Why couldn't they just adopt a child now and get this mission over and done with? "Fine. But, please, no babies… I'll break them."

He rolled his eyes. "You've got ninja reflexes and can catch a vial of deadly chemicals in a split second without dropping or breaking it in any way. I think a baby would be easy." He teased. "But yeah, I'd rather not spend valuable mission time changing diapers and doing late-night feedings."

"Great." She barely waited for him to pull up into the parking space before unstrapping her seatbelt and stepping out of the car, looking around. They had to drive four hours to get to this location, this 'orphanage', and she just hoped they were able to get as much information as possible- as, of course, the sooner S.H.I.E.L.D could go in, the better for them. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He replied, hooking his arm through hers. "Come, darling, let's meet the children."

They walked in together and were greeted by a middle-aged woman whose hair was prematurely greying. "You must be the Coles. Welcome. I'm Mrs. Vi. The children are just eating lunch. We have put them in groups for you to meet them to avoid overwhelming you or the children." She informed them. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the nursery, where the younger two you asked about should be waking up from a nap. Afterwards, we'll move on to the older children."

"Thank you." Clint said graciously, sharing a look with Natasha before they began following the woman.

The building was spacious enough, though it had very few windows and it could certainly use a good mopping. It reminded Natasha of her own childhood- hopefully this place didn't have a Basement like hers did. She almost paused and leant into Clint. "We need to check for a basement," she whispered. They walked into a nursery following Mrs. Vi and saw five cribs against the walls. There was a good enough space in between them, as it was a big room, and along the far wall was a changing table. But apart from that, it was pretty bare. Natasha stepped away from Clint and looked in on one of the babies. The baby looked up at her and kicked its legs, holding its arms up to be held.

"You can pick him up, if you want. That's Joe- he's nearly one."

Natasha glanced at her before reaching down and picking up the infant- she had to seem interested in kids, after all. "Hello, Joey."

Clint was peering into the crib beside Joey's. "Hey, little- guy?" He asked. Mrs. Vi chuckled.

"That's Eve, one of the girls you requested to see."

"Ah, okay. Hey, little lady." He amended, scooping the child up. It was no wonder he was confused- her hair was short, as she was only a few weeks old, and her clothes were a neutral white onesie. In fact, all of the infants were dressed similarly. Even the bedsheets were white, no blues or pinks anywhere to be seen. "You're a cutie!" He cooed to the child.

"And we have little Julia, who is almost ready to leave the nursery." Mrs. Vi spoke, picking up another one-year-old. "Say hello."

"'Eeyyy." The one-year-old practically sang- she definitely wasn't a shy baby.

Natasha placed Joe back into his crib and approached them. "She looks so much like me- now I know why Clint was smitten with her. Can I?" She asked, holding out her arms and taking the child. She smiled at her, receiving a giant gummy grin in return, and noticed that there was a bruise on her shoulder, just visible from under the onesie. She instinctively held the child closer. "She's a beauty."

Clint clearly had noticed the bruise as well, because his eyes held the slightest anger, though he covered it well. "What's her backstory? The files weren't too specific." He asked curiously.

"Oh, her mother died during labour and her father didn't want her- signed away all of his rights and put her up for adoption before she was even a day old. Just a tragedy." Mrs. Vi said with fake sadness. Most people wouldn't see how fake it was, but Natasha clearly did and it actually took some restraint to not throw that woman out of the window- the tiny window, but Nat would still squeeze her through it.

"Poor thing." Clint said sympathetically. "She just needs someone to love her, huh?" He gently tickled under Eve's chin.

Natasha tickled Julia's side, making her giggle. "That's awful! I could never imagine signing away my rights to a child- that just seems wrong."

Mrs. Vi nodded in agreement. "That doesn't seem right at all. Any more questions about Julia?"

"No, I think that's it." Clint said slowly, peering around the room at the other cribs. "We've got lots more children to see, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, seven more. Let me go check if they're ready. I'll leave you alone to bond with the little ones." She said, walking out of the room.

"If you could talk, I'd interrogate you."

"Eeey!" Julia exclaimed with joy.

Natasha quickly stepped out of the room and looked around. "Take Julia- I'm going to have a look around. If Mrs. Vi comes back, I'm searching for the bathroom." She said, practically thrusting the one-year-old into his arms, even though he was still holding Eve.

"Woah!" He exclaimed, adjusting the children to get a better grip on them. "Alright. Be careful."

She gave him one swift nod before stepping cautiously down the corridor, poking her head into the rooms as she passed them. The majority of them had two sets of bunkbeds squeezed into each room, where there was only a foot of space between them for the occupants to get to the door. The larger rooms seemed to have smaller-sized beds and a lot more of them- that showed her that they dealt with younger children more. She pushed one door open and her eyes almost bulged out of her head as she saw ten small hospital cribs, mostly full of babies, some looking days old, the oldest looking to be a few months old. There was no way they could have kidnapped all of those children. She snapped a few pictures and sent them to S.H.I.E.L.D. before going back and taking pictures of the other rooms before being forced to go back to Clint as she heard footsteps. "I think we should call in S.H.I.E.L.D." She said quickly and quietly, taking Eve out of his hands.

Mrs. Vi walked back in. "Yes, we have the older two children ready for you- they're really excited to see you. They don't get that much interest, being so old. A warning, though: one of them, Molly, has made up a little story about her parents- it's a defense mechanism. But she's really a sweet girl."

Natasha nodded and gently laid Eve down in her bed. She racked her brain. trying to remember Molly, and realised that they had matched her to a 'Holly Monroe' who went missing eleven months ago- she guessed they couldn't get rid of a girl who insisted she had a family. Natasha was surprised that they kept the child for that long- surely the longer they kept her, the more tricky it was? But, then again, the longer they had her, the more different the child would look.

Clint was looking decidedly pale but he followed along, despite his clear desires to either get out of there or break the act. "She does sound like a sweet girl- what happened to her family to make her behave the way you said?"

"I don't know. She's been in orphanages and foster homes for a few years now. She might have just gotten attached to a foster family or one of her old friends at school said she could live with them." Mrs. Vi shrugged it off. "She just needs some stability in her life; a few adoptions fell through."

"Poor thing." Clint said, sounding horrified. "She doesn't deserve to be treated like that! None of these kids do." He lamented.

"None of them do, but we do our best here, trying to help them all find their forever families." She faked, walking down the stairs.

Natasha slowed and fell behind them as she read a text. "On way to infiltrate. ETA, thirty minutes. Remain there and on breach, secure as many children as you can." She quickly replied before showing the message discretely to Clint.

He nodded subtly and returned his attention to the woman before them. "How many kids come through here? How many are adopted?" He questioned.

"We don't hold more than forty children at once- we like to make sure we can take care of them. The younger ones seem to get adopted more quickly, so, a few a month." Mrs. Vi replied.

Natasha nodded. "Forty? That's a lot of children." She commented, knowing that there were enough beds for at least eighty children, and this was only one floor.

Mrs. Vi nodded. "Yes, we have eight lovely individuals working, always having four on hand to assist."

Clint whistled appreciatively. "Man, you must be running a tight ship. It would be hard caring for and controlling forty kids with only eight people."

"Oh, yes, we do. But we always have volunteers helping out." She paused at a door and opened it slowly. "Molly, Oli- these are Clint and Natasha. They're going to talk to you for a little bit, so be on your best behaviour."

Natasha and Clint looked at each other- they were isolated here and would need to be in a more open or central location for when S.H.I.E.L.D. got there. If they timed it where they were on the move between children, then they'd be in the best position. That is how they ended up talking to the shy and withdrawn six-year-old and the determined-that-her-family-was-looking-for-her seven-year-old for nearly twenty minutes before she received the final descent text. "Thank you for talking to us." Natasha said, standing up with Clint as Mrs. Vi gladly led them from the room.

"Oh, it's no pro-" the woman was cut off when a loud commotion sounded downstairs. She paled almost instantly and ran off without saying another word to them. Clearly the woman knew what she was doing was illegal, so they'd have to ensure she was tracked down and put in prison as well.

Clint looked to Natasha. "I think that's the signal for us to start getting these kids out of here."

She nodded. "You get the young children we've already seen and I'll go keep an eye on the babies in the room I discovered."

Without waiting for his response, she turned away from him and marched down the corridor. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a woman- who obviously was not S.H.I.E.L.D- walk into the second nursery. Natasha practically glided into the room, her eyes taking a quick snapshot of everything, and dragged the woman out of the room by her neck. It wasn't even worth her pulling out her best moves, as all it took was a few kicks for the woman to be lying unconscious on the floor. Seriously, there were some women out there who gave other women a bad name.

Natasha walked into the room with the surprisingly quiet eight babies and realised that there was no way she could get all of them out at the same time- not safely, anyway.

She pulled out her gun and aimed it at the door just in case anybody tried to take or harm them. If she couldn't get the kids out, she'd protect them.

Eventually, help from S.H.I.E.L.D. came and all of the children were moved to a protected base- Natasha decided to stay with a selection of the children as they organised a few things.


Thank you for reading!

I didn't receive any reviews on the last chapters, so I would be delighted if you could drop me one so I know if you are liking the direction!