CHAPTER 20

Still have violence

They had hung her up by her wrists in front of them and were left alone after that with Petrovich promising to be back soon. They were left in silence with one another as they stared at her limp body just hanging there. The chain around her wrists was the only thing supporting her weight and they knew that would hurt after a while of the dead weight. That, and the fact that her toes barely reached the floor, her ankles where also chained and anchored to the floor. They could see a few drops of blood dripping off her shoe but the black cargo pants she wore prevented them from seeing any more than that.

"How long do you think it's going to take for the cavalry to get here?" Coulson said after a while of the silence.

"Hard to say," Fury replied.

"Hopefully it'll be soon," Coulson said quietly.

"For us maybe," Fury said then and Coulson looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Petrovich isn't going to let her go easily," he nodded over to where Natasha was "and we both know the Council won't break their backs to make sure she is rescued as well." Coulson nodded his understanding but otherwise didn't react. He looked over at her as well.

"She shot Massey," he said. It was Fury's turn to nod now. He looked from her unconscious form to the man sitting beside him.

"Sometimes death is better," he said "whatever this doctor did to him he wasn't going to last another session. Romanoff gave him a merciful death." Coulson said nothing to that because he knew it was true, he had just wanted to make sure him and his boss were on the same page.

Not much time passed before the door was slammed open. The sound made Natasha stir slightly but her body fell slack again after just a few movements.

"Ah," Petrovich said as he strolled into the room. A guard followed behind him, rolling a tray into the room that had a white sheet draped across it. "I must have hit her harder than I thought." He reached forward and grabbed her chin in his large hand. "My dear," he said and a smile spread across his face. "Time to wake up Princess." A small groan escaped her lips and he chuckled as she started coming around. His hand still held a firm grip on her as she finally opened her eyes and locked on to his. "Finally, I didn't want to keep our audience waiting Natalia." She tried to jerk away from him but he tightened his grip which was surely going to leave bruises. "Do you remember, dear Natalia, the last time you killed without my permission?" She glared at him in response. "Hmm," his grip tightened "do you darling?" Still she remained quiet. He let go of her suddenly and his fist busted her lip when it made contact. The slightest gasp escaped but nothing more. "You know I don't like it when you don't answer me." He motioned for the guard to lift the white cloth from the tray. Underneath was a bullwhip that was soaking in some sort of liquid. Beside that container was a long dagger and beside that was a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Natasha examined the items then focused her eyes straight in front of her. She looked above Fury and Coulson's heads. She would not make a sound. She would not let them see her as weak.

Ivan smirked as he approached the table. He looked over at Coulson and Fury then picked up the dagger.

"I created this solution myself," he said "as a way to punish my girls when their pain tolerance was built up enough to withstand the normal punishments." He dipped the dagger into the solution for a few seconds before he pulled it out and shook off the access. "It's a very…useful tool." With a smug look on his face he walked up to Fury with the dagger and placed the blade against his cheek. He added enough pressure to let the blade slice into the man's skin and draw a line of blood. The cut itself felt like a paper cut. A moment later a strong burning pain filled the area and he wanted to call out but wouldn't give the man the satisfaction. Coulson watched his boss and felt his heart drop when he saw him flinch ever so slightly. He knew just how well Fury could handle pain so to say that small action was concerning was an understatement. Petrovich must have seen it to because he swore the man's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Good to see that it still works properly." He then turned and walked back over to the tray and set the knife down. He nodded to the guard who then grabbed the whip from the solution and handed it to Petrovich. The solution dripped from it as he held it in his hands. "Are you ready to accept your punishment my dear."

"Rot in hell," she spat back at him.

"Hmm," he leaned in close to her so that their faces where only a few inches apart. "You know, Volkov has missed you terribly. He always said you were his best student." Both Fury and Coulson caught the way her body stiffened at the mention of the man's name. "I've already promised Dr. Zholdin a visit." She tried not to show it but the others could see the fear spark in her eyes. That must have been the doctor Massey was so terrified of. Petrovich smiled down at her then walked slowly behind her. The guard grabbed the knife from the table and after taking a second to let his eyes travel up and down her body he moved forward and grabbed the black tank top that she wore. He slowly cut the tops of the straps and let them fall from her shoulders. He then let the blade rest at the neckline and smirked at her before allowing the blade to rip the fabric open. The tattered remains fell to the floor and she was left in the black bra she had chosen to wear that day. Petrovich made a noise and the man broke his gaze away from her chest and backed away. "Deep breaths," that was the only warning she got before the whip was hitting against her exposed skin. It broke the skin and the burning pain made her gasp slightly. She held her breath as the whip was pulled back into position. Behind her Ivan shouted something in Russian. "Repeat what I say Natalia, so that your Americans can understand." The whip hit against her back again and the air in her lungs burst out of her. Her breath hitched as the pain started in. Petrovich shouted again she took in a shaky breath. "Don't make me lose my patients." He repeated what he said in Russian and Natasha fixed her eyes on the wall in front of her, refusing to meet the eyes of the men sitting in front of her. Coulson felt his stomach turning.

"Worthless," she mumbled and the whip hit her again. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain. Ivan shouted at her again. "Ungrateful," she gasped as the whip hit her again and the pain flooded through her all over her back. He shouted again. "Weak," another hit. "Child," another hit. Her back felt like it was on fire. It felt like someone was digging shards of glass deep into her skin along with a hot iron at the same time. She waited but Petrovich remained quiet. She heard the whip falling to the floor and he was back in front of her again. She recognized the look he gave her. The fake concerned look that he gave all the girls after inflicting torture on them. It was another method he used to try and keep them loyal to him, she had learned to ignore it long ago. He reached up and gently cupped her face in his palm. She couldn't stop the tears gathering in her eyes but she wouldn't allow them to fall if she could help it.

"It gives me no joy to hurt you my darling." Petrovich said in a soft voice. "You were always like a daughter to me."

"Save it," she snarled at him "I'm too old to fall for your lies." The soft look on his face hardened at those words and he took his hand away.

"Funny," he said "Seeing as how childish you've been acting lately." He turned and grabbed the syringe from the tray. Natasha's eyes widened just slightly when she saw it but she could do nothing to fight it as he slid it into her skin and injected the contents. He threw the needle across the room and leaned in close to her again. "Scream for me Natalia." Slowly, as she stared into his eyes, she felt her body temperature rising.