Ch 7: Into the Deep
"What a bunch of nerds." Tony said, observing the two guys playing World of Warcraft. He was clad in his suit, hovering inches from a dorm room window. The alien spear was displayed prominently on a wall, just above a bookshelf clad with a small army of Transformers, and a glowing bat signal.
"A bat signal," Tony scoffed, "Like that dude is real."
"Sir, may I remind you that Bruce Wayne does live in Gotham..." JARVIS said.
"Yeah, I get it JARVIS. I'm just saying..."
"Do you see the spear?" Came a slightly annoyed voice in his ear. It was Bruce, and he was down on the ground, peering up at Tony. Clearly he had heard the bantering.
"Yep, it's hanging on the nerds' wall. I just see two of them. They're doing nerdly things."
"Well, let's go in and get it."
"And give the nerds a total geek out? What if they hug me?" Tony asked.
"Then you will deal with it."
"Don't think so."
"Tony..."
"I'm coming down to discuss this."
Clint should have known that something was wrong the second his feet touched the roof of the building. It was quiet, so eerily quiet. It was as if this part of the world was in a sound proof bubble. He strapped his bow to his back anyway, and felt Bobbi hit the ground behind him. They waved off the chopper, and were now on their own.
"Alright," Clint said to her, "I'm following your lead out here. You've been through training. What's our first objective?"
Bobbi looked like she had three heart attacks at once. She suddenly looked tiny carrying her large duffel bag. She cleared her throat, and tried to think. "Establish a safe perimeter or hide out."
Clint smiled, "Good." He looked around. "Where do you think that would be?"
"Uhmmm..."
Clint let her think a moment, and kept his ears open for things around him. Shouting. Rapid footsteps. Anything out of the ordinary. Trouble was, it was so damn quiet he couldn't get a handle on what the normal nightlife sounded like. He kept that in the back of his mind, and turned back to Bobbi. She seemed to be trembling. "Are you scared, Agent Morse?"
"Just a little nervous." She said sheepily.
"You can't be nervous." He told her. "Being nervous gets you killed. Your enemies will not hesitate to take their shot. You can't hesitate either." He scanned the building's rooftop. He spotted a darkened corner by the stairwell. "There. By the stairs. Follow me and stay low."
"Is this where we're sleeping?" She asked when she joined him.
"No. There's an empty apartment inside. We'll use that as base. But we could, if we had to. Look at the angle of the roof above the door. Even in the day, this small area would be in darkness. This is a prime spot. You can hear who's coming up the stairs. You can make a fast getaway."
Bobbi nodded. "I have a lot to learn."
"Well, good thing you got me as a teacher." He give her a half smile, and she grinned in return.
Yes, it was a good thing. She watched him as he opened the door to the stairwell, and flattened himself against the side of the building. He took a deep breath, and turned on a swivel, fluidly pulling a gun from his the holster on his leg. He aimed it inside and entered. She felt a tingle zip up her spine. This man really could do everything. Bobbi waited in the darkness until his voice rang out, "All clear."
Bobbi entered after him. He was perched on the top step, listening. He put a finger to his lips, and she lingered on that image longer than she should have. Bobbi held her breath. She kept her head stationary, and looked out both corners of her eyes. Everything seemed quiet. She moved her hand to her gun, and listened as well.
After several moments, Clint spoke. "Let's get inside. Something's not kosher here, I feel like we're being watched, I just can't..." He shook his head. "Inside, now." He went to the nearest door, and for a second, Bobbi thought he was going to pick the lock. Instead, he brought his foot up, and with a heavy slam kicked the door wide open. He grabbed her by the arm, shoved her inside the room and slammed the door closed. "Get the blinds." He said as he fiddled with the now busted dead bolts on the door.
Bobbi felt a rush of adrenaline followed by a panic as she rushed to the windows. She stayed low as possible, and shut them all. The room was a moderate size; it had a small kitchen to the left and a large open space to the right. There was a small hallway behind the kitchen that lead to the bathroom and bedroom. Bobbi slumped down against the wall, and turned to Clint. He was busy checking his bow.
"What's going on?" She asked. "I don't hear anything."
"I do. I can't put my finger on it, but someone definitely knows we're here."
"Logan?" She asked.
"Perhaps. Whoever it is can conceal themselves pretty damn well. Someone that's been on the run." He walked over to her then, and looked down, "Sorry I grabbed you, but we were sitting ducks in that stairwell."
Bobbi felt herself smile. "It's nothing."
"Good," He said, turning back to his bow. "What do you think our next move would be?"
Bobbi thought a moment. Hot sex and tacos? She shoved that thought to the back of her mind. She thought back to training. Since they had established a safe hideout, they needed to establish a vantage point of the targets known whereabouts. "A vantage point." She said, and then her stomach rumbled.
Clint nodded, "Correct. But first, the best Kielbasa you'll ever eat." he reached out a hand and helped her to her feet.
The mood on the helicopter was somber. They had found the nukes, which were being handled by SHIELD's HAZMAT team, but they had also found this man... this man that was Natasha's husband, that was exactly like Steve. And he watched the man known as Red Guardian as he lay there, knocked out by Thor's hammer. What did this mean? Steve thought that he was the only one, and know this man who practically copied his uniform lay before him. He glanced over to Natasha who sat in one of the chairs. She had her head back against the rest, but her eyes were open. Steve was closer to the Red Guardian than she was.
Thor, who sat across from Natasha was the first to speak, "What does this mean?" He asked.
"It means that the Russians developed a Super Soldier program as well... didn't they, Natasha?" Steve said, turning to her.
Natasha was silent for a moment, and then a small tear rolled down her cheek. "I thought he was dead." She whispered. She lifted her head to meet Steve's eyes. "I had no idea... that... that they did this to him. He was a pilot in the airforce, and a KGB agent, and they told me he had been killed."
Steve walked over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder, "What's his name?"
Natasha glanced at the Red Guardian as he lay there, memories flooding her mind. She had been a ballerina by day, spy by night. He had come to every one of her recitals, always sitting in the front row with her favorite flowers and a smile from ear to ear. "Alexei Shostokav." She said.
"Fury will want him." Steve told her.
"But can we trust this man?" Thor asked.
They both looked at Natasha.
"I don't know," She whispered. "I don't know who he is anymore."