May 2011
Laura POV
Laura was shaking, but she was so fucking happy Phil taught her the basics of shooting a gun.
"Laura!"
"Ma'am, this is a crime scene-"
Laura looked up from where she was sitting the the back of an ambulance to see Natasha Romanoff looking like she was about to throw the police officer to the ground.
"Nat!" Laura called out. "Officer would you please let her through?"
She watched as Natasha glared at the woman who begrudgingly let her through.
"What happened?" The spy's voice brooked no nonsense.
Laura took a shaky breath. "There was a break in. I woke up to the sound of movement or something downstairs. I thought it was just the house settling or something. I don't know. But then I heard it again so I took the bat and decided to look around."
Natasha's brow furrowed. "Didn't Phil give you a gun?"
Laura's nerves were way too frazzled to let the slightly accusatory tone slide. "For fuckssake, Nat! I'm an archivist! I don't automatically assume that every little noise is a ninja out to kill me! Besides, I've got a better swing than I do a shot."
Romanoff smirked, clearly recalling the softball tournament scrapbook she once found in Laura and Phil's guest bedroom.
Laura deflated, adrenaline wearing off and suddenly exhausted. "There was a guy sitting at the computer. I tried to get the jump on him, but he must have had super hearing. I clocked him good in the side before he knocked me on my ass. He pulled out a gun and I tried the leg-sweepy thing you've been having me practice. It got him off balance enough that I could get up and throw a lamp at him."
Natasha snorted.
"I just kept throwing things at him. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess somewhere I was thinking that if I could distract him enough I could get the gun away. I'm not sure I thought I could get away. The whole thing is a bit of a blur. I got the gun away from him and I shot. I knew it was going to be me or him."
"Did you kill him?"
Laura shook her head. "He was alive when they took him away. I'm surprised I hit him at all. I got four rounds off, but two of them went wide and totally missed. The other two hit him in the shoulder and the stomach."
The spy put her hand on Laura's shoulder. 'You did good. You're not trained to deal with these situations and you made it out. Depending on where you hit him in the shoulder, he may not be able to use that arm anymore. Besides, SHIELD is going to want to question him. If he was on your computer, he was after something specific." Her head suddenly snapped towards the detective writing down notes. "Detective! Do you still need her?"
The man walked over to them. "No. Ms. Schulz, will you be staying with your friend? We have your phone number but I'm going to want the address. So far, this is looking like justifiable self-defense, but we want to make sure you stay local."
Laura nodded as Natasha rattled off an address and then helped her into the car waiting outside the barricade.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
Natasha's eyes kept to the road. "After you called Phil, he called me. I set it up with Pepper and we're staying in Stark's D.C. penthouse. The security is excellent and Phil doesn't want you alone."
"This didn't just happen because I was home alone. I'm a grown woman and I can clearly take care of myself," Laura grumbled.
"No, but this was not a random burglary. We don't know if this was about something you're doing at work, or if it has to do with Phil, so we need to make sure you're safe. Besides, Pepper's sending down a team of lawyers for you."
"What?"
Natasha shrugged. "You're family."
Laura didn't know how to respond to that. She considered Natasha and Pepper good friends, and Clint Barton as well to a lesser extent. She still thought Tony was an arrogant pain in the ass, but he could really pull through when he wanted to and she guessed he considered her a friend. To hear that it was more than that was overwhelming.
"Thanks, Nat," she whispered.