Chapter Seven

Natasha stood at the hostel room window, with the lights off she could see the street outside. They had finally gotten Bruce to sleep, he had kept vigil with them for the entire four days, refusing to take the shift pattern Natasha and Juliette adopted do that there would always be someone on watch. Finally days of panic and worry had worn him out, coupled with the heat, and he was lying, curled in on himself on the bed. Technically it was Juliette's turn to have a nap as well, but the heat had prevented that. What made most people nod off in a summer doze was unbearably hot for her.

"Are you okay?" Juliette asked finally after an hour or so of silence. Never, not in the months they had been grieving for Phil, had she asked is Natasha was alright. Not those exact words.

"He's back. I'm fine. Not that you ever asked."

"How could I, Tasha?" Juliette looked away, cradling her cup of water as if it was tea. "I couldn't go out of my way to lie to you. So I didn't ask, I listened but I couldn't ask you anything." Natasha mellowed slightly, but Juliette hadn't had to lose anyone, so she couldn't give her complete sympathy.

"He's back, it's fine now." Natasha was no longer running on empty, she didn't need to be on the base with Phil to sleep easily, just having the hole in her world refilled was enough. When she woke up her eyes were no longer red from holding back tears she had refused to shed. When asked before how things were, Black Widow had replied they were fine. Now she didn't have to lie.

"He told me, you know, about you." Natasha span around, the window forgotten. Juliette wasn't looking at her, tracing the rim of her cup absently.

"Then you understand?" She nodded slowly, finally looking up at Natasha.

"If I had been in the same position," Juliette paused before shaking her head. "I would have backed down, or been killed out in the field." They sat in an awkward silence for a while, one keeping watch on the door, the other the window.

"We have to move," Natasha said at last, looking over at Bruce. "As soon as he wakes up we have to leave."

"Moving is too dangerous. We've lost the window of safety. I can't risk covering our tracks again. We've got another day here before we start running into trouble." With their false trails and hacking, they had created a mist Ross wouldn't be able to get through. However, it was wearing thin and the balance between going to ground and SHIELD still being able to find them was slipping.

"Twenty four hours," Natasha conceded. She checked her phone religiously every hour, to make sure Phil hadn't failed to call. It was pointless, and only served to give her something to do. It shouldn't have taken that long, unless something had gone wrong, or SHIELD couldn't risk contacting them directly.

They were on the street, the three of them walking slowly along the pavement. They were vulnerable there, very vulnerable. The risk of staying somewhere too long, now that Juliette could no longer access the authorities for fear of detection had forced them out of their fourth hotel. Bruce walked in the middle of their group, next to Natasha. The sun allowed them to sport glasses and a sun cap without looking out of place, keeping Bruce's face well hidden. Juliette alternated between being a hundred yards in front, then doubling back and following them. They were giving SHIELD a chance to find them, walking in plain view of CCTV cameras. They were also running the risk of Ross catching them.

Bruce was tense beside her, which made Natasha tense as well. He couldn't relax, not when his nightmare was behind them. Natasha had her hand in her pocket, hiding her handgun. It wouldn't stop Hulk, but it would stop Ross.

"Natalie," a familiar voice came from the crowd around them. She had seen him approach, letting a little smile form, all as part of the casual show of course. Phil fell into step with them, giving Banner a reassuring smile. "Maybe you'd like to come in out of the sun?"

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Bruce answered, looking relieved. He made the mistake of glancing around and Natasha tensed, if Ross was watching that could spell danger. Phil let it pass, leading them down another busy street and into the staircase to an over-shop flat. He left the door open for Juliette to follow when she caught up. The stairway was dark, the only light coming from the open door at the top. Natasha followed Phil up, coming straight into a plain bedsit, occupied by two other people. Hill and another agent, she attached the name Hughes to his face stood facing them.

"You can relax now, Doctor," Hill said. "Ross' men are being taken care of." They all turned as the bathroom door opened, revealing Juliette.

"Don't you know how to use front doors?" Phil asked her, letting a bit of exasperation slip into his voice.

"Doors are for people with no imagination. There's a dead man in your hallway," she told them casually. "He has one of our boys sticking a knife in him so I figured he was a bad guy." Bruce looked around, slightly panicked.

"He's dead, doc," she said brightly. Natasha peered at the screen on Hill's laptop, which had a map of Orlando and agents' positions marked in real time.

"Agent Hill will escort you back to New York, Doctor Banner," Phil told them. Natasha and Juliette shared a look, wondering where they were going if not with Bruce. "Mede, Tasha." They followed him into the back room and down the fire escape. "We're going to Nevada."

"Splendid, a tour of the hottest places in the States." They ignored Juliette as they walked along, getting straight into a black Fiat. Natasha was higher up in the pecking order and got the passenger seat next to Phil, Juliette climbing in the back.

"Why?" Natasha asked as Phil drove off, sunglasses still in place.

"Clint's meeting us there. We're to terminate Hornet." Through the mirror, the girls stared at each other. They had been ordered to leave Hornet alone before. "Well done, you had us running to Miami along with Ross."

"Really?" Juliette sat up, smiling at the praise.

"No, I'm sending you to IT when we get back; you are the worst hacker I've ever met."

… …

For anyone who's interested, the conversation between Phil and Natasha when they were told he was alive is up under the title Busy. It's short and there might be more, but it wasn't vital to this plot so I cut it out and had Clint narrate instead.