Chapter 59

Natasha was pissed. Mostly with herself but also with Malick. How could she not realize that her wine had been drugged? She really thought this whole time that Malick didn't know that they aware that he was HYDRA but he somehow figured it out. There could not been another reason why she had been drugged and woke up in a windowless cell. Was she still in Malick's house or had she been moved? She looked at the cell door, she couldn't break out on her own. She had to wait for someone to come so she could jump them and flee. Her weapons and phone had been taken. She put her ear against the wall but couldn't hear anything.

She hoped someone would show up soon so she could get the fuck out of here. She was bored. But how did Malick know that she knew about his HYDRA involvement?

Another hour passed and Natasha still hadn't turned her phone on. Steve was with Sam and Rhodey in Tony's lab and FRIDAY was currently looking if Natasha showed up on traffic cams. The last time Nat was seen was when she walked up to Malick's townhouse near Central Park.

"Steve!" Sam yelled and pointed at his water bottle. "You're breaking it!"

He put the bottle quickly down before he shattered it with his hands. "Sorry."

"So we're thinking Malick's holding Natasha against her will?" Tony asked.

"She wouldn't have turned her phone off." Steve was sure of that. "She knows how much I worry about her."

Rhodey nodded. "Okay, so what's our plan? Storm in and get her back?"

"We gotta be a bit more discreet than that." Sam said. "There's still the chance that she's totally fine or that they moved her to another location. If she's made and they took her hostage, they have to assume that we know that she was about to meet Malick."

Sam was right. Natasha probably wasn't at the townhouse anymore. "FRIDAY, did any cars leave Malick's house?"

A picture showed up on the big screen in Tony's lab. "Yes, one did. A van of a catering company. The company exists but also rents its vans. It left three hours ago."

Shit, if Natasha was in that van, she could be anywhere by now. Or what if they used the van to get rid of her bo... No, don't go there, Steve. She's alive.

FRIDAY's voice got him out of his dark thoughts. "I was able to find the van on other traffic cams. The last time it showed up was on a cam in West Chester."

"Malick got a mansion there." Tony said and put his Iron Man bracelets on. "Why would one catering van drive to two houses of the same guy? Doesn't make sense."

"So she's there?" Steve looked at the map on the screen that showed the mansion's location. "Suit up. Jet leaves in five minutes." He didn't care what was waiting for him in West Chester, he didn't care if he walked into a trap. He would get in that house and save his girl.

The door got finally unlocked and Natasha was ready to attack. She didn't have any weapons on her and she hoped that not a Winter Soldier was opening that door right now. She wouldn't really stand a chance against one without her gear if they even managed to overpower Bucky.

The door was open and she wasted no second and attacked. She jumped on the person's shoulders causing them both to fall, a tray with food fell to the ground, and she tightened her legs around the man until he passed out. She thanked Thor and any other God listening that it wasn't one of the Winter Soldiers who came to bring her food. She checked the man's body for weapons and found a gun and knife. She took both and his phone and got out of her cell.

She seemed to be in a basement of an old mansion. Was she in West Chester? Careful not to make any sounds she walked through the basement and up the stairs with her gun drawn. She was sure that she was in Malick's mansion when she reached the top of the stairs and could look through the foyer. She had been here before and even if she hadn't been here before the portrait of Gideon and Stephanie Malick told her exactly who was living here. She wanted to use the phone she took to call Steve, he was probably worried sick because he couldn't reach her, but the cell was locked and she didn't have the time to get back to the basement to get the guy's thumb print. Fuck! She had to contact Steve later to tell him that she was okay.

She should use the time until they noticed that the man wasn't coming back from his food delivery to check out the house. If she was already here, she could look if she would find anything on Malick and HYDRA.

She listened for any noises and when she didn't hear anything she sneaked up the stairs to the second floor. Maybe she would find something in Malick's private rooms. The hallway was clear and she checked each door until she found the one to Malick's bedroom. The room didn't lock suspicious but the giant portrait of Wagner's Götterdämmerung got her attention. Hadn't the Wagners and Hitler been close? She walked to the portrait and moved it to the side and she heard a clicking sound behind her.

She turned and had to smile. She hit the jackpot. A bookshelf moved and a secret passage appeared. God, Tony would be having a field day with this. She hoped her boys figured out that she had been taken and were on their way to her.

She got down the small secret hallway and stopped in front of what looked like a sanctuary for HYDRA. The HYDRA logo was painted on the wall and framed pictures of Red Skull, Hitler and one of Pierce and Malick were put on display. They could finally prove that Malick was a member of HYDRA. There was a bookshelf on one side of the room and Natasha was willing to bet that those books and files were more proof that Malick was a fucking Nazi. Was this what they needed to bring HYDRA down once and for all? Could she finally start to actually plan her wedding? She almost considered to thank Malick for drugging her and taking her to here, who knew how long it would have taken them to find this?

The phone she took began to vibrate in her hand. Someone was looking for the guy. She got out of the secret passage and moved the painting in the bedroom again so the bookshelf would close. She needed to get out of here and get back to the Manhattan so the Avengers and SHIELD could raid this place.

She just closed the door when a Winter Soldier came towards her. Fuck, they noticed that she escaped. The woman came running towards her and Natasha wasted no second and aimed the gun at the Winter Soldier's head and pulled the trigger. One down, three to go. She wondered if the rest of the supersoldiers was here or if this one was just Malick's personal bodyguard. A woman didn't draw that much attention to her than some buff dude. Natasha checked the magazine, she had sixteen bullets left and she hoped they weren't more than sixteen people in this house. It was probably only a matter of seconds until her next opponent came because there was no way that gunshot had been unheard.

Three men who didn't have the empty Winter Soldier look in their eyes were running up the stairs and Natasha didn't hesitate and fired three times killing them. Suddenly there was a loud crash of broken glass behind her and she turned and saw how one Winter Soldier got decapitated with Captain America's shield. Natasha smiled, Steve was here. She picked the shield up from the floor and walked to the window careful not to step into the blood of the dead Winter Soldier. And there he was in his uniform, standing strong and tall on the ground and was clearly relieved when he looked up at the window and saw her. She waved at him and held the shield up so he could get it back with the magnets on his wrist but he shook his head. So she kept it, picked up the rifle the Winter Soldier had on him and walked down the stairs to meet the rest of the group.

Steve was already in the foyer throwing some guy through a window when she was downstairs. "Are you okay, Nat?"

"Yes, don't worry." She clocked someone with Steve's shield who thought he could get the jump on her. She was pretty sure it was the guy she attacked in the basement. "I know you'd find me."

Steve came to her side and took his shield from her and cupped her cheek briefly. "I was so worried." He whispered and then looked over her head. "Where's Malick? I have a fist I like him to meet." His eyes were dark and dangerous. She shouldn't probably find it that hot, right?

"I don't even know if he's here." She closed her eyes trying to remember what had happened to her before she woke up in a cell. "He opened the door and let me in. He offered me a drink and then... I think I got drugged. I don't remember anything else."

"We'll find him."

"Where's the rest?"

"Putting the people to sleep who tried to get away when we showed up. Tony was so kind to let me save the damsel in distress." He rolled his eyes and then smiled down at her. "Not that my Nat needs much saving."

She shook her head in amusement and then took Steve's hand to show him what she had found. She highly doubted that Malick was still in the house. He probably used the two other Winter Soldiers to get him out of here when the boys arrived.

Steve's jaw almost hit the floor when they got to the secret passage. "Wow!" He looked around and grimaced when he saw the photo of Johann Schmidt. "You think that's enough proof?"

"It's definitely enough to prove that Malick is HYDRA. We'll have to see what's in those books and files here. Maybe there's even more in this house. We should get SHIELD here to take a look at it."

"There you a-" Sam was suddenly in the room and his eyes widened. "Holy shit! You found the motherlode!"

Natasha nodded. "Sam, get Redwing to scan everything and send it to President Ellis and Coulson. It's time to put Malick on the most wanted list."

They searched the house from top to bottom but Malick and the two Winter Soldiers were nowhere to be found. Maybe they hadn't even been here while Natasha had been unconscious in the basement.

Coulson and his team (including Bucky) were on their way to the Tower to take a look at the things the Avengers took from Malick's house. President Eliis had sent Secret Service agents who monitored the house in case Malick would come back.

Steve insisted that she should get checked in the infirmary since they didn't know what Malick gave her to drug her while the others brought the books and files into Tony's lab. As it turned out she still had toxins in her system and had to be hooked on fluids that would flush those toxins out. A member of the World Council called her and told her that all of Malick's clearance levels and access had been denounced and the Council was shocked that they had been infiltrated by HYDRA. President Ellis basically put the whole Council on the bench until they could be sure that no other members were Nazis.

"Hey!" The door of her room in the infirmary opened and Steve came in with a bottle of juice and a bagel. "Thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks, honey."

She made room for Steve on the bed and he got onto it. He lifted his arm and she snuggled against his chest. "I hope you weren't too worried about me, Steve."

"I'll always worry about you, Nat." He kissed the top of her head. "You should know that. Just the thought that something... I can't lose you."

"You won't." She promised him and to herself. She would always try to get back to him. She didn't want him to live with the pain of losing her.

He brushed his fingers through her hair. "I know you can hold your own. I don't worry about you because I don't think you can protect yourself. I hope you know that."

"I do, Steve. I know what you mean. I worry about you, too. Even though you're Captain America or maybe because you are Captain America."

Steve's other hand moved to his front pocket and he pulled her engagement ring out of his pants. She smiled up at him and gave him her left hand to slide the ring back on. "You think we'll get to have our wedding soon?"

"I hope so." She rubbed her cheek against his chest. "Chanel is already working on my dress by the way."

"Really?" Curiosity was strong in his voice. "What's it gonna look like?"

Natasha chuckled into his chest. "You're gonna have to wait until I walk down the aisle."

"I can't wait for that to happen." He kissed the top of her head again.

"Me, too."