Previously:

At the end of the day, Via loved the walk home. She cut across busy streets, and through less busy side streets. It was in the serene light of the lowering sun, that Via was pulled into the shadows by a mysterious arm.

"Quiet, please, don't scream," a voice pleaded quietly. The alley was dark, and Via struggled, trying to speak, but a hand was clamped across her mouth, muffling her words. She recognized the voice of her captor. She was turned to face him and the hand was removed.

"Look, I know this seems bad, but it really isn't."

"Rak, what the heck are you doing? Where's Della?" Via questioned him, remembering his 4 year old daughter from the last time they'd met. She was a bubbly little girl with definite traces of Oriental blood in her.

"Della's gone, Via. I'm sorry, but I have no choice," he apologized.

Via's hands were tied together in front of her firmly. She made no protest, just studied Rak's face. His brown hair was dirty, and his matching eyes were dull. The scars on his face were certainly better than the last time she'd seen them, but they were by no means healed. He pulled the ropes tight, cutting through Via's skin.

"Can't have you escaping." He then pushed her back against the alley wall and spoke; Via noticed his unostentatious earpiece. "I got her… Of course… We'll see you in a moment." He watched the opening carefully. After a few moments, a black sedan pulled up on the road, hugging the curb, and looking very suspicious.

Via raised an eyebrow, vowing not to speak to them, no matter what happened. The information they wanted could very possibly put Tasha and the baby at risk, be it location or personal details. It had been a few weeks since Via and Nat's impromptu meeting with the Avengers. Nat was now 35 weeks along, though the baby was measuring slightly big. Via had decided to wait on finding out the gender, and Tasha hadn't argued.

A man exited the driver's side of the suspicious black sedan. He seemed rough, but Via was having a difficult time reading his eyes, as they were covered by dark, aviator sunglasses. She was bundled into the back seat by Rak and his mysterious companion. There was dark, tinted glass that hid the face of the driver and anyone in the passenger seat. Rak put a hand on her shoulder, almost reassuring her, but did not get into the car with her. He leaned back and shut the door to the car, watching as they pulled away from the curb again.

Via looked around the back seat of the car, curious about any clue to her captors' identity. She noticed that Rak had left her bag, perhaps on purpose. If she could somehow keep her phone, it could be tracked to the exact location. She had taught Nat how to do it earlier, simply because you never knew what could happen at any given moment.

Natasha was being followed by Clint. He wouldn't stop. Natasha swore, in her head, that he kept it up much longer, she would snap. Maybe it was just the pregnancy hormones speaking, but she was fed up with people butting into her life. And Via's. Though she had only known Via for about a year, there was something about her that made Nat… protective. And she wasn't the only one. According to Via, people were infuriatingly protective of her. First it was her mother, then it was her old neighbor, Rak, and then it was her friends at her school. Now it was Natasha.

Nat tried to duck into a high-end clothing shop to lose Clint, but once again, for the eighth time in less than an hour, he followed her. Finally, she turned on him to confront him.

"Okay, this has got to stop, Clint. Do the others know you're doing this?" She demanded.

Clint, not surprised, shrugged. "If they don't, they wouldn't be surprised. You're my best friend, Tasha. I'm… relatively concerned for your wellbeing."

"Relatively?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, Natasha. Also, I thought pregnancy wasn't an option for you. You said you were sterilized."

Nat mentally sighed, knowing full well that she wasn't going to lose him very easily. She also knew full well that he was concerned. "I was. This shouldn't be possible at all. Even the doctors don't know how it happened."

This pregnancy was a puzzle for everybody.

Abruptly, Nat's phone rang loudly. The store manager glared at Natasha, angry at her for disrupting the peace. Natasha rolled her eyes at the snobby woman and checked her phone. Her eyes widened and she blew out a quick breath of air.

"Clint," she gasped softly. "Via's missing."

After escorting Natasha back to the Tower and ineffectively urging that she lay down, Clint eventually compromised with her. She had to sit quietly and calmly with Pepper while Clint went to find Tony. Natasha had insisted he hurry back as fast as he could. He had then made a sarcastic remark about the speed of hawks and demanding women, and she had, in turn, threatened to go into labor.

Tony was in the room with them not three minutes later, Clint dragging him along like his life depended on it.

"Tony," Natasha nearly fell off the couch she was sitting on. Pepper placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tony, you have to track her down, I don't know where she is."

Tony turned to Clint, who was panting.

"Via," Pepper supplemented, "Via seems to have gone missing and Nat told me that you have the technology to track her down here, using her phone."

"Ah, I see. May I see your phone, Tasha?" Tony asked carefully.

Nat quickly handed over her phone. Tony turned the phone over in his hands, then turned it on.

"Brilliant," he murmured under his breath. "Natasha, tell me, how much professional experience, exactly, does this Via have with technology?"

"None."

"You're sure?"

Nat nodded.

"And am I correct in guessing that she was the one who gave you this phone?"

Another nod.

"Well, Tasha, it would appear that you have found a technological genius. One who, no less, is going to take your baby, which I do not approve of," he held up a hand to stop Natasha from protesting his choice of words, "but, that is a topic that we will discuss later. Right now, we have other business to attend to."

Short, but builds some more intensity to get the story rolling (I hope).

Hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!

Love,

TMG4899