Chapter 2- Recruitment
"So, where did Dr. Banner and his son wind up?" Yelizaveta asked as the plane took off from Sheremetyevo International Airport.
"Calcutta from what this file says," Nat said, as she read the file Coulson had sent her.
"As in the Black Hole of Calcutta? The same place that makes a Nazi death camp look like Disneyland?" Yelizaveta asked, quirking her dark eyebrow quizzically.
"Same place. You know, you don't have to come, Vet," Natasha said.
"No, I want to. Clint's my friend too. So how was he compromised?" Yelizaveta asked.
"He was with Fury and Dr. Erik Selvig examining something called the Tesseract," Natasha said.
"The Tesseract? Wasn't that what Howard Stark found while looking for Captain Rogers after he disappeared after taking down Hydra?" Yelizaveta asked.
"Yes. It was found again and someone named Loki has taken it, and compromised Dr. Selvig and Clint," Nat said.
"So what do we need Dr. Banner and his son for? Bringing them is like playing Russian roulette. He could turn into the Hulk on us," Yelizaveta said, picking up her recent book about Catherine the Great.
"Yes, but we are bringing backup," Nat said as she picked up the file and Yelizaveta opened her book.
The Black Hole of Calcutta was worse than what Yelizaveta had said. It made even the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad look like light reading. Crime was everywhere in plain sight and Yelizaveta shuddered at the sight of cockroaches and rats. "Well, Nat, how do we find Dr. Banner?" Yelizaveta questioned.
"Well, let's ask around. How's your Hindi?" Natasha asked.
"I haven't had to use it in awhile. How often do we actually come here? But, it's worth a shot," Yelizaveta called a little girl of 9 or ten over to her and started talking in Hindi. The girl ran off as soon as Yelizaveta told her where to bring Dr. Banner and his son.
James "Jimmy" Banner looked up from where he had placed a compress as a little girl with a dress down to her knees and no shoes entered his father's makeshift hospital. "Who are you? Get out! There is sickness here!" A woman asked the girl in Hindi as Jimmy's dad turned from the sink where he was getting some water for the patients that came to see him.
"You're a doctor. My father's not waking up. He has a fever and he's moaning, but his eyes won't open," the girl said in Hindi as Bruce and Jimmy came over to the steps where she stood.
"Slow down," Bruce said in a firm, but gentle voice; one he used often on Jimmy when Jimmy was as excited as the girl, which wasn't often.
"My father-" the girl started to say.
Jimmy stooped. "Like them?" He asked in Hindi, indicating his father's patients.
The girl nodded. "Please," she said, holding money up as she switched to English.
The little girl grabbed both Bruce and Jimmy's hands and led them to a small dilapidated hut on the outskirts of town. They entered the house as the little girl went through a window, leaving them alone. Bruce laughed slightly under his breath. "We should have got paid up front, Dad," Jimmy said.
"You know for a man and his son who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a heck of a place to settle," a woman's voice caused both Bruce and Jimmy to turn. A woman and girl of about twelve came into their line of sight.
Yelizaveta looked at Bruce Banner and his son. They looked relatively normal and Yelizaveta was at the age where she was starting to notice boys. James Banner was kind of cute with his black wavy hair and brown eyes. "Avoiding stress isn't the secret," Dr. Banner said.
"Then what is it? Yoga?" Natasha asked.
"You and your little friend brought me and my boy to the edge of the city. Smart. I assume the whole place is surrounded," Banner said, looking out the window nervously.
"Just you, me, your son, and my friend Yelizaveta," Nat said as she put down her shawl.
"And your actress buddy? Is she a spy too? They start that young?" James asked.
"We did," Yelizaveta said.
"Who are you?" Banner asked Natasha.
"Natasha Romanoff and my friend Yelizaveta Markova," Natasha said.
"Are you and Miss Markova here to kill me and my son, Ms. Romanoff? Because that's not going to work out for everyone," Banner said.
"No, of course not. We're here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Yelizaveta said.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. How did they find us?" Banner asked.
"We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance. Even helped keep some other interested parties off you and your son's scents," Natasha said.
"Why?" James asked.
"Nick Fury seems to trust you and your father. But now we need you both to come in," Natasha said.
"What if we say no?" Banner asked.
"We'll persuade you," Natasha said.
"And what if the other guy says no?" James asked, meaning his father's other side; the Hulk.
"Your father has been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you want him to break that streak," Yelizaveta said as she and Natasha walked to the only table in the room.
"Well, we don't every time get what we want," Banner said.
"Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe," Natasha said. Banner chuckled.
"Well, those we actively try to avoid," Banner said.
Yelizaveta held up her cell phone. "This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet," Yelizaveta said, placing her phone on the only table in the room. Banner came over to the table and picked it up.
"What does Fury want Dad to do? Swallow it?" James asked, quirking a dark eyebrow.
"He wants you and your father to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one who knows gamma radiation like you and your father do. If there was that's where me and Yelizaveta would be," Natasha said.
"So Fury isn't after the monster?" Banner asked, removing his glasses.
"Not that he's told us," Natasha said.
"And he tells you everything?" Banner asked.
"Tall to Fury. He needs you on this," Yelizaveta said.
"He needs me in a cage, little girl?" Banner asked.
"No one's going to put you in a-" Natasha started to say.
"Stop lying to me!" Banner shouted, slamming his hands hard on the table. Yelizaveta and Natasha jumped up, pulling out their guns. Banner straightened and smiled. "I'm sorry. That was mean. I just wanted to see what both of you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way where you don't use those and the other guy doesn't make a mess. Okay? Natasha? Yelizaveta?" Bruce asked as he looked at them with concern.
Yelizaveta lowered her gun and touched her earwig. "Stand down. We're good here," she said and she heard multiple clicks from outside.
"Just you, me, my son and Yelizaveta," Banner said to Natasha, reminding her of the lie she told when they first entered.