September 29th 01:45AM
LOCATION: Redstone Subway Station
"Are you ok?" Black Widow asked Carlos who was still lying on the floor- slightly stunned from the heavy blast, but thankfully still in one piece,
Natasha extended her hand to help him up which he grabbed without hesitation-
"Thanks- Yeah Widow, takes more than an explosion to keep me down" he smirked at her from under the heavy head of hair that covered most of his handsome face,
"Come on- lets go" he led the way back down to the subway.
Natasha would feel better when Jill was out of harms way, although she wasn't sure how the B.O.W kept tracking the S.T.A.R.S officer, she doubted that it would be able to keep up the pursuit once she was out of the city, then Natasha could get back to her mission.
"Carlos, I know we didn't get off to a great start, but thanks for the save"
Jill couldn't have got this far without him and now- she felt bad for judging him so quickly when they first met-
"Hey you saved my ass first, you're both a hella lot braver than me"
Jill didn't need to look at Natasha to see that the redhead was currently smirking again, her trademark smirk.
"Well, what matters is that we can get everyone out of the city now" she glances at the Avenger who she knew would not be leaving Raccoon City with the rest of them and somehow, that though sent a needle of pain straight into her chest.
The Black Widow intended to remain in this living hell, all with the hopes of saving the world 'she's an Avenger, its what they do' Jill thought to herself.
A small part of Jill wanted to insist that she stays with her, after all she'd worked hard gathering evidence to be used against Umbrella and now she wanted to see it through to end.
However, she already knew that the Black Widow would shut that idea down right away, the Avenger had gone to a lot of effort to make sure that Jill made it back for the train-
"Yeah, you'll be safe" Jill looked at Black Widow who was also confused by Carlos's choice of words 'you'll be safe' it implied that Carlos had other plans- plans that didn't involve leaving the city.
"What about you?" Jill asked as Carlos waited for the shutters blocking their path to lift
"Well from the sounds of it I won't be catching the train" Carlos informed them with a small shrug
"Why not?" Natasha asks as she had been under the impression that this train would be taking everyone 'apart from her' to safety
"There be new orders Black Widow, let's just say you've not seen the back of me yet. Mikhail will explain more when you speak with him. He said something about our mission objectives being similar, but if it means I can help save the city its fine by me"
It almost made Natasha smile, Carlos was far too much like Clint Barton and Sam Wilson which wasn't necessarily a good thing,
Clint and Sam could both be impulsive- and a bit naïve, something she suspected Carlos was also susceptible to- but she had already listened to her instincts and they told her that she should trust him.
They make their way down to the subway level where the train was waiting to take everyone out of the city, they spotted Mikhail talking to another U.B.C.S officer, but as he saw them approach he seemed very pleased.
"Good work, your reputations are well deserved, get inside Ms Valentine the train will leave soon- but Ms Romanoff I would like to have a private word with you"
Natasha turned to Jill, both of them aware that they were now parting ways with the uncertainty that they would ever see each other again.
"I suppose this is farewell Ms Valentine" Natasha stated with a smirk that made Jill smile
"No don't forget- you still owe me a drink"
Jill held out her hand which Black Widow shook, the redhead had a very strong grip that was as soft as it was firm
"I hope you complete your mission"
Natasha nods her head, she sure hoped that she would complete her mission too.
Once upon a time nothing mattered but the successful completion of a mission- 'all missions completed with extreme efficiency' it was easy and something still ingrained in to the Black Widow from her days in the Red Room and it was a difficult mindset to break out of.
But when Natasha encountered people like Clint, Sam, Steve and others she had gotten close to she was reminded that sometimes some things mattered more than efficiency.
Black Widow follows Mikhail away from the ears of anyone else, although she had already clocked Nikolai-
He was already sitting on the train watching her carefully- glaring at her as if she was the worst person the Russian man had ever met- she sent him a small sarcastic smile.
"Ms Romanoff its come to my attention that you intend to remain in the city- I assume you came to Raccoon City for business and not pleasure"
Natasha still wasn't sure if she trusted Mikhail,
Carlos was a soldier and did what he was told, but Mikhail was the platoon captain and a man in his high rank of position surly knew a lot more about Umbrella,
She recalled that he already knew who Jill Valentine was by sight, which hinted to her that the older Russian knew more than what he was saying.
"I think our goals may be one of the same" Mikhail stated causing Natasha to smirk-
She hardly doubted that her mission had any similarities with the objectives of U.B.C.S
"I know why you came to Raccoon City Ms Romanoff" Natasha sighed and wished the older Russian would just get to the point,
"You're looking for a cure for all these monsters Umbrella created" he now had her undivided attention.
"How did you come across that intel?" she asks him to which Mikhail smiled down at her-
"Actually I was guessing, but I can see that I'm right aren't I?"
Natasha lets out a small laugh- she kind of liked the older Russian- she immediately thought about her dad... 'No Alexei' she swiftly erased the comparison from her mind, it was a shame that he was too involved with Umbrella- even if they all made it out of this hell alive, she had no doubt that the older Russian would be facing consequences.
"You were aware that Umbrella were developing Bio-logical Weapons in this city?" she asked- the smile quickly dropped from the rough Russian mans face, replaced by guilt, Mikhail nods his head
"Ms Romanoff- I am a Man first, a soldier second and an operative of Umbrella last- which is why I want to help you rectify this, one Russian to another"
She shook her head, the soldiers knowledge of the B.O.W's disappointed, but didn't surprise her after all what kind of pharmaceutical company had their own private military?
She doubted that finding a cure would 'rectify' anything Umbrella had done, but it went a small way to relieving the old soldier of some guilt,
Guilt was something Natasha Romanoff knew a lot about.
"You and I both know that I've not been considered a true Russian for a long time"
She pondered at what nationality she actually held now- despite her unconventional upbring Natasha Romanoff had been adamant at keeping her last name, she went through a lot of identities as a spy, but Natasha Romanoff was someone that she would always be.
"Yes well, you'll find plenty differences of opinion on the matter of your nationality status Ms Romanoff, but you should know that most of us are proud to have a Soviet born as an Avenger- a hero to millions"
He remembered when the news was spread of the death of General Dreykov at the hands of his Black Widow,
Colonel Sergei Vladimir had been thrilled to learn of the news of an old enemies violent demise .
"How is it that you know about me? I don't mean as an Avenger- you know about me" she emphasised her last sentence- she'd gone to a lot of effort 'despite dumping all of S.H.I.E.L.D's files on the internet' to keep her past as hidden as possible.
He could try and fob her off with the 'We're both Russians' excuse but that wouldn't fly, not with her.
Mikhail didn't want to tell her the truth about how he knew what he knew about the Black Widow, but right now he needed her trust, even if it meant that she would hate him-
"Colonel Sergei Vladimir" he hesitantly told her,
Her blood ran ice cold in her veins, that wasn't a name she'd heard in a very long time, mainly because she had considered the Colonel to be long dead.
"What?" she simply asked as she felt every muscle in her body had transitioned into steel.
"You know of him?" he asked, he wasn't sure if General Dreykov had shared his political rivalry with the woman who would one day be the death of him
"I knew him. In my youth Sergei Vladimir had been positioned as the Red Rooms enforcer, he did so enjoy the breaking of humanity of the Red Room recruits. How do you know this man?"
Mikhail would be lying if he didn't admit he was worried, he knew what she was capable of.
"Sergei founded the U.B.C.S as well as Umbrella's internal espionage Unit" he admitted and suddenly a lot of things started making sense to her,
She glanced over at Nikolai who hadn't stopped glaring at her like she was the worst human on planet Earth since the moment she'd met him.
"Is he still alive?" she knew the answer to that, anyone that was powerful enough to become an enemy of her former Red Room master was certainly adept at surviving.
Mikhail nodded "Yes, but no one has heard from the Colonel for some time, there were rumours that he had spiralled into madness" Natasha laughed
"I can assure you- Colonel Vladimir went mad a long time ago, but you've given me a great incentive to complete my mission, so when I escape this hell, I'll track him down and I'll kill him myself".
She supposed spite had kept her fire going for too long now, but the simple fact was that Colonel Vladimir deserved to die for everything he'd done, not only to her.
Mikhail shrugged, from what he knew of the fellow Russian he certainly had it coming- and if what Black Widow says is true about the Colonels involvement in the Red Room then he couldn't say that the Black Widow didn't deserved to be the violent man's end.
"I don't know much about the Red Room, but from what little I do know... Send him my regards when you do kill him" he couldn't find the right words to describe how he felt about the defilement and torture of little girls to turn them into assassins.
Natasha took a deep breath, she couldn't afford to be distracted by personal vendettas right now-
"The mission is more important right now" she stated her thoughts out loud.
"Yes, we cant afford any distractions with the stakes being as they are. Carlos and my other officer Tyrell their orders are to remain in Raccoon City to assist you with your mission"
Mikhail hands her a small Umbrella labelled file that contained the image of an old man, a scientist by the looks of it.
"That man is Dr Nathaniel Bard, an Umbrella scientist dedicated to vaccine research" she looked through the notes on the scientist that was currently based within the city-
"How are you so sure Dr Bard is still alive" she asked, she would hate to chase down the scientist only to find him eaten by Zombies-
"This old man still has his ways Ms Romanoff, but I was able to pick up on a fragment of a distress call made by Bard to the S.T.A.R.S office at the RPD" Natasha glanced at Jill who was very busy wondering at what the two of them were discussing,
"Carlos and Tyrell are both good soldiers, they will accompany you to the RPD where you should be able to locate Dr Bard" Natasha nodded and handed him back the file.
Although she refuse to show it she was very grateful for Mikhail's help and now she decided that she was going to do him a favour in return.
"Thank you Mikhail for your cooperation and since you've done me a favour, I wish to do you one in return" out of the corner of her eye she was well aware that Nikolai was still watching her, good.
She hoped that this would wipe that smug look off his face,
Natasha took out of her belt the Dog Tag she had removed from the soldier that Nikolai had killed, the metal plate was still covered in the soldiers blood-
"We came across another U.B.C.S soldier while we were out- he was badly hurt, but before I could administer any first aid Nikolai killed him" she silently handed the ID tag to the captain as proof of the death-
"Nikolai insisted that the boy was infected, although I was unable to verify that claim. Even if that was the case I assume that any executions must be authorised by yourself first".
He looked down at the Dog Tag and then back at her, Black Widow was confused that none of this seemed to surprise him-
"Of course we still operate by rules of combat and no, I gave no such orders for any executions" he places the Dog Tag in his vest for safe keeping
"Did you enter Raccoon City with Nikolai already in your platoon?" She enquired,
Mikhail shook his head "No- we came into contact with him after reports that that the previous platoon sent to the city didn't report back in" Natasha nodded, so he was apparently a 'lone survivor' of a previously deployed U.B.C.S unit,
That definitely was a major red flag
"But, you've known him before you invited him to join your platoon?" Mikhail nodded
"Of course, there's a central barracks for U.B.C.S operations, although word is he had dealings with Umbrella's internal espionage Unity, before joining U.B.C.S"
None of it felt right to Black Widow, she had a good sense to know when there was something going on that was 'in Clint's terms- complete bullshit'
She pondered if she should allow the silver haired Russian to depart on that train-
"I must confide in you Ms Romanoff, given the circumstances that my platoon is in- we've lost far too many good soldiers, I've suspected for a while that there is a traitor in my group, now thanks to you I'm certain"
The older Russian sighed in relief, in a way as their Captain he had felt as if all the deaths had been completely his fault, now he felt a strange sense of vindication- and anger
"Thank you for bringing this to me, I'll deal with Nikolai Zinoviev, you remain focused on the mission" she nodded as they re-joined with the others.
Jill remained standing at the train doors wondering what Mikhail and Black Widow had been so intently speaking about.
"Carlos, Tyrell you have your orders. You are to accompany the Black Widow back into the city and find Nathaniel Bard" Jill strained her ears to fixate on the conversation
"This isn't the last ride out of town right?" she asked
"Do not worry once the civilians are safe the train will be back" Mikhail assured her- Carlos was flattered by Jill's concern, but didn't want to consider that 'Super Cop' was getting too soft on him
"It's alright you go on ahead, I'm not gonna die on you and leave you in a cold cruel Carlos-less world"
The statement made Natasha cover her face with her hand as she cringed harder than she thought it was possible to cringe whilst Jill scoffed-
"Ok" Jill couldn't even contemplate weather that was an actual sentence or not, but she knew she wanted him and Natasha to be safe-
"You'll need to find this scientist, his vaccine research could save us all"
Jill is only able to pick up on snippets of the conversation happening outside, but her concentration is quickly thrown off by someone obnoxiously clapping inside the train car, ugh Nikolai.
Jill rolled her eyes- she couldn't believe she was now going to have to share a train ride with him,
"You see you're learning, the only life that matters is your own" Mikhail gets on the train with them and signals someone with his Walkie-Talkie,
"Good luck, lets go" Jill watched Carlos and Natasha who were watching the train depart, Natasha waves off the S.T.A.R.S officer with a small salute.
September 29th 2:11am
LOCATION: (Subway Car)
Jill sat silently in the train car as she listened to the two Russian U.B.C.S soldiers discussing the others that had stayed in the city-
"You really don't think a pencil pusher like Bard is still alive, do you?" Nikolai had been very tense since they left the station and Mikhail had been too silent,
Jill wondered exactly what the Black Widow had said to him, but now she was more interested in this Umbrella scientist.
"I have it on good authority, why are you worried about teammates or something else?"
Jill listened to the conversation, to her it seemed that even Mikhail shared her dislike for Nikolai, she supposed you had to be a special kind of asshole for even your own platoon captain to dislike you.
Mikhail sat down on one of the benches, his injuries from earlier were still giving him grief, the older Russian had wanted to avoid confrontation with Nikolai until they were out of the city, but what Black Widow had told him weighed heavily on Mikhail's thoughts.
"Funny how brainless Zombies can ambush a platoon like that, funny the gate was locked, don't you think" it was a blunt accusation of treason,
Jill regretted sharing the same train car with them and wished she had stayed with the Black Widow and Carlos.
Nikolai began to laugh; it sent a shiver up Jill's spine when all of a sudden, the entire train shook violently, and the air filled with screams of terror.
They looked in the carriage that held the civilians only to find the entire car destroyed, every single one of the survivors were dead and the creature had been pursing Jill all night stood among the bodies.
Jill angrily charged at the monster
"HOW IS THIS FUCKER NOT DEAD YET!" Jill screamed part of her wanted it all to stop, this creature was after her and now it had killed innocent civilians hunting her down.
She's immediately snapped out of it by Mikhail grabbing her shaking arm
"Jill No, they're gone! Come this way" Mikhail place himself between her and the monster while she retreated to a further carriage, she spots Nikolai doing the same.
However she quickly noticed as Nikolai locked the car door behind him trapping her and Mikhail with the creature,
The Russian smiled as she helplessly attempted to force the door open.
"Nikolai what are you doing?" she really wished that Black Widow had shot the bastard when she first met him
"It's not after me" he laughed and waved as he left both her and Mikhail to die
"NIKOLAI!" she angrily screamed after him, the sound of Mikhail shooting at the creature caught her attention-
She felt trapped when all of a sudden the creature stabbed Mikhail with its sharp tentacle appendage,
She ran to help him- but the creature pulled the Russian man towards it, unaware of the explosives the U.B.C.S platoon captain had kept hidden in his vest
"Get off my train, Shit Bird!" Mikhail yelled as he triggered the detonator on his explosives killing himself immediately and triggering a large explosion that derailed the whole train.
Jill looked for something to grab onto, but a hard knock to her head sent her spiralling into the darkness.