Revamped!


Chapter 31: Untold Secrets

Barton Household - Manhattan - 10:09 AM

Merida raps her knuckles on the wooden door. She stands back, putting her hands in her pockets as she waits for an answer. It's been a day since her debriefing and she just needs to check up on her parents and ask them questions about what happened. She has a key to the house and can let herself in but it doesn't sit well with her to do so.

Moments later, her mother opens the door and lets her in, closing the door behind her.

"Mom, I need to ask you something," Merida says. It didn't sit well with her to do this over the phone.

Not expecting this sudden arrival, Natasha looks at Merida skeptically before nodding. It was one thing to have this conversation over the phone but Merida showed up to have this conversation.

"Before you and Dad ended up in the Baltic Sea, you were both in Mongolia," Merida states. "Why were you there?"

"We were on a mission, you knew that Мериде," Natasha replies.

"But you and Dad were kidnapped and I had a target on my back. That's never been done before. Ever!"

Natasha opens her mouth to say something but stops herself to examines Merida's face. Her expression is dropped and her eyes are soft instead of sharp. She shows concern and vulnerability which makes Natasha smile a little from the corners of her mouth.

"For once in your life, you're worried about me and your father," Natasha says, keeping Merida silent. "Even when you were a little bouncing toddler, you've barely shown that you were worried about your father and I never coming home. Why now? Nothing has changed except your age and you now truly understand this life and its risks."

"Why were you in Mongolia?" Merida asks again, skipping over her mother's nostalgic distraction.

"I told you, we were on a mission."

"What kind of mission?"

Natasha puts her hand on her hips. "A retrieval."

"Who sent you?"

"Мериде -"

"Don't Мериде me!" Merida tenses as her voice grows angrier. "Mom, I know that you and Dad only cater to special missions from certain people now that you're both slowly aging toward death. Who could be so important that they would send you to pick up something that would result in you both being kidnapped and me with a sniper on my back? What the hell did they want you to get that is apparently so valuable? Why couldn't they get it themselves?"

Merida's eyes sharpen from the soft state they had earlier, emphasizing her seriousness toward the outstanding issue. Natasha takes a quick breath as she straightens her posture.

"That's classified," Natasha states.

Merida rolls her eyes. "I'm your daughter."

"I know but that doesn't change anything, just like that attitude of yours."

Merida looks to the ground in defeat. "I'm sorry, Mom, but why are you keeping this from me?"

The longer Merida looks in her mother's eyes, she sees the raw painful emotion that suddenly appears. Natasha suddenly blinks that away and clears her throat.

"To keep you safe," Natasha whispers.

Merida says nothing, not even commenting on how putting a sniper on her back doesn't make her safer. Her mother is mostly an open book but Natasha knows when to keep her mouth zipped shut, which concerns Merida more than when she does share. An example of that would be The Red Room which Natasha never shared. Merida found that out by herself as a teenager snooping through SHIELD's redacted/paper documents that have been stored away in the deep corners of SHIELD headquarters. Those scarred Merida when she read those but she understood why her mother kept those to herself.

That doesn't change. This isn't The Red Room. If it was, her mother would've said so.

"Could you at least tell me what you were supposed to get?" Merida begs softly, needing some sort of answer.

Natasha shrugs. "It was a folder but I wasn't aware of its contents. Your father and I were unable to retrieve it in time. Even if we managed to get it, we promised not to look in it."

Merida's eyes look down. She can't help but think about who assigned her parents on a mission in which they didn't even know what they were supposed to get. They were sent in blind which makes Merida wonder whom her parents trust so much that would give them permission to be sent somewhere unknown to get something unknown. Was it someone she knows? Her thoughts on this get interrupted by a hug coming from her mother. Merida jumps a little but then accepts her mother's warm embrace.

"Don't worry, Мериде," Natasha whispers, "you're not in danger anymore."

The sad part is that Natasha hasn't been honest with her daughter and she hates that she has to be that way.

-o-

Hours after Merida left, Natasha walks into her bedroom. She opens her bedroom door and hears something ringing in her dresser. Recognizing that ringtone, Natasha immediately locks the door and runs over to the windows. She makes sure that they're sealed shut and locked and that the curtains are shut. Natasha opens the drawer and pushes aside all the contents to pull out a ringing burner phone. She doesn't hesitate to pick up the unknown call since it's the one who sent her and Clint on the mission.

Unknown: Did you retrieve it?

"Sadly, no," Natasha responds, ashamed and disappointed in herself for not being to complete the mission. "Barton and I couldn't get it. The compartment you said had a bomb in it instead and, judging by that and given the value of what you need, I'm positive that they relocated it once they had a hunch that someone was onto them. Possibly digitized it as well."

Unknown: That makes this harder for me than it has already been.

"I'd hate to say this but do you think they may be on to you?"

Unknown: Possibly. Do you have any idea of where it may be now?

"I don't."

Unknown: … That is unfortunate, especially the cost of not even having it with you. I thank you for everything you and Clint have done for me, Natasha, and I truly apologize for all the problems this has caused for you two and Merida. That is what I have been wanting to avoid for years.

Natasha nods in agreement. "Is there anything else Barton or I could do for you?"

Unknown: I greatly appreciate the offer but I shall take it from here. It's better that way since they might believe I'm following them. This has been my problem from the start and by putting you and your husband in it, I am only making it worse. Thank you again, Natasha.

The call ends.

Natasha closes the burner phone and purposely drops it on the floor. She continuously stomps on it until it's in several pieces. She divides the pile of debris into thirds - one gets flushed down the toilet, one goes in the garbage disposal, and the last goes into a burning fireplace. Natasha wipes her hands on her jeans, turning her back away from it all.


[You will find out who sent Clint and Natasha on their mission and you will find out what they were sent to get. That will happen when the story needs it to and you will probably never guess who it is. But feel free to guess if you want. Here's a hint - you already know character]. [2020: I could be wrong but I think a lot of people guessed it was Emily. It was a great guess since she's a favourite (mine included) and her first appearance is in a few chapters].