Chapter 4
“Jacques Duquesne, also known as Jack.” Yelena pointed to the giant screen showing a large photo of him. “What have we found out about him?”
Maria raised her hand. “He definitely isn’t a plant for any intelligence agency. He has never worked a day in his life. He has always lived off a trust fund and when Armand Duquesne the third dies, he is next in line to inherit the entire fortune, estimated at close to one billion dollars. As it stands now, he is worth around ten million dollars personally.”
“He is not a sword dealer.” Mika added.
“I knew it!” Kate practically shouted, Lucky barking at her side.
“To be a dealer one would have to buy and sell.” Mika pointed out. “He only buys. Many records of him buying swords, not one record of him ever selling. We believe he has been involved in a few black-market auctions…”
“Yes!” Kate shouted.
“…buying swords.” Mika continued. “Mostly swords that were acquired by less than legal means from foreign museums that needed to be sold outside of normal channels. These market auctions typically are conducted on the dark web.”
“I accessed his dark web browsing history.” Rachel spoke up.
“What has he been doing on the dark web?” Kate asked quickly.
“Buying swords.” Rachel told her.
“And?” Kate pressed.
Rachels shrugged. “Buying swords. His browser is clean. No drugs, no weapons dealing, nothing illegal of any kind beside bidding on possibly stolen swords. He uses it maybe twice a year, bids on a sword he wants and then he goes away. His normal browsing history is…strange.”
“Strange how?” Yelena asked.
“Nothing.” Rachel told her. “He has an online subscription to American Fencing and a subscription to the New York Times Online. That’s it. No clown porn, no singles sites, he doesn’t even go on YouTube to watch cat videos. He does have an Instagram profile. Want to guess what kind of pictures he posts?”
“Swords.” The assembled widows said.
“Got it in one.”
Everett spoke up. “Maybe he is just a good guy with a weird addiction to swords. Who are we to judge?”
“That many swords?” Helena asked.
“How many guns do you have in your room, Helena?” Everett asked.
Helena looked down. “That’s not really important now.”
“How many of your guns have you named?” he pressed.
Helena shrugged and mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Sixteen, alright Everett! Sixteen. Lay off my babies! Okay, maybe he is a normal guy who has a weird addiction to swords.”
Kate couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “C’mon! Look at that mustache! That evil grin. The guy has bad guy written all over him!”
Yelena called for quiet. “Bridgette and Dani left last night and arrived this afternoon outside of New York. We will test him tonight and find out what kind of man this Jack is.”
“Why did they arrive outside of New York?” Kate asked. “They took a Quinjet? Why didn’t Wanda send them?”
Yelena sighed. “Wanda refuses to get involved. Bridgette says he is meeting with a man now in a bar at the Waldorf.”
“What man?” Kate asked.
Maria broke into the security camera and pulled up facial recognition.
“Henre DePaul.” Maria read the identification and then typed in a search. “Anybody want to guess what Henre DePaul does for a living?”
“Sword dealer.” The entire room said as one.
“Sword dealer.” Maria confirmed. “He is leaving. Looks like Jack is staying for a drink. Bridgette is approaching. If she gets him in a room, she shocks him and Kate, you get to have a serious conversation with your mother.”
New York City Waldorf Hotel Bar
Most every black widow was trained for seduction. No matter their age, they could make anyone want them. Some were used strictly for seduction and assassination like Antha had once been before she was freed.
Bridgette was another. Nineteen years old, tall, with a fashion models figure, dark hair and piercing green eyes, she was not one of the best fighters, but she had fought in and survived the Battle on Titan. Like Antha had with Amato Augusta, Bridgette could make any man do as she pleased, follow her, tell her what she wanted to know.
She wore a short black halter dress with black stiletto heels and every man in the lobby and bar stared at her when she walked in.
Except Jack who was focused on his drink and seemed a bit sad.
“Rough day?” Bridgette asked taking the seat next to him.
Jack looked at her then looked back at his drink.
“I wanted a katana from the beginning of the Muromachi period, around 1184. This man tells me he has one for sell for twenty thousand dollars. I ask around about him and my friends tell me he is a legitimate dealer. He does not bring the sword but wishes to meet me here to discuss it. Then he tells me the price is thirty thousand. Not very honorable but I can understand not wanting to bring such a rare beauty out of storage without confirming the buyer is legitimate. Then I begin asking questions.”
Jack turned up his drink and the bartender poured another.
“The sword is a fake. He was trying to sell me a forgery and what is worse I could tell by his answers and non-answers that he knows it is fake. I decline his offer. Now I must call my friends and tell them he is trying to sell forgeries and to check their pieces to ensure they are legitimate. My friends are not as discerning as I am, and I fear they have been swindled.”
Bridgette was thrown off for once.
“I left my purse in my room. Would you buy me a drink?” she asked, falling back on a reliable method.
Jack nodded. “Coke or Pepsi?”
“Excuse me?”
Jack shook his head and grinned. “You are not of legal drinking age. I can buy you a Coke or a Pepsi and in return you can help me with something. Do we have a deal?”
“Okay?”
“Excellent. Bartender a…” Jack looked at her.
“Coke?”
“A coke for the girl please…I’m sorry I didn’t get your name?”
“Bridgette.”
“I am Jack. A Coca Cola for my friend, Bridgette.”
The bartender brought her a sizzling soda with a cherry and a straw.
Her eyes widened and she looked behind her. Dani was sitting in the lobby pretending to read a magazine and shrugged her shoulders.
“You said you needed help. How can I help you?”
Jack sat smiled at her. “You are what, eighteen, nineteen?”
Bridgette grinned, finally getting somewhere. “Nineteen.”
Jack winked. “I thought so. Let me tell you a story. Around six months ago I asked this woman out I have admired for years. It took me years to work up the courage to ask her out. She is everything I am not. Driven, successful, brilliant. She could do better than me, but I say to myself, Jack if you do not try you will always regret it.
“I fall in love with her. She tells me she loves me. I am very happy. I have found many treasures in my life, but I would give them all away to be with her. She finally wants me to meet her daughter. Kate is eighteen. Our first encounter did not go well. I surprised her when she came home early as I was waiting for my love to arrive. I could tell by our conversation at dinner that she was not very impressed by me. I wanted it to go well but I am afraid I failed. We have the same interests but, you see, her daughter, she is outstanding. She is tough, tougher than you could imagine. She has survived so much…she is a genuine hero, and I do not say that lightly.”
“Wow. She sounds impressive.” Bridgette said quietly.
“You have no idea. I had hoped this sword I bought tonight would make a nice graduation gift for her. I want to build on our one shared interest. She is a brilliant fencer. She will be competing in college in both fencing and archery. Such a skilled girl. But the sword is a fake and I am at a loss with how to bond with her. You are her age. If your mother started dating a new gentleman, what would make you impressed with him?”
“Uh…okay…” Bridgette wiped a tear from her cheek. “First that is beautiful. Wow…okay…I suddenly feel horrible. What would…I think it would take time. You have only met her once. You said it started rough. You surprised her at her home?”
Jack laughed. “Yes, and she threw me in the air and slammed me to the ground. It was so impressive! She is very good at martial arts as well. A gymnast also. I am finding there is nothing she cannot do. How can I make up for this? Should I try to buy her another sword? Perhaps a bow? I have never bought a bow, but I heard of a man who has an early Ming Dynasty horn bow. It is rare to find one that has the original wood. Perhaps something more recent like a Victorian Long Bow?”
Bridgette looked back at Dani who shrugged again.
“I…you probably shouldn’t…maybe not worry about expensive gifts. Maybe just spend more time around her. I didn’t really have a relationship with my mother or anyone else so I’m not sure. Things like this have to come organically I would guess. She might be very protective of her mom. I think the more you show her that you aren’t a threat, she will relax and come around.”
Jack thought about this. “I truly hope so. What of any recent trends or slang, something that would make me seem cool to younger people?”
Bridgette laughed. “I think you are cool on your own.”
“Thank you. Bridgette, I must go but I would like to speak to you about something sensitive. You have been kind to me, and I want to return the favor.”
“Okay…”
“We both know you are not staying at this hotel. I do not mean to interfere in your life. Let me get you one of those uber cars. Leave here. A young girl should not be in a place like this dressed like you are. I realize these men would pay you whatever you wanted but this is not the way. If you do not have a home, find a shelter to assist you. You are too young to take this path in life. There is so much out there. Perhaps you think this is your only way to survive but you are strong. I can tell this. Have faith in yourself.”
Bridgette shook her head. “You are a damn saint… yes, I’ll get out of here. This isn’t the life for me. Thanks Jack. I can get my own cab. Good luck with the daughter. I’m sure it will work out.”
“Thank you, Bridgette. Be careful. It is a dangerous world out there.”
Red Widow Mansion
The entire ops room had quieted, and they were all staring at Kate Bishop.
“I feel bad enough, please don’t look at me like that!” she told the assembled widows. One even had a tear in her eye.
“I think this operation is over girls. Thank you for all your hard work.” Yelena told her.
Kate wasn’t sure what to do. A few widows patted her on the shoulder, Sonia said if her mother didn’t want him she would take him and the rest just left.
“You think I overreacted?” Kate asked Yelena.
Yelena stared at her.
“Yeah, I probably overreacted.” Kate admitted.
Yelena sighed. “I did as well. Wanda told me to stay out of it. I should have talked to you before ordering the mission to commence. It is not your fault alone. Maybe give this guy a shot, yeah? He seems like a good guy.”
“I guess I should have followed Wanda’s lead and stayed out of it. Why did she stay out of it? She is usually the one who is the most paranoid about new people.”
Yelena was quiet for a moment.
“What do the twins call your mother?”
“Grandma…oh…” Kate realized.
Yelena nodded. “Wanda has never believed that your mother is hers and they have not always agreed. Wanda and Eleanor have gotten into many arguments, especially when they first met. However, Eleanor and Agatha were the closest she had to mothers since her own died. Agatha is gone and while she realizes you are Eleanor’s only daughter; I believe she was hurt that she was not told. Say nothing to her. She will never admit it, hide behind sarcasm, indifference and then lightly veiled anger then begin singing Sokovian songs to Becca.”
Kate stood for a moment taking that in. She looked up at the ceiling of the bunker as if she could see into Wanda’s room.
“Yelena…”
“It is between Eleanor and her. You weren’t supposed to tell anyone, and this entire operation never happened.”
Iowa
Stannic rushed into the locker room after track practice. Cheerleading had ended for the year with the last practice the day before. She had one track meet left to end her sophomore year and start summertime. She, Steve and Nat would be taking vacations throughout the summer and visiting places none of them had ever seen like Alaska and Niagara Falls and even a fishing trip to Montana which would be a challenge since none of the three had ever fished.
Taking a quick shower, she got dressed, packed her bag and prepared to go to the Bartons to spend the night with Lila. Nat had texted her that she was running late but would be there shortly and take her over. Steve had kept promising to buy her the truck she wanted but had yet to do so.
When she stepped outside the locker room everyone was leaving. She moved towards the parking lot and when she passed a concession stand, a gun was put into her back.
“Wow. You are out of practice. I was watching you for thirty minutes and you never picked me up. What kind of Red Widow are you?”
Stannic stilled, not making a move yet.
“We both know you may be fast on the track, but you aren’t fast enough to take me. I’m not some rookie goon and I will kill you and find another way if I have to. A friend of mine is going to be pulling up any minute now. You are going to get into the car. Do you know why?”
Stanic huffed. “Because you will shoot me if I don’t? Very original.”
Stannic felt something go around her throat. The metal collar cliched and she heard a beep.
“Just enough explosives to take your pretty head off. I’d hate for that to happen. Is that original enough for you? If you are a good girl, you get to live. You aren’t the target. You are just a means to an end. When we get to where we are going, I will bring you back here unharmed. You have my word.”
Stannic clenched her fists. “The word of a woman who put a bomb around my neck? Take it off, put the gun down and let’s find out who is faster.”
The woman chuckled.
“You have no idea who you are messing with.” Stannic told her.
“I hope you are the Black Widow’s adopted daughter, Stannic.”
Stannic nodded slightly, feeling the pinch of the collar. “Lady, she is the least of your problems.”
“No doubt. Judging by your age you were probably one of the babies of the girl group. Tight with Yelena Belova and Wanda Maximoff. But they aren’t here, and you aren’t with them. I have been watching you for a week when your mother wasn’t around. You never picked me up. You know what I didn’t pick up? A single Red Widow. Do they not make time to see your practices? Or are they too busy saving stolen kids while you play high school? You might have been one of them, but they aren’t here, are they? You are not one of them now.”
A car pulled up and the woman pushed Stannic towards it. She shoved her in the back seat.
“You have a detonator.” Stannic heard her tell the driver, a white guy with a ball cap pulled down.
Stannic turned to look at the woman’s face and saw she had a needle in her hand. The girl flashed back to moments she had never forgotten but stopped constantly reliving at night.
“Please no!” Stannic began shouting, heedless of the bomb on her neck.
“Sorry you are caught up in this kid.”
The needle injected her, and she passed out.
Snapdragon took a picture of her and forwarded it to another than made the call.
“Yes, one of you is to go to Clint Barton’s house and the other to Steve Rogers. Show them the photo and if anything happens let them know the bomb will go off. No contact at all. Cell scramblers, phone and internet lines cut; modems destroyed. I see the target pulling up. I will handle her. We should be in the air in an hour. The jet should get us to Russia in ten hours. It will be over at midnight. Don’t kill them. Dose the Bartons and Rogers then leave when it is over. I want this girl to make it back and she should at least have Rogers waiting for her.”
Natasha immediately scooped up the area as was natural and noticed two things very quickly. The first was Stannic was not in her usual spot where she stood when Nat was running a few minutes later. The second was the car that did not belong on the parking lot and the exotic looking woman in front of it who just hung up her phone.
Nat slid her car perpendicular to the new car and jumped out, aiming her gun at this new enemy from her car’s cover.
“Your daughter has a bomb around her neck and my friend in the driver’s seat has a detonator. The bomb is just large enough to take off her head. Put the gun away or she dies, and I take my chances with you. You may be the Black Widow, but you have been baking apple pies and taking the daughter to cheerleading practice, not fighting.”
Nat slowly lowered her gun, her eyes noting there was a driver but not seeing Stannic.
“She is laid on the backseat. I had to put her out, didn’t want her getting involved. You are more than welcome to walk over. I’m not going to kill you. I’ve just been hired to bring you to my employer. You remember Damin Dran, don’t you?”
Nat’s eyes widened. “He is dead.”
The woman shook her head. “He pays well for a dead man. He seems to harbor a major grudge against you. Something about you shooting him in the head and leaving him to die? You were undercover for SHIELD, right?”
“Who are you?” Nat asked.
“Sheoka Sanada.”
Nat internally winced but remained unaffected outside. She knew this woman. She was called Snapdragon and an international terrorist and hit woman. Nat had done research on her before the Battle of New York happened and she got caught up with the Avengers. The woman was an amazing fighter, on par with herself.
Nat saw Stannic lying passed out on the seat.
“I give you my word, you come with us and not cause any trouble, she comes back to Rogers, unharmed.”
For some reason, Nat believed her. It wasn’t as if she had a choice.
“Take your cellphone out and leave it on the ground.”
Nat did as she was told, not seeing any way out of this. The man was too far away for Nat to make a move for the detonator. She didn’t know the type of bomb or if it had a timer hooked up to it in addition to the detonator.
“There are some friends at your house and the Bartons. They are going to make sure nobody interferes with this business transaction. Sit in the back, put your little girl’s head on your lap and inject yourself with the drug in the syringe. No games Romanoff. I don’t want to kill her, but I will.”
Nat did as she was told.
“I’m sorry, kid.” Nat whispered and kissed Stannic’s head. She injected herself.
She woke up in the back of a jet. She recognized the type. It was the same type of jet the Red Room used, Russian made.
She was handcuffed and sitting on the floor of the jet. Across from her, Stannic was in a similar situation, tears in her eyes and the flashing bomb around her neck. Sheoka was in the copilot’s seat and saw they were awake.
“Four hours away. You will be pleased to know that your husbands and neighbors are playing ball. If everything runs smoothly only you have to die.”
Stannic looked murderous as she stared at the woman but said nothing. Nat shook her head slightly, not wanting her to speak.
“You know you are already dead, right?” Nat asked. “No matter what happened or doesn’t happen, you kidnapped her. They will never stop hunting you.”
Snapdragon shrugged her concerns away. “I can handle Yelena Belova and her band of contract killers pretending to be heroes.”
“Silver Sable as well?” Nat asked.
“Overrated.”
Nat smirked. “What about…her?”
Nat didn’t have to say who her was. Everybody knew.
Sheoka was silent for a moment and the flicker of unease crossed her face just for a second.
“The last time I saw her she was knocked up, strolling a park with the Winter Soldier and the President of Sokovia. She isn’t the same girl who took on that ugly purple monster anymore. Most in the community say that fight took something from her.”
Nat shook her head.
“She knows when the widows are in trouble. She is connected to all of them. She is going to find Dran and you and everyone involved with this operation. Let us go and run now. All the money in the world isn’t worth it if you aren’t alive to spend it. Have you ever seen someone skinned alive? I saw her skin a man alive with a flick of her finger. You know I’m not lying.”
Sheoka stared at her for a moment. “She isn’t bullet proof. She won’t even know this went down until it is over.”
Nat looked at Stannic.
“She always knows. She is connected to them. Wanda Maximoff will find you. God help you when she does.”
Stannic understood what Nat was saying. She doubted it would work but she closed her eyes and focused with everything she had, all thoughts calling out to Wanda, asking for help.
Sheoka remained quiet and returned to the controls, confident that the bomb on Stannic’s neck would keep the Black Widow in line and doing her best to not think of the one the world called the Scarlet Witch.
“Is that true what she said?” her copilot asked quietly. “You said Maximoff wasn’t the same. She wasn’t that powerful after nearly dying from that purple bastard. A lot of people are saying it.”
“She is bluffing. The Bartons and Rogers are dosed. She is restrained and the kid has a bomb around her neck. Our plan has gone perfectly, and she knows it. No one is coming for them and when this is over no one will even know who we are. Focus on getting us there. The sooner she is dead, the sooner the risk is gone.”
The man looked back at the scowling Black Widow.
“You forgot one little problem.” He whispered. “The kid knows your name.”
Sheoka shook her head. “No, Romanoff hasn’t said it in front of her. She knows if she does, we couldn’t let her go free when it’s over.”
The man nodded. “Let’s say Maximoff isn’t as strong as people say she is or was. It is true that she can mess with people’s heads. I heard they get so much information on slavers because she takes it from her victims’ head before she kills them. What if it is true? She has seen your face. It won’t be hard for the widows to figure out it is you. You are linked with us. If we really want to get away clean this idea you have about putting the kid on a plane and sending her back isn’t going to work.”
Sheoka was silent, taking in his words. She knew he was right. The only way to be safe was to leave no witnesses.
She had given her word that the kid would be returned. She was an assassin, had killed hundreds, many of whom were innocents who pissed off crime lords by threatening their empires, but she always considered herself a woman of her word.
“I’ll do it if you don’t want to.”
Sheoka let out a breath.
“Let’s get there first. Give Dran his target, get paid. Afterward…”
The man nodded. “Yeah, afterward. I’ll take care of it. She won’t feel a thing.”
Nat and Stannic did not need to hear the whispered conversations to get an idea of what was being spoken. The man looked back enough times at Stannic to know she was being talked about. Stannic wasn’t getting out of this alive no matter what happened.
Stannic closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she believed in a god, a goddess, or multiple gods.
No higher power had ever done her any favors.
So Stannic prayed to the one person she had always believed in.
Red Widow Mansion
Wanda woke from her sleep with a gasp, sitting up straight. She looked around but saw nothing different. Nela was next to her, Nadeja in her arms and Bucky was on his end, him and Wanda’s hands holding each other as they kept a protective hold over the girls.
Storm had been sleeping at the foot of the bed but was now pacing, agitated by something.
She listened for a moment and didn’t hear anything. Becca was still asleep, not due for another feeding for four more hours.
The room was dark, only a rainbow nightlight giving off the hint of illumination to guide the kids way in the dark when they needed the bathroom.
“What’s wrong, Storm?” Wanda whispered.
She reached out and touched his head. She could not read the minds of animals, but she could feel their essences and sometimes their emotions, even influence them in certain ways. Storm was agitated, but not angry. She was frightened. She licked Wanda’s hand and squealed as if scared. Storm was never scared.
She lived in a large house with over one hundred and fifty occupants. Multiple cats and dogs ran around. The only thing that spooked Storm was Denise’s toy poodle, Mitsy.
If Storm was spooked something was definitely wrong.
Wanda slipped out of bed and sat cross legged on the floor. She closed her eyes and reached out over the compound.
She could feel no one in distress. It was three AM and for once every resident was asleep. No one was up watching late night horror movies or playing card games. Widows who were in a relationships or perhaps conveniently at times relationships were also asleep. She felt nothing unusual from the house. There was always the fear of nightmares the girls had. If it was strong enough that it woke Wanda she could find the girl easily enough and seek her out to comfort her and help soothe her enough to sleep.
She felt no major terror. No lust, no terror, no life forces that didn’t belong. The Mansion was secure and her girls were okay.
Wanda please.
Wanda’s head snapped up.
Help me.
Stannic.
She felt for Stannic’s presence but felt nothing. The girl wasn’t here. She reached out further and further, stretching her consciousness over the entire world. Trying to search for a single mind in billions was impossible though. She relied on magic to do searches like this.
She stumbled to the girls’ drawers and pulled out a t-shirt adorned with three mermaids on it. It was one of Nadeja’s favorites, not because of the subject matter but because it was the first item of clothing she had been given when she was freed, a shirt that belonged to Stannic.
Wanda sat back down and grasped the shirt, whispering an unknown dialect of Sumerians only spoken by a people who had laid the foundations for the first ancient empires and were long dead. The medicine man of that tribe had the perfect spell for tracking anyone that he had kindly added to the Book of Vishanti.
Images filled her vision…Stannic with a collar around her neck that had a light beeping, her and Nat being taken out of a ship into some sort of hangar inside a mountain…
“Bucky!”
Bucky was wide awake in a second, part of his nature.
“What is it?”
“Tell Yelena to check on Steve and the Bartons. Hurry. Something isn’t right. Nat and Stannic are being held hostage.”
Bucky nodded. “Which means if Steve hasn’t told us he is compromised”.
Bucky pressed the alarm, and the Mansion filled with the alert for Widows to be ready to work.
He met Yelena in the hall who must have been sleeping with her mother and father. It happened on rare nights when Kate stayed at home with Eleanor.
Bucky gave her the rundown.
“We need Wanda to get to Iowa.”
Bucky shook her head. “She will open up a doorway. Meg is on her way. We need to get suited up.”
One hundred and twenty seconds later, Wanda opened a large red doorway and the first wave, Bucky, Ava and Yelena’s teams, entered the field between Steve Rogers and Clint Barton’s farm.
Ave and Bucky split off for Steve’s home and Yelena rushed towards Clint Barton’s home.
Yelena raised her hand and when the house came into view. Bea launched the miniaturized drone that flew into the residence through the fireplace and began swarming around silently, feeding images back to Yelena.
“This is a fine mess. Bucky, Ava, Rogers is here with the Barton family. They are all in the living room passed out. Steve has numerous tranq darts in his torso. The rest are unconscious as well. They appear to all be breathing, likely drugged. Two armed captors with automatics are in the room standing guard.”
“Copy. We have targets around Roger’s residence as well.” Ava said. “Waiting for us?”
Yelena wasn’t sure but it was likely. “If Natasha or Steve could get word to us, we would go there instead of Barton’s. They give a signal maybe their life signs go poof and whoever has Stannic and Nat kill them.”
“What is the play, Yelena?” Bucky asked, following her lead. In the field unless otherwise stipulated, Yelena always had been and always would be Red 1.
“We are going with Godfather maneuver. Bucky, Ava how many targets?”
“Ten, hiding around the property. Two are in trees. No one inside, hostile or civilian.”
Yelena used infrared to look over the grounds.
“Yes, we have two snipers in trees and six around property plus two inside, ten total.” She counted. “We will position ourselves to take out targets at once. I have enough on my team. Since you have more both teams stay there, pick a target and stay low. I’m going to approach the inside. Bea with me. When the time for the strike comes, we will handle them.”
Bucky and Ava positioned their teams, choosing targets and locking to ensure that twenty people would die at the same second when the order was given.
Now all Yelena needed was for Wanda to give the call.
Ural Mountains, Siberia
Nat couldn’t see out the jet but knew they had landed on something and then been elevatored down, similar to landing Red Widow Mansion’s front lawn.
When they exited, they were in a small hangar. Sheoka and her friend, ally, coworker or whoever he was, pushed her and Stannic towards an elevator.
“You have me here, I’m secured, now please take that bomb off her neck and let her go.” Natasha told Sheoka.
Sheoka shrugged. “You want me to let her outside? We are in the Ural Mountains, ten days from the nearest village by an experienced and well-equipped hiker. Allow me to open the door.”
“Stop! You said you would return her. You gave your word.”
Snapdragon sighed. “We are killers Romanoff. I don’t want to kill the kid, but she has seen and heard too much. Like you said, we can’t be too safe with her involved. Besides she is kind of attached to you. I don’t think pretend Daddy Captain America would be enough to make her happy without pretend Mommy Black Widow. Maybe she could live with pretend Uncle Hawkeye.”
Nat hadn’t expected to let Stannic go but needed time and information. The Red Widows would not know. Snapdragon was too efficient in the planning of this takedown not to have accounted for Steve or Clint calling Yelena. They had Clint’s family using them as hostages to ensure their compliance.
This wasn’t a situation they could fight their way out of. It was over the second they put the bomb on Stannic’s neck. The plan was perfect, and Nat was running out of time and ideas on how to beat the perfect plan.
The elevator door opened, and the foursome walked into a surprisingly modern living room. The interior was well lit with high ceilings. There were sofas and a large projection screen on the wall. A standalone bar led into a large kitchen and a room with glass walls that were foggy, likely a sauna or hot tub room.
It was the typical cool rich guy vibe Damon Dran.
Two men in suits walked out and then he followed.
Nat nearly gasped at his appearance. He had been a decent enough looking guy, the kind who could attract desirable women when taking his wealth into account.
He now had a large ragged scar over his left temple, a perfect reminder of where she had shot him. He also had the electrical burn scars on his right cheek from where her widow bite had struck him with full force and melted the skin. He looked hideous.
“Damon. The older I get the more I realize just how bad an assassin I was. You are the second one I failed to finish the job on. Not for lack of trying.”
Damon had a seat in a recliner and motioned to the sofa. Stannic and Nat were pushed forward and forced to sit.
Nat thought of moving closer to work Stannic’s binds from her bound hands but knew it would do no good. Her little girl was trapped and Nat was beginning to realize that she was failing. Stannic was her daughter and her daughter was going to be killed because of Nat’s past.
“Natasha. I have been wanting to catch up. You left me in quite a state. Is this your adopted daughter? She was one of Dreykov’s toys. Is that right little girl? Were you one of Dreykov’s toys?”
Stannic said nothing, her mind working overtime to get them out of this just as much as Nat was thinking.
“They called me the Indestructible Man at the hospital. I had no right to be alive. A million to one shot. I should have been dead. The bullet deflected just enough off the inside of my temple to scrape my brain and exit through my ear. I was in a coma for six months but I lived.”
“Fascinating.” Stannic muttered.
Damon stood up and looked at Sheoka.
“Blow the kids head off. Make it quick. She shouldn’t have to see the pain Romanoff is going to suffer.”
“No!” Nat shouted. Her eyes flew to Stannic.
The collar was gone from Stannic.
She looked to a wide-eyed Snapdragon. Sheoka touched her neck where the bomb now resided.
Nat’s hands were free. She stood and saw Damon raise his hand.
A hand that had no gun. That gun was now in Natasha’s hand.
The three men in the room were wide eyed, unsure if what to do when their bodies started crumbling. They turned to dust, starting at their feet and moving up until three piles of red dirt were all that remained.
Wanda Maximoff walked inside. She wore tight leather pants, a red corset and a short red jacket with rings and necklaces adorning her hands and throat.
She looked at a pile of dust and then kicked her boot into it. Then she turned to a petrified Damon Dran.
“You said she wouldn’t find out!” he shouted at the now paralyzed Snapdragon who was as terrified as he was.
“You threaten Widows, and I will always know.” Wanda said. She met Snapdragons eyes. Her eyes glowed and Sheoka’s shin bones snapped in half sending her crumbling to the ground screaming in agony.
Then she turned to Damon. Red streams of energy ran from her fingers into his mind.
She then pulled out of his mind, and he dropped to his knees, grabbing his head and screaming.
Wanda made her way to Snapdragon and lifted the woman in the air with magic, leaving her hovering like a puppet with broken limbs. She entered her mind as well.
Sheoka dropped to the floor, her toes splintering again.
“You were lucky. She kept everything inhouse and he hasn’t kept a record or told anyone of your whereabouts. The only people who know your location are the ones who are on your property and about to be dead.” Wanda told Nat.
Wanda turned on her communicator.
“Yelena what is the move?”
She listened for a moment.
“They are safe. Let the Baptism of Blood commence, Godfather.”
Stannic rushed into her arms.
“You heard me.”
“Always kid.” Wanda told her, holding her tightly. “I’m sorry this happened but I have a way to fix it. These two are the last who know where you are, and I have a way of hiding you all better. You can stay where you are and still be safe. Trust me, alright?”
Stannic nodded and then turned to Nat, hugging her tightly.
In Iowa, Wanda listened to Yelena give the signal. Within three seconds, twenty enemy agents were dead and the Bartons and Rogers slept blissfully drugged inside.
“The widows have secured your house. There is no one inside. Stannic, I’m going to send you to your room. Ava will be inside, alright? Your Mom and I need to clean up here.”
“Where is the detonator?” Stannic asked, her hateful eyes locking onto the crying woman on the ground.
Wanda opened a red doorway. “You don’t get to do that kid. That’s not who you are anymore. I like it like that. Let us take care of it. Go to your room and once everything is done then check on Steve.
Stannic walked away reluctantly and the red doorway closed behind her.
Wanda looked to the man on the ground first.
“Is there anyone you thought you killed that you actually killed? I thought you were supposed to be the deadliest assassin in the world, the lethal Black Widow. You shot him in the head and shocked half his face off and still couldn’t do the job?!” Wanda asked.
Nat looked her up and down. “That’s what you decided to wear to rescue us?”
“I conjured whatever came to mind without giving it much thought. This is what popped out of my closet and materialized on me.”
Nat nodded. “Something is definitely popping.”
“So I don’t fit into my old clothes so well! I had a baby two weeks ago. What is your excuse?!”
Nat opened her mouth then shook her head. “My clothes fit fine! Most of them. Speaking of clothes that is still my…”
“You are not getting this damn jacket back!”
The man on the floor groaned as he tried to crawl away.
Nat fired into the back of his head.
Wanda cautiously floated over him.
“Do you think you should check his pulse?” she asked Nat.
“Half his head is blown off! I can see his brain!”
Wanda looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
Nat shrugged. “Probably wouldn’t hurt.” She touched his wrist and nodded. “Happy?”
“With you, not usually. Let’s have a talk with your new friend Sheoka. I have many more small bones to break on her.”
Nat and Wanda looked at the woman on the ground. She was in tears. Her lower legs were snapped and twisted out of place.
“Wanda, did you know the word in the mercenary community is the Battle on Titan took something from you? You just aren’t that strong anymore. Sheoka was telling me about it on our flight here.”
Wanda snapped her fingers and the radius and ulna bones on both Sheoka’s arms snapped.
“If you just wanted to kill this one, that would only be a quick death.” Wanda told Snapdragon. “You threatened one of my girls though. You put a bomb around my girl’s throat. You injected her with a drug while she screamed in terror and begged you not to. There was once a serial rapist in New York and we made him feel more pain than any mortal could feel without losing their mind. I’m about to raise the bar.”